Eventually, they arrived at the royal hall, the marble floor glistening, the throne’s purple and golden furnishings pulled everyone’s attention to it and the man sitting upon it. The room itself, however, was fairly barren, only the royal family and several generals were present, one of them with a tattered uniform standing in place, eyes on the eldest prince.

And now her.

However, seeing the worried look across their faces were the generals and the redheaded young princess that Thule knew liked to play soldier in her off time...

...Disgusting wench that she is…

As the thought entered her mind, it was quickly followed by the realization that the atmosphere in the room was oddly tense.

Emperor Adrian Sol Traianus glanced at his son, then at her, a brief look of disgust on his face that vanished instantly as he turned back to the officer kneeling on the floor, his voice calm and measured. Too measured. Too calm. She could tell the man was restraining himself as if trying not to betray his true emotions.

"Repeat the message for those who have not heard, General Atilla."

"Yes, your majesty. Our scouting force was obliterated to the man in less than three hours upon setting foot beyond the doorway. After moving the body of General Titus back, our wyverns were knocked out of the sky by screaming metal eagles, and before we could process that, we were informed of an approaching enemy counterattack. General Darius ordered General Octavius and myself return, and as we did, the land behind me erupted as if a volcano had come to life or thunder had struck-"

"Perhaps the city the doorway opened to is near an active volcano with many angry metal birds. Father, if this is a matter of cowardice I will be most-" Lucius Sol Traianus interrupted, but was quickly silenced by his father.

"Let him finish, please." Emperor Molt stated, Thule faintly able to hear the racing heartbeat of the old Emperor.

Is he...?

The tired general continued.

"I turned back expecting to see smoke and fire but instead I saw men, your majesty… men with… with weapons that spat fire and death, cutting down anyone and everyone in their line of sight without the need to get close. General Darius and Magus Sirus among them.”

Thule felt her eyes briefly widen at the words, and she shifted her head ever so slightly, still keeping it low, but now able to just barely gauge the reactions of the other generals as the man continued. To her disappointment, they all seemed more invested than frightened at the information despite the man’s testimony painting only a grimmer picture.

“We had seen a few of these... wands among the soldiers that were protecting the doorway. Wands that the accursed slave-girl had failed to show us I must emphasize, but the ones these other men carried were wholly different. No mage that I have seen can accomplish that level of death in that matter let alone in such a short amount of time, emperor! It’s as if someone turned a crossbow into a blade that kills through sight alone. We barely escaped across in time to warn the second wave to hold the line with General Octavius and deliver the news to you myself!"

"And that is why you are here while they continue to wait for the enemy? Cowardly. Just force that slave to close it shut." Lucius accused.

"The doorway cannot be closed, your majesty! If that beast could close it, the sniveling animal was taken by the enemy before she could be killed or forced to shut the doorway down. We don’t have her anymore. However, the enemy did not and has not followed us through. I ordered the men to begin barricading that cursed opening as soon as I got there and assumed command! We were preparing constructions to fend off an attack, but I requested this meeting to discuss an important matter in person! We need to destroy that doorway. Bury it, obliterate it, drown it- it doesn’t matter! They must not be allowed through if they intend to destroy us!"

Thule could sense the desperation in the man’s voice in spite of his valiant effort at suppressing it. Emperor Adrian remained without a reaction, however, and the generals appeared to be more pensive than anything.

She looked away, glaring at the floor at the memories of these same men only three years before.

Lucius spoke immediately, loudly, nowhere near the measured control of his father’s.

"You want us to admit defeat, General Atilla?! If you wish for anything, then it better be to charge back across that doorway and slaughter as many of them as you can for daring to embarrass our glorious empire with such a defeat!"

Thule instinctively lowered her head further, not willing to risk anyone getting any ideas that could be hazardous to her wellbeing. Or at least more so than what she was already living through. To her relief, no one focused on her as General Atilla quickly responded.

"Your highness, several survivors managed to escape after me during the first night, and they have said that it is not just the mages that we deal with. They have war machines that surpass anything we have, the flying monstrosities that leave our dragon riders struggling for breath before cruelly cutting them down from a distance are but one of the horrors that lay beyond that doorway. It is like they can throw lances from leagues away without consequence and with impeccable accuracy! Only in the Era of Heroes have such weapons been heard of!"

It was a woman who spoke next.

"Could we attack them with ranged weapons of our own? Perhaps a line of ballista from maximum range?" she asked slowly, trying to be helpful.

Thule felt her eyebrows furrow slightly at the honest suggestion from the young woman. Princess Parthia Traianus was certainly a curious member in the imperial family. His two sons were both blonde, tall, imposing, a product of the Imperial line of succession. Princess Parthia had wavy red hair and a freckled face, was shorter than Thule, and her appearance was almost meek in spite of her fancy armor and short sword. Anyone could see she was a bastard, the daughter of a lucky concubine, playing soldier.

Yet she had all the benefits of a member of the imperial family.

...and no one complains...

Thule kept her vision on the polished floor, her emotions suppressed as much as she could, but she couldn’t help her hands balling into fists, so she gripped the chain binds tightly.

General Atilla replied with exasperation.

"I set up some lines of ballistae near the doorway, but we need to effectively seal that entrance, Emperor! With that detestable animal betraying us, who knows how long it will be before the enemy formulates a plan to attack us and destroy the forces we have there! We must stop them before they recover!"

Emperor Adrian Sol Traianus finally spoke.

"Then work to do exactly that. This doorway cannot be closed, so we will seal it… I was hoping it would lead to more… positive results. No matter. We consolidate our forces, establish defensive lines around it. Anyone else coming through it shall be killed on-site. Understood?"

"Yes, Emperor!" the soldiers shouted.

“Father, what about sending diplomats? Explain it was a mistake? Blame the slave even?” the other member of the imperial family spoke then.

Thule hadn’t seen much of Antonius Sol Traianus. Even then, he had been standing off on the farthest corner of the room, to the right, no less detestable than anyone else in the room. However, she had to admit, that the unspoken part of the sentence almost made her grin.

Clearly, this had been the emperor’s fault, even if the slave had tricked them all, he had ordered his men to attack first as a show of force, no? Was that not how the Iberians greeted other civilizations? This was, unquestionably, a catastrophe of their making. At least the middle child of the royal family was intelligent enough to keep that part unspoken.

The emperor also ignored the unspoken aspect, quietly asking “And appear weak, Antonius?!”

Thule winced at the odd cracking in the emperor’s voice, realizing her suspicions.

He... is afraid!

The younger royal replied “Must we go to war over this misunderstanding? The slave tricked us, and-”

“Exactly! The slave tricked us! The slave led to the deaths of two generals and an imperial mage! Gentlemen of our empire! We cannot ever admit to that! Am I understood?!”

“Father, I do believe Antonius has a point. Perhaps we can-”

“Not now, daughter! I’ll consider everything in due time but right now we must prepare for the worst, am I understood?!”

There was a shakiness in the old man’s voice. As though he was struggling to maintain his composure in front of those nearest to him. Thule heard no reply, but she imagined the others nodded or gave some sign of affirmation, as the emperor then began speaking to his generals.

“Gather your armies and prepare to assist general Atilla and Octavius in the Alpines. We must also inform the useless cattle in the senate... can’t have them causing trouble. Not now. I’ll speak to them myself. Lucius, you’re keeping that animal on a tight leash, right?”

With a sigh, Lucius tugged at her chains, pulling her forward an unsteady step.

“She speaks to no one but I, father. Worry not.”

Thule could feel the emperor’s gaze burning through her. She was unsure if she should look back or try to appear even weaker to dissuade any violence, but she doubted it would work at all, so she kept her head and ears low.

The emperor said “Fine. Go on, get out of here. I must discuss with my generals about going forward.”

Lucius shook his head, mumbling "Why summon me here, then? So pointless."

Thule on the other hand had become almost entranced as her mind began to really analyze the situation and its implications.

An army that completely destroyed the imperial invasion force?

Scouting force or not, anyone with a touch of experience against the forces of the Iberian Empire knew that their first wave was a hammer of destruction. Even their scouting forces, with cavalry and monsters that were capable of grandiose feats of brute strength and immense bloodlust were sent up front to slaughter any defense established by the poor defenders. Always followed by skilled human fighters, their legions of well-armed and equipped men could cut what enemies remained down and occupy territory with ease. Bows, swords, spears, and even waves of superior numbers buckled against such might.

She remembered how even her now fallen warriors had stood against them at great cost. She also remembered how she had been promised their survival if she just gave herself up and ordered her people to stand down.

Now their screams haunted her every night.

But suddenly another army from somewhere else had broken that hammer with some degree of ease? Even if it was just a scouting force, the implication they had been so badly destroyed to the point the imperials were frightened of them spoke volumes of this other world. It wasn’t monsters or weather that had done this, but men if the general’s word was to be believed. Was there hope beyond that cursed doorway opened by magicians? Had the Empire’s arrogance finally resulted in their retribution?

She pondered this when the chains pulled her forward once again.

"Come now, Thule… my patience is fleeting." the prince said, grinning as he half-dragged her towards his room.

Knowing what was in store never made it easier.