ShelterTale

ShelterTale Part 1

The head of the royal guard was a tall and strong monster. He stood a full head taller than any other servant in the king's palace, with powerful muscles and magic at the same time. He was a man of excellent moral quality and honor, and he was always prepared to do what was necessary, as long as the king required it. Because of all of this, it meant a lot to the other monsters of the kingdom seeing him bow his head so sincerely to King Gaster.

Asgore believed the king was a man worthy of his respect, and so the other monsters believed the same. Of course, King Gaster was more than fit to be king, but his talents were more... subtle. Simple minded folk couldn't see them as clearly as they could see Asgore's.

They were about to know why Gaster, and not Asgore, was their king.

"My king," Asgore got down to his knees, armor clinking, and paid respects to his old friend. "It is as you feared. The humans intend to go to war with us."

A few tiles ahead, a tall and thin figure stood with his back to the royal guard captain, hands clasped behind him. There was no flesh on these hands, or anywhere else on the king's body, seeing as he was a skeleton monster.

The boney king watched the moon through the tall window, his dark robes cascading around him, tailored so that he could look regal even being so slim and physically powerless.

"Yes, Asgore, I know. I knew the moment you came into the room by the look on your face."

"It isn't as though we weren't prepared for this," the king continued. "We have been working on the artificial environments in the Mt Ebbot shelter for three years already. I'm only relieved the core was finished in time. Without that, things would have become dreadful indeed."

The royal guard captain allowed a small smile to touch his face; kids were his soft spot (though he was completely covered in soft fur). "The prince's help sped up progress by more than a month. He is very bright, just like someone else I know."

Gaster smiled slightly, but he kept his feelings safely in check. "Sans is just lazy. He put effort into his academics because they were easier than his other training."

Asgore smiled warmly. The king was obviously jesting. Considering the first prince's condition, he could hardly be expected to become a powerful mage or warrior. He knew the king was very proud of him, but it was true the first prince was lazy. If King Gaster went too easy on Sans and paid him all the credit he was due, he would immediately try to slack off. What a precocious kid.

Soon, the gravity of the situation pulled the corners of Asgore's mouth down. "My king, may I have your orders?"

Gaster sighed and turned away from the window, violet light shining in his eye sockets. "As we decided, evacuate the women, children, and elderly, along with those of academic and cultural talent. The rest, the warriors and the professional mages who aren't meant to teach others, will stay behind to stall the human army. Once everyone is inside the shelter, the elder mages will erect the barrier using the magic amplifiers. At that time, any monsters still on the surface should flee to the underground. The barrier won't allow humans to pass."

There would be no war. Gaster knew acutely how weak monsters were compared to humans. His own son was a critical example of this frailty. So they would run, along with everything needed to rebuild their civilization underground. The barrier would stay firm for hundreds of years, long enough for humanity to pass through several generations and forget their baseless grudge.

Skeletons lived long even for monsters; hopefully, Gaster would still be alive to lead them back out into the sun again.

Goodness, I'm already three hundred years old. What am I thinking?