Author's Note

I'm back~!! Heya guys, it's me, your neigh-borhood author, Malos. I have been taking a well-needed break from writing and now I am back with new inspiration! I will be getting around to writing whenever I can. I hope you guys enjoy the new story!

-Malos (aka toowoo)

Skaven Stormvermin look like this:

The Rise Of A Future Legend

The Skaven were doing well, that is in the eyes of a Skaven. Their enemies were faltering and they were content for now. But then it happened. A giant explosion shook the entire planet and the city of Skavenblight was stolen away with a flash of light.

When the population of Skavenblight realized what had happened, they were utterly devastated and started looking for someone to blame. Eventually, the majority blamed the Horned Rat, suspecting that he had a hand in doing this treachery. Sadly, he was not there to suffer their wrath, nor was eleven of the other Lords Of Decay. The only one that was transported through with the city was Griznekt Mancarver, the sixth seat at the Council Of Thirteen. His leadership has been poor, almost non-existent as he lets the city fend for themselves mostly. The only support he gave to them was the occasional patrol of Stormvermin, which helped with the murder and poverty on the streets a little. Other than that, the lower parts of the city were in turmoil. A large sum of the population had pulled themselves out of the teachings of the Horned Rat and have banded together to try and build something new, a monarchy. But the Lord Of Decay refuses to let this happen and has them being hunted down. It is kinda hard when 90% of the populace hates the Lord Of Decay. Even the many ranks of Stormvermin were getting mutinous with the leadership and purposefully led the search parties astray.

Out in the outside world, however, a storm was brewing on the horizon. Many nations began to plot against Equestria right under their noses, and the Equestrians are far from prepared to take on several nations at once after the chaos that happened recently with Tirek and a certain special creature that appeared out of the blue. While Celestia and Luna are working their hardest to undo this mess, but they are being fooled by their allies and they don't even know it. The Crystal Empire is booming with happiness and prosperity and the leaders are soon to have a child. Princess Twilight and her friends were ready to face anything that came to Equestria... anything except an all-out war. The question is, can they hold out long enough for someone to help them? Will the rats be able to save them before all hell breaks loose? Like any war, there will be fatalities, but as the quote goes, 'From the ashes we are born anew'.

Now enters a new hope for the remnants of Skaven dom and the survival of Equestria, Skullithius Malos...

I woke with a start and hurriedly picked myself off of the ground where I had been face down in a puddle of murky water. I quickly looked around myself to gain a feeling for my surroundings. I seemed to be in some sort of alleyway in a very dark looking city and by the looks of it, it was about midday. I don't remember much, but I definitely didn't fall asleep in an alleyway. I cautiously looked around me to see if there were any signs of life, luckily there was none to be seen, but that brings the question of how I even got here. I tried to stand up, only to fall right over when I felt my head spin. My head felt like it was splitting in twine, but I needed to get myself back in working order. I kept my calm on the outside, but on the inside, I was freaking the fuck out. What happened to my feet!? I screamed in my head. I quickly looked at my hand to see that I no longer possessed five fingers, rather they were now five long claws with bone white fur on the top of it. I started hyperventilating as I realized what had to have happened. The memories of my last moments on Earth came flooding back to me like a tidal wave.

I had died fighting some old enemies that were invading my home, a very honorable way to die. Sadly, it seems that I will not be resting peacefully just yet, the gods require more of my service. That thought calmed me a bit and I examined more of my new body. My fur was albino and it was matted in some places, as well as some bruises. Obviously, I was bipedal by my size, but I couldn't tell how tall I was just yet. I crawled back over to the murky water and looked at my reflection. It was then when I knew exactly what I was. I was a Skaven. My teeth were long and sharp with my front teeth being the longest. What confused me was that I had blue eyes instead of a Skaven's normal red bloodshot. I guess I was a special Skaven then, well, special in the definition of a human.

A sound to my left drew my attention away from my reflection. A Stormvermin was coming down the alley that I was in. His red eyes scanned the walls and alleyway until his eyes found me. The expression of shock was evident on his face as he examined me. He snapped himself out of his stupor and quickly beckoned me over.

"Get over here quickly!" He whispered harshly. I tried to get up on my feet but I stumbled over, luckily he caught me before I hit the ground and started helping me over to a house that had a crest above the door. When we arrived, he pulled out a large key and unlocked the door, letting us into the house. Once we were inside, he quickly shut the door and closed the blinds. He turned around and looked me straight in my eyes.

"Who are you?" He said in a stern tone. He sounded like he was in his late forty's, but I don't know about a Skaven.

"I am Skullithius Malos," I said simply. “What is yours?” His smoldering look lightened when he heard me cooperate.

"That is quite an odd name, which suits you." He said as he sat down. "My name is Carcus. Come, sit." He said to me oddly civilized for a Skaven.

"Very well," I said as I sat down in a seat opposite him. There were several moments of silence between the two of us as we gave each other a cold glare. I decided to speak up. “Why are you helping me? From what I know, you should be smearing my intestines across the road.” I asked.

“Because you are the only hope for Skaven dom.” He said plainly. “The old Skaven ways are being torn down, the teachings of the Horned Rat are lifting, we can see clearly now, or at least most of us...” He said cryptically. “There were some that were too engrossed in the teachings, such as the plague lords and priests. They were dispatched during the beginning of the rebellion. It was a shame to lose those assets, but they chose their path.” He said sadly.

“But that still does not answer my question, why are you helping me?” I asked him angrily. I was starting to get the feeling he wanted me to be a pawn. I am no pawn in anybody’s game, I am the king.

“You, you are special. You are destined for greatness, I can tell that much. I can see you're unbreakable will and your righteous authority. And most of all, I can tell that you are not even Skaven.” This shocked me greatly. How did he know? How could he have seen what I had not?

“How?!” I yelled while attempting to stand and failing, resulting in me crashing down to the floor again. He gave a hoarse laugh.

“The obvious one is that you don't know proper Skaven posture!” He exclaimed in between his laughing fit. “Then there's the fact that you have no scars and you have white fur. But most of all, you have blue eyes.” He said mystically. There was no point in hiding it now, this Skaven was too smart to fool now.

“Fine then, you caught me, a guy stuck in a Skaven body,” I said defeatedly.

“Indeed I have, but you are exactly who we need.” He said triumphantly. I shot him a confused look. “You see, when we inevitably overthrow the warlord, we will want a king. In all honesty, if we were to instate a Skaven king, we would be right back where we started, but we can’t possibly trust any other race with the throne. That is where you come in. You are the best of both worlds, you are Skaven, but you have the righteousness of someone else's instincts.” He rationalized. “You are the key to our success. Please, I beg you, end this tyranny.” He pled. I studied him for several moments to see if he was trying to take me for a fool before finally giving in.

“How many of you are there?” I asked getting down to business.

“Almost the entire city plus the Stormvermin Corp. We have complete control over the guards and defenses, should I give the word, we could storm the keep.” He said in an equally serious tone. Holy shit, if we have the entire Stormvermin Corp, we could take on anybody and win.

“Very nice, but if I'm to challenge the warlord, I will need equipment,” I told him.

“Right this way, my lord.” He said graciously. There was no trace of sarcasm or venom in his voice, rather true loyalty and honesty. As I tried to stand up tall, I began to wobble. “Maybe I should teach you the proper way to stand like a Skaven." He said with a bemused glint in his eye.

An hour later…

I stood tall while still hunched over. I stood taller than Carcus by three feet even with me hunched over!

“Good, now that you know how to walk like a Skaven, you need a weapon. What is your weapon of choice?” He asked me.

“A halberd,” I said simply. He went down into his basement and came back with a full set of Stormvermin armor and a Stormvermin halberd.

“This will be enough, I think.” He said. I began to put on the armor, which was rather small and grabbed the halberd. It was a little on the heavy side, but that only meant the swings would be more devastating. I gave a couple good swings to get used to the momentum before looking back at Carcus. He was holding out a long, torn cape with the Skaven faction symbol on it. Evidently, it has seen many battles and carries a great honor among Skaven. “I want you to wear this, my king. This is my family heirloom, the cape of Caraconus The Meatgrinder. I want you to wear it in your battle with the warlord.” He said with a smirk. I slowly took it from his hands and attached it to one of the plates on my back. The cape fell perfectly below my knees, but not to the floor. I could feel that it was also imbued with chain mail, which protected my back from any arrows or sword strikes. Now was the time to strike, now was the time to put an end to these people's sufferings, now was the time to lead a revolution…

TO BE CONTINUED...