Prologue 1- Into the Mists and the Unknown
Rytlock groaned as he sat down onto the log, his body covered in an intimidating suit of black armor with red highlights. Despite it's appearance, thee charr's armor was surprisingly light thanks to it's construction in the Mists. His upper arms had no armor and allowed him full mobility for combat. It was strange enough having this new magic and he needed all the help he could get. Though the familiar presence now in his mind assured him he shook it off, still put off by the new voices that came with his abilities. The change also had another price. Over his eyes was a blindfold with a red symbol worn by spiritualists who worshipped the Mists. He was now a Revenant, one who could sense the energy of those heroes and villains who had left their mark on Tyria. He sat with a group of new heroes, the Pact currently cleaning up whatever minions of Mordremoth were left while the remainder Destiny's Edge left with the Pact's Marshal to plan their next move. He was stuck overseeing it with Braham, Rox, Tiami, Kasmeer, and Marjory. Each were skilled and he saw them all grow in the threats that faced Tyria. They were still growing, but they also had incredible potential. Of course, there was that inquisitiveness of youth. Rox was always one he had given consideration to since she first joined the Blood Legion. However, with her losing her warband and becoming a gladium, she seemed to have grown even more irritating.
"So Tribune, are you finally gonna tell us what happened when you up and vanished on us? All the other times I asked you said you would tell us after we dealt with Mordremoth. Now, we're not letting you weasel your way out of it."
Rytlock could only groan as he leaned back. "You're still not gonna let that go are you? I'd much rather not discuss it at all if possible."
Braham was the next to but in, his voice a bit more gruff than usual as he rolled a bow in his hands. Seeing the familiar weapon reminded him of it's owner, a good friend and comrade.
"Rox is right you know. Besides, we're just here as backup in case anything big happens. Will probably be a quiet few days anyway. May as well pass the time."
The next to speak was a rather curt sylvari, the humanoid plant stood upright and rolled his eyes.
"I'm surprised you're all still prattling on about this. If he doesn't want to talk about it, then dont force him."
To the side, a golem sat with it's occupant inside. The shell couldn't show who was within but the voice was young and spry despite the degenerative disease she had.
"I would have to disagree Canach. This is the first account of someone going into the Mists and coming back alive. If anything he HAS to tell us! Imagine the scientific breakthroughs he might allow!"
Kasmeer and Marjory giggled at the display, looking between everyone. Majory's dark green robes contrasted greatly with Kasmeer's almost golden attire. The two were polar opposites yet inseparable at the same time. It was no secret that the two were lovers, Kasmeer sometimes enjoying teasing Marjory too much at times.
"You may as well tell them Rytlock. Besides, I see the voting is in favor of it."
Marjory rolled her eyes at her lover's antics, knowing this would not end too well.
"Kasmeer, I wish you would take things a bit more seriously. We should be on alert."
Rytlock groaned and looked around, making sure he didn't sense Pact soldiers listening in. "Fine, I'll tell you the story. If for no other reason than you lot dropping the subject. Besides, may just hallucinated the whole thing."
Rytlock panted and groaned as he stood over the remains of Duke Barradin, having defeated him a second time and sealing his spirit away. "Good fighting there Rox. Now then Smodur, you better be right about this ritual of yours.."
Imperitor Smodur stood tall, the charr's fur a deep brown as he moved towards edge of a dais that stood at the center of the tomb. He gave Rytlock a critical gaze. "I thought you of all people would understand what it means to respect those above your station, Tribune. Now then, you just put your sword in the center. If this works our ghost problem is gonna be long gone and we can focus on more urgent matters." Smodur began the ritual, Rytlock preparing to stab his sword into the-
"Mind skipping a bit Tribune? I was literally right there for it!"
"Do you wanna hear the story or not?"
"For those of us who WEREN'T present, what happened?"
Rox sighed and shook her head. "Long story short, the ritual went bad. The ground split open and the sword fell in. Rytlock decided to hell with it and jumped in just before it closed up. We also saw the portal so my guess is Rytlock figured he'd just pop up somewhere."
Rytlock let out a booming laugh, letting it die off into chuckled. "Was definitely right about that! Though I can tell you for one thing it was nowhere in Tyria!"
Canach raised an eyebrow at this notion, curious as to what could possibly be beyond their own world. "I think it is safe to say that has our full attention. Please, continue. Preferably from where Rox left off."
Rytlock raised an arm to shield his eyes, the mists thick with lights pulsing and glowing within. He could still feel himself falling but at the same time he could not see which direction he was falling in. All around he heard whispers, beings and spirits surrounding him in the thick fog around him. After a time he felt like they were guiding his decent, seeing a portal for only a short moment before he felt himself pass through it.
As soon as he opened his eyes he saw a beautiful landscape, the clouds covering everything below as the sun shone overhead. And then he quickly realized he was still rather high up in the air.
"DAMMIT SMODUR!!"
He flailed his limbs and tried to correct his course, needing to do a double take to see what looked like a city built from the clouds below. He could see some people down below but he was far more focused on not being splattered on the pavement. If people were walking on thm then those clouds must have some physical matter supporting them. He saw a banner on a large spire, directing his decent to it and cutting it from the pole with his flaming sword. Sheathing the blade He held to the corners and held tight, trying to use it as a makeshift parachute. It slowed his decent but it was too late. He was going to hit those clouds too fast!
However, rather than the red stained cloud, the charr simply passed through the cloud unharmed. Right now he wasn't going to question his luck, just focus on landing alive. Once through the cloud cover he saw what looked like a castle nearby surrounded by forests. To his luck it seemed there were a few terraces long enough for a landing. He shifted his weight, aiming towards one of the openings in the tower. As he neared he saw a silhouette in the window, shouting out. "Take cover!!"
Whoever was behind the glass dove out of the way in time, Rytlock roughly bursting through the glass and rolling to a halt against one of the walls in the corridor. He groaned and stood up, broken glass falling from his armor and body as he got up. "Sorry for the rough landing. Are you OK miss.." He felt his brain suddenly stall, looking at a tiny powder blue horse with a horn on it's head. What was more it's body was just... strange. The head seemed far too short, the muzzle far shorter than what he ever knew to be natural. Not to mention the eyes that seemed so large they threatened to roll out of their sockets! But most shockingly is the fact that the creature wore what looked like a maid's uniform. The charr groaned and shook his head.
"I'll never understand people's fascination with dressing up pets." He then turned away, pondering what his next move was. "Need to find the owners of the house, maybe see if I can find a map to figure out where in Tyria I am. After that then I need to get back to Ascalon."
The unicorn mare looked up, frightened by the lumbering creature. The armor was terrifying and the sword on his hip had what looked like a dragon's skull on it. Every instinct told her to run and get help but she was frozen. The only thing that moved was her mouth. "W-where is this 'Tyria'?" Rytlock turned back in shock, not expecting some animal to be able to speak. His small eyes got wider, seeing the mare staring back.
"Also, what do you mean about pets? I didn't see any pets in here." The charr's mouth opened and closed, trying to process what was happening.
"Halt creature! Surrender immediately!" Stomping hooves sounded through the halls with clanking armor, gold clad soldiers pouring into the corridor. One of the unicorns among their ranks pulled the maid back with his magic, earning a cry of surprise from the mare before she fled. Rytlock was surrounded by soldiers. Small horse soldiers with just ceremonial armor with a few sporting wings or a horn, but still soldiers none the less. Rytlock drew his sword, smirking. "Hope you fellas dont mind. Pretty damn confused and I need something that makes some goddamn sense till I can process this. Get ready to see how we do things in the Blood Legion."
Celestia and Luna dashed through the halls of the castle, having heard the alarm from one of their guards. This creature, whatever it was, was a threat to their people and the sisters would be ready to deal with it and neutralize the threat. Celestia and Luna wore their usual royal finery but was also supported by chain mail jerkins used for skirmishes. They had no time for their full armor if they were to combat this threat and only barely had time to grab their weapons. At Celestia's side was her halberd, the glittering gold giving it a shining brilliance. At Luna's was a sword made of Moonsteel, forming the inverse to her sister's halberd. They dashed forward to the last set of doors between them and the intruder. They were ready for a beast of the most foul nature and temperament, eager to spill innocent blood. When the doors opened they saw a slightly different sight.
In front of them all of the guards were battered and bruised but still breathing. This would have brought the sisters a sigh of relief if not for the oddity of the sight. A being that looked like a partially feline diamond dog with horns, a flaming sword at his hip, and intimidating armor, was lecturing their most elite soldiers.
"That was an utter disgrace!! Even cubs in the farhar would have beaten any of you easily! It's like none of you have ever faced combat before now!!" Rytlock continued with a rant that would make any drill sergeant proud, Celestia and Luna discussing the possibilities between themselves.
"Sister, we know we came here expecting a serious threat, but he doesn't seem to wish harm to us our our ponies. To be honest he seems more disappointed in our guard's lack of combat skills."
Celestia nodded, looking to Rytlock with a sideways glance. "Sadly We can't really fault him. Our guard is in need of experience given the peace we've had for the last 400 years. They simply are not ready for any real combat."
Luna's eyes widened a moment. "Celestia, We hope you are not thinking what we think you are."
Celestia smiled and rested her halberd at her side, figuring she would not need it. "Greetings. We are Princess Celestia, Princess of the Equestrian Diarchy and caretaker of the Sun. This is my Sister, Princess Luna. And those would be our royal guard who you seem to have battered into the ground."
Rytlock looked about, seeing the few guards that were still conscious cowering in fear. "I'm not impressed."
Celestia gave a knowing smile, sizing up the charr and trying to figure him out. "We noticed. Perhaps we can come to an arrangement. You seem to be in some need. Let us discuss things in our study."
The solar alicorn led the way, her sister coming alongside with Rytlock following behind. A few guard stood by the princesses and gave the charr wary looks, on guard should he attack.
"First bit of vigilance I've seen from them all day." Rytlock thought, embarrassed for how easily they were overpowered before. His eyes went about the castle, making a mental map before they arrived in a room with walls covered in shelves upon shelves of books and tomes. A low table was set near the fire place, the two Princesses sitting on soft cushions that were present for them. Rytlock looked to another cushion across from them, sitting down cross legged since the table was far too low to have a proper seat. Tea was soon served by one of the maids, a different one from before as this one had a mint green coat and golden eyes. Her main and tail was near white with only a tint of green. With the tea served the princesses calmly took their sips, Rytlock deciding to sit and remain silent till they began.
To say your arrival is unexpected would be an understatement. Tell us, what is your name and what brings you to Equestria?"
Rytlock's brow furrowed, the name foreign to him as he knew he would likely not like the answer he got to his next question.
"My name is Rytlock Brimstone. Tribune of the Blood Legion and member of the High Legions. Now, where in Tyria is this Equestria? I've never seen it on any map and have never heard of it."
Celestia and Luna shared a look, wondering how such a creature arrived here. "We are afraid we must share some bad news then. We have never heard of this 'Tyria' and have no idea how you can return. Can you tell us how you arrived here?"
Rytlock nodded. "I was taking part in a ritual that would help protect my homeland. However, something went wrong and I fell in along with the relic we were using. After that, I ended up falling from the sky, grabbed a banner from a tower made of clouds, and then your guards know the rest."
Celestia smiled and took another sip of her tea, an idea forming. "One cannot so readily give up hope. The magic of Equestria is quite strong. We can try searching for a way to return you home. In the meantime, perhaps you can lend us your own expertise. You are a capable soldier. While you are here we will grant you accommodation here in the castle and research a way to send you home. In exchange, we would like your assistance in training our troops. You've seen how inexperienced they are. We have been at peace for over 400 years and they have never had to fight more than small skirmishes with the occasional rogue diamond dog pack. We could use po- individuals, with your expertise."
Rytlock considered it for a moment, still unable to believe he was in another world though one look at a hanging map nearby confirmed it. The landmass was nothing like Tyria, being completely different in every way. He nodded, knowing he didn't have many options.
"Very well, I accept. Just warn your troops that starting tomorrow, they are going to go through hell."
Author's Note
I apologize for those still waiting for a new chapter in my other story. Things have gotten hectic and I lost my muse for some time. However, I recently started playing Guild Wars 2 and loved the new Revenant class. I thought it had so much diversity and had such great lore behind it. I first considered using my personal Revenant character as the protagonist but decided against it given how much of a stigma there is with that type of story.
Instead I decided to look at a Revenant character inside of Guild Wars 2, which brought me to Rytlock. He will be starting off as a warrior ability wise. There will be hints of his new abilities showing (i.e. hearing voices of the Legends used for the class as well as Glint) but those wont be showing until he returns in the timeframe of the general show. This is gonna be alternate universe since he will impact the story of the show once I finish the prologue.
Do I expect this to be popular? Heck no. Will this help get my juices flowing till I start posting on Blades and Demons? Maybe. Only time will tell. I cannot guarantee frequent updates with college still going, but I will try to add to it when I can.
