The birds were many, those that fled the spire. Some flew east, some flew west, some flew south and then some flew much too close to North Crown.

The trees churned with activity as beasts of both land and air, touched by the essence of fear, fled without stop. It was more than enough to garner her attention.

A black smog spilled forth from the mouths of the mountain caves, sweeping down the face of the mountain like rivers of grounded smoke. All the while the shadows beneath the trees started to rise from the forest floor, flowing like water but up the hills instead of down. They traveled up the mountain until the smoke met the waters. The pooling darkness surged up as the smoke coalesced into a fluid state, joining into the rising body. Both masses merged and took the shape of her avatar, tall and imposing yet slender and smooth.

"You dare trespass upon my realm...?" The voice which resounded from the faceless dark was both perturbed and confused. This was unusual behavior for these creatures, especially on such a scale. It was rare for even a bird to try and brave the lands near her sprawling home, let alone flocks of them.

_
With a pitiful snarl of annoyance the great darkness raised it's long hand up high. Thin films of shadow closed the gaps inbetween her fingers creating large webbed claws for her left hand. She brought her hand across with a massive sweep of her hand, the webbing between her claws helping it to serve like a giant fan. The wind was blown forth by this motion, creating a powerful gust which traveled wide and far. All the birds caught in this wind were scattered, thrown into disarray as they were buffeted across the trees.

She had succeeded in driving back all the avians trying to trespass into her lands in this section of the crown but she could see in the darkness all across the treelines that many more flocks and other such creatures were still making their way up into the mountains.

"Rrrrr... What is the meaning of this?" She asked herself, her voice barely able to muster no more than what came out to be a petulant whimper of a growl. Scanning the horizon she almost immediately spotted the cause of this great disturbance. A great seam of light cutting the night sky in twain. She could see little of it from there but it would not take long to investigate. In the depths of the night much was incased in darkness which she could use to look closer.

_
A cursory sweep of the area yielded some very disturbing information. Aside from the anomalous tower itself it seemed it had drawn many a god to it's audience. Depressingly among those to show up was Hyperion, a violent lout who served as an ever constant reminder that she is hated and unwelcome by most all, at least to her understanding.

The tower itself was fascinating despite the wretched light it emitted. She was thankful that the light was minimal and not at all hard on her eyes as most of it's luminescence was contained to illuminating itself alone. When she conjured a small body to hide in the bushes nearby she could feel that very sensation roiling off the twin strands which seemed to constantly weave towards one another like a dance of two snakes.

She could feel the darkness forming below. The earth above was continuing to be repelled like all else, the edges of the crater rising as earth is forced upwards by the dirt making room behind it as it's driven back. Deep into the crater at the base of the spire she could feel the hole which had formed around it, a hole which extended far deeper than any knew... Except for her that is.

This brought upon a revelation to her, one regarding the very nature of the spire itself as well as the essence which rose from it. She could feel the very base of the spire through her darkness and it was joined directly to the Core. Between that and the fact that the spire was the same color as the Core's surface led her to believe that whatever those beams were came directly from the core.

With time all the dirt, stone and metal that surrounded the spire was retreating from it. From the surface all the way down to the hard stone crust which rested atop the Core itself everything was moving away from the spire. As the minutes rolled on the sides of the crater rose higher and higher, the landscape surrounding it now at a forty five degree slant. All the earth which was stuck close to the aura, unable to move itself away fast enough, had taken on a faded grey color. The essence of terror was frightening enough to desaturate anything it touched for long enough. Even the moonlight that shone down past it was anemic and strange. Enigmatic shadows flitted around the beam as it was starting to take it's toll on all light and air, pockets of pitch black voids whipping around the twin strands in unstable states.

She simply watched from the shadows of the flora which perched perilously at the edges of a deepening crater. She could feel the fear even though the darkness. It was clear to her that if she tried to cast her senses into the darkness within the spire she would not come away from it unchanged.

She listened to her fear. She erred on the side of caution.