Legends Lost: Galdin

Legends Lost: Galdin (Prologue)

Captain Dylan burst through the chamber doors.  “We must leave, my lady,” he urged. 

The sounds of battle echoed throughout the grounds.  Betrayed.  The king was dead.  Killed by his most trusted general.  Captain Dylan had an oath to fulfill.  But it was more than that.  To Captain Dylan, the king was like a brother.  He viewed the king’s family as his own.  This would be his final act of loyalty to his king.

“So it has begun,” said Kylana.

“General Vasagius has staged a coup.  His soldiers have overrun the palace.  You and your children are in danger.  He has come for them.”

“He wouldn’t dare.”

“My lady, I watched as he stabbed the king not once, but three times.”

“Where are the others?  Are you the last in which loyalty still resides?”

The castle rumbled beneath their feet as catapults bombarded it.  Captain Dylan raced to the balcony and watched in anguish as Vasagius’ army stormed the gates; filling the castle grounds with their slaughtering thirst.  Vasagius himself issued orders from atop his black, armored horse in the courtyard.  Captain Dylan knew time did not favor them. 

“My lady, please,” he begged with a note of urgency in his voice. 

The screams of the dying came closer as death’s grasp tightened over the castle.  The vile taste of fear crept from his chest to his throat, desperate for escape.  Captain Dylan’s military rigor refused to let it through.

Kylana remained reserved.  The cries of the soldiers grew louder.  “Nylana, grab the child,” she said to her five-year-old daughter. 

“Yes, mother.”  Nylana hurried to the cradle and gently lifted the baby boy from it.  She handed him to her mother.

Kylana rose to her feet.  She held her baby close and placed a reassuring hand on her daughter.  “Lead the way, captain.”

Captain Dylan saluted and led them into the corridor where two of his men stood guard.  “This way.” 

They walked quickly.  The battle cries resonated from the stone walls, drowning everything else.  The rioting mob drew closer.  His heart ached.  He longed to be with his men.  A soldier belonged on the battlefield, not creeping through dark hallways.  Yet, he had sworn an oath.  That oath placed him with the queen and in charge of her safety.  He stopped them in front of a giant statue.  The two guards pushed it aside revealing a dark and damp tunnel.

Kylana approached the tunnel warily.  With a glance at Captain Dylan she entered, followed quickly by Nylana.  Captain Dylan followed the ladies while the two guards sealed the entrance.  His heart pounded as they moved through the dank tunnel, carefully treading on the slimy floor.  If caught, they’d be slaughtered.  Perhaps this is what death feels like, he thought, endless anticipation of the inevitable.  The baby whimpered.  He looked back.  Kylana skidded on the slime and fell.  Captain Dylan hurried to help her up.  Vasagius may have succeeded in taking the throne today, but Captain Dylan vowed to protect the true heir so that one day the rightful king would reign.  These tunnels would not become their tomb.

Thunderous explosions rumbled above them shaking the tunnel walls.  Rock fell over them.  They were thrown into the slimy muck on the floor.  As the dust cleared Captain Dylan looked around. 

“Anyone hurt?” he asked. 

The baby wailed in reply.

Captain Dylan scanned the pile of rock.  He saw a small hole near the bottom right of the newly formed rock wall.  Too small.  Captain Dylan and his men set feverishly to work widening the hole.  Their efforts and slow progress reminded them of time whittling away.  Coughing and wheezing filled the air.  A distant crash in the tunnel sounded behind them.  Wide enough or not, they had to go through the hole.