A/N: I am a fan of the Gate series. Namely its Light Novel and its Manga. The Anime was disappointing. The premise of the franchise is amazing and quite unique compared to other Isekai stories. What show actually depicts an effective military? What other show depicts guns beating swords in a straight up fight?

Gate is a good show. On the surface, that is. As entertaining the books are, I personally utterly disliked the direction the show was focusing on in the later chapters. Namely the Harems and self insert character of the Main Character, Itami. He may be likeable in that world but he is not that likeable as a character to me. This is just my opinion.

Personally, I would have liked to see Gate as how It was supposed to be. A story where there is only war. A clash of culture. Battle between Science and magic. The Special Region will be facing off against both.

This is the first of my Warhammer: Only War series.

Enjoy the read.

Everyone in the Known World knows of Alnus Hill. The stories that were told of that massive bump in the very center of the continent stretched through the test of time.

From the scribes of Rondel to the bards of every tavern. From the grand palaces to the humble campfires. From epic tales of origin proclaimed by prophets to the humble whispers mothers lull for their children to sleep.

In a hundred tongues, by a million voices, from every corner of the Falmart continent, the story is told the same way. That all things began on the peak of Alnus hill. That the first steps of every great civilisation or every noble race were made on its peak.

But that is all it was to them. Nothing more than stories and legends of old. Reality was always so mundane.

Alnus hill stands as the lonely hill of the Central Valley. A massive hill that spread itself out by miles in the plains. Surrounded by leagues of rolling grasslands with sparse few trees and the Narrow River cutting through it from the southern mountains of Elbe.

Travellers pass by but never stayed long. Merchants and caravans trek its green sea but never settled. Villages grew but never lasted. Wars were fought over its soil but none ever took claim of it. Thus, Alnus Hill remained its lonely vigil. One of the many stories that were told.

But one auspicious summer's day, a new story about Alnus was made. A portal to another world was discovered at its very peak. Not by a scholar. Not by a Mage. Not by a Bard. Nor not by any Commoner. But by an Empire whose greed knows no bounds.

Everyone in the Known World has heard of the legends of Alnus. Where everything and all things began.

Everyone in the Known World will soon discover the Truth about Alnus. Where everything and all things will come to an end.

Xxxxxxxxx

"The senate calls upon, Legatus Quintus Zu Godasen, to the stand." Senator Cicero announced with a sneer.

The Grand Imperial Senate chamber suddenly fell eerily quiet. The Massive white with all its bronze and gold statues almost made the entire building feel holy and somewhat angelic nature for the accused General Godasen. It would have been something he would have appreciated more it weren't marred with the obvious contemptuous air emitted by its Senators.

They glared at him with extreme prejudice. Their eyes fumed with searing fury. Tightly gripping their fine togas to the point of tearing. He was thrown into a den of snarling wolves. A fact that he had expected the moment he first stepped foot in the capital.

He only wished that the Emperor would see it fit to give him mercy. Namely through a generous beheading. But looking at him now. Seated at the head and at the centre of it all with the same stoic and unreadable face he always wore. A man who was as immovable and stood as tall as a mountain.

The Royal family sat next to him atop those steps. The crown Prince Zorzal sat on the Emperor's right with the powerful bravado expected from the Emperor's heir. Even as the man looks at him with utter disgust, Godasen still knelt to him as he saw him as the Empire's future.

On the Emperor's left was the Second prince Diabo. Ever the intelligent one. Ever contriving and planning one plan to the next. Uninterested by the events of now and only focused on the many possible futures. An act the prince displays even now as he looked upon him with indifference.

And then there was the Princess. The beautiful and ever dutiful Princess Piña. Seated next to her brother, Prince Diabo, she looked upon the poor Godasen with nothing but disdain. A just reaction given his most recent and most disastrous failure.

Godasen walked to the eye of the storm of utter silence and contempt. But he did so with pride and dignity, expected from any Imperial Noble, senator, and let alone a General, despite his gaunt and sickly state.

Draped in royal purple and laced with jewellery bearing his Family's seal, he marched towards the middle of the senate chamber alone. But he did so slowly and with a heavy limp. Not as a testament to his old age but as the means of showing the prejudiced senators of the legitimate wounds he had earned in his disastrous campaign.

He was disgraced but not yet defeated. He was a dead man but a soldier nonetheless. He made his peace with Hardy, the goddess of death, but not before he had his say to his Emperor and the senate. Not before he could tell them of his tale of defeat beyond the Gate and the monsters they have unleashed upon their world.

"Legatus Quinctilius Zu Godasen, at your service. My noble Emperor." Godasen knelt low to the point that his nose touched the floor.

"That title has been stripped from your name, Godasen, the moment you abandoned your army." The crown prince Zorzal undutifully rose from his seat. "Alongside what is left of your credibility. You are nothing more than a plebian now. One who was lucky enough to be allowed be given this trial. But were it for me, you would have stepped foot in this city a head shorter than you were."

"And I accept it all willingly, my prince." Godasen said without raising his head. "But not before I have my say. Not before I tell you all of the fate of your armies. Your sons. Your brethren. And the enemy that treads our lands."

"That will be all, Prince Zorzal." The Emperor raised his hand before the brutish prince could spout another insult. His stoic gaze then turned to the old man. "Then speak, Godasen. Enlighten us. Tell us of this new world beyond the Gate."

"Yes, my Emperor." Godasen replied as he stood up to tell his tale.

"To all who do not know, I am Quinctilius Zu Godasen. Head of the Godasen Family. Royal Battle Mage. Loyal soldier of the Saderan Empire, a Legatus of his Emperor's Legions' XVII, XVIII, and XIX for over 40 years. And until most recently, the Legatus Superior of the Imperial Expedition Force to the Gate."

"An expedition that you disgraced!" A senator clamoured. Going so far as to toss a goblet of wine at Godasen's feet.

That small act turned the entire senate hearing into an uproar. All of them aimed towards the disgraced general. Every senator unleashed their pent up fury as they barked their anger at the man. Unleashing a storm of insults and curses to Godasen and his name.

"You ruined us!"

"Humiliated the Empire's name!"

"Give me back my sons!"

The guards with struggled to hold back the tide of men who clamoured for the old man's head. They struggled to keep order and tackled some of the senators who ran towards Godasen with knives.

"Silence!" The Emperor commanded at the clang of his sceptre. A command that the Senators quickly obeyed. "Continue, Godasen."

Godasen understood the senate's fury.

The Imperial Expeditionary Force to the Gate was one of the largest muster of soldiers and material in the Empire's 600 year history. A glorious memory that Godasen hoped to still remember before his nearing end. And not remember it as one of the greatest tragedies in the annals of the histories.

There were 12 Legions on the palm of his hand that day. 12 esteemed Legions from all corners of the Empire gathered in the base of Alnus Hill. Tens of thousands of sandals that quaked the earth upon their march. Hundreds of proud flapping banners from hundreds of notable and veteran cohorts. Tens of thousands of young and eager souls. Each longing for adventure as well as plunder that was promised. Over 70,000 Legionaries led by thousands of nobles from many distinguished families.

Old nobles who hungered for wealth and gravitas. Young nobles with want for battle and glory. Lesser nobles who dreamed for an opportunity to rise the ranks of society. Nobles who had a powerful living relative or two in the very senate who was currently judging Godasen in that very hall.

Another 40,000 more soldiers made up the auxiliaries. orcs, goblins, and beastmen swelled the ranks for the promise of battle and plunder. As well as act as meat shields and pack mules for the Imperials to exploit.

10 Wings of the Wyvern corps flying proudly overhead. 500 hundred of the best knights that the Empire has to offer atop of the most fearsome Wyvern dragons. Creatures that were as beautiful as they were terrifying as they screeched to their prey with bared claws and hot tongues of fire.

All of them were good men. Noble men. Brave men. Dead men. A burden that weighed heavily on the ageing General even now. A pain that ached him more than the wounds he had hidden under his cloak. A disgrace that he felt more responsible for than from the cruelest of curses the senators gave him.

"Godasen?" The Emperor called him. "You may continue."

"Y-yes, my Emperor." Godasen sputtered and he found himself once more in the Senate Floor.

"I gave the honor of first blood to our Wyvern riders who flew to the Gate ecstatically. The auxiliaries. The Orcs and Goblins followed suit with their blades and monsters. Not that they waited for my command to do so, however."

Some of the senators laughed at this. Even the crown prince Zorzal guffawed at Godasen's unintended jest. It is common knowledge in the Empire to treat demi-humans with contempt. Seeing them as nothing more than second class citizen whatever they may be. Nothing more as cannon fodder to be sent to spare them, the humans, with minimal losses.

"I had Numonius Em Vala lead our vanguard of 4 Legions into the Gate first before marching in my own. His progress was lost to me when I entered the New World. What I saw there was beyond anything I have ever seen or could ever believe. What I saw there. Beyond the Gate was an entirely different world very much unlike our own in every way."

The entire chamber peaked their ears to hear this. All of the were curious to know what the world beyond the Gate offered.

"The Gate brought our armies atop a massive plateau. A man-made plateau if you'd believe. One of concrete and steel with thousands of lanterns. High above the ground by miles and miles. One that neither our Legions or armies could fully occupy. One of countless many of different shapes and sizes surrounding us."

"That statue in front of the Gate was quite the prize. A statue of one of their Kings, I believe, that stood taller than our grandest of Towers. It shined brighter than anything else around it and had jewels encrusted at every inch. I ordered the men to topple it over and smash it to pieces for my plunder. Not that there was any shortage of treasures to be found there."

"Every street was paved in copper and silver that shined at the passing light. Each corner had massive statues of Heroes, Angels, and Saints of solid gold that sang hymns of music. Massive Bridges. Large enough for 6 elephants marching shoulder to shoulder led to other plateaus housing more treasure than we could carry."

"Thousands of massive spires surrounded us like arrows in a quiver. Spouting leagues away from the ground with peaks that pierced the sky. Massive spires that a Red Flame Dragon could perch on and be mistaken for a humming bird. But all that paled in comparison."

"These grey iron spires. These massive mountainous plateaus. Those churning buildings with their smoke belching chimneys. All of these man made wonders were just a small piece of a much larger monstrosity. Believe me when I speak, my fellow Senators, of it all being part of a titanic cities were as high as mountains where thousands of these titanic buildings stood. Dwellings and towers sprawling in all directions as it rose up high as far as the eye could see. I have never known anything to build such things. A living City-Mountain that could fit an entire nation under one roof. An entire nation of humans, no less!"

Godasen turned to his fellow senators that each wore a face of utter disbelief. Not one of them were able to imagine, understand, or comprehend the unreal and fantastical world that was describe to them. Even Godasen himself could not believe it still despite being there himself. It truly was all a wonder of another world. A world that would take him all day painting for the Senate for he knew that his short monologue of what he saw in those City Mountains could not give it status to its grandeur.

Godasen knew that they were all enamoured by his honeyed words and were more than eager to hear more. He would be more than happy to do so to delay his coming execution, but no. He knew that he still had a duty to serve the Empire and the need to tell of them of the enemy he has unleashed onto the land was more important than the fantastical tale he has told them.

The demons of that world has made its way onto their land. An enemy unlike any that the Empire has faced before. An enemy that threatens not just their Realm but the world at large. And so Godasen must tell them now of their foe and the godlike powers that they possess.

"Tens of Thousands of the gaily dressed outworlders were already dead and dying around me the moment I first stepped foot in that world. The Wyverns and the Orcs performed adequately with their task. Mercilessly burning, slaughtering, and throwing thousands to the endless chasm below. Thousands were enslaved and were marched back through the Gate.

"Many of them fell and were taken due to them being in a midst of celebration, my Senators! How fortunate that our campaign began on the day of their festivities! That they were wholly unprepared and were caught off guard by our assault. That they were too busy worshipping their gods. Too drunk in celebration to pose a challenge to the might of our Legions. Or so we were led to believe."

"That is not to say that these outworlders did not put up a fight. They did not take too kindly to our invasion and attacked us in a tide of great numbers and utter fanaticism. They were no soldiers nor did they have an army. But were nothing more than a mob of rabid dogs. A mob held by the leash by eagle-tattooed crimson priests who spouted devilish tongues and waved about massive unwieldy greatswords that roared just as loud as its wielder. I would laughed at the sight of an elder dragging those swords that stood larger than him. But after seeing that same elder cut a knight easily in two, I saw that they were no laughing matter."

"It lasted for two days as we were beset in all sides by large swaths of their half-naked warriors. Bloody battles were fought block by block. Street by street. Room by room. In the end, it is by our Legion's who persevered. Our discipline. Our iron will. Our polished steel. Not the outworlder's numbers, not their tattered rags, nor their wild red magics, thunder wands, hellish flames, and mad fanaticism. His majesty's Legions were the immovable rock in the face of an unstoppable force as our phalanxes held wave after wave. His majesty's archers blotted the sun with arrows as it fell on the outworlders like rain."

"The outworlders were in a retreat. Leaving behind much of the city open for our men to sack it unopposed. The flames we ignited that day and the pillars of smoke that rose was enough to blot out the world's red suns until both have aligned itself high above our heads at noon. As though our work was blessed by the sun god Flare himself. By the end of those two days, more than one god was honored by his Emperor's Legions. Not one stone of pebble was left unstained by blood from those who fell in battle fore Leagues on out in the wake of our advance. A fitting honor for the War God Emroy. The corpses we made that day would garner blessings from Hardy herself as we had enough bodies to make 50 titanic Monuments in her name."

The elder orator found himself at a loss of words. Abruptly cutting his speech short. The air around him darkened. His eyes hid themselves under the shadow of his brow. His body seemed to shrink before the eyes of the senate as he sunk under the folds of his robes. His hands began to shake. His ears began ringing. His eyes took him elsewhere.

Godasen began to remember.

Once again the old general found himself away from the senate floor. Once more he found himself in the world beyond the Gate. Once again he found himself walking amongst his soldiers and his Legions who were dying all around him on that same day. Once again he saw the skies turn black and the mighty storm that came afterwards.

Remembering all of this scared old Godasen. His memories of the past terrified him more than the reality of being killed by the powerful men who were presently surrounding him.

Once again Godasen's heart raced like beating drums as he began to see the horrors that destroyed them once more.

"We were fools." Godasen found himself saying. As though entranced under a spell.

"My fellow senators, there be demons in that realm. A realm we had mistaken for heaven became our hell. They did not emerge from the beneath the burning pits but struck us from the skies above. They rode upon flying ships that ride atop of clouds. Gigantic ships with the power to blot out the sun. The enemy we face are demons. Demons who possesses weapons and magic unlike our own. Demons who commanded the powers of a god."

"I watched stars fall from the heavens and lay waste to the earth. As though the Smith god himself struck us with his hammer. That alone destroyed the VII, XI, and IX Legions, half of our auxiliary forces, and most of our siege weapons. Regardless if it led to the destruction of their own cities."

"I watched their flying swords destroy scores of our noble Wyvern Riders out of the sky in a blink of an eye. Not one of our Riders could match them in combat. Not even our fastest of Riders could give chase to them as these flying swords disappear in a clap of lightning. Their bodies were torn. Scattered like autumn dry leaves. Their blood fell on us like rain."

"I watched my men – your sons – be destroyed and crushed beneath the heels of iron clad beasts. Monsters that were unlike our own. Monsters that spouted thunder and spewed tongues of fire. Unstoppable beasts that crushed solid walls like they were naught but sand. Arrows a d stones shattered before their skin. Ballistae bolts glanced off of it. Our heroes and knights could do little else but die in their attempt to cease their advance."

"I watched their red clad soldiers marched towards us like a well oiled machine. Standing tall even as arrows showered their ranks. Our phalanxes and sarissa pikes fell in the face of their hellish magics. Spells that can blast shields apart, rend armor asunder, and blast flesh to oblivion. The same for any knight, any ancient relic, or any blessed weapon we sent to break them."

"We had spread ourselves too thin and were too isolated in enemy territory. I have no doubt that the enemy used this to their advantage. Events were too fast while news came in too slow. Most of it sang the same tune: that our forces were losing with heavy casualties. By the time decisions were made, those Legions were either routed or destroyed."

"There was no honor in that battlefield. Only slaughter for my— our men. Thousands of them died without before they could draw their blades. Thousands of them died without getting the chance to shed blood on the enemy. I don't think that the goddess Emroy would allow them glory in the afterlife given how they all died so insignificantly."

"With little choice and the possibility of losing our entire army, I took it upon myself the dishonourable act of withdrawing. But the order quickly turned into a rout. The men panicked in the face of those demons. Running rather than facing them. I do not blame them. The enemy was relentless and they struck us as we retreated to the Gate. We lost all our Wyvern Riders and our Sorcerers when they dutifully sacrificed themselves to block the stars that befell us. What remained of the XVIII Legion took the honor of rearguard. To hold the line for the rest of us to escape retreats."

Silence befell the Senate. The burden in their hearts drowned out the flames of anger they reserved for the old general. Sadness and melancholy befell them. Some of them wept silent tears while some wailed. Crying at the horrid fates that befell their families and loved ones. Dying in an unmarked grave in a foreign world.

It would have been preferable if the story ended there. But the tragedy of the Expedition did not end there. It did not end there for Godasen.

"Barely around 10,000 of us managed to escape. All of us were direly wounded. All of us were utterly exhausted. All of us were traumatised from the experiences we've earned and the friends we had lost. Our camp atop of Alnus Hill was emptier than it was 3 days ago. Over 90,000 of our soldiers as well. I weep even for the demi-humans who died for us. All that remained were a few thousand camp followers, another few thousand demi-human levies who had just arrived, and the XIII Legion who I left as a reserve."

"Despite our defeat men instead celebrated. They wept with joy and kissed the earth and the grass of Alnus Hill. Thanking it for their survival. Calling it a miracle. Providence by their patron god. They treated it like a dream. Like nothing more than something to wake up from. But the nightmare remains. The enemy remains from the other side."

"It did not take long for them to arrive but by then we were ready. We surrounded the Gate with cohorts of men, Orcish pikes, deep ditches, and wooden were erected behind us while Siege weapons were prepared with the hardest missiles we possessed."

"I had fewer than 15,000 soldiers. Most were injured, frightened, and utterly exhausted that they could barely grasp their shields. The battle has yet to begin yet they were all already defeated. But I gave them purpose to keep fighting. I gave them hope to endure and to live. Purpose to hold the line against an invading enemy who were set to destroy their homes. Hope that we had a chance to win. Unlike the battles beyond the Gate where our forces were scattered, the army we had on Alnus were concentrated under my command. What enemy that emerges from the Gate would also be surrounded. Be forced in a bottleneck as to ease our task of destroying them piece by piece. To slaughter them and their beasts before they could mount a proper offense."

"Or so I thought. The enemy was cunning and taunted us cruelly. The dead heralded their attack. What emerged from the Gate were not any soldier or any monster but by a flock of skulls. Floating red eyed skulls. Bleach white skulls of our fallen brothers that flew above us and mocked us of our guilt. Of our cowardice. Of our failure. Morale quickly fell and panic ran rampant amongst the ranks. Even our officers ran from the field to escape those flying horrors."

"That alone destroyed our army. The appearance of the enemy's iron simply quickened the blow. Those beasts ran amuck and destroyed what was left of our Grand Expedition. Men threw down their weapons and surrendered, only to be mercilessly cut down by the red soldiers. We fled the field but never made it far as we were pursued by packs of tall two-legged Raptors with plumes of smoke coming out from its horns and beams of light that were spat out from its beaks."

"What few of us remained managed to escape through the bravery of what few remaining heroes of the Knightly Orders. The Knights of the Iron Hand, the Order of the Blessed Lance, and the Crimson Sons. Barely 44 knights saved us by charging those Raptors from the flank. Using the clouds churning dust that swept in the field to close in with their lances. I confess that I did not bear witness to this heroic battle but I saw its outcome. They had halted the enemy's chase. By the time the dust settled, I saw the brave 44 and their steeds lie dead in the plains. I saw the Raptors retreat while dragging three of their fallen dead back to the hill."

"The last I saw of Alnus Hill were the fires that scarred it and the massive plumes of smoke that blotted out the red lit sky. Smoke that could be seen shrinking in the horizon even as we galloped a hundred leagues away."

"That was the last time I have seen my sons. And I believe I will see them soon. If your decision over my fate is made final. All that I request is that you do it quick, my Liege.."

With the story thus told, Godasen knelt to the Emperor and said no more.

The Senate had heard all that they could and one by one, they sat down on their seats. Their minds full of thought as they pondered with each other. Discussing to each other and digesting what they could from the amazing story that was told.

Some shook their heads and called as nothing more as a raving madman's lie. A ploy of a fantastical world and conjured up a formidable enemy to justify his foolish defeat and save his own skin.

Some spoke to each other in fear of pondered on the story and saw it as a warning. A warning of a powerful enemy that they had foolishly unleashed onto their mighty Empire.

Others kept to themselves. Remaining silent with their own devices.

A handful turned to the Emperor. Eager to know of his decision. The others quickly took notice of this and ceased with their debates. One by one, every Senator in the Senate Chamber turned his eyes to the Emperor.

Even his own children turned to him and wordlessly asked the same. Their father said not a word throughout the old man's retelling of his defeat. Not once did they see him bat his eye, or grimace, or smile, or reacted to anything throughout the man's harrowing tale.

The Emperor remained stoic and immovable as a mountain the entire time. As if he was wearing a mask before them. His mind was an enigma. His intentions were a mystery. Only when he stood did every soul held their breaths and eagerly awaited the Emperor's judgement.

XXXXXXXXXXXX

Hundreds of miles away from the Imperial Capital and its Emperor, atop of the charred earth of the smouldering Alnus Hill, stood the forces of an entirely different Imperium. Loyal and faithful men and women who paid homage to their own Emperor.

Thousands of masked Guardsmen in crimson regalia stood in attention at the hill's peak. Thousands of them aligned themselves shoulder to shoulder in dozens of orderly columns. Every one of them stood next to their weapons that were firmly planted on the ground to their left.

In front of them was their regiment's Commander. An imposing man who stood regally from atop his personal Baneblade, the Iron Harvest. A white haired man with with a beard that was just as impressive as its owner's military record. He was a hero to the Guardsmen under him.

They saw him as a soldier of a hundred battles. A veteran of a dozen wars. A legend in many crusades. A true God fearing servant of the Emperor. But to himself, he was nothing more than Colonel Leksandr Suvorov. An old man who was given another war for the God-Emperor.

"Comrades." He addressed his Guardsmen. "Today is not a day of victory. But one that is of tragedy. The enemy committed high treason. One of the gravest of heresies. The defiling of one of Our Emperor's most Blessed Holy Worlds on the day of His Feast of Ascension."

"Our enemy may look human but they have lost the right to call themselves as one the moment they spat on the face of our Emperor by pillaging His shrines. Toppling over His statues. And murdering thousands of His most devout. Worse still is that they bed with the Xeno!"

"No. These humans are no longer Human. They are Traitors and Heretics. We fight not a war today, comrades. Today we wage a purge."

"The Emperor provides for the Faithful, comrades. Not only does He will us to cleanse this world of the invaders and their heretical taint, but we are also given a new world to conquer for our glorious Imperium."

Colonel Suvorov drew his sword and raised it high all to see. Its silver blade glistened red from the setting sun on the horizon and from the burning fires behind him. The Colonel threw it straight to the ground where it stabbed deep into the earth and stood upright for all to see.

"The Emperor has laid his claim on this world, comrades! By our faith! By our will! By our name as the Firstborns of Vostroyan 221st, make it so!"

Thousands of red uniformed soldiers raised their weapons high in the air and cheered.. Every Vostroyan pounded on their chests. Every Vostroyan bellowed great howls that echoed throughout the entire valley. They cheered blood pumping chants in their native Vostroyan tongue for the entire world to hear.

"URA! URA! KROV'YU NASHIKH VRAGOV! PO VOLE IMPERATORA! URA! URA!"