Prometheus
Horses whinnied and brayed as the air was thick with the smell of war. Mud, sweat and iron. Countless legions of the Empire's finest conscripts marched forth, the epitome of marshal prowess. Despite humans being one of the most disadvantaged species, there was a reason they had dominated their surroundings. That reason was on clear display as the clanking of metal on metal filled the air.
Atop his piebald steed, the commander of the Auxilia Corp gazed over his forces with something approaching pride. General Quirinius Amulius took in a deep breath. Swiftly removing his helm, he took in the environment. Before him stood a mighty hill, belching smoke and shooting sparks. Alnus Hill, as it was known, was currently under the occupation of otherworldly enemies.
It had been many nights since their attempted incursion into the Gate had been effortlessly repelled. They had entered, expecting riches and plunder. What they had got however, was a slaughter of the highest proportions. Fire and brimstone had been thrown at them from distances outside of their eyesight. Even the greatest dragon-riders were stumped, before being turned into bright red clouds of blood and viscera. They had not even encountered a single enemy. After making several strategic retreats, Alnus Hill had fallen into the grips of the enemy. What truly worried the men however, was the noise coming from the hill. It was a terrible sound, worse than anything anyone had ever heard, like the clashing of a million blades.
As the Auxilia made a camp sufficient distance away from the strange fortress on the hill, General Quirinius dismounted, entering his command tent. Within the tent awaited several other commanders and Vassal-Kings. The atmosphere was a tense one to be sure. Laying out a map of Alnus Hill, Quirinius looked around at those present.
"What word from the Capital? Has the Emperor made his statement?"
Everyone on the frontlines was anxiously awaiting the words of Emperor Molt. He had not yet commented on the failure of the initial invasion. His fury would be unbridled and the soldiers would suffer for their failures.
All of the assembled kings and commanders hesitated for a moment, before King Duran spoke up, his proud voice cutting through the silence..
"None of us have heard a single word. I shudder to imagine his reaction. We didn't even encounter a single soul on the other side. What about the spies we've implanted into the enemy base? They gladly accepted our 'refugees'."
Quirinius nodded wistfully, before ordering a nearby soldier to bring the letter to the tent. The flaps of the tent rustled open, and swung close, letting in a harsh, cold wind, chilling the men to the bone.
After a moment of waiting, the soldier returned with the letter. Unravelling the letter, Quirinius held it up to the fellow commanders, to show that all their dead had actually provided results.
"This letter was sent by one of our spies via our messenger birds. It claims that they have barely seen much of the base, being kept in one area mainly."
Many of the leaders furrowed their brows at this. It sounded as if they weren't imprisoned, but contained. Such humanity from their invisible foe. It baffled them to no end.
"That's not all. Some of our spies have caught glances of mysterious wizards, wielding staves emitting blue fire, yet have no face. Just a large black eye that never closes. They appear to be using their magic on some kind of summoning."
Every single man tensed up at those final words. Not only had they declared war on these one-eyed wizards, but they were attempting a summoning? These wizards must have been responsible for the constant bombardment of fire and brimstone. They need to be eliminated, post haste.
"Hold on one moment General."
Quirinius looked over in the direction of the interruption. It came from Legate Liber. A young, yet experienced leader, Liber had led the his own Legion to victory many times. His crowning moment was surely the decisive victory he won over the Ogre warlord Glattomlarg some years ago. Despite being outnumbered 5 to 1, and being up against an army of giant ogres, his strategic mind and outstanding cunning had earned him a particularly high place in the books of the Emperor.
"What is the problem Legate? Do you need me to repeat myself?"
The air grew heavy. No one questioned the General. No one asked him to repeat himself. It was practically a death sentence, even for one of the Emperor's favoured commanders.
"How do we know that they are summoning anything? The spies aren't mages. They have no knowledge of magic. We can't trust this information."
A moment of silence passed, before Quirinius locked eyes with the Legate, and held the stare.
"You may be correct. However..."
He breaks off eye contact to gaze back down at the scroll.
"...they have seen giant body parts around the base."
The minds of every person present ground to a halt. Even the guards out the front of the tent paused in confusion.
"G-giant body parts? What do you mean? And how did they even see these body parts? They themselves said they're confined to one area!"
One of the other Legions commanders slammed his hands down on the map, sweat trickling down his forehead. He wasn't the only one. One by one, other generals began murmuring in agreement. Such a thing was unheard of. It must the delusions of foolish children.
"They are confined to one area. That is how large these body parts are."
Even King Duran began sweating nervously at this point.
"Regardless, we still have our spies. We can strik-"
He was quickly interrupted by the very earth shaking beneath his feet. The tent swayed from side to side as everyone struggled to keep their balance in the face of this event. The flaps of the tent were pushed open to reveal a wide eyed soldier.
"My Lords, you need to see this."
His tone was passive, as if he had seen something so awful that all emotions had been drained from him. As the generals and the Vassal-Kings filed out of the tent, they turned towards Alnus Hill. They could see many soldiers crying and on their knees. A few had even attempted to slit their own throats. Confusion reigned amongst the leaders.
Then they saw it.
Stood atop the hill was a being unlike anything anyone had ever seen. Even from this distance, the scale was impossible to argue against. This being seemed almost as tall as the hill itself. They may have been several leagues away, but it seemed to be casting a shadow over the whole land. Fear crept into the heart of the commanders as they witnessed it.
Its bright yellow colouring made it easy to spot. It also seemed to be clad, head to toed in armour. Eyes widened even further when the commanders noticed a detail about this being. It seemed to only have one single eye. Manic laughter spread through the camp as the impossibility of what they were seeing finally sunk in.
They had angered the one-eyed wizards. And in response, the wizards had summoned their God onto the mortal plane. Prayers to their own gods were meaningless in the face of the Titan before them. Hardy couldn't do anything against this. Even the mightiest Apostles would be simply crushed beneath those titanic feet. The atmosphere in the camp was one of hysteria and panic. Then it took a step forwards.
The earth trembled and shook as the Titan effortlessly stepped over the walls of the enemy fort. King Duran fell to his knees, tears in his eyes.
"No way... we lost 60,000 men to those walls... And it just stepped over them?"
The Titan's steps were large and terrifying. Each step seemed to carry on for countless leagues. As it got closer, the scale truly made it worse. The towering figure did not even look down as it strolled into the camp, effortlessly crushing several tents beneath its titanic feet. As it halted, a booming sound seemed to emerge from the Titan as it remained completely stationary. It deafened the entire camp.
Covering his ears as blood began to trickle from them, Quirinius looked up at the colossal being.
"Is this the language of the Gods?"
Although none present could comprehend what was saying, if they had any grasp of the English language, the message would have been clear.
"I am Firebrand Zeus. You have assaulted Pan-Pacific Defence Corps territory. That is violation of Statue 11-9 of Article 7B. You will be pacified."