Another world existed, in a plane far separate from the homes of all the ones who had been chosen. A place with no gods, abandoned by its pantheon in ages long past. Indeed, there seemed to be a blight upon the land that outright prevented the presence of any deity, put in place by some strange, planet-wide curse. The world itself was a terrestrial planet, dark and gloomy due to its eternally-clouded skies. Rolling layers of grey and black hid the sky from view, and had an appropriate effect on the climate. It was cold, and plant life was not as common as it had been in times long past. The people of the world were not free, treated as pawns by those who were in power. Demonic creatures who had taken over when the gods left, and covered the world in a deep fog. They were the lords of this world, ruling over the humans with a brutal iron fist. Light had not been seen in significant amount for centuries. The sun was blocked, and even the brightest days were grey. It was a great surprise when the skies suddenly lit up. Four pillars of immaculate light tore through the heavens, raining down on the world below and lighting up the sky to the brightest it had been in a very long time. People from cities all over the country were entranced, staring at the pillars for as long as they lasted. The light did fade, but it brought something else with it. --- Tiberius found himself in atmospheric re-entry. The clouds were thick, and he had no visuals other than them. His ship's AI was working in overtime, attempting to salvage some function of the blessed vessel. All that remained working were emergency landing systems. "Impact will occur in approximately one minute. Please brace yourself," It said, warning Tiberius of the incoming crash. He strapped himself to his chair in response, holding tightly onto the rests as he readied himself for impact. He finally left the cloud layer, and caught glimpses of fading lights in the distance. Before he could question what they were, the AI's voice spoke again. "Emergency slowdown actions taken. Transferring." It leaped from the ship's computers into Tiberius' armour, and a 'bubble' formed around the ship's cockpit. It would not save the ship, but it would save Tiberius' life. The impact with the ground was sudden and harsh. The wings of the eagle were broken, splintering into thousands of shards and propelled away from the small crater that formed. Dust shot from the ground and formed around the now-broken machine, and for a few moments, Tiberius was still. The AI that was now housed in his armour spoke once more. "Report, ser Aquila. Are you injured?" "I'm fine," He responded. "Just give me a minute." He let out a deep breath, grunting as he straightened himself up in his now-crooked cockpit. When the dust outside the window settled, he attempted to pull the lever to open it, but it too was broken. Instead, he kicked it out, and crawled to his feet outside the vessel. A quick survey of his surroundings made it clear that he had never seen this world before. "Where are we? The emperor gave us specific directions, we need to get off this rock and get there." Tiberius kept his guard up, turning around as his eyes scanned the horizon. "We [i]are[/i] there. The coordinates are a perfect match," The AI responded. "We are exactly where we were before your vessel was transported, according to my mapping systems." --- Magnus' arrival to the world was much gentler. Still knelt, he was placed in the ruins of an old religious site. A husk of a temple, missing parts of its walls and roof, eroded of detail and coated in a layer of vines and moss. The glass windows had been broken out, and wooden pews and the altar were in stages of decay. Where a congregation may have once gathered to celebrate their god, only isolation and the wear of time remained. He stood, raising his helmet's visor to see where he was. A frown crossed his face when he saw the state of the church. "What happened here?" He thought aloud, taking a few steps towards the altar. There were the desiccated remains of a book on it, which fell apart when he attempted to open the cover and turn a page. The barely visible writing was not of an alphabet he recognized. A feeling struck him, twisting in his gut. Something between sadness, worry, and curiosity. He gingerly closed the broken book and turned away from the altar, approaching the church's door to leave. He noticed the fading remnants of light in the distance, and saw something bright falling out of the sky. It was as good a start as any, so he closed his helmet and left the building, starting off in the direction of whatever it was that had fallen.