When Legends Rise

Oh! Hello there, I suspect you're wanting to know my story, young one. You're not the first, and I doubt you'll be the last.

Hmm, all these centuries later and people still want to know my story first hand. Well, you better order yourself a few drinks, this will take a while.

I suppose the best place to start my story would be at the beginning. Now, it might surprise you to know this, but before I ended up on Terra I was a simple electrician. Now, it sure as hell wasn’t glamorous, and it certainly didn’t pay well, but it served its purpose and helped me to pay the bills at my parents house (I sure as hell couldn’t afford my own place).

I was just on my way driving home from work after a job at a house in the more rural areas surrounding my old hometown, when what could only be described as a shimmering point of light appeared in the middle of the lane. Given the speed I was going and the suddenness with which it appeared I had to swerve to avoid it, all I can say is thank god it was a quiet country lane and not a busy road, else I would have surely hit another car or a pedestrian.

Making sure that my car wasn’t left in a stupid position obstructing the road I got out of the car. Now I don’t know what made me do this, but for some reason I decided to take my rucksack with me, maybe I figured I could use the camera inside to get a decent picture unless it suddenly decided to up and vanish, I don’t know. Regardless I got out of the car, rucksack slung over one shoulder, and cautiously made my way over. It was certainly somewhat surreal, picture a star in the night sky, only its point of light was about half a foot across and about 5 and a half foot off the ground.

“Blimey, that’s surreal...” I couldn’t help speaking aloud. Waking close to it I found myself...entranced, and as I drew closer I felt myself drawn to it, like a proverbial moth to a flame. Without realising it my right hand came up to touch it and a lightening-like tendril of white energy shot out to surround my arm, sending pain lancing through my body and causing me to shout out. Suddenly I felt a lurching sensation as I was pulled, or pushed, towards the pinpoint of light and my world went white, my body still wracked with pain.

When I came too again my mind felt heavy, like when you’ve just been woken up in the middle of a sleep cycle, I also felt like I had forgotten something very important like when you go to recall something only to draw a blank.

I was on the ground, face down in the dirt. And as I pushed myself up I saw what could best be described as a head up display flash into my field of vision. The bottom left showing my vital signs, such as a heart beat. In the top of my vision was a compass, with what appeared to be a locational identifier directly underneath it, currently reading “Area unknown”. To the right was what piqued my interest, what appeared to be a weapons loadout, currently reading “Flame Sword: unequipped".

Standing up to my full height I took the time to examine myself as best I could without a mirror, noting with some interest that the head up display seemed to fade out of view unless I concentrated on it. I was still clearly human, that much was certain. But I was adorned in armour, not like a full suit, but a main chest plate, with large singular plates on my arms and legs, all coloured a rich crimson, and scale-link protecting the more flexible areas, coloured orange, I couldn’t help but note with curiosity that I didn’t feel at all encumbered in such armour, as if it were merely a second skin. Acting on a hunch I reached up to my face and my hands came into contact with what seemed like a helmet or mask. Humming in thought I pulled it off, though the action felt...uncomfortable...as if I felt exposed or naked without it, pushing that thought aside I took the time to examine the mask (it was the term which seemed the most appropriate in my mind).

For the most part it was simplistic, a domed cranial plate with a vent at the top, where my mouth and nose was there was a raised grill, with a pronounced, almost jaw-like bridge connecting the grill to the cranial dome on each side. Where my cheeks were there was a recessed area featuring three prominent openings almost like great claw marks or even tribal paint below each eyehole.

I put the mask back on and the feeling of being exposed faded. reaching onto my back I felt the handle of something materialise in my grasp along with a weight which had a certain degree of comfortableness to it. Bringing whatever it was around I found myself gazing at what was undeniably a beautiful sword, with a blade about 4 and half feet long and crafted with the utmost care and devotion, turning it over I saw not a single imperfection, wrinkle, or blemish on its surface and somehow whoever crafted it had managed to insert a flame-pattern made from brass into the steel blade, with not one sign of a raised edge where the brass met steel along the mirror-polished finish f the blade, as if they had been forged from a solid ingot with the pattern already a part of the raw stock. Giving it a few test swings I noted that it didn’t feel at all heavy in my hand, in fact, holding it brought a newfound sense of completeness to my arm, as if it were simply an extension of myself.

Once again I got the strong feeling that I was forgetting something, like there was a...wall in my mind, but I had more important thing to focus on, like where in the world I was. Putting the sword away and glancing around I appeared to be in a dark forest surrounded on all sides by ancient gnarled trees, off to my left I could see my rucksack seemingly left haphazardly in the undergrowth.

Making my way over I hefted it up, noting with no small amount of curiosity that it felt much lighter, or perhaps I felt much stronger, opening it up and quickly rifling through I found that all my belonging were as they should be, though I once again felt the wall in my mind make itself known, as if something was deliberately preventing me from remembering something. I actually had to put a hand of to my temple and close my eyes in an attempt to subdue the feeling, until in time it faded seemingly of its own accord.

Shaking my head to focus my thoughts, I decided to pick a direction and walk in it. Eventually I settled on walking north, I had always preferred going north, for some reason it felt like...going home. For the better part of a day I walked through the forest, and I repeatedly found myself thanking the compass in the top of my vision as the meandering route which I had to take, often having to resort to crawling between trees and through bushes, meant I could have very easily gotten lost, however I soon found the forest to be thinning out and more light began to seep through. Eventually I came to a break in the forest, and from the edge of the trees I could see that it was evening, with the sun starting to sink low behind a quaint little town,

“At last!” I thought “looks like there’s civilisation afterall” Though in the back of my mind I felt trepidation, almost as if a voice was whispering in my mind to heed caution. However I pushed that to one side at the prospect of food, drink, and maybe a bed in which to rest from a day of crawling through a murky forest. Still, a cautious approach would not be unwise, it’s not every day that someone walks into town decked out like a knight bound for war. And with that, I cautiously stepped out of the clearing and made my way towards the town.

As I half crouched, half ran across the open field I spied a small building, painted bright red with ornate detail work, and made my way over in the hopes to use it to provide a sheltered lookout from where I could discretely scope out the town. I drew up to the side of the building and cautiously peered in, finding it empty I slowly made my way along the side of the building until I was close to the corner. I was just about to take a gander around the side of the building when I suddenly felt something cold and sharp press up against my throat.

“What’s this? An armour-clad warrior caught off his guard?” I heard a female voice with a typical American accent say quietly from just behind me, no small amount of smugness colouring her words. A part of me thought it was extremely unusual for someone, presumably law enforcement, to be carrying a blade, but I wasn’t going to voice such concerns when said blade was up against my throat, instead I raised my hands placatingly.

“I mean no ill intent, I promise you” I pleaded.

“and yet you come dressed as if for war and sneak around like a thief in the night” it wasn’t a question.

“I have no explanation for my attire, for I have no memory of obtaining it” I said “and my approach was merely out of caution as a result of said armour. It’s not exactly normal to go casually walking into town decked to the nines in crimson and orange armour, I wouldn’t want to cause a panic amongst the locals”

“So in short you have no justification” said the wielder of the blade.

“And you’re going to arrest me for simply being here?” I asked.

“I am if I feel you to be a threat to this town” and at that moment I felt the blade shift, accompanied by some unusual footsteps as whoever was wielding the blade came into view. Once she did my mind performed a record scratch.

Standing in front of me was not a police officer, or even some random knife wielding gang member, but an honest to god pegasus, about 4 feet tall, with a pure white coat & light blue mane & tail, adorned in golden armour and holding a small pike, whose blade was now pressed against my throat.

Now, there are no doubt some of you who will question my sanity considering said pegasus had a blade pressed against my throat, but I very quickly found any sense of seriousness about the whole situation abandoning me and I increasingly struggled to keep a straight face. A smile, turned into a smirk, and that smirk very quickly became a chuckle, which then turned into all out laughter. The pegasus looked exasperated.

“Have you gone completely mad?” she asked, looking me up and down, by which point I was practically rolling on the ground, unable to control my hysterical laughter. “Oh for celestia’s sake, we've got another loony”

I didn’t even see the butt of the pike get rammed into my face before my world went black.