Day 7 of the Crusade, Darkhallow Fortress

I stood with Roderick in the entryway to Darkhallow, which had been filled to the roof with traps and spells to delay our entry. It took our ward breakers and curse hunters only four days to dismantle the work of the Aurelian mages, though they warned that there still might be more subtle traps in the more important areas. We managed to breach the gates easily thanks to Master Dorman walking right up to them and magically altering the structure of the iron and wood gates. After he had overpowered the enchantments on them, with the help of a mage circle, it had been simple for him to breach. Every successive gate following that had fallen just as quickly, and we found ourselves in possession of Darkhallow much faster than anyone had imagined. We had expected to have to starve them for years, which wouldn't even really begin until we tunneled through the mountain - a project that was abandoned now that we had the fortress.

I turned to Roderick, still slightly surprised to see the ash and blood colored paint he applied to his face every day. I had been doing the same, and it apparently set the style for the rest of those who had sworn themselves as crusaders in my cause. All of the Templar's, as they were calling themselves, were applying the face paint. "Their crimes are manifold," I said gravely. He looked out at the same gruesome scene I did, and his silence was all the agreement I would get from him.

In front of us were nearly a hundred bodies arranged precisely in a circle. I could not be entirely sure, but I thought that maybe these were the nobility that had been placed in charge of this fortification. Every single man, woman, and child in the room had been stripped. The skin was carved with runes and strange designs that were also mimicked on the walls and even the ceiling overhead. Standing at the doorway were my mages, the ones who would investigate this room. It had been discovered today and I received a report of it at the same time Gerald did. More than half the mage's under Dorman and Tika's command had joined with my Crusade.

"Oik," I called forward the battle-mage I trusted the most. "I want this entire room sealed off from the general public. Only those who have direct permission from myself or Marshal Gerald will have access to this room. Nothing is to be touched, moved, or altered. Investigations by the mages may continue, as long as they do not disturb the aura of this room. It is to remain as pristine as possible until Archmage Tika can get a good look at it and direct us further." My unwavering faith that Tika would recover had not been shaken. Unlike some of those in the command staff and amongst the general army, I did not blame Tika for his actions. He had likely saved many lives at great personal cost, but we would know more when he awoke.

"As you wish, Templar Commander," Oik said reverently behind me. It made me faintly uncomfortable to be addressed as such by such a carefree individual, but I had grown used to it over the past few days. According to Roderick, who had told me after the impromptu ceremony, I had seemed possessed by a divine presence as I gave my vows. I thought that it was just the fervor of the moment and high emotions, but I would not hesitate to utilize that fervor to punish those who had wronged the continent.

Thanks to my actions, the Grand Army of Pervalia and the Mage Corps of Pervalia, the two forces that composed our total force, was suffering from a bit of a schism. The situation with the grand army was easier to deal with, as they were regular people whose prerogatives were not disturbed by my holy war. It helped, I supposed, that I was still publicly deferential to Gerald and those he placed over me. I would be insane not to be, considering his experience and education in the art of war was vastly superior to mine. The only sore point between us right now was one that both Gerald and I were mutually letting go. I had invited my adoptive father to join my crusade and he had declined. His reasoning was valid. Since he was an appointed marshal of the Duchy, he could not accept any vows nor oaths from foreign entities not formally recognized by the Coronet or Crown. Which is exactly what my crusade was. I thought that was a very good reason, and I admired his dedication to my parents and our duchy.

The bigger issue was the schism in the mage corps. It was split very roughly between battle-oriented magi, the majority of whom had joined my crusade and now painted their faces with Pervalia's Tears as they were being called. The other side were the more classical magi, ones who feared that my holy war would turn into a war against all of mage kind. In this second camp were all of the civilian magi who were there to fulfill various tasks not covered under battlefield magic, and there was a plenitude.

It was an issue, but not an insurmountable one since I figured that things with the mages would calm down after we brought the Aurelian mages to justice. Or maybe I was just being naive. I put those thoughts out of my mind since I didn't want to borrow tomorrow's troubles when I still have plenty of today's troubles on my plate. We turned away from the gruesome scene and left Oik to sort out the guard detail.

Temporary Templar Headquarters

"We'll need to sort out this mess of rank," Roderick sat across from me and lectured me in his torn voice. Our relationship was made even more odd with the advent of our crusade - he was now beholden to me in two power structures - and it took some getting used to. "Right now we have a Templar Commander and then not much else below that," he continued while I stared thoughtfully out of my crude stone window towards the Ashfields. It soothed me in an odd way to look at that dreary gray field, as if it served to crystalize my chaotic thoughts and emotions. Fury simmered ever so slightly at all times in my heart now, a strange feeling to me.

"Agreed," I said shortly. "We will also need to figure out where our mages fall within that structure," and Roderick sighed at the thought.

"Mixing mundane and magical has always been fraught with tension," he warned me evenly.

"It will be done, in this instance, because so many mage's have joined with our cause. They find the actions of the Aurelian magi to be as abhorrent as the rest of us. They are good Pervalian citizens for all that their belief lies mainly in Gurral," I referenced the official god of magic's in Pervalia. "We will also need to approach the Temple of Pervalia and acquire their priests and priestesses for our soldiery. I believe that the Arch-priest is already on his way to the front, and I am not sure how he will react. He might see this as subordination to Pervalia's authority,"

"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. It'll be harder for him to subvert our authority if we have a structure already in place," Roderick drummed his fingers on my desk from the opposite side.

Stolen novel; please report.

"Let's summon our senior personnel and work this out, then," I said sighed, already regretting the hours we would likely spend in debate.

Roderick and I went over our potential options, and eventually a large list was created. A page was sent to summon our senior military and mage personnel and a short time later Roderick and I found ourselves in a meeting room with several senior leaders from different groups. Representing the elite of our chivalric core were myself, Roderick, Gaspard, Charlie, and George - all Knights of the Heart and now Crusaders. Representing our magical forces saw battlemage Oik, warmage Dorman, and the nature mage I had operated with before, scholar Jillian. Finally we had our contingent from the Wardens, Jack and Nicholas.

"Thank you all for coming," I greeted them once everyone had found their seats. It was disturbing to see an entire room full of people with their faces painted in the colors of our crusade. The wardens looked especially sinister from beneath their hoods since typically you could only see the tip of their nose along with their mouth, cheeks, and chin. It gave them an otherworldly look that I was sure would strike fear into the hearts of our enemies - if they ever even saw the Wardens. "Putting it frankly, I have made a very sudden and potentially Rash decision. I feel it to be the right one, but it would be a disservice to Pervalia and all of you if I allowed this to continue without proper forethought and organization. To that end, we here will hammer out the command and control structure of our military forces,"

"In that event, I do not believe that Templar Commander is an appropriate rank for the titular head of our forces to hold," Roderick began, and he was supported by several of our knights and mages nodding along. "A commander in this context denotes control over mundane forces, and with the addition of our magi it becomes murky as to what his or her power is. We should have a Templar Commander in charge of training, provisioning, and recruitment of mundane forces," Roderick finished.

"I disagree entirely," I spoke up. "A knight commander is the typical head of mundane forces. We are not a mundane force by virtue of the inclusion of magi in our structure and command process. Typically they are two separated organizations working together, are they not?"

"You're right, the normal structure such as one that Gerald and Tika employ separates the magi from soldiers. That Tika is deferential to Gerald is due to Gerald's genius in command and warfare, not any inherent authority that Gerald holds over Tika," Roderick supplied.

"Then in this instance, the Templar Commander would be one of our most critical roles since we are seeking to blend our soldiers and magi into one cohesive force. I envision magi embedded down to the squad level, and capable of either falling as subordinate to a commander or acting as the commander themselves if it is appropriate," surprised looks met me from all around the table. It went against the convention of Pervalian Armed Forces doctrine to merge the two institutions into a cohesive force. There was no rule against it per se but it was still something that was generally not done. It seemed too close to handing magi lordship over common folks, a taboo in our society.

"Look, I get that my view is shocking. But we are facing one of few magical peers on the continent, and they are very obviously willing to go to extreme lengths to destroy Pervalian armies. This time it was blood magic to amplify a berserk spell. Who is to say that next time they won't leverage that same spell into the middle of our army?" I asked the pointed question and several faces went pale. Fighting a mob with organized lines and an archmage to bail us out of trouble was one thing. If that kind of spell went off in our center, we would rout damn near instantly and our forces would be beyond decimated. "Or, for that matter, what's to stop these godless bastards from utilizing necromancy?" I asked with vitriol in my voice. I had stunned them all into silence, and the magi in the room looked very grim.

"Please, esteemed war and battle mages, if I am wrong correct me," I directed directly at the magical representatives in the room.

"It is a possibility. Such abhorrent magic is typically shunned by the host country, which is what kept our countries from slaughtering each other with black magic. The Aurelian mages have proved willing to cross this taboo," Dorman said quietly.

I let the pressure and silence in the room mount before I spoke again, "Our enemy is utilizing magic that is only one step removed from magic that is hostile to life itself. This same kind of magic that created the goblin warrens and ether drakes that plagued our continent for centuries. Goblin warrens are so damned pervasive they are considered cataclysmic events if left unchecked. Entire countries the world over will band their magical corps together to erase our continent to prevent the spread of such foul magics. The Aurelian mage circle is an existential threat to the survival of not only Pervalia, but the entire continent itself," I hammered my final point home by reminding them of times when things got out of hand in our past.

"I will take my place as your figurehead," I stressed the word and several faces filled with consternation looked at me. "Until such a time as I become belted as a Knight, it is irresponsible to hand me penultimate power. That is why we will form the leadership of this crusade as a council because this is too damned important to elevate only one individual into ultimate leadership," I spoke in a tone that I heard Gerald, Tika, and my biological parents use. One that brooked no compromise.

"I will become the High Templar," I said, picking out a random title that held no connotations. "Knight Roderick will be our Templar Commander, in charge of the military operations of a mixed force at the strategic level. Knight Charlie will become our steward, responsible for the upkeep and overall logistical management of the crusade. Knight Gaspard will be Knight Commander, in charge of recruitment, indoctrination, and training of our mundane forces. Knight George will become our quartermaster, responsible for the equipage, munitions, and rations as a whole.

Master Dorman will become our High Magus, responsible for the overall training, recruitment, and indoctrination of our magical forces. Battlemage Oik will become our Inquisitor Magus, responsible for tactical operations under Templar Commander Roderick. Scholar Jillian will act as the Magus Steward and Magus Quartermaster for our magical needs until such a time as a fourth member can be found to take one of those roles.

Jack will become our Warden Inquisitor, responsible for recruiting, training, and operating a force of Templar Wardens to act as our investigative and scouting force as well as commanding our intelligence apparatus, whenever we manage to get one. Warden Nicholas will become our Warden Diplomat, and will share the duties of acting as our diplomatic arm with Templar Commander Roderick and I," I hammered out each individual for a responsibility, and everyone looked rather surprised at my decisiveness. Even Roderick cast a calculating look in my direction.

I ignored the byplay and exchange of looks, "Naturally our roles will change over time. I envision this crusade working together under a council, this very council. Within the Pervalian Templar's we will have several orders. The Order of the Sword, the Order of the Wand, and the Order of the Scroll. I think these hold very clear meanings, but I will elucidate anyways for clarity. The Order of the Sword is the combined forces of our military branches. It consists of basically everyone here. The Order of the Wand consists of myself and our magi. The Order of the Scroll consists of the Wardens and myself. In the coming days I want ideas from everyone for heraldry, uniforms, credo's. Anything and everything we can think of to tie our force together into a proud cohesive military order. Does anyone have anything to add?" I asked the room.

I should've kept my mouth shut. Of course they had many things to add, and it was necessary since my ad-hoc organization left massive gaps.