Chapter 24: Prelude – The Angel and the Jewel

Jaffar wrapped the woolen mantle tightly around his torso as the freezing winds and snow buffeted around him. The silhouette of the castle loomed before him. Within lay Bern's greatest treasure, the Fire Emblem. Camouflaged by darkness, guided by moonlight, he slowly forged ahead.

Sonia had already informed him of the difficulty of this mission. Whole armies could not penetrate the outer defenses of the castle. However, he had access to a secret route, provided by the King of Bern himself, through a side trail to avoid the traps along the main route. But this side trail proved to be a challenge even for him. One slip along these steep, deadly precipices, would lead to a bloody death in the abyss of jagged rocks below.

Leaping to the next ledge, the rock below his feet suddenly crumbled. Without thinking, he grabbed one of the twin Dragon Knives personally given to him by Nergal for this mission and stabbed them into the nearest wall, providing him a firm handhold. They had been forged from the scales of a killed Fire Dragon during the Scouring. It had the power to rival the Divine Weapons. However, because of the awesome temperatures and hardness of the scales, they had taken twenty years to forge. By the time they were done, the last of the dragons had already retreated from Elibe. Ever since, they were kept in the royal treasury at Etruria for six centuries, until Nergal had swiped them one day while posing as a gifted prophet. They were a sight to behold; the blades were crescent shaped, retaining the original shape of the dragon tooth, only they many layers were shaved off to create the deadly edge. The hilt was intricately carved with three dragons wrapping around an ivory core, but was still a snug fit for Jaffar's small, nimble fingers. They were hard enough to slice through rock and steel, yet were light as a simple iron sword. The blades still radiated with a dim light and warmth though the fire dragon was long dead and had been keeping Jaffar warm through the subzero night.

After regaining his footing, Jaffar put the Dragon Knife back in the sheath on his waist continued upwards. Soon he was right underneath the great walls of the castle. The main entrance was always heavily guarded, so he couldn't charge through. The King of Bern had also given Sonia knowledge of the secret passages through Castle Bern that only members of the royal family knew. They were designed as a means of escape from the castle, had it been needed. There was one such passage 72 feet north of the southeast corner of the Castle. The passages were designed only for access to the outside, but Jaffar couldn't be stopped by a triviality such as that. This was what Nergal had originally given him the Dragon Knives for, not to protect him, but to cut through the walls of the castle.

Jaffar stabbed one into the rock. The knife, meeting the resistance of the rock, glowed red and started melting through the wall. The wall was about a foot thick here, but the blades were a little longer than a foot. Jaffar instinctively shivered in pleasure as he felt the power of the knife carving a doorway through solid rock. The feeling of power, while enjoyable, was not particularly agreeable to Jaffar. His purpose in life was to serve Nergal and Sonia, but in no way did he want to be like them. He used his mantle to cover up the light from the melting rock, as to not attract attention. Soon enough, the cutting was complete. He pushed the chunk of rock through the passage and entered. He lit a torch he was carrying and continued down the passage.