Part 3:

Chapter 1

The Dueler

"Ahhh…there you are your majesty! Come, come, here, this is from where you will speak." Hobson pointed dramatically toward the balcony of the castle. The Queen nodded silently then went through the heavy iron doors. In front of her stood a mass of soldiers, noblemen, and commoners from all over Bowerstone. Drusus, who was standing on the balcony, dropped his head in humbleness, and then took his place on the stairs. Reaver and Garth moved past the Queen to stand with him. Elliot, Hobson and King Louis went to the other side, presenting the image of the leadership of Albion. The mass of soldiers and civilians cheered at the sight. The Queen raised her hand, which caused a hush to fall over the crowd.

"Soldiers…citizens…warriors and workers. Heed my warning! This time, two years ago, we were engaged in a bloody war with a monster none here knew or understood. This monster had servants made of shadow, which acted as men do, or worse, acted as great monsters of metal. These things fought us savagely, and if not for your brave sacrifice, your peerless courage, and your dedication to your nation and your crown, we would have fallen then…" the Queen's head fell at this. She suddenly looked up, a devilish smile on her face, "But we did not fall then. It was not to be. Instead," the Queen dramatically raised her hands in excitement, "We defeated the monster, and proved ourselves again as the rulers of this land. Albion's people held and succeeded, as they have always, facing one monster after another, never ceasing in its unrelenting will to exist. But now we have a new challenge. One we must face, as we have so many in the past. I hereby declare, with the support of both my prime minister and the people of Albion, that we will bring war to the Dueler, and use our every ability to banish the darkness once and for all!" A rowdy cheering began, many throwing their hands, hats, and weapons in the air. Garth looked quickly to Reaver and nodded. They began to inch toward the Queen, which she no doubt noticed, as she grew more fiery by the second.

"Dammit, we will not cease! We will not stop until the Dueler is as the Crawler was, a defeated mass which is forever gone from these lands! We will fight any enemy who faces us, any who resist. We go, now, to war…and to all of your dooms!" Suddenly, the Queen drew her sword and stabbed Drusus in the heart and watched as he fell to the side. Garth used a force-push spell to shove Elliot into Hobson and King Louis, sending all three tumbling down the stairs. Reaver jumped into action and pointed his gun directly at her head.

"You would usurp your Queen?" The "supposed" Queen asked, her voice dark and raspy.

"Hmm…" Reaver touched his chin sarcastically, "Yes!" Reaver shot three times in quick succession, all of which went right through the monster. It began to laugh as it shifted into its true form. The crowd in front of the castle began to roar as citizens ran out of the gardens and soldiers lined up with rifles raised.

"The Dueler is here!"

"Run! The Crawler's spawn returns!"

"It's too late!" The Dueler solidified completely, revealing itself. It was a towering monster twice the size of the average man. Its fingers were long, sharp spikes and it flailed them wildly as it roared. Its lower body was simply the abdomen of a spider, a long hairy torso with eight equally sharp, spiked legs. Its face was that of the Crawlers, four eyes on a round head with a dramatic spiked frill. Its teeth were a perfectly fitting set of spikes, which it revealed as it roared in hatred.

"Steady men, take aim!" the thickly mustached Alban officers yelled. The Dueler burst through the stone balcony and into the soldier's line, sending most into a panic.

"Quickly! Do not let it escape!" Garth yelled, launching a great fireball at the monster. It batted the fireball away and sent it into a castle turret, leaving a huge singe mark on the stone.

"Hold…Garth, you must command the men. We…need to be ready to respond…" Drusus struggled. Garth rushed to him and held his arm.

"We'll get you inside. Elliot, Hobson, you must take care of the General. King Louis, Reaver, to me. Rally the men!"

"At once, General Garth." Reaver said slyly, then turned to the soldiers, "Men, quick march! Lively now, tight formations, lines of five or less through the gate." The soldiers got into their lines and started to exit the castle in quick motion, leaving the area empty. Garth and Reaver hurried to the head of the columns, with King Louis and Gaston at their sides.

"I'm impressed, Mr. Reaver. Your reputation as a pirate and businessman made it hard for me to imagine you as a general," King Louis yelled. Reaver glanced back with a shrewd smile and looked at Garth.

"I'm as suprised as any, your majesty. It has been some time since I was a General, back in the Castilian Wars."

"You fought in the Castilian Wars? I was but a child when those occurred. How many years do you carry?"

"Many more than you can imagine. Speaking of Castilians, here comes a set of cataphats now. No doubt offering…"

"Page!" Garth said, rushing past the group to his niece. She stopped her steed and dismounted quickly, holding her weapon.

"Good, the army is marching. The darkness is already in Albion. It's come up through Wraithmarsh and is almost at Millfields, assuming the Castilians held it off."

"What? The darkness already at Millfields…wait Castilians?" Garth said in confusion.

"They fought in the War of the Crawler too Garth, don't be alarmed," Reaver interjected, helping Ben off his horse in a half-heartedly fashion, "Now, we have, as you can see, prepared a rather large force, which is no doubt enough to begin engaging the Dueler, so let's formulate our strategy. The Dueler wanted to remove the commanding members of our army; which is exactly what it was hinting at by calling her Varus. The Crawler took over Varus's form and killed his lieutenants, and now the dueler tried to do the same. However, the Dueler obviously didn't take her form, she is probably a hostage somewhere."

"What do you mean? And where is the Queen?" Page asked.

"Excellent question." Reaver said, looking to Garth, "You got any magic that could help us with that?" Garth rolled his eyes and pushed the immortal aside.

"Page, the Dueler posed as the Queen and started to give her declaration of war then took off, now going to lead the invasion. It tried to kill all of the generals but only Drusus was injured. Our survival has prevented the collapse of leadership which occurred under General Varus."

"And yet, dear Garth, we still need a strategy."

"Indeed. Since the Dueler is returning with an army, I say we prepare for it to attack us. Gather our forces and start digging trenches. We'll split the force in half, Reaver you'll lead those on the northern part of the trenches with Gaston. Page, you'll flank to the them from the far north with what cavalry we have. King Louis, you and I will lead the southern half. Ben, gather what artillery we have and establish our right flank. Any questions?" At that moment, Sabine arrived, Boulder and Jasper behind him.

"What the hell's going on? The Queen hasn't even returned from treating with that seer woman and you're already marching to battle?" Sabine said, somewhat angered.

"Where is the Queen?" Page said, grabbing Sabine's collar.

"If Sabine knows, then we'll find out soon enough. But if we don't repel the Dueler it doesn't matter what we do," Garth yelled.

"Right." Page released Sabine then looked out to the battlefield. Sabine glared up at Boulder, who shrugged unsurely.

"Sabine, you and Jasper return to the castle. There is much that needs taking care of there."

"You would take us from the battle and have us whimper like children in the..." Sabine started. Garth leaned in close and spoke in a deadly cold tone.

"No, I would have you as a last line of defense, protecting the Prince Zachary and the other children from being captured or killed." Sabine growled but Jasper started to lead him away.

"Good luck, all of you." Jasper quickly took off with a still grumbling Sabine and Boulder following him. Garth turned back to the others.

"Our time is short! We must prepare trenches!"

A dark overcast covered the sky, and a deep blackness was all that was visible in the distance. Garth stood on top of one trench hill, King Louis behind him. Reaver stood on the other, leaning on his cane and his gun in his hand. He'd traded his normally fine clothes for a harness that held several wheel lock pistols that, in Reaver's own words "Are for such occasions where it is simply too bothersome to reload." Gaston was with him, his huge hammer resting on his shoulders, his plate and chain armor glinting in the sparse light. Reaver had a look of a soldier, but also that of hero. "Dammit, I'm about to die, probably at his side. I suppose I can let go of some of my coldness." Garth moved to the edge of his trench and waved to Reaver, who came to him, still standing on the edge of his trench.

"Everything good?"

"No, we're likely to die. But, I need to say that I missed your smirking, stupid face. Samarkand is…was beautiful…but you…made it a great deal more exciting." Garth struggled to speak the words, almost coughing toward the end.

"Oh, Garth…I'm touched. You would reveal your true feelings to me at such a time. It's right out of a child's story." Reaver leaned back, smirking. Garth felt anger bubble toward his narcissist friend and started to return to his spot when Reaver tapped his back. Garth turned around to find Reaver's hand out, waiting to be shaken.

"I've told you before, but I missed you as well, my dear, dreary friend. While I plan to continue living forever, I'll say I'd rather die at your side than any other's Garth."

"…the same to you, friend." Garth shook the immortal's hand. He turned back, and to stood next to King Louis. The man was leaning on his royal sword, the Dachi in it's hilt at his side, and he was smiling at the mage. Garth shot him a dark look and King Louis simply smiled.

"Don't worry mage, we all have to say our goodbyes, to which men and gods we care to. My wife and my daughter hide in Francian forts as I stand here, fighting so that they don't have too. I lost my life some time ago."

"I'm sorry to ruin the sentiment, your majesty, but I don't plan to die here, or let you do the same."

"Hmm...I'm glad for this. You've proved your worth, to Francia as much as Albion. If we survive, you'll be welcome in my land."

"Thank you, your majesty..."

"Now, who is going to strike first, us or them..." the king said, looking up at the sky. Garth couldn't help but smile as put Sparrow's gauntlet on one hand, then his chained creation on the other.

"Us," Garth muttered. With a single clap, he brought a storm to form over the battlefield. The clouds became truly dark and rain started to pour over the battlefield. Thunder and lighting burst from the storm as Garth glanced back once more at Reaver, the immortal no doubt smiling widely at Garth. Beyond him Page was on her horse, surrounded by the red coated mounted soldiers of the small Alban cavalry. Garth looked far to his left, where Ben stood at the head of the artillery unit. He held Harriet's rifle in his hands, which he had to his face, trained on the approaching blackness. Garth raised his hand, and all the men, who peaked out of their trenches, brought their guns to their faces.

"Fire on my command, and only then. Men, soldiers, today, we fight not just for Albion. We fight for the future of life in this world. Here, we will stop this attack, and we will push it back. We will stop this darkness once and for all! I've fought these things in Samarkand. You've fought them on your home soil. Now we stand together, Albion, Aurora, Francia, Castile, and Samarkand. Let us show this darkness what a united world can do! To war!" The soldiers answered him with a round of cheers. Garth turned back to the blackness, which was solidifying into several streams. They began to slither and slip back and forth, approaching the soldiers rapidly.

"Ready! Aim!" Garth started to power fire into Sparrow's gauntlet, which the mage held in the air.

"Garth, join your brothers!" The streams suddenly jumped from the ground toward the man.

"Fire!" Garth brought his hand down. The streams were filled with bullets as the riflemen fired, the roar deafening all around it. Garth drew his hand back and continued to build fire.

"Change lines!" He yelled. The soldiers who'd fired shuffled back while fresh men raised their weapons in preparation.

"Fire!" Garth yelled, though this was more to himself, as he built up a large fireball over his head and launched it into one stream. The ball crashed into the darkness in a massive explosion, which sent the steam retreating like a cut tentacle of a squid.

"Ben! Shoot them!" Ben raised his rifle and the cannons were firing, sending cannonballs crashing into the streams. Many retreated, but some pushed forward and tried for the trenches.

"Back away!" Garth's will lines were blinding him as he powered this spell, chanting in the tongue of the old kingdom, and as he raised his chained gauntlet in the air, lighting started to strike the field wildly from the sky. Streams of darkness were blasted left and right, ones caught by the actual bolts simply turned to ash. Garth finished the spell with a deep breath, coughing in pain. King Louis started to cautiously approach him, but the mage threw his hand up.

"Quickly, keep on them. Don't worry about me!"

"...Soldiers!" King Louis said, looking back to the men, "Change lines and fire!" The soldiers shifted position and another round of bullets was launched into the streams, which started to fully retreat.

"Cannons, fire!" Ben yelled, and another round of balls crashed into the darkness. It withdrew all streams and began to consolidate.

"Yes! We've beaten it!" King Louis said. Garth grabbed his hand and pulled himself up, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Your majesty…we're just starting!" Suddenly black circles formed all across the field. Crows rose from the circles and flew in giant flocks, blocking out the sky.

"Soldiers turn your weapons up!" King Louis screamed.

"Watch the ground," Garth grunted, pointing the king to the mass of shadow soldiers which were forming from the circles.

"Oh dear…" King Louis said, letting his royal sword fall to his side, "This could take some time…"

The Queen saw him draw the Dachi and twirl the weapons in preparation for the birds. She moved her head weakly away from the viewing glass toward the woman who'd posed as Theresa. The woman was now covered in a black cloak with a number of silver necklaces on her chest. She had grey eyes similar to Theresa, but she seemed almost corrupted. The Queen was frozen below her neck, and could not do anything but watch. She swallowed weakly, then tried to speak.

"Who…who are you…Deresa…"

"Her majesty speaks! Dearest me, I was worried I'd damaged her mind with my spells."

"Who…"

"You need not concern yourself with me. But what you will feel is anguish, anguish in watching as your kingdom is blackened and a final vengeance is wrought on the shores of Albion. Your people will pay, and so will she,"

"Why do you hate us…what did she…Theresa…do?"

"What did she do?! What didn't she do?! Abandoned, cold, hungry, that witch…No, you almost convinced me to tell you, but not yet. When Albion burns, and all that remains of your kingdom is its queen, then I'll tell you who I am, and my reasons for living. But for now, return to your viewing. The battle is only just beginning." The woman turned from the Queen and moved back to her position on the steps, intently watching the battle unfolding. The Queen swallowed weakly then looked back as Garth channeled energy for a great spell.