Erad Strum: Actaeon renascitur
Chapter - 1
A ray of sunshine caught his eye. Quite the rare sight to see during that time, especially considering the current and dire situation in which Canterlot, the grandest of cities,was in.
Sounds of swords clashing, screams of fear and battle filled the air, as well as a heavy cloud of dust, the age old fog of war, filling the narrow streets of The Lower City. Filled with both soldiers protecting the weak, and the monstrosities attempting to slay every pony in sight.
After removing his daggers from the corpse of his previous attacker, he had only moments to catch his breath before a screaming stallion ran across the main street below him. Unsurprised by the sight, this certainly wasn’t the first time that he saw somepony running for their life. While most of the male population had been called to arms when the invasion began, events escalated so rapidly that nopony had time to react, not even the majority of the local City Guard, whose reputation for swift deployment was well known by virtually everypony. It seemed that somehow, The Sisters’ army was not in the best condition to respond that day, including…
”ERAD!” a harsh voice called from behind him, and he whirled to meet his commanding officer.
“This is not the time for daydreaming boy, get up and put more of these beasts down!”
The Veteraned officer wore Golden armor that seemed to have once been adorned with many features now lost in the heat of battle.
“They are advancing towards the main gate, we cannot let them through!”
He had not a moment to rest, almost immediately another Changeling tried it’s luck on adding Erad to the mounting casualties, the military forces greatly diminished from fighting a seemingly endless flood of foul and vicious creatures. It was charging directly at him, looking deep into his eyes. As he looked back into the gaze of his enemy, he saw only pure bloodlust in those twin red orbs. Despite how fast it had managed to advance on Erad, he managed to get the upper hoof on this one. Within seconds, he lodged his dagger into the beast’s head with deadly accuracy, just as every other prominent member of the City Guard was trained. The Ranks of City and Royal Guards were not just a fancy title, they had to be earned the hard way. Though the assailants life had faded, it’s momentum remained unfettered, and even a corpse laying in its path was not enough to slow it down. Erad however was not able to dodge in time, and he was thrown back by the creature’s body and into a stone pillar. With a painful impact, he layed there pinned, the body restricting his attempts to get up and defend himself.
Though a Changeling’s Body was relatively lightweight, the heavy chitin plating they grew as armor added a significant amount of weight, protecting them greatly against many medium class, and the majority of smaller weapons. Many brave adventurers would gather this material, from fallen corpses and the sheddings, to craft various items, which needed to be lightweight, but agile, aside from the obvious choice of course, armor. While the sheddings are certainly more abundant, they are not nearly as dense or durable, but certainly weigh less despite often being in pieces. Those plates taken from the freshly dead are Much weightier, but the density of the unbroken plates makes them quite formidable, and sealants make them shine like blackened steel.
As Erad tried to free himself from the dead weight holding him down, the commanding officer bellowed
”The Changeling Force is pushing forward, everyone! Do not abandon your posts, we must hold them back until reinforcements arrives from the upper levels!”
Said with a great amount of bravery and confidence in his voice, he valiantly assisted in repelling the intruders. Their numbers were innumerable, they just kept coming and coming, hordes upon hordes of monsters from all races, all defiled, tortured, and turned into a mindless puppet of the Hive Mind.
Another voice was heard through the mixed ambient sound of screams and shouts.
”Captain Steelhoof,” he said,
“We should retreat behind the gates, if w-we remain here we will be r-ripped apart one by one!”
His voice was trembling, and his grip on his sword could not have been any harder, he held into it like a child to it’s lollipop. Alas, his fear and doubt cost him his life. The stallion was caught by surprise by a horn piercing into his side. Erad had a clear view of the scene.
“Poor fella…” Erad thought to himself,
“...he didn’t stand a chance against that, it went straight for his bare spot.”
Unfortunately, There are indeed areas on a Guard’s armor, mainly between plates, where the pony within is uncovered, revealing the undergarment of the soldier, a thin layer of chainmail. It was designed that way so that lighter patrol units did not have any bulky or heavy duty plates to slow them down. This unit, called back from patrol on the news of the invasion, did not have the time to switch gears and prepare for an assault like this. They usually circled the area of the city wall, looping around the capital itself, which stood as the first line of defense for the Lower City.
This was the staging area for the poor and unwealthy, the common folk so to say. Provisions and necessities could be easily found in this area, but things of luxury and the like were not to be found. The city itself was composed of layers, going upwards, meanwhile adjusting itself to the cliffside which it was built atop. As one went upwards, so did the style and the elegance grow. There were a total number of three Main layers.The bottom one, as was described, was for the poor, the middle one for those who had more privileges, or ran shops or businesses in either of the other districts, or were generally wealthier than the rest. And finally the one on top, housed the richest of families, or lone individuals, who were lucky enough to reserve a piece for themselves, from this big pile of pure wealth. And here, was the building which lingered above all others, it stood as a symbol of power, and authority, the “Bastion of Sovereign Sisters”, as many called it. But all these thoughts of stability, safety and glory, seemed only like a fairy tale in that dire hour of need.
As the dead body of the unlucky Guard tumbled to the ruined walkway below, his shock still visible on his face.Such a cruel way to end it.
Unfortunately, he was only another to fall atop a pile of the many who shared similar fates.
Nearby, Steelhoof fought on, severing heads and limbs like a machine of war, watching helplessly as his unit was slaughtered like animals before his very eyes. Erad watched his Captain bravely hold the savage beasts at bay, managing to finally free himself from under the corpse of the changeling. He quickly retrieved a sword from a changeling’s body, and rushed towards his comrade in need.
He barely arrived in time, Steelhoof was surrounded and struggling to stay upright, Erad swiftly jumped on one of the monster’s side, succeeding in getting their attention.Using this slight advantage, Steelhoof used a spell to incinerate the remaining bugs.Their shrieks were louder than anything they have ever heard before, as their flesh turned to ash the spell left only their charred bones and scorched chitin plates on the ground.
As unsettling as the sight was, Steelhoof called out to Erad, ”Thanks for the backup boy, i owe you one.”
His breathing was heavy and labored, making his age all the more evident.
”If they keep pouring into the city like this, we won’t be able to hold them back without a full retreat to the second level.”
Erad got up from the ground, and stood at his captain’s side.
”Only doing our duty Sir, glad i made it in the last second though, any later and they would have added you to the menu for dinner.”
Steelhoof looked at him, with a questioning glare. ”You have some guts to talk to your superior that brazenly, but i will overlook it just because we have more important matters to attend to-”
His voice faded midway through his sentence, as a loud thumping noise could now be noticeably heard. It was faint at first, but was growing louder and louder at an alarming pace.
”Captain, it might be best if we would retreat to the gates. We don’t stand a chance down here, i’m not sure what we hear approaching, but i’ll wager it’s not just another group of drones, or even warriors for that matter”
Said Erad while looking at the Captain with a troubled expression.
”Unfortunately, you are right. We should fall back and keep them as far from the Gates as possible, we might even gain an advantage against them from there.”
”Sir, are you suggesting-”
”Yes, we will have to use The Shield to hold them off, something tells me we will have great need of it. But enough talk, now is a time for action.”
With that, he dashed forward into the open street in the direction of the City Gates. Erad didn’t even notice how fast his Captain rushed forward, but with that, he quickly followed, taking occasional glances behind himself, in case the changelings would catch up to them.
The streets were narrow, tall houses and structures made of wood on either side, the ground wasn’t covered with stone, as they were on the upper levels, so if the weather was rainy, the dirt tended to turn into mud, which was horrible for traders moving their carts in and out of the city, and also ponies, who got completely soaked in Water and Mud. As they advanced forward, they both started to feel that something was off.
The streets were empty. And not in the sense that there wasn’t a single object in the way, but as they observed the environment, they noticed that the bodies of their fallen brothers were nowhere to be seen.
”S-sir, Where are the bodies? I only see the remains of changelings here.”
”Sssh kid, i know what you mean” Steelhoof stopped low to the ground and peered around a corner before continuing on.
“hold on for a second.” As they slowed to a stop, they both realised that the ambient sound of battle and screams stopped.
The street was silent, only faint noises from the upper level could be heard. Steelhoof was clearly on edge, each hoofstep was as if he was on eggshells.
“Kid, we need to get out of here.” he sputtered under his breath.
“Sir, doesn’t the quiet mean that the changelings have been repelled, or at least this area is clear?” Erad stepped beside him, both hiding briefly behind an overturned wooden cart.
“Son if there’s one thing i’ve learned about silence in warfare is that silence is never a good thing. It means either grieving or ambush, and i don’t exactly see anypony here grieving”
Erad hesitantly peeked over the cart, when a resounding roar split the silence.
The thumping they had heard earlier resumed suddenly and erratically. Erad stumbled backwards over a changelings body
”What is that?!”
Suddenly the wall next them was dashed to pieces, as an enormous dark figure smashed through it, now aiming directly at the two unsuspecting soldiers. The two stallions were terrified of the sight before them. It was probably a bull from the lowlands that was unlucky enough to get caught by the changeling swarm.
Rumors said, that changelings had learned to assimilate other creatures to their ranks, by transforming them into mindless servants of the High Queen. Not many ponies gave attention to this gossip, but soon it became very clear that this was more than just a simple fabrication of a crazy old madman.
As the bull rushed ahead, not minding the building it just trampled, it charged directly at Steelhoof and Erad. With a shout from Steelhoof and only stunned silence from Erad The dilapidated bull found its targets. Erad could feel several of his ribs break and torque as his body was thrown into the adjacent wall. As fast as the creature appeared, it disappeared shortly after and ran through the household in front of it to escape. But it didn’t come to just say hello to the two guards. As Erad rubbed his head, searching for any visible wounds from the impact, he managed to get onto his feet and get his senses working again, only to behold a terrible sight. The street which he was in was decimated. The ground was filled with the remains of destroyed buildings, chunks of wood and stone mixed with parts what seemed to be furniture.
But one thing in particular shocked Erad the most. It was a gleaming piece of metal, it’s colour was golden the same as any other guard’s armor was. It was one of Steelhoof’s shoulder pauldrons. As Erad picked up the piece with his magic, his face became a sad grimace, as he glanced to the direction of where the monster made it’s escape. As much as he wanted to recover the remains of his now former superior and give him a proper burial, as any good soldier deserves, he tried to calm himself down. It seems the things which ponies tended to say about Steelhoof were true.He truly did value his unit’s survival far more than his own.
“You crazy old stallion,... you just saved my filthy backside there...”
With that, he gently propped the piece of metal atop the pile of debris where the monster had struck poor Steelhoof’s body and possibly ground it into the ground. He knew it, if noone else, he had to secure the gates as soon as possible. A race started at that moment, a race against time itself, a race against an overwhelming force the likes of which few ponies would ever be unfortunate enough to face alone. As he rushed through the streets filled with the remains of war, he became aware that he couldn’t see a single corpse of his fallen brethren around. As much as he wanted to investigate the cause of this, he had a more important duty to get done.
As the image of the gates finally came into view, he quickly trotted up the enormous stone stairs leading up to the ramps above the entrance to the upper level. Erad looked around when he entered one of the defensive towers, but could find nopony in the structure, only silence filled the tower. The silence made him concerned, on edge as he looked around for the mages assigned to initiate the shield sequence. The shields were designed to separate the levels, with the help of a giant magical barrier, which would keep anything from the outside world from entering. It was a last resort in case of extreme circumstances, such as war or rioting or quarantine. Erad’s orders were simple, get to the gates, advise the mages of Captain Steelhoof’s orders, and raise the shield. But in light of the missing mages, something was clearly amiss.
He then noticed a noise from outside. Quickly he hid behind a rack of weapons next to the entrance.The spikes of maces and the blades of swords almost made contact with his body, but he needed to stay low, just in case. A strange figure entered the room, and Erad managed to peek at who the individual was. It was wearing a long, tattered robe, black with some shreds hanging from it. The Cloak covered most of their body, and hid their face from view.The cowl was strange in particular, making the head seem completely engulfed in shadow, and a purple mist seemed to emanate from within.
It seemed, otherworldly. It wasn’t recognizable as a changeling, but no soldier he’d ever met or been aware of had such a cloak. He decided not to wait and find out why they would be around here, so he prepared for a surprise attack. He waited until the individual had moved past him, and as the perfect opportunity arose, it stopped moving. Erad’s heart seemed to stop at that moment, as a voice like nothing else he had ever heard came from the creature in front of him.
“You like to hide in the shadows? I for one very much prefer a method of combat the darkness can provide, if i do say so myself. But your presence is noted, you can come out now and we can have a little talk, or you may stay at your hiding place or try to strike me down, but please do not make things worse for yourself. You will die one way or another, so why struggle?” said the creature, in an accent much like a mare’s but it had a bizarre echo to it.
Erad froze as the thing turned in his direction, and slowly started to trot to the weapon rack. Step after step, the room felt to be much darker, like somepony was slowly blocking all the windows.
His heart was pounding fast, he was trained to overcome any obstacles he might face, and to be steadfast and immovable when it came to the citizens’ safety. But now, scared like a simple foal, yearning for his mother’s embrace to shoo away the danger approaching him like some terror in the night. He leaned against the wall, wanting to carve his way through the stone, he found himself blocked and served up first hand for what was approaching him.
As the foreign figure tilted it’s head down towards the rack, a green magical aura formed around it,and gently it rose to the air, revealing what, or who was behind it. A quiet chuckle could be heard throughout the room, seeming especially low and threatening to Erad in his vulnerable position.
Despite Erad now having a perfect view, he still couldn’t manage to see the face under the hood. The creature stood proud and tall in front of him, seeming to gain more authority over whom it had towered above with every inch. A strange, feminine voice spoke to Erad,
“There you are my dear! You know i felt that you were there when i first entered the room, but i didn’t want to simply rush in and claim your head as yet another trophy, its usefulness to me would practically vanish, especially when considering that i have quite enough trophies already.”
Erad had never heard this voice before, yet it shook him to his very core like some specter from a forgotten past. The voice was almost mischievous, not aggressive or threatening, but unnervingly calm, which was all the more terrifying for Erad. He would rather have listened to virtually anything aside from that haunting voice.
“So, about my offer...” with that, Erad felt himself lifting up into the air, and he was levitated to the center of the room, which had quite a lot of free space.
He sat there as the creature paced around him in a circle. It seemed to him that it, or rather “she” was studying him in this large open space.
“Hmm, there is indeed something odd about you my little friend. Hmm....yes,... something very peculiar indeed.” For a moment she stood still, taking in a long breath through her nostrils to sample his scent.
“Yes, there is no doubt that you are one of those pathetic little Guards who slaughtered so many of my subjects.” She sat in front of him and leaned forward, her imposing stature causing Erad to feel like he was a young lone colt beneath the gaze of Nightmare Moon herself.
“You know, i could easily rip you apart, a thousand pieces in maybe 60 seconds, here in this very room, right now.” She leaned back again, her eyes half closed as if in thought, or amused at the seemingly small and insignificant pony before her.
“My temper is short when it regards the well being and destruction of my subjects. You might say I regard each of them as my children, and imagine how a mother must feel when she has the slayer of her children at her feet, cornered in a tower with no escape.” She glared at him coldly to let the message sink in for Erad.
“And yet, As much pleasure as your death would bring me, i have a rather more intriguing fate for you, slayer of my subjects. Come to me and i will show it to you.” She sat quietly and waited for Erad to move in any way, running away or inching toward her, those were the two outcomes she had expected. Instead he surprised her, he suppressed his fear, and sat up straight, facing her as if he was a dignified individual with seemingly just as much resolve as she.
She quickly stated,
“You can come to me willingly, and relatively painlessly, or i can drag you to me and take you by force, and that WILL be painfully.”
Erad had enough. Whether out of bravery or foolishness, he screamed out and charged at the her in the hopes of ending her malevolent speech.
With that she revealed her face to him. Her gaze stopped him in his tracks, Her face displaying a fierce grin as she stood tall and charged up her horn, then fired a beam towards Erad. Chrysalis, The High Queen of the Changelings, had expected him to be thrown back, or at least that he would’ve collapsed to the ground. Instead he stayed upright, his knees almost buckling as his own body seemed to rebel against him with pain. He felt like he was being stabbed over and over again all over his body. He back arched and he reared up in pain, his vision becoming blurry and his mind clouded.
She lowered her head to his, and whispered,
“Fear not, for this is not your end, not this day, at least not if you are as strong as you seem.”
Erad fell to his knees, writhing in pain. He could hear the vicious laughter or the changeling queen as she left the room, the hoofsteps of her soldiers as they entered the room, and then silence and darkness as his world faded away into nothingness.
