Author's Note

Hey guys. When I was at bootcamp I had no access to my story, so in what little free time I had I decided to write a kinda prelude to Wrath, this is the first installment of it. This chapter includes the events leading up to Wrath entering the pony world, it contains nothing more than that, the events of this chapter take place in the human world only.

As always please leave a comment and tell me what you think! After this, the story shall return to the main six and Sombra, along with Wrath and Shendu of course.

Please note that this is an optional chapter.

A Prelude Chapter 1. The Chieftain, The Shadow, and The Sorceress

The Sorceress

A magical buzz resonates through the air, flooding the chamber with its arcane hum. The sound is naught but music to the ears of the rooms sole occupant, a young sorceress. The sorceress hovers above a concave pit in the center of the room, her arms outstretched. Out of her palms flow currents of violet magic, twisting and flowing through the air into runes etched upon the ruined stone walls. As her power flows into them, the runes slowly begin to glow a faint blue, but growing slowly brighter. The walls of the abandoned structure begin to rumble, and dust falls from the ceiling.

After several minutes the runes are nearly as bright as a candle, but not nearly bright enough to begin the ritual. This is going too slow. the sorceress thinks. But any faster and this ruined building shall crumble, do I dare?

The sorceress frowns, then gently increases the flow of magic. The runes immediately begin to brighten faster, growing twice as bright within thirty seconds. The walls release a groan, and a chunk of the ceiling falls harmlessly to the floor, crumbling to dust upon impact. Not fast enough! A sudden burst of magic from her palms forces the runes to shine with a blinding light, then suddenly pulse in unison.

Shining lines of pure magic begin to form, connecting the runes along the walls into a runic array. The sorceress's brow drips with sweat as the runic array forms. This is the hardest part, if I can get through this, the ritual will work! The array finishes connecting the runes, and a slow flow of violet magic begins to flow down from each rune. The many small streams of magic lead from the walls in the circular chamber to the center, and begin to gather within the pit at the center of the room.

Powerful winds begin to tear through the chamber as the magic within the pit liquefies. The purple tunic and cape of the sorceress billow violently through the air, the raging winds tearing off her hood and pulling at her raven hair. The sorceress takes a deep breath, and closes her eyes concentrating on the spell powering the ritual. She slows the flow of magic as she morphs its nature, she opens her grey eyes as the magic flow changes from violet to white.

The winds in the room die, leaving the sorceress's hair a mess. She smiles pleasantly as the runic array does its work, feeding the pool of liquefied magic. She looks down and sees only a fraction of the pool is filled.

"This is going to take awhile." She sighs.

"Another successful hunt!" Wrath bellows. his warriors cheer him as he raises the ruined form of a greater croc. The scaled head is bloodied, with a pole arm still embedded in its skull. Wrath lowers the huge beast, and a bearded warrior garbed in chain-mail steps forth and rips the pole-arm from the body. The warrior then returns to his twin, whose face is lit up with pride.

"You finished it off! Good job!" The elder twin remarks, slapping his brother's back, his own spear resting along his back.

"That beast's skull will be mine once it's butchered, an excellent trophy!" The younger twin declares. The party then gathers together and raise their weapons into the air.

Wrath looks toward the group. An assortment of swords, shields, and spears held aloft as they release a battle cry in unison. Wrath moves to join the battle cry, but something stops him. A nagging feeling at the back of his mind. Something's wrong. The sun shines brightly over the eastern horizon, illuminating the swamp through the blackened trees. The dead croc is still, the spear having just been torn from its head proof that it wold never move again. His warriors all rally with glee as another hunt ends successfully. He should be happy, he should be carefree, he should allow himself some peace of mind and share in his subordinates's glee.
But he can't.

"We must hurry back." He declares loudly, shouting over the group. Nine confused faces turn towards him.

"Alright Chief," The elder twin starts, his arm around his brother. "But can I ask why?" A chill flashes across the back of Wrath's neck, and he resists the urge to shiver. His instincts had never lead him wrong before.

"Something's wrong." He replies.

"We can't just leave. We need to gouge out this monster's heart before we take it back to camp!" One of the other warriors says. He, as all the warriors -- aside from Wrath and the twins -- was garbed in leather armor with sword and shield. Wrath recognizes this warrior as the newest to the hunting group, as his shield still held its polish. Another warrior quickly reprimands him with a smack on the back of the head.

"Do not challenge the Chief's orders!" He growls. Wrath simply stares at the soldier a moment, whose hand had raised to rub at the back of his head, before turning and hefting the great beast upon his back. The majority of the monster begins to drag along the ground as Wrath walks back through the murk, toward the village.

"If we hurry we will make it before mid-day." He commands the group. They quickly fall in step behind him and begin the journey home. They must traverse the swamp and cross a large plain to make it back to camp. Another shill runs down Wrath's spine and he quickens his pace.

"Is something wrong Chief?" The younger twin asks. Silence hangs in the air following his question, the only sound being the croc's body dragging along the ground. Minutes pass before Wrath increases his pace further, practically sprinting with the beast being violently tossed about. The warriors struggle to match his speed, even without the burden of a monster on their backs.

"The village is in danger!" Wrath declares as he runs. I recognize the feeling now, malevolence is hanging thick in the air. Only two creatures could produce this much, and it could not possibly be a reaper. Worry is etched upon his face as he thinks of his young daughter. We must hurry.

The scent of blood and smoke hangs in the air, a ruined village lay before the warriors eyes. What happened? Wrath wonders, horrified. He drops the croc to the ground as his fellows crest the hill behind him. Horrified gasps meet his ears.

"WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS?!" One warrior bellows. Wrath turns to him, a blank, stoic look on his face.

"Not who, what." He takes a breath. "Search the village! Gather all survivors on this hill and move in groups of three!" Wrath bellows to his men. They immediately break off into groups and charge down into the village. Wrath however, remains upon the hill, scanning the village. Where are you? He looks around the ruins that once were a village. It is, or was, a small village. No more than 100 people. The hunting party comprised of the majority of the warriors. With the village in ruins like this, the survivors will have to be taken to a city.

If there are any survivors.

Shaking off that thought, Wrath begins to run for his own hut. For his wife, for his daughter. But something weighs heavy in his heart, as he runs, the closer he gets, the more he thinks he knows what he is going to see. As he reaches the entrance to his hut, his once glorious hut ornamented with the skulls of countless beasts, he finds his pace slowing to a walk.

He reaches for the curtain hiding the entrance, it is torn and hanging, yet still concealing what lies within.

His hand reaches for battered curtain and tears it out of the way, and he looks inside.

The Shadow

The demon walks slowly around the edge of the village, confident that its ability to remain unseen will keep it undetected by the returning villagers. The demon pats its distended belly with one of its many claws. Not distended from gorging, though it had, but rather distended due to pregnancy. The demon would soon be a mother.

The creature falls to all eight of its legs as it watches the soldiers comb the village, searching for survivors. ♫You wont find anyyy♫ It thinks, a foul grin upon its face. I took them all.

It watches a particular human as he enters the largest hut in the village, the human seems to be different than the rest. Taller, stronger, more dangerous. But if that tent was his... The monster can't help but bark a laugh. Oh how the woman screamed.

A momentous roar tears through the village, originating from the large hut. The large human emerges from it, a look of pure rage upon his face. Oh? Is their stoic leader broken? Is he upset?

The human begins scanning around him, searching with the look of fury still upon his face. He turns this way and that, is if he was going to see the one responsible. You can't see meeee♫ The warrior then seems to calm himself, and sits upon the ground. His eyes shut and he begins to take deep breaths. Just what is he doing?

Before long the monster begins to slink toward the human, careful not to make a sound. Only the faint crunch of dirt beneath its claws and feet can be heard, but the sound of the still burning village covers it up completely. You will be next chieftain. It thinks as it begins to near him.

It reaches striking range, and raises its tail into the position to strike, but before it does the sound of footsteps approaching stills it, and three humans come running toward the chief. The maiden then slowly steps backwards, and begins to silently circle the group, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

"There is nobody chief!" One bellows as he reaches the still form of the large human.

"Nobodys left." Another adds, panting. The chief slowly opens his eyes.

"...The monster that did this will die." The chief commands standing. Will I now? the chief then turns and scans the area the maiden is currently circling. He reaches for the massive ax upon his back, unslinging it from the belt of smaller axes running along his chest. What are you doing? His eyes search a moment longer, before locking on to the spot where the maiden is standing, he hurls his ax with all he force he can muster. I don't have time to dodge! The maiden shrieks internally, it spins to protect its belly as the ax finds purchase in its back.

The invisibility fails, and the monster howls with agony as it falls to the ground.

"What the hell is that?!" One warrior cries.

"A monster?"

"Kill it." The chief commands. The maiden leaps to its feet, and makes a mad dash away, into the annihilated village. Footsteps follow it as it goes, along with shouts as the remaining warriors join the chase. The monster leads them through the village, ducking through the wreckage and running for the forest on the other edge of the plain. Somewhere along the village, the ax had come loose and had fallen out of the wound, leaving the maiden's back with a gaping wound that is bleeding profusely.

The forest edge comes into sight and the maiden redoubles its efforts, and is horrified when the sound of footsteps are not far behind it. Not 20 feet away, I should have left them far behind by now. This wound is slowing me down. The maiden crosses the forest edge and begins to tear through the forest, trying desperately to escape the humans pursuing it. I have eaten enough for my egg, I do no need to feed or fight any further. The maiden resolves to flee rather than fight, and leads the humans on a tiresome chase through the forest.

The sun has begun to wane in the sky, and both the maiden and the humans are slowing down, exhaustion affecting all of them. The maiden has managed to gain some ground, but not enough. At this rate they will catch me. It thinks. I can not keep this up much longer. The maiden is pleased to spot a clearing approaching ahead. Bursting through the forest edge it formulates a plan. It turns to the evening sun and sprints toward it, due west. Hoping that the blinding light will confuse them, the maiden plans to fight as it reaches the clearing's edge and hides behind a large-broad leaf tree. The humans thunder into the clearing behind it.

"Where did it go?" one voice asks.

"This way!" Another answers. "Follow the tracks." The maiden poises its many limbs as it lies in wait. Soon enough a human appears to its left, sword and shield raised defensively. Two more appear to the right, toting their weapons in a similar fashion. One flaw in your leather armor... The maiden thinks as it extends its claws. No protection on the neck.

"The tracks stop!" The human on the left shouts.

"ITS A TRAP! GET AWAY!" The Chief bellows from the clearing. His warning saves the life of one of the warriors on the maiden's right, who ducks out of the way just in time, the other two however...

th-thud

The maiden abandons all pretenses of stealth and lashes out at the remaining warrior, leaping at him. The warrior attempts to bring his sword to bear, but the force of the three meter tall maiden slamming into him sends him crashing into the tree behind him. He struggles to swing his sword but the monster is far stronger than he, pinning him with ease, even in its wounded state. The maiden quickly brings its maw to the warriors throat, who has time only to loose a cry of defiance before his throat is torn out. He gurgles blood as the maiden releases him, and slumps to the ground as two more warriors break the forest edge. The maiden spins to face the new threat, gore dripping from its fangs.

The two new warriors move to flank the monster, who begins to back away into the setting sun. Golden shafts of blinding light fall from the trees, and the warriors squint to see the maiden through the light. As they advance the golden rays trade places intermittently with the cool shade of the bows above. The maiden, seasoned in its craft, alters its carapace to instead of bending the light around it, reflect it, and flashes the warriors with the blinding light of the sun.

"She's tryna blind us!" one warrior shouts as he raises his shield to block the harsh light.The other warrior cries out in pain as he does the same, but he drops his sword and clutches his eyes with his freed arm. Perfect. The maiden thinks, and lunges forward. Landing on its four upper claws, the maiden rockets itself toward the warriors with two claws outstretched. Neither warrior reacts in time and both are impaled. The maiden hefts both warriors aloft and tosses them to the side. Five left.

The clearings edge had made for an excellent choke point, but the humans had decided not to make the same mistake again. The remaining five come through the edge at once in a mad dash, the maiden backpedals and falls to all eight legs as it observes them. Two garbed in leather armor with swords and shields, the same equipment the soldiers it had already killed had worn. Two in chain-mail with spears, who look identical, and the Chief. Who wields a massive battleaxe with a sash of smaller throwing axes across his chest. Even the warriors with spears do not worry the maiden, but the chief does. The open wound upon its back still agonizes the maiden, the blood flow had only lessened, it had not stopped.

The chief is at the front, leading the charge, his face twisted in fury.

"Stay on top of it! Don't give it a moments rest!" The Chief bellows. He is gaining ground on the maiden quickly, leaving his warriors behind. Kill the others first, then isolate the Chief. The maiden suddenly dashes to its left, compressing itself through a small gap in the trees. The Chief being far to large to fit, is forced to struggle through as his men charge forward without him.

The moment the fourth warrior passes through the maiden leaps at them in a frenzy. I need to kill them now, I won't get another chance. It pierces the chest of one leather garbed warrior with its two highest claws, ignoring the prodding spears and sword of his fellows, the maiden pins the human to the ground and forces its claws the rest of the way through his chest. Blood spurts from his mouth and he drops his weapons. The maiden wastes no time and rips to the sides, tearing the poor warrior apart in a spectacular display of gore. Before the maiden can target the next warrior, a spear penetrates the wound in its back. The roar of agony is immediate and deafening.

"I got her!" One of the spear-men shouts from atop the maiden. The maiden then begins to wildly swing its limbs, rising to its two feet. One catches the twin upon its back in the belly, and he falls with a shout of anguish. The maiden spins toward him as he clutches his wound with one hand, trying to keep his innards inside him. He thrusts the spear toward the maiden as his fellows strike at it from all sides. The maiden hisses threateningly before striking at the wounded twin with all its might. The twin falls to the ground in pieces, and the remaining two warriors back way.

"Big brother!" One twin calls, tears forming at his eyes. The treeline suddenly crumples inward, and the Chief explodes forth, positioning himself between the remaining warriors and the maiden. The hulking warrior stoops low, his massive ax held aloft in one hand and his face completely blank, with no trace of his former anger. His eyes lock with the monster.

Then something unusual begins to happen, slowly at first, a red mist begins to form around the Chief, coming from the nearby corpses. The mist floats toward the Chief and coalesces into a crimson fog, giving the warrior's eyes a red hue.

"I never joined for this..." The leather garbed warrior states from behind Wrath. He turns and flees. The remaining twin look from the warrior to Wrath, then to the maiden, and finally to the body of his brother. He drops his weapon and runs after the other fleeing soldier.

The two remaining stare at each other, neither moving a muscle. Both now understand this is a one verses one fight. The stoic mask of the Chief breaks, and his face is enveloped in rage. The maiden takes a slow step backward. What is that mist? This human can use magic? Another step, the human takes one forward. That is how he spotted me earlier, he can use magic. This just become more dangerous than I planned for. With that thought, the maiden spins on its heel and takes of into the forest.

"COWARD!!!" The Chief bellows, and the chase resumes in full.

Sorceress

The pool of magic is now nearing full capacity. Just a little more......there! The runes along the walls fade, and the sorceress looks with glee at the pool. She lowers her arms and watches the last bit of magic flow into the pool. As it does the pool begins to bubble softly. Its ready. She lowers herself to the floor, at the edge of the pool.

"Now for the finishing touch." She says happily. Reaching into her sleeve, she produces a single, white, feather. A feather most peculiar. Months ago, she had come across a creature unlike any she had seen before, or even heard of. She had found the body of a most peculiar equine. It had seemed to be a horse, but with both wings and a horn. It had been wearing a crown and was leaking intense magic, magic that does not exist in this world. The sorceress had quickly come to the conclusion that the creature was not of this world. It had somehow brought itself here. She could never find out why, however. As the creature was dead when she found it. So she had plucked a single feather from it, and buried its body.

That was the purpose of the ritual, the spell she had been spending the last several months perfecting. It was a spell to create a portal to another world. She turns the feather over in her hands, the pale thing glimmers as it moves, still leaking magic. She caresses it once more before dropping it into the pool of magic. She then takes a step back, and watches.

The feather softly drops to the pool, and quickly slips beneath the surface. The pool bubbles around the point of magic, before becoming milky and white, the ritual accepting the portal. Soon the entire surface is opaque, and the color of milk. The sound of bells faintly ringing emanates from the completed portal. Joy courses through the sorceress and she claps her hands wildly.

"Yes! I shall be the first to explore this new realm! I, Elysium the sorceress!"

Elysium extends her hand toward the rear of the chamber, where an ornate staff rests along the wall. It is enveloped is a violet aura and floats toward Elysium, who lets it glide gently into her hand. The staff; comprised of dragons root, a rare tree that when ignited burns into a material as durable as dragon scales; is adorned with with a four talon-ed, golden claw. A trickle of magic on Elysiums part, and a small sphere of fire ignites at the claw's center. It burns a deep crimson.

With her prized possession in hand, she takes one step back then leaps into the portal, feet first. A world of colors pass before her eyes, dazzling her. Soon it fades to darkness, and she clutches her staff to her chest as her senses fade.

The Shadow

As the maiden sprints, it sees a crack in the trees to its right, and spots a ravine beyond them. The maiden makes for it, breaking the forest edge and slamming all six claws into the dirt before the ravine. The maiden then hurls itself using its arms like springs, flying though the air to the other side. That ravine was at least 20 meters across. It thinks as it lands, it wastes no time and immediately dashes into the forest ahead. He couldn't have possibly...

A forceful impact sounds behind it, and the maiden grits its teeth. Just what kind of human am I dealing with? The maiden looks around, searching the forest for a plan, its wounds are deep, it can not keep fighting and running. It will soon need to rest. A glance to the sky makes the maiden realize something. Night is minutes from falling, my vision is far better in the dark than him. If I must fight, I will have an advantage. Now considering combat as a viable option, the maiden searches for a place to ambush the Chief.

The seemingly endless forest offers many a tree to hide behind, but the same trick would not work twice. No, I must find something different. As it runs, another clearing appears ahead, and the maiden bursts through it. The maiden searches the trees, and sees another ravine off to the left, smaller than the last one. Unlike the last one however, beyond the ravine the maiden can see the trees beginning to thin. Some ruins lay beyond those trees, an excellent place to ambush the Chief. The maiden takes off for the ravine, running and bounding over it instead of launching itself as it did before.

"Get back here child killer!" The Chief calls with a booming voice as the maiden soars through the air. It hits the ground running, followed closely by the thud of the Chief landing behind it. He is closing in on me, I need to make my move soon. It thinks. The maiden openly sprints through the thinning trees, pushing itself as hard as it can. A glance behind it tells it that it is losing the Chief. Wonderful.

A strange noise reaches the maiden's ears. Quiet, but audible to the maiden's adept hearing. A whistling cutting through the air. The maiden's eyes dawn in realization as it realizes what the noise is. No time to dodge! It tries to sidestep, but a throwing ax embeds itself into the maiden's open wound, cutting deeper still into its back. It looses a hellish scream and crumples to the ground. It tries to scramble to its feet, but a sharp pain down its back makes it realize that its legs have been disabled, forcing it to the ground again. A hiss of pain escapes its maw. Using its arms as momentum, the maiden hurls itself to the side, narrowly avoiding the ax striking where it had lain moments before. The maiden spins around and poises itself on its six claws, facing the Chief with its tail raised above it, similar to a scorpion.

"Done running away now?" The Chief asks. "Though I'm not sure you could if you wanted to." The maiden's useless legs twitch beneath it, as if in response to the Chief's words. He growls and dashes forth, swinging his ax overhead. The maiden blocks the blow with its tail, and the two enter a competition of strength. The maiden hisses as it begins to lose ground being forced to slowly backpedal. If I can free my tail up, I can tear this ax out of my back. The maiden quickly devises a plan.

The maiden suddenly pushes forward, catching the Chief off guard. It raises itself onto its four rear claws and moves to slice the Chief's belly with its remaining two. Having no choice but to retreat, the Chief jumps back, narrowly avoiding the blow. The maiden follows immediately with a sweep of its tail, knocking the Chief to the ground.

The maiden spins and takes off on its claws. It then coils its tail around and grips the ax. It sneaks a glance backwards, and sees the Chief rising to his feet. Bracing itself, the maiden tears the ax out of its back and howls in pain. The pain in its legs ebb.

"Damn you!" The Chief shouts as the maiden rises to its feet, it winces from the pain, but they are now functional. I need to get away. It chooses to head further into the ruins, and begins to run. A faint whistle begins to cut through the air. Do you think me a fool? It thinks as it sidesteps the throwing ax. The maiden spots a ruined tower in the center of the ruins, a faint golden glow emanating from within. Any kind of distraction would be useful. The maiden dashes for the tower.

"Where are you going?!" the Chief howls in rage. The maiden reaches the tower and begins to ascend the aged cobblestone, tearing its claws into the stone and ripping them out as it goes. The Chief begins to climb behind it, and a quick glance tells it that the Chief is using the holes created by its own claws to climb. Damn! The maiden barely registers the faint sound of bells.

The maiden breaches the top of the tower and looks around, the ruined building had been hollowed out, and runes line the circular walls, emanating power. A pool of white lay at the center of the room. What the..? the maiden thinks but has no time to ponder further.

"You're mine now!" The Chief shouts from behind, and tackles the maiden off of the ledge, sending both of them downward. They strike the ground in unison, at the edge of the pool. The Chief hefts his ax upwards from his position above the maiden, starting on an overhead swing. No! The maiden cries internally. The golden glow of the pool lights up the Chiefs face as he brings down his ax, and the maiden barely manages to parry it with a claw. Using the last of its strength, it hurls the Chief off of itself and knocks him backward into the wall with its tail. Exhaustion grips the maiden and it struggles to remain standing. The wound on its back, that had just begun to scab, had been torn open again. An even deeper wound gracing the maiden's back. I can fight no longer, my body is about to give out... But I won't die like this! I need to lay my egg! The maiden's ears again register the sound of bells, and it glances at the pool as the Chief rights himself.

"Where are you gonna run to now?" He asks as he raises his weapon, his stoic visage glaring int he maiden. It looks from him, to the pool behind it, and back again. That sound... this pool leads somewhere.

"Oh no you don't!" the Chief shouts, realizing the maiden's plan, but it is too late, the maiden is already falling backward into the pool. A wave of feeling passes over it as it slips beneath the surface, numbing its senses. What is this? The maiden wonders as each sense slowly fades. It dimly registers the sound of something splashing above it. Blackness soon takes its vision and the maiden can only hope it made the right choice. It curls itself into a ball, protecting its belly. Its consciousness fades.