“Oh, holy Light Bringer!” Patar greeted me with reverence, “The village has accepted your call to arms and are willing to listen to your sermon. Please show them the Light and the Truth!”
I nodded as I put on the most dignified air that I could and followed Patar and the guards towards the other village again. I had chosen to dispel my halo for the time being, mainly because I wanted to create a more dramatic entrance, but I had explained to Patar that the reason I did this was that only the worthy could look upon my Light.
He fervently agreed and jotted something down on a dirty notebook. Honestly, I think he would fervently agree to pretty much anything I did or said at this point. I could tell him to eat dirt and he'd probably start munching away happily. Perhaps the darkness was subtly amplifying their reverence as well. If that was the case, then it’d make my job a lot easier.
Vadeem and the twins took the rearguard position, and although they were not invited to the meeting, no one dared to stand in the man’s way after everyone had experienced first-hand the Vadeem style of conflict resolution. By now, Ana and Eva were practically glued to my friend's side, and people generally just treated them as one entity now. I think they were secretly happy that someone was able to deal with the dreaded Vadoom.
I turned my attention back to the task at hand and took in my surroundings.
The new village looked remarkably similar to the first one, which I must admit was probably expected, given the conditions that these people faced. The homes were made out of crude wood, with bits and pieces of the damaged parts hastily repaired. The dim torches that provided the only light in the living space provided little in the way of useful illumination, and served mostly as a beacon so that people would not lose their way.
The whole village had looked like it had been repaired dozens of times over the years, and the only constant was the ever-intrusive tendrils of darkness encroaching on every surface. They swarmed and wreathed as our group went ever deeper into the village as if they could sense the arrival of the untainted. I ignored it and focused my attention on the task at hand.
Patar led me to the village center where a new group of mutated people awaited. They looked even worse off than Patar’s group. Some were relatively fine, for the standards of this world, but others could hardly be considered people at this stage and looked closer to walking piles of tumors and sickly monstrosities.
One of them in particular caught my attention, this one, gender completely undeterminable at this point, had extra lidless eyes that sprouted from their body, each one weeping tears of inky black puss. On their head grew small fingers where hair should be, and they all pointed at me upon my arrival.
It was most discomforting to look at, to say the least. I highly doubt that my halo could purify everyone here, but perhaps most could be saved.
I walked to the only raised platform in the area, careful not to damage the rotting wooden structure, and took one last look at the gathered people. Most did not look impressed, some looked hopeful, but the overwhelming majority looked indifferent. Like all the emotion was burned out of them, and they were left with nothing.
Was this what would happen to us if we stayed in the darkness for too long? To have experienced so much emotion to the point of numbness? What would happen to us if we failed this mission? I shuddered once again at the thought and felt a cold grip of fear twist into my stomach. I was always looking at the best possible outcome, but what about the worst?
Vadeem the Dream: Walter, you’re in a daze again. Snap out of it, we have a task to perform.
I shook my head forcibly and regained some clarity and quick nodded at the big man before addressing the crowd properly. Right, I had to focus. It was easier to control myself when I had a clear goal in mind.
“I can see the defeat in your eyes, fellow citizens of Earth!” I exclaimed, but only Patar and my guards looked properly attentive, “But the time of suffering and despair is at an end! First, let the Light of Dawn illuminate this wretched wasteland!”
I activated my halo once more, and the dreary gloom instantly vanished. Once again, the conditions of those standing closest to me were improving, their various wounds and scars had already started to heal. The ones in the distance were affected next, then further and further until everyone within my halo’s light had their symptoms lighten even a little bit.
They looked at their healing forms in confusion at first, perhaps unsure what was going on after spending decades in a constant state of rot and decay, but the ones closest to me started to recover first. As they marveled at their regenerating bodies and clarity returned to their eyes, they stared up at me and I finally saw that spark of reverence ignite. Good, they were not too far gone to save.
The ones further back still had lifeless eyes, but even that was changing at a visible pace. I took advantage of this moment of awe to drive home the point about my divinity.
“Where I stand, no shadows shall lurk!” I shouted, “Where I walk no darkness shall follow, and where I lead no people will suffer! Do you stand with me?”
I didn’t have the time to give a grand speech like I did the last time, so some of the audience was still processing the new information. However, with a little goading from Patar and his people, the first few individuals finally understood what I had asked and cheered.
That initial bastion of noise soon caused a cascade of cheers and cries of affirmation from their neighbors, and soon, the entire square was roused into worship. At this point, even the individuals furthest back had regained enough of their sanity to realize what was happening to them.
I quickly stifled the growing frustration I felt as I saw how much time these people wasted doing nothing but cheering and crying when we could use that time to head off to the next settlement. Just thinking about what I had to do and the mountain of work that loomed ahead made me irritated. Still, I had enough control at the moment to see the folly in this type of thinking and instead redoubled my efforts with the people here. I had to tell myself that they were all needed for the upcoming trials.
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“Rejoice, for my Archbishop shall provide those who need it with food and water!” I continued, I had entrusted Patar with these tasks earlier, and even left him with my flask to expedite the process.
I gestured to my priest to go hand out the provisions with Vadeem, and continued, “But time is of the essence! We must journey to all the settlements of this region so that no soul is left without the embrace of Dawn’s Light! Eat, drink, and prepare for the journey ahead. We march soon!”
Patar expertly distributed the food among the gathered people here, while one of his appointed priests was tasked with filling buckets and basins with the water from my flask. The people all received these gifts with reverence and unmistakable joy, glad to have something substantial to eat and drink after who knows how long.
I wanted to help with the moving process or help out the people left outside the village like Vadeem and the twins had, but reason won out for the first time, and I stayed on that platform. The light from my halo would indeed help cure the damage the darkness had caused, but it was not a fast process.
I had to remain behind here, but every second of inaction made me jitter and fidget. Seeing everyone else up and about actively helping made me desperately want to do the same. Every muscle in my body seemed to scream at me to use them, and I couldn’t help but twitch uncontrollably. It took all my willpower to simply remain there on that raised dais with a blank expression. At least the gathered people were too awestruck to see how I was actually feeling at the moment.
I honestly wished we had more time to spare. I could tell that Patar and his people were exhausted, and the fatigue must be even worse for Vadeem and the twins who had to be constantly on alert. I had even contemplated stopping here for a short while, at least a few hours just so the most tired individuals could take a moment to nap, but after hearing about how many different settlements still remained, I had to scrap that idea. There was too much left to do with too little time, especially if the mental contamination was spreading faster as time progressed.
The village made their preparations in record time thanks to Patar and his amazing ability to organize and command the people here. He had taken it upon himself to give everyone instructions and delegated some of the easier tasks like the packing of essentials to his various helpers. Noe ability to pick the right people for the task was unmatched.
“I… do my best…” she answered, her voice low and almost dream-like. This was another change. It appears that her change was occurring exponentially quicker than my own.
Hey, you’re not going to shut down on me, right, Noe? I asked, more than a little concerned about all these recent developments, I still need you. You know that.
“I would never leave… Walter,” she answered, voice still distant, “I am still here… Do not worry, my Host.”
You take care of yourself, ok?
“I will, as I will take care of you always,” she answered, and silence followed.
I tried calling her again, but no answer. I started to panic a little, was she really ok? The changes were bad, for sure, but that doesn't mean that I would be ok if my little Noe wasn't here entirely. Another gentle poke from Vadeem freed me from my ever growing sense of unease, and I once again took a look at my current situation.
The people still huddled in my vicinity started to dissipate after they realized that the time to leave was fast approaching. As I had thought, some of the people who had the worst mutations could not recover, at least fully, even when they were near me for the full duration of my time in the square.
Those individuals who were too weak or sickly had to remain in the village, while everyone else had joined our ever-growing convoy. I didn’t want to think about the fates of those who were left behind. The best I could do was leave a burning bonfire made from my lantern’s light. Reluctantly, I followed Patar out of the newly abandoned village and sat back on my rickshaw.
Surprisingly, the thing had grown inside in the few hours that I had been gone, and it now required 8 people to carry it properly. I even had an ornate chair to sit on now, this one covered with even more cloth and pieces of fabric. Hell, there were even a few wooden figurines of myself placed on the platform, which I can only assume were meant to be gifts. Evidently, the rest of the villagers were not slacking off in the time that I was away.
“Oh, mighty Light Bringer,” Patar said as I made myself comfortable on my seat, “Your new devotees are ready to move on to the next settlement. I have appointed priests and bishops to attend to the spiritual needs of the newly enlightened, so we can make all haste to the next destination.”
I nodded, “And do my scouts know the location of the next settlement?”
“Yes, oh holy one, the twins will lead the new scouting party, and with the help of the mighty Vadoom, they will ensure that we are not hampered by any groups of Shadow Stalkers this time.”
“Excellent,” I answered, “And I have one more task for you, Patar.”
He went ramrod straight, his eyes glistening with anticipation of a new task that he could perform. It was kind of eerie seeing someone literally worship every word you said. I don’t think I could ever get used to that.
“I shall endeavor to fulfill any request the holy one may have!”
“Good. I need you to speak with the others and gather as much information about the Temple of Eternal Flame, for that will be our ultimate destination. I want layouts for the Temple and its surroundings, but most importantly, I want you to find out any information you can about the history of the Flames of Creation. Folklore, superstition, I don’t care, just get me that information.”
“Your will be done, my God!” Patar bowed, “Information about the Flames will be easy to come by, but a map of the Temple…”
He looked like he was afraid to voice his complaint. Not that I blamed him, in his view, he was talking with a literal god. I once again cursed the fact that I had inadvertently let go of the one person who would probably have the best idea of the Temple’s layout. This damned darkness would be the death of me.
“You do not need to find it now, Patar,” I said, “I realize that only a few would hold that kind of information. You will learn more as we convert those who live closer to Temple. For now, just gather information about the Flames, and specifically why it had to stay lit.”
“By your will!”
Patar bowed low one last time and quickly disappeared from my sight. It would be another long period of time before we reached the next settlement, so I decided to take the time to close my eyes and simply meditate. After all, wasn't the core of Buddhism and the like all about controlling one's desires? The eightfold path and whatnot? I wasn't in any way spiritual, but if people have been meditating for centuries, then there must be some merit to it, even if it was only to calm the mind and remove distracting emotions. This was the perfect time to try.
You would think that just emptying your brain would be easy, yet it was anything but. Honestly, I was just very bad at it at first, having random thoughts and worries constantly filling my brain, always seeking to draw my thoughts into something new and wild. It was impossible to clear my head for more than a few seconds at first, but I had a lot of time to practice. And when you had nothing else to do but practice one thing and one thing only, learning something became a lot easier.
By the time we had converted the fourth village, I was able to clear my thoughts with little difficulty and remain that way for a length of time, and by the eighth, I was comfortable spending the majority of the time in a meditative state. The time that I spent on the road and giving sermons seemed to blur together as I went from one village to another. It was always the same reactions, the same routine, and it was utterly predictable.
Patar would always enter first, then I would go and give a speech, then came the cries of joy and cheers of adoration, followed by a length of time healing under my light before heading out again. The process had become so streamlined that no verbal communications were needed as we approached a new village, as everyone went to their assigned roles automatically.
I hadn’t even noticed when the last of the outposts on the edge of the forest was converted, my memories of this time cloudy, but soon, with a force of a few thousand, we were fast approaching the boundary between relative safety and the dangers of the Deep Woods. The time for us to delve into those uncharted territories was fast approaching, and I can only hope that I was ready for what awaited us there.