Chapter 7

Sanctuary

Ben Finn and Page struggled to keep up with the riders. Despite the equally agile and powerful horses they bounced on, they could not ride at the grueling pace the Castilians rode at. Captain Corada had noticed this for some time, and, after passing through a small farming village, ordered the mass of riders to slow to a trot.

"Slow! Steady!" Captain Corada yelled, then turned and rode back to Page and Ben, who had visible sweat on their faces.

"We'll rest here until dusk. We want to be moving when the darkness falls," The captain said, dismounting his horse and directing tent layouts.

"And again we have to sleep during the day, and ride all night. Goodness…" Ben said, rubbing his head. He lowered himself slowly from his horse, his every muscle aching. As he was stretching, Page went to a small patch of thin grass and started to set up a tent. Ben soon joined her, and eventually they prepared a place for them to stay for the day.

"Ah, yes, excellent, you've got your tent up. As you can see, it is different trying to ride with a Castilian than one of your pathetic Alban Cavalry units, if you can call them cavalry." Captain Corada walked up to Ben and dropped a pile of firewood in front of the tent. He cleared away a circle of brush and started preparing a fire.

"It is a strange experience, trying to avoid the darkness by riding by night…" Page said, trailing off thoughtfully.

"Actually, while it makes great sense with today's threats, this was actually a tactic our cavalry uses regularly. It prevents our enemies from catching us blind, for they are easy to see during the day, while allowing us to find them without preparation, as we are trained to battle at night, though we must still be cautious for the sake of our mounts."

"Unfortunately that won't do much against our foes, for wherever the Crawler went, he was followed by unending night," Ben said, sitting down next to the fire.

"Do not forget, Mr. Finn, that this is not the first time we have fought this monster either. We went to war alongside you and battled the encroaching darkness as it spread toward our province. When this monster threats Albion, he threatens all of her territory."

"Why does Albion have a province beyond the Mistpeak Mountains? Most of the stories of the Castilian Wars are about soldiers fighting in it, not what it was about."

"Indeed, well, I give you the brief version. Castile was once one of the Eastern Kingdoms. It had expanded and resisted the other Kingdoms, and had spread across the Mistpeak Range. We had many small settlements, and even had jurisdiction over the people of the mountains, known now as the Dwellers. However, after a great deal of tension over the boundaries of the Castilian Kingdom in Alban land, Sparrow would support a weak puppet monarch's bid to the Castilian throne. The war, brutal and horrific for us, showed the might of a united Albion to the Eastern kingdoms. Anyway, the puppet king declared his subservient status and joined Albion as an eastern autonomous province, after ceding leagues of territory and maybe a million people of course." Captain Corada laid down by the fire as he finished his story. The flames starting to roar as Ben threw a heavy log on it and poked the wood around with his sword.

"Wow." Page shook her head, surprised at her lack of knowledge on the subject.

"It's not a well told story," the Castilian started, "Lots of this comes from our lore. I don't doubt its truth, just its meaning. We are autonomous. Albion does nothing but demand land tax, and this is easily and happily paid by most of our citizens. And save declarations of war, we make our own decisions about a wide array of needs. I don't see a problem with Alban rule, any more than our old feudal system."

"That's fair. But it's still strange this is not common knowledge."

"It's faded from people's minds. From the crowning of Logan to the War of the Crawler, too many things have happened for any to remember some small war with the Eastern Kingdoms. Nobody really cares about such boring conflict." Captain Corada sighed and rolled onto his back.

"What…" Ben whispered. He'd long since lost focus on the captain and was staring at what appeared to be a black mass.

"Ben? Is everything alright?"

"Do you see that? Is that a cloud?" Ben pointed to the mass. Captain Corada sat up and squinted at the mass. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he grabbed his armor and sword, putting them on haphazardly.

"Riders! To your mounts! The darkness is here! We must delay it as best we can!" Captain Corada mounted his horse and started to ride to the front of his cavalry, who were already gathering into formation. Page and Ben tried to join him, but he stopped them.

"Hold! You must get to the capital! Go, we will hold the darkness back! Tell the Queen her time is short!"

"Captain…"

"Take what I say to heart. Remember that Castile fights for Albion!" Forming wedge with the knights, Ben could only see the Castilians smash into the darkness in a resounding crash of hoof, blade, and body, before he and Page were out of sight.

"Castile may think itself forgotten, but this act of sacrifice I shall never forget…" Page murmured as they rode away, leaving the riders alone to face pure evil.

"General Drusus, is your battalion ready?" The Queen asked, standing before her throne.

"Yes ma'm. The Fourth Cavalry, and the Second, Sixth, and Seventh Infantry regiments are all ready to march," Drusus said, turning around and pointing out to a large army gathering in the courtyard of the castle.

"Good. Get the Second and Sixth Corps their relief. You are now in command of the Army of Bloodstone. Do not let me down."

"Of course, we march on the 'morrow. By your leave, your Majesty." Drusus saluted and started out. The Queen rubbed her eyes and turned to find King Louis and Gaston coming toward her.

"All naval forces accounted for. If that monster is using the Alban channel to get to either of our nations, it's going to engage at least some of my ships," The King said, proudly, contemplating his achievement, however minor.

"Excellent." The Queen patted her ally on the shoulder and started toward the war room, where Garth and Reaver were no doubt awaiting.

"You're Majesty, hold a moment." King Louis moved quickly and grabbed the Queen's arm, "My lady, perhaps you should rest a moment. You will undoubtedly be weaker in battle should you press yourself so hard. I find it better to engage in a familiar venture when one is preparing for war, than any manner of military preparation."

"But the darkness is coming, and soon. I cannot simply leave and go to the Sanctuary to spend time with Jasper."

"Why not? You've laid the pieces of this puzzle perfectly, and between our ships, your generals, the provincial leaders…" At that moment, Hobson burst into the throne room, walking majestically toward his patron, "and your prime minister, you'll easily succeed, even if you take a few hours of rest, don't you agree Gaston?"

"Absolutely sir."

"Ah, King Louis, I was actually about to suggest that myself. My lady, it is custom, before marching to war, for the monarch of Albion to offer an official declaration of war to her people. I've prepared a crowd to meet you, along with Drusus and his high ranking officers tomorrow. By issuing a declaration of war, you can not only defend your actions, you can inspire your troops, and present yourself to them as a leader of the people. Please, I implore you to take some time and work on this declaration. That way, you can relax, while still staying productive," Hobson said, waving his arms dramatically through his explanation.

"…hmm…I suppose. Jasper!" The Queen yelled. Her dutiful butler rushed to her side, "I suppose we are being sent to the Sanctuary. Let's get going."

"As you command, my lady. I shall see to your weaponry," Jasper said. She held out her Guild Seal, a small shield as Samuel had explained to her, and as they touched it, they were transported to the famed Sanctuary.

"Yes, now, while her majesty is away, I will need to stand in for her at this meeting with the General's council…" Hobson started to say, before King Louis grabbed his shoulder and stared the old minister down a look of hatred on his face.

"Oh, but Mr. Hobson, how could I not attend such an important event, especially with such an illustrious group of commanders present?" He said coldly, then let Hobson go and held his hand out, directing him to lead the way. Hobson, looking worriedly at the King, ran quickly away, with the monarch in hot pursuit. Gaston was close behind him, and all three entered the room in a burst, turning the heads of the generals in the war room to the three. Garth, who had been carefully explaining some plan to another general, looked up with the similar frown of coldness on his face.

"Where is the queen?" Garth asked, a bit of concern visible on his face.

"Attending to her base need for rest." King Louis offered, moving to look at the map.

"Sleeping? That's ever so unlike our benevolent queen!" Reaver asked, staring judgmentally at Hobson.

"No, working on a declaration of war. Now, gentlemen, I think it's time we went over our plan one more time. Kalin, would you start with the Auroran Corp's plan?" Hobson asked.

"Certainly Mr. Hobson." Kalin leaned in to the table, and the final war meeting before the arrival of the Dueler began.

"So, what do you feel, hmm, maybe a six this round?"

"Well, Sabine, I think I'm going to risk a good bit of money on this roll. Put this stack on seven," Jasper said, sounding very sure of himself, then leaned back. They had somehow covered the sanctuary map with a game of Keystone, and both were playing as the Queen was sitting to the side, half watching them, half working on her declaration.

"We are pressed to this point…" The Queen whispered. Suddenly Jasper rolled the dice and cheered. Sabine slammed his walking stick on the plush carpet, then ripped the seven away, upon which was a stack of chips.

"That's twelve to one payout, correct?" Jasper said, putting a pipe in his mouth and puffing gently on it.

"Thirteen to one…" Sabine growled, then took a long drag from the cigar in his hand. He uncorked a bottle of spirits and poured himself another drink. The Sanctuary was filling with smoke, and was being treated like a common pub.

"Pressed to this…point…Sabine, how did you get down here again?" The Queen asked, trying to reconcile her private abode with the obnoxious and smoky Sabine.

"Oh come now your majesty. The King and I are old friends. I knew of a number of his secrets, including the unknown passage to the Sanctuary, which Boulder and I found."

"And where's Boulder?"

"Fillin' the passage behind us. The labor is good for him. Besides, I think four's a crowd, don't you? Now, I'm stacking up on triple three. That will pay big this round…hell, it's got to!" Sabine dumped his chips onto the spot, which Jasper dutifully began to count. The butler noticed the Queen still staring at them and looked worriedly to her.

"Ah…would you like anything your majesty? I think I've another pipe and glass in the Sanctuary shop."

"No, thank you Jasper…" The Queen said, pinching her forehead. She looked down at the three sentences she'd written and stood up.

"I…need to talk to Theresa. Maybe…open a window before I get back Jasper…" The Queen said, then rushed onto the Guild Seal and was transported to the path on which Theresa had guided the Queen. Known as the "Road to Rule" it was a strange place where her allies and success, including her ascendancy to the throne, was cataloged. However, as she arrived, she noticed something wrong.

"What the…" She noticed that the gate before her was not open. At least not conventionally. One door of the fence was ripped from its hinges, and the gate beyond it was similarly mutilated. Chests were lying on their sides, and the ground had visible signs of burning. Even worse, the sky of the "Road" was broken, and it was blotted with holes revealing outside light.

"…Theresa!" The Queen ran quickly, pushing through the damaged gates, running as quickly as she could to the image of Bowerstone Castle, which stood at the end of the "Road." Even from a distance, the structure seemed on the verge of collapse.

"Your Majesty…" A whisper came from behind her. The Queen looked back momentarily to see a dark blot forming on the ground.

"No…not here!" The Queen pushed on, and finally reached the castle, where Theresa was lying on her side. Her blank eyes and looked up slowly and sadly at the Queen.

"Its…too late. They've…found my spire…they have…it's power…" The Queen turned from Theresa to see the Dueler form from the ground and hold his spiked hand out.

"Give me the seer!" The Queen drew her sword and pointed it at the monster, ready to fight.

"No! Leave this place damn you!" Suddenly, the Queen felt a searing white pain in her back. She tried to scream but felt a hand over her mouth.

"You were even dumber than Varus! Without a Queen, Albion will be an easy conquest indeed." The woman, who appeared to be Theresa, but suddenly sounded different, allowed the Queen to fall lifelessly to her side. The Queen could move nothing but her mouth and eyes, otherwise, she was paralyzed.

"Who…" The Queen tried. The woman leaned down and grabbed her cheeks.

""My name is Deresa, and my only reason for living is the destruction of the bitch you so selflessly served. However, I have discovered that no matter what I do to her, I can only wound her. She drags on, like life on this forsaken land known as Albion, and she has bound herself so deeply in this land that as long as it exists, she will too. Which is why I'm eliminating it. Without Albion, she won't be able to hide anymore…" Deresa stood up and walked to the Dueler, who leaned its head to her.

"Go, begin my war, Araingee, and end Albion once and for all!"

"Yes, my lady." The creature fell back into the darkness. Deresa turned to the Queen, and knelt down to her again.

"Don't fear for your life, my lady. You will not lose it for a while yet. No, you will watch, as your kingdom burns, then, when Theresa clings to you, as the last hope for living…then, you'll have my permission to die." The Queen's eyes remained cold, either because she was affected by the paralysis or her hatred.

"My love…" Elliot said, when the Queen entered the room. She turned quickly toward her closet as he reached out for her.

"Are you alright?" Elliot pulled himself out of their bed. It had to somewhere around 6 in the morning, he assumed, from the level of the sun and the hastiness of those around him. The Army was marching at 7, and his wife's speech would see them off.

"Yes…" A familiar voice said from inside the closet. The Queen walked out, dressed in her full regal suit, a long purple waistcoat with a grey chest plate underneath. She slowly placed her crown onto her head.

"I'm fine Elliot. I just had a late night in the Sanctuary. How was your night?"

"…Not as good as the night before," he said with a suggestive smile, leaning back into the bed. She smiled weakly, then turned and left the room, leaving him unsatisfied.

"Darling…why such a hurry…" he whispered as he pulled himself out of bed and into formal clothes.

Reaver smiled cheekily as the Queen appeared.

"Oh, your majesty, what a wonderful day this is! To move with the drums of war, and with me and Garth at your side, no less! I only hope that you'll dare to give me a chance to…"

"Move," the Queen interrupted, pushing Reaver roughly out of the way. Garth eyed her suspiciously, his face the epitome of distrust.

"What has gotten into her?" Reaver asked, scratching his head. He looked to Garth, who was shaking his head as he examined woman.

"I don't know…but something doesn't seem right about her."

"I'd agree…she has far too much curve on her rump!"

"No, not her body Reaver, I'm talking about the way she's moving. She's…"

"Gentlemen!" Hobson yelled to the mage and immortal, prompting both to turn around, "we have business to attend to."

"Indeed…" Garth said. Reaver, still watching the Queen carefully, suddenly dropped his quizzically smile into a disturbed frown, his eyes flashing yellow. He saw what Garth no doubt saw on the Queen, a small trail of black smoke leaking out of her arm.

"Oh dear…we may indeed be in serious trouble…" Reaver said, rubbing his chin worriedly.