Author's Note

Trigger warning mild depiction of domestic violence.

Chapter 1 Risen Part 1

"Among all of Celestia's Agents, none are more feared nor hated than her court mages. Usually accompanying high ranking government officials or lords as advisors, they also have the authority to execute anyone suspected of treason including the very ones they are advising." A passage in the 'Practical Guide to Surviving Equestria.’

*****
A sudden clash of furniture hitting the ground woke a sleeping colt. The colt's ears held high toward the source of the noise a wall separating the colt's room and the living room; he could hear his parents arguing on the other side. The colt got up from his bed making his way to the door nudging it with his nose to open it; he then walked down the hall toward the living room where he saw overturned chairs and stuffing from a couch cushion on the floor.

The colt's father was pacing back and forth. "Where is it?" The chocolate colored stallion shouted at his wife.

"I don't know what you did with it!" The bubble gum colored mare unicorn said.

"I swear if you with stole it, I will break your jaw!" The stallion warned.

Worried that his father would make good on his threat the colt tried to intervene. "Stop!" Squeaked the colt.

The two adults looked at their son with the stallion reacting first. "Get back to bed." He commanded, approaching the colt with a dangerous look in his eyes.

The mare concerned for her son blocked the stallion from him. "You leave him alone, you brute!" She demanded as tears ran down her face. The male lifted his hoof as if to strike her but stopped short of it, putting his hoof back down instead, he then turned toward the outside door, going through it before slamming it shut and disappearing into the night.

The colt moved over to his mother for comfort, scared after the altercation. The mare wrapped her right foreleg around him patting her son on the side, but her eyes still focused on the door. Once she was sure that the stallion was gone the mare used her magic to open a crate to a nearby vent, she then levitated a tin can from the vent to her, turning the can upside down she started shaking it when a small brown bag fell out of it.

The mare drops the can and picks up the bag hiding it in her mane. "Don't tell daddy, Majestic." She said softly to her son. "It will be our little secret."

*****

'Sixteen years later.'

A chilly night breeze rustled the leaves on the forest floor as crickets sang their midnight music, while predatory owls hooted into the empty darkness until the sudden snap of a twig silenced the woodland.

A pony with their face and body covered by a gray cloak, walked cautiously through the brush, darting its head back and forth every time an innocuous sound was heard. Several minutes past as the mysterious pony moved slowly towards its destination, stopping upon reaching what appeared to be a camp in a clearing.

A fire pit that was hastily put out still had glowing embers rolling off it, but no sign of its maker. In fact, there appeared to have been no pony in sight.

Feeling a hundred eyes trained on him; the mysterious pony moved its front hooves to the hood of the cloak pulling it back revealing a unicorn stallion, who stared intently at a peculiar bush. A second later the forest began to shake suddenly before a white and brown painted, unicorn, male poked his head out, giving the cloaked pony a stern look until recognizing him and then breaking into a smile.

“Majestic?” Said the stallion in the bush giving Majestic a look over. “You look like crap.” He commented on the drying mud on Majestic’s light blue coat, the bags under his green eyes along with twigs and leaves in his short black mane.

A soft chuckle escaped from Majestic, starting to approach the newcomer with his forehoof raised, the unnamed pony had mimicked his movements. The two stallions met half-way then joining hooves and bumping their shoulders together. “Well, that is what you get after spending the last two months plotting to overthrow a thousand-year-old-tyrant, Common,” Majestic said while letting Common go.

Common returned Majestic’s chuckle before looking back at his disguise that he was still wearing in disapproval and without needing to ask Majestic elaborated “The leaves are a brighter green than the other bushes in the area.”

“I know, but it’s not that much brighter than the others, I had hoped it might still fool you,” Common added.

Majestic gave a hearty laugh. “My dear brother, you insult my capabilities if you think you would have fooled me by such a mundane trick.” He pointed to the disguise before continuing. “Besides, as you well know, I am one of Celestia's well-respected court mage, and as you may remember, one of my responsibilities is to root out those that have spent a substantial amount of their lives hiding from her rule. So even if your disguise had been perfect, It still would not have saved you from my observational prowess. Though perhaps I should say former mage, seeing as I no longer hold that esteemed title” He finished.

Common lost his friendly demeanor, taking a more serious one. “Former?” He said referring to Majestic’s claim to his status as one of Celestia’s mages. “So I guess they found you out, huh?”

Majestic nodded his head. Common cursed under his breath." Are they on the way right now?" Majestic nodded again. “So how much time do we have before they get here?”

“Not long I’m afraid. I just hope your new cultists’ friends can complete the ritual forthwith, for their arrival will be momentary, a half-hour, one at tops.” Majestic finished while moving past Common. Common responded by looking over his shoulder expecting to see an army between the trees but saw nothing.

Common was about to confront his brother about the lack of impending doom when Majestic cut him off. "Do not bother, you will not see them, at least the first wave, for they would be made up entirely of mages and the Sanctum's guards, all magic users so they will be invisible, that is until they attack."

"First wave?" Common questioned the prospect of multiple waves of enemies.

"Oh yes, Celestia wants to wipe your friends off from the face of the earth, and she's sparing no expense to do so. That reminds me." Majestic paused and turned to his brother.

"Tell your friends to stop hiding; it will only serve to aggravate our adversaries and trust me they will already be plenty annoyed by the time they arrive," Majestic said and continued to walk a little further.

Common had a dumbstruck look on his face, shaking his head to recover, Common found it best to just listen to his brother. So he waved his hoof overhead and a second later the bushes, the canopy, and nearly every tree started to move. Revealing a hundred ponies, pulling off camouflage, leaving much of the forest populated by candy-colored horses, though it was hard to tell which was colored naturally like that, as many were wearing paint to blend in their environment.

Majestic had stopped at the edge of the clearing at this point; his eyes were closed trying to concentrate. Common had moved to Majestic side looking at him, Common open his mouth about to ask what his brother was doing, but before he could even take a breath to speak, he heard an “shh” from Majestic. Common slowly closed his mouth and decided to keep quiet.

A second later Majestic's horn started to glow as he tried to feel with his magic, and his rigorous studying through the years has rewarded with the faint pulse of a familiar magic. Try as he might Majestic could not stop his mouth from forming a little smirk as he muttered "Gotcha." under his breath, then channeling magic through his horn, illuminating it with a blue light, until a blue sphere shot out of his horn hitting an invisible wall causing it to ripple like water. The pair waited for a few seconds with nothing happening.

Common turned to the other stallion his eyebrow raised in question before the invisible wall collapsed in a brilliant flash of light, revealing not a tattered encampment like Majestic had expected but a settlement with fortifications and permanent buildings.

Majestic’s stood in astonishment at the concealing spell big enough to cover an entire town, the unicorn that did would surely be powerful, and with that thought running through Majestic's head his smile of self-satisfaction turned into one of absolute delight at the prospects of that.

Common turned to Majestic shock at what he had done. "Majestic, what are you doing?" He said harshly. "Now Celestia's lapdogs can find us." He finished.

Majestic chuckled at his brother's protests. "Oh, Common if one mage was able to feel the spell then I assure you that a few dozen would have no trouble in doing the same," Majestic explained, "Besides I needed to know what I am up against." Not giving the other stallion a chance to retort Majestic then swiftly made his way into town through an opening in the rolls of spiked barricades that made up the town's defenses.

Common just shook his head, questioning how someone so smart can also be so dumb at times. Common choose to put a pen in that query for later, figuring it best to stay close to his brother least he causes the whole town to turn on them.

The town itself was a simple and modest one with muddy and narrow streets, many promptly ending in dead ends for reasons that Majestic could not fathom. To help himself understand, Majestic used his magic again to feel around town in much the same manner as with the concealing spell from early. He was able to see the town's winding roads, streets that loop in counterintuitive ways, with no discernible markings to help keep the town's ponies from getting lost in their own home. In all his years of being alive, Majestic has never seen such an absolute fail in city engineering before. He was just about to attribute this madness to heretic planning but started to notice little blobs of life which he knew was ponies ether ones that were already in town or the ones from outside making their way back in seemingly moving around town with no problems if it works for them Majestic thought.

The more he looked, however, the more he could see a pattern to the streets that felt familiar to Majestic, but before he could pinpoint what it was, Common had trotted up to Majestic; Common then bumped Majestic on the side with his nose. Unable to concentrate on his spell, Common, and not trying to run into things Majestic ended the spell and turned to his brother to see what was so important. Common moved ahead of him looking back at him, "Maybe I should lead seeing how I know my way around town." Common suggested.

Majestic did not like the thought of Common leading him in any capacity, but he could not argue with such logic, and it would also give him an excuse for not trying to understand this madhouse. So he allowed Common to lead the way, causing Common to break into a smile obviously not expecting Majestic to give him the reins so quickly. Not wanting to disappoint he held his head high and walked with a slight bounce to his step, the two continued in silence for about a moment or two before Majestic broke the quiet, "So are we really going through with this?" He asked.

Common's response was immediate. "A little late to turn back now don't you think?" He finished with a chuckle.

"Oh, I do not know, we could sneak out of town, see if we can get to the griffin kingdom I heard it is nice this time of year." Majestic proposed.

"No, our chances are better with these heretics." Common countered.

Majestic just shrugged. "Why die on this heretics hill Common?" He questioned.

"I'm not doing it for them; I'm doing it to save you."

"Really? And pray tell how does betraying Celestia, going behind my back and forcing me to choose a side, help save me exactly? Majestic inquired.

"Seriously how much longer did you think you could avoid Celestia's paranoia? I mean come on! I heard the stories, and I'm not supposed to know, like apparently that a mage had more of a chance to be executed by her than die in battle or old age combined," Common stated.

A true statement but Majestic was never going to give his brother the satisfaction of being right, so he tried to change the subject. "You know if we succeed with tonight it will be war." He declared.

Common stop turned around and got a mere few inches from Majestic nose, looking at him straight in the eyes, his own brimming with determination. "I don't care, that bitch will not take you from me as she has with everything else in my life," Common said through gritted teeth.

"Hunh." Was Majestic's only reply, not suspecting such confidence from the commonly docile unicorn. A blue light then suddenly blanketed the town. Common and Majestic looked up at the night sky to see that the moon was casting its light on them. Common look down again with worry on his face. "They have started the ritual, we have to hurry, besides didn’t you say we had thirty minutes to an hour before Celestia's forces get here?" Common asked.

"More like in the ten to thirty minutes range now," Majestic corrected.

Common responded by turning around again and breaking into a full gallop; Majestic followed suit. The pair kicked up mud as they dodged around buildings and other ponies preparing for battle. Majestic's cloak flowed in the wind, making him use his magic to keep it from flying off.

The two past through another street, leaving the stallions in a clearing with a castle in the middle of it. "Welcome to Luna's castle brother," Common announced breathless, amused by the look of wonderment on his brother's face.

"You mean Luna lived here during her rebellion."

Common nodded.

"How d-."

Common cut Majestic off knowing what he was going to ask. "An explorer stumbled upon the castle by accident after getting lost. He stayed the night and found his way back to town in the morning where he told his tale. Unfortunately for him, he was talking to one of Luna's operatives, which after paying him to take the agent back to the castle the explorer was later killed to prevent the secret from leaking." Common explained.

"Interesting," replied Majestic, the two then trotted up to the main gate of the castle, where they were greeted by a pair of heavily armored guards. The guards gave the two a stern look. "Common?" One of them asked looking at Common.

"Yes," Common replied.

'You two are late, hurry they are waiting for you." Said the other guard the two then moved in front of the doors to open it allowing the two brothers to enter, where after crossing the threshold of the door the doors were closed leaving the two alone in a large room.

Majestic looked around the chamber to find it was lit only by torchlight and its windows covered by thick curtains, and he could not help but notice the ponies in the room or lack thereof making him wonder where was the welcoming committee that he had expected.

With no cues where to go next, the two waited. Majestic then wrinkled his nose after being assaulted by the smell of mildew that wafted through the air. Majestic look at his brother to see if he too was affected by the offensive odor and the blank expression on his face said probably not. Majestic sighed concluding that his sensitive nose was a response to years of scented candles and incenses that had frequently been burned at the Sanctum had made him accustomed to more welcoming fragrances.

Majestic quickly got used to the castle's natural aroma, though he was now getting impatient. Growing increasingly agitated, Majestic was about to take Common and go, when a set of doors burst open in front of them, startling Majestic, who was ready to defend himself with a spell. Stopping upon seeing it was only a white, unicorn mare that was on the other side of the door.

The mare donned an elegant white dress that went past her knees and flowed as she walks forward, her violet eyes scanned the room before locking with Majestic's, as her lips broke into a welcoming yet sensual smile upon seeing him. She forcibly grabbed Majestic's hoof before shaking it furiously. "My, my, you must be the great Majestic that I have heard so much about, I am so pleased to meet you finally." The mare spoke fast, almost too fast for him to catch anything she was saying. "The information that you have provided us the last few months has aided our cause in ways you can't even begin to appreciate."

The last words hit Majestic particularly hard; reminding him that he has betrayed the only home he had ever lived.

The mare then went to Common's side and whispered something in his ear so Majestic wouldn't be able to hear. She pulled away, Common giving her a confused look. "Don't worry sweetie everything will make sense in due time." The mare said reassuring him.

"Now, you two come with me. We have precious little time before the sun-ass worshipping maniacs arrive and murder us all." She said in a much to of a cheering way, and then turning around to lead the boys away.

Majestic just stared at his brother with the 'what had you gotten me into' look plastered on his face.

Common was quick to salvage the situation. "Look I know it seems that Miss Emerald Shards is not entirely up there, but she is wicked smart, organized and great at chess as well," Common assured Majestic.

Majestic raised an eyebrow. "What? It’s not like we have much of choice anyway." Majestic just continued to stare.

"Look we are running out of time let's catch up with her," Common stated before turning and following through the door Emerald Shards want.

Majestic took a deep breath trying to calm his nerves before joining his brother, now thoroughly convinced that they would die tonight.

Majestic trotted up to the other two quickly where they continued in silence. Majestic took in the castle's dilapidated state, noticing passageways that had caved in long ago, and rotting support beams probably where the mildew smell was coming from, another thing that Majestic noticed was the lack of guards in the castle, in fact, he couldn't remember seeing one at all. “More than likely they were hoping that no one would find the castle with the maze they would have to go through” Majestic thought joking to himself thinking about the labyrinthine like town outside.

The state of the Castle didn't keep Majestic from becoming annoyed after going through the fifth door and seemingly no closer to their destination, though he could not ponder on that thought for long after a loud explosion was heard, causing the trio to freeze in place.

Common was looking around, trying to found where the explosion originated from, a difficult feat considering the sound bounced off the stone walls, making it seem that the blast came from all directions. If Majestic had to take a guess though, it appeared to come from the front of the town. A second of silence passed before another louder and closer blast was heard, followed by shouts outside and the toll of an alarm bell. There was no mistake; the town was under attack.

Majestic already started to consider his and Common's chances if they just made a break for the exit of town now, and there were not good. Even if they could find their way through that maze during battle, there was no guarantee that Celestia's forces had not already blocked any escape routes, and there was the battle itself, where there would undoubtedly be mass confusion.

Before Majestic could continue with his nervous breakdown, he was urged to proceed to the innermost part of the castle by Common and Emerald Shards, which he did cautiously. Another minute later they finally reached another set of doors, although these seemed different and by that, they were in excellent condition. Probably the only thing in the entire castle that was in such shape and it did not take long for Majestic to resolve why. As these doors had runes on, and spell runes require a clean and even surface as well as wood from a particular oak species for them to work correctly.

But Majestic now wanted to know why these doors had runes on them at all and on closer inspection, he found out. First, these were magic containing runes and Majestic's initial hypothesis was that the runes were just there to help protect whatever was behind the door, as an adequate magic containing rune can absorb a few reasonably powerful bursts of magic before giving way. But that may not be the whole purpose for the runes when Majestic tried to answer his second question by attempting to feel inside of the room with his magic and found that he could not. Which was strange seeing that he could feel throughout the rest of the castle without a problem until now.

All that Majestic could see with his magical senses was most of the surrounding area, but the room and whatever was inside was blocking his magic, making a black cone, expanding outward, which did not make any sense to him as the door to the room was not larger than the rest of the room. But after seeing beams made from the same oak wood as the door running along the wall in stacks of threes, it started to make sense to Majestic. The cultists had made the room invisible to magic users like him by having oak wood with runes placed around the room, underneath as well as above it. Majestic was starting to have a minuscule amount of respect for his new allies. But what could they be trying to hide? The spell to free Luna perhaps?

Unlikely, seeing as the magic would have to leave the room for it to work. The only other thing that Majestic could think of was that the cultists were trying to hide someone in particular. Before Majestic could get lost in thought about who could be on the other side of the door, his attention was drawn to the two heavily armored unicorns with large spears guarding it. They were adorned in shining armor as black as night, and their helmets that covered their entire faces were in the shape of the Snarling Nightmare. A beast in the form of a long, skinny almost skeleton, pony-like creature that Luna could supposedly summon.

Emerald Shards moved in front of the door, breathing heavily in excitement, as she eagerly looked at Majestic and Common with a crazed smile. "Okay, my little ponies, before we can enter and meet with our secretive benefactors, I most kindly ask you two to discard your clothing and any weapons that you may have." She finished the last request while looking at Majestic, making sure there is no doubt that it was directed at him. Majestic responded with a raised eyebrow. Knowing that there was no way around it, Majestic sighed then using his magic he undid the buttons on his cloak, sliding the garment off his body, before tossing it on the ground to his left; meanwhile Common was already taking his attire off with his hooves.

With the cloak gone Majestic's cutie mark which was a folded scroll, was now visible for all to see. The cutie mark, however, was not what drew all the attention in the room, that honor would go to the three-foot blade strapped to Majestic's left side, the mere sight of it caused the two guards to flex their muscles threatening. Meanwhile, Majestic and Emerald Shards had a staring contest in seeing who would blink first, as Majestic stared at Emerald, and Emerald staring at Majestic's blade. Majestic decided to break their little silent tournament first. "My sword stays with me, and it's not negotiable," Majestic said emphatically.

The two guards responded with haste, approaching Majestic with spears gripped by their dark smoky magic and pointing them menacingly at him. Majestic was already seizing the hilt of his blade with the blue glow of his magic, preparing to draw it to face down his aggressor's. When suddenly an old stallion's voice boomed with a roar, "Oh, for heaven's sake, let the colt keep his little blade if it makes him feel better!" The mysteries voice command behind the massive door that the two armored stallions were guarding, stopping the two in their tracks before the situation could escalate any further.

The three stared at each other for an uncomfortable amount of time before one of the guards gave Majestic a snort then returned to his position followed by the other one. Only then did Majestic let go of his blade, turning his head to see that Common was on the floor, his leafy disguise only halfway off, with the straps that held the garb in place, was wrapped around his hooves and midsection.

Common glanced up at his brother with a pleading look on his face, Majestic rolled his eyes, kneeling down to help peel off the aggravating clothing, muttering under his breath in disbelief at how Common could make such mess of it. Common was finally free after a minute of work, exposing his own cutie mark, a spilled white paint bucket that looked like any white markings over his brown coat. His brown mane was free also, long and messy in contrast to Majestic's military cut. Majestic then tossed the disguise aside and helped Common off the ground, quickly dusting him off.

"Well if you two are quite done fooling around, we have wasted enough precious time, so let's got going," Emerald said impatiently while still wearing a smile. She then turned on her heels to approach the doors, the two guards pushing the doors open with their noses allowing her through. Majestic and Common looked at one another before following Emerald in.

The guard's stared at Majestic threatening but allowed him to pass unmolested, and the doors then slammed shut behind Majestic, leaving him in a circular room that was lit only by a couple of blue torches. The center of the room had a statue of Luna standing almost heroic like with her wings spread out and rearing up. There were also three statues in front of her, all looking at the door that Majestic just came through.

Each had a different expression on their faces, but all look ready for an adventure. Majestic noticed an empty pedestal that was utterly covered by moss in contrast to the others which were meticulously kept clean.

Majestic turned away from the status, looking around the room noticing the other occupants in it, many he recognized as ponies suspected by the crown to be Luna’s supporters. One being the minister of the treasury Golden Hue, an old stallion that has avoided Celestia's wrath despite the evidence against him merely because of the position he held. Golden Hue looked precisely like Majestic had remembered, with his white mane resembling a fluffy cloud, strands of hair picking out in odd ways give him an unstable look about him. His coat a light golden color where he got his name from, and a single gold coin as his cutie mark.

Another one that Majestic was not surprised to see here was Magistrate Amethyst Parchment, a short, slightly overweight mare. Her coat a dark purple, a long light blue mane done up in a bun, a pair of square glasses rest on the bridge on her nose, and her cutie mark was a quill and scroll. Majestic could not help but consider the magistrate to be an incredibly lucky mare to get out of the capital when she did. As there was plenty of talking back at Sanctum to arrest and execute the magistrate on charges of treason, but Majestic had been doing this job long enough to know that less luck was involved than a little birdie squawking.

Though, there were some that Majestic don't anticipate seeing, associating with these traitors. Such as lord Fancy Pants, who has been a stalwart ally to Celestia for many years, had he been forced to turn traitor similarly as Majestic or has he been playing Celestia for a fool this entire time? Another unlikely candidate was the minister of the interior, lord Brimstone of Hoofington, an extremely pious stallion that has spent the better part of the last twenty years of his life hunting down those that turned their backs on Celestia.

Even Majestic felt intimidated being in the presence of such a formidable stallion. Majestic could not help but gaze into Brimstone's cold, steely blue eyes, pure hatred pouring from them almost like he were trying to will his emotion into reality.

Brimstone sat the farthest from anyone else in the room, his black coat glistened in the low light of the room, his wings folded tightly to his sides, and short gray mane was neatly combed, his cutie mark was a sword crossing with a book.

Majestic continued to look around the room as if expecting someone else to be here. "She's not here." Said the same old voice that stop the guard's attack from early. Majestic sew it came from Golden Hue, "Who?" Majestic said unconvincingly.

"Oh, don't play cute with me, I know killing her was your last chance to get back into Celestia's good graces, face it like it not you're one of us, and there's no going back for you." Golden Hue finished.

Majestic just chucked, "okay you got me, bravo you made me look like an idiot." He said.

"What, but I thought that you believed in the cause, why would you try something like that?" Common questioned.

Majestic ignored his brother still staring at Golden Hue. "So why am I here if not to 'assist' the sorceress’ spell?" Majestic inquired.

"Oh, don't worry you are helping her plenty Mr. Night." Came the deep voice of Brimstone.

Majestic felt strange having someone he barely knew addressing him by his last name, but he did not show any sign instead pressing for more information. "Really and how is my being here supposed to help her then?" Majestic ask.

"Two ways actually, first we needed Celestia to believe that she was here and you sold her that and the first way kind of feeds into the second. For you see, we found a way to shorten the spell from weeks to mere days by making the whole town into a spell to feed the Sorceress's own." Brimstone explained.

With that little piece of information Majestic broke into a full smile, now he knew why the town's roads looked familiar to him, they formed a sacrificial spell and needed a lot of sacrifices to shorten it the way that Brimstone implied, and two warring armies would undoubtedly do that.

Common meanwhile had his ears drooping, and head hung low upon hearing this until another explosion that had rattled the room sounded much closer than the others caught everyone's attention. "That is our cue to leave Miss Shards you said that there is alternative way out of this room?" Brimstone asked.

"yes there issss." she said her voice lilting into a singsong, moving over to the empty pedestal that Majestic noticed earlier, she then brushed some moss off the front of it exposing a small button, she pushed on it and with a clack, the pedestal slid away revealing a staircase. Emerald lifted a lit torch from the wall with her magic and made her down the stairs leading the way for everyone else.

Brimstone was the first one up and quickly made his down following Emerald close behind, then preceded by Golden Hue and then Fancy Pants and then Amethyst, with the two brothers the last to leave the room. The pedestal closed behind them.

*****

A unicorn stallion stood in the middle of the burning town feeling pleased with himself, for it took only seven minutes and twenty-four seconds for him to crush almost all of the resistance forces, with minimum casualties on his side. Bodies of the town's defenders were being thrown in piles around the stallion as a smile crept across his face. His red mane flew in the breeze caused by the raging blaze, and he looked down to notice that his star covered cloak was loose, he tightened it with his hooves just as a soldier approached, a Sanctum guard to be precise due to the purple armor that he was wearing.

The guard bowed to the stallion which went unacknowledged as the stallion was too distracted by the destruction to care, the guard continued "Chief Librarian Sunburst we have secured the castle, nothing to report but a couple of shadow guards, we lost a mage and four Sanctum guards when dispatching the guards, however." The guard finished.

For the First time, Sunburst answered the guard with a bone-chilling death glare. "WHAT!" He shouted startling the guard. The guard thought carefully about what his next action should be but before he could Sunburst cut him off. "She is not here?!" He screeched hurting the guard's ears.

The guard shook his head trying to get the ringing from his ears "Who?" The guard asked still keeping his head down. "It appears that the rogue mage Majestic has escaped, my lord." The guard was hoping that Sunburst had merely mistaken the gender of their quarry.

"I don't care about some glorified witch hunting stallion, all I care about if you have found the sorceress or not?!" Sunburst had a dangerous note to his voice.

"I don't know. I thought the mage was our only concern." The guard tried to explain.

"Oh, by the Creator you are useless." Sunburst spit, before turning on his heels and making his way out of the ruined town. "Finish up here, leave no stone unturned, bring any captives that may have useful information back to Sanctum, kill the rest, and bring back the armor of the shadow guards I do not want any of them coming back." Sunburst finished.

The guard saluted at the quickly retreating Sunburst before carrying out his duty.

"This is not good. I have precious little time to stop the ritual before the barrier between Tartarus and our world weakness enough to allow Luna passage through. This whole town was just a distraction!" Sunburst thought to himself disappearing into the night.

Author's note. fan fact this chapter was revised four times you all be the judge if it was worth it or not.