The Royal Palace - Dawn
The first light of dawn found Draven's Reach still echoing with the sounds of the previous night's reckoning. Steam rose from chimneys that had been cold for thirteen years, while the acrid smell of spent magic and spilled blood lingered in the morning air. The city was a patchwork of restoration and ruin: power had returned to some districts, leaving others still dark. Water flowed through main arteries while smaller pipes remained clogged with debris. Nature's thirteen-year conquest showed everywhere, vines strangling bronze towers and weeds splitting ancient cobblestones.
The Palace Gates
At the palace gates, cleared in the night by tireless bronze hands, a crowd had gathered. Not the organized procession of the old days, but a desperate collection of survivors drawn by Kael's dawn announcement. They huddled in the square beyond the palace walls, dozens of them, watching the entrance with a mixture of hope and terror.
But none dared approach.
Standing motionless at the entrance, amber eyes glowing in the morning light, was an RCSF unit. The bronze guardian scanned the crowd with mechanical precision, its voice carrying across the square in flat, emotionless tones: "Government workers may approach for verification. All others must maintain a minimum distance of fifty meters."
The Three Who Dared
From the crowd, three figures stepped forward.
Elena Voss moved first, her Royal Guard pendant visible on her chest. The RCSF unit's optical sensors focused on her as she approached, amber light scanning the brass insignia.
"Identity scan initiated," the automaton announced in monotone mechanical speech. "Elena Voss. Captain Royal Guard. Status verified. Access granted."
Behind her, Marcus Hendley stepped forward, his weathered hands steady despite his nervousness. The RCSF unit's sensors swept over him with clinical precision. "Marcus Hendley. Chief of Police. Status verified. Access granted."
Master Chen approached last, clutching his leather satchel. The automaton's recognition was immediate: "Chen Wern. Chief Engineer. Status essential personnel. Access granted."
The Throne Room - Seeing the Changed King
Kael stood before them, and the three loyal servants felt their breath catch. This was not the young king they remembered. The man before them now was something forged in harder fires. His hair showed silver at the temples, premature aging that spoke of magical strain and darker experiences. Where the young king had worn power hesitantly, this man wore authority like well-fitted armor.
Elena felt a chill of recognition seeing the terrible certainty in his eyes. Marcus noticed the bearing of someone who had walked through hell and chosen to return stronger. Master Chen observed how Kael moved with mechanical precision, like a tool calibrated for maximum efficiency.
The Appointments
"Elena Voss," Kael said, warmth entering his voice but not softening its new edge. "Will you resume your position as Captain of the Royal Guard?"
"With my life, Your Majesty."
"Marcus Hendley. I name you Military Commander, temporary appointment. The city's defense is yours."
"Chief Engineer Chen. The city's restoration is your domain. Make it whole again."
The Approaching Messenger
As they concluded their briefing, the chamber door opened. An RCSF unit entered, its movements precise despite minor damage from the night's operations.
"Report status," Kael commanded.
"Majesty. Unknown mechanical construct approaching Eastern Gate. Bronze construction humanoid configuration. Current distance twelve minutes march. Detection systems register unknown entity but ally status confirmed."
The words hit Kael like recognition. Unknown but ally status meant only one type of system could register on the ancient detection networks while remaining unidentified by current RCSF protocols.
"A Sentinel unit," he breathed, understanding flooding his features. "The oldest automated systems in the kingdom. Built to monitor threats beyond our borders during the first year of my reign."
He was already moving toward the door. "If a Sentinel is returning now, after thirteen years, it carries intelligence about what happened during my absence. We meet it at the Eastern Gate. Immediately."
The Eastern Gate
They reached the gate as the bronze figure crested the final hill. Even at distance, its condition was apparent. This was not the smooth efficiency of the RCSF units, but something that had endured thirteen years of damage and neglect.
The Sentinel moved with the halting gait of damaged machinery. One leg dragged slightly, hydraulics leaking fluid with each step. Its left arm hung useless, severed at the shoulder by some ancient battle. Steam vented irregularly from cracked pressure seals, and one optical sensor flickered with the erratic rhythm of failing circuitry.
But it moved with purpose, each labored step bringing it closer to its destination. Thirteen years of wandering, thirteen years of gathering intelligence, thirteen years of waiting to deliver its report to a king who had vanished from the world.
The bronze guardian reached the gate and stopped, its remaining optical sensor focusing on Kael with mechanical precision. When it spoke, its voice was a rasping whisper of damaged vocalization systems, words formed through sheer determination rather than proper function.
"My... king," it managed, each word a struggle against failing systems. "Report... ready for... delivery. Intelligence gathered... during your... absence."
Kael stepped forward, his expression grim. After thirteen years, he was about to learn exactly what his former friends had done with the kingdom he had built, and what threats now gathered on the horizon.
The damaged Sentinel waited, patient as only a machine could be, carrying secrets that would reshape everything he thought he knew about his exile and return.