[Completed]
The Royal Guard of the Empire has faithfully served Byzantia for nearly three centuries now. Hand picked from foreign lands, these guardsmen hold no political ties, carry no agendas, and bare no creeds except to those who sit upon the Onyx Throne. They are vanguards, protectors, loyalists.
They are Vangen.
Change has come to the Empire. An Empress sits upon the throne now, destroying any who would rebel against her with both fire and iron. To the east, her loyal Vangen work to quash the newest rebellion, until a letter arrives one day, marked with the Empresses seal. The contents within bare only dread and disturbance for the Guardsmen. The Black Ministry, the former Emperor's cabal of Sorcerers, have turned against the Empress.
The Vangen's return is bittersweet. The city they once called home is now a battlefield, every street a choke-point. Every home a possible nesting ground for rebels. The Royal Guard will have to fight tooth and nail to put down the Ministry and protect the Empress, but the deeper they go, the harder the lines begin to blur. In a world where good and evil does not exist, where then does a man's loyalty lie?
(Comments and Feedback are always appreciated)
- Chapter 1: A Change of Plans
- Chapter 2: A Bad Omen
- Chapter 3: A Midnight Visit
- Chapter 4: A Case of Bad News
- Chapter 5: A Lesson Learned
- Chapter 6: A Plan With no Substance
- Chapter 7: A Waste of Good Medicine
- Chapter 8: A Quill Cuts Sharp
- Chapter 9: A Hitch in the Plan
- Chapter 10: A Light Unlike Any
- Chapter 11: A Knock at the Door
- Chapter 12: A Calm Before the Storm
- Chapter 13: A Proud Fool
- Chapter 14: A Man and A Bridge
- Chapter 15: A Meeting Between Old Friends
- Chapter 16: A Sanctuary for Gods and Men
- Chapter 17: A Killer on the Loose
- Chapter 18: A Dream of What May Come
- Chapter 19: A Revelation of the Gilded Past
- Chapter 20: A Moment of Laxity
- Chapter 21: A Hunter Stalks His Prey
- Chapter 22: A Light at the End of the Tunnel
- Chapter 23: A Night to Remember
- Chapter 24: A Ghost from Danica
- Chapter 25: A Tooth for a Tooth
- Chapter 26: A Woman's Temptation
- Chapter 27: A Weapon's Right to Fear
- Chapter 28: A Duel to the Death
- Chapter 29: A Standoff Between Comrades
- Chapter 30: A Dinner with the Family
- Chapter 31: A Rendezvous at the Dead God's Home
- Chapter 32: A Truth and A Lie
- Chapter 33: A Monster in the Dark
- Chapter 34: A Painful Truth
- Chapter 35: A Dance With Death
- Chapter 36: A New Day to Die
- Chapter 37: A Chance to Regroup
- Chapter 38: A Wall of Men
- Chapter 39: A Giant of a Problem
- Chapter 40: A Broken Heart
- Chapter 41: A Brother Betrayed
- Chapter 42: A Parley at Sundown
- Chapter 43: A Plan In Need
- Chapter 44: A Gesture of Goodwill
- Chapter 45: A Memories Worth of Trouble
- Chapter 46: A Matter of Opinion
- Chapter 47: A Discovery of a Lifetime
- Chapter 48: A Dangerous Question Answered
- Chapter 49: A Cold Cuffed Reminder
- Chapter 50: A Plan to Kill the Unkillable
- Chapter 51: A Duel's Beginning
- Chapter 52: A Duel's End
- Chapter 53: A Traitor In Our Midst
- Chapter 54: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing
- Chapter 55: A Traitor's Trial
- Chapter 56: A Farewell to an Old Friend
- Chapter 57: A Round of Beer
- Chapter 58: A Brotherhood Like No Other
- Chapter 59: A Chance to Reflect
- Chapter 60: A Wake Up Call
- Chapter 61: A Magnificent Plan
- Chapter 62: A War in Sacred Halls
- Chapter 63: A Place Between Stones
- Chapter 64: A Man's Love Runs Deep
- Chapter 65: A Shadow of a Thought
- Chapter 66: A Final Stand
- Chapter 67: A Peaceful Death
- Chapter 68: A Paradise Lost
- Authors Note: The End, at Least for Now