Eggs

Light Sentai Paladinranger

NO SHUT UP THOUGH

Magnus stepped forward alongside the others, twirling his sword a few times on the walk. "Room for one more?" He asked rhetorically, a smile barely visible past the slits in his helmet's visor. Much like the others, he was surrounded by a powerful-looking aura, his a brilliant gold in colour. The energy that made it crackled and lashed out like a roaring flame, and sparks of electricity danced throughout it.

Tiberius stepped forward as well, moving his head in a neck-cracking motion. "Let me make up for earlier," He said, the jets on the back of his armour giving off even more heat as a bright red aura surrounded him. He tightly gripped the handles of the guns on his arms, and put his fingers into the trigger guards, preparing for the assault. "It's only fair that I do."

They charged forward as well, Magnus entering the fray with a force spell cast from his sword. A slash of the blade sent a wave of power forward, and when it hit a group of the black-armoured knights, it sent them tumbling to the ground and careening through the air. He followed it up by gathering blue lightning in his free hand, and when another one of the warriors rushed him, he countered by punching him square in the chest. The lightning surged through him, and while he was stunned, Magnus spun around and slashed at his neck, decapitating him.

Tiberius took a ranged approach, but didn't hesitate to jump into the horde. He boosted himself with a blast from his backpack, and upon entering a large group of the soldiers, held his guns out to his sides and spun around, holding down the triggers. Magical bullets formed in the magazine boxes, and fired at a rapid pace. The soldiers' armour proved to be protective against the mana they were made of, but the sheer rate of fire weakened them and made them punch through the metal. When he noticed he needed to concentrate his shots instead of just tearing through everyone rapidly, he switched to the gun's chainsaws. He brought both of them down on the shoulders of one soldier, sawing off his arms, and then kicked him in the chest. He flew forward, and Magnus turned around to cut him in half as he drew near.

Light Sentai Paladinranger

"...I...Really?" Magnus asked, breaking the pose he'd taken on by lowering his hammer. The tip of it hit the ground with a dull thud. "You nearly kill someone, and then just because someone steps in to help, you give up? Really?" He sounded disgruntled, and in fact, almost disappointed. Transformation was a complicated process, and the fact that it had all been for naught was sort of disappointing. But on the other hand, there would be no more blood shed. He looked at Sun, giving him a 'well this was lame' expression, half-hidden by his helmet.

In the background, Tiberius' locked-up armour finally rebooted. He fell forward with a loud thud, and with some grunting, pushed himself off the ground with the help of his axe's handle. He noticed the others had stopped fighting, and to avert the risk of being attacked by all three, who had taken on some much more impressive-looking forms, he deactivated the weapon and slid it into its resting place on his back. He proceeded to reobtain his dropped pistols, which were both also holstered, before he approached the others.

He stood, silently at first, before lowering his head. "I'm sorry." His voice was slightly mechanized by his still-rebooting armour, so he decided to retract the helmet. It folded away from his head face, but remained on the sides of his head and the lower part of his jaw and neck. He revealed himself to be a somewhat older man, with dark skin, hair, and eyes. "Your...friend, the animal. I thought he may have been something else. It's...sort of a long story." While he was still giving Racky some uneasy looks, he admitted that his hostility towards the beast had so far been unjustified. Whatever a 'crab' was, maybe they weren't demons. God only knows what they were, but demonic they apparently were not.

Under his breath, Magnus grumbled as he began to put his weapons away. His hammer nestled into its resting spot next to his shield, and his sword was halfway over his shoulder when he noticed something approaching. In the distance, a multitude of armoured figures were coming in their direction. At least a dozen, clad in black, honestly impractical looking suits. They were moving in disturbing unison, and it was very obvious that they had visuals on the group. The one ahead of them, a taller figure with a pair of impressively curled horns coming from their helmet, opened what Magnus had thought was the helmet's faceplate to let out a shrill screech. The group began walking faster, drawing weapons and readying spells.

"Well," He said, stopping mid-sheath to instead rest the blade on his shoulder. "Looks like we're not quite done." He stepped away from the others, and when the demons began to run, raised his sword once again. Another bolt of lightning struck him, and he stabbed his weapon into the floor once again to activate whatever magic it was that allowed him to change the first time. As the circle that formed at his feet raised over him, he underwent a few more changes. The cloth of his surcoat was replaced with a flexible armour that hung over his hips and legs, textured much like a dragon's skin, as were his pants and gambeson. The cloak on his back underwent the most impressive change.

The split ends of the cape crackled with electricity and began to float, glowing with light as they shifted into the form of feathered draconic wings. When the wings formed, a burst of lightning flowed through them as the light that had overtaken his body faded. They folded behind him, and he drew his sword once more. His previous state was apparently not a full one. Gren had evidently not been impressive enough to warrant this one's use.

Tiberius stepped forward as well, his helmet closing around his head once again. His onboard AI began to speak as it went through his own suit's enhanced form. "Multiple threats detected. Activating Righteous Fury." His body's mana began to flow freely, as the heat vents on his suit exhausted a cloud of flames. The armour of his suit began to shift around, taking on a somewhat sleeker form as they flipped, turned over, and covered the places that had previously consisted of exposed undersuit and coat.

His backpack unfolded more armour as well, giving him a pair of larger shoulder pads, machine guns mounted on either side of his head, and a pair of guns that clicked into the bottom sides of his gauntlets. From these guns, a set of chainsaw blades also emerged. And to finish off the change, the collar of his armour folded up over his helmet, as did a section of the backpack. They created a single-visored, large helmet with a vertical slit. A bright red glow began to emanate from below the plating. If the others were going to take on more impressive forms, it was only fair that he did as well.

Light Sentai Paladinranger

Magnus' sword, thankfully, was much stronger than an ordinary steel weapon. However, even the strongest metal would eventually falter beneath a constant battering, so he broke the deadlock with Tiberius' axe by shoving it off to the side. The chainsaw edge of the weapon impacted the ground, sending up a flurry of dirt, and Tiberius himself responded by backhanding Magnus in the chest.

His augmented strength sent the knight flying away, and with a hefty tug, he pulled the axe from the floor. Another squeeze of the handle sent the chain roaring, flinging the excess dirt off as he approached the fallen warrior. Tiberius rose the weapon above his head and swung downward, and Magnus blocked the strike with his blade once more. Another deadlock began, but this time, Magnus changed the game up. Sparks of blue lightning spread over him, through his sword, and into Tiberius' weapon and armour.

"Electrical disturbance detected. Attempting to initiate shock prot-t-t-t-t-t-" The armour's AI shut down, darkening Tiberius' vision and locking him up in the heavy suit. He stood statue-still, and Magnus rolled away from beneath the axe's head, climbing to his feet steadily. He turned and looked at Sun and Gren's fight, catching it just in time to see the blade-armoured warrior take on a new shape. Beneath his helmet, Magnus frowned deeply, and began his approach.

When Sun landed, Magnus stepped in front of him, pointing his weapon at Gren. "You there, I don't know who you are or what your problem is, but I'm not letting you take a life today," He shouted, his tone of voice taking on a loud and defensive tone. "Unless you can take mine first."

He pointed his sword skyward, and from beneath his helmet, a bright blue light shone. Sparks of electricity surrounded him in a cloud, and a bolt rained down from the heavens to impact his blade. With a quick movement, he flipped the weapon over and stabbed it into the ground in front of him, and on impact, a glowing circle spread out from his feet to surround him. The gem in the weapon's handle glowed brightly, and the circle began to rise.

Magnus released the sword as light surrounded him, forming over the necklace on his chest and spreading throughout his body. The dirt that covered his armour burned away, and from the light, he took a new silhouette. His armour was changed, no longer the previous silvery shade it was, now pure, clean white. It bore the aesthetic of a dragon in outline and detail.

Fluted metal was replaced with scaled design. Clawed fingers and toes replaced his blunted gauntlets and boots. Short spikes lined his pauldrons, which were now equal in size. His helmet's visor changed to resemble that of a dragon's jaw, revealing the lower half of his face, and a pair of fin-like extensions rose from the back of his head. And from his back, more light came, forming a white cloak that split at the bottom, resembling angelic wings.

When the transformation ended, Magnus took hold of his sword's handle once more, and pulled it from the ground. He outstretched a hand, and his hammer and shield lifted themselves from the ground to come to him. He mounted his shield on his back, and took the hammer in his hand, letting the weapon rest on his shoulder as he began his approach towards Gren.

Light Sentai Paladinranger

Magnus was exceptionally confused now. "What's a plane?" He thought aloud, lowering his guard for a moment. It proved to be just long enough for him to take Gren's hit, which sent him tumbling away. The knight hit the ground rolling, coming to a stop after a few feet of travel. Under his breath, he grunted out a quiet curse. "Oh, for Alesia's sake..."

As he started to push himself up, he took notice of Sun, and gratefully accepted his aid. "Yeah, I'm fine. Little sore, but I'll manage," He replied, giving him a pat on the shoulder. "Thanks." He withdrew his hand and turned towards the other two, gripping his sword with both hands again as he entered a defensive stance. His own expression wasn't visible from beneath his helmet, but it was one of caution. These guys, whoever they were, certainly weren't screwing around. He didn't launch another attack yet, but a blue glow that came from both the amulet that hung from his necklace and the gem in his sword's hilt suggested he was preparing something.

Tiberius, who had refrained from leaping back into battle just yet, watched the others from the sidelines. Gren had been going after Magnus, the one who attacked him, so he naturally felt like he should take his side. Wordlessly, he walked over to stand next to him, twisting the handle of his axe as he did so. From the blade, multiple teeth extended. They began to move on a chain, letting out a roar from the engine that was apparently hidden somewhere in the weapon's body. It was quite an intimidating display, and got quite the reaction out of Magnus.

Lowering his sword slightly, he expressed his disbelief. "Are you kid- Seriously? Seriously? What the hell is that? Why is it making that sound? No, that's just unfair. This is crap. You're crap." He pointed accusingly at Tiberius when he finished the sentence, but swiftly re-entered his previous stance when he came rushing at him with the weapon. They both swung, and on impact, a flood of sparks flew from the blades.

Light Sentai Paladinranger

Magnus and Tiberius were both caught unaware, and on impact, dropped the weapons they were holding and went flying off their feet. Magnus hit the ground first, rolling across the ground on impact, while Tiberius hit a tree and uprooted it due to the sheer weight of his suit. Neither of them moved for a few moments, and when they did, it was at first just some grunts and writhes.

When Magnus stood, he turned towards Gren, frowning hard. "The hell was that for?" He asked, his arms waving out to his sides in an exaggerated questioning motion. He was about to yell something else, but was caught from the side by the suddenly up-and-running Tiberius. The tackle sent him back to the ground, and the more heavily armoured man attempted to wrench his helmet off after pinning him down.

The knight was having none of that, however. The necklace he wore glowed a bright white, and from it, a shockwave of energy sent Tiberius flying. Quite far, actually. After about five seconds of airtime, he landed in a heap with a very loud thud, kicking up some dust. When he started to stand again, Magnus reached behind his back. The sword sheathed there would be impossible to draw normally due to its size. A claymore, it was well-balanced for two-handed use, but could be handled with one arm quite easily.

To actually draw the weapon, he casted a much lesser version of the force spell. The sword essentially hopped out of its sheath, and when the hilt passed his palm, he grabbed on and let the weapon swing out. He gripped the blade two-handed, eyeing the others carefully, as he sidestepped his way towards his hammer and shield. They were both unharmed, but were of little use when not being wielded.

Tiberius shook some of the dirt on his armour off, and reached behind his back. From his belt, he pulled a blade resembling that of a a battleaxe. When he held it, a handle erupted from the bottom, and he took the weapon up in both hands.

The situation didn't seem to be calming down at all.

Light Sentai Paladinranger

"Yes, I have been. And that thing following you is dangerous. I don't know how the hell it hasn't already killed you," Tiberius 'explained.' Really, it sounded a bit crazy, but from his point of view, he was looking at a juvenile demon. Where he was from, crustaceans were just not a thing, But demons certainly were, and unfortunately, those demons had a lot of features that Racky just happened to possess. His finger wrapped around the trigger of the gun aimed at the crab, and despite the protests, it seemed like he wasn't going to calm down.

Behind him, Magnus had slipped his helmet back on. The situation looked bad, and as much as he hated attacking something that didn't go at him first, he knew that this had to stop. It was a crab, for god's sake, not some sort of interdimensional hellbeast. It didn't even look like the ones that sometimes invaded where he was from. Far too chitiny, not nearly 'deformed winged monstrosity' enough.

He slowly took a step forward, grabbing the handle of the warhammer on his back and pulling it from its resting place. His shield was readied as well, and he waited, holding the weapon on his shoulder. He waited, willing to back down if Tiberius did, but unfortunately he did not.

The power armoured-man pulled the trigger, or started to, and received a hard smack to the back of the head for his troubles. Tiberius stumbled forward, his gun firing off as he did, filling the ground with red-hot plasma bullets. When he regained his footing, he turned and primed both guns on Magnus, now counting him as a hostile.

Instinctively, Magnus raised his shield. The bullets impacted the polished wood surface, breaking apart into their basest mana form instead of piercing it. The tree symbol that adorned it glowed faintly as the mana was then absorbed. Behind his helmet's visor, he let out a sigh of extreme relief that had even worked, and followed up the block with a swing towards Tiberius' hip. He hit, but since the armour was thicker there, didn't accomplish much except distracting him.

Light Sentai Paladinranger

Magnus turned his head in the direction of Gren's voice, and gave a look of relief at the much more friendly greeting. Still, the stranger had a gun in hand. The knight couldn't help but feel a little exposed in comparison, as both his hammer and sword were sheathed. But if there was a chance at a peaceful conversation without something going wrong, he would try to take it.

With a returned wave, he replied. "Bit cloudy for a hike, but as long as it doesn't start raining." There was the slightest hint of an 'I really wish I wasn't here right now' tone to his voice, but he had been sent here to do a job, and he'd make sure it was done.

The questioning of the forest was something that had been on his mind as well. "Honestly? Not a clue. There was a building maybe a mile over, looked like it'd been abandoned for centuries. Whoever might have lived here before, they're not here anymore." A frown crossed his face, and he was about to give some insight as to why he, at least, was there. Another voice came, and his attention was caught.

Magnus greeted Sun with a nod and a wave, taking notice of the crab. He'd seen some back home, though they tended to be either much smaller or even more oversized. A quiet, yet audible "D'aww" escaped him when he heard the crab's name.

---

Tiberius had remained silent, taking in information and keeping a firm grip on both of his guns. He stayed calm regardless, but when Sun entered with a crab, things went downhill rather quickly. Crabs were...not incredibly common where he was from, and unfortunately, shared a great many physical features with creatures he had been raised to despise, to destroy, and to purge.

Red, chitinous shells. Heavy claws. Black eyes. Multiple limbs. All in what looked like a harmless, octopedal package. But Tiberius had learned that even when small, the demons that resembled the beast were extremely dangerous. He immediately turned towards Sun and raised his pistols, aiming one at him and one at Racky. "Step away from the creature. You have ten seconds, or I will be forced to separate you from it." The fact that Sun had called the thing his friend only made the situation worse from Tiberius' point of view. Associating with demonic beasts was heresy of the highest order where he was from, and was punishable by execution.

A glow came from the side vents of his guns as they came to life, ready to shoot. Mana, coming from both Tiberius' own body and a reserve inside his suit, formed and hardened into crystal-like projectiles. The bullets would tear apart bare flesh, and sear the bodies of demons, but anything built with a magic resistance could stand even sustained fire from them.

Light Sentai Paladinranger

The area around the crashed vessel settled somewhat, clouds of dust coming back to the ground. Tiberius remained by the ship, kneeling by its side and seeing if he couldn't somehow salvage it. If this was where he was meant to be, he would need a way to leave. Without that ship, he was completely stranded, and as far as he knew, completely alone. As he worked to pull off a piece of broken metal, he mumbled to himself. "Should have the squires doing this," He said between tugs. "Why was I sent alone in the first place?"

He didn't question his orders normally. They tended to work, even on occasions he was not given the aid of squires, other paladins, or even just normal soldiers. But now that he was stuck in unknown space, he was a little less than happy about the situation. He continued to work for a while, pulling apart pieces of impacted metal and rearranging the parts that had been shaken up beneath them, but it soon became clear this was not a job that could be done by hand. A heavy sigh escaped him. It was clear that he wasn't going anywhere.

As he turned to leave, his suit's AI spoke. "Movement detected." Two simple words that could mean a variety of things. Not taking risks, Tiberius reached towards his leg armour, which unfolded to let out two blocky-looking things held in metal holsters. The blocks themselves then unfolded, taking the form of a pair of large, very advanced-looking pistols. When he pulled them from their holsters, the barrels extended. The names of the weapons were visible, engraved on what would be the slide on a normal handgun. Liberator and Adjudicator, his own personalized weapon, a variant of a standard given to all paladins who earned them. He held both guns in the directions of the movement, but when more movement came from more directions, he was unsure which to focus on. His guard was kept up, however, and he was ready to fire on anything that looked threatening.

---

From the forest's edge, Magnus emerged into the clearing. As soon as he was visible, one of Tiberius' guns were readied on him. He paused, brow furrowing at the sight of the things. His own world had firearms, but they were not particularly advanced. Levers and revolving cylinders were the extent of gun evolution where he came from, and even then, they were not widespread. Still, being shot hurt, and he was sure that the strange weapons the man in front of him held would be no different.

He raised his hands, making it clear that he was not hostile. "It's alright, calm down. I'm not here to hurt you," He explained. "How did you get here?" As he asked the question, his eyes trailed towards the broken ship behind the other man standing ahead of him. "Is that..what is that?" The ship was unlike anything he'd ever seen. Flying vessels where he came from were, much like firearms, far less advanced than what he was seeing now. Slow-moving airships and zeppelins, flying animal mounts, those were all fairly commonplace. But the other ship was almost baffling in comparison.

There was no return exchange yet, but the guns pointed at Magnus did slowly lower. He, in turn, lowered his hands and removed his helmet. Face-to-face conversation tended to make for better first impressions than a metal faceplate, so he figured it was worth a try.

Light Sentai Paladinranger

Another world existed, in a plane far separate from the homes of all the ones who had been chosen. A place with no gods, abandoned by its pantheon in ages long past. Indeed, there seemed to be a blight upon the land that outright prevented the presence of any deity, put in place by some strange, planet-wide curse. The world itself was a terrestrial planet, dark and gloomy due to its eternally-clouded skies. Rolling layers of grey and black hid the sky from view, and had an appropriate effect on the climate. It was cold, and plant life was not as common as it had been in times long past.

The people of the world were not free, treated as pawns by those who were in power. Demonic creatures who had taken over when the gods left, and covered the world in a deep fog. They were the lords of this world, ruling over the humans with a brutal iron fist.

Light had not been seen in significant amount for centuries. The sun was blocked, and even the brightest days were grey. It was a great surprise when the skies suddenly lit up. Four pillars of immaculate light tore through the heavens, raining down on the world below and lighting up the sky to the brightest it had been in a very long time. People from cities all over the country were entranced, staring at the pillars for as long as they lasted. The light did fade, but it brought something else with it.

---

Tiberius found himself in atmospheric re-entry. The clouds were thick, and he had no visuals other than them. His ship's AI was working in overtime, attempting to salvage some function of the blessed vessel. All that remained working were emergency landing systems. "Impact will occur in approximately one minute. Please brace yourself," It said, warning Tiberius of the incoming crash.

He strapped himself to his chair in response, holding tightly onto the rests as he readied himself for impact. He finally left the cloud layer, and caught glimpses of fading lights in the distance. Before he could question what they were, the AI's voice spoke again. "Emergency slowdown actions taken. Transferring." It leaped from the ship's computers into Tiberius' armour, and a 'bubble' formed around the ship's cockpit. It would not save the ship, but it would save Tiberius' life.

The impact with the ground was sudden and harsh. The wings of the eagle were broken, splintering into thousands of shards and propelled away from the small crater that formed. Dust shot from the ground and formed around the now-broken machine, and for a few moments, Tiberius was still. The AI that was now housed in his armour spoke once more. "Report, ser Aquila. Are you injured?"

"I'm fine," He responded. "Just give me a minute." He let out a deep breath, grunting as he straightened himself up in his now-crooked cockpit. When the dust outside the window settled, he attempted to pull the lever to open it, but it too was broken. Instead, he kicked it out, and crawled to his feet outside the vessel. A quick survey of his surroundings made it clear that he had never seen this world before.

"Where are we? The emperor gave us specific directions, we need to get off this rock and get there." Tiberius kept his guard up, turning around as his eyes scanned the horizon.

"We are there. The coordinates are a perfect match," The AI responded. "We are exactly where we were before your vessel was transported, according to my mapping systems."

---

Magnus' arrival to the world was much gentler. Still knelt, he was placed in the ruins of an old religious site. A husk of a temple, missing parts of its walls and roof, eroded of detail and coated in a layer of vines and moss. The glass windows had been broken out, and wooden pews and the altar were in stages of decay. Where a congregation may have once gathered to celebrate their god, only isolation and the wear of time remained.

He stood, raising his helmet's visor to see where he was. A frown crossed his face when he saw the state of the church. "What happened here?" He thought aloud, taking a few steps towards the altar. There were the desiccated remains of a book on it, which fell apart when he attempted to open the cover and turn a page. The barely visible writing was not of an alphabet he recognized.

A feeling struck him, twisting in his gut. Something between sadness, worry, and curiosity. He gingerly closed the broken book and turned away from the altar, approaching the church's door to leave. He noticed the fading remnants of light in the distance, and saw something bright falling out of the sky. It was as good a start as any, so he closed his helmet and left the building, starting off in the direction of whatever it was that had fallen.

Light Sentai Paladinranger

A ship drifted through the aether of space, a blessed vessel of the empire of Holy Terra. A beautiful if small vessel, meant more for transport for a single being rather than housing a crew. It held the basic shape of one-man space vessels, a cockpit in front of a body of machinery and wings, but was highly decorated to show the rank of the one who commanded it. The ship bore multiple carvings in its surface, and armour plating made to resemble the body of an eagle, shining white and gold. The propulsion system rested beneath each wing, spewing red energy as the vessel tore through the nebula it resided in.

The pilot was ser Tiberius Aquila, imperial paladin of Holy Terra's blessed army. A highly experienced man, who had served in many crusades against the demonic creatures that resided in the aether. He was armoured fully, encased in a suit of advanced powered armour. A standard of Holy Terra's paladins, it was a hardsuit made of various metals and polymers, built in a way that increased its user's strength and reflexes. The suit itself was highly decorative. Above the undersuit, which bore a texture resembling chain mail, multiple heavy plates built in a shape reminiscent of gothic plate interlocked. Each was white, bearing multiple gold trimmings and carvings, encasing his body fully. The chest bore an image of an eagle, wings spread, and each pauldron bore the symbol of the empire. A short cross, and various writings in a language resembling latin along the trim. A red surcoat was worn as well, between the undersuit and the plating, reaching his ankles. It too bore gold trim, as well as a complicated embroidery.

He flew in silence for a while before his ship's onboard AI spoke. "Warning: multiple disturbances have been detected. Be wary of aetherial rips," It said. Tiberius frowned beneath his helmet. Rips could mean multiple things. A black hole just beyond his field of vision, an approaching ship leaving warp speed, or perhaps worst of all, a hellgate.

The last would prove to be the cause. In front of him, the universe's already-malleable laws of space and time were disregarded. A hole, one that was bright red and pulsating, appeared with a horrific sound that came from within. While the aether lacked breathable air, the dimension on the other side did not, so for a brief moment, the screams of a million damned souls were picked up by his ship's sensors.

A battle began immediately. Tiberius' ship fired bolts of concentrated mana from its weaponry, mounted along the wings and in the ship's eagle-like head. In return, the demonic vessels sprayed otherworldly flames at his ship. They were also magical in nature, and tore through his shields. The first system to be disabled was his weaponry. Left defenseless, his propulsion followed, and then extended life support.

Alone, he was overwhelmed, and the other vessels continued along. There were moments of panic as the AI rapidly attempted to divert power, but when it became clear that it was hopeless, Tiberius resigned to fate. A quiet prayer was given, interrupted by the warning of another aetherial rip.

It was...different. Like a black hole, pulling in all around it, but not destroying it. A still-open warp travel route? No, no, they sealed behind the ships that entered.

So what was it?

As he pondered this, he realized too late he was being dragged into the rip's gravity. A bright light blinded him as he crossed its event horizon, and was taken to places unknown.

---

In another world, in another time, the day was calm. In the past of the world of Velwin, the gods themselves had battled, and the one that formed from their deaths ravaged the planet. It had been stopped by a group of heroes, purified and returned to its state of slumber. One of them, Magnus Alondite, continued his service to the world as a holy knight of the goddess Alesia. Knowing the truth behind his goddess' existence had been a hard time in his life, but he had since learned to accept her regardless, with an even stronger faith than before.

His many friends and loved ones lived on, and they often met. But his newest quest was one he would have to take alone. Even his trusty steed could not accompany him, and was left in the care of his family. He had recieved the message telling him of this necessary journey not from his own god, who rested beneath the world, but from another that had given him aid. He bid farewell for now, but promised to return.

Dressed in his armour, a full set of plate made from the forged scales of a legendary dragon and a blessed surcoat, and bearing his weapons, he journeyed to the goddess' dwelling in the land of the Alftari. Welcomed by old accomplices, his approach to the goddess' throne was met with a respectful bow of her head.

She told him of his journey, one to a world that was not their own. He would be sent away, and after the quest was complete, would return with the aid of a trinket of the goddess'. A small branch, carved with various symbols, was given to him.

Magnus knelt, and the goddess raised her hand, sending him to the other world through a portal. He closed his eyes in preparation, just as he was surrounded by an extremely bright light.