Chapter 13 (Part I): The Queen is Dead. Long Live the Queen.

A crown is symbolic of the weight of the responsibilities a ruler bears. Some satirists criticized Queen Azraea for never adopting a ‘proper’ (in other words, ridiculously over-sized) crown, and implied it was because she never really took her title seriously. They called her a princess, playing the part of a queen. I think, though, that had any one of them been brave enough to meet her in person, they would have seen more strength in her eyes than any crown could show you.

-          From the memoirs of Retger Schroeder, (briefly) Captain of the Queensguard.

Azraea had asked her friends to stay at the citadel for a while after the dragon was slain, in order to do what they could to aid the people of Defiance in salvaging their town. The people had remained safe in the mountain with their most valuable possessions, but the dragon’s fire had left many homeless, and destroyed many of their belongings. Ultimately, most of the town would simply have to be rebuilt from scratch. It would be a costly endeavor but Azraea had not been concerned about that; her concerns rested primarily with the welfare of the displaced people in the meantime. She had summoned Thrakaduhl to the capital along with the others in order to discuss an appropriate response and the town’s ultimate future.

Eventually, Ochsner, Kaira, and Thrakaduhl rode towards Kingstown, with Vidi and Azraea’s dog, Cu Sith, following in a cart. The rest of Vinny’s troops remained at the pass under Vicki's command. Azraea didn’t necessarily like the Gnomans having complete control over such an important strategic asset but it was distinctly possible that the Quinox nations bordering Caelia to the north might get grabby after the dragon’s death, and she’d come to feel that it was better that the citadel be in Gnoman hands than in the hands of total strangers. She might have sent her own troops to secure it but, at this point, she did not yet have an army she trusted any more than she did the Gnoman Empire.

As they traveled, our heroes found the countryside alive with activity. Sparked by news from the west meeting news from the east, rumors were now spreading like wildfire. Also, a few wildfires were spreading like rumors, but fortunately not too many.

People now passed word that the dragon had been slain and that there was a new queen in Kingstown, and accounts of how that had all happened varied greatly. The most prevalent version was that Azraea had simply shamed the dragon so greatly in front of the city’s people that it had flown off and never returned. Ochsner’s favorite version, though, was the Monarchists’ version, which claimed that the queen was a descendant of an ancient bloodline, and when she sat upon the throne in Kingstown it had automatically caused the dragon to explode. Another version was that the new queen had given the dragon a piece of her mind to chew on, the dragon had choked upon it, and exploded herself. That version was Kaira’s favorite, simply because it attempted to seamlessly and nonsensically blend metaphor with reality. Thrakaduhl was not content with any of the options, so at each stop he invented a new version to pass on, intending to see what stuck. Ochsner accused him of performing some form of bizarre social experiment, but he insisted he simply fancied himself a story-teller, and that he did not believe the spirit of his art should be compromised by technical details like accuracy or consistency.

When they came into the greater Kingstown area, it was teeming with activity. The city looked like it was under siege. It was buttoned up, gates closed and bridges up, with bright fires burning on the castle parapets. The walls were surrounded by an enormous military encampment. Said encampment, however, was filled with locals going to and fro among the tents, trading freely with the small Gnoman soldiers who themselves bustled about on various errands.

Their approach was spotted by a Gnoman patrol that rode to meet them on the back of a large canine that looked like a heavy-built, short-furred wolf hound. Vidi gave some sort of hand sign or salute before the most senior of the soldiers rode over to him, blocking the others’ view of the conversation that followed.

The man became very excited, “Praetor Vexarius will be glad to hear your travelling companions have finally arrived.”

 “Lead on then, sergeant,” Vidi said, “And round up some fanfare. These people have earned a bit of a display.”

“Sir, yes sir!” The sergeant performed his task well – before long they were proceeding down the road with three Gnoman cavalrymen on each side, each of them carrying brilliant banners with colorful symbols and Gnoman writing. At first it was slightly humorous because even on foot Thrakaduhl and Kaira would have dwarfed the Gnomans and their riding hounds, but all along the road, as they passed, Gnoman soldiers would stop what they were doing, turn, and salute, first with a hand to their brow and then with an extended fist, uttering something they couldn’t make out. Ochsner finally asked what they were saying and Vidi explained that the first part was a simple salute for a senior agent of the empire, himself, and the second part was a special salute for honored friends of the empire: them.

Ochsner looked back and noticed that they were being followed – a mixed lot of troops had joined in the procession, creating an informal – if quite small – parade. Caelia Highway Guard followed closest behind, and behind them were two sets of elves walking next to each other – half of them in stunning white and gold armor, and half of them in obsidian black and silver.

“Who are they?” Ochsner prodded Kaira.

“Oh, because they’re elves I must know them, right?”

Ochsner glared at her silently, and Kaira relented. “The ones in white are soldiers of the White Rose – the Haorzawa family. The ones in the black are soldiers of the Star Born.”

“What family is the Star Born?”

“Asterigennithika!” Thrakaduhl laughed.

“Yeah, yeah, very funny. Hope you’re ready to meet my mother,” Kaira said. Thrakaduhl became deathly silent and his skin color seemed to fade slightly.   

By the time they reached the gate it had been cleared of traffic for their approach. More guards – this time Kingstown City Guard and actual infantrymen from Caelia’s military replaced the gnoman guards at the gate, and led them the rest of the way.

Ochsner expected the city to look like it had just suffered through a terrible war but that was only partly true. Everywhere she looked, she could see clear damage from weeks of sporadic violence both before and after the dragon’s death but right now the city was alive with activity. People were out in the streets cleaning and repairing everything in sight. Some people stopped and watched them go by, arguing over something. Ochsner eventually realized that some of them thought they recognized Kaira from Azraea’s first tangle with the dragon in the market and others were speculating as to whether Thrakaduhl was the orc hero of the east.

Kaira’s friend and former teacher, Schroeder came down the street on horseback in regalia that distinguished him as the commander of the cityguard with two of his men following him. He enthusiastically greeted Kaira and her friends, and then finally introduced himself to Vidi, “You are Legate Kaorus, I presume?”

“Indeed; I am here on behalf of the Gnoman Empress, to help officiate the Gnoman Empire’s recognition of your queen’s title, and to negotiate your state’s entrance into the Gnoman Empire.” This caught Ochsner by surprise – both that the empire would so readily accept her rule and then ask her to forfeit it, but Schroeder reacted as if that were the expected response, smiled, and led them up to the castle. The gates swung open, the portcullis rose, and it was quickly apparent why things were being kept so secure.

The courtyard was filled with gold statues, sculptures, and other large items, with workers crating and labelling them. A vast amount of wealth simply sat out in the open.

“Pardon our progress,” Schroeder said, “It was rather difficult to get the castle cleaned and aired out with all of that gold in there, so we’ve had to spread it about and the queen’s very particular about seeing that every piece of it be documented before we do anything with it.”

Cu Sith suddenly perked up at a familiar smell, and launched off of Vidi’s cart, running full tilt into the castle. The rest of the party dismounted more slowly, leaving their horses to the castle guard, and walked down a hallway to the throne room. The walls were stacked with crates, bins, and lockers filled with more gold, and guarding the treasure were knights in full plate armor who snapped to attention as they passed. The slits in their helmets, which should have revealed human eyes, instead let out the faint green glow of ancient spirits.

The throne room was filled with more gold, and at the center of it, Azraea waited for them upon the ancient golden throne of their kingdom. She was flanked on either side by two more ethereal knights, one of whom she’d apparently been talking with as she scratched Cu Sith behind the ears. The dog had taken up residence next to the throne as if he was born to sit there, and it looked as if the ghostly knight had found that amusing.