Chapter 4: The Triangle

It was the year 1244 in the Ancient Terran Calendar, and the entire world as everyone knew it... was in utter chaos.

After what seemed to be a few months worth of minor border skirmishes, the growing dominion of the Heithian Empire declared war on the Holy Alliance, which was made up of the Creathian Theocracy, the Crobian Autarchy and the Kingdom of Braemid. Having been prepared for such conflict, the Heithian Empire crushed the Kingdom of Braemid in a matter of months, which was the only thing standing between them and their rival, the Crobian Autarchy.

A young swordsman, Benjamin Croft, enlists in the Theocracy's royal army in order to drive the Imperial aggressors back to their lands. He serves under the 10th regiment led by General Ferris Algrave II.

Despite having limited training and a lack of any sword style Benjamin survives battle after battle, even when the odds were against him. One can even say that he was blessed by the god of war, Ares, himself. He, along with the rest of the 10th regiment, was tasked to protect the villages of Caridia and Falguard.

At the thick of battle Benjamin meets a fellow warrior of the sword, Damien Voltarian who had--since their swords first clashed-- regarded him as a rival in terms of combat ability. The two would compete even over the tiniest of things during their break, and thus were often sent to the General for disciplinary action.

The two of them were one of those responsible for the death of imperial marquis and pyromancer, Walter Magnus. In the 6th month after the start of the Great onflict, soldiers from both sides watched--anxious and in awe--as a total of twenty unremarkable yet brave individuals volunteered to face off against the one who was said to be the greatest magic caster in the Heithian Empire's 200-year long history.

During the climax of the great battle only Benjamin, Damien and a prestigious assassin from the capital, Gabriel Ashwood, remained standing as they continue to desperately exhaust Magnus' mana, which seemed to be the only way they could close the huge power gap that clearly served as a disadvantage for them.

Once it was obvious that their adversary was exhausted, the three assumed a triangle-like formation around Magnus, striking simultaneously with a number of coordinated physical attacks.

This overwhelms the magic caster, who was constantly being denied the time to counter or even think. After hours of constant back and forth attacks, Benjamin finally finds an opening and struck Walter as he was distracted by a charging Damien.

A moment of silence occurs before the three men embraced each other with tears on their eyes, as if they had known each other for a long time. They had won.

With the pyromancer finally meeting his end at the hands of these seemingly ordinary people from the slums of a then-weakened nation, the honor-bound knights of the Heithian Empire saluted with respect, forfeiting their assault on Caridia in honor of the brave men who stood up against a 'demon' like Magnus.

With a seemingly bittersweet conclusion, the remaining soldiers of the regiment sang praises to the young men, thanking them for saving countless of lives.

The Creathian Victory that day was considered a miracle bestowed upon them by the gods, hence the name, "The Miracle in Caridia". Rather than rightfully crediting the victory to the three friends, however, the Theocracy instead recognized the supervision of Anton Geraldt, who had succeeded General Algrave after he was killed in battle.

Although most of the soldiers didn't see this as fair, the trio didn't mind as they were more than happy just to be able to survive such an encounter with what they perceived as an individual capable of destroying an entire army by himself.

One slip in that dangerously open formation, or even a miscalculated measure of Magnus' fighting ability could have cost them their lives.

The people regarded them as heroes of Caridia nonetheless, with the Village Elder unofficially dubbing the brave men with the monicker, "Man of the Triangle", while organizing a proper funeral for both the 17 other brave souls who fought with them as well as the knights who died in earlier battles.

That was 10 years ago.

...

Benjamin Croft wakes up, finding himself in a tent of some sorts. He remembered Gilford's sword thrusting into his torso, shattering all flesh, muscle and bone that ever made contact with it. He tries to examine the overall damage inflicted on his body, only to discover that both his arms had been removed.

Benjamin screams in horror, grabbing the attention of Seth, who instinctively grabs his sword before rushing towards Benjamin's tent.

"Benjamin?!" Seth shouts as he enters the tent, raising his sword in the air as if expecting an attack, only to look at Benjamin moving frantically as he tries to understand what was going on.

"My arms!" Benjamin raises the stumps that had once been a full set of arms. "What the hell happened to my arms?!"

Dropping the sword, Seth holds Benjamin, intending to calm him as the latter now started hyperventilating. "Benjamin, calm down!"

"What do you mean, calm down?!" Benjamin shouts, pushing Seth away with his chest. "My bloody arms are missing, and you expect me to be calm?!"

"Get a hold of yourself!" Seth slaps Benjamin straight in the face as to startle him. "You're lucky to even be alive, you damn twit!"

"Valentin!" Benjamin yells as he finally recovers most of his memories. "Where is she? Where is Valentin?!"

"I need you to calm down first!" Seth yells back. "You're scaring everybody up! Don't you realize the danger we're in?!"

"Get out of my tent!" Benjamin shouts at Seth, who had no choice but to comply to his whims. "Get out, you bastard!"

Although quite annoyed, Seth understood the situation Benjamin was in. Closing the flaps of his tent, Seth couldn't help but get emotional as he felt empathy towards one of the heroes of Caridia, who was now wailing helplessly in his tent as if the whole world had gone against him.

"VALENTIN!!" Seth could hear him scream. "Don't leave me, Val.. Don't leave me.."

The cultists that they had freed the night before anxiously moved towards Seth. "I-is master Croft a-alright?"

Seth wipes off the tears that had filled his eyes before nodding. "He's... he's just bearing with everything now..."

Unlike Benjamin, Seth never had the chance to release all the sorrow that he had felt inside. With Lord Geraldt gone and the great hero Benjamin seemingly stuck in a state of despair, Seth felt like he needed to be strong for the group.

He walks toward Azrael, who had been sitting on top of a boulder that whole time, meditating.

"L-lord Azrael.."

"What is it, child?" Azrael says with closed eyes. "You better have a good reason for disturbing me."

"F-forgive me, my l-lord.." Seth says. After all this time, he still couldn't fathom the reality that was god incarnate, right in front of him. "Y-your power... it cannot be measured, can it?"

"I suppose."

"If I may ask... what is it that holds my lord back from conquering Creathe..." Seth starts, having more questions than there were answers. "No, the entire world?"

"You know, child.." Azrael begins, currently feeling generous so he supposed that he should at least share a few of these things with someone.

It had been a long time since he last had a 'normal' conversation. "Besides Zachariah's body having its limits, I'm simply being cautious. You never know... another great being may have already found its way into this world before I did."

"T-there are others like you?"

"Why do you think most humans call us 'gods', plural, and not 'god'?" Azrael explains. "If an accidental invocation had released me from the void, it is possible that a similar situation can happen someplace else... and as such, I simply cannot expose myself and my powers without considering that possibility. It would be unwise."

Seth nods his head, agreeing with the dark lord's statement. However, the real reason why he had approached Azrael was for a question he had just thought of a while ago. "I don't suppose you can... resurrect someone, can you?"

Azrael smiles. "That's a very selfish request. If I told you that I can only do one person, which individual would you like me to bring back for you?"

"Well, I-" Seth tries to answer but in the end, fails. Having the chance to revive someone was pretty great, but it would be unfair to everyone else who had had a loved one taken away from them. Besides, it would also be unfair to the dead, who had finally acquired rest from their suffering in this life. Azrael was right... it was a very selfish request.

"I... I have no idea."

Azrael finally opens his eyes as he steps down from the boulder that he was meditating on. "You understand, yes? The trouble that it would bring..."

"B-but you can?" Seth wanted an answer to that question for so long. If there is a possibility that he could do it, through a magic spell at least, that would mean that...

"Who knows?" Azrael says as he walks past him. "In fact, it's better that way."

Seth looks down with a disappointed face. The things he would do to achieve that goal... of bringing back a loved one from the cold grasp of death.

"Come with me." Azrael says as he turns back to look at Seth. "If your human maps are correct, the village of Falguard is quite nearby. I want to explore more of the world that I had left behind a thousand years ago."

Seth had no choice but to obey. Walking towards Azrael, he still couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of a resurrection spell. What if the Holy Order had a spell like it this whole time? That would surely cause an outrage throughout the entire kingdom.

Azrael grabs Seth's hand as he casts 'Teleport' once again, transporting the two directly at a densely populated area within the village. Nobody seemed to notice the duo's sudden appearance though, as if they had been standing there this entire time.

"The people here seem busy." Azrael says as he examines his surroundings. He could see a man pulling a cart filled with goods and a woman tending to her market stall. He took a deep breath as a bakery had just opened its doors, letting the aroma of newly-made pastry fill the air.

Almost like how a little child would feel, Azrael smiles as he gets to hear the sounds of horses, oxen, and people chattering. It was good to be free again.

"What's going on over there." Seth points out to a gathering of people on a nearby hillside. Knights of the Order have been posted outside what seemed to be a parliament building as was the protocol of handling a large mob, although this time, there were weird shapes that had been erected on the side.

"Let us see what the commotion is all about." Azrael tells Seth, who quickly follows as he begins to walk towards the crowd of seemingly worried individuals.

Upon closer inspection, the 'weird shapes' that Seth had been focusing on was none other than crosses, with a bloodied person barely hanging from the wood.

"By the gods." Seth couldn't help but swear as the two get closer and closer towards the scenery. The parliament building was on fire, the guards had been beheaded, and the individuals dangling from the crosses looks as if they were noblemen. The knights held the people back from stepping any closer, while apothecaries tried their best to get the corpses in one place as gently as possible.

Seth examines each and every body, trying to see if he could at least identify one. He did.

"T-that's Lord Winthropt." Seth says as he tries his best not to gag. "What the hell happened here?"

"Who is this... Winthropt?" Azrael asks.

"M-my lord.. Lord Winthropt is a kind man who had served the people of this village for quite a time now." Seth answers, now trying to calm himself down. "My father had invited this man into our house once, back in Delford. N-now he's.."

The two of them could only watch in silence as trumpets finally sound as if to introduce an important indovidual, and with them a highly decorated nobleman steps out from the parliament building. It was Cardinal Dagon Thorn.

All around them, Azrael could make out the countless gossip that the villagers had caused.

"I heard that the entire district's council had been brutally executed." Whispered one.

"Not true. Cardinal Thorn is still alive, isn't he?"

"Who would do such a thing?" Asked a woman.

"I heard that it was the actions of that infamous cult." Was the reply. "As revenge for invading a cultist tomb."

"How awful."

"What would all of this mean?"

"With most of the council eliminated, would this mean that the Royal Army would have to get involved?"

"People of Falguard!" Dagon shouts, grabbing everyone's attention. "There is no need to panic. Everything is all under control!"

"Under control my ass."

"Why can't the Church control those wretched cultists?"

"Silence them!" Dagon commanded, to which the guards surrounding him responded by banging their swords and their shields together, up until the crowd went silent.

Clearing his throat, Dagon continues. "As a result of this blasphemous yet meaningless slaughter caused by those heretics of the Cult of Shadows, the church has appointed me, Dagon Thorn, to secure the safety this village."

"As such!" Dagon continued. "By the authority given to me by the church and by the gods themselves, I hereby place the region under direct military control, and the entire village on lockdown!"

"The entire region is under Cardinal Thorn's supervision now?" Azrael thought to himself. "Besides Falguard, that would include the villages of Caridia, Alden and Maine."

"What is this guy thinking?" Seth can't help but wonder.

But everything had all been going according to Dagon's plan. Because of the Mokon massacre and the disappearance of one of the five legendary heroes, he finally had the perfect excuse to eliminate his rivals in one fell swoop, getting an entire region under his control as what the Church can only consider as a drastic measure.

The soldiers that the church had lent to Dagon didn't even know that they were slowly being turned into pawns dedicated into serving his true purpose; have all the territories belonging to the former kingdom of Braemid separate from the theocracy and become king!

After the Great War, it was seen that the Kingdom of Braemid could no longer function independently, and so the Theocracy decided to turn it into a vassal as a "measure of friendship and protection", slowly annexing region after region until finally, 3 years later, the kingdom was no more. Dagon Thorn was an ultranationalist who disagreed with the entire ordeal, but had no choice but to submit to his new overlords.

Dagon first conspired to spark a rebellion by electing the Braemid King's youngest son, Brian de Braemid, as the new ruler... but after seeing the exiled prince's bratish and rotten attitude, he had a new idea; Why not make himself king?

Betraying his former ally, Dagon Thorn had Brian executed, and as such was granted a seat at the Church as a reward for his 'righteous' deed.

Azrael grins. This was all a part of an elaborate yet treacherous plot. If he wanted, he could make a bolt of lightning come down from the heavens and strike Thorn dead, but that would only make matters worse for him. Such an arrogant display of power would definitely grab the attention of powerful individuals. It was best to just let things go every once in a while.

"Let's go." Azrael tells Seth, who nods in agreement.

"Lord Thorn is always known for his abuse of power." Seth informed Azrael. "With region wide control and a strict lockdown policy, he sure will make the people here more miserable than they already are."

"That would only play to our advantage." Azrael tells Seth. "Let Dagon Thorn enjoy his game of chess for now."

Seth looks at Azrael as he prepares to teleport them out of there.

Azrael grins, an evil glint sparks in his eyes.

"Let him know despair as he loses them all, piece by piece."