A Sovereign and a Shepherd

Chapter 1:A Shepherd's rude awakening

The sudden shift from the light of lamps to direct sunlight was blinding. A seemingly middle aged man, his clothes slightly regal, struggled to his feet. With one gloved hand he pushed aside and adjusted his gray hair, revealing piercing blue eyes that seemed to drill into every facet of his surroundings.

This place appeared to resemble a marsh, and in the distance were monsters. Large wolves that seemingly had scales, large crustaceans buzzing with electricity. In all regards they seemed to be Daemons, and yet there was no sign of Malevolence in the air. Puzzling as this may be, the distant monsters were simply the wildlife of this marsh. However it seemed like these creatures were able to generate magic on their own without any relation to Seraphs or training.

What caught his gaze next prompted him to widen his eyes in awe and surprise. In the far distance he could see a massive palace, far larger than anything he had ever seen before. What's more, the height and proportions of the palace seemed to defy the laws of nature. It was simply too tall, too wide at its apex in spite of how the building narrowed from base to- it could only be referred to as a castle on top of a castle. That castle was ringed with towers that seemed to have so little support that they could fall in the slightest breeze.

"Where... just where in the world... what is this place?"

However, his baffled utterance had drawn the attention of the scaled wolves. Now, three of the beasts snarled as they began charging towards the man. His response was merely to draw a slightly decorated blade with his left hand from the scabbard at his hip, and to draw his body into a more proper stance for combat. His right arm remained in the sling pulled tight against his chest.

Even with his obvious handicap, the man had no trouble fighting the scaled wolves. Perhaps it was because they gave off no malevolence, and therefore brought him none of the dread or fear that he had grown accustomed to while fighting Daemons. With deft movements of body and blade coordinated in time with his magic turning the abundant water into piercing blades of ice, the scaled wolves were brought down.

The man sighed to relax his body, his body and clothing marred only by sprays of water in the violent struggle. The man had little time left to take stock of himself and his surroundings, as he spotted something resembling a heavily armored undead soldier rushing towards him. And yet, this "undead" still proudly wore a helmet over a presumed head. Was the metal armor, in its ocean blue colorations, truly just the metal armor of a man?

On the armors hip was a sword of its own, while held to the left arm by a strap and tightly gripped handle was a fairly large shield. The helmet bore two pits in the face, one black and empty with small slits while a red light burned in the other. The impression given was unpleasant to say the least.

"State your business! There are no unannounced visits to Ganeth Haros."

The soldier stood proudly, almost defiantly, and the gray haired man coolly observed that this posture and behavior brought to mind the standard soldiers of the Abbey he had once led. Disposing of this soldier would be little different from the wolves, but there wouldn't be any reason to do such a thing. Confessing ignorance and confusion was only a path to being taken advantage of. The road forward would be built by unwavering resolve and a flowing Intellect.

"My name is Artorius Collbrande, of the esteemed house of Collbrande. I would expect a soldier such as yourself to know your place and show respect!"

This approach felt harsh and perhaps tone deaf, but scaling back from an overly strong position would be easier than building strength on a weak foundation. Now it was simply a matter of gauging how the soldier would respond, and tuning the approach accordingly.

To Artorius' surprise, the soldier placed a hand on his chest while genuflecting.

"Please forgive my impudence! Vholran, Lord of this realm has disappeared with neither warning nor trace. Did Lenegis send you to fill this void?"