> THE DARK LORD COMES
>  by dragonknight
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Ch1 waking up and building :edited
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Comic-Con; the place where nerds go to be what they want, and buy to their heart's content. For Damian, however, it’s a chance for change. He had just arrived and already people were looking at him. The reason was simple: his costume. His Sauron armor was made of grey leather with each part being made by hand. In his right hand he carried a replica of Sauron's mace carved out of wood and painted over with dark grey. He had everything except the ring. Oh well, he was sure to head out and find one while here. He walked around for three hours looking at everything and taking photos with people, until he felt something.

It was a gentle pool at first, but he followed it, walking down the aisles of people and booths till he found what was drawing him; it was a similar style to the Resident Evil merchant stand, and the guy himself was sitting with his arms folded and his right hand on his chin. Then, he saw it: the ring. It was on a stand over a box labeled ‘We Bring War.’ Damian looked until he shook his head and walked up.

Once Damian was in front of the stand, the merchant looked up with a light laugh before speaking. "What can I do for you, sir?"

"I know who you are, and since I know you, you can guess why I'm here," Damian said. The Merchant, for his part, sighed before speaking.

"I need to change my costume." He said before taking a one-eighty and saying, “So, since you know who I am, can you tell me your name?"

"Damien, and may I ask what's in the box?" Damien said resting his arms on the counter. The merchant moved the ring stand before opening the top of the box. Once open to the light, you could see the rows of Uruk hai scouts and orc labours in foam rectangles. But in the first row sat the Nine; the lieutenants of the dark lord. The Witch-king of Angmar, and Khamûl, followed by the other seven. Damien looked back before speaking.

"How many are there in this?"

"Four hundred Uruk hai and eight hundred orcs. There's a book at the bottom for making orc and Uruk pits. Beyond that, your magic will come to you naturally. Anything else you need?" The merchant finished.

"Yes, what Equestria am I being sent to?"

"It's an anthro one, first off, and you will be sent six years before current events. You will also have an island the size of Iberia, so you’ll have plenty of land to work with. Lastly, you will be off the coast of Zebrica,” he said as he closed the box and put the ring back on top.

"Thanks for the info. Can I have the ring now?” Damien said.

"Sure, go ahead and enjoy your new life!" He said waving as Damien grabbed the ring, slipping it onto his ring finger and grabbing the box. Immediately after doing this, thing went dark.

=========

That was four days ago and since then Damien, along with his new army, have been busy. Their first objective was finding food, lay on the land, and finding a place to begin his fortress. The land they were in was much like the rolling ash hills from around Mount Doom, which fit since the volcano was still active and was blanketing the land in dark clouds. Damien sent the nine lieutenants, along with groups of 5 Uruk trackers for each. Once they were gone, he ordered most of Uruks to find anything that they could eat while the few Uruks he still had kept the orcs in line as they set up camp. They'd worked for about three hours as Damien watched from a nearby hill. Once they were done, Damien walked into the camp to see how they had done. After about thirty minutes, he was done examining the tents, and had those who failed start over with building their tents. He had just started to sit down when the first groups of hunters returned carrying various beast for dinner. Seeing this, Damien summoned wood for the orcs to use to start cooking.

Once done, he listened to some of the hunting parties who found promising positions for his fortress. Out of all of them, only two caught his eye. After that, he started to test his new powers, seeing just what he could do. When he did stop it was to either eat or listen to more suggestions on where to build. One place that drew his attention was a hill that rose higher than most, and only could be accessed from one side. When he asked the Uruks who told about it, they quickly went out to lead him to it.

It took a whole day till they reached the hill, and when they arrived, to say that Damien was impressed was an overstatement. The hill rose 230 feet into the air with a steep climb to the top. Once Damien climbed up to the peak, he was happy to see how far he could see. The terrain around them was flatter than what you would suspect, making it easy to spot anyone trying to attack. After walking around a little more, he thanked the Uruks and dismissed them. He then climbed back down and got to work. After six hours of work, he had created what he'd wanted. The main castle was built like Dragonstone with Isengard’s tower and outer wall. After doing that he carved out the caverns to where his industries of war and pits will be located. However, he added one last thing; something just in case he needed to defend his new castle...

After he had finished he returned to camp and rallied his forces and moved them to his new fortress. Once his forces had finished setting up camp, he put the orcs straight to work on the breeding pits along with mining, and building forges. Once they got started, he ordered the Uruks to patrol the castle and outer walls.

It took a month for the Nine to return. The land they found themselves on was in fact not just a barren wasteland of ash. In the northern region of the island were mountains with highlands all over. The southern and western regions were a savanna with the ash making it a rich green. The eastern portion was a large marshland with thick jungle and mud. That knowledge mattered little to him though, when he heard of the inhabitants the Nine had seen.

They were a mix of zebra and Thestral with bat-like wings, darker fur and a mane, while still having zebra stripes. They lived mostly in the savanna and northern regions, with only a few villages near the marsh. They seemed to be like the corsairs of Umbar, with most of them living along the coast and having fast moving ships. Damien decided to wait till he had larger numbers to make contact with them.

Three months later, and the numbers of orcs and Uruk Hai have increased greatly. Thanks to the spawning pits, the number of Uruks now numbered upwards of 1,500 and orcs having nearly twice that in their ranks. The new orcs were sent to work on building more pits and pumping out more weapons and armor. The Uruks were armored like in the movies, with most them becoming Uruk infantry or archers.

Damien himself currently was watching the Uruks train in the training field. Beside him stood the Witch-king, who was placed in charge of training the Uruks. So far the Uruks were doing quite well. Turning his head Damien spoke. "How long do you think it will take ‘till the Uruk Hai are ready for battle?"

"I believe they are ready for battle, master. Though I would suggest we go for small settlements and test them, first." The Nazgul replied to Damien, nodding before speaking. "Fine then. Have five hundred ready to march soon, and have my chariot ready with thirty Caragore riders as well."

"As you command, and would you like one of us Nazgul to accompany you?"

Thinking for a moment, Damien responded with a calm smile. “No, I think this will not warren your aid." He replied before continuing. “Have the troops ready at the outer wall’s gate and tell me when they are all ready. I’ll be in my room." As he finished, the Nazgul nodded before walking down to gather the needed force. Damien smiled before walking back to the castle. Once he was inside he went to his chamber, walking through six hallways and one staircase before coming to a dark grey iron door. Raising his right hand, he used his magic to unlock the door, as he had placed a special lock on the door so that only he was able to enter.

Opening the door, the first thing to meet a dark room with little to no light within it. Damien snapped his fingers, igniting six torches and a fireplace, bathing the room in a yellow glow. With the lights now on, all aspects of the room were revealed. It was a large room being 30 by 40-feet in diameter, with bookshelves along the right side of the room. There were no books yet, so each shelf was empty. The floor was made from black stone with a Caragore pelt placed in front of his fireplace, of which had a mantle with various werewolf and vampires in a state of battle carved into it. Across from it was a large bed—big enough for 6 people to sleep on—it had various animal pelts over it, serving as a blanket with pillows in a similar fashion. Both the front and back had carvings in a Norse style, with each post being a head of wolves or dragons. Beyond that, there was a dresser with an armor rack next to it and other doors; one to the balcony, and one to his private bathroom.

Damien sighed as he went to sit in front of the fireplace and stare into the flames. He thought on what his first target would be. The zebra/Thestral hybrids, of whom they later learned after capturing a hunter from a nearby village, called themselves Zestrals. They had come to be after many of the Thestral nobles and night guard had found out about Luna’s banishment, which caused a rift within the Thestral ranks. Many saw this as Celestia taking power for herself. However, with her influence, they could do nothing and thus opted to find a new home away from the celestial tyrant. They gathered a large fleet in which they sailed for six months until they found themselves on what, at the time, was called Isithunzi on the east coast of Zebrica. They sent teams to scout the island, and once they learned of the island’s lax inhabitants, they decided to settle on the island, renaming it the “Island of the Night.”

They conquered the island and started their new lives; from exiles to raiders. They and the locals over the next thousand years of crossbreeding became the Zestrals, founding a new culture and way of life. Those Thestrals that did not remain united, instead founded cities and built castles fighting for each other, and used their ships to raid the coastline of various zebra tribes. They indeed sounded much like the corsairs of Umbar, and maybe they could be a regular fighting force once conquered.

‘Hmm... Yes, that could work!’ Thought Damien as he considered the idea to invade the wandering Thestral bands.

As Damien thought longer on that prospect, he was disturbed from his planning by a knock on his door. Turning his head towards the door he sighed before standing and moving to open the door. Once he was in front of it he used his magic to once again open the entrance. On the other side of the door, wearing full armor, was a Uruk who held a Halberd in his right hand.

"Master, the troops are ready for you. Your Chariot is in the courtyard, as well." The Uruk said in a low baritone voice. Damien nodded, flicking his hand and shutting the door with his magic before he and the Uruk walked to the courtyard. It took a bit of time, and by then the Uruk had gone back to patrol which left Damien to walk through the halls alone. He walked for a few more minutes until he came to the entrance to the castle, where two Uruks armed like their comrade from earlier nodded before opening the gate.

Walking through the door of the keep he was met by the Witch-king standing next to a chariot with three armored Caragors hooked up to it. The Chariot was grey, with a gothic style, a set of javelins and an Uruk driver wearing simple leather for armor and an iron helmet. Next to it were thirty-some other Caragors, each having a well-armored Uruk next to it holding either a boar spear, Warhammer, or a tomahawk with a longer handle and a set of javelin hooked up to the back of their saddles. They were more akin to heavy skirmishers, and would be used as such. Damien turned to the Witch-king and spoke.

"What have you gathered for me, lieutenant?”

"360 raiders and 140 archers, master." he answered, his helmet turning toward the horizon before pointing south-west and saying, "The closest village to ours on the territory is that way. Scouts have reported that the village is new; maybe a month old now, and only has around 600 inhabitants."

"The general look of the population?"

"The scouts say the village is not well armed, with mostly mares and foals."

"Thank you, they'll be a good test of my abilities."

"Also they seem to be only earth ponies."

"Hmm, no matter. Thank you for the information."

"You’re welcome, my lord." He said before going back to the fort. Once he was gone, Damien walked to the chariot and got aboard as he summoned his armor and mace. Once his armor was on and he was in place, he turned to the driver and simply said, "let's go." the Uruk nodded before he drove the chariot up to the riders who now turned their heads to Damien before he yelled to them, "Mount up and follow me!" The Uruks immediately followed his command—mounting up and forming in a louse double line formation behind him—as the chariot drove to the gate, opening as they got close and continuing down the track until they reached the front gate where the Uruks stood waiting.

The chariot road up to the front of the assembly of Uruks  who turned their attention to him before he spoke. "Form up and move out: we are going out to raid a village!" The Uruks who had been stuck raiding small caravans and killing what few pony were in them were more than happy as they let out a light cheer before moving into a three line column behind the Caragors. Once they were ready Damien commanded to the guards, "Open the gates.” The orcs in the gatehouse above quickly opened the gate, lowering the drawbridge as Damien and his soldiers marched through them.

The outside of the fort was a flat ground with hills scattered throughout. The trip would only take a few days but Damien knew that there could be trouble from the Ghouls that had dens scattered throughout the ash land. They had attacked a few of his patrols and, judging from the small number that had returned, they had killed a fair number of scouts. But he had a few experienced scouts who knew the area they were heading and was told as they marched that the  likelihood of attack was low. The scout had been right, as the party made their way through the journey a d had no trouble with the Ghouls. The few that they did see didn't attack and kept their distance, most likely from the larger-than-normal band of raiders marching through. The rest of the march to the village was peaceful and there was little trouble.

After around four days of marching, the party reached their destination; a high hill that Damien used to watch the settlement from as the rest of his force stayed out of sight. Like the scouts had reported, the village was indeed under-manned with, from his guess, barely a hundred males able to fight; and they weren't well armed. The overall shape of the village was round, having been built around a pond in the middle of the village. They had set up a small wall that looked like it would be no trouble to simply knock over. The villagers also dug a ditch around it with stakes facing outward towards any enemy that tried to attack. If he was to rate the fort he would give it 4/10, thanks to the poorly made wall and the fact they had no towers and not a single stallion on guard at the entrance to the village. Luckily, that was in his favor, as Damien looked behind he saw his chariot driver and the rest of his troops standing by. Cracking a smile, he walked back to the chariot, and after getting on board he raised his hand into the air before swinging it down towards the village.

They quickly came over the hill with his Caragor riders moving at a trot as his infantry jogged behind him. The villagers now took notice to the darkly armored force as the stallions quickly started to yell at the mares and foals ran into the houses and tents. The stallions grabbed their weapons, which were mostly farm implements and wicker shields as they tried to form a shield wall at the entrance of their home. Once Damien was a hundred yards away, he ordered his forces to stop and had the archers from ranks in front, while the infantry stood behind them with the Caragor riders on the left side of the force. Damien sat in the front his eyes scanning the enemy formation.

After a moment or two, he spoke. “Archers! Fire at will!" And fire they did, as almost fifteen seconds later a volley of arrows flew overhead as the defenders raised their shields up to block the oncoming hail of arrows. However; the shields did little as the arrows pierced their shields, many arrows hitting their targets and killing many. Once the volley stopped, Damien smiled at the numbers now standing, he would say a quarter had fallen with some wounded. The Stallions now stood shaken, it was time to move the chariot! Charging forward with the riders following, the archer drew their swords as infantry charged past them.

Damien smiled wickedly from under his helmet as he heard the war cries coming from behind him. He gripped his mace tightly, ready for the coming battle. As they got closer he saw javelins come flying past his head towards the shaken defenders. The stallions once again tried to block the projectiles, even as their comrades fell around them and their screams filled their ears before the fighting even started. Damien was the first to hit the line as his chariot slammed through the 3 stallion thick line before him. The blades on the side of the chariot cutting even more as it passed by. Then, the Caragor riders came with spears out skewering the stallions as the Caragors jumped onto some of them, knocking them down before ravaging fearful militia. By then, the line was broken with many stallions now running as the riders cut them down. The few that stood and fought were swiftly cut down by the raiders and archers.

Damien stood in the center of the village, the chariot and its driver riding back to the melee before it ended. Damien stood there as a stallion came running down the path from the gate in a panic not even noticing the large behemoth in armor before him. Damien raised his mace in a pace ball grip and got in a stance before swinging, striking the stallion in the face, and sending him straight to the ground. Damien looked at the stallion seeing that his left eye was gone while the entire left side of head was caved-in, blood streaming down his face. As Damien stood there he heard screams as a set of stallions came charging toward him; one holding a hatchet and the other carrying a club. Damien just smirked at the two stallions who dared face him, as he got into a defensive stance.

The first to attack was the one with a club, he was big and strong, and sadly young. He looked to be eighteen and acted like it as he charged with his club over his head as he tried to kill Damien, but he was ready for this. When the stallion brought his club down, he used his power and sprayed a stream of fire at the stallion, causing him to pull back and dodge to which Damien swung his mace from his right hitting the stallion back into the flames. As the fire touched his skin he started screamed as he his now terrified friend watched on in horror, as Damien roasted him alive with an amber glow coming from his eyes. By the time the stallion was dead, Damien had already stopped burning him and moved to the other stallion who was still too shocked by what happened. Damien merely had to bring his mace down full force to kill him, and with a sickening crunch, the stallion was dead.

As he turned his head back to the path, he saw Uruks covered in blood going into buildings, dragging mares and foals out from them and bringing them to the center of town. They placed them around the pond while the archers held them as sword point. The riders came down the road next, going into homes and taking anything of value as their mounts feasted on the deceased militia-stallions back at the gate. Turning his head back to the center of town, he watched as more Zestrals were placed around the pond. Then he noticed a mare among them who acted and dressed differently from the others. Instead of wearing a normal dress like the rest of the mares, who dressed in Greek and Roman style dresses, she wore a red and black Thrall dancer outfit from Conan exiles which showed off her nice toned ass and C-cup breasts. With a red eye tattooed on her forehead beyond that, she had black fur with red stripes. Her eyes were amethyst and her cutie mark was of the words inscribed onto the ring with a fire around it. However, unlike the many faces of fear and horror that were worn by the other mares, her face was calm and controlled.

Damien turned his head left where two archers stood and said to them, “Bring that mare to me. Cut down anyone who gets in your way." The Uruks nodded and started towards the mare. The other mares and foals got out of their way, not wanting to get killed by the armored soldiers. Once they reached her, they moved to grab her arm, only for her to get up and start to walk towards Damien with the same calm look as before. She walked up to Damien before getting on her knees before him and speaking, “I am at your mercy, goth."

Damien was surprised by that her words, and asked, “Lat know zi ukpeak?"

The mare bowed her head nodding. "Kulkneg ro Melkor'ur Culav learn iav nalkruska kulkneg ayh young."

Now it was a surprise that this mare worshipped Melkor, though looking around he saw nothing for sacrifice and torture. But that may have been something that fell out among the cult of this world. But back to the mare before Damien.

"Then liwo lat ukerve alnej?" He asked as the Uruks around him readied their swords. The mare bowed her head, kneeling before Damien for the many villagers to see. Many mares faces showed almost horror as they watched one of their own kneel to the invader who led an army to slaughter their village. Some did follow her example, however, and bowed to Damien, praying that by their submission, they and their children would be spared. The children did the same. Smiling, Damien then shouted out for all of them to hear. "From this day onward, your lives are mine to command. You will serve me, no matter what I ask, or you will be punished. Am I clear?”

"Yes, master. We will serve at your command," the priestess spoke. Nodding, Damien then looked at the Uruks and ordered, "Gather any wagons and hook the Caragors up to them." Groups of Uruks got to work looking for wagons. It took a minute for them to return with seven wagons, enough to carry all loot and some of the new slaves. They started to load the wagons the Caragors were hooked up to. Damien had the archers take watch around the newly-conquered town, while the raiders kept watch over the mares to make sure none of them tried anything dumb. When they were done, the wagons were lined up; each of the first three being filled with the loot, and the other four having been filled with the children and elderly. Each wagon had mares walking behind them, as they were capable of walking the whole way, unlike the children and elderly. Each wagon had six Raiders and two archers around it to guard them, with an Uruk to work as a driver. The remaining riders moved to the back of the column, as the archers took front, with the raiders making double columns on both sides of the wagons to protect them from . The Dark Lord Damien rode to the front with the priestess, both riding upon a chariot. The driver stood on the right side as stood left with the driver front.

"Alright, move out!!" Damien said as he looked forward; his eyes burning a fire through his helmet. He began to scheme on what to do with his new slaves as the chariot moved forward with the columns of soldiers following behind them.
> ch2 First conquest: edited
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"If you see her during the battle, do all you can to capture her. I would like to have some ‘fun’ after this battle, and I believe she would do nicely."

"As you command, master." The Witch-king s
It had been two months since that day and so far things were progressing well. The mares and children had been put to work, with many of the mares becoming servants while others, mostly the more defiant ones, had been given to the Uruks to help "relieve" their stress. As for the fillies and colts; the fillies were being taught by Dark Disciple, who was the priest of the village, to be better servants. As for the colts, they were being trained by Khamul to be Damien’s elite guard. He also had more pits built for the Uruks and orcs, whose numbers had grown to near 4,000 Uruks and 10,000 orcs. This allowed Damien to start setting up forts along his territory. So far, three building with four hundred Uruks and six hundred orcs had been built. Each building also had one Nagul to monitor the construction of the forts.

His forces had also tamed more Caragors, and even a couple Graugs, which were being prepared for battle. Damien’s territory expanded to include several more villages, with the Witch-king having captured them and enlisted any warriors from the villages who didn’t die in the attacks. This brought in more resources from the villages, as well as bringing the number of Zestral warriors up to around eight hundred; all of whom were being trained and equipped with better armor and weapons.

Though his conquest hadn't gone unnoticed by the nearby lords around the holdings. They had been sighted building a force to fight. It was small, mostly being made up of levies and pirates, but if left unchecked it may draw more trouble from the local states. However, Damien had been studying these countries over the past few months.

The nation of Shining Peaks, which was located in the northern tip of the Island of the Night, had been built by the Thestral colonists alongside the obsidian peaks of the northern coast. Out of the three main countries on the island, it had the strongest land force, with a well-trained and drilled army. They controlled the entirety of the northern region of the island, with well-fortified castles and towns.

The city-state of Twilight was the religious center of the island, with a strong and well-trained force of zealots to defend it, although they were rarely bothered. It was located in the north-west area of the island, close to the border of Shining Peaks.

The country of Zecomonda was the richest, with the largest navy out of the three, although their army was mostly  made up of levies and pirates. They were located on the south-west portion of the island, with their territory being more focused on the sea. They leave their land mostly unfortified, with only small garrisons to protect it. They were the weakest land-wise, although their coastal settlements were better fortified and had larger garrisons.

Conquering any of Damien’s neighbors was low on his todo list. Currently, he had to deal with the coalition of lords and their armies. Damien took a force of 1,500 to fight the lords with. Their army was around 1,200 strong, and was made up of pirates and militia, so he had little to worry about. Damien’s force of around 1,000 raiders, 400 archers, and 100 Caragor riders was more than enough to fight off the disorganized coalition. He had also brought the Witch-king and Khamul to serve as advisors and commanders in the coming battle.


Damien found the enemy army camped out in a large open field on the other side of the shallow river that stood in front of him. It was early, probably around six or seven in the morning. He ordered his army to take up positions on the other side of the river, with the archers in front as the infantry formed up behind them. The Caragor riders moved up the sides of the formation, ready to move and hit the enemy’s flanks if given the order. Damien and his Nazgul sat in chariots at the back of the line. The enemy army didn't take long to notice the line of soldiers, and the Zestral soldiers quickly formed up into what could only be described as a loose phalanx . The unicorns had formed up in the center of their line, with the earth ponies in front, and lastly the pegasi in the back. The general look of the force was weak, and could barely be compared to the formation of which it tried to imitate. The levies were armed with spears and wicker shields, while others had slings, short bows, and javelins. The pirates had better equipment, wearing gambesons and light chainmail with iron helmets. For melee weapons, they carried curved swords, axes, spears, and a variety of shields and beyond that, they had javelins for a range.

Damien saw three stallions; two unicorns and a pegasus, all wearing silver scale armor with swords at their sides, come out from the army and walk to the edge of the river bank. The pegasus, who had grey fur with black stripes, then shouted, "We wish to Parley." Damien looked to the Witch-king on his right, and to Khamul on his left, and then nodded. They drove their chariots forward as the Uruks made a path through the line for them to march through as Damien eyed the three stallions. The first two weren't much. One was a fat, with brown and butter fur and blue eyes, and the second was a simpler build to the pegasus, and had green fur with silver stripes. Damien sighed as he realized that they most likely had never seen a battle. He was  sure that they had plenty of loot, though.

They drove up until they reached the edge of their side of the river, before getting off the chariots and walking to the Zestral’s side of the river, stopping five feet away from them.

“I am Damien, and these are my commanders: Angmar and Khamul. May I ask who you three are?”

The Pegasus responded, "I am Lord Night Strike, leader of this army." He gestured to the fat unicorn on the left  “This is Lord Penny Biter, and the other to my right is Lord Silver Grace."

Damien nodded and then spoke. “Nice to meet you all, now is there any way to end this without violence, or will I have to crush you like bugs?"

"I will not leave until I have what is mine!" The fat stallion shouted as the pegasus sighed and spoke. “No, there is not. Unless you return our lost lands to us, we will fight for them."

"Then come and take it!" Damien announced as he walked back to his chariot with Khamul and the Witch-king following. The three stallion exchanged glances before returning to their army.

Once both parties had returned to their armies, there was a long pause as both armies planned their next move. But then, something caught Damien’s eye. He saw the pegasus standing on a hill near the back of his army with the other two by him, as well as another figure. She was a pegasus; most likely the daughter of Night Strike. She had no helmet, which let her white hair that was well kept and styled in a ponytail that draped over her shoulder; the kind of hairstyle that all anime mothers who end up dying seem to have. Her fur was light grey with dark grey stripes. Smiling a little, Damien spoke to the Nazgul next to his chariot. “Do you to see the female pegasus near Lord Night?"

"Yes." They both replied.
aid as he went to the left side of the army. Khamul followed heading to the right. Once both were in the position Damien took a look at his forces to decide which to move first. But as he was about to give an order after around ten minutes of thinking, he heard a horn from the enemy’s left flank as they suddenly started to charge toward him, leaving their allies in shock at their bold and reckless charge. Quickly giving an order, Damien shouted, "Archers! On my order, fire!" The Uruks readied their arrows as they waited for the firing order. The enemy was making ground at a slower pace, as the water ran by them. When the line reached the middle of the river, Damien shouted, "Commence volley fire!" The archers quickly drew their arrows as their officers gave orders to fire. Khamul and the Witch-king gave their soldiers the same order, and a series of arrows from across the line fell into the oncoming attack. The enemy returned fire, sending a variety of projectiles back at Damien’s forces, with the unicorns casting magic, or bringing up shields to protect themselves. The hail of arrows hit the enemy with great effect, as they went right through the wicker shields, hitting the enemy as Damien’s forces were hit by theirs. Most of their projectiles hit his men's iron shields as others hit the archers, downing a few, but not enough. They fired another volley into the Zestral’s ranks, killing more as they got closer.

"Archers, pull back! Infantry, form a shield wall!" Damien shouted as the enemy’s pegasi took to the air. The Uruks did as they were told, with the archers pulling back and reforming  as the infantry tightened formation and locked shields as the enemy reached the river bank, letting out a cry as they charged. The enemy clashed; slamming into Damien’s ranks as the sound of the battle took hold, as steel clashed with steel. Above, the pegasi either fired down onto Damien's force, or dived down clutching their weapons at their decent. The Uruk archers started to fire once more, trying to cut down the pegasi. Damien turned his front rank as he saw the enemy push forward, to little effect, as they were cut down with no mercy. The left and right flanks started to sweep around and fall on the enemy’s flanks, destroying the enemy.

Looking Back into the sky, Damien saw that the enemy’s pegasi were pulling back. arrows followed, as they brought more of their numbers from the sky. Looking down, he saw that the main enemy force was moving forward to save their comrades from defeat. The unicorns had taken front rank, casting a long shield over the front of their line as the pegasi took to the air. Sadly, if any of them saw the smile on his face they would turn back now, as he raised his right hand and started to whisper in the chaos. "Leav waavas juldas avhem riuke agh ukwallow avhem shal mausan waravh." The water under his enemy started to rise and quicken as the enemy suddenly stopped in their tracks, looking at the water rising from under them until from the water rose a large wave, much bigger and stronger than should have been possible. The Zestral army, now seeing this, started to fall back as unicorns brought their shield up to stop the wave as the archer's arrows picked at them from above. But it was too late, as they had moved far into the water, and the wave was moving too fast to escape.

As the wave smashed into their lines, the shield, weakened from arrow fire, not even being strong enough to hold, gave way like broken glass as the water rushed past them, dragging the enemies soldiers under the water. The enemy was in full rout now, with nearly two-thirds of their force drowning as the pegasi ran back to their camp with whoever reached the other side. Among them, Damien spotted one; the mare who once stood at the hill was running on the ground, trying like the rest to escape him. The water now returning back to it's a regional state, with the few who survived the wave now moving to join the retreat. But not making it far, as the last volley of arrows cut them down.

The Uruks, now finished killing their enemies who rushed them, chased their fleeing enemy as they ran beside Damien and his commanders, their chariots speeding toward the shattered coalition forces with the Caragor riders following close behind them, intent on making sure the enemy doesn't get away. They closed the distance quickly, as the chariot’s blades started to cut down the cowards as Damien sent a few fireballs overhead, engulfing groups of enemy soldiers; their cries filling the air along with the panicked cries from the still fleeing enemy. It wasn’t long until they reach the enemy camp as they ran down another stallion, as Caragor riders passed Damien, he stepped off his chariot and continued on foot as Khamul swung his chariot to sweep around the camp, to make sure that as few stragglers as possible escaped. The Witch-king pulled up beside Damien as a few Caragor riders quickly ran by, continuing the slaughter. He turned his head to Damien as he met the Witch-king’s gaze.

"Master, the girl you asked to keep watch for; I saw her. She's on the far left side of the camp." He spoke as Damien nodded. He then sped off to find any still running. As he left, Damien changed his form, turning into a mist and making a beeline for the far left of the camp, intent on getting his prize, watching as Uruks and their mounts made quick work of the enemy’s remaining men. He quickly make it to the far left of the camp and saw that the Caragor riders had already cut down any that were in sight. Reforming into his armor, Damien began his search for his little bird, making sure to step lightly. After five minutes of walking, he heard voices.

"Song, I think those creatures are gone. We have to move before more arrive." The voice of Night said in a strained tone.

"Are you sure?" The second female voice asked.

"Yes, now come on! If we are quick, we can escape." Night replied as Damien heard their hooves make a quick dash, passing into the open from a tent on his right, Damien returned to his mist from and flee high to look like a cloud of smoke, following them and watching as they hid behind tent after tent, with Night in front; sword drawn as he looked for any Uruks as they passed. They reached the edge of the camp and were about to run when a Khamul rode up with six Caragor riders from the left, scanning the camp for anyone trying to run. He looked back and saw that many of the tents were lit aflame as Uruks passed, gathering anything of value from the tents or bodies as they quickly closed the gap between them and the two Zestrals.

Looking back down, Damien watched as Night peeked his head out, his eyes locking with the soulless eyes of the Nazgul as his chariot and the Riders around him stopped staring at the stallion, his eyes quickly looked at his daughter as he whispered. "I'm going to count to five and when I do you fly, as fast as you can, don't look back; just fly home to Weather Top and ready our defenses." He said as the Caragor moved forward, fangs barred as their riders readied their spears.

"What?! No! we can’t run! there's no-"

"One."

"Father no! We can make it!"

"Two. Song, look around. Either you run, or we both die."

"No, we are leaving together."

Damien, seeing this, decided that enough was enough as he landed before them; quickly taking his armored form with mace in hand and laughing, as the two Zestral’s eyes widened in shock.

"And where are you two going, my friends?” Damien asked as his eyes flashed an amber glow, as he raised his mace. Night recovered from his shock as he readied a defensive stance, ready to defend his daughter and said, "Song, run now!"

"But-"

"Now!" Night yelled as he swung forward, with his sword aiming for Damien's neck as Damien raised his mace, blocking the swing. He made his other hand into a fist, hitting Night in the jaw as he stumbled back, spitting an out blood as he looked back at Damien. Song, watching this unfold, didn't give another moment as she turned around and ran, sword drawn. Watching her run Damien spoke. "After her!" Only for Night to snap back. "Stay away from her!”

Damien looked at him, as the Caragor riders started to pass by him, eager for battle. He smiled before speaking. "Khamul, take care of him. The rest of you, resume your task. I have a Mare to find." Damien finished as he used to power to increase his speed, quickly passing the stallion as Khamul got down from his chariot, sword drawn, and advanced onto him. The Caragor riders turned and left, looking for any more enemies leaving the two to fight alone. Night went running after Damien, only to be knocked to the ground. Turning his head, he saw Khamul standing there in an aggressive stance; his longsword raised, ready for battle as he spoke. “You are not leaving, fool."

Night got back up as he raised his sword in a defensive stance and waited. Khamul struck, swing his sword from the right, to which Night blocked and parried, swinging back. Khamul blocked the sword with his gauntlet as he brought his sword’s pommel into Night’s cheek, sending him back a bit as he reared his hand back and thrust forward; plunging the sword into Night’s throat with a sickening snapping sound as the blade went through the bone and out the back of his neck. Blood trickled down the blade as Night’s body went limp, falling to the ground with a dull thud. Drawing the blade from the now limp body, Khamul walked forward, searching for anyone else to cut down.

Back with Damien, after he dashed past Night, turning left he followed his prey as she ran. Although she wasn't getting far, as he easily kept pace. After three minutes of chasing her, and passing two dead Uruks, he cornered her as she ran into three Uruk archers. They blocked her only escape route, with one having his bow drawn and ready if she attempted to fly off. She turned around, about to run, when she saw Damien standing there.

"Hello, my dear," Damien said as he advanced in a calm pace, but his intent was clear as the mare raised her sword to him. When Damien was six feet from her, she struck, swinging her sword downward as she used her wings to gain height. As the blade was about connected with his neck She was suddenly sent flying into a tent as the air was knocked out of her, and Damien stood there; mace in hand as the downed mare laid covered by the now-fallen tent, as she struggled to escape it. The Uruks, who had watched this, got to work as they ran over ready to kill the mare. But then, Damien simply said, “Leave her be. She is mine, so go, before I have to make you." The Uruks didn't take long before they ran off to another part of the camp. Once gone, Damien looked to the mare, seeing her getting up and looking for her sword.

"It's been fun but I think it's time we end this little chase, no?" He spoke walking toward the mare as the ring on his finger glowed as he simply spoke. "Ukleep." In an instant, the mare collapsed as she slept. Damien moved over to the mare, as he picked her up and started to carry her on his shoulder back to his chariot, passing by Uruks in the middle of looting the camp and bodies carrying crates of wines and beers to their side of the river. He simply walked, carrying his prize. When he reached his chariot, he saw the Driver standing nearby with a skin sack. As he drank from it, he noticed the two approaching and put his sack back to his side and got to the reins, pulling a bit to get the Caragors back up and ready.

Damien placed the mare on the chariot as he looked to the driver and spoke. “Take us back across the river." The driver nodded as his liege climbed aboard and cracked his whip on the back of the Caragor, driving the chariot forward.

As they drove along he sent a message to the Nazgul. ‘Have the enemy camp burned, and take anything of value. Once they are finished, have them set up camp on the other side of the river.’ The Nazgul didn't reply as they followed their lord's orders and got the Uruks to work.

By the time the Uruks had finished burning the camp and gathering the loot, it was midday and the Uruks were quick to start setting up the camp as they set up tents and dug ditches and latrines. Damien was seated in his own tent, which was based on a large version of a Roman command tent, being able to fit around thirty people inside. And currently, Damien sat on a large cushion as he drank from a goblet of red wine, looted from the enemy camp. To his right was the Witch-king and Khamul, sitting beside him as they gave battle reports.

"Our losses number 349, as our wounded number 213. Our enemy’s losses number 987 dead, with the rest of their force having  scattered." The Witch-king spoke to which Damien nodded happily with the results of the battle.

"I have the sent the Caragor riders to patrol the surrounding area to find any more of the enemy’s forces and keep watch for any more incoming armies," Khamul said as he cleaned his sword using a piece of cloth, to which Damien spoke.

"Good, keep me posted on any further news. As for now, you two are dismissed." The two nodded as they got up and gave a deep bow before turning and leaving. Once gone, Damien looked to the right side of the tent, seeing in a bed covered in a leather blanket, laid Song, still fast asleep as she laid there. After the battle was over, and his tent was pitched, he undressed the mare and gave her armor to the Uruks to add to the pile of loot collected, with her cloths placed on a small stand at the base of the bed. After taking another sip from his goblet, he placed it on the table and walked over to her, as he dispersed the sleep spell placed on her. It would not be long before she would wake. Damien walked until he was at the end of the bed, before in a flash, he was no longer in his armor. Instead, he wore a long leather jacket and black jeans, with his armored boots still on. He then used his power to summon four chains that tied each of the mare's legs and arms to the bedpost as he waited.

It took around three minutes before the mare started to stir, as Damien levitated the goblet back into his right hand and gulped the rest of it down, before he placed the now empty goblet on top of Song’s clothes, before resting his eyes on the waking mare.

[pov] Song

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a tall dark shape of a pony sitting on the edge of the bed. blinking a few times, the dark blur turned into a creature. It had a similar head structure as one of the dark-skinned monsters from battle, although his skin was a much lighter shade of white. I tried to move my arms and legs, only to find them tied to the bedpost, preventing any action against him. Looking back at him, I studied at his features more. His mane was raven black, with the top being combed back into a short ponytail. As for his beard, which was thick and shortly trimmed. His eyes were a cold blue staring intently at my bond form. Looking over the rest of his body, he looked to be well-muscled, and his overall look wasn't as bad as the darker skinned creatures, even handsome to a point. After around five minutes of us staring, he spoke.

"It seems you have calmed down as I hoped. Good." He said in a familiar voice. As he raised his right hand, I saw a simple gold ring on his finger as he started to rub his chin. I said nothing, merely watching the stallion.

"I believe introductions are in order, my pet. I am your new master, Damien. And you are?"

"I am not your slave," I said angrily as he merely chuckled before speaking.

"Then who are you, my dear?" He said in an even tone.

"I am Lady Silver Song, daughter of Lord Night of Weathered Peak castle and I demand I be released!"

"Well, then Lady Song, if you haven't noticed, you are bound to the bed and in no position to be making demands of me." He leaned over to me until his face was a foot from mine, as his hand went under the blanket as i felt his hand drift to my...

"No!" I yelled as his hand caressed my lower lip. I tried to struggle; anything to stop him as he merely smiled as he watched me. I looked at him, pleading. "Please no, I'm sorry for snapping, just please..." I was cut off as he raised his left hand to my face, before snapping as he placed his hand on my face, grabbing me as he pushed my head to the left as he spoke.

"Lat ukerve alnej!" As I felt a searing pain rake my face and my mind, I thrashed and pulled for what felt like minutes, until it stopped as a voice spoke.

'Why resist?'

'Wh... what?'

'Why fight him when you know this is how it should be?' The voice made sense. Why fight when it... felt GOOOD. As this happened, I stopped struggling as he smiled, pressing his hand to my clit and rubbing it. I moaned lightly, giving into his touch as he continued to finger me. He started slowly building up; his pace slowed as he reviled in my moans as he continued thrusting his finger into my pussy.

He continued for five minutes as he started to rapidly thrust his fingers into me, as my moans grew louder and more desperate with each passing moment until after around five minutes, I felt my climax building as my moans grew louder.

"I'm... go... going to cum." As those words left my lip he stopped as he drew his hand from my now dripping lips and brought his soaked hand to my mouth and spoke. “Suck," To which I did. As he brought his hand closer, I reached out with my tongue and started to lick my essence, greedily wanting more pleasure from my master.

"Ooh look how quickly your mood turned. Tell me, do you want me inside you?" He said with even breath as he studied my features.

"Yes, please Master, please."

"Then show me how much you want me in you." He said as he used his magic to remove the chains on my hands and hooves as he got up from the bed, removing his jacket as I got up and moved to his crotch, getting on my knees as his jacket fell to floor. As I moved to his shirt, I got to work on his belt, quickly unbuckling it and working on his pants, quickly revealing his grey boxers with a sizeable budge as he watched me. I reached up, slipping my hands under the band as I started to pull down his boxers, revealing his cock as all twelve inches bounced, catching me on my nose as its musk filled my senses as I clasped the shaft and started to work my hands up and down the shaft, as master let out a light moan. I lowered my lips to the head and started to kiss and lick the top of his member.

"Good girl. But I would like it a bit deeper." As he finished saying that, I felt one of his hands grab the back of my head as he forced me to deep-throat his member, slamming it down my throat and cutting off my air flow as he started to rapidly skull fuck me, forcing inch after inch down my throat. "There we go, much better," he moaned.

We continued like this for around five minutes, as he got his length down my throat before he released my head. I quickly pulled my head from his cock, coughing and gasping for air as master stood up and spoke. "You did good, but I think it's time for us to finish this before we lose any more time, no?" I breathed before speaking.

"Yes, Master."

I got up and laid down on the bed, as master climbed into the bed next to me, motioning for me to get on his lap. I did as I was told and changed my position until I was on his lap, straddling his member as I rubbed myself on him before I grabbed his member and lined it up with my slit as he asked. "Are you a virgin, my dear?"

“Yes."

"Hmm, good. Then this is better than I thought. Now then, may we get started?” As he finished speaking, he bucked his hips upward  impaling my pussy on his cock. I moan deeply as I started to ride him, moving my hips at a slow pace as I tried to get used to the feeling of it inside of me. After a minute, the pain subsided to the pleasure that replaced the feeling, as I picked up the pace on his cock.
By now, master placed his hands on my thighs to steady me as I lost myself to the feeling of pleasure that overtook my senses. After six minutes of letting me ride him, master started to buck his hips upward, meeting me as I came down, sending a surge of pleasure up my spine as I arched my back, letting him take full control as he bucked his hips with as much force as he could, letting out groan as I moaned out for him. After around three minutes, my breath became ragged as he increased his pace as I met him thrust for thrust as I got closer and closer to climax and so was he, as his pace quickened and his member pulsed as we both approached climax.

"Hmm yes, please fill me! Fill me with your seed!” I screamed as I slammed my hips down onto him as my juices and his mixed as climax took us.

"Ha... that was good. Thank you, my pet," Master said as I fell on top of him; his hand petting my hair as we recovered. I smiled before speaking. “Thank you, Master."

I slid off of him as he got up from the bed and started to redress. I followed soon after, as we both quickly got dressed and he fixed me with an inquisitive look and asked, "Now then, how about I ask some questions, alright?"

"Of course, Master."

"Good. First of all, were there any other lords that were coming with reinforcements, or were you the only ones?"

"Not that I know of. When we first heard of you, we thought we would only be fighting some savages and not anything of true strength, and only sent messages to my father’s closest friends, as they have fought similar problems from rouge bands of raiders, or less-than-happy farmers.” I said as he gave me an inquisitive before he smiled and continued.

"Good, that's one problem not to worry about. Now then, how far away is your home, my dear?”

"It's a three-day march from here, and would offer little resistance since when we left, my father took most of our stallion-at-arms with us when we left, leaving only two dozen home."

"And the other lords' lands, where are they?"

"Lord Silver's lands are a week’s march from here, while Penny's lands are a day’s march from here."

"So I take it that his lands are the ones I have been taking?"

"Yes, almost all of the lands taken by your forces were his."

"Thank you, that will be all. Go prepare me something to eat. There's a spit roaster to use outside the tent if you wish to use it. Ask the Uruks outside my tent for help if you need it."

"Of course, Master." I quickly got to work as I left the tent as Master followed.

[pov] Damien

I followed Song out of the tent and turned left, looking for the Nazgul to prepare for the coming week, as we had work to do before we were noticed by any other lords. I smiled as I thought of the coming week. “So it begins."
> ch3 Fast expansion: edited
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After they had rested for a week, letting the wounded heal up before they moved out, Damien had the Uruks pack up camp and planned to march out to quickly take up the lords’ holdings before anyone else came. Damien and two hundred Uruks marched on Night’s castle as he sent the Witch-king with another hundred and fifty to Silver's castle, and lastly Khamoul, with the same amount as the Witch-king's force. The remaining force of Uruks was sent to capture nearby villages to secure the surrounding territory before meeting back up with Damien and his lieutenants’ forces. So far, they’d met little resistance from the nearby settlements as they marched on Weathertop; Lord Night's castle. They were nearly there, and already they could see the castle in the distance. From the look of it, Weathertop lived up to its name. It was built on a rock formation with a top that had been leveled out with a keep placed on top. It was a mix of classical and gothic design, and had a single path that wrapped around the rock formation with three gatehouses placed along it. The surrounding area was covered in farmland, with a small town at the base of the path with a six-foot high wall and a wooden gate house. The fields were empty, since the castle spotted their advance from a ways away and quickly readied their defenses. Damien sat at the head of the column of Uruks riding his chariot, with Song riding along with him. When they were 190 yards from the castle, Damien ordered the Uruks to halt as he road up with fifty Caragor riders to the town gate. Eight stallions, armed with crossbows and glaives, and wore chainmail with mail coif were stationed on the gatehouse. The flags along the wall showed Song's family crest; a black canvas with a white crescent moon and a blue harp next to it. As they got closer, Damien called up to the guards.

"I wish to parley with Lady Melody!" The guards looked at each other and talked for a moment before one left to fetch their liege’s wife. After twenty minutes of waiting, the gate opened, and a mare walked out with four guards behind her. Her fur was blue, with silver stripes, and her mane was white. Her eyes were bluish-green, and she wore a black silk dress with a brown belt and had various things of jewelry around her neck and on her arms. She stared for a moment, seeing her daughter next to Damien, and understood what was happening as she locked eyes with Damien and spoke. “What are your demands?"

"Surrender the castle, swear fealty to me and in return, you and your people will be spared."

"And Song?"

"She will be my concubine," Damien said plainly as he studied the mare’s features, looking for signs of aggression. But the Mare merely sighed and spoke.

"So be it. I will swear fealty." She said as she got closer to the chariot, to which Damien smiled and got down, walking in front of Melody as she got to her knees before him and spoke. “Jiak ukwear mausan ukoul agh mausan landuk avo lat avo avhiuk dautas agh avo mausan laukav dautas." Once she finished, Damien placed his hand on her face and branded her, as her eyes glowed a light amber before returning to normal as the mark faded. She then got up and turned to her guards. “Ready a room for Lord Damien," she ordered as the guards nodded before leaving.

Damien looked to an Uruk and ordered, "Have the Uruks set up camp outside, and have a Uruk bring Song and my things to our chamber. Follow the guards to it before gathering our things." The Uruk nodded and quickly got up, with the guards heading to the keep. He then looked at Melody and asked, "When will we be eating?"

She thought for a moment before speaking. "Around seven, my lord."

"Good, then I will leave you ‘till dinner." He turned to song and signaled for her to follow him. She nodded before saying goodbye and hugging her mother, then went to catch up with Damien. The two followed the guards until they reach their room and went inside, seeing a decent room big enough for the two of them. Damien looked to Song and gave her an order. “Sing me a song as I read," he said as went to a bookshelf and grabbed a book on the history of the Shadow Isles.

"Yes, master, as you wish." She paused for a moment before she started to sing ‘Edge of Night.’ As she sang, Damien read, listening to the song as he read. On occasion, he would have her change songs, and return to reading as time passed. The Uruk had returned with their things and quickly left to get ready for the night. Another hour passed before a knock sounded on the door. Song stopped singing and went to answer the door, as Damien placed his book down and joined her at the door as she opened it, revealing one of the castle’s female staff.

"Yes?" Song asked as the maid then bowed and spoke.

"Lady Melody has sent me to tell you that dinner is ready."

"Thank you, we will join them shortly," Damien said as he turned around; the maid bowing before leaving. Song quickly put a dress on as Damien used his power to change his appearance into a more formal look, as he waited for Song to finish. After another minute, she finished, no longer wearing the simple dress as before; now wearing a black dress which showed off her body well. Damien smiled as he and Song left, with her leading him to the dining hall, passing various servants and slaves who gave a quick bow as they passed. Soon they found themselves at the door to the dining hall, where two guards nodded, then opened the door as Damien and Song passed by them and entered the hall.

The hall was 15 feet long and 9 feet wide, with a long dining table and four Zestrals sitting around it. The design of the hall was gothic, with the chandeliers casting a white light over the room. The table had six seats, with Melody and her group sitting on the far end, leaving Damien and Song the chairs closest to the door.

"Ah, you're just in time. They’re about to bring out the food," said Melody before she gestured to the others at the table as she continued. "The stallion to my right is the captain of the guard; Iron Wall. He can help you with anything you need involving our personal forces." Turning his head, Damien took a look at the earth Zestral Iron Wall, who looked to be a middle-aged stallion with black fur and a short white mane and stripes he also had a short, well-trimmed beard that ended at a point. His eyes were a cold blue,  with a scar on his right cheek. He wore a black gambeson, and his expression was cold and calculating as he sized up his liege's boss. “And the stallion to my left is our smith, Molten Craft." The stallion was an earth Zestral that looked to be elderly, yet still had a strong build. His fur was orange, and he had a yellow mane and silver stripes. He had a yellow bushy beard that was slightly singed at the ends. His eyes were fiery blue, and he wore a tanned tunic. His expression was of slight annoyance as Damien looked at him. “And finally, the mare here is Dark Spark. Ask her about anything in terms of magic and the library." Taking a look at the mare in question, Damien saw that she was a unicorn that was younger than the other three. She was somewhere around her late twenties. Her fur was white, with black stripes and grey mane done up in a french braid, with her eyes being a light lime green. Her dress was black with white accents, and she held an inquisitive expression. Taking a quick nod to all of them, Damien went to his seat and spoke.

"Thank you; now then, I believe we should get to business and start discussing how I'm going to run things, alright?”

"Alright then, let's hear it." Iron wall said in a gruff yet reserved tone.

"First will be the taxes. I suspect that at least 10% of all income and resources will be a fishnet." He said as he paused for a moment waiting for an objection when he heard none he smiled and continued. “Next, restrictions will be placed upon your forces and levies. So, can you tell me how many soldiers you can rally?”

"Currently we can only muster a force of three hundred militia and four hundred levies." Iron said.

"And at full strength?"

"At full strength, we would have had five hundred militia and seven hundred levies, with enough corsairs for three ships."

"And how many corsairs do you have now?"

"Enough for one ship and half a crew left over."

"Alright then, this will be simple then. Your numbers at your full strength will exclude levies. From now on you will only have corsairs and militias."

"Yes, sir. But how will we make up for the lost stallion power?"

"I'm sure you have seen the Uruk-Hai, am I right?"

"So that's what they are,” Dark piped up as inquisitive smile showed on her face.

"Yes, and as I have shown with your recent defeat, they can hold their own quite well and will be good main infantry before we finish reforming your own."

"Reform? But won't the militia be enough?" Melody said.

"For small lord-on-lord fighting; yes, they are equal to your foe. But I would like to turn these militias into a proper standing force; one that can do more than match their neighbors in battle."

"What you want is a standing army?" Molten said raising his eyebrow.

"Yes, the other nations have their own armies, right? Why wouldn’t we?"

"Hmm, the Idea is tempting, yet how would we pay for such a force?" Iron said as he fiddled with his fork.

"To start off with, we will have to keep militia and use the Uruks as the army ‘till we have enough territory for us to afford the army."

Before any more could be said, the doors to the Dining room opened and three servants marched in, placing trays of food onto the table before removing the lids and revealing a cooked boar, ribs, and an egg salad. The choice of food did not surprise Damien, as he knew that Zestrals; thanks to their Thestral ancestry were omnivorous, being able to eat many things unlike there zebra and pony counterparts. Then, glasses were brought over and filled with wine. Everyone started eating, with bits of conversation taking place among those seated. Then, Melody brought up a good question.

"Lord Damien?"

"Yes?”

"From what your scouts said, you had a much larger army. So, may I ask where they are?"

"Simple: I split the army among me and my lieutenants; I headed over here  and the others headed off to take care both Grace's and Bitter's lands to quickly bring them under our command before other powers make their move."

"I wonder how that is going.”

[pov] Witch-king

To say that I was disappointed with my enemies is an understatement. After my battle with the coalition forces, I took my force and went to capture the rest of the fat oaf’s lands. And surprisingly, I found that instead of sparse resistance, I found our once-enemies’ forces flocking to me. Yes, it seemed that Lord Penny Bitter was not all that liked by his people seeing as how my force now numbered around eight hundred and some. Though I did not care to question it, and simply continued to on to the castle of the fool, which was built on top of a deep gold deposit; something that will prove useful later for my master's plans. The only real downside was that unlike his fellow lords, Bitter escaped and made it back to his castle with some eighty troops. What remained of his force had now joined up with the castle’s garrison and had prepared to fight to the last against my army.

Bitter's castle was nothing of note really. The keep and the main part of the fortifications were placed on top of a hill with five eight-foot stone walls and three stone towers not connected to either the keep, nor the gatehouse. The keep was a simple wide square building that was three stories tall. The gatehouse led to a ramp that went down into a small town with its best defense being a small wooden wall with no gates. I had no plan of assaulting the main keep and simply watched as the Uruks and rebels sacked the small town; enslaving the people still not in the keep from my vantage point on a hill to the south. I was planning to simply siege the castle until they surrendered. As my men set up the camp, I was in my tent sharpening my sword. When the tent flap opened, two Zestrals came to me carrying a villager as he gave little resistance. They stopped six feet from me, and as the two forced the prisoner to his knees, one barked to the prisoner, "Talk!"

"Why have you brought this prisoner to me?” I asked the two Zestrals. The prisoner waited a moment before speaking.

"I know another way into the castle,”

At this, I paused for a moment. “Where is it?"

"In a house, not far from here, it leads to the mines under the castle and then heads up into the keep."

"How many guards are there in the tunnel?"

"At best, maybe six. They wouldn’t have kept that many soldiers down there, since they’d probably expect you to be more likely to try to invade on the surface rather than from the mines."

I thought about this for a moment before I spoke. “Ready the Uruks, and have them prepare to use the tunnel to open the gate for the rest of our forces."

"Yes, sir."

There was still the issue of what to do with the prisoner, however. “Bring him with you, and have him lead our troops through the tunnel. If this plan succeeds, you may have your freedom." The stallion's eyes widened and a smile came to his face as I continued. “But if this fails, or we get lost, your head’s going on a pike. Understand?" The stallion frowned before nodding.

"Good. Cut his binds and get him some equipment and a club."

"Yes, sir." The stallions replied; one quickly cutting his binds before they left. Once the two were gone I took a good look at the stallion. He had brown fur with brash stripes and a dark brown mane with green eyes. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. “Tell me, what is your name?"

"Solid Strike, sir."

"Okay then, Strike, why do you know about the tunnel, and why would you help us?"

"I know because I worked in the mines; bringing up gold for Penny Biter for around three years as a slave."

"If you are an escaped slave, then why stay here?”

"To hide in plain sight: he couldn't tell me from a farmer."

"Interesting. But again, why help us?”

"My brother was enslaved with me. When I escaped, I promised I would find a way to free him one day."

"Good, and tell me, where are the slaves kept?"

"Near the mine."

"And how many do you think there are?"

"At least seventy, my lord."

"Alright. Now," I moved in front of the stallion and placed my hand on his face before yelling “Lat ukerve alnej," and placing a spell on the stallion to ensure his loyalty. We waited a moment before the two stallions returned with some leather armor and a spiked club, which were given to Solid before I looked over the stallion once more and said, “You will help us take the castle, and I will help you, understand?"

"Yes."

"Good, then prepare yourself; for tonight, the castle will fall." The stallion nodded in response before leaving. I left my tent and looked up at the keep, gripping my sword as I spoke to myself. “Soon, your keep will fall and be forgotten; but I will be remembered."
> ch4 In the dark of the night: edited
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the sun set on the horizon, the Witch-king made his move under the cover of the night sky. Solid led them to an old abandoned farmhouse a ways away from the castle. The house was old, and the wood rotted away as the years took their toll on its wooden frame. Solid moved to the door, club in hand, and quickly pushed the door aside, causing a loud cracking creek as he moved inside with three Uruks behind him. They quickly scanned the room, seeing nothing but rotting floorboards and a large stack of decaying wood in the far left corner. He quietly made his way to it; motioning for the three Uruks behind him as they watched the wooden frame, fearing the building collapsing on top of them, though only a third of the roof remained. Once solid reached the pile of wood, he bent over and started to remove the various pieces of rotting wood until he revealed a wooden hatch, which looked much better than the wood from the pile that once covered it, and the metal on it had little to no rust. He checked the lock for a moment, before grabbing the handle and opening it, revealing a ladder going deep into the ground. He motioned for a Uruk to get the others as he and the other two with him went into the dark. Once at the bottom of the hole, he looked down the hall and saw the old stone walls he remembered as he and the other two waited for the rest to come down.

It took thirty minutes for the rest of the Uruks to come down. The Witch-king entered, carrying his sword. The wraith moved past his troops until he stood next to Solid and spoke. “Lead the way." Solid merely nodded and started moving with the rest of the infiltration force following behind him, weapons ready, as they moved through the long, narrow hallway to the keep. After a time of walking, they came to a small room, where twelve guards sat around a table near an iron door with a few torches lighting the door. Solid stopped the rest of them as he watched the guards.

"Why are we here again?" Spoke one of the guards.

"Because we were told to. Plus, with the fact that we have a fucking army at our doorstep, I'd rather be here than on the walls right now." Another responded. 

"I'd rather walk the walls then rot away down here." a third groaned. Solid motion for some archers to set up just out of the light of the room as they drew their bows back and aimed.

"Will you stop wit- ach!" The fourth started before an arrow went right through his left eye, before a series of arrows were let loose, catching the already shocked guards, as three more were peppered with arrows. Solid charged the remaining guards, with around thirty Uruks quickly following and  charging the remaining eight guards, who quickly jumped up, grabbing their weapons and charging back at the invaders, as two more were downed by arrows. Solid cracked a guard across the face, knocking him down, before Solid followed with a hit over the head; the spikes of his club embedding themselves into the cracked helm as blood dripped down the stallion’s face. His shocked eyes stared back at Solid's grim stare. Looking up he saw the rest of the guards were cut down. Two Uruks ran up to the door to open it as the Witch-king moved into the room with the rest of the Uruks following, ready for a battle; their faces a mix of bloodlust and excitement as their lord walked past. An air of dark expense filled the room as the Uruks opened the door, revealing a dark continuation of the tunnels. Solid walked up to the door, looked back and said, “Let's begin." He moved swiftly into the blackness, a smile on his cheeks as he moved the Uruks following into the hall where, there before them, sat three paths. Solid standing before them sighing as he then turned and ordered pointing the different group of Uruks.

"You there, head this way and take over the prison and release the prisoners, then move to the keep. You; take your troops and secure the walls and the gate for our remaining forces. The rest of you, go to the barracks and kill them all before the alarm can be raised." The groups of Uruks followed and went down the various tunnels to fulfill their task. The Witch-king went with the Uruks to the keep. Solid followed with a wide smile ready to start making heads roll.

They quickly moved through the tunnel until they reached a hall with reinforced iron doors, which required a key. Moving lightly, Solid walked the hall with the Witch-king followed by six archers as the rest waited until they came to a door at the end of the hall to the left. Looking into the room, he saw a single guard fast asleep; a mug of rum nearby. He looked at the Witch-king and nodded before he moved in. Creeping lightly, he made his way to the guard, careful not to misstep. As he got closer he noticed a knife behind the mug, and grabbed it as he looked to the guard and with no hesitation, slashed the guard's throat as his eyes shot and attempted to scream. However, only gurgles of blood came out as he clung to his throat to stop the bleeding, but it was too late, as he body slumped forward and fell to the ground, his blood pooling on the floor as Solid merely bent down and took the keys from his belt. He walked back to the group and handed them to the Uruk to open the cells. After a couple of minutes, nearly a hundred and twenty prisoners and slaves came out of their cells, staring at their saviors in fear before Solid moved in front of them and spoke. “Are any of you able to fight?" A majority nodded. “Good. Do any of you know the way to the barracks?" Five of the former prisoners nodded. “Good, then those who can't fight shall stay here. The rest of you, go to the barracks and get some weapons and armor." They did as he said, and many walked past him to get their new equipment. Solid and the Uruks went back down the hall they came from.

"You three, go with them." The Witch-king ordered as the Uruks nodded before they left. The Witch-king looked to Solid and asked, "Which level does your brother or whoever sleep at?”

"The second."

"Then go with the others and get him.” Angmar said as he turned and went down the hall with the rest of the Uruks following behind him. Solid didn't wait as he went to join the others. The Witch-king moved back down the hall, passing the guard’s quarters and continued before turning left and reaching a staircase. They continued up the stairs before reaching a door. He looked to a Uruk, who had been given the key from a guard, and motioned for it. The Uruk nodded and did as he was told. Turning back to the door he quickly placed the key into the slot and turned the key with a click. The door opened easily despite the Witch-king putting in no real effort to open it. Pushing through the door, he looked around the area to make sure there weren’t any garrisoned soldiers in view. Suddenly, however, a great noise rang out.

DONG... DONG... DONG...

His head quickly turned to the left as he looked down the hall, the sound echoing throughout the castle before he quickly looked to the Uruk's and shouted, "Kill them all!" His yelling filled the air as the Uruks fell to their knees in agony. The Witch-king turned away from his immobilized soldiers and went to the right, moving at a great pace down the hall, almost gliding as he dashed. As he went on, he heard the sound of battle reverberate through the keep as he moved, cutting down any frightened servants and guards that crossed his path. After a few minutes of traversing the halls of the keep, he came to the main hall, where he saw eight figures: four guards and four others standing there talking. “What do you mean they infiltrated the castle!?" shouted the annoying voice of Bitter as the guard answered him.

"They came in through the tunnel, and have taken the prison and barracks. They're close to taking the courtyard." The guard said as Angmar moved slowly past the pillars around the hall, watching the group.

"Do we at least know how many are in the castle?" Bitter said as he looked around the hall looking for rebels or Uruks.

"We believe there are around two hundred invaders within the castle." Bitter paused for a moment before turning to a mare in her thirties next to a pair of twin colts. He then turned to back to the guard and said to him, “You, gather the remaining guards, now!" The guard nodded before leaving and running back down the hall Angmar came from as Bitter then looked back to the mare and colts. “Golden, take the foals and hide, before they find us." She nodded as they left holding her children’s hands as she left with another guard following close behind, leaving through a door behind the lord's seat. Once they were gone, the Witch-king moved, taking a spear from a dead guard lying on the ground. He threw the spear, impaling one of the remain guards and scaring the other two stallions in the room as they looked at the dying guard, holding the spear that was impaled through his left lung, gasping for breath. Angmar walked into view; his sword drawn as he spoke. “Your time is over, and soon your castle will be mine."

Bitter looked at the Witch-king, his eyes wide as he looked back at the remaining guard and yelled “Kill him!" The guard looked at his lord, then to the Witch-king as he lowered his spear and charged. The guard went for a stab that the Witch-king easily countered and struck back, catching the guard in the neck and breaking his spine, downing him with ease before he moved on to the fool who was standing before him wearing a long tunic, and holding a sword raised ready to fight. Which might have been intimidating, if not for his weight and sweat. No, the only problem he posed was with his magic. The Witch-king was cautious as he moved, closing the distance slowly and with each step, Bitter would back up with his horn glowing brighter with each inch that Angmar closed in. As he reached six feet from Bitter, the stallion’s horn flared and shot a blast of magic at the Witch-king, who sidestepped the blast just as another one followed, barely missing the Nazgul's head. The Witch-king charged, slashing downward as Bitter stumbled, raising his sword in a weak attempt to stop him. The force of the strike knocked the blade from his hands as the Witch-king lunged, stabbing his blade into the fat belly.

"Gasp! No, please! Don't kill me!” pleaded the fat stallion as he fell to his knees, the blade only finding itself forced deeper into his gut. The Witch-king merely looked at him before he pulled his sword out and raised it over his head, ready to strike.
"Wait, please don-" before he could finish, the Witch-king split the stallion's skull, splattering blood onto the floor and the Nazgul standing before the newly fresh corpse. The Witch-king turned his head to the door that Bitter's wife and children had left through before walking to it; his steel boots echoing across the now silent hall as the sound of battle drew nearer.

His eyes scanned the hall before him as he walked, listening for any movement as he passed bodies of dead guards, Uruks, and others. Occasionally, he would see his Uruks or rebel soldiers moving through the hall and ask them if they saw the group of nobles, but they all said no. As he continued walking, he saw a prisoner from the mines and asked him if he knew the castle’s layout well. The prisoner nodded before the Witch-king asked him if he knew where they were currently. The stallion nodded before saying that this area was the staff quarters and that it doesn't branch out beside the lord's hall. Once the stallion was finished he told him to find the entrance and keep watch for anyone trying to leave. Once the two parted the Witch-king then began going from room to room searching for the mother and colts until the last sounds of battle ended and he went to the lord's hall, telling any of his soldiers to search the quarters and find the mother and sons and bring them to him alive.

Once he returned to the hall, he saw the many torches and other forms of light ablaze as he saw that the rebel, the prisoners, and the Uruks had gathered in the hall with a pile of loot set up in the middle. Once they took notice of him they all stopped talking and watched as he walked through the hall, passing his warriors as they nodded to him. He walked to the throne in the back of the hall and took a seat, scanning over the gathering before him and spoke. “We are victorious!" At that, everyone within the hall cheered as before quickly quieting as he continued. “But this is just one battle, and there will be many more in time as my master moves to conquer this land and bring it under his dominion. So I ask you stallions gathered before me to follow me further unto glory, and bring my master's enemies to heel!" the hall was quiet for a time before Solid moved forward as he then spoke.

"You gave me my brother back, you gave us freedom from Bitter and his elk, so I believe there is only one course before us. To glory!" And thus the gathered stallions cheered once more before the doors to the servants’ quarters burst open and two stallions and an Uruk dragged the mare and her sons into the hall as silence once more fell over the hall. After a moment, they were dragged before the Witch-king as he once more spoke. “Warriors! I present to you Lady Golden and her sons!" With this, a cry of anger filled the hall before he spoke again. “And so, as to reward you, I give every stallion in this hall one chance to have your way with the wife of your abuser. Have fun!" At this, the two stallions took her away as she cried and pled for her life as a third of the stallions in the hall left with her screams echoing down the hall. Once gone, the Witch-king once more spoke as he gestured to the colts before him. “As for these two, I will leave them to you, warriors." The colts were then taken away as well, and thus began distributing the collected loot among the men.