Death Dealer

History Lesson

Gath readied his axe as he kept his gaze upon the mage. Thankfully for the helmet he was the least threat to Gath right now. Gath did not even turn his gaze away from the mage however as he swung his axe to his right side, burying it into the sternum of one of the bandits. The mage seemed to size him up as Gath pulled the axe free and let the body crumple to the forest floor.

"Who are you?" Gath snarled, not liking the way the mage was watching him.

Without giving any form of answer Discord snapped his fingers and the remaining bandits clutched their sides and cried out in pain as they began to grow, muscles swelling and popping leather straps and ripping the cloth that they wore. Armor fell from their bodies as muscles bulged obscenely in the remaining three men. The grayish hue to their skin and eyes morphed into a reddish hue.

"Holy shit..." Gilda mumbled as she watched the bandits grow to a size that dwarfed even Gath. She then flew up high, then alighted onto a branch to watch in what she hoped was a safe distance.

Gath grunted and popped hes back as he got back into a ready stance, holding his axe in both hands, waiting for the now berserk men to make their charge. Seconds stretched on and felt like minutes as adrenaline pumped through Gath. He was going to need to reevaluate the mage's level of threat if he could do this.

"Raaaagh!" Screamed one of the enraged bandits as he charged, swinging wildly with his sword. Gath ducked under the sword as it bit into the tree behind him, becoming lodged deep into the wood. Gath then swung the axe in an upward arc, catching the man in the groin and cutting up to the middle of his belly. The bandit screamed in pain as he fell to the ground, gath letting the force of the man's falling mass pull the axe free.

As Gath turned his attention away from the downed man, he looked up and only saw one of the berserk men charging him. 'Where did the other go' he thought briefly before he was rammed into the air from his blind side by the missing man. Gath hit a tree and was brought to an abrupt stop to his flight, and fell to the ground. It took only a second for him to stand up but both remaining bandits were upon him already, raining blows upon him. Their crude and dull swords bounced harmlessly off his helmet, but they left nicks in his chainmail and bit into his skin where he could not dodge in time. The cuts on his arms and legs were shallow, but they still bled nonetheless. Gath needed to get back on the offensive if he wanted to beat them.

Grabbing a hold of one of the berserker's arms Gath pulled the man in closer and got a hold of his head. Gath then lunged his head forwards and smiled as he heard the sound of cracking bone as the bandits head was knocked back. Gath then followed up with a snap kick to the man's shin, splintering it and causing the bone to snap to the side and protrude from the skin. Gath then swing his axe into the man's neck as he was trying to stand despite the cracked skull and broken leg.

"Persistent scum!" Gath yelled as he spun and ducked under the other ones sword. Gath did not have time to pull his axe out, so he was left with only his bare hands and the dagger at his belt.

Wasting no time to consider his options, Gath charged the man in the short distance between them and grabbed him around the midsection as he kept running, forcing the bandit back and off his feet. The berserk man slammed the pommel of his sword down on the helmet to no avail, not even denting it with the inhuman force he was magically given. Gath slammed him into a tree and jumped back as the bandit fell to the ground. As he attempted to stand up Gath grabbed his head and kicked him in the stomach.

The bandit only grunted at the devastating kick, but his eyes widened as Gath turned his head around and he saw the sword sticking out of the tree. He screamed in horror as Gath propelled his face forward and the sword hilt was buried deep into his skull. The scream stopped as abruptly as the man's struggling as Gath ended his life.

Gath then turned to where the mage was and noted he was no longer in sight. Gath let his gaze wander along the forest as he searched for any sign of him, but he could only see the Griffin tribe girl sitting on a tree branch wiping blood off her dagger.

"He took off, and I wasn't chasing him." Gilda said as she hopped from the tree branch and walked up to Gath.

"Who was that, you looked like you recognized him." Gath said in his deep voice as he retrieved his axe.

Gilda whistled as she looked at the massive man with his head impaled on the sword that was lodged in the tree, "You did a number on this one..."

"Who was the mage." Gath repeated.

"You're serious? You don't know him?" Gilda did a double take, she thought he was joking when he inquired about Discord.

"No, I have never seen or heard of such a strange mage." Gath grumbled, losing patience.

"That was Discord, he is supposed to be encased in stone in Celestia's garden for his crimes. How do you not know that?" Gilda said with a confused look on her face.

"Lets leave it at I'm not up to date on recent news." Gath said as he turned to leave the sight of the carnage.

"He has been there for over one thousand years!" Gilda exclaimed as she followed Gath.

"Like I said, recent news..."

Celestia was stressed, tired, and things were going from bad to worse. The only things giving her comfort was the fact that Gath could fend for himself if Chrysalis and Discord went after him, and Twilight was willing to allow her to rest in the library. It had only been an hour since Gath had bolted, and only half an hour since she sent a message to Shining armor to round up a guard detachment and lead them to Ponyville.

"Twilight, do you think you could get me something to eat as well? It has been a while since I had a chance to eat anything..." The princess of the sun said wearily as she sat on the sofa sipping tea.

"Of course princess!" Twilight said excitedly as she rushed off to the kitchen.

"Spike, could you gather the rest of the elements here? I fear there is something important they must all be told." Celestia said to the young boy.

"Right away your majesty!" Spike said with a bow before running out the door to fetch the other five element bearers.

Celestia sighed as she stared into the cup of tea in her hands. This was truly a stressful day for her, her niece was tortured, she was kidnapped, and then she found out her darkest secret escaped his captivity. She had a hunch the Elements of Harmony were probably not in the vault if she knew anything about Discord.

Celestia looked up to the young sorceress sitting awkwardly in a chair close to her. Something was off with Trixie, something did not feel right in the air while she was around. Celestia had a hunch, but she needed to check before making an ass of herself.

"Trixie was it... You seem tense." Celestia started, and the light blue haired girl seemed to jump at this.

"Just... Not used to being in the presence of royalty is all..." Trixie returned with a nervous smile as she rubbed the back of her head.

"There is something... Dark around you..." Celestia pressed on. Trixie's eyes widened at this but she held the nervous smile.

"Whatever do you mean princess?" Trixie said, a hand trembling in her lap.

"You have practiced the dark arts... haven't you Trixie?" Celestia said, narrowing her eyes.

Trixie froze, she knew she was caught. The dark arts were outlawed, and for good reason as they generally dealt with murder and the sorts. Trixie then hung her head in defeat as she balled up her fists in her lap.

"You seem to be a friend of Twilight's however, so I am going to let you off with a warning. Don't you dare harm any of my little subjects. I will allow you to use them to protect your friends, but never kill without reason. You have a heavy burden to bear knowing spells of those affiliation, you will be tempted but know, you have been warned..." Celestia said with a fierce expression on her face.

Twilight entered the room carrying a plate full of sandwiches and a few treats. At the sight of her pupil Celestia dropped the death glare and gave a warm smile to Twilight.

"Thank you Twilight, I have had a rough day and this means a lot." Celestia said as she picked a sandwich and began eating.

"If you don't mind me pressing princess, what is happening? You came here before you knew Gath was here. Something else is going on isn't it?" Twilight said with a solemn expression.

"Chrysalis is back... And she released Discord."Celestia said softly.

"W-what?! But... Why? Why would Chrysalis team up with Discord?" Twilight nearly shouted, the urgency written all over her face.

"Revenge, power, greed... It is hard to tell why Chrysalis would go to such lengths. When Spike finishes gathering your friends we will fill them in too, but we are not going to act until your brother arrives with the guard unit I sent for." Celestia said wearily.

"Um..." Twilight mumbled softly as she fiddled nervously with the front of her shirt.

"What is it Twilight?" Celestia asked with a concerned voice.

"What about... Gath? Do you think he will help us?" Twilight answered. At this Celestia sighed and looked into her own reflection from her cup of tea.

"We can only hope. As much as I want him to stay uninvolved, he may be our best hope against Discord. The helmet he wears protects him against the trials of time and magic. He is immune to both so long as he has it on, but the price he pays is great too." Celestia stated, taking another bite of her sandwich.

"What price?" Twilight said, voice now full of wonder. She had held that helmet in her hands, how could she not have known it held that kind of power.

"While he wears it, he will be able to find no peace, his slumber will be tormented with nightmares of the demon god that lies within the helmet. His will is constantly pitted against the dark god for control, and if he fails he will become a mindless slave. Finally, the helmet can not be removed by him. Only one that is pure of heart and holds love for him may remove it." Celestia explained finishing her sandwich and moving onto a tart.

Twilight had frozen at the last bit of the explanation. She found the entire explanation troubling, but the last bit about love had left her red in the face. She had not realized she harbored such feelings for the man, sure he had saved her a few times, and he was not too bad looking handsome actually under the helmet. But love?

Celestia noticed her students blush and cocked her head slightly questioning the flushed appearance of her star pupil, "Everything alright Twilight?"

"No! I mean yes! Everything is fine, just fine!" Twilight yelled nervously, drawing out a suspicious look from Celestia.

"Twilight if I didn't know better I would think-" Was all Celestia got out before the door of the library banged open and Rainbow Dash came flying in, a wild look on her face.

"Twilight is everything alright? Spike said it was important and-- Princess Celestia!?" Rainbow bowed as she noticed the solar princess was in the room.

"Yes Rainbow, as soon as the rest of your friends have gathered I will explain what is so urgent." Celestia said to calm the rainbow haired girl down before turning her gaze back to twilight and giving her a 'we will talk later' look.

"Wait wait wait... Let me get this straight. You are older than either of the princesses, and you have been in a dungeon for over a thousand and a half years?" Gilda said with an incredulous expression.

"Yes, that is correct." Gath said as he raised a jug of wine to his lips and drank.

"Figures, I like a guy and he would be an old geezer..." Gilda huffed.

"So you will leave me alone then?" Gath said as he set the wine jug down on the packed earth floor of his den.

"Naw, you are still the only man I have met that I consider worthy. So you aren't mister perfect, at least you aren't a pussy like most men around these parts." Gilda said with a sultry smile as she picked up the jug off the ground and took a swig.

"Hmph, you may have a point in your words, the people of this time seem weak. Though, I guess that is the price to pay for peace." Gath mumbled more to himself than to keep conversation.

"So tell me old man... How were things when you were still young? What was the world like?" Gilda said, voice full of wonder.

"You do not seem the type to enjoy history lessons..." Gath stated dryly.

"Normally no, but that's just because history nowadays are about narrowly avoided conflict and short lived rebellions. You say things were different back then... How?" Gilda said with a pleading look in her eyes as she scooted closer to Gath.

Gath shook his head and grabbed for the wine jug again, he was going to need a drink with the long tale he was about to tell.

"Steel had not even been discovered yet, it was still the age of iron, and savagery. The different clans of men kept to their own lands unless they were vying to take over another's. All the land was forest here in what you now know as Equestria. No one had cleared or tamed much more of the forest than for a few stray towns or cities here and there. But to the south there was an empire, the Kitzaks, who were run by an evil man in the deserts. They were the first to discover steel, and with their discovery they invaded the forests.

The invasion started small, only raids for slaves to run the mines and to fuel their sorcerers dark rituals for power. But as time went on their kings greed got the better of him and he started to burn and invade the forest. So i rose to oppose him, that was when i donned this cursed helmet. With it I gained the power to lead the forest tribes against the Kitzaks and I slew the man who caused me so much trouble.

But from there things only escalated, the horned helmet drew the attention of many who craved its power, and I could not rest until they were all slain. The world changed, and burned as I killed mad king after mad king. Even a few cult leaders hunted me, but in the end they all met the same fate. It was not until I had already watched the world change for a thousand years, and everything I had once known change, that I decided I had enough. Celestia was one of the few who wanted the helmet not for its power, but to hide it. So i let her, I allowed myself to be captured and thrown into her dungeon on the promise that if no one know where I had gone, I would remain there." As Gath finished his tale, he let the empty jug fall to the floor. He had not talked so in depth with anyone in so long. It felt strange, and it left him feeling worn out. He needed to scrape out what little rest the helmet would allow him.

Gath stood up from the earth floor and walked over to some shelves he had carved out of the roots of the tree his den was under, and grabbed one of the sleeping rolls from the bandits he had killed. He tossed the roll to Gilda who caught it with a questioning look on her face.

"I am going to turn in for now, you can stay here if you like, but you must swear to me you will tell no one of where my den is." Gath said with a stern face.

Gilda smiled at this before responding, "Your secret is safe with me."

Gath then made his way to a pile of animal furs that now served as his bed and took off his armor and clothes. He then lay down naked except for the helmet and burrowed beneath the warmth of the furs. Gilda meanwhile grew flushed and her wings stuck straight out as she watched him do this.

"Oh sweet Celestia..." Gilda mumbled as she tried to calm herself.

Sorry for so long between updates, college is eating a lot of my time. Between classes, studying, guild wars 2, and getting trashed with friends I have been really slow on the updates. Hopefully now that I have my schedule figured I will be quicker on the updates.