//------------------------------// // Iron and Fear // Story: Shadow Through the Mirror // by King-Mac-13 //------------------------------// Grimoire could still feel the stings from the game. It made moving around difficult from time to time, but he could fight through the pain. Thankfully, he had decided to make today an easy day. A nice Saturday to relax with some field work. He decided to make his way to, what he has deemed, ‘The Iron Wolf Compound.’ As he arrived, he took in the sight of the area. The compound was surrounded by a large stone wall separating the compound from the outside world. The only way in seemed to be a cast iron gate off to the side. He could see through the bars of the fence, showing a massive yard accented by a harsh looking building that would look more at home as a prison. He noticed that the grounds were ill-kept, but he couldn’t help but feel that it took work to look the way it does. “Yikes…” Grimoire found the lock on the gate and used a bit of magic to unlock the entrance. He knew it was technically illegal. This was why he came to this site alone. If the others were here, they would have risked being arrested. He walked across the yard, stepping over a handful of dirt piles. Can’t be too careful in a place like this. He eventually made his way to a large cast iron door. The door would open with a push, but that required a level of strength he didn’t have. So, he used his magic to meld into his shadow and sneak under the door. Once inside, he could see the compound for what it was. Within was a harsh, but lavish interior. The walls were decorated with tapestries and metal decorum. The decorum ranged from sterling mirrors to what appeared to be a metal wolf head hanging above the far door. The floor was solid marble with a bright blue carpet down the hall. His curiosity peaked, Grimoire made his way to the door and crept inside. He found himself in a… dining room? It had a long rectangular table with chairs on every side, each chair a custom design. Grimoire looked over the table and found that he was not alone. To the right of the head of the table was an older man with grey hair. He dressed in black robes with a white mantle draped over his shoulders. As he stood, he turned his head toward Grimoire. “Welcome, young man.” Grimoire was confused, but intrigued. “You almost sound like you were expecting me.” “I was.” “Okay… that’s unnerving. I didn’t see any cameras…” “There are none. This is an old building, you see…” “I noticed. It must have quite the history.” “It does. The Iron Den has stood for a very long time.” “The Iron Den?” “Yes. It’s the name of the compound.” The old man motioned for Grimoire to follow him. “If you want, I can tell you the story.” “Before we go, I’d like you to tell me something. How is it that you were expecting me?” “I believe you mean, why I was expecting you…” “Why isn’t what I care about. The why is obvious once I know the how.” The old man smiled. “Perhaps, you already know.” “So… am I correct?” “You will ask if I possess the ability to see into the future. And, yes. I can.” “Okay… So, the question remains. How?” “Would you believe I was born with the ability?” “We both know the answer…” The old man laughed. “True.” He takes a small medallion from around his neck. The pendent on the end was a bronze circle with an etching of the head of a unicorn with a third eye. Grimoire remained a state of shock for a moment. “The Oracle’s Song…” A sudden realization hit him upon this reveal. “The Iron Wolves of Dragon’s Bone…” “A version of our order in your world?” “I… then… this is…” The man returned the pendant to his neck. “A long forgotten home of a long estranged family…” The man’s voice was somber, but accepting. This was clearly something he had to fight before. “But… I… I thought…” “You thought… what?” “I’m sorry… but you are correct that there is a version of your order in my world. Despite this, there are few that know the stories of the Wolves. So, I always thought it was just an old story they used to inspire the children.” “A worthy goal…” “Yeah… but, if your order exists here… then they might be real back home as well. I have to ask, how long has your order been in… this state?” “At least a generation and a half.” “That’s not really a long time for an order like this… Why haven’t I heard about this before? I tried to look up what I could before coming here and couldn’t find anything.” “That’s because we never became the stories to inspire, no one told our tales, and the world left us behind.” Grimoire took a deep breath and smiled. “Not anymore.” “Pardon?” “You see, back home, I tend to travel around a lot. I hear stories all the time and like to spread what I learn. I’d like to tell the story of the Wolves. Though, to do so, I’d like to know the name of the Wolf I met. It only seems fair.” The old man laughed. “I thank you for your offer, my friend, but a name is no longer my concern. I appreciate your willingness to spread our story, but I cannot give a name I no longer have. If you must call me something, then just call me Oracle.” “Okay then… Oracle… My name is Grimoire Maleficarum. And if you wouldn’t mind, I would like to hear the story of the Wolves.” “I would be happy to tell our story. Though, perhaps we could move to the study. It has better chairs. You see, I’m not as young as I used to be.” \/ Journal: M-A-50 Entry: 57 Subject: The Iron Wolves overview So many years in the past, the nation found itself at war from within at the hand of bandits and the like. The army was strong, but not invincible. And with rigid rules of conduct for combat made fighting an enemy made it difficult when dealing with someone who did not follow the rules. From this, the Wolves rose to take over the defense. The Wolves were not the knights that thought themselves above the common brawl. These were warriors. Their mission was to protect the weak and innocent by any means possible. Theirs was not a noble visage or a grand ideal. Until the rise of Golden Blade the Righteous a mere three years later. Golden Blade remade the Wolves and turned them into a noble force. The Wolves now wore armor. They now had a visage of honor and power. They had become the strongest fighting force in existence in such a short amount of time. With this reputation came a flood of potential members. However, they could not risk becoming too populous. After all, their mission was to do what the army couldn’t. If they were the size of an army, it would just lead to the same issues. So, they split the group. From here, the Wolves separated into several Packs. To the north was the gallant Crystal Pack. To the east was the industrious Copper Pack. To the west was the unyielding Silver Pack. To the South stood the noble Gold Pack. Remaining in the center, and seen as the original Pack, was the Iron Pack. Each stood for the same ideals, but could act autonomously from one another. Each Pack would set up one singular location to become their Den, a local headquarters for the Pack. Over time, the Packs would spread their presence, and Dens, across the globe. However, each Pack would be forced to disband for one reason or another. The Copper Pack was forced to disband as they grew too large to be a Wolf Pack. They would, instead, grow so large that they would be considered a stand-alone nation. The Gold Pack, inversely, would have too high a bar to pass and no new members could join, leading to the disbandment from lack of members. The Silver Pack lived up to their legend. However, they were not invincible and were captured in battle and soon disbanded. The Crystal Pack tied itself closely to the Empire which it settled that, when a Civil War broke out, it disbanded to become an official military. The longest of all the Packs to survive, the Iron Pack remained together as a group for as long as possible. As time moved on, however, the Pack could not keep up. They were becoming unnecessary. Eventually, they had to face facts and officially disbanded the order. With this, the Wolves were retired and forgotten. Side Material: According to Oracle, Golden Blade brought with him several relics that bestowed upon their wielders certain magical abilities. My theory is that Golden Blade was an Equestrian that brought these items with him. Relic magic doesn’t require any ambient or internal magic to be utilized. All it takes is to know how to activate the magical ability. Each relic grants a different ability. Oracle utilizes what’s known as the Oracle’s Song, allowing him to see the future. I am unaware what relics have been brought to this world, but I look forward to finding out. -Grimoire Maleficarum \/ Rainbow was finishing her afternoon sprint. Being the captain of all those sports teams means she had to keep in shape, after all. She takes a few deep breaths but wasn’t exactly tired. If anything, she was disappointed. Ever since she got that super speed from Camp Everfree, these runs just don’t have the same kick they used to. That said, the runs still helped clear her head, the fresh air was good for her, and it was still fun to her. She took a seat on a park bench and just took in the sights. Everything was positively awesome. Though… she should really be more careful with the super speed. She found herself on the other side of the city. But, she decided to roll with it and jog back at her normal speed. Still fast, but not ‘super’ fast. So, now, she was half way through the jog and almost home. That said, a high school student, unfamiliar with the city, and showing clear signs that she didn’t know the city plan was a dangerous combination. “Well now, ain’t this interesting.” A group of punks clad in leather jackets blocked Rainbow’s route home. In a moment, Rainbow was surrounded. “You’re clearly from out ‘a town so you wouldn’t know. But this is a toll road.” Rainbow sighed and rolled her eyes. “Really? You couldn’t come up with anything better than this?” The lead punk raised an eyebrow, clearly angered by Rainbow’s remark, “What?” “I mean… this is just sad. You know it’s not the 50s, right? And this isn’t some movie. So, cut the act and get out of my way.” The leader was silent a moment before snapping his fingers. One of the other punks walked over to him and handed him something. “Okay… you want it that way. I’ll play.” The item in question was a switchblade knife, which the leader now pointed toward Rainbow Dash’s neck. “Hand over the valuables and I don’t have to slice that pretty little neck of yours. Or maybe, you’d prefer… another payment method.” It was this moment Rainbow knew… she messed up. She moved for a quick escape, but was caught by the other punks before she could get a running start. “N-n-now hold on!” The leader pressed the blade against Rainbow’s throat. “This real enough for you, brat?” After a second to let it sink in, he continued. “But I’m a nice guy. So, I’ll let this one go for now. Gold Leaf, take the stuff.” No one moved. “Gold Leaf! Grab the stuff off the brat!” No movement. “GOLD LEAF!” “Sorry!” Another leather clad punk waved from across the street. “I got turned around after the last chase.” He started to run toward the group. Rainbow could feel something strange about this situation. There were goosebumps up her arms and the hairs on the back of her neck were standing on end. She was still scared of the unstable man threatening, but this felt… different. “Moron. Get over here!” “You got it boss!” As Gold Leaf ran across, he was caught up in a burst of smoke from underneath the street. “The hell? Gold Leaf! You okay?” No answer. The leader gestured to two of the punks that weren’t holding Rainbow Dash down. “Go check on that idiot.” As the two approached the smoke, Gold Leaf flew forward into them, knocking them over. The smoke started to dissipate, revealing a large figure within the wreckage of the street. He was a tall man, over 8 feet, wearing some strange combination of leather and fur. His head was covered by a mask adorned with four antlers and a design making it appear that he had four eyes. He stood in the middle of the road, just staring at them. The leader wasn’t quite sure what to say about this. He pointed to Rainbow, “What? You her friend or something?” The figure remained silent and still. His eyes faintly glowing red. The leader got his knife ready for a fight. “If you have a problem, then get over here!” Not even a full second had passed before the figure was among the punks, staring the leader down. The leader’s legs had started to shake, but he couldn’t show fear. “Fine!” He moved his arm to stab the figure in the neck, but was stopped the large figure catching the leader’s arm mid swing. “Let go, you freak!” The large figure started to raise the punk up to stare him down at eye level. The red glow in his eyes becoming more pronounced. The figure squeezed the lead punk’s arm so much that he was forced to drop the knife. The leader tried to struggle out of the figure’s grip, but to no avail. “A little help here?!” The group jumped to their leader’s aid and Rainbow found her opportunity to escape. She knew using the super speed right now might cause undue attention and with the punks distracted, she didn’t need to use it. As she got herself together, she ran passed and addressed the figure in her escape, “Whoever you are, thanks a lot!” The figure watched as she ran off from the scene. The red glow growing brighter and a low growl escaping his throat. The figure dropped the punk and began to walk after her. As Rainbow ran off, she turned a corner and ran into someone at high speed, causing her to fall to the ground. “Ow… Sorry, I’m in a bit of a hurry.” She quickly got to her feet and looked at who she ran into. “I…” The figure that had just saved her was now standing in front of her. “How did you…?” Rainbow couldn’t finish her question as the figure lashed out at her. She ducked the attack and jumped away from the figure. “Okay… you weren’t saving me. You were after me and those jerks got in the way.” A low growl escaped the figure. It held out its hand toward Rainbow. “Gemstone…” “What?” The figure’s hand moved to point toward the gem Rainbow received at Camp Everfree. “Hand… over…” “Yeah… How about ‘no’?” Rainbow flew at him with blinding speed. She delivered a few hits before having to dodge an attack. “Got more where that came from.” She sped forward again. The figure endured each strike for a minute before he decided to deal with the nuisance keeping him from the gem. His mask chipped around his mouth and a crack began to form across the mask. Once it spread completely, it let out an inhuman roar. Rainbow’s speed seemed to disappear. Now she was only her usual speed. “W-what?” The figure stood above her. His mask fusing back together as though it never cracked. “Gemstone. Now!” Rainbow backed away a moment. “What on earth?” She wasn’t sure what it was, but she had a feeling that she had to escape. She turned quickly and ran at full speed away from the figure. She knew he was fast and when he moved in front of her, she was ready. She took a handful of dirt and threw it in his eyes. As the figure groaned, she made her escape. The figure wiped away the dirt and looked on toward his fleeing target. He could give chase, but too much time has passed. His roar unusable for the moment and her magic would return soon enough. She would alert her friends. He could fight one or two as he was… but, if there was one thing he learned from the siren’s mind, it’s that fighting all of them would be self-defeating. He turned away and walked off. More power was necessary before he could face them as a group.