Prologue Chapter 3 Nalbina

It was three and a half weeks after the wedding during king Raminas's annual war meeting when Captain Basch Fon Ronsenburg burst through the door. The meeting hadn't been going well to begin with. The king and his advisers were discussing exactly how little chance the Dalmascan-Nabradian alliance would stand should Archadia chose to attack, and the news the captain had to bring was not good.

"Nabudis has fallen." The captain stated plainly, his shoulder length flowing locks matted with sweat. Throughout the room there were various remarks to this statement. Nabudis was the great fortress of Nabradia. If it had fallen it could only mean that the nation of Nabradia was circling the drain. From amongst all the responses to this news lord Rasler's was the biggest.

"My father?" He asked urgently to the captain.

Basch shook his head solomnly. "I know not," He replied. "I'm sorry."

At once the room exploded with protest, Nabradia was the only wall of defence between Dalmasca and the fury of Archadia.

The senior war advisor held up a hand for silence and it was a few minutes before he got it. "If Nabudis has indeed fallen, then it is only a matter of time before they reach the borders of Dalmasca, there is nothing to halt their advance." He said solemnly.

The king sat down, with a voice wracked with defeat he gave the order everyone had been dreading. "Secure Nalbina with all haste."

Nalbina was the fortress that protected the borders of Dalmasca. It however would stand little more chance than Nabudis.

"I will go." Said Captain Rosenburg, the king nodded and the captain turned on his heel.

Suddenly Rasler rose to his feet. "And I will go at his side." He said boldly. Everyone was surprised at this, it was unheard of these days for royalty to be present on the battlefield. "For my father." He added quickly, and with that he strode after the captain.

Two days later the Dalmascan forces prepared to depart from Rabanastre, the warships flying low above the city, the troops wearing Dalmascan blue and at the head of it all the two commanders, captain Ronsenburg and lord Rasler. The entire city had come to watch the troops, but the atmosphere was completely different. No one wanted to admit it but nobody in the crowd would bet on any of these men coming back alive. Transport ships lined the street loading cavalry on board, the chocobos were restless as if they knew what they were heading for. In front of the royal palace the commanders of this army stood before the king and bowed low.

"Long may you defend Rabanastre, should the battle go ill." Murmured captain Ronsenburg.

"May Dalmasca's banner always fly proud and high." Said the second commander, an enormous man with shaggy brown hair and a huge sword slung over his back.

" For my fallen land and my father." Rasler muttered, as much to himself as to the king.

The king looked down on the young prince with kindly eyes. "I have something I would like to give my son in law." He said to Rasler. He reached behind him and presented a sword. The entire crowd fell silent. This sword was no ordinary blade. It's name was Margrid, it belonged to Gautherix the son of Raithwall the dynast king himself. "Galtea stand watch over your life." He said kindly.

Rasler took the sword solemnly "That I may be considered worthy." He replied taking the blade respectfully.

As he turned around his gaze fell on the balcony of the palace out of which lady Ashelia was leaning with a false smile on for the occasion, but Rasler could tell she was terrified inside. She had seen battles in her lifetime and knew that some people didn't come back from them. He tried his best to reassure her with his eyes but failed miserably. Turning to face his troops with a heavy heart Rasler unsheathed his sword and let loose a battle cry which the whole army joined in a roar that shook the foundations of the city. As the airships took off. Rasler's thoughts couldn't help but drift to victory, Nalbina had a paling system. A shield that protected it from aerial assault.

"If we stand firm, we can hold back even Archadia," He murmured to himself. "Even Archadia."

-

Nalbina fortress, that night. The enemy had penetrated the outer gates and were pouring inside the castle but without air support they were loosing ground and the Dalmascans were holding fast. Hordes of chocobo mounted soldiers with blue flags charged again and again into the imperial hordes. Rasler despite Captain Ronsenburg's advice was right in the thick of it. Leading the front line of chocobos he struck down one soldier after another with the captain at his heels. The battle above was just as deadly. Gigantic warships fired cannons at one another while smaller hummer ships skirmished in fast paced dogfights.

"My lord we must get you off the front line," Pleaded the captain to a blood drenched Rasler. "This is getting too dangerous."

"No," Rasler snapped back while decapitating another swordsman. "The paling still stands.".

The paling system was made up of four towers which are high standing points for teams of mages to cast protections spells into a crystal which projects it into a bubble around the fortress, unfortunately in order to keep the shields up the mages need to keep casting which requires a lot of concentration. In the north paling tower the concentrating mages failed to see the imperial troops approaching them from behind.

Rasler watched in horror as the paling shield disintegrated and the warships descended on them. Suddenly he felt a huge swell of despair fill him up mixed with hate for Archadia and everything in her. Without warning he charged the expanding Archadian line shrieking his pain to them.

"For my father, For my father!". Basch Fon Ronsenburg never realised the prince had left his side until he heard that scream. He turned his head towards the sound to see Rasler hacking at a hoplite, but what caught his attention more was the archer on the top battlements aiming straight for him. Almost quicker than the eye could follow Basch knocked an arrow and shouting,

"Lord Rasler!" He shot at the archer just as he loosed his own arrow. At the same time both arrows found their mark.

Rasler felt force strike him in the chest, as if someone had punched him yet there was no-one that could have. He looked down in bewilderment to see the arrow shaft protruding from his chest. He began to panic, he tried to pull the arrow out but he was already loosing consciousness. His last conscious sight was Captain Ronsenburg's face as he approached him on his chocobo.

Basch reached Rasler just as he passed out. There was no time to loose Imperial troops were advancing on him even now and he couldn't simply leave Lord Rasler here. He quickly lifted Rasler onto his own chocobo trying to be gentle with his wound, took one last look at the doomed fortress then bolted for the back gate the taint of defeat surrounding him.

Two days later, Rasler had passed away, the arrow wound had proved fatal. His funeral was at the cathedral. It had been a hectic time for the city; a wedding, a declaration of war and a funeral all in the same month and soon enough there would be another ceremony. Dalmasca's official surrender. King Raminas was to go to Nalbina fortress for the treaty signing. The terms were unfair but what choice did they have. It was this or be steamrollered over by the Archadian war machine.

As king Raminas left on the airship he took a fleeting glimpse at his daughter through her window. The girl hadn't spoken a word since Rasler's death, to have lost your soul and happiness to early in life is a terrible thing, he mused as the airship climbed into the clouds. What he didn't know is that he had two stowaways on board.