In his first morning in Cleron, Kael found himself listening to Deacon Elalios’s lessons. It was held in an open area in the middle of the faithfuls’ lodgings. He was invited by his grandparents to introduce him to the people of the community.

“We need to be more generous and loving, my fellow faithfuls. The time has come, Lord Lucien will return to us! As his servants, we must serve him by letting ourselves be of service to the church. Let your faith be seen through your works”, Deacon Elalios said, lecturing the people of Lucienean faith.

Kael was a bit uncomfortable hearing his name be praised like that. He thought that it’s just a coincidence that some people worship someone who had the same name as him. He tried getting over what he felt, and decided that he wanted to learn more about the faith.

The “Lord Lucien” they worship apparently commanded them two most important things. The first is “Magic was created by the benevolent lord, and so the people must use magic for goodness”, and the second is “Every people were created by the lord, and so the people should live in unity, worshipping their lord”. These are the guiding commandments of the true faithfuls of Lucien according to the deacon.

Kael also learned that the faithfuls believe that their lord disappeared a long time ago, and will return to an unknown time. He also learned that there’s a specific region where the faith originated, which made him curious and wanted to see the said place. Most of what he learned didn’t feel questionable for him, but he didn’t like some of the deacon’s commands to the faithfuls.

For one thing, Kael learned that the village of the elderly was a means of pilgrimage, commanded by the deacon to “isolate the faithful from the cultures of the world”. The faithfuls were commanded to surrender all their wealth to the church, and live the last of their lives in the village. It’s apparently a form of “letting go of worldly pleasures in exchange of serving their lord”. These commandments didn’t sit right with him, as he witnessed how hard was the life of the old villagers, being tended to by nothing other than their weakening selves, and their fellow elderly people. But he knew they would not listen to the complaints of a child, being “ignorant” to the mission of the church.

The lecture was finished before noon, and then Kael was introduced to the people while the faithfuls were eating. After socializing with his fellow faithfuls, Amos invited Kael and their companions to go to the altar to pray, and say their gratitude to Lord Lucien.

“We say our gratitude to you our lord, that we have our strength to continue serving you. We say our gratitude to you our lord, for bringing back our son to good health, so that he may serve you, and glorify your great name…”, Amos initiated. The prayer continued for an hour, and then, Kael was invited outside to see the town again.

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At night, Deacon Elalios was seen going outside the establishment of the faithfuls. He was hidden in a brown cloak, letting no one see his face. He didn’t look back, speeding up his pace towards the earl’s castle. At the gate of the castle, he was stopped by the guards.

“State your name!”, one of the guards commanded.

“Elalios, servant of Lord Gideon”

“Your duty?”

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“Elimination of false faith”

Elalios showed an iron medal hanging from a chain. It was engraved with his name on one of its faces, and his duty was carved on the other. The guards open the gates, but before he can enter, someone was asked by the guards the same question as his.

“State your name!”

“Seqina, servant of Lord Gideon”

“Your duty?”

“Gathering of information”

The woman showed a silver medal with her name and duty on it. He went with Elalios after her introduction.

“You seem well, Seqina”, Elalios greeted.

“Mm”

The two walked towards the earl’s castle, and made their way underground. They saw an old man waiting for them in the dimly lit stone-walled room, greeting them as they arrived.

“Cadell, you seem well”, Elalios said.

“Likewise”

After some time, they heard another person arriving. It was evident on their faces that they didn’t like whoever was descending down the stairs. The torch’s light revealed a man whose long hair and narrow eyes were both fiery red.

“Greetings! How lovely is the night!”

The newly arrived person moved near Seqina.

“Isn’t it, my lovely lady?”

The man tried to touch Seqina, but was interrupted by Elalios, moving between Seqina and the man.

“Since when did she became your woman, noble child?”

The man looked at Elalios with a threatening gaze, making the latter to move back to his original position. But before Elalios can completely return to his position, they heard slow footsteps coming down.

The heavy footsteps echo louder as it approaches the room below. The single torch illuminating the room formed the shadows of four people, bending their knees towards the only stairs leading to the room. The silence allowed everyone in the room to hear their own rapid heartbeats. They ready themselves to meet the one that’s coming.

The footsteps stopped, and in front of Elalios and his companions was a man, tall and dignified in stature. He wears an imposing black frock coat along with a heavy chain necklace. The necklace has a golden coat of arms suspended below it with the inscription “Sword of the Divine Emperor” written in formal language.

“We awaited your return, Lord Gideon”

Lord Gideon looked at each of his servants, stoic and with irrefutable authority.

“Stand”

The servants stood in unison, their heads hanging low. The Earl took a sit on the only chair inside the stone-walled room.

“Cadell”

“Yes, my lord”

The old man went in front of the Earl and said his report.