Since the final destruction of the Black Shadow, nothing too exciting happened within the ranks of the Order. The king of Dreamland took charge of more issues than he had in the past, so the Order had very little work from him sometimes, so we stuck to patrolling roads and clearing them of highwaymen and vigilantes. Halfway through the year following the destruction of the Black Shadow, an assassination attempt was made on the Prince of Dreamland, and the king was furious about it. Unable to send his own guards and agents after them for fear of leaving the prince unattended, I led a group of five knights and we hunted down the would-be assassins and brought them to justice. For this, the king granted us full support of whatever operation we undertook, and gave to us some of the royal treasury. At the end of the year when Dreamland was in celebration of another year coming, a vast and terrible army appeared on her boarders and began fighting their way through to the heart of Dreamland. The army was led by a knight in black armour, and got his thirty thousand troops to dress in similar suits of armour. The king quickly marshalled an army to stop them, and he did so blindly and without the help of the Order. The king's troops met the army in the Battle of the Western Plains, and were massacred. The king barely managed to escape with his life, and only three hundred of his ten thousand men army survived the hellish battle. The invaders continued on as though nothing happened, losing maybe only a hundred total troops from their ranks. "We must do something." Luke said to a meeting of the knights of the Order. "Agreed. But what?" Athran called out, loud enough for the assembly of twenty knights to hear him. "The king's army has been defeated. The invaders are still on their way to the king's palace. We need to marshall an army and make our stand there." Quexos said. I shook my head. "You having something to say, master Marius?" Luke asked out loud. The assembly of knights and masters turned towards me. "I'll lead a small team of heavily armed knights behind enemy lines to try and halt their advance in any way possible. Luke, you take all of the knights in the Order and assembled them into an army. Gather them at the king's palace and await the seige. If we are unable to stop them, then we will join you and fight them off until either side is defeated." I explained. Luke nodded slowly, and talking amongst the silent knights and masters started. "The king will appreciate the help." Athran pointed out. Strycnine Darkblade, who had been silent for the meeting, cleared his throat and finally spoke. "The king will definately appreciate the help. But I agree with master Marius. It seems like the best plan we've had so far, and I'm volunteering to be on his strike force." he said. I gave him a nod of respect, and he nodded back. "I'm going too." Quexos and Athran spoke at the same time. "Don't forget us." a trio of voices spoke from the rear of the round meeting chamber. The knights and master turned their heads to see who had spoken, and I was susprised to see them as well. Vincent, Kirk and Lestat all stood there. Vincent's red cloak billowed behind him as he walked through the group of knights and masters to meet me, and shook my hand tightly. "It has been too long my friend." he said in his low, raspy voice. "Yes. Too long." I said silently, before turning to Luke. "Go Marius, and hope that you can halt the advance of these troops." he said, nodding in approval. He stood and gave me the chest-to-heart salute of the Order, and I returned it. Afterwards I led my team, and we prepared ourselves.