“Come.” I looked, and behold

The full moon illuminated the forest below. A group of armoured horsemen moved through the forest on an old road. Twelve of the riders seemed identical, all clad in mail and dark cloaks. Shields displaying a skulled antlered deer as well as their surcoats.  Most held a lance and a couple carried torches. All wore the same kind of kettle helmet. In the centre of them rode a horseman of a different calibre. He wore mail and a similar surcoat and shield, however, his helmet was a great helm, adorned with pale antlers. A faint blue light teemed out of the eye slits and breathing holes. He carried his shield on his back and in his right hand he wore a giant of an axe. His horse was pale, and its eyes were ominous red. White foam fell from its mouth as it shook his head up and down nervously.
 
Godfrey was surrounded by his men-at-arms, or a better description would be bandits and cutthroats in soldiers mail and attire. It was the downside of scaring away the knights that were supposed to support him. They will perish,[\i] thought the horsemen of Pestilence. He gazed at the treetops, a faint orange glow covert the forest crown. They had burned the hamlet that was located at the forest's edge. It was one of many villages and manors that they were burning the last couple of weeks. The world was to know that one of the horsemen has surfaced, the horsemen of Pestilence is here to bring despair. He was on his way to Hargeon to bring upon them his gift, hordes of rats and the Black Death. The whole of Earthland will suffer from the plague, that hasn’t been around for centuries now. They will not know what comes for them. So far, they would burn the villages and wouldn’t border about looting or killing the peasants, unless of course, they would be foolish to defend their petty stables they call their homes. He himself would appear in the Victor’s Crown, his suit of crowned ebony skeleton armour to instil fear upon peasants. The fleeing peasants would spread the word about them, about the skeleton lord who brought death, such as how things are for the simple-minded. Though it worked, more and more hamlets they found were abandoned and more and more troops, of Fiore’s state army and even the rune knights, sent after him. None of those was to be let go alive. Phycological warfare at it’s the finest thought Godfrey. Who was yet unaware that the king has placed a bounty upon the skeleton horsemen of death as he was nicknamed now. A high bounty would attract many mages that would aspire to gain fame, and of course the bounty itself. It was also for such reason that Godfrey had avoided contact with cities, where it was more likely to find mages.
 
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There he was again. Johann von Weiss, the Vice President of the West Fiore Trading Company, scouring the woods of Fiore in search of some lowly bandit who, with his band of roving criminals, had taken it upon himself to make the life of the local populace a living hell, burning down villages left and right and leaving a trail of destruction while avoiding the cities like the coward he was. Both the rune knights and the army were already active, but emergency requests had gone out to every mages guild, the West Fiore Trading Company included. "And just what are we looking for here ?", Mars, the other half of Johann clamoured in the back of his head, seemingly bored to no end of the lack of events. "Technically, Mars, this is a hunt. You'll get your fair share of action, I promise, but for now, we search, we track, we hunt. You know that's what we do best, don't you ?", the Second Seal shrugging noticeably, though with pleased grin "That's fair, but do us both a favor and hurry, tssehehehe", Mars retreating back into the silver haired mage's subconsciousness with a sigh from the Vice President. Sometimes Mars did behave like an excitable and impatient child. He would get his blood soon enough. But he had a point. Why was the Vice President investigating the attacks of mere vagabonds who had made it their goal to cause only suffering ? Well, a good few months ago Johann had, personally as well, though before he had become the Vice President of one of the most influential Trading Companies in all of Earthland, established a trading relationship with one of the local villages. Granted it was a bigger one, they had delivered excess grain to Tolgalen, enough to justify a good contract for both sides, and so a flourishing trade relationship had started.

Though ... about a week ago, the grain delivery hadn't come. Instead, there was only a few men and women who came to Tolgalen, all looking as if they had seen a ghost. They all would tell the same story ... of the time the Skeleton Lord had come to burn down their farms and slaughter their families. For now they had been housed on Tolgalen, but that left one question open ... who had dared to attack a village under the Company's protection ? It was only convenient that the king had offered a bounty on the man's head, the one who was called "Skeleton Lord". Johann would get his chance either way. Making his way through the darkness of night bursting from treetop to treetop at insane speed, his extremely heightened senses constantly on edge and looking out for anything that would fall out of the natural balance, he suddenly flinched, and stopped on a tree branch, his eyes darting to the right. The glow and glimmer was hard to miss. Flames stretched skyward, the intense fire and light radiating the red and orange hues out, Johann turned to see buildings ablaze, screams and cries in the distance. Immediately, his form vanished, reappearing close to the burning hamlet, the intense heat of the flames could be felt even here where he was standing. A sobbing woman was before him, a good few meters, holding something in her arms as she stared at the burning barn. A dead body. Johann rushed over, crouching down. "Miss ! I'm a mage sent by the king. Who did this ?!", the woman turning towards him, tears streaking down her face as her eyes met his, the horrified expression letting him know that she had been scarred for life "T-t-the Sk- ... Skeleton Lord !" she had trouble even speaking through her cries. Jo gave her a nod. "The Rune Knights will be here shortly"

With that, he vanished again, back into the woods from whence he had come, to search for the criminal who had done this. Immediately his nose picked up new scents. With incredible speed he pushed through the treetops, the glowing orbs inside his eyes piercing through the surrounding darkness until ... yes, he could see it clearly. There was the shine of smaller fires in the distance. His vision zoomed in. About a dozen men, some carrying torches, were making their way away from the burning settlement. "Oh ? Have we found our friends ?" Mars grinned broadly, Johann giving a simple nod "It appears so, my comrade". Instantly, the air around the VP started to flicker with magical energy, bursting forth in an acceleration of extreme speed before finally he had reached the road, coming to a sudden halt right before the small band of ragtag "knights", if that's even what they could be called. "Hello there, friends." Johann spoke immediately when he was before them, straightening his back "You don't happen to know who set aflame that village over there, do you ? You see, I take quite the issue to that sort of thing." There was one knight in their middle, clad in different armor than the others, large, antler like horns adorning his head. "I take it you are their leader ? The so-called Skeleton Lord ? Where are my manners though ... I am the Vice President of the West Fiore Trading Company ... and I have come to put an end to your trail of terror".

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Word Count: 898
Word Count Total: 898 / 3.500
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Marching was always a dull affaire, but it could be worse. Though he had never done it himself, it said that sieges were dull. Marching was a routine done for weeks mayhaps, but sieges could last months or even years. Legends tell of a siege that took over ten years. How generals managed to keep their men in line with such things was beyond Godfrey's compression. Surprise, biological warfare and terror warfare were more his things. Taking Hargeon would be easy, however, he would fly over the wall with his steed and open the doors to his men. They could do whatever they felt like doing with no limitation as they had with the raids on the peasants. He would release the plague within the city and they would be gone by first light. Maybe visiting some other cities to increase the spread of the plague but he could return to Hell and visit Lilim.

Godfrey shook up, Bator realised what was going on quicker than he did. Oi, was does this fool here. Godfrey’s eyes flashed orange as Bator spoke in his mind. His men halted but Godfrey’s horse kept walking. He steered him through the front ranks closer to the suddenly appeared man. Godfrey transformed his armour, and suddenly it seemed as if his bones crawled out of his body through his mail and onto him. They were dark and shimmering, his true appearance appeared. The victor’s crown, the crowned skeleton armour. Where did he come from. Godfrey’s eerie blue eyes shone through the eye holes and gazed upon the white-haired man in front of him. He has seen my colours, thought Godfrey. “I’m lord Godfrey of house Ushill, count of Ushil and Crachton. I’m conquest, I’m the plague. Be gone or perish.” Spoke Godfrey in a hoarse voice as he pointed his large axe at the stranger. He noticed that the white-haired man had a strange, yet familiar aura. It triggered something with Godfrey, his eyes flashed brightly orange. “Oi, I bash your focking head in!” Bator had taken over and shanked his spurs in the flank of his horse, the horse jumped forward in gallop. Horse and rider charging, the axe swung down upon the white-haired man.


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Johann watched when the man in the middle of the men pushed out to the front, his armor changing shape. He now realized why this ominous criminal was called the Skeleton Lord, cracking, writhing bones appearing all over him. Much to his surprise, the Second Seal inside him gasped audibly, seemingly in shock. "Mars, what's wr-", Johann was about to ask the other entity within him for clarification when Mars forced himself to the front of Johann's consciousness, pushing him back into subconsciousness and taking over the silver haired male's body with a simple "I'll explain later". Johann's pupils flashed with bright red magical energy as the runes inside his eyes flared up, the white in both of them changing to a deeply black, charcoal colour as around his head, in a swirl of dark, negative energy, an unholy halo formed, the black, cursed crystals that made up the crown of life surrounding the man's dome, a wide smile spreading across his face, speaking softly, almost with great familiarity "It has been a long, loooong time ... brother". Indeed, Mars couldn't believe that he had simply stumbled upon the First Seal right here and now, in some forest in the middle of nowhere, yet the aura, the appearance was unmistakably his. "On behalf of this vessel, Lord Godfrey Ushil, Count of Ushil and Crachton, this is Johann von Weiss, Baron of the Amber Islands, Marquis of the Westlands and Lord of the Azure Sea. He despises this title.", that wasn't really important thought "But ... where you are Conquest, where you are the Plague, I am the War, the Bloodshed upon this world. Begone ? No, I-". Mars wanted to continue but something about the other changed as he charged forward on his horse, attempting to swing at him, the axe finding to target as he moved to the other side of the caravan in what appeared like an instant, leaving behind nothing but a trail of dust. "How dare you, Conquest. How dare you defile the sacred mission we have been given. It is not yet time, for the end of the world has not yet come. You are misguided."

One of the men at arms turned with their horse, charging at him "Enough with the games, Conquest. Answer me, for I stand before you and charge you with blasphemy !", Mars spoke with his deep, distorting voice, drawing the red blade by his side. The horseman pointed at the Second Seal his lance, unleashing a battlecry before Mars deflected the tip of the lance, dashing forward before swinging wide, the blade separating both horse and rider into two seperate pieces. "I remember the words of our creator, Conquest. He spoke: You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, ..." the next two riders pushing forward, one bearing lance, the other sword. Mars' free, left hand started glowing with deeply blue runes before he swung it, unleashing a blade of water that decapitated the one with the sword and the torch in hand, the man dropping from his horse "... nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday." The next one had reached Mars vicinity, the red sword changing to a spear in a swirl of red energy, Mars maneuvering around the rider with extreme speed before sinking the spear into the man's chest, swinging the weapon around and ripping him off the horse, throwing the lifeless body into a tree "A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, these evils will not touch you.". Now everyone of the riders had caught up with the sudden change of pace, turning their horses around towards the Lord of War who grinned viciously, the smile upon his face only widening as around him an aura of pure magical energy flared up, the runes on his skin spreading all over his body. "You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked." he spoke as this time, he was the one to charge ahead at extreme speed, slamming his fist into the skull of one of the horsemen, the helmet cracking before the pure kinetic force he delivered, the lifeless body rocking up and down as the horse continued on its way. "If you say, "The Lord is my refuge," and you make the Most High your dwelling, ...". In another burst of sudden acceleration, Mars appeared behind one of the horsemen on his horse, standing upright before twisting around the man's head by 180 degrees, the horrified expression staring at him leaving no mark as once more he vanished and spoke "... no evil shall conquer you; no plague will come near your home." Mars' gaze wandered from side to side quickly, there were six of these measly little ants left. His sword suddenly lit up with flame as a line of red runes flowed down the blade, the Lord of War swinging it across the chest of the next rider who didn't even get the chance to react before lighting up with blazing fire, "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways."

The Second Seal had enough of these creatures interfering with his trial. "All of you are in the way. Begone !", shouting before holding up his blade, the weapon beginning to glow with golden runes and colour before releasing a blinding light that illuminated their surroundings, burning away all the riders and their horses to nothing but ash, the light retreating back to the blade to leave behind nothing but eerie silence. "So, Pestilence ... you have abandoned the Lord, your father ? Is it true ? Answer me, you foul abomination !"

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Word Count: 965
Word Count Total: 1.863 / 3.500