The Hunt for the Ghostkeeper

Prologue: Hide

149 Years Ago

The setting sun brought little light into the prison cell. The elderly woman sat, wheezing and breathless, on her bed leaning against the wall. Her pale blue eyes could barely make out her surroundings. She had lost all of her beauty, all of her youth, all of her power. She could win it all back easily, in seconds, with the object hidden within her ragged clothes, but for now, she must wait until the opportune moment, the day when she could take back the power she once held before it had been stolen from her.

The door outside the prison cell opened, and the guard entered, along with a sturdy, handsome young man. His black suit was lined with red stripes, signifying his profession. The old woman watched as he took her in, pitying her probably, for her state and her misfortune.

"I can see her alone, thank you," the young man said. The guard nodded curtly and exited the prison chamber. The man turned back to the old woman.

"These bars hold a woman in a way you cannot understand," she said. "Day after day, the knife gets more and more tempting." She pulled back her ragged sleeve to reveal self-made scars on her wrist.

"You wanted to see me?" he said.

"Yes," the old woman croaked, closing her wrinkled eyes. "You must have it while I am gone- you must protect it in my stead."

"You would give it to me?" the man asked. "You, of all people?"

"You are the only one I trust, Elphias," the woman said. "You are the next Alchemist. No one else deserves such honor."

"You disgust me," Elphias said spitefully. "You deserve what you got, and you deserve whatever comes next, too."

"But what about after that, Elphias? What happens after?" she asked, stumbling up from the bed and walking to the bars of her cell.

"After what?"

"After death, after eternal judgment," she said. "What happens... beyond the beyond?"

"You've gone mad in here, that's it," Elphias said. "You've officially lost your mind."

"Say what you want about me, Elphias! But there may be a way- a way to defeat death, suffer damnation, and return."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Elphias said.

"Oh, you shall," the woman said eerily. She smiled at him, with lengthened the hideous wrinkles on her aged face. "You will see my return- and it will be then when you are the old hag, and I will be young- forever!"

"Good luck," Elphias said, turning away.

"Wait!" the woman said. "You must take this with you- keep it safe for me until my return." The woman extracted the object from her filthy attire, and immediately it let out a dazzling glow. "Here it passes, from grandmother to grandchild, to generations more."

Elphias simply stared.

"It will be the key to my victory, Elphias," Celestia whispered. "You could join me! Become my most valuable lieutenant- imagine the possibilities..."

"I will never support you, and the things that you claim are for the Council's benefit," Elphias said brutally. "You're a liar, and you will never hold any power again."

"Your opinions are too insignificant to be taken into account. Hide it," she commanded, holding the concealed package in her hand. "Let no one touch it until I have used it," she passed the wrapped object through the bars from her bony hands and Elphias took it took in his own.

"You'll see, someday," she said, resting once more on the bed and closing her eyes. "You, standing there, your once beautiful blue eyes turned milky with age, your hair but a wisp, and will see me as I truly am: eternal."

"Is there anything else you want?" Elphias said, desiring to part company with the old woman.

"Say my name," the woman whispered, her eyes still closed.

Elphias hesitated, never having actually spoken the name aloud. Finally, he drew the courage to utter the chilling word, for just one time.

"Celestia."

Celestia smiled. "Hide them," she murmured, her mind escaping her and her words slipping into delirium. "Hide them all..."

Elphias stowed the brilliant object inside his suit, took one more look at the old woman, and briskly exited the prison cell. Celestia breathed in once more and felt her spirit lift from her as she slowly escaped this life.