Shadows fall
And hope has fled
Steel your heart
The dawn will come
The night is long
And the path is dark
Look to the sky
For one day soon
The dawn will come
The shepherd's lost
And his home is far
Keep to the stars
The dawn will come
The night is long
And the path is dark
Look to the sky
For one day soon
The dawn will come
Bare your blade
And raise it high
Stand your ground
The dawn will come
The night is long
And the path is dark
Look to the sky
For one day soon
The dawn will come
- The Dawn Will Come, Hymn of the Holy Chantry and National Anthem Holy Orlais Empire
***
Training Grounds of the Royal Palace of Val Royeaux
The Royal Palace of the Val Royeaux, if it could even be called that, was more fortress than Palace, as it was something that was deliberately planned on the side of the future Emperor.
Kordillus didn't want the heart of the future Empire to be some luxurious and lavish palace, but instead a bastion of the Imperial might.
The building that was currently being built as the seat of the Imperial Power was an enormous fortress that was built by the best engineers from the Dwarves, humans, and elves to be an impenetrable fortress.
At the same time, it would also be the symbol of unity between the various races of Thedas as they collectively build the building that would once be known as the Immortal Bastion of the Orlais.
Kordillus was currently on the training grounds of the future seat of his Empire, as the entire training ground was being surrounded by the golden-armored soldiers wearing plates with the lion motifs and their faces being covered by masks.
A mask was standard equipment for his soldiers as it provided another layer of protection, and with the enchantments that were done by Mages, it was more durable than the helmet and was more practical.
Across him on the training yard, stood a stunningly beautiful, ashen-haired woman of elven heritage and piercing green eyes. She wore an ornamental piece of armor that was intricately decorated with gold patterns, and the shoulder piece featured a lion's head, adding a regal and fierce touch.
The breastplate and greaves were heavily detailed because this armor was forged for her by famous dwarven Forge Masters on Kordillus's request, as he wanted to give her some proper Armor of dwarven origin.
There were no better smiths than the dwarves across the Thedeas and their services in creating armor and weapons.
The armor had been adorned with a rich blue sash or cloth that flowed over her armor, featuring gold embroidery, adding a touch of elegance to her battle-ready appearance. The cloak draped over her shoulder adds a layer of sophistication and authority and is lined with a fur collar for added distinction.
He also ordered a custom-made sword to be made for her according to her specifications. It was an elaborately designed sword with a guard shaped like a lion's head, hinting at her heritage as the Princess of Cintra, whose national symbol was the Lion, and also for the future Orlesian Queen, as their national symbol too was the Lion.
Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon.
***
Four Years Ago, Arbor Wilds
The jungles of Arbor Wilds were very dense and dangerous, something that the white-haired young woman realized the moment she appeared there. When she opened the portal, she was immediately attacked by several huge creatures, whom she luckily managed to escape without any injury.
When she arrived in this world, she realized that the Magic Density in this world was probably one of the highest that she had ever visited, meaning it was highly possible that this world was also very powerful.
When she arrived, she was forced to use her Elder Blood to the limits to pass through some barrier and dodge countless monstrosities and horrors. That realm or whatever it was, it was literally impossible to navigate through, and she was sure that without the Elder Blood and its affinity toward the Space-Time, she would get easily lost in the infinite realm.
The good thing, though, was that a lot of her pursuers perished in that realm, even before they reached the material world.
Which was certainly an added benefit.
As he appeared in the jungles and sensed the Magic Density in this world, that could be good or bad at the same time... depending on the circumstances.
'This is not going well... the forest seems to be endless. I need to find a way out and find some safe place to open the portal again.'
The woman thought as she ran with all of her power, as she suddenly heard heavy footsteps not far behind her. It became clear to her that her pursuers had caught up to her when she realized that tens of heavily armored people were in furious pursuit.
Even though their armor seemed to be very heavy, it didn't hinder their movements at all.
And despite those losses in that twisted world, they were still very strong in their pursuit of her with a clear intent to capture her at any cost.
"You are only forestalling the inevitable, Zirael. There is nowhere to run from the Wild Hunt."
One of the armored figures that appeared to be in the lead shouted at the woman; she recognized him as one of the Navigators of the Wild Hunt.
The Navigators were powerful Aen Elle mages who had the ability to manipulate time and space and to open portals between different worlds. They were the most skilled Mages of the Aen Elle, and each one of them was worth of entire battalions of soldiers, and their Magic could bring doom to many thousands.
It was due to the Navigators of the Wild Hunt that the Wild Hunt was always able to find her, no matter what world she fled to. Suddenly, one of the Mages cast a Lightning Elemental Spell that exploded next to her, causing her to crash into the nearby tree with heavy impact.
The Navigator that pursued her realized that he couldn't open the portal because something was blocking them, and they needed the Elder Blood to break through the barrier that was around this entire world.
"Resistance against the Wild Hunt is futile, little swallow. There is no escape from your fate, and the thing that was once stolen by your disgusting ancestor must be returned."
The Navigator stood in front of her as she was slowly losing consciousness.
'Dammit! So this is the end... I will never see Geral or Yen again, everyone...'
"What do we have here? Temporal-Spatial Magic Users are the most interesting..."
The last thing she heard before everything went black.
In front of the Wild Hunt, Kordillus Drakon stood together with several heavy-armored knights and several Battlemages. Though obviously, the most dangerous was the elderly man wearing similar clothes to the Battlemages, but more luxurious and ornamental.
Just a look at the man was enough to make even the ever-arrogant Wild Hunt Navigators wary because of the Magic that they could sense from the old man.
'They seem like a Wild Hunt... unfortunately, my memories are a bit murky, though they shouldn't be really that powerful compared to the top powerhouses of Thedas.'
Kordillus remembered bits about the Wild Hunt and knew that they were a rather powerful group of people. In fact, the entire Aen Elle civilization was rather advanced, especially in the aspects of Magic, though even that didn't really stop the inevitable doom of their world.
Wild Hunt was not a regular part of the Aen Elle's military, but rather, they were some sort of special forces, created from the best of the best of their armed forces. Meaning, what he was looking at right now, were the high-end experts of the Aen Elle.
He could see that the ordinary warriors of the Wild Hunt were around the Silver-Tier, while the stronger ones were at the Gold-Tier, but their auras were unstable, which meant that they belonged to the Non-Systematic Training Category.
The Non-Systematic Training Category meant that they didn't have systematic training and advancement rules, which could be attributed to two things. Either it was the fault of the world itself, or it was due to civilization never creating systematic training for advancement through the various Tiers.
'Aen Elle is indeed powerful considering all the things, not to mention the craftsmanship of their armors and weapons is superb and their Magic is relatively advanced, perhaps in some areas it would be even more advanced than that of Thedas... well, they had countless years for devleopmenet and plundered whole bunch of worlds, but their ways made them complacent and weak.'
He thought as the members of the Wild Hunt readied their weapons, but for some reason, they didn't attack outright.
"Leave now, mortals, this doesn't concern you."
The one whom Kordillus assumed to be the leader of the group said to him, though he could see a certain degree of vigilance in his voice when he looked at them, especially when he looked at his grandfather.
Meanwhile, the Vanderin Drakon was observing these heavily armored people with curiosity, as if he had found something to study. The old man knew that these ones were certainly not from Thedas; that was for sure, which only heightened his desire to capture them.
And he was sure that they were not even from the Mallus because their Magic felt foreign... if the fact that they were Non-Systematic was the first indicator, then this was a total giveaway of their identity.
"I really don't like your tone..."
Vanderin Drakon didn't wait for anything as he raised his staff, which was an Artifact of the Drakon Family and made from the bones of a real High Dragon, as a purple Magic Circle appeared above them, and suddenly every single member of the Wild Hunt was pressed to the ground.
Kordillus just observed the showcase of the pinnacle of Magic of Thedas, as his grandfather was someone who was on the peak of the Gold-Tier and held the title of First Enchanter, but his real skill was no different from the Magisters of Tevinter, in fact.
"You made rather short work of them, grandpa..."
There wasn't even a chance to fight back for the poor members of the Wild Hunt, as Vanderin Drakon just assembled them outright and used the Gravity Spell to knock them unconscious right away.
Mages that reached the Gold-Tier could inscribe some Spells into specific Magic Items, which allowed them instant casting of the inscribed spell. He also heard that some more radical Mages would inscribe some Spells on their bodies or even their Souls, but such a process was extremely dangerous.
"They seem to be Otherworlders... do you know when the last time that an Otherworlder appeared on Thedas was?"
Kordillus just obediently nodded like a good descendant as he was lectured by his elder.
Of course, he knew, because he was forced to learn the history of the past seven thousand years. According to the records, the last time an Otherworlder appeared on Thedas was around year 6,000 before the foundation of the Tevinter Imperium.
This was information available to the Magisters of Tevinter or founding Houses, but one of the founders of Tevinter was an Otherworlder... a Mage from another world that arrived at Thedas by accident and was one of the first Archons of the Imperium.
"What do you want to do with her? It is clear that they were after her..."
As soon as the Wild Hunt was immobilized and unsconsoiss, they were being picked up by the retinue as Knights and Mages secured the heavily armored members of the Wild Hunt.
Meanwhile, two members of the House Drakon stood above the young woman who was the target of these Otherworlders as they were deliberating on what to do with her.
"We are not leaving her here..."
Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, the bearer of the Elder Blood, Lady of Space and Time.