Mass Effect, Warhammer 1. Chapter 1

Steel, Fire, Honor and Ruin

**Prologue**

_'Fear me mortals, for I am the Anointed, the Favored Son of Chaos, the Scourge of the World. The armies of the gods rally behind me, and it is by will and by my sword that your weakling nations shall fall.'  
\- Archaon, Lord of the End Times, to the beleaguered city of Middenheim_

_'I could swear you're trying to tell me something but all I hear is, blah, blah, I'm an enormous tool, blah, blah, blah.'  
\- Maria Shepard,  
Grand Master of the Demigryph Knights, Battle Wizard of the Empire_

**/ooooooo\**

Middenheim. City of the White Wolf. A great fortress-city built upon a plateau of rock a mile across and five-hundred feet high, with only four highways as a point of entrance, each along colossal viaducts. The northern most city of the Empire, it was designed and constructed by human and dwarf hands as a bastion against the north and the ever present threats lurking in Drak Wald Forest.

According to legend the city was founded by the god Ulric, and to this day it remains the center of his religion in the Old World, despite the rest of the Empire's reverence of the warrior-god Sigmar. The Temple of Ulric is a vast castle which dominates the city but hardly eclipses it. Middenheim is a cosmopolitan place with humans, dwarfs, halflings, and even a few elves making their home within the great city. Despite the limited amount of space, the city's designers were able to use every inch of ground wisely, allowing Middenheim to become one of the most valued city-states of the Empire, second in size and influence only to the Imperial capital of Altdorf. It was an engineering marvel and a sight to behold… but not today.

Today, the city was on fire.

**/ooooooo\**

Maria Shepard reached out an armored gauntlet and grabbed a fistful of earth and grass. It took all her strength just to drag herself another few inches forward. The stabbing pain in her side flared up again, and her crawl stopped with a pained and pitiful sob. With rapid, shallow breaths, she let her body once again go limp against the ground. The beaten and dented suit of gromril plated silver armor she wore, gifted to her by the dwarves, had lost its shine and had become caked in dirt and blood. It was too much to even lift her head, so she let her bruised face lie against the cool compacted grass and mud. Her shoulder length blonde hair, which had worked itself free from the confines of the ponytail, spread out and covered her face. The cut she had received to the side of her head when her helmet had been bashed away was still bleeding, and a trail of blood now worked its way across her cheek where it then dripped down to the ground.

She was exhausted. More exhausted than she had ever been. War on this scale was something she never could have fathomed in her wildest dreams. If she had managed to witness the Reapers invade the galaxy, she figured she would have; but that was another time, a different place. And that war would have been fought very differently.

With a deep breath and tremendous effort, Maria rolled onto her back. Despite the overcast sky, it was fair weather, and she would have liked nothing more than to close her eyes, sleep the day away and allow her cybernetics to do their job and heal her injuries. But this was not to be. The constant roar of battle ensured that.

She was laying in the valley below Middenheim, about a half a click away from the mountain's base. It was a decision to be here earlier in the day that now had Maria surrounded by the hundred thousand strong army of chaos, which was laying siege to the fortress city. Chaos warriors, marauders, orcs, goblins, beastmen, mutants, chaos dwarfs, and actual, living, monstrous daemons continually marched along the highways towards the city. They marched with their siege towers, dozens in number, as their stone throwers and cannons continually bombarded Middenheim. All of them keeping their distance and ignoring the defeated woman stretched across the ground within their ranks.

They ignored her because she was not theirs to kill. This army, the likes of which the Old World had never seen in generations, was made up of forces from each of the four ruinous chaos gods. They had stopped their bickering and infighting and focused all their attention and gifts to one man. Their Everchosen. And it was only due to his strength of body and will, which kept the combined army of chaos together.

Maria's plan was to destabilize the chaos army. Without its general, the combined forces of chaos would dissolve into multiple smaller armies, each with their own commanders. Without the Everchosen to lead them, these commanders would war upon themselves before the army marched another mile. The plan was simple. Kill the Archaon. Its execution… well she was the one bleeding on the ground.

Maria had actually fought him twice before this battle. When the man first gathered his army and began to march south from the chaos wastes of the north and had invaded the Empire, she had just returned from her voyage to the jungle continent of Lustria. Arriving in the capital of Altdorf, Maria had delivered her own grim news before the Emperor Karl Franz, and then listened as he briefed her on the chaos incursion. Now realizing she literally had nowhere else to call home, Maria had called her retinue of knights to action and rode north in haste.

The first engagement was Maria and her Demigryph knights against the Archaon and his deadliest warriors, the Swords of Chaos. The two groups, composed only of the very elite, clashed against one another in a spectacularly bloody fashion. Maria had fought her way to the Archaon and faced him for the first time, and during this encounter managed to kill his demonic mount, Dorghar. Maria then quickly ordered a retreat before the rest of the chaos army arrived to defend the Archaon. Having stained his honor, and killing a number of his best soldiers, she counted the battle as a victory. But the cost was high. She had lost so many of her own order.

Being forced to flee further south by the unstoppable chaos horde, Maria was able to learn more about the man who was Archaon, and how he lead his army. It was then she was told of how chaos invasions in the past had been beaten back. The horde would have to loss its general. With the Imperial army still mobilizing and unable to stop the carnage being wrought by the Archaon and his followers, Maria made the decision to try and stop the war before more lives were lost.

The second time they met, Maria was alone. She waited for the chaos army's arrival and shouted out her challenge to the Archaon. Face her in singular combat, or forever be labeled as a coward. The Archaon took the challenge and marched out, sword and shield in hand, to meet her in battle. Maria ordered her loyal and powerful friend to attack, and without hesitation the Demigryph charged. It was during this fight, Maria regretfully realized too late, that the Archaon's earlier defeat at her hands was nothing more than a fluke. He had been caught off guard by her biotics, her advanced technology, and her respectable command over the winds of magic. This time the Archaon was prepared, and Maria paid the price. If it had not been for the timely intervention of Balthasar Gelt, the Supreme Patriarch of the Collages of Magic, and his swift Pegasus, the Archaon would have taken her life… just as he had taken the life of her faithful mount.

A deafening screech which could have only come from the deepest part of hell brought Maria's attention back to the battle. She turned her head to the city of Middenheim, it's armies still fighting valiantly on the highways, it's soldiers still manning the cannons and catapults which lined the walls, and she witnessed a tower of blue and purple flame rise up from the center of the nearest viaduct. Soldiers from both sides who were too close to the flames combusted and their screams of terror and pain were silenced as they immediately turned to ash. The tower of colored fire rose hundreds of feet into the air and formed into the shape of a gigantic, four fingered claw. The fingers remained fully outstretched before they closed and formed a fist; a fist which then arced over and came crashing down into the closed city gate, which had stood defiantly against the invaders until now. The fist impacted the gate and surrounding wall with such force that even form this distance Maria felt the ground shake beneath her.

She watched as the entire arm followed through the movement before it dissipated into thin air. What was once a sealed gate, had now been burned away to nothing. A gaping hole now lay in Middenheim's last line of defense, and the chaos horde advanced with renewed zeal.

Maria watched helplessly as the implications of such an event sunk in. The only way the vile sorcerers of the enemy could have conjured up such an attack was if the city's own force of wizards had been overwhelmed and killed. A cold wave of despair washed over her as she realized this meant Balthasar Gelt was most likely dead now as well. Despite the attempt of some of the Empire's most skilled and most devoted, it appeared that Middenheim was doomed to be sacked and burned just like the scores of villages and cities before it.

Maria shut her eyes as a tear ran down her cheek as she wished desperately that she could drown out the noise of war around her. It had now simply become too much to bear. Four years she had been forced to survive on this punishing and unforgiving world. Four years she had fought against the odds and traveled with the hope she would find a way back home.

She had survived the vile machinations of the rat-men known as Skaven. She had killed scores of foul beastmen. She had faced off against and held court with Vampire Lords. She had managed to defend herself against the impossible cruelty of the Dark Elves. She had outwitted Orge mercenaries, she had overthrown Orc and Goblin war bosses, and she had even somehow managed to stand before and kill one of the most powerful servants of the chaos gods, a Daemon Prince.

Maria had made many enemies, but she had also made a few valued friends. The High Elves had given her their everlasting respect. The Dwarfs had proclaimed her as one of their own, in spite of her inability to hold her liquor; and the Empire had given her a military rank of distinction and honor. Her place on this world had been hard fought and it was thanks to the few people she could readily rely, some more so than others, one especially so, that Maria eventually tracked down and confronted those responsible for bringing her here in the first place. For all the good it did her now though…

Even with her eyes closed and the noise around her, she knew when he began to advance toward her spot on the ground. The game was finally over; the battle for Middenheim lost. There was just one last thing to take care of, and his very real and overwhelming aura of malice was unmistakable.

The Archaon was finally ready to kill her…

…and Maria was too overwhelmed to care anymore.

His voice was deep and carried over the roar of battle with ease, even though he still wore his ancient, horned, battle-helm. "Look to the city, _champion_," the last word spoken in a sneering tone. "Another city of the Empire falls to the might of chaos. Further proof of the power they command, and the utter insignificance of the weak-willed Sigmar, who these peasants have declared a god. Even the ancient Cult of Ulric cannot oppose my might. I will be the last of the Everchosen, I will lay waste to all of reality, and no _champion_ of order can stop me."

Still sprawled out on her back before him, all Maria did was turn her head and look at him. He stood only a few paces away, and despite her attempts, looked no worse off from their duel. His coal black armor, adorned with the skulls of his enemies and pelts of his hunts, showed little wear from her attacks. The ancient enchantments and wicked spells had made the armor and its wearer immune to nearly all forms of physical, magical, and apparently biotic attacks.

In defense of the Empire, Emperor Karl Franz had opened the Imperial vaults and gifted Maria one of the most potent magical weapons in the whole of the Old World. A sword, the Runefang of Drakwald, given the name Beast Slayer, was one of the twelve swords forged by the legendary dwarf runesmith Alric the Mad at the creation of the Empire, during the reign of Sigmar. These swords were to be handed over to Sigmar's twelve tribal chieftains as a symbol of their loyalty and devotion to the newly created Empire of Man.

Maria had encountered many enchanted objects during here time here, but all paled in comparison to the sheer power the Runefang radiated. Holding the sword in her hand for the first time raised feelings of honor and victory. It was a weapon made to banish evil back into their dark lairs, a weapon of pure good and order. Maria had wielded the Runefang with great skill. She may have been new to this world of steel, but she was a fast study.

But as powerful as the sword was, the chaos gods had ensured their Everchosen was fully prepared to face such weapons. Maria had struck solid blows against the man many times during their fight. All that showed for her effort were a number of small scratches and one minor dent to his chest plate. When the Archaon had dealt his final, devastating blow, Maria had lost her grip on the sword. It was laying on the ground only a few feet away, but at the moment, it was basically leagues from her grip.

The Archaon advanced closer to Maria until he stood above her. In his left hand he held a golden rectangular shield as tall as himself, and in his right hand he held his own sword. A sword of pure evil, Maria had learned that it was called the Slayer of Kings. First wielded in battle by the second Everchosen of chaos, who had trapped the Greater Daemon, U'zuhl, inside it; the blade was evil, simple as that. It glowed red, like it had just been removed from the forges, and it was wreathed in a living black flame which jut out at anything nearby in hopes of consuming it. The lingering influence of the Greater Daemon still trapped within.

It was the weapon responsible for leaving Maria in the state she was in now. During their duel, the Archaon had beaten her defenses away and stabbed his sword at her gut. Maria had failed to parry the blow and just barely managed to twist her midsection enough to avoid being skewered. The result instead was the sword cleaving through her layers of armor and slicing the side of her ribs. Maria couldn't see the wound, but knew of the sword's gruesome effects. The cut, while less than a half an inch deep, was bleeding freely and the skin had been charred and blackened by the poisonous black flame. Without magical intervention, Maria doubted her cybernetics would be enough to heal it before she succumbed to the wound.

He looked down at her and Maria could swear she heard the malice in his voice fade slightly. "It was pointless to resist against my invasion, Shepard. All of this was destined to happen. I will be victorious. This is inevitable."

As he looked across the battlefield, Maria rolled her eyes. It didn't matter what reality she was in, it seemed long winded speeches made by the forces of evil at their perceived moment of triumph was a mandatory thing.

"I alone know the truth of the universe," the Archaon continued. "Centuries ago I was a humble servant of Sigmar. A warrior-priest devoted to spreading his word and bringing others into his light…."

Maria closed her eyes and wished he would just get it over with.

"…it was there I read from the forbidden texts in the temple. I know how far the taint of chaos has spread across the Old World…"

Once again I repeat myself and proclaim you an enormous tool, Maria thought inwardly.

"…with rage and madness playing equal parts, I burned down the temple and cast aside my mortal name and possessions…"

If my implant wasn't running so hot right now I'd blast you in the balls just to hurry this up.

"…in the chaos wastes of the north I found my calling and devoted myself to the true gods of this world…"

If I had a dreadnought in orbit you wouldn't be so high and mighty. You'd be paste in the mud.

"…after centuries of proving myself the next Everchosen in the eyes of the gods, I rallied my army to head south and began my campaign…"

If those stupid Lizardmen and their damn mage-priests would have just left well enough alone I wouldn't even be here right now to stop you. I shouldn't be here at all.

"…and now that Middenheim has fallen I can complete my unholy mission…"

I wish I had seen home one more time…

"…I will enter the Temple of Ulric, step into the holy fires, and allow its flames to burn away my mortal body and transport my will to the Citadel in the heavens. From this great gateway I will use the power of the gods to usher in a new era of darkness over the world and burn away all the lies of men." Having said what needed to be said; the Archaon looked down at Maria and began to raise his sword above his head, intent on eliminating the last thing on this battlefield that could attempt to delay his destiny.

Maria's whole body tensed when the Archaon finished. For her, time seemed frozen, and the battle around her faded away entirely, until it was just her and the Archaon.

This planet was unlike any she had ever seen or heard of. The people and creatures calling this place home were nothing short of extraordinary. By the end of her first year, Maria had learned that she would have to expect the unexpected, and always remember that nothing was impossible. A hard lesson but when Maria had encountered her first dragon… well, it certainly broadened her perspective.

So after being trapped here for just over four years, with what the Archaon had just said, Maria had to be sure.

The Archaon's sword swept down toward Maria's chest plate. Dwarven gromril was considered to be the strongest metal across the Old World but even it folded like parchment before the sheer power of the Slayer of Kings. The daemon infested sword sliced through the air and encountered no resistance as it slashed deep into the dirt and grass.

But where the sword should have bisected Maria, instead it passed harmlessly through a thick black mist which hung low against the ground.

The Archaon recognized the magic instantly and yanked his sword free from the mud. He looked around to his left and his right and then felt the presence of his opponent behind him. He turned slowly to see Maria, kneeling on the grass, several feet of open ground now separating them. With great effort on her part, her watched as she rose to her feet. One arm wrapped around her midsection while the other – his eyes darted back to where her Runefang should have been laying on the ground. It had been retrieved during her escape and he glared as Maria used it as a support to hold herself upright.

Maria stood before the Archaon while she took several long, deep breaths. The spell she had just employed was one of the first her instructor had taught her, and for good reason. Experience fighting on this world was gained through hard fought victories. Learning when to retreat and live to fight another day and retain this knowledge was preferable to getting yourself eaten by a giant.

Struggling to keep her voice steady she addressed the Everchosen. "This Citadel in the heavens… have you ever seen it? You've spoken about visions you've had concerning the future of this world. Have you ever had a vision of this gateway to usher forth evil?"

The Archaon raised his sword again and brought his shield in front of himself. Maria knew he was preparing for their final clash but he did at least answer her question.

"I have."

Her throat was suddenly very dry and she swallowed before asking, "Was it cylindrical in shape? The main body broken into five long sections, all of them connected by a circle at one end… and a towering spire at the center of this circle?"

She got her answer before the Archaon even replied. His entire stance screamed of suspicion and surprise from her question. Eventually, after too many long and painful seconds, he answered her. And Maria's heart skipped a beat.

"How do you know about the Citadel?" he growled back at her. With Maria's silence as his only reply, the Archaon knew his gods were watching and made the decision to end their duel now. He didn't know how she knew, but she wouldn't spread her knowledge to others.

The Archaon readied his sword and his shield and began to advance toward Maria. Halfway toward his opponent, the Archaon was forced to halt his advance as he quickly raised his shield to avoid one of her strange biotic attacks. The blast of energy impacted against his shield and caused no damage to the Archaon himself. Moving his shield out of his eye line he saw Maria standing tall with her arm holding her Runefang fully outstretched toward him.

He frowned at the action. Continued resistance from her at this time in their duel was pointless, she was practically at deaths door. But he watched as she didn't slump in exhaustion from the attack and instead clutched her sword in both hands and faced him fully. On her lips, a thin smile.

Maria's side was literally killing her, the cut to her head still bleeding and trailing down her hair and neck. Armor dented, bones battered, body bruised, biotic implant running so hot she knew after today it would need replacing. But none of that mattered to her now. She was a soldier of the Systems Alliance. She was a Spectre of the Citadel. She was a Battle Wizard and Grand Master of the Empire.

"Archaon! I listened to your speech, its time you heard mine." Maria stood taller and began to concentrate as she addressed him. "If there is only one thing you need to know about me it's that I am extremely lucky; basically to the point of ridiculousness. Technically I've died twice now, but in a way you could use that to prove my point."

She wasn't one for grandstanding but she needed to by some time as she attempted to gather more biotic and magical power. "My first year on this planet, I had the misfortune of finding myself to close to the Vampire stronghold of Blood Keep. The Blood Knight's Kastellan attacked me and proceeded to beat me just as badly as you have. I woke up inside Blood Keep and was a told I was to be a guest of the order and the newest conquest of the Kastellan's. But as you can see, here I am four years later and not an undead servant of the night. Do you know how I made it out alive?"

"Vampires are an enemy not to be taken lightly." The Archaon took a step towards her. "Are you trying to tell me your escape was simple luck?"

"Charm played a much greater role." Maria smiled as the same black mist she had used to escape now rose out of the ground at her feet in continuous billowing waves. Her body then began to glow as she flared her biotics. "But if you want the truth, it was a fuck ton of determination to just survive and find a way back home. A home I thought I would never get to see again… until you just explained how it's possible."

Maria's black fog had caught the attention of the ranks of goblins and marauders that still surrounded her. A few of the wiser ones scrambled back away from the mist while the slower ones just stared and grumbled about trying to kill her despite the Archaon's presence.

The Archaon himself was unmoved by Maria's display and held his ground as the fog swept around his legs and continued on. He recognized the magic, Phantasmancy, the Lore of Shadows. He scowled at her choice of magical study. A warrior in battle had no use for illusions and trickery, these dishonorable tactics. But, in the right hands, these spells could be just as deadly as a fireball.

His suspicions about Maria's intent were correct, and he quickly strengthened his mental resolve as the black fog sunk into the ground and solidified, covering the small portion of the battlefield in utter blackness.

For a second, each of the soldiers of chaos stood terrified as they all now stood over a pit of eternal darkness. Their terror became their own undoing and their minds fed the illusion and magic. What they _had_ perceived as an unending pit of darkness _became_ an unending pit of darkness, and every soldier, goblin, and marauder, fell into the ground with a bone chilling scream of horror.

Scores of enemy combatants fell into the void surrounding her, but Maria knew the Archaon wasn't going to die that easily. She had secretly hoped, but knew. The Archaon had seen through the trickery and saw the attack for what it was; just smoke and mirrors that couldn't harm him as long as he denied the spell its power.

The Archaon walked across the black void of space with certainty and closed on Maria. But she didn't fall back and attempt to flee like before. Instead she held her ground and faced him with resolve that rivaled his own.

Maria increased the flare of her biotics, "Fighting you hasn't been so much luck as it has been a desperate attempt by me to find purpose on this planet. But now that I know how to get back home, you will never be able to defeat me"

Maria focused her biotics on her sword and the energy slowly traveled over her arms and reached the hilt of the blade. From there it proceeded to rise until the entire Runefang was covered in blue colored waves of energy.

With grim determination she addressed him for the final time. "Four years I've spent wandering this world. Never knowing if the crisis this galaxy faces was ever averted in my absence. But now I have a chance, and I'm going to take it. I don't care if you pull a goddamned dragon out your ass at this point Archaon. I'm saving Middenheim from you and your army, and then… I'm finally going home."

* * *

**Author's Note: **I love Warhammer 40K as much as the next person, but there is something to be said about how epic Warhammer Fantasy battles can be.

There are Dragon Age crossovers and Lord of the Rings crossovers, all of which are utterly amazing, so now we need a Warhammer Fantasy crossover. Because taking someone as badass as Shepard and putting him/her in a world where magic, dragons, and daemons are an everyday occurrence, and those who fight in this world arm themselves with swords and shields, can only make a good story.

So here's my plan of attack.

First off, I'm still writing another mass effect crossover and that takes up a lot of time. It wouldn't be fair to everyone reading that story if I just gave up now and started on a new one. I could attempt to do both, and probably will, but my wing commander/mass effect story will always take priority.

Therefore to all those interested in this new adventure I say this... Updates on this story will be far and few between, almost to the point of me just saying this is a simple one shot meant to spark creative interest in others.

Basically what I'm saying is Warhammer belongs to Games Workshop, Mass Effect belongs to Bioware, and this story I just started can be used by anyone who thinks they can do this adventure justice. Seriously, go nuts and run with this idea, or start your own Warhammer Fantasy crossover.

**Spoilers** ahead for this story idea. So if don't mind knowing a general idea on how it works out then keep reading this. This is just to help others get the creative juice flowing.

This story would begin with Shepard fighting on the Collector base. After taking out the human-reaper and everyone falls to the ground, they proceed to dust themselves off and make a run for it just like in the game. But lets say while running to the Normandy, the Collectors manage to cause Shepard to make a wrong turn and separate from the group and our hero now finds themselves trapped with time running out. With the base about to explode or become irradiated, Shepard makes a heroic last stand and orders the Normandy to leave them behind and warn the galaxy. Fighting alone, time eventually runs out and the collector base explodes, with Shepard still inside.

But Shepard didn't die. Instead our hero is transported through a magical rift and finds themselves in the Warhammer world. How you accomplish this is up to you, my thinking was some minor skirmish was taking place and one of the baddies was trying to summon a daemon of chaos and instead Shepard falls out of the portal. Imagine the look on a Skaven Grey Seer's face when the Great Horned Rat doesn't appear on the battlefield and instead a strangely armored human pops out and proceeds to kill his army with strange powers and weapons. Thus, an adversary for our hero is born as this Skaven spends much of the story now trying to get revenge.

Fast forward and Shepard has spent months, perhaps years, traveling the Old World and making new friends and enemies along the way; all with the eventual goal of finding out how to reverse the spell that brought him/her to this place and return home. You can make this portion of the story last as long as you want, my thinking was this would simply be part one of the story. Part two would be Shepard does make it back to the galaxy he/she left and proceeds to fight the Reapers using any new powers or knowledge she gained on their adventure. Perhaps our hero even learns where this magical planet is in the galaxy and returns with the Normandy.

And thus Warhammer 40K is born. Did I just blow your mind? It was Shepard all along.

Okay, that was cheesy, but the idea of our hero returning for help to fight the Reapers would make sense. After all, what better way to combat the machines then allies that can literally summon fireballs and bolts of magical lightning. Of course if the Orcs ever got off the planet, and the Dark Elves mastered space flight... holy crap, its true! Shepard created the Warhammer 40K universe!


	2. making an exit and entrance

**Author's Note: **Welcome to chapter one. If you read the lengthy note at the end of the prologue you know that this story is only going to be updated periodically. So for stopping by today let me say thank you. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

But on to more pressing matters!

I told everyone reading that this story is up for grabs. If you're motivated enough to copy and paste or start a new one entirely go ahead and write out your own story. I think its a great idea and I'm hoping other people will too. And wouldn't you know it, but someone agreed and made their own Warhammer Fantasy/Mass Effect crossover!

Author: The Incredible Muffin

Story Title: Honor-Bound

Level of awesomeness: Off the flipping charts!

But don't just take my word for it. Head on over and check out The Incredible Muffin's story for yourself!

* * *

**Author's Note #2: **Skip this note if you don't want details on how the story is being written. This is merely here to satisfy curiosity.

I'm basing a lot of this story off the actual Warhammer Fantasy table top game. I will use ideas and characters from novels as well, but my goal was that any time I write out a battle scene, I'd try to add the level of tension and unpredictability the table top matches are known for. With just a roll of the dice a player can go from being utterly invincible to yelling 'stop exploding you cowards!' (*see Skaven artillery for reference)

For this one chapter I wanted to try a little more character development, but in the next I'm thinking I will write out the story in more of a timeline format, since things will get stale if every single chapter only covers one or two days of Shepard's adventures.

Warhammer Armies in chapter one: Skaven, Bretonnia

And just one more quick note. I'm not going to be providing information before hand about anything Shepard will be facing. I will list the armies above like I did here, but I want this story to be about Shepard discovering the new world along side the reader. There are going to be terms you may not fully understand but Shepard's not one to just avoid useful intelligence. You'll find out soon enough!

Well enough of my ramblings, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

Steel, Fire, Honor and Ruin

**Chapter 1  
making an exit... and entrance  
**

**/ooooooo\**

Location: Collector Base,  
somewhere in the galactic core

She went left.

Those would be the words engraved into her tombstone. Not something heroic, not something inspiring; just one simple phrase as a glaring reminder to the rest of the galaxy how someone's fate can be so easily cemented in failure.

She went left, while the rest of her team went right.

Not that it was her fault for going left. When you are being chased by several dozen collector drones intent on killing you, how fast you run matters just as much as where you're running too.

Of course in hindsight, the destination does seem to be fairly critical to the whole 'run to safety' plan...

**/ooooooo\**

Maria Shepard sat behind the small wall she was using as cover from the attacking collectors and quickly glanced at the countdown timer being displayed on her omni-tool.

...00:01:46...00:01:45...00:01:44...00:01:43...

As the seconds ticked by each one felt like a knife stabbed in her gut, like some kind of monster tearing away at her sanity. If she continued to watch the time pass Maria knew it would drive her into madness, and she couldn't afford to let herself break down entirely.

Inside the large chamber of the collector space station, Maria didn't have many options available to her. And it wasn't as if she hadn't tried to figure a way out of her predicament. The soldier in her had just already put the pieces together and accepted the truth first; now it was her civilian's half to accept it as well. In front of her, only feet away, was the edge to the massive central pit that spanned the length of nearly the entire station. Most likely hundreds of feet to the bottom and just as much to reach the top. Behind her... behind her was the other part of the no-win scenario.

Tearing her eyes away from the timer with a vice like grip on her locust submachine gun, Maria rose to her knees and turned to face her assailants. Shouldering the weapon, she fired in short controlled bursts and killed four collector drones before the survivors were able to concentrate their fire on her smaller profile. Their sheer numbers meant she couldn't stay exposed for long and Maria quickly felt the impact of several rounds strike her helmet and left shoulder.

Dropping back down, she didn't even spare a moment to check her suit and instead just replaced the spent thermal clip in her submachine gun with a new one. Without rising back up to her knees Maria held her phalanx heavy pistol over her head and fired blindly at the collectors.

Taking the time to check her suit for damage was unnecessary since her tech armor boosted her shields far above normal limits and even if it did fail, the remarkable design of the Cerberus bio-engineered collector armor that she currently wore allowed it minimal self-healing.

The radio inside her helmet came to life and the frantic voice of the Normandy's pilot filled her ears.

"What the hell Shepard, did you stop to take in the sights? Garrus and Miranda just made it aboard and the timer's counting down! We've got to go!"

Maria could practically visualize Joker at the helm of the ship, working the controls and readying it for the quick getaway they would need to outrun the explosion of the doomed collector station. For a fleeting moment a smile appeared, but another look at the timer and it was gone.

...00:01:15...00:01:14...00:01:13...00:01:12...

Seventy-two seconds – the rest of her life.

Maria gripped her locust tightly and rose to end the lives of three more advancing collectors, realizing entirely that she was just stalling. Dropping down quickly again she now answered his hail.

"Jok-er."

She stopped and it took a precious second for her to realize why the name she spoke was broken. Why it sounded hoarse and nearly unintelligible.

She was crying. Maria Shepard – Spectre, N7, War-hero – was crying. She didn't even remember starting to cry.

And with furious resolve taking over, she wouldn't allow the collectors this win. She wouldn't allow them to break her, not now, not ever, and certainly not at the very end. They could all go to hell and she would escort them there.

Dying the second time was a lot harder than the first...

Maria cleared her throat, and the woman who told Sovereign to take his smug attitude and shove it up his ass was heard again.

"This is Shepard. I hear you Joker. Negative on evac. Get the Normandy through the mass relay and get to safety."

"What, are you kidding?!" replied a reasonably stunned Joker. "Quit messing around and get your ass onboard! There's less than a minute until this place goes up in flames!"

"Shepard, what happened? Where are you?" the voice of Miranda Lawson, intelligent, focused. "EDI, get a fix on Shepard's location. We're going back to get her," and emotionally compromised thanks to Maria's successful attempts to befriend her.

"No, no you're not," Maria replied firmly with a shake of her head. "All of you are staying on the ship and getting out of this place now. There are too many collectors and not enough time. The mission isn't finished until you go back through that relay and warn the rest of the galaxy about the threat we've uncovered."

Compartmentalize, keep it together, you're still their commander until – "We knew this mission was going to be tough. There was a chance none of us were going to make it. But we did it anyways and if I have to be the one who stays to ensure the rest of you live, so be it. If it means we gain even the smallest chance of stopping the Reapers than it was worth it. So go, now."

A collector drone made it to Maria's cover and leaned over the edge pointing its rifle at her head. Maria moved faster, reaching up and grabbing the drone's head with both her hands. Pulling down, she yanked the drone over her wall and as it lay sprawled out on the ground in front of her, she shot it point blank in the face with her phalanx pistol. Giving it a kick, the body rolled across the ground before tumbling over the ledge and down into the chamber.

Strangely, in the back of Maria's mind, a voice barely heard.

_…jump…_

Raising her pistol to fire blindly over her cover again, she caught the tail end of an argument raging in her ear.

"The fuck I'm leaving her! Screw the mission, we have to save Shepard!" Joker, loyal to a fault.

"She's too far out. EDI, plot a better route through the station. There's still time!" Miranda, no longer cold and calculating.

All of it her influence and even though it made Maria happy that she had truly been their friend, that friendship was going to cost them their lives.

Another glance to her wrist.

...00:00:42...00:00:41...00:00:40...00:00:39...

Then her comm went silent so another voice could be heard.

"Shepard, its Garrus."

The collectors all began to close in, forcing Maria to rise over her cover and fight to have her last few seconds. She held her submachine gun tight to her shoulder, firing off deadly accurate bursts, and only ducked down for a moment to avoid the worst of their attacks.

His voice was uncharacteristically somber and Maria had to fight back the tears that threatened to return.

"Shepard, we've hit a dead end. Give the word and we'll launch a rescue, but tell us to go and we'll go... what do want us to do?"

The locust overheated and Maria didn't even have enough time to change the clip. She just reattached it to her belt and then quickly raised her arm. From it she condensed and then launched a powerful biotic blast that threw back the remaining drones in the chamber.

A small respite, giving Maria a chance to respond to her dear friend. She hesitated only a moment before giving the last command of her life.

"Garrus, I'm ordering you to leave. Get the Normandy back through the Omega-4 relay. Get the evidence we've collected back to the Citadel. Get the galaxy ready for the Reapers." Despite everything she managed to smile, "And order a round of beers for everyone back at the Citadel. My tabs still open at Flux, put it to good use."

A laugh forced out. "Understood, Commander. If you can, come down and join us. We'll keep a stool at the bar open for you... Good luck Maria."

The tears were back, she didn't even try to stop them this time. "Goodbye Garrus."

When the comm went dead Maria immediately reached up and unlocked the seals attaching it to her armor. She pulled it off and let it drop to the ground. At this point all it did was remind her about who she had just lost.

Her blond hair, cut just short enough to still cover her ears and forehead, waved freely in a slight breeze Maria had no idea was even blowing through the space station. After the long mission its cooling effect on her sweat covered brow was the best thing she had ever felt in her entire life. What a strange thing to think at the end.

_…jump now…_

The voice that Maria had just barely heard the first time now came back stronger, strange and rough, fully convincing her that she had gone slightly insane from the grief and stress. She ignored it and focused all her attention on the drones in the chamber with her that were finally getting back to their feet after her last biotic attack.

Maria raised her omni-tool and made one last glance to the countdown being displayed.

...00:00:11...00:00:10...00:00:09...00:00:08...

She had eight seconds left. And she couldn't even have this time to compose herself before the end. Because _he_ decided to show up.

The glowing form of a drone flew down from the ceiling and landed behind her. The rest of the collectors had gotten to their feet with their rifles raised and advanced forward to surround her completely.

Her eyes were red and her face was streaked with tears, but honestly, Maria no longer cared as she turned to stare Harbinger right in his eyes.

Harbinger's voice was deep and penetrating. "Human, you've changed nothing."

Despite it all, Maria was proud to find out who she was at the end. With a shake of her head came a smile and then a laugh. She had won, and Harbinger's poor attempt to convince her otherwise proved it.

She had made a difference.

At that very moment the whole station shook, and a dull thunder could be heard that rapidly began to build in intensity.

_…there is no time…jump…now…_

All around Maria the drones began to click and shrill in panic, with even Harbinger taking his eyes off Shepard to look around the chamber as the walls and ceiling began to explode inward.

_…jump…NOW…_

As the ceiling began to come down around her, Maria made her choice. Mental breakdown or not, she and the voice agreed that being crushed wasn't the way to go out.

So with Harbinger distracted Maria broke into a full sprint. She ran forward, barreling into Harbinger's glowing form, and her momentum carried the two of them over the edge of the chasm. Maria kept her grip on Harbinger as the enhanced drone struggled to untangle himself from her, the two of them falling down into the chasm as the space station exploded around them. Falling head first Maria looked up, or down rather, as a swelling inferno rushed to meet them.

Squeezing her eyes shut and tightening her grip on the still struggling Harbinger, all Maria could do was hope the Normandy had made it to the relay before the flames engulfed her.

**/ooooooo\**

Location: Unknown

Shepard hit the ground. Hard. Harbinger was below her so the drone absorbed most of the impact but Maria still had the wind knocked out of her. Laying on top of the drone's limp body she gasped for air and quickly rolled off of it and onto the ground. She was trying to get ready for Harbinger's inevitable attack but it never came. When Maria finally got her bearings and her head stopped swimming she gave the drone a once over and found it black. The glow from its cybernetics had ceased and all four of its eyes were lifeless.

Harbinger was dead... but, wasn't she dead too? Maria clearly remembered a lot of fire rising up to meet her when she jumped off the ledge –

That's when her brain started recognizing the signals her other senses were telling it.

She was on her back. On solid ground... grass and mud by the feeling on her cheek. It was dark but some sunlight was still visible so either dusk or dawn. And wherever she was lying on the ground it was loud. No, very loud. She could hear shouting, screams, the sound of metal scrapping against metal and... roars? Like, animal roars, savage and primal.

And squeaking?

Raising her head off the ground Maria finally got a look at her surroundings, and all it did was make her head hurt more. Blinking didn't seem to clear things up much.

There were people. Lots of them, and they weren't happy. They were fighting other people. It was a battle. She was surrounded by people fighting other people and they were killing each other with... swords. Swords and spears. And there were some more people on horseback. Each one wearing a heavy set of metal plated armor with colorful tunics and banners. These ones were handling themselves a lot better than the people fighting on the ground. Those ones weren't wearing much armor, if any at all. Most didn't even have a shield.

Swords, spears, shields and horses.

And the squeaking... It was all around her, wait, some of it was coming from directly behind her.

Maria dropped her head back to the ground and looked up behind herself. What she saw deeply disturbed her while at the same time a small part of her brain went – aha! That explains the squeaking!

It was a rat. She may have been looking at it upside down but it was definitely a rat; a rat that was standing, _standing_, not five feet from her. The rat was big and human in its proportions. Had to be at least five and half feet tall, six if you counted its horns. Horns, which grew out from its head and curled back around like a ram's or a goat's. Its fur was brown, its eyes were red, it wore rags that had been crudely sown together to form a robe like tunic and in its left hand – paw, it held a wooden staff with another rats skull strapped to its top with pieces of leather and rope.

Maria could only stare at the creature as it seemed equally stunned to be staring back at her. Looking around herself at the battle being fought, Maria now could see that the humans weren't fighting other humans; they were fighting more of the rats! Rats that stood like people, some that were wearing heavy, black armor plating wielding large pikes with deadly skill, while others barely clothed threw themselves at their opponents and literally bite and clawed apart their foe.

It was some insane, impossible scenario where a human medieval army fought a rate equivalent.

And judging by the number of human corpses on the ground, the rats were winning...

**/ooooooo\**

Slowly while keeping her eyes on the nearest rat Maria Shepard got to her feet. As she did the rat began to speak in its own unique language of squeaks and chittering's as it pointed a long crooked finger to the battle being fought around the two of them.

Maria knew it was trying to communicate with her but her translator wasn't installed with rat-speak so she had no idea of its intentions. Her reluctance to do anything other than glance around to make sure the surrounding army's combatants never got to close caused the horned staff-holding rat to squeak louder and in a much angrier tone.

This time Maria figured she knew what the rat was asking. It wanted her to join in the battle and help the rats defeat the humans.

"Ten seconds after I'm dead for the second time and somebody already wants something from me," she muttered under her breath with a small shake of her head. But then she had to smile a little with a quizzical look back at the rat, "Wasn't expecting this though. If this is a Reaper trick, human sized rats aren't the direction I would have gone."

Maria's right hand was already slowly on its way to the heavy pistol on her hip when she noticed something strange about the horned rat standing in front of her. It was odd, but it seemed the air directly surrounding the rat was distorted. A lot like heat waves rising from the ground on a hot day, but these waves weren't blurring Maria's line-of-sight to the rat. If anything, the waves actually seemed to make things clearer.

All the while Maria was observing the rat, _the rat_ was watching her back. When she refused to heed its commands for the second time, it took a tentative step back away from her as it squeaked out over its shoulder to the nearest rat soldiers.

Five rat soldiers rushed up to the staff-wielding one's side and raised their bloody halberds with both hands as they snarled at Maria with the sharp teeth of their snouts bared in anger. They were all glaring at her with red eyes behind black armored helms, the rest of the blacked steel armor covering their bodies scratched and dented, dripping with the red blood of the humans and even some of the black blood of their fellow rats.

Maria could have sworn the staff-wielding rat actually grinned as it squeaked out to its fellows and all five of the armored rats charged her.

They got halfway before Maria shot each one in the chest with her Carnifex pistol. The slugs from her heavy pistol tore through the rats armor plating and they all dropped dead, like a puppet with its strings cut.

Maria couldn't help smirking at the staff-wielding rat's terrified expression as she replaced the pistol back on her hip.

"Systems Alliance regulations state when encountering an unknown alien force, proceed with caution and assume hostility," she stated while taking a step towards the rat, who immediately took two more steps away from her. "So in this case, I think I'm going to have to side with my own kind here."

She rolled her shoulders as the orange holographic plates of her tech-armor appeared over her body, the sight of which caused the rat to quickly retreat even further as its horrified expression intensified.

Maria stared down the rat as her face hardened, taking another threatening step forward, "Stand down your forces and withdraw. If the best you have are swords, this fight is going to end entirely in my favor."

As far as she could see the only thing the staff-wielding rat carried as far as an actual weapon went was a small curved sword anchored at his hip. And since he was standing a good fifteen feet away from her, Maria was fairly confident in her ability to kill the rat if it dared to charge her like just like the others did.

So when those same rippled waves of air that surrounded the rat began to intensify and grow, Maria could only watch in suspicion. It didn't register to her something bad was going to happen until the red eyes of the rat turned bright green and the skull on its staff actually sparked with green electrical energy.

But when a _wooden_ staff did start to spark, Maria correctly guess something was wrong.

"What the hell?!" her eyes widened in shock, as the rat raised one of its paws, fingers outstretched directly at Maria, as it chittered and squeaked wildly.

Lightning bolts, _green lightning bolts_, cracking and snapping in the air, shot out from the tips of the rat's fingers directly at Maria. She raised her forearms to protect her face an instant before the bolts of electricity struck her body. The force of the strange and impossible attack was so great that the lightning picked Maria up off her feet and carried her through the air until the energy dissipated, dropping her back to the ground on her back.

Her tech-armor was overwhelmed from the electrical assault and deactivated before Maria hit the ground. A bolt of the green energy shot passed her arms and grazed her cheek, burning the skin raw where it made contact. By the time Maria did hit the ground her collector armor was scorched and smoking wherever the lightning made direct contact, but luckily it still saved her from the deadly effects of the attack.

Maria was flat on her back again and before she had a chance to process what had just happened to her, two louds thumps on either side of her head forced Maria to open her eyes. What she saw was another rat, only bigger. Like freaking unfair big after what the little guy had just pulled off.

This creature was clearly feral compared to its smaller counter-part. The rat was over eleven feet tall and at least seven feet wide at the shoulders. Its arms were pure muscle, both as thick as tree trunks, and at the end of each arm was a four fingered paw armed with claws the size of swords. It wasn't wearing any armor at all, and only had a thin strip of cloth to cover its waist, but it clearly didn't require protection to fight. Dozens of arrows were in the creatures back and chest, followed by two swords in its side and what looked like the remains of a lance protruded from its stomach.

Whether any of these wounds were fatal, the giant rat didn't even acknowledge them, as it looked down at Maria and roared. She closed her eyes and turned her head as blood and saliva that coated its large teeth splattered her face and hair as its rancid breath washed over her. When the creature finished, Maria opened her eyes and squinted up at the figure towering over her.

"Oh boy…" she winced at the sight.

The giant rat raised one of its massive paws and swung a fist down at Maria's face. She rolled to the side barely avoiding the blow as the rat pounded the ground. The giant rat roared in anger as it changed its tactics and raised both its paws now, swinging them both down at her, over and over again.

All Maria could do was roll back and forth across the grass and mud as she tried to avoid being crushed by the massive paws.

The giant rat's two fists impacted the mud just inches from Maria's face when the ground around her body erupted, showering her in dirt. She looked up in shock to see thick vines and roots quickly swarm and entangle the giant rat's arms and torso. The roots continued to rise out of the ground and tangle themselves around the enraged creature as the giant rat roared and fought to free itself.

"Run! Quickly!" someone yelled out.

Maria didn't hesitate to make use of the distraction, quickly rolling away from the giant rat and getting to her feet. She looked past the struggling giant rat to see a woman holding a sword in her right hand and a wooden staff in her left. Even as the rest of the armies of rat and man fought around them, the woman was focusing all of her attention on the giant rat, and it became clear to Maria that the woman was the one controlling the vines.

Even at a distance Maria could tell the woman was absolutely beautiful. She wore a flowing white dress with a simple blue sash tied around her waist. Ugly stains of dirt and blood marred the dress's elegance, but the areas still pure only seemed to shine brighter. Her red hair was waist long and held back by a metal band at her forehead. Once again Maria noted the same shimmering in the air that had surrounded the horned rat also surrounded the woman who had saved her.

The woman looked away from her opponent and locked eyes with Maria. "Kill the creature! Hurry, while we still have time!" she shouted.

In one swift move, Maria had her locust submachine gun up and braced against her shoulder. In half a second she decided shooting the giant rat in the head was the only way to ensure its death, especially after seeing the punishment the creature had taken in stride during the battle.

She pressed the trigger just as the unmistakable sound of another gunshot echoed across the battlefield.

The bullet impacted Maria's armor just under her left breast and with a cry of pain and surprise she spun with the hit, sending the rounds from her locust into the air. Off to her left about equal distance from Maria and her new ally, was another rat the same size as the one that had earlier launched his green electricity at her. This rat however, was armored head to toe in bronze and steel welded together to form a full body suit and he was holding what looked like a flint-lock pistol in his right paw that was still smoking.

With a snarl at seeing Maria still standing the rat dropped his gun unceremoniously to the ground and pulled another from the belt on his waist. This time he instead aimed at the woman who was struggling to keep the giant rat tied down.

Maria instantly changed targets and unloaded a burst of fire directly into the chest of the armored rodent. The slugs from her submachine gun tore apart the primitive armor like it wasn't even there and the rat dropped dead to the ground riddled with holes.

But the damage was already done…

By merely switching targets it forced the other woman to release her hold over the vines entrapping the giant rat and attempt to defend herself. With another primal roar the giant rat ripped the roots apart with ease and it immediately charged the woman that had dared to stop it. With only a few steps taken it was already standing above her.

"Look out!" Maria shouted as she aimed her locust and tried to shoot the creature in the back. But at that same instant another group of four black armored rats decided to attack her as well.

Maria ducked the swipe of the lead rat's halberd and shot him point blank in the chest, just as the second and third rats lunged forward to stab her gut. Maria's tech-armor activated and materialized just in time for both sharpened blades to ricochet of her chest plate, but she was still pushed back from the force of the thrusts.

Hitting the ground on her back, Maria finally got her first taste of hand-to-hand combat with the rats and she had no choice to acknowledge that while they did _look_ like rats, their strength didn't reflect the small rodents of Earth she was used to. These bastards weren't weak at all, that hit had hurt, even more so after she had just been shot.

Luckily, she had kept her grip on her locust and with a wave of her arm she held down the trigger and racked the four rats with gunfire, killing them all instantly.

Getting back to her knees, Maria swung around and took aim back at the giant rat…

…just in time to watch the savage beast literally tear the woman that had been her savior in half.

Maria watched on in horror as the giant rat took a large bite out of the lower half of the woman's body as it threw the rest of her carelessly away.

"Noooo!" she screamed in rage and grief and opened fire directly into the creature's large back.

The giant rat staggered from the impact, but simply dropped the rest of the dead woman and turned to charge at its forgotten opponent. As the giant rat came at her, Maria fired another burst into the rat's stomach. The small caliber rounds from her locust splintered and destroyed the remains of the lance that had been imbedded there, but the giant rat only seemed to grow angrier at the battering, even as rivers of black blood flowed from its wounds.

Maria stood up from the ground and fired off two more bursts from her submachine gun before the thermal clip popped out to vent the gathered heat, and still the giant rat came at her.

With a confidence gained from numerous combat missions for the Systems Alliance and more recently the Citadel Council, Maria held her ground as she replaced the locust back on her belt. Taking a single step back to change her stance she raised her left arm and fired a cryo-blast from the attached omni-tool. The suicide drone made up of super-cooled subatomic particles flew through the air and impacted the giant rat's left forearm, snap freezing it though instantly.

The creature didn't realize the danger it was in and just continued to charge with murderous intent. As it reached Maria and swung its right paw down at her, she simultaneously rolled away from the hit while tossing a weak biotic field at the frozen section of the rat's arm.

The combination of tech and biotic attacks resulted in the complete shattering of the frozen section of flesh with the remaining part of the arm just falling to the ground.

Having never experienced such a thing in its life the giant rat didn't continue to attack Maria and just stared dumbly at its now useless left arm lying on the ground. Maria didn't give the creature a second of rest as she completed the same combination of attacks on the giant rat's right arm. Only a second later that limb fell uselessly to the ground as well.

The giant rat looked back and forth between the two stubs of frozen flesh at its shoulders before staring back at Maria. With madness fully taking over the giant rat howled in rage and leapt at her snapping its jaws.

Maria powered up a warp in her right hand and launched it at the giant rat's head. The unstable field of dark energy hit its mark and the headless body of the giant rat fell to the ground only a step from her feet.

A furious assault of squeaking caused Maria to spin around as she saw the horned, staff-wielding rat standing several paces away, apparently shouting at her in anger. Its eyes and staff began to glow green and spark with energy as it prepared to assault her again with the green lighting.

But this time Maria knew what was coming. Just as the bolts of energy raced at her, Maria raised both her hands and constructed a biotic barrier in front of herself.

She dug her boots into the ground and pushed back with all her strength as she fought to hold the barrier up against the withering assault. The wall of biotic energy absorbed full bolts of the green electricity with a wave from the impact, while other bolts reflected off entirely, launched in all directions around her and scorching the ground around her feet.

Maria shut her eyes and struggled to maintain her barrier. After the long and grueling mission on board the collector station she had already fought off a literal army of the bugs, and while she was considered an exceptional soldier in her own right, everyone had their limits; even more so if they were a biotic. Her body was burning a tremendous amount of calories and stamina to allow her to wield dark energy as both a weapon and shield.

Now, after the rat's attack still continued, Maria's arms began to shake at the strain and she could feel the implant in the back of her neck beginning to overheat.

But apparently the rat was feeling the strain of launching his own attack as well. Suddenly the green lighting vanished just as Maria's barrier collapsed. Her arms fell limply at her side as she opened her eyes to see the horned rat leaning heavily against his staff and panting for breath.

Seconds ticked by as both Maria and the rat just stood staring at one another as they tried to regain their strength.

Maria's training was forefront in her mind and it was shouting at her to take advantage of her vulnerable opponent, so ignoring the pain in her arm, she reached for her heavy pistol and pointed it directly at the rat.

The rat's eyes went wide with fear the instant she pressed the trigger but with a loud bang and squeak the slug passed harmlessly through the empty air. Maria had to blink several times as it registered that her opponent had literally vanished without a trace, most likely using its strange and unknown powers to retreat while he still had a chance.

Breathing heavily with sweat, dirt, blood both black and red, covering her head to foot, Maria kept her carnifex in hand as she willed herself to recover faster. She was still surrounded by an army of the rats after all.

But as the sounds of the battle continued, directly around where she and the horned rat had fought, a crowd of both rat and man stood staring at her in equal parts amazement and terror.

Knowing the battle was now in a tipping point, and with Maria struggling just to stay standing, she raised her pistol and in just as many seconds shot another four of the rats dead that had been standing around her. Their bodies dropped to the ground as the carnifex's heatsink popped out, the nearest of the rats fighting over one another to flee the area around their dead comrades.

Using precious last amounts of her strength Maria managed to flare her biotics brightly out around her body as she made eye contact with as many of the rats around her that she could.

"Well… who's next?" she shouted out confidently. Guessing that they probably couldn't understand her, Maria flared her biotics a second time, the last bits of power leaving her shoulders like wisps of flame. The theatrics seemed to work as all the rats and some of the humans backed further away from her.

With a dangerous smile on her face Maria took a step toward the nearest rat…

… and in an instant the entire line broke as they all dropped their weapons and ran.

The remaining rats didn't even bother attacking any of the humans in their path as they pushed and shoved and climbed over one another to simply flee for their lives. What began as only a few dozen rats slowly grew as the terrified rodents spread their fear through the entire battle. In less than a minute, Maria was watching a literal tsunami of fur and armor run away in a panic.

While many of the human foot soldiers held their ground and only attacked if any of the retreating rats got too close, Maria could see over their heads the flowing and colorful banners of the horse-mounted Calvary form into lines and begin to run down the terrified rats.

When Maria had arrived in the middle of the battle it had looked like a defeat for the humans. Now, thanks in part to her efforts, it had become a resounding victory for them.

The surviving foot soldiers directly surrounding Maria, with their wooden shields and rusty swords, wearily eyed her as they kept a respectable distance. Maria didn't try to engage them in turn and instead focused on her own person.

Replacing the heavy pistol back on her hip, she immediately checked the part of her armor where she had been shot. The ammunition the rat used in his pistol hadn't managed to penetrate her armor but the slug was still imbedded in the hard outer tissue of the collector suit.

Wincing at the effort she dug her fingers into the tear and managed to work out the offending object. Holding it up between two fingers she examined the 'bullet', when in reality it just looked like a rock…

… but it was a glowing green rock that felt warm to the touch because nothing was obviously going to be simple in this place.

With a heavy sigh she just dropped the green rock to the ground and brought a hand up to massage her forehead in an attempt to stem the progress of a growing headache.

Her collector armor was beaten and burned, but its unique construction meant it could repair itself over time. She had used every ounce of her medi-gel back on the collector station, but luckily besides the burn on her left cheek she was relatively uninjured. Her locust submachine gun and carnifex heavy pistol had just proved to be some of the most valuable pieces of equipment she still had on her, but only four unused thermal clips remained tucked away in her belt. Rationing this ammo had just become a top priority.

Then there was the issue concerning where she was… first and foremost, this was obviously not the remains of a blown up collector space station orbiting a black hole. So that meant she had to be somewhere.

Or this could all be one big elaborate trick by the Reapers to make her give up some sort of vital information.

Or she could really be dead.

Or she could have survived the collector station exploding and this was just the near death hallucinations of a fatally wounded soldier suffocating in the vacuum of space.

Or she could really be dead and this was the afterlife.

Or she could have been sucked up by the black hole and transported to another dimension where humans fought rat people to the death using strange powers alongside swords and shields.

Or she could really be dead.

Or she could be –

Maria dropped to her knees as she dry heaved over the ground.

In the back of her mind was a voice telling her if she couldn't even throw-up that meant her body had already burned up everything left in her stomach and any further use of her biotic power would risk her body cannibalizing her muscles and organs for the needed calories… but that was just another concern in a rapidly growing list of concerns.

With the shock and adrenaline of the battle finally wearing off, Maria was being given a dangerous amount of time to think about her current predicament. And after everything she had just been through and endured, the stress had snapped her like a twig.

Maria had one hand on the ground supporting her as she covered her mouth with the other as she dry heaved again. Her body began to shake as the fear washed over her.

She stared at the ground as her situation became clear. She was screwed. Absolutely, royally, positively screwed. She was on an unknown world, surrounded by crazed unknown creatures, possessing powers beyond biotics, without any ally by her side, and all she had was her omni-tool and four rounds of ammunition. There was no way off this planet if its people hadn't even _invented_ flight. Her omni-tool could send out a signal into space but only a ship in direct orbit would ever pick it up.

Maria wrapped her arms around herself as she began to sway back and forth.

This was it. She was going to die here. No more Systems Alliance, no more Citadel Council, no more Normandy, no more friends – friends that now faced the threat of the Reapers entirely alone without her watching their backs –

…_jump_…

Everything stopped.

…_jump_…_NOW_…

The words floated back into her mind, as Maria's heart continued to pound in her chest, but the words were there. She had heard them on the collector station, and she had followed their instruction because she literally had nothing left to lose. The words she thought she was imagining had told her to jump, and now she was here.

Maria shut her eyes and nearly sobbed in relief as a smile formed across her face. She had heard the words in her mind and they had told her to jump. And now she was here.

That couldn't be a coincidence, could it?

Commander Maria Shepard, Systems Alliance marine, N7 rated soldier, and Citadel Spectre, opened her eyes and with a deep breath got back to her feet.

Fuck coincidence.

She had heard the voice and it wanted her here. So that meant _someone_ had wanted her here. And if that someone had brought her here then they could send her back; she would make them send her back.

"I can survive this," she said softly to herself. "I've survived worse, I will survive this."

Words she would live by until the truth became clear.

A man shouting grabbed her attention. Maria looked up to see a group of the mounted knights riding toward her through the encircling foot soldiers.

"Swords! Swords! Surround the daemon!"

Maria spun around expecting an attacker to pounce any second but no one was there. She was still standing in her little open space, arrayed at her feet the one giant rat corpse along with a larger number of human sized rat corpses. So what was the man yelling about?

About a dozen barded and colorfully bannered horses came galloping up to her as the equally armored and colorfully bannered knights steered their mounts to encircle her as the foot soldiers quickly formed up in the gaps…

And in an instant, Maria had well over two dozen lances and swords pointed directly at her.

**/ooooooo\**

Location: Unknown, but rapidly becoming hostile territory

Maria Shepard stood very still as the leader of the knights jumped down from his horse and pulled off his feathered helmet, thrusting it into the hands of the nearest foot soldier. The man then drew his sword and marched up to Maria and placed the length of steel at her neck.

He had to be in his late forties by Maria's best guess as his short black hair had begun to turn grey at the edges. He had a nasty scar running the entire length of the right side of his face from his mouth to his ear and at some point in his life he had broken his nose. She knew this because it had been poorly set back and was now crooked. His suit of armor was covered by a loose tunic of half blue and black, and in the center was what looked like a… Pegasus?

Well, why not. This place had human sized rats, what's a winged horse in the grand scheme of things…

While most of the other knights surrounding her had wildly different color schemes, their apparel all shared one general trait. They all had a Pegasus somewhere on their person, whether it be their tunics or banners, on their horses, or even painted on their shields. Apparently the flying horse must be important to this particular group in some way.

The man seemed to be studying her with a careful eye but he clearly didn't trust her one bit. In fact, Maria would wager he wanted to kill her at the first provocation. Which she wasn't going to give him.

With a slight accent Maria couldn't place, the man snarled, "Tell me your name fiend, and the god you serve. Answer swiftly and I promise to make your death quick."

… or maybe he would just kill her anyways.

Maria knew how she must have looked to everyone. For starters her collector armor wasn't really standard fair even in Citadel space. Add the brown skin with curved claws on her forearms and it looked pretty creepy on the best days. But right now she was covered in all manner of dirt and grime and it was so thick she doubted her hair was anywhere near its natural blonde.

Thank god she wasn't wearing the helmet.

She was careful to keep her voice placating. "My name in Maria Shepard. I'm a soldier from… well not from around here. I sort of dropped into this fight and decided to help out, and I would appreciate any aid you could offer me."

By the time she was done speaking Maria already knew something was wrong. Everyone surrounding her traded odd looks and the man holding the sword to her throat had a frown on his face that just deepened the longer she talked.

He pushed the blade of his sword against her neck. "Do you think tricks will save you? Do you think you can pacify me with strange words and a soft face? I will not be tempted by daemons of desire from the chaos gods. You fell to this world from the tear into chaos! Now tell me your name before I take your head!"

Maria's eyes went from the man's sword and back to his face. "I told you, my name in Maria Shepard and I –"

"Speak plainly daemon or die by my sword!" the man shouted in anger.

When he shouted Maria heard the man's accent clearer. Her translator took every language in Citadel space and ran the data before giving it back to her in a language she could understand. It was still a computer though and somethings just can't be broken into data entirely.

Things like accents. Maria could understand all languages in Citadel space but anyone speaking another language would have an accent and this would carry over slightly in the translation.

Maria now knew this man was speaking French, or as close as French as possible since this was an unknown world. And he couldn't understand her, because she was speaking the language she grew up with as an orphan back in the North American States of Earth.

And with this revelation, Maria now knew she was absolutely, royally, positively fucked…

Thanks to her time in the Alliance military, Maria could speak simple phrases in Asari, Turian, Salarian, Batarian and Volus. Hell, she even knew a few words in Krogan, Drell and Quarian because of three friends she had made on the Normandy SR1 and SR2. Drop her anywhere in the galaxy without a working translator and she would be just fine. Maria was practically gifted when it came to learning new languages.

But when you have an entire galaxy at your fingertips and everyone back home grows up with translation devices anyways, what's the point of learning one of those languages?

Something like French for instance…

"Ummmm…" Maria nervously bit her lip as she lightly bounced in place. This was probably the most ridiculous and dangerous situation she had ever found herself in. So she fell back on age old communication skills and decided to go primitive.

Carefully bringing up a hand to point directly at her own chest, she said two words.

"Maria Shepard."

The man with the sword cocked his head as he looked at her hand, "What did you say?"

"Maria Shepard," she repeated pointing at herself again.

The man pulled his sword back ever so slightly. "Maria…Shepard? Are you trying to tell me this is your name?" he asked skeptically.

Maria smiled and nodded quickly.

The man grunted and pushed the blade back against her neck, "Fine, Maria Shepard. What god of chaos do you serve? Or are you an agent of the Skaven, and you've merely had a falling out with your own kind?"

Maria looked around at the group and let out a breath of frustration. She looked back at the man holding the sword and shook her head 'no'. If things didn't start smoothing out quickly she was going to find herself in a fight with these people as well.

Her vigorous 'no' was not what the man wanted as his patience disappeared. Stepping forward he grabbed a fistful of Maria's hair in his armored gauntlet and violently pulled her head back as his sword now cut into her skin just enough to draw a trickle of blood.

Maria was shocked at how far this man was going to question her, and how far his men were willing to let things go without stepping in. Some of the foot soldiers watching her now had witnessed her fight the rat people. Why the hell weren't they speaking up in her defense?

The man leaned forward until his face was only an inch from her own. "I will get answers to my questions daemon," he growled out as he pulled on Maria's hair, forcing her head further back. "I will know why the Skaven press our boarders and why the beastmen of the forest assault our castles. You will tell me… even fiends have their breaking points."

Maria was now fully convinced that this man had snapped during the battle and she was moments away from deciding to kill him and fight her way free when more shouts and the thunder of galloping hooves approached their group.

To Maria's left the foot soldiers and the knights were forced to part ranks when another group of knights, eight in all, came up fast and stopped directly in front of her and the man with the sword at her neck.

"Baron Letard!" the lead knight shouted, his deep voice heard perfectly clear even from under his helm. "Lower you sword and unhand that woman at once!" He was the only knight in the group that was wearing the colors of yellow and red with the knights behind him wearing the black and blue of the others surrounding Maria. On the front of the knight's tunic covering his chest plate was a red dragon but stitched behind that dragon was a large golden chalice with a fleur-de-lys in its center.

Maria was able to let out a breath with at least one person now speaking on her behalf, but she was far from being in the clear. The man with the sword, who she now knew as Baron Letard, only pulled his face away from her own, while he kept a forceful grip on her hair and the sword remained where it was.

Baron Letard angrily glanced over at the lead knight, "The battle is over and you are in the sovereign lands of Parravon. This affair no longer concerns a knight of Bastonne."

Maria didn't understand what it was, but whatever Baron Letard had said must have been an insult as the lead knight's horse actually reared up at his words and many of the other knights and foot soldiers seemed wholly uncomfortable at the escalating situation.

"A Grail Knight of Bastonne, Baron!" the knight yelled out as he steadied his horse. Dismounting, the man towered over everyone present by at least a head. He pulled off his own helmet and placed it on his saddle before marching toward Baron Letard and Maria with purpose.

Maria was shocked to see the man's face after hearing him speak. On the strength of his voice alone she guessed him no older than Baron Letard but this knight's hair was grey and he was beginning to bald. The stubble of hair covering his face had also whitened. But other than those two features betraying his real age, he still looked like a man in the prime of his life.

He stopped advancing on Maria and Baron Letard while he was still feet away and stood tall and unflinching. He glared at the Baron.

"I witnessed this woman fall from the portal that Skaven grey seer conjured just as you did Baron." He wasn't yelling anymore but Maria could swear she still felt his words through her breast plate and pound her chest with every syllable. His mere presence was a force greater than the dozen knights surrounding him.

"She fell from the portal and fought not only the grey seer but the rat ogre as well," he continued looking over everyone present. "With her own power she slayed numerous Skaven warriors, including the warlock engineer. And she risked her life to help the Damsel Elise destroy the rat ogre."

"You're a fool Vincent," Baron Letard spat out in anger. "This fiend used Elise as bait and allowed her to be killed by that monster! She's a daemon sent to infiltrate our ranks and lead us all to the slaughter!"

"That's not true!" Maria cried out as she looked to the Grail Knight, Vincent, for help. "I tried to save that woman but some of those rats attacked me and I was forced to defend myself first!"

Baron Letard turned back to Maria, and shook her as he raised his sword. "Silence! You're and agent of chaos and you should be purged from this realm!"

"Hold! Your! Sword!" Each word from Vincent boomed out like a cannon with Baron Letard and many others actually flinching back from the strength of it. He took a single step forward, with his eyes still locked on the Baron.

Baron Letard actually pulled Maria forward, placing her slightly between himself and the Grail Knight.

"I would know your name maiden," Vincent loudly asked.

Maria was slightly worried about answering with Baron Letard becoming more and more unhinged but she gambled any hope of getting this Grail Knight on her side was worth the risk.

But she wasn't ready to place her faith in anyone entirely just yet and watched the Baron's sword for any hint of movement as she answered, "Maria Shepard."

"Tell me, Maria Shepard, what did you do after the rat ogre brutally murdered Damsel Elise?" Vincent then asked.

Maria would have laughed at the absurdity of the situation if her life wasn't hanging in the balance. Sure the new knight understood her name but that was simple. Now, in order to stave off her own execution, she had to explain to the Grail Knight what had happened in a language he had no hope of understanding.

Maria kept her own gaze firmly on the sword at her neck as she just went for broke, and explained, "When I saw what that creature did to that woman I felt nothing but despair. I have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on here and I was alone until that woman saved my life. She could have been a friend and ally, but now she's gone. So for revenge's sake, I killed that giant rat."

"Maria Shepard stayed and fought the rat ogre to take revenge for killing the one that saved her own life," Vincent explained out to the rest of the crowd. "That is the spirit of a knight of the realm and we should all pray to the Fey Enchantress to be bestowed with such courage and bravery."

Maria's jaw dropped upon hearing Vincent's words. He had shortened what she had said in an eloquent fashion but the point was made.

Maria tilted her head as much as she could in the Baron's grip and looked at the Grail Knight, "You can understand me?"

"Of course," Vincent answered her with the tiniest smile. He then looked to the Baron and narrowed his gaze, as his right hand came up and rested on the hilt of his own sword. "Release maiden Shepard, Baron Letard. She is no more a daemon of chaos than I am."

The air was tense as all the knights and foot soldiers waited to see what the Baron would do. For his part Baron Letard seemed entirely unwilling to continue the argument until it came to blows with the Grail Knight, but for whatever reason he still seemed unwilling to just allow Maria to go on her way.

Finally he shoved Maria away roughly and re-sheathed his sword.

Maria quickly opened up some more ground between her and the crazy Baron but the man then called out to his men.

"Seize and restrain Maria Shepard," he ordered firmly.

Two of the nearest knights jumped down from their horses and quickly grabbed Maria by her arms.

"Baron, explain yourself," Vincent demanded crossly.

Baron Letard drew himself up to his full height, which wasn't even close to match Vincent's, but held his head high. "This woman fell from a portal of chaos that was conjured by a Skaven grey seer. She speaks a language no one fully understands and possesses powers and weapons that make her one of the gravest threats to our realm. I will not risk the fate of our lands merely on the word of a single Grail Knight. She will be taken back to Castle Parravon where she will be judged by Duke Cassyon when he returns from his mission to Quenelles."

"Hey! I'm not a threat to you people, why can't you get this through your heads," Maria groaned out frustratingly as the two knights pulled her wrists behind her back and began tying them together with - in confusion Maria actually looked back to confirm that, yes - they were tying her wrists with rope.

Rope she could shred in two seconds flat with one pulse of concentrated biotic energy.

"Never mind, you guys do what you have to do. Can't be too careful, not with armies of rat people just milling about the country side." When the knights finished, Maria tested their work and frowned when she could still get plenty of slack between her wrists. She looked back behind at one of the knights and jerked her head while shaking her hands. "Guys, come on. I took down a giant rat. Through some square knots and clove hitches on these ropes or something, because this is just sloppy."

The two knights looked at one another in confusion having not understood a word of what she just said, but before she could try to explain further, someone grabbed her by the back of her armor's collar and lifted her into the air.

Maria then found herself sitting on a horse, across the front of the saddle with two strong arms on the reins keeping her in place. She looked to see who had literally just lifted her entire weight without a grunt of effort and she was only slightly surprised to see it was the Grail Knight, Vincent.

"I just prevented them from taking your head and now you complain about their restraints?" Vincent grumbled out as held steered his mount to join the rest of the soldiers' now marching back to their homes.

Even seated next to him, Vincent was still taller than her, and Maria looked at him in amazement. "You just dead lifted me onto a horse with one arm… I may not look it but I'm a lot heavier than everyone else my size."

Vincent just shrugged prompting Shepard to ask, "How old are you?"

"How old to you believe me to be?" the Grail Knight asked back.

"Sixty-two," she answered taking an honest guess.

Vincent smiled and shook his head, "I passed my eighty-ninth birthday last month."

Maria instantly knew the man wasn't joking and silently vowed to learn everything she could about this strange, new world when she had the first available opportunity. But intelligence gathering would have to wait until more important matters were cleared up first.

She looked out across the open grassland where only a few gently rolling hills surrounded the trail the army was taking. Based on how high the sun was now rising in the sky, she now knew she had arrived on this world at dawn.

Squinting up at the sky Maria asked, "How long before we reach Castle Parravon?"

"The town is only half-a-days march from our location," Vincent replied. He then frowned, "Baron Letard will attempt to get his men back as quickly as possible and won't allow them much rest; even after the battle. Our caravan will stretch thin as those too weak to keep up will begin to fall behind."

Maria nodded with a wince as her headache began to intensify. "Well count me as one of the weak ones. Fighting through the entire collector station for over an hour only to find myself dumped her and forced to further expend my biotic power means I'm looking at a moderate to severe case of biotic exhaustion."

Vincent frowned and looked down at her not understanding.

Maria just sighed, "Big and strange words, yeah I get it but I'm feeling a little overwhelmed here and I needed to level the playing field. Basically just keep me on the horse when I pass out in the next few minutes and make sure there's a feast waiting for me when we reach the town."


	3. the dark ages bite, seriously

Steel, Fire, Honor and Ruin

**Chapter 2  
the dark ages bite…_seriously_**

**/ooooooo\**

Maria held her Runefang up and pushed back with all her strength as the Archaon towered over her. She couldn't stop his sword from inching toward her face so Maria angled her own blade down and stepped aside, avoiding his strike. The two swords slid against one another in a shower of sparks.

Taking a step back, Maria swung her Runefang in a wide arc at the Archaon's chest. Having lost his shield moments earlier in the fight, the Archaon held his own blade in front of him to take the hit, but with Maria's charged with biotic power when their swords touched all the energy was released right into the Everchosen. The blast of power staggered him back.

Off balance he wasn't capable of stopping Maria from gathering her strength and launching a warp into his chest, but before the attack hit he was able to raise a hand engulfed in chaotic purple balefire and directed the flaming ball at Maria.

With the warp impacting his chest the Archaon fell down to a knee. He stared unbelievingly as the chest piece of his armor was finally weakened and a spider web of cracks appeared over the enchanted black metal.

At the same time Maria tried to avoid the magical ball of fire as she focused her own magic and was engulfed in a black fog, but the balefire struck her before the spell could take effect and it hurtled her back out of the black cloud where she then landed flat on her back. Only the rune enchanted gromril armor she wore saved her from the mutating effects of the fire.

"Ow…" Maria coughed as she tried to catch her breath. The sky above was beginning to darken and a deep roll of thunder could be heard off in the distance. It had to be quite a storm headed there way for it to be heard over the roar of battle.

She rolled over and got up to her hands and knees as she watched the Archaon stand with little difficulty.

"Aren't you even getting tired yet?"

"You are a skilled opponent," was his reply as he began to approach her. "But this fight has gone on long enough."

But before he even got half way, a tremendous shriek coming from the direction of the neighboring Drak Wald Forest grabbed his and Maria's attention. Maria got back to her feet and stared in astonishment as a giant creature with an unmistakable wing span flew over the forest and toward the battle.

Maria blinked. "You have got to be joking…" She turned to the Everchosen and shouted in annoyance, "I was kidding about the damn dragon Archaon!"

The Archaon stood unmoving as he stared at the approaching creature. "It's not one of mine," he growled back.

Confused Maria looked back to the forest and watched as the dragon flew ever closer. Behind it the clouds seemed to condense and darken almost unnaturally, and the creature itself began to come into focus. Soon Maria could make out the dragon's profile.

The rotten and decayed silhouette of an undead Zombie Dragon, reanimated from death by the fell powers of a powerful Vampire Lord, flew over the forest's edge and crashed into the rear lines of the combined Chaos army; throwing man, beast and monster into the air. Then, directly behind it, countless legions of zombies, ghouls, and skeletal warriors stepped out of Drak Wald Forest and marched forward and into the battle; with clouds of flesh-stripping bats descending from the sky in the thousands.

The army of the Vampires had arrived.

**/ooooooo\**

_Four years prior…_

Location: Parravon, territory of Bretonnia... and still hostile...  
Day 1

A pressure on her shoulder shook Maria out of her impromptu nap.

"I'm awake, I'm awake…" she grumbled. She blinked a few times to try and clear her vision in the bright sun and when that didn't work Maria brought a hand up to rub her eyes.

Only she couldn't lift her hand because her wrists were still tied behind her back and when the fact she was restrained registered in her mind Maria jerked fully awake, attempting to sit up straight but ended up just losing her balance on the trotting horse.

"Ah – Oh crap!" She kicked out as she slid backwards over the side of the saddle.

A strong hand grabbed her elbow and stopped her fall. Maria blinked as she looked up to see Vincent the Grail Knight with an amused smirk on his face.

He pulled her back up onto the saddle. "Good afternoon."

Maria squinted up at the sky. "It's noon already?" she moaned more than asked.

"We have reached the city of Parravon," Vincent informed her. "I reasoned you'd want to be awake for this."

Even though she had been granted a few hours of dreamless unconsciousness, Maria was still utterly exhausted. Her neck ached from the constant bouncing of the horse she rode, her stomach growled demanding to be filled, and the bright sunlight of the midday was rapidly reigniting a headache.

And all of this was just the icing on the cake of the completely crushing realization that she was still on this strange and baffling world.

Maria was still riding with Vincent, a Grail Knight she remembered because that seemed to mean something to these people, and they both were still in the column of soldiers under the command of Baron Letard, aka 'crooked-nosed maniac'.

But instead of marching through fields of grass, Maria now noted they were all on a wide gravel trail, and on both sides of this… road, such as it is, was farmland. Wooden cabins with straw roofs periodically stood out from rows of various crops and Maria could see people out in the fields tending to their harvests with the aid of their domesticated horses, donkeys and the like.

None of these farmers were dressed much differently than the very soldiers that marched alongside Vincent's warhorse. The only notable differences being the soldiers were armed with wooden shields and steel swords, while the farmers had their rakes and hoes.

At that very moment a group of colorfully bannered and adorned knights galloped by Maria and Vincent, their barded horses raising dust and pebbles as they went. She followed them with her gaze and finally looking ahead down the gravel road Maria saw what could only be the city of Parravon slowly approaching.

But it wasn't the stone wall easily twenty feet high that stretched out nearly a kilometer in either direction that caught her immediate attention.

"Vincent, I have a question," Maria said still looking ahead, her headache only growing at the sight.

"Is that an honest to god _castle_?"

**/ooooooo\**

When Vincent finally guided his horse through the city's gate, Maria was again left speechless at how _primitive_ everything was. The buildings within the city were at least constructed out of stone and mortar but their roofs remained either wood or straw, and none of them seemed to climb higher than two or three stories. The road they traveled never became anything more than gravel covered dirt.

But it was a city. A medieval city.

Homes, shops, markets... an actual blacksmith hammering away at oven-forged steel... and citizens going about their daily routine as the column of soldiers slowly began to disperse away as the men-at-arms went back to their homes and families.

At least thirty minutes had passed since Vincent and Maria had passed through the city's outer gates and only the mounted knights remained. Over fifty horses trotted together as they reached a second stone wall encircling the castle located in the city's center. Maria was amazed to see a dramatic transformation in the scenery as the knights entered the outer courtyard. Surrounding the castle was what appeared to be another, smaller, cleaner, and far richer, town. All the building were stone, the road transformed from dirt to cobblestone, and every citizen here was garbed in flamboyant and colorful clothes.

"Talk about a separation of the classes," Maria murmured to herself as the knights now began to dismount.

"Did you say something?" Vincent asked.

"Nothing," Maria replied as Vincent stopped his own horse and effortlessly dismounted as well. He held up his arms and caught Maria as she slid off the saddle and set her down beside him.

Instantly there was the sound of a dozen swords being drawn as a number of knights slowly approached Maria.

"Stay calm and do nothing to provoke them into killing you," Vincent quietly instructed her.

"Yeah, because I'm real threatening standing here bruised, starved, and hands tied behind my back," Maria shot back. Behind the encircling wall of guards another horse trotted up carrying her biggest fan out of the bunch.

"Escort the prisoner to a cell," Baron Letard ordered as he glared down at her.

Vincent took a step in front of her. "Fair treatment until judgement is passed Baron."

Letard just sneered as he steered his horse away.

Maria watched him go and couldn't help rolling her eyes at the Baron's attitude, which probably stemmed from a need to compensate for something he obviously lacked. But she really didn't want to start anything so she stepped around Vincent and willfully joined her armed escort.

As she was led toward the impressive entrance to the castle a large shadow streaking across the grounds and eventually passing over her stopped Maria, and in turn her guards, as she looked around and then finally up. What she saw made her jaw drop as the shadow met its caster which had rapidly descended to the ground, and then galloped across the courtyard with flapping wings outstretched, and rider pulling back on the reins.

"Holy crap…"

The two knights behind Maria put their hands on her shoulders and pushed her forward as she reluctantly lost sight of the creature and turned to Vincent in shock.

The Grail Knight had a satisfied look on his face. "You didn't think Parravon had the Pegasus on their banners for show did you?"

**/ooooooo\**

The "cell" was a twelve by twelve foot stone walled room on the ground floor of the castle with no window and thick bars locking her in. Maria had been stuck here for over an hour, been given two buckets of water to try and clean the mess that was her face, hair and armor, and was just now sitting on the ground next to the bars, leaning back against the wall and staring at her wooden plate handed to her by Vincent that had two pieces of what looked like dried meat and a roll of bread.

She picked up one of the pieces of meat and looked up to Vincent standing on the opposite side of the bars.

"Eighty three Collectors, one partially constructed Reaper, thirteen rats, one _giant_ rat, and nearly twelve hours later and my first 'meal' consists of jerky and stale bread." She dropped the piece back on the plate with a deadpanned look, "My body is literally wasting away, but no, this is fine, thank you."

Vincent was still in his armor and the sound of metal scratching against itself as he folded his arms over his chest plate echoed in the dungeon.

"I can take the meal back if you wish it," he offered with a shrug.

Maria scoffed as she placed the plate on the ground next to her. "Oh, I'll eat it. But I will literally be burning more calories just chewing this food compared to what I'll gain from digesting it. I just want you to know that as I sit here alone with only the burning torches for company and await the judgment of an asshole primitive, all while I ponder the repercussions of just blasting my way out of this place without a care in the world."

"You're certainly capable of doing just that if you wished," he said as he stared down at her. "I'm curious to know what's stopping you."

Maria laughed lightly as she let her head fall back against the stone wall.

"Are you being serious right now? In the span of twenty-four hours I have led a team of the galaxy's most unlikely heroes through a mass relay no one has ever come back from… fought the genetically modified remains of a race over fifty-thousand years old… stared into the literal eye of a machine whose sleeping counterparts are responsible for carrying out galactic level extinctions without mercy or pause… been killed fighting against those same machines for the second time… all before being dumped here on this world…"

She looked back up at Vincent with a weak smile.

"Why am I still sitting in this cell? Because I am absolutely, positively, _terrified_ of what tomorrow is going to bring…" She then picked up her wooden plate and eyed the pathetic meal as though it were a feast, "…and I _know_ I'll be able to survive it better with food in my belly, and with reliable intelligence on this strange, freakish world."

Maria picked up one of the pieces of jerky, and after a quick sniff, bit off half. After a few seconds of chewing she looked back up at the Grail Knight.

"Tell me a story Vincent."

**/ooooooo\**

Two hours later and Maria had finally had enough.

"You have got to be kidding me?!"

She was standing in her cell, one hand holding a mug containing a weak fermented beverage eerily similar to beer, her other hand running over her head and getting tangled in the mess of knots that had once been her hair. Prisoners of Bretonnia were apparently, and unjustly, denied access to combs…

Vincent took a heavy drink from his own mug before looking back at Maria. He had spent the last two hours filling Maria in on everything he knew about the Old World and she had done an fairly good job of heeding his hard gained wisdom, only interrupting him with stunned looks and vehement denials of what he was telling her being even remotely possible every few minutes or so.

Vincent just smiled with that cocky, sage-like smile of his, that was rapidly grating on her last nerve. "Which part are you referring to this time?"

Maria scowled at his expression. He was enjoying this all-knowing-teacher lectures the dimwitted-student thing just a little too much.

"All of it!" she exclaimed as she tried to wrap her mind around everything she was learning. She paced her cell, "You join up with the army of your homeland, Bastonne, at the age of sixteen. Five years later after being given a knighthood you encounter another Grail Knight on the field of battle and become so awed by his battle prowess you resign your commission to embark on a journey to find, the _Grail_ and the 'Lady of the Lake'?

"Driven by visions and the need to find the _Grail_ you then spend the next _forty years_ of your life on the road, travelling hundreds of miles, encountering unseen enemies and new empires, fighting for honor and preforming good deeds, until you finally make your way back to your homeland of Bastonne, without success but still determined to complete your self-imposed quest.

"A week after entering the lands of Bastonne you encounter the remains of a merchant caravan that had been slaughtered by… Beastmen, you called them…? Merchants slaughtered by Beastmen, who you track down, fight single-handedly, and eventually kill, but not before suffering a fatal wound from the last creature.

"After forty years of wandering the world you lay bleeding out on the ground of your homeland when suddenly in a brilliant flash of light the Lady appears to you and grants you her blessing and the honor of drinking from the holiest of artifacts, the _Grail_. When the water touches your lips your wound is immediately healed, your body rejuvenated, and your spirit strengthened. Your journey ends where it began and you kneel before the Lady pledging your eternal loyalty to the Fey Enchantress and all of Bretonnia until your dying day. From that moment on you are a Grail Knight; a living legend and hero to your people."

As she finished, Maria stopped her pacing and simply stared in shock at Vincent, who calmly took another swig of his mug.

Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Vincent just shrugged.

"This isn't funny," Maria snapped back. She stared at the ground, "This is not even close to being funny. Giant rats, Elves, Vampires… Daemons?! These things don't exist! Magic doesn't exist!"

Vincent nodded back, seemingly in agreement, "Then how did you come to be here? How do you explain your battle with the Skaven Grey Seer?"

Maria started pacing again as she racked her brain for some sort of answer to that question. "Reaper manipulation… Miranda screwed up putting me back together… brain tumor from space radiation…" she mumbled as she paced.

"Did you, or did you not, see a Pegasus land in the castle's courtyard?" Vincent asked her.

That ended up forcing a smile on Maria's face as she thought back to the winged horse she had managed to catch a glimpse of before being led to prison. "That was pretty cool," she said. Downing the remainder of her drink she held her arm through the bars of her cell, handing the empty mug back to Vincent. "How many Pegasus… Pegasus's, Pegasi... does Bretonnia have?"

"Pegasi." Vincent shrugged, "I don't actually know. Not every territory of Bretonnia has the wealth or experience to care for the majestic creatures. A Pegasus is stronger, faster, and more difficult to master than even the mightiest warhorse, and their habitat covers only the steepest and harshest slopes of the Grey Mountains bordering both Bretonnia and the Empire. Parravon is one of the view territories whose army holds an entire knightly order of the winged beasts."

"So where were they at the battle earlier?" Maria asked in confusion. "As far as I could see, Baron Letard and the rest of you were all screwed until I showed up to scare the rat-men off."

Grudgingly, Vincent nodded, "True, we were heavily outnumbered, but the fault doesn't lie solely on the Baron's shoulders. Duke Cassyon rules this territory and he, along with the bulk of Parravon's army headed south to reinforce the besieged lands of Quenelles. All two hundred Pegasi, including the Duke's own mount, went with him. There are only a dozen of the winged horses left here to help patrol the borders of Parravon."

Maria frowned. "No offense, but from what you've told me, Bretonnia's seen better days. The Skaven, the Beastmen… maybe all your Dukes and Barons should look to securing their own borders and safeguarding their people, not proclaiming innocent maidens of daemonic sorcery and threatening them with death. Especially after I helped you guys out."

Again Vincent could only nod in agreement, but he leveled a serious stare back at Maria. "War is the way of life here in the Old World. Evil is everywhere and its power is on the rise. The Skaven haven't launched an attack of that size in a generation. And the Beastmen hordes normally avoid gathering in such large numbers for fear of gaining the attention of Bretonnia's knights.

"I'm afraid Maria that you chose a most inopportune time to arrive on our world."

**/ooooooo\**

As the day went on and the hours passed by, Maria forced herself to do nothing but sit down and try to relax. Eventually Vincent had returned and offered her a second small meal which she ate quickly and without complaint, and listened as he informed her that the Baron had sent a Pegasus Knight to try and contact Duke Cassyon and the Parravon army. After finally completing a head count of the survivors, it was found that the Baron had lost nearly half of the soldiers that had been left behind to protect the city. A deeply troubling realization since now the Baron could no longer risk leaving the capital to protect the nearby settlements from ravaging Beastmen hordes.

Hordes that were suspiciously on the rise and moving in broad daylight. Vincent had just returned from escorting another group of refugees whose village had just been destroyed by the savage creatures.

"So what makes Beastmen attacks during the day so suspicious?" Maria asked.

Vincent tried and failed to hold back a scowl.

"Those diseased mutants are cowards by their very nature. Its only when they gather in the thousands that their courage is mustered; and by that point the armies of Bretonnia have already noticed and marshalled to drive the filth back into the forests.

"The attacks happening now are too well coordinated, too well prepared, and too well timed to not be suspicious. There are Beastmen who surpass the primitive intellect of most of the rabid horde, but not many, and even fewer of this caliber…"

Vincent trailed off as he just stared back at Maria still sitting in her cell.

"What?" Maria asked, confused.

"There are only two possibilities," Vincent said as he came to some sort of a conclusion. "The first, that you are actually a demonic entity, and are somehow using your powers to influence the Beastmen during our moment of weakness."

"Which I'm not!" Maria quickly replied, alarmed at his reasoning.

Vincent raised his hands in assurance to calm her. "I know that. Your disturbing armor aside, I know you are not a demon. I'd be able to tell if you were. But the Baron and his men won't just take my assurances. They've already seen you use strange magics and you did fall out of thin air onto the battlefield. My rank can only protect you for so long. Therefore, there must be a second reason to explain the rise in Beastmen attacks, but for grace of the Lady, I pray it cannot be so."

He gripped the hilt of his sword and squared his shoulders.

"To protect Parravon, and save your life, I need evidence to support my theory. And I cannot find that evidence from within this city." He gave her a nod and turned to leave. "Stay here and don't do anything to provoke the Baron. I'll return in a few hours, and hopefully with answers."

Maria gave him a wave. "Good luck."

**/ooooooo\**

Strange enough even with the scenic view of nothing but blank stone walls, after spending hours in the cell Maria eventually fell asleep. But a sleep all too quickly interrupted.

She woke up to the sounds of bells ringing. Even from inside the castle's dungeon the sound was muffled but rapidly growing as it seemed more and more bells began to ring. As she got to her feet and moved to the bars of her cell, Maria expected to see or hear someone, but minutes passed and no one arrived and the bells outside continued to ring.

Weighing her options, she paced the bars of her cell trying to decide what to do next. Vincent had advised her to stay put, and there wasn't any reason to assume something was wrong, but her gut told her the chorus of bells wasn't a good sign.

Just before Maria was about to free herself, a trio of knights came jogging down the passageway, their armor loudly echoing against the stone walls. They stopped directly in front of her cell and each drew their swords.

One of the knights used a key to open the bars, with the other two stepping forward to block the opening.

"Baron Letard has ordered we give you one chance to call off the Beastmen horde attacking Parravon," one of the knights exclaimed as he aggressively pointed his sword at Maria. "So here's your chance demon. Order those creatures to stand down or we kill you here and now!"

Okay so now you know there's an army attacking the city, Maria reasoned out. But how are you going to explain to them you're not involved?

The knight with the sword pointing at her head took a step into the cell forcing Maria in turn to take a step back.

"I don't suppose any of you understand me?" Maria asked hopefully with her hands raised into the air, but already guessing the outcome.

None of the knights reacted other than sharing a look of confusion over her words. The knight who had unlocked her cell reached for one of the torches lining the wall saying, "It's wasting our time. Just run the thing through the heart and I'll burn the body just be sur-ack!"

The knight suddenly dropped his sword and the torch as reached for his throat and fell to the ground, a small knife jutting through the back of his neck and spilling blood. The knight next to him had only enough time to turn to look down the passageway when a knife struck him in the eye. He fell, dead before even touching the ground.

"What's going on!?" the lead knight shouted as he turned away from Maria and rushed out of the cell. He stood in the hall with his sword raised and managed to deflect a third knife before it struck him in the head like his fellows.

With the knight's attention fully focused on the unknown assailant he didn't notice Maria slip out of the cell and end up standing directly behind him. Looking over his shoulder down the dimly lit corridor she could just barely make out a figure hugging the wall and shadows.

Whatever it was, it was only visible to Maria because the cloak it wore to cover itself was an even darker shade of black than the shadows it seemed to be trying to meld into to. It leapt from the dark spaces between the torches and down the corridor towards them, hurling another knife through air.

To his credit the knight standing in front of her did an admirable job deflecting the thrown blade, but unfortunately their assailant knew its craft, sending a pair of knives high and low. The knight caught the high blade with his sword but the low blade sunk into his hip just between the armor.

With a grunt from the pain, the knight's life was quickly ended by another pair of knives impacting his head. He fell to the ground in a heap just like the pair before him, and suddenly Maria was alone with the figure.

But the shadowy mass didn't attack her right away. Maria saw a glint of torch light against metal as the figure pulled out another knife from beneath its cloak, but all it did was take a few silent steps toward her. That's when it finally entered the torch light and Maria saw a brown, elongated snout and hairless tail. She was facing another one of those rat-men.

Her pistol and submachine gun had been confiscated upon her arrival at the castle so Maria was preparing to stun the skaven with an overload from her omni-tool, when suddenly another knight rounded the far corner sword in hand and came sprinting down the corridor.

"Behind you!" Vincent's booming shout filled the hall. But Maria quickly realized he wasn't shouting at the skaven, he was looking directly at her.

So she spun on her heel with her hands up and raised a biotic barrier, just in time for another rat-man with curved daggers in both its paws to bounce off. It squeaked in surprise and shock falling to the ground in a heap. By the time it recomposed itself and got back to its feet it was greeted with a cryo blast to the face.

As the skaven's head shattered when it struck the ground Vincent was shouting at her again. "Look out!"

Maria felt two heavy thuds in her back and was then tackled face first into the ground. But the shadow-enveloped rat didn't stick around and instead leapt off her. Getting her face out of the dirt, Maria just managed to catch a glimpse of the skaven's tail before the creature vanished back into the dark and further down the dungeon.

Vincent was beside her in moments. "A pox take those blighted things…" he muttered as he kneeled next to her. Before she could rise he placed a hand on her back. "Don't move, not yet."

She stopped but asked, as calmly as she could, "Why can't I move yet?"

"There are a pair of daggers sticking out of your back." Vincent answered.

Maria blinked. "Oh…" and after a moment, "Can you pull them out please?"

"Apparently I can," he replied as she felt two light tugs. He then offered her a hand and they both got to their feet. Maria brushed the dirt off her face and armor as Vincent gave her a once over with a critical eye. "Your armor, however strange, is far stronger than I would have believed it possible of being," he commented as he looked from her armor to the two daggers still in his hand before dropping them to the ground.

"Well, if there's one thing Cerberus is good at its building a quality suit of armor." Maria then gave him a cheeky smile. "You wouldn't believe how well this thing hugs a body." Before he could reply she asked, "What were those things? Some rat version of an assassin?"

"Be grateful they weren't a pair a full-fledged skaven assassins," Vincent responded seriously as he turned and began leading her out of the dungeon, "you and I may not have survived the encounter. No, the skaven you killed was a night runner, no more than an apprentice in terms of skill. And the one who fled was a gutter runner, members of the skaven death-squads. Far more dangerous than the common night runner and most likely the one who led the infiltration of the castle."

He stopped at the door leading back into the main castle floors only to glance out and check the area before waving Maria on. There were several people hurriedly passing through the castle halls that Maria could see, and none of them a heavily armored knight. Most were too rushed to care about her and Vincent. Disturbingly, when Maria finally did see a group of six knights, they were laying on the ground in a pool of their own blood. Evidence of the skaven infiltrators at work.

"Those bells you are hearing are alerting the city to the Beastmen Warherd assaulting the main gates," he continued. "Nearly a thousand of the beasts have gathered together in the attack. All the remaining knights and men-at-arms have been called to defend Parravon. The three sent to retrieve you were dispatched by Baron Letard as a last-ditch effort to disorganize the Warherd."

"Which I'm not capable of doing from inside a cell… or at all really," Maria said dejectedly.

Vincent nodded in agreement, his jaw clenched. "You are not to blame for the attack. When I left the city to find the proof I needed, I travelled back to the village that had just been razed. The main herd of beastmen had gone, but among the bodies littering the ground, I found a knight with a dagger in his chest and a skaven night runner impaled on his sword. Proof the skaven were playing a part in the attacks… and most likely the ones spurring the mutants on until their numbers gathered enough to lay siege to Parravon. I arrived back just before the Warherd, and rushed to the castle when I learned of the Baron's plans for you."

By the time they reached the castle's entrance it was easy for Vincent to just move Maria to his side and hide her behind his armor. It was late in the evening and only a sliver of sunlight remined to glow gently over the medieval city. Thanks to the chaos from the attack all the knights still in the courtyard were busy putting on their armor and mounting their horses. That didn't stop Maria from sticking her head past him to get a better look at the two unbelievably impressive pegasi in the center of the courtyard. From the urging of the knights, both creatures accelerated to a full gallop, outstretched their wings and effortlessly took off into the air.

Maria stopped with her jaw dropping as she watched the pair fly off toward the battle at the city's gates; which forced Vincent to double back after he continued on and left her standing in the open.

"Let's try not to linger, shall we?" he said grabbing her arm and pulling her along. "It's only a pegasus."

"Maybe for you," Maria protested as she tried to keep eyes on the winged-horses for as long as possible. He ended up leading her some ways down the castle's edge before they came to a stable. It was completely empty except for a pair of horses, one of which Maria recognized the barding and colors as Vincent's own. The other horse was unarmored and had a pristine black chestnut colored coat.

"What are we doing here?" she asked. Vincent was busy checking over the second horse's saddle and bags. "Are we going to join the battle at the city-gate? I haven't regained all my energy yet but my omni-tool should even the odds and then we can show the Baron that I'm not your enemy."

Vincent shook his head as he grabbed a rough grey blanket off the stable partition and handed it to Maria.

"I will be joining the battle," he explained focusing back on the horse. "You in the meantime will be escaping through the southern city-gate, and leaving Parravon for good. Some of Parravon's knights are gathering there in an attempt to flank the Warherd. They'll be too busy to stop you."

"You're kidding, right?" Maria said with a laugh. When Vincent didn't reply, she shook her head. "I am not just leaving. Not when the city is under attack. I'm a soldier, a damn good one, and no offense but a hell of a lot more capable than any one of Parravon's knights, especially Baron Retard!"

"Baron Letard," Vincent corrected.

"That's what I said," Maria quickly shot back. "I'm not leaving."

To her surprise, Vincent just gave her a smile, and put an armored gauntlet on her shoulder. "I'm humbled to know you would fight for the lives of those who distrust you, but unfortunately it doesn't matter at this point. The Baron will blame you for this attack, and no evidence I present will save you. I can't directly stand against the Baron, he has the backing of Parravon's Duke, and I can't allow him to kill you because it goes against my code of honor. At this point all I can do is help you escape before the situation escalates further."

He pulled the horse forward and held the reins in his hands. "Parravon has been attacked in the past by far larger armies and held with far fewer men. It will be attacked again in the future. You don't need to worry about the city."

Maria held her ground, holding the blanket to her chest and crossing her arms. "I can't leave. I didn't even get my pistol and submachine gun back yet."

Vincent reached back to one of the bags on the saddle and gave it a pat. "I smuggled your weapons out of the castle vaults. Both are packed in the bag."

"Even if I took the horse I wouldn't know where to go," Maria countered. "I don't know anything about this world."

"You are a survivor," Vincent replied. "You'll manage. Head south and east keeping the Grey Mountains to your left. Eventually you'll reach a well-travelled road that will lead to a pass through the mountains and directly to the Empire city-state of Nuln. The Empire is one of, if not the, most advanced nation in the Old World. If there is a way for you to get home, the journey starts there."

"And a journey like that is going to take a few days," Maria said trying again. "I don't have any provisions."

Vincent tilted his head back to the saddle. "I packed enough food into both saddle bags. Ration it wisely, and just in case, you should be able to restock at any of the inns located along the road."

Before she could even open her mouth, Vincent added, "Food you will be able to purchase using the money I also packed in the bags." From the look on Maria's face he just smirked, "I'm guessing the coins may seem primitive to you, but it should be easy enough to decipher their intended worth."

At this point Maria was struggling to remain unimpressed with his diligence. "Well all this talk of me leaving is moot, since I'll never be able to make it past the knights gathering at the south gate."

"That is why you have this," he stated matter-of-factly, taking the blanket from her hands and unfolding it. Maria had no idea what he was doing until Vincent found the middle and then pulled the whole thing over her head. There had been a hole in the center and now Maria found herself wearing the whole thing like a poncho. Thanks to its size, it covered her armor all the way down to the knees.

He then reached back and picked a simple hat off the saddle horn that was grey and had its left half pinned up. He took it, gave it a dusting, and then put it on her head. Only a few inches of blonde hair were now visible. Her costume, however modest, did an admirable job of hiding her true identity. Plus it was nearly dark so that helped a little too.

Maria was now standing in a stable wearing collector armor, a blanket, and a hat, all with the intent to escape a medieval city with the aid of a knight in shining armor to avoid a death sentence from the evil Baron… at that very minute it all hit her at once and she felt ridiculous, but nevertheless sincerely touched by Vincent's help.

"Now up you go." Vincent easily hoisted her up onto the saddle and took a step back when she had settled. With a nod at the whole get-up, he seemed satisfied.

And now she was sitting on a horse. No doubt a galactic first for all Alliance N7s _and_ Citadel Spectres… and a personal first. Maria held the reins in her left hand and had a firm grip on the saddle horn with her right.

Completely overwhelmed, Maria tried to express her thanks to the one person on the entire planet that had so far been her friend. Instead it came out as a nervous laugh.

"I don't even know how to ride a horse."

For the first time Vincent had a full smile on his face as he laughed with her. He stepped back up to the horse and explained while he showed her, "Keep both feet secure in the stirrups… never let go of the reins… and basically pull back to slow down and give the reins a snap to speed up."

On the saddle horn he put his hand over Maria's. "Always stay calm, always stay alert, expect the unexpected… and trust the horse, its probably smarter than you."

Maria laughed again and suddenly found herself wiping at her eyes. "Thank you, Vincent. For everything."

"Safe journey maiden Shepard," Vincent said proudly. "I hope you make it back to your home one day." He stepped back and waved an arm, "Now go. May the grace of the Lady be with you."

So with a snap of the reins Maria got the horse out of the stable, and started toward the city gate.

**/ooooooo\**

Getting past the knights gathering at the south gate turned out to be easier and harder than Maria imagined.

Easier, because while one had recognized her and threatened a chase, Maria had already sped her horse up to a full gallop and easily raced past them all. Honestly, she realized that the only reason they hadn't committed to running her down was probably thanks to their city being attacked.

The hard part of her escape involved the horse, literally between her legs, not comprehending the simplest of her commands and continuing to sprint off into the growing darkness of night. Through no fault of her own she had dropped the reins and was now hugging the horse's neck, hanging on for her life.

And she had lost her hat…

"I said stop! Stop!" she shouted as the horse continued on, bouncing her in the saddle. Daring to glance over her shoulder she couldn't even recognize the path behind them. Parravon was long gone, and she was now getting deeper into a forested area. The road had rapidly shrunk to no wider than a Kodiak drop shuttle.

"You're supposed to be the smart one between us!" she shouted again as she risked her life by letting go and grabbing for the reins flapping against the horse's chest. Finally, her fingers wrapped around one of the leather straps and she pulled back as hard as she could.

The horse whined in protest but it quickly lost momentum giving Maria a chance to sit up and pull harder back on the reins with both hands.

But she pulled far harder than she realized and not only did the horse come to a stop, but it reared up, catching her off guard, tossing her off the saddle and to the ground flat on her back.

"Owww…" With a pained groan, looked up and watched as the horse leisurely walked a wide circle and came right back to her, nibbling at the grass.

She was breathing heavily from the ordeal and leveled a glare at the horse. "This is why… the Systems Alliance Marines… doesn't have a MOUNTED DIVISION!"

Much later Maria was walking down the road and leading the horse by the reins. She had no idea what time it actually was, but luckily it was a clear enough night and the planet's moon was high in the sky and providing enough light for her to see the road. It had at least been a few hours since she had left Parravon. And after a sizable yawn she acknowledged the fact that she would be spending a night alone in the woods.

Stopping in the middle of the road she looked back at the horse. "Do we go left, or right?"

The horse stared at her but eventually lost interest and looked to the left.

Maria shrugged. "I guess we go left." So she led the horse off the road and started to look for a section of grass that looked comfy enough to sleep on. After a hundred feet or so there was a small clearing in the trees and Maria decided she had found as good a spot as any.

She tied the horse's reins off on a tree branch, taking care to leave enough slack for the horse to eat more grass or whatever the horse would do while she slept, and then she finally dug through one of the sacks on the saddle and pulled out her phalanx pistol and locust submachine gun. Giving each weapon a quick once over she reattached them to her hip and instantly felt more at ease.

Sitting down on the ground she leaned back against the same tree she had tied her horse too, and looked up at the night's sky...

"Well that's a new one," she said with a sigh. Now in the small clearing Maria could see stars, the moon, and nearer the horizon, a second more scarred and jagged moon the same size of the first. But the best part, it was green. The second moon was green. Practically glowing, now that Maria studied it, a sickly, bright green.

Booting up her omni-tool Maria activated the stellar cartography program, and held her arm up at the night sky so the tool could do its scan. It was a mode all Alliance soldiers had installed on their omni-tools and it contained every known star constellation mapped out in the galaxy. In just a few minutes a soldier could not only pinpoint what world they were on but where on that planet they were actually standing.

Its scan done, Maria lowered her arm and stared at the readout. Officially, per her tool, her location was as listed.

System: Unknown.

Planet: Unknown.

"Okay," Maria swallowed and tried to keep the feelings of panic from overwhelming her. "Not a problem," she continued with a shake of her head and forced smile. "All this means is I'm not getting the scan I need to find my position. Every system mapped out by every race in the galaxy is on this tool. So obviously, all I need to do is wait for this planet to continue to orbit its star and eventually I'll get a scan of a star formation that's registered."

Maria's smile vanished when she heard what she had said. Because to get the data she needed, that meant spending no less than a full year on this world… scanning the sky, once a night, every night, for as long as she was here. Just to get an idea of where she was in the galaxy.

… and then there was getting off the planet…

"One problem at a time," Maria said with a deep breath, as she shut down her tool. "I guess that means we'll be spending a lot more time together," she added looking over at the horse. But with a wince she quickly looked away, "Oh, gross!" The horse was busy urinating on the ground.

Maria moved further around the trunk of the tree and tried to get comfortable. "Well at least I now know you're a Steven and not a Stephanie."

**/ooooooo\**

Location: South of Parravon  
Day 4

Days 2 and 3, Maria spent all her time on the road keeping her horse at a brisk trot. It seemed a speed the horse was accustomed to for great lengths of time and Maria could say she was covering a fair amount of ground with each day passed. By the third day Maria had reached a point she could see a growing range of mountains off in the distance to her left. Most likely the Grey Mountains Vincent had told her to follow. Her nights had been the same as the first. She would find a quiet place just off the road, tie up her horse and then commence her new nightly ritual of scanning the night sky with her omni-tool, hoping that she would eventually discover a star formation that was familiar.

She hadn't yet…

But while day 2 and 3 had been uneventful, day 4… day 4 turned out to be something special.

Because after fighting for hours inside the Collector Base, fighting horned rats capable of shooting green lightning and giant rats with arms the size of tree trunks, being unlawfully assaulted and then detained by an idiot, then traveling on a horse for days… now Maria had finally caught a break.

She had found a river.

Maria had been giving the horse a break and walking along the road when she stopped and listened, hearing what she thought was the sound of water over rapids. Walking off the road for a way, Maria quickly arrived at the shore of a slow flowing river with crystal clear water.

She took the time to remove her horse's saddle, finally giving him a day without it, and then was instantly out of her armor, shedding her tank top and shorts she wore under it, and dove into the cool water with a joyful shout.

After a completely reasonable amount of time of Maria bathing, swimming, splashing, swimming some more and generally being absolutely happy over being clean again, she had eventually washed her clothes and even given her armor a dunk in the water. Which then gave her a perfectly good excuse to do nothing but lay on the grass in the sun and wait for her clothes to dry.

It…was…amazing…

Ultimately, her warm afternoon disappeared as the sky clouded over and a cool breeze swept over the grass, and Maria realized she'd have to continue on. After getting dressed back in her clothes and snacking on some of the jerky Vincent had packed for her, it dawned on Maria that she may have been a little hasty in her rush to jump into the river.

On her left was the horse, on the right sitting in a heap on the ground was the saddle and riding equipment, and in the middle stood Maria as she chewed on a bit of jerky.

The horse stood unmoving, trained to wait patiently as its rider got it ready for travel, but Maria ran a hand through her hair and scratched her head looking over the gear. Almost reading her mind, the horse just stared at her and blinked slowly.

"Steven, I'm not gonna lie," Maria said as she looked over the gear. "I can disassemble and reassemble my pistol and submachine gun in record time with my eyes closed, but this stuff…" She bent down to retrieve her blanket and pulled it over her head to stay warm until her armor dried fully.

"We may be here a while."

**/ooooooo\**

Though it may have taken two or three tries, Maria had successfully saddled up the horse and continued to ride south keeping the Grey Mountains on her left. Her beautiful morning had depressingly turned into an overcast sky and cool breeze. Her armor was capable of keeping her comfortable in extreme temperatures be them high or low, but her nose was getting cold.

The weather had changed more by the time the sun began to set, and after it had gone completely the air seemed to have gotten colder. Maria was about to look for a place to call it a night when she stopped the horse in the middle of the road and suddenly realized she could see her breath. But what worried Maria the most was the how. She hadn't traveled that far, and certainly not enough to drastically change the climate.

"Come on, let's get off the road and hunker in for the night," Maria said as she tried to guide the horse. But instead the animal just whined and stomped its feet. Trying again, Maria clicked in her heels and pulled the reins, but the horse ignored her, shaking his head and whining again.

Concerned at his behavior, Maria stopped trying to guide the animal and rubbed his neck with her hand. Taking the time to examine the horse, Maria could see his eyes were wide and his ears were both turning left and right as if he were trying to pick up on something. He stomped his hooves into the ground again and took a few steps backwards. Maria wasn't an expert but she knew a scared animal when she saw one. Something was wrong.

She looked around into the dark but with the overcast sky there was very little moonlight to help illuminate the road. If there was something out there, she wasn't going to see it before it saw her.

Maria hopped off the horse and reached for her pistol. As the phalanx expanded in her hand, the horse whined again and Maria noticed the animal's ears were facing directly ahead. She spun around raising the heavy pistol, holding it with both hands, as she watched another group of horses come slowly down the road toward her.

There were a lot more of them than Maria felt comfortable encountering on the road at night. Maybe a dozen were visible, but it sounded like there were more further behind this first group. The horses were armored and they were being ridden by knights also in full armor. How they managed to get so close without her hearing them only made her uneasy. The fact they were still making very little noise unnerved her even more.

With only a few meters between them the unknown knights finally came to a stop without a word.

Okay, first impression time, Maria thought with a cringe. Let's try not to screw this one up.

Replacing the pistol back on her hip, she stepped in front of her horse and took a breath.

"Hello," she began with a small wave. "Do any of you happen to know the way to Nuln and how long it should take to get there?"

Two knights were slightly ahead of the group. It was hard to see in the dark but one was wearing a heavy, dark red suit of armor with sharp and jagged edges and a helm that had spiked wings coming out the sides. The other was wearing a black suit that had gold outlining the edges and a dark cape draped around his shoulders that flowed out across the horse's back. He wasn't wearing a helmet but Maria couldn't make out his features in the dark.

The knight in the red armor spoke first. "She's not Bretonnian. What language is that?" His voice was deep and he sounded angry.

"I recognize northern accents," the black armored knight replied. "But look at her clothes, specifically the armor underneath that blanket." His voice was sharp and resonated with cold intelligence. And he had noticed her collector armor from just the small wave she had given.

The red knight leaned forward in his saddle. "Well she's not an elf, we would have known if they were pursuing us, and she's certainly not Imperial."

"No, No, I'm human," Maria spoke up quickly, excited that they may have understood her, "and I'm not Bretonnian or Imperial. I'm just on my way to the Empire city of Nuln and could use some directions."

"What is your name, my lady?" the black knight asked.

"Maria Shepard," she answered, still unsure if they understood her or not. But she quickly got her answer.

"Maria Shepard… I don't recognize the name," the black knight said slowly. "And you journey to Nuln? Brave to be traveling the roads this hour of night, and all alone." The tone of voice he was using put Maria on edge, but more because he sounded genuinely curious.

The red knight sat up straight in his saddle once again. "A vagabond on the road, but not an unsightly one. She has a capable quality about her." He seemed to come to a decision and nodded once. "She'll do."

The red knight dismounted from his horse as the black knight let out a sigh. "Is that wise? She has the winds of magic about her. And I didn't recognize the weapon she held earlier."

The red knight scoffed. "The winds are undisciplined, and no mortal weapon can harm me." He then started toward Maria.

"Just make it quick Walach," the black knight then said with bitter resignation. "We are on a schedule."

Maria looked back and forth between the two knights as the one in red approached. Her hand was already reaching for her locust.

"What's going on here, exactly?"

The red knight answered her. "I am going to savor your blood and then kill you," he said with menacing intent still marching toward her.

Maria blinked with the red knight still feet away. "Just to be clear… you said you wanted to 'savor my blood'?" she asked.

"Indeed."

Maria nodded at his reply, and in an instant had her locust in her hand and pointed directly at the red knight's chest. Her finger pressed the trigger…

…and froze a hair's width from firing when the red knight raised an outstretched hand directly back at her.

Maria had no idea what was happening, but her entire body had frozen. Literally frozen. She couldn't move. She couldn't breathe. It felt as if all the heat from her body had vanished and even the blood in her veins had iced up. Her eyes were wide in panic as she fought with all her strength to pull the trigger and kill the knight standing directly in front of her gun.

She was already choking for air and had fallen to her knees when the red knight reached her. He stared at the submachine gun for a moment before simply plucking it from her still fingers and dropping it to the ground. With an armored gauntlet, he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her limp body back up, and then punched her in the chest so hard she actually flew back out of his grip and past her horse.

Any wind left in her lungs was forced out by the red knight's unforgiving punch. She was laying on the ground gasping in pain and in need of oxygen. Tears were in eyes. Maria had never been hit by one person so hard in her entire life. She tried to focus on creating a biotic field in her hands but nothing was coming from the effort.

The red knight had walked over to her again and picked her up once more by the neck. Maria tried to talk but nothing escaped her lips and she could only stare hopelessly at the knight's helm as he pulled back and then threw her meters through the air directly into the nearest tree.

Her back slammed hard into the tree trunk, and then she fell to the ground. Whatever had kept her frozen vanished as suddenly as it had begun when she rolled across the ground. Maria swallowed a lung full of air only to scream it out again in pain. She sobbed on the ground with the pain in her chest and back hitting her full force. But as much agony as she was in, Maria tried her best to simply get up to her knees and fight back.

The red knight didn't give her a chance. He kicked her chest just to keep her on the ground a moment longer before he grabbed her by the shoulders and shoved her up against the tree trunk.

Maria tried to push his arms off her but he but he wouldn't accept any resistance on her part. He only let go of her shoulders so he could punch her across the face, splitting open her cheek. But he didn't stop there.

The red knight hit her across the face again, and again, and then punched her in the chest once more. When Maria folded over from the assault, he simply grabbed her by the throat and held her up so he could strike her other cheek just as savagely.

He only stopped punching when he was satisfied Maria was just barely on the edge of consciousness. Still holding her by the throat against the tree, he leaned. "It seems I missed judged your character. No matter, this will be over in moments."

She tried again to focus her biotics but her concentration shattered when the red knight lifted his free hand up to his helmet and pulled it off revealing a bald man of middle age with several scars crisscrossing his face.

But Maria stared in horror as the man transformed into something more monstrous. His skin paled white and pulled back tight against the skull. A prominent nose shriveled away to almost nothing leaving a decayed hole in the flesh. Hair fell away until only a few long strands covered his head, and his eyes sunk into his skull while his mouth…

His mouth remained the same, except for two teeth that rapidly grew in size and sharpened to needles.

"This will only hurt a moment," the creature said with an evil sneer, as he twisted Maria's neck in his hand and leaned forward toward the exposed skin.

Maria screamed in absolute terror when she realized what he was about to do, but was unable to do a thing to prevent the man from reaching her neck and biting down on the skin drawing blood.

However her scream died away when a feeling quickly spread out across her entire body. She was beaten, bloody, and in more pain than she had ever felt, but now all of it suddenly melted away. Maria didn't understand any of it but she no longer cared.

She felt calm. She felt at peace. Whatever had caused her so much pain hardly mattered to Maria any more. This feeling was all that mattered. And if it would go on forever than she would live out the rest of her life in complete bliss.

But the wonderful feeling began to fade when the red knight lifted his face from her neck, a heavy frown visible and covered with her own blood.

He stared at her in confusion and licked his lips. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked her harshly, tightening his grip around her throat. "What are you?"

Maria shook her head and cried as the terrible pain began to return to her body. She didn't want the pain, she wanted the bliss. But with the pain came clarity. The fog in her head cleared and she began to remember what had happened. She turned her head as much as she could against the man's grip, looking right into the eyes of the creature that held her.

And then shoved her phalanx pistol against his temple and pulled the trigger.

Maria leaned heavily back against the tree as the grip around her neck loosened. She stared at the half a head the red knight had left as it stayed standing in front of her, before falling to the ground in a heap. Through trembling breaths, she couldn't stop the terror from creeping back up inside her and she aimed the pistol at the corpse and pulled the trigger a second time, blowing away the remainder of the creature's head with the act.

But that last act was all she could muster. The pistol fell from her grip the same moment she collapsed to the ground.

The last thing she saw before passing out was a pair of black armored boots walking toward her.


	4. there's always plan b

Steel, Fire, Honor and Ruin

**Chapter 3  
there's always plan b  
**

**/ooooooo\**

Location: Unknown  
Day: Unknown

It was cold. Why was space always so cold? And how did it even get cold in her cabin anyway? Cerberus spends two years and billions of credits bringing her back but they forget to put a thermostat in her room, that's how it gets cold.

With a shiver, Maria Shepard curled up on the bed.

"EDI, could please raise the temperature by five degrees," Maria pleaded as she began blindly grabbing for the bed covers. "Either that or tell Joker to pilot us into the nearest sun; whichever warms the cabin faster."

But when she finally found the sheet and pulled it over her head, it wasn't the fine Thessian silk she had bought on a bargain in the markets of Nos Astra. Instead it was rough, it was scratchy and it smelled… well it smelled. And then her brain woke up and she remembered everything that had happened on the road.

She had met a group of knights in the middle of the night.

One of those knights had beaten her, without her managing to do anything to save herself.

And then that same knight had transformed before her eyes before he… then…

Maria bolted upright, knocking away the blankets, as her hand immediately went to her throat.

"Oh shit."

Her bare feet hit the stone floor a moment later as she nearly jumped out of the bed and went straight for the cracked mirror hanging on the wall across from the bed.

One hand still on her throat Maria used the other to wipe the dust and dirt off the mirror. "No-no-no-no-no-no, please no," she chanted softly as she examined the skin where the knight had – had literally bitten her.

"This can't be happening." Checking the side of her neck there was an area of skin that was still a light shade of pink, and as Maria looked closer she could make out two red dots. Little needle points right where the knight's teeth had pierced the skin.

She stared at those two small red dots for a few moments before shaking her head.

"Nope," she dropped her hand and just stared at her reflection. "Uh-uh, not even going there. Just – no."

Carefully pulling up her tank top Maria winced as she took in the sight of several very large bruises covering her ribs and stomach. Turing around and checking the mirror she could see another large bruise right where that tree had connected with her back.

Turing back to face the mirror she put a hand on her ribs and slowly took in a deep breath and blew it out again. Everything checked out. She was still sore but at least nothing seemed to be cracked or broken. Score one for Cerberus cybernetics.

"You should see the other guy," Maria joked lightly. The woman looking back at her from the mirror didn't look very confident though.

A cool wind blew through the room causing Maria to shiver, as a few dried leaves brushed over her feet. She looked down in confusion as to why leaves would be in her room, let alone a strong breeze, and following the leaves to the source Maria finally looked up and realized exactly where she was.

"Oh…wow."

Walking slowly across the stone floor she reached the edge of the room and instead of a wall, there was open air. The wall was gone, well actually, the bricks that would have made a wall were broken and shattered around her feet. Wrapping her arms around herself to try and keep warm, Maria could walk right to the edge and look down to see she was very high up in the air.

It was probably fair to say that she was in another castle but this time not in the dungeon. And as Maria took a step back from the edge, she had an amazing view of a mountain range at night. The small amount of light she had available was coming from the moon high in the sky, its ugly green twin still hovering low on the horizon and partially hidden behind a mountain peak.

Admittedly it was a beautiful sight. And any other time on any other planet Maria would have already been planning some well-deserved shore leave. But…unfortunately…not today.

Another mountain breeze blew into the room causing Maria to shiver some more. She went back to the bed to grab one of the scratchy covers only to notice her own grey blanket had been laid out as well to keep her warm. Grabbing that one Maria found the center and was about to pull it over her head when she paused and noticed a dark red color staining the neck line. It was her blood from when that vamp – man, knight, sick weirdo – had bitten her.

Swallowing down her feelings, she pulled it over her head anyways and began rubbing her arms for added warm. Maybe it was lucky but she couldn't see her breath in the air, but a lot of the surrounding mountains had snow covering their peaks.

"Okay, take a breath, and analyze your situation," Maria said out loud as she stood next to the bed. "You were on the road. You could see the Grey Mountains… probably in the Grey Mountains now. You met some new knights. One of them managed to kick your sorry ass without breaking a sweat. You did manage to shoot him twice in the head so I guess we're even."

She looked down at her toes. "And now you wake up here. No armor, no weapons, no _omni-tool_. Half-naked but at least you still have your blanket…" Maria closed her eyes and tried to take another breath. "I was better off in that dungeon."

Another breeze blew through the room and this time she was grateful as it pulled her back and helped her focus.

Opening her eyes, Maria looked out across the mountains with new determination. "All right. Behind enemy lines and low on supplies. I've handled worse." She turned away from the view making the decision to leave the room and made for the door. "First thing first, I'll need – FUCKING HELL!"

She had made it halfway across the room and had only then noticed two armored figures standing guard by the door in the room with her.

Naturally assuming she had been alone until now, this was quite the startling realization… probably jumped a foot in the air.

Hand to her chest, Maria fought through her near heart attack as she glared at the two men standing at the door. "What the shit!? Damnit all, have you two been standing there this entire time?!"

Both men were covered in red and black painted armor from head to toe and both had helmets covering nearly their entire faces. In the dark of the room, Maria couldn't even see them really. On their belts, each had a large sword and both carried a metal shield on their left arms. The shields had also been painted to match their armor.

Neither one of them responded to her outburst… or even moved.

"Well?" Maria asked folding her arms across her chest. She looked back and forth between the two of them. "I'm assuming you're here for a reason. What do you want?"

Again, neither of them spoke or moved. They just stood at perfect attention on both sides of the door.

And after nearly a minute of staring, Maria finally figured out that there was no one in the armor. She really was alone in the room. These were just mock-ups, basically museum pieces; so she started walking to the door.

"If – When I make it back home," Maria promised quietly to herself, "this will not be a part of the debrief."

She got within five feet of the door when suddenly both of the figures came to life. Maria froze mid-step as each reached for their swords and gripped the hilts. But that's all they did. Just put their hands on their sword hilts.

Maria frowned. "Very funny assholes." Apparently there was someone wearing the armor. "Now you're just pissing me off. Just tell me what you want."

But, once again, Maria stood staring back at the two armored figures for nearly a minute without either one of them talking.

"Fine. Don't talk. But I'm leaving." She took another step for the door and the instant her foot hit the ground, both men pulled their swords half way out of their leather sheaths. Most likely this whole act was a threat to keep her in the room.

Instead of backing off, Maria took another step toward the door. And just as before, when she did, the armored men yanked the swords entirely free from their belts and now held them out at the ready.

The problem now was that Maria stood only three feet from both armored men and the dark that had once helped hide their faces was no longer as effective. She could see their heads under the steel helms.

Maria had stopped walking and now stood still with pursed lips because there was no face staring back at her. Literally nothing was under those helms, except for a skull. A human skull. Empty eye sockets, no nose, obviously skinless, and the one on the right was missing its lower jaw.

Maria was staring at two armored, and somehow animated, skeletons.

"So, um…" Maria brought a hand up and rubbed her eyes, just to be sure. "This is a new one."

Momentarily thrown off balance, Maria did the only thing she could think off that might help the situation and took a step back from both skeletons. In response, both of them smoothly returned their swords to their belts and once more stood at attention.

"Oookay, we're dealing with skeletons now." With a shiver Maria glanced back at the mountains and rubbed her arms once more. "First we had human sized rats, bigger rats, ninja rats… and now skeletons… yeah, okay."

She shrugged looking back at the armored bones.

"Well I'm not staying here," she stated firmly, and feeling really awkward talking to a skull. "I'm awake, I'm hungry, and I'm cold. So whatever's supposed to happen next let's just get it over with. I'm not staying in this room forever."

Much to her surprise, one of the skeletons actually turned around, opened the door and left the room. Which just left Maria standing alone with the other one.

And after ten minutes of just standing in dead silence she could admit things didn't feel weird at all…

The door finally opened again and the armored skeleton entered the room and re-took its spot on the side. Behind it, entered a man.

He was a head taller than herself and the two skeletons, with shaggy dark brown hair covering a round face marred by scars. He may have been as tall as Vincent but this man lacked the Grail Knight's girth and strong physique. Underneath his heavy leather shirt Maria guessed he was probably lean. He carried a sword on his belt but the only piece of armor on him was a dented and dirty breastplate.

"Seems yer awake then," he said gruffly looking Maria up and down. She noticed a tired weariness behind his brown eyes as one hand remained on his sword hilt. He nodded to the door, "Well, come on, the night's wanin'."

He stepped out of the room with Maria behind him. As soon as they were both out the two skeletons followed and flanked her. She glanced back at them for a moment before the man faced her.

"Let's get this out in the open now," he said observing her carefully. Maria caught the traces of another accent and it wasn't French like those in Bretonnia. "I heard what ya did on the road. An' I won't pretend someone like me could take ya. But those two bones with us are the Count's own guard. Ya make trouble, an' they cut ya down. Understood?"

Maria nodded. "Understood."

"Good," he replied turning around and starting down the hall. Maria followed him and it took her a second to realize that he may have responded to more than just her nod. She stared at his back trying to work whether he was one of those… things… or just a man, as he led her through the castle and down a flight of stairs. The two skeletons stayed only a few steps behind.

Going through another corridor they came across another section of wall that had been completely broken away allowing Maria a glimpse at the mountains.

"Your castle has seen better days," Maria commented dryly as she picked her steps carefully to avoid the worst of the sharpened stones on the floor.

The man just huffed. "An Imperial siege will do that ta a place, not ta mention several hundred years of neglect. Ta this day tho' Blood Keep still holds its own as a fortress in the Grey Mountains."

Maria nearly slipped when the man replied back. She stopped and stood in the ruined corridor. "You understood all of that?"

The man turned to face her with a frown and raised eyebrow. "Yes. I did." He jerked his head, "Now keep movin'."

Maria jumped over the remaining stones and quickly caught up to him. "Wait! It's just that – well I need you to answer one really important question first."

The man didn't turn around this time and just continued leading her down another flight of stairs.

"Ask yer question."

She was more than a little nervous and swallowed before asking. "Before we go any further I need to know if, well I need to know if you are a… are you one of those – I'm asking if you're, you know…"

The man stopped walking suddenly and Maria nearly bumped into him as she rambled. And she was now very conscious of the fact she was wearing next to nothing in front of a person she didn't even know was a person or not.

He frowned again, staring down at her. He almost looked confused himself. "Are ya asking if I'm a bloodsucker?"

"Yes?," she said with a squeak.

"No."

"Oh," she breathed out with a small smile. "Good. Good, good, good, good, good, good."

Now he was staring at her as though she was the odd one for even asking such a question. He guided her through the rest of the castle until he reached another door. Opening it, held led Maria into a very large room with a high ceiling. In the center was a table long enough to seat twenty people and the walls were lined with lite torches. Except for another large stretch of stone that had also been destroyed in the apparent siege.

The two skeletons stayed positioned at the door as the man reached for the nearest torch and made for a wide fireplace at the opposite wall. Assuming she was to stay in the room, Maria walked slowly around the hall's edge until she reached the demolished portion of wall. Looking out and over the edge, she could see they were still five or six stories up, but at least now instead of open wilderness she could make out more demolished buildings, pitched tents, lit fires and people and horses walking around in the courtyard below. Probably somewhere around thirty to forty of them.

"There we go."

Maria turned around to see that the man had managed to start a growing fire. It quickly brightened up the hall, as well as provide a warmth against the cool wind. She hurried over to it and out stretched her hands, soaking in the heat.

"Stay here for the time being," the man ordered as he walked to replace the torch on the wall. "I'll be back, and with some food."

Maria held a foot up to the fire and wiggled her toes. "I'm not going anywhere," she replied with a smile. "But bring as much as you can, I'm starving."

When she heard the door close behind him she looked back to see the two skeletons still standing by the door acting as her guards. Turing her back to them, Maria raised a fist and concentrated. The hairs on the back of her neck tingled as wisps of dark energy danced over her fingers, before condensing and covering her fist in a dark blue glow.

"Alright then," Maria said softly as she slowly released the power in her fist. "Let's see where this goes."

**/ooooooo\**

Maria sat at the table with a plate holding a generous portion of cooked meat and potatoes sitting in front of her. She even had a fork and knife available this time around and a water skin she was pretty sure wasn't filled with water.

As far as imprisonments went this one was rapidly making up for the earlier meeting on the road.

"This is great," Maria praised between mouthfuls as she cut another chunk of meat. "You guys even seared it first. Best way to lock in the flavor. My compliments to the chef."

Since getting her the meal, the man did little else except pace the room and watch her eat. He stopped by the fireplace.

"Yer lucky," he said staring into the fire. "It's unusual ta find boar so far out of the forests. Luckier still I was able ta get some away from my men before they devoured it all." He turned and looked at her with a frown, before starting around the hall again.

Maria watched him as she continued to shovel the food down as fast as she could. This was literally the best meal she had been able to get since arriving on this world and she wasn't going to blow the opportunity by taking her time.

But that wouldn't stop her from talking with only the second person who had so far been able to understand her. She swallowed and took a quick swig from the water skin.

"Where are you from?" she asked conversationally, trying not to sound too interested.

"I'm not tellin' ya that," he replied shortly.

Maria cut another piece of meat. "Why not?"

"My company's wanted from here to the Northern Wastes," he nearly growled out, but still walking the room. "An' yer a stranger that managed ta kill my employer."

Maria was taken aback by his wording. "So, you're a mercenary then?"

"Aye." He leveled a hard stare at her. "Ya got a problem with that?"

With a shrug, Maria focused back on her meal. "Not really. I've employed a few mercenaries myself." She bit potato off her fork and looked back at the man. "But you ever stop to think that the reason you're a wanted man is because of your choice in employer?"

The man stopped, looked back at her, and let out a harsh laugh. "Worry more about yourself, lass."

"Fair enough." She took another bite of her meal and asked, "Speaking of me then, how long was I out?"

"Only a day," he said walking the room again. "Should have been two, but the Count pushed us hard to reach this Keep before a second sunrise."

"And why was that?" Maria asked.

Before the man could answer the door to the hall swung open and several heavily armored figures strode into the room. The one leading them spoke as he entered.

"Because the sun agitates my fair complexion," he said with a dangerous smile as he walked to the table's edge locking eyes with Maria.

Maria in turn couldn't stop from staring back. And she couldn't stop the chill from traveling down her back, because the man who had just entered and who was now standing only feet from her, was the same black knight that had traveled with the red one on the road only the day before.

Without a shadow of a doubt, she knew he was one of them.

**/ooooooo\**

Location: Blood Keep  
Day 6

He was still wearing his jet-black armor with the gold outlines and his cape was a dark purple that hung from both his shoulders and nearly touched the ground. But now in the light Maria could finally see his face.

And disturbingly he wasn't gruesomely decayed in his appearance. Maria was forced to admit he was actually handsome. His hair matched his armor and hung straight down to his shoulders, and his face was smooth but sharp with pointed cheek bones and chin. But it was his eyes that really got to her. They were a darker shade of blue than her own, but the power that they held was nearly smothering. There were few people in the galaxy Maria was actually afraid of crossing, most of them were either Admirals or older N7's in the Systems Alliance, but just looking into this man's eyes she knew he was beyond dangerous and intelligent.

And add all of that to the very terrifying fact he was… one of those _things_.

"My lord," Maria's guard immediately came to attention, as four more armored skeletons who had been flanking the Count walked to the room's edge and took positions in silence.

The Count held Maria's gaze for a few more tense heart beats before acknowledging the man.

"We have what we came for," he announced, as he walked slowly to the fireplace. "Ready your men Sergeant, we depart within the hour. When the sun rises, I expect us well on our way. I'll cover our trek just as before."

The guard hesitated for only a moment as his eyes darted to Maria. "Very well, my lord." He then walked briskly out of the room and closed the door behind himself.

Maria was now left alone with six skeletons and the Count.

Having never been in a situation like this before, Maria just continued to eat her meal, now being extremely aware of how much noise her knife and fork were making on the plate as she cut the potatoes and meat.

The Count turned from the fire and stood at the table directly across from Maria. She watched as he reached for his belt and unbuckled the two swords he had anchored at his hip, before he then placed them on the table in front of her.

"Disgraceful creatures, Varghulfs," he began conversationally. His voice as refined as his appearance. Maria's translator couldn't even make out a single accent, every word was pronounced elegantly.

He brought a hand up to wipe a few red specks, blood she noticed, off his armor. He wasn't wearing gauntlets; his hands were bare.

"Have you ever seen a Varghulf?" he asked her, making eye contact.

Maria shook her head. "Count yourself lucky then," he said, wiping his hands clean on his cape. "Terrible beasts. Imagine a bat, twice the size of a horse and packed with muscle. Teeth and claws the size of long swords and infinitely sharper. They can no longer fly, but that hardly matters with the strength they possess. They're what happens to my kind when we give in to the beast locked away within ourselves. I had to kill a very ill-tempered one still lurking in the depths of the Keep. Probably been hiding there since the fall of the Blood Dragons. Perhaps, even, one of the knights themselves."

Maria put down her fork and knife and leaned back in her chair.

"Your kind," she said.

The Count rest both his hands on the table and leaned forward. "My kind?" he said, the edges of his lips ever so slightly pitched up in what could only be described as amusement. "How long have you avoided saying it? How long have you stopped yourself from thinking it?"

"Since I met you on the road," she replied as steadily as she could.

Strangely, amusement disappeared as he continued to stare back at her. He very nearly frowned, as he asked, "You've never met one of my kind before, have you? No… that's not entirely correct. You haven't met us, but you do know of us. Our power, the fear and terror we project.

"Where are you from?"

Now Maria almost smiled. "A very long way from here."

The Count cocked an eyebrow. "So it would seem." He straightened back up and glanced at some of the armored skeletons standing at the wall.

"Bring in the chest," he commanded. Two of them immediately walked to the door and left the room.

He then pulled out a chair and took a seat. Relaxing back, he rested his right arm on the table, but waved his hand as he did. "Don't stop on my account. Continue your meal. I won't consider it rude if you do."

So Maria did. But she recognized the beginnings of an interrogation. And he had ordered the man who had been her guard to get ready to leave soon. So Maria ate, but at a much slower pace than before.

"Maria Shepard," the Count began as he observed her. "May I call you Maria?"

She shrugged back, "Sure you can," and then swallowed her mouthful of food, "but it's actually pronounced Shepard."

"Very well, Shepard," the Count replied. "Forgive me though, but you don't look like a Maria."

Maria paused for second as she thought things over, but figuring who she was dealing with, honesty was probably the best policy to follow until something really delicate came up.

"Maybe because it's not my real name," she explained as she played with a piece of potato on the plate. "I was born an orphan, no parents to name me, and eventually I just decided to pick my own." She had to hold back a pout. "I really like the name, Maria. As for Shepard, I just thumbed through a book until I found something that just seemed to click."

"Fair enough," the Count said with a nod. "Who am I to judge?"

"What's your name?" she asked back.

The Count laughed, a light and controlled laugh, as he shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't tell you my name."

"That's not really fair," Maria said with a frown. "You know mine."

"Because your name has no meaning behind it. You say you're a long way from here so let me fill you in on an important facet of life here in the Old World.

"Names hold power," his voice and eyes serious. "The right name spoken at the right time can prevent wars, quell entire armies, force kings and princes to submit, and change the very course of history. The opposite can also be true. Speak a name to the right people and suddenly Empires march to bloody war, maps become redrawn, with heroes and villains spoken of by every tongue."

"So which is yours?" Maria asked, already guessing the answer.

The Count frowned and looked over her shoulder and past Maria. "My name… I suppose it depends on the situation, like most things do." He met her gaze again. "But right now, mine would bring terror, and a war I'm not yet prepared to fight.

"You can trust me in this one thing Shepard," he added with a smirk. "For now, it's better for the both of us that you really don't know my name."

Maria decided to just let it go and continued to eat her meal, which was unfortunately almost done at this point. The Count seemed content to let her eat for the moment as he glanced over to the door.

While he was distracted, Maria stole a quick glimpse to his right hand still resting on the table. She had wanted a better look since she had first noticed it but didn't want him to know that.

On his middle finger was a ring. But it had immediately caught her attention because of what it was. It was bigger than the average ring and gold in color. Probably made out of the material actually. But the top was exquisitely molded into the shape of a dragon opening it jaws. Between the creature's teeth, being held in place, was a striking red gemstone.

It was beautiful, but the strangest thing of all, was how Maria's gaze was always drawn to it. She didn't know how it was possible, she didn't know how she knew, but there was this feeling that the ring was… something. And it unsettled her just as much as the man wearing it.

The Count got to his feet a second before the door to the hall opened and in walked the two armored skeletons he had earlier told to leave. They walked in carrying a large wooded chest with metal bands between them, and placed it down at the head of the table.

As they returned to their place along the wall, the Count stood by the chest and unlocked the latches holding it shut.

"Well, now we can get to the heart of the matter," he said opening the chest. He reached in and began pulling out several items. Each of them placed in a row on the table. When he was done, he shut the chest and moved it to the floor.

Maria's eyes were wide as she looked over the array of items. Items she was intimately familiar with.

"Shall we start with this," he said, lifting Maria's Collector armor up by the neckline. He ran a hand down the front and nodded in admiration. "Curious material. I can say I've never encountered the like. The outer layer seems almost organic. I can see the leftover signs of burns and tears but the material acts like skin and has begun to re-knit itself. While the inner layer is clearly made from synthetic elements, metals and such, but remains flexible almost to the point of cloth. I am duly impressed."

"But these," he said with something almost like excitement as he laid the armor to the side. "These are far more exotic, and if I'm to wager, just as deadly."

The Count picked up the phalanx heavy pistol and Maria couldn't stop her jaw from dropping as he easily worked the controls to compact the weapon and expand it open again. "This is clearly a pistol," he said as his eyes stayed locked on Maria. He smiled at her expression. "Don't be so surprised Shepard. We are not so primitive in the Empire to not notice a firearm when we see one. The dwarfs have had this technology for centuries already. Let alone those developed here."

He popped out the pistol's thermal clip and examined it. "Obviously a source of ammo," but his eyes darted to Maria for just a moment before he looked at the thermal clip again. "No, it seems not exactly the ammo but clearly important for the whole machine to function." He returned the thermal clip into the pistol and held it up with a sharpshooter's confidence, glancing down the sights.

"But this is my favorite part," the Count said as he thumbed the switch on the side of the heavy pistol and the weapon's laser targeting system activated. Projected from the weapon, a blue dot of light materialized on the far wall. "This would make even the proudest dwarf engineer drool in absolute envy," he said sweeping the pistol slowly across the room. "Does the light direct the bullet? No? Ah, an amateurish mistake. My apologies. The light only shows where the bullet is supposed to travel. The shooter must still have the skill to hit the target. Although, to have such an advantage available, marvelous."

He guided the pistol's sight and laser to Maria and slowly brought the blue dot to bear right between her breasts. He held it there, challenging her, as he stared right into her eyes.

Maria fought to keep her breathing steady and struggled to hold back a biotic barrier that almost naturally formed whenever a weapon was pointed at her. Things had escalated way too fast for her and she was barely keeping her cool. At this rate the only advantage she had left was her biotic ability and she couldn't risk showing her last defense in front of the Count. After all, he wasn't going to shoot her now of all times. He was showing his hand. Proving to her that every secret she thought she held had been revealed. He was doing all of it for a reason, and she had to make it to that point for her to have a chance at survival.

Eventually he thumbed the switch again and the laser deactivated. He put the pistol aside with her armor and picked up the locust submachine gun next.

"And if that was the pistol, this is clearly the larger more powerful version," he stated with confidence, just as easily compacting and expanding the submachine gun the same way he had the pistol. "Fires bullets faster, but perhaps not as accurately. To have such weapons at your disposal..."

He set the locust down beside the phalanx as Maria managed to find her voice and asked the all-important question when it came to her firearms.

"You didn't actually fire any of them while I was out, did you?" she asked, hating how meek she sounded. But any rounds fired would have burned out the thermal clips, and she only had four of them left.

The Count stared at her for a moment, perhaps concerned by how concerned she sounded at the prospect, but he shook his head. "No. I only spent enough time to learn how they worked. Not how destructive they actually were."

Small miracles, she thought letting out a breath she had been holding. But the worst was yet to come.

The Count reached over and picked up the metal band that would fit over her forearm when she equipped it. He now held the most valuable piece of equipment she had left, something more cherished than her armor and weapons combined.

He was holding her omni-tool. She tried to stay calm, she really did, but when his hand touched the device she nearly bolted out of her chair.

The Count looked at her, curious over her reaction, and Maria's heart skipped a beat.

"Now this is a surprise," he said slowly, his eye's darting between her and the tool. "I never even considered this to be so highly prized when compared to your armor and weapons. But, now… this bland, featureless band of metal truly matters to you, doesn't it?"

Maria stayed silent as she did her best to look and stay calm, but she knew she was failing miserably. If she knew where she was, if she had some way of communicating with the wider galaxy, if the people here even _understood_ space travel, then maybe she wouldn't be reacting the way she was.

That tool was literally, _literally_, her only hope of getting off world and it was currently in the hands of an evil, bloodsucking Vampire.

"What exactly is it?" the Count asked and he turned the tool over and examined it. "It must do something. Perhaps some sort of enchantment? I don't sense anything directly. It can't just have sentimental value. You covet this piece of metal dearly." With Maria still unresponsive his expression hardened. "Tell me what this means to you. And please don't lie to me, you know what I am, I can hear your heartbeats."

So Maria didn't lie. "It means everything to me," she replied, answering his question directly.

But this was getting out of hand. Rats, rats she could handle. Why she could handle them, Maria had no idea, they were just simpler a concept she supposed. And as far as the one that shot the green lightning at her, well that was a problem for another day. But this?

Maria wasn't trained to handle these types of things. Give her Batarians, give her blood-frenzied Krogan, hell she'd take a Reaper at this point… but Vampires?

The Count was controlling the room and she was letting him do it. It was time she screwed with the world that was screwing with her head.

Taking the last bite of her meal, Maria pushed the plate away and got out of her chair. She walked around the table and approached the fireplace. Honestly, as she finished chewing, it really did taste good.

Staring into the fire, she took a deep breath, and turned to face the Count.

"The device you're holding is called and omni-tool," she began explaining. The Count was about to enter her domain now. "Specifically, a Savant model X, designed and built by the Serrice Council. It's a computer, diagnostic tool, capable of hacking, decryption, and repair thanks to a miniature fabrication module.

"That device is the most powerful piece of technology on this entire planet and I would appreciate it if you would gently put it back down on the table. I'm going to need it in working order when I leave here and continue on to Nuln."

The Count's eyebrow's rose in surprise when she spoke, but as soon as Maria finished, he ended up doing the last thing she expected and smiled.

"There she is." He put the tool back on the table. "I was wondering what happened to the woman on the road. I thought, perhaps, that Walach had indeed killed her after all." He put a hand to his chest an offered a slight bow. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you Maria Shepard."

"Well it was my first time meeting a Vampire, let alone being bitten by one." Her hand went to her neck and she winced. "I'm new to this, so you mind just confirming that the fact I still have a heartbeat, it means I'm still human, right?"

"It does."

"Great," Maria didn't hide the small amount of relief she felt at hearing that. "Thank you, that eliminates one problem at least."

"The process of creating a new born Vampire is a bit more elaborate and intimate than just a bite from my kind," the Count explained. His expression again turned serious. "But your problems have just begun Shepard."

He walked slowly from the table and joined her by the fireplace. Maria folded her arms under her poncho and forced herself to hold her ground as he did. He didn't tower over the same way Vincent had, but his presence was even more palpable. He radiated a power and the confidence in how to use it.

"I'm impressed you had the fortitude and strength of will to shake off Walach's bite so quickly. But the reason you're not dead, the reason he stopped feeding from you, was because of the blood in your veins."

Maria frowned. "I don't understand."

"Then I shall educate you. The Vampire's curse gives us power and longevity far beyond that of mere mortals. But it comes with a hefty price. Foremost of which, we must drink the blood of the same mortals we ourselves once were, to survive.

"That's because the curse originates from that blood," he said, as he looked into the fireplace. "Dark magic warps the spark of life all mortals carry within themselves, and ultimately transforms us. It's the power of that spark that we truly pull from our victims when we feed on their blood."

He then looked at her. "Your blood, however, does not contain that power of life."

Maria blinked. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you're alive, but at the same time, not. There is nothing in your blood for a Vampire to feed on. If we drink from you, we receive no strength, no increase in longevity. Even the recently deceased have the magic linger in their bodies for a time but you… in you it's completely gone. You are the ultimate paradox.

"Maria Shepard, you are the one mortal in the world a Vampire can't drink from, and at the same time the one mortal in the world immune to the curse of the Vampire."

The first thing that popped into Maria's head were the jokes her original crew had made about her being resurrected as a zombie by Cerberus. Joker had more than a few times made her laugh at the absurdity of it all; being dead for two years and suddenly brought back.

Suddenly those jokes weren't as funny anymore…

"I'm… not really sure how I'm supposed to react to that," she admitted, deeply uncomfortable with how intensely he was looking at her. And then something alarmed her. "How do you know all about my blood?"

"How else?" he said with a shrug. "I fed on you myself after you had passed out on the road."

The Counted then laughed lightly. "I wouldn't take the news as a comfort. Once word reaches more of my kind, they will consider you a very grave threat to their continued existence. You've made many, many powerful enemies Shepard."

Maria frowned back at him. "So, that's your plan. You're going to use your own kind to threaten me? Tell the whole world about me, unless I…what exactly?"

"Oh, I would never dream of blackmailing you," the Count said back with a smile. "After all, I want everyone to know Walach Harkon is dead for a very different reason."

"The Vampire I killed?" Maria asked.

"The very same." The Count walked back over to the table and picked up the two swords he had earlier set down. He began buckling them back to his belt as he continued, "Walach Harkon was Grand Master of the order of the Blood Dragons, a soldier of ancient Nehekhara, and one of the pupils to the greatest warrior this world has ever seen. His life spanned countless centuries, his feats on the field of battle are infamous… and he was a constant thorn in my side since the two us first met."

He turned to face her with a smile. "Personally, I'm thrilled you killed him. His death might upset some other people in the world but what's done is done." His expression turned curious. "You did an admirable job of luring him in but next time I would suggest making your move a little earlier? Maybe it's just me, but I don't usually let my opponents throw me around before making the killing blow."

"Not like I had much choice," Maria sulked as she stared into the fireplace. "Whatever he did to me felt ten times worse than a stasis field. I couldn't do a damn thing until he released it."

She looked up when the Count was back by her side and was surprised to see him studying her a way he hadn't yet before.

"You are saying that when Walach, a brute with the most amateurish skill in magic used his pathetically small power, you couldn't break free or prevent him from hurting you?"

"No," she admitted. "It felt like all the heat had left my body, and I couldn't even breathe. My muscles just froze."

For a few moments, the Count just stared into her eyes.

"You're not lying." He took a step back and studied her top to bottom, from her feet to her head, and almost seemed to be looking around her rather than at her.

"Well this would explain some things I suppose," he murmured to himself. He stepped forward again and raised his right hand up to her face, causing Maria to quickly flinch back.

"What are you doing?" she asked alarmed, hands raised in defense.

"Relax," he said, basically ignoring her. He cupped her face with his hand and gently, but firmly, pulled her closer until they were inches apart. "Give me your right hand," he commanded holding out his left expectantly. "This won't hurt, I'm just testing a theory. If it turns out to be true you may even thank me."

Maria knew she really didn't have a choice and slowly put her right hand in his left. "If you're a Vampire why are your hands not freezing from being dead?" she asked.

The Count was looking back and forth into both her eyes, clearly focusing on something else but he still answered her.

"You are feeling the residual warmth of the blood I took from others. It will eventually fade when I need to feed again."

Maria swallowed, realizing just how vulnerable she was standing there with him. "And when will that be?" Forget what he had said earlier, it was still terrifying what they did.

The Count smirked. "Not for many months. It can vary greatly among my kind but generally the older and more powerful a Vampire is, the longer they can spend between feedings."

"So how old and how powerful are you?"

"That would be telling." He seemed to have found whatever he was looking for and stood straight. "Now, you remember our meeting back on the road? When I said, you had the winds of magic about you, right before Walach attacked?"

"Sure," she replied not really thinking about it.

"Good." He raised her right hand up. "Now I want you to stay still and if you start seeing anything strange appear in the room, please let me know immediately."

Maria couldn't stop a smile from slipping out. "I'm standing in a ruined castle with a Vampire and his skeletal bodyguards, and you want me to report anything strange?"

"Trust me. You'll know if you see it," he replied staying serious.

A second later Maria felt a tickle of wind around her feet then crawl up her legs, just as another wind brushed down from her ears and worked its way around her shoulders. They connected around her chest and then worked their way down her right arm to the hand the Count was holding. The most disturbing thing of all was, she could see the wind. The air had condensed and was beginning to have the same effect she had seen around the rat that had shot the green lightning at her.

This feeling wasn't like her biotic power. That felt like electricity working its way through her skin from inside herself. Whatever this was, it was being pulled from directly around her. The power was coming from the air.

Maria's gaze was pulled to her right hand and her eyes went wide when the gathering wind suddenly blackened, solidified, and entirely engulfed her and the Count's clasped hands. For a brief moment, their hands had vanished behind darkness.

Just as fast as it had happened, the air dispersed revealing her hand again, while the breeze around her body stopped.

"Well now that is interesting," the Count said as he dropped his hand from her face. "It seems you are favored by Ulgo. That would not have been my first guess."

Maria just looked at him, completely lost over what had just happened. So the count clarified, "Shadows, concealment, illusion."

Yeah because that cleared things up, she thought holding back the compulsion to roll her eyes. She looked back at her hand still trying to reason out what she had seen and felt when she noticed something about the Count's. And it was honestly as surprising as what she had just witnessed.

"You're married?" she asked checking out a silver band with embedded diamonds on his ring finger.

"I was," the Count replied with a frown and immediately released her hand while walking back to the table. "A very long time ago." He reached her equipment, staring down at them in silence. When he looked back up at her, Maria felt a chill.

"Well, Maria Shepard, I think we have finally reached that tipping point of our little conversation and I'm afraid we must press forward." The Count was in full Vampire mode now. His eyes were hard, his voice sharp, and Maria could have sworn the room had actually gotten colder even though she hadn't stepped an inch from the fireplace. "You managed to kill that fool Walach Harkon for me, so I'm inclined to show you a bit of gratitude. Thanks to his death I am now the Grand Master of the order of the Blood Dragons, the greatest knights in the old world."

"What about the Grail Knights of Bretonnia?" Maria asked, purposefully in a challenge. "I hear they're pretty impressive."

The Count's jaw clenched. "My, my, have you become bold. The Grail Knights, despite their prestigious skill with the lance, are still mortal men. Each member of the Blood Dragons is an experienced fighter turned Vampire, with centuries of combat to their names. I was forced to duel two of them to make my claim as the Grand Master. I can attest to their own prowess with the blade."

He stood tall with one hand gripping the hilt of one of his swords, and looked right into her eyes.

"I don't want you as an enemy Shepard. But neither can I simply allow you to go on your way. Your weapons are formidable, your armor never before seen, and I'd wager you have more than a few secrets you've yet to share with me; but there are forces at work in the world that you have little hope of surviving. I can offer you protection, and a place in my growing army. All you must do, is choose to surrender and serve me in life...

"...or die now and slave for me in death."

Not much wiggle room there, Maria cringed as she looked around the room at the six armored skeletons before glancing back at the Count. She nervously bit her lip as she went over her options, grateful for the fact the Count seemed to be giving her the time to think. But the problem was she didn't have any options available to her. The Count had her omni-tool. She couldn't leave until she got it back. And she doubted he would just give it to her if she asked…

…actually there's an idea. Honestly, a pretty terrible and absolutely suicidal idea but, what the hell, she fought one of them already. Well, sort of. So if she was going to survive this, it was time to pit an N7 against a Vampire. Raising her hands and running both through her hair, she then gave herself a shake and bet everything she had.

"I have a counter proposal for you Count," Maria began, her voice brimming with forced confidence as she walked slowly away from the fire and to the table. He didn't argue right away so she took that as a good sign.

"I know I don't look it right now, standing here wearing barely more than a blanket, but back where I'm from, I'm considered a premiere soldier myself. Recognized by multiple species in the galaxy as one of the elite, and a war hero by my own people. So when you tell me to just surrender, well, that's harder than you may think."

Reaching the table, she cocked a hip and leaned against one of the chairs, while under the blanket, folding her arms across her chest.

"But I tell you what," she continued steadily. "Despite all of that, I'm here now and I honestly have no idea where here even is. I'm alone, out of my depth, and could really use some help just trying to understand this place.

"You said you had to duel two of the Blood Dragon knights to cement yourself as the new Grand Master. What I propose is we do the exact same thing."

The Count's eyes narrowed. "You want a duel… between you and myself?"

Maria nodded. "That's exactly right. You allow me my equipment back and then the two of us fight it out. If I beat you, I get to leave here a free woman."

And to cement the deal Maria gave him the one thing he wanted, by releasing a concentrated burst of biotic power across her entire body, that blew the poncho she was wearing out around her with a wave of blue energy. She kept her command over the power and released it away as slowly as she could so the Count got a great view of what he was fighting for.

"If you manage to make me submit," she finished trying to keep her voice strong, "then I will follow by your side and you get to learn all my little secrets."

The Count had reacted to her biotic display with little more than widened eyes but it was enough that Maria knew she had gotten his attention. But she did manage to catch him gripping the hilt of his sword a little more tightly. And that gave her a surge of self-confidence she had struggled for until now.

"Do we have a deal?"

**/ooooooo\**

Maria was back in her armor.

She had suited up right in the room after the Count had agreed to her proposal, and was currently standing next to the fireplace as the skeletons moved the table and chairs to the far wall in order to give her and the Count the space needed for their duel.

Double checking that both her pistol and submachine gun were anchored firmly back on her hip, she then booted up her omni-tool and ran a quick system check to ensure it hadn't suffered any damage. Luckily it hadn't and with a sigh of relief, she shut down the holographic interface, only to find the Count giving her a hard stare from the center of the room.

"I take it that came from the metal band I held earlier," he stated more than asked.

"Yup," she nodded.

He turned away from her, pulling one of his swords free. "You will tell me how that device works when we are done here," he added.

"Only if you win," she replied, walking slowly to the center of the room, just a few feet from the Count.

When he turned to face her he seemed far more relaxed than Maria would have liked him to be. He held his sword low and just off to the side. She noted the blade wasn't double edged, like those she had seen the men in Bretonnia carry, and it had a slight curve near the tip. But considering she knew absolutely, positively nothing about swords to begin with, the fact it was a four-foot-long piece of sharpened steel was about all that mattered really.

But she did wonder why he had chosen that specific sword to fight with. He did after all have a second still on his hip.

Maria then realized something that made her feel rather foolish.

"So, um, do I get a sword?" she asked, looking around the room to see if she had missed one just laying about.

"You do." The Count raised a hand and motioned at one of the skeletons to come forward. The nearest armored form walked up to Maria, and pulled its own sword free, before holding it out in both hands for her to take.

Maria carefully gripped the hilt and took the sword from the skeletons grasp. As soon as she did the undead thing walked back to its place against the wall joining the others; Maria's and the Count's silent audience.

Holding the sword in her right hand Maria was surprised to discover it was heavier than she would have expected, especially taking into account her cybernetic enhancements. And it was double edged, unlike the Count's. As she made a few practice motions to get a feel for it, she noticed the odd effect of the blade becoming lighter in the swing, before becoming heavier once again when held still. Stopping for a moment to look closer, she blinked when it was clear the blade was glowing a faint white light, that quickly faded away until she gave it another swing. Once again, the blade glowed faintly, before returning to normal.

Maria stood there continually giving her sword a swing and watching it glow, amazed at what she was seeing, until a voice startled her and she nearly let it go mid-swing.

Fumbling with her grip on the hilt she looked up to see the Count staring at her with a frown.

"Sorry," she apologized with an awkward smile. "It's… well, it's my first glowing sword. Actually, my first sword, ever."

The Count frowned. "It will be your last if you don't start taking this seriously," he chided. His eyes darkened as he stared at her. "You say you grew up an orphan. You say you are a soldier of some skill. I expect you to know the answer to my question.

"What is the first rule of survival?"

Maria knew the answer. She knew it all too well. She held the Count's gaze, and replied, "There are no rules."

The Count nodded. "Very good. But this is a duel. And in accordance with tradition and the laws of Empires, duels do have rules. Most important, unless otherwise stated, a duel is never fought to the death. You merely enage and wear down your opponent, or strike them with non-fatal wounds to the point it would be foolish of them to continue. Duels are tests of skill, a way for civilized folk to engage one another, without the superfluous and messy loss of life."

He raised his sword up in front of his face before swiping it down again to his side again, with a flourishfull flick of his wrist.

"Defend yourself."

And with that Maria's eyes went wide in panic and she just barely raised her own sword in time to stop the Count's swing at her head. The two blades scratched together just inches from her cheek. The Count had moved way faster than she had been prepared for, although… considering what he was, maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised.

Taking a step forward the Count swung again, this time at her feet. Maria skipped back and the Count's blade scratched against stone floor, cutting a narrow groove right where she had been standing. Without losing momentum the Count took another step forward and swung at her chest, and then stepped forward again thrusting the blade at her head.

And with those three attacks, the Count got serious. Suddenly Maria was being forced back and doing her absolute damnedest to just get her sword into the path of the Count's own. The sound of the two blades clanging together echoed in the stone room, rapidly gaining in intensity as the Count struck harder and faster than the last. Before she knew it Maria's back was against the wall, she was holding her sword low, and the Count's was flying toward her head.

Maria ducked a heartbeat before the sword would have taken her head. She scrambled behind the Count and already had a hand on her head.

"Are you kidding me?" She sent a scowl at the Count as he almost lazily turned around to face her again. Bored amusement was the only thing that could describe the look on his face. The bastard was enjoying this.

Maria threaded her fingers through her hair. She could have sworn she felt that last swing of his actually take an inch off.

"What the hell was that?" she asked angrily. "What about, this is my first sword ever, did you not seem to get?" She gave the sword a shake to emphasize her point.

The Count smirked. "If it means anything you did quite well for your first time."

"Really?" Her anger momentarily vanished at the praise. She had managed to block most of his strikes. But then she shook her head. "Then what was that last swing at my head? You said duels weren't fought to the death. I don't care what my blood told you, I'm alive! And a sword to the brain would be pretty darn fatal."

The Count cocked an eyebrow in thought. "Hmmm… A fair point." He raised his sword, pointing the tip of the blade directly at her heart. "Again."

For the next few minutes the Count paced the room methodically, as Maria jumped, dodged, ducked, dived, and jumped some more, with the ever-present sound of the two swords striking each other filling the room. The whole exchange was totally unfair. The entire time Maria was focusing her attention to not being skewered, the Count was calmly explaining and scolding her for every mistake in proper sword etiquette she was making.

The Count swung his sword far quicker than before. "Now the left."

The two blades struck each other solidly as Maria moved hers to meet him.

"Good. Now the right."

Again the two swords met as Maria could feel sweat already beading on her forehead. They were in the mountains, in a stone castle, and she was sweating from the exertion of fighting the Vampire in a, what was honestly becoming apparent, as a practice match for one of them.

"Above. Good. Now below. Faster. To the right. Now the left. Left again. Again. Widen your stance. Once more, above. To slow. Watch your footing. Below. From the right. Again."

Maria had enough. She pushed away from him and took a few steps back to open the space between them.

The Count took her bait and advanced forward faster than he should have. He was still expecting her to play along, and was pulling his sword back for a wide, and highly broadcasted swing, to her left side.

Instantly, Maria had her opening. All at once she stepped forward to meet him, while activating her suit's tech armor and raising her left forearm to take the Counts sword swing. His sword struck her improved shielding and slide against it harmlessly, the same moment Maria swung her own sword at the Count, aiming for the one place he wasn't protected by armor.

His face.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, and just as fast it was over. Maria stood in the room with her left arm still raised and her right arm holding the sword swung across her chest. The glow of her tech armor mingled with the torches and fireplace to fill the darkened room.

The Count was sprawled face down on the floor. He had been spun around from Maria's strike and had dropped his sword.

Breathing harder than she realized she would be, Maria straightened up and took a step back from the Count's body. A faint light caught her eye and she looked down to see her sword glowing white again. But this time it didn't dim right away, and raising it up Maria could see the tip of the sword covered in a thin layer of blood. She blinked when the implications sunk in. She really had managed to hit the Count.

Lowering her sword Maria looked around the room at the gathered skeletons still standing silently along the walls. None of them had drawn their own swords. In fact, none of them had even moved yet.

"I wondered which of us would break the terms of the duel first."

Maria's heart sank and the floor nearly fell out from under her as the voice filled the room. She stared disbelievingly in its direction. The Count's armor scratched along the stone as he got to his feet, his back still to her.

"I must say, well done. I didn't expect you to strike so swiftly and with such deadly intent so soon."

He finally turned to face her. Maria hadn't imagined anything, her sword had struck its mark, it was just that her target was far more resilient than she could have ever hoped to guess. He looked at her with a proud smile on his face, no worse for wear, except for the deep gash across his head all the way from his ear to his nose. It was deep enough that Maria could literally see bone, but is wasn't gushing blood. The smallest of red streaks only just began to trail from the cut down his cheek.

Icing on the cake, Maria watched the cut slowly close itself right back up again. Four seconds flat and it was gone. As if it had never existed in the first place.

The Count bent down and retrieved his sword. "You surprise me Shepard," he began as he raised a hand and wiped the blood on his cheek away with a finger. "I hadn't taken you for someone willing to break the rules so carelessly and with such little regard to the consequences."

Maria swallowed. "To be fair," she replied with a weak smile, "you weren't supposed to have survived that and been able to complain afterwards."

"Not even an apology," the Count said shaking his head at her, still smiling.

Maria laughed nervously and gestured at him with her sword as she took another step back. "Who's the Vampire here? I think what I did was entirely justified."

The Count shrugged. "Perhaps…" He then fixed her with a predatory stare and started to advance holding his sword low. "We both know that this fight must now evolve to the next level. I hope you're prepared for that."

Maria took the last two steps she needed and got ready. "Ready for what you can do? Not really… but I do have one trick left." She tossed the sword to the ground and immediately powered up her biotics. As her body was enveloped in the blue glow Maria raised her left arm and held it defensively toward the Count.

In response to her power, the Count stopped his advance and stared at her with a critical eye.

"That is not being drawn from the winds of magic…" he stated while raising his sword up.

Maria winked. "Nope. This is all me."

And with her right hand she pulled everything out of the fireplace and toward the Count. Burning logs, red hot coals and choking ash, all of it was thrown into the middle of the room and into the Count. But Maria didn't stop there. Without waiting to even see if she had hit him or not, Maria sprinted for the broken castle wall and dove straight out of the gaping hole and into the night.

Six stories above the ground…

**/ooooooo\**

"Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!"

As she flailed around in the air, Maria concentrated her biotic power and condensed the field around her body as quickly as she could, rapidly righting herself to fall feet first and then slowing her rate of decent.

She didn't have a lot of time and was sorely out of practice for this type of biotic maneuver, but there's something to be said about the motivation behind initiating a strategic withdrawal as rapidly as possible from a Vampire you may have just seriously pissed off. When Maria did hit the ground she rolled forward to bleed momentum and was back on her feet all in one movement.

But now she was standing in the middle of the castle's courtyard. A blonde woman wearing collector armor who had just fallen from the sky right in the middle of the camp of people who were traveling with the Count.

Maria now had more than a few eyes on her as the men stopped packing up the camp and just stared at her in surprise.

The nearest of the men was actually someone she recognized. It was the same man who had met her in her room and led her to the Count. He recovered from the shock of seeing her first and looked up at the castle, before looking back at her and picking a sword up off the ground.

"Hi there," Maria offered him an awkward wave and smile.

"Stop her!" he shouted at his fellow mercenaries. "Quit y're gaping an' get her – Ophf!"

Maria tossed a biotic field his way and sent the man blasting back before he could finish but the damage was done. The other soldiers in his company were already dropping their gear and grabbing for their weapons, all of them shouting bloody murder as they did.

A stealthy escape had effectively vanished at this point and Maria had no desire to be bogged down in a fight. When she had first been led into that room up in the castle, she had glimpsed out the ruined wall and got a good look at what was in the courtyard. From where she stood now, escape meant getting to the horses the men had been riding.

She broke off into a run as the men surrounding her charged after. All of them were armed. Most with swords, others with axes, and a few others with spears or pikes. None of them however got even close to harming Maria. The exhausted, half-starved woman that had landed on this world was gone. With a day's rest, food in her belly, and adrenaline pumping, she didn't hold back.

The first few to get close were zapped by an electrical overload burst from her omni-tool, while the second group was sent careening through the air by another biotic blast. Her powers gave most of them pause before closing in but she had to give them credit when they did anyways.

She reached a group of a dozen horses roped together and spent a precious second looking all of them over hoping she would catch a break. Luck was on her side because at the end of the rope line was the one she was looking for.

Her horse was with them.

As she ran over Maria raised her arm and blasted the wooden rail her horse was tied to with a cryo blast. The wood and rope snap-froze through allowing Maria to shatter it with a fist when she reached it.

"Steven, am I glad to see you!" Maria exclaimed as she jumped onto his back. Whether the horse shared her feelings or not, she didn't know, but he did seem eager to sprint off with little urging from her.

As the horse took off across the courtyard Maria did her best to keep everyone out of their path, with a combination of biotic and tech powers. Suddenly a shouted command from someone filled the air and Maria soon heard gunshots going off.

Her armor could easily withstand a bullet, more so even if she had kept her tech armor activated, but her horse wasn't offered the same protection; so Maria abandoned her offensive tactics and did her best to expand a protective field around herself and the animal. A slight blue shimmer filled the air as the 'bubble' of power effectively shielded the two of them, and it was done just in time as Maria looked ahead.

Impressively, Steven knew where the exit was, as he had run straight for the gate leading out of the walled courtyard of the keep. Unfortunately, the alarm of her escape had proceeded them, and the wooden doors had been shut while a group of mercenaries stood in front of it with muzzle-loaded rifles pointed in her direction.

They fired and Maria felt the impact of a half dozen bullets strike her barrier. She could hold it up longer if she had too, but with the gate shut, she was trapped. And the Count had to have been able to leave the keep by now…

The horse began to slow down but Maria snapped the reins and pushed him to keep sprinting to the closed gate.

"You need to trust me on this," she said as calmly as she could. Whether from her tone of voice or her words, Steven whined in protest, but sprinted all the faster directly at the wall ahead. With the distance rapidly shrinking and the mercenaries firing another round of bullets into her barrier, Maria gripped the reins as tightly as she could and raised her right arm toward the gate.

Pushing herself far more than she had since arriving on this planet, Maria poured every ounce of biotic power she had into her outstretched arm. The entire length was enveloped by a solid blue field of pulsating energy, and she fought to hold the power even as the implant at the base of her neck became hot from the strain. With her muscles already shaking from the effort Maria dropped her barrier and transferred the last bit of her power into her arm. Gritting her teeth and sweat pouring down her face, she forced herself to hold onto it until the last possible moment.

That moment came was when she and her horse were only a dozen feet from the gate.

With a shout, Maria directed the condensed power directly ahead into the mercenaries and wooden gate. This was a solid mass of dark energy Maria had effectively fired. That was a sealed gate in her way, so she knocked, with what basically amounted to knocking on a door with an Alliance dreadnought's main gun.

In an explosion of splintered wood and shattered stone, her biotic attack had blown not only destroyed the solid wooden doors, but most of the stone it had been securely hinged to; allowing Steven to then gallop through the ruble and escape the keep.

As the horse sprinted along the mountain pass and down the trail, Maria pitched forward in the saddle and hugged his neck for support. A wave of dizziness and nausea washed over her and for a moment she couldn't see a thing as spots of color filled her vision.

"Uhhhh… that, that was a mistake," Maria groaned as she tried to sit up again. Closing her eyes and fighting down the urge to pass out, vomit, or allow her head to explode, Maria opened them again as she glanced back to see if anyone was chasing after her.

The trail behind was clear for now. If it stayed that way, it appeared Maria had managed to survive her very first Vampire.

She frowned. Vampires? Pegasus? Human-sized rats? Vincent didn't sound crazy when he was telling her his stories but it was still hard to believe everything he said. Of course, now…

Feeling the onset of a migraine, Maria stopped thinking and let her mind go blank. She reached forward and rubbed the horses neck, instead focusing on just getting down out of the mountains. It may not have been according to plan, but she had made it through the Grey Mountains and, hopefully, entered the Empire.

Nuln was next.


End file.
