Chapter 9: Conviction

Braveheart stood over the bodies of Equestrian soldiers.

They were laid out in rows and put into mass funeral pyres, so that their funeral was a quick one clean of scavengers.

Seeing all the carnage and bodies of friend and foe alike in such large quantities should of made Braveheart feel sick to his stomach. But, he felt nothing, and gave no sympathy to the ones who died.

In his mind, they were heroes who would never get a memorial to their name, and would be slowly forgotten in time.

He watched the surviving soldiers pile the bodies high and start to light them up.

As the flames greedily licked the flesh of the dead, Braveheart felt a presence, a presence that he knew, and thought he would never feel again.

“Still playing soldier, Braveheart?”

Braveheart turned to see his self proclaimed rival, Ashen Spectre, casually trotting up to him.

Braveheart growled.

Ashen laughed, “thanks for the welcome.”

“The only welcome you deserve is the one you will get in Tartarus.”

Ashen rolled his eyes, “aw, come on. You still salty over our last encounter?”

“Our last encounter had you almost kill my wife, my life, and almost corrupt Ponyville with you poor grasp of the dark arts. So in short, yes, i'm still salty.”

Ashen sighed, “you know that I had accidentally unleashed those demons from the amulet. I sought no harm on you, your wife, or of Ponyville.”

Braveheart scoffed, “yeah right, and i'm the king of Griffonstone. When will you learn that dark magic will only destroy you in the end?”

Ashen glared at Braveheart, letting Braveheart know that he hit a nerve. Braveheart looked him over.

Ashen Spectre wore standard Nohrian Lancer armor, complete with scarf, but without the helmet. He had a shield strapped to his right fore leg and held a Nohrian silver lance in his left hoof. But Braveheart knew that he probably has a bandolier of knives on him somewhere.

“Have you heard the news?”

Braveheart let his anger evaporate and asked, “what news?”

Ashen looked at the pyre of burning bodies while he said, “Celestia and Luna are going back to Canterlot to defend Equestria from Serpony forces. So, they sending us to the Isle of Origins.”

Braveheart narrowed his eyes, “sending us after Alduin.”

“Exactly. You see, the Serponies declaring war on us was just a ploy, set in motion by somepony to generate enough chaos to power Alduin’s summoning, and to make the dragon god of destruction even more powerful than ever before. Tartarus, i’m willing to bet my soul that Trixie somehow orchestrated the assassination of Featherfang and his family so Alduin can crawl out of his realm.”

Braveheart turned his gaze back at the burning corpses, “and I guess that you have some kind of magic that can counter gods?”

Ashen nodded and summoned his copy of the grimoire Quod Sacra Tenebrae. He held the grimoire with his magic and flipped through the pages, resting on a page with an ominous unicursal hexagram, the points of the hexagram touching a starry circle, with a crescent moon in the middle of the seal.

“The Seal of Sacred Darkness.”

Braveheart shook his head, “like i'm gonna let you cast dark magic in front of me. Calling the darkness ‘sacred’ is an afront of Equestrian laws and beliefs. We will not use darkness to find salvation.”

Ashen’s eyes hardened, “like i'll let you stop me. The darkness you refer to is corrupt darkness. Sacred darkness is the primordial version of darkness, before it was tainted by evil ponies.”

“I don't believe you,” Braveheart said.

A Equestrian soldier approach the pair, saluted and spoke. “sir Braveheart, the princesses ask that you depart for the Isle of Origins immediately. Also, Lord Xander will collow your ship, but Lord Ryoma will not accompany you on your mission. Neither will the Mane Six. They wish that you, the surviving samurai, Ashen Spectre, and his group of Lancers to tie up the loose ends on the Isle of Origins.”

Braveheart sighed and nodded. “message received and understood, it will be done.”

The soldier bowed and galloped away, eager to be clear of the stench of burning flesh.

Braveheart began to walk away from the pyre, saying, “let's go fight some gods.”

(^//^)

Ashen stood at the helm of the ship, sharpening his silver lance, listening to instrumental music through his headphones and breathing in the salty sea breeze, a scent he hasn't smelled since his upbringing in Baltimare.

Ashen was well prepared for a fight. After all, the Isle of Origins was inhabited by the Chimerae raiders, a fierce warrior society bent on making every Applekotojin’s life like the pits of Tartarus. They were fierce enough to kill Saburo, so they should be the only real threat that they need to worry about, apart from the dragon god of destruction.

He heard the stories of the various saliors fortunate enough to escape the brutal wrath. They say that they seek to revive their own god, a deity of the primordial waters, a lord of the waters of creation. Oceanus was his name.

Their fleet had ten warships filled with Applekotojin samurai and Nohrian lancers, all fully equipped and armed. Braveheart in particular seemed eager to meet the Chimerae in battle. He was practicing with his Darksaber, staying clear of Ashen. Ashen could feel the darkness radiating off of the heated blade of the Darksaber, and concluded that it was an artifact made with the most evil intentions.

Ashen put away his whetstone and swung the silver lance around a couple of times. Satisfied with his work, he put the lance down and pulled out his knife harness, pulling out the knives one by one, checking the quality of their sharpness and overall condition.

Things were going smoothly.

“Commander Ashen! An unknown object is closing in on our fleet!” the lookout cried.

Braveheart immediately stopped what he was doing, and galloped over to the front of the ship, where Ashen was already.

They saw storm clouds moving in with the water beneath the clouds crashing and raging.

“So… the clouds are the unknown object?”

Ashen’s eyes went wide as something in the distance breached the water, roaring.

“That's not the unknown object. The unknown object is a Cetus.”

Ashen yelled to the closest ships to his own, yelling, “incoming Cetus! Spread the word and prepare for combat!”

The samurai and lancers scrambled around the decks, preparing their weapons and praying to either the Dawn Dragon or the Dusk Dragon.

As soldiers rushed past the two commanders, Braveheart asked, “what in Tartarus’s name is a Cetus?”

“A species of water monster that is insanely hard to kill. An unholy combination of whale and sea serpent, created by Oceanus himself before he slumbered. Ever heard of the pegasus, Perseus Wingtail?”

Braveheart nodded. Ashen then said, “he is the only pony in the history of the world that has ever slain a Cetus.”

Braveheart looked at the incoming missile of oceanic fury and said, “what are the odds of surviving an attack by this thing?”

“Nearly zero.”

Ashen knelt on the deck and began chanting an ancient and dark language as the Cetus barreled through the waves, its roar sounding like bells.

“Do not ask for whom the bell tolls, for it tolls for thee.”

The Cetus crashed into Braveheart and Ashen Spectre’s warship, shattering and splintering the entire ship. Braveheart and Ashen were thrown from the ship and landed in the ocean, with any soldiers that weren't killed from the initial impact were drowning in the ocean due to their armor, and the sharks that accompanied the massive creature, using this opportunity to feed.

Braveheart surfaced, coughing and sputtering, using his magic to make him stay afloat. When he wiped the water out of his eyes, he saw the sea monster continue to rampage, smashing ships into splinters. The soldiers from the ships were being devoured by the Cetus and the sharks, making the sea around the ships turn crimson, with bits of gore floating in the water. The Nohrian Landers threw their javelins at the Cetus, only for said javelins to bounce off its hide.

“Braveheart! Over here!”

Braveheart turned to see Ashen floating with the help of a wooden plank. Braveheart swam over to Ashen, glad to be alive, but horrified that the soldiers never had a chance.

He looked back and said, “we need to save the survivors!”

“Are you insane?! All its gonna accomplish is your death. The soldiers are beyond saving!” Ashen said.

Braveheart looked back, thinking about his rescue plan for the soldiers. He was about to swim into the heart of the conflict when felt a sharp, instant pain, and he blacked out.

Ashen threw the board he used to knock Braveheart out in the water and used his magic to make the board he and an unconscious Braveheart were clinging to move on its own, away from the drowning ships.

(*^*)

Braveheart woke up just as they hit the hull of a ship with his head.

Braveheart groaned in annoyance as he looked up at the ship.

The ship was Nohrian made, its dark oak wood giving the ship a dark and unforgiving aura. The Nohrian flag flew on top of the main sail. Malig pony knights and pony Wyvern lords flew around the ship.

He turned to Ashen, who was sweating from all the magic he used to direct the wooden plank they clung to into the Nohrian boat.

“WHY THE FUCK DID YOU KNOCK ME OUT?! I COULD OF SAVED MY SOLDIERS!”

“Because you can't do the world good if you're dead. Braveheart, we faced a Cetus! Something that is practically invincible in the heart of the ocean! If you tried to save them, your life is forfeit.”

Suddenly, the Malig knights dive at the two, their wyverns screeching.

As anypony would, both stallions screamed as the wyverns grasped them with their claws and pulled them out of the ocean.

The Malig knights then dropped the two on the deck, in front of the armored hooves of a certain Nohrian prince.

Ashen looked up to see a sight for sore eyes.

“Prince Xander! Um… what a pleasant surprise!” Ashen said.

Xander regarded Ashen with a friendly smile, but frowned when he saw the Hoshidan samurai armor that Braveheart wore.

Xander fixed his eyes on Ashen and asked, “what were you two doing in the ocean? What happened to the company of lancers I allowed you to command?”

Ashen replied, “we were attacked by a Cetus, a monstrous sea creature of unparalleled strength. It rammed and sunk all five warships. Braveheart and I would of died if we we not flung from the ships when it rammed ours. I am sorry to say that we are the only survivors of the assault.”

Xander bowed his head in silence, then turned to a Nohrian Dark Knight, and said, “Full speed ahead. If this Cetus creature finds us, then we will be in deep trouble. Send a Malig Knight to scout ahead. If the Chimerae are as fearsome as they say, we need to know their troops, home and current status.”

The Dark Knight nodded, and turned and started barking orders.

Xander turned and said, “are you two in fighting shape?”

Ashen nodded, and so did Braveheart (reluctantly).

Xander narrowed his eyes at Braveheart, “as for you, if you jeopardize my strategies and my men, samurai, then I will introduce you to Siegfried.”

“What? Do you mean your little pecker you call a sword?”

Xander’s eyes smoldered, and the Nohrian ponies suddenly took an interest in the conversation, putting their hooves on their weapons.

Then, a Nohrian pony shouted from the crow’s nest, “Land! The Isle of Origins spotted! Prince Xander, what shall we do?”

Xander turned and shouted to his men, “prepare for battle!”

Braveheart yelled, “what is one Nohrian ship going to do to an island filled with bloodthirsty Chimerae warriors? Get killed?”

Xander simply said, “heavy armor, and air support.”

(////)

Braveheart knew that the Chimerae were intimating, but the Nohrians… so much so.

The Malig Knights rode undead wyverns, the armor of the Dark Knights looked like some kind of eldritch cross between a Malig knight and a Paladin, Berserkers wore the pelts of various wolf kills and carried rather menacing axes. But the Generals of Nohr put them all to shame. The Generals were heavy armored juggernauts that shook the very ground around them when they charged. Armed with silver Nohrian lances, and steel axes, and with shields as big as themselves, these Nohrians clearly meant business.

He heard something about Nohrian Generals when he trianed with Saburo. He heard it from two Applekotojin samurai. It went along the lines of “a samurai’s worst nightmares are those about Nohrian Generals.”

Braveheart and Ashen stood at the side of Xander, preparing to storm the beach. On the beach were about five hundred Chimerae warriors, with their array of shark weaponry and battle cries.

In the lead of the Chimerae troops, was Saburo’s killer.

Braveheart frowned, “I thought their would be more warriors to fight.”

“While Applekoto and Hoshido help the Equestrians with the Serponies, Nohr and Lunardom have taken it upon themselves to deal with the Chimerae threat. What you see Is the last of their army.” Ashen said.

With that, Xander of Nohr grasped the handle of Siegfried with his hoof and drew the sword. Waves of energy and black flames came of the sword as it was drawn from its scabbard. The shockwaves died down as the black flames engulfed the sword’s edges.

He shouted, “for the glory of Nohr!” as the warship crashed into the shore.”

The troops, numbering about one hundred battle hardened, grizzled veterans of war, jumped from the ship, yelling battle cries of their own as they charged the Chimerae.

Gang planks sprouted from the sides of the ship, allowing the Generals and their groups of Lancers to get of of the battleship with ease, as Generals performed poorly if their armor weighed them down in the surf.

Finally, Braveheart and Ashen, along with Xander, dismounted the warship, and joined with their troops in the Battle for the Isle of Origin.

The two opposing armies crashed into each other, shark weapons meeting metals in a definitive clang.

Generals impaled, Chimerae roared. Berserkers swung, and the Chimerae tore new assholes. Xander was at the forefront of his army, releasing streams of black flames from his divine blade and cutting down Chimerae after Chimerae alongside Ashen, who was twirling his Brave Lance and plunging it into the bodies of the Chimerae.

Braveheart broke off of the main attack force, making his way to Triton Teeth.

Triton Teeth was cutting down Nohrian after Nohrian with a massive two-hooved axe with a blade of… Cetus tooth?!

Where did he get the tooth from?

It didn't matter, Braveheart was seeing red, and the Darksaber seemed to scream with bloodlust.

Braveheart barreled into a group of Chimerae warriors, and swung his Darksaber in a wide arc, taking the lives- and heads of the warriors. As the bodies fell around him, Braveheart locked eyes with his friend’s killer.

With eyes aflame, Braveheart galloped at Triton, determined to crush him once, and for all.

Braveheart slashed, and Triton blocked with the blade of the axe, the Darksaber didn't slice through.

Growling like a feral animal, Braveheart jumped back, and Triton lunged, bring his axe down.

Braveheart put his one and only mechanical wing in front of the axe as a shield, barely blocking the blow as the gears struggled against such natural force.

Again, Braveheart jumped away, his last mechanical wing snapping off.

Trition regarded Braveheart with eyes of pity.

“Don't look at me like that!” Braveheart growled.

“Heed my words well, pawn. I know who you are, and I know why you challenged me. You won't get your revenge, puppet of Equestria.”

“It's not just my revenge. I will avenge everypony that has died by your orders, weapons and warriors. You caused so much bloodshed on the coast. Now, i'm here to repay you for all the blood you used to water your taste for conquest, for your foolish god!”

Triton hefted his Cetus tooth axe, “you are just as stained. Think hard. Do you remember all your friends that you killed in the name of Equestria? All those that fought for what they believed in, and were cut down by you? Remember Saburo, and how you called him traitor, even when he was training you? Remember Ashen Spectre’s attempt to exorcise a demon he summoned in Ponyville to help a possesed pony, and you attempted to kill him during that whole event, all because the demon hurt your wife and because you thought that you had to stamp out his dark magic?”

Braveheart was shaking with fury. He was seeing red, and his eyes began to turn yellow. The humming of the Darksaber seemed to be getting stronger.

Triton continued, “you are a pawn, helping the alicorns keep the gods underneath the seal. You follow blindly, and bark like a dog. You are nothing but a husk with emotion.”

“Bullshit! I act to meet out justice, to end your reign of terror. Tell me, if the gods are so good and so perfect, then why do they subjugate, destroy and kill us mortals?! They abandoned us! Just like they abandoned you to me.”

Triton bared his teeth and slammed his axe into the sand, shouting, “then, pawn of mortals, just try to strike me down! I have faith in the gods. Therefore, let my faith meet your conviction. Let our weapons sing our songs as they clash. Come, Braveheart. Your Destiny Awaits!”

Braveheart galloped at Triton, determined to make him beg for his gods upon death.

When their weapons met, the battlefield heard the sound of two souls locked in legendary combat. Their ferocity was unmatched, their passion unrivaled, their conviction… as hard as steel.

Braveheart attacked relentlessly, slamming and slashing at Triton, who fought back just as hard.

Triton swung his axe, smashing it into the Darksaber, and the blade flickered for a second.

Braveheart deflected another blow from the axe, and slashed at Triton’s leg, effectively slicing off his leg.

Triton went down, with Braveheart leaping onto him, stabbing him in the abdomen with his Darksaber.

Triton roared in pain, then sunk his teeth into Braveheart’s neck. Braveheart yelled in agony, and used his agony to fuel his rage and his bloodlust. He twisted the plasma blade in the chared wound, causing roars of agony to escape Triton’s mouth.

Braveheart tore his neck out of the jaws of Triton, and used his magic to stop the bleeding.

Triton began to pray, and squirmed In agony as his leg and abdomen were aflame with pain.

“Go on,” Braveheart taunted, “pray to your gods, hope they will here you. Oh, wait. They can't hear you. They left you to die, like they did with Featherfang’s family, like they did to Aether Aegis, like they did with everypony else, including Saburo. Pray and die like the filthy rat you are.”

Triton was still.

Braveheart smiled, “just as I thought.”

Braveheart turned to see that the battle still raged, and was about to re-enter the fray.

Then, he felt ripples in the energy around him.

Braveheart turned to see Triton back on his ...leg of water, and his normal leg. The abdomen wound was covered in stationary water, and his eyes glowed blue.

He held out his paw, and the axe transformed into a rod of iron, topped with a ball.

Braveheart charged him again, his Darksaber screaming for blood.

Braveheart jumped into rhe air and brought the Darksaber down. But, the rod of iron blocked the hit.

And it shattered the Darksaber.

Before Braveheart could register what was happening, the rod of iron smote him across the face, sending the Equestrian hero into the sand.

“H-how…?” Braveheart croaked, trying to register the pain that came from his broken and shattered jaw.

“Mortal, you killed my disciple, you have always challenged the gods. Therefore, I smite you in the name of all that is good. You let the darkness in your soul take over, so now, it falls on me to meet out punishment.”

Braveheart said only one word.

“Oceanus?!”

The rod smote Braveheart once more, ending the life of the hero of mortals.

Author's Note

The final chapter draws near. Stay tuned for the finale.
Endgame: The Lost Worlds.