This is supposed to be the start of a (rather short and pathetic) quest. (A better one is coming up, thankfully.) The two episodes after this will expand on it - and there will be a decent fight scene (which I wrote last night)! Uh, back to story....
Log 22: Angel's Egg
"Yes," Anya muttered. "I am angelborn. My curse is evident - still I look young enough to be Kathryn's mother. My sister even younger still."
"Where is your sister?" Keith asked. "Is she not heir?"
"She revoked all ties to the royal family after our mother died and our father disappeared. Last I heard, she was living in the Badlands. I became queen soon after Kayle left."
"I understand. Thank you for your time, your Eminence."
Anya's eyes stared back blankly at the god-angel. There was something lost, now ... something she could not regain. "You are welcome ... Keith."
Keith turned to the lift. "Keythedrian," he whispered, the room's acoustics bringing the low voice to Anya's ears. "My true name is Keythedrian."
In the higher chambers, Kathryn had finished changing into a scarlet riding suit when Tamara walked inside.
"Good afternoon, Herald. What brings you here?"
"I just wanted to show you the keep - with your permission. Your grandmother is still speaking to your guardian, and it is my duty to provide for the queen's guests."
"I'll go with you." She strapped Xariandagia to her belt. "Carry on."
Tamara and Kathryn took a clockwork lift to one of the four towers of the castle that rose above the dome roof of the main palace. Suspended over the dome, held only by struts from the towers, was a diamond-shaped chamber. The struts enclosed walkways to the room from the towers, and the two women took one such path to the room.
"This is the keep of the Crystal Palace," Tamara announced. "It was here where the regions of Avalon pledged allegiance to Guinevere during the Necromancers' War." She swept her arm across the room, across tables with depressions cut for swords that surrounded a giant cut crystal that floated in the center of the room. A map of Denbridge and the surrounding territories was projected above the crystal. Away from the tables was a strange pedistal, shaped like a poached egg cup.
"Amazing," Kathryn gasped. She walked around the room, searching the display tables for contents. All she found was a strange blade, almost like a cross between a lance and a sword. It was labeled Sunstone - in reserve for the next Queen. Upon reading the text, Kathryn backed away and explored the keep further.
The pedistal, set apart from the main display, mystified her. Why would a poached egg be in the keep? There was a plaque of gold on the pedistal:
is presented by Aldebaran of the Angelic Regency
as of sign of the Regency's allegiance.
"An egg?" Kathryn asked Tamara, who walked up beside her. "I never knew Aldebaran gave an egg to Guinevere."
"Not many know," Tamara replied. "Not that it matters. The angels' egg was stolen during the fire that almost destroyed Denbridge. A pity, really. The angels all but withdrew their protection of Avalon."
"Why?"
"The egg was sacred to them - a second chance, as Aldebaran is reported to have said. A second chance for, what, though ... I don't think even Guinevere knew."