Alnus Hill
It was a beautiful sight.
An enormous army of men, goblins, dragons, orcs and other creatures, marching in the same direction. At that moment, nothing was able to stop us, and I was leading them, proudly wearing the colors of the empire.
Our destination was not the Holy Hill of Alnus itself, but the Gate that stood on top of it.
Or rather where this Gate led to. A complete new world that was only waiting to be conquered by our implacable might.
Despite all the experience one can have, there is nothing scarier than the sight of the complete black void in contrast with the white of the stone and the green of the grass. I still wonder if General Lanti ordered me to lead the army to command defense in the case of a retreat, or because he was scared of crossing the Gate.
The thing that embrace you when you step in the darkness is the cold. I couldn't help myself but to shiver despite my heavy armor.
I can't tell how long the walk in itself lasted. We could have walked in between the worlds for hours or even days, the only thing that still reminded us of the passage of time being the tiredness slowly getting to us. Beside me, I could feel the look of my men, worry also starting to appear, their minds probably full of thoughts about their families. In the end, we were just men.
Suddenly, a small, bright, white dot appeared on the black horizon. Everybody knew what it was.
The exit.
The word quickly ran down the army, and worry was soon replaced by excitement of the upcoming battle.
And then we emerged.
The first thing I made, almost by reflex, was to take a deep breath, filling my lungs with the air of this new world. It was very rough and felt dead.
I coughed a little before taking a look at our surroundings. The grass was gone, trees were dead, and most of all, tow sides facing each other.
We were in a battlefield. But this one was destructive. I noticed a group of men charge at their enemies, before suddenly stopping to look at us. Even their enemies were staring at us.
Somme, 1916: Johann POV
It was another day of fighting in the trenches, gunning down anyone who approached our positions. But today was strange. We saw a Roman-esque gate-like structure within the battlefield.
We saw a unit which appeared to be sort of a Roman legion, minus the fantasy creatures nearby,
I then heard their commandee saying
"My name is Count Formal, and in the name of our emperor Molt Sol Augustus, I declare the conquest and the annexation of this territory. Surrender and you might be spared. Fight back and you'll die."
"What the hell are you saying!?" I asked.
It was in some form of Latin that we Deutsch clearly do not understand.
Their commander raised his sword and said
"Well then, you'll be destroyed."
He swung the sword down and their archers shot at not just us, but also the British.
This clearly was an act of aggresion and the arrows began to fall on us. It was a bad situation, as trenches are very narrow.
Our officer ordered us to open fire on them. The British did the same. The arriws landed and injured quite some men. We replied with gunfire and artillery.
Formal POV
Thunder struck.
A rider near me was almost instantly killed, and the horses stopped. There was still quite some distance between us and either of the two sides we saw.
To say that it terrified me on the spot is a clear understatement. I quickly looked all around me only to see my footmen running towards the nearest enemy only to die as instantly as the rider. Thunder struck again, but this time in rapid succession. Men nearby were quickly dying. The only thing i noticed that was immune to their magic were the dragons, but their riders were quickly killed.
Everything was already lost, and I knew it. I also knew that I couldn't just flee back through the Gate without being called a coward. The only one that could come to me was death and the relief of Emroy's realm. Seeking the most honorable death, I turned back towards the man that had shouted at me, and I charged head on.
It was only him and me, and only one could came out on top.
The man made the thunder stroke again in my direction. My horse fell down and I ended up at his feet. He walked up to me, grabbed a strange black object and said: "Nothing personal, ol' chap." Then everything cut to black.
27 September, 1916 no one's POV
The French, British, and Germans have signed a treaty involving war repairations,
freeing Belgium, and concentrating forces into exploring the Gate.
Arrival of French troops at the gate began, followed by Germans and British.
Orders have been made and they will enter the Gate first.
"Hans!" A German soldier yelled. "Ja?" was Hans' reply. "Do you have den flammenwerfer?!" "Ja!" "Good"
The first group entered the Gate. Darkness surrounded them. "So... What do we do when we get there?" "Simple. Dig trenches and build a fort." "Aleight then."
The first group immediately noticed light, which they assumed could be the exit. The word relayed across the group and kept going.
Then they emerged.
Alnus Hill, Date and Time unknown
Jacob POV
We arrived at the destination, which appeared to be a hill covered in grass.
Well, not for long.
We immediately got orders to dig trenches in case our positions were attacked.
3 hours later
Imperial Camp
"Sir!"
Faram Em Lanti heard the scout.
"Enter."
"Sir! The enemy has arrived at the Holy Hill Of Alnus and are scarring it!"
"What?!" Faram Em Lanti stood up.
He could not believe this. How was the army sent beyond the Gate defeated? And worse, Who were they to deliberately damage the Hill itself?
"Send more scouts to the hill. We must know what they are doing."
"Yes, sir!"
Who do they think they are? To scar and damage the Holy Hill itself? What are they doing?
A day later
"Sir!"
"Enter"
"They are beginning construction of some fort! And the damage they did are ditches where soldiers stay in!"
First ditches now a fort? This was a clear act of disrespect to the Hill. He kept thinking until another person asked to enter.
"You may"
"The reinforcements you requested are here."
This was great. He, Faram Em Lanti could finally attack these barbarians disrespecting the hill. He left his tent and called his men "Soldiers! Ready your weapons, we attack tomorrow!"
Fort Alnus, 6 days after the Somme incident. No one POV
Fort Alnus is still being built, though a lot of progress has been made.
"A large number of enemies are approaching!" A lookout yelled.
"Ready the artillery!"
"Sir, what do we do?"
"Wait until everyone else is here, then we laun-" The general was interrupted by an explosion nearby.
"What was that?" Faram asked his men, but his confusion was shared by his soldiers.
There was a few seconds of silence, before another explosion occured. It could only mean 1 thing. They are attacking.
"Charge!"
He and his men pulled their sword out of their sheaths and ran at the hill, feeling no fatigue whatsoever. Suddenly, for a split second, Faram saw hundreds of flashes come feom the ditches, and pain exploded inside his torso. The pain caused him to stumble, before another pain on his leg caused him to fall on a puddle of mud.
His vision became blurry. He had been defeated. He prayed to Emroy one last time before fading to black.
With The Expeditionaries, 6 hours after the 1st Alnus Offensive
"Really is a new world innit?"
"Oui. I really could use a baguette."
