The Paladins of Light-Prologue

by Cobalt Bristle

2. The Darkness Rises

Author's Note:

Hey, look at this: another chapter. Sorry for the delay and my terrible writing style.
Suggestions? Ways to make this chapter and others better? Don't be afraid to tell me about it. Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

P.S. I went through about 7 different versions of this story and this is the one I settled on. The ending isn't the best, but I tried to make the chapter at least semi interesting.

Sandrick needed to get ready for the first training of the new paladins. There was only one problem: he hadn't seen a weapon anywhere on this confounded planet. The unicorns would have the closest thing to helping with creation, but it wouldn't work too well. If a weapon is magically generated, it tends to break easier. Sandrick knew the consequences of this firsthand. Even using magic to form metals into swords didn't seem to work out. He thought he may have to push the date from next week to even further down the line, but then an idea popped into his head. K'rand had mentioned that Kirldan and Earth had humans, which meant there was bound to be intense conflict on both planets.

He was starting to consider going to Kirldan, but there were just a few things he had to do before he went. He had no idea if time still passed when he changed dimensions. For all he knew, it could still be the same moment on Riyara as when he left. Although it seemed very likely that time still passed when he was in different dimensions, he wasn't positive. Because of this, he had to make sure that some progress was being made with training Paladins on this world. Because of this, he needed to get someone competent in fighting to help. As he was pondering this, a prismatic missile knocked him in the side, causing him to be slammed to the ground.

The pony that had landed on him immediately jumped up and apologized. She didn't introduce herself, instead opting to get out of there as soon as she could. The rainbow maned mare took off in a flash of color, leaving the commander winded and out of breath. He pulled out the ring and decided to get someone from Kirldan to help sort this predicament out.

Sandrick put his hoof over the small ring and took a deep breath to prepare himself. The last time this happened to him, he lost one of the only friends he dared to hold dear. Letting out the breath he was holding, Sandrick uttered "Kirldan" just as K'rand had told him. At first, he didn't think it did anything. Then, everything went black. A moment later, Sandrick opened his eyes and saw a small gathering of people, actual people, going about their day. He then clutched his head at the sudden pain.

I'll never get used to these headaches Sandrick thought to himself.

Finding he was again human, the paladin got to his feet and was a bit fazed by the strange feeling. Not only was he on two legs again, his armor had returned to him somehow. Not wanting to question this strange technology, Sandrick decided to see how different this world was from his.

Seeing that he was in the middle of a road, Sandrick decided it would be best to see if it went anywhere helpful. After a couple hours, he saw what looked to be a large city of some kind in the distance. The stone walls surrounding it looked ancient, some parts of it missing towards the top. A large structure could be seen in the distance, standing taller than the wall surrounding most of the city. Using his reserved energy, Sandrick broke into a sprint, covering the distance in a few minutes.

Finally reaching civilization, the worn soldier walked through the open drawbridge and into the city. There were several small buildings in the section he was walking through, most of them being shops. Sandrick was tempted to just buy weapons and get out of there, but he decided to see who exactly ruled this place. K'rand had said that the ruler of this land was "literally the devil", but he wasn't sure what to think of that until he met this pon, er, person.

Deciding to check up on the palace before he went back to Equestria, Sandrick walked through the streets of the strange city until he came upon a small building with a man hammering over an anvil. He walked up to the strange man, only to have him put the metal rod he was working on in a bucket of water and head inside the shop.

What Sandrick saw when he walked into the shop was something quite promising. Swords, spears, bows, and other weapons of destruction were on display in varying designs. The person who was outside not too long ago was pulling a sword down from a holder mounted to the wall. When he noticed Sandrick, his face took in a bit of an annoyed expression and he went back to his work.

For a moment, Sandrick stayed quiet, thinking about the one problem he had. He still had some currency they would use back on Riyara, but the only thing he had that might have any value here would be his armor and weapon. He looked at the various weapons on display and then back at the man who was still replacing displays.

"So, uh, how much would it be to get a few weapons here?" Sandrick asked him, trying to calm his heart beat while doing so.

"Sorry, civilian. This place is for the stocking of the Blade Empire's military. Unless you're a legionnaire or have prior approval from the general, I can't sell you anything." When he finished speaking, he went into the back room and Sandrick heard a wheel turn and sparks started to fly from it.

Well this worked out real well. If I have any chance in getting anything, I guess I'll have to talk to this 'general' he mentioned, Crion thought to himself.

The large palace that was on the other side of town looked like a good as place as any for Sandrick to start. If the general wasn't training anyone, they could be in the palace or at the barracks. Since the paladin didn't have any leads towards a barracks, he settled on walking up to the palace. As soon as he reached the top of the steps, he hesitated to open the doors. There were no guards around, but he could still be committing a crime by walking in unannounced. In the end, he decided he was overthinking it.

The inside of the palace looked, well, regal. There was a white spiral staircase on either side of the room that led up to the next floor. There was a type of rug he was standing on that was black with a red diamond design running all along it. At the end of said rug sat 3 thrones, only one of them currently being filled. Atop the middle one sat a muscular male wearing what looked to be a type of leather armor.

While walking towards the noble, Sandrick was surprised to learn that there were almost no guards in sight, the only two being next to the doors on the inside. When he was a few feet from the thrones, he heard the noble say something, a bit too soft for him to hear the exact words. but he heard him speak nonetheless. Then, he spoke directly aimed at Sandrick.

"Welcome, Sandrick Fiercestorm. I see you were able to escape Riyara." The voice of the noble had multiple tones to it, making Sandrick uneasy just listening.

"How do you know my name?" Sandrick shouted out to him, only to get a laugh directed his way.

"We know everything about you, commander. We know you escaped to Equestria with K'rand, and we sent agents out looking for you. I am one such agent," It replied, leaping off the throne and landing a few inches from Sandrick.

"We know why you came here, and how you plan to defeat the shades. Unfortunately for you, this world has already been taken by us," the shade declared, staring into Sandrick's eyes.

Sandrick drew his sword, readying for a fight. When he was about to strike, the shade was quicker. A single blow sent the sword flying from the soldier's hand. As he ran to retrieve it, he was sliced across the leg by one of the shade's guards. He fell to the ground, his leg creating a small pool of blood underneath him.

"You insolent fool! Two of the three leaders of this world were defeated and turned into shades by us. The only one who can help you is never coming back!" After speaking, the shade went to plunge its sword into Sandrick, but the blow never came.

Looking up, Sandrick noticed an arrow firmly embedded in the heart of the shade. A glass shattering scream pierced the silence in the throne room, coming from the creature of darkness. Eventually, the shade was gone. In its place was a normal human, shallow breathing coming from him.

The guards looked up in shock at what had transpired, and then rushed forward to attack Sandrick. They never made it. Two more arrows found their mark in the guards. One was hit in the heart, the other the head. The one who was hit in the heart had a similar effect as what happened to the leader, but the one hit in the head just poofed out of the room. The last thing Sandrick remembered before losing consciousness was being picked up and brought out of the castle, his carrier running at full speed.