D
Dyn01
Guest
Original poster
For hundreds of years, the kingdom of Tenebrae and their monarchy had stood tall. Amongst all of the conflicts, the trying years of war and famine, the periods of exploration and discovery, the kingdom had stood tall, and looked like it would for the future and beyond. However, the future was never something that was to be set in stone. That was something that became painfully obvious that night.
They had predicted that they would be coming soon. The country of Nox had been knocking at the borders of Tenebrae for a couple of months. But the swiftness that they went through the villages and towards the capital was surprising. Simple to forget that just a year prior, the two had been comrades in arms, possibly as close as it was when it came to relations. But, now… They were knocking at the front of their gates, but this time it was with a battering ram. A burst of flames erupted through the gates as they began to crack open, engulfing and burning the soldiers that were stationed just behind the gate to intercept. A noticeable distortion appeared in front of the soldiers, however- invisible magical shields. Protecting them from the brunt of the flame magic, they stood before the soldiers alive and partially scorched. Confidence was there for a fleeting moment, before the enemy was sighted.
Before them stood a platoon of lance-wielding soldiers, and from there they knew that the mages were behind them. Their numbers could have been anything from two to three times their own, and that was not counting the ones that had begun scaling the walls and were propelling down behind them. The group tensed, some of their legs began shaking, and others could already see their deaths coming. Beyond a miracle taking place..
"This place is bound to fall."
The king's face, already wrinkling from all the years of worrying, and scarred from the years of battle that he partook in as a boy, looked solemn. The knights standing in the room, loyal to him as they could be, knew just how hard it was for him to admit those words. It was an admission of his own failure, and one on a monumental scale. Tenebrae was going to change, and it would be a bloody path to that change. "I was a fool to not see Nox for what they were," he reflected as the explosions and grunts and yells continued outside. They would get to the throne room soon, and with that in mind, they had to make their move even sooner. The first mission was to gather the royal family, and all of them except for the Princess was now there.
"My King, we shall head to the capital of Lumina." The knight that had just spoken up had a well-polished suit of armor, his chest out in front of him in pride. He carried himself like a leader, and he was just that: the leader of the Tenebrae knights. As such, he was the one who had to come up with a rational plan and execute it. "Full-blown war I think will be unavoidable after all of this. Lumina is obligated to act, like the other countries, towards Nox's actions." The King gave an affirmative nod to the knight's suggestion- it was a fail-safe maneuver after all.
"So, you have chosen those to come with us?"
The knight gave a nod. "Yes, I have chosen ten knights outside of myself to guard us, two are fetching the princess right now. All of these people, I believe, are talented enough for you to be protected through the trek to get to Lumina." Of the other ten people that were standing before the King, there stood one man who drew his attention. The men had begun to prepare the route to escape, which was hidden underneath the throne itself. As some worked to push the throne out of the way, two people, including the man who had drawn his attention, moved to the door to look for any movement.
"Ah, are you not the recently christened member of the Paladins?" the King asked of the man standing at the door. He was startled, but stepped looked back at him with conviction. "I remember you… the name was Jericho Fairchild, was it not?" He gave a quick nod, not sure what else he could say about being called out by the King. He was sure that if he knew his name that he also knew of his lineage. It must have been what he was going to question him about. "You're so young…" But the question he's expecting does not come, as the King simply gives him a small smile. "Impressive, however. A knight's true worth is in his service, not his age. I know we're asking a lot of you, but it's because we expect a lot out of you that we are putting this on you. So calm down."
Jericho was surprised at the King's words. He took a quick breath in and out- was he actually breathing so quickly before? He was so worried that he did not even notice it. "Yes, my King," he replied before looking back towards the door, hoping to catch sight of his comrades and the princess soon. 'Good fortune won't come to those who don't face their problems... Just the fact that I'm here proves that I have a chance to reverse my own fortune.'