My name is Adam Darkeharte and I am a knight of the Everburn empire, or I was until I was killed defending my people from the perpetua terrores or the everlasting terrors. Demons who survive by killing everything they see and sucking the mana out of them, not only does this heal them, but rejuvenate them as well making them nearly impossible to kill. This may sound unbelievable since I said I was dead yet I am clearly alive. But I assure you, I died. But before we get into how I am still alive I wish to tell you of my appearance and my story.

I am a young man of 22 years, I started my knight training at the age of 12, to most that may sound too young to be in the army of an empire, but in the Everburn we pride ourselves in making warriors with the experience and training to survive the horrors of war and battle. I stand at a height of 6’6 with shoulder length dirty blonde hair, greyish green eyes and a small black beard on my face. I was an orphan until the age of 6. After being found on the doorstep of a rundown orphanage, I was taken in, raised, abused and treated like a servant. Until one day I had enough of the torment and struck down one of my evil “caretakers”.

I killed him and felt nothing but emptiness, no joy that I wasn’t going to be harmed by him any longer, no sadness because I had taken another living being’s life, no worry because I thought I would get in trouble for my actions. There was nothing.

A recruiter for the Everburn empire army saw this and offered me a chance to get away from the hell I had as a home. I accepted and he took me away from the orphanage, adopting me a his own son. His name was Charles Darkeharte, and he was my father. He taught me what it means to be a knight.

“Being a knight is not going to battle just to kill, it is going to battle to protect what you care for, be it your kingdom, your home, your family, your friends or even your pet. You fight to protect, if you have nothing to protect you cannot win a battle. You can have all the power in the world but without something to keep safe, you will be slain.” He would say.

Those are the words I live by, they are what keep me going. My father died before the attack of the perpetua terrores, he died from an untreatable illness caused from straining his body to its limit. But as his last wish he asked the fair king of Everburn, King Nicholas Orion, to grant me the rank of knight trainee. Later on that very week I was given news that my father had passed in his sleep. I had known for a while that he was dying and was fully prepared for his death, or so I had thought. When the news reached me, I was a wreck. I cried for nearly 4 days straight telling myself I was a failure over and over because I couldn’t protect him.

The king gave me a room in his castle to stay in while I dealt with my pain, he said whenever I was ready to start my training all I had to do was tell him. A week after my breakdown I had come to terms with my father’s death, to an extent. I was ready to start my training. It was a tough and painful experience but I pushed through. I broke bones, I bled pools, I shattered swords and I nearly died multiple times but I continued my training. This was all that happened in public but in private I trained on another thing, Magic. Magic for humans is rare, those that have it become healers or become wardens to prisons due to the power they possess. My case is a lot different, if news of me having magic were to break out I would be kicked from the knight academy and forced to become a healer or a warden. Neither are what my father wanted for me, so I practiced in secret, training in the ways of the arcane, learning how to manipulate earth and plants, learning how to create ice and fire, and learning the forbidden magic arts of light and dark. But I won’t delve into those topics now.

Eventually my training came to an end and I was sent to the Royal blacksmith for my armour and weapons, I had a few ideas for my armour that I wanted the blacksmith to try. The look I was going for was the standard knight Crusader helm added with a red Phoenix bird emblem on the faceplate along with some standard heavy full body armour giving me the best protection possible, the armour would have a red Phoenix on the breastplate and shoulder plates as well. This represents the Everlasting flames of the Everburn empire. My weapon design was a two handed greatsword with a Phoenix shaped pommel, silver hilt wrapped in black leather, a standard curved hilt guard, and a blade with glistening silver duel edges that had the words accendetur velut sol on one side and Fulgebunt quasi luna et stellae on the other, the first one meaning burn like the sun and the second meaning shine like the moon and stars. After waiting for a couple of days, my order was finished and made to perfection. The sword was of perfect balance in my hands, it felt sturdy and strong while lightweight and easily maneuverable, the words were etched into the side neatly and beautifully. The armour was just as I asked, heavy full body armour providing the best protection possible, it was heavy armour yet it was incredibly light. When I had confronted the blacksmith about this he said that he had a warden place a weight rune on the armour making it easier to move in.

I thanked the blacksmith and left the smithy, my next destination was the throne room. Once I was allowed entry I walked up to the foot of the throne and kneeled to my king.

“Knight trainee Adam Darkeharte.” He had said.

“Yes, milord?” I said with my head still looking down.

“Hand me your weapon and remove your helmet.” I did as I was told and removed my helmet placing it by my side and handing him my greatsword.

He lifted the sword up to my shoulder and placed it there for a second.

“Adam Darkeharte, today you hand in your training sword and receive a real weapon, you have gone through the tough training all knights must endure before ascending to true knighthood. Today I strip you of you rank of knight trainee and pronounce you, Sir Adam Darkeharte, Knight of the Everburn Empire!” He said as he moved the sword to my next shoulder and handed the sword back to me.
“Now rise and recite the oath of the Phoenix my child.”

I stood up put my helmet back on and placed the tip my sword blade to the floor while holding the pommel.

“The light of the ever burning fire lasts as long as our kingdom stands, I as a knight of the empire will die to ensure it stays everlasting like the flames of the eternal Phoenix!” I recited.

“Now what do you fight for my child?” The king had asked me

I stood up straight and I stared into the king's eyes.

“I fight to protect the kingdom my father loved, I fight to continue his legacy and to protect what he has helped build. I fight to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Because a knight without a will to protect is not a knight, but a coward hiding behind armour. That is what I fight for your majesty.” I said

“Well said Sir Adam, well said indeed.” The king praised as he sat back down and dismissed us all.
That day was the happiest day of my life but it was also the last day I had in the Everburn empire. On that day, the perpetua terrores had attacked seeking to feed off of the kingdom.

The scouts had given us word that demons were making their way to the city in a horde. And acting up on the orders of the king we moved to intercept them.

By the time we made it to the gates of the city the demons were on the horizon, while still far away, I could smell the putrid breath and body odor each had. It was horrid.
They had made contact with the frontline now and were tearing our men apart, but we stood strong with our swords and shields held high. The frontline had been broken, and this was the first time I had a glimpse of them. There were small demons, imps that looked to be the standard foot soldiers, each imp was green with a spiked tail and had sharp teeth that looked to be able to slice straight through flesh. There were demons that looked to be the knights of the horde, all black with only white markings on their muscular shoulders, their heads held no eyes but a mouth that looked to only be used the kill. Then there were the fat ones, I don’t know what to call them but they were tanks with spines that looked to be poisonous. They took hit after hit and continued pushing forward. On the orders of the king we moved to fight the oncoming demon horde. I threw my sword up into the air with a cry of “Vivat Everburn!” We charged at the demons.

I was a blur of movements, swinging my sword to decapitate two imps while ducking under the leap of a knight demon, standing up I swung my greatsword right into its collar bone before removing my blade and charging it to the ground, after getting up, I impaled its chest with my sword which I had now named formido perniciosa, Terror bane. I removed Terror bane from the demon and turned around only to be smacked in the chest by a tank demon which sent me hurling through the air and landing in heap of metal and pain. I tried to get up but I was immediately pinned to the ground by a massive foot. I was at the mercy of a demon who was about to have my mana as it’s lunch before going off to kill more of my comrades. I wasn’t going to die yet.

I called upon the magic I had and yelled “Earth! Heed my call and strike down my enemies! Rock spike!” A massive spike of rock burst from the ground impaling the Fat demon and dragging it screaming into the earth itself. I was free from the clutches of a monster but as I got up I felt incredible pain shoot across my person, mainly in my chest. I looked down to see it had had the last laugh, buried in my chest was a spine oozing a green liquid which I could only assume was poison. The poison’s effect was almost instantaneous as I fell to my knees clutching my chest before removing my helmet and coughing up blood, I knew no sort of healer or plant could help me with this poison. It was demon made, demons know how to counter healers and antidotes when it comes to poisons. I grabbed Terror bane and tried to stand up using the blade as a cane, but to no avail. I fell to the ground face first, Terror bane still stuck in the dirt next to me. The poison had shut down my nerves so I could neither feel my arms or legs, but I could tell it was moving to shut down the rest of my organs but I could do nothing about it. I had accepted my fate and lay there, thinking to myself as my breathing became ever more labored, I had failed to protect my kingdom, my father and myself and for this I was paying the price. I took one last breath and closed my eyes, and I knew no more.

That now brings us to the present. Here I am, in a dark unfamiliar forest in Phoenix knows where. I had my armour and Terror bane still which was a huge relief. I had wondered how the massive hole in my chest was now healed along with my armour being repaired. Maybe I never died? Maybe it was a dream or I was knocked unconscious during the battle and the demons dragged me off somewhere. After that last thought I grabbed my sword and stood up, feeling no pain or fatigue at all. I was in perfect health. But I didn’t worry about that, I had to find a way out of this forest and get back to my kingdom. I looked around around finding nothing but trees that seemed to move around, I wrote it off a my imagination and started walking in the direction I was facing. Until I reached a mountain, seeing no way to climb it I turned around and started walking back in the direction I came when a thought hit me. I could have used a spell where the nature could tell me where the nearest civilization was. I facepalmed against my helmet and sat down in a meditative position. This spell required a lot of concentration from you to work, that and you had to be on good terms with the nature spirits of the world. When it comes to human magic, to use certain elements you have to be on good terms with those element’s spirit or guardian. I happen to be on very good terms with the spirits of ice and nature and the guardians of earth and fire. But dark and light are stubborn spirits so they wish to test me every time I want to use one of their abilities. I called upon the nature spirit to show me a path to the closest civilization and it obliged, but something it did caught me off guard, it giggled like a little girl. It had never done that before, maybe I was hearing things but I got up and followed the path of flowers the spirit had made leading me to the closest civilization.

Many hours had passed as I traversed the path that was hopefully leading me to civilization and I had time to think, where was I truly? The nature spirit was never the one to speak unless spoken to, it never laughed let alone giggle. I was thinking that I wasn’t on Viridi terram anymore. I was also thinking that perhaps I was going mad and the nature spirit hadn’t giggled at all. I would have to test out my theory on a later date, for now though I had to watch for the dangers of the forest. Speaking of which, I heard a growl from behind me. Reaching for my sword, I grasped its hilt tightly and waited for whatever was hiding to come out, my patience was rewarded as a pack of wolves that seemed to be made of timber started creeping out of the bushes, their ears low and bodies tense. They didn’t know what I was from what I could tell, they were circling around me cautiously. A sharp bark made them stop and back away slowly, still surrounding me. A bigger timber wolf walked out from the bushes and sat down in front of me, staring at me with its sickly green eyes. I could tell these wolves were connected to nature from the feeling they were giving off, and the fact that they were made from timber. I loosened my stance and stood in front of the wolf staring it down. After a couple of minutes of this it turned around and started walking back through the bushes, it stopped and looked at me as if telling me to follow, which I did.

After 10 or so minutes we had arrived at a cave, the wolf stood still and turned around and gave me a look that obviously meant “stay here”. To which I obliged and waited. After another 2 minutes of waiting the wolf came back and beckoned me to follow, I obeyed and followed the wooden creature inside. The cave wasn’t what I expected it to be, I expected to see bones of other animals littered everywhere, wolf pups pulling at pieces of meat and skulls to be placed everywhere. But what I found was much different, wolf pups playing and running around or walking right beside us looking at me with curious gazes, mother wolves were conversing with each other from what I could tell or they were taking care of their pups, father wolves were with the mothers tending to the pups as well.

‘These wolves must be incredibly intelligent.’ I thought to myself. ‘I must be careful with my actions.’

We finally came to a stop and I was brought out of my thoughts. We were now standing in front of a very large timber wolf who sat on the ground staring at me.
I could only assume that this was the alpha of the wolf pack.
It beckoned me with its paw and I obeyed, walking towards it I stopped when I was directly in front of it. It leaned it’s head down and I felt my body tense, but instead of having my head bitten off, I had felt it’s large wooden head placed against mine and felt something brush against my mind, I let it in and was pulled away from reality.
What I saw I’m my mind caught me off guard, there was a wooden woman with vine like hair standing in front of me. She giggled as I stood there, which broke me out of my stupor.

“Who are you and what are you doing in my mind!” I asked with a serious tone.

“Oh, can a spirit not visit the one who called upon her to find a safe path to civilization?” She said feigning hurt in her tone.
This again had caught me off guard.

“What!? You lie! The spirit of nature has no body. It only talks when it is talked to!” I yelled in disbelief.

“Well I don’t know about any other nature spirits who reside here in Equestria.” She said as she put her wooden hand to her chin in a thinking pose.

“What do you speak of spirit? We are not in this Equestria that you speak of. We are on the world of Viridi terram, there are no others worlds besides the plane of the spirits!”

“Oh? I don’t know of this Viridi terram you speak of but I can assure you, the very soil you are standing upon is that of Equestria, a place where ponies are the natives. Now tell me my dear creature, what are you?”

This information nearly broke me, it would do so to you too if you had been told that you are no longer on your own world but on another one where animals are among the sapient creatures of the land, no humans to speak of.

I fell to my knees clutching my head in my hands.

“N-no! This cannot be! H-how am I on a world not of my own!?” I cried out, with my hands still clutching my head. The spirit was quiet for a few minutes, letting me have my moment. Until she finally spoke up again.

“So creature who and what are you?” She asked.

I looked up at her and stood up, albeit shakily. “My name, is Adam Darkeharte. I am human and I hail from the Everburn Empire of the Viridi terram.” I replied
“Now who are you spirit? And what are you doing inside my head?”

She gained a thinking pose once more and said “I am the spirit of nature of Equestria, but you may call me Everfree. I am the Timberwolf outside of your mind that you allowed to touch your forehead and I am here to find out how you have been able to contact me.”

I was standing a lot easier now, I was breathing better now that I had gotten the denial out of my system

“I was able to contact you the same way I contacted the spirits of my world, through the arcane.” I said. “Though seeing as you are the nature spirit here I am guessing that I will need to speak with the spirits of Ice, Fire, Earth, Light and Dark before I am able to use their abilities or gain their help?”
She nodded slowly.

“You indeed will have to talk to them before being able to use any powers from those elements, but seeing as you have done nothing to harm nature so far I will allow you use of my powers, I would like to talk more about this but our time grows short. I will allow you use of my abilities but until you have passed my trial, you are limited to three abilities. I will contact you through your mind when I wish to have something done.” She said with a giggle before fading out of my mind.

I opened my eyes to see the massive Timberwolf staring at me once again. Sighing, I nodded towards the spirit and turned around to leave. As I started walking I was thinking to myself. ‘So I am in a land where ponies rule and humans are non existent and or myth. If that’s the case I have to stay hidden from the locals then, I don’t want a hunting party sent out to try catch or kill me.’
I was now at the cave entrance and I decided to break out of my thoughts and continue my journey to find civilization. While I may not be able to interact with them, It would be best to have a place where I can get food from easily. Reaching out for the spirit once more I asked for the path to civilization once again, she obliged and a path of flowers that lead further into the forest was formed. After silently thanking her I continued along the path for the next few hours. After 5 hours of walking I took a break and set up camp. The night was now upon the land and I was ready for sleep. But before I could lay my head down to rest, the nature spirit yelled in my mind.

“Adam! Get up you need to move! Ponies are in danger to a monster known as Nightmare Moon! She wants to bring eternal night which will kill all of nature! Please you have to help them and stop her from causing the destruction of nature itself!”
She cried out in a voice of desperation.

“I’m on it, give me a path towards them and I’ll make it there!” I yelled out loud hoping she would hear me. She did and another flower path formed and I rushed off to help the creatures. After a couple minutes of running I could hear voices conversing with each other, I was close. I pushed my legs as much as I could and continued my mad dash towards the ponies!

“You foals! Did you honestly think I The great Nightmare Moon would stand idle and wait for you to gather the elements of harmony? Hahahaha! Your ignorance is your downfall! Now die so all of Equestria can be stuck in eternal night!” I heard a feminine voice say ahead of me. I broke through the clearing and saw a dark blue pony with wings and a horn about to cast magic on a group of smaller ponies, I don’t know what kind of spell it was but it didn’t seem to be harmless. I sprung into action and shoulder charged the hybrid creature into the wall behind it, which seemed to catch her off guard as the spell was canceled and she was stunned. I brought up my sword to deal the finishing blow but the nature spirit stopped me.

“No! Do not kill her! She is a princess of Equestria that has been corrupted by jealousy! Let the elements of harmony cure her of her anger! Hold her still for them!” She yelled in my mind.

I lowered my sword and embedded it into the dirt next to me, I then reached down and grabbed the hybrid pony by the torso, holding her in place.

“Go!” I yelled “Use those elements of harmony on her now, while she is stunned!”

They didn’t waste another second and blasted a powerful magic beam at me and the pony hybrid.

“No! No! Let go of me you beast! I will not disappear again! I refuse!” The hybrid cried out as the magic hit us. I was holding onto her as much I could, she was a strong one.

Once the magic died down I dropped the creature to the floor and fell to my knees for what had to be the fourth time today and collapsed face first into the ground, before I lost consciousness I could hear what sounded like girls screaming and hooves galloping towards me, I closed my eyes and awaited darkness to take over.

The last thing I heard before darkness consumed me was “Thank you my champion, for saving nature from a grim death.”

Author's Note

Okay. First story I have written on this site, and second story in general. I know it may have many mistakes in it but hey you are always welcome to point them out, grammar has never been my strong suit so I kinda struggle with it. Anyway I hope you enjoyed.