V6: Chapter 4

…

I was ready to make a massive mistake in the future to fix a massive mistake in the present, but things turned out for the better.

I think.

Turns out that the Wardens didn't take kindly to the existence of Death Lords.

Nope.

Not in the slightest.

"This foul creature must be expunged from the face of the planet." Khalai didn't mince words and had a glare on his face that was unusually serious for him. Sirena, who was usually quiet at his back, also had a frown on her face when the news on what the Guardians found was fully shared with them. "No, no. Absolutely not. Such creatures which rob souls from others and binds them to its will cannot be tolerated. Please, King of Wisdom, tell me that you have plans to march on this instant."

I had plans to offer myself in marriage to whoever you pick in exchange for your armies and Citadel.

But that doesn't seem necessary at the moment, so I can keep in the back pocket for use against the Forgers or the Merchants.

Hm, very racist wife that would NTR me with stud when given the chance, or a wife that will sell my darkest secrets for a gold coin.

Yeah, I know.

Both sound terrible, but they don't come with guaranteed jihad/crusade-flavored civil war on the table, so they're better by default.

What's that?

The Guardians?

Celia would sooner fight a Death Lord by herself than marry me. Every time she looks my way, she looks like she's sucked on a lemon. I don't know her exact deal with me is, but it's definitely not relationship material. At the very least, with the hyper-racist and the gold-digger, I know that neither will murder me in my sleep.

Whatever, I'll think of marrying for power and influence and another Citadel later.

Wait, Khalai was only offering his armies, so… I guess the plan's still kinda in play?

Nope.

I'll think more about it later.

"I'm marshalling my troops as we speak. The message has been sent to the nearest villages there to mobilize their reserves, while the Conquerors are moving, and as are my two armies." Khalai listened intently. If he wasn't wearing his usual skimpy silks and jewelry, he'd look like a serious statesman. As he currently was, I felt like I paid an exotic dancer to listen to my power point presentation, because felt lonely. "Unfortunately, the constructs being produced by the Citadel cannot cross the mountains and so they shall have to suffice as a proactive force. So, I have decided to call upon all who would deign to lend their ear to an alliance against the Death Lord."

And, I was going to lead the Death Lord's armies towards the lands of those who don't want to come, so they'll have to join instead of watch me do all the work.

I wasn't going to tell Khalai that, though.

"My people only have two armies of our own to offer, but my people will answer the call gladly to face this terrible foe that threatens the souls of all." Khalai proclaimed and Sirena nodded. The Wardens were effective against Undead because of their specialization in Holy Magic. However, for the life of me, I couldn't recall anything in their lore about them hating Death Lords this much. My confusion must've been obvious on my face, because Khalai took note. "Is something wrong, King of Wisdom?"

Yes.

I'm aware of the fact that the High Justiciar or the Wardens of the Caverns was calling me by my official title.

Well, I'm not below asking questions.

"Your people are more hateful of the Death Lords than I expected. I see them as another, terrible monster. You see something else entirely. Why is that?" Fill in the lore bits, please. I want to know more. Also, just in case, I'd like to see if you're lying to me by comparing and contrasting what I know to what you'll say. I have no interest in getting played. "Your histories have nothing about Death Lords in them."

"That is because they are anathema. Monsters that are best forgotten. The fruits that they offer never known. Their existence is known only to those who can withstand the temptation of immortality that they offer for it is a false one." Right. This sounds a lot like a sermon. This definitely didn't sound like Khalai's usual bubbly manner of speaking. Could be some sort of well-prepared con, but I highly doubted it as Khalai's eyes were filled with fire and fury. "Long ago, we were ruled by Death Lords who lied to us about paradise in the darkness where we lived. They used us as slaves, and when our bodies were expended, they took our souls. Only when the first Justiciar came forth, eight hundred years ago, and discovered our true origins and magics did we rise up, break our chains, and expel all the Death Lords that lorded over us all."

Right.

Right.

Riiighhhtttt.

I have no clue if I'm being bullshit or not, but it seems like he's telling the truth.

So, either a zealot filled with immense hate, or the perfect actor striking at the perfect time.

I was leaning on the former.

…

Interlude: Khalai

…

The false prophets returned, just as we always believed that they would, as we neared our goal of reaching paradise.

I walked through the halls of my dear friend's Citadel, but my heart was filled with such fury that I could barely take note of it all. I had swooned over the rich carpets that provided so much color to the white floors, the paintings of vast landscapes that gave the harsh, sheer whites of the walls personality, and the various wooden furnishings and chairs when I first arrived.

Now, I can barely pay them any more attention and even the speed of the lifts created by the Ancients was not fast enough to placate me.

"Sirena, who amongst the Saints is the best-versed in fighting the false prophets?" We descended to the bottom of the tower at great speed, but barely felt as though we moved. The Citadels held by Jack were an entirely different construct compared to our own. People walked through it and navigated it to various offices and departments of attributed to governance without batting an eye. Even the longest-serving of my servants in my Citadel hesitated and looked at it with wonder still. Meanwhile, on some floors of Jack's Citadel, there were shops and eateries and views of the outside that the public could access along with those that worked within. "We need to call upon them as soon as we can."

"Genevive the Third Saint led the first successful rebellions against the heretics, and she swore that she would rise to fight against them once more once called." Sirena advised me, and I closed my eyes for a moment to recall. It had hurt to lie to Jack, to not tell him we failed many times before gaining our freedom, but such truths were for the truly devout. Only the Saints and only those higher than bishops. All others were told what would lift their spirits and drive them towards the faith needed to acknowledge our failings and faults as well as our successes and virtues. No. I could not dwell on such things now. "High Justiciar?"

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

I took a moment to stop and breathe, and when I finished, I felt the just anger bubbling within remain within my soul and heart, but my mind was much clearer.

"The first successful rebellion led to our population halved. We cannot afford such fearless devotion, until our Cathedral has been fashioned its second spire. We need someone who can guide us to victory with experience and talent both." I looked around at the base of the Citadel. Unlike ours, it was open, a place of commerce and living. Stalls composed of the pure white-material of the Citadel were manned by common workers and shopkeepers selling simple, hearty fare at prices no different from outside the Citadel. Children played in sectioned off areas where the Citadel's materials made slides and swings and platforms that children could spin and ride. Such was the same in the three other Citadels held by the King of Wisdom, I was sure. "As strong as we can become by relying on the gifts given to us long ago, we must become even stronger than that. I trust that our people will always choose to return from paradise, but the ritual itself, the journey it would take to return to the fight, and the time it takes to reforge new arms and armor… all of it must be surmounted."

Sirena paused at my words, before bowing after understanding.

"It is as you say, High Justiciar. I will consult scripture and history both and find a more suitable Saint to call upon in this time of need." The Saintess spoke and I nodded at her words, but my mind was elsewhere as we left the opened gates of Jack's Citadel and outside. Around our Citadel and between its defensive walls, there was nothing save for shrines and cleared land. We aspired to keep it a defensible place where our faithful could stand against any foe with our greatest castle at their back. Jack, meanwhile, surrounded its base with places of learning, with nurseries, and large storehouses of grain. Construction was constant, and in one case, they were digging deep to access pipes that our own Citadel did not yet have, from which clean water would flow throughout the entire city. "I have several candidates in mind."

A thought crossed my own mind that gave me pause.

Why did we remain only allies with Jack, instead of joining hands with him and binding our nations together, so that all could benefit from the way of life that I now saw?

There were not only Descendants here, living their lives to the fullest with other suborned, but Children of the Elm, Conquerors, Scholars, Wardens, Forgers, Merchants, and Guardians. Much like the former Academy, many lived here, but unlike the Academy all were considered equal and not under the bootheel of the Descendants. The Children of the Elm were extracted from their terrible culture and history, but all others were allowed to practice their traditions and beliefs as they wished. Conquerors kept shrines to their ancestors, Wardens prayed together, Forgers kept to their strange practices, and Merchants plied their trade while Guardians took up roles as police.

Wherever I looked, people were happy, industrious, and working towards ensuring their futures.

Why did I keep my people away from this when I could simply give Jack the ring upon my finger?

What did my people stand to lose, if we joined him?

Try as I might to find an answer, I couldn't find one, yet still I couldn't force myself to do it.

The thoughts refused to leave my mind, as I headed towards the chateau given to me and my people for the duration of our stay.

Already, we were marching together in another conflict.

Already, our people travelled freely between each other's lands and trade.

Already, I treated his capital like another home.

What did I fear which kept me from joining Jack's banner?

It didn't take long for the answer to arrive as I entered chateau, as at the top of the grand staircase that led to the second floor, was my people's triumph. Our armies marching together, all sects united under a single banner, to take back our past and protect our future. I and many others rallied under the simple message and belief that if we did nothing, our people would be scattered amongst the true rulers of the continent and our fates would at the whims of tyrants. If we did not strike, if we did not sacrifice, if we did not fight and take our Citadel, then we would become nothing more than another race under the rule of another.

To simply bend the knee to Jack, without fighting against him and without suffering from a great tragedy which forced him to save us, was something I could not do for that singular reason. I would spit on the sacrifices made barely a decade ago to attain our Citadel, if we did not try to become ourselves a nation worthy of respect.

And, there was no greater moment to shout to the world that we were ourselves a people, by bringing low the false prophets.

"Sirena, I wish to call upon all the Cardinals and I wish for a message to be sent to all our shrines and temples across the nation entire." I stopped to speak to Sirena at the apex of the grand staircase, beneath the painting of our people's greatest triumph, when we took our Citadel from a great of horde of monsters that gave even those with Citadels pause. "This will not be a mere war by our nation. It will not be a simple call to arms. This is against a foe that we have sworn to defeat, and the moment where we will prove ourselves peers of the King of Wisdom's nation."

Sirena understood my words and knelt.

As did all the guards and servants who came with us, as they were all faithful.

I gathered my breath and extended my hand to bless all who would hear me, thus I made a declaration.

"I, High Justiciar of the Wardens of the Caverns and granted the title of Merciful, Khalai declare a crusade against the false prophet that has arisen at the heart of this continent!" It was not enough to simply call upon the armies that we had, or the people of our lands. No. The only thing that would suffice would be all those who believed in our just cause. "Let it be known today that today the continent shall be sanctified by the blood of martyrs, that from the flames of righteous war soldiers shall be reborn as immortal saints, and that we shall fulfill our pledge to our ancestors long ago… that paradise will be given to all peoples of the world unstained by falsehoods of heresy and the enemies of our people!"

Today is the true beginning of my people.

Today we rise to match all others.

Today we will make our bid to craft our own future against all others.

Even the King of Wisdom.