As should be obvious, I do not own the rights to Kuroinu or Blind Guardian's Beyond the Red Mirror Album.
Long ago, the many worlds of the Universe were connected by the Gateways, large portals that brought one through the Great Void to far off worlds. However, centuries ago the Gateways began to decay. One by one the great paths crumbled into ruin, those inside when the degradation occurred were killed and the formerly connected worlds were cut off. Now, on the world of Albion, the final of these ancient Gateways has been found. The King of the greatest nation of Albion, Mercia, has called for a military expedition through the Gate. To find the great riches told of in the Chronicles of the Old Kingdom, and re-establish contact with the denizens of this mysterious world.
King Alfred hand-picked the men to go through the Red Mirror, the name of this particular gate, and assigned his son Edward to lead them. Edward heavily resembled his father, square-jawed, thin-nosed, and with high cheekbones. While he had the soft brow and small forehead of his mother. He was a tall man, fair of skin, dark of hair, and stout of heart. A seasoned leader of men at the age of twenty-five, having led troops against the wild clans of the southern wilderness. He would be bringing with him a relatively small company of four hundred Pikemen, one hundred Handgunners, fifty Crossbowmen, a small unit of four Minion cannons, and his unit of fifty Heavy Cavalry who had served with him in the Wildlands. This alongside the laborers needed to handle the logistic needs of the Regiment once on the other side of the Mirror. They would be supplied through the gate but would need to stockpile as many supplies as possible in the event of gate failure.
The Red Mirror was an imposing sight. For many of the men in Edward's company, it was the largest thing they had ever seen, being about seven stories tall and wide enough for three carts to enter side by side. Edward rode atop his horse at the head of a column of about seven hundred men, all anxious to go through the gate. He was garbed in a set of full plate, blackened to prevent corrosion and trimmed with a pattern of gold. He struck an imposing figure at the head of a column of similarly armored men, the only difference between them being his helmet which had a pair of wings that swept up towards the sky. As they approached the gate, he saw his father waiting to see him off.
"Hail Father, come to see us off?" he inquired.
"Aye, this is a great day for us all. It would not do for me to not witness the culmination of generations of planning and searching, and besides that, you are my son and heir. I expect you to come back alive. Do not disappoint me" he replied. To others, it may have seemed dismissive and cold, but Edward knew how his father, the Great King Alfred, truly felt. He put on an air of disinterest and apathy to protect himself and his family from the predations of his more ambitious courtiers; however, those that truly knew him knew that he loved his family and would die before seeing harm come to them.
"I do not intend to, if all goes well we shall return with good news and the promise of trade with our new neighbors." indeed, if things went well beyond the Mirror, Mercia could be on the cusp of a new Golden Age.
"Good, I shall expect a report no later than a week after your arrival" Alfred was confident in his son's abilities, and anticipated that it would take less than that for a report to come back through the Mirror.
"Of course, sir. You shall have it" Edward spoke confidently.
"Good, now, you should not delay any further. Good luck and God be with you" Alfred said, before stepping to the side to allow the Company passed.
"And with you Father, tell Mother and Æthelflæd I love them, and shall see them again soon." with that, he raised a hand and motioned for the Company to continue forward. They drew closer to the Mirror, the red glow of the portal gave the whole area a sinister feeling that was at odds with the air of optimism that came from the various observers and the King's retinue. Edward approached the entrance to the unknown and hesitated for but a moment before pushing onward through the baleful red of the doorway. Once he entered the Mirror he found himself in a large chamber, colored the same red as the doorway itself. Some hundred yards away was another identical doorway, and so he made his way to it. He could hear the awed sounds of the men behind him as they looked upon the walls of the chamber, red mirror surfaces that seemed to subtly distort what it reflected. Finally, Edward arrived at the second doorway and urged his horse forward.
It was a dark time in Eostia. The mercenaries of the Black Dogs had betrayed the Alliance, and now waged a war of subjugation, wanton rape, and slaughter. The outlying villages and towns of the Allied kingdoms had fallen. The men killed or enslaved, and the women taken to be sex slaves for the Dogs and their dark cohorts. It was in these dark times that the people of the village of Daria took solace in their faith. Legend told of the great Gateway, whose stone edifice remained on a field outside the village, bringing forth servants of the Lord to bring salvation to those in need. Thus the people of Daria left offerings around the gate, to gain the favor of the Lord and seek protection from the Dogs.
On this particularly quiet day, the chief of the village, one Erin Sune, made his daily pilgrimage to the gateway. He carried with him a basket of bread and cheeses, to be left at the small altar erected near it. However, there was one major difference between those days and today. Today, the gateway glowed a deep red and rippled as though something was coming through.
"Could it be? Salvation?" he whispered to himself in awe. The last time the Gateway had been active like this, well, was during the Great War many generations ago. When the forces of good and evil fought across the breadth of the universe. So engrossed in these thoughts was he, that he did not notice the warning flare that came up inside the village. It wasn't until he heard the sound of a marching army that he looked away from the Gateway, and beheld to great dismay, the forces of the Black Dogs. He could see them from here, their banners waving in the wind as an omen to the coming death of Daria. The chief had seen much in his sixty-five years of life, and he could hear the death knell of the village he had worked so hard to see prosper, it sounded like the baying of Pigmen and Demifiends. Suddenly, from the Gate there came movement. A horse, ridden by a man in a suit of plate, rode through the mirror-like surface of the light. Following him came many score other horsemen, pikemen, archers, and men with large wooden rods, much like a crossbow without arms. With a start, they stared in awe at their surroundings before one, an ox of a man in a suit of plate to the left of the leader, motioned to Erin himself.
"Hail friend! Woul-" he began, before being interrupted by the old gentleman.
"Please! You must help, the enemy marches on my village! They will rape and slaughter everyone, please help!" Erin was desperate, if they turned their backs on the village they were doomed.
"What enemy? What are you saying, man?" was the reply.
"Mercenaries are preparing to sack my village, rape the women and kill the men, please, you must help us fend them off." the desperation was clear in his voice, and Edward was moved into action by his plea.
"Alright, we shall help you" he replied, turning to his men. "Right, Pikemen, form tercio. The enemy shall be run through upon your steel. Gunners, prepare shot and take your formations in the tercio. Reunalt, take your crossbowmen and the cannons to that hill there" he said, pointing at a small hill overlooking the path of the enemy. "It should give you a better position to pepper them with bolt and cannon fire". Finally, he ordered his cavalrymen to prepare for a charge into the enemy flanks.
"Thank you sir, oh Lord praise you sir" Erin was openly weeping now, hopeful for the first time in what seemed like forever.
"Men, move to intercept the enemy!" he ordered, sparing but a small nod towards the old chief. The tercio moved rather quickly for a block of its size, owing to the seasoned nature of these men. Soon they were in position, pikes bristling dangerously in the morning light, and the enemy was now within sight.
"By God, how undisciplined." Edward's lieutenant, George, commented. He was correct, of course. These mercenaries were hardly more organized than a Southern raiding party, and even more poorly armed. These men were wearing, for the most part, what looked to be cloth tunics with leather bracers and greaves at most. There were even those without clothing on their backs at was not even counting the beastmen, which were completely naked as a rule.
"It is clear these men have never faced an opponent of even marginal discipline. Still, we must not underestimate them" came Edwards reply. Finally, the mercenaries saw them, their standard waving proudly in the morning air. The baying of the beasts grew louder and more urgent. Suddenly, four explosions ripped through the air. The Minions let loose their deadly payload. Heavy balls of metal flew through the air and landed among the densely packed mercenaries. Their limp bodies were torn apart and thrown about the road. In response, the beastmen, who were far enough away from the men to avoid any casualties, broke into a charge. They recklessly threw themselves forward, right into the effective range of the Musketeers.
"Take aim, Fire!" two of the Sergeants ordered. With this, the musketeers fired off their deadly volleys. Many of the beasts were struck down in the first volley before they could get close enough to bring their bulk to bear. The men had by now recovered, although still under fire from the cannons, and they too ran wantonly into their fire. The crossbowmen loosed their bolts at any who strayed too close to the cannon's position, felling many more. The continued fire from the cannons and muskets soon proved too much, and the enemy routed. However, before they could get far, Edward's cavalry charged into the fleeing mercenaries. They ran down all who attempted to flee the field, including several grotesque Pigmen who squealed much like their names would suggest.
Now quiet reigned in the countryside, the muskets and cannons having gone silent at the death of the last enemy. The only sounds were of the groaning of the dying mercenaries, and the pounding of hoof on the dirt. The pikemen now moved forward, stabbing any beast or man who made move to rise. Only some thirty of the original two hundred Dogs yet lived. Though those who survived were maimed beyond what any in this land were used too, and their screams were slowly being silenced by the pikes. Only one man was allowed to live, a portly man with the bearing of a spoiled child who lead this raid. He whined incessantly before being slapped across his face by the mailed fist of George.
"Shut up, insolent whelp. You will speak as a man or I shall cut out your tongue." he threatened. Edward knew, of course, that he was completely serious. He had seen George do it to a southern clansman before. Glancing down, Edward noticed the stain growing in the prissy young noble's trousers and glared in disgust.
"Now that we have your attention, you shall tell us anything and everything you know. If you refuse, I shall let George here follow up on that threat of his" he demanded. Once more, the stain grew larger.
"I.I..I am Duke William of Dunebourough, I...I can give you whatever you'd like, Girls, Women, Bo-Ayy!" William squealed as George drove his gauntleted finger into his left eye socket. "Sto-Stop, please stop! I'll talk, please" Edward was inclined to have the fat bastard executed here and now to make his incessant wailing stop.
"Where is this, Dunebourough?" Edward inquired.
"T..two days travel to the north, along this path" the worm squealed out.
"And are they allied with this mercenary filth, hmm?"
"N...no, only my brother he sent me here, it was all his ide-"
"Shut up worm, George, do what you please to him. Just don't make too much of a mess." Edward commanded as he walked towards Erin, he sped up slightly when he heard the largest squeal yet come from the pig, before abruptly silencing.
"Now, sir, I have need of you. Most pressingly, I need to know where I am, and what the situation is in these lands."
Hey there, people of FFN, I have risen from the dead in order to beat my muse with a stick... thus producing this... a mostly original setting crossed over with a series that I hate with a fiery passion. Worry not, as much as I may want, I shall try not to make it too much of a stomp in the Mercian's favor. Anyhow, thanks for reading, critiques and such are welcome.
Edit: Alright, now that I have had time to reread this and such, I have changed a couple things to make the story actually make sense. Anywho, Enjoy and don't forget to Review. Ah, and please try to keep the "LOL MOAR" posts to a minimum.