Honour the White Legion

That evening Jacques ate dinner alone. His first court session when about as poorly as it could go. Many people were frustrated that he did not have the answers.

There was a knock on the door, Mathéo entered, bowed, and said, "The eminences are here to see you. Shall you permit them to enter?"

Jacques almost choked on his food, "the Cardinals are here. Yes, please escort them in."

"Thank you for receiving us your Imperial Highness. I am the Cardinal of Pontus Henri de Baude," said a bald old man with deep ocean blue eyes and a long white wavy beard.

"Your Eminence de Baude it is a pleasure to see you are in good spirits. Please won't you Cardinals join me for dinner?

"You do not seem upset that Henri addressed you as imperial highness," said an elderly, green-eyed, woman, with long brown hair and a warm smile.

"Your Eminence Joan de Montmirail how can I be upset? I am the exiled son of deceased parents. Please call me Jacques," he bowed.

"Oh, so you know me?" Cardinal de Montmirail smiled even more warmly.

"How could I not know the names of the cardinal?" Jacques asked.

"Then you should know royalty does not bow. Not even too old cardinals," Cardinal of Aether Louis de Bourbon laughed. He was an old, hunched-over man, with soft gray eyes that resembled peaceful nimbus clouds.

"Then I apologize," Jacques said.

"Royals don't apologize either," Cardinal de Bourbon laughed.

"Let's eat, I'm hungry. The carriage ride from the capital was quite rough," Cardinal de Baude said before sitting down and eating right away.

"Given the threat, we raced to get here, and it took a toll on our old bodies," Cardinal de Montmirail explained delicately slicing her food.

"Now let us get down to business. We came for your installation ceremony. We heard people addressing you as imperial majesty, but until the installation, you're still a prince," said Cardinal de Bourbon.

"Do you think that's a good idea? The demon army is almost here? Won't that be a distraction?" Jacques questioned.

"And that's exactly what everyone needs. Everyone is nervous, we need to give them a small reprieve. Additionally, there are two princes vying to become emperor. There can only be one emperor it will reassure people to know that you are the true emperor," Cardinal de Baude explained.

"True emperor?" Jacques asked.

"Yes, your brother has taken to calling himself emperor. That is another reason we left, he was terribly upset when we refused to perform the installation ceremony for him," Cardinal de Montmirail said in disgust.

"I will abide by the decision of the cardinals," Jacques said. He was surprised to learn that his brother called him emperor, while Jacques had been trying to stop calling him that.

"We have scheduled your installation for tomorrow at noon. I must say you have quite a capable servant. Yes, he has served us well since we arrived," Cardinal de Bourbon said.

"Quite capable indeed," Jacques said in amazement looking at Mathéo.

The cardinals and Jacques spoke at length about the installation ceremony, the demon invasion, and matters of state.

When dinner ended Jacques bid the cardinals good night and made his way to his bed chamber. As he walked across the great hall and neared the stairs that led to his room, he noticed a group of six men standing in front of the two guards at the main entrance to his bedroom.

When they saw him across the hallway from them, they pulled weapons from their clothing. They fell upon the guards and stabbed them. As the guards' bodies fell to the floor, the men ran into the keep. Four assassins hidden in the shadows came into view.

The sergeant of the guards had been able to shout a warning before he died. This got the attention of the guards at the opposite end of the great hall that Jacques was walking across.

Six assassins ran toward Jacques pointing their daggers. Two royal guards in mail armor and carrying long swords intercepted the men in the middle of the hallway. Four of the intruders met the guards head-on, and the other two veered off after Jacques.

Jacques unsheathed his short sword and dashed for the only exit available to him, the stairway he had just come up from. He sprinted down the stairs taking two steps at a time. The two men followed him in hot pursuit. He heard the sounds of battle reverberate from the main chamber above.

At the bottom of the stair, he fled down the hall, passing multiple doors until he came to one that looked different than the rest. He knew this was the castle's guard room. He opened the door and went inside. The door was a heavy, solid door several inches thick. He made sure to leave the door open.

Running inside the room Jacques shouted, "we're under attack! Wake up"

Immediately, fourteen men woke up and grabbed their weapons. They had just realized it was the emperor who woke them up when they saw the two assassins rushing to kill him. The guards easily dispatched the two assassins, saving their lieges life.

"There are more intruders in the castle, spread out and show no mercy. Bring the dead bodies to the throne room," Jacques commanded.

An hour later, at the 24th bell, Jacques sat on the throne. Standing next to him were the three cardinals and General Cormack.

"Speak! Who were the assassins? Were they demons?" General Cormack asked impatiently.

"No sir, they were humans sent by Prince Deques," the soldier replied.

"My brother sent them to kill me?" Jacques said in shock.

"Yes, your imperial majesty," the soldier replied.

"How did they get in?" Ask the general trying to hold back is anger

"They disguised themselves as refugees and entered through the gatehouse with the others," the soldier replied.

"Double the guard at the gatehouse. I want every refugee double-checked, no triple-checked," General Cormack commanded.

"Double checking is fine enough," Jacques said. "Cardinals hopefully you were safe?" he asked.

"Your brother sent one assassin each to kill us. He underestimates us. We may be old, but we are still Grandmaster Mages!" Cardinal de Baude said proudly.

"My brother sent assassins to kill cardinals?" Jacques said in disbelief. He couldn't believe his brother would act so foolhardy.

"Here me now, for sins of trying to kill the cardinals, Prince Deques de Caernarvon is branded as a heretic and excommunicated from the faithful," Cardinal de Bourbon declared.

Cardinal de Montmirail then looked at Jacques and smiled at him encouragingly, reminding him of his part to play in tonight's trial.

"For the crimes against the crown, Prince Deques de Caernarvon is stripped of his title and sentenced to death. For his crimes against the church, Prince Deques is to be branded as a heretic and be exiled from the capital" Jacques declared.

Jacques looked out into the court and saw people nodding in agreement after hearing Jacques lay down the appropriate sentencing. But he still saw hesitancy in their eyes. The assassins made an already unstable situation more capricious. He knew he had to do something to sure up his people's willpower.

"Countrymen, my heretical brother tried to stop my installation ceremony. But no one can postpone the desire of the gods. Tomorrow at noon, I shall be crowned the new Emperor of Rhaziesian! I shall lead people through this war, and we shall come out victorious, I swear this on Elysium itself," Jacques declared resolutely.

The next day, on the 12th bell, Prince Jacques was crowned Emperor Jacques-Louis Avignon de Caernarvon.

After his installation, he went out onto the balcony to speak to the crowd that gathered to behold their new king. Jacques looked at the crowd and debated what to say. He saw their cherry façade that hide their scared true feelings. He knew this moment called for honesty and hopefulness.

"Countrymen, two days past I visited the Mistwood Keep crypt. There I paid my respects to the White Legion. The White Legion fought bravely down to the last soul to save the empire from destruction.

They fought because of their honor, because of their love for their homeland, and their love for each other. Their names are etched on granite for eternity as remember to us what each and every one of us is called to do. Fight for our honor, homeland, and mankind.

For we fight not against flesh and blood, but against evil principalities, against demonic powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, and against spiritual wickedness.

It was in this contemplation I wrote a poem to honor the White Legion, let me read you a portion of it now:

Half a league, half a league,

Half a league onward,

All in the valley of Mist

Fought the six hundred.

'Forward, the White Legion!

Charge for the swords!' he said:

Into the valley of Mist

Fought the six hundred.

'Forward, the White Legion!'

Was there a man dismay'd ?

Not tho' the soldier knew

Some one had blunder'd:

Their's not to make reply,

Their's not to reason why,

Their's but to do and die:

Into the valley of Mist

Fought the six hundred.

Catapults to right of them,

Catapults to left of them,

Catapults in front of them

Volley'd and thunder'd;

Storm'd at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well,

Into the jaws of Death,

Into the mouth of Hell

Fought the six hundred.

Flash'd all their swords bare,

Flash'd as they turn'd in air

Slashing the catapults there,

Charging an army, while

All the world wonder'd:

Plunged in the battery-smoke

Right thro' the line they broke;

Rhaziesian and Indigenous

Reel'd from the sabre-stroke

Shatter'd and sunder'd.

Then they rode back, but not

Not the six hundred.

Catapult to right of them,

Catapult to left of them,

Catapult behind them

Volley'd and thunder'd;

Storm'd at with shot and shell,

While horse and hero fell,

They that had fought so well

Came thro' the jaws of Death,

Back from the mouth of Hell,

All that was left of them,

Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade ?

O the wild charge they made!

All the world wonder'd.

Honor the charge they made!

Honor the White Legion,

Noble six hundred!"

(Modified from The Charge of The Light Bridge poem by Alfred Lloyd Tennyson)

When Emperor Jacques finished reading the entire audience was in tears. It was like they had come to terms with their deaths. Like elderly people who knew the end of their life was near, they were ready to face their death and see what lay behind death.