Prologue

Part 1

For Rand coming to the convention had not been on his list of things to do but it was for a special cause. His son Damien had been begging to go for weeks and it just so happened to coincide with the boy’s birthday so Rand was giving his son what he had asked for with the whole nine yards. Damien had wanted to cosplay as characters from their favorite game God of War. It helped that Rand had Kratos’ body type from years of being in the Military. Though it had drawbacks with him being gone for so much of his son's childhood and now with the boy reaching thirteen years old, it felt as if he had an uphill battle before him.

So there they stood Rand with his head shaved to the skin with a burly beard and wearing the Death’s Vow Armor. His skin was painted white with the red marking and Scars all in the right place. His son was Atreus wearing the Death’s Vow Armor as well so they looked rather impressive. It was also appropriate for his mother who originally made the plan had been in an accident and taken from them. It had been the reason he resigned from the military so he could raise his son.

There they were in their costumes minus their gear as they had not been able to find one that would arrive in time for the convention. So far Rand hadn’t been bored finding he and his son shared an enjoyment of Games and nerding out occasionally. The other thing they enjoyed was My Little Pony weird, yes but it had good characters and at least some engaging stories.

They wandered for hours till coming to the Vendors hall and the place Rand had been dreading knowing a trip through the place would put a real dent in his wallet which was stuffed with quite a bit of cash for the trip. They browsed the stand and it seemed none carried what they would need for their costumes but they did pick up a few other bits here and there. “Damien stay close,” Rand called out to his son who hurried forward excitement and happiness clear on his young features. The boy almost did look like a double for an Atreus with the fake runic tattoos painted on by his aunt who they had stayed with for their trip.

The boy wasn’t looking where he was going as he suddenly collided with a stall knocking over a display holding the infinity gauntlet from Avengers. The case hit the floor and broke allowing its contents to clank to the floor. “Oi! What you think you’re doing kid,” came a gruff and angry voice from behind the Vendor’s table who was dressed as the Merchant from Resident Evil 4.

“Sorry, sir,” Damien said as he got up in time to see the man coming from behind his table to clean up the mess, “I can help,” Damien said as he bent down to pick up the gauntlet and offer it to the Merchant. The man snatched it from his grasp glaring at him from under his hood before his look softened and he grumbled a ‘thank you’. Damien was picking bits of glass up when his father caught up, “Damien. What did you do?” he asked as he watched his son and the Merchant clean up before deciding to help. “I’m sorry for the damage. Is anything broken?” Rand asked as they dumped the glass shards into a trash can.

“Nothing of value was damaged," the Merchant assured him as he returned to standing behind his booth. "So what brings you two to this convention?" he asked and Damien eagerly answered.

"We're here for my birthday," he said smiling excitedly before his father could caution him on revealing too much to the strange merchant.

"Ah, I see," the Merchant said smiling as he turned from the father and son and rummaged in something behind his booth before pulling out a perfect replica of Atreus' fully upgraded bow from the game with a quiver filled with arrows. "How about a gift for the Birthday boy?" the Merchant offered as he held out the bow to Damien who's face had lit up at the sight of the bow. Damien reached for the bow but a cautionary grunt from his father made him pause and look up at Rand.

"Please Dad?" the boy pleaded pulling out the puppy dog eyes complete with lip quiver. Rand found himself powerless against his son's begging stare and he sighed.

"How much?" he asked pulling his wallet out of one of the pouches on his belt.

"For the boy, it's free after all it's his birthday," the Merchant said before turning around again and producing more items for the duo. Among the Items was the Shield and Leviathan Axe but not fully upgraded but with one of the best pommels in the game if you asked Rand. Next was a set of the Blades of Chaos fully upgraded version, Atreus' knife and Talisman that looked like it had the symbol for the Shattered Gauntlet of Ages etched into the gem of the talisman. "If you're interested in the rest I'd say it'll come to fifteen hundred," he said to a surprised Rand. The rest were little plastic gems that had different runes etched on them a few had runes for the socket on his son's bow which Damien put one in surprised it stayed without needing to be glued.

"That's awfully cheap for all this," Rand said skeptically at the price of the gear that laid on the table while his son was busy running his hands over his new bow.

"Well...you did help clean up the mess and you're the first Kratos and Atreus Cosplayers I've seen that almost look like the real deal so I'm happy to complete the look," the Merchant continued his eyes wrinkling suggesting he was smiling beneath the mask.

Rand took the cash from his wallet and handed it to the Merchant who pocketed the money while Rand and Damien picked up the items off the table. They secured the items and just before they stepped away from the table the Merchant chuckled and waved, "I hope you both enjoy your destination," he said which gave Rand a terrible feeling he turned toward his son as things began to blur together as he reached for Damien everything went black.

POV Damien

Damien groaned as sunlight hit his eyes making him roll over and try and find his blanket only to find leaves and twigs which shocked him into full awareness. He was still wearing his Atreus gear but it felt different more substantial than the fake leather and fur his aunt had used, he ran a hand through his short hair removing leaves that had stuck as he looked around at the tall dark trees that surrounded him. He found himself to be in the center of a clearing, as he continued to take in his surroundings before resuming his self-examination. His fingers ran over the Runic tattoos that his aunt had drawn on him and found that they were now real after trying to rub them off. Then he found his bow and quiver finding the arrows to be just as real as the bow, even the knife on his hip was also real. A startling realization then struck the young man he was alone.

Frantically he searched for his father and even called out for him, fear swelled inside him till he was sitting in the clearing rocking back and forth. He felt his eyes burn with tears but his father's words came back to him that tears were useless when one was in trouble. Taking a deep breath he pushed down the fear and tears as he stood up and decided to at least find out where he was. He examined the trees and found where the moss grew and headed in the opposite direction leaving an arrow carved into the tree pointing to where he had gone.

He walked and walked pushing through the dense underbrush of the forest leaving marks on trees as his father had taught him the few times they had managed a family trip. He was marking another tree before screams in the distance made him turn and look around, the screaming was coming from close by and Damien knew someone needed help. He rushed toward the sound stopping only to listen for the screaming to make sure he was getting closer rather than further away, as he got closer he came to a cliff upon looking down he saw three young anthro horse like beings being surrounded by a group of antlered anthro males wearing light armor each armed with a sword. Damien watched as they drew closer to the girls. Each of them looked equine and dressed differently the first had white fur and wearing a blue dress, the second wore overalls with a yellow shirt that matched her fur her red hair was held back by a pink bow. The last one wore running shorts and a t-shirt. The armed anthros moved closer to the young equines gripped each other's hands as they closed their eyes.

Damien had seen enough as he leaped from the cliff fluidly drawing an arrow and knocking it as he cried out, "Nista!" shooting an arrow at the first antlered male he could the arrow seemed to crackle with electricity as it shot forward hitting the armed anthro in the neck sending him backward. The Antlered Anthro looked up revealing their faces which belonged to Caribou as Damien landed drawing his bow back with another arrow ready to go. The gem on the bow glowed as Damien felt a surge of power and cried out again shooting the arrow not at the Caribou but into the air where it exploded into a swirling storm of crows. "Come on!" Damien said to the girls as he grabbed one by the hand and ran off as the birds kept the attackers at bay.

Damien and the girls ran as fast as they could till they came to a ravine that cut through the forest on the other side was a ruined castle that looked familiar to Damien but he was too occupied with getting to safety to really focus as he saw a bridge spanning the ravine. "Head for the bridge!" he ordered and the girls obeyed running for the bridge as Damien drew and knocked another arrow just as one of the Caribous burst from the trees only to receive an arrow in the chest and another barely a heartbeat later. As he fell to the ground Damien was running after the girls who had crossed the bride, he followed and was part way across when the rest of the Caribou appeared. They hurried to the ruins and looked for a place to hide the girls clung to him as they huddled in their dark corner of the throne room hoping to avoid detection.

They waited for what felt like an eternity Damien's heart was beating a mile a minute as he blocked the girls with his body. They heard their pursuers enter the throne room their voices echoing off the ancient stones as their leader ordered them to search the room. Then came a roaring shout and the sounds of battle that followed lasted mere moments before everything was quiet. Damien waited for a minute before he looked out from their hiding place, all the Caribou were dead but suddenly his sight was blocked by a figure that picked him up and squeezed him, "Damien. You're safe," said the figure in the voice of his father but when the figure released him enough to so Damien could look up at him and the face he looked up at was Kratos and not his father with the burning amber eyes that looked at him with concern and joy at finding him.

"Dad!" Damien said as he hugged the figure. The girls poked their heads out from their cover and watched the two of them. As the adrenaline and fear passed Damien's mind found something to focus on, "I killed them, Dad, I killed..." Damien trailed off as he squeezed his father tighter. He felt his father remove his arms from around him as he knelt to cup his face in his hands.

"Close your heart to it," his father said quoting Kratos as Damien looked into his father's eyes. "You did well," he continued before a cough from behind them reminded Damien that they weren't alone.

"Hello," said the white-furred equine in the blue dress.

"Are you girls okay?" asked Damien as the others came out of hiding giving him a much better look at each of them. He realized who he had saved as he saw their coloring clearly, they were the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Damien hid his surprise so that he wouldn't give away he already knew them.

"Yeah, thanks to Y'all," said the yellow furred filly with the bow in her hair her voice had a clear southern drawl to it that was unmistakable. "Ah'm Applebloom," she continued before pointing to the oranger furred equine next to her with an obvious set of wings poking out the back of her t-shirt. "This here's Scootaloo," Applebloom continued then turned to the white-furred filly that Damien now took in the horn sticking out from under her light purple and pink hair. "And she's Sweetiebelle," Applebloom finished introducing her friends who each gave a smile and nod in greeting. "Who are you?" she then asked and Damien had to think fast but his father answered first in his deep rough voice.

"I am Kratos and this is my son Atreus," his father answered which confused Damien but he said nothing secretly liking to play the role of the young Half Jotun boy.

"Thank you for saving us," Sweetiebelle said smiling at Damien blushing a little when he smiled.

"Yeah, you were pretty good," Scootaloo interjected in an unimpressed tone.

"Glad to help," Damien replied as they all seemed to relax around each other. "Why were there Caribou after you three?" he asked which seemed to remind the girls of why they were here as each of their eyes opened wide.

"That's right the Caribou attacked Ponyville," said Applebloom as they all looked worried and Damien heard his father begin to stomp off. "Hey, where Y'all going," she called as she ran around Damien and hurried after Rand.

"To the village," Rand answered and soon all of them were following him.

"Follow us we know the way back," said Scootaloo as she raced ahead of them.

Damien looked up and noticed the plumes of smoke rising over the treetops in the distance. His father raised his hand and his ax flew to his open hand surprising the girls before he started to run following Scootaloo. They raced down the path and across the bridge following its twists and turns but always in the direction of the smoke. It only took minutes to arrive at the edge of the forest at the top of a hill, he knew now the forest was the Everfree. In the distance stood the village of Ponyville a few houses were burning and Damien could see a crowd in the center of town from their vantage point.

"What do we do Dad," Damien asked looking up at his father as he drew his bow and a fresh arrow getting ready for action.

"Get ready to fight," his father grumbled as his grip tightened on his ax.

Author's Note

My first story. Please share any tips or constructive criticism.