A bustling city filled with people from all corners of the world. Despite being in the middle of winter’s cold, the city was lively and prosperous. Merchants calling customers loudly in the market, blacksmiths hitting red hot metals in the smithy, housewives cooking warm meals in the kitchen for their family. People flowed in from the city gates into the clean, well-maintained streets. Buildings made of white stones were built in an orderly manner. Dignified and disciplined soldiers were manning the walls to maintain the peace.
This was Sephoria, the seat of power of the Goddess’ faithful. The City of Silver Guardians, the City of White Chalk, the Kingdom of Heaven on Earth. Sephoria was called with many names. The city itself was filled with historical landmarks and architectural achievements. Awe-inspiring magical towers, sacred trees, glistening waterways, lifelike statues of saints and saintesses. Most magnificent of them all was the Grand Cathedral. The symbol of faith for uncountable people from all corners of creation.
From one of the rooms inside the cathedral, a woman was watching the city below her solemnly. She had long silver hair and a face without blemishes. Her blue eyes held deep wisdom and serenity. She wore a regal long white robe with golden embroidery, a befitting garment for someone of her status.
“Your Holiness, it is time.”
Her attendant reminded her of the time.
“Thank you.”
The woman turned and moved away from the window to attend to her duties. The attendant led her to the conference room where five people were waiting. When the woman entered the room, they respectfully bowed.
For they were in the presence of Popess Sallustia Amaris, the head of the Estellian Church, the most prominent religion on the continent.
“May the Goddess smile upon all of you. Without further ado, let us convene the scheduled meeting,” Popess Sallustia kindly greeted them before taking the main seat.
“By your will,” the other people in the room returned her greeting and took their respective chairs.
On top of the exquisite marble table, stood a magical projection of the continental map.
“First, let us have a brief look at the situation as a whole. Siora, if you would?” The Popess turned her face to a woman with pointy ears, an elf with golden hair.
“Certainly,” Cardinal Siora Watermoon spoke. “The situation in the Latias Kingdom is messy, to say the least. The King is dead and the great houses are reacting aggressively to take as much benefit as they can in this political unrest. Unfortunately, the likelihood of a civil war erupting in the realm is high. One more thing worthy of note, the devil cults have abnormally high activity within the Latias territory and we don’t know their aim yet. The situation is volatile in the Kingdom of Knights, perhaps the illusive cults are fanning the flames of turmoil from the shadows.”
“Thank you Siora. Adeline, what about the Zetel Sultanate?” The Popess asked another person.
“The human supremacist sultanate of Zetel is currently having problems with the beastfolk from the south. Not to the point of a full-blown war but there have been a few large-scale skirmishes. Mostly, the beastfolk’s attack is to free their enslaved brethren. Also, the Zetelians’ reckless exploitation of resources led by the Magisterium made the desert kingdom’s weather erratic. The sandstorm hitting their capital has not ceased for a week.”
Hearing the beastfolk situation made one of the cardinals look grim because she was a beastfolk herself.
“What about the Buried Kingdom? Any movement from the bones?” Another fellow cardinal asked Adeline.
“At the moment, none. I have been keeping a close eye on the undead and there are no signs of stirrings either for the past century. It is as if they have fallen asleep.”
“Or they’re preparing for something big. Don’t get complacent and relax the observation, Adeline,” a woman with the air of a veteran warrior spoke.
“Of course,” Adeline knew the woman meant well. She’s just direct.
“Josephine, what news comes from the north?” Popess Sallustia asked the other cardinal responsible for another land.
“The Harkelan Empire has the usual problem, famine. It seems the people in their government take the situation as the norm and have no intention of easing the burden of the populace. The poor get poorer and the rich get richer. It’s no wonder their civilians have the poorest living standards among the four great nations.”
Josephine’s white leopard’s ears sulkily bent. The cardinal of the harsh winter empire was a snow leopard beastfolk. She also had a very fluffy tail with leopard-like spots.
“And unlike the situation in the south, the undead from the Dreadnorth are making waves. The empire’s northern garrison has fended off several incursions this year but some bones are still slipping past their borders. If nothing else, the Harkelians are tough people. They’re already familiar with situations like this and can deal with the skeletons on their own,” Josephine added.
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“The northern border of Latias has no sightings of the undead as far as I know. Seems strange Harkelan is being raided while Latias isn’t,” the elf cardinal, Siora voiced her thoughts.
Harkelan Empire had borders with Latias Kingdom in their east. The two countries had a hostile relationship with each other and centuries' worth of bloodshed between them. While the northern region of both countries was mostly a frozen wasteland filled with danger and death. The Dreadnorth was a place of the walking dead and fearsome ice beasts strong enough to survive the extremely hostile environment.
“Thank you for making it clear to us, Josephine. Judith, if you would?” The Popess asked the last cardinal.
“Unlike the other three, the Free People Coalition is mostly peaceful… but that’s just on the surface. Their problems do not come from the outside but from the inside. The prosperous trade with Zamrud Archipelago brought great wealth to the Governor-Kings of the Coalition. As their coffers swell, so too does their ambition. We don’t know why, but Rifts are forming more often lately in the Coalition soil. This means more Biomes to explore for the adventurers and other interested parties. Most of them shall perish, but those who survive will quickly rise in strength using the resources they got from the Biomes. Level 4 Pathseekers are still rare, but Level 2 and 3 have become more numerous. With the rise of these Pathseekers, the rate of human-caused problems and tragedies rises tremendously.”
After Judith finished her report, Popess Sallustia fell silent for some time, sunk in deep thinking. The others patiently waited for her to finish because they were already familiar with her habit.
“Flavia, how fares the Silver Legions despite all of this?” The Popess questioned the warrior-like woman, Supreme Commander of the Silver Legions, Flavia Marianus. Chief of the greatest military force of the Estellian Church.
“Strained but manageable. Insidious elements like the Seven Devils Cults are making petty havoc all over the place and problems keep coming up. We have prevented some true catastrophes from erupting but casualties keep rising nonetheless. I advise you to not take this lightly, Sallustia. We’re beset by threats, from inside and outside of our borders. We need to take a firmer stance and unite these short-sighted and selfish rulers under the banner of the Goddess.”
Flavia sharply said to the Popess. Her manner of speaking was frank and somewhat disrespectful but the cardinals didn’t object. Because Sallustia preferred them to talk to her like Flavia if possible. Towards Flavia’s suggestion, the Popess just kindly smiled.
“This world is a gift from the Radiant Lady. We’re mere gardeners tending to the trees and flowers of her bountiful garden. Let us not forget that we’re keepers of peace first and foremost. Conquerors, we are not.”
Hearing the Popess’ answer, Flavia rolled her eyes. She sighed and leaned her back on the chair harder than before.
“But there are fires in the garden and we must take action,” the Popess added. “Will you help me, my friends?”
The elf cardinal stood up. “For the sake of this world,” Siora said.
The other cardinals followed and replied to her words.
“For the sake of this world.”
Flavia too rose to her feet and said the words. They all knew, this woman only had the good of the church and by extension, the world, in her mind.
Popess Sallustia was looking at the five individuals before her with pride. She trusted them and they trusted her. Their faith in the Goddess bound them all together in sisterhood.
“For the sake of this world,” she lightly nodded. “Let us continue the meeting.”
The meeting went on for a few hours. Being guardians of peace was not an easy task.
***
A few hours later in Judith’s office, she received a visitor.
“Flavia, this is quite unusual. What do you want to talk about?” Judith asked while putting down the quill she used to write on a paper.
After the meeting, Commander Flavia sought Cardinal Judith to discuss something. Judith led Flavia to sit and began making tea.
“It’s about the destruction of Luxore town two weeks ago. This incident feels like a fishbone stuck in my throat. The report is not too detailed so I want clarification.”
“Luxore town… I’m afraid there’s not much that I can tell you. By the time I got news about Luxore’s massacre, a few days had already passed. The Cult of Dumuzin’s mark is all over this incident but that’s all we concretely know. No eyewitness about what happened, no signs of the perpetrator, and the burning town made collecting evidence and clues difficult.”
The blind black haired cardinal showed regret in her expression.
“3500 to 4000 people estimated dead… You know more than anyone, that, although tragic this may be, there are many pressing matters more important. What’s so special about this one?” Judith knew Flavia rarely did something like this.
“What piqued my interest is the report about the souls' disappearance, is this the work of a soul user? A necromancer?” Flavia asked.
“Your guess is as good as mine. I’m afraid I can’t help you, the report contained everything we know. Even if you send time Pathseekers to investigate now, too much time has passed and the hope of bringing the truth to light is dimming each day.” Judith felt hopeless.
“Nevertheless, I’ll send someone to investigate. I have a gut feeling that I should,” Flavia said after some thinking.
“That would be helpful. I too desire to know the truth and punish the ones responsible. Who do you have in mind?” Judith got curious.
“My granddaughter. If she can pick up something in Luxore then great. If not, there are many Rifts opening in the Coalition at this time. She might be able to find her fortuitous encounter there. And she won’t be alone… just in case.”
“My, my, still the doting grandma is it?” Judith let out a soft giggle.
“It comes with age, Judith. I’m already 187 years old,” Flavia smiled.
“You look no older than 30. And don’t say that in front of Siora. She has become sensitive about her age lately. I don’t get what she’s worrying about though, she’s just a bit past 400 and still looks as young as ever.”
Despite being blind, Cardinal Judith Tanaquil could ‘see’ her surroundings perfectly. Having peak mastery over wind, she felt the very air around her to have a near-perfect sight.
Flavia took the cup of tea Judith brewed earlier while they were speaking and sipped it lightly.
“I hope that child can have as many years as we have,” she said with heavy melancholy.
“As do I, my friend. As do I,” Judith replied.