Chapter Eleven- Return of the Sun
Five more nights had passed, and they finally gazed upon the massive walls of what used to be one of the largest castle cities in the world. Now, though the city was large, its numbers were not. The Citadel War twenty-one years prior had decimated a vast majority of the population, as the Lords of Chaos had dropped their massive citadel on the city with the last of their power.
It was a perfect, sunny spring day, and the gentle winds swept across the Memorial Plains.
"What say you?" called a voice from the gatehouse as they approached.
"I am Soleil De Minuit, citizen of Darimar, and these are my fellow travelers. We ride with news for Queen Silviana from Baron Varadein of Arimathea." shouted Soleil.
"He sends not a rider?"
"I am the rider, Sir. Considering the circumstances, that was all that is necessary."
"Very well." the voice approved. "Open the gates!"
The brass portcullis raised slowly as the massive gates opened behind them, revealing the bridge to the city. The city itself was seemingly suspended above a massive crater, in reality though, it was propped upon a mesa-like formation.
"Such life!" exclaimed Ralthas as he peered over the edge into the crater.
The crater was filled with life of all kinds, the interior covered in trees and vines. Waterfalls descended to the distant floor below them, a nearly crystal clear lake their new resting place.
"It's a utopia." said Letholdus.
The inner gates opened to let them pass, and they stood in a beautiful courtyard, the sun illuminating the rose gardens before them. In the center of the courtyard stood a colossal bronze statue of thirteen figures. Soleil dismounted and placed his hand on the foot of the one in the middle.
"Good to see you again, old friend." he said as the other joined him inquisitively.
"Who are these gents? And why do they get a statue?" asked Marek.
"Soleil's Legion. Soleil and his twelve legionnaires sought out and destroyed the necromancer Thilandril Arkanus after the fall of the citadel. He was the cause of the fall, and the only remaining Lord of Chaos. They endured pain, grief, and the harsh winter of Mystara to prevent the necromancer from releasing the evil goddess Shaklator into this world, thus preventing the destruction of all life. I was named in his honor."
"Someday, we too shall be worthy of such honor." said Letholdus.
"We do what we do not in search of honor or recognition. We do so in the name of innocence and peace." replied Soleil. Come, Brothers, we have business to attend to in the palace."
Soleil walked into the large throne room and dropped to one knee above the image of a compass.
"My Queen, Silviana, I request an audience." he said with his head bowed.
Silviana raised her head to see Soleil. She was a beautiful dark elf with bright, mystifying purple eyes and long, black hair. After King Rigdar's death in the Citadel War, she was granted the throne by the Judges, a sort of council of advisers and administrators of justice in the Mystaran Kingdoms.
"Ah, Soleil De Minuit!" she said with a smile. "Son of Jean-Luc. There's a face I haven't seen in many years. Your parents must be thrilled to have you home!"
"To be truthful, my Queen, I have only just arrived."
"A shame! I must inform you, Soleil, there is no Queen here anymore. The Kingdom of Darimar has been dissolved into a Republic!"
"Then what does that make you, my Queen? Or should I call you Silviana?"
"Please, Her Excellency Silviana will do just fine."
"As you wish, Your Excellency. I assume His Excellency Treize has shown you the benefits of a Republic."
"He certainly has. He is the Chief Representative of the Senate for us now. It was good of you to bring him to us."
"That pleases me. Your Excellency, I bring news from Arimathea. The Empire, the same Empire that attacked Sir Treize's Republic of Pandora, is sending one thousand of their finest legionnaires to Arimathea in an attempt to destroy The Order of The Lionheart, the last of which are myself and my compatriots."
"This is very unfortunate. Do you fear for the safety of the city?"
"I fear for the safety of Mystara, Your Excellency. The Emperor will attempt to conquer the Mystaran Kingdoms one by one in order to expand his Empire."
"I agree with Soleil, Your Excellency." said a voice from the side of the hall.
Soleil turned to see a familiar face. There stood Sir Treize Khushrenada, Patriarch of the Former Republic of Pandora. He was still clad his traditional blue general's coat and white pants, his knee high black boots as shiny as ever.
"It's a pleasure to see you again, Soleil." said Treize. "Your father will be very excited to learn of your return. As will my son. Ever since the day we arrived here, he's dreamed of being just like you. Your sense of valor, and honor has had quite the impression on him."
"That's very touching, Sir Treize, give him my best. As for my father, do you know where one may find him?" asked Soleil.
"Why, he is currently in his office in the Senate. Your father is one of my most dependable Senators. You would be as proud of him as he will surely be upon hearing of your exploits as a Brother of The Order. By the way, I never formally thanked you for what you did for myself and my family. If not for your selfless actions, we would have perished."
"Thanks is not needed, Sir Treize. Your Excellency, Sir Treize, Baron Varadein requests assistance from the Republic in the form of soldiers and supplies, needed within five weeks at the latest."
"Sir Treize, call the Senators to an emergency hearing in the Golden Hall. We must discuss the matter at once." said Silviana.
"Right away, Your Excellency." acknowledged Treize.
"I thank you for hearing me, Your Excellency. My fellow travelers will be lodging at the Broken Shield Inn in the Victoria District. Should you require our presence, we shall be there." said Soleil.
"Thank you, Soleil. It's good to see your face again after all these years." said Silviana. "Your mother has retired from her services as my seamstress, you should visit her this afternoon after the Senate hearing."
"Gentlemen, I have firsthand experience with this Emperor and his men." proclaimed Treize. "He will stop at nothing to get what he wants, even if it means completely obliterating an entire kingdom to do so. I fear that if his men take Arimathea, they'll subsequently want the rest of Mystara."
"But if we were to fortify the city with an army, wouldn't that be viewed as an act of war?" asked one Senator.
"It would be only in defense!" proclaimed another.
"Isn't it about time you people realized that the ones causing the most threat are none other than yourselves?" yelled another.
"We will send a detachment of our military to aid Arimathea." decided Silviana.
"But, Your Excellency…" interrupted a Senator.
"You all know very well that I don't use my power to make executive decisions often, but I feel as though I must." she said. "I trust Treize's analysis of the situation, and I am in agreement. If we don't make the move now, we could very well be next."
"Now the next order of business I believe is to send ravens to the other four Kingdoms asking for their assistance as well." said Treize.
"Absolutely not!" shouted many of the Senators.
A loud commotion filled the air of the Golden Hall for a few moments that was only silenced when the doors of the hall flew open.
"Do you remember what happened last time you didn't want to band together with the other Kingdoms?" asked Soleil as he stepped through him.
"Guards, seize this man for intruding on a Senate meeting." said one of the Senators imperiously.
"Nobody will touch him." said one of the Senators as he stood.
He was a tall man with long, straight, grey hair. He did not have the look of a battle weary warrior, but that of a very wise man.
"Senator Jean-Luc, what is the meaning of this?" asked a Senator.
"This, Gentlemen, is my son, Soleil De Minuit, Brother of The Order of The Lionheart." said the Senator. "He was there in the Republic of Pandora when it was crushed by the very same Empire that threatens our Kingdoms. If there is anyone who should have a voice in the matter, it's somebody who sacrificed everything but his life in an attempt to repel the armies of a man who sees wars through rose tinted glasses."
"Senators, you have made the mistake of not uniting the Kingdoms before, and how many people died because of it. Our King, the late Rigdar, was killed along with hundreds of thousands of citizens just from our own Kingdom, not to mention the countless others who were killed from the other four." said Soleil. "The Lords of Chaos systematically destroyed the Mystaran Kingdoms in search of absolute power, and the Emperor will do the same. Send the ravens."
"Send the ravens." agreed Jean-Luc.
"Send them." agreed another Senator..
One by one, each Senator stood and agreed with Soleil, earning him a smile from his father, Senator Jean-Luc De Minuit. The Senators began to file out, the hum of general conversation among them.
"Senator Jean-Luc." called Silviana.
"Yes, Your Excellency?" he replied.
"I would like yourself and your son to meet me in my chamber in thirty minutes."
"It will be so, Your Excellency." said Jean-Luc as he nodded to Soleil.
"Your Excellency, I apologize for my intrusion earlier." said Soleil as he walked into her private chamber.
"Not to worry, Soleil. I believe they needed the outside motivation. They may be good men, but only Senator Gracchus has experienced war from the frontlines." said Silviana. "You're welcome to call me Silviana, Soleil. In fact I would appreciate it if you did so."
"As you wish, Silviana."
"When you walked out of the city four years ago, I figured you would be crawling back within weeks." said Jean-Luc as he stepped in from a side room. "But here you stand, with the look of the warrior you set out to be."
"Thank you, father. Life seems to have treated you well."
"Business has been kind to us. With the other four Kingdoms resuming trading as well as the need for reconstruction supplies, demand has been through the clouds. Life seems to have treated yourself well as well. Not a scratch on you!"
"Men with swords have been swinging at me quite a lot as of late. They just always seem to miss."
"Still have that same confidence, I see." laughed Jean-Luc as he embraced his son tightly.
After a few moments of embracing, they broke their holds and turned to face Silviana.
"How was your stay in Pandora? You simply must tell me."
"Perhaps another time, father. How may we be of service, Silviana?" asked Soleil.
"I was only curious what you intend to do in the coming weeks." she replied.
"Myself and my companions will wait here in Darimar until your battalion begins the march to Arimathea, at which point we will accompany them."
"Why don't you stay here in Darimar?" asked Jean-Luc.
"Absolutely not." replied Soleil. "We are responsible for turning the empire's attention to Mystara. Had we not sailed here, nor would they. Plus, I have a group of men learning the ways of Heironeous and the laws of The Order."
"We could set up a place for your men here, establish a temple of sorts of Heironeous and his followers." said Silviana.
"Until the Emperor himself has been dispatched, I could not continue to endanger the Kingdom. Or Republic, I should say." said Soleil.
"You're going after the Emperor?"
"Should Heironeous wish it, it shall be so." replied Soleil. "The Emperor will not rest until he has my head on a pike, more so now that I'm initiating new Brothers into The Order."
"Well, the first step is holding Arimathea." said Jean-Luc. "The Empire sends one thousand men, we will send two thousand."
"We should have them camped outside of the city, close, so as not to alert General Tiberius of their presence. If we can avoid any further incidents by not appearing openly overzealous, we will be better off. We just cant let them out of the city."
"Why is that?"
"Because there's no reason for them to move inland other than to attempt to conquer Mystara from the inside out."
"We let them leave, and Darimar could be next." interjected Silviana.
"WILL be next." said Soleil.
"I will instruct Commander Alynshir to assemble a battalion immediately." said Jean-Luc.
"Very well. Soleil, your friends and yourself will be quartered in the dignitaries' suites until you leave, if that pleases you." said Silviana.
"I thank you for your hospitality, Silviana. Good day. Father." said Soleil as he nodded to his father, then left, gently closing the door behind him.