Chapter 6: Genesis of a New Age

Seth Constantin enters the big tent that served as the temporary 'Command Station' for what remained of the cult.

Including himself and the magic caster, Zachariah/Azrael, the number of living people in the cult were about 28 members. The days leading up to this one was horrible, leaving most afraid and traumatized, with none being sure if they would ever live a normal life again.

Up until the siege, the cultists had been a peaceful group worshiping the 8 gods of Terra (both light and dark), hence the name, "Children of the 8 gods". Upon the disappearance of the last Grand Cardinal, Wilhelm Vi Crenovia, however, things took a turn for the worst.

Most, including the Church of Light, had convicted them of ambushing the Grand Cardinal's caravan, and as such led a manhunt for every member across the Theocracy, driving them out of their homes and businesses. Then and only then were they branded with the nickname, "the Cult of Shadows".

"I have news." Seth says, looking towards Azrael who had been meditating inside the tent. "The rest of the Triangle are alive and well, each with their own group far out on the north."

All but Azrael had relied on the three heroes of the Triangle, and upon hearing Seth's report, gets anxious. "Sir Conquista may be a great magic caster, but I doubt he can do anything more to the endless armies of the Church."

"What are we going to do?" A man says. "The entire region is on lockdown, and there are hundreds if not thousands of soldiers who want us dead!"

Seth turns toward Azrael, who had seemingly kept the magic caster Zacharia li Conquista's identity, expecting him to have a plan.

He walks over towards Azrael and sits down close to him. "W-what are we going to do, my lord?"

Azrael breathes in and out for the last time before opening his eyes.

He could feel the fear residing in everyone's hearts, as if they had never seen with their own eyes how he, a dark lord, had saved them the night before.

"Oh men of little faith." Azrael stands up, raising his voice as to get the attention of the crowd. "You have seen me wipe out an entire group with a single spell, and yet you are still afraid?"

"We have heard how you are the first among your peers at the Academy, Lord Conquista." A man from the group stood up, looking at the person he knew as Geraldt's adopted son. "Your skills are remarkable, and I can only thank you for saving us from those soldiers... but I don't believe that a single skilled magic caster can make that much of a difference in a fight against an entire army.."

"What my husband is trying to say is that... we need every help we can get if ever we wish to survive. E-even the Triangle." A woman says.

"If that's the case... I have news of my own." Azrael gives off a menacing grin before standing up. "Using detect magic, 'Clairvoyance', to be precise... I have spotted a few caravans heading towards Falguard."

Azrael continues, folding his arms in a comfortable manner. "I am no expert, but I believe that reinforcements -both men and supplies- are what's in those wagons, and they are sure to attack us sooner or later."

Almost immediately, the entire tent was filled with conversation.

"Is it the Church again?:

"When will this all end?"

"How can I protect my family?"

"Who will save us?!"

Seth tries to calm them down, to no avail. Without Geraldt, there was nobody that people looked up to, and that played into Azrael's advantage.

"Fellow Brothers and Sisters!" Azrael says with courage and valor. "In this time of great trouble, you all need a leader! Someone to look up to!"

Clenching his hands into a fist whilst raising it into the air, Azrael continues, "You are all afraid.. helpless... and in need of a savior! The gods of both light and dark are with us... are with ME!"

Azrael then got the undead that he had summoned during the night of the massacre to join them in the tent. Every single one was equipped with swords, armor, and other spoils that the dead had worn the moment they were killed. They were such a large number that not every undead managed to get inside.

In order to not spread any discomfort though (as some of these undead were once friends with the living), Azrael made sure that every head wore helmets that covered the entirety of their faces.

The people avoided these creatures of the night as a few of them circled around Azrael, showing the crowd that they were under his control.

"T-that's tier 2 undead!" One shouts in disbelief.

"Look!" A woman points out a headless undead, which was carrying its own head on its arms. "I-it looks like the headless horseman!"

Seth looked at it with terror as he recognized the armor that the headless undead was wearing.

"J-Jeremiah.."

"Help me!" Azrael shouts, making sure that every person in the room. "Help me drive out our persecutors! The ones who steal from the poor and ignore the needy... help me set our people free!"

Seth looks around at the people, who were now listening intently towards Azrael. In situatuons where hope is almost lost, just like this one, it is rather relieving to have someone to believe in. Azrael is playing with their fears, and only Seth knew that.

"W-we are with you, Lord Conquista!" A man from the crowd anxiously shouts, causing the others to join him.

Others were even kneeling in disbelief. "W-we can win!"

The rest, anxious upon seeing the group of undead soldiers that Azrael had just summoned inside the tent,  stayed silent.

"Free our people!" The crowd shouted over and over again.

Azrael gives them a few seconds to do as they please before raising his arms up, gesturing for them to be quiet.

Seth looks at Azrael enviously. "What a show... I expected much from a dark lord.."

"I would need a few volunteers to go ahead and be my eyes and ears in Falguard." Azrael tells them.

Of course, the dark lord can just head into the village and spy for himself, but in his limited state, he can only do so much. Besides, it was much better to let a certain number to do the spying for him, especially since a few of them are familiar with the area. The more people gathering information, the better... and because they are frightened individuals who are hunted down like dogs, the chances of them betraying him is very slim.

"It will be dangerous, especially if you're caught." Azrael informs them, acting as if their entire lives depended solely on their will to act. "They will torture you, get you to act against your own brothers and sisters, and will ultimately spell doom towards your family here... but should we be successful, we can finally bring about change in this nation!"

Many people, not having anyone else, nodded their heads in agreement, with a few of them raising their hands.

Azrael smiles as he calls for the people that willingly volunteered to be a part of this covert operation.

"What is your name?" Azrael asks a woman who was rather very beautiful in terms of looks. When it came to information gathering, Azrael knew that she had the most potential.

"I-I am Lianna Delford." The woman said in a rather cautious manner.

"What happened to your eye?" Azrael points out at the bandage covering half her face.

Lianna looks down in response, visibly upset when asked this question. "I-I... got into a situation.."

"You don't have to tell me if it's confidential." Azrael tells her, placing his right hand on her shoulder. "I am appointing you as the leader of this mission."

"W-what?" Lianna asks, surprised that the burden of responsibility fell on her.  "I-I don't think-"

"Don't take this out of context, but you are rather beautiful." Azrael tells her, removing his arm. "Lots of individuals can gather information... but you have the potential to go even further."

Lianna looked troubled. "Y-you don't mean-"

"Use your beauty to your advantage, Lianna." Azrael tells her. "The other seven will report to you all the information they manage to gather... but I'll be expecting more from you."

Seth looks at Lianna, who was now sweating profusely. It was clear to him that the girl had never been in a demanding position before, and seeing her like that got him to pity her.

"I-I can-"

"I am sure of my decision, Lord Constantin." Azrael cuts Seth short as he was trying to volunteer being the leader of the group, which would have spared Lianna that responsibility. "Besides, I need you for more pressing matters."

Seth wanted to argue further, but he knew that this was no ordinary man. Getting on his bad side could mean death to everyone around him. "A-as you wish."

The people around them looked with awe. Seth had always been a part of the command structure under Anton Geraldt... and they had never seen him behave like that before. "The adopted son of Lord Geraldt managed to gain the respect of Lord Constantin?"

"Well.. it isn't a surprise... seeing as how Lord Conquista managed to tame these numerous undead.." one man said.

"It's okay, Lord Constantin." Lianna tells him, feeling reassured now. "I-I will do my best to save my people."

Azrael smiles. There were always lots of people like her... and Zachariah. Always willing to put aside everything, even themselves, just so they could help in whatever way they could.

"That's settled then." Azrael says. "Those of you who are too afraid to face the enemy should stay here in the camp with my undead servants. Benjamin Croft will be in charge."

The people looked around, looking for the man of the triangle. It seemed like he was still in his tent, broken and defeated... but Azrael still had plans for him.

About 13 people out of the 18 remaining members (not including Azrael and Seth) had volunteered to stay at the camp.

Azrael nodded. "The rest of you, with me."

"Where are we going, my lord?" Seth asks Azrael.

Azrael smiles before answering him.

"We're going to retrieve my armor."

The people were pumped now. Under Anton Geraldt's leadership, they had always been subject to oppression under the Theocracy's men, always remaining subservient to its soldiers lest they get angry... but this time, Zachariah li Conquista (Azrael) will lead them as they finally get to fight back their oppressors, and save their people.

"All hail Conquista!" A man shouts from the back, which gets the others fired up. They all looked up to Zachariah... the savior that they needed.

"All hail Conquista!"

"All hail Conquista!"

Even the undead seemed to be cheering. Banging their weapons into their armor, they made such a loud sound that startled the remaining members of the cult even more.

Azrael smiles. This was the start of a new age... the world under his rule. "Let's go save our people."

...

Kathlynn, Lucius and Talia arrive at Falguard and, as the Captain wanted, heads over to the Parliament building where the Cardinal in charge of the region, Dagon Thorn, was residing in. The number of guards that they walked past along the way recognized them, and quickly raised their hands in salute.

"Lady Stark." Lucius begins to say as Talia opens the door for them. "Dagon Thorn. What kind of man is he?"

Kathlynn thinks about her answer fist before replying. "I've only met him once or twice during ceremonies, and I could tell that he is very intelligent."

"I've heard that he's from Braemid."

"Was." Kathlynn informs him. "After it was annexed, he served as a priest for the Church of Light."

"Good morning." A servant of the Parliament had noticed them coming about at the door and as such rushed in to attend to them. "May I have your names?"

"Allow me to introduce." Talia looks at both Lucius and Kathlynn before quickly turning towards the servant girl. "This is Captain Lucius Valerian of the 21st Regiment of the Royal Army, and-"

"-and I am Kathlynn Stark, a servant of the gods and apostle of the Church of Light." Kathlynn says. She then faced Talia with a smile. "That was kind of you, Talia... but there was no need for you to introduce us."

Talia bows down. "Of course. Forgive me, my lady."

The servant was rather nervous now, which wasn't really a surprise. Not only was she given the honor to speak to an official from the Royal Army, she had also been granted the opportunity to attend to an Apostle of the Church!

"M-my Lord, m-my lady... please forgive me.." the servant bowed her head in respect.

"Lift up your head, please." Kathlynn smiles as she places her hand on top of the servant's head.

The girl was happy. "W-what brings you here in this Parliament this fine morning? If you wish, I can make you tea and-"

"We are here to see Lord Dagon Thorn." Lucius interrupts her. Although Kathlynn thought it was quite cold for him to do so, the girl was still all smiles as if nothing happened.

"O-of course, my lord." The girl says. "Follow me, please."

"We are in your care." Kathlynn says as both she and Lucius trail behind the young, seemingly enthusiastic servant of the parliament.

"I shall stay here in the lobby, Lady Stark." Talia informs them as Kathlynn turned around to see if she was following.

Kathlynn nods. "I'll be right back, Talia."

The two follow the servant girl as she makes her way towards the head office, where Dagon Thorn was.

"May I ask you a question, Lord Valerian." Kathlynn says.

"You may, Lady Stark."

"Why are you wearing such formal clothes?" Kathlynn smiles. "I'm sorry for my ignorance. This is the first time that I am walking with a captain of the Royal Army."

"Besides it being a sign of respect, it is also mandatory for soldiers of the military to wear complete uniform, even our armor if possible, when in a Royal Building." Lucius informs Kathlynn, who nods in response.

At the same time as they opened the door to Dagon's waiting room, two mysterious individuals clothed in all black bumped into them as the pair were exiting the room themselves. Lucius unknowingly knocks Iris Mildred into the ground, to Adelfried's surprise.

"Watch where you're going!" Iris immediately shouts as Lucius helps her up.

"My apologies." Lucius tells her. Iris still felt disgusted.

"And I was in such a good mood today too..." Iris says as she clenches her hands into a fist, seemingly wanting to strike Lucius straight in the face. "You just had to annoy me, didn't you?"

"M-ma'am, please calm down." The servant girl says as she began to feel tension rising, with the two individuals gazing at each other.

"Heyooo!" Adelfried takes Iris hand in an attempt to calm her down. "We're sorry about that. We were just leaving!"

"It's no problem at all." Lucius says as he breaks from his gaze. "Again, my apologies.."

"Tsk." Iris rolled her eyes as she walks past him. "Royal Army Pigs."

Lucius had heard that insult before, as the Royal Army had committed lots of atrocities both to its enemies and its people. He just let out a huge sigh as Iris left the scene.

"S-sorry for her attitude." Adelfried scratches the back of his head. "A-actually, my partner is feeling unwell. It's just one of those days, you know?"

"I do know. Quite clearly." Kathlynn lets out a chuckle in order to lighten up the mood.

"Well then. My Lord, my lady." Adelfried says as he tries to bid farewell. "I shall be on my way-"

"That badge." Lucius says, pointing out to a silver badge pinned on Adelfried's chest. "You're on the Foreign Legion?"

"Yes, actually." Adelfried responds.

"Your partner too?"

Adelfried nods. "W-we both just applied this week."

"What are your ranks?"

Adelfried gives a smile, looking at Lucius straight in the eye. "I-I can't recall. My deepest apologies."

"I see." Lucius says. "Carry on, soldier."

Adelfried nods as he walks calmy past Lucius and into the hallway.

The servant girl let out a sigh of relief as that entire ordeal was now over. "L-let me just check in with Lord Thorn. Please, have a seat."

"Thank you." Kathlynn says as both she and Lucius wait for her return.

"That was quite a scene, huh?" Kathlynn smiles as she looked at Lucius, who seemed quite troubled. "What is it?"

"It's strange." Lucius tells her, rubbing his chin as if he was thinking of something. "According to her insult and the way she acted around me, that woman acted as if she despised the Royal Army."

"So?"

"It looked like both she and that man volunteered into the Theocracy's Foreign Legion. It's in their badges." Lucius informs Kathlynn, who was still dumbfounded by his concern over such matters.

"I'm sorry Lord Valerian, but-"

"She hated the Royal Army, but she still voluntarily enlisted into the Legion." Lucius says. "And the two calmly walked past me, even though the badge on my chest clearly states that I am a captain of the Royal Army, their superior."

"You told me that they are members of the Foreign Legion." Kathlynn tells him. "Maybe they are just new to the force."

"The Foreign Legion is only comprised of veteran soldiers from other nation's who wish to fight for our country. The Theocracy never accepts foreign rookies, much less those who don't know their own ranks." Lucius informs her. "What's more is that the Legion only accepts enlistments during times of war..."

"I-I get what you mean." Kathlynn nods her head. "Foreign soldiers who don't know their own titles, who behave informally around their superiors and are employed during a time of peace do rake up suspicion, no?"

"It's almost as if... their enlistment was rushed. They didn't even bother wearing a uniform in a Royal Parliament." Lucius says, looking at the door that stood between them and Cardinal Dagon Thorn, who had just been informed about their arrival.

"Let them in." Dagon tells the servant girl who happily nods and heads back for their visitors.

"This is going to be troublesome."