Lieutenant Dayke and Sergeant Thyra run up to me with a large piece of tan paper. Dayke had drawn everything in eye-sight with rough estimations of how far they were.

I look it over with a satisfied nod. “Good thing you got a knack for guessing distances. We should be able to hit them hard with our trebs if they come back.”

She nods uneasily and drums her fingers on her legs. "I'm sorry Captain Raiden, but we're also out of rocks to launch. All we have left are shredders but we have a ton of them at least."

I let out a slow exhale and drop my shoulders. “Good thing shredders are so simple to make given we have tons of scrap metal and at least two forges still operational.”

Sergeant Thyra looks between us uncomfortably. “My apologies I never got training on our trebuchets. What are shredders?”

Dayke keeps her hands clasped behind her back as she turns to talk to Thyra. “They’re molded head-sized balls of jagged metal, with a sharp piece pointing every direction. They’re also soaked in the latrine so they can easily cause infections. Their only drawback is the severe lack of range and predictability. They have a fourth of the range as a normal rock, but can coat an entire area. Our trebuchets have different fittings for different ammo. For shredders, a larger pad is used to make sure we covered a wide area. If we used our normal sling for the jagged metal, they’d wear it out. Unfortunately a thicker pad means less energy going into our shots so less range, they’re also not aerodynamic or balanced for crap.”

I hand the paper back to Dayke.

"Make several copies of this map and make sure every soldier in command has one." Right as she takes the map, another soldier runs up. He hands me a scroll with red tape on each end, about a single inch from the actual edge of the paper. In it, is a report that a large group of what we presume to be natives heading in our direction from the huge mountain. I bolt to the window and look outwards.

We see several horses approaching our city from the south. They're still far enough away that it makes details impossible, but we can at least make out a front row. They're also wearing some kind of reflective material. Could be shiny armor, could be weapons made from steel. There could easily be more following behind.

I race through the castle and find Emeris in the dining hall between two heated soldiers. “Come now, gentlemen. What’s more badass, throwing fists over someone else’s attitude, or being the guy I can trust to keep a cool head when I stumble across some extra supplies to give away?” Emeris looks between them with a grin and pats both their chests with each hand. He looks up at me as I skid into the hall. I hold up the scroll with red tape and wiggle it a few times. He nods and starts issuing commands.

In a few minutes, my scouts had already bolted through the stone halls and notified everyone under my command. Units pour into the throne room, as I stand in the middle with my hands clasped behind my back.

All fifty of us stand at attention, when the last few of my soldiers join our formation. I clear my throat and address them as they stand in five rows of ten.

“We know nothing about this land. You will act respectfully, but not fearfully. The last thing we need is to be picked off before we even have a chance to fight. So be ready for anything. All units not with our initial welcoming party, will utilize typical rogue protocols with the exception of not killing any locals for the sake of stealth. Tara Beik, you will approach from the west, sticking close to any trees and shrubbery with bows at the ready. You will fire on my command only. You'll prioritize ground infantry with your longbowers focusing on high threat targets. Tara Neiz, you'll approach from the east, taking advantage of the hills. You will hold your fire until we need it. You'll be reserved for flanking as well as dealing with any arial units. We've seen them fly so keep your eyes on the sky. If we get into combat and fall back, you'll hit them from behind. Also if you see any of their people make a run for it, you are to use your longbowers to take them out so they can’t go back and report the situation. Understood?” Quiet nods from everyone. This could very well be the start of a second war. We couldn't risk any enemy unit reporting back. If combat broke out, we'd have to rely on the element of surprise given our ignorance of this land. There would be no telling what they have in store for us.

As we exit through the castle gate, Emeris leans over to me and chuckles.

“That was the most boring, dry speech you’ve ever given. Might as well add in that they should kill themselves before being taken prisoner.” I sigh with annoyance.

"Alright, what would you have said?" Emeris smirks and crosses his arms.

"Who knows, maybe they'll just surrender and we'll become the new rulers here. I don't know about the rest of you, but I'd love being woken up by a foot massage!" He calls out. Our people laugh to themselves, more out of a release of tension than humor I assume.

We pass what remains of the double doors in the gate room. They lean against the stone, with only half of each door remotely intact. The ground was littered with wooden debris when doom came for us. We march through the remains of our former homes in a daze. Most of the city was gone, with our outer stone walls guarding a wasteland of misery and destruction.

The debris was already being quickly transformed into basic forts. If it wasn’t a checkpoint along the road, it was being piled into a huge wall. The side facing away from our city was a gradual incline made to let the Og Nag climb onto it with ease. On the other side, facing us and hidden from view of our foes, large metal spikes were put down to impale enemies who try to jump down. The idea was that the Og Nag would mindlessly climb the hill of debris and possibly jump off without thinking, impaling themselves. Once they realize it’s no good, the units behind them might give an accidental bump killing a few more. This also allows us to use the sides of the hill of debris as a bit of a choke point. Last but not least, it was a bit of an early warning as they’d have to stop at the top of the hill and go back down. It's engineering was obnoxiously simple as well: Make a wall, then pile debris on the other side over and over, gradually making a ramp. Small jagged pieces of metal, coated with pepper, occasionally poke up, ensuring a few punctured feet and a very unpleasant after effect.

We stop right as our city ends and the luscious green grass begins. We can’t believe the sight of it: real grass. I take the first step out. My foot sinks just slightly into the ground. My knee cries out, being accustomed to marching on hard, solid earth. I gently bend over, take off my left gauntlet, and feel it with my hand. Real grass was something I had never experienced. It was almost a gift just to be able to see it. The blades are smooth, cool and just slightly damp. The deep green almost massages my sight. The texture was almost that of silk, coated in fresh moisture. The blades were almost infinite, hiding the dirt from my sight. There was no dead shrubbery, no blood or rusting metal, no burnt wood crumbled into a pile.

I’m about to turn around to address our troops, but to my right, Emeris tears off his armor and rolls around in the field giggling. Everyone bursts out laughing. I try to keep a straight face, but Emeris enjoying himself off to the side is too much. I sigh and give a small welcoming wave. Roars of happiness erupt as everyone takes their own approach to this strange miracle. Some just admire it, while others remove one or more bits of armor and throw themselves around carelessly. I sit down, letting the cool green blades tickle my palm. If this was a dream, it had been the best one of my life.

I stare up at the sky. A few clouds, some birds soaring carelessly, the bright warm sun kissing my face, this had to be some kind of afterlife test. I close my eyes as a nice breeze swims through my helmet. I let out a sigh of bliss. I had no idea where we were, but I didn’t want to leave. Maybe we were dead. Maybe this was the next step; venturing outwards as some kind of final assessment. I was never a religious man, but this could very well change that. Various animals run around in the distance, watching us curiously. They seem more shy than afraid. Animals that don’t automatically run from humans, what a strange land this was.

One of my units calls out that the envoy is getting closer. Everyone jumps up and puts back on whatever armor they tore off, then get into formation. I run through our lines, pulling stray blades of grass from their armor. My two groups break off and sprint to their designated positions. Their leather armor makes them completely silent. Snickering and excited whispers plague the unit, as all the happiness hasn’t quite faded yet. Soon, the most glorious horses I had ever seen make their way into view, accompanied by around fifty other smaller horses, wearing some kind of custom silver armor. As they get closer, there appears to be two horses leading them. They both had an odd familiar feminine look to them.

Their colors were unreal. My eyes tremble trying to contemplate creatures that had more majesticness than the rumors of rainbows I’ve heard.

The tallest one, was a light shade of pink. Her fur was short and perfectly groomed. On her earlob, was a small, golden earing. She was only a foot shorter than me on all fours. On her hooves, were the most regal horseshoes in existence. They were gold, encompassed the entire hoof and had a large spade design that traveled almost to the knee. On each side of her flank, was a yellow symbol that looked like beams of light rotating and eventually being pulled into a white circle.

On her neck, was a golden collar that stretched behind her head and up to a crown over her forehead with a footlong horn stretching out that matched her fur. Behind the collar, was a vertical halo attached to it. This halo had strange symbols carved into it. On her sides, were a pair of wings, but they had to be slightly too small to fly with. Her mane and tale was where most of her color was however. It was large strands of purple, light blue, light orange and lime. All her hair just flows elegantly in a non-existent breeze. Her expression is wide-eyed and almost excited to see us.

To her left is another horse, slightly smaller by a foot, but still with that strange feminine allure as well. The fur on her face is a light, faded cobalt, but quickly changes to black around her chest and all the way back down her hindlegs, with the color changing back to the faded cobalt for her front legs. Her hooves were black but she didn’t have any kind of elegant horseshoe like her company did.

On her chest, was a crescent moon, but it was a slightly glowing light teal. Was it actually part of her fur? Did the people here have some sort of advanced dye? The same symbol was on her flank on each side. Her mane, tail and tips of her wings, had this odd color of transparent pink mixed with purple and white. It reminded me of staring up at the night sky and seeing those vast arrays that stretched from one star to another. It even had the occasional sparkle to it. Her horn was slightly shorter and black. Her furry black ears had white on the insides.Her crown was also a glossy black but had a few white gems stretching across it horizontally. Under her eyes, are five black dots outlining her bottom eyelids. Her face seems almost sceptical and cautious with a bit of sass thrown in.

To top off their appearance, I couldn't help but notice just how different they looked from horses of our world. Instead of massive bulging bodies, loaded with muscles, they were thin and petite. Were these thinner horses used for racing instead of riding or labor? Also their muzzles don’t extend out by a few feet or so like a normal horse. Instead it quickly forms into the mouth similar of a dog, sticking out only around three to four inches. It was almost cute. Their mouths and lips were the size of a person’s, instead of the massive gaping chops of a normal equine.

Their eyes were massive, slightly larger than a typical person. It was strangely calming though. They were also a lot more closer to the nose, rather than completely on the side. They were able to look straight at me with both eyes at the same time with ease. The more I stare into them, the more I notice one last perplexing feature. These horses seemed to have the back parts of their eyelids outlined with eyeshadow. Even their eyelashes seemed to protrude out with a bit of help.

The white one has her entire eyes outlined in black, while the smaller darker horse had just the back corners of her eyes done up. Who the hell puts makeup on horses? Perhaps it was the radiant teal of her eyes, or the way she casually bats her eyelashes, but I had the feeling I was dealing with more than a mere animal. They all shared the same characteristics that separated them from the horses we were used to. They were surprisingly rigid, as if striking a royal demeanor. They had clearly been heavily trained, but where were their riders? Was this a ploy to distract us or perhaps the most astonishing welcoming committee we’ve ever received?

The miraculous colors on them are more of a shock than the grass. What other possible surprises did this place have? I walk towards them, with my hands up, doing my best to appear friendly. They were probably hungry and lost, and came to us for safety. As I get closer, I see something just a tad off. Instead of mindlessly glancing around, they constantly studied us. Perhaps these horses had increased brain mass as well. I talk as gently as I can.

“I’m so sorry, we’ll get you back home don’t worry. “ The two horses look at each other, and then back to me, with perplexed looks. I had never seen horses make facial expressions either. Did they even have more facial muscles than a normal horse, with the knowledge of how to use them? They all stop about twenty feet from us, almost acting as they had never seen humans before. I keep my hands up but let my shoulders drop to not appear threatening. Over my shoulder I call out to Cy just loud enough for him to hear me.

“Cy, get a saddle and escort them to our stables.” I had instructed him to bring at least one in case we found a mode of transportation. Granted there was no way these horses could support a human, but at the very least we could make a good first impression by returning them. Cy runs past me with his saddle.I pull out my map and begin designating areas where we can house the poor creatures. Cy begin to saddle the white horse, when I hear a female voice call out.

“Excuse me!” The voice is mixed with an attempt at politeness but also anger. Cy drops the saddle and falls down.

“S..s…sir! The…the horse just told me...no.”