Though it was still dawn, the spire in which Zaida had made refuge, had the feeling that night still clung to it. It had a strange, rugged beauty, and looked as if it was hewn from the rocky headland high above the valley. The stone bricks from which it was made were cracked in many areas, and the shingled roof had long since fallen leaving Zaida exposed to the elements. After the attack of the zygotes it was hard to tell if it functioned as a spire at all.<br/>As Zaida looked out towards the horizon a great wind stirred her long silver hair. She smiled to herself as she saw the sun rise in the distance. The first sunrise she had seen in a long time. Since her reign as Dark Empress in Exalein had served its purpose she thought it best to move on and expand her dominion. Her servant Nero would see to it that her kingdom was in order. Zaida glanced down towards the grassy plains below. With a quick stroke of her hand a portal opened itself before her. It glittered and rippled, almost as if made of living light. The Dark Empress stepped through and made her way across the knee high grass that she was staring at only moments earlier. The ruins of an abandoned spire cast a lonely shadow upon her.