The Price for a Chance to Live - Volume I

Chapters

Chapter II - Of Those Small Few...
Chapter III - Faith and Steel
Chapter IV - His Angels, Our Demons [Battle]
Chapter V - A Brief Respite Before the Slaughter
Interlude I - A Gathering of Ambassadors
Opening
Chapter I - Oaths and Promises

Chapter II - Of Those Small Few...

As Calidus drove with his passenger to the Imperial Anchorage, he kept glancing at Ollanius who had his window down and arm resting in the windows place, he seemed to have his attention locked at the buildings of the ‘upper’ city.

Soaring buildings and broad, breathtaking avenues with formidable statues of angels and ancient heroes lining the edges of the roads. This made the mark of the upper city, for it was the most important section of the capital - excluding the Citadel; the ever beating heart of Angelgard and the capital city.

The two passed by a colossal sized structure called the Ministry of Production, as stated by the large monument sign in front of the building. The Ministry of Production was one of the many colossal buildings that were built within the confines of the upper city.

It used the ‘Imperial Modern Gothic’ architectural style like the rest of the city, but could never surpass the Citadel, no matter the number of attempts and who attempted it.

“Beautiful, ain’t it?” Calidus said, “It’s a shame that we won’t be able to see it for some time”

Ollanius looked at Calidus, “Yes, it is a shame” he turned to gaze at the city buildings, “To think… that we have to leave our Homeland behind… in order to protect it”

“We do what we must for the future of the Dominion”

Ollanius was about to respond but something caught his attention, so he decided to steer the conversation to that instead, “Yes, but it’s a shame that these people can’t do that”

Calidus looked at what Ollanius was looking at, and what he saw enraged him to the core. To the left he saw a large group of people wearing thick coats. Men and women; all with different coloured skins… protesting behind a steel pedestrian barricade.

“Stop the car” Ollanius ordered.

Calidus reluctantly did so, and turned on the emergency lighting for the cars behind him.

On Ollanius’ side was four lines of men equipped with dark riot police armour, their faces were obscured by a dark visor.

The first two lines - or the tactical group - had large curved, transparent, polycarbonate shields with horizontal grips in one hand while they carried a baton in the other.

The second two lines - or the ballistics group - carried various models of ranged weaponry, ranging from tasers to single-shot grenade launchers - that was likely loaded with tear gas.

The tactical group formed a shield wall to act as a secondary barrier against the protesters. While the ballistics group hung back with their weapons lowered, but ready nonetheless.

The protestors were waving signs that said, ‘Dominion withdrawal’, or ‘Bring our soldiers home’ or ‘No honour in forced labour’

That last sign made Ollanius clench his hands.

Honour… what do they know about honour…

Their chants were loud and determined, their combined shouts were loud enough to intimidate the mightiest of warriors, but unfortunately for them, they were not enough to make the police back down.

“Bring them home! Bring them home! Bring them home!” They chanted, raising a fist in the air.

“Disperse immediately!” A police officer announced over a megaphone, “You ‘plebes’ have no legal right to protest here. Disperse or you will be forcibly removed!”

“We won’t move until we get our message across!” A plebe shouted, enhanced through their own megaphone.

“Neither are we, but we’re getting paid!” The officer shouted back, prompting a couple of chuckles from his men.

Ollanius chuckled as well but his attention was pulled away when he heard Calidus’ voice.

“Frater, you have a crusade to unleash. Let us be on our way” Calidus said.

Ollanius thought about it for a second before looking at Calidus and sending him a nod.

“Right. Let these privileged traitors protest all they want. They’re just wasting their breath”

Calidus turned off the emergency light and continued driving.

“What’s the word for my departure? Is everything on schedule?” Ollanius questioned, looking at the buildings that surrounded him.

“Everything is on schedule, brother… however there seems to be a… slight issue”

Ollanius sighed, “What is it?” His voice carried no concern, he sounded more irritated.

“The number of clans that have answered your call”

Ollanius stayed silent for a few seconds, taking in and processing the information that he just received, “How many?” He said, with a hint of frustration.

“Out of the hundred clans you called for the crusade, only twenty-seven of them answered the call”

“And the other clans?” Ollanius questioned.

“They’ve chosen to remain in Angelgard. Some clans believe they are more needed here than out there, while others have stayed for other unspecified reasons.”

Ollanius gave Calidus a questioning look before looking out the window again, “No matter, we’ll make due with the clans we do have”

“You would only have enough for a single company.” Calidus stated.

“I know… but they’re still outmatched, even if they brought a force that’s forty-thousand strong… our forces would annihilate them.”

“Of that, I have no doubt, frater”

On the left side of the road, Ollanius saw an electronic road sign that said,

‘National Parade in Progress’

‘Road Closed Ahead’

Ollanius felt the car slow down a bit and before he knew it, he saw a roadblock in front of the cars that were in front of him. The roadblock was guarded by a group of riot police of the same composition as he saw before.

“Hmm, it looks like the parade has started” Calidus said, he then looked at his watch, “It seems that we spent more time in the Citadel than I thought”

“It was a long walk to the infirmary” Ollanius pointed out, “How long would it take to take an alternate route?”

“Not long, just have to wait for the cars ahead of us”

A few minutes passed and they eventually reached the front of the car line, giving Ollanius and Calidus a somewhat better view of the roadblock and the national parade. A large crowd of Dominion citizens were gathered in front of the roadblock, they all formed lines as the police officers inspected their ID’s and let them pass, while two riot police officers halted Calidus and the car to his right.

Ollanius saw the crowd cheering happily, their cheers thundered throughout the city, practically muffling the unified sound of marching. Children sat upon the shoulders of their parents; either shouting praises or throwing ‘Wide Bay Flowers’ at the parade, some even waved with a naive smile upon their face.

As warming as the sight was, one of the police officers then gave Calidus the signal to go.

As soon as he made a left turn, Ollanius and Calidus were met with several citizens crossing the roads at the next traffic lights. Children were skipping happily while holding the hands of their parents, they seemed to be heading towards the parade.

“It's not too often you get to see the beauty of life,” Calidus said, a smile forming on his face,“I would gladly trade my life for something like that”

Ollanius looked at him and opened his mouth, he wanted to say something about it but he chose to speak about something else, “Any rumours circulating about the current state of the Kingdom of Olenia? Anything I should know or can use?”

It took some time for Calidus to respond, so long that Ollanius checked if he was still listening to him, “Hey, you got your ears on?”

“Of course, I was just… preoccupied” Calidus hesitantly said.

A little lost more like…

“Our ‘Dark Templars’ have reported that there's a controversial topic between who will claim the throne; either one called Princess Velvet or the illegitimate son of the current ruler; King Aldar II.”

“And let me guess,” Ollanius said, “Princess Velvet is the most popular choice-”

“And the most respected and loved by the… heretical populace” Calidus said quickly, cutting off Ollanius.

“Wonderful… could this spark a civil war?” Ollanius questioned, implying something underneath.

“If the current King were to have his life… ended suddenly, then there would be a power struggle which could lead to a civil war”

“Heh, the ‘Obscura Templarius’ do good work”

“That they do”

Calidus stopped at a traffic light and looked to the right, he grinned and lightly hit Ollanius’ shoulder with his left hand to get his attention.

Ollanius looked over to his driver, “What is it?” he asked

Calidus simply nodded to the right while Ollanius traced his gaze.

Ollanius saw a lighter crowd watching the national parade, though not as dense as the previous one, their cheers were just as loud.

The lighter crowd allowed Ollanius to gaze upon the national parade.

On the roads itself marched countless legions of soldiers, each one had a standard bearer with the emblem of the Maltese Cross and they all served under the same organisation as Ollanius. They all ranged from military-aged men and women - who wore their standard issued uniform - to young children who looked to be of the tender age of seven.

The children all wore the same gear as the males in the Ordo Templarius but they had a white sash going diagonally across their bodies.

They all marched in perfect formation; their right hand over their heart and their left arm swinging up to the shoulder of the person in front of them. The boys marched first, followed by the men, the girls, then women.

After they passed, Ollanius felt the car shake slightly. He and Calidus exchanged looks before looking at the parade ahead, but before long they saw what was causing this quaking sensation.

A ‘lance’ of tall, heavily armoured bipedal walkers with claw-like feet came stomping onto the road. Their digitigrade legs were attached to the sides of the centre torso and thus possessed no arms. A 37mm autocannon was located under the centre torso and a pair of missile launchers on top of it. It was given a dark coat of midnight black with a white maltese cross emblem on the front of the centre torso.

After the lance passed, another formation of Ollanius’ fellow warriors marched proudly. Ollanius felt the car move again, robbing him the view of the parade.

A shame we’re missing out on such a grand parade…

After a drive that almost lasted a half an hour, they soon arrived at a security checkpoint. There was an arm barrier system that was blocking access on both sides, there was a guard station placed in between the entrance and the exit roads.

A sign was placed in front of the guard station, it showed two roads and had an arrow going left, under the picture was the word ‘entrance’.

There was a large wall with barbed wire on top, there was also a gun camera facing the driveway, and a security gate blocking access to the military installation behind it.

Beyond the wall, Ollanius could see several large buildings to the left side of the installation, a large one on the right, and a single large building in the centre, the one on the centre had a large tower reaching up to the heavens. They all shared the same Imperial Modern Gothic architecture as the rest of the city.

The tower had a pointed roof with a small statue of an Angel pointing her sword ahead, there were also four pointed corners on the roof. Several satellite dishes, remote turrets and cameras were attached to the sides of the tower. Near the top of the tower was a ‘control cab’ where the sides of the building were made of glass instead of solid walls.

The base of the building was shaped almost like a cathedral with its large size, flying buttresses, pointed arches and stained glass windows. The buildings on the left and shared the same design, although they were identical and were of smaller size.

The building on the right was larger than the ones on the left but its roof was flatter.

At the security checkpoint was a small group of Imperial guardsmen.

Two stood beside the gate entrance with their standard issue primary weapon shouldered on their left shoulder. It was a black EF88 model bullpup rifle with a red dot sight

While the other two were in the guard station and seemed to be unarmed.

They were wearing the standard Battle Dress Uniform of the Dominion. It consisted of gray, urban camo fatigues with black combat boots, a black balaclava, and several components of the main armour such as an armoured vest, a combat helmet, shoulder pauldrons, thigh armour and knee guards, though this armour was nothing compared to the armour worn by the Regiis Custodes.

The armoured vest had an extension to provide protection to the groin and was also bulkier in the chest area to provide additional protection to the users vitals. The front of the chest piece also had three ammo pouches to store ammunition for the primary weapon.

The combat helmet provided a decent amount of protection, it covered most of the head, leaving only the face exposed, but at least it was convenient in many ways. One of which was the inbuilt comms and ballistic goggles with a black visor but several other attachments could be added on the helmet.

The shoulder pauldrons were secured into rigs covering the upper arms and were attached to the vest. They had a higher and wider profile but still allowed a great range of movement.

The thigh armour were secured around the thighs and had attachment rigs for equipment. Such as a holster for a side arm, extra ammo pouches or a tactical ‘soft case’.

Their knee guards were simply inserts that sat in the pockets of their pants (located in the knees) instead of using the ‘unpopular’ clip on straps.

There was also a utility belt used for storing equipment, such as grenades, ammo pouches, IFAK, and a bayonet sheath located on the lower back.

One of the guardsmen in the station came out and signalled Calidus to take the left path.

Calidus did so before slowing down to a stop, right next to the guardsman. He seemed to be very young, he had hazel eyes and his hair was concealed in that helmet of his.

The guardsman immediately saluted, his palm facing out, before easing himself and holding out his right hand, “Name and order number, my lords,” he said, his youthful voice going through Ollanius’ and Calidus’ ears.

Ollanius and Calidus pulled out their wallets and handed him their military IDs, “Knight-Commander Calidus and Head-Knight Ollanius. Mission Order: 5-5-2-7”

The guardsman nodded and headed back inside the guard station with their IDs. He then handed the IDs to his fellow guardman.

“Security’s getting tighter” Ollanius mentioned, looking at all the security at the checkpoint.

“Yeah,” Calidus agreed, “That gun camera used to be just a regular camera and there used to be just two guardsmen”

“What’s next? ‘Magitek Walkers’ standing guard when ‘Nova Invicta’ could use them?”

Calidus shrugged, “Maybe, Imperial anchorage’s are vital to the Dominion”

“So is Nova Invicta” Ollanius countered, before continuing “Besides… this is ‘Aeternitas’” —he gestured to the city they were in—“Any attack here is just plain suicide”

After Ollanius finished, the guardsman came back with their IDs and handed it to them, he then stepped back and saluted, “Good luck on your crusade, my lords”

That line prompted Calidus and Ollanius to look at each other before chuckling softly.

The guardsman became undoubtedly perplexed, “D-did I say something wrong, my lords?”

Caldius faced the guardsman, “You’d call it luck guardsman, but we’d call it fate”

His once confused face was quickly replaced with an understanding one, “Oooh, right… sorry my lords.”

Calidus waved it off, “Don’t worry about it, you’ll get with the program once you spend some time with a Templar”

The guardsman nodded and gave a nod to the guard inside. That guard then proceeded to raise the arm barrier and open the sliding gate.

“May Anima preserve you and your clan, guardsman” Ollanius said.

The guardsman returned the gesture before Calidus drove inside the installation.

When they entered the installation, they were greeted with a large amount of parked Magitek Assault Craft, these were dark, box-shaped, flying armoured vehicles about the size of a small shipping container with a large thruster on the back.

It had three ramps, the primary ramp was at the front and secondary ramps were on the sides, the side ramps had a mounted machine gun fixed in place. The sides of the craft had the Maltese Cross emblem.

Calidus drove past the Assault Craft and the building with the tower.

Ollanius looked at the three buildings on the left, their hanger sized doors were wide open and inside he could see many Templars training.

Inside the first building was a supervised sparring ring. Two Templars were fighting in unarmed combat while other Templars watched and cheered for one or the other.

The second building had a firing range. Several Templar warriors stood in different stations, they had no form of ranged weaponry, instead some held up their hands to the targets at the end of the range and fired bolts of lightning, while others lobbed balls of fire.

Ollanius could see a small glow emitting from under the gloves they wore on their hands.

The third building had a lone Templar, he stood there… still and silent. Though he was not alone, for three Templar warriors dropped from the ceilings, surrounding him and - in a brief flash of light - summoned their own dark blades before charging at the lone warrior.

Ollanius’ eyes were drawn elsewhere as he saw another pair of Templar warriors. Two Templars went at each other with dark, metallic swords. One had his back facing Ollanius while the other was facing his direction.

Their eyes were locked on to each other, even after they parried, dodged or attempted a counter attack.

Their form was skilled and refined. Swift slashes and precise thrusts made a powerful offense, and it was only matched by their flawless defense; blocks, parries, dodges… what else could they have under their sleeves.

However, the one facing Ollanius started to get more aggressive, he switched up his style and summoned another blade; it was a dark kukri. His dueling stance wasn’t optimal for dual-wielding, but he still went for some quick slashes at his opponent, though unfortunately for him, his opponent dodged most of them.

The duel-wilder then threw his kukri at his opponent, to which he simply stepped to the side to dodge, but as soon as the kukri impaled the end of the roof, the former dual-wielding Templar dematerialised and rematerialised in place of the kukri. He retrieved his kukri then moved to strike from behind, but his opponent quickly spun around and held up his left hand.

A white glow began to emit from the palm of his hand.

In an instant, a transparent crystalline barrier materialised in front of him. It was the same as the one the one overhead but on a much smaller scale. The duel-wielding Templar’s weapons bounced right off, leaving him wide open to a deathblow.

His opponent then took the opportunity to strike. He raised his leg up and sent a strong kick forward, sending the duel-wielder to his doom, though the falling Templar reacted quickly and threw his kukri into the wall of the building, teleporting to that spot.

He was now hanging by the blade.

He looked around for a bit before reaching and grasping onto the edge of the roof, once he had a firm hold on one hand, he then used his other hand to reach for the edge. After getting a firm hold, he started climbing up, but after getting an arm on the roof, a shadow overlooked him.

The warrior looked up and saw his opponent looking down on him.

It was hard to think what he was thinking for his expressions were hidden behind that mask, but soon he knelt down and offered a helping hand.

The fallen Templar quickly took it and was helped up onto the roof. His opponent gave him a pat on the back before walking off to the other end.

After an interesting show, Calidus drove past the building with the tower. Ollanius soon saw several large, unoccupied landing pads at the other side of the runway, they were evenly spaced around the edges of the installation.

Calidus then turned right, giving them a view of more Assault Craft lining the entire installation, but the real prize was at the end of the runway.

On a large landing pad was a single Imperial Dreadnought. The dreadnought was significantly larger than the Assault Craft, its hull was shaped with a large thin stern accompanied by boxed-shaped protrusions on each side. Flying buttresses were connecting the main body and protrusions and a large spire was also built at the front-end of each protrusion, the spire was just a bit taller than the main body itself.

Six rear thrusters were on the back, as was a large rear ramp that was currently lowered. Its elaborate frontal armour was simply unmatched by anything in this world, the Imperial Modern Gothic architecture was undoubtedly used the construction of Imperial airships.

Its hull was given a dark, metallic gray paint job. The sides of the dreadnought were a white emblem of the Maltese Cross, beside it, was the white prefix and the name of the warship: ‘HIMAS Imperium Aeterna’

As they drove closer, Ollanius saw a large group of Templars gathered near the landing pad. They stood at ease and were facing three other Templars.

That’s about a hundred and fifty Templars… only enough for a company…

Once Caldius was close enough, he stopped the car and cut off the engine. Ollanius opened the door and started walking over to the three Templars that were not in the formation.

Two males and one female, naturally, they wore the standard issued uniform but with the addition of the same amulet that Ollanius had, they did not don their hoods and their faces remained unmasked.

The three Templars looked at Ollanius and knelt before him, while the formation of Templars stood at attention.

Ollanius stopped in front of the three Templars, “Rise,” he said calmly.

They looked up, giving Ollanius a view of their faces before standing up.

The man on the left was a slightly tanned skinned man with messy tapered brown hair and amber eyes. He was about the same build as Ollanius but was about the same height.

The woman in the centre was a fair skinned person with short, ponytail styled blonde hair and blue eyes. Her head just reached Ollanius’ eye level though that was with heels on.

The man on the right was a fair skinned man with short black hair fixed into a comb over. He had hazel eyes and was the tallest and the most built in the group.

“Knight Alhaus Ferrall, Knight Lera Mortz, Knight Argus Krejcik… I may be a Head-Knight, but I’m still your friend,” He said with a smile as he spread out his arms

The two men chuckled together and opened up for a group hug. While the men laughed and gave each other a pat on the back, Lera stood back and rolled her eyes, “We have a crusade to wage. What kept you?” She questioned, her voice sounding cold as ever.

“Something came up,” Ollanius answered, pulling away from the group. He looked at Lera who now was crossing her arms. A grin formed on Ollanius’ face, “Quaesitor Drucilla”

In an instant, Lera ceased and backed down.

Argus chuckled and patted her on the head, only to receive a straight elbow to the gut. Unsurprisingly to anyone else in the group, Argus took it like a champ and laughed it off, “Not bad, still could use some work though” Argus’ voice was deep yet gentle.

Alhaus spoke up next, “Come on boss, let's get going. My blade has a date with the throats of some heretics” he said maliciously .

Ollanius placed a hand on Alhaus’ shoulder, “Remind me… Why aren’t you a Dark Templar?”

Alhaus grinned, “You already know why, Ollanius”

“Unfortunately, I do”

Ollanius then heard the sound of someone clearing their throat, he looked towards the source and saw Calidus standing their with his hands behind his back, he then nodded towards the Templars, all of whom were still kneeling in place.

“Wait here,” Ollanius said to his friends. They nodded and watched Ollanius walk over to the Templars.

“I wonder how his first command will go?” Argus wondered, before quickly adding, “I mean, it's our first command as Knights, but he has to lead a company while we lead a section”

“Don’t worry about it,” Lera said, “Why do you think the Knight-Commander is here for?”

“Too stubborn to be an instructor?” Alhaus suggested.

“Try ‘War Consultant’, asshat,” Lera jabbed, “Oh wait, you wouldn’t know because you didn’t go to the briefing. Do you even know what we’re going to do?”

“I know we’re going on a crusade against the filthy Deer, but if you’re talking details… then that’s why I have you guys”

“Your just as useful as the ponies”

Alhaus turned to glare at Lera, “Don’t compare me to those filthy primitives” he said harshly as he poked her with a finger.

“Shut it,” Argus commanded, staring into their eyes before looking at Ollanius “Listen”

Ollanius stopped in front of the formation of Templar warriors and placed had his hands behind his back.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

“Listen Ollanius, you cannot force a man to fight.”

“What about conscription?”

“That’s different… your making the physical part of him fight… not the spiritual part; the one, when the will of the fighter is stronger than the muscle within him”

Ollanius opened his eyes and addressed the Templars.

”Many of you are here because your clans feel indebted to my House, but I know better… I know that many of you are reluctant to serve under me. I do not blame you. However, I ask you to serve me, but not because I asked, or because your duty to your clan forced you to, but for the Dominion and the Emperor, both things that you have pledged your eternal service to… but if it’s your wish to stay in Angelgard, then hand me your amulets and leave your brothers and sisters”

His voice was filled with confidence, but his heart and mind said otherwise.

He waited for any sign of movement from the Templars before him. Unfortunately, after a few seconds, one step forward.

The Templar warrior walked up to Ollanius and reached into the insides of his clothes, soon he pulled out an amulet.

Ollanius slowly nodded and opened up the palm of his hand, “You know how this works, warrior”

He nodded solemnly, he removed his hood and removed his mask before raising the amulet over his head and dropping it in Ollanius’ hands.

Ollanius’ friends and the Templars watched the shameful display. Most clenched their fists and shifted their bodies slightly.

Ollanius placed a hand on the Templar’s shoulder, “May the Gods, your Emperor and your clan, forgive you” he said sincerely.

The Templar nodded once again and started walking towards the training grounds.

Ollanius looked back at the Templars before him, “Would anyone else wish to follow your brother?” Ollanius questioned, constantly shifting his gaze to every single Templar.

Again, one more stepped forward, before another and another. Soon, fifteen warriors stepped forward, handed their amulets to Ollanius, before walking away.

Ollanius placed a hand on the shoulder of each warrior and said the same thing he told the first one.

Once the last one walked away, he looked at who remained, “Liberi de Aeternitas,” he shouted, “First Company of the ‘Hellguard Legion’ will you take me as your Head-Knight, and follow me against the forces that oppose the rule of the Dominion?!”

The Templars said nothing, instead they kneeled and looked into the eyes of Ollanius before reciting,

“On the blood of our forefathers… on the blood of our sons, we swear to serve eternally and faithfully, no matter the pain we suffer or the choices we make… for the Creator will grant us salvation, for we are his faithful children”

Ollanius smiled, he gestured to the Imperium Aeterna with a hand and said, “Get set for departure and get as much rest as you can, it will be a long trip. You’re dismissed”

“Yes, Head-Knight,” The Templars said in unison, before standing up and walking to the ramp of the airship.

Ollanius turned and walked back to his friends. He saw that Alhaus and Lera were shifting around anxiously while Argus and Calidus stood still, “Is something wrong?” Ollanius asked, getting looks from the anxious two.

It didn’t take long for Lera to speak up, “Our numbers are already low. Why did you give those Templars a choice to leave?”

“You cannot force a man to fight for a cause he does not believe in…” Ollanius said vaguely.

Lera grabbed the wrist that had the amulets and gripped it tightly, “But you’re part of House Alastair, you can force clans to rally under you.”

Ollanius glanced at the hand on his wrist before looking at her, “I will not have a Legion full of warriors who do not believe in it. I will have other clans join us willingly, through deeds and actions”

After a few seconds, Ollanius felt the grip on his wrist start to loosen up, her hand soon came off and he started rubbing it with his unoccupied hand, “But what good can a single company do against a country? Despite our technological advantage, the fact remains that we’re still outnumbered”

“I will tell you in the CIC” He received a solemn nod as an answer and looked to the others, “Any other concerns?” They looked at each other, waiting for one to speak up, but nothing.

“Good” Ollanius said, pleased that there weren’t any concerns… at least at the moment. “Get on board and we’ll depart”

Ollanius and Calidus stood in place while the others started to make their way to the Imperium Aeterna, “You know… he sounds a lot like him.” Argus said aloud.

“Come on man, be honest. Are you even remotely surprised?” Alhaus asked, already knowing the answer he was going to get.

“No, and I’m sure that I speak for all of us”

Alhaus chuckled, “You’re damn right”

While they embarked the Imperium Aeterna, Calidus and Ollanius lagged behind, “I must admit, that was a bold move, then again… that shouldn’t surprise me” Calidus said.

Ollanius looked at the amulets in his hands and then looked at Calidus, “We will make due with the forces we have, and with your experience, we will come out victorious.”

Calidus nodded, “I will see you inside, my lord”

Ollanius watched Calidus start to make his way to the airship before looking back at the amulets in his hand, clenching his fist and tightening his hold on the amulets.

Creator forgive them…

In a flash of light, the amulets dematerialised, nothing remained but the crystalline particles that surrounded his hand, but soon they disappeared like the amulets.

Ollanius looked at his ship and started walking towards it, once he was close enough he activated his comms and announced over the radio, “‘Shipmaster’ Ollanius Alastair to all hands aboard the Imperium Aeterna. All stations brace for cast off”

Once the order was given, the sounds of the airships reactors came online, the sounds roared throughout the anchorage. The six thrusters of the airship slowly powered up, revealing blue coloured propulsion systems. The spires also slowly powered up, lighting up with the same blue at the thrusters.

Ollanius jumped aboard the ramp just as soon as it started rising. Inside the cargo bay, he saw several foldable seats and metal cabinets lining the sides and large containers at the far end of the bay.

He turned around and got one last view of the outside, as the ramp slowly rises and blocks off any source of natural light.

For Emperor, and Dominion…

Chapter III - Faith and Steel

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Chapter IV - His Angels, Our Demons [Battle]

Hostile Perspective:

I stood on the edge of the airship, watching the show below as the ‘Lesser Diamond Dogs’ ran about, dragging ponies by the tails and throwing them into iron cages.

I moved back to my original position; operating one of the broadside ballistas. It was then that I heard a voice, shouting out my name.

“Oi Baxter!”

I turned and saw a fellow Diamond Dog, he was about the same size as I and we were smaller than the lesser Diamond Dogs. His rough black fur looked like he hasn’t bathed in a long time, but then again, neither have I.

“Wot iz it you want Rocky? You shud be keepin’ an eyez for dem Humies”

“HA! We dunt haves ta worry about dem Humies, we haven’ seen any of’ve dem Humies inz a longz time”

I couldn’t argue with that. It has been a long time since we have seen one of them out this far.

“Well… I guess you’iz right”

“Course I’z right, I’ze da biggest brained Diamond Dog here’” He boasted, pushing his chest out.

“Yea, big brained weakling iz wot you iz”

“Wot did you say?” Rocky growled, taking a few steps towards me.

I stepped away from my ballista and stomped towards him.

“You ‘eard me ya useless pisshed!”

Rocky slammed both of his forepaws on the deck, and growled deeply, “Datz it! I’ze show ya who da real weaklin’ iz”

We both lowered ourselves to the ground, preparing to pounce on each other, but before we could, we saw something hit the deck between us.

We both looked down at the object, and saw that it was a dark, short curved blade. It was something I’ve never seen before.

“Hey, wots da-” A flash of light that briefly blinded us, forcing us to look away.

After recovering, we looked back and saw a Black Demon standing in place of the blade.

Realising what was standing in front of us, I went to howl, only to feel something to make contact with my chin. I yelped out in pain and stumbled backwards. I massaged my chin and looked at the Demon in between us.

I heard the sounds of thunder, which was weird since there wasn’t a dark cloud in the sky. It was then that I saw that Rocky was on the ground, probably knocked out or paralysed, with small bolts were emitting throughout his body, causing him to twitch.

I felt a kick to my chest and another to the side of my head. My vision became blurry and I could hear the sounds of ringing in my ears.

I had trouble keeping myself up. I stretched out my paws to feel for something to lean on. Unfortunately I felt another blow to my head, sending me head first to the deck. Knocking me out immediately.

I was in a room with wooden walls, I was standing behind a wooden table that had a local map of Sire’s Hollow. The map had several inked markings and arrows; all marking positions to attack and raid first.

This has to be the easiest job the boss could’ve tasked me. Raiding a small town with no defences and kidnapping weak ponies for the pack… but why would she send me… instead of those other dogs.

A task like this doesn’t even require brains… only brawn.

There were some loud bangs on the door, I could’ve sworn that the door could’ve been knocked off its hinges with the force of those ‘knocks’.

“OI BOSS!” A shout came from the otherside of the door.

I looked down and sighed. I knew who it was and I wasn’t very pleased with seeing him.

What could this lesser dog want…

“Enter” I said, not even trying to mask the anger in my voice.

The door was thrown open violently, slamming against the wall.

I looked up and saw a large shape of a Diamond Dog, even larger than your usual Diamond Dog. He had brown fur and yellow eyes. He had a spiked collar around his neck and heavy metal armour around his chest. There was a large iron greatsword strapped to his back, the edge of the blade was dull and some pieces were chipped off.

“What do you want, Bo?”

“Iz gotz a question”

Of course you do…

“Why wez takin’ Ponies back home? Instead of’ve all da shinies”

Stupid Dog

“That's not your place to question. The only thing you have to worry about is your task; which is forcibly dragging the Ponies into the iron cages.”

“Uhhh, canz I asks ‘nother question?”

“You just did” I stated plainly.

“Can Iz ask ‘nother?”

“No” saying with a slightly harsher tone to get it through his thick head - unfortunately it did not.

“Can da boyz take da mares for ourselves?”

…

I stood there, staring at a lesser Diamond Dog who couldn’t contain his… disgusting desires.

“No.” I said as clearly as possible, “You’re not allowed to touch the mares. If you want to argue, you can take it up with the Pack Leader”

“Buts, we have ta touch da mares ta get dem in da cages. Hows we supposed ta do dat without touching dem?”

I clenched my forepaws, I grabbed my ink holder and threw it at the lesser Diamond Dog, the ink holder hit him square on the nose, causing him to stumble back slightly, “GET OUT! GET YOUR HEATED SIMPLE MIND OUT OF MY ROOM!!!”

Bo rubbed his nose with both of his forepaws before getting out of my sight, leaving the door open.

I took a deep breath and made my way to the door and closed it.

I massaged my forehead with one of my paws and looked at the ink holder on the floor. Sighing and shaking my head, I bent over to pick it up, but just before I picked it up with my paw, there was another knock on the door.

It was softer and more refined.

Now turning around and looking at the door, I wondered who it could be.

Could it be one of the minors? They shouldn’t even be inside…

Then came another knock, but with more urgency this time round.

Groaning in annoyance, I opened the door, “What is this tim-” I was cut off as I felt something piercing my body. My vision went blurry and my hearing started to echo.

In front of me was a ‘Black Demon’ about my size.

I looked down and saw a dark sword embedded inside me. Red liquid started to pour out. I started to heavily breath and tremble as I felt the sword push deeper inside me.

I tried to push away but the demon used his arm to keep me close to him. I felt my strength start to wither away as the demon pushed even further.

“Shhhhhh, don’t bother… ” He whispered in perfect Equestrian, “You’re already dead”

My eyes widened as I slowly shifted my head to look at him. Although I couldn’t see through that mask of his, I could feel a malicious smile forming underneath it.

He pushed me off violently, I stumbled back and fell on my rear.

I couldn’t even feel my hindlegs anymore

I placed my paws on my wound, doing my best to place as much pressure on it as possible. Soon my vision became worse, the demon in front of me became nothing but a black splodge.

The demon came closer and knelt in front of me, he reached into the pockets of my jacket. Searching for anything of value.

Sure demon… take my life… take my property too while you’re at it…

I felt a sudden grasp in my pocket, he retracted back his hand and pulled out a square polaroid.

My eyes became the size of saucers as soon as I realised what he held in his hand.

“Ooh, what’s this?” He asked, looking at the polaroid and the image it contained.

He held it in front of my face, even if I couldn’t see clearly, I already pictured the image in my mind.

Two figures, one medium, one small. The small one was in the medium ones paws, gently rocking the small one side to side.

“Is this your family?” the demon asked, already knowing the answer.

I refused to answer. I refused to give him the sick pleasure he enjoyed from my pain.

“Well, whoever they are… they’ll serve us well…” he pulled his hand back but before he could, I felt something surge within me, and without even thinking, I removed a paw from my wound and grabbed his wrist.

“Leave…” I muttered weakly, mustering whatever voice I had left within me, “Leave… them be… demon…”

The demon stared at me, his unseen eyes piercing through my soul. He leaned forward and whispered in my ear, “Make no mistake, primitive dog, I’m one of His Angels”

I chuckled softly before abruptly coughing hard, “You say you are an Angel but you’re nothing more than a demon”

“Say what you will, it won’t matter, for the dead have nothing more to say”

My grip on his wrist loosened, I could feel myself getting cold, and I could hear the sound of my heart beating, slowing down as time progressed.

Eventually I noticed that the demon was gone. It was just me, alone, in this bloody room.

Civilian Perspective:

“Starlight?! Sunburst?! Where are you?!” I shouted frantically, running through the streets of the partially burning village.

The sounds of terrified screaming resonated through the village, as ponies ran about, trying to flee from the Diamond Dog raiders. Some even tripped or fell over one another as they fled, making it easier for the raiders to capture them.

Pegasi fell from the skies with either Bolas wrapped around their wings or fully swallowed up by nets.

I hope they’re alright… No, they have to be!

I ran down a path with several groups of mares surrounding their own stallion. Even if I wasn’t part of their herd or any heard for that matter, it was better than being picked off by being alone.

As we ran, we were overshadowed by a large shape, overhead flew one of the airships that was raiding this village. It quickly got ahead of me and the other groups before letting out another group of raiders.

I screeched to a halt and looked behind me. There was the same group that was chasing us, although their numbers seemed to increase.

I was cut off, and I needed to find another path.

I quickly looked around while the unicorn mares and some brave unicorn stallions used their magic to delay the approaching raiders.

I briefly paused as I watched the stallions with foals hold them closely, shielding them from what surrounded us.

We were surrounded and there was only one way out, and that was to go through them.

That was something I couldn’t hope to pull off, they could easily overpower me, unless I was an earth pony, but I’m not… I’m just a regular old unicorn.

Even if we had our earth ponies fight, there would be no point. For these raiders had armour, weapons and experience.

We weren’t Imperial Guards or part of the Royal Militia, just simple folk just trying to get by…

Seeing no way out, the feeling of hope dwindled away.

Time slowed as I decided to use whatever time I had to picture my son.

My dear sweet colt…

I pictured him all grown up, with a graduation certificate from the Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.

I pictured him being a successful Royal Court Wizard in some long lost empire.

I pictured him with a decent home. A home that housed a family, be it with a herd or just a single mare, it didn’t matter… I saw little foals running around the property… my future grandkids…

But who could the mare(s) be? The first thing that came to my mind was Starlight. She and Starburst have always shared a unique bond, but was it just friendship? Or was there something more?

No… it’s too soon to say… they’re just kids, too innocent and naive to truly know the outside world.

Will he ever be prepared to face it without me? Will they handle this burden together without the constant presence of a loving mother or father?

I… just sat down on my haunches, looking at the ground and my hooves.

I slowly raised my head to look at the raiders in front of me, before looking at the ones behind me…

They were getting closer… the magic walls produced by inexperienced unicorns were falling apart as fast as they conjured them up.

I looked to the skies… to take in one last breath of life and freedom. To take one last look at Celestia's sun. To take one last look at the fluffy clouds.

But there was something different about the clouds. Odd, irregular spots that just stood out from the white, and just when I was about to look away, several black figures broke through the white clouds, approaching the ground at high speed.

I couldn’t recognise them from this distance, but I wondered if the stories were true…

The next thing I saw was several flashes of light. It was hard to see and notice with the sun out but if you concentrated hard enough, you could see it, for a millisecond at least.

Before we knew it, several objects pierced the skies and landed behind both groups of raiders.

The battle ceased. The unicorns got some respite as the Diamond Dogs stopped their advance.

They turned and stared at the weapons that were embedded in the ground.

In a flash of light, two lines of His Angels materialised in place of the blades.

They all were kneeling on the ground, holding the grip of the sword that pierced the ground blade first.

His Angels looked up and stared at the Diamond Dogs, before pulling out their swords out of the ground and readying themselves for combat.

It was a mass staring contest at first before one of His Angels came forward, unlike the rest, this one had a dark plated pauldron and a cape.

Maybe he was in charge? But he still had a silver visor…

I looked to the ponies beside me, the foals faces were filled with awe and wonder, while the adults were shaken with fear and worry.

The adults pulled members of their herds even closer than before, and summoned a domed shield that shielded their own, instead of a wall to keep the raiders away.

I was the only one outside of a shield. Most would scold me for conjuring my own to defend myself, but… I don’t think that’ll be necessary…

That’s when it struck me. With His Angels here, I could continue to look for Starlight and Sunburst. I hope they found a safe place to hide…

“Demonz!” One of the raiders shouted before letting off an ear splitting howl.

“Victorus aut Mortis!” The leader shouted, pointing his blade at the raiders.

Both sides charged at one another. Just when they were about to clash, the Diamond Dogs raised their great swords above their heads to get ready to smash them.

But just as they swung downwards, the first line of His Angels projected a barrier from the palms of their hands, blocking the attack. The right timing caused the dogs to recoil.

The second line saw an opportunity. They jumped on the backs of the first line, before leaping into the air, they then threw their weapons past the raiders. Teleporting behind them.

With the raiders flanked, both sides converged and moved in for the kill.

The first line sent bolts of lightning at the raiders, while the second line severely wounded their limbs, before knocking them out with a non-lethal blow to the head.

Some of the Diamond Dogs that recovered quickly, began to swing wildly, but His Angels either dodged their attacks or parried it with their barriers, and instead of hitting their enemies, they hit their allies instead.

Once the final raider fell, His Angels left as quickly as they arrived, probably moving to the next group of enemies.

Leaving us unprotected.

That little confrontation was more of a slaughter than a real fight. Their cohesion was flawless, their skill; unmatched.

I shook my head and snapped out of my thoughts, I needed to find Starlight and my son.

I left the herds behind, who haven’t seemed to have recovered from the skirmish. The foals seemed just as terrified as the adults, the look of fear replaced the wonder and awe that once held a spot on their faces.

Sunburst and I ran through the screaming village. Sweat pouring down from our bodies as we ran past other ponies who were more concerned about themselves or their herds to notice us. I looked towards Sunburst, he looked like he couldn’t keep this up, but we had to push on, we had to use whatever energy we had to carry our little legs.

I stumbled and nearly fell on my face, but luckily I recovered and kept on running. Seeing that we could not keep this up, I looked for a place to hide and rest as we ran, constantly bumping into or dodging ponies left and right. Thankfully I saw an alleyway on the right.

“Here! Hide behind here!” I shouted, pointing to a nearby dumpster that resided in the alleyway.

I dragged Sunburst by the hoof and led him into the alley before pulling him behind the dumpster.

We sat down and tried our best to recover, panting heavily to get as much oxygen into our lungs.

After a few seconds of rest, I peaked around the dumpster to see if there were any Diamond Dogs. Seeing nothing but ponies running about, I pulled back and looked to Sunburst who was leaning back against the wall.

“I can’t believe we ran this far,” Sunburst said in between breaths, “I don’t think we can go much further”

“I know, but we can’t stay here, if somecreature finds us then we’ll be in big trouble”

“Yeah, it’s not like we can outrun them either”

We gasped and held our breaths as a series of loud howls resonated throughout the village.

Come on Starlight, just stay calm. The worst thing you could do right now is panic.

“What should we do Starlight?” Sunburst whispered.

I looked at Sunburst, I opened my mouth to say something but I hesitated, “I-I don’t know,” I said, looking away, “I mean, is there anything we can do?”

“Hide maybe? I don’t know. It’s just that the Humans and Royal Militia are nowhere near here”

“Y-yeah, uh, let’s do that. We just have to think of a place to hide”

We tried thinking of a place that we could get into.

A house could work if it’s not locked… This place seems fine but we could easily get spotted and the dumpster should mask our scent…

“Starlight?! Sunburst?!”

Instantly, our ears perked up and our heads swivelled around to the source of the familiar voice. I looked at Sunburst who seemed just as curious and surprised as I.

“Is that who I think it is?” Sunburst whispered.

“I think so… let me check,” I said before getting up and peeking around the dumpster.

For a few seconds I saw nothing, until a distressed mare with an orange coat and scarlet mane and tail came into view, “Sunburst?! Starlight?! Where are you?!” She cried out while looking around frantically for us.

I quickly got her attention by knocking on the dumpster with my horseshoe. The sound of metal being banged on metal rang out in the streets of Sire’s Hollow.

The mare’s ears perked up and she quickly looked towards the source of the sound. I waved my hoof in the air to get her attention, “Psst, hey, Miss Flare” I whispered loudly.

Once her eyes locked onto me she looked around briefly before approaching us. As she approached I could see bolts of lightning being shot into the sky on the other side of the houses.

That’s not regular unicorn magic… at least I don’t think it is…

“Starlight! Thank Celestia you’re ok!,” Stellar Flare said, giving me a hug before looking around, “Is Sunburst with you?”

“I’m here mum,” Sunburst said, coming from behind the dumpster.

“Oh thank Celestia!” She gave him a rib crushing hug with her unnatural motherly strength, “I got so worried when I couldn’t find you in the marketplace”

Sunburst tried pushing her away with his hooves but all his effort was for naught, “M-mum, c-ant ‘reath!”

“Oh, sorry. I’m just so relieved to see you two safe” She said, releasing her hold on her broken son. Sunburst fell on his rear, coughing and trying to fill his lungs full of air like his life depended on it, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it did.

“We’re glad to see you as well Miss Flare, but what do we do? And what’s going on over there?” I asked, pointing to the light show in the distance.

Miss Flare stiffened up, she stayed in that position for what seemed like hours even though only a couple of seconds had passed.

Sunburst and I glanced at each other before waving a hoof in front of her face, “Umm Miss Flare are you alright?”

“Mum? Is everything ok?”

Stellar Flare was snapped out of her thoughts, she looked down to us and took a deep breath, “I’ll tell you later, but for now we have to find someplace safe”--She lowered herself to the floor--”Climb on kids, I’ll carry you”

Sunburst and I climbed on, he went first and I went second. Miss Flare stood up and looked at us, “Hang on kids, I don't want you to fall off if we get seen”

Sunburst wrapped his hooves around his mum’s neck and I wrapped mine around his barrel. Once she saw that we were secured she started moving, using the alleyways instead of the streets.

We heard another series of howls, as we snuck through the alleyways. Sunburst and I tightened our holds, Sunburst buried his face into Miss Flare’s mane while I looked behind us.

“Where are we going Miss Flare?” I asked, looking through each alleyway that led to the street, “Are we heading outside the village?”

“No, it's too dangerous,” She said, stopping at the end of the alleyway, she looked right and left for any signs of danger, “We’re heading to the Town Hall where it's safe. We’ll hide until His Angels take care of the raiders”

Sunburst and I gasped, “Did you say His Angels Miss Flare?”

“Yes Starlight, His Angels are here to save us, but have to stay out of their way, otherwise we might get hurt”

Not wanting to risk getting injured, Sunburst and I agreed.

Stellar Flare crossed the street quickly, lest she risk us getting caught and captured.

Our progress was slow yet effective, I don’t know how much time has passed, maybe about three minutes or so? We haven’t seen a single Diamond Dog, maybe they were too occupied with His Angels to be concerned about the villagers.

Several nerve racking howls were let off. I constantly kept my head on a swivel, I didn’t want any Diamond Dogs sneaking up on us.

The Town Hall was close, maybe about two more streets ahead. Though as we neared it, the sounds of battle drew ever closer. Screams, howls and battle cries sounded out, quaked the very foundation of the village itself. The sounds of lightning blasts and metal clashing froze our very hearts.

Miss Flare clinging to the side of a house, sneaking to the end to take a peak around the corner. I couldn't see around the corner due to my position on Miss Flare’s back, so I whispered, “Do you see anything Miss Flare?”

“Angels and Raiders at the far end of the street, we better move while they’re distracted”

Miss Flare crossed the street as quickly as possible, this gave Sunburst and I got a view of a battle between His Angels and Raiders.

Hearing the stories were far inferior than seeing the real thing, despite their smaller size compared to the Lesser or Greater Diamond Dogs, they exploited the use of their teleportation, and struck at the blindspots of the dogs.

Though there was one Angel that stood out from the rest, our eyes locked onto each other, even if I couldn’t see through that golden visor of his, I knew I - or we - drew his attention.

But for what reason?

The raiders let out another howl. I saw some of them break off from the battle, I attempted to observe where they were going but they disappeared behind a house.

When we reached the other side of the street, Miss Flare turned to peek around the corner, and once she was satisfied, she continued moving to the Town Hall.

We reached the next street and crossed once Miss Flare so nopony on either end. But another ear splitting howl and the sounds of aggressive barking made us freeze in the middle of the street. Miss Flare turned and saw something that made her eyes shrink before she suddenly booked it towards the Town Hall.

Wondering what she saw, I looked back, only to see a bunch of Diamond Dogs making the sudden turn around the corner. The biggest one howled and led a group to get us while the others broke off and went down the street where we saw the Angels.

Were those the ones that broke off earlier?

I turned again and tightened my hold on Sunburst while he did the same to Miss Flare’s neck. I could feel my heart threatening to burst out of my chest as Miss Flare ran. Hoping for one of the Angels to hear her, she screamed from the bottom of her lungs, crying out for help.

“HELP! MY FOALS! WE NEED HELP!”

“GIVE UP PONY!” One of the pursuers shouted, sprinting with all their energy, “WE HAS A GIFT FOR YA!”

I buried my head into Sunburst back and shut my eyes, trying to block out all the screams and yells. I felt my eyes start to tear up, but whatever came out was absorbed by Sunburst’s back.

“We’re almost there kids, just hang on!”

I looked up to see the Town Hall in sight; it’s windows were reinforced with wooden planks and the structure looked like it took some punishment.

There were arrows and ballista bolts embedded within the walls. There were even nets and bolas wrapped around the supports and railings of the building.

Miss Flare rushes up the stairs and banged her hoof furiously on the doors, “Help! Open up!” She shouted, calling out to whoever was inside.

The door opened up, revealing the mayor of Sire’s Hollow, a unicorn mare with a white coat and black mane and tail. She pulled us inside and slammed the door shut.

Once she shut the doors, there came a loud bang on the door, like somepony rammed into it. Then came several other bangs, the hinges of the door threatened to rip off every time the dogs rammed into it.

Miss Flare lowered herself to the wooden flooring, “Go on now, stay with the foals and the stallions” she said tenderly.

I nodded and pulled Sunburst by the hoof, leading him towards the group of foals in the middle with the stallions surrounding them.

We stayed at the edge of the group and watched at the mares hold the doors shut. They used whatever strength they had in their reserves, but I don't think they had much.

Their coats and manes were a mess, some had burnt singes of hair while others were bleeding. The wings of the Pegasi were ruffled and some were even bent the wrong way.

I didn’t think the doors were gonna survive another beating, The hinges were starting to come loose. I held my breath as I held Sunburst close.

“Brace the doors!” The mayor ordered.

Immediately all the Earth pony mares rushed to the doors and planted their body weight against them, while the Unicorn mares held the door shut with their magic, surrounding the doors with all sorts of colours.

A sound of glass being smashed was heard, I looked to the source and saw a large paw in the form of a fist coming through the window. It tried to claw at somepony before pulling away and being replaced with a yellow eye.

“I’z see ya Pony!”

The group I was with screamed and edged away from the windows, moving closer to the back of the room.

“Demon!” Came a shout from the other side.

Once we heard that shout, the eye that peeped through the window retreated and everypony’s ears perked up, their eyes turned to the doors, and the mares who were once bracing the door stepped back slowly.

“Well? What iz it you’iz waiting for boyz? Get’em”

Yells and screams of rage broke loose before the sounds of fighting filled our ears. Metal making contact with metal made us cringe, our ears flattening against our heads.

“He’iz jus’ one Demon! Kill’em”

The level of fighting increased, the screams of rage that came from the dogs were only replaced with yells of pain and agony.

The magical auras that surrounded the doors disappeared, every single mare swallowed whatever bravery they had and slowly backed away from the doors.

“Oh fine! I’ll show ya boyz howz it’z done, RRRRRGGGGAAAAHHHH!!!”

Purple light shined through the gaps in the planks, followed by the sound of thunder. Next came a heavy force that slammed into the doors.

Dogs couldn’t cast magic… or at least I think they couldn’t, but somecreature was groaning in pain against the doors.

Footsteps were heard outside, everypony held their breath and tightened their hold on their loved ones.

Harsh coughing came from the creature who was against the doors, but the next words that came out made me believe that we were gonna be alright, “D-do… ya… worst… demo- ACK!”

The dog was cut off as a blade came through the door. A dark blade that was dripping a red liquid that I didn’t recognise. The dog sounded like he was… choking? Did he get something stuck in his throat?

Everypony gasped and shuffled further away from the door. The voice that came next sent shivers down my spine.

“You talk too much, raider scum.” The blade retracted and disappeared in the gap the sword left. Something heavy was heard falling onto the floor.

Soon, rushing footsteps and a language that I’ve never heard made themselves known outside. This language was unlike anything I’ve ever heard, it sounded like it’s very words carried weight alone.

Next came a series of loud knocks on the doors, followed by a commanding and stern masculine voice, “Open up! By order of His Imperial Majesty’s Ordo Templarius, open this door!” An Angel said in Equestrian.

I got up on my hooves and quickly rushed over to Miss Flare, who remained in close proximity to the beaten doors, she blocked me with a hoof and held me close, “Wait here Starlight” She said, pulling a now approaching Sunburst close to her.

The Mayor of Sire’s Hollow rushed to the doors and opened it with a simple pull of her magic. As soon as the doors opened inwards, in came three Angels, they all had capes but the one in the middle had a golden visor… it was then I realised that it was the same one that locked eyes with me…

The leader implanted his blade into the wooden flooring, his sword was an elaborately decorated, that had a silver wing-ornament on one side of the hilt, the fuller of the blade had silver engravings and patterns, a black grip, a silver pommel and finally a slightly curved guard to protect the wielders hand. It was still dripping with red liquid.

The leader rested both of his hands on the pommel and looked around.

“Caballio!” The Angel on the left shouted, his voice struck fear into most of us, causing us to shrink in fear, “Prostrate yourselves! For you are in the presence of-” The Angel was cut off as the leader held his hand up to silence him. The Angel on the left solemnly nodded and took a step back.

The Mayor was the first one to prostrate herself, and slowly but surely, everypony came forward to the feet of the Angels and followed the mayor's actions.

“M-my lord… you have saved us. We are forever in your debt” The mayor gracefully said, still trembling in fear, “I-is there anything we can do for you?”

The leader said nothing, meanwhile, I followed everypony’s else's actions, I bowed in reverence to the Angels. I looked to the leader, he looked into the eyes of everypony, probably to see how many ponies he has saved.

The Angel on the left pressed two of his fingers against his right ear, activating a strange device, he nodded before moving closer to the leader and whispering something in his ear. The leader in turn nodded and focused his attention on us. “Now…” Said the leader, “Which one of you is the Mayor of this village?”

Author's Note

Ugh, the intentional spelling mistakes makes my eyes burn... anyway...

As you may have noticed, my fair readers. 'Volume I' was added to the title and the Character Tag 'Other' was replaced with 'Fancy Pants'. I was originally going to shove everything into this story but I've decided to split it into seperate volumes.

The Main reason for this is: Characters and their involvement in the arcs.

And... that's about it.

Chapter V - A Brief Respite Before the Slaughter

Chapter V - A Brief Respite Before The Slaughter

It hasn’t been long since the sole company of the Hellguard repelled the Diamond Dog raid and ‘saved’ the inhabitants of Sire’s Hollow.

“Once again my lord, I thank you for saving our humble village.” The Mayor thanked, taking great care in walking slightly behind Ollanius.

The long strides of the Angel made it difficult for her, she did not want to risk falling behind but she also did not want to risk bumping into him. Regardless, she took each step with grace as the Angels boot prints left its mark upon the dirt the Ponies trod on.

Not a sound left Ollanius’ mouth, instead he continued along the path he set himself on. Passing by several immensely scorched houses that once held innocent and humble families.

A shout, followed by the sound of a harsh hit and the sound of a dog yelping made the Mayor freeze. Her gaze turned to the side where she saw a pair of Angels forcing a group of bound dogs to kneel, facing the wall of a burnt house.

“On your knees!” One of the Angels shouted, this order alone made all but one kneel before the charred home. Seeing such a disobedient creature made the Mayor concerned, even for the dogs who just raided her village.

One of the Angels used the pommel of his sword to bash the dog on the side of the head before the other Angel kicked him to the floor.

“Now be a good dog and stay” Smirked the Angel, mocking the lower, primitive species.

The mayor felt a little push on her rear, she looked behind and saw Ollanius’ Knights standing, waiting for her to keep moving.

Finally noticing that she had been staring at the scene for far too long, she quickly trotted to Ollanius, hoping that he did not notice her falling behind.

Once she caught up, she continued her praising.

“It is SUCH an honour to have His Angels in our presence,” The Mayor said, expressing her gratitude while walking slightly behind Ollanius, “It has been such a long time since an Angel - much less a Legion of them - has graced us with their presence”

Again, Ollanius said nothing, instead he stopped and turned his attention towards an approaching Angel.

The Angel paid his respects and spoke in their native language, unknown to the mayor, “My lord, light wounds and no deaths”

Ollaius nodded, “Good, what about the Diamond Dogs? The ones who escaped specifically”

“An estimated three hundred and sixty-five have escaped sir, with our low numbers, it was difficult to trap and surround the majority of them”

“That’s fine, they’ll be back. What about the ones we captured?”

“The majority of them are Minor and Lesser dogs while some are Greater… Would you want us to dispose of the Greater ones?”

“Yes but make it quick and painless, no need to prolong their miserable lives”

“Of course my lord” the Angel paid his respects and left, leaving Ollanius alone with the mayor and his Knights.

“Alhaus,” Ollanius called out, prompting the summoned Angel to step in front of the (assumingly forgotten) mayor.

“Yes Ollanius?”

“Get these dogs into their own cages and make sure they don’t start any trouble, you have my permission to put them in their place.”

A grin formed on his face, “With pleasure Ollanius”

“But don’t damage them too much that they’re useless to our Emperor”

“Very well” Alhaus said with a disappointed sigh, before leaving the group.

Ollanius looked to the skies and brought a hand to his earpiece, “Tormentius, are you reading me?”

“Loud and clear my lor- Ollanius”

“Send a transmission to the Imperatoria Praesidium in Canterlot and request a containment unit for the Diamond Dogs”

“At once, Ollanius”

Once he was done, Ollanius looked down to the Mayor, who stared at the ground, drawing circles in it with her hoof.

“Walk with me” Ollanius ordered in Equestrian.

The Mayor’s head shot up and she locked eyes with Ollanius, realising what she had done, she prostrated herself and shut her eyes, trembling and shaking with fear.

“F-forgive me my lord, I-I didn’t mean to look e-eye to eye with you” the Mayor stuttered, awaiting for whatever repercussions are to come to her.

Please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me, please don’t hurt me

As she waited, a series of thoughts rushed through her mind faster than the Wonderbolts themselves.

Anything but the Processing Centre! I’ll take the Mines or Rock farms but not the Processing Centre!

She heard Ollanius kneel in front of her, her body started to even more tremble violently than before, and she placed her hooves on her muzzle.

She waited for a booming and harsh punishment but instead she got a calm but commanding voice, “Walk with me” Ollanius repeated, staying on his knee, waiting for the mayor to look up.

She slowly removed her shaking hooves from her muzzle and peeked up at Ollanius, “Walk. With. Me.” Ollanius ordered for the final time, before standing up to his full height and walking away with Argus following not far behind.

The mayor slowly got up on her still shaking hooves, she stood there, bewildered by the actions of Ollanius. She watched as Ollanius and his Knight walked towards the edge of the village, she calmed herself quickly and rushed to his side.

In a nearby forest, on the outskirts of Sire’s Hollow, a creature with a dark, bent horn, carapace exterior, and a pair of artic blue eyes was observing the Demons from a distance.

With a little help from his trusty binoculars that he retrieved from his saddlebag, he observed the actions of the Demons.

Some Demons were escorting groups of bound Diamond Dog prisoners inside the village. While others attempted to anchor the captured airships outside the village. It was by far the worst anchoring of Airships he has ever seen, but could he blame the demons? From what he has heard, their technology is on a whole nother level.

The demons on the ground communicated with those piloting the rouge airships through something in their ear, guiding the temporary pilots into good anchoring positions, using their native language rather than the widely used Equestrian.

Do they have a Hive-link like us? Or at least some sort of one? He thought, watching several demons bring a hand to their ears and start talking.

He slowly shook his head.

If we only knew what they were saying…

The Changeling’s thoughts were pulled elsewhere, as he heard a feminine disembodied voice in his head.

“Corporal False Flag, report in, this is Captain Forged Truth”

False Flag slowly retreated behind a tree, he closed his eyes and used his Hive link to report to his superior.

“Yes ma’am, I have Demons in Sire’s Hollow”

“Demons?!,” Forged Truth exclaimed, making False Flag wince, “How many? A Legion?”

“I don’t know, but they look ready for war… “

“Where did they come from, False Flag?”

“I’m not sure exactly, but they fell from the sky”

False Flag heard a sigh, “Very well, keep me updated… I’ll need to report this to Queen Chrysalis”

“By your command, Captain Forged Truth”

False Flag stepped out of cover and continued his observation, each demon he observed made him shudder, all he could feel was their negative emotions and it left a bad taste in his mouth.

“Blegh, bitter” he said, sticking out his forked tongue and letting it hang out for a bit, tasting the pure air of Equestria.

But False Flag couldn’t much more and decided to retrieve a heart shaped bottle from his saddlebag, inside was a glowing, thick pink substance, he went to remove the cork but hesitated, he looked back in his saddlebag to make a head count of his love rations.

Inside he counted five more bottles, two of which were empty while the others were filled with the same substance.

I don’t have much, but the bitter taste of the Demons is unbearable

False Flag popped open the bottle with his magic, and the scent that travelled up his nostrils made him drool. He smelt the love that was inside and he could practically taste it, but the open bottle only made him stare.

He could hear it, the tempting love that was inside wanting him to take a swig.

J-just a… bit…

He took a quick sip. The thick liquid cleansed any bitterness left by the negative emotions as it poured down his throat. But there was something else, it made him feel alive, even more alive than before. False Flag withdrew the bottle from his mouth, licking his lips for whatever love remained.

Oooooh that hit the spot…

His eyes closed halfway, his only thoughts went towards the substance, trying to savour the love that he consumed. He took another look at the bottle, only to have his mind go blank and take another swig, looking towards the sky as he downed the love addicting drink.

Once the drink was fully consumed, he pulled it away with a satisfied smile and a refreshed throat. False Flag’s love addicted mind returned to its normal state however as he realised he should’ve been keeping watch on the demons movements. He swiftly took action, placing the empty potion into his saddlebag and returning to his post.

Using his binoculars, he once again observed the demons, he felt the bitterness coming from the demons but a level he could tolerate this time.

A minute or two soon passed and not much had occurred, but fortunately for him, that soon changed as an important looking trio came out of the village, he observed them closely, hoping to get as much intel as possible.

Two Demons, one pony… the one with the golden visor must be in charge… What are they talking about?

False Flag watched each of them individually. But once he got to the one with the golden visor, he immediately noticed something that was wrong.

I can’t feel his emotions… the others in the group I can feel but not the golden one…

He lowered his binoculars and pulled out a notepad, scribbling his observations down in his native language.

I should make a report to Captain Forged Truth

He glanced up at the figures in the far distance and pulled out his binoculars again.

Maybe just one last look-see…

“My lord,” The mayor said meekly, looking at Ollanius’ boots as she idly kicked the dirt with her hoof, “I-I know it is not my place to ask but… is it possible for you and your legion to save some of our villagers that were foalnapped by the Diamond Dogs?”

Ollanius stood there, staring deeply into a nearby forest as he listened to the mayor’s question. He kept glancing at some other Templars, all who were patrolling the perimeter of the village or were guiding the anchoring of the primitive airships.

“Ponies were kidnapped by the Diamond Dogs?” Argus questioned, taking interest in the mayor’s question, at least more so than his superior.

Shocked and surprised that Ollanius’ Knight spoke, she turned her body towards him but kept her eyes glued to his boots, “Y-yes, my lord, there were quite a number that were taken in the initial hours of the raid,”

“How were they taken?”

“By airship, my lord, I think… five of them left the scene before you arrived and saved us”

Argus clenched his fists and grit his teeth, but the mayor only saw him clench his fist. The Knight faced Ollanius, who was still entranced with the nearby forest with his arms crossed.

Slightly annoyed, he placed a hand on Ollanius’ shoulder and shook him a little to bring him back to Terra, “Ollanius,” he said, catching the attention of his superior, “The primitive dogs have kidnapped several villagers and have taken them somewhere - most likely their staging camp. I humbly request permission to launch a search and rescue mission.”

Now taking an interest, Ollanius fully faced Argus while the mayor slowly took a few steps back, doing her best not to attract attention to herself.

Ollanius brought a hand to his ear piece and spoke into it, “Lera, Alhaus, report to the Town Hall ASAP'' Ollanius commanded, receiving a number of ‘aye’ on the other end.

“Head to the Town Hall, we’ll discuss this there”

Argus smiled under his mask and paid his respects, “At once, Ollanius” He said enthusiastically before jogging towards the Town Hall.

Once he was gone, Ollanius turned to the mayor who was simply staring at the ground, waiting for to be addressed, “Head to the Town Hall” Ollanius said, prompting the mayor to look at his boots but no further than that, “You need to take care of your own villagers”

The mayor nodded slowly before backing away and heading off to the Town Hall, leaving Ollanius alone.

He watched as his subordinates patrolled the perimeter of the village, their guards were up and their heads were constantly on a swivel.

After a while, Ollanius decided to head towards the Town Hall but as soon as he turned and took a few steps forward, he stopped on the spot. He clenched his fists and slowly turned, his hidden eyes gazing upon the nearby forest, he stared at different parts, as if he were keeping a lookout for something.

Nothing… nothing but of howling echoed throughout the village before being swiftly silenced.

After nothing occurred, he turned to make his way to the Town Hall, slowly shaking his head as he walked.

False Flag hid behind a tree, his back sticking to the bark like his life depended on it. His breathing was at an irregular pace, his heart was threatening to burst out of his chest and if he had pupils, it would be contracted to the size of pinballs.

By the ‘Dark Throne’ that demon looked straight at me!

False Flag looked at the surrounding area, doing his best to listen for any signs of disturbances in the woods, but his thundering heartbeat and irregular breathing was making it difficult.

“False Flag, report, this is Forged Truth”

False Flag gasped at the sudden link, he looked around briefly before closing his eyes and linking his mind.

“F-false Flag reporting”

“Finally! There you are, I sent a report to Queen Chrysalis and she wants us to- Hey, what’s wrong? Your heart rate is spiking”

“The leader of this legion of demons looked straight at me while I was observing them.”

“What?! How is that possible? There’s a distance of one-hundred and fifty metres between you and the village”

“I-I know, but I think he saw me… requesting permission to fall back and regroup”

A sigh was heard from the otherside, “Request granted, Queen Chrysalis wanted us to fall back anyway. I’ll see you at the rendezvous point.”

“Yes, Captain.”

False Flag severed his connection before opening his eyes. His heart rate was slowing down and his breathing was returning to its normal state. He placed a hoof on his chest and leaned further back on the tree.

If I ever look into the eyes of a demon again, I might as well write my will…

After a moment or two of gathering his thoughts, he slowly got up and retrieved his saddlebag before carefully retreating deeper into the dense forest.

The Town Hall was surrounded by Ponies and Templars alike. Most of the Ponies were gathered in front of it, remaining close to their respective herds while the Templars patrolled the city with their sections or escorted Diamond Dog prisoners to the nearest cage.

Most of the Ponies were injured, some more than others. Burns, deep scars and broken limbs were just the tip of the iceberg. Physical wounds can heal but… emotional ones on the other hand… were far worse as they struck individuals on the inside.

Some, or perhaps most of the villagers of the Sire’s Hollow had this. Various emotions were placed upon them, some were distraught, while others had the look of hopelessness… while some were merely lying on the ground with the look of… lost? Tears creeping out of their eyes, rolling down their furry cheeks before finally watering the dirtied ground.

But most would agree that all of them were absolutely traumatised by the raid, their homes lost, personal items and possession were taken, and friends and family were foalnapped or killed if they resisted.

Argus and Alhaus stood together, waiting for their superior, but Argus picked a spot where he could watch the ponies. He watched, as a single medical pony tended to the wounded, the mare tended to the young foals before tending to the weak and pathetic stallions, leaving the mares for last, but any major wounds naturally came first.

It was a slow and draining process, moving from patient to patient. Tending to their needs and hoping that they won’t go into Hypovolemic shock while their hearts pumped harder to compensate for blood loss.

The ones with broken limbs were kept as still as possible while the medical pony used a constructed makeshift splints using two pieces of wood to sandwich the leg or wing before using something like a vine to wrap it.

The ones who suffered burns on their skin were given whatever burn creams and ointments the ponies had before having it dressed in bandages.

The mayor was a strong leader in this time of crisis, Argus watched as she hastily formed unorganised scavenging teams to gather whatever materials the medical pony needed. Naturally; these teams consisted of mostly unharmed mares or lightly wounded ones, some unharmed stallions volunteered to help but were ordered to let the mares do all the heavy lifting, to which they agreed.

They didn’t do much but it was helpful nevertheless.

“What are you looking at Argus?” Alhaus asked, tracing his gaze towards the suffering ponies. Once Alhaus got a good look he turned to face Argus, crossing his arms, “Don’t tell me you pity for these primitives”

This made them lock onto each others eyes, Argus opened his mouth to say something but instead just looked away.

“So you do pity them… Why?”

“Why don’t you?” Argus retorted, “They’re innocent”

“There’s no such thing as innocence, only degrees of guilt”

“Oh, of course, forgive me,” Argus jabbed with a mockingly bow, ”I thought I was talking to Alhaus, not a member of the Obscurum Templarius”

Growling slightly, Argus gestured towards the ponies, “Well… if you pity them so much, why don’t you give them a helping hand, hmm?”

“Stop asking questions you already know the answer to”

“Then stop pitying these weaklings and keep all focus on the welfare of your brothers and sisters” Argus finished, putting a finger on his chest and prodding him with it.

Argus narrowed his eyes and clenched his fists, while Alhaus smiled mischievously under that under his mask.

“Is there a problem here?”

Immediately both sides ceased and turned towards the voice that they knew.

Argus and Alhaus stood at attention, “No, there’s no problem, Ollanius” Argus said.

“Yeah, totally… no problem whatsoever” Argus muttered under his breath.

Ollanius looked at the two, giving them a questioning look under that mask, “I know your both lying to me, but I’ll deal with both of you later, for there are far more pressing matters at hand” He looked around, as if he were searching for someone, “Where’s Lera?”

As if summoned by the Gods themselves, a blade hit the ground and in a flash, Lera materialised in the place of the blade.

She stood up and walked to the group, “I’m here, what’s the problem Ollanius?” Lera asked, dematerialising her blade.

“DD counter-attack,” Ollanius stated, placing the topic on the table, “We need to prepare and last until the Imperatoria Praesidium arrive”

“So what’s the problem?” She questioned, turning the attention towards her again.

Ollanius sighed, “Diamond Dogs have also kidnapped a number of villagers in the initial hours of the raid, Argus-”

“Alright, I’m going to stop you right there” Alhaus interjected, receiving a glare from Ollanius and Argus, “I can only assume that Argus volunteered to rescue them but why? There’s no point, Sire’s Hollow has no resources and holds no interest in the eyes of our Emperor, if it were, then there would be an Imperatoria Praesidium here.”

“I’m with Alhaus on this” Lera agreed, “It would be a wasted effort. I mean, why waste precious manpower and resources on a rescue mission, when it could be used to defend against the Diamond Dog counter-attack but if we did have the numbers, then go for it, but since somebody didn’t get us the numbers we need, we're better off defending this place. Besides, it’s not like we know where they are”

“If I may interject, my lords and… lady,” Tormentius announced over their comms, “I took the liberty of tracking the retreating DD’s to their staging area and I have the location.”

“And where’s that?” Ollanius asked.

“I’ll send the data over to you”

After a moment of silence, several chimes sounded out from the group's pockets. They each pulled out a rugged, military issued phone with the screen already showing a map.

“The retreating dogs converged on an open part of the nearby forest here,” He said, highlighting a spot in the nearby forest that had a large clearing and several makeshift tents raised all over the place. “But there’s two problems.”

“The first one is the numbers, over three hundred retreated to regroup with the main force, consolidating their numbers, making the estimated counter-attack to over seven hundred”

Everyone shifted uncomfortably, “Without walls or the numbers, they could overrun you and take the villagers”

“The next problem is the several holes that go underground,” He then highlighted several spots that littered the camp, “Dogs are taking the ponies underground, probably taking them to their main stronghold and-”

“They could go anywhere, and we don’t have a resonator to map out those tunnels,” Ollanius pointed out whilst simultaneously cutting off Calidus, “Those tunnels could go on forever and what’s to stop them from collapsing them”

“Exactly” Tormentius agreed.

Silence hit the group as they awaited for another to speak or for Ollanius to make his decision.

“We could use tear gas to flush them out?” Lera suggested, she spoke up quickly, seeing that Argus was about to interject, “Now I know this is risky but this could stop them from collapsing the tunnel.”

“Hmm, they do have stronger senses than we do… it’ll cause them far more pain than us” Ollanius pointed out, “We do have gas masks, but how much tear gas do we have?”

“A full shipments worth” Lera recalled, “We won’t even have to block the holes since the gas is heavier than air”

“But that’s the problem” Argus declared, “The Ponies will be fully exposed to the gas, and let’s not start with the children”

“Our barriers could protect them” Ollanius pointed out.

“Until you get drained” Argus maintained, “It’s too risky”

“We save some or we save none” Lera countered, “Regardless, we can’t rescue all of them, we don’t have the numbers to search those tunnels, and even if we held the counter-attack, the Dogs would've sealed off the tunnels by then”

Everything that was discussed sent Ollanius deep into thought, he pondered about their next move. Ollanius made some quick glances at his Knights, trying to think of any possibilities to achieve their objectives.

A counter-attack would work in my favour, I could exploit the dense terrain of the forest for close quarters combat or even use ranged weaponry while on the branches of the trees - albeit at a less effective level - but without the manpower, what was to stop them from sending another raid back to the village.

My forces couldn’t distract all of them.

Though I could use tear gas, that’ll hinder their ability to fight. Unfortunately we would have the same problem as the tunnels. The Ponies. They’re in the way, no doubt the dogs could use them as shields to hinder our progress. It wouldn’t be a problem if we had our ‘Clerici’ sisters with us but we don’t.

In the open field, their numbers would overwhelm my Templars, despite several factors that made us powerful, but these could only take one so far in battle, tactics and strategy make up the rest.

The Imperium Aeterna is an option but it’s not one that is used lightly. I need that to enforce the surrender of King Alder II and requisitioning a rearmament from our Fortress-Monastery ‘Omnis Arcanum’ is not something I look forward too.

I could send Argus to raid the DD staging area with a section or two, freeing those not underground, and if ordered, he could use tear gas in the tunnels, flushing them out but leaving Ponies fully exposed to the gas which could lead to permanent injury or death.

Or I could refuse and let the Ponies get enslaved by another set of hands - or paws in this case. I could hold the counter-attack more effectively and could send a rescue team after but by then, the Ponies would be long gone and the tunnels would be collapsed.

I couldn’t save all of them… at least not yet…

“Do we have the location of the Diamond Dog stronghold?” Ollanius questioned.

Lera slowly shook her head, “No, we don’t. It’s rumoured to be hidden underground, probably in some massive cavern”

“What about concussion grenades? Do we have those?” He asked Lera.

“We have those, just not in abundance as the tear gas”

“Good, good” Ollanius mumbled, looking down again, reflecting on what to do.

Mere seconds felt like centuries as they awaited Ollanius’ decision. When he finally looked up, they readied themselves to mobilise.

“Alright, here’s what we’re going to do,” Ollanius stated confidently, “Instead of waiting for the DD counter-attack, we’ll take the fight to them”

Ollanius held up his hand for silence, seeing that Lera and Argus were going to protest while Alhaus kept their silence.

“The Ponies will make this difficult but not impossible. I have a plan to wipe out these raiders and we don’t have to take them alive this time, which makes this far easier. Have I got everyone's attention?”

Receiving a nod from everyone prompted Ollanius to continue, “Good, cause I’ll only explain this once.”

Ollanius held out his phone in the middle of the group, “Alright, here’s the plan…”

“Everyone got it?” Ollanius questioned. Looking around and seeing no objections, he smiled and sent them off to brief their warriors.

Argus and Alhaus, went in their separate directions and used their comms to gather their warriors, while Lera stayed behind. She crossed her arms and gave him a questioning look.

“What made you come up with this brilliant plan?” She asked.

“The ‘Tactica Imperium’ of course. Where else?”

“Ah yes,” She said before clearing her throat, “Always endeavour to fight the enemy on your terms. If you are powerful at close quarters then engage in dense terrain where your advantage will prove greatest. If you are superior at long range then fight the battle at a distance. If you have greater numbers then attack along an extended front. Use reserves to break through when the enemy's overstretched lines collapse. If outnumbered then concentrate your forces so that the enemy can fight only your best troops. No-one ever won a battle who failed to take advantage of his enemy's weakness.”

“The Tactica Imperium is not widely used against primitives but it is vastly effective against such an outdated species” Ollanius added.

“That it is” Lera concluded, before departing towards the Town Hall, using her own comms to make contact with her High Templars still aboard the Imperium Aeterna.

The Head-Knight sighed heavily, pinching his nose in the process. He looked around and observed the Ponies and Templars doing their duties. Ollanius saw the amount of wounded Ponies, he watched as the lone medical pony tended to the wounded, constantly checking on her patients. But something else drew his attention, it was the sight of the mayor hoofing out boxes with a cutie mark of a sun that he recognised.

After watching them for an unspecified amount of time, he looked down at the palm of his hands before clenching them tightly. Soon he looked to the skies and took a deep breath.

Was field command always this hard for you?

It didn’t take long for the Ollanius’ Templars to gather in front of the Town Hall, a few minutes at the best. They all stood in formation, awaiting their to march upon the enemy and rain fury on them.

Alhaus was merely inspecting his weapons, looking for any signs of defection before their march. While Lera stood in front of Town Hall with her High Templars. They were equipped with the standard female uniform as Lera just without the cape.

The High Templars were assisting with the Ponies, helping the wounded get inside the Town Hall while Argus helped with the transporting of supplies from here to the interior of the Town Hall, receiving a fearful ‘Thank you, my lord’ in return.

The Ponies were moving slowly but surely, some of them may have been wounded but all of them were exhausted from running all over the place, their muscles couldn’t handle much more and soon some legs of the Ponies gave up and they collapsed.

Some mares helped their fellow villagers back onto their hooves, but most were concerned about their own loved ones.

Ollanius was talking with the mayor, giving her instructions while she listened and nodded understanbly to Ollanius’ commands.

“You are to stay in the Town Hall until our return, mayor. Lera and her High Templars will shield you from harm while we’re away dealing with the DD’s”

“Yes, my lord” The mayor said weakly, bowing at the feet of an Angel.

“Good, now help get your villagers inside.”

The mayor obeyed, and trotted over to the long line of Ponies that were scurrying to the safety of the Town Hall.

Ollanius looked to the skies, “Calidus? Are you ready to rain hell from the skies?”

“Yes, my warriors and the reserves are ready. We’re just waiting for your command”

“Good” Ollanius turned his eyes to the Town Hall once more, the mayor was the last one to walk in before shutting the doors. Ollanius gave Lera a knowing signal and in turn, she ordered her High Templars to line up in front of the doors.

Once they were in position, they summoned their blades and impaled it into the floorboards, kneeling in the process. Their hands began to glow while their bodies slowly emitted an holy white aura of energy and before Ollanius even knew it, a magical crystalline barrier formed around the Town Hall itself, forever shielding those inside.

Once that was up, Ollanius turned to his warriors and gave them the order they all awaited, “Templars, about face!”

They faced the forest in unison, Ollanius, Alhaus and Argus moved beside them.

“Forward, march!” He bellowed, and thus they marched to battle.

As they marched in unison to destroy the enemy, Alhaus sung a line that was known all across Angelgard and not known to the Ponies.

"Bella clamant, hinc et inde, pugna gravis oritur"

(War clamors, on either side grave war rises)

Once that line was sung, every Templar sang the next line together as if they were linked as one.

"Caedes nulla peior fuit, Campo nec in Martio."

(Never was there worse slaughter, not even in the Fields of Mars)

These warriors marched towards battle, ready to slay all who stood in their path. Singing a song about a terrible slaughter that has been forever lost to the sands of time.

They kept repeating the song until they reached the edges of the forest. Ollanius gave the signals to his Knights, to which they obeyed, taking their own sections and splitting up.

Argus took the left side, while Alhaus took the right, leaving the centre to Ollanius. Once they were in position, Ollanius gave the go ahead.

“Caldius, deploy the reserves,” Ollanius ordered over his comms.

“At once, Ollanius”

Once the order was given, the Templars summoned a ranged weapon. A dark metallic, ornate crossbow with a scope and a semi-auto firing mechanism. Though there was only a single dark steel bolt loaded, that didn’t matter for Templars.

The Templars then entered the forest, jogging to their assigned positions given in the briefing.

Alhaus was one of the last to enter, he looked back one last time, taking a view of the partially burnt down village before looking into the dense forest.

It’s gonna be a bloody day… for them at least…

He then jogged into the forest, catching up with his section, quickly vanishing from sight.

Author's Note

I feel the intense stares from my viewers, I feel like they want to strangle me like how an older sibling wants to strangle their younger siblings because they did something stupid.

...

Come on, we all had that thought. The younger brother does some stupid fortnite dance and you just get the urge to strangle the cun... *clears throat* eh nevermind... anyway...

I know, I know. I didn't tell you the plan, but what fun will that be? Besides, you'll see it in action in the next chapter, but for now I just want to get the first Chapter for the sequel of 'Voices of the Father' up before I go.

Interlude I - A Gathering of Ambassadors

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Opening

The sun rose, giving birth to another day of life. A young orange filly with a blonde mane and tail slept peacefully, until a loud obnoxious rooster awoken her from her slumber. She struggled to get up, subconsciously pulling her blankets over her head.

She heard a yawn, it was loud and sleepy then came the smacking of lips afterwards. She heard the sounds of blankets being thrown off, then she heard the sound of hooves being placed on what sounded like wooden flooring. “C’mon Applejack, rise and shine. Ma and Pa don’t like it when you sleep in”

The voice was masculine but hasn’t reached maturity yet for the voice hasn’t broke.

Applejack groaned slightly before crawling underneath her pillow, “Go away, Big Mac” She said tiredly.

“C’mon now, we both got school”

Applejack felt a hoof poking her, “Don’t make me get Ma”

Before she could reply, a loud familiar voice sounded off from elsewhere in their home, it was masculine and stern, “Applejack! Big Macintosh! You better be up by now!”

The little filly groaned and after a few seconds felt her sheets being pulled off, “Let’s go little sis”

She reluctantly rose from her bed, her pillow falling off her head as she stood up. She stretched, yawned and rubbed her eyes, she was met with the view of the headboard of her bed, the wood was dark oak and had the shape of an apple carved into the centre.

She turned her gaze to the rest of her room, it was bland, rundown and in terrible condition, the only thing that was even remotely close to a stable condition was the blankets on her beds, hoof stitched by her granny.

“Good mornin’ Big Mac” Applejack muttered drowsily, she let out another yawn as her brother smiled at her. He was a red coated stallion with an orange mane and tail and sap green eyes.

“Mornin’ to you too sis” He then started to head out the room, “C’mon now, we don’t want to be late for school”

Once he was out of sight, Applejack jumped off the bed and walked over to a standing mirror. She took some time to inspect her current state; she was a mess, bed mane, rough uneven coat and some small bags under her eyes, though almost invisible to those who are inattentive.

She walked out of her room Applejack heard the sound of pans clanging, no doubt breakfast was in the process of being made.

After making her way down the stairs that felt like they were gonna give in, she immediately made her way towards the kitchen.

Once she entered, Applejack saw the state of the kitchen; to say it was in a state of disrepair would be a fallacy, it looked like the sheer weight of a feather could cause the furniture to collapse, the wooden floors and walls were cracked and warped, the mixture of green paint on the walls were already peeling while the oak wooden floor were losing its natural colour.

The kitchen equipment was on a whole nother level however; a rusting stove and sink, drawers and cabinet doors with broken hinges and knobs.

It’s a wonder our home hasn’t torn down already, Applejack thought.

Oddly enough her older brother was the only one seated at the dining table while her mother was making something on the stove. Applejack's mother was a beautiful mare, a pale saffron yellow coat with a brilliant orange mane and tail, turquoise coloured eyes. Her cutie mark was a picture of a glass jar that contained apple butter.

“Mornin’ y’all” Applejack greeted with a yawn.

“Good morning, hun” her Ma said without facing away from the stove, “Did you sleep well?”

Her mother’s question was answered with a yawn, “You didn’t stay up did you?” She said coldly.

Even without looking at her, Applejack felt a cold shiver travel down her spine.

“N-no ma, I…” Applejack let out a sigh, “There was somethin’ outside that was making a lot of noise though”

Her mother finally turned to face her, she raised an eyebrow “What did it sound like hun?”

Applejack placed a hoof under her chin, “Well, it sounded like an air-“ unfortunately before she could finish, the screen door to the outside world was slammed open.

Standing in the doorway was a stallion with a pale yellow coat, a brilliant red mane and tail, and moderate green coloured eyes. He had a Granny Smith apple with its core exposed as his cutie mark and had a light brown Stetson hat.

He did not seem to be in the mood, he had bags underneath his eyes and his mane, tail and coat was a downright disgrace, for his hair was standing out of place. In his mouth was what appeared to be a bundle of letters, “Mornin’ Pa” Applejack said before taking a seat at the kitchen table, opposite of Big Mac.

Her father placed the letters on the kitchen counter before facing his daughter, “Mornin’ sweetheart” he saw Applejack yawn, “Ah take it you didn’t sleep well?” She shook her head.

He sighed and walked over to his wife, “What are ya makin’ Buttercup?” He asked, placing his head close to her face.

She let out a soft giggle, “Prench toast with butter, honey and an assortment of berries, Bright Mac”

Buttercup received a loving kiss, “I don’t know how ya do it, Buttercup” Bright Mac whispered in her ear, “But you always seem to know how to turn a bad situation into a good one”

Buttercups cheeks gave off a slight shade of pink, “Take a seat sugarcube, I’m almost finished - oh actually”—She picked up a plate that had three pieces of prench toast and a healthy mix of blackberries, blueberries, raspberries and strawberries and hoofed it over to Bright Mac—“Give this to Granny, would you dear?”

Bright Mac grabbed the dish and nodded before leaving the room.

After a few minutes, Buttercup prepared four plates filled with an amount of food equal to Granny Smiths, two by two she placed them on the table, one plate in her mouth and another in her hoof.

“Eat up kids, you have school”

“Thanks Ma” Applejack and Big Mac said in unison before digging into their meals.

While they were eating, Buttercup took a quick look through the mail, everything seemed fine until she suddenly gasped out of nowhere.

Her kids looked at her, “Ma, is everything alright?” Big Mac asked, concerned at the current situation.

Buttercups back was facing them, so they couldn’t get a look at her face. The silence was making them anxious, they kept glancing at each other, neither of them knew what to do.

Finally she answered, “Uh, y-yes… e-everything’s fine” she said, her back still facing them, “Just finish your food and head to school, I… need to speak… with your Pa”

Buttercup quickly exited the room, not even looking at her kids. Applejack could’ve sworn she saw tears in the corners of her eyes, but she chalked it up to just her being tired and resumed to the current task of finishing her meal.

As she ate, she occasionally glanced up at her brother, “Do ya know what that was about Big Mac?”

He looked up from his meal and just stared at her, silently, “Just… finish your food sis, we don’t want to be late” She cocked her head to the side and continued eating though at a much slower pace.

Once they finished their breakfast Applejack and Big Mac grabbed their saddlebags and set out for school, they got a fair distance between the farmhouse until Applejack turned to get a look at it.

The farmhouse had seen better days and the outside seemed just as bad as the inside, it wouldn’t take much force to knock the place down if anypony was being honest. She sighed and quickly turned to catch up with Big Mac who hadn’t noticed her quick stop.

The walk to school was mostly silent and uneventful, Applejack kept shooting glances at her brother, his head hung low and his movements slow. Every offer to help was met with silence and every question to what happened this morning was met with a change of subject.

She slowed to a stop, staring daggers at the red coated colt. She shook her head and picked up the pace to catch up with him.

It didn’t take long before Applejack started seeing some of her classmates, some even walking with an older sibling or parent. Of those who were associated with Big Mac gave an attempt to say ‘hello’ but only to receive none in return, soon enough the pair had to part ways, “Behave at school Applejack” Big Mac mumbled.

“Ah will, ya take care brother, stay safe!”

He gave a soft smile before pulling Applejack in for a hug, “Ah will,” the siblings pulled away from each other’s embrace, “Remember head straight home after school”

“Ah will” She said, as she started to trot along the same path that led to her school.

As Applejack trotted along the dirt path, she overheard pieces of ongoing conversations between various groups of fillies and colts. Most of it was about what might the class do in school but one particular conversation caught her attention. It was between a Unicorn colt and a Pegasus filly.

“Did you hear what happened last night?” The filly questioned.

“No. What happened” The colt replied.

“Apparently a ‘Warfleet’ flew over Ponyville. When I asked my dad what they were doing, he told me that they were prob- prob- prob-a-bly going to the Earth pony mines or rock farms”

“Heh, be glad that it’s not us”

“Not yet at least.”

“What do you mean?”

“My dad told me that they were born with a hole in their heart. A hole that no possession, power or know- know-ledge could fill.”

“Wait… I think I heard that before… did you get that from a book or something?”

“Well… yes”

“Scroll… Heartstrung… right? Or was it Heartstrings”

“I think it was Heartstrings”

Applejack however did not catch the rest of the conversation as another caught her ears. Though this time it was between two Earth Pony fillies.

“-id your family get a weird letter this morning?”

“Yeah, my parents were talking about it before I left”

“Do you know what it was about?”

“Hmm… not really, but I think it was related to the harvest”

“... This coming harvest right?”

“Yeah… something about ‘making the quota’ this harvest season”

“Oh… well, what happens if you don’t make the quota?”

“I’m not sure Roseluck, maybe they might take our farm… or worse… ”

“Don’t worry Golden Harvest, my sisters and I can lend you a hoof. Our family may produce flowers instead of crops but we know the basics”

“Really?! Gee, thanks Rose, with your help we might make the harvest”

Oh gosh darn it, is that what the letter was about? Applejack thought as she mindlessly walked along the path.

No, it can’t be. Is it the farms? But why would they want to take our farms?

“Applejack”

No, they wouldn’t do that. Pa said that the farming families communities are just as important to them as the mining families.

“Applejack”

What about the rest of the family? Did mah cousins get the letter as well? Oh darn, I hope not.

“Applejack!”

“Huh what?” The orange filly was pulled out of her thoughts. Beside her was a white coated unicorn filly with a purple mane and tail and moderate blue coloured eyes.

“Oh uh, hiya Rarity” Applejack said, smiling sheepishly.

Rarity raised an eyebrow, “Is something on your mind Applejack?”

“Oh, no… why do ya ask?” she asked with a forced smile.

“I ask, because every farming family in Ponyville has gotten a letter this morning, and seeing that you were lost in your own world, I can only guess that said letter is on your mind”

Applejack sighed and lowered her head, “How’d ya know?”

“To be honest it was a bit of an educated guess” she said with a wave of her hoof, “...that and it seems to be the only thing on everypony’s minds this morning, oh and the absolutely dreadful ruckus last night”

“You heard that too?” Applejack asked questionably, before she continued walking, with Rarity walking beside her, “I thought you blocked out all the noise with cotton balls in your ears”

“Oh I did, but that only rates against small things, not what the whole of Ponyville heard last night”

“Yeah, I guess you're right” Applejack finished, but not before a question popped in her head, “Do ya know what the letters are about?”

“It’s hard to say. Ever farmer got a different letter, I think”

“Oh…” Was all that she could let out, unsure if that made her situation better or worse.

Rarity saw the look on her friends face and immediately acted out, “Oh don’t worry about it Applejack, I’m sure that there won’t be any problems whatsoever.”

“You sure? I’m not too sure myself” Applejack said softly, now looking away from Rarity.

“I’m sure, everypony knows about the backbreaking work your family does, and they should be lenient towards your family, your harvests weren’t exactly, uh, how do you say… smooth”

“I guess you’re right” Applejack said with worry still lingering in her voice.

“Hmm… “ Rarity pondered for a bit before getting an idea, “How about you come over to my place for a bit, I could use another filly’s opinion on some of my designs”

To Rarity’s success, Applejack’s face brightened for a brief second before dimming down, ears flattening against her head, “Ah appreciate the offer Rarity but Ah need to get back to the farm right after school”

“Oh… I see” Rarity sadly said, “Another time then?”

“Yeah, another time” Applejack finished, looking ahead, with the school now in sight. The school - much like Applejacks home - had seen better days, rundown, old, red paint that has peeled throughout time.

A shame really…

As soon as they reached the school, Rarity and Applejack immediately made their way to class but not before hanging their saddlebags on some hooks that lined the hallway outside of the classroom.

When they entered, they immediately felt the atmosphere in the air, it was cold, sombre, filled with sorrow, something that shouldn’t surprise anypony.

They saw their classmates who were all sitting in their respective seats, Berryshine, Golden Harvest, Shoeshine, Roseluck, Daisy, Lily, Cherry Fizzy and his brother Cherry Gold, Chocolate Haze and… Bran Wheat.

Applejack sent a glare to that last one, to which he sent smug grin in return. He was an Earth Pony stallion, with a wolf grey coat, jet black mane and tail, and cyan coloured eyes.

“Come on Applejack” Rarity said, pulling the farmer’s hoof with her magic, “Let’s take our seats”

“Right…” Applejack muttered, growling lowly.

They both took their seats - which happened to be next to one another - and as soon as they did their teacher walked in.

A unicorn mare with a peach coloured coat, a dark coloured mane and light hazel eyes, she had a white colour around her neck with a black tie along with it, and her cutie mark was three pencils. Her mane and coat seemed to be rough and uneven while her eyes carried dark bags.

“Good morning class” she said dully, “Please forgive me but let’s make it a peaceful session, ok?”

Most of the class murmured in agreement while others just stayed silent.

Berryshine raised her hoof, the teacher nodded, prompting her to speak, “Miss Pencil Pusher, what are we gonna do today?”

The teacher let out a yawn, “Just some quiet study for today's class, read a book or complete some work. If you need help just ask. Oh, we did receive some books from Her Highness, a donation no less” she said as she pulled out some paperwork.

The class nodded and went on to do their own quiet work, some students grabbed a book while others went outside and pulled out some incomplete work from their saddlebags.

Rarity got a pencil and some paper before starting to sketch out new designs. Applejack didn’t have any incomplete work, so her mind settled for some reading.

She walked over to the bookshelf that sat in the back corner of the classroom and took a good look, By all means it wasn’t a great selection, but who could blame her, they weren’t the only students in Equestria.

At least the bookshelf was filled with more books.

Above the shelf was a note, relaying a message,

You’re allowed to borrow these books, just return it soon - Pencil Pusher

Applejack began dragging her hoof across the spines of the books, sliding through many titles and authors.

Bestiary Guide by Doc Mare

Mysteries of the Frozen North by Hard Cover

Myths and Legends by Thorough Read

Emergence Day by Lost Faith

How to Survive in Equestria by Torn Pages

First Contact by Scroll Heartstrings

What we know about them by Scroll Heartstrings

Applejack raised an eyebrow before pulling the book out with a hoof. It had a dark brown leather cover with a refined white text as a title and was wrapped by two strips of leather. It was a fairly small book Applejack would even wonder if this should be in the section it’s in, but seeing nothing else to read she quickly looked around to see if anypony saw what see was grabbing.

Seeing nopony else paying attention to her, she quickly pulled out a much larger book and placed the first book inside the second. She then turned and quickly returned to her desk without drawing the attention of anypony.

When she did, she opened the book to the first page. The text that resided within was odd, written in pencil instead being printed in ink like other books.

Was this a draft or somethin’?

Applejack quickly disregarded it and began to read.

Entry #1

So let’s start with what we do know:

We know what they are and we know what to call them… and that’s about it.

Despite Ponies… ‘co-existing’ with them for over four generations, we still know little to nothing about them. I have an endless amount of questions that could fill out an entire exam sheet for a whole school but despite my attempts to find anything out, I was only met with failure. It seems I have to resort to a much more… difficult approach.

Applejack paused for a second and that’s when it hit her, this wasn’t a book… well it was but it’s not a story or anything like that, instead it was a journal.

Entry #2

Regardless of what other Ponies may think, you can find out a lot of things with… a bit of observation.

The subtle hints, reactions, ‘brands’, the way they speak, the way they see other ponies creatures. The smallest things can reveal a lot about a… pony.

All this… it still applies to them.

Oh what joy.

Entry #3

Getting one of them to say anything has been less than stellar, as none of them will reveal anything. Even the most simplest of questions:

How do you know how to speak Equestrian?

How do you balance yourself on two legs?

Why do you wear clothes all the time?

And all I get is either them degrading me or ‘shut it before I send your flank to the mines’

They can try… I’m no coward, unlike the Princess.

Applejack pulled her head out of the book, Darn this Pony is crazy.

She leaned into the book and continued reading.

Entry #4

After observing them for a few weeks, I figured out the daily routine for these ‘Imperial Guards’ as they told us to call them. When I asked why, he just said ‘Translated from our language you useless pest, now get back to work!’

Such a nice Pony creature.

Despite speaking different languages their daily routine does reveal something. I guess the phrase ‘actions speak louder than words’ applies here… kinda…

Every morning these creatures kneel, hold their weapons to their chest and start praying to somepony… or maybe its a way of remembrance, just like Ponies do on the anniversary of the ‘End of the Unification Wars’.

Hmm… I’m leaning more towards praying, I try listening in on what their say but I can’t understand a word they’re saying but there is one word that stands out from the rest:

‘Anima’

A God or Goddess? Hero or heroine perhaps?

If only they answered my questions.

Applejacks attention was pulled away however as a series of loud bangs were heard. She raised her head and saw that the class had also stopped whatever activity they were performing and turned their heads to the door.

The teacher moved towards the door and opened it, she suddenly stepped back in shock and horror. She quickly prostrated herself, her body trembling and her eyes shut as she waited.

Everypony excluding the students in the front row couldn’t see who was at the door, but judging from the mumbling and hushed conversations coming from the front, Applejack could only assume the worst.

Soon the teacher opened her eyes and rose, quickly trotting out of the room but not before stopping to look back at her students one more time.

Applejack could hear the voices in the room, and it didn’t exactly make her feel comfortable.

“What do you think is happening?”

“I don’t know, but somepony is in trouble”

“What makes you think that?”

“Well, why else would they be here?”

Applejack gulped and turned to Rarity who was trembling and trying to shrink herself behind her desk.

“Hey, uh Rarity?” Rarity turned her head to her, “Are you alright?”

Rarity shook her head, “N-not r-really Applejack, I uh, I’m just nervous,” Rarity looked around for a second before leaning towards Applejack and whispering, “Are they really here? You know what that means… don’t you?”

Applejack only slowly nod.

Soon enough Rarity held several designs up with a magical grip, placing them in front of her in a way to act as a barrier, shielding herself from the front.

Applejack sighed and stood the books up on its bottom edge, with the books shielding her face she continued reading and did her best to block out any outside noise.

Entry #5

There was a commotion in Canterlot today, from what I’ve heard from somepony, an Imperial Warship dropped off a group of five soldiers.

When I asked him to describe what they looked like… my gosh… they way he described them.

‘Soulless creature with no hearts, wearing nothing but the black hides of their enemies, a blackened hood that concealed their heads with each adorned with a silver like horn, revealing their devilish appearance, and a black piece of cloth that concealed their dead faces, they carried no weapons for they needed none, for their magic is fueled by the souls of their enemies.’

Clearly this pony has some issues… right?

I mean, there’s no way anypony could be like that… right?

The sound of a door opened, Applejack laid the book flat against the desk and looked up.

She saw her teacher who looked like she was about to collapse, constricted pupils, eyes that have shed their fair share of tears, snot running down her nostrils , irregular breathing, a form that shook violently. It’s like she saw the face of Death and lived to tell the tale.

Pencil Pusher turned to face the class who quivered at the look of her face, and the way she spoke… by Celestia the way she spoke, “C-c-class… i-is g-going to b-be f-finished e-early t-today, p-please head outside a-and head home straight away, d-don’t go anywhere else… ok e-everypony?” She finished, stammering all over her words and the sound of her voice sounded like they were going to break.

Golden Harvest raised her hoof, “M-miss?” She said, almost hesitant, “A-are you alright?” her voice, almost breaking.

The teacher nodded and put on a wide shakey smile, “Y-yes, I-I’m fine, j-just go on home now, alright?”

Everypony in the class just looked at each other while Bran Wheat just simply got up and left. There was nothing but silence, but soon enough, one by one, the students left and after a few students left, the rest of the class got up and proceeded to head outside, all except Rarity and Applejack… who remained in their seats, looking at Miss Pencil Pusher.

“Uh teach?” Applejack said softly, “Are ya sure you’re alright?”

The teacher nodded and started using her magic to collect the mess the students left behind.

“Are you quite certain Miss Pencil Pusher?” Rarity asked, “Is there anyway we can help?”

The teacher froze and turned away from them, her gaze now set upon the window and the image it reflected back.

Applejack saw one of her forehooves move to her chest. “J-just… g-get home as q-quickly and as s-safely as possible”

Applejack heard the occasional sniffle and watched as a single tear hit the floor, she opened her mouth to say something but felt a tug on her shoulder, she turned and saw Rarity slowly shaking her head and gesturing to the door. After a few seconds she reluctantly agreed and quickly grabbed the journal, leaving the larger book behind.

Once they were outside Applejack moved to the only two saddlebags that remained on the hooks, she placed the journal inside while Rarity reorganised her saddlebag, gently placing her newly drawn designs inside.

“Why’d ya do that?” Applejack questioned, staring at her saddlebag as she awaited a response.

“Applejack darling, you must know that Miss Pencil Pusher wanted to be left alone”

Applejack turned and faced Rarity, “But she needed our help!” she stated loudly, stomping a hoof on the wooden floor.

“If you wanted to help then you should just leave her alone” Rarity responded calmly, now using her magic to place her saddlebag on her back.

When she was done Rarity faced Applejack, “Did you see the way she was holding her ring?”

Applejack cocked her head, “Uh, what ring?”

“The ring that she kept hidden underneath her collar and tie?”

“No I didn’t see no ring”

Rarity released an exasperated sigh, “Nevermind, let’s just go home”

“But-”

“Just leave it Applejack” Rarity said quickly, effectively cutting her off.

The white filly then started moving towards the exit, leaving Applejack alone.

Well almost alone… for her ears swiveled around as they caught the sounds of… crying?

Applejack slowly maneuvered to the sounds, it was… coming from her classroom. She pressed an ear against the door and heard the sounds of sobbing, it was mixed with quick breathes and sniffles.

She raised a hoof to push the door open but froze as Rarity’s words echoed throughout her head. All she could do was bite her lower lips and slowly retreat from the door, carefully, not to make any noise, once she was a fair distance away she trotted slowly and picked up into a gallop, hoping to catch up with Rarity.

When she made it outside, she saw the white filly, simply sitting on a nearby bench while she waited for her. Their eyes locked onto one another, she smiled and Applejack returned it, “Come on, lets go” Rarity said softly, she stood up and jumped off the bench and started walking, Applejack simply trotted up next to her, keeping the same pace.

Applejack paused and looked back at the school, “Ah hope ya feel better soon, teach” before turning once again to catch up with Rarity who had also stopped in her tracks.

The two fillies trotted along the same path that they used to get to school but this time they have the intention of returning home. The trip was silent but it doesn't mean that they both didn’t have their own thoughts lingering inside their heads.

“How’d ya know?” Applejack asked, looking at her hooves as they moved along the dirt path.

Rarity quickly glanced at Applejack before looking away, “I do have a keen eye Applejack, I can notice the most simplest of things or things that are simply out of place”

The orange filly looked at the white one, “That doesn’t answer my question Rarity”

“Hmm… well… what do you see when you look at a window”

“What does that have to do with anything Rarity?” Applejack questioned.

“Just answer the question” She ordered.

Applejack tilted her head slightly but proceeded to think about it.

Why would she ask that? It can’t be as simple as that? Or maybe it is? Is it a trick question?

She looked back at Rarity who was patiently waiting for response.

‘What do ya see when you look at a window?’ Whatever’s outside Ah guess? No wait… she said ‘at’ not ‘out’...

“Hey Rarity?”

The white filly faced Applejack with a smile on her face, “Did you figure it out darling?”

“Your reflection?”

She closed her eyes and smiled, nodding soon after.

“So ya saw her reflection then?” She nodded again, “Oh darn, Ah didn’t even notice that”

Rarity wrapped a leg around Applejacks neck, “Don’t be too hard on yourself Applejack” Everypony is different, after all… that’s what makes us unique… doesn’t it?

Applejack raised an eyebrow, “Ah feel like you’ve been reading too much of those romantic novels of yours”

“Oh please, if only I could. Most of my family's possessions were ‘requisitioned’ whatever that may mean”

“Heh, Ah’ve heard that a hundred times if Ahm being honest”

“Oh yes, we need these for the ‘effort’ those barbarians don’t even specify what type of effort”

The two fillies laughed and the conversation ceased, but Applejack had another thought that lingered in her mind, “So… Ah can only guess what happened to the other pony that ring was bonded too”

“Who else could be responsible for such an act Applejack?”

“Ah… right…”

Before long both fillies reached a split in the path, one that went to town and the other that led to Sweet Apple Acres, “See ya around Rarity, good luck on your designs!”

“Oh yes, the play will be on next week, were lucky enough to receive enough donations for it to not get canceled”

The two said their goodbyes and headed down their separate paths.

Unfortunately the path laid before Applejack stretched quite a bit, so she thought of doing something that would pass the time, she reached into her saddlebag and pulled out the journal.

She flipped back to the first two pages that raised the author’s entries and continued reading where she left off.

Entry #6

I found the group of those soldiers that caused quite a stir in Canterlot today, you could feel something different about them, the atmosphere around them just changed as they walked among us ponies.

They walked in perfect formation, one led the group while the others walked in pairs.

I don’t know how to describe it but… it felt like their presence commanded authority, they had every right to be feared and they had every privilege to order whoever they wanted too…

Their appearance didn’t exactly help either, wearing all black clothing, black hoods covering their heads with ornate silver visors each with a silver horn-like ornaments. They carried no weapons but with the sheer commanding presence that they gave off… would they even need any?

The one that led them was different however… his horn and visor were shined gold instead of silver, he had a dark metallic pauldron on his left shoulder, but he had a dark cape attached to it. It revealed a strange white symbol, one that I have never seen before…

Unfortunately I only managed to get a quick glimpse of it, but I’m sure it consisted of four ‘V’ or arrowhead shaped concave quadrilaterals converging at a central vertex at right angles, two tips pointing outward symmetrically.

Applejack looked at the next page and saw a sketch of the symbol.

“What does this even mean?” Applejack muttered, she went back to reading.

I am unaware of what this symbol means.

But their presence… the aura they gave off… this symbol was important… maybe it’s a symbol that represented a noble house or perhaps a symbol of a hero, but everything I’ve written so far has been nothing but speculation.

I need one of them to talk to me…

Applejack looked up and saw that she was nearing the front gate of their farm, she made a quick turn before returning to the journal.

Entry #7

I did it! I actually managed to get them to talk to me and while I admit it was still kind of a failure but I still managed to get one to talk to me and that’s what counts.

The key was to challenge them at something, so I challenged one of them to a battle of the minds… Paradox-Billiards-Vostroyan-Roulette-Fourth-Dimensional-Hypercube-Chess-Strip-Poker.

A legendary game that mere mortals once played against God-like entities in exchange for gifts or wishes… or at least that’s how the legend goes.

Anyway… after a long explanation to him and his comrades, I won. Though I will admit he almost had me.

In exchange I get to ask five questions… and this is where I failed.

When I asked where he came from, he answered in perfect Equestrian: ‘I hail from a place beyond your very imagination’

Where’s that? I asked.

‘A place where the light and dark both reside’

What edgy answers…

I opened to waste a question but I quickly shut my mouth, instead I asked, ‘What’s it like living there?’

‘The conditions are too hard for the likes of you’

Gee thanks… I don’t know what’s with these… creatures but do they have to mock and degrade Ponykind all day?

‘Why are you doing this?’ I asked.

This question however struck him differently, he just turned away but before I could get him to answer, one of his comrades whispered something in his ear and they both left immediately.

Applejack looked up and saw her farmhouse, she looked down to quickly finish the entry.

So what do we know now; these creatures make mockery of everypony. Maybe it’s to those who are weak? He did say they come from a place that’s too hard for the likes of us.

Then again… how can I take his word for granted…

So, let’s instead focus on what we know from their actions and all the time we’ve been living with them:

These… living beings - if they can even be called that - are dangerous, deadly, harsh, oppressive, greedy…

Greedy… what haven’t they taken from us, let alone our neighbouring countries… the Changeling Queendom, the Dragon Tribes, the Griffons in Nova Griffonia…

What makes them better than us? What gives them the right to treat everypony terribly?

What did we do to deserve such a fate?

Applejack looked up and saw that she was at her front door, she raised a hoof and pushed the door open, but froze as soon as she saw the interior.

At the kitchen table, sitting in a wooden chair, was one of those soldiers described in the journal… black clothes, heads concealed under a hoof and piece of cloth, a golden visor with a horn-like ornament…

He was just relaxing there, leaning back on the wooden chair, in his hand was a short curved blade.

Applejack however could only stare at his eyes, by Celestia those eyes… they emitted a ghastly purple through that visor of his. His gaze fell upon her, she could feel a smile forming through that mask, and then he spoke.

“Hello there, little one…”

Author's Note

By all means, please let me know what I did wrong, it would help me improve. Oh and I would love to hear what people think. I wanna see the perspectives of other viewers and hear their first impressions etc.

Chapter I - Oaths and Promises

Author's Note

Questions? By all means, ask away.

10/02/20 Edit: Any speech in bold is in another language besides English or 'Equestrian' in this universe.

Chapter I - Oaths and Promises

In a hallway stood a pair of male humans. Both were standing in front of a pair of doors, the doors were dark and ornate, engraved with golden patterns and symbols of the Maltese Cross. The man on the right had mature dark skin, a bald head, and a right eye that shone green. His other eye however was covered up by an eye patch, for a scar ran across it.

The one on the left - a mere boy to the man on the right - had young fair skin, jet black hair fixed into a military undercut and a pair of grey eyes. He was shorter than the other man, but he stood around average height.

The man on the right had a golden Maltese Cross amulet while the other did not.

However, one of the things they had in common was the attire they wore; a black frock coat, black tactical pants, black fingerless gloves, and black knee-high boots; the standard issue uniform of their organisation.

The ‘Ordo Templarius’

“Are you ready?” the man on the right asked, his voice was deep, confident. The one on the left could hear and feel the vast amounts of experience behind that voice.

“No, but I don’t have a choice” the one on the left replied.

“Hmm… none of us ever do, frater” He then turned and faced the other, he placed a hand on his heart, “Quia salutare, Brother Ollanius”

Ollanius copied his actions “Quia salutare, Brother Calidus”

They both stood up straight and gave each other a nod. Calidus stood to the side of the door and placed his hands behind his back while Ollanius faces the door and placed his hands on them. He got a feeling of the doors, it was cold and despite the patterns and engravings, the ornate marble doors were smooth and reflective.

Only the finest of traditional designs could ever become part of such a place…

Drops of sweat formed on his forehead, his heart rate was soaring, and his hands were shaking.

“Take a deep breath brother” Calidus instructed Ollanius without even looking at him.

Olllanius did so, taking a deep breath through his nose and letting it out through his mouth.

Moment of truth…

Ollanius slowly pushed the door, he could feel the strength of the door and it was a wonder how many people opened it without difficulty. As soon as the door opened he spotted a throne at the top of two sets of midnight black, marble stairs, the second set split off to the left and right side but both lead to the same place, the throne. Where the ruler turned his eyes towards the entrance.

The Emperor, sitting upon his golden throne. Statues of angels, heroes and clan markings, made out of pure gold were fixed into a single position as they layered upon each other, building and reaching up to the ceiling itself. Even the gracing light of the sun shined upon him, through two massive windows with a golden frame and arch.

Unfortunately, the path laid before Ollanius was not an easy one. For most in his place would fall to their knees before the Emperor.

The floor was constructed out of midnight black marble tiles, it was reflective and tranquil. The reflective statement could be taken in two ways; one was you could see yourself in the flooring but the other was ‘how did you get yourself into this situation? If it was failure or capital offence, then the floor itself spoke volumes as you stared at it, reflecting upon the counts of your failure or crimes.’

To the sides of the throne room were His Imperial Majesty’s ‘Regiis Custodes’ who lined the room. As stiff and still as if they themselves were empty suits of Middle Age Knight armour. These guards were identically equipped.

The male guards of the Regiis Custodes were equipped with the standard uniform of the Ordo Templarius but with various additions. The most notable of which was the added ornate dark plated armour on top of the standard uniform.

Their headgear was similar to the Ordo Templarius but the Regiis Custodes had their hoods on with ornate golden visors and a pair of golden horn-like ornaments instead of the single horn ornament worn by the Ordo Templarius. Their lower faces were covered by a dark steel mesh masks instead of black cloths.

They had a chest plate that covers the chest from the bottom of the clavicle to the bottom of the rib cage, with another segment protecting the abdomen. The Maltese Cross was painted white on the front and back of the dark plated armour.

Their shoulders were protected by a pair of wide, low-profile shoulder pauldrons with the white Alpha symbol on the left while the white Omega symbol was painted on the right pauldron.

Other parts of the body such as their forearms, knees and shins were also protected by plated armour, these also bear the white markings of the clans they were beholden to.

On the other hand, the female guards were not as armoured as their male counterparts, they still wore the standard female uniform of the Ordo Templarius: A black, hooded jacket with a black bodysuit underneath, thigh-high, heeled boots and small capes with red interiors and black exteriors, and a white Maltese Cross on the cape.

They had no ornate visors or horn-like ornaments, and only had a piece of black cloth to cover their face.

The female Custodes wore a much slimmer chestplate that bear the Maltese Cross and smaller lower-profile pauldrons that bear the Alpha symbol on the left and the Omega symbol on the right.

They had no lower leg protection due to their footwear but still wore a pair of smaller vambraces on their forearms, bearing the markings of their clans.

At the base of the second set of stairs was a group of five women. Four of them were dressed in pure white, hooded long-sleeved robes with a symbol of a halo and a pair of golden wings on the back, each of them was holding a golden censer burner by the chain and swinging it gently from side to side as it burned sweet-smelling smoke.

Vestals…

The one in the middle of the group, however, was wearing a pure white, hooded robe but with a wide, red line outlined with gold. She wore a large golden chain with the side view of a single winged angel as the amulet.

...and a High-Vestal

The gaze of the High-Vestal was set upon Ollanius while the other Vestals remained motionless, their own gaze upon the High-Vestal.

Ollanius took this moment to start walking forward, the sounds of his boots echoed throughout the room alongside the chanting of the Vestals.

Quem in mundi pretium.

He felt the judgmental stares from the Regiis Custodes as he passed each one.

Corporis mysterium.

He reached the first set of stairs and started climbing them, the Vestals each took a step back as he reached the top and approached the High-Vestal. She had fair mature skin and blue eyes, her hair was hidden beneath her hood.

Fructus ventris generosi.

Once Ollanius was close enough she held up her hand and signaled him to stop. He now stood in the centre of the group, he got down on one knee and looked up at the Emperor.

Ex intacta Virgine.

He had fair skin, hair still in its early greying stage, a shortly trimmed beard and a pair of hazel eyes.

Fructus ventris generosi.

He was wearing a finely crafted black suit with thin white stripes and a pair of dark pauldrons that had a cape attached to it, he wore a pair of black shoes and had a large golden chain hanging from his neck, with the Maltese Cross as the amulet. On his hands were a single brand, a black mark of the Alpha symbol was on the left and on the other was a black mark of the Omega symbol.

Corporis mysterium.

The High-Vestal placed a hand on the back of Ollanius’ head and put some pressure on it to force him to look down. He saw nothing but his reflection, he took one more look before closing his eyes.

Soon the Vestals softly ended their chant. Nothing but solemn silence filled the room.

The High-Vestal spoke, her voice was surprisingly soft and soothing, “Ollanius Alastair,” a brief flash lit the room and in the High-Vestal hands was a Maltese Cross amulet. She hovered the amulet above Ollanius’ head.

“By the will of the Emperor, the ruler of the Dominion of Man, and for the future of the Dominion, Angelgard and her sons and daughters. You have been chosen to lead a crusade against the forces who oppose the rule of the Dominion” She placed the necklace around his neck.

“May you never know failure, may you never know defeat, for the countless souls of the Dominion rely on your success. May the Gods be on your side, young warrior.”

After the High-Vestal finished, she then looked up at the Emperor, and awaited a signal, to which he nodded and stood up from his throne.

Quid est officium tuum?

The Emperor said, looking down at young Ollanius as he knelt. His voice spoke with such power and authority. Most would kneel at the sound of his voice.

Servire voluntati imperatoris

Ollanius responded, looking up at the Emperor, staring into his stern eyes.

Quae est voluntas imperatoris?

Quod pugnamus et morimus.

Quae est mors?

Nostrum officium.

Once the exchange was complete, the Emperor sat back down and pointed to the doors, “Go now, serve in my name. May Tenebrae bring peace through war and may Anima make it last”

“I will not fail in my duty, Your Imperial Majesty” Ollanius said sincerely, he then rose, turned and quickly made his way out of the throne room.

“That remains to be seen…”

A pair of Regiis Custodes calmly moved to the doors and opened them, saving Ollanius the effort.

Once he was outside he saw Calidus standing in the same position, he looked like he hasn’t even shifted a muscle since Ollanius left him.

“Let’s go, Calidus,” Ollanius said, quickly walking to the right, “The Dominion hungers.”

Calidus smiled, and quickly moved beside Ollanius, “Of course, my lord. Would the Dominion have a preferred restaurant to dine at?”

Young Ollanius placed a hand under his chin and seemed to ponder for a bit before answering, “Equestria does sound nice… but I believe the Dominion would like to dine at the Kingdom of Olenia tonight”

“Hmm, a wise choice, my lord, I do seem to recall that the Kingdom of Olenia has a very rich selection of meals, and a fine selection of beverages. Does the Dominion have a preferred choice of meal and beverage?”

“Magical Crystals,” Ollanius said quickly, “A lot of it, as for beverages… nothing but blood, sweat and tears, locally produced, of course.”

“Of course, nothing but the best for the Dominion.” Calidus said before retrieving an item from one of his pockets. It was a small two way radio earpiece, he placed it in his ear and started communicating with the individual on the other side

“Knight-Commander Calidus” he said, drawing the attention of Ollanius.

“Uh huh. Affirmative… of course Quaesitor.”

“What is it?” Ollanius asked, halting his movement at an intersection in the hallway.

“Quaesitor Drucilla Herrion, requests your presence in the infirmary”

Ollanius let out a sigh, “Very well. Wait in the car, this shouldn’t take long”

Calidus nodded, “It better. We have quite the schedule”

The two faced each other and placed a hand across their chest, “Quia salutare, Brother Ollanius”

“Quia salutare, Brother Calidus”

Ollanius then proceeded left while Calidus continued straight.

Ollanius continued walking to the infirmary, passing by the occasional maid or butler; who stood to the side and knelt before him. He gestured to every single one with his hand to rise and to continue their duties, but not before telling them: “May Anima preserve you and your clan”

Each maid and butler gave their thanks and continued their duties. While Ollanius went about his way.

The walk to the infirmary took longer than expected but he got there.

In his path was a dark, ornate marble door. It had two Regiis Custodes standing beside it, one male and one female, they stood in their in their ever constant somber demeanor with their hands behind their backs.

He pushed open the doors and was greeted with a room filled with all sorts of medical equipment, IV’s, hospital beds, you name it.

Female medical personnel wearing white robes with red short sleeves with golden outlines, the bottom of the robe followed the same pattern as the sleeves. On the front of the robes was a red coloured cross and on the back was the same golden symbol the Vestals had on the back of their own robes.

They had long white scarves that wrapped around their neck a couple of times before having both ends hanging off the back and reaching their lower backs.

They had brown belts around their waists with several small IFAK pouches attached to it. They also wore brown, knee-high, heeled boots.

Each of them had a tattoo on their left arm, it was the same one shape as the High-Vestal’s amulet. Their tattoo was as identical as the next.

These medical personnel were coming in from a room at the end of the right side of the main room, this room was separated from the main room itself thanks to the pair of translucent glass doors.

Ollanius even saw some Regiis Custodes lying in several hospital beds or even getting patched up by the medical staff.

As soon as the doors closed, every Custodes looked straight at him. Though after a few seconds, they went about their own affairs.

Ollanius rolled his shoulders and turned left, heading towards another room with a pair of translucent glass doors at the end.

Above the door was a rectangular red light. It had the words: ‘session in progress’ printed in white and was currently on.

On the doors itself was a name: ‘Quaesitor Drucilla Herrion’

Through the door he saw two figures, the translucent glass was doing its job well for he could not see through and make out the figures, though he could guess one of them.

Fortunately for Ollanius, the light turned off and the doors slid open, revealing a man and a woman.

The man was an old, fair skinned person, tall and had a large build. He had short black hair and grey eyes. He was wearing a black military coat with red and gold epaulets, black pants and black boots.

The woman was another young fair skinned individual, with green eyes and blonde hair, she had the same tattoo as the rest of the medical staff.

She was wearing a similar attire as the medical staff, the only difference was that her hooded robes were red with gold outlines, her scarf was white instead of red, and the front of her robes had a symbol of a golden owl.

“I thank you for your informative visit, Inquisitor Dinola” the woman said, gesturing for the Inquisitor to leave, “But as I have said for the hundredth time, ‘YOU do not have tier one clearance’, and thus YOU have no authority to investigate anything here in the Citadel.”

The Inquisitor had his hands behind his back and didn’t even seem fazed by the lady, “Just wait, Quaesitor Herrion,”— he pointed to her — “I WILL figure out what you people are doing and I WILL get you shut down” he said with determination, before clenching his fist.

Quaesitor Herrion raises an eyebrow and crossed her arms, “It’s a wonder how your people even managed to get access here in the first place, you should be grateful for the hospitality of our Emperor.”

The Inquisitor grumbled and started walking towards the exit.

Ollanius stood to the side and glared at the inquisitor. The inquisitor noticed this and locked eyes with him, “Is there something on my face… boy?”

Ollanius took a second to respond, he looked straight ahead and said, “No…”

Inquisitor Dinola’s eye twitched, “No what?”

Ollanius sighed, “No… sir” he said with total contempt.

“Hmm… that’s what I thought” the Inquisitor then continued on his merry way, getting disdainful looks from both the medical staff and the Regiis Custodes.

He kept glaring at the Inquisitor until he exited the infirmary. He heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and the sound of someone calling out his name.

“Ollanius” the voice said.

Ollanius turned and saw Quaesitor Herrion waiting for him with her arms crossed, “Do you plan on standing there all day? Or are you going to come inside so we can begin your examination?” She said before walking back inside, with Ollanius not far behind.

Once he entered the room the doors slid shut and were instantly locked thanks to the Quaesitor.

It was a decently sized office, there was a desk at the far right corner with all the necessary office equipment. Such as a computer, printer, pens etc.

On the far left side was an examination table against the wall with several drawers in the middle and a large drawer at each end. The one on the right had a biohazard sign.

Ollanius faced the Quaesitor and started to kneel, but she stopped him midway and gestured to the examination table, “You’re on a tight schedule. Lie down and we’ll get started”

Ollanius obeyed without question, “As you wish, Quaesitor Herrion”

Ollanius saw a single dark metallic ring, engraved with runes that he could not recognise, simply resting on the examination table. He knew the procedure, he put the ring on his middle finger.

He groaned in pain as he nearly collapsed, thankfully he used the table for support. He instinctively paced a hand on his heart and gripped the coat tightly.

He started coughing irregularly, but soon he stood straight after the pain subsided.

He felt something… essential fade within him, it’s as if a part of him went dormant.

Can never get used to that…

After recovering from his… moment, he hopped onto the table and laid down.

The Quaesitor moved beside him and held her hands over him.

“I hate this ring” Ollanius said with a passion.

She smiled, “Tell me who doesn't”

“The Inquisitor and his kind”

She chuckled, “Fair enough”

“I hope that Inquisitor wasn’t too much of a hassle for you and your ‘Clerici’” Ollanius asked.

“The girls are annoyed but they’ll live. Now be quiet, and close your eyes. I have to concentrate”

“Yes ma’am”

The Quaesitor closed her eyes once Ollanius did so. Her brand lit up, emitting a holy white glow. A white light emitted from the palms of her hands. It started off dim but slowly got brighter and brighter.

Soon the light died down and she closed her hands, “It’s done.” She said, prompting Ollanius to sit up.

“So… anything?” Ollanius asked with a hint of worry in his voice.

“I haven’t felt any significant changes.”

Ollanius gripped the edge of the table tightly, “Meaning?”

“Meaning that nothing should interfere with you during your crusade”

Ollanius sighed heavily, “So… what now?”

“Nothing as of right now.” She said, before heading to her desk, “I’ll contact you after I do some more research. You should head over to Knight-Commander Calidus, don’t want to keep him waiting”

“Right…” he left the ring on the examination table and hopped off. He moved to the doors, but before he left, he turned and placed a hand on his heart, “May Anima preserve you and your clan, Quaesitor Herrion”

“May she preserve you and yours, young Ollanius”

Ollanius then took his leave.

Ollanius walked through the hallways of the Citadel, tracing his steps back to where he split up with Calidus. Once he did, he headed down the same path Calidus did, it led to an ornate double door, Ollanius pushed it open and was greeted with the reception area.

Dark tiled flooring, golden chandeliers hung from the ceiling, dark marble columns with gold patterns were spaced evenly on the sides of the room, large paintings with golden frames of past rulers decorated the walls, along with white marble statues of angels and heroes.

Close to the entrance was the reception desk with a dark skinned woman, who was dressed in formal attire and wore a pair of glasses.

Everything that a receptionist needed was on her desk, a monitor,

The entrance was three sets of double doors that were similar, if not, the same as the one for the throne room. Above each one was a large arched window, revealing a transparent crystalline barrier that was pulsating with energy.

The area was heavily guarded, there was one Regiis Custodes standing in front of each column, two standing at the end of the reception desk, and a pair of Regiis Custodes standing beside each set of doors to the outside world.

Calidus is probably waiting in the courtyard, but it doesn’t hurt to make sure…

Ollanius walked up to the receptionist, but she seemed to be distracted with her work.

Her eyes were glued to the monitor, which had several sticky notes of various colours stuck on the side frame.

Seeing that she hadn’t noticed him yet, Ollanius decided to make his presence known. He cleared his throat, immediately catching the attention of the receptionist, “My lord,” she said, rather drowsily in fact.

It took her a while to process who was standing in front of her but once she did, her eyes widen and she jumped up from her chair. Unfortunately this caused her to bang her knee under the desk and knock over a pen holder, making a mess of her previously clean workspace.

"Oh, my lord!" she said, quite loudly to be honest and it only echoed in the reception area.

Ollanius could only raise an eyebrow as she started to tidy up her workspace, "Oh, I'm so sorry my lord, you just surprised me"

Once she fixed up her desk, she made herself look presentable, “Forgive me, I didn’t notice that you were standing there… right in front of me…”

Come on girl, get it together…

Ollanius waved the apology off, “It’s fine, I would just like to see if you know the location of Knight-Commander Calidus”

“Oh, of course my lord. He’s waiting for you in the courtyard, he also left you something”

She handed him an earpiece, it was the same model that Calidus had. “He also said, and I quote: ‘I’m not your mother, don’t expect me to carry your things’ unquote.”

“Right. Thank you” Ollanius said, putting on the earpiece.

Ollanius turned to leave but just when he was about to walk away, he halted himself and looked at the receptionist.

“Are you new here? In all the time I’ve been here, I’ve never seen you here once”

“Oh, yes. I’ve only been here for a few days”

“How are you finding it so far? ” Ollanius asked.

“It’s everything I could’ve hoped for, my lord.” She said with a smile and such sincerity.

Ollanius raised an eyebrow, “Oh? Why is that?”

“I, uh, well” she cleared her throat and pulled her collar to let some air in, “You know, the ‘Liberi de Aeternitas’ are the valiant defenders of the ‘Domus Plebe’...it’s only right that we serve them the best we can”

Ollanius smiled, “How are you finding the ‘upper’ city? Be honest.”

She gulped, “Oh, well. It’s very… different than the ‘lower’ city”

“How so?” Ollanius asked,

“Very… noisy, the constant patrols, tanks, walkers, airships… it makes it very difficult to get some sleep. Oh and very expensive, especially if you have a job as a receptionist… like me”

“Oh, so you managed to get a place to live in the upper city?” Ollanius questioned, an eyebrow raised

“Well, with the help of a friend. She’s one of your people. She always likes to remind me that: ‘the upper city is expensive and noisy but it’s also the safest, since the whole upper city is practically a garrison itself’”

He smiled, “Did you expect any less?”

“Well… no, if anything I expected more. I mean… the most holy city in Angelgard; a place so revered and sacred… that it always made me wonder… why do the Liberi de Aeternitas ever grant my people the chance to work or stay here”

Ollanius’ face turned serious, “Our People, our Clans, our Houses, they may be different but each one of us has a purpose in the Dominion. Be it from the lowliest page to the Emperor himself”

The receptionist seemed to be put at ease, “Y-you’re too kind, my lord”

He smiled, “May Anima preserve you and your clan”

“Oh, may she provide you and yours with the same grace, my lord”

Ollanius turned and made his way to the exit, pushing open the main set of doors.

As soon as Ollanius opened the door, he was greeted with the view of the blue sky and the transparent crystalline barrier that he saw from inside.

He saw three archways, each one was in front of each set of doors that led to the reception area. A large red carpet was laid out in the archway in the centre.

Ollanius took a deep breath and moved forward. Stepping onto that red path that led down two sets of stairs.

On each side of the stairs stood a large statue of a hooded angel, who had the edge of their sword held up to their face, with their marble chiseled wings covering most of their body.

At the bottom was a large roundabout that had three exits, the first and third exit on Ollanius’ view led to smaller gates for quick and easy travel to and from the Citadel, it also led to a second set of stairs that went to the lower courtyard. A place that had a lot more space for gatherings than the upper courtyard.

The second exit led to the Citadel Gate, a colossal structure that separated the Citadel courtyard from the ‘upper’ city, and served as the diplomatic route for important visitors for its path was also covered with a red carpet.

These paths and roads had dormant street lights on the edges of the roads. Banner poles with black flags and the Maltese Cross displayed as the emblem. They lined the edges of the streets, one banner pole between two street lights.

At the bottom of the stairs was Calidus, standing in front of a black 4x4 suburban. Calidus looked up at Ollanius, and waved him down, “You done?” Ollanius nodded, “Then let’s go”

Calidus went around the vehicle and jumped inside the driver's seat while Ollanius grabbed the handle to the passenger seat, but before he opened the door he turned once more and got a view of the Citadel.

It was a towering skyscraper, it had a large balcony that overlooked the courtyard. From the front he could see two towers but to say this meant he only saw half the picture.

For in reality, the Citadel had four towers, all in close proximity to one another and were all connected by two skywalk tunnels; the lower one and the upper one.

A steel supported glass tube was built in the centre of the Citadel, and only stood in place with the effort of the two skywalk tunnels.

A light pinkish beam emanated into the sky through the glass tube and it seemed to be the source for the magical barrier.

Ollanius’ eyebrows narrowed, but he took a deep breath and shook his head. He opened the car door and got in.

“Is everything alright, brother?” Claudius asked, already strapped in and seemed to look for any reactions in the boy.

“Yeah, everything’s fine. Let’s head to the anchorage.” Ollanius assured, strapping himself in and rolling down the window.

Claudius nodded and started the engine. He drove to the smaller gates and stopped in front of it.

The exit was blocked by evenly spaced, dark metallic, bollards. There were two guard stations, ,one for each side of the road, they each had a single Regiis Custodes standing guard.

One came out of the guard station and looked straight at the Ollanius and Calidus. The Custodes nodded and went back inside, and with a single press of a button the bollards disappeared into the ground.

Calidus gave thanks with a gesture and drove off, heading towards the ‘upper’ city.