Chapter 5: Falguard

While most of the nobles in the Theocracy were regarded as cruel and corrupt, there were a certain few that the people actually loved and respected.

Having heard of Lord Winthropt's death at Falguard, the captain of the 21st regiment of the Royal Army, Lucius Valerian, decides to pay his respects to his family. As such, he requests a personal audience with the King of Creathe in order to be granted permission to travel to Falguard, which was now under strict military rule.

Now Lucius was a prodigy when it came to swords, and was extremely adept at using every type. Skilled men were most often consumed by their superior abilities, but not Lucius. The entire region of Hasenberg, east from the capital, not only recognizes Lucius as strong, but also kind and generous.

"Strength and Honor" was the Valerian family's code, and Lucius intends to keep it as his way of life.

"I wish to speak to the king." Lucius says as he shows the Grand Protectors, or the king's guard, the papers stating his appointed visit. "It's about Lord Winthropt."

The order of knights that guard the king are specifically chosen from ten distinct families, each trained from birth the art of both physical combat and magic itself. They were born and raised to protect and lay down their lives for the king, following him even into death. Rumors have it that should the king die while under their care, naturally or by the sword, the Grand Protectors who had served him would eventually commit suicide.

The Grand Protectors, after carefully reviewing the document, nods and almost immediately opens the heavily-fortified doors leading towards the throne room, where the 15-year old king was staying.

Lucius enters the throne room and ever so carefully treads past the dozens of Grand Protectors that were stationed in a long line, all the way to the king.

Julius finally reaches the end of the line and kneels in front of the king. "Your highness.."

"You may proceed, Lord Valerian." The king says.

It didn't matter what age the new ruler was. The child is a descendant of one of the great gods, and as such must be treated with the same reverence that he would give an older king.

"Your highness, I ask for your permission to leave my post at Weisworth, in order to attend Lord Winthropt's funeral at Falguard."

The young ruler nods at his request. "Have you already appointed a substitute for your regiment?"

"My ward shall take command of the 21st during my absence." Lucius answers. "If something goes wrong, I shall take full responsibility."

"Very well, Lord Valerian." The King says. "You may go."

"Thank you, your highness."

"Do you plan on going to Falguard alone?" The King asks.

"Yes sire. There is no need to take anyone with me." Lucius tells him.

"An apostle from the Church has also requested leave from her duties." The King says. "Why don't you join her caravan at Porter? I believe Falguard would be on their way."

Lucius nods in agreement. "I shall take your advice, your highness."

"I heard that Lord Winthropt was your mentor, Lord Valerian." The King told him.

"He was."

"I've also heard that you are quite exceptional on the field." The King continues. "As such, if ever you find a trace of the perpetrators, I trust that you would do the right thing."

"Yes, your majesty."

The King makes a gesture to one of his Grand Protectors, implying that they give him something. The man understands, and after a few minutes of searching, produces both a special piece of paper and the King's signet ring.

The King writes something on it for a few seconds, before folding it neatly.

"This is proof that you have my authority to search the entirety of the region." The King says, handing the letter back to a Grand Protector, which in turn gives it to Lucius. "No one, not even the Cardinal in charge, can deny you the right to search it."

Lucius could not fathom how a piece of paper signed and sealed by the King could hold so much power. "Thank you for this responsibility, your highness. I won't let you down."

"Well then... you may leave now." The King bids farewell to the warrior. "May the gods be with you, Lord Valerian."

"To you as well, your highness." Lucius gives a salute as he stood up.

Having finished his business in the throne room, Lucius Valerian exits the palace and, with an armed escort, rides for the town of Porter.

It took half the day, but the party finally reached the gates of Porter and requested entrance.

Walking towards one of the guards of Porter, Lucius asks for the apostle. "Is there a servant of the Church, an apostle, residing in this town?"

"Lord Valerian, it is an honor." The guard gives a salute before answering his question. "I believe they are still here, loading their caravan with supplies. They seem to be preparing for a long journey."

"Thank you, soldier." Lucius says as he bows his head. His party then splits up in the search for the Apostle's caravan.

"My lord." A knight from Lucius' regiment starts before stopping to catch his breath. "I found the apostle that you were looking for."

"Lead me to them." Lucius commanded. He assembles the rest of the escort and follows the knight towards Kathlynn Stark and her party, who were standing in front of 5 horse-pulled wagons.

"Lady Stark." Lucius bows his head as he greets her. "I wasn't informed that the apostle I was looking for was you."

"I haven't seen you in a long while as well, Lord Valerian." Kathlynn bows her head in return. "The gods be with you. What can I do for you?"

"I have heard that you will be embarking on a journey.. and before reaching your destination you would pass by Falguard." Lucius tells her. "I was wondering if I could join you on your travels, atleast until we reach Falguard."

"Only you?"

Lucius nods. "My men have a duty to uphold at Weisworth. They have no business at Falguard."

"I'm guessing that this is about the massacre at the Parliament. Please give my condolences to the families of the deceased." Kathlynn tells Lucius.

"It shall be done, Lady Stark."

"It is good that you caught up with us. We were just preparing to leave." Kathlynn informs Lucius. "You have a few minutes to give your instructions to your men."

Lucius thanks Kathlynn and turns toward the group of knights who had accompanied him from the holy capital and into Porter. Lucius thanks them for their services and commands them to return safely to Weisworth, telling them that his ward would serve as acting captain while he was gone.

The knights gave a salute to their beloved captain, and wished him well on his journey. After all the time that they have been together, Lucius had now considered these men as brothers rather than subordinates, and he was sure that they thought the same of him.

The knights exit Porter and rode for Weisworth. It would take them another day's journey to get there, but they didn't mind too much. Their leader arrived at Porter safe and sound, and that was all that mattered.

"You are a great captain, Lord Valerian." Kathlynn compliments Lucius as he watches his men disappear in the distance.

"I try to be... everyday." Lucius replies.

"I pray that one day all of Creathe follow your example."

"Thank you, Lady Stark." Lucius tells Kathlynn, who bows her head in return.

"Let us depart." Kathlynn says. "If we head off now, I'm sure that we will reach Falguard by sunrise."

Lucius looks at the sunset in the distance. Everything was calm and peaceful now... unlike those days during the Great War.

He liked it that way.

...

At the Holy Capital, inside the Grand Temple of the 'Church of Light', the Archon summons every single Cardinal, save for Dagon Thorn, who had met up with him the day before.

"You all heard the news, yes?" The Archon looks at each Cardinal as they all kneel before him.

No one dared look the Archon in the eyes. All were reverent towards the man that the gods themselves have blessed to recieve the highest position in the church.

"Dozens of nobles... slain by these heretics from the cult of shadows." The Archon continues, turning away from them.

"It is awful.." Cardinal Joseph Stone, commented.

"Indeed it is." The Archon sighs as he walks over and washes his hands in a gold basin. "The loss of life will never be a good thing... whether they be righteous or wicked.."

The Cardinals all agreed with him. Though not a single one of them has ever seen the Archon personally, they could all feel his holy aura from where they were kneeling at. Such was the power of the gods.

"But there is a reason for all things, good and bad." The Archon says, annointing each one of them with the water that came from the basin and through his hands. "And with this bad, the gods have given us an opportunity to save this land."

The Cardinals looked at each other whilst still remaining low and respectful.

What could the Archon mean?

"With both the loss of a large portion of the nobility, and the unfortunate disbandment of the council supervising the region of Fallfey, the King has finally allowed a Cardinal of the church to oversee a part of Creathe." The Archon informs them, moving towards a golden throne of his own.

"Sekh fan thine." Another Cardinal, Maximillian Artorius, speaks in the ancient Creathian language. "The gods are with us."

"So they are, Lord Artorius." The Archon gives an exhilarating smile. "It is not long before every single one of you here today will also acquire the right to rule over a portion of the holy land."

"Sekh fan thine." The 10 Cardinals of the Church exclaimed.

"It is almost time for me to choose another successor worthy of the highest seat." The Archon informs them.

"Go and spread our mercy to the enemies of the church..." the Archon commanded them before they dispersed.

"And may the greatest among you become my grand cardinal."

...

"Lucius!" Kathlynn awakens the young captain, who had just fallen asleep on his way to Falguard. "We're under attack!"

Lucius readies his sword. "Bandits?"

"I don't know." Kathlynn replies. "They are holding the wagons."

"You've heard of us, haven't you?!" A man seemed to be shouting outside. "We're from the Cult of Shadows!!"

"Cultists?!" Lucius gets angry as he immediately remembers hearing the news of Lord Winthropt's death.

"Let's show those fools the power of the gods!" Kathlynn tells him as the several footsteps from outside got closer and closer to the wagon that they were in.

"Everyone... outside or we will butcher you!!" Another man shouted as he tries to scare each passenger from the wagons.

Little did he know that every single person there was, in their own way, armed.

Lucius and Kathlynn go outside, the former stabbing the first man that they came into contact with.

"Brothers and sisters!" Kathlynn calls out to the rest of her party, who were still inside their respective wagons. "Fight by my side!"

The attackers ignore her shout as they regrouped, almost ready to counter attack.

Suddenly, several light-based magic, coming from the several disciples inside the wagons, struck the men where they stood, and most died upon contact.

Two of the attackers charge towards Kathlynn, who immediately casts "Lightning" upon the foolish individuals. Electrocuted, the two men dropped to the ground paralyzed and unable to do anything.

The rest of the group decided that they were going to retreat, seeing that they are not people who are easy to deal with. As they desperately tried to run for their lives, Lucius catches up and slices through every single one of them.

"As I've heard." Kathlynn notes as she watches Lucius take those men out. "Being that fast without casting a spell. That must be his gift."

All but one survived Lucius' attack.

"Please don't kill me!" The man pleaded with Lucius.

"You're a part of the cult." Lucius said, sword pointed at the man's throat. "You murdered all those people. You deserve to die."

"I-I'm not one of them!"

"What did you say?!" Lucius says, grabbing hold of the man's shirt.

"W-we're not part of the cult!" The man replied. "W-we thought that if we said that we were, you folks would get frightened and surrender your goods without a fight!"

Lucius was disgusted. Lowly thieves trying to mask their actions by claiming to be part of the Cult of Shadows?

"You disgust me." Lucius says to the man before he knocks him out with his hand.

Kathlynn walks over towards him as he gently places the man on the ground.

"What did he say?"

"These bastards tried to fool us by impersonating the cult." Lucius answers her, sheathing his blade. "I don't know how people can be so low."

Talia, Kathlynn's handmaid, bows as she approaches the two.

"Excuse me, Lord Valerian, Lady Stark." Talia says as she walks over towards the man, tying him up.

"Well, that was some good exercise for me." Kathlynn says as she decides to head back towards her wagon. "I haven't been in a real fight in years now."

"I as well." Lucius follows the apostle at the back of the convoy.

"It makes you wonder if the cultists really did cause all the massacres, no?" Kathlynn jokes around, which made Lucius think.

"Or if it was a ploy by somebody else..."

"Hey, I'm just joking." Kathlynn tells him. "The investigation teams are certain that it was the cult. No need to take it seriously."

Lucius gives out a fake chuckle, but resides deep into his thoughts. This would be a great start towards his investigation.

The entire village of Falguard was surrounded with guards, even before the lockdown... much more the Parliament.

How could a group of cultists manage to storm the entire building without setting off any alarm, or alert any witnesses?

Lucius never recieved a formal investigation report, but he thought that since he's going to be staying in Falguard anyway,  he was going to ask the official in charge of the entire region, Cardinal Thorn, for said report.

"Lady Stark." Lucius says as the wagons start moving again.

"Yes, Lord Valerian?"

"May I ask you for a favor?"

Kathlynn nods. "For a brother who has fought with me? To the best of my ability."

Lucius smiles as he finally makes yp his request.

"I want you to introduce me to Cardinal Dagon Thorn."

...

Dagon Thorn leads the two members of the Black Hand, Adelfried and Iris, into what seemed to be the rooms that they were going to stay in.

"Whoaaahh!" Adelfried exclaimed as they surveyed the room filled with exotic furniture and glamorous decor. This was a room befitting a nobleman.

"I need you two to stay put." Dagon instructed the duo as they both wandered around the room. "I don't want any unnecessary killing."

"We'll do as we see fit." Iris tells him off, sitting down rather boyishly on a nearby seat.

"Speak for yourself, Iris." Adelfried says as he embraces the fine cloth that resided on his bed. "I can stay here forever!"

"I'm serious." Dagon says as he walks over to the door. "I have an image to maintain, and I don't want you two to screw things up."

"Yessir!!" Adelfried mockingly gives a salute, while Iris rolled her eyes.

"Well, whatever."

"Do make yourself at home." Dagon smiles as he opens the door. "Just... don't break anything."

At the same time, Adelfried knocks over a beautiful vase that seemed to cost a fortune. "Whoops."

Dagon sighs, closing the door on his way out.

"Say, Iris." Adelfried says as he rolls over on his bed to face her. "Do you ever stop to think if there are any real gods out there?"

"The hell are you talking about, you moron?" Iris says in response.

Adelfried gives out a grin as he looks into a wonderfully-made glass chandelier, hanging by the ceiling.

"I wonder... which god do you think would save people.. from men like Dagon Thorn?"