(play for dramatic effect if you want to, it's completely optional)

Human soldiers march through the streets of Iskalia to the sound of the marching band and the fanfare of the citizens spurred on by the speech their Empress made the day war was declared. Soldiers of the Arcane Legion, the Snake Clan, the Kingdom of Sondra, Iskalia, and the Kingdom of Frost, each with their weapons, armor, and abilities. The men and women of the Snake Clan carried revolvers, scimitars, and poison daggers, wearing their traditional dress and robes. The troops of Iskalia carry swords and multi-shot rifles, each a bolt action loading from a straight box magazine on the top of the breach, wearing armor and uniforms that signify their status as soldiers. The mages of the Arcane Legion wear on their backs the traditional clothing of their mages, with some wearing armor, carrying staffs, and special hilts that allow for magic blades. The berserkers of the Kingdom of Frost bring with them great cannons capable of killing dragons and destroying walls with a single shot, wearing steam-powered armor that was nigh unbreakable by even the most powerful of spells and weapons, as well as swords and multi-barreled guns. And finally, the honorable warriors of the Kingdom of Sondra, wearing the armor of the ancient samurai warriors and the robes of their god, Sondar, carrying with them classic weapons like the bow, spear, and katanas.

Among these soldiers stands a woman, wearing armor made of the scales of the Black Dragon, a beast she had killed over 3000 years ago to unite the nations of her empire under the banner of Iskalia. Attached to that armor, a cape in the colors of the Iskalian flag, made of finely-woven Sondran fabrics, and adornments from all corners of the empire. On her left hip, the hilt of her magic sword, a weapon that has seen her through many battles, and has slaughtered many a foe. She stands at 6'4", maybe 6'6", with a large, muscular build, hair as white as the snow of the north, and eyes as red as blood. Her gait is somewhat quick but slow enough so that her people can wave to her and give their blessings. She was the Empress of Iskalia, a feared general and skilled diplomat, a powerful warrior, and a cunning tactician. Empress Josta Romana Iskalia. AKA, The Eternal Empress.

That's when out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a child maybe six years of age trying to get past the royal guard. She waved them off and knelt before the child.

"What is it, child?" She asked the kid. Her tone was somewhat concerned but at the same time motherly while speaking to the young girl. The child thrust a bouquet in front of her, looking down and tripping over her words.

"M-mommy wanted this to be given to you," she told the empress, her childish voice revealing her innocence. "I-i-it's a bunch of flowers from grandma's arcane garden."

Josta smiled and took the flowers from the child's hands before handing them off to her royal gardener, who then took them and began towards the empress's palace so she could plant them.

"Thank you little one," she told the young kid as the gardener walked off, "This gift is beautiful."

That's when the child forced a ring into her hands, which she looked at inquisitively. "I-it's to keep you safe," the young kid replied, "P-please come back alive, or mommy will be mad."

Josta looked at the child, before rubbing her head. "Don't worry, young one," she said to the kid soothingly, "I'll come back."

And with that, she got up and walked back into formation, placing the ring on her finger and quickening her pace so she could keep up with her soldiers and resume her march. But not before turning to a nearby soldier.

"Sound the Bell of War," she told the soldier, "Empress's orders."

"Understood." The soldier replied before running past citizens, the Empress's honor guard and citizens of the empire towards a grand tower, and inside this tower held two gargantuan bells. The Bell of Peace, the white bell, and the Bell of War, the black bell. The soldier ran to the men and women near the black bell.

"Empress's orders," he told them, panting as he did so, "the Bell of War, ring it."

The bell-ringers, identifiable to which bell they rang by the symbol of a black or white bell on the back of their coats and the coloration of their uniform, sprang into action with lightning-fast pace, running up and down the belfries of the great tower, putting on protective gear so they don't go deaf from how loud the bell was. Soon, the men near the white bell had completely cleared out the area near the bell and were around the black one, leaving the white bell untouched. Some gathered around a large black rope, while others gripped the hand railings and others covered their already protected ears.

"THREE, TWO, ONE, LET IT RING!!!" A bell-ringer yelled at the top of her lungs. Then, the black-uniformed bell-ringers gripped the large rope which held the bell and pulled it as hard as they could. Then, a few seconds later, the bell began to toll. Soldiers on the ground heard it, the civilians heard it, even some rebellious dragons that flew into the air space of the city had to cover their ears and flee due to how loud the bell was.

Meanwhile, in Equestria, the toll of the bell was heard. There's a way to tell the difference between the two bells, that being the Bell of Peace was higher in pitch, while the Bell of War was so loud that the nearest Equestrian outpost to the Iskalian border had to have special glass outfitted into its windows to make sure they don't shatter. It was over 1000 miles away from the capital city. Both Caribou and Equestrian native walked out to the sound of the bell as it tolled across the world. Although the Caribou don't know what that bell meant, the Equestrians did.

It meant that Iskalia was going to war.

The dragon lord Ember was putting on her armor when she heard a knock on her window. It was Spike, a friend of hers, and the dragon that Twilight had hatched from an egg.

"What is it, Spike?" She asked the young dragon after pulling him into her chamber.

"Do you hear that bell?" Spike asked her. She listened closely, and indeed, she had heard the sound of a bell tolling, the Iskalian Bell of War, to be exact. She smiled and turned to Spike, still staring into her eyes with fear and questions in his mind.

"Equestria will be freed. Iskalia is going to war."

In Saddle Arabia, Haakim and Amira turned their heads in the direction of Iskalia.

Haakim turned to Amira with fear in his eyes, "Iskalia is going to war."

Amira, nonchalantly, turned back to her food and continued to eat. "Well, may Celestia have mercy on their opponent."

Inside the Resistance camp, Luna was awakened by the toll of the bell. A soldier soon sprinted in. "I'm sorry for intruding in your chamber," the soldier knelt, one hand on the ground and the other on his chest, "But we just received a message from an Iskalian messenger, one of the members of the Snake Clan."

"The Snake Clan?!" Luna asked the rebel. Scrambling to get up, she hastily put on her robes and ordered the soldier to stand. "What did it say?!"

"The liberation of Equestria is coming. Iskalia is going to war with the Caribou."

And like that, Luna gasped, then began to cry tears of joy, and fell to her knees. Her sister will be freed and Equestria will be saved.

Inside the dungeons of Canterlot, Celestia began to giggle at the sound of the bell, soon bellowing into full-blown laughter. King Dainn immediately ran down to the dungeons when he heard Celestia laughing.

"Why are you laughing, slave?" He questioned the Diarch, "Have you finally submitted to my rule?"

"No," Celestia said in between laughs, "it's just that you've signed your death warrants!" She continued to laugh until Dainn slapped her, knocking her out cold.

"No food for her. Three days!" He yelled, then ran towards his sages. "What do you see? Do you have any visions?"

The sage on Dainn's left turned to him, trembling and with fear in his eyes. "I see..." he began, "I see you, dead... on the floor of the throne room."

"And?"

"A warrior of immense strength standing over your headless corpse, with your head in her hand and a sword with a glowing blade in the other..."

"QUIT BEING SO CRYPTIC, SAGE!" Dainn yelled, "WHAT DOES IT MEAN?!"

"It means you've roused a great beast, my king." The sage to his right told Dainn, "The ancient Empire of Iskalia is now at war with us."

As if on cue, a black portal opened in front of Dainn and his sages, with blood dripping out of it. The head of a caribou soldier soon fell through, with a note nailed to his head. Dainn took the note from the soldier's head and began to read it.

"The Iskalian Empire is now at war with the Caribou. Celestia will be freed, and your rule destroyed. May the Gods have mercy on your souls, for our cannons, guns, spells, swords, and arrows have nothing to give but vengeance.

-Empress Josta Romana Iskalia."

And just like that, Dainn, the unshakable king of the Caribou Empire, got a chill up his spine.

All across Equestria, five words were on everypony's lips. Five words that even the Diarchs themselves would shiver at. Five words that would cause fear among their populace ever since the Equestrian-Iskalian War over a millennium ago. Five words that would make the enemies of Equestria shake in fear.

ISKALIA IS GOING TO WAR.

Author's Note

So yeah, since I canceled my Knight of Chernobyl story, I decided to make a new one. I can accept constructive criticism, just don't make it too harsh, this is my first published story, after all. And also, the flag on the cover is the Iskalian flag, just so you know. If you want to draw some fan art, feel free to PM it to me if you want to, I'm always accepting it, regardless of quality!

Some of my inspirations are including but not limited to the following: DOOM Eternal, Feudalism 3, Fire Emblem, 1984, Elric of Melniboné, Solomon Kane, and many more.

Hope you enjoy the story! FOR THE GLORY OF ISKALIA!

-Silver Ghost