Immortal Presage: Dark Prophecy

Chapter One: That which Ends and Begins Again

He had made his way back to the city of Caerleon with a fraction of the battle group left. The group had departed with a battalion of three hundred black knights and a platoon of fifty-seven mercenaries. They returned with eighteen black knights and two mercenaries.

What was left was battered and beaten. There were some with missing limbs who would have to be given prosthetic limbs. Their armor had chunks cut out, with nicks and cuts covering what was left. They all were covered in second or third degree burns. Looking at them you could believe they had survived a war.

A closer look revealed something even more terrifying and devastating: their armor was not ripped apart by conventional weapons but had instead been melted apart. Deadly corrosive acid had destroyed their bodies.

Most of those who had returned were in their thirties, with only a couple in their twenties. Upon their faces was the look of hopelessness. Most of them had never seen anything like what they had witnessed. The morale of the knights had evaporated, leaving tears on their faces and holes in their souls deeper than the acid that had burned them.

Battle had taught the more experienced knights survival. Yet, experience alone had not protected them from death's list; luck had been the key factor in the massacre they had just lived through. And the many who were as seasoned had learned the rules of survival quickly.

The group had walked a long way and come back to the base from which they left. As they approached the gates, the EG, eternal guards, stopped them.

"Halt! Identify yourselves."

"Lieutenant Sinclair, from the twenty-first company."

"Sir, is that you?" both EGs asked, saluting. The lieutenant saluted back.

"Hey! Call the officer of the guard now!" instructed one EG to another. "Tell them the lieutenant just walked in." As he turned, his partner was already dialing.

"Why did we not get picked up?" asked the lieutenant. "We requested transportation two and a half hours ago,"

"Not sure, sir. We got your call, but no one responded after our relay of your call. We've been on standby ever since sir," replied an EG.

"That's fine, but it's unimportant now. We need to get to a hospital; these men need medical attention now."

"Aye sir!" said the EG, snapping to attention.

Once his partner's phone call was finished, he went to him and whispered "Alright for now, just call a duty driver. It's an emergency." His partner immediately went right to the phone.

The EG glanced behind the lieutenant to see if anyone was left. He saw someone standing there and put his hand on his spear to make sure it was still there. The man was carrying two of the wounded men, one man on his back and the other one under his arm.

"Halt! You there-who are you?" said the EG pointing his spear. The lieutenant turned to see who was being questioned and then back toward the EG.

"He's alright. He's with us," stated the lieutenant. "This is the one I spoke of over the phone."

"My apologies, sir. That's him?" asked the EG, lowering his spear.

One of the injured knights from the group began to murmur, "He was like a monster; he fought like a beast."

"I'm glad he was on our side. We would have never survived without him," added another knight.

"Lock it up, save your energy!" the lieutenant shouted. The chatter from the knights died down. "Is the transportation here yet? We need to get them to the hospital. They need to see a doctor."