I don't own For Honor or Percy Jackson I only own my OCs

Slim Prime appears in a red portal. "Welcome readers, and readers reading live from the ship! Speaking of the ship (discord server) we have been getting some people to join up, memes are to be had and moments of derp! We also have a running poll on the old profile page, I would be very happy if I could get some more votes casted as it will be affecting the next story that is coming out."

"But you're not here to hear my blabber on about this, you're here for the story, hell most of you have skipped this bit and gone right to the story. But hey I don't blame you I do it too. So let's get those guest reviews and jump right into it."

Guest 1: Happy your into this got a lot more in store for you guys.

Guest 2: Right now!

My return to the valley was oddly celebrated, I say it was odd because I really didn't do anything to deserve it. Sure the ones who came for me celebrated as well but it was like I had fought my way out of my captivity. I asked my father after everything was said and done. He also told me my defiance to the Greek gods was apparently spoken about by one of the angels, and as such my loyalty was being celebrated.

The Vikings were also celebrating as apparently one of the Greek gods had snuck in and Thor had dealt with them. The Samurai's part of the Valley was oddly quiet though. I also did not see Atol through the entire thing, and no one was able or willing to tell me his whereabouts.

I was also greeted by Layvelth soon after coming home. The little bundle of energy jumped onto my face as soon as she saw me come into the house. My mother also had the chance to meet my dragon partner, she seemed to land on Layvelth's good graces a lot faster than my first mother. Maybe it had something to do with the pancakes that she offered Layvelth once she learned of one of her favorite foods.

Speaking of my first mother she came back not long after my father, mother, and I got to talking. She said that she took a few missions to allow time to cool off. Thought she would still give Hestia that death glare every now and then but for the most part she did not do anything that one would count as harmful. They would probably have some form of talk tonight when I went off to bed, I had a feeling that sleeping arrangements were going to be annoying to deal with. Thank God I was not the one dealing with it.

I made the choice to go to bed early given everything that happened today, and for the small fact that I wanted to sleep well before my parents started their talk. Layvelth followed me to my room and almost like a dog would call it's master to sleep. But I would never make the analogy out loud to her, as I had a feeling, I would be risking an angry dragon. Layvelth curled around herself next to my head as I slipped in between the covers. I wished her sweet dreams and she replied in kind, then I let my eyes fall and sleep took me.

Markus set on a chair to the side of two long couches, both of them had someone sitting on them. To his right Jessica, the woman who helped raise John and declared her love for him. To his left Hestia, the goddess who gave birth to him and the one he was in love with first. He still loved Hestia and had a great deal of respect for Jessica.

He had a feeling this talk was coming but he would be lying if he said he was looking forward to it. He made sure to send a Payer to God for wisdom in defusing this, less he be burned or stabbed again… or both.

"So…" Markus began a little fearfully. "Hestia is back."

"I can see that." Jessica replied, still glaring at Hestia.

Hestia on the other hand was doing what she did best and smiled at Jessica, though she was attempting to use her abilities to calm the mood in the room, but it was not working too well. Truth be told she was a little afraid of the mortal before her.

"It's good to see-" Hestia began but was cut off by Jessica.

"Don't lie to me goddess." Jessica snapped. "Let's be real, we both don't like each other. I stabbed you, I was ready to kill you."

"I do not hold it against you, Jessica." Hestia replied. "You were protecting your family from a perceived threat."

"Believe me goddess I am not perceiving anything. While I love John as my own flesh and blood, you and Markus should never have met. Markus probably told you by now, but the Factions are now at war with your pantheon. Being the goddess of family, you won't allow yourself to betray your family even if it is for Markus and John."

There was a pause in the room for a few moments.

"You are right." Hestia finally stated her head down in deep thought. "I love my family, despite all their imperfections I still love them, but Markus and John are my family too. I would give anything to see that your Iron Legion and my family did not have to fight. I doubt that even with me using my abilities that I could convince my brother to call off whatever plans he is making for combating your people. Nor do I believe I could talk your leaders into leaving my family alone."

"I am at an impasse; I will not help my family in the battles that are sure to come when they send demigods after you. Nor can I help your Legion with planning against my brother." She looked back up. "All I can do now is help raise John to the best of my ability."

"That is if I let you." Jessica replied coldly unaffected by her speech.

"Now Jessica-" Markus started.

"Shut up Markus." Jessica said cutting him off before he went anywhere.

"Shutting up now."

She looked back to Hestia. "John is a Lawbringer, an Original Lawbringer meaning that other Lawbringers will look up to him like they do Markus. He needs to be raised correctly and as a warrior, while you might be able to raise him to be a good person that will not be enough for the Legion. Are you prepared to see John leave here knowing full well he may not return? Are you ready to see him come back home covered in blood and with a broken body? Can you help raise a warrior Hestia?"

It did not take long for Hestia to reply. "When John is called off to war, I will be here for him When he returns. I may not be able to show him the ways of war, but I can make sure that there is a home for him to come back to. Because more than anything, a warrior needs a place he can call home."

Silence returned to the living room as Jessica stared down the goddess looking for any sign of weakness in her resolve. The moment lasted for a few minutes before it was ended with both Markus and Jessica turning their heads sharply towards the staircase. In a blur of motion both knights had deployed their soul gear and were running up the stairs and towards John's room. Markus threw his shoulder into the door not bothering to check if it was unlocked.

The door flew off its hinges and onto the floor allowing the two knights entry into the room. They both quickly scanned the room for any sign of an intruder but found none. John's dragon partner was on her hunches using her front legs to shake John, but the young knight had made no move to acknowledge her. Jessica was at her son's side in an instant checking his pulse and forehead.

Hestia soon found her way into the room. "What's going on?"

"We don't know," Markus replied seriously, his friendly tone gone from his voice. "We detected an unknown energy coming over John's room. We thought that another god or Greek agent had slipped through, but we were not sure."

"His heart is beating normally, but his breathing is shallow." Jessica reported. "His temperature is also below normal for him."

"He could be having a vision from the Fates; demigods have those often." Hestia suggested.

Markus shook his head. "No, his connection was severed by Gabriel. There is no way the Fates could have sent him anything. This could be an attack by a dream god of some sort, doesn't the Greeks have one?"

"Morpheus? No, if he was giving John nightmares then he would at least be thrashing in his sleep." Hestia replied. "Besides, he would need to know where John was."

"It's possible that he is receiving a vision from one of the other pantheons that the Factions are in contact with. The Morrigan comes to mind." Jessica said darkly.

Markus shuddered at the mention of that goddess. "hugh, I never liked talking to her."

"What can be done then?" Hestia asked.

"We wait for him to come out of it, or we call someone of similar power to enter his dream or cut the connection." Jessica answered.

"I will call Raphael if John is hurt in any way, he will be the one to heal it." Markus said, taking out his phone.

Hestia came and sat down at John's side. She hoped that he was in no danger.

I could not tell when I fell asleep but the next time I was aware of myself I found that I was standing in a desolate withered plane. The air was cold, and the ground seemed muddy, a thick fog also began to set in as I looked around, hiding much of the plane from my sight. A full moon also hung in the night sky giving some light to the ground in front of me but with the fog setting in I could not see far.

The strange thing about this was it did not feel like a dream. Most times when I dream I did not often question why I was in a certain area as I just felt like I knew why I was there. However, this was different. I felt like I knew I was in a dream but not one I could control. A thought occurred to me that this was another vision but Gabriel said he had cut my connection to the Fates. There was no way that the Fates could reestablish a connection with me after the connection was cut by Gabriel.

Right?

I decided to test something and willed my fire to my right hand. My hand ignited on command as if I was in the real world. Odd, that I would have command over my powers here, but if I was here for a reason then I was not going to find out anything by standing around here. I willed the fire surrounding my hand into my palm to create a ball of fire I could use as a light source. After choosing a direction I began walking through the fog.

The dead grass crunched under my feet as I walked forward but I toned out the sound to listen for anything else that might be moving in the fog with me. But no other sound registered to my ears nor any figure suddenly taking shape in the fog like in those horror movies. I chose to keep up my watch as I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being watched.

The air began to grow thick and breathing took more of an effort now. It was at this time shapes began to take form in the fog, but they were not human, and they did not seem to be looking at me. It was like they were statues of some kind of monster that I had never encountered before. Some had horns on their heads, others had more than the normal four limbs, some lacked heads and others seemed to be kneeling on the ground from being wounded in one way or another. Whenever I tried to approach one it would crumble away as if they were made of dust.

After a few minutes of this the statue-like shapes began to become less and less common. Soon only one or two showed up every few minutes. That's when I noticed a large shape began to take form in front of me. As if by command the fog began to clear around in front of me to reveal the sight of an enormous castle… or more of a fortress given with the tall walls, guard towers, huge gate, and large citadel towards the back of the fortress. There was a "small" mountain range behind the fortress that it was built into. The peaks were sharp and looked near impossible to traverse with any army that was not flying.

In comparison I felt like a small ant looking up at the Empire State building. Unlike the Empire State Building this fortress looked like it had been under a siege like no other. Whole Guard towers collapsed and there were hundreds of holes in the wall, some huge and others small. There were wrecks of cannon like implements, most of them looked like bigger more advanced versions of the ones used during the Civil War. There were a few burned and torn flags hanging in some places, but they were too faded to make anything out from them.

It was truly saddening to see such a mighty fortress in such a state. I tried to imagine what this fortress might have looked like before whatever siege took place here but it was too far damaged for me to imagine what this fortress might have looked like before it was attacked.

A chill came over me as if some ghost had passed through me and the fire in my palm went out. I went to reignite it, but my fire would not answer my call. I considered turning back or trying to wake up from whatever dream I was in. But that too seemed fruitless as I could not move my legs to turn back nor could I seem to wake up.

Another chill passed through me but this time it was accompanied by a faint almost female like voice.

'Come.' It said.

I managed to take a step back from the shock of suddenly hearing the voice but was not allowed any further back. It was like the fortress itself was pulling me towards it. A few memories came to mind as I looked on at the fortress. There were a lot of stories in Greek… I guess history since mythology was to be considered myth, of buildings or areas that would trap whoever entered it. It reminded me of Odysseus, the poor guy got lost for ten years of his life trying to get back home just because he had a moment of pride. However, I did not know of any Greek fortresses that did such a thing nor did the fortress have any Greek architecture. Now that I truly looked at it again, I saw the similarities this fortress had to the one in The Valley.

The size of its walls was made with the intention that monsters that could jump high could not reach the top, as well as to stop bigger monsters from simply smashing through it. There were a few structures in front of the gate as if to welcome travelers and ward away monsters. Though mostly destroyed or crumbling one of them did somewhat look like the armor used by a lawbringer.

This was an Iron Legion Fortress. That I was beginning to see.

After taking a deep breath and sending a quick prayer to God for protection and guidance, I walked towards the fortress gates.

As I approached the gates I noticed the grass on the ground gave way to old concrete bricks but there were many patches where the grass had grown over the bricks. Pressing onward and passing the broken or destroyed statues. Now standing in front of the main gate and walls I could truly appreciate how massive these walls were. I was no architect but even I could say that these walls had to be at least sixty to seventy feet tall with the main gate being around the fifty foot range.

The main gate itself was made from a dark color wood with strong iron bars giving extra strength to the gate. I did question why this fortress would use wood instead of an iron bar gate, as it would be stronger than any wooden gate. I looked around to see if there was any lever or some kind of "lower the gate request" … button… but there was none to be had.

After a few moments I decided to knock on the door. I balled my fist and let my knuckles rap on the door. I was not hitting it hard as to avoid hurting myself but even then, there was an audible banging echoing through the area. After I felt that I had done enough I stepped back to see if anything would happen due to my action.

After a few moments of silence there was a strong clinking sound as if a large lock was being opened. What followed was the sound of incredibly old and unoiled hinges creaking and squeaking as the massive doors slowly began to open outwards. The doors moved slowly giving me more than enough time to back up. The doors came to a halt when they were far enough open to allow me to enter. Light began to pour in allowing me to see in, about ten feet in was another gate, this time it was your standard castle gate. It looked a little worse for wear, but it looked like it could take a hit from Thor's hammer and still stand strong. Past the yett and another ten feet in front of me was another yett and past that a third yett before another great wooden gate stood much like the one at the front.

Taking another deep breath, I walked in. As I feared, as soon as I passed the front gate they began to close. I did not bother trying to stop them or run back out as, one there was no way in hell that I could stop those doors from closing on my strength alone, and two I had a feeling that my legs would not let me turn around now. At the same time the yett was beginning to open, rising into the ceiling but like the front gate they only went up enough for me to pass by. As soon as I passed, they fell back down with a crash. The same happened for the next two before I reached the wooden gate which opened at my arrival.

It turns out that the wooden door was the last one as the door opened, moonlight rushed in. After exiting the entrance I was greeted by the sight of an abandoned and unmaintained city square. The city square, like the outer walls, was damaged with the signs of battle,littered with burn marks, claw marks, skeletons of both humans and monsters lying around. A few of the skeletons belong to that of children judging from their size.

My heart arched as I saw all the death around me. As I looked around, I saw that this was more than a military fortress for the Iron Legion, it was a home for people in a city. Already I could spot a marketplace and housing district. At one time kids my age played through these streets while the adults went about their business.

Being a child of Hestia I could not stop the tears falling from my eyes as I imagined it, here was a people's home ruined and sacked. A city with its people murdered and their bodies laying in the streets exposed to the elements and scavengers. From my sadness came rage as my lawbringer side demanded justice for such an evil act. It demanded that all those responsible be hunted down and executed for their crimes and for their bodies to be left out as an example to all others who would dare commit such an evil act.

A chill passed through me again, and again a voice followed with it.

'Come.'

My head turned towards the city where another large wall stood, though it was not as large or tall as the outer wall. I began walking towards the direction the voice seemed to be calling me to. The number of skeletons increased as I went further into the fortress. Monster skeletons became more abundant with less human skeletons lying around. I could only assume that the first attack of the siege was fast and brutal. The skeletons in the front of the city belonged to those who died early in the battle, while the rest were rushed to the inner parts of the fortress. The monsters who gave chase were cut down by fire from the inner walls and knights fighting in the streets.

I swallowed a lump that was building in my throat. If this battle ended as it did then I would be coming across the rest of the fortress' people as I entered the under fortress. I pressed onward coming to the gate of the under wall. Like the inner gates of the outer wall the gate was a yett, and like before it opened at my approach only to crash back down after I passed.

There were more skeletons here like I had guessed of both humans and monsters. I noticed that a few of the monster skeletons were charred and burned. If I had to guess this is where the Fortress' inferno knights began to take part in the battle.

I kept walking towards the main citadel as I had a feeling that was where the voice wanted me to go. I had to pass through another gate before I finally got the main citadel courtyard. It was here that I found what I feared. The skeletons of the people who called this place home laid here, no doubt there were more inside.

I walked over to the main entrance, the area around it was damaged even more so than the rest of the courtyard with the doors being knocked inward. Now standing in the entrance hall I found the skeletons of humans and piles of monsters' skeletons. This was where the knights began their last stand killing as many monsters as they could.

Some pride began to well up inside me as I saw the numbers of monsters that were slain in this area. The knights who fought here truly gave everything they had and then some. I could only hope to be as brave as the knights who fought and gave their lives here. Since the time I had been taken from Camp Half-Blood I needed rescuing almost every other day. I was not worthy to stand where these heroes gave their last stand.

A chill passed through me as I became lost in my thoughts.

'Come.' It said once again.

'Why? Why would this voice call me to a place where heroes gave their lives? Why call for someone like me when there were plenty of other knights who were worthy of standing on such ground?' I thought to myself.

As if hearing me another chill passed through me and like all the other times.

'Come.' The voice said.

My attention was drawn to another doorway, like the entrance these doors had been ripped off their hinges. I moved onward trying to find where this voice was calling me to. After walking through the citadel for a while I came across a set of doors that looked like they led to a throne room or something of the sort given the ornate carvings on the doors. I walked up to the doors and was about to push them open when they opened on their own.

Stepping inside I found myself in a Throne room. Like most of the other rooms in the citadel there were signs of battle all over the place. The once nice red cloth that ran up the center was torn and ruined beyond all repair. Banners were hanging from pillars lining outer areas of the room, while past that was a large balcony area big enough for a large dragon to land. Speaking of this, the whole room was big enough for a dragon to move around quite easily.

On the far side of the room was the ornate looking throne that seemed out of place given the pristine condition it was in. It was on a raised platform with stairs leading to the top. I noticed that there was also plenty of room behind the throne as well, given the size of the throne room itself I guessed that the leader of this fortress was a dragon rider and the area behind him was for his dragon.

How do I know that the old leader of this fortress was male? Well there was a suit of armor sitting in the throne, and given its size and style I had a feeling that it once belonged to a lawbringer.

I moved further into the throne room to get a better look at the armor.

The armor had a bit of eeriness to it while at the same time holding an air of nobility. It was largely black with golden accents. There were three diagonal red stripes on its right shoulder plate, while the other looked like the upper part of a wolf's skull facing down its arm. The hips were protected by skirt armor that looked like thick leather with metal woven into it.

The chest piece looked strong as if it could take any hit and shrug it off like it was nothing. The chest plate came up close to the helmet leaving his neck protected from attack. The helmet appeared to have two layers, the under-helmet fitting over the over helmet and face plate. There was a narrow visor with three horizontal slits where his mouth would be. A cape was attached to the armor and it looked to have some golden trim to it with some patterns on it but from here I could not really make it out.

To think someone could die in such an armor was almost impossible, I did not want to imagine what could have brought down such a person using armor such as that. However, as I thought of it a question appeared in my mind. All of the knight skeletons that I had seen were just skeletons, I had a feeling that when a knight, or any faction warrior for that matter, died their gear returned to their soul. So why did this lawbringer's armor stay behind?

Suddenly the ground shook around me like something big had just landed behind me. When I turned to see what happened, I only saw the blade of a sword coming down on me. Before I had time to react the blade had cut me.

My eyes shot opened and I took in a quick breath of air as if awakened by cold water. My two mothers, father, partner, and Lego sentinels were all gathered around my bed with worried looks on their faces.

"John!" Hestia cried and grabbed a hold of me. "What happened we could not wake you?!"

"I-I don't know." I stuttered remembering all I had witnessed in my dream. "I-I was at some kind of fortress." The images of the skeletons began to flash back into my mind. The sadness, tears, and rage soon followed.

My mother who raised me sat down besides and put her arm around me. "It's ok John, we're here now, you're safe." I leaned into her for comfort but I kept one hand on my birth mother as well.

After I had a moment to calm down, I spoke. "I was walking through a fortress that looked to be abandoned for a long time." The sentinels, my father and my mother, took more attention than Layvelth and Hestia did. "There were skeletons of both monsters and humans all over the place, and almost every building was heavily damaged. A voice was calling me to the citadel where I came across a throne room. There I saw a suit of armor sitting on a throne and soon after something attacked me and I woke up."

The sentinels, my father and my mother gave each other a knowing look.

"Do you guys know something?" I asked looking at them.

My father was the first to reply. "We can't be sure, but it sounds like you dreamt of a very old fortress lost to the knight legion during the Civil War."

"Wolf's Head." My knightly mother echoed.

"Whatever the case, it's best you get some sleep John or at least try to get some sleep." My father said before turning to the Lego sentinels. "Tell the Lord commander we need to speak tomorrow."

The Sentinel saluted before signaling one of the other sentinels.

My godly mother did not quite know what they were talking about but she gave me a reassuring slim before easing me back into bed. My parents left my room and I tried to go back to sleep, but I did not have much luck with it.

Camp Half-Blood was not faring well after the knights attacked. Ten half-bloods lay dead and many more injured. Some of the cabins were damaged, only the newly constructed jail cells were destroyed. To add to that it had not stopped thundering since the knights retreated, and Dionysus had yet to return from Olympus. Chiron had been called up to Olympus to discuss matters leaving the campers to try and fix up their camp.

On the bright sighed the demigods sent to find Zeus' master bolt had returned, while the camp was happy to see them return. All but one of course but for now he had other orders to carry out, as his master had found new allies to bring about the end of Olympus. Only a few problems had to be sorted out now.

In the Hephaestus cabin Aithne had once again locked herself in her room. While the attack lingered in her mind the woman she killed was still affecting her. She had never taken a human life before and she was feeling the full force of the experience. She could still see her face when she closed her eyes.

If John were here he would be at her side comforting her, telling her everything was alright and that she could get through this.

"All I want is John to be by my side again, is that too much to ask for?" She thought aloud.

"Unfair isn't it?" A male voice with a slight English accent said casually.

Aithne turned on her bed to see a handsome, one might say dashingly handsome, man with a model-like face and a muscular body. He looked to be around six four, but it was hard to tell since he was sitting in an ornate chair while sipping from a cup and reading a newspaper. His hair was black and while short was styled, he also sported a close-cut full bread. His eyes almost pitch black, but they did have a brown pitch to them. He was wearing an expensive dark suit that only added to his attractiveness.

He looked up from his newspaper and smiled. "Oh, don't mind me you were moping about killing some Viking and not having your boy toy around. Please go back to what you were doing." He went back to his newspaper and turned the page.

Aithne was shocked into silence. Not only was there an extremely attractive man in her room but she also failed to notice him entering at all. Gods he was so handsome. And John is not a boy toy, whatever that was, he was her best friend and she wanted him back. Gods he must be a child of Aphrodite. Did she fall asleep at some point? Was that how he got in? She just wanted to-

She mentally slapped herself, where were these thoughts coming from.

It was possible that he was a god.

"um, are you-" She began but the man cut her off.

"No, no, and she wishes she could have a child with my looks." He said almost knowing what she was going to ask.

"How did you-"

"When you have been around as long as I have, you get to know how people act. It is quite easy to guess what they are going to say." He interrupted tuning the page in his newspaper, now that she looked at it, she was unable to read the words on the back and it was not because of her dyslexia as the words were staying in place. "Hmm, look at that, two Viking outpost go dark in Montana, those shifters move fast."

She wanted to say something, but she felt that he would just cut her off again. ,So, she sighed and flopped back down onto her bed. Maybe he was just a figment of her imagination and killing that woman was getting to her more than it should. Gods she just wanted John back and to forget everything that had happened.

"Hmm, wishing your boy toy was here again?" The man asked.

At that moment something in Aithne snapped.

The demigoddess shot up from her bed, fire shooting off her body and much of the things in her room catching fire.

"YES!" She screamed. "Yes, I want my John back I want this stupid demigod and iron legion crap to go away so I at least I don't have to deal with all this crap! But no, I have to deal with all this crap almost every day. If it's not some god giving out a Hades damned "Quest" it's a prophecy from the Fates that makes no sense unless you're a bloody damn Athena spawn!"

The man casually flicked a small piece of burning wood off his shoulder. "Hmm, all I got out of that rant was I want John back."

Aithne let out a frustrated scream before throwing her head back into her pillows, her body still ablaze. "Yes, gods damn it I just want John to be back in my life."

"And what are you willing to do?" The man asked, taking interest now.

"Just about anything at this point." Came Aithne's muffled reply.

"Well if that's all you want then I can help you." Aithne looked up from her pillows. "You probably don't know me so let me introduce myself. My name is Lucifer Morningstar, and if you listen to me you'll have YOUR John back in your arms by the years end."

I have to say meeting a few of the Lord Commands individually was fine, it was kinda like speaking to a high-ranking officer when you yourself were a civilian. They did not really show their rank as you were not under their command, but now… well facing down all the Lord Commanders at once made me feel small.

The Lord Commands were seated at a half circular table with large thrones to sit in. Only one of them looked to have their armor deployed, an older looking man with a hood over his head. The rest were wearing normal clothing.

"John Cross," Lord Commander Meridius said, looking me over. "We are told you had a vision of a fortress. Your father thinks that you dreamt The Iron Fortress," I noticed a slight smile appear on the hooded Commander's lips when Commander Meridius said that. "This fortress was lost to the Legion during the Civil war."

"If I may ask Commander Meridius, what's so important about this fortress? Sure, when I saw it, it looked like it could keep out the worst kind of monsters and a master must have built it. But other than that, it seems to me that it is no different from The Valley."

That's when the doors to the room opened and in stepped Forge. "It's more than a simple Fortress."

The blacksmith walked into the room and took a seat off to the side. After he was seated, he took out a pen and a notebook. He then began to write something down. He did not say a thing after that. The Lord Commanders looked back to me.

"Forge is quite right Young Lawbringer." Lord Commander Igneous said. "The Iron Fortress is more than just a simple fortress that could withstand just about any attack; it also holds a great deal of lost technology."

"But if it was lost during the Civil War then wouldn't all that be outdated?" I asked.

"Normally yes, but this is not a normal human fortress." Lord Commander Mercy answered. "Forge has built many wonders over his years in the Knights' service." She looked to him as if asking a silent question. The Blacksmith looked down for a moment before ever so slightly nodded. Commander Mercy then looked back to me. "You see, Forge is not a human."

I picked up at that. He looked human and he most certainly did not give off the aura of a monster, as it was almost holy. He had a slight glow to him like the few angels that I had the honor to see, but at the same time his glow was slightly dimmer.

"Forge is an angel." My eyes went wide.

"A fallen angel." Forge added.

The hooded Lord Commander looked over to Forge. "I have fought fallen angels before Forge, and you are no fallen."

The self-proclaimed fallen angel did not reply to that.

"Forget is the first angel to be created for the purpose of crafting things." Mercy continued. "While his past is for him to disclose I will say he has made things that our own blacksmiths and engineers have yet to match."

"I have gone through phases if you will and I have forgotten many things that I have crafted over the centuries." Forge added. "During the time before the Great Flood there were many monsters that roamed the Earth far more powerful than what walks the Earth today. With the help of a brilliant human from that time we created the core that would later become the core for The Iron Fortress. In all my years since I have never created something quite like it. After the Flood occurred, I had forgotten about the core I had built."

"It is why I am attempting to draw what you have described of the Iron Fortress so far in hopes to jog my memory." He said flashing his notebook at me before going back to his story. "Some time after the core gained some semblance of…" He paused as if looking for the right word. "Sentience, and it began to build a home for humans to live… a village at first. As more and more people found a home in this village the core created more houses for the people. Not long after this the village was attacked by a horde of monsters, beast men they were called at the time. The Village had no fortifications as the core was young and had yet to see any monsters or how bad some humans could be."

"The village was wiped out, the few men and women that survived were used as breeding stock for these beast men. The core felt great sadness at what happened to its people and teleported away from its old location in grief. After a few centuries passed the core tried to build a home for humans to inhabit once again. This time it had built tall walls for the people to hide in and for the monster to throw themselves fruitlessly at. Once gain the town prospered and the core expanded to accommodate the growing population."

"But as fate would have it the walled city at this point was attacked again. This time however a flying monster accompanied the attacking monsters. The grounded monster also created great ladders to climb the walls. The core in great panic created automatons to stop the monster, however the automatons were rather weak and only served to slow down the monster attack. Like last time most of the people were killed and the few that survived used as breeding stock. Grief returned to the core once gain and like before it teleported away to grieve for its lost people."

I thought back to my vision, seeing all the skeletons. Hearing that the fortress was alive in some way made me feel sad for this core. It was kinda like my Greek mother in some ways, it wanted to create a safe location for people where they could grow and prosper without having to worry about monsters. It had failed twice over.

"Years passed and the core endeavoured to try again. This time it had created a castle-like structure with walls, tower defenses, what we would know as anti-air platforms, underground vaults for people to hide in, new automatons both for civil and protection duties. The core was so determined to protect the people that were to come that it failed to make the place look like a home. Instead it had become a military base that would scare away any normal people looking for a place to call home. The core waited and waited, it gates wide open waiting for people to come in and make this place their home, but no one ever came."

"Instead the core was met by an invasion force of one Alexander the Great. Although the core was a bit put off by the army at its walls the core was happy to finally welcome someone into its newest creation. However, Alexander had other plans in mind for the castle he saw before him, he saw a test of his battle prowess. He ordered his men to take up sieging positions, the core was greatly confused by the action but in its young mind it thought that the army was there to test it as to see if it could hold off such an attack."

I had a feeling on where this was going.

"So, the core defended against Alexander's great army with everything it had, wanting to show them that it had learned from its past mistakes. However, the core was no military commander and it had only seen how hoarding monsters fought. While Alexander lacked a technology advantage, he was able to more than make up for it in his tactics. There was also the fact that the core had ordered its automaton to avoid human deaths at all possible. Through superior tactics and planning the core's newest creation fell and Alexander took the castle."

"Alexander searched for the man who created such a building but found not a soul living in the ruined fortifications. The core on the other hand took the defeat rather easily; only a few of Alexander's men had died in the fighting and it would learn from its new leader's tactics and make itself better. The core started to rebuild the fortifications applying what it had learned from its battle with Alexander. The man in questions saw this and thought the castle was cursed so he had his man raise the castle to the ground."

"By now the core was tired of trying and gave up, it transported away and went into a deep sleep. Years passed, I believe it was five years after Apollyon's fall, and the knights of the newly formed Wolf's Head company were marching back from dealing with a monster incursion. They came across the ruined remains of the core's last construction. The company's captain found the place to be pleasing to him and had his men set up camp. After a while they began to rebuild the castle and turn it into a more suitable location for a knight base."

"They asked me to help with repairing the more advanced workings of the castle when I felt the core wake from its slumber. At first it stayed back unsure whether or not to help with the construction efforts. At some point the core must have recognized me as its creator and appeared to me in a vision. It "asked" why I had created it and why I had seemingly abandoned it. I did my best to speak with it but it only knew a few words and communicated primarily through feelings and emotions."

'That might explain the chills and the voice I kept hearing.' I thought to myself.

"After some time, I convinced it to appear to the captain of the company and work with him on rebuilding the castle. The following night the core did just that and the company commander came running out of his tent calling his men together. He told them of the place in which they now stood and declared it was their duty to rebuild this castle to be the greatest fortress the world will ever know but not only would it be the greatest fortress, it would be a home for people, for families, a place were anyone who entered it would feel safe."

I felt pride well up within me for some reason, sure I totally was getting the chills one would get after an epic speech, I could only imagine what it was like to be there and hear this speech for myself. No, this was more like remembering a friend who I had served with for so long. Where were these feelings coming from?

"After that he began to draw, and as he drew the ruins around us began to shake. They began to move, build themselves, and finally-" He turned his notebook for all to see, there in his notebook was an almost perfect drawing of the Iron Fortress that I saw in my dream. "It took shape and the core had finally gotten what it had wanted. A home were people would be safe."

He looked down. "At least until it fell against a monster and demon assault like the world had never seen."

"By the time we learned of what was happening," The hooded Lord Commander spoke. "The Iron Fortress had teleported away. My best Abyss Walkers were unable to find it. Wherever it went to it was not a place the Abyss could reach or find."

"Now you see young Cross." Lord Commander Irons said. "This is not some Fortress that exceeds the Valley in its capabilities, but it is a part of our past that has been in the dark for a very long time. If it is calling you then that means it is time for it to come back to the Legion's service."

"It would seem that the core has chosen you to claim the Wolf's Head's legacy." Lord Commander Stone said almost humorously. "But hey if you succeed you get the admiration of the Iron Legion and some sweat new digs as part of the bargain."

"While that may be true." Lord Commander Meridius. "He is not ready for the dangers that await him out there, now more than ever we need our youth to be ready for the battles to come. John is in need of training as well as to continue his education. The Iron Fortress can wait a few more years until he is ready."

The Lord Commander of the Peacekeepers nodded. "I will instruct our scout to begin looking for the Iron Fortress. If it's out there we will find it."

Lord Commander Igneous looked at me. "You have much to learn, young lawbringer are you ready for what is to come?"

I smiled at him. "With Legion and God by my side, yes."

Lana had been in her room ever since her return, she had sent her dragon partner back to the dragon keeper on the standing that she needed to be alone for a little while. He was recutent but after the death glare he got moving.

Ever since her return to the Valley she had begun to feel ill, but her body was in perfect health. It was almost like her soul was poisoned. When she tried to summon her soul gear they had trouble taking shape and her sword no longer looked how it used to. She also felt like she was forgetting her fighting style and having it replaced with another style. It still was vivid in her mind but with each passing moment it was becoming more clear.

She had no idea what was happening to her but she knew she would never be the same.

"HOLD UP! Do not leave just yet! We got an IMPORTANT announcement to make! As of this chapter's post we shall be taking a break from Son of Fire. NOW that doesn't mean I'm putting a hold on the story, no I will be working on it from time to time. I just need some time to get our plot line straight for Act II as well as work on a few other stories."

"Anyways have a nice day and John Cross will return shortly."

As always, I am Slim A Lou Prime with da crew R.O.W., Rogue, Snek, and Crusader!

God bless and I hope you're ready for school because I sure as hell aint!