The Will Of The Kings.

Walls and betrayal Part 4 (Not copy edited yet)

Another day came to a close and the sanctuary was put under siege. King Gants declared it as a war of Gods. That peace had been made on earth and that it must be made in the heavens. Some of the people of Farnbreth had begun to return, although those who did were those who had little money and nowhere else to go. Anyone with enough money stayed away, unsure of the future. King Gants sealed off the citadel with the palace guard, and made a show to the people at their God's shrines, making sure they saw his allegiance. He also made sure he surrounded himself with the priests that had returned. If the people saw their King abandon their Gods, they would not trust him. If their Gods lost the war that could not be blamed on a King. Most of the priests who did return faced their convictions with courage. Some tried to run but were caught. Their end was clear. Death for abandoning their Gods.

The High Priest was called out. It took him just a moment of contemplation to smile at their cleverness and then he turned from the battlements, and headed for the gates. As the gate opened, just a crack, he slid out quickly and in his robes stood before the holy men of the southerners. The High Priest was regal, they were tribal. Covered in amulets and scars for their gods burned in to their faces. Seeing them the High Priest touched the sign of the Gods, which every priest had burnt in to his chest on confirmation. Before the door closed he spoke quickly to the captain.

"Make them pay before they enter, but remember I will need you once this is over".

The captain replied in a grim voice "I promise you before the Gods, the sanctuary guards will serve you on your return and that scum will burn before they enter these walls." There was no time for anything else to be said. The gate closed and was locked tight.

The High Priest made his way down to the yard floor. He felt no fear just an inner strength, which seemed to grow. The holy men who would face him in the challenge, watched him come, it seemed to them that a faint glow was emanating from him. They instinctively touched their amulets.

High above in the tower the southern Kings kept watch.

For three days the siege raged on. The captain was true to his word and the southerners burned. He waited. Waited until the walls were about to be taken, the sanctuary guard being overwhelmed by numbers. Then he gave the order and deep below the walls by the great lakes of oil, the cogs were turned. To those on the outside fighting to get in, it seemed as if the walls of the sanctuary had come alive as the oil oozed out over them. Then fire was given to it and the sanctuary erupted. Its attackers consumed by its cleansing flame.

The dead pilled up outside the sanctuary and those who survived suffered horrific wounds, but Borrock would not relent. Company after company came to the citadel.

The defenders exhausted their arrows. Threw stone and fire in to their enemies with the sanctuary catapults. Borrock risked leaving himself with to few warriors to keep king Gants subdued, but on the third day the gates were broken, and as the walls continued to burn his warriors flowed in to the sanctuary. Every wall was fought for every corridor defended. The sanctuary guard were inevitably overwhelmed. The captain had cursed as he saw the gate give way and the southerners swarmed in to the sanctuary and around the temple. Their way of escape was lost. He and the guard fought on, and just as he saw the end coming, as they could take no more without sacrificing all their lives he gave the final order. Without revealing another of the sanctuaries secrets those who were left melted in to its walls. The southerners who faced them in tight corridors within the walls, who saw their enemies simply step back and vanish into the sold walls, did not live to tell the tale. The sanctuary had fallen, at a grave cost, but it had fallen.

It soon became clear that the Book was not in the sanctuary and upon closer inspection that the wardens band was not amongst the dead. The High Priest would say nothing, and so Firminor gathered a hundred of his best horse. Scouts were sent out in every direction. Firminor left, happy to be out of politics and on a hunt. He would first head for Bed River and adjust his course as the scouts reported in. King Gants declared that a Holy Book had been stolen, and a reward of land and gold would be given for its return. The pursuit would be relentless.