Somber faces sat around a large wooden table in the castle of Brittania. There was nothing to celebrate.
The enemy forces had been repelled, but they had not won, they barely survived.
The soldiers at each gate had fought valiantly, but an army of demons was too much for them to handle.
Each gate had lost two-thirds of their forces before LaSpania showed up.
The only consolation was they had taken half of the demons with them.
It was evening. The setting sun had painted the sky in shades of red, seemingly reflecting the blood-bath this day had been.
Raymond and the leaders of the three Kingdoms were gathered in Britannia. The gathering felt more like a memorial service than anything else.
King Edward sat with his general to his right at the head of the table, reading aloud the reports from the day.
On the right side, King Richard sat with Lilith and Samantha, resting his chin on his clasped hands as he leaned on the table.
On the left side, was King Gabriel listening with his eyes closed and his arms crossed over his chest. Next to him was a blue-skinned Naga woman in mages robes.
Raymond sat at the foot of the table, his head in his hands and Alecia by his side.
When he finished reading, King Edward set the reports on the table gently. He eyed Raymond from across the table.
"Sir Raymond. Lift your head." he began. "We've suffered heavy losses today. But it would have been much worse if it weren't for you."
Raymond lifted his head, eyes red, but said nothing.
King Gabriel studied the pain in raymonds face. "We came because of you. Last week we were ready to let the world burn and keep to ourselves. Your visit reminded me that everyone has the same right to life that we fought to gain."
That's right dearie." Lilith spoke up. "You were summoned into an impossible situation and you've already made a difference. The last time this lot was in the same room it almost came to blows. Now we're all here ready to pour everything we have into keeping us all alive."
King Edward shook his head. "If you hadn't arrived when you did, we would have been caught with our pants down. You all would have been talking about Britannia in the past tense. Thank you."
Raymond took a shaky breath. "Thank you for your kind words. But, the demons and the Necro-king are still a threat. So, what's next?"
It was King Richard's turn to speak. "Now we do what we should have done weeks ago. We pool all our resources into one massive army. We put together what we know about the Necro-king and his forces and we come up with a strategy to survive."
Everyone nodded at this statement.
Samantha perked up and looked right at raymond.
"You need to meet the Golden Dragon. It is time."
All eyes went to the small Elf woman, faces surprised and confused.
Raymond raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
Her eyes fixed on raymond. They had gone completely white, seemingly both unseeing and all-seeing. Her speech was monotone but urgent as if not speaking with her own voice.
"The fate of this world hangs in the balance. If you wish to succeed you must find the resting place of the Golden Dragon in the lost temple, deep in the forgotten desert."
Lilith and the Kings, Richard and Edward, visibly stiffened at this statement, eyes widening.
Samantha relaxed and blinked rapidly as if awakening from a dream.
She noticed all eyes were on her and shrunk down in her chair.
"By the Dragon, did I say something weird again?"
Stunned looks swept across all the faces in the room except King Richaed. He closed his eyes and cleared his throat.
"This is Samantha. She is my niece and our new Great Sage. She has her father's prophetic gift, and more recently, has emerged as The Oracle of the Dragon."
His voice was matter-of-fact as if that would explain everything.
The room started, waiting for him to continue. The silence became awkward when he didn't.
"People have been looking for the resting place of the Golden Dragon for hundreds of years!" King Edward nearly shouted. "How could she possibly know where it is?"
"The Lost Temple?" Lilith was beside herself. "It's a myth. A legend. Even the archives speak of it like a fairy tale! Is she serious?"
"The Forgotten Desert is forgotten for a reason!" King Gabriel shook his head "Few that have gone come back alive, and those that do are broken, telling tales of monsters and sentient sandstorms."
Samantha's face paled. She wished the ground would open up and swallow her.
"Listen." King Richard began. "Brittany's gift is new. She does not control it. In the year since she first gained this ability she has not been wrong. Vague maybe, puzzling sometimes, but never wrong."
He turned to Raymond. "If she says you will find the Dragon in Desert Temple, then that is precisely where you will find him. Although, I must caution, everything they said is true as well."
"It is the most treacherous land in the world." King Edward fixed his gaze on raymond. "Good men go in, broken souls come out. You are strong, but this is suicide."
Lilith shook her head. "If you go we can be of no help. There are no maps, nothing concrete in the archives. You'll be going in completely blind."
Raymond sat back in his chair and folded his arms considering.
The Voice rang clear in his mind.
"Your companion speaks true. The Golden Dragon sleeps in the desert. The treads of destiny pull in his direction."
Raymond sighed heavily. He looked at Alecia. Her gaze fixed on him, an unspoken vow that she goes where he goes.
His eyes shifted to Samantha. "Could you help me find it?"
She gave a sharp nod. "I don't know the way, but I have seen the location in my dreams many times."
Raymond gave a reluctant smile and shrugged. "You up for an adventure?"