Dusk of Peace

Dusk of Peace

Chapter 8

Deep in the mountain city of Ralentald, sat the great King Valiant upon his stone throne. On his left was his champion, Iron Tail, suited in his handcrafted bronze armor. To his right was his son, Greymane, decorated in gold banded, iron plate armor. They watched from their thrones the inner machination that was Ralentald.

Valiant looked upon the city with pride. Knowing that his kingdom that his father, and father's father, ruled over was home to such legends such as they and himself. The thrones resided on a huge stone slab, the size of a red great wyrm. It was suspended over a great pit of magma by diamond chains forged by Great King Ralen himself. The bridge that connected it with the rest of the city was the spine of a full grown red dragon that once claimed the mountain as his lair.

Greymane looked at his father, who was stuck in a trance, listening to the steady beat of blacksmiths hammers and the enormous clockwork gears that helped ventilate the mountain with fresh outside air. Iron Tail preferred not to sit, but instead stood tall and stately in perfect military posture. He looked back at the city, but noticed something odd. A pegasus pony, no doubt a messenger, coming straight for them.

"Father." he spoke.

Valiant, startled from his trance, looked over at his son, who nodded to the pegasus pony coming closer to them.

"A messenger pony? But from whom?" he questioned. The pony landed at the bridge and crossed over, careful not to slip on accident.

"King Valiant," the messenger started, "I have a message for you from Archmage Arcane Heart."

"The Archmage? What does she want from me?" he asked.

"I don't know sir, but it was sealed with an urgency slip. It must be very important." the messenger answered.

"Very well. Begone." he shooed. The pegasus pony flew at top speed through the city back to the open skies.

Valiant examined the envelope he now held in his hooves. It was indeed from the Archmage, judging by the seal. He opened it and read the letter inside.

To The Great Kingdoms,

I have called all of the kingdom's leaders to rally at the Archmage's Tower to discuss an urgent subject that must be addressed at once. I would ask that you bring your warriors who survived at the Bleak Coliseum or any warrior you feel is truly worthy enough to accept the task that I have to request of you all.

With Humbleness and Great Appreciation,

Archmage Arcane Heart

"What does it say, m'lord." asked Iron Tail. Valiant folded the letter and looked upon the great city again.

"The Archmage is calling us to her tower to address something important." he answered.

"What do you think that means, father?" questioned Greymane.

"I know that the Archmage is not one to call on outside help unless it is something truly urgent and worthy of such measures."

"When do we go, sir?" asked Iron Tail.

Valiant stood and stretched his old, battle-worn bones.

"Stoneclove!" he called. An ash maned, brown coated earth pony answered his call. "Get my traveling uniform, please." he asked. The pony took off in an instant.

"Iron Tail," he said, "go and find Stormhoof. Bring him with us."

"Yes, m'lord." he obeyed and took off down the dragon's spine with his wings spread wide.

Stormhoof zoomed furiously at the sky dummies. Slashing them with his newly forged wing blades at deadly speeds. The air was crisp, and the sun was still warm with summer heat. It was a perfect day to train.

"Stormhoof!" yelled a familiar voice.

He stopped mid-attack and turned to see Iron Tail coming to him from the city entrance.

"Ah, Iron Tail! I wondered who was calling my name without addressing me properly." he commented egotistically. Iron Tail looked at his old friend and rival with both a mix of happiness and bit of rival fueled anger. The two had been rivals since the day they started their soldier training.

"King Valiant needs you to come along with him, his son and I to Dalinix." he informed.

"What for?" Stormhoof asked.

"An urgent meeting with all the kingdom leaders."

"All right then, let me get my things together and I'll meet you at the city entrance."

With that Iron Tail parted him back into the city with haste. Stormhoof remembered the day when they had fought to become Valiant's champion. It was a close fight, but in the end Iron Tail won with level headed-ness over his brashness. It was a good fight, but Stormhoof would always try to out do him in everything else.

Stormhoof dove down to the barracks stationed on the plateau of part of Ralentald's mountain. Ponies in standard iron chain mail galloped laps around the entire facility and the sounds of sparring filled the air. He landed at his assigned barrack cabin. Even though he was a Captain he preferred to stay in a cabin, it felt more cozy that way.

He gathered the necessities and locked the door behind him before taking off at full speed to the entrance of the mountain city. Whatever the meeting was about, it would have to be something incredible if he was going to stay interested for long.