Areleth sat astride Horse in full combat plate, though no military actions were expected. Most of the Knights were armed heavily these days. His black armour and purple shield atop a white horse was a bit of a fashion statement, but under the circumstances, one cared more for protection than asthetics. Lifting the grille on his healm, he surveyed the growing nightmare before him...
The sky above was black and boiling though it hadnt rained in weeks. Food was becoming scarce, no one was tending the fields. The wells in the area were becoming fouled or drying up. The battle plain outside the Castle had become a campground for refugees by the hundreds, and more poured in hourly. Pestilence and disease was running rampant and healers like Iser were nearly exhausted. Even Paladins like Areleth helped heal and cure as often as Tyr would grant the power. The Knights resources were strained to breaking, it wouldnt be long now. Once Tyr had informed them through the temples that the apocolypse was at hand desperate plans had begun to take shape. Off to his left several circles of Mages were combining mystic powers and opening portals to other lands, pushing people through as fast as they could. But half the time they themselves knew not where the portals led. Areleth knew he would not be seeing many of those people again. All of the efforts were undirected, the mad rush for safety, the headlong flight to no-where. Several of the Knights had already broken, more would give up soon. Locking themselves in there chambers, going mad, or running away. Areleth was so tired he could blame none of them, the only thing that kept him going was his love, Valeana. He thanked Tyr for bringing them together. They had only been married for three days and he already thought of himself as a poor husband. He could not even give his bride a proper honeymoon. How could he leave this? Duty called, he had to answer.
He watched as a group of pages assisted a man with an overturned wagon. Thank Tyr for the youth and vitality of the pages and squires he thought, they all had that wonderfull live forever attitude, trusting that the Knights would lead them safely through. Looking down the road he could see no end to the line of wagons, horses, and people.
Areleth watched as a farmer and his family rode past him in a wagon close by. Three small children looked up at the Knight with the big eyes the young have. Hungry and scared they looked to him like he was the saviour of the world. Inside he wept for them, knowing full well that the odds of thier survival were slim. Lowering his helmets grille, he leaned down and whispered to his old friend Horse: "Give them a show." With that Horse reared up on his hind legs and kicked, whinnying loudly. Arel held his sword high and cried out "KORT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!". The children smiled and yelled back "For the good of the realms!!" in their tinny voices. All across the valley Arel heard other Knights take up the cry, till a thousand voices cried out "For the good of the realms!!". As the children passed from sight the Knight began weeping tears of joy and sadness.
...A few precious days later...
...Areleth and Horse rode slowly, the wagons of the supply train lumbered along at a snails pace. He wanted to shout at the teamsters to drive the oxen faster, but he knew it would do no good. They were on a mission to a small eastern outpost, collecting what little supplies and men were left, and returning to Camelot with them. Lord Exegete led the party, Areleth as second, and the newest Knight Giantklr rode with them. A platoon of light cavalry surrounded the wagons, Lord Exegete led at the front, and Arel and Giant rode the right flank, screening the group from the nearby woods. He knew the few foodstuffs they carried with them would not help much, but they were precious all the same. Time was running out, and the refugees around Camelot still rose in numbers.
Areleth thought back to the disaster that had struck a few days ago. Lord Corwin, inspecting the work of the mages opening portals, had been sucked through one by a random burst of energy, leaving nothing but his sword. The mages only explanation was that the proximity of the magical Excalibur had caused a momentary rift. No one knew whether or not Lord Corwin still lived. Lady BlackCoral took up his sword, and used it that very night at Giantklr's Knighting.
Digging into a pouch, Arel pulled forth a small picture of his lady that a street artist had drawn in Neverwinter. He knew he should be at her side at a time like this, but again duty called. He still could not believe she had married him. Smiling down on her beautiful face, he failed to hear the quiet snarling from the woods.
Suddenly, a blur erupted from a copse of trees, leaping for Arel's throat. He raised his shield, but it was on the wrong side and would not make it in time. In slow motion he heard Giant's shout of warning, saw the dripping fangs of the rabid wolf, and heard the tell-tale sounds of a bow shot.
As time returned to normal he saw the wolf lying dead, not three feet from him, shot through with an arrow in mid-leap. Looking left he saw Lord Exegete return his bow to its sheath. Arel gave him a grateful smile and nod.
They returned to the patrol...
....The sands of time fall inexoribly downward...
They had all gathered in the great hall. The mages guesed that with the ancient power contained there it would be the best place for what they were attempting. Lady Coral had asked them to try and bring back Lord Corwin from the nether-regions he had been pulled into. Areleth stood off to one side with a gathering of Knights watching the proceedings. He looked over at Valeana, smiled and took her hand. He did'nt much like seeing his wife in armor, modern middle-ages or not, but He had to admit she cut quite the imposing figure. He said a quik prayer to Tyr, to bless the endevour ahead.
The wizards chant echoed through the hall, and the air filled with static as tremendous energies were brought to bear on a single point of space and time. Even the incessant thunder of the boiling black clouds outside was drowned out by the shrieking noise that seemed to penetrate the deepest recesses of the onlooker's minds.
Suddenly there was a tremendous booming explosion, and smoke poured throughout the room. When it cleared, standing there in the center of the circle looking dazed and confused was...... "Daholbert???!!!!" Areleth cried. "What in Tyr's name are you doing there boy??". A second explosion occured at that moment tossing Daholbert through the air to land in Arel's arms. The smoke cleared once again and there stood Lord Corwin. Looking straight at Areleth he spoke... "Heres a hint Arel, carry thine wife around, not pages." Arel looked down at Daholbert then back to the Chancellor, "Yes my Lord Corwin", dropping Daholbert uncerimoniously on the ground.
Corwin walked over to Lady Coral, taking the sword Excalibur she offered, and sheathing it again. He turned to the assemblage, "Come all, we have plans to make!".
Taking Val's hand again, and feeling her squeeze his hand back, Arel looked out one of the tall windows of the Hall at the maelstrom outside. For a moment, just the briefest moment, he thought he saw a glimpse of silver in the clouds. Smiling they walked over to the meeting....
The final day....
Areleth had recieved a summons to Lady Blackcoral's chambers early that morning. She ordered him to escort Lady Valeana, his wife, on a quik sweep North through Port LLast looking for refugees, then return to the site of Camelot before the rear-gaurd passed the portal to other worlds. At the time he half suspected that Val had requested the patrol so she could go rat hunting one last time, but considering the amount of time they had spent together of late, he did'nt mind.
As they rode south on the return leg, Arel thought back on Lady Coral's words, "return to the site of Camelot". He could not imagine it, but by the time they had started to swing back, Camelot would be gone. The plan the mages had devised was to move Camelot as a whole to some astral place Arel could not fathom. Once there it would be not only home, but a gateway to other worlds, allowing the family of KORT to safely travel throughout the planes of existence.
Looking over his shoulder he could already make out the blackness encroaching over the horizon. They sped through Neverwinter looking quikly at those making a last stand trying to defeat the blackness, or buy those leaving some time. Spotting a group of Knights of the Round Table among the ranks of defenders, he saluted and called out to them "KORT! For the Good of the realms!!!". The Knights took up the cry as he and Val flew through the southern gates of city. He would not see many of those Knights again.
A short time later he and Val approached the huge pit that once was Camelot. A small group of Knights designated to be the rear gaurd were herding the last groups of refugees toward the final portal. Valeana stoped short a bit, looking over the scene, and Arel rode up close to her. For long moments they did not speak but watched the utter Blackness as it approached. Finnally he leaned over and took her hand, and she looked at him with tears streaming down her face. Reaching up to brush away those tears he kissed her. "I know love, but a new home awaits. Now go, there is much work waiting for you." Taking a last look around, she rode off, entering the portal to whatever awaited on the other side.
Choking back tears of his own, Arel rode down to where KORT's Champion, Lady Sylphee, was directing the last Knights. They had the final group in place, and set it in motion toward the portal to Camelot. Sir Cymon rode alongside the train, helping to calm the horses as they moved toward the swirling mass of the gate. Lady Sylphee and Arel brought up the rear, and entered the gateway side by side. Looking back Arel could see the blackness just behind, swallowing up ground as it came. He realized the defenders in Neverwinter must have perished.
Fortuneately, they had gotten away just in time, or so he thought. Once inside the portal it looked like no more than a dark tunnel. The sounds of the horses hooves and and wagon wheels echoed eerily. Without warning the last wagon, overloaded with Men, women, and children overturned, spilling its precious cargo across the floor. At that very moment the Blackness reached the portal in Neverwinter, and the tunnel started to collapse. Jumping from his mount Arel helped Cymon and Bruno right the wagon and get the people back into it, sending it on its way. They re-mounted their steeds and prepared to charge through to Camelot when a sudden realization overtook Arel. The Tunnel should have collapsed on them by now.
Looking back he saw a sight that burned into his memory forever. Lady Sylphee, with nothing more than a prayer to Tyr and her strength of Mind, Body, Heart, and Soul, was holding open the portal. He moved to help her but a shake of her head and the look in her eyes spoke volumes words could not.
He remounted Horse and rode after the others. He rode out in sight of Camelot's walls and the tunnel collapsed behind him. The others were waiting there, rejoicing their good fortune at the narrow escape till Lady Coral rode up and asked where Lady Sylphee was. The crowd grew quiet as they looked around for her, untill all eyes fell on Areleth. With tears streaming down his face all he could manage to do was point at where the Neverwinter Portal had been and choke out "She saved us, she saved us all".
He joined the other Knights in kneeling down right there in the grass outside Camelot. They prayed to Tyr to take care of Sylphee, all the Knights that had stayed to defend Neverwinter, and those who had come and gone before. Lady Coral then re-mounted her horse, and led the way through the gates of Camelot... and beyond.