> Equestria: Beyond the Barrier > by Korten > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Prologue: The Day It Began > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE DAY IT BEGAN “Edward, here you stand accused, of killing Countess Adriana,” spoke the official who stands next to Edward who just had a bag pulled off of his head exposing him to the audience of citizens who stand before him with roaring anger. However despite being close to death Edward couldn’t help but smirk. He glanced at the official in black with a top hat, “Oh, blame me for the killing and not the hired assassin?” The official didn’t reply and continue to read out the statement, “Under the jurisdiction of the Elder Court, you’re to be executed.” Edward was dumbfounded at this revelation, “What? So no trial? Nothing? Just going to kill me without allowing me to make my case of innocence?” The official eyed him and then motioned towards the executioner who slammed his fist into Edwards’s head, strong enough that Edward spat out some blood on the wooden floor. Then the official continued, “We all mourn the loss of the late Countess Adriana, so may Edward burn in the eight hells! Let us rid of this trash!” The crowd roared at this and raised arms, each of them screaming even louder than before for Edward to be killed, to have a slow and painful death. The executioner pushed down on Edwards shoulder and he fell to the ground on both knees. He then saw the hulking blade the executioner now hung over him with a harsh shadow on Edward. However through the cheering and the yelling suddenly came a loud bang noise that silenced the area. Edward looked over and watched as the executioner dropped his blade to the floor and fell over with blood spurting out of their head. The crowd that was once yelling for his death was now fleeing for their lives as a battle just a head broke out. “What’s going on!” the official yelled out. “What’s going on,” he tried to repeat but then was cut off when he too was pierced by a bullet and fell to the ground dead. Edward then saw just who was attacking, their clothing dirty and messy, but a distinct blue color over their clothing to symbolize some sense of camaraderie. It was pirates. One of them, a slimmer figure ran up the steps to where Edward stood still bonded and got behind him. His hands were free as the pirate used a knife to cut the holds. “Thank you, but why save me?” he questioned the pirate. “Nothing personal, think of you as a… secondary objective, optional,” the pirate professed. It was clear that his savior was in fact a female, not that it mattered much. Not that gender truly factored in when it came to pirates in Yandora. Compared to the other pirates she wore a more unique uniform with various tools hanging out and a large traveler bag hanging on her side. “Thanks, that makes me feel much better,” he said with a hint of sarcasm but the pirate just ignored it and ran off leaving the escaped prisoner alone. Edward wasn’t exactly sure to do with his new found freedom, he couldn’t return home, that would be the last place he would be welcomed. With not much else to lose Edward ran after the female pirate who had ran into a nearby alley. He was finding it hard to catch up with her as she quickly outpaced her and was using her environment to jump over obstacles. “Hey hold on!” he yelled out hoping that she could hear him over all of the commotion. Edward jumped onto a hill of crates and managed to jump at the top and over a wooden fence; he landed on the ground and rolled forward and back into a sprint. Despite his calls the woman continued to run. He then realized exactly where they were heading, the local military fort that was near the execution ground. Edward tried to piece exactly why the pirates would attack the execution and then have one of them escapes to the fort. Unless… Then it hit him, they would bring their forces to the ground to square off against the pirates, only for a few individuals to sneak into the fort and take what they want. The large fort was soon upon Edward as he noticed that the woman had slowed down. Finally, he thought to himself as he brought himself up and over a rock ledge that exited out to the foot of the fort. A small moat in-between the two of them and the fort. She put her hand to her lip and weighed her options until she noticed the panting of another behind her and finally realized that Edward had been following. “You, why are you here?” she said as she turned and pointed at him. “I thought…” he said drawing a blank and she just looked at him irritated and waved her arm for him to just speak. “I would help you.” She looked up at the tall fort walls and then back at him, “Help me? You don’t even know what I am doing! I should gut you right here and make sure that you don’t blow this whole operation!” He tilted his head, “Operation?” She waved her hand, “There is no point in explaining anything to you.” With that she continued to just ignore him and looked and spotted a tree and from there traced a path over and up the wall through various small crevice that were in the wall. She nodded to herself and ran over to the tree and Edward followed behind. As soon as she reached the tree and made a quick run up the side of it and grabbed onto a branch and hoisted up. From there she stood and leapt to another branch and moved up the tree. Edward just watched in amazement. Then he felt a lump in his throat as she leapt away from the tree, over the moat and towards the fort’s wall. He assumed she would fall into the moat but she grabbed onto a small crevice he spotted. “No way in hells would I be able to do that,” he said as he watched as she climbed up the side of the fort. With not much else he could do Edward just stood near the tree and waited with bated breath as he waited for her to come back, at least he hoped she came back down this side. Suddenly he heard some voices and turned and spotted some guards heading his direction so he quickly positioned himself behind the tree and let them pass by as they headed towards the execution ground. After they passed he saw a rope fall from the top of the fort and shortly after the female from before came down sliding and as she got close to the ground she swung and leapt into the air and onto the ground near Edward and he just smiled. “That was amazing!” he praised her as she stood up and slapped her gloved hands together as if to bask in the praise. However it shortly ended when he heard voices from afar. “Get her! She has it!” He didn’t exactly know what “it” was but it was clear the guards would be upon them soon. “Edward, right? You want to join up?” she said and he nodded in agreement. “Then keep up or I’ll just keep going.” Edward just nodded and she ran ahead and he followed after, he could hear the footsteps of the guard’s heavy boots on the grassy floor. They dropped back into the town and continued at a brisk pace, going through alley ways to escape the trail of the guards. It was then that Edward noticed that the noise of battle from earlier was gone. “They finished already?” she spoke to herself. It was then that he noticed that they were closing in on the docks. Suddenly however a group of guard rushed out in front of them and held up their swords and rushed at them. Edward with no weapon just turned and tried to run, however she did not. Pulling out her two daggers she began to dance with the guards. One rushed at her and she dodged with ease and knelt down as she pierced her blades into an exposed spot on the armor. Another guard moved up to aid his comrade however she brought up her daggers and caught the sword in the air. She smirked as she used her strength to break away, leaving the opponent open for the kill. This fight wasn’t difficult for her; she had fought people before with far greater strength and skills then these bog standard guards. Getting up close she stabbed rapidly however stopped when she noticed another blade coming down from her flank and she jumped back to escape it. Edward stared, mesmerized by her fighting ability, could only help but wonder if he could ever learn to fight with such finesse. But then he noticed how a guard was moving to flank her as she fought with another guard who was having a hard time blocking her strikes. Edward knowing he could do at least something rushed in and grabbed hold of the guard. “Let go!” the man demanded Edward to do but the now free-man would not let go. The pirate finished off her opponent and turned to see the guard still being held by Edward. “Good job,” she said as she wasted no time putting one dagger into the face of her enemy. She didn’t need to say anything as they both left the scene and soon enough they reached the docks. It was there that she spotted her ship, their home base, away from the dock and firing cannons at the ships that aim to take her down. The dock is ablaze with activity with ships moving out to stop the pirates. The two are spotted and they begin to run away from their pursuers knowing this wasn’t the place to get into another fight. A voice calls out, “Neva! Over here!” They turn and spot a female pirate next to a boat with some other pirates also on it. Neva? So that’s your name. Edward thought to himself as he followed Neva towards the boat, the pirate on the boat fired at some guards who got close and covered Edward and Neva. The female pirate on the boat didn’t question when Edward got on the boat alongside Neva and as soon as they were ready, the boat began to move out. “Edward,” the unknown female spoke to him over the noise of explosions and gun fires. “Did Neva persuade you into joining us?” Neva put her hand on Edward’s shoulder, “Persuade him? No he did that all on his own Verna, in fact he followed me after being freed, actually managed to also aid me in a fight.” “That I did,” he admitted. Verna smiled, “Thanks for helping my sis.” “Yeah, no problem, it’s the least I could do,” he said humbly. The boat managed to dodge any attempts at being sunk, with aid from the pirate ship firing at any attackers. Edward marveled at the pirate ship as they got close, a large ship that could stand up to anything that attacks it. Main reason why the pirates still attack places, no one can stop them. As they got close to the ship, the boat began to get hoisted up on the side. Neva noticed Edward seemed a bit startled, now there was a bunch of pirates. “Let’s get out of here!” Verna said. “Best not to outstay out welcome, eye lads?” “That is good Verna,” a deep voice boomed from the crowd of pirates, an older pirate looking much like the typical pirate captain, large hat with a bandana on the top, an old but strong overcoat, white shirt, and a red sash. “Shan’t stay here and die or did the mission fail?” “Dad,” Neva said but her father held up his hand and then she continued. “Right… Captain, I am happy to inform you that I have retrieved it.” He smiled, “You did then? Then there is no reason to stay.” Their father, the Captain began to command his crew around, and before Edward knew it the ship was on its way leaving behind a town ablaze with fires and corpses. The breeze picked up and the pirate ship was gone before any guard ship could catch up, as quickly as the pirate ship arrived, it vanished. ****************************** WESTERN SIDE – WESTERN KEEP – COMMANDERS OFFICE – 1400 Hours “Commander, the vault was raided… Object 12T was taken…” the guard professed. A man in a black and golden trench coat shook the glass of wine in his hand and took a sip, “This is problematic… And how exactly did you let this happen.” “A girl,” the guard explained. The Commander turned, “You’re telling me a girl was able to get into our vault?” “She… She knew exactly how to get past our defenses, she knew exactly what to go for, Commander, I don’t believe this was a coincidence.” The Commander put his glass on his desk and turned towards the guard showing his very striking face and eye-patch which struck a sense of fear into his enemies, “Are you suggesting that this pirate attack was… planned?” “If we take into account by this girl and her knowledge of Object 12T, then yes, there is no other way they could have known unless this was planned.” Suddenly the doors shot opened and Count Levohan, wearing a lavish blue and gold coat with a white waistcoats, stepped in before the Commander could respond to the theory, “Commander I demand an explanation!” “And I shall give one,” the Commander said as he sat down. “Today at 0900 hours just before Prisoner Edward was to be executed for killing your wife, pirates attacked the town…” “I know that Commander, don’t bullshit around, I want an explanation for why your forces were utterly useless against the pirates,” Levohan said with such ferocity that even the Commander was taken back. The Commander folded his arms, “Well Count, we have been doing a bit of an investigation and we have reason to believe that this attack was planned, not just a random attack.” Levohan rolled his eyes, “Don’t dodge the question, regardless of it being planned, why were your forces useless!? You have quite the record… You’re making me second judge making you the Commander of our forces.” The Commander stood back up and straightened his coat, “Count please calm down! Let’s not… Get hasty here. I understand your feelings, and I apologize on the behalf of our forces. But Count, you have to understand, these pirates are not so easy to put down. They’re part of Captain Anderson’s crew.” Even Levohan recognized the name, “Captain Anderson… That bastard.” “Yeah, just by his name alone you should realize why his forces were quite difficult to take care of.” Levohan calmed down a bit, “Famous Captain Anderson… Former Commander of our forces, however… Richard, you need to train your forces better. I’ll increase your budget, but not again. Let this happen again and your head will be on a pike.” The Count turned and walked towards the doors and said one last thing, “And one more thing Commander, the East may attack us any day now, we can’t let our forces be weak, not even against Captain Anderson. Now good day Commander…” Richard let out a heavy sigh as he sat down and looked back at the guard who had stayed silent, “Count Levohan, quite the man, isn’t he?” The guard nodded, “Yes Commander. What shall we do about Object 12T?” “Object 12T… Unknown object found in an excavation site… It’s sad to say that we may not have anything we can do.” “May I suggest we go after their ship?” Richard let out a chuckle, “Go after Anderson’s ship? Send troops to their deaths? No, we shall not do that. The only thing we can do is wait and prepare, whatever he stole, if it’s used against us could be deadly, I should see it that our defenses are better prepared. Here….” The Commander began to write on a piece of parchment and then gestured for the guard to come. “Give this to Ivoran, once he reads it he will know what to do, double time it,” he stressed. The guard took the parchment and saluted, “Sir!” before turning and running out of the room, Richard turned and looked out his window once again towards the town below. “This… has brought some unforeseen complications…” ****************************** The ship had been traveling far enough that no one could pursue. One thing Edward noticed was that the ship was getting closer and closer to the barrier. A large… magical field as most described it that prevented anyone from leaving. Since even before the East and West were formed the barrier existed to keep all of them from leaving. The barriers’ light purple color glow glittered across the sky and shined as the sun rays hit it. He had never been this close before so the site was almost frightening considering its scale as if it could come down at any moment and crush all beneath it. He heard much about it, that no one could move through the barrier nor could anyone break it as it shrugged off anything slugged at it. Many attempts had been made, but despite that the ship was clearly going towards it despite no islands being in the vicinity. Edward noticed the Captain of the ship approach him and asked with a gentle smile, “Edward, so I heard you wish to join my crew.” Edward nodded, “That is correct Sir.” The Captain looked to his daughter, Neva, who had stayed with Edward since they got on the ship, “So just to make it clear again, Neva, you vouch for this man?” “He aided me in a fight he had no stake in, he could have attacked me and tried to take it for himself but he didn’t,” she explained again to her father. Captain Anderson narrowed his eyes and looked at Edward suspiciously, “How do I know he isn’t some sort of spy?” Edward was quick to deny this, “I was on death row, I was going to die, and if not for you guys I would be. This would be one hell of a ruse if I was a spy, a huge margin of chance of failure.” Verna, who had followed Anderson, put her two cents in, “Isn’t… Well… Isn’t that what a spy would say?” “Verna! Do you honestly think-,” Neva said before getting cut off by the Captain. “She only be fooling you Neva, anyway it seems this mix blood will be joining us,” the Captain decided. “Oh yeah I hadn’t really noticed,” Verna said. “You’re a mix blood Edward.” Edward knew this topic was going to come up, “Yeah, I’m a mix blood, one parent from the East, the other from the West. Can’t say which is which because I have no clue… Will I being one cause tension between me and the others?” The Captain folded his arms and leaned against the ships railing, “We got crew from the East on this very ship… But I won’t deny, a mix blood is a rare thing and the few that we encountered were met with hostility with some of the crew.” Before Edward could say anything the Captain continued, “But ya got Neva backing you up, I don’t think anyone here will mess with ya.” The Captain held out his hand and Edward took and shook it, “I welcome thee to my crew. Glad to have you.” “Thank you Captain,” Edward spoke. “Now, onto other business,” the Captain said as he turned towards Neva. “Take out that object, let me grasp it.” Neva opened her bag and pulled out an object covered in a cloth, she pulled off the cloth revealing a strange looking device, similar to a gun but it looked like it was made out of stone and had glowing lines going across it among other things. Much bigger than any gun the Captain had on himself. “This is it! Neva you did great!” the Captain said as he was mesmerized by the object he noticed it was also quite heavy to hold needing both hands to keep it from falling. Edward realized that this was it, which had been referenced. The Captain sensing Edwards curiosity decided to indulge it, “This Edward, is an object of unclear origins, predates all of us by thousands of years. We learnt about this during an excavation on an island where we found ruins in the very same style as this. However nothing like this was in there, just a scroll written in some language we had never seen before.” “It took two years but eventually Verna deciphered it and we learned of its power, the power to disrupt barriers,” he said and saw Edwards’s eyes open wide. “That’s right… We plan to escape this prison.” “Escape..?” Edward said. “Do we even know what’s out there?” The Captain smiled greatly, “Nope. Doesn’t mean that we’re not going to go and see!” “So we’ve become explorers?” Neva jokingly said. Her father chuckled, “We maybe for the time being. We have lots of food and fresh water in reserves, you know that. Been planning this for… Well- since Verna managed to find out what this thing does, been trying to find it ever since.” Edward decided to inquire further about the object, “So then why was it in the town’s Keep?” “Simple, the Western Forces had discovered it before we had; it was in the small section of land between the East and West, No Man’s Land,” the Captain said as he stood up. “Now I can’t stay and chat, there is much to prepare and it won’t be long till we reach the Barrier. Good meeting you Edward, and once again, welcome to my crew.” Edward couldn’t help but smiling at that, for much of his life living in the Count and Countess’ Manor he hadn’t gotten much respect or any good feelings towards him from either the Count or the Maids, although the Countess would from time to time grace him with her presence and actually talk to him as a person and not just a mix blood. “Come on Edward,” Neva said. “I’ll show you around the ship.” Edward nodded and followed Neva, and Verna followed Anderson to help him prepare. ****************************** They arrived at the barrier late into the night, by this point the moon shined down upon the sole ship and the barriers glow was intensified by the darkness. He had to admit, there was something surreal about the barrier that didn’t really kick in until he was almost close enough to touch it, not that he dared to in fear of what would happen if he did. Due to the glow and it being night, the entire ship was covered in the pinkish-purple glow. “Is everything set up?” he heard the Captain behind him. Edward turned and saw that the gun-looking object was not situated on a sort of podium facing towards the barrier; it was on the front of the ship, just high enough to not hit the ship. Verna looked over the set up once more and rose a thumb up, “Everything is set Dad, and we’re ready.” The Captain folded his arms and looked out towards the Barrier, “Good, now as we know, this disruption wont’ stay for very long, so as soon as shoots we need to move or risk the fear of it closing in on the ship. Everyone got that?” “Yes Captain!” everyone said, Edward included. The Captain always loved hearing that, he stood proud in front of his crew and knew that they had worked hard to get to this point and now it was time to get the pay off. “Damn right, now let’s get this party rolling, Verna, shall you do the honors?” Verna bowed, “It shall be my honor.” She pulled out the scroll that had the instructions to work the machine, it looked simple but it was anything but. First she looked over her translations and then began to work. Pressing a red stone on the side of the gun, suddenly the lights turned red, and there was a slight hissing noise as the front of the gun began to expand outwards. Moving to the other side of the gun she then began to turn a blue stone which then resulted in a humming noise and the gun began to glow. “Nearly done,” she said as she got to the back of the gun, and then she took a small orb from her pocket and placed it inside the gun, once more the lights changed this time from blue to white. “Captain, the Barrier Disruptor is set, ready to fire on your command.” The Captain shot forth his hand, “Fire!” Verna put her hands on both handles and aimed the gun, and began to hold down the triggers. The glow began to get brighter and brighter then when it was nearly blinding a large beam of energy shot forth from the gun, enough force that Verna had to hold her ground in fear of letting go. Like the sound of glass shattering, the area where the beam fired shattered and a large hole in the barrier was opened revealing the other side. Verna let go of the triggers and the beam stopped nearly instantly. “Get a move on!” The Captain yelled out and shortly the ship was sailing through the barrier. Edward and Neva looked at awe as they pass through the barrier, however it didn’t take long to notice something strange after they passed through. Edward was the first to speak it, “Neva… the barrier, on this side its invisible…” The only part of the barrier that could be seen where the hole was opened, around the edges the color of the barrier could be seen, however as it extended outwards they saw nothing but open sea as if the barrier isn’t there. “So what, it can’t be seen on this side but it can be on our side?” “Look, the barrier is reforming!” Edward stated the obvious as the barrier began to reform as if it was a wound. Just as it finally closed all together the glow went away and there were no more signs of the barrier. “This… So it is magic…” Neva looked at him curiously, “What did you think it was?” Edward looked embarrassed, “Well- It’s just… I mean… We don’t have magic…” “Look at it like this, it glowed, was mystical, and nothing we could do could destroy it, outside something equally mystical. I guess it could have been advanced technology, but what kind of technology could do something like that?” Edward had to admit nothing scientifically came to mind that could equal the scale of the barrier and the gun they used to destroy the barrier wasn’t exactly something the average pirate or guard would have on them. Curiously the Captain ran to the back of the ship and pulled out a pistol and fired to where the barrier was. To everyone’s surprise the bullet hit nothing, it passed right through where the barrier should have been. “There must be more going on than we thought,” he muttered to himself as he holstered the pistol. “Captain!” one of his crew yelled from above, a pirate with a spyglass was watching above. “I see land in the distance!” “Land already?” he said to himself as he moved himself to the steering wheel and stood next to his loyal Helmsman. He smirked, he didn’t expect this to be so easy to find new land, but he wasn’t going to complain. Anderson could almost see the land without the need for a spy glass, it was hazy but he could make out a silhouette. “Towards the land Helmsman!” “Aye Captain!” the Helmsman yelled out in pride. This was it, they had gotten past the barrier and sooner than expected, they have already found land. The Captain was considering today a very good day. The entire crew was ablaze with activity, to many, this was the most important day in their lives, they were no longer just pirates, but also explorers and they were going to be the first to step on uncharted land. Suddenly the ship shook horribly and everyone grabbed hold of something. “What was that?” he spoke agitated. The waves were suddenly rougher than before but in the distance they appeared to be fine. Edward looked over the railing to the dark water beneath, and swore he saw something large slithering through the water, “Neva, I think something is down there.” “A whale?” she asked as the ship stopped shaking. However it began to shake again seconds after it stopped, Neva stomach was starting to feel bad, she wasn’t the best when it came to shaking, she was always getting sick when they sailed out into rough waves. “I don’t think a whale would get this close…” Just an away from the ship he noticed bubbling and water moving. Suddenly a screeching noise echoed in everyone’s ears as something pierced the surface of the water. Edward closed his eyes and put his hands over his ears and then looked up as someone yelled out. “Monster!” Edward opened his eyes and saw what now stood before the ship, a massive scaly snake like creature with large fins, many strange symbols over its body and glowing lights over its body like rope. It screeched once more and stared menacingly at the ship with its dark red cold eyes. “Get us out of here!” The Captain ordered, but it was too late for the ship. For when the Leviathan determines its prey, all fall to it. The ship began to sail away, however as the Leviathan opened up his mouth a large glowing ball of energy formed in it and then like the gun earlier shot forth and slammed into the ship heavily damaging the center of it. Edward was sent flying into the railing and hit the back of his head and Neva was trying to help him up, fires broke out on the ship but the Captain was determined to get out alive. Cannons began to fire at the beast but just as quickly as it came up to the surface the beast sunk under it. It swam under the water and appeared on the other side of the ship and shot another beam of energy at the ship. “Kill the beast!” Anderson yelled out as he stood back up from the blast. The ship shook as it began to come apart. He could see crew dead across the deck. “No… This can’t be happening…” However the Captain wouldn’t let grief over take him, he had two things on his mind, two very important things. Neva and Verna. Verna attempted to get the gun working again and was trying to aim it at the beast, however suddenly she felt very hot as she turned her head and saw the beam of the Leviathan coming towards her; there was no time to escape. Verna tried to move however she yelled out in pain as the beam hit her and incinerated her body and the gun along with her. “Verna!” Neva yelled out as she watched the horror that unfolded around her. She looked at where her sister was once, the ground incarnated and the front of the ship in ruins. Edward was frozen, he didn’t know what to do, and everywhere he looked there was death. There was nowhere for them to move. “Neva!” The Captain yelled out as he ran across the deck that was barely together, he had witnessed what happened to Verna and a deep rage erupted from him and he was determined to not like Neva meet the same fate. They had to live. However this was cut short as the ground beneath the Captain broke, he attempted to jump to reach safe ground however large debris of wood shot out and pierced through the Captain and he tumbled into the water, his dream of seeing new lands with him. “No!” she screamed as she saw her father perish and suddenly Edward saw her faint and to the ground. Edward snapping out of his daze grabbed her and lifted her, there was only one option, the ship was exploding and sinking into the water and the Leviathan was still attack, the crew but they were alive. He was about to jump off the ship with Neva but then suddenly a piece of debris slammed into the back of his head and everything went dark. ****************************** Slowly he opened his eyes, only to see a bright light. Pains shot all over his body as he barely moved; however the first thing he felt was sand. Edward slowly moved his body and looked around, he began to cough and tons of water came out of his mouth and landed on the sand. “Where am I?” he managed to speak. However suddenly a shadow came over him but he couldn’t make it out as his eyes were still adjusting. “Edward!” he heard the familiar voice speak. Edward closed and opened his eyes and tried to focus, it was then that the sight of Neva could be seen. “N-Neva… You’re alive…” Neva fell to her knees, “Thank Gods… Edward… The crew, Verna, my dad, their… Their dead…” Edward could only say one thing hearing the terrible news, “Fuck.” ****************************** GRIFFON KINGDOM – DRAKNOR KEEP – GREAT HALL – 1000 Hours “High Guardian!” a Griffon spoke as he caught up to the High Guardian who was in heavy armor. The High Guardian turned and the Griffon saluted. “Sir, we just got reports that there was a Leviathan attack last night, its beams could be seen from the port.” The High Guardian put his claw to his beak and spoke in a gravelly voice, “What did it attack, Sebastian?” “A ship, Sir, but there was no records of any ships coming to port.” “So you’re saying an unidentified ship was attacked?” “Yes.” “Begin the investigation, we need to know what ship it belonged to, if it was those Ponies, then we’re in trouble.” Sebastian shook his head, “It has already begun, however it came from the east, and any ships from Ponies would have come from the west, and landed in one of those ports.” “There is nothing but water to the East…” “Exactly Sir, which makes this a mystery as to where this ship came from, worst of all it was traveling in Sea Monster infested territory, which is off limits, even the Ponies know that.” The High Guardian was interested in seeing what this was, it was rare for ships to be destroyed by a Leviathan, but when they did it could be seen from quite a distance. The Griffons stressed other nations to not sail in the waters, and for the most part the rule was followed; only law breakers were willing to tread the dangerous waters. “I want you to keep me up to date with this, Sebastian; I want to know where that ship was from as soon as you know. Let’s pray that it was law breakers, I rather not have to explain to the King why a ship from a foreign nation entered the No Sail zone.” “Yes Sir,” the Guardian spoke as he finished however he turned back towards the High Guardian when one more thing came to mind. “I nearly forgot, but sir… Lady Corinth was found in the streets. Again.” The High Guardian sighed, “That girl will be the end of me I swear, increase the security around her room. Actually… Sebastian, do me a favor, you watch over her, send Juna in your stead.” Sebastian bowed his head, “If that is your wish Sir, then I shall make it so, Kalzin.” Kalzin placed his claw on the shoulder pad of Sebastian, “You’re a good soldier, keep up the good work.” Sebastian smiled, or as well as he could for a Guardian, “Thank you Sir, its honor to hear you say that.” > Season 1 Chapter 1: A Stroll Through the Forest > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- S1C1: A stroll through the forest Edward and Neva sat at the beach in silence, neither knowing what to say to the other. Truthfully they didn’t really even know each other, Neva vouched for Edward because he helped her briefly and asked to join. Outside that, they were still basically strangers to each other. Edward simply was taking a stick and drawing in the sand while Neva sat and let the wind breeze go over her as she stared out into the ocean. They hadn’t been like this for very long and Edward wasn’t sure what to do to get things going. “Did you kill Countess Adriana?” Neva suddenly spoke as she turned and looked at him. “Huh?” he replied taken back by the sudden question. However he didn’t let it hang long. “No… I could never kill her; she was the only one in the Mansion that actually treated me like a person.” Neva cocked her head, “In the mansion? The Count’s mansion?” Okay, we’re getting somewhere, he thought to himself. “As I said earlier I don’t know my parents, I was dropped off at the mansion and taken in by the servants, despite the lavish mansion I didn’t live a very lavish life, even compared to the others. But you know… I never truly hated it there; just being able to talk with Countess Adriana made it worthwhile.” Neva actually managed to crack a smile, “That’s very admirable.” He knew it would be tough, but he had to ask, “Neva… Do you want to talk about it?” “I think we should move on,” she said as she stood up and wiped the sand off of her leggings. Edward simply watched as she walked away, he swears under his breath and stands up and begins to follow her into the forest that lay before them. ****************************** High Guardian Kalzin continued to read the book: A Study of Dragons, a book all about the Dragons that live on the continent of Equestria, at his desk. “Our world is called Equestria, and the continent is known as Equestria, the ponies think of themselves very important, don’t they?” he commented aloud to himself. He heard the door knock and he yelled out, “Enter.” The door opened and stepped in a female Griffon Guardian to which he recognized as Juna. “Juna, it’s nice to see you, I assume you’re here to report about the Leviathan attack investigation?” Juna gracefully bowed, “Yes Sir, I am here to say that while we could find no bodies due to the Leviathan having no doubt eat them, we did find some wreckage of the ship and while there wasn’t much to go on, based on how the ship was structured it didn’t appear to be an Pony, Zebra, or any of the Equus races.” Kalzin let out a sigh of relief, “Thank the Mighty, I feared that we would have to explain to Princess Celestia and Luna as to why members of their Diarchy died near our territory. Don’t want them to drop the sun on us… Anyway you know they’re set to meet with the King next week, right?” “The Princesses are?” Juna asked despite it being off topic from the rest of the report. “No, I didn’t. What business do they have with the King?” “The typical, treaties, immigration situations, among other things, unlike our King they don’t exactly have a large cabinet of others to do these for them. I’m to be expected to be there, as one of the Eight High Guardians it is my duty…” Juna could sense he wasn’t pleased by the prospect, “But you rather stay here?” Kalzin was well known by many under his command, he personally made sure that he got to talk which each Griffon under him. While some other Guardians may call it foolish, Kalzin simply believes that when you know those who fight under you that you fight better as a cohesive unit. It wasn’t exactly something he could say about the other Guardian forces. In some ways that’s why he respected the Regular Forces more than the other Guardians, as the Regulars have many Commanders who aren’t in it for glory and just want to protect their nation; they care for the men and woman under their command. “Is it that obvious?” he said innocently. “Yes it is Sir,” she said with a playful tone. There was a bit of silence but Kalzin ended it, “Anyway, please, continue about the report, best not to get too sidetracked.” Juna nodded, “Right, so the ship is from an unknown origin and it wasn’t clear what species actually helmed it as it was also distinctly not Griffon. We also have no indication that everyone who had been on the ship is dead; as it is very possible some may have washed onto the shore. With your permission we would like to send scouts out to check the small islands in the area and the forest nearby.” Kalzin didn’t need to ponder the request, “Permission granted Juna. Still this is very interesting, an unknown species? Think it could be… Human?” Juna just rolled her eyes, “Humans are nothing but stories, and you of all should know that.” He grinned and spoke in a joking voice, “B-But… I want to believe!” “You’re a crazy man High Guardian,” she said. “But that’s why we will stick with you till the end.” “And let that end be in the very far future,” he said in agreement. ****************************** “You know you can’t keep me in here Sebastian, I will get out again,” Lady Corinth taunted the Guardian as they entered her bed room. Sebastian tiredly looked down at the small female Griffon in fancy robes with a bunch of dirt and mud stains now on it from the previous night. “Lady Corinth, please… Your father doesn’t want you to get hurt,” he said, begging her to stop these foolish acts. Corinth looked away defiantly, “My father keeps me up here like a Princess that has been captured by a Dragon, and it’s disrespectful.” Sebastian didn’t want to deal with this; it took enough effort just to get her back to her room all the while she was yelling and thrashing out against him. “I won’t say it again, but you must understand my lady, these are dangerous times, you wondering around unattended will put a lot of stress on High Guardian Kalzin.” “Then why am I here?” she asked bluntly. Sebastian at this point turned and walked out of the room, they both knew the answer and it was best not to bring back up old wounds. Sebastian looked at the guards outside her door and ordered them, “Make sure she doesn’t leave, or fly out of there.” “Yes Sir!” they said in unison. ****************************** The rain came down hard upon Edward and Neva as they traveled through the forest during the night; they hadn’t been able to find any place to set down a camp. Neither spoke while they traveled, but Edward managed to keep up with Neva who was moving at a faster pace than he was, a lot more endurance then he currently had. Edwards’s hair wasn’t exactly long but he kept finding himself having to brush some of his wet hair that was dangling in front of his eyes. They were both completely soaked and it made moving in the clothing a pain. However they needed to keep moving, they had no place to stay and hunger was starting to take its toll on the two lost Humans. “I see something,” Neva managed to speak to Edward despite the sound of rain deafening any other noises. Edward stood next to Neva and she pointed at what she saw, a small house with lights. Edward found this curious and stated what was also on Neva’s mind, “Is there people here as well?” Neva shrugged, “Only one way to find out.” Together they moved towards the house, to which upon further inspection he noticed it wasn’t that different from their own buildings, outside the house there was a small garden that was being covered by a tarp to make sure that the planets didn’t get flooded by the rain water. Despite the plethora of trees, a lot of rain water still managed to make its way to the forest ground. Edward knocked on the door, and he noticed at the corner of his eye that Neva had pulled out her pistol that she still had from before the attack, but before he could say anything the door opened and he found the sight puzzling. He had expected to find a Human, however what instead stood in front of him was a large creature that head looked as though an eagle, similar with its wings, however the body was that of a lion. The creature stood with both back lags on the ground, one front claw on the floor and the other on the door handle. Edward wasn’t sure what the creature was and neither did Neva. Neva stood shocked at the sight and her grip on her pistol tightened. Edward not sure how to proceed, decided to speak to the equally shocked creature, “My name is Edward, this is Neva, and we were attacked on our ship and crashed here… May we come in?” The creature didn’t say anything, Edward wasn’t even sure that they spoke the same language. However before they could say anything Edward watched as Neva held up her gun, “Creature! Don’t you dare attack us!” “What are you saying, Neva!? Why are you trying to make this-,” he said only to be cut off by the door slamming in their faces. Edward just stared at her angrily, “Now why did you go and do that?” “Are you blind man? That wasn’t Human!” “That was obvious, but we have no shelter and you just ensured that!” Neva pointed at the house, “That thing isn’t Human, how are we sure that it wasn’t going to let us in and then eat us in the night? No Edward, I’m not going to take that chance. Now come on, we can’t stay here.” Edward sighed, they had just lost their shelter and now they needed to look once again. In some ways he understood her distrust, this was their first foray into unknown lands and they meet a creature foreign to anything they have seen before. However while he wouldn’t consider himself the smartest person in the world, not by a large margin, he could tell that the monster seemed to have some sort of intelligence hence the house and garden near it. They continued to travel until they came upon a large tree with a hollowed center in it, after making sure there were no other creatures in it, Edward and Neva decided to spend the night in the tree. They were freezing, Edward shook his hands over his arms in an attempt to get warmer, and Neva didn’t do much but just space out as she had done on the beach however suddenly she spoke in a somber tone. “We don’t know what created that barrier Edward, if that thing or their people had anything to do with it… Then this is all of their faults, for placing us behind that damn thing in the first place.” Edward sneezed and started to feel sick and so he didn’t bother to try and debate with Neva. The situation they were in was a dangerous one and they were in the dark on many things. Unlike Edward, Neva wasn’t feeling sick, her clothing compared to Edward was thicker and she did have some armor plating and therefore the water in some places just dried. Slowly the two drifted away into their dreams. ****************************** It was early in the morning when Kalzin heard a knock on his bedroom door, awaking him from a great slumber. While he wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, he wasn’t going to keep the Guardian outside the door waiting, especially when it could be something very important. He grumbled all the while getting off his bed all the while just wearing his armor’s undergarments. He opened the door and lazily looked at the griffon in front of him which took him a second to realize it was Juna. “Sir, we have some… startling new information,” she told him and he could tell something was wrong. He gestured for her to come in the room and he pulled up a seat for both of them and they sat down, Griffons were able to stand up on their hind legs for long periods of time and even some prefer it, although others walk on all fours, many soldiers in the military charge into battle on all fours and slam into their enemies before standing up and fighting with their weapons. She got the go ahead to speak and she began to, “Just an hour ago, a hermit living in the forest came to one of our outposts and told us that late last night they heard a knock on their door, they opened it and they saw two unknown creatures, one pulled what looked to be some sort of pistol and the hermit closed the door on them and they weren’t disturbed.” Kalzin was intrigued by this; he had expected to hear some species he had heard before, “Unknown creatures? Did they tell us what they look like, what did they say?” “This is where things get interesting… Based on their description… Their well… Human and they spoke our language,” she explained. Now Kalzin was fully awake, and was sure he had heard that correctly, “Did I just hear you, did you say Human?” Juna nodded, “That is correct sir; they had all of the features that the old stories described, typically I would just think that the hermit had gone crazy but they said that one Human claimed that their ship had crashed and that they needed shelter.” Kalzin wanted to believe but he wasn’t going to give his full trust to this hermit without question, “Are you sure he didn’t just hear about it in port? The ship attack that is.” “Very unlikely sir, the hermit never goes to the port, in fact this was the first time seeing in months when he arrived at the outpost,” she further explained. “So if I understand this correctly, two… Humans are now in the forest near the port? Do you already have Griffons out there looking?” Juna nodded. Kalzin stood up with a determined expression, “I think it’s time for me to go in the field.” “Is that wise Sir?” “Humans are a species only written in stories that are considered myths from thousands of years ago, I am not going to let this opportunity go by me,” he said as he opened a closet which hanging on a Griffon-shaped wooden statue was his full suit of armor. “Let’s get down there.” Juna smiled and saluted, “Yes Sir!” ****************************** EQUESTRIA – CANTERLOT CASTLE – 2300 Hours (Equestrian Time, 8 hours behind the Griffon Kingdom) As she did every day, Celestia raised the sun and began to attend to her people. However currently the moon was up and her sister was on the throne taking care of her nightly duties and busy and so Celestia wasn’t attending her people but doing things that would affect the course of the country. Tonight she had other matters to attend to, such as the continual planning of her discussion with the Griffon Kingdom to which Luna, despite having only back for 3 years thus far has been invaluable in coming up with the terms and agreements of each of the subjects. But since this was still somewhat early in the night, Luna still had some things to attend to before she could help so Celestia needed to plan with the aid of one of her subordinates, Virtuous Honor, a Unicorn, who is well versed with foreign politics. “We need to make sure that we can keep foreign trade going between us and them through our various channels,” Honor suggested. “We also need to ensure protection upon these lines so that pirates and the won’t attack since they have been on the rise lately in the Central Ocean. Trading between us and the Griffons is one of our largest money makers, they’re crucial.” Celestia looked over the map of the world that laid across the table in-between Honor and herself. Various lines were drawn across the Central Ocean that indicate trade routes and also large circles were areas that pirates have been reported to be attacking have been. “I guess that brings up the question as to which forces will protect which lines. We don’t have the military size of the Griffons so I think we will most likely have to have them protect two of the three trade lines.” Honor shook his head, “I’m not sure that is wise my Princess, we can’t give them the impression that we’re being lazy and making them doing much of the work, I think it would be best if we actually divert more forces then the Griffons to protect these lines. We want them to understand that we’re still a world power.” Celestia narrowed her eyes, “The fact that we need to still prove that to the Griffons is… unsettling. Between them, the upcoming Dragon Empire, and the Zebra Republic of Tia’shan things are getting difficult to maintain.” “The world is changing Princess and its clear our reputations of past is slowing starting to fade away. They rely on you and Princess Luna to rise and lower both the Sun and Moon, however they may think that is all our country is worth.” “I will not threaten other countries with our power to move the Sun and Moon,” Celestia stressed. Honor felt that she had mistaken his intentions, “I am not suggesting that Princess, what I am suggesting is that we want them to understand that we aren’t just going to be walked over and vanish. That is why we need to keep our good relations with the Griffon Kingdom, because they are the biggest military force in the world.” Celestia lowered her head, “I fear that we will need to increase our military forces before too long…” Equestria historically never have a huge military force as they always were able to deal with situations themselves such as the Crystal Empire with Sombra, and when Discord cause havoc all across the country and even just two years ago with the aid of the Twilight Sparkle and her friends stopped Chrysalis, Discord’s return, Nightmare Moon, Sombra’s return, and most recently an ancient magic that nearly took over the kingdom and trapped both Celestia and Luna. So the country as it is, is very capable of handling many dangerous tasks on their own, but while these were large threats, they weren’t large in the scale, it wouldn’t be the same if Dragon Empire from the South decided to invade, the closest comparison to that was the Chrysalis attack, which if anything that proved that they weren’t prepared for that sort of invasion. However with the rise of more nations with military forces, it’s very possible that more military confrontations will arise in the near future. Both Equestria and The Griffon Kingdoms are the oldest and so they have scuttled in various battles in the past but for the most part ties have been good, but in recent years it’s been strained. Honor began to talk in a solemn tone, “I’m sorry to say Princess, but it maybe something to consider. I don’t know if it’s possible, however this world is very old, and I don’t want to risk any nation finding a way to raise the sun and moon without you two or else our borders will fall.” “But this is getting further from our original topic Princess, we need to make a decision on our policy about these trade routes,” Honor said getting them back to the original discussion. “Yes, so I agree, in our terms we will provide much of the support, however if we do that, we think they will need to provide more trade ships to be used,” Celestia said. Honor nodded, “That is a good compromise. Alright then if we feel we’re good on that for now at least, let’s move to the next topic of Immigration. I do believe if we want to promote our ideals that we should allow for more immigration and even promote it, because currently as it is it’s at an all-time low.” Celestia agreed but she still wasn’t completely on board, “Wouldn’t Luna’s Night Corps disagree with that? They most likely feel as though letting more immigration would lead to more spies entering our country.” Honor looked over the papers of information about current immigration, “It’s true that it should be considered, however I ask you Princess, do you believe you’re willing to not support immigration for the security of your people? Since saying you don’t want more immigrants can lead to two assumptions by the Griffons, that one, we don’t trust them entering our country, and two, and that you’re not as open minded as you’re lead to be believed.” The Princess sighed, “This is so tiresome, I remember when nations used to just leave each other alone, yet now we have to keep up an image so that others don’t take advantage of us.” “Not to be mean Princess, but got to get used to it, as more nations rise, you will have to meet with them more often,” Honor said. “It maybe also in your interest to increase your cabinet size, establishes an office of Foreign Affairs and so on. I am able to help you but you can’t put too much on you or you and Luna will get too stressed and believe me, you’re people will be willing aid you in this.” Celestia smiled, “I do believe that is right Honor, maybe it is time for me to start allowing my people to aid me. I thank you Honor for making me telling me.” Honor bowed, “I’m here to serve Princess, as all of us in this castle will attest to.” “Then I shall get on it once we finish these talks, as for the topic of Immigration, I do believe we should encourage it, I see no harm in our cultures mixing, I think us and the Griffons can learn much from one another.” Honor once again bowed his head, “I do believe that is the wisest decision my Princess. Now let us continue there is still much to discuss.” Celestia was slowly starting to feel hopefully about these meetings next week; they would leave in the early night to arrive in the Griffon Kingdoms Capitol of Anadarah by the early morning. Celestia, Honor, and a few others will travel with her, but Princess Luna will stay and look over Equestria to make sure everything is in order, more crucial when Celestia decides to increase the number of ponies that work in her cabinet. The meeting will be difficult with the Griffon King; Celestia knows that, however with the aid of her allies, she knows she can get through this. After the meeting Celestia dragged herself to her room and fell to her bed feeling completely exhausted from how long it took to finish the meeting and they finished later than she had hoped. Celestia rubbed her eyes and when she opened them she suddenly saw a dark blue mare staring at her, Celestia screamed out and pushed away from her bed breathing fast and as she calmed down looked angry at the other Alicorn. “Luna, why must you scare me?” “But I didn’t mean to..,” Princess Luna protested innocently. Celestia raised an eyebrow and Luna rolled her eyes and then admitted, “Oh fine, I guess I did mean to do it Sister.” Celestia rose from the ground and walked towards her bed and then looked questioningly at her sister, “Is there something you need? The meeting has been over for a little bit.” “I must apologies sister, I didn’t mean to miss it, but I had too much to take of because between the ponies who visit during the night and the Night Corps I was completely full,” Luna explained to her tired sister. “As for why I am here, is it too much for your sister to visit you?” Celestia gestured towards the clock that hanged on the wall, and frowned. “Okay so maybe it’s a bit late for you, but not for me,” Luna said in a cheerful tone. Celestia picked up a pillow with her magic from her horn and prompted to put it on her face and just murmured to herself, not exactly the behavior of the ruler of the country. “Celestia,” Luna said addressing her sister by her first name. “Is something wrong? Typically you’re not like this.” The Sun Princess picked up the pillow and placed it on her side, “It’s just… This meeting has made me realize that things are only going to get tougher from here on out. In recent years our talks with other nations have increased tenfold, things aren’t simple anymore; it’s hard to play nice.” Luna looked up towards the moon, “I was gone for a thousand years… I don’t know exactly how you feel as you have been doing this far longer than I have. However Sister, I am here for you.” Celestia smiled, “That’s what Virtuous Honor said, I believe you both… It’s just… I’m worried about the future of this country, I worry that our borders are going to fall and eventually Equestria will be gone.” Luna frowned, “Sister, you can’t think like that, you’re our leader, the countries shining leader, if you start having thoughts like that it will spread to the others. You need to be strong.” “Chrysalis got that close… That close to taking away everything we hold dear, she managed to infiltrate our country, deceive those who we trust… I don’t want that to happen, not again.” The Moon Princess grabbed her sister’s hands and held them tight, “Then Sister the course is clear, you need to stand up tall, be a beacon of light and peace that shines across the world. Not a façade, but truly push those beliefs and we will stand behind you.” Celestia couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed that her younger sister needed to tell her something she should know already. A small tear ran down Celestia’s face which she herself wiped with her hand as if to show her sister that she was getting there. “You’re right… It’s funny,” Celestia said as she picked up a scroll from the shelf next to her bed. “Twilight and her friends send me these notes to show what they have learned. You can see how they have grown over the years. I maybe older than any of them, but I know there is still things that I must learn, as they have.” Luna didn’t say any more about it and left her sister to slumber, for in the morning she would need to raise the sun so that this side of the world can see her glorious power but also understand that Celestia is here and that she will defend the country. However while Luna did feel that she had missed much while she was gone, she had learned much from her Night Corps and she too understood that times were changing and that many threats are starting to loom, making more important that Celestia remains strong through it all. ****************************** Edward was the first to awake; he stretched out and prompted to sneeze. His head was feeling warm and he was clearly not in the best shape. Looking out from the tree he noticed it was morning and that the rain had stopped although the ground was clearly still wet from the night before. Neva across from him was still slumbering and so he didn’t disturb her as he decided to go outside for a moment. He let the morning scent soak into him; there was a sense of serenity as he looked out across the deep forest. The sounds of birds chirping echoed throughout the area and Edward breathed in and breathed out, he would have liked to say he felt wonderful but then he prompted to sneeze and just feel sick again. Edward looked up towards the sky and let the sun’s rays hit his face, however he blinked when he noticed something fly across the sky and then again. One of the flying creatures stopped and Edward squinted his eyes and noticed it was the same as the creature from the house; however this one was armored and had a weapon. Just as the creature turned to look in his direction Edward jumped back into the tree and as he hit the ground Neva shot up from her slumber with pistol in hand. “So it wasn’t a dream…” she said to herself as she turned her head and saw the frightened Edward. “Hey Edward…” Edward scrambled to his feet, “Neva, I just spotted one of those creatures flying above the trees, they were armed.” Neva frowned and got serious, “Do you think they’re looking for us?” “Well I doubt they’re looking for another duo of people who aimed a gun at their citizens,” he deadpanned and she just rolled her eyes and stood all the way up. “We need to get out of this forest,” she suggested. Edward had his doubts, “How will we evade their patrols? They’re flying, they see us and I bet they will all swoop down. I am not a fan of swooping.” “Let us capture one then,” she said and Edward just gave her a confused expression. “If they just fly above the forest, they may miss us, there is no doubt they must have some running across the forest ground.” Edward was starting to see the plan but once again he wasn’t sure, “So then what, we use one as a hostage and escape? And then what, are you sure we want to anger these creatures? We may be the only Humans out here, what are we going to do?” “I don’t know,” she admitted as she brought her hands up and then back down to her sides. Edward sneezed to his side and then focused back on Neva, “Neva… You need to think straight, we can’t let ourselves get killed because we act irrationally. I understand what you’re going through but-.” Neva stepped forward and grabbed Edwards’s shirt and pulled him up and cut him off, “What did you just say!? Think I’m being irrational, you think you know what I’m going through? What about you! Doing nothing but complaining! To think I vouched for you to join our crew, how foolish of me.” Edward gritted his teeth, “All I have said thus far that you threatening that bird creature was a mistake and that your plan is not well thought out! I am worried that you’re letting Verna and Anderson’s death gets to you!” Without a second thought, Neva used her superior strength to his own from her years of fighting to throw Edward into the side of the inner tree. He let out a small grunt of pain as he slumped to the ground, “Damn you Edward.” ****************************** The High Guardian landed on top of the perch on the top of the outpost that sits just outside the forest near the port town. Juna landed right next to him and the Guardians stationed at the outpost saluted their superior as he approached them. “Any spotting of the Humans?” “Not yet Sir,” one of them admitted however he looked over at his fellow soldier and then back at Kalzin. “But do you really think it’s Humans? Like the ones in the stories? The End War?” Juna decided to speak, “We should go based on it, however when we find these Humans we can’t let this information leak out. All of you know what a lot of the general population will think.” “They will want them hung for things they may or may not have done,” Kalzin said finishing her thought. “I’m not going to let anyone or anything be killed based on some over five-thousand year old story.” None of them would argue with their superior because he was right, despite the stories being old and many claiming them as myth, there is still a subtle harbor of hatred towards Humanity, whether it be in newly written stories or insulting someone for acting like a Human. Kalzin was one of the few that believe they’re real, but he didn’t exactly harbor any hatred, as you wouldn’t hate the citizens of a tyrant leader just because their leader was horrible. “Are their patrols making sure no one from the port gets in the forest?” Kalzin asked as he began to walk and talk with the outpost guardians. The guardian nodded, “Yes, we’ve shut down the area; no one is getting in or out of that forest without someone spotting them.” “Are Guardians on the ground?” Kalzin asked. It was his job to also make sure everything go well and went as typical in these sorts of situations. If there was anything that went wrong due to error because he didn’t make sure, he would be in deep trouble. “Yes, we’ve been making sure to scour the ground floor, as we know Humans can’t fly so I doubt we will have to watch out for that,” the guardian answered. Kalzin smiled and put his claw on the Guardians soldier and nodded at the same time, “Good. However… I think I will go in there and look myself.” He said as he turned and faced the forest. “Shall I accompany you Sir?” Juna asked. “Of course,” he replied. “Keep up the good work, and if you find them before me, come straight to me.” The outpost Guardian saluted, “We shall Sir!” Kalzin didn’t say anymore and stretched out his wings and grabbed his rifle off his back and began to fly through the sky with Juna following right behind. As they reached high above the tree line they saw the forest stretch out for miles and the ocean just to the east. He spotted other Guardians patrolling the forest above and circling around the perimeter. However while Kalzin was flying he didn’t intend to stay there the entire time. Once they reached the middle most part of the forest Kalzin and Juna swooped into the forest interior and landed in a relevantly flat area. “Got to admit, now that I’m in this forest it’s kind of intimidating to be searching for someone,” Juna said. “It shall not be that difficult, just listen and maybe we can even find foot prints to lead us to our targets,” Kalzin said. The two of them began to move across the ground floor, it was too dangerous to fly through the air in the forest; only a pro at flying could do it and not slam into something. Not even a veteran such as Kalzin could say he has flew without slamming into a tree at one time or another. However they didn’t move with haste, instead the two of them moved slowly, enough that they wouldn’t startle their targets and reveal their positions. Kalzin and Juna eventually found themselves at a small house in the forest with a garden outside, the house that Juna said belonged to the hermit. “So they arrived here in the night… Hard to say which way they went after though,” Juna thought aloud as she looked around. Neither bothered to knock on the door and ask the hermit, they knew they wouldn’t give them an answer as to where the Humans went. However that didn’t stop them from looking, they left going north from the hermit’s house, a different direction than they had come, they eventually spotted a large and unusual tree in the distance and then they heard someone speaking, they didn’t see any other Griffons in the area so the two of them decided to investigate the unusual tree. ****************************** “They’re dead Edward, and you know the worst part? If I ever get back I’m going to have to explain to my mother why my dad and sister are never coming home again,” Neva said to Edward who still hadn’t gotten up from the ground as Neva yelled at him. Edward tried to calm her down, “Neva, you need to lower your voice you don’t-.” Neva threw her arm across the air and prompted to not lower her voice, “No, you listen to me. You may have not grown up with parents, but you didn’t have to see your family members die in front of your eyes! Verna was incinerated by that monster, and my father was impaled by the debris of the ship he worked on for years! And now you’re trying to understand how I feel?” Edward didn’t know what to say, it was true, he didn’t have any family members die in front of him, however he did lose Countess Adriana to which he cared deeply for. However even though she wasn’t family, he still felt terrible when she died and he could understand just a bit of what she was going through. “I lost Countess Adriana, the closest person I had to family Neva. Don’t think I don’t have any idea of what you’re going through. Just because I haven’t shown it, doesn’t mean I don’t feel absolutely awful about it.” Neva was taken aback by this, however before she could speak the two of them both heard the sound of a twig snapping and they both looked out from the tree and what stood in front of them. Two creatures, similar to what they had seen before, but they were armored and bigger in size and unlike the one they saw, these two both stood completely up with only their hind legs touching the floor. Both were armed with weapons that were clearly similar type of rifles used by the Pirates and Guards back home. Both of their armors that the creatures wore had a large shield emblem on the front with the creatures species face on it with various other symbols. The smaller griffon’s armor was also white with blue outlines, whereas the larger one’s is white and gold, most likely symbolizing a higher rank. Neva pulled out and aimed her pistol, “Stand back!” “I’m sorry but we couldn’t help but over hear your conversation,” the bigger of the two spoke to the surprise of both Edward and Neva. Edward stood up, “It spoke…” “We can speak, not that the Hermit had said anything to you two,” the smaller and more feminine creature spoke. Neva still a bit hot headed spoke, “What do you want with us! To take us to your home and eat us?” The two creatures looked at each other and chuckled and the female spoke, “We may eat meat but I don’t think Human is on our menu.” “Human? Then you know what we’re? How do you know?” Edward asked. Neither creature had expected that answer, both having expected to hear that the Humans knew also of their own species. “Well let’s first start with introductions,” began the larger one. “We’re Griffons, my name is Kalzin Yana, I’m a High Guardian, and here beside me is Juna Nuvol, a Guardian Lieutenant. What are your names Humans?” “I’m Edward,” Edward spoke. “And I’m Neva Longa,” Neva said all the while lowering her pistol but still holding it in preparation of needing to fire at a moment’s notice since she still didn’t trust the Griffons. “So how do you know of us?” Edward asked bringing back the question he had asked. Kalzin then began to give a brief explanation, “We don’t know of either of you specifically but your species has been in multiple of our books of myths and such, some having also believed your species took part in our ancient history, however whether or not this is true is unclear even with your appearance. Now you know nothing of us? So then shall I assume your history books or myths don’t speak about us?” Neva shook her head, “No, I had read many books on our history and some myth but never once did they speak of a race such as yours.” “That is quite interesting,” Juna said. “However Sir, I don’t believe this is the greatest spot to discuss this subject matter. I think we should inform the other Guardians about our find and then head back to Draknor Keep.” Kalzin nodded in agreement and spoke to the two Humans in a respectful tone, “Edward and Neva, we mean you no harm, however there are those who might. Please will you accompany us to our Keep, where you will be bathed, fed, and kept safe inside our great walls?” “Who would want us to be harmed?” Edward asked. “Those who believe in things that your species may have done, but if you die it won’t matter if they were lies or not, they will have their execution,” Kalzin said in a dark tone. “Heh… I’m not up for that again,” Edward said to the confusion of both Kalzin and Juna. Neva wasn’t exactly sure and despite her little bit of anger that still lingered with Edward she thought it be best to pull him aside before they do anything. Grabbing his arm she brought him to the back of inside of the tree and spoke in a very quiet voice. “Are you thinking of going with them?” Edward had already thought over this answer in case she had decided to ask, “Of course. They claim that they can give us shelter among other things. Plus they seem to be military, and I rather not get on their bad side.” Neva stayed quiet for a moment and even closed her eyes as she thought things over in her head, eventually she sighed and looked at Edward. “It’s a leap of faith… But let’s do this.” The two of them turned back towards the two Griffons and Edward spoke, “We shall accompany you to Draknor Keep.” “Excellent,” Kalzin said as he clapped his claws together. “Now please follow us, the trip will take just a bit longer due to us needing to travel on foot, but not too much longer,” Despite a lingering uncertainty in both the depths of Edward and Neva, they both knew they needed to find some allies in this foreign world they were now thrown into and the prospect that there were others that would seek to harm the two of them for reasons unknown wasn’t a pleasant thought and was the driving force behind Neva agreeing with Edward to go on the trip, because neither of them wanted to walk into an angry mod of Griffons who wanted nothing more than them dead.