Heyas there!This is part one of the Fated to Live series.This series carries over and crosses over on many different series and things of that nature.For those who don't know let me sum up Prior for you.
Prior is a 23 year old pries of the goddess Jynark.He was given a device that allows him to travel through time and space.He was originally given it so he could find his brother.Alas,he never really learned how to use it,he just pushes button and hopes for the best.Due to my previous original stories he has found his brother and now uses the device to travel when he's bored.That's pretty much it so enjoy! -b
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Well,I mentioned it before,but I'll say it again.It's time to talk about Elsea.Now this was quite the experience if I do say so myself,and I do.Elsea was a world torn by war and strife between two atrociously destructive factions.I managed to have quite the adventure there and I wish to share that with you now.
When I get bored with the school and no one pays attention to me,not even my little brother,I use my device and take off for whatever may come my way.This time the device brought me to the backwater world of Elsea.The veridian portal opened onto a vast plain of dirt,mud,clay,detritus,and other not-so-appealing sorts of natural substances.I plopped down into this mixed gruel on my feet.My boots sunk into the moist ground a good 3 inches.I stood and observed the landscape before me.The mud and such covered the ground for miles and miles upon end.It was desolate,absolutely nothing in any way shape or form..save the mud and dirt.As I concentrated upon this not-so-beautiful landscape my keen ears picked up a noise.It was a low resonating "BOOM".It sounded a lot like cannon fire.I listened closely once more."BOOM,BOOM,BOOM!".Three concussions in quick succession.If it truly was cannon fire,I would have to be very,very careful.My curiosity overcame me..it usually does,and I proceeded toward the source of these noises.As I squished my already dirty boots through the unholy mud more sounds came into my range of hearing.Grinding,small pops,and possible screams and yells could be heard.Sounded like a war.Well,that's what I assumed at the time.Lo and behold I didn't expect myself to be correct.I plodded my way through the thick,tar-like mud following the sounds of conflict.I got closer,the sounds got louder and yells and cries were audible.After a bit more trudging the ground began a downward slope and what looked to be trenches dug into the earth became visable.Forms were milling about within these makeshift slashes in the earth.They looked little and black from my position a good 500 yards away.They were running and pointing,panicing and stratigizing.This was obviously a fighting force preparing to do combat.Probably planning to enter combat with the forces I could still hear echoing in the distance.Well I had two choices:Walk off randomly and probably find myself missing an appendage or two very quickly or meet up with the Lords of Trenchfoot here.Being me,I chose the latter.I plopped my way down the inclined hill toward the trench,mud dropping off my boots and landing with a "plop" with every step I took.FInally,the stick and slop of the mud turned to the lesser,but still messy,slop of the wood boarded trench.Men in puke green body armour ran obliviously past me bumping into me and turning my white and gold robe white,gold,brown,black and all sorts of earthy colours.Each man carried a rifle of very smooth design and practically every part of their armour and weaponry was emblazoned with the shape of a small gold eagle,wings spread.They all seemed busy..so I continued my walk down the plankway.Passing many more soldiers I eventually came upon a bunker-like emplacement.The door was open and people could be seen running about with papers,pens,weapons.Some were on telephones and others were writing scribbles on paper.A tall man in dark armour that covered most of his body approached me.The small amount of sunlight on that dismal day accented the edges of his armour as he walked out of the door to let other paniced people run past.
"Ahh..you must be from the Ecclesiarchy.",he said in a matter-of-fact voice as he placed his hands on his hips.
"Um...I...",before I could complete a full sentence the man yelled into the room behind him.
"Commisar,Sir,the priest you ordered is here"
"Excellent!",came the gruff reply from the room.
A lanky man decked out in a black dress uniform with pins and medals decorating his chest exited the room.He folded his arms behind his back and raised his scarred chin.
"Ecclesiarch,I'm glad to see this way and I'll introduce you to the servents of the Emperor you will be inspiring"
"My...my name is Prior...umm..Sir",I said trying to keep my composure.For a skinny guy the man certainly had an aura of power.
"Greetings Prior,I'm Commisar Farth.",he held out his gloved hand to me.
"N..nice to meet you.",I stuttered and shook his powerful hand.
"Please,follow me Prior.",Farth said and entered the room.
I walked close behind him taking in the scene around me.Men in the green armour of the soldiers were running about entering and exiting the room.Men who wore the same uniform as Commisar Farth were on telephones and writing notes adn such on papers scattered about the room.Men sat at devices I can only assume were other communication devices simply because of the fact they were wearing headphones.The Commisar led me out the far door of the room and up a slight muddy embankment.Soldiers passed us along the way,but he paid them no heed.At the top of the small hill we exited the trench and the surroundings were still dreary and wet.Farth approached a group of men wearing the green armour of the soldiers I had seen running all around this horrid place.
As we approached the five men stood at attention and threw a salute at the Commisar.
"At ease,men.",Farth said,"This is Ecclesiarch Prior and he'll inspire you to victory on the battlefield!His courage will lead you to destroy the heretical Chaos scum"
The group of men cheered and I stood there stunned.
"Hol..hold on...I'm going to WAR?",I said,exasperated.
"Of course you are.",Farth stated,"What do you think you were called here for"
"Umm..uhh..to dance?",I said.
Farth let out a loud chuckle.
"Good one Ecclesiarch! Now lead this squad to victory!",he said and turned to walk back into the trenches.
I turned my head and adressed "my squad" with my eyes.
"Um...hey guys.",I said and gave a half-hearted wave.
One of the men in green armour,his rifle slung over his shoulder looked at me.A scar ran from below his left eye across his cheek to his ear.It was curved and reminded me of a crescent moon.His deep brown eyes accosted me.
"You're going to lead us?",he said in a gravelly voice.The entire squad broke out into laughter.
"Guys...I'm not a Ecclesiaric or whatever Farth said I am.I'm just a lost traveller.",I told them.
"Yea,and I'm the Exalted Emperor Himself.Look,I don't want to die any more than you do.We just do our duty to the Imperium.",a blond haired soldier said.His rifle was longer than the others so I assumed he was a sniper.
"I'm serious,guys! I'm really lost! I came looking for help and now you all think I'm a priest of whatever the fuck you call this!",I screamed in panic.
"Ecclesiarch!Hold your tongue!You don't really wish to speak that heresy do you?",the soldier with the gravelly voice said.
I looked at all five men in panic.I began to stutter.
"N..n..nn..no..",I managed to blurt out.
"Didn't think so.You know what happens if you speak heretical speech.",the man said.
I just nodded my head.I could just hook up with these guys and ditch 'em at some point.It would be easier on me.
"Let's go then.We're late as it is.",the sniper man said to me.
The squad began to walk off towards a line of gray armoured vehicles.I followed closely behind.
"Are we going in that?",I asked the man closest to me.
He turned his brown haired head towards me.
"The Chimera?Yep,that's ours right there.",he said and pointed to a small gray tank with it's back flap down to accept passengers.
I followed the small squad up the loading ramp and into the bowels of the "Chimera" tank.It was a fairly small interior with a row of benches against either wall.I sat down on the bench furthest from the doorway.Two men sat next to me and three sat across the hold from us against the opposite wall.
"Oh,before I forget.",the gravel vocied man said and grabbed a pistol from his belt and threw it over to me.I caught it and nodded him a silent thanks.
The man coughed just as the deep growl of the tank engines started and,with a jolt,we began to rumble off.
"Well,since you're here to guide us might as well tell you our names.,the gravel man said."I'm Sargeant James Guba and I'm the technical leader of this squad"
Sgt.Guba motioned to the sniper man sitting to his right."This here is Carris Dornlan.He's our field sniper.Bastard with a rifle.",he said with a chuckle.
The sargeant motioned to the man with long,matted brown hair to his left."This is Kolar Lesrath.He's a grunt.A piece of living gorak shit.",he chuckled again at his joke and poked the man with his elbow.Kolar just smiled slightly and let out a small "Heh.
"That guy right there.",he pointed to the man sitting on my left.The man I had asked who's tank this was.,"That's Horace Nemnil.He's a vet.A real go-getter.Tends to go-get the ladies a bit too much though.",both men let out rediculously loud laughs.Guba quieted himself after a moment and said"Last,but not least is Gregg Tarrik.He's our comms man.Says he can pick up porn on that thing"
Another round of laughter over the backpack with wires and crap sticking out of it that Gregg carried.
The laughter quieted after a few moments and Sargeant Guba turned back to look at me.
"Oh...one more thing.",he said and reached into his pants pocket once more.
"Here.",he said after a moment and tossed me a small tube-like object.
"The hell is this?",I asked as nicely as I could.
"That",he pointed out,"is a distress beacon.If you happen to get captured by the enemy or summin,just push that lil red button and the closest Imperial unit will pick up the signal and help ya' out"
"Oh..that's cool",I said..I was never gonna get out of here alive.
"Don't they teach ya' that stuff at the Ecclesiarchy? Ya' think they would.",Gregg questioned.
"Umm..yea..,but with all focus on worship and all...ya sorta forget.",I ad libbed,a pretty damn good one if I do say so myself.
"Heh,they taught us religion in the Guard,but all we remember is that the Emporer protects us.None of the details.",Gregg said with a laugh.
As the tank rumbled along I stuffed the beacon in my pocket along with my warp device and examined the weapon that had been give to me.
The weapon looked like any normal pistol except for the fact that it had a little dial on the side of it and I had no idea where the fuck I was supposed to put the ammunition.I held the gun in my trembling right hand.I had to pretend to know how to use the damn weapon if I was to ever pull off this farce.So,I fiddled with the little dial,not knowing what in the universe it did and eventually gave up and let it slump in my hand.
Many minutes of tense silence passed.The armoured vehicle bumped along the muddy ground oblivious to it's passengers terseness or worry.All of a sudden the entire cabin was rocked by a massive shock.Since I wasn't paying much attention I fell flat on my face,knocking my head on the cold steel floor.All of my "squadmates" fell to the floor also with curses and short cries.
A second impact jarred the tank as we all staggered to our feet.
"Mother fucker!",Horace,the veteran,growled.
"It's the Chaos!",Guba yelled.
"Son of a...OPEN THE BACK RAMP!"Carris,the sniper,yelled to the driver up front.
No audible response was heard,or was able to be heard over the cacaphony of sound surrounding the vehicle.Even so,the rear entrance dropped in one smooth motion.The five men clutched their rifles to their chests and rushed out the back of the Chimera.I panicked for a moment...I didn't quite know what to do.I glanced back and forth to the cabin then the muddy land outside.I decided to take my chance with the mud.At least in that instance other people with weaponry would be there and not just me armed with a pussy pistol.I dashed down the ramp after my co-umm..fighters I guess,and not 5 seconds after I exited that the tank was blown to tiny,tiny bits by some sort of explosive projectile.The force of the blast threw my sick,sick mind for a loop and my body right along with it.I never lost my grip on my weapon as the shockwave blew me off my feet,head over heels,and on my back in the thick mud.Shrapnel pattered the mud around me and sent up plumes of wet earth upon impact.My head was spinning and everything seemed to be one shade of gray.That was most likely the sky,but it was scary as shit at the time!Before I knew it a strong hand grasped the collar of my robe and pulled me to my feet.I was never quite sure who did it because by the time I became fully aware I had been dragged behind a blasted out farmhouse and was sat against the wall near the other members of the squad.As I looked side to side I saw the other men snapping off shots with their rifles from behind the house.Their shots were answered by tracers and violent explosions.Carris had taken up position behind a blasted out section of the wall and had his long rifle resting on the detritus.His well trained eye was following movement in the distance.
"There they are.",Guba said."Dirty sons of bitches"
I gathered enough courage and poked my head above the destroyed wall to see exactly what this "Chaos" was.
What I saw was not quite beyond my expectations,but it was terrifying nonetheless.
A rumble was felt as I watched a terrible,atrocious,disgusting,perverted excuse for an armoured tank come rolling out of the distant mist.It was much larger than the tank we had rode in and it was painted sanguine red.Horrible disfigured bodies and ungodly symbols were attatched to the entire structure of this vehicle.It was a rolling graveyard.A moving death factory.This perversion was closely followed by a string of red armoured giant warriors.Two curved horns protruded from the peak of the warriors' helmets.They were far taller than any normal human being.They were dressed head to toe in blood red thick armour.In their giant hands they carried small rifles that if I tried I probably couldn't even lift up.This was Chaos,I knew it and I damn well knew why they were called that.
"Khorne.",Horace said with a snarl.
"Khorne?",I questioned once I was safely back behind the meager barrier.
"Khorne.",Guba answered,"is the Chaos' perverted god of blood and skulls.These bastards of the universe you see before you are Berzerkers.All they know is murder and death.They cannot be allowed to live.Don't they teach you that shit in the Ecclesiarchy"
"Maybe you aren't an Ecclesiarch.",Gregg said."Maybe you're telling the truth"
"Well if he's not an Ecclesiarch he's in about the worst place he could be right now.",Guba said.
I gulped.There was no running now.I pulled my warp device from my pocket and gazed at the digital timer upon it.It read two days 15 minutes and 10 seconds.
I let out a long,low sigh.I was gonna die here.On this backwater shithole.I was gonna die to Chaos of all things.I might be the next body to decorate that tank of theirs.
"Fuck.",grumbled Carris as he peered through his scope,"They have a Tzeenchian sorcerer with them"
"Add Nurgle and Slaanesh and we have a party.",grumbled Sargeant Guba."Well we ain't gonna run!We're gonna stand and show them how the Imperium plays this game"
All the men cheered.I would have cheered too if I wasn't sitting in mud behind a farmhouse with no hope of rescue.
I heard a sharp snap to my left and heard Carris say,"Got one".He must have sniped one of those horrible giants.
"Aim for the sorcerer",Guba said."It's just too damn bad we don't have any heavy weaponry cuz I wanna fuck over that tank.We'll just hope for the best though"
This man was far,FAR too zealous for his own good.
Another crack from the long rifle of Carris followed quickly by a curse.
"Sorcerer has some sort of shield",he said.
"Hit him when he gets close.His shield will probably fail under heavy fire.By the way,how many are there Carris?",Guba said.
"Ohh...",Carris said as he peered into his scope."I count ten plus the Predator"
"Sacred number of Khorne.Emporer save us.",Guba muttered."Ok,men,open fire when they move within range.Aim for the sorcerer first...and you",Guba motioned at me,"You're gonna help fight too,you're not outta this just cuz you're lost"
"O..Ok",I said and nodded.
I grasped the pistol tight in my right hand and prepared my mind for combat.
The approaching warriors had taken up a terrible sounding chant of "Khorne...Khorne..Blood for the Blood God! Skulls for the Skull Throne"
The chant rattled me to my core.It was like magic,
"Ready...steady...BEAT THE FUCK OUTTA THEM!",Guba yelled and brought his gun up and over the wall and started to fire.The other men responded in kind and took their own well trained shots.
I,personally,hesitated my ass off.
One part of me thought,"I can run...they'll never catch me."While another part said,"Shoot yer goddamn gun!These guys protected you!Might as well help them"
I thought for a moment and sided with the second voice.I would help them.Besides,running would probably get me shoved on that tank even faster.
I turned one-hundred eighty degrees and focused on the nearest red warrior.
I plucked off shot after shot at the rushing being.The shots impacted his armour,but certainly didn't slow him down.He held a pistol in one hand,which he didn't even bother to use,and a gigantic axe with the axe head full of spinning teeth.
I kept shooting,but the Berzerker kept running.I began to panic as the warriors bounded over the first wall of the farmouse and began the final charge toward our positions.
Just then the air became stale and heavy.It felt as if your mind was being lifted from inside of you.I knew exactly what that feeling meant.Magic.The sorcerer must have completed a spell and now the spell was about to be unleashed upon us.The air became purple and the ground jumped.I was flung backwards by a rushing force I can only describe as thunderous.It felt as if my body was crawling was small bolts of electricity.
I landed on my left side in the mud and skidded to a stop.My muscles felt like fire was running through them.I would have laid there and gladly accepted death,but then I heard the first scream.
I raised my head in the direction of the yell only to see a terrible sight.
Carris had already lost and arm.The blood flowing freely from the stump,staining his armour as crimson as the Berzerkers.Then the warrior brought the head of his axe down upon Carris' neck.Blood squirted as his arteries were severed.The grinding teeth of the axe cut through this flesh and bone and his screams turned to gurgles as his trachea was cut.He was then silenced as his head teetered on a strip of flesh then was torn off by the Berzerkers own hands.
The warrior lifted his gruesome trophy upon high and roared.
I turned my eyes from the morbid scene only to set eyes upon another,and another.Horace had been gutted,his intestines spilled upon the wet earth.Next to him Gregg had had his ribcage broken and his exposed heart ripped from his chest before being stomped on and reduced to a mushy pulp.
Guba's death was the worst in my eyes though.Guba had managed to drive his combat knife into the bowels of one warrior and was using his gun to deflect the giant's blows coming from his whirring axe.He had a good chance of beating this warrior,that is until the tank turned the corner.I would have yelled out to him in warning,but my voice wouldn't allow it.I tried and tried,but my voice was not to be found.I would have to watch this valiant fighter die and I would have to live with the grief of not being able to help him.Since Guba was preoccupied with holding off the Berzerker he didn't see the tank rolling up behind him.The Khornate warrior bounded backwards away from Guba as the tank's tread took it's first bite out of the Sargeant.Guba looked nothing less than shocked as his heel was dragged under the tank's tread.The crunching of his leg bones was nauseating.He screamed as his ribcage and skull were popped like children's balloons.The tank made it look easy,crushing a man beneath it's multiple ton weight.After it had run Guba into the ground with it's first pass "Son of a bitch" was heard from the cockpit of this terrible machine as it threw itself into reverse and ran the pile of blood and goo that had once been Guba over once more.
I would have cried,but all I could do was clutch the pistol and my device.Well,that's all I could do until one of the warriors screamed and charged in my direction.
Oh,what a glorious way to die,at the hands of a psycho mutated killer from another world.
As the giant charged I got to my feet.His horrible charge was quick and smooth even with the heavy looking armour.He brought the whirring axe around in a midsection sweep.I,with no options left,threw my pistol at it.The pistol collided with the teeth of the axe and stalled it for a moment and threw it off course.The axe head whizzed past my stomach only inches away.
The creature growled and catapaulted himself at me with his powerful legs.I could do nothing but cover my face as the impact knocked me to the wet ground.
Mud spattered both of us as I struggled in a last ditch effort to activate my device."If it could jsut work this one damn time",I thought to myself,"I promise I won't get drunk at the school anymore"
Well,this small prayer must have worked because as the giant was about to slam his fist onto my face the world was engulfed in a green mist once more and I knew I was safe.
I assume my device was overloaded by the sorcerer's magic and that's what made it work,but that doesn't matter any longer.I THOUGHT I was safe.It only gets more interesting from here.It's time to entertain your fancy once more with the second part of this adventure.Ya thought this one was brutal?It only gets crazier from here!
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Hope ya enjoyed it! Part 2 is called "If I was an Angel".Look it up and check it out! Peace! -b