General Alice and Lieutenant Jack ran towards the walls, dodging past civilians; a few were running deeper into the fortress to hide, while many just stood there looking up to the sky.
Alice noticed many civilians just staring up into the sky as if they were paralyzed in fear; many even began falling to their knees and clutching their hands together.
Alice grabbed the nearest person who was praying and pulled them up to their feet. Alice yelled, Get up and start finding refuge! yelled Alice
The man who was just pulled up pushed Alice back, pulling away from her clutch. He yelled, We can't be saved by you! The horseman commands lightning as if it were part of its body, and our strongest warriors couldn't even last a minute against that thing. If they lost, how could any of you win? The man stared into Alice's eyes, his face lying plain to see.
Now that Alice could see the man's face, streams of tears fell from the man's face, and snot fell freely from his nose.
We can't win, and we know it! Our only choice is to make peace with the gods! The man cried in defeat.
There is no need. Alice looked towards the man as her body began to release a thin film of fire.
The man opened his eyes widely, and he kneeled to the ground. You, you can't be. Filled with surprise, the man yelled, The gods haven't forsaken us!
The surrounding civilians were curious why the man would say that looked in his direction, and they all joined him, kneeling to the ground.
Alice looked around, making sure she had everyone's attention, and spoke, I am an apostle of the Light Lord! He has sent me to take down the horseman! The people began chanting the Light Lord, the Light Lord. To fulfill the Lord's wishes, all of you must take refuge in the fortress. We can't begin until we know that all of you are safe!
The man stood up and yelled, The gods haven't forsaken us! Come on, we must find refuge! The man looked towards Alice the Apostle. Thank you, oh apostle; we shall pray for your safe return. Turning around and looking towards the other civilians, he pleads, Come on, brothers and sisters! We will only get in the way of our Lord's men.
Something changed in the look of the civilians; it was as if a big weight had come off of their shoulders. Unknown to this ragtag group of heroes, these people had been tormented by the horseman for centuries; their crops were scorched, cattle killed, and there were even massacres caused by this horseman. They had long been so out of hope that they even started to believe that their gods had forsaken them. The thought that a god would send an apostle to help them had long been contested. Why would they wait so long? But only an apostle could truly give them hope, and the flaming form of Alice proved that she had to be an apostle. A sliver of hope from the gods was enough for them to get up and survive.
The crowd delved deeper into the fortress with newfound hope for the future.
Alice stayed back to make sure that the civilians had fled deeper into the fortress, then a familiar piece appeared from behind her.
Wow, you're the general and an apostle? Lieutenant Jack asked Alice in a mocking tone.
Come on, we need to hurry. The Colonel is waiting for us. General Alice
Jack and Alice continued jogging to the walls until Jack said something.
Are you really okay with lying to those people? asked Jack
Of course I'm not! I don't like lying to them; I'm not an apostle of anyone, but I did what I had to. The opening attack of the battle determines if we are going to win or not. If the sapping lances miss or malfunction, the horseman will be free to create storms of lightning. They aren't as experienced as we are, and the Interstellar Association doesn't even allow us to tell them that this single planet isn't the only place that's out here. We have the entire universe to explore, and they're keeping civilizations in the dark.
Exactly what gives them the right to keep such information from us! We should at least have the choice to decide if we can leave our planets. Said Lieutenant Jack
Anyway, where did you get the Light Lord from? Asked Lieutenant Jack
I got it from the Colonel. Before a battle, he always prays to the Light Lord, and apparently it lends him power in exchange for his prayers. Said General Alice
Now that's something new, but I shouldn't be surprised that you can get power in many ways now. With your ancestral flames, his prayers, and even those expensive implants, this world is truly bigger than that sad planet I lived on.
Get your game face on; we're almost there! The duo had almost reached the walls of the fortress, but before they could reach the stairs, they heard the roar of a horse.