Prologue
The Night of Sorrows
An explosion tore through the still night air of the peaceful palace, shredding it with so much force and sound that it shook the entire building right down to its foundation stones. All heads jerked upright at the sound and every eye in the royal birthing room except for the queen, who was in the throes of labor, turned in the direction of the horrific noise.
King Dorian Salidor’s handsome face went rigid with fear at the sound. He was already worried half to death about his lovely wife lying on the bed. To him the birthing of the twins seemed to be taking a lot longer than what he thought necessary. Now it sounded like the rest of the royal palace was being attacked.
Glancing at his protector, the knight champion Bertravis Liolbane and his new personal battlemage Colin Lightbringer, the king made a split decision. He commanded the battlemage to find out what was going on outside.
Grabbing his red oak mace staff, Colin raced out of the birthing room in a blur of black and gold.
Then, turning to his champion, who also wore a worried expression etched upon his face, King Dorian ordered him to stand fast by the door and to check on the other two knights standing guard in the hall outside.
The tall stern faced Krannion knight commander and champion of the royal family, moved towards the door and slowly opened it, his hand tight on his proctors’ sword hilt.
The ringing of metal on metal signified a battle being fought. The sounds of it filled the birthing chamber. A look of alarm flashed on the champion’s face when he saw no sign of the knights stationed outside of the door. He found them a moment later farther down the hall standing with Colin Lightbringer attempting to hold off a horde of what looked like Terian northmen being led by a tall blond haired man with ice-cold blue eyes from reaching their chambers. At least they had the help of the battlemage.
Two loud wails behind him split the air. The knight champion and royal protector thought he saw a slight smile cross the face of the blonde haired man leading the group as he looked in his direction and redoubled his efforts against Colin whom he appeared to have singled out personally.
Bertravis Liolbane slammed the oak door to the birthing room shut and quickly slid a thick iron bolt in place, locking them in. Turning back to the dark curly haired king that he was sworn to protect he said, “Sire it appears that we are under attack from a force of Terian invaders.”
“Terians!” King Dorian Salidor’s astonished voice returned, “Here in the palace this far south are you sure Bertravis?”
“That’s what they looked like sire,” the knight champion told him in a grim tone, “They appear to be coming to this very room! Help me block the door! We need to hurry and get the rest of your family to safety using the escape passageway in your chambers before they arrive.”
The Krannion knight champion turned and saw Lady Alice, the queen’s mother, holding the second of the newborn babies in her arms and the queen holding the first.
As the knight and the king started to grab furniture and pile it in front of the door, Bertravis called out to the ladies in waiting to get the queen and the new born heirs out of this room and into the royal bedchambers.
Lady Alice who had been listening to their conversation turned and bent over the queen saying something into her daughter’s ear. For a moment the new mother looked distraught and shook her pretty head fervently no. Then she stretched out a hand towards her second baby in her own mother’s arms.
Shooting a look towards the door and in a commanding low voice, the Lady Alice said something else. The queen reluctantly took what appeared to be a baby into her arms from her mother and allowed the first one that she had been clutching to be given into the hands of one of her maids. All of the maids set out carrying the weakened queen out of the birthing room and towards the royal bedchambers.
The sounds of the fighting outside the door grew louder and closer. Then in an instant it was over and an eerie silence was all the other two men heard as they still continued to pile up the furniture in front of the door.
Seeing that there was nothing else left that they could put in the way of the invading soldiers the king and his champion turned to face each other, both praying to their individual gods that what they had done would buy enough time.
It was then that they heard the rich baritone voice that sounded familiar to them both outside the door say, “So they are in there then.”
A cold imperious sounding voice answered the first in a hiss, “Yes Sire.”
Both the king and the knight looked at each other in relieved surprise glad at hearing the sound of the king’s younger brother Lord Vargas and his wizard outside of the door. Their next words turned their blood to ice as they heard the kings fourth and only surviving brother say loudly, “Cyadine, destroy this door immediately. We have to hurry up and kill them and the newborn heirs before they can escape the castle in order to make this mission a success.”
The sound of a wizard’s incantation being cast caused the two men to race out of the birthing chamber and run towards the royal bedroom where the others had already fled.
The maids led the queen through a side room that was used as a wardrobe closet and into a narrow escape stone staircase that went down deep into the bowels of the castle, straight to an underground chamber and river that flowed beneath it.
As the king and his champion ran into the bedchamber, Bertravis noticed that there was no sign of Lady Alice or of the birthing rags that she had been clutching to her chest. He couldn’t spare the time to worry about her though at that moment because the king spun back to him and demanded that he give up his sword to him.
“What!” shouted the Champion, grabbing the leather wrapped hilt tightly in his hand, “Sire, have you taken leave of your senses?”
“Give me your sword, Bertravis Liolbane,” the dark haired king ordered as he withdrew a leather-fighting glove out of his pants pocket and slipped it onto his left hand.
The knight protector and champion stared directly into the king’s own dark blue eyes, tightened his hand over his swords hilt and for the first time ever refused an order. “No Sire, I will not. You and your family are my responsibility you are to be saved and kept alive. I will die here now to protect you and yours, as is my sworn duty. Go on with the women and the children to the boats below, please Sire.”
The king eyed the taller man with the dark eyes, standing in front of him and ordered again in an almost desperate voice. “Give me your sword Bertravis Liolbane and you go ensure the safety of my family. They must be saved, I will stay here and buy you the necessary time,” The king eyed the knight with a deadly serious expression on his face and in his dark blue-eyes, “You know that I am more than capable of doing this Bertravis. My children must survive to inherit my throne. Promise me on your own honor that you will see to it that they escape and survive to take the throne and crown again someday.”
As he finished saying this, the door to the birthing chamber disappeared. It simply vanished into thin air and the men behind it began to remove the piled furniture that had been placed in their path.
King Dorian’s eyes were still pleading with the knight and finally with tears in his dark eyes, the protector of the royal family withdrew his proctor’s sword and gave it over to his king. He gave it a few swings to test its balance and weight. Bertravis Liolbane quickly knelt and swore at his king’s feet that he would see to the safety of his family or die trying.
The king of the fourteen kingdoms nodded, then turned grim faced towards the approaching men, he stood in the narrow opening of the escape way with the silver proctors sword in his hand and hoped that he could kill enough of the men charging at him to give his family time to safely get away.
With hot tears spilling out of his dark eyes, the knight champion and royal protector turned and fled down the stairs towards the underground chamber after the queen and her babies, vowing to fulfill his promise to his king or die trying.
The Night of Sorrows
An explosion tore through the still night air of the peaceful palace, shredding it with so much force and sound that it shook the entire building right down to its foundation stones. All heads jerked upright at the sound and every eye in the royal birthing room except for the queen, who was in the throes of labor, turned in the direction of the horrific noise.
King Dorian Salidor’s handsome face went rigid with fear at the sound. He was already worried half to death about his lovely wife lying on the bed. To him the birthing of the twins seemed to be taking a lot longer than what he thought necessary. Now it sounded like the rest of the royal palace was being attacked.
Glancing at his protector, the knight champion Bertravis Liolbane and his new personal battlemage Colin Lightbringer, the king made a split decision. He commanded the battlemage to find out what was going on outside.
Grabbing his red oak mace staff, Colin raced out of the birthing room in a blur of black and gold.
Then, turning to his champion, who also wore a worried expression etched upon his face, King Dorian ordered him to stand fast by the door and to check on the other two knights standing guard in the hall outside.
The tall stern faced Krannion knight commander and champion of the royal family, moved towards the door and slowly opened it, his hand tight on his proctors’ sword hilt.
The ringing of metal on metal signified a battle being fought. The sounds of it filled the birthing chamber. A look of alarm flashed on the champion’s face when he saw no sign of the knights stationed outside of the door. He found them a moment later farther down the hall standing with Colin Lightbringer attempting to hold off a horde of what looked like Terian northmen being led by a tall blond haired man with ice-cold blue eyes from reaching their chambers. At least they had the help of the battlemage.
Two loud wails behind him split the air. The knight champion and royal protector thought he saw a slight smile cross the face of the blonde haired man leading the group as he looked in his direction and redoubled his efforts against Colin whom he appeared to have singled out personally.
Bertravis Liolbane slammed the oak door to the birthing room shut and quickly slid a thick iron bolt in place, locking them in. Turning back to the dark curly haired king that he was sworn to protect he said, “Sire it appears that we are under attack from a force of Terian invaders.”
“Terians!” King Dorian Salidor’s astonished voice returned, “Here in the palace this far south are you sure Bertravis?”
“That’s what they looked like sire,” the knight champion told him in a grim tone, “They appear to be coming to this very room! Help me block the door! We need to hurry and get the rest of your family to safety using the escape passageway in your chambers before they arrive.”
The Krannion knight champion turned and saw Lady Alice, the queen’s mother, holding the second of the newborn babies in her arms and the queen holding the first.
As the knight and the king started to grab furniture and pile it in front of the door, Bertravis called out to the ladies in waiting to get the queen and the new born heirs out of this room and into the royal bedchambers.
Lady Alice who had been listening to their conversation turned and bent over the queen saying something into her daughter’s ear. For a moment the new mother looked distraught and shook her pretty head fervently no. Then she stretched out a hand towards her second baby in her own mother’s arms.
Shooting a look towards the door and in a commanding low voice, the Lady Alice said something else. The queen reluctantly took what appeared to be a baby into her arms from her mother and allowed the first one that she had been clutching to be given into the hands of one of her maids. All of the maids set out carrying the weakened queen out of the birthing room and towards the royal bedchambers.
The sounds of the fighting outside the door grew louder and closer. Then in an instant it was over and an eerie silence was all the other two men heard as they still continued to pile up the furniture in front of the door.
Seeing that there was nothing else left that they could put in the way of the invading soldiers the king and his champion turned to face each other, both praying to their individual gods that what they had done would buy enough time.
It was then that they heard the rich baritone voice that sounded familiar to them both outside the door say, “So they are in there then.”
A cold imperious sounding voice answered the first in a hiss, “Yes Sire.”
Both the king and the knight looked at each other in relieved surprise glad at hearing the sound of the king’s younger brother Lord Vargas and his wizard outside of the door. Their next words turned their blood to ice as they heard the kings fourth and only surviving brother say loudly, “Cyadine, destroy this door immediately. We have to hurry up and kill them and the newborn heirs before they can escape the castle in order to make this mission a success.”
The sound of a wizard’s incantation being cast caused the two men to race out of the birthing chamber and run towards the royal bedroom where the others had already fled.
The maids led the queen through a side room that was used as a wardrobe closet and into a narrow escape stone staircase that went down deep into the bowels of the castle, straight to an underground chamber and river that flowed beneath it.
As the king and his champion ran into the bedchamber, Bertravis noticed that there was no sign of Lady Alice or of the birthing rags that she had been clutching to her chest. He couldn’t spare the time to worry about her though at that moment because the king spun back to him and demanded that he give up his sword to him.
“What!” shouted the Champion, grabbing the leather wrapped hilt tightly in his hand, “Sire, have you taken leave of your senses?”
“Give me your sword, Bertravis Liolbane,” the dark haired king ordered as he withdrew a leather-fighting glove out of his pants pocket and slipped it onto his left hand.
The knight protector and champion stared directly into the king’s own dark blue eyes, tightened his hand over his swords hilt and for the first time ever refused an order. “No Sire, I will not. You and your family are my responsibility you are to be saved and kept alive. I will die here now to protect you and yours, as is my sworn duty. Go on with the women and the children to the boats below, please Sire.”
The king eyed the taller man with the dark eyes, standing in front of him and ordered again in an almost desperate voice. “Give me your sword Bertravis Liolbane and you go ensure the safety of my family. They must be saved, I will stay here and buy you the necessary time,” The king eyed the knight with a deadly serious expression on his face and in his dark blue-eyes, “You know that I am more than capable of doing this Bertravis. My children must survive to inherit my throne. Promise me on your own honor that you will see to it that they escape and survive to take the throne and crown again someday.”
As he finished saying this, the door to the birthing chamber disappeared. It simply vanished into thin air and the men behind it began to remove the piled furniture that had been placed in their path.
King Dorian’s eyes were still pleading with the knight and finally with tears in his dark eyes, the protector of the royal family withdrew his proctor’s sword and gave it over to his king. He gave it a few swings to test its balance and weight. Bertravis Liolbane quickly knelt and swore at his king’s feet that he would see to the safety of his family or die trying.
The king of the fourteen kingdoms nodded, then turned grim faced towards the approaching men, he stood in the narrow opening of the escape way with the silver proctors sword in his hand and hoped that he could kill enough of the men charging at him to give his family time to safely get away.
With hot tears spilling out of his dark eyes, the knight champion and royal protector turned and fled down the stairs towards the underground chamber after the queen and her babies, vowing to fulfill his promise to his king or die trying.
