//------------------------------// // Chapter 70: Blades // Story: The Equine Scrolls: SkyFiM // by FireOfTheNorth //------------------------------// Chapter LXX: Blades “There are those that say the Blades still exist around us, in hiding from the Blackwings.” Morning dawned soon after the Battle of Seclusion ended, but we weren’t ready to leave immediately. We stayed the day in the city, helping to rebuild the damage done in the battle, and resting in between. Jarl Radiance was surprisingly hospitable, allowing us to stay in the Blue Palace that night. General Cuirass and the other Imperial leaders left the city after signing a peace treaty. The Imperial navy was still locked in the ice, but a few support ships arrived to find the war over. Instead of dropping off fresh troops to crush Stormcloud’s rebellion, they carried the Legion’s leaders home to Unicornica. Ambassador Stratus had disappeared, along with her surviving Blackwing Justiciars. Whether they’d returned to the Pegasari Dominion, or were waiting above the clouds, nopony knew. Stormcloud was satisfied enough that they had left, and returned the shrine of Talhooves to its place in the Temple of the Equines. We left Seclusion the next day, departing for Whitetrot. Three Elements of Harmony were still out there, hidden within ancient earth pony ruins. The problem was, we had no idea which ancient earth pony ruins. There were so many, but it seemed we’d just have to search them one by one, guided by Faniar. We were passing the path that led up to where the Blackwing Embassy had once stood when Mephalda suddenly stopped and looked around worriedly. Before anypony could ask what was wrong, she shot up into the clouds. A moment later, she came plummeting down through the cloud cover. “Hide!” she yelled as she shot down toward us. Not questioning her, we dove behind some rocks surrounded by trees. Mephalda landed and swiftly joined us. A moment later a troop of pegasi suddenly shot down through the clouds, pulling up as they neared the path. Each and every one of them was dressed in the armor of the Blackwings. A whole army of Justiciars casually flew over the path to Dragon Bridge. “What are they doing?” Steadfast asked, “I’ve never seen so many on the move.” “I don’t know,” Mephalda whispered back, “It looks like they’re launching an attack, but on what?” “We’re going to find out,” I said. “How?” Mystic asked. “We follow them.” ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ We trailed the Blackwings as they continued south, eventually settling down on the ground and following the path. We had several close calls where we thought they’d spotted us, but we stayed out of sight for the most part, keeping them just within our view. Whenever another pony would appear on the path, the Blackwings would suddenly make themselves scarce, disappearing until they were certain they were alone again. As the sun set, we neared the town of Dragon Bridge. The Blackwings waited until nopony was around before sneaking into the now-abandoned Ponytus Occulatus outpost. Appearing that they intended to stay for the night, we headed to the town’s inn and rented some rooms. We would take shifts sleeping and waiting for the Blackwings to move again. My shift was second, during the darkest part of the night. That suited me just fine. I slipped on my Dark Brotherhoof armor as I stalked through the town, clinging to the shadows. It seemed that my strength had been sapped during our day of travels, but now it was restored as I enjoyed the night. There was no movement from the Ponytus Occulatus outpost, and I soon began to grow bored, despite the sudden influx of energy I felt. I got that strange feeling I’d had back on The Canteriah, that I was suddenly intensely hungry without reason. I tried to brush the feeling away; there was no reason to be hungry when I’d had a meal just a few hours before. Still, those few hours seemed like an eternity, as if I’d never fed before. I suddenly tasted blood in my mouth. I realized I’d been running my tongue over my teeth and had somehow cut it. Odd, that had never happened before. Carefully running my tongue over my teeth again, I felt two points protruding from my upper set of teeth. No, not points, fangs I realized as my vision began to fade. Around me the darkness became even more vibrant until it seemed like day, and the torches burned like miniature suns, blinding me. A reddish haze began to descend over my vision, blocking out the scorching lights and letting in only the darkness. I staggered over to a forge while I still maintained control. The blacksmith had left her bucket of water for cooling the metal out, and I could see my reflection within. Two fangs did indeed sprout from my jaw, and my eyes burned a furious red. My horn had lost its ridges, instead becoming smooth, curved, and wickedly sharp at the point. I realized what was happening. Back in High Falls Ruins, when that vampire had bitten me, I must not have gotten the poison out as I had thought. I was becoming a vampire! The desire to feed grew stronger, and I sucked up the blood in my own mouth, my tongue’s wound sealing itself as I did so. I began to lose focus on my surroundings as I stumbled away from the smithy. As a door opened somewhere in the town, I shrank back into the shadows, hiding in the darkness that accepted me. I watched hungrily as a mare trotted out of her home, a torch mounted on her back. Perhaps in any other situation I would have wondered why she was sneaking out at night, but right now the desire to feed overruled everything else. My body moved on its own, slipping out of the shadows and following the mare. I felt magic begin to crackle across my deformed horn, eventually shooting out at the unsuspecting filly. She dropped to the ground instantly, unconscious, but still alive. Perfect! Grabbing her with my magic, which seemed stronger than usual, I dragged her out of the street and behind the town’s inn. Batting the torch away, I bared my fangs and sank them into her neck. Blood spurted out, filling my mouth and I greedily sucked it down, satisfying the dark desires within me. As I finished my feeding, I withdrew my fangs from the mare’s neck and the wounds seemed to seal themselves. My vision began to return to normal, and I could feel my horn shifting to its correct shape. The fangs in my mouth drew back up until they were natural teeth again. My vision returned to that of a normal pony, and I was unable to see hardly anything in the dark. Everything felt much better, until I looked down and saw the mare lying unconscious and drained of life. Suddenly, the realization of what had just happened came crashing down on me. I had done this! I’d just killed a pony by sucking her life from her! I retched on the ground nearby, sickened by what had just happened. ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ I finished my shift of watching the Ponytus Occulatus outpost without incident, though I was numb the whole time. I was a monster, and there didn’t seem to be anything I could do about it. No moves by the Blackwings were made during my shift, and I turned the duty over to Mystic early in the morning. I returned to our rooms in the inn, trying to sleep and drive the memory of what I’d done from my mind. Somepony found the body of the deceased mare in the morning, causing a panic in Dragon Bridge as the townsponies put together a task force to search the nearby caves for the vampire who’d done this. Guilt sat heavily in my stomach as they rushed about, never suspecting that the culprit was among them. It was just like when I’d killed Golden Bullion, only this time I couldn’t keep it a secret. As long as I was a vampire, this was sure to happen again. I had to tell my friends, at least to warn them about their safety. But, how do you tell your friends that you’re an undead creature of the night who feasts on pony blood? As the townsponies spread out to search for vampires, Dragon Bridge became mostly abandoned. We stayed behind and were able to watch as the Blackwings left the Ponytus Occulatus outpost. Once more they headed south, and we followed. It was while we trotted along the path, trailing the Blackwings, that I decided to confess what had happened the night before. “I have something to confess,” I said as Mephalda settled back to the ground after watching the Blackwings from the air. “I’m the one who killed that mare last night,” I admitted when nopony said anything. “What? Why?” Mystic asked. “I couldn’t stop myself,” I said, recalling the night before, “It’s like I was a spectator just along for the ride.” “How long have you been a vampire?” Mephalda asked thoughtfully. “Only a few weeks, I think, since we were in High Falls Ruins,” I said, “Last night was the first time I fed though.” “All right,” Mephalda said, “It’s a good thing we caught it early. Maybe we can find a way to cure it.” “Really?” I asked. “There has to be some way out there to cure vampirism,” she said, “If there is, we’ll find it.” “Until then, it’s probably best if we go our separate ways,” I said, dreading the decision. As long as my friends were near me they were in danger, and I didn’t want to risk feeding on them as well. “No way,” Steadfast protested, “We’re sticking with you until we lick this thing.” “It’s too risky,” I said, “What if I end up killing you?” “We’ll just have to be careful,” Mephalda said, pulling me close with a wing, “We can get through this, and we’re going to do it together.” “Thanks,” I said, “I really didn’t want to send you away, but I didn’t see any other option.” “There’s always a way,” Mystic said, joining Mephalda and me, “We’re not going to desert you, no matter what.” “I hate to cut in on all the feels,” Steadfast said, “But the Blackwings are gone.” “What?” I said, looking south at where they’d been a moment ago. “They took off into the clouds,” Steadfast explained as we searched for where all the pegasi had gone. “Do you think they spotted us?” Mystic asked. “No,” I said, looking out at the nearby mountain with an Akhoofiri fortress built on the slopes, “I think they’re reached their destination.” ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ ◊◊◊ It appeared the Blackwings had finally decided to put an end to the Blades. The Blades were great warriors, but the last time we were here we hadn’t seen that many of them. Without help, the army of Blackwings would easily overpower them. We galloped as fast as we could to the back exit into Sky Sorcerer Temple, intent on warning the Blades of what was coming. We were galloping up to the entrance when a Blade suddenly dropped down from above out heads and blocked our path, two katanas held in his magical grasp. “Halt!” he ordered, “What brings you to Sky Sorcerer Temple?” “Blackwings are coming!” Steadfast blurted out, and the guard’s eyes grew suddenly large. “You do not jest?” he asked before seeing that we were dead serious, “Right this way.” He led us up into Sky Sorcerer Temple, disarming the traps the Blades had set after our last unexpected visit. “Master Rufius,” the Blade guard said as we entered the main sanctuary of Sky Sorcerer Temple, bowing to the forest green unicorn, “We need to leave immediately. Blackwings are on their way.” “And why would we abandon our finest fortress?” the leader of the Blades said, trotting up to us, “What are a few Blackwings?” “It’s more than a few,” I spoke up, “It seems every Blackwing in Horizon is preparing to attack this place. “How many?” he asked. “Nearly forty,” answered Mephalda, who’d had a better chance to count them. “Almost triple our numbers,” Rufius said, “But I’m afraid we still cannot flee, not while so many Blackwings wait outside to snatch us up.” “You intend to stay and fight?” Scarlet Shores asked, “No offense Master, but against this many Blackwings, it seems suicidal to do so.” “I know,” Rufius said, “But we have no other choice. If today is the end of the Blades, let us make it a day to be remembered.” “Who is with me?” he asked, raising a sword to the ceiling. Cheers went up from the assembled Blades, but abruptly ended as an arrow flew from one of the dark corners of the ceiling and struck Rufius in the shoulder. The room lit up as the Blades cast fireballs into the darkness. The Blackwing that had been hiding in the corner had nowhere to run as she was struck by magical flame and was consumed. The Blades carried Rufius away, protecting him as they put on their full battle armor. Light glinted off the silvery armor as the Blades shot artificial lights into the air, illuminating the dark room and making it impossible for assassins to hide in the shadows. Soon Rufius was patched up and wearing his own battle armor. We waited for the rest of the Blackwings to appear, some of the Blades holding wards over themselves. There were only a few ways the Blackwings could enter the room, through narrow passages that were closely guarded. At last the storm broke, and the Blackwings came pouring through each of the entrances simultaneously. The Blade archers struck down the first few that made it through the doors, but were soon overwhelmed by the tide of Blackwings. Mystic and I fired ice spikes at the pegasi as they flapped into the room, seeking out Blade targets. Magic arced through the air, and the fight devolved into chaos. I Shouted, and time slowed to a crawl around me. Now I could see clearly what was going on and selected a target. A Blackwing with a battleaxe was about to crush Rufius, and I rushed over, knocking the blade from the air with Dawnbreaker. Time returned to normal, and the Blackwing crashed into me, sending us both rolling across the floor. She recovered first, flaring her wings and sending hidden blades flying at me. I covered my face with my foreleg, deflecting the blades as they struck my Twilight Armor. I sent a blast of fire into the Blackwing’s face before swinging my sword at her head. She blocked Dawnbreaker with blades strapped to her forelegs, swinging it down toward the ground. I drew my Changeling axe as she swung a foreleg at my face. I hooked the blade around her foreleg, cutting into her Blackwing armor and holding her blade at bay. With Dawnbreaker I held off her other blade, keeping her from striking me. <> I Shouted as she tried to throw more blades at me with her wings. My Shout sent dragon flame washing over her body, igniting her. She jerked away as her body caught fire, and I was forced to remove my Changeling war axe from her foreleg to keep it from being taken from me. The Blackwing stumbled backwards, crashing into a Blade who ran her through. Another Blackwing swooped down at me from behind, and I whirled around, stopping her sword with my own. I drew the Blade of Hoofingar as well to assist me as I held her off. As I swung Dawnbreaker around toward her neck, she threw blades at me from her wings. A few managed to slice across my face before I was able to block them. I blinked the blood out of my eye as I swung Dawnbreaker around at the Blackwing’s head. My blade struck her helmet, tearing it off her head as I jerked the sword upward. She stabbed at me with her sword, her blade slipping off the crystalline armor. <> I Shouted, wounding the Blackwing with my Voice and draining her strength away. Still, she was able to block my strike as I swung Dawnbreaker down toward her head. The Blade of Hoofingar sank into her neck, but she swiftly batted it away with her hoof and drank down a potion of healing to repair the wound. As she did so, I took the opportunity to do the same, healing the cuts on my face. I shot lightning at the Blackwing as I held off her sword strikes with Dawnbreaker. As my bolts hit her armor they electrified it, sending the Blackwing spasming to the floor, her sword dropping from her mouth. I impaled her with Dawnbreaker before moving on. Looking around, I saw many more Blackwings than I’d expected. Apparently the troop on the ground wasn’t the only group headed for Sky Sorcerer Temple. More were pouring through the door at the moment, firing bows at the Blade archers, who weren’t able to dodge the deadly shafts. What I would give to be able to use my Storm Call here. <<>> I Shouted, settling on Frost Breath instead. Many of the flying Blackwings became coated in ice as they flew through my breath. They fell from the air, shattering on the ground. The rest of the Blackwings that entered after that stayed on the ground. Still, there were a few of the pegasi up in the air, and Mephalda was busy flying from one to another, using her Blackwing blades to carve through their armor, dropping their bodies to the ground. I dodged one and rushed over to help Steadfast, who was trying to hold off a Blackwing with a greatsword. The pegasus had gotten in several strikes on my earth pony friend, and he was badly wounded, walking with a limp on a bloodied hoof. <<>> I Shouted as the Blackwing prepared to finish Steadfast off. I shot in, knocking him aside and taking his place. The greatsword struck my Twilight Armor, bruising me underneath and shrieking as metal met crystal. With Dawnbreaker, I knocked the Blackwing’s greatsword aside and shot a blast of fire at the stallion. He jumped back, somersaulting through the air before swooping overhead and landing behind me. His greatsword struck my back, but the armor held. I swung Dawnbreaker around while turning myself, bringing my flames around toward my assailant. As the fire hit him, it simply passed over a magical sheen. Apparently the Blackwing had something that blocked fire. I gave up on using my spell and instead drew my Changeling axe to augment Dawnbreaker. Swinging my blades in opposite directions, I trapped the Blackwing’s greatsword between them. I tried to twist it from his grasp, but instead found him pushing my blades away and going for my heart. <> I Shouted, and his greatsword flew from his mouth, disappearing in the crowd of fighting ponies. I already had my blades up to deflect as he shot blades from his wings at me. Using his armored hooves, he pushed my blades aside launched himself toward me, using his wings to propel him. I was knocked over onto the ground with the Blackwing on top of me, his wing blades extended and pointed at my neck. As he prepared to strike, Steadfast came galloping in, knocking the Blackwing off of me with his warhammer. Before the pegasus could recover, he brought his warhammer down on his head, splattering the insides across the floor. “Thanks for the save,” I told him, rising from the ground. “Thanks yourself,” he said, “Come on, I think we’re almost through this.” Looking around, I saw that he might be right. No new Blackwings were entering the room, and only a few still flew around without opposition. I shot a lightning bolt at one up in the air, knocking her down before charging toward where she landed. She had lost her weapon in the fall, but quickly snatched up one of the Blades’ katanas, blocking me as I swung Dawnbreaker down at her. Using her wings to push herself up, she got to her hooves and advanced toward me. I drew the Blade of Hoofingar as well, swinging it down toward her foreleg. As she blocked my ebony blade with her katana, I swung Dawnbreaker around toward her neck. A blade thrown from her wing knocked it off course, causing me to catch her helmet instead, tearing it off. I brought Dawnbreaker back down swiftly onto her head, before she could react. Her skull split and she fell to the ground, dropping the katana she’d been attempting to use to stop my blade. I ducked down as a blast of lightning shot over my head, striking Mystic’s ward. One of the Blackwings was holding a staff in her mouth, and charged another blast, firing it at my unicorn friend. The lightning skittered over her ward as Mystic advanced toward the pegasus. She began to shoot lightning of her own at her opponent, but the pegasus dodged, overcharging her staff as she weaved around the deadly bolts. The Blackwing released the magic built up at the end of her staff, sending a massive blast of lightning at Mystic, breaking her ward. Before the Blackwing could strike again, I fired off ice spikes at her, one of them hitting her in the eye. While the Blackwing was blinded, Mystic fired off blasts of lightning, striking the pegasus. As the energy arced over her armor, she flipped through the air, coming to rest with smoke leaving the gaps in her armor. A final Blackwing remained in the room, and was struck down by two of the Blades at once. A few of the Blades galloped off through the exits to make sure no more Blackwings were waiting, reporting back that the attack was over. We’d won, but at great cost. Of the fourteen Blades, six were now dead, including Master Rufius. Scarlet Shores was now Master of the Blades, in Horizon at least. After the Blades finished separating the bodies of their own from the bodies of the enemy, she stood on the table to make an announcement. “Brothers and sisters!” she spoke, catching their attention, “Today we have won a great victory, but the cost was too high! The Blackwings dared think that they could strike us in our own fortress and destroy us, but we have proved them wrong! We will not allow their aggression to go unanswered! Tonight we shall bury our dead and mourn their loss, but tomorrow we shall strike the Blackwings’ fortress!” Level Up Health: 340 Stamina: 330 Magicka: 320 New Perk: Axe Master [Light Weapons] -- Any attacks with a war axe now do extra bleeding damage due to your technique. New Quest: Blades and Blackwings -- Travel with the Blades to attack the Blackwings’ last fortress in Horizon.