Guild Wars_ Edge of Destiny - J. Robert King [106]
“Trench works!” Eir said. “U-shaped fortifications in the sand. There are three colonnades—three entrances to this sanctuary. We’ll dig a deep trench before each one—”
“And fill them with enspelled dragon-blood stones,” Zojja said.
All eyes turned on her.
“I can make them stick to minions,” she said. “I can make them embed themselves, and then Snaff can take over their minds. He can use the minions against each other—keep back the tide until you have placed the dragon laurel.”
“Perfect idea,” Eir said, giving Zojja a rare nod. “And when Snaff must shift his mind from the minions to the master, we all will guard the three doors, keeping him safe until Rytlock can deliver the killing blow.”
“How can you keep back thousands of giant monsters?” Glint asked.
“Garm and I can hold one gate, Caithe and Logan can hold another, and Big Zojja can hold the third.”
SIEGE AND STORM
Though a besieging army of charr camped on the plains to the north of Ebonhawke, the fortress itself was decked for celebration. The royal banners of Kryta hung beside the emblems of Ebonhawke, and trumpeters lined the curtain walls. In the courtyard below, the Ebon Vanguard stood at attention in their dress uniforms, every inch of black armor polished. Their dark figures were outshone by the 144 white-garbed Seraph who stood at attention around their queen.
Queen Jennah had traveled to Ebonhawke not via the treacherous Shiverpeaks but via the restored asura gate. For years, the gate between Ebonhawke and Kryta had been unreliable, not maintained by the xenophobic human outpost or the last human monarch that could aid it. Years of neglect, though, had been undone by recent treaties. With the defeat of the Destroyer of Life, the asura had sent their best minds to repair and improve the ancient asura gate between Ebonhawke and Divinity’s Reach.
Today, Queen Jennah was officially declaring the renewed asura gate open. She stood before the assembled might of Ebonhawke and gestured to the glimmering gate behind them.
Her majestic figure was projected by a mesmeric aura above the crowd, and she spoke to them all. “With this gate, you are no longer alone in the wilderness. With this gate, Ebonhawke is connected to the heart of Divinity’s Reach. The asura will maintain it, and it will not fall into disrepair again. Through this gate, supplies will come to you—food and weapons and armor and medicines. Through this gate, reinforcements will come—new recruits and seasoned veterans and even, in time of great need, these white-garbed warriors.”
That brought applause from some, but murmurs of uncertainty from others: “We don’t need Seraph.”
“They’re better for parades than battlements.”
“She sends them, she’ll send orders.”
The queen went on, “Through this gate, you will go on leave, out of a land of constant war and into a city of eternal peace, out of the rigors of battle and into the splendors of the greatest city on Tyria. Through this gate, your wounded will go to Vanguard Hospital in the heart of Divinity’s Reach, to be cared for as all heroes should.”
The warriors cheered that thought, but their celebration was interrupted by the distant rumble of thunder. A few of the trumpeters on the wall turned to gaze north, where a black cloud was boiling up.
“From this day forward, except at time of imminent danger, this gate will remain open—a road between humanity’s bravest outpost and its brightest city.”
The Seraph applauded these closing words, and the Vanguard joined in. But another peal of thunder—louder and nearer—interrupted the ovation. The trumpeters turned again to see a black cloud eating up the sky.
The queen signaled for the Krytan Fanfare.
Only a few horns began it, but others joined in, swelling the refrain.
A voice spoke in Queen Jennah’s ear: “We must get you to safety.” It was Countess Anise, a Shining Blade exemplar who was always beside the queen. Anise grasped the queen’s arm and impelled her down from the platform.
Dylan Thackeray met the queen on the steps. “My queen, a storm threatens.”