When the Dark Time fell, bringing catastrophic upheaval to the seven continents, princes, kings, and nobles were caught up in the daily struggle to keep their people alive from one day to the next. The Breath churned and boiled and was far too dangerous to travel. All trade between nations and continents ceased. The Abbey of Saint Castigan was forgotten.
When the world finally emerged from darkness, Rosia basked in the sunshine of wealth and power. The grand bishop came across old records from the Abbey of Saint Castigan and wondered why nothing had been heard from the monks for many long years. He sent representatives to the abbey and found it empty, abandoned. They could find no trace of the monks, no records left behind to indicate what had happened. There did not appear to have been any sort of catastrophe. All had been left in order: beds made, dishes washed, treasure coffers-still full-safely locked.
No one ever learned the fate of the monks, though there were many theories. The most logical of these was that the monks, near starvation, had been forced to take to their airships and sail into the stormy Breath, where they had perished. The Abbey of Saint Castigan was given to an order of nuns, who rededicated it to Saint Agnes. The nuns lived quietly in far more reduced circumstances than the monks. No more wealthy nobles came to the abbey. The nuns’ visitors tended to be of a humbler nature.
Every night, the nuns would climb the spiraling stairs to hang lights in the twin spires to guide ships sailing the Breath. Oftentimes occupants of these ships and boats-sailors and Trundlers-sought shelter at the abbey’s docks, which were located in an inlet several miles distant from the abbey’s walls. The nuns would give the sailors food and water and tend to any illnesses or injuries they suffered. In addition, scholars would sometimes come to the abbey to do research in the famed library. Among these was Master Albert Savoraun, who lived in the nearby city of Westfirth.
Master Albert Savoraun had traveled to the abbey to track down old records of the Maritime Guild. Some guildmaster had decided the records would be safer behind the abbey walls than in the guildhall in Westfirth. Given that the guildhall had twice in its history been destroyed by fire, this decision had undoubtedly been a wise one.
The guild owned a ship and several yachts, all of which were used to conduct guild business. Albert had sailed himself in one of the small yachts to the abbey. While going through the library, he had found something there that had astonished him greatly. Thinking Father Jacob Northrop would find this discovery interesting, Albert had sent a letter to the Arcanum.
Albert had been in the vicinity of the abbey the night the attack took place. Sleeping aboard his yacht, he had been awakened by what he had thought was lightning. He believed a storm was coming, and he had gone out to make certain his yacht was securely tied down. Once he was outside, he realized that the eerie green light did not emanate from a storm, but was flaring around the abbey. He could smell smoke in the air and he saw, to his consternation, that the lights in the cathedral’s spires had gone dark.
Alarmed, Albert dressed swiftly and, taking up his lantern, hastened to the abbey to see if he could help. During his walk, which took him about half an hour, he watched the green flashes of fire diminish and then cease altogether. The smoke grew thicker; he could see plumes roiling above the abbey walls, blotting out the stars. He could not hear any sounds, no screams or voices calling or shouting as one would expect to hear if the nuns were battling the fires.
The odd silence struck fear into Albert’s heart, and he began to wish he’d brought his musket. His fears were realized. He found the abbey’s gates shattered. He entered cautiously, only to come upon a scene of such nightmarish destruction that the veteran sailor who had witnessed ship battles-blood running from the scuppers-was overwhelmed with horror and blacked out.
He was roused by the priest who had been the nuns’ confessor. Brother Paul was a hermit who resided in a rude shack in the wilderness about five miles from the abbey. He had seen the green fire and come to see what was going on. Together, the two men entered the compound and began to search for survivors.
They had found one-a young nun who had escaped detection by hiding beneath a pew.
Brother Paul had insisted, quite rightly, that word of the attack should be immediately sent to the grand bishop. He had urged Master Albert to carry the message to the abbot in Westfirth to be dispatched to Evreux by swift courier. Albert agreed the message needed to be sent, but he was loath to go himself. He had seen much to trouble him about this attack. Trusting that Father Jacob was already on his way, Albert did not want to leave the abbey unguarded.
He had been trying to figure some way out of this dilemma when he was startled to hear a loud voice, coming down from the sky. Albert looked up to see two dragons circling overhead. His nerves were raw, his mind unsettled and the thought came to him that the dragons had committed this atrocity. Then one of the dragons, landing ponderously among the scrub trees, had introduced himself as Sergeant Hroalfrig, formerly of the Dragon Brigade.
“Now retired,” Hroalfrig said.
He and the other dragon, his brother Droalfrig, also a former soldier, raised sheep and goats on a wretched piece of land provided to them by the Crown in return for their military service. They had seen the smoke and had come to find out what had happened. The nuns, it appeared, had been good to the dragons and the brothers were both appalled and angered by what had occurred.
Albert had enlisted the aid of the dragons to keep watch over the abbey. The dragons had sailed to Westfirth, carrying Brother Paul’s account, and had then returned to the abbey to await the arrival of Father Jacob.
One of the dragon brothers was now flying in large, slow, dignified circles above the abbey, keeping watch.
The sight of the dragon, who weighed six thousand pounds and measured seventy feet from nose to tail, with a wingspan of over one hundred and forty feet, alarmed the Retribution’s wyverns. They began to shriek and flail about in their traces, giving Brother Barnaby all he could do to try to soothe them and maintain control.
The sight of the black yacht likewise alarmed the other dragon, who came flying over ponderously to take a look. The Church emblem on the yacht reassured the dragon, who dipped his wings in salute. Seeing that he was upsetting the wyverns, the dragon flew off to resume his patrol.
“There are the docks. Should we land there, Father?” Brother Barnaby asked.
“Too far away from the abbey. I need to be close by.”
“We need to put down quickly somewhere,” said Brother Barnaby, who was continuing to have a difficult time with the wyverns.
Sir Ander pointed to a small patch of grassland outside the abbey walls. He handled the helm, adjusting the yacht’s buoyancy and trim, as Brother Barnaby continued to assure the wyverns that the dragon was not going to harm them. He brought the yacht down safely. Master Savoraun, who had been watching for their arrival, hurried to meet them.
“Albert Savoraun! It’s good to see you, my friend,” said Father Jacob, reaching out his hand to his longtime friend.
Sir Ander gripped Master Albert’s hand. “I suppose I should call you Guildmaster Albert now. Congratulations. You have done well for yourself.”
“Thank you, Father. It’s good to see you, though I wish it were under better circumstances,” said Albert. He was haggard and pale, his eyes bloodshot. He turned to Sir Ander. “You are looking well, sir.”
“A little grayer than the last time we met, but otherwise in good health, thanks be to God,” said Sir Ander.
“We’re all grayer, sir,” said Albert and he ran his hand over his thinning hair. “I’ve added a good many gray hairs over this, I can assure you.”
Albert Savoraun was in his mid-thirties, with the weather-beaten face of a lifelong sailor. He was short, with a stocky build and a take-charge attitude. Born into a family of seafaring crafters in Rosia, he had been brought up in his trade and served on board his first ship as apprentice to his father at the age of thirteen.