Chapter I: The Rise of the Raven

It was, simply put, just another day in the life of Michale Jameson, a video game nerd and full-time employee at GameStop. He groaned, getting up from his bed, and shutting off the alarm clock next to him. That done, he moved to get dressed, putting on a Fallout 4 shirt and some khakis. That done, he moved downstairs, entering the kitchen and grabbing a bowl and a box of cereal. Once he had finished eating, he grabbed his keys, and exited the house, locking it behind him before heading to his car to go to work.

many hours later

Michale yawned, walking up his porch to open the door. He noticed a small, rectangular box sitting in front of his doorway, and picked it up curiously, before unlocking his door and stepping inside, immediately bringing the box up to the table, grabbing a kitchen knife and carefully cutting away the tape at the ends of the box. Once all the tape was removed, he opened it up, looking at the contents inside with unconcealed glee.

It was a smaller, black rectangular box, with the image of a helmet on one side, a Roman three on another.

“The Dawn of War III Collector's edition…” He breathed silently, slowly pulling the box out of the other box and popping it open, pulling out the contents one by one. His movements stopped as he pulled out the small replica Daemonhammer inside, examining it carefully. “Godsplitter… looks pretty good.” It was then that he noticed a button on the side of the hammer’s handle. Curious, he pressed the button, expecting it to light up or something.

Instead, the hammer burst to life, electrical currents running across the head of the hammer, which began to grow in size, becoming heavier with each passing second in Michale’s hand, forcing him to grab on with two hands.

“W-what the-” He yelped, as wind began spiraling around him, causing the hammer to lean towards him, as if the wind was trying to bring it against his head. He tried letting go, but found his hands almost glued to the handle. So instead, he tried bracing against it, to keep it from falling on top of him. This failed however, and slowly but surely the hammer reached down, and made contact with his forehead. And everything exploded in a bright burst of light, before fading away in an everlasting black.

“Princess! We’ve discovered something!” A voice called, piercing the darkness that clouded his mind. He felt… strange. His body felt entirely different… and his right arm and left leg both felt… cold, and empty, as if they weren't really there at all. He heard the whine of machinery powering up around him, and the sound of armored footsteps nearing him.

“What is it?” Another voice whispered, and he could feel as if he could sense several people standing around him, with another walking closer.

“I think it's a man… but what's with the armor? And the scar?” A third voice whispered, but all fell silent as the final figure approached. Judging by the lightness of each step, he identified the new person as a woman.

”Wait… how can I tell that just from the sound of her feet? And what do those other guys mean by-” His thoughts were interrupted as a golden light sweeper into his conscience, erasing all other thoughts as the image of a beautiful woman appeared in front of him, golden light radiating from her and her alone. A brilliant wave of multicolored hair flowed from to her side, waving in a nonexistent wind, her ornate and beautifully crafted golden armor shining brightly in the darkness. He also noticed the sword hanging in a scabbard to her side, but paid it no heed as new thoughts overwhelmed his mind.

”Emperor. God. Holy. Leader. BOW DOWN.” He did as these thoughts ordered, and several gasps of surprise went unnoticed as his attention was focused solely on her. He didn't even realize he had gotten up, let alone opened his eye.

“Interesting… and what are you, to immediately bow before me?” The woman asked, motioning with her hand for him to rise. He did as commanded, standing up above the rest of the soldiers surrounding him, his hand gripped around the massive Daemonhammer standing proudly at his side.

“I… I know not my name, Empress.” He stated after a single moment. ”How could I have forgotten my own name?! I guess it's to be expected, in the presence of the God-Empress…”

“Empress?” The woman giggled. “No, I am no Empress. I am Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. And, sir, not to be rude, but isn't this your name here?” Celestia pointed to a part of his shoulder pauldrons, where the name ‘Gabriel Angelos’ was etched into the gold. “Gabriel Angelos?”

“I… yes, that name sounds familiar, your highness.” The newly named Gabriel agreed, feeling as though it felt somewhat wrong.

“I beg your pardon, Sir Gabriel, but do you know what happened to this village? We came here due to rumors of it being attacked, and… well…” Celestia asked. Gabriel finally took in his surroundings, to find they stood in the still-burning ruins of a village, the corpses of the villagers being collected by a few other guardsmen for burial.

“I don't know anything, your highness. The last thing I can recall is being at home… and…” Gabriel paused, struggling to remember the rapidly fading memory. “And I woke up from the voice of one of your guards.”

“I see.” Celestia nodded. One of the guards stepped forward.

“Your highness, with all due respect, we cannot trust this… man. He could be lying!” The guard said.

“Worry not, Initiate Armor. I can sense his feelings, though his mind is heavily guarded. He speaks the truth.” Celestia comforted the young man, turning back to Gabriel. “This is Initiate Shining Armor, a new recruit to the Royal Guard.” Gabriel glanced at the young boy. He was still young, likely fourteen or sixteen. His hair was a light shade of blue, matted to his head underneath his helmet. His equally blue eyes glared suspiciously at Gabriel, who returned the stare with a blank one of his own, his single eye piercing into Armor’s soul with an intensity that frightened the child.

“Your Highness.” Gabriel spoke up. “As imprudent as this may sound, I would like to join your military. I don't know anything about this land, and I feel that my expertise would greatly assist your rule.” He knelt down again, bowing before her.

The Princess was about to respond, when suddenly an arrow flew over Gabriel’s shoulder, piercing the eye of one of Celestia’s guards, who fell to the ashen ground, screaming in pain and grasping at the arrow stuck in his socket. The rest of the guardsmen ducked into cover, while Celestia drew her sword, which caught fire as it exited its scabbard.

Gabriel rose immediately, his grip on the Godsplitter tightening as he turned to look behind him.

Dozens of warriors were charging into the ruined village, wearing nothing except for tribalwear and feathers, their mouths covered by what looked like the beaks of what must have been massive birds. One of them charged the nearest guardsmen, letting loose a warcry as they stabbed their spear through his armored chest, whereas three others on horseback shot arrows at Celestia’s troop, their arrows bouncing harmlessly off of Gabriel’s armor.

“Griffonian tribesmen!” Initiate Armor shouted, drawing his sword. “Protect the Princess!” His eyes widened as Gabriel dashed into the fray, swinging the massive Daemonhammer in his hand in front of him as he smashed the head of one of the tribal warriors into their shoulders, the feathers of their headdress sticking out from the hole where their neck used to be. As they collapsed, Gabriel moved on, electricity sparking around Godsplitter. As he smashed another Griffonian’s head into a wooden pole, their brain matter splattering the charred wood, he began to shout loudly, for all to hear.

“I shall never stop, lest the enemy escape!” He began, grabbing a warrior by the head and smashing him into his armored kneecap, the Griffonian’s face imploding back into his head. “I shall never tire, lest the enemy strike!” The rest of the Griffonians backed away as Godsplitter broke one of their brothers in two, the hammer crushing his spine and sending the undamaged halves of his body flying in separate directions. “With each enemy I kill, I grow closer to salvation!” He roared, defying physics and jumping high up into the air, Godsplitter swinging madly just above him. He brought the Daemonhammer back down into the ground like a meteor, releasing a shockwave that sent the Griffonians in front of him flying back, most of them meeting their end at the hands of wooden posts, which penetrated their chests, sending blood spilling to the ground as Gabriel marched forth.

“I am the Raven of Blood, Gabriel Angelos, here to deliver the holy wrath of the Emperor to you, heretics!” Gabriel declared proudly. The remaining Griffonians, which happened to be the few archers, fled, fear evident in their eyes.

“There shall be no escape!” Gabriel growled, preparing to give chase.

“Angelos, stop!” Celestia’s voice cut through Gabriel’s rage. He turned, looking at Celestia as the sun began to rise behind her. “They have fled, so there is no need to give chase. They know your power, and will not wish to see it again.” She stepped closer to Gabriel, sheathing her sword, its flames sputtering out. “You said you wished to join my Guard, and, after witnessing your prowess, have decided to consider it more thoroughly. Please, return with me to Canterlot.”

“As you wish, Princess.” Gabriel nodded, bowing slightly.

Celestia turned away from him, observing her guards recovering from the attack. “While it wasn't quite what I had hoped for, you have given me a great weapon, dear sister.” She said, looking at the fleeing moon as she brought the sun up. “For that, I thank you.”

Author's Note

So, first chapter of the second of four stories written between me and BP for this universe! Yay! I hope you all enjoyed, and be sure to check out the other story connected to this one, "Welcome to Heaven, Kick Everyone Out"!

I've had some problems actually getting this chapter done. It's sorta.. I guess writers block? That also explains the shitty intro. I just couldn't think of anything.

Anyways, hope you enjoyed, and I will see you in the next chapter!