The war against the Demon King was not going well after the betrayal of our Arch-Mage of the Royal Court. The blow was hard, because it had taken a large part of our magicians, be they from the army, summoners or alchemists, under the name of the Anti-Monarchist faction. No one knows when his loyalty was lost or if there ever was a shred of it. The only known information about him was his short stay without any apparent purpose in a sparsely populated town on the outskirts of the capital. My father, King Jeremiah Davias VI, sent one of the ten main squads of the Kingdom, commanded by Thomes Holme, a member of the Kingsguard, where only the strongest and bravest warriors of the kingdom could be part, in hopes of ending this issue once and for all. Nobody came back. The logical option to believe in would have been the death of the knights, however none of the members of the squad were sighted. With no body to analyze, the king's official spies were unable to make a report.
After a few days, the Court reached a conclusion. Summon the heroes of the other world. The idea was rejected by the Church of the Five Gods, under the thought of the danger that they represented for the balance of power and, above all, for humanity.
'How hypocrites. Lying to people and then acting concerned about them while deep down in their hearts there is only selfishness and the only concern they feel is for themselves. I don't understand how Father still believes in their teachings when it is nothing more but a pack of lies.'
It seemed that their gods had not listened to them, because apparently, Father, the most faithful of the living believers of the five gods, ignored the warnings made by the Church and heeded the few remaining magicians. This generated dissatisfaction in the Court and several nobles even thought that the Pope was going to threaten with his own holy knights, however, thanks to his pacifist ideology, he managed to reach an agreement between his own forces and those of the King.
My Personal Guards followed me to the two huge doors of the Summoning Center. The 'Gates of Nathaniel'. Many folktales among children of noble blood were recited by their servants, of course I also had the opportunity to listen to them. They were said to be the largest in all of Verdenia Castle, even larger than the entrance to the Throne Room. They towered over anyone who passed by, making even the tallest Knight in Aerthia's history, Kasdarth Dundel, look like a frail ant. Beautiful curvilinear golden decorations were painted on its edges that accentuated the majesty and mysticity that the room produced. It was said that centuries ago, the first hero, Nathaniel, was summoned along with two others in this place, the Raud Kingdom. Unfortunately the other two were victims of 'methilisis', a serious disease that only occurs to summoned creatures. As a result, the only one alive, Nathaniel was appointed Commander of the Kingsguard under the reign of Trivon I and swore to fight on behalf of his dead friends. However, no other hero was summoned in this Kingdom and each nation had its own legend of the 'first hero', as well as legends of dragons and vampires who controlled everything from the shadows.
I stopped walking once I caught sight of the entrance to the Summoning Center and a realization that I had never seen anything so impressive in my life flashed through my head. Exactly as those unrealistic children's tales described them, it was strange that it had been kept perfectly for so long, not even the summoners entered that place, since it was supposed to only be used to summon heroes, for other studies they had their own experimentation rooms, which they could modify at their choice while in the hands of the Kingdom.
No one besides the King and the summoning magicians could set foot in this room, but an authorization from the King himself in the world of the living had the same authority as the word of the Five Gods in the world of the dead, reason enough to being able to enter and be a part of this event that would change history.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
Showing the Royal Decree to the two Guards standing on either side of the gates, ever vigilant, I was granted quiet permission to enter.
The process of opening them was one too long for my liking. Both of them went to two levers located on the sides of each door at a height adjusted for human size. Pulling them open, the doors slowly swung back to reveal a wondrous view. A long and wide room. In the center there were stairs of little distance between each step and at the end of the ascent a great altar with a circle was shown, from which a slight red light came out, drawn by the several people dressed in robes, in which it seemed a dangerous situation, because they were rushing from one side to the other with ancient books in their hands. Finally, my gaze drifted to a frightened butler.
"What is Your Royal Highness doing in this place?! If everything gets out of control we won't be able to do anything to save you!" said Matthias, my personal butler assigned by my own father.
"Nothing out of my position." I showed him the Decree. "Besides, I have my Guards."
"That's not enough! Heroes are monsters. Beings from another world who with their magic can pulverize cities. Your weak guards won't stand a chance against their wrath."
"The King authorized me to attend with an important reason. To gain experience. Right now I am acting under his orders, I will have to explain the situation to the heroes and calm them down in case of any trouble. According to Father, this is a way for me to mature as the future Queen of this great nation and I will do so. If one of the heroes attempts to harm anyone within this room, do not hesitate to trust in my Guards. Their invaluable loyalty and their great bravery and honor will be more than enough in the case of our care and protection. The real question is, what are YOU doing here?"
Following my words, the Guards formed around the altar, in the best position to kill the heroes without giving them a chance to attack in case of any kind of danger.
A smirk forming on Matthias's face preceded his words.
"Your Highness is exactly what this Kingdom needs. A Queen who accepts any form of learning, has great ambition and earned the loyalty of her servants. I'm proud of you and I'm sure your paren-" he stopped speaking and took the palm of his hand to his forehead, a giggle escaped from his mouth. "I have just disrespected Their Majesties by calling them something other than the honorific, please excuse me." I nodded to accept his apology while laughing. "The truth is that His Majesty sent me to act as a supervisor and assistant in the event of any inconvenience."
"So Father doesn't think I'm capable."
"You are mistaken, Your Highness, it is only concern for your safety."
We looked at each other's faces. I could see the gray in his hair and the wrinkles caused by old age. Time passed too fast. It was not fair. I remembered the times we played in the Castle garden, the time he consoled me for the injuries sustained in my first training, the time he celebrated with me when Father returned victorious from the last battle in the war against the Tremer Empire. He was there when my parents were not. My emotional support in my worst moments and the only person with whom to enjoy the best. Although at this time he was already old, in my childhood he was brimming with youth.
Then I remembered where I was. This was no time to get emotional. I had only one duty and that affected the welfare of the Kingdom.
"There's something I wondered the moment I stepped foot in this place, why is everyone in such a hurry?" I said, nodding in the direction of the wizards.
"It seems there was an unforeseen problem with the summoning. They say that the red light doesn't appear in any of the books in the Royal Library. Also after that damn Geigar and his anti-monarchy rebellion, we're short on manpower."
I approached the altar. The noise caused by the wizards' hurried footsteps and their screams stopped as if someone had cast a spell. However, the reason for the silence was myself. Feeling all eyes on me, I climbed step by step with difficulty thanks to my heels. Upon reaching the top and seeing the light at a greater closeness, shivers ran through my body and I fell.
Something terrifying was hiding in that circle. I knew that. I had to warn them.
Matthias abruptly stopped my fall by holding me in his arms. The light spread in the surroundings, blinding everyone present. My last sight was my own Guards pointing their weapons at the circle.