Commander Yorrek and the chamberlain were ushered into the throne room by a sizeable contingent of guards. All three entrances to the chamber had a dozen guards posted outside to prevent any unauthorized entrance. The doors were opened only as widely as necessary before being immediately shut again; the guards careful not to peer inside as instructed by their captains.

The chamberlain had attended King Zachaeus' court once before, some fifteen years ago when he had been sent in Baron Ulrek's stead. He recalled a dark and cavernous space, with ceiling rising high above him and exquisite silken tapestries hanging from high above. As the chamberlain stepped inside, the difference in the atmosphere of this place was palpable. It was somehow brighter, though only a dozen or so torches burned in their sconces upon the chamber's colonnaded pillars. It was as if the stones of the walls faintly glowed. A long carpet trailed from the doors up to the ruby-encrusted throne. The chamberlain remembered this carpet being dyed a brilliant crimson, but as he tread upon it today, the carpet seemed severely faded as if it had been exposed to sunlight for many years. The tapestries too were bleached to the point of being unrecognizable. Most striking of all were the walls, where the shadowy impressions of dozens of guards armed with halberds were imprinted upon the walls like frozen shadows.

"What happened here?" Asked the chamberlain.

"I have no idea," Commander Yorrek admitted. "It was reported that shortly before the... [i]incident[/i], a rider came into the castle claiming to bring word of Prince Edward's fate. He had been missing for some days. In hindsight, it was foolish to allow him in without searching him, but in those anxious hours it was understandable that he would be allowed to see the King at once. Guards posted outside the throne chamber reported hearing an unearthly sound from within the chamber. It was described to me as akin to the sound of long, continuous peal of thunder, a waterfall, and a roaring fire all at once. Then, they saw a golden light shining from underneath the doors. The alarm was sounded and the guards went to enter the chamber, but when they arrived, neither His Majesty nor the rider remained."

The chamberlain's gaze went down to the carpet before him. Surrounded by faded pinkish red was a space where the carpet retained its vibrant redness, the size and shape of a man's shadow in midday sun. Some thirty paces ahead was a massive smear of fine soot.

"This was sorcery of a power and sort I did not previously think possible," the chamberlain said, examining the faded carpet. "Were there survivors?"

"Everyone in the chamber at the time is accounted for, save for his Majesty and that rider," Commander Yorrek reported.

"And have you not questioned those witnesses as to what happened?"

"Someone bring me Captain Wesel," Commander Yorrek called out to the handful of guards milling about at the side entrance of the throne room, as if he had been waiting for the chamberlain to ask this very question for some time. The guards slipped out of the side doors for a few minutes. They returned escorting a man with strikingly blonde wavy hair cropped short in the martial fashion. Milky white eyes were opened wide, looking about the room but not focusing upon anything in particular. The chamberlain soon noticed that the guards were not simply escorting this man, but guiding him across the room toward Commander Yorrek. This man was completely blind.

"All his life, Captain Wesel had such fiery, intense red hair," Yorrek said to the chamberlain as the guards escorted this man toward them. "Now, completely blonde. Every single one of them left in this chamber had every hair on their body turn this silvery blonde. That and they're all blind as a bat."

"Captain Wesel," Yorrek said once the man was in earshot. "I hope you are feeling better now,"

"I have never felt better, thank you. And please, you may simply call me by my given name. I have no desire to be called a 'captain' any longer. For it is more noble and joyous to be a mere servant in the House of the Lord than commander of all the men of the Earth."

"As you wish, Aerin," said Commander Yorrek.

"Aerin Wesel," the chamberlain began. "Did you see what happened in this place?"

Captain Wesel turned to face this new voice, looking at the chamberlain with white milky eyes in the way a child might behold something of wonder. "I saw. It was glorious beyond description. It will be the last thing my eyes see until I am taken to be with Him, and I am the happier for it."

"Please, Aerin, try to describe it. What exactly did you see?"

"I saw [i]Him[/i]. His faithful servant, Kane, came before us and with his artifact tore apart the boundaries between the mortal plane and Paradise. The Lord looked with disfavor upon the wicked one and destroyed him. His body burned in the Lord's righteous sight, and his soul was cast into oblivion where he and the rest of his kind shall meet unending punishment."

"Solomon Kane," the chamberlain recognized. "This is the work of Solomon Kane. I remember, several months ago, Ulrek summoned every vampire hunter he could think of to Felboge Keep. One missive was sent to Solomon Kane. I remember reading the invitation, placing his seal upon the letter. Had I known what would have happened..."

"This was not your fault," Yorrek assured. "You were only following the orders given to you. This is Ulrek's doing. And he shall pay for his crimes soon enough."

"Indeed," Aerin chimed in. "God's instrument will strike down him down as well. Ulrek's judgement comes too and that right soon."

"Unlikely," said the chamberlain. "Solomon Kane is in Ulrek's employ. He will not turn on his benefactor."

"Kane serves no man, but the Lord. No sin will go unanswered for."

"I've heard enough of his raving for today," Yorrek groaned. "Relieve us of Captain Wesel's presence." With that, the guards seized the witness by the arms and guided him away from Command Yorrek and the chamberlain.

"The Lord's judgement is nigh!" Aerin called out to anyone who would listen. "Serve his House, eschew wickedness and serve not its purveyors! Repent and serve the Lord! Judgment will be served in accordance with the Gospel of Kane!"

"Captain Wesel was a credit to the guard," Yorrek remarked solemnly as he was taken away. "Now they're all like him. Anyone left in the throne room with that man turned into a damned lunatic."

"I'm not sure what to make of all this," said the chamberlain. "But I don't believe that Captain Wesel is as mad as you believe. I recognize that name; Solomon Kane is responsible for this somehow. And whatever the precise circumstances, our King is gone."

"And what unfortunate timing at that," said Yorrek.

"This is what Ulrek wanted all along. His majesty's contest so infuriated him, that the Baron would stoop so low as to regicide - patricide - to avenge himself. We cannot allow Ulrek his victory. Our Empire needs its King," said the chamberlain.

"We cannot let the public know what happened here," Commander Yorrek hissed. "The attack on Prince Edward - the explosion - has terrified the people. When they realize that our king, who has ruled these lands for 80 generations, has been slain. Panic is a gross understatement of what we shall experience if the people discover what happened."

"They will find out. We can't hide this thing forever," said the chamberlain. "Ulrek will know soon enough that Kane has dispatched his father if he doesn't already. If we don't break the news to the people, Ulrek will on his terms. That will cause the breakdown in order you so fear. We cannot loose the trust of the people now, Commander. The only things separating Ulrek from that throne over there are a hundred leagues and two stone walls. We need those people fighting upon those ramparts if we're to have even a chance of stopping him. The people must know who their true king is."

"But what of his Majesty's contest? That they must be wed before they could be considered King? Edward must have a queen before he can be king."

"Have you not seen the way that Emily looks at him? Edward already has his Queen, and so we have our new King."

"Very well," Yorrek sighed after a moment of thought. "Once Edward is feeling better, we will appraise him of the situation. In the meantime, let us make preparations for the coronation."