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January 27, 2001
War in Dawn
It was time.
King Desmond's army stood before him, clad in jet black, a strange assortment of knights and warriors of Dawn, citizens of the Village of Fairhaven, and members of the dreaded Dark Tower. Many nervous and hateful glances were exchanged between the Dawnites and those of the Tower...for they had long been enemies...but dire times called for dire measures, and despite the involvement of the Dark Tower, still these soldiers of Dawn stood by their King.
Of course, Desmond was scantly recognizeable as their ruler, for his hair had gone from light brown to jet black in the hours before the battle. And his eyes...his eyes were like 2 blazing pits from hell, red and piercing.
Desmond smiled. He had received word scant hours earlier that a message had been dispatched to the Royal Guard from the Lord General urging them to join forces with the Royal Court. Apparently some of the guards, including the ringleaders who were organizing the military takeover of Dawn, had fled during the night. So, they think their chances will be better if they join forces against me, Desmond thought.
Fools.
Mistress Ivy of the Dark Tower approached Desmond. "I take my leave of you now...I leave my children in your care," Ivy said, gesturing to the Dark Tower soldiers.
"Aye, they will serve the Tow...er, they will serve Dawn well," Desmond replied.
Ivy laughed. "Correct on both counts," she said as she walked away.
Desmond turned back to his soldiers, looking his forces over. "Patriots of Dawn, today shall be a glorious day," he said, "for today we free our kingdom from the traitors and usurpers who have siezed out homeland! DEATH TO ALL TRAITORS!"
"DEATH TO ALL TRAITORS!", the soldiers cried out in reply.
"Mystics, practice your art...open the moongates!"
***
Multiple blue moongates shimmered deep in Southern Dawn, and Desmond's army flooded out of them into the forest. Silently, Desmond led the soldiers northward.
The first skirmish occured scant minutes later, as Desmond's forces stumbled upon an enemy patrol. Desmond recognized their guild insignia...they were from the fabled Savage Truth guild. So, the Royal Court had turned to their old friends and allies for support...as much good as it would do them, Desmond thought.
In moments, his forces were upon them.
The paladins of the Savage Truth were taken by suprise, and overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of Desmond's forces...but still, they battled on, their swords slashing, seemingly everywhere at once. The bodies of dozens of men lay strewn about them. But then, after what seemed an eternity, the legendary Lord Falwyn fell, lost in a swarm of black...and the hero Tibereous was lost not long after.
Desmond's army moved on.
Approaching the center of the Kingdom and Dawn Tower, Desmond found his forces set upon by wave upon wave of Royal Court soldiers, including more Savage Truth members. The Royal Court, rather than facing Desmond's army en masse, decided to split into several smaller groups. However, the strategy worked against them, as it allowed Desmond's numerically inferior force to beat down the smaller individual groups. Still, the Royal Court's numbers seemed to be unending...until finally, the last of them fell to the blood-stained ground.
Desmond gazed about himself. They, too, had taken heavy casualties...but the battle was done. Once again was he Dawn's one true leige and lord!
Suddenly, a lone soldier rode towards Desmond through the mist. As he drew closer, King Desmond recognized him. It was none other than Sir Malchar, Grand Magistry of the Blue Rose, Dawn's Knighted order. However, Malchar wore niether the black uniform of Desmond's army, nor the blue of the Royal Court, or the red of the guards. Malchar took no sides in the battle, refusing to fight against his countrymen.
"Like a true coward," Desmond smirked.
One of the Dark Tower soldiers unsheathed his sword. "Sire, should I..."
"No," Desmond replied. "Let him come. He is harmless."
Malchar approached. "Desmond, you must stop this madness," he pleaded. "The bracelet is controlling you...please, my liege, come with me that we may find a way to cure you of this evil!"
Desmond only laughed. "You poor fool," he said. "What makes you think I want your cure?" He turned to one of his soldiers to give the order to have Malchar killed.
Suddenly, the defeated ladies Wildstar and Vixen of the Royal Court cried out, almost in unison, "Now!"
With a loud whine, a moongate appeared out of nowhere next to Desmond and Malchar. Malchar grabbed Desmond, and they both fell into the gate. A few of Desmond's soldiers lunged after him, but it was too late; the gate had vanished.
"The King has been abducted!" someone cried out.
"Aye, just as we planned," Lady Wildstar said. Vixen nodded in agreement.
Puzzled, Desmond's army slowly began the task of gathering the prisoners and tending to the dead and wounded. They now controlled Dawn...but still was Dawn without a king.
Posted by Keith at January 27, 2001 2:49 AM