The three of them shared a good laugh on the rest of the way to the Temple. Most of the humor revolved around the expression on Marrick’s face when Toric came up with a way to make him have a good time, and the rest was how Marrick’s scowl had tightened when Toric was schmoozing his girl. Suddenly they rounded the corner and Toric stopped dead. The building that stood before him on the corner paid only a passing resemblance to the Temple from his father’s memories. It was less of a building and more of a sprawling, grandiose palace. Enormous and made of expensive ebony woods and imported quartz stone, it was also covered in far too many precious metals. Anger began to boil within the pit of Toric’s stomach and he did not even notice that his eyes flickered from blackish blue to completely black pits of flame. Xander however, did notice and stopped to touch his shoulder.
Toric’s head snapped around and then his expression relaxed. His voice was still tightly controlled when he asked Xander his question.
“When was the Temple expanded like this?”
Xander swallowed hard. The anger in Toric’s voice was an almost visceral thing. He felt like he could feel the pounding heat of his fury.
“Fifteen years ago a new High Priest was appointed after the last one died in the final battle of the war. He said that Daath wanted a more grandiose structure to honor Him. The Legate First fought it for six years, but eventually he was out voted. Without the Commander to veto the ruling, the council acquiesced to the High Priest’s ruling. That High Priest died three days ago from a strange illness, and the current High Priest will only serve in the interim until another is appointed. I am sorry my Princeps, I had assumed you were informed on this. I will make certain that you are presented with an intelligence briefing each morning that will cover anything you should know about that day’s plans in the future.”
Toric nodded and listened carefully throughout Xander’s explanation.
“I will make getting a proper staff a priority and I will include an intelligence officer on that list. I still want you to help whoever that is Xander, but it would be unfair for you to have to take the entire load. I want you focused on commanding my guard, not hunting down obscure information. Let’s go see this interim High Priest.”
The trio marched up to the entrance of the Temple where four Temple Guardsmen stood at guard. Xander handled the introductions and as soon as the word Princeps was mentioned the gate was swiftly opened and one of the guards ran off to bring word of his arrival to the High Priest. Toric and his guards had only made it across the courtyard by the time eight more Temple Guardsmen presented themselves. They came to the position of present arms just in front of the door to the Temple and it became clear the messenger had not been a courtesy, but a warning. Toric sighed and made his intentions clear.
“Understand this; I will be seeing the High Priest today. Whether or not I have to slaughter my way into this building is irrelevant. You cannot stop me, nor could the entirety of the Guard. I do not want to kill you; no matter how far you have fallen you were once Legionnaires and that is all that matters. We are family, and family should not kill family. Make your choice.”
With that said Toric scooped up his helmet and seated the solid helm upon his head. The armor sealed and he reached out to touch Xander and Michael before activating the dread enchantment at full, thus excluding them from the effect. The Guardsmen lowered their spears into position and Toric drew his falchion and war-hammer. He could say something for these men, they did not lack courage; each and every man fought the dread and stepped forward in unison.
“Xander, Michael, stand aside please and watch my back. I do not want to be flanked or caught by archers.”
Both men wanted to argue, but they could see the tactical sense as well as a direct order and did as commanded.
With two more steps the Guardsmen were close enough that the enchantment began to have some effect on them. Two fell back and the rest charged. A single step saw Toric among them and he whirled like a dervish. The heavy enchanted steel of the falchion slammed through a spear and into the middle of a female guard. Her lighter body stood no chance against his power and she was launched fifteen feet to slam into the door of the Temple and fling it open. An instinctual itch from Toric’s left made him raise the war-hammer and he blocked a slicing saber on the haft. His left wrist twisted and he disarmed his opponent before taking a quick step close and unleashing his left claw for just a moment. It punched through the man’s armor, ribs, and heart and he fell dead to the ground. With the claw retracted Toric spun in a backwards swing, catching two more Guardsmen off guard at the reversal and the hammer end of the war-hammer smashed into one’s face, snapping his neck; while the back unsharpened side of the falchion slammed into the lower back of another, snapping his spine and crippling him. As four of their number fell in less than four seconds the rest of them retreated to the door, using it as a choke point to try and hold him.
A shout from behind Toric alerted him and he spun to see the barracks across the courtyard emptying as men ran to help the others. The gates were secured and the three of them were trapped in the courtyard. Toric grimaced and reached down into his connection to the Veil for a second time that day. First he called on a Veil-Beast he had made a connection to the night before and it tore its way into reality using the power he lent it. It was known as a Chimera and apparently he had lent it too much power as it had brought its entire pack with it. Eight of the beasts stood in a circle around Toric and his guards. Toric spoke to the first beast and as he had learned made a request of it, not a demand.
“Please guard me and these two by my side, but do not put yourselves at undue risk my friend. You can truly die here away from the Veil and such a burden would be too much for me to bear.”
The beast smiled, which was a truly frightening thing, and nodded its head once. The pack circled slowly around the three of them and Toric used his power for a second action. Lifting his hands into the sky he unleashed a blast of pure Veil-Fire into the heavens. The beam of power molded to fire was visible to every mage on the Island, and there could only be one source it had come from. As Toric remembered from his father’s memories of the war, he unleashed four more of the enormous blasts, leaving him with only a bare minimum reserve before his mana regenerated. The five blasts signaled a Mage in need and every soldier or Magi in the vicinity would come running. Still, it would take time to get through the gates and Toric had a purpose as yet unfulfilled. He turned back to his friend the Chimera and asked it a question. It grinned far wider in response to this one and bobbed its head affirmatively. Toric smiled and stepped up, climbing onto the massive creatures back. A shout and gesture to Xander and Michael was met with stares of incredulity before they finally worked up the nerve to climb up behind him. Now that all three rode the Chimera Toric turned to the other beasts that had come as well.
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“Before I ask a boon of you, I would like to know why you have come.”
The oldest of the pack stepped forward and bowed to Toric.
“My son came to me last night and told me a wondrous thing. He had been called by a Veil-Walker and asked to make a contract. The one that called him was being taught by ten others that are known to us, and that was a huge point in his favor. A further point was the mark of the Lord of Water that shone through his soul. You have drunk of the Blood of Daath and accepted the Duty of the Sword. We would serve you if you demanded it, and yet you came on bended knee and asked. It is a wonderful thing to see one that remembers the old ways. You are Blood of Camnorous and He is the Lord of Beasts. You are our brother and for that we would serve out of duty, but still you asked. Call on any of the Beasts of the Veil, the Elders decided after my son’s report. You are worthy to be the first Beast Master since the rising of the Veil. Now, did we not have some enemies to slay?”
Xander and Michael could not understand a word of the conversation, it was all hisses and growls and gnashing of fangs, but Toric was beyond moved at the Elder Chimera’s words and bowed his head, responding in the same tongue.
“I am honored, and will not argue with an Elder. Yes, there remain enemies to slay.”
Toric pointed toward the massive doors to the Temple and the Chimera Pack rushed through the Guardsmen like fording a river. Once they were within they found a line made up of Priests of Daath, five of them stood reciting prayers and calling for the power of their god to aid them. The Chimeras all laughed and hissed at each other. Their conversation was amusing to say the least, asking how these clerics could not know that they were calling on their god to slay His own champion. The prayers finished and nothing happened.
Toric told the Chimeras to ignore anyone that did not attack them first, and while the beasts did not like wasting a meal, they understood that this was the mortal world with different rules. As they advanced the Priests scrambled out of their way in terror; leaving the way open to the huge spiraling staircase that led toward the second level. Getting directions from Xander, Toric nudged the Chimera in the correct direction and a short while later they stood before a large door leading to the High Priest’s rooms. Toric slid down from the Chimera after ordering the guards to remain in place and strode up to the doors. Focusing deeply he called upon all of his immense strength and punched the doors, one with each fist, sending them both flying open. The door on the right bounced off its hinges and fell to the floor with a resounding thud. Toric strode into the chamber, but before the Chimera’s could enter he froze in shock. What he saw within that room would remain with him for the rest of his life, and even though he described it in detail to me, I will not record it here. Let it be said that there were atrocities within that room that should not be spoken of, nor written down for other sick minds to duplicate.
Toric turned and forced the Chimeras from the room, before asking the Elder to accompany him and to not repeat what he saw. The Elder agreed and ordered his pack to remain, following the Sword within, and retching against a wall when the smell hit his sensitive nose.
“Forgive me Elder, had I known what lay in here I would never have called upon your son. I did not know mortals were capable of such things.”
The Elder laid a claw on the young Sword’s shoulder.
“Never doubt evils existence young one. We fight it where we find it, but wherever exists any being with free choice, so there will you find evil. Do you hold enough power to destroy this place?”
Toric felt for his well, and then looked around at all the stone, gold, silver, and gems. This place was tainted and should never again be used for those that paid homage to Daath. A commotion from the entrance to room made the Elder and Toric spin around and then rush back around the bend in the hall to face Xander before he could enter.
“What is it Xander?”
“Reinforcements have arrived my Princeps, but I am having a hard time convincing them the Chimeras are friendly.”
Toric chuckled and turned to the Elder and nodded his head back toward the doorway.
“Let’s get your pack home, and you have my promise this entire building will be ash by morning. I possess Camnorous’s fire, and can call it for this.”
The Elder’s eyes widened and he bowed his head to Toric.
“As you will it, Beast Master.”
Toric walked back out of the room and danced through the massed Chimeras to face an annoyed Marrick backed up by no less than five Master Magi, including his girlfriend.
“I leave you alone for like twenty minutes and boom, you attack the Temple and summon not only help from the entirety of the Island, but a full PACK of Chimeras. That does it young man, you will not be leaving my sight for a long damn time to come.”
At this, the Elder started cackling and Toric spun around to glare at him. Which made the rest of the pack laugh at him and the original Chimera he had bonded with nudged him with a huge claw.
“No use arguing with our elders’ brother. They always end up getting the last laugh.”
Toric hung his head and finally he started laughing too. He lifted his head and his hands and spoke for a final time in the Chimeras tongue.
“Go and run the Veil again my brothers, but don’t get too comfy, there is a war in my future, and I will need your assistance. I am going to have to hunt a Shadow Fae and the Forces of Shadow.”
The Elder was the only one to respond to that announcement; the others just looked at him in confusion. The Elder growled and smacked the stone floor hard enough to leave a huge dent.
“We will be with you for that hunt, Beast Master; as will the entire Council of the Veil.”
Toric blinked in astonishment as the pack vanished. That final sentence from the Elder had been spoken in common and every soldier, mage, and priest in earshot was staring at him.
He turned and looked at Marrick with a stern expression.
“See the entire Temple cleared, and no one is to enter the High Priest’s quarters. I will remain here personally to see to that until the Temple is emptied. Get all of the books, scrolls, and manuscripts from the library and every last piece of religious or mundane material moved to the courtyard. Call for any extra help you need, but by the time the sun sets I will burn this place to the ground. Call for the Legatus and the Arch Magus to meet me here and I will show them why. Now go please Marrick and do not ask me any questions about this.”
With those words Toric sat on the ground and removed his helmet. Sitting cross legged on the floor and laying his weapons to either side of him he sat his helmet before him and waited.