Chapter 4: Prophesized Doomsday

The city of Luaria celebrated. The people gathered around the streets as veterans and fortunate soldiers returned from battle. Singing and telling tales of their adventures against the demonic invaders. Some even wore the camo-vest the warriors of the Order Militant wore as trophies or a way to show off to their fellow countrymen.

The Kingdom of Luaria and other nationstates never understood the ambitions of the Order Militant or why they invaded. They organised peace talks with them, but they always came back with the corpses of their diplomats. It was then they realised that they were not fighting a war of conquest, but of annihilation.

During the first few battles, they witnessed the Order's war machines decimate their comrades and slay the mightiest of beasts. They watched how giant men of iron walked through burning cities or fell from the sky to bring death to all before them.

The masters of metal, that was what the people of Luaria called the Order Militant. They believed the humans were demons from the other side. People who had turned away from their Goddess' light when she made the world. Barbaric and monstrous creatures with different skin tones and eye colours, an inarguable piece of evidence of their betrayal against the Goddess. If they saw a dead human, the best way to dispose of their corpse was to grind them up and toss the mutilated meat into the fire. The best way to remove traces of demonic taint.

War was known to all. Everyone was aware of the enemy they were facing, an invading force who mastered the art of metal and death sticks. Before, the realm was divided into warring states and rival kingdoms, but this time, it all changed. With the Order invading their home, the people of the realm were more united than ever. No longer were they enemies, but brothers-in-arms against a much greater foe.

Luaria was the central hub of the alliance. The city teemed with life as races and factions from all corners of the realm came to the city to trade, negotiate, research, and further their mighty alliance. The most common race in the city was the Jalzin. Bipedal creatures with translucent fur that covered their white skin. Their limbs were longer than any humans, but only slightly, while their necks were three times the length. Oddly enough, all of them had a feline-like appearance and facial structure.

The city and the nation were going through their Renaissance. Every building was handcrafted and beautifully made with red hardwood and black-sand bricks. Even during a time of heightened conflict, they were in a cultural and economic golden age the likes none has ever seen before. Poverty was non-existent within the city, and everyone had a place to call their home. A utopia for the masses, a union of hope for the rich. A dream that could only happen when they had a common enemy to face.

At the southern quarter of the city stood the Muazmis Spire. A magical tower which acted as a research facility and their command centre. The war called for an age of discovery and unbound knowledge. They believed that to beat the masters of metal, they would need to master the gift of magic that their Goddess had gifted them. Only then would they see victory, and only then would they drive their invaders out of their home.

Standing proud at the heart of the city was the great palace. The home of the king and symbol of the Luarian resistance. It was there that the realm signed a unification treaty, and it would be there where a new future would be built. Its white marble walls and magical thunder towers gave awe and inspired every man, woman, and child with the hope of victory. No one believed anything could break through the palace walls. Demon or no, nothing shall break it. It stood for a hundred years and would stand for a thousand more.

But the war was far from the city. Many were complacent and ignorant of the horrors beyond the safety of their walls. To them, dragons and legions of gargoyles would keep their skies safe while the warriors of the mage guild would shield their homes from the demonic army on the ground. They were ready and prepared to take on any threat.

While there might be tales of the brutality of human warfare, none were able to comprehend what the atrocities would look like. There was nothing in their history that they could compare to. Even with war, they could never understand the Order Militant's industrialisation of death.

Regardless, the Kingdom of Luaria needed soldiers. It didn't matter what they knew or failed to understand about their foe. There was a war going on, and there was a need for soldiers to take the front lines.

"Gather here!" An old Jalzin priest with one arm shouted as he stood at the front of the town hall. "I call upon thee, for war has come to our lands. While our brave brothers and sisters fight the masters of metal. Many fine and able-bodied amongst us in this city still refused to answer the call to war against the demons which plagued our lands!"

Some people ignored the priest, already used to his commotion. To gain their attention, he pointed at a young woman. "You, my child and sister of the faith. Come here and answer my question. Why do you still stand here and not fight for all of us? How can you stand here while demons roam our lands and poison our soil?"

"I am no fighter." The woman replied meekly.

"My daughter, you are a fighter." The priest walked towards the woman and gently grabbed one of her hands. "Ever since you broke out of your egg, you fought against the shell that kept you trapped inside. When you drew breath and took your first steps, you fought against the boundaries that life has placed upon you. You may claim you are not a fighter, but our Goddess has already made you a warrior of the faith. It is why she calls for her children to fight and stand with her kin!"

She shook her head but stopped herself from speaking out when a crowd gathered around to watch the commotion. "I'm sorry, Father. I am not brave enough to fight."

Besides being furious, the priest smiled. He could see the fear in her eyes as well as the hesitation in her throat. "My child, we are all scared." He turned to address the crowd; his voice boomed with conviction. "There is nothing wrong with being afraid. How can the Goddess give us this emotion if there was no use or without reason? Fear keeps us alive; it keeps us away from the veil that the demons have made. But it also makes us understand who we are and what we are going against. It helps us see what needs to be done and how we can achieve it."

"But why would the Goddess let them into this world?" A bystander shouts, making the crowd question the war and the priest's teachings.

"Why does she give us free will? How come she allows those of sin into a world made with her loving embrace? What about the faithless or those who never wanted to follow her light?" The priest looked around, waiting for anyone to answer. However, none were brave enough to speak up. "Our Goddess challenges all. She wanted us not to follow her out of blind faith, but with wisdom in our hearts. She allowed the demons here so we can all have a chance to prove ourselves. To make them suffer from desecrating her light! That we, united as one. Shall be unbeatable against the tides of evil."

"What if that isn't the case?" The woman protested. "What if this is the end?"

The priest frowned. "This is not the end! When they came through those tears from the darkest pits of Sadivar. They came because the sinner desired to cause havoc and chaos. This isn't the end, but the beginning of something new. A new-age of hope that all shall follow. Before they came into our world, we were divided and saw each other as enemies. But now, we are together as one! United as our Goddess intended us to be. No more shall we have brother wars, no more shall we inflict pain amongst each other. Today, stand against the demons who mastered the horrors of metal."

The priest walked to the steps of the town hall, overlooking his flock, enamoured by his preaching. "Children of the Goddess, we are not forsaken or near the end. Because the end has been written, and it looks nothing like what is happening during this war." He pointed towards the sky. "For it was written in the holy scriptures by A'ldia and Galthun. That when all have turned away from the light and ignored the Goddess' love. She will bring her wrath upon the non-believers! On that day, she will tear open the heavens and give birth to the Children of the Sky!"

As soon as he finished, a loud bang came from above the city. Turning a once loud and bustling city, quiet and still. Everyone looked up, their eyes wide at what was happening. The world went dark as light from the sun was replaced with a wound that tore through the sky. Violet sparks flickered and cracked out of it while a thick cloud seeped out of it.

Then, Thunderspear jets flew out of the wound and right on top of the city. Mechs rained down into the city like meteors falling into Earth's orbit. Mages and city defenders fired up at the small army of mech warriors and jets. Able to shoot down only a handful and liquify the pilot inside. But they were not able to stop them all.

Machines of war crash-landed all around the city. Devastating the area where they landed. The most tragic of all was when one mech descended feet first and smashed into the centre of the Spire. The top half crumbled and toppled over upon impact, creating a magical shockwave which shattered every window in a 5-kilometre radius. While the lower half caved in and collapsed into itself.

Everyone was silent, shocked at what had happened. But the silence wasn't meant to last for long. From dust and rubble rose the masters of metal. Their weapons revved up, their pilots thirsting for blood, while the nuclear engines of the mechs hummed with determination. Meanwhile, the jets turned back and flew back into the wound to escape.

Then, the air was filled with screams of terror.

None expected war to come to their city. Everyone naively believed that in those walls, they were safe. But here stood the men of iron. The proclaimed Children of the Sky.