The Fields Before The Crystal City
The Bannerlord looked down towards the fallen King before him. He pitied the poor King Sombra, unfortunate enough to be caught by his party of seasoned Equestrian Cataphracts, their charge against the Crystal Monarch’s armies broke the enemy spirit almost immediately, whilst his now elite crossbows and archers picked off the stragglers. He himself charged down a majority of the survivors, leaving no prisoners to speak tales of his victory.
The King took his gaze upwards, towards the earth pony who gazed at him. His was a glare of utter hatred. How could a peasant such as him defeat the Crystal King of Dark Magic? How could this lowly serf put him through such humiliation, despite being of impure blood? A nobody, defeating HIM?!
“How did you defeat my invincible legions?! My soldiers, thousands of them, seasoned, trained, veterans of wars you haven’t even seen! But yet, you dare defeat them?!”
The earth pony stayed silent; the King of course couldn’t comprehend defeat. He ruled the vastest Empire in the north, though defeated occasionally by steppe invaders, which was rather demeaning. The work had already been done before The Bannerlord even arrived on the fields of battle. First, it was the raiders from beyond north, then came brigands from the west. Changelings too whittled away his Crystal armies. The King lived in delusion, his defeat, though imminent was ignored. He thought he stilled had power, still had supporters. No, the Southern Empire rose instead. Equestria rose instead, under the banner of the glorious Sun. But the earth pony had something to say.
“Your nobility lies dead beneath the ground. Dozens of families, destroyed because of your stubbornness. You may think yourself a monster prior to my conquests, but today is a new day. With every break of dawn, another of your cities fall. More of your soldiers fall before the axe as they attempt to chase my superior forces. I bear no hatred towards you, not at all. You are a victim, and you will die one before the blade of the axe Black heart.”
The gleam of the blade shone onto the King; whose face contorted into one of fear. His façade broke. That which he had held as a powerful, feared leader. He now shed it, and shown his true self. That blade… it had slain so many of his loyalists. Black heart felled even the greatest of warriors, won in a tournament the King himself attended years prior, when his Empire still reigned in the north. He himself participated for that damned blade, if he had won... That doesn’t matter now. He was only delaying the inevitable, there was no help coming for him, unless the foolish Equestrian Empress declared war on a neighbour. Far too unlikely.
“You’re just like the brigands… You slaughtered so many… You are truly a monster…”
The Bannerlord sought to continue his monologue, interrupting the King. “There was a time, when I had first arrived here. My family sought to gain riches, to thrive in Equestria. My father, a fine retainer was slain one night by bandits, along with my mother. My siblings were foalnapped in their sleep, leaving only I and my brother. From that day forward, I swore an oath to slay every bandit I came across. The villages I saved saw me as a guardian. As their salvation. Thousands of marauding knaves fell before my blade. Thousands more await their time in the grave. I broke my oath eventually, when I found my greatest companion.”
The fully armoured Earth pony turned to look towards his comrade. “Avarice the Robber. Or, formerly the robber, now a defender of Justice, a truly noble pony with a heart of gold. He was coerced into joining the banditry, after all, he was poor. Poor because of noblemen such as you. Now, he too rules a castle. He stays true to his words, loyal to the very last.”
Avarice gave a smile to his Captain, although it couldn’t be seen under the plated helmet personally given by the Bannerlord. That helmet was a sign. Only given to the lieutenants of the Captain, a christening of sorts. He wore it with pride, and was feared as one of the silvery Knights that prowled Equestria’s darkest depths to slay bandits. He turned his attention back to the fallen King, as his Captain did.
“There was a time, when I attempted to hunt every single nobleman in Equestria. Every. Single. One. A Changeling Queen was even felled by my blade. I was merciless at that time, though I felt great regret in doing so. I do what I do for the good of the Empire. I did everything for the Empire, for the banner to the Sun. I never once betrayed that banner. I personally executed Changeling Generals and even those of the Lunar nation, just to serve the Empire. I remember their pleas, their cries as we chased down their soldiers. I remember their screams of terror, as Black heart fell upon their heads. I remember a time when Avarice tried to let those running to escape, but I killed them anyway. I do this, not for honour, not for personal glory, not for money. I do this, to serve the Empire. I do this, to serve Equestria.”
The King looked into those cold, dark eyes. He saw the pity in them, he saw the regret. But behind that, he saw pain. This Captain was reputed for being a merciless killing machine, devoid of any good emotion. The King-… Sombra feared him. He knew he wasn’t leaving this battlefield alive, as the edge of Black heart closed his neck, his breathing quickened. “Please… show my people mercy, at least don’t harm them… Anything-” Sombra paused.
The magic word: Anything. That, for a sadistic, and mislead defender of the Empire meant so much more than just execution.
“Sombra, tsk tsk. I wouldn’t harm an innocent whom wields no blade. Truly, if I desired for you to do anything, it would be to restore the Empire to its former glory. To show those barbaric Changelings why those who fight us fear us. To show those gryphons why invasion means death. But I am afraid, your luck has run out. Much like the rest of your traitorous nobility, who attempted to defect to us. They managed to pass by me, in a time when I desired their heads. I don’t trust nobles anymore. When my only friend, the Archon defected to the Lunar Empire, I lost all hope of friendship. He hated me, because of what I done. I did what I had done for the Empire… for him. And he betrayed us, he betrayed the Sun. Why? I don’t understand…”
Sombra chuckled slightly, and took this opportunity to answer for him. “Because you are misled, blindly devoted to a lost cause. You killed many he considered to be a friend, making so many enemies in the process. The Archon was a kind, generous and albeit traitorous pony who sought to bring peace not through war, not through executions, but spreading kindness and respect to others. Many of those noblemen who died were like him, you never gave them a chance to show their true generosity. I respect him for that.” To the Crystal Monarch’s surprise, the Captain lowered his axe, and through that face plated helmet, he saw the eyes widening.
“They are scared of me… Even those I sought to protect… they fear me, they all fear me. The common people fear me too…” His breathing quickened, one of the Cataphracts approached the Captain and hands him a cup of water. He thanked the soldier and took a deep breath and calmed himself. “Sombra, I only tell you this because you are a monarch. And monarchs too have fell before my blade. I had always fought for the Empire… but I had always thought of it wrong, how I charged down those who were victims of circumstance… Like Avarice…”
The grip on Black heart loosened slightly, and Sombra almost breathed a sight of great relief. But his battle wasn’t over yet. “Listen. When I was a mere colt, all I wished for was to rule. Of course, the Empire was already led by Celestia, which dashed aside my delusions of grandeur. I saw the Equestrian Empire as an ever-expanding greatness that would never fall. But as it did, I saw my opportunity to take over control, and to restore glory to it. But I saw a different world when I was in power. I too killed dozens for my Empire. I too had friends whom betrayed me in the end. But I stubbornly refused to surrender. The Empress can’t keep her Empire together, mine was targeted more often than the others and the Queen of the Night reigns supreme. I see the folly of it all, the Empire is destined to fall as the stars themselves. Eventually, a new power will rise up to take over. Give up your ways of saving the Empire, before it is too late.”
The Bannerlord growled and kicked the King down onto the floor. How dare he insult the Empire. How dare he fail his duty of safeguarding it from invaders. The Empress will rule, even if she had her faults. Daybreaker inspired fear and loyalty. Her generals were at fault, they always were. Always will be, they needed to be gotten rid of too. The Empire will reign forever, he would make sure of it.
“The Empire protected me; it is my salvation! At my moment of weakness, it took me in. They saved those who I could not! They destroyed the bandits whom I couldn’t chase! I, and I alone shall save them from their own incompetence! What I do is a necessary evil, and so I cast you into the deepest depths of Tartarus.”
Sombra sighed. At least he attempted to get through to the ‘Bannerlord’ as they called him. The one so terrifying, he slayed monarch after monarch. Bandit armies and after armies. The legend lives on, and the King in the north will perish. Looking around, he only saw those Cataphracts glare, nobody would help him anymore.
“King Sombra of the Crystal Empire. Any last words?” The Captain rose Black heart above, the Sun behind it shining down on the King, whom breathed a sigh of defeat.
“Death to the Empire.”
Author's Note
Bannerlord. It's a good game, buy it. If you're a warband veteran, definitely play it. An eight year wait. Goodness me. This fic was an accurate representation of my game in Bannerlord. Firstly, I started out in Poros, a friend of nobody. I first killed the bandits around Poros, then the thugs which roamed the streets and subsequently became a friend of Pharon, The 'Archon' in this story. I eventually got my first companion, Jamanys the Robber, or 'Avarice' as he is called here. Then I fought in 30+ tournaments to gain fame and power to eventualyl join the Southern Empire and then my murdering spree began. First, it was the Battanian nobility, then their ruler Caladog or 'The Changeling Queen' was personally hunted down and executed by me. Then, I got word that the Empress, Rhagea or 'Daybreaker' in this case declared war on the fallen Northern Empire. So, as a loyal puppy dog to the Empress, I went North to fight the remnants of the Northern Empire. King Sombra here is Emperor Lucon, whose entire family was executed by me, subsequently ending the Empire's existence. Then I went on to fight the horsey bois known as the Khuzaits, but that is a story for another time.
