Year 1023 of the new calender, Month of the Sun, 4th day
Walking through the crowded streets of the Solarian capital, Helios, named after the messenger Angel of the Eternal Sun, was as stressful as the day I first moved here. Disregarding my old life and homeland, I moved directly to the capital with the little amount of money I could scrounge up. Shaking my head, I moved into the Cathedral and went into the changing room. It had been a long time since I moved here, well over 60 years. Watching the capital barely change was not-surprising, even if Solaria was progressive compared to other countries, the capital was, supposedly, built by Helios himself. Every species in Solaria had all converted to the only religion, including myself.
I don’t doubt that many simply faked it to get inside the prosperous nation, I did in the beginning but seeing that I became a true Archbishop in the largest cathedral, Saint Dominic Cathedral. The religious texts and meanings rubbed off on me throughout the years, leading me to priesthood and eventually being personally ordained by Pope Celestine. A woman, a slight shock to me, but I have since come to accept it. Solaria had always been known to be quite progressive, the pope being a woman was none of my concern. I finished donning my Bishop robes, which had miniature suns woven throughout the fabric. The radiance that looked like a simple effect was real, thanks to the miniature amount of mana that pulsed through the suns. Sighing, I chased out the myriad of thoughts plaguing my mind.
Walking up to the area where I needed to preach was easy, the steps engraved in my muscle memory. Coming up and seeing the thousands of people in the giant cathedral still gave me a little fear, but nothing I couldn’t handle.
“Oh Great Eternal Sun, The Inextinguishable Light, The Flare of the Eons, The Great Ruler of the Sky. God of Order, Diviner of the Stars, please bless this small and humble gathering with part of your limitless Divine power.” I shouted, an altar placed before me had a miniature model of the Sun. The next part, no matter how many times one had seen it, would always be a fantastic display of divine might.
A single droplet of light fell through the purposefully placed crack above the altar, falling ever so peacefully and slowly down. It gently touched the pedestal, and slowly glowing with a light no other adjective could better describe than divine. The divine light gently lit up the entire cathedral, caressing all the participants in a warmth unlike any other. The feeling was hard to describe, it was similar to the feeling one gets when they are young. When the person is in the loving affection of their mother and father, yet more profound than just that. The little droplet fully healed every person in the congregation, bringing with it a feeling of satisfaction. Letting out a deeply satisfied sigh, I continued on with the congregation as normal.
As I was walking back to my room, a young priest ran up to me. I frowned a bit, the priests would usually never run up to a Archbishop. While it wasn’t illegal, the act was frowned upon and anything breaking the norm meant bad news. Sighing a bit, I turned to look directly at the young priest in front of me. His black robes sewn with the sun was obviously worse than mine, yet still radiates the warmth of the sun.
“Your Excellency, the Most Reverend Samuel Amann, Archbishop of the Saint Dominic Cathedral.” the young priest started. He continued with “Your Excellency, I have a message from Her Excellency Archbishop Joan Giovanni.” I nodded, if she had sent something that requires a priest and not an official messenger, then it must have been important. Taking the small parchment, I smiled and nodded towards the priest standing in front of me. I walked away, and into my personal room. Saint Dominic Cathedral was likely the 3rd best guarded place in all of Solaria, even if a supervolcano like that one in the redwoods of Iabrun were to erupt right under us, Saint Dominic Cathedral would get away unscatched. This includes protection against any divination attempts, so without caring much, I opened up the little parchment and began to read.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
This letter is of the utmost importance. It is not to be speaked of outside the 3 main Cathedrals. Samuel, you must not let anyone below the level of an Archbishop know of this info.
His Divine Majesty, The Eternal Sun had sent Her Excellency, the Pope Celestine a message.
“A slumbering beast has awakened. Whether the outcome is good or bad is up to you.”
Samuel, make sure no one besides the Archbishops know about this. Make sure of it.
Her Excellency has assigned you a mission, complete it thoroughly.
She wants you to make sure that Solaria and Iabrun do not go to war with each other, this is imperative. Use L0S-19 only if you must.
May the Sun be with you eternally.
The smile I had on my face was completely gone by the time I finished reading through the letter. The blood of Her Excellency Celestine made sense, it would be used for L0S-19. Though, the contents were grave, if Her Excellency allowed the use of L0S-19, then the situation must thoroughly be bad. Sighing, I called an old and experienced Bishop. Handing him the parchment, telling him to hand it to Saint Peter Cathedrals Archbishop Teser Huye. He accepted, and then I was right back in my room with all the thoughts muddling my head. I had to organize them somehow, I already memorized the contents of the letter so now it was time to formulate a plan.
Using L0S-19 would be the last resort, unless I was desperate beyond belief to stop the entirety of the Solarian and Iabrun war drive. Sighing, I kneeled down in front of an altar of the sun, preparing to pray for guidance. It rarely worked, yet it was a potent tool when His Divine Majesty, The Eternal Sun allowed for it.
After I completed my prayer for guidance, I took off my robes and put on normal clothes. Running out of Saint Dominic Cathedral, I started to briskly walk to my destination. A small cover used exclusively by Bishops of the Church. Entering the small store that was selling some sun-themed dishes, I made a quick hand-gesture to the manager and swiftly entered the underground area. It was a cover front for the official Illuminators of the church, used to weed out any pesky rogue mages that thought they could get away with trouble now that they had powers more than that of a normal human.
The Illuminators underground all kneeled in front of me, but I had no time for their gestures so I just nodded and carried on with my duty. The back of this underground facility, hallways flooded with luminescent lights, had a small door only accessible by the mana purified by the blood of a Bishop. Slitting my finger with a tiny hook on a ring of the Sun, I injected pure mana into it, quickly turning the liquid blood into an intricate crystal. Using it, I pushed it against the door, the blood seeping inside the tiny crevices and cracks. The door clinked open revealing what looked to be a normal room.
Archbishops had no use for this room, however, so I carried on even deeper into the ground of Helios. Using my blood until I reached all but the personal room of Her Excellency Pope Celestine. The newspapers cluttering my room were plenty, strewn about in a chaotic fashion. One glance around and I glimpsed an old article about the Lendenburg noble family that resides in Iabrun. Finally reaching this place, I began to formulate an idea about my task. A slight idea came into my mind, it may work depending on the negotiators Iabrun sends out, if not, then I would just have to use my diplomatic skills or obscure magic. If the worst comes to worst, with Iabrun and Solaria both not backing off. L0S-19 was always an option to rely on, destructive it may be.
I had already gathered Her Excellency’s blood, but L0S-19 could only be sealed by the use of a very obscure method I had no option to. I could not get ahold of it at the moment, but I could use my own blood to gain other, lesser, artifacts. Using the blood I have, I opened up the 083-L2S teleport point, the highest level artifacts my own mana could subdue and use forcefully, but the negative side effects may persist were I to be careless. Teleporting to the unknown location, I picked up a little pen named L2S-318, and a doll that has a matching color scheme, L2S-319. I finished all that was needed to be done in the confined room, its gray walls getting monotonous and boring easily.
L2S-318 and L2S 319, nicknames were Pen of Mike and Doll of Mike, had a sealing method that was quite easy. They were to be kept in a container of salty water at all times, but the sealing method to L0S-19 was far more exquisite and would come in a week, 4 days before the set negotiation time. Sighing, I teleported back to my room and then to a beach I had pre marked with my own mana signature, never did I think this luxurious resort of mine would be used in this way. Submerging myself in the salty ocean water, all I had to do was wait 7 days and that dastardly L0S-19 would be in my hands.