Guild Wars_ Ghosts of Ascalon - Matt Forbeck [97]
“ ‘His Majesty bears on his hip a mighty blade, a relic of now-lost Orr and its City of the Gods.’ This was the sword Magdaer, twin to Sohothin, as your story said. ‘He drew the sword and looked deep into its depths.
“ ‘The king said, “I have long known that Magdaer had other powers—remnants of the gods themselves. We Ascalonians may be doomed, but Ascalon will live on forever!” ’
“The human looked at the charr, his life breath leaving his body. ‘He is in the throne room,’ said the servant, ‘surrounded by his Royal Guard and as many other soldiers as the walls can spare. He will unleash the power of his sacred sword, Magdaer. He means to kill all the charr—but the price, the sacrifice …’
“Savione closed his eyes, and the Fireshadow healers could not do anything more for him. Frye took the counsel of his warband and made his decision. If the dying human spoke the truth, the entire legion was marching into a trap. The Sorcerer-King would be too well protected for them to reach him. They decided to abandon their mission and alert their imperator to the danger instead.
“When Frye Fireburn and his warband returned to tell their imperator—who still bore the Claw of the Khan-Ur, mind you, and the loyalty of the legions—about the Sorcerer-King’s plan, he refused to listen to them. ‘We will breach the walls of the city tonight,’ the imperator said.
“ ‘It’s a trap,’ argued Frye. ‘Once our forces enter the city, this mad king will kill us all.’
“The imperator spat on Frye and said, ‘You must truly fear my wrath to come up with such ridiculous tales to distract me from your failure. I sent you in to kill a king, and you come back with wild excuses. I do not accept such incompetence in the Flame Legion.’
“Frye and his warband protested the imperator’s accusation. They insisted that every word they had told him was true, and they demanded that he halt the invasion until they could figure out how to deal with this new threat from the Sorcerer-King.
“The imperator refused to listen to Frye and his fellows, and he had them arrested. ‘Because you have been faithful servants until this day,’ the imperator said, ‘I will not tear out your throats.’
“Instead, he ordered that Frye and his fellows be bound hand and foot and tied to stakes placed on the Viewing Hill. I do not know what the humans called it, but it provided a clear line of sight into Ascalon City.
“The imperator believed that this punishment would be worse than death. ‘You will witness the triumph of your legion, but you will not be part of it. You will have to bear that shame until the day our gods bless you with death.’ ”
“Raven’s beak!” said Gullik, despite himself. “I thought the charr were godless!”
Kranxx elbowed the norn, irritated by the new interruption. “That didn’t happen until later, after Kalla Scorchrazor destroyed the shaman caste,” he said. “Has living in the frozen mountains for so long broken your sense of time?”
Ember ignored them. “After Frye and the others were staked out here according to the imperator’s wishes, they howled at the stars as the walls of Ascalon City finally crumbled under the charr assault. They had long hoped to see this day, but they feared the imperator’s hubris would ruin it all.
“Frye and his warband watched, unable to turn away. Soon after the gates fell, the imperator stormed into the city’s main square. Adelbern, the Sorcerer-King, stood defiant on the parapet of his tallest tower with his magical sword in his hands. It burned with a fire that swirled about its blade as if it were alive. He shouted at the soldiers below as they fled before the Flame Legion’s forces,