THE BLOOD ROYALS Book 2: Long Live The Queen!

Chapter Ten: The Warden of Cray Thera

Saine Neane
Army Base
Prince Relian's POV
"Sitrep." I demanded as soon as I walked into the control room.

One of soldiers approached me. "General, a prison break in Cray Thera."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Isn't that the jurisdiction of Griffin Hugh?" I asked. The room fell silent and all eyes turned to me. That's when I realized something is happening here and I'm completely out of the loop. I hate this place. I hate how disconnected I am about almost everything! How am I supposed to be in charge when I know nothing? I blinked slowly and just took a second to breathe. "Someone fill me in."

"Griffin Hugh is a prisoner in Cray Thera." One of the sergeants told me.

"What's your name?"

"Talbot sir.".

"Talbot, you're in charge of filling me in. Why is Griffin a prisoner?"

The last time I checked, Griffin Hugh ran Cray Thera. Cray Thera used to be a duchy but the Duke in charge back then was permissive with his subjects. It was only a matter of time before the duchy was out of his control and anarchy against the crown seemed to be the banner they carried. To keep the rebellion from spreading like an infectious disease through Chea Niva, my grandfather tasked the Dark Army to silence Cray Thera. They were given exactly twelve hours to surrender. When the order was given it was midnight. The Duke, subdued and thrown out of his palace surrendered. He was taken as a prisoner by the crown to be punished for allowing the situation to escalate to a full scale rebellion.

Back then, my grandfather was an unmarried young man, newly coronated as king. He was determined to prove himself a formidable king. His platform was simple. Order through submission and if force was necessary then Cray Thera would see his iron fist. While the unruly duchy went on a rampage killing any blue bloods they got their hands on, my grandfather was on a mission to bring order back at all costs.

When the duchy received the order to surrender, they refused and instead threatened to bring the anarchy to the other duchies. They fortified themselves in readiness for war. Cray Thera is an island on the North west side of Lokefar and Saine Neane. There was no way of attack without them seeing it coming. But the odds didn't deter Dargan. He was hell bent on order and he adhered to his 12 hour warning for them to submit to his rule. He was angry and outraged not just because of the rebellion but the murder of his relatives who were among the blue bloods beheaded by the rebellion. It made it personal for my grandfather. At the end of the 12 hours for surrender, Chea Niva witnessed a bloody battle. It ended with the Dark Army slaying half of the population of Cray Thera. Thousands and thousands lost their lives in an attempt to stand against the crown and it did not stop until the remaining population surrendered.

Like any war, there was collateral. Innocent lives were lost but Dargan believed he had crashed the rebellion. He did it in  12 hours and he was at the forefront driven by the wrath and aggression that pumped through his veins.

Cray Thera was brought to order and those who stood against the king were tried and imprisoned in the same duchy they were fighting to liberate from the crown. Cray Thera was stripped of it's privilege to be a duchy. The permissive Duke was executed for his incompetence serving as a warning to all other dukes who don't keep their duchies in line. In a span of years, while it sat in limbo awaiting punishment, a council was put together and Cray Thera  was fortified and made a prison. Griffin Hugh, a retired General of the Dark Army was appointed as the Warden of Cray Thera, the highest authority there.

"The information is classified but the Duke of Saine Neane had him imprisoned."

"With whose authority?"