The Fall of Kerrel

The Fall of Kerrel is one of the Tales of Arkain, focusing on the scenario should Kerrel fall.

## Synopsis

King Dorten of Kerrel experienced nightmares, which led him to declare a purge in his Kingdom.

## Story

The borders of the Kingdom were set ablaze. Pillagers were destroying villages, cities, even castles and there was nothing the Royal Army could do. They were powerless against this enemy, still weakened by past conflicts and taken by surprise that such a powerful foe appeared out of nowhere so close in their lands. Armies of Orcs and Humans alike, wearing the cursed banners with their black thorn on it, ravaged the land and defeated the armies of the Kingdom with ease, using tactics not usual for their kind. It was obvious that they were just willing followers of a sinister mind that really was behind the attacks. Of course, the cursed Zyaise scum denied all connections to the attacks officially while it was clear that their officers were in charge of the mercenary forces as they slaughtered their way through the country. They did not even have to lie. Who would stand up against them? Kerrel was the only human nation left that was willing to stand against the mighty nation. Still, they used mercenaries instead of openly attacking. It was dire times indeed for the realm and the people of King Dorten. What chance did they have against the nation of the man who put an end to the invasion of the Demons almost two decades ago, the man who rebuilt a powerful nation out of the ashes of fallen kingdoms, the man who had struck an alliance with dragons and other sinister powers? There were no "heroes" to stop this man, such existed only in dreams, legends and myths.

As King Dorten laid ill and weak in his bed, his daughter, Princess Felicia, had taken over all responsibilities. She was considered to be a beacon of hope in Kerrel, but still, even she could not turn the tide. The royal court spent hours, even days, discussing possible strategies. "We have to launch a counter invasion to attack Zyainor at once! They have to pay for what they have done!" "We have already been through this several times, Derran. You want us to send forces AWAY from our defenses while we are under attack! We don't have the forces to do such a thing!" "At least he is TRYING to find a solution rather than wait for certain death, Boranus! Still, we cannot attack Zyainor. This will only give them a reason to send their own armies IN ADDITION to the mercenaries. Gardon is just waiting for us to do that. No, we have to pull our forces back to protect the capital." "And let the mercenaries destroy ALL of Kerrel? Restor, they will simply starve us to death if we hide behind our walls!" "Be my guest to suggest something better than that, Derran, but only if it does NOT include an attack on Zyainor." "Mind your tone, Boranus!". Princess Felicia raised her staff and then hit the ground with a loud bang. The entire room finally went silent. "The people of Kerrel are dying out there in the fields, my lords. They fight and die in the name of my father, the king, because they believe that we will protect their families and friends, that we will find a way to end this crisis. But instead of solutions, all this council has done so far, is wasting time. Action is required" "With all due respect, princess, you are a talented leader but you lack your father's experience which is why we are here in the first place. Without a proper strategy, we-" "All your planning and your strategies so far have failed to bear fruition, Lord Derran. The enemy has always been one step ahead of us and knows every single step we take. He knows what we do before word goes to our subordinates." "Gardon and his generals are effective tacticians, princess. We can't deny that-" "This is not just the doing of supreme tactical minds, Lord Restor. I see only two options: Either the enemy has managed to catch our messengers on the roads or... Zyainor has servants within our own ranks – in the highest ranks too. To make sure that the latter is not the case, I will investigate who had access to these messages. I trust on your cooperation in this matter." Princess Felicia concluded. The lords looked at her and each other in shock before they nodded hastily. None could believe that there would be such vile betrayal within their own ranks.

Later that night, Felicia met with one of her most trusted agents after making sure that no one else was anywhere near them in this part of the castle. Only Felicia's personal guardians, soldiers who were most loyal to the princess, were with them. Felicia's guard were an elite unit provided by her uncle, Lord Restor, the brother of her deceased mother. There were no soldiers that were most trustworthy for Restor had been Felicia's mentor until she had grown up and a close friend. "It is even worse than you suspected, mylady. There are more Zyainor sympathizers within Kerrel than we thought, even within these walls. At this point, I even suspect that the illness of our beloved king is more than what it seems." "You think that he has been poisoned?!" "I cannot say for certain, mylady, but... it appears that the Zyaise have been operating within our borders longer than we had realized, hell, they may already have started doing that during the Second Void War when we were still allies! The conspiracy that I am on the track of may even run up to the highest officials in the kingdom!" "You mean... even the most powerful nobles and friends of my father? How could this have happened?" "I can only suspect that they have either been turned by promises of power – or keeping their power – or... Well, Gardon and his offspring may have used more... sinister means to turn them." "We have to go to my father at once and tell him!" Felicia said and turned around. Her guardians moved – however they blocked her path. She looked at them in confusion but then turned to take another way. Another group of guards blocked her way. Felicia noticed that she and her agent were surrounded. One moment later, when her agent tried reaching for his hidden daggers, he was impaled by one of the swords from behind. Felicia was then grabbed by her guards to prevent her from doing anything, even though she tried to fight them. "What is the meaning of this?! You are my most loyal guards, loyal servants of Kerrel! How can you turn against your princess?" she demanded to know. A familiar voice came from the background. "First and foremost they serve Kerrel. And this is what is best for our kingdom." the voice said and the man stepped forward. Restor. Felicia's uncle. Out of all people... "The people of Kerrel have made their choice, Felicia. We will accept Gardon as our liege and in return we put a swift end to this slaughter. There is no use resisting Gardon, he will win, the cursed bastard always does. We had to either obey his wishes and save our people or resist him and watch them die. I am sorry.“ Restor explained. "Are you trying to convince me that your vile betrayal is actually sound or are you telling that lie to yourself, traitor?! Damn you, you were one of my father's closest friends and allies, you fought side by side in the past! You are part of our family!" Felicia demanded to know. Restor shook his head and sighed. "You are too young to understand this, child. I did not want to do this. I tried to stop the conspiracy, I was aware of this issue long before you or your father had even noticed the possibility. I kept it to myself to avoid the information that I knew about it getting into the wrong hands. I failed to put an end to the Zyaise sympathy, too many wished to join the powerful realm that had defeated humanity's enemies." He explained. Felicia managed to loosen the grab of her guards and stepped forward to spit into Restor's face. "You are a honorless traitor, uncle! You disgrace our family and show your true face as a filthy bastard with neither honor nor loyalty!" she growled. His face darkened. "You think that I wanted this to happen?! I have seen you turning from a little child into a strong-willed woman! I have been a friend of your father for my entire life! He was my sister's husband and you were my little niece! Do you think this choice was easy? I did it to save Kerrel and its people! I... I cannot continue to protect you." he said. His voice was filled with sadness and true regret but his eyes made it clear that his mind was set even if this decision would haunt him for the rest of his life. Felicia knew her uncle as a good man, a kind man who had spent much time with her when she was younger. He had been her mentor once. Tears filled her eyes as memories returned. "How could you do this, uncle? Father trusted you! I trusted you! What would mother say about this?“ she asked. Restor closed his eyes. "I had no other choice, Felicia. If I didn't do this, then... it would have been worse than what is about to happen.“ he explained and turned around, slowly walking away. Felicia felt the urge of disappointment and anger and screamed at him as he was walking away. "COWARD! You betray your family and don't even have the gut to watch as your henchmen kill it!" she shouted as suddenly she felt a cold shudder going down her spine. "They won't kill you. I will." another familiar voice said. As Felicia slowly turned around, she saw the devilish smile of the most dangerous man she had ever met in her entire life and had ever heard of: Thanok.

Dorten opened his eyes, gasping. He quickly took a look around. No assassins, no sign of anything being wrong. It was still in the middle of the night. It... it had been a dream. Just a dream. A nightmare. Or was it? "What you have seen is but one of many possible futures. Since I have shown you this, it is already unlikely to happen, but do not underestimate the danger." a voice said. Dorten looked around but no one was to be seen. He jumped out of his bed and grabbed his sword. "Show yourself, creature!" the old king demanded. In front of him, the room filled with a green light. Then it appeared: A lich! It was a dark creature, wearing a black robe and its eyes were glowing. When Dorten looked into the eyes of the creature, it felt like... he could not describe the feeling but it was as if something divine had visited him in his chambers and he felt an urge to kneel – but resisted. The lich looked at him for a few minutes until it finally spoke. "Dorten, son of Tornen, you stand before Aridon the Watcher of Arkain, Keeper of Balance and Avatar of Death. I have blessed you with a possible vision of the future to warn you that you are losing your cold war – you already know that even if you deny even yourself of the truth because you are afraid of what defeat means." the creature explained. Dorten pointed his sword at the lich. "So you came to tell me that I should just give up?! Is that what you are trying to do? Is this yet another trick of Gardon?!" he demanded to know. The eyes of Aridon seemed to pierce through him now. "Your enemy has made you paranoid – and paranoid you should be. He slowly poisons the minds of those who still are loyal to you. I come here to tell you how you can stop him from winning the war before it even begins. You can do as I suggest or ignore me, it is up to you but you WILL listen." the archlich said. Dorten slowly lowered his weapon. He felt like his mind cleared, but he wasn't sure if it was the doing of the undead or just his mind waking up. "If you are not here to deceive me, then why would you help me? The Undead are no allies of Kerrel." "Nor shall they be. However, your enemy Gardon is a friend of an adversary of my own. By providing you with information, I support my own cause as well as yours.“ Aridon explained. Dorten nodded and put his weapon away. "Very well, I guess the enemy of my enemy is not my ally but if he is not my immediate threat, I will at least hear him out." he said. "Before you do anything, forget the faces of the people involved in your demise in this future. There is no need to dispose of them, on the contrary, I suspect that such an act will further decrease your own standing. And your enemies have not reached such power yet. I suggest that you still start counter meassures. You have to purge your realm of all traitors if you wish to have a chance. By any means necessary." Aridon explained. Dorten was not sure if it was the lich's doing or if his mind had managed it on its own, but he knew what he had to do. He nodded and a green lightning blinded him. Dorten opened his eyes. He laid in his bed and saw that the sun was rising outside. He stood up and put on his clothes. He was not sure if it had all just been a dream or if he had really been visited by... No, there had been no visitor. He had dreamt about a conspiracy that would end him and his daughter however – and he knew that it was a possibility if he did not act. Dorten summoned his daughter and those who he knew were most loyal to him. He explained that they would officially bring the Inquisition back, an organization formerly used during the days of his grandfather to find and hunt demon slaves that had been disbanded due to its brutal and controversial methods – in secret, some had still clung to the ways of the inquisition and had continued their work even if they had made themselves criminals in the Kingdoms for that. These people would be recruited by Dorten as well to create a pure basis for the organization. There were doubts about how trustworthy these people were, but already within the first few weeks it became obvious that the now redeemed Inquisitors were VERY thorough and effective with their work...