A Cure for Ignorance

The dream begins in darkness, set to the sound of a steady drum.
Thump. A flash of light. A hallway decorated in clockwork. Trails of blood along the stone floor. A war in Grandsmith's factory, where no mortal was ever meant to tread. The Forge, severed from its leader, and bereaved of its messiah.
Thump. The bloodstained Forge Wardens. Children who have long forgotten their purpose. Who toil in an engine strong enough to burn the gods. They kneel behind the only one strong enough to save them.
Thump. A sea of soldiers. A sea of crimson helmets. The Aspis Consortium has come to collect. To stamp out an insurrection that rose from the heart of their Shepherd.
Thump. A long hallway, beset by shadow. The final stand. The Core lies beyond -- that of the Forge, and all of its Children. Two sides, each ready to die for what they believe in. The good and the gold.
Thump. Helen stands before the fallen Forge Wardens, her lips masked by the blood of her enemies, her teeth as black as a handful of pitch. A wicked, ivory blade glows in her hand, defiance screaming across the Haze.
Helen: "Turn back, fetid mortals. Or I will be gentle."
A voice emenates from the sword, another feminine voice, just as defiant as its master.
???: "You have been told a lie."
Thump. Deku stands at the back of the soldiers. His lips curl into a cruel and knowing smile. He has been told that the day is won.
???: "You have been told a lie."
Deku waves.
The soldiers pour forward.
Helen raises the Shard of Ignorance.
Deku learns the truth of his errors, and the tide is turned.
Blood pours into the depths of the Forge.
But only the day is saved, and the night is long...
???: "You have been told a lie. The Shepherd comes."
Thump. The Forge Wardens heal their wounds, and begin to stand. What can be repaired is saved, and what is broken is abandoned.
Thump. Another sea of red. As unending as the tide. The False Shepherd rides with them, claiming himself True.
Thump. A roar. As the Core turns, radiance bursts from the chests of its Children. Two sides meet again.
And so it was. And so it will be. Until the tide breaks the shore, or the Shepherd comes to boil the sea.