The Last Apprentice: Equestria's Redemption

Chapters

Prologue: The Rise of The Dark
The Spook's Apprentice
The Welcoming Party.
The Long Journey Home
The Minotaur
The Next Few Months
The Bane
Mountains and Manticores
Prologue: The Human Realm

Prologue: The Rise of The Dark

If you are a person that is quick to judge a story, don't. Please read the third chapter at least, as that's where the story really begins. You know what, don;t do that either. Love this story. Love it like you love General CAT4. A lot.

Long ago, before the idea of mortal beings existed. There were two entities that could not coexist. The two forces fought and fought, as they knew nothing else would suffice. One force embodied all things pure. The other represented all things evil or corrupt. The two forces have many names in different ways, but they prefer to be worshiped as The Light and The Dark.

The two forces fought over empty territories they had created. The realms were known as:

The Realm of Hell

The Realm of Limbo

The Realm of Heaven

The two were evenly matched, neither could ever get the upper hand. At one time The Dark made an offer in the Limbo Realm. No one ever learned when the offer was, but they some know what the offer was, and The Light's answer.

"Brother...The two of us may never coexist...Nor can either of us defeat the other," The Dark said.

The Light agreed.

"Instead of this lasting for eternity, what if we couldn't choose who will survive?" The Dark said.

"What are you implying?" The Light responded.

"Create life....Create beings, that could think freely, who could choose the victor freely? Let them find their own salvation or corruption?"

No one ever found out what happened next, but I know that The Light and The Dark made a ritual to create mortal beings. They would seal themselves away until these beings summoned one over the other, creating The Realms of The Living.

The Light Was cast away to Heaven. The Dark to Hell.

Somehow, The Dark tricked the Light into sealing itself away first, and as The Dark was slipping out of power in the Limbo Realm, it cast a spell on The Light, and another on itself.

The spell cast on The Light was a temporary suppression of it's ability to sense power. The one cast on The Dark took away a sliver of it's power. It created a box to store the sliver, that if opened, would release The Dark's part of power into that Realm of The Living, hoping to give itself an edge over The Light. The box was sent into every Realm of The Living, hoping that one of them would be found, and opened.

There was one Realm of The Living that became corrupt. That Realm was known as Equestria. Equestria was a happy land, where peace and happiness bloomed. Until the day when three young fillies were playing outside, pretending to be coal miners. One of their shovels made contact with a hard metal surface. The three unearthed it to find a black box, the size of their heads, and saw that it was covered in small jagged pieces of metal sticking out. It was emitting a steady stream of cold mist through the rim. The three fillies went against their better judgement and opened the box.

As soon as the box was opened, a smoke soared through the air, bringing all unearthly things to the world.

The smoke needed a physical host, so it searched for one....until it found the perfect host. The smoke entered a stone, summoning the beast within, Discord. The Dark manifested itself inside Discord, removing his intentions, but not his personality.

"Sense, what fun is sense? Time to destroy sense."

The Dark had claimed a Realm, now to insure The Light stayed out. Discord cast his growing power across the land into the Everfree Forest. All the creatures there became corrupt, with a need for evil. All the dead bodies who's souls were in peace became mindless too. All the spirits were bound to their bodies, summoning ghosts, ghasts, boggarts, and all sorts of evil.

After a while, the populations of Equestria dwindled, the numbers dropping rapidly. Years turned into decades, into centuries. The ponies knew not how to battle these creature. Magic was only effective to a certain level.

The ponies of Equestria were close to the extent where there weren't enough ponies to survive. Most surviving ponies moved to Canterlot, which no longer housed the Princesses, who were brutally slaughtered. Some ponies lived in Cloudsdale as it had become a fortress for pegasi only. Only a few ponies still lived in the town once known as Ponyville, and they were close to extinction....

The Spook's Apprentice

My name is Thomas Ward. I am The Spook's apprentice. His last apprentice. I am the last apprentice.

The wind was sharp and cold as it nipped at our exposed faces in the future burial site. My master The Spook, Grimalkin, and I were preparing a pit to trap the Fiend, the dark made flesh. We were on a large hill, inside a magical field guarded by a sleeping dragon.

Most people think dragons are large fire breathing beasts, but that's not quite true. Dragons are wind elemental spirits, that sleep for centuries at a time. Dragons are brilliant at cloaking strong amount of energy, light or dark. Normal people can't see dragons, but some feel uneasy when one is near, and that's part of the reason we chose this place.

The hilltop was surrounded by twelve standing stones, creating an ominous look to the place. Inside we dug a large rectangular prison, deep in the ground. We coated the pit with a bone mix of salt and iron. Salt and iron are effective against most enemies of The Light. salt and iron can burn away and weaken them. Above the pit was a gigantic stone held by a large wooden gantry, also coated with the bone mixture. That was to fall on top of the pit once The Fiend was in place.

The sun was going down, and we were running out of time. Grimalkin, The Spook and I were ready to fight though.

You see, The Spook and I are from The county, which has three major witch clans. The three clans have never seen eye to eye, until one of the Old Gods brought them together to summon The Fiend. The Spook and I tried to stop them, but we failed. The Fiend was let free into our world and if no one stops him, then Earth will fall to his power.

The Spook and I want him gone because it's our duty to the county to stop him, and I might be the only one powerful enough to stop him. Grimalkin, a witch assassin to the Malkin witch clan, has a personal grudge against him. The Fiend and witches can form a pact. The Fiend can't come near the witch, or do her harm unless she requested it...if she bears him a child. Most children of The Fiend are either witches or horrible mutated daemons. Grimalkin's child was a perfectly normal baby boy. The Fiend is allowed to visit the child once, when it is born. In a fit of rage, The Fiend threw the baby against a rock, smashing it's brain everywhere.

We all knew that if we didn't defeat The Fiend here, then the world was doomed. The only reason he wasn't here yet was because of my blood jar. Inside it contains three drops of my blood, and three drops of The Fiend's daughter's blood. This kept him from being able to come near me at all times.

Grimalkin stood on top of the pit while my master and I stood inside, to lure him in. Grimalkin was carrying two sacks, one she placed on the ground. She opened the other, which contained four silver tipped spears, large silver nails, and two hammers. She handed us each a spear, and my master a hammer. She carried one spear in hand, and another on the ground. A few nails were in her left hand, which was in a glove. Witches can't touch silver without burning. She had an assortment of knives riddling her body in various sheaths. Her painted black lips were in a smiling position, revealing a row of sharpened teeth. In a strange, violent way, she was beautiful.

My master and I each held a silver spear. We had our pockets filled with salt and iron, but they would not be needed against a god. I had my silver chain coiled around my left hand. The Spook did not, as he gave it to Grimalkin to make the tips for the spears and nails. He would miss it dearly as it belonged to his old master, who died. Our staffs were hooked to the back of our cloaks, and would probably not be needed. I had the Hero Sword in it's scabbard, ready to take The Fiend's head off.

The hero sword was crafted by the old god Hephaestus himself. Only three exist, and this was the strongest of them. The hilt had two blood red rubies, the eyes of a skelt. The skelt's long bone tube of a mouth went down the length of the silver alloy blade.

The plan was for The Spook and I to draw The Fiend into the pit with us. I was to stop time, a gift from my mam, and drive a spear into his heart. Grimalkin would then nail him into the pit, and we would impale him with as many weapons as possible. We would cut off his head, and then trap him inside for eternity.

"Lad," The Spook said, lifting down his cloak from his face revealing his stone features, and stubble of a beard, "it's time."

The sun had gone down, and the only light available was from a few lanterns we had scattered along the pit.

"Lad, give me the blood jar!"

I gave him the jar, and he held it in the air.

"Be ready. The Fiend will show no mercy, and he will be here as soon as the jar breaks!"

The Spook threw the jar and it landed into a nearby standing stone with an audible crack. My knees nearly gave way, but I held firm.

We waited for The Fiend...and waited. Time was creeping by...seconds turned into minutes...until it happened. The lanterns suddenly became dim, daring to go out with every small breeze. The air became much colder. The ground started shaking, then we were plunged into pitch black darkness.

My mind was racing, stopping time too quickly or too late would doom us. If I stopped it too early then he wouldn't appear in the pit. Stop it too late, and he would have already stopped it himself.

There was a low growl, very feral. Suddenly the lanterns turned back on, revealing the God within the pit. The Fiend had taken the form of a tall monster. Half man, half bull, and about 20' tall. He let off a dark, cold aura. His body was strong and muscular, covered in black hair, two large horns piercing out his temples, and his bull head contained eyes with thin vertical slits for pupils.

I instantly closed my eyes and focused my mind, trying desperately to slow down time.

Concentrate! Squeeze time! Make it stop!

When I opened my eyes The Fiend wasn't moving. I realized The Spook and Grimalkin weren't moving either. I thrust my spear at The Fiend's stomach, but I noticed that every heartbeat was slower than the last. The spear was moving slower as well. The Fiend was fighting back! I tried harder, but my spear was barely moving, inches from his abdomen. My vision was fading, but I kept pushing desperately...

My eyes opened quickly to see my master yelling at me, his spear in The Fiend's chest. My own spear had ripped through his back.

"Get up lad! He's not down yet!" The spook barked at me. Grimalkin threw a spear, and her aim was true. The spear pierced through his left shoulder, into the bottom of the pit. He let out a loud roar, shaking the ground.

"Gregory!" Grimalkin yelling as she threw the last spear to the spook. She picked up one of the large hammers in her now free hand. The Spook grabbed the spear and jumped onto The fiend and rammed the spear into his other shoulder. Grimalkin quickly and expertly hammered hails into his knees, hands, and feet, hammering the remaining gigantic nails into his eye.

"Now Tom, cut off his head!" Grimalkin shouted as she jumped out of the pit, opening the second sack. I now understood that I needed to throw it into the sack. I drew the hero sword, the blade shining in the lantern light.

I stood at his neck and brought the blade down hard. The sword ripped through his neck, spurting black blood everywhere. The sword stopped at the bone.

"RROUUGHH!!" The fiend roared in a voice that wasn't even human. The blood was burning the floor of the pit like acid.

"Again!" Grimalkin shouted urgently. "Strike again.!"

"I brought the sword up, and brought it down again, ripping through the bones. His severed head rolled around in the pit, his large horns putting it at a halt. His body was twitching oddly. I ran over to his severed head, which was still dripping blood. I grabbed it by one of the horns, turned, and threw it out the pit. Grimalkin caught it with the bag, a smile on her face, which briefly vanished.

"Get out now!" she shouted at us. The thick rope was corroding as a little blood splashed on it when I threw it.

My master and I ran for the edge of the pit where Grimalkin was waiting, ready to pull us out. It was too high to jump out....That's when I forgot the hero sword. I quickly turned, and grabbed it, as it was only three feet away. As I sheathed it my master yelled at me.

"Lad! His body, it's going to explode!"

The fiend's body was shaking and convulsing. I ran as fast as I could towards The Spook, who was ready to throw me out of the pit, until the stone fell on top of the pit, trapping us inside.

Everything became dark...

The Welcoming Party.

I awoke in the middle of a field, Grimalkin and The Fiend nowhere to be seen. The Spook was laying beside me, still unconscious. I got to my feet and looked around. I saw a small destroyed town nearby, and some lights past it.

I looked around to realize that I still had all my things, except the hero sword. I looked around to see if I dropped it, but it was nowhere to be seen. I turned to The Spook and tried to wake him up.

"Mister Gregory, mister Gregory can you hear me?" I asked as I shook his shoulder.

"Ugh...lad? Where are we?" He asked as he scratched the back of his head.

"I don't know, I don't think we're in the county anymore."

"I suspect we're not on Earth anymore lad. The Fiend could have sent us anywhere. Our best chances at survival would be to find the locals...assuming they're friendly," The Spook said as he picked himself up. "Where's my bag?"

"I don't know. The hero sword is gone too."

The Spook's face became solemn and he walked toward the lights in the far distance without another word. I followed.

We walked through the charred, burnt ruins we heard a series of loud screams. I pressed my thumb into the recess of my staff, pressing the button within, letting out a sharp silver alloy blade out the tip of the staff with a re-reassuring click. The Spook did the same. We rushed over to see four horses fighting a a stone chucker, a kind of boggart. The horses were dodging rocks and...shooting beams of light from their heads, and a couple had swords. One of them couldn't roll fast enough and was crushed to death by a large boulder, adding to the others.

"That's a boggart." I told The Spook.

"Aye, but do they know that?" He replied. "Let's watch."

The Spook and I watched from a burnt house to see if the horses had a plan. One female horse that looked to be the leader was ordering them to fall back to the ruined village. Another was crushed but the other three managed to make it into the town safely. They were making cover in a town square, refreshing and planning their next attack. The Spook started walking over to them, staff in defensive position. i followed.

When we reached the three horses they quickly got up and yelled at us.

"Who are you!?" The leader barked. I couldn't tell if it was a question or a command, but the voice was female.

The Spook kept a strong expression and talked calmly. "My name is John Gregory, a spook. You have no need to fear me or my apprentice as we fight The Dark, much like you."

"My name is Twilight Sparkle," The voice said, now much friendlier. "I'm in charge of this squad, or what's left of it."

"Aye, I apologize for not helping you against that boggart. I had to make sure you weren't on the side of The Dark."

"Wait, you know what that ghost is?" One of the other horses asked.

"That's not a ghost, that is a boggart," The Spook replied. "I have to ask you though, can you see it?"

"I see a red shimmer, that's all you ever see of those things before they get you...Why? Can you see them?"

"Aye, we can. The lad and I are seventh sons of seventh sons. That gives us special abilities by birthright, including being able to sense the servants of The Dark. This is a kind of boggart called a stone chucker. They start out by rattling houses, trying to scare the people that live there. This one has grown quite angry, and must be slain or bound. If we-"

"Wait," Twilight said, interrupting The Spook. "You expect us to believe that after centuries of monsters tormenting us, you two can just come here and tell us you know how to stop them?"

"We can. it's our trade. Perhaps we can work out a deal, but first, how many of you exist? Are there any towns?'

"The only civilizations that exist are Canterlot, Cloudsdale, and a few ponies in Ponyville. We're from Ponyville.

"Wait," I asked her, "Are you all...horses?"

"Everypony I know is a pony. You two are the only of your kind i've ever seen."

"What about the witches?" One of Twilight's soldiers asked, resting with his spear against a stone wall. "The magic ones that eat us?"

"You have witches here too?" The spook asked. "This land is in trouble indeed."

"...Yes. We can talk later. First we have to get back to Ponyville, but that...stone chucker is in the way."

"Let's make a deal. The lad and I will slay the boggart, and you take us to Ponyville. On neutral terms."

"Sounds fair enough."

"Your going to take out that thing? Without swords? Magic? Food?"

"No thank you," The Spook said. "I don't believe in magic. A Spook's best weapon against The Dark is his wits. Fasting helps prepare your mind."

The Spook and I headed down the hill, salt and iron at the ready. Boggarts are spirits, and silver won't be needed to kill them. To slay a boggart a spook needs to envelop it in a cloud of salt and iron, which will burn it away. Twilight and her two soldiers hid at the top of the hill, where The Spook and I when we had watched them earlier.

As soon as we set foot at the bottom of the hill we were welcomed with an intimidating howl, coming from the stone chucker. A large boulder was hurled at us, which we side-stepped with ease, but now we were separated. We dashed towards the direction the stone came, but it was nowhere to be seen.

I remembered quickly that strong boggarts can cloak themselves, and only seventh sons of seventh sons could see them. I had to focus..

"Look out lad!" The Spook called as a series of jagged rocks were hurled in my direction. I crouched behind a large rock that had crushed one of Twilight's soldiers while the rocks hit it with a series of crackling noises. my foot stepped on top of his sword, which was crafted in steel. No wonder they couldn't kill this.

I peered over the top of the rock to see The Spook running from a hail of stones.

Lad, get him, I've got him distracted!"

I jumped over the rock, digging my hands into my cloak pockets. I pulled out generous handfuls of salt and iron, and threw them at the boggart. The boggart started screaming loudly as it became enveloped in a cloud of salt and iron. Slowly, it faded away, going to wherever all dead creatures go. I walked over to The Spook.

"Are you okay?" I asked. The spook was breathing heavily.

"I'm fine lad. Age is just taking it's toll that's all," He replied.

We made our way back up the hill to Twilight and her soldiers.

"I can't believe it. The two of you killed one of those...things!"

"We do it because no one else can do it as well. It's our trade by birthright, like I said."

"You have to explain how you do that," Twilight said, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"First, let's get to this Ponyville. I want a hot meal and a soft bed."

The Long Journey Home

We walked in silence through the icy mountain peaks towards Ponyville. The air was cold, and the snow was blowing everywhere. The trail through the mountain was very narrow, and I almost fell. Twice. The Spook was in front, with Twilight's earth pony guards behind him, who I learned later to be Mischief and Razor. I came next, and Twilight in the back.

Eventually we came to a long wood and rope ladder that bridged the gap over a deep ravine. My face became pale as I looked over the edge. It was a very long way down. Twilight looked over the edge and audibly gulped.

"We may have a small problem." Twilight said, turning back. "The ladder we set up on the way here before fell."

"Why not use your transportation magic?" Mischief suggested. "We could get along easily."

"I don't know if I can teleport Tom and Mister Gregory. Let me see." Twilight's horn started to glow, but The Spook put his hand on her head. This disrupted her train of thought and the magic dispelled.

"The day I accept the aid of magic is the day I hang up my staff." He said sharply. "The lad and I will cross the rope bridge." The Spook then walked to the bridge and proceeded to walk over the bridge. I started to follow. When I started crossing though, my foot broke through a board, and I fell. I grabbed onto the left rope, which stopped me from being impaled by the rocks at the bottom of the ravine.

Twilight, Mischief, and Razor had already teleported to the other side, and The Spook had already crossed the bridge.

"Lad!" He shouted.

"Quiet!" Twilight said in an urgent whisper. "I don't know how prone these cliffs are to avalanches."

"Or flying daemons." Mischief said. "Look."

The snow had been shaken off of the ravine by The Spook's shout, revealing a large cave. Two large feminine beasts flew out. Their bodies had a reptilian shape with scales covering their mid rim and lower, but they closely resembled human women because they still had human faces, hair, and upper bodies, with golden scales covering their spines. Maybe they were more like women who had been attacked by a pack of dogs. Their wings fluttered as they rose above us.

Razor unsheathed his sword, and Mischief grabbed a spear from his back.

"No." The Spook said. "That sword work be effective. Keep them away or they'll drag you away and suck the blood from your bones!"

"What are they?"

"Lamias!" The Spook said, alarming the ponies. He drew his staff and released the blade. "Lad, get up!"

Putting one arm in front of the other, I started working my way towards the others. Unfortunately the rope started to moan and the wood groaned.

"The bridge is giving way!" I said. "Help!"

Razor dropped the sword and dived for the bridge. He grabbed the rope that was about to snap in his mouth and pulled it so it stayed firm. I started moving towards him again

One of the lamias hissed and dived for Twilight, The Spook, and Mischief. Mischief threw his first spear at the lamia, which clipped one of her wings.

"Yeah!" Mischief said, before realizing that the lamia was falling right on him. "Augh!" He said as he rolled out of the way.

"Can you two handle that thing?" The Spook asked, turning his attention to Twilight. She nodded to The Spook, and started charging her horn. The Spook gripped his staff and started over to where Razor and I were, second lamia threateningly close to Razor. The Spook drew its attention while I started to pull myself up over the edge of the ravine.

"Lad, i'm going to need you for this." The Spook said. I drew my staff and stood by The Spook, our blades taunting the lamia to make the first move. Razor released the rope, causing the bridge to clatter down below. This drew the lamias attention.

"We don't have time to bind it, we have to slay it." I said.

"Aye." The Spook said, already advancing on the flying beast. He sliced diagonally into it's back, cutting its wing off. It wasn't getting away anytime soon. Razor made his way to us, lamia close behind. The Spook and I rushed at it from both directions, splitting its attention. It went for me, scuttling swiftly towards me. I backed up, staff in defensive position. It scratched at me with it's claw, which I parried. The Spook saw his opportunity and stabbed it in the back of the head. He had ripped out its brain. It let out a strange growl, and fell into the ravine. It's tail wrapped around Razors leg, taking him with it.

"Razor!' I said. Razor looked down to see the tail digging into his black coat, start dragging him. He grabbed at the ground, but realized it was too icy to get a decent grip. We dived for him, but it was too late. He fell without a word.

"No!" I shouted, looking over the edge, but The Spook put his hand on my shoulder.

"Lad, we have to help the others, or his loss will be in vain."

We hurried over to see Twilight and Mischief having trouble with the other first lamia. Mischief was on the ground in the middle of a stone/ice semicircle, his last spear in mouth. Twilight was above him, blasting magic bolts at it. The lamia was thrashing around, cutting at Mischief. It caught him with the back of it's hand, knocking him into the stone wall beside him. Twilight hit it with a bolt of magic in the face, causing it to frenzy. Twilight yelped as it threw itself at her.

The Spook pointed to where Twilight was. I saw a large boulder that could be heavy enough to crush it. I crept up to where Twilight was nursing a jagged cut in her back leg. She was bleeding heavily, but she would be fine. I hid behind the boulder, waiting for The Spook to draw the lamia in closer. He was parrying it's claws, and jabbing when he had the chance, backing up at all times. Once the lamia was in place, he rolled out of the semicircular incline, and I started pushing the rock. I soon found out that it was heavy enough to crush the lamia, but also too heavy for me to push. The lamia was slowly crawling towards The Spook, soon it would be out of reach from the rock.

I was about to give up when I saw the boulder glow with a purple aura. It rolled over and down towards The Lamia. I soon realized that it was Twilight helping me push. It slammed down onto it's tail, crushing it heavily. The sound of broken bones rattled through my head. The rock started rolling onto the rest of the lamia, slowly making its way to its lungs. The stench of its blood made me sick. The organs that were scattered about didn't help.

I made my way to Twilight, who was having trouble walking on her hurt leg. I helped her down to The Spook, who was having trouble waking Mischief. The lamia's blood was spattered all over his blue coat.

"Is he okay?" The Spook asked Twilight. "I'm not a horse vet."

"Pony." Twilight corrected. She bent over to get a closer look. "He seems fine to me, maybe a concussion." She stared at him harder, then she got back up "I'm not sure...he might be really hurt."

"Lad, you mind carrying him? I want to get to Ponyville soon. I still haven't gotten my hot meal."

I grabbed Mischief, and the four of us, or three of us, started back to Ponyville. After a while we left the mountain, ad were on flat ground again. The distance from the mountain up and down was hard on our lungs, and The Spook and I were growing tired. It was getting dark, which added to our fatigue. After a while we set up camp for the night. We build a campfire, which was hard since we had no axes to cut with.

With the help of Twilight I caught four rabbits and we started to roast them. The fat was basically glistening in the fire and my stomach was growling. Twilight took one, and so did I The Spook didn't take a rabbit though because he wanted to keep his wits sharp in case The Dark attacked us before we got to Ponyville. I respected his idea, but I was desperately hungry. I took another rabbit. He reached into his cloak and pulled out small block of County cheese. He loved the crumbly yellow cheese that the County was famous for. It would be a bad day when he ran out.

"So what were you ponies doing so far from your hometown?" The Spook asked Twilight.

"As I said, Equestria has been attacked by all these monsters for hundreds of years, if not thousands. We went looking for anything to help Ponyville, we're desperately trying to survive."

"Maybe when we get there the Lad and I can help you all out. We could work something out like we did in the County."

"And what was that?"

I remembered the system while The Spook explained it to Twilight. Anyone with a problem would go to a hill on the far side of our old town Chippeden. They would never come near The Spook's house because the benign boggart would rip them to shreds. I would go to see what they needed, and then go back to The Spook. Then either I or we would go to deal with the problem, and get our pay. Also, the town folk would usually get things for us every week, as they didn't like The Spook or his apprentice spending long periods of time in town. Being a Spook was lonely work. Almost no one respected you, let alone like you.

"That's fascinating. I'm sure if you can help us deal with our monsters and get us back on our feet, I can get you a house, and more."

"You can?"

"I am the town leader. There are certain benefits that go with it."

"Aye."

We made makeshift beds out of some straw in a nearby field. I went to sleep instantly. I awoke quickly though, as a chill ran down my spine. The one that told me something of The Dark was nearby. I could hear something in the field to the South. I sat up, gripping my staff. What I saw were two eyes looking at me malevolently. The thing that made me uneasy was that they were not of the same color. When they noticed that I saw them too, they disappeared. I laid back down, but I knew something bad could happen soon. Before I drifted off I pulled my staff closer. It was going to be a rough night.

The Minotaur

As the sun rose, so did we. Mischief also had awoken, so we set off for Ponyville, which was only about two miles away now. When we arrived however, the sight was not good. Only half of the houses that used to exist still did, and only about half of them were still in decent condition. Twilight ran into the town with us following close behind. She ran through a few streets and stopped when a crowd of ponies rushed over to us, some covered in blood.

"Help us!"

"Who are they?"

"Where are the others?"

"Hey!" Twilight said, asserting herself. "What's going on? Were we attacked?"

"Not were, are!"

"It's the cow man!"

"Cow man?" The Spook asked. He looked over at the pony and asked again. "What do you mean 'cow man'?" The Spook's intimidating facial features and the fact that he was wearing a black cloak with a staff scared the pony, who backed up into the crowd.

"Mischief and I will get these people to safety, now's you chance to earn your keep." Twilight said. "Come on Mischief, we have to hurry."

The Spook and I drew our staffs, and I drew my silver chain. Who knows if I would need to bind something. We rushed over to see half a dozen ponies fighting what did look like a bull and a human, only much more intimidating. It was a very muscular human body, and the head had large horns sticking out the top. Another handful of ponies were on the roof of a house with bows, or shooting it with magic bolts. The bull man was rapidly killing the stallions though. It grabbed one of them and threw him into another one. He then charged at another three of them, impaling one, and knocking the others into a house. The ponies that still could walk began retreating, leaving their weapons scattered about.

"Is that The Fiend?" I asked.

"Nay lad. That there is a minotaur. Never seen one before, but my old master Henry Horrocks did. Their strong old brutes, and they don't reason well. If you get too close it could rip a grown man to pieces."

"How to we stop it? Will a silver chain work on it?"

"It might, we have to-" The Spook started to say, but the minotaur began charging at the two of us, letting out an threateningly loud roar. We side stepped it fairly easily. It then lashed out with its arm, hitting The Spook in the ribs. I heard a distinguishing crack before he crashed to the ground. I didn't have time to help him because the minotaur came for me next. It started walking heavily towards me. I parried it with my staff as it tried to punch me with hay makers.

Beads of sweat formed on my brow as I thought. I had to think of something before it got me pinned. I couldn't slow time, and it wouldn't really help anyway. I couldn't stab it either, the minotaur's body would just trap the with all the muscle mass. My only hope was to risk using my silver chain in hopes that it sapped its strength while it burned it.

I took another step back and realized that I had hit a wall. The minotaur threw a heavy punch at me, breaking a large hole in the stone. I used that to my advantage and ran into the open. I had my chain coiled around my hand so all I needed to do was focus and cast. I took deep breaths as the minotaur freed it's hand.

I remembered back to The Spook's house in Chipeden where he would make me practice throwing the chain at a post in the East garden. I could get it 10 time out of 10 while moving side to side or front and back. I cracked the chain in the air and threw it at the minotaur, who started charging me again. My aim was concise and it fell over the minotaur's shoulders. He gave out a pained roar, thrashed around a bit, then fell onto the ground. I walked over to it, slit its throat, and removed my chain. Blood spurted everywhere.

I went over to The Spook and helped him get to his feet.

"I'm all right lad." He said as he got up and wiped the blood from his mouth. "Just a couple sore ribs."

As we went to go find Twilight, every pony was inside a house looking at us. They saw the ominous look we had to us, and the blood on our cloaks. They all hid deep within their houses, locking all doors and windows. The few that were outside gave us cold stares, or looks of fear. It was just like back in the County.

When we arrived at what looked to be the Ponyville hospital, we were grieved by the sight. Many ponies had fatal wounds, or worse. A few nurses were trying to help the ones that could be saved, but there had to be dozens in the hospital beds. We found Twilight helping two stallions with broken legs.

"Oh hi. Did you two kill that monster?" Twilight asked, worried.

"Yes." I replied. "It's gone."

"Good....You were right, about the ponies, I mean. Not everypony understands spooks. " Twilight said sadly.

"It's a dangerous trade, they have a right to be afraid." The Spook said.

"Well, give it time. They'll come around. Oh! Here's a key to the house in the hills on the outskirts." Twilight said, levitating a key, "Why not come back into town tomorrow and we can work out a system to get this town on it's feet?" She also levitated "here's some bits. You can use them to get some supplies until your next job."

"Thank you." The Spook said, taking the coins and key. The Spook headed directly to the house, but gave me a few bits to go buy some food. i got some food from the local greengrocer and some other food from the general store. Unfortunately I couldn't find any store that sold any meat. I also bought two leather bags for The Spook and I, as spooks usually carry a bag for his things. I returned to The Spook's new home and started putting the food on the table and gave him the larger bag.

"No bacon?" The Spook asked.

"Not anywhere, I don't think they eat meat here." I replied.

"I don't like the idea of eating fish as a substitute every day, lad. This is a land of horses though..." He said jokingly.

We explored the rest of the house to find a kitchen, a lounge, a study, and a back room on the first floor. There was an empty wine cellar, save a bottle of wine in the corner that seems to have aged for decades, which The Spook kept. There was an upstairs with a bathroom and three bedrooms. I took the one closest to the stairs, and went back down.

We cooked a large dinner of fish and greens, which was surprisingly delicious. We also each had a small cake. Spooks only fast when facing The Dark, if not, Afterwards The Spook went into the study and wrote in his bestiary, his most prized possession. He had almost lost it when the County was burned and his library too. It had been a large blow to him, as it wasn't his. It was the knowledge of dozens of generations of Spooks. As its current guardian, he felt it was all his fault. The only book to survive was the bestiary, which he started to carry on his person.

I spent the next half hour in my room, putting my few belongings away.

The Spook called me. I went down to see he was sitting by the fire in the lounge. Next to him was a small wooden table, with a glass and the red wine bottle.

"Take a seat, lad." I drew a chair by the fire as well. He pulled out the bottle of wine, and pulled the cork. As he poured it I could see the red wine fill the glass with a red liquid. The aroma was a smell unknown to me. He sniffed the bottle as he grabbed the glass. He downed it rather quickly.

"That...was surprisingly great." He said, pouring another. "Decades of aging has done this well." He continued to talk about wine. After a few minutes it became silent.

"Now." He said. "The first order of business is how to get back to the County."

"Yes." I said.

"Now we got here because The Fiend did something, right?" The Spook drank another glass.

"Yes..."

"So the logical thing to do here is to find the closest thing to the bloody devil in this dimension and slay him as well."

"Maybe we should tell that to Twilight tomorrow. She might know something." I recommended.

"Aye. That sounds like a plan. Get to sleep lad. We need to make an impression tomorrow and I don't want you with rings all over your eyes."

I went back to my room and went to bed, wondering if I was in some different world, or if this was the afterlife.

The Next Few Months

The Spook and I got up early in the morning, and made a breakfast of bread, jam, and eggs. We put on our cloaks over our tunics, grabbed our staffs and bags, and went to town. As soon as our figures rose over the hills on the way to town someone spotted up. They alerted their friends, sending them into a panic and they all ran away. The usual welcome.

When we got to Twilight's tree library there were at least 30 ponies, likely about a third of the town. Twilight came to welcome us.

"John, Tom! Your here. Let's go around back, there are a few things we need to talk about." She said, motioning towards a door. When we entered the room there were a few ponies, all stallions. One I recognized to be Mischief. There was one leaning against a wall. He was black with a brown mane that resembled a military cut. He had a large sword on his back. I noticed a large scar over his face. The other was sitting in a chair. He had a yellow/orange body with a black mane that flipped to the side down to his eyebrows. He had red eyes and had a knife.

"Gentlemen, these are the ones." Twilight said.

"These? Ha!" The military like black stallion asked. "They're more like deformed snow ponies. Throw them in the water. They'll drown like witches."

"That's Lt. Stoner, although he prefers just Lt." Twilight said. "The yellow/orange one is Cole." She motioned to him.

"Nice cloak." Cole was eyeing my staff.

"And you already know Mischief." She finished. Mischief gave them a half smile.

"Now. Tom and John know how to fight all the monsters in Equestria. They might be able to help this town prepare itself against...The Dark you said?"

"Aye." The Spook replied, nodding. "The lad and i can indeed help you fight The Dark, and get rid of the more dangerous foes." He stated.

"And we expect you me to believe you because?" Lt. asked mockingly.

"Cause he has a blade in that staff of his." Cole said, eyeing us. "Judging by the scars on Tom's face they've been through some heavy situations. The older one has that look in his eyes too. The one that says his knowledge of The Dark is high."

"How did you figure that?" I asked, getting nervous.

"It doesn't matter." Twilight said. "I called everypony that would come to my library so you two could...give them a lesson on fighting The Dark."

"I don't see a problem with that." The Spook said shrugging.

"Got it." Twilight happily said. I'll go-" She started but was cut off.

"But the lad and I have something that we need to ask. Is there...something like a devil? a master evil? something that caused all this chaos?"

The ponies looked at each other, worried. Then they looked back. Twilight gulped.

"Well, there are five entities like that. One dominates the others, but they're all very dangerous."

"What are they like? Maybe it's like our dimension." I said.

"The grand master is known to us as Discord. He usually looks like a monstrosity on a being, but can change form. He can do anything really. Stop time, create other dark entities, cause famine..." Cole listed sarcastically.

"That's the one we need to kill." The Spook and I said in unison.

"there's also one that makes winter brutal. freezing every-" Lt. started.

"Golgoth."

"One burns all the land, living in a gigantic flaming tower of-"

"The Ordeen. Let me guess. One that lives in an underground maze of a dungeon, and a giant flying crow." I said, face turning pale.

"You know of them?"

"We've encountered some before, but since we're not from around here, they probably are different here."

"Okay..." Twilight said, very puzzled. "Are you ready to prep the town?"

"One more question. Why are these ponies here?" I asked, looking at the stallions.

"Oh! Right! These are your officers. Lt. here is the best at fighting The Dark and organizing the militia." Twilight said.

"Find me when you need some weapons, or if you want to spar." He taunted.

"Cole can steal, find, or sabotage anything you could ask for." Twilight continued. "And he's kinda smart...not like me though."

"Jealous babe?" he asked Twilight, holding my staff. When I looked at my back, it was there again.

"Shut up." She said, smiling. "Finally we have Mischief. He wanted to continue working with you two, so if you have work for him, or you need him to fight, he's yours."

"I'm basically a hoof for hire." He said.

"Good. We're going to get this town back in order, then we're killing the Old Gods." The Spook said.

"Old Gods?"

"The five higher dark powers. The Dark will be weaker if the Old Gods aren't roaming this world. Makes it easier to kill The Fiend, err Discord." The Spook answered.

"I see. Are you ready to address the public?"

"Aye." He replied.

The Spook and I went in front of the people, on an inside balcony where Twilight had a bed and a telescope. We got them to calm down. The Spook and I sat in chair while Twilight stood next to me. Arrow, Cole, and Mischief stood in the back of the crowd.

"Hello. My Name is John Gregory, and this is my apprentice Tom Ward. We are here to save you from The Dark." The ponies started cheering. We were off to a good start. The Spook had that inspirational voice.

"We will help you, but we will need some things set up. First, how much silver does this town have?" Twilight who was standing next to us answered.

"Ponyville has a small mine where a few ponies mine things to make a living. We send most of the metals to Canterlot, where most ponies are. We do have some, and a few ponies have a little in their houses."

"We need as much as we can. Silver is one of the only things that hurt The Dark. Concentrate some more ponies to the mind to get more silver. Is there a forge to make silver alloy coated weapons?"

"Yes. Iron Ingot, is the forge ready for use?" Twilight called into the crowd. A burly stallion covered in soot replied yes.

"Good. Lt., assist with making an arsenal of silver alloy swords, knives, and spears. No arrows." the Spook commanded

"That's a contradiction." He said, "yes sir, old man sir!" He said. Walking off with Iron Ingot.

"Next, if anything from The Dark looks like a red shimmer, then it's either a boggart, ghost, or a ghast. Always keep salt and iron filings handy if you see one. They can also make a line to keep it from entering through it." The ponies made little notes about it. The crowd liked us! We might have a chance here, I thought to myself. But I knew he was just getting their moral up. Most people were paralyzed on the spot when The Dark as near.

"Now, we will need to set up a bell on the side of town. If anyone has a problem with The Dark, then contact us. The local militia should only be used if We're gone." Everypony decided that to be the best idea.

"And finally, we need a butcher shop." The Spook said. It suddenly became silent. Aside from Cole laughing loudly. Everypony was staring at the Spook in fear. I was probably right when I thought they didn't eat meat. I turned around to see Twilight staring at me, mouth agape.

"Your vegetarians?" I asked rhetorically.

---------------------------------------two months later-------------------------------------------------

Ponyville was starting to look up. There were two small armories on either side of town in case of a witch attack, or any other physically manifested dark servant. This made the local blacksmith's trade very profitable as many militia ponies requested weapons. I heard Iron Ingot had two apprentices. The Spook also received a new silver chain. A bell was set up, like The Spook had suggested. Most ponies were afraid The Spook or I would eat them if they got close. Others became afraid when they saw us fight The Dark that attacked Ponyville. Many ponies kept salt and iron throughout their homes as well.

Unfortunately the ponies weren't seventh sons of seventh sons, and could not actually fight The Dark. Many were still slaughtered by ghasts and boggarts. Only us spooks could really fight anything. Only on one occasion did the militia ponies successfully kill one monster, and that was a simple witch. she had murdered four militia ponies until Lt. had split her head. Which reminded me of how the officers were doing.

Lt. had done a lot with the town. He was training the militia, hoping they might fight as effective military instead of a bunch of rag tag stallions who got themselves killed. He had no family alive so he lived in the local motel.

Cole had gotten silver for the forges in his own ways, taking a sword and a knife as payment, assuming he hadn't stolen. He wasn't in town much, mostly Twilight's house. I assumed he lived with her.

I saw Mischief a few times around town, sometimes with his daughter. I think her name was Sweetie Belle. He worked with the militia, and part time as an assistant in the forge. He lived in a half destroyed place called Carousel Boutique.

Since most ponies didn't have the nerve to actually fight The Dark on their own, The Spook and I were often called. This made us reasonably wealthy as most ponies paid in advance. With what little they had. Back on Earth, some people never paid. The Spook had used this money well. we now had a full wine cellar, books in the library, some written by The Spook in his free time. We also had more food, better doors, curtains, decent bedding, and much more.

I enjoyed the life we had here, even if I missed home. The Spook wasn't as optimistic as I though. He missed his house, his garden, and the old County cheese. Nothing ever motivated him...until he got a lead on one of the Old Gods....

The Bane

I looked out my window to a pleasant sight. The morning air and the butterflies outside gave The Spook's dark home a little happier of a mood. I got dressed and went downstairs to find The Spook in the study, concentrating on the table in the middle of the room.On the table was the large map, being held flat by four knives stabbing each corner. The map was covered with pins, red string, and notes. He was facing my direction, leaning on the centered table by his arms, locking them straight at the elbows looking at the map on the table intently. He had bags under his eyes. He also had a large mug of mead, and many empty ones on the floor, and some papers on a separate table. He probably hadn't slept. The Spook was so deep in thought that he didn't even notice the door shut loudly behind me.

Usually spooks have great senses, and not just because it's a birthright. A spook has to be ready for anything to sneak up on him at night, or if something is out of the ordinary. If we can't pick up these things, we're much more vulnerable.

"Mister Gregory?" I asked nervously, trying not to startle him. "Can you hear me?"

"Aye lad." He grunted, eyes not leaving the map. "And I've got grim news."

"What happened?" I asked, getting worried. "Was the town attacked?"

"Nay. Ponyville is fine. The real problem is this." The Spook said, walking to the table with the mead. He picked up a scroll and tossed it to me. "Look at it."

I opened the scroll to find multiple pictures and reports. I skimmed through them to find what they had in common. I saw multiple dead bodies of ponies, some women and children.

"Cole here put this together." The Spook said, downing the mead and motioning to Cole with a flick of the head. I turned around, looking for Cole. I saw he was leaning against the wall next to the door. He was only about two feet away from me.

"How did I not notice him?" I thought.

"Hey Tom." He said casually, playing with his knife.

"Uhh, hi." I said while I turned back to face The Spook. "What's the problem?"

"There have been multiple occasions where crazed men and women have killed people, usually taking their thumbs. There have also been mysterious disappearances of babies and small children, found missing blood and some bones." The Spook grunted.

"Sounds like usual witch clan behavior.....maybe a little savage." I said, putting the scroll on the center table. "I don't see the severity of the situation."

"The severity is that The Canterlot military has found something top secret. A silver gate." Cole said, flipping the knife in the air. "They kept that file locked up tight. I don't even think all the officers know it exists.

I gulped hard, and my spine shivered. I knew that the silver gate mixed with crazed behaviors and mangled corpses could only mean one thing. The Bane.

The Bane was one of the Old Gods. In The Human Realm he was worshiped by an ancient civilization called the little people. Eventually he grew in power and started to get greedy. The Bane could not live, even as a god, without blood willingly given. He started demanding yearly blood offerings from the little people, threatening to slaughter them all if they didn't provide. This scared the little people into agreeing. The king of the little people was king Heys. Who was forced to give up each of his sons,one by one, one every year. He gave his eldest the first year and down the line. But the youngest son Naze, a seventh son of a seventh son, bound him in the Catacombs deep underground in a maze, trapped behind an enchanted silver gate. The Bane lost his godly powers, and all his worldly powers. The only way for him to be freed was if someone opened the gate.

Eventually The Bane started to slowly get his power back, every year is started to creep back slowly. The thing he wanted most was to regain his living form, but that required close to full godly strength. He started to whisper to the people in the town above the Catacombs, slowly driving them insane. He later got one of his godly powers back, the press. The press allowed him to bend the matter around a living organism's body, causing the surrounding area to abruptly crush the life out of it. This allowed The Bane to get his blood that kept him alive.

Unfortunately since The Bane could only feast off of blood that was willingly given, so if he pressed at the first chance, he could not have the blood. He cleverly scared the people who wandered into the Catacombs by whispering. He would tell them that the maze would be their grave and they would starve. He offered them a way out, to be pressed.

At first people would ignore it, and look for escape, but there was a secret to the Catacombs.....they shift. The Catacombs can change, at any time, and any area. No one escapes while The Bane exists. Eventually people give up. Whether from insanity or starvation. Most people would die by press, to end their misery.

"So The Bane is near Canterlot?" I asked, hoping not. If The Bane was near too many people then his power could increase at an exponential rate.

"Nay, we're in a bit of luck. The Bane is assumed to be in cave on the other side of the mountain Canterlot is stationed upon." The Spook said. "We've got to get to his before the Canterlot ponies get slaughtered."

"Well....Lt. had another idea..." Cole said suggestively.

"What?" I asked. "The Bane must be stopped."

"Well, the Lt. was the captain of Canterlot's royal guard when Shining Armor took over as leader. He was eventually accused of treason by some soldiers when he sacrificed his squad to a witch clan in exchange for his own life during a mission to capture plans on witch clan migrations. That's against the guard code to leave your squad. His defense was that he got the documents as it was the mission priority. Really showed his true colors, All for personal gain, screw the others. He was found guilty and banished."

"So he wants revenge on the military?" I asked puzzled.

"He wants revenge on Shining Armor. He was in charge of Lt.'s sentence. "Lt. wants us to let The Bane kill off Canterlot to the extent of a full evacuation. He wants them to need us for help and to look like Canterlot's savior when The Bane dies, which is your credit."

"We can't do that! many ponies will die!"

"Aye, the lad is right. We can't let the ponies die." The Spook said.

"Fine with me." Cole shrugged. "Just letting you know."

"Then we kill The Bane now, before he gets too powerful." I declared.

"Aye. Pack your bag lad, we leave tomorrow morning!"

Mountains and Manticores

Our boots left deep impressions in the soft dirt. It had rained throughout last night, and the clouds in the air probably meant more rain was to come. The Spook and I walked in silence on the way to the mountain, which was almost a full day travel by foot. The walk was silent, as usual. As Spooks we rarely talk, because it can distract us and hinder our hearing sense. We only speak if it's an urgent matter.

Eventually the mountain's foot drew near, about a mile away. A large and ominous forest stretched far up the mountain cutting off at the snowy peak. When we arrived there we took a small break to focus our minds. The Spook drew a square slab of light colored cheese from his cloak. He broke off a small piece and handed it to me, as well as take a slightly larger piece for himself.

"Here lad. It's not as good as the old cheese, but it will have to do." The Spook complained.

I could see him thinking about his yellow crumbly cheese from the county. He was always attached to it.

As I chewed on the cheese I looked up at the sun, it was passed midday, and there was a long journey to our destination.

'Will we have enough sunlight to make it to the cave?' I thought. I looked up at the mountain. Not likely. Which meant we would have to camp nearby.

We soon got up, and began to look for a path up the mountain. It was a hard thing, considering we were taking a route that never existed. We climbed for what seemed to be forever, and the sun wasn't much help. The clouds were very dark, and were about to start pouring rain. We decided to suppress the ache in our bodies, and increase our pace, to look for shelter.

After an hour of traveling through the rain we came across a small mining clearing. We unpacked the bags, and I was asked to collect firewood. Luckily there was the edge of a forest that covered most of the bottom of the Mountain. I couldn't find a large amount of firewood at the edge, so I ventured slightly deeper into the forest. I found plentiful amounts of wood there. I collected as much as my arms could carry and began to walk back to clearing when I felt a cold chill. The kind Spook's get when The Dark is present. Then I heard a girl's laugh. It was innocent, yet intimidating. I saw something to my right. I looked over to see a face. It had long white hair, and two brown eyes. I blinked and it had disappeared.

'Alice?'

Deciding it was nothing a continued back to the Spook, at a somewhat faster pace. I soon arrived so we lit the fire with my tinderbox. We warmed our bones and ate some more cheese. After that we slept...for a few hours.

"Get up lad!" The Spook commanded in an urgent whisper.

I looked at my master with blurry eyes, but quickly sensed the urgency in his voice. I grabbed my staff and got up. I scanned the dark forest, and saw several rustling bushes. I stood next to The Spook, our staffs in defensive position. I pressed my thumb into the recess of my staff, and heard a relieving click as the blade in the staff clicked out of the tip. The amount of rustling grew larger and growls were emerging from the shrubbery. Quickly, two large beasts jumped out at us. They were bulky and muscular, and walked on four large legs. They had piercing red eyes, and webbed wings. The growls they emitted were loud and vicious.

"Have you seen these before?" I asked The Spook.

"Nay. Use caution, we know nothing about these. Although...they look like a creature native to a country back home. Lions?" He replied, eyes intently focused on the beasts.

One of them let out a roar and pounced at The Spook, who raised his staff to deflect its massive paws. Using the opportunity, the other jumped at me. I underestimated it's weight which allowed it to tackle me to the ground when I tried blocking. It's massive body pinning me to the ground.

The monsters face was murderously close to me, mane brushing against my face. It let out a menacing roar, and it's breath stank of meat and death. I couldn't move my staff arm, and The Spook was busy, but I managed to reach into my cloak pocket and grab a fistful of salt, which I jammed into the creature's eye. It soon got off me to try and remove the salt from its blind eye.

In a panic, the other beast slammed into the first, causing it's skull to land in the cliff side. A loud crack echoed, and blood started to pool. The second abomination had The Spook's staff driven into it's back, stopping it from moving. It also had several cuts and lacerations along the body. The lodged staff in it's spine caused it to shudder with pain, causing the cuts to ooze blood heavily. I calmly picked up my own staff and slit it's throat. No living thing should suffer that much pain.

The Spook retracted the hidden blade into his staff and leaned on it, catching his breath. "Strong body, that creature."

"Maybe Twilight knows what they are, we should ask her on the way back." I said.

"Aye. I'd like to document it in my bestiary as well. Having a proper name is the first step." He replied.

The Spook and I carried the bodies away, as not to attract other things. After which we were too exhausted to do anything, but hope we weren't bothered until morning...

Prologue: The Human Realm

Forenote: the Human Realm isn't in modern times. Their technology includes medieval weapons and spooks' tools. They live in somewhat medieval alternate Earth

The Dark had claimed the Equestrian Realm, and a few more scattered through the stars, and so had The Light. But there was one realm that The Dark was trying desperately to claim. The was known by most as the Human Realm. The Dark's box had not been found in that realm, but the power of his worshipers gave him opportunities to briefly use his power and even appear on certain days. He wanted this Realm.

The Human Realm had people that worshiped The Light, known as god, and those who worshiped The Dark, known to them as The Fiend. They were gods to the people. Those who fought to serve The Dark were known as his servants. There are many different servants to The Dark and they worship him in different ways.

Most people directly worshiped neither, and those would be sent to Limbo. The worshipers of The Light had two kinds of people that worshiped it directly. Those were priests and those who feared a bad afterlife.

There was one profession that were warriors that fought for The Light, without worshiping it, just believing. They were known as spooks. They were similar to knights for a king, but they didn't fight to get into heaven, but to defeat The Dark forever. They usually fought The Dark and it's servants without direct weapons, but they fought with knowledge.

In the human world, spooks are very uncommon, but incredibly necessary. The amount of dark servants had been steadily increasing, and The Dark was creeping up in power, close to being able to being summoned into the Human Realm, to fully take over.

The Human Realm contains people known as scryers, who can supposedly see into the future. There is a widely known prophecy that some believe. That prophecy states that John Gregory, a spook, would have an apprentice named Tom Ward. Tom Ward is said to become the most powerful warrior in the world, able to defeat The Dark itself in the Human Realm...or to be able to banish The Light from the Human Realm. His fate is unknown even to him, as he fights for The Light, but has darkness inside of him.