The flare light served as a rallying beacon and soon enough, many of the other wagons began converging on their location.

After exchanging information, he learned that they too had found stragglers, a religious group headed by a priest called Lorkin.

They also learned that the wagons at the head of the column had found a nearby cave and were planning to wait out the storm there, so they headed to join them.

After rendezvousing with Jaylar at the cave, the guests were given a warm meal and kept under armed guard while the group decided what to do with them.

Joshua presented them with the weapons he found, warning:" It's clear that they are not simple travelers. We should part ways after the storm ends."

Klemus was the one who found the priest and his followers. He reported that they were unarmed, carrying nothing but walking sticks.

"What were they doing here in the middle of nowhere?" questioned Phahmir.

"I don't know, all they said was that they were in the middle of their training"

Jaylar asked to take a look at the documents, eager to find out what they contained. Joshua shot a glance to Sai, who signaled him to stall for time; he needed more time to go through it thoroughly.

Joshua tried asking Jaylar to wait, but Jaylar outright refused to do so, his tone shifting from pleading to demanding. Seemingly with little choice and not wanting to stir up trouble Joshua acquiesced, signaling Sai to hand him the book.

This was a wake-up call for Joshua, for he had forgotten how delicate his position was. The merchants have effectively recovered their strength and, going forward, he would have little to no say in important matters.

He felt that they had overstayed their welcome. So he needed to figure out where to go from here, especially now given that Jaylar's actions were questionable.

Joshua noticed that Sai was nowhere to be seen. He suspected that he was inspecting the documents hidden in the wagon. He resolved to pay a visit to the group of clergy, wanting to make sense of his surroundings.

When he arrived he found that the priest was preaching to his group:

"The day was won, but there was little joy in his eyes. Nay, his sight hovered across the field, and in each corner lay a familiar face, the friends he shared a drink with to drown the sorrows, a brother-in-arms he fought side by side, the woman who stitched his wounds and stood with him in victory and defeat.

Their blood that drenched the earth was the price of victory.

His helmet grew heavy, so he cast it down.

The smell of incense filled his nose. He looked toward its source and saw clergymen engaged in their rituals, offering everything to the angels, prostrating themselves to their whims.

They trode down the blood of his comrades and desecrated their corpses. He was suffocating, the smell of incense grew repugnant; he looked upon his blade, still smeared in blood.

A priest demanded as he approached him."Brother, you are in the presence of the angels. Their blessing won us the day, dedicate your victory to them"

Gazing into the sky; he saw the angels looking down at him from above, domineering and commanding. At first, their blessings were abundant and unconditional, they helped heroes to rise from humanity and cast down evil. Shrines honoring the angels and altars dedicated to their worship were erected in every city.

However, as the war progressed and the djinn were all but eradicated, the angels grew tyrannical. Slowly but Surely, humans returned to their original standing, powerless and subservient to the whims of a higher being.

This is what the pools of blood shed by his comrades have secured, the centuries-long struggle resulted in humanity changing one master for another.

Before he knew it, the priest's last gasps of life were over. That day, his blade never rested in his scabbard. The massacre was such that the soil was forever crimson thenceforth.

The priest then closed the book before continuing:

"We bless ourselves, for we are your agents, for the meek lamb seeks to evangelize the wolf.

Gathered here our hero, we praise thy name and that of your deacons, for this land is mute of thy name and its people blind to thine effort.

Thine revelations we received, and on this journey we have set. For the revered one to rejoin your side in your endless struggle, and for his people to join in ours.

Ours is an eternal and noble struggle, for it is through this that both the shining light and the ancient darkness shall be cast from this land, your land, human land!"

Joshua, after listening to the sermon, was deep in thought and almost didn't notice the priest approaching him.

The priest's robes were adorned with a sigil depicting a chained hand reaching upwards, he recognized it as the church of humanity's symbol.

"What brought you here child, were you lost in the storm"

"No, I'm traveling with the merchants, we just lost contact in the blizzard"

The priest pointed back to where everyone was resting "Are these children also with you?"

Joshua, defensively: "They are my siblings, we are traveling together"

The priest showed genuine concern: "Do you have a family to go to?"

"...Something like that" Joshua answered, before questioning "What about you? Why are you here?"

The priest answered,

"And what is the here you refer to ?"

Joshua recognized that he was deflecting, and tried to call him out for it.

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"Does that mean you're not going to answer my question?"

Impressed by his wits the priest replied:" A man can ill afford to care for other matters if he doesn't know the sand beneath his feet." Before starting to walk away.

Joshua called out to him and asked, "May I borrow that book for a while?"

"Of course "He replied, before turning to one of his aides "Deborah, will you please give it to him? Offer him aid if he requires it, though I suspect he will not."

"Yes, Reverend Lorkin." She replied obediently.

Just as the priest started walking away, Joshua noticed through the flickering lights in the cave that his footprints were imprinted deep within the soil.

As Joshua headed to a well-lit corner to read the book, he pondered on the meaning behind the priest's words.

The book was called The Apostasy of Machitherias. It was a book written by a former slave, forced into eternal servitude by the djinn. He witnessed the rise and fall of many who questioned and challenged the way of the world, eventually witnessing and chronicling both the final clash and the subsequent struggle against the angels.

The world didn't always belong to humans. Eons ago, the boundaries between the physical and ethereal worlds were tenuous and evil walked the earth Unimpeded.

Djinn and other evil spirits ran rampant, subjugating humans to do their bidding, unleashing terrible curses and plagues, and ravaging the masses with impunity.

They excelled in cruelty and relished in it, many a king lay helpless as their people were starved and enslaved, many a mother looked in despair as her children were massacred, and many a lady was powerless as their sanctity was violated.

Stories tell of a monarch, his realm was meager but his people were content, he toiled the earth with the farmers and marched to war with the soldiers, he was blessed in health and vassals.

The king grew older and wiser, but he was still without child.

His wife was heartbroken, she blamed herself for the misfortune despite her husband's consoling words and unconditional love, so she sought to repay his kindness.

After sacrificing many souls, her pleadings were answered. But her request for a blessing in marriage was answered with her violation, ashamed and she pleaded with her husband to spare her child before she took her own life.

The king was filled with grief and sorrow. He couldn't ignore his wife's dying wish, nor could he bear to strike down an innocent child—despite the furious outcry of his vassals and advisors, whose demands weighed heavily on his soul.

With the passing of time, he grew attached to the child as he became his only light. Through him, the king discovered the joys of being a father and the fulfillment of being a teacher. But his misfortune was yet to end.

The devil returned to claim the child as his own, threatening great disaster should the king refuse to hand him over.

Eventually, humanity's struggle continued, and a new entity made itself known. It was the angels. They granted blessings to the warriors on their quest for justice. Granting them artifacts and weapons that aided them in their struggle.

Many praised the angels for their boons, erecting shrines in their names and building temples for their worship in the church of Divinity.

But others questioned their goodwill:

If the angels were good, why then have they stood idly by for ages?

Why have they let them suffer for generations?

To them, the angels that demanded tribute, sacrifices, and worship were no different than the djinn and demons.

Realizing this, and not wanting the result of the great war to be merely the replacement of one oppressor with another, many rallied around Machitherias and established the Church of Humanity for the sake of mankind's sovereignty and liberty.

Just as the church of Divinity's battle with the djinn and their worshipers was coming to an end. Their troops, exhausted and over-extended, struggled to hold back the church of humanity's sudden uprising.

Machitherias, now devoid of all blessing, discarded his sword as it grew dull. He honed his body to its limits, free from reliance on the fickle blessing of the angels.

Until humanity grasps its own destiny, he had to keep fighting those who he once deemed as allies.

It’s ironic that the greatest hindrance to humanity’s freedom now comes from within humanity itself, in the form of the adherents of the church of Divinity.

Deborah stood still by his side all that time, expecting him to find difficulty in reading its contents she stood ready to be bombarded by questions.

But as time went by, no questions were asked, and Joshua was completely absorbed in his lecture of the book.

Eventually, he handed the book back to her,

"Are you in need of aid in comprehending some of the verses?"

"No, thank you for letting me borrow it."

"Do you wish me to summarize the content for you?"

"I already finished it"

Suspicion was written on her face, but upon seeing his expression, solemn and earnest, she was impressed.

"how does it make you feel"

"Grateful" pausing for a little before adding, "and touched"

She replied excitedly: "Oh so you were moved by it!"

"No, you are squeezing my arm."

Looking down, she realized that she had unconsciously gripped his hand.

"Oh sorry!"

Stretching his arm to allow blood to circulate, Joshua asked:

"Are all members of the clergy this strong?"

She smiled, flexing her muscles, her pride in her strength apparent "Your blade may grow dull, your bow may snap, but your body will never betray you."

"Just as Machitherias did?"

"Yes! We hone our bodies and our willpower to honor his memory."

"Is that what you've come here for? Training?"

"Hah! This wouldn't even count as training. We came here to investigate the prophecy—"

Joshua gained a new piece of knowledge, he wanted to press her for more information but Deborah, realizing that she said something she shouldn't have, quickly excused herself," I must return this book to the reverend, it was nice speaking to you."

But even the thinnest string can form a rope, and it is becoming apparent to Joshua that there is more to this place than meets the eye.

Soon, Sai approached him with Altan in tow. He took them aside into a quiet corner and, after making sure no one could overhear them, he started presenting his findings:

"The documents were written in a weird mix of languages, I think it's some local dialect from one of the eastern islands of the league."

"What did they say?"

"I only understood bits and pieces, but it spoke of a local tribe, isolated from all outside contact, and something about a prophecy ."

Joshua added, "A girl from the clergy group let it slip that they were also investigating a prophecy"

"I think all the gadgets they brought with them were designated to bribe the tribe with"

Altan: "Why do you say that? If I had to guess I would say that those gold masks were to be used as a bribe."

Sai "That's what I thought as well until I saw this "

He held up a drawing against the flickering torchlight, depicting a snake encircling a pile of coins.

"Apparently they seem to believe that the tribesmen loathe all forms of currency, believing it to be poisonous and deceitful."

Altan also remarked: " I was investigating this cave entrance earlier, and it doesn't seem like something one can simply stumble into. Do you think the merchants came here on purpose?"

Joshua, after taking a brief moment to think: "I don't know, but we need to stick together from now on. Stop venturing out by yourself."

Returning to where the rest of the group was, Joshua quickly scanned the scene before asking,

"Sarai, wasn't Jasmine with you ?"

Then suddenly a crying sound yelled out: "They killed him! They killed Rolland."

The guard tasked with watching the three stragglers was found choking on his blood, his eyes bloodshot red.

"Stay away! It's most likely poison"

Joshua mumbled "Jasmine, where is Jasmine " before letting out a deafening shout "Did anyone see Jasmine!" as he started frantically searching every nook and cranny to no avail.

Joshua's mind started racing, and in his panic, he started picturing Jasmine's dead corpse. He didn't know why he thought of that, maybe it was his mind's way of preparing him for that possibility. Tears began filling his eyes and his footsteps became heavier, as he kept blaming himself for his complacency.

He thought that he had lost someone once again, that he couldn't protect his family.