3.2 The Diamond Temple

*the entrance of the holy city kirie*

Bishop scavrefamn entered the holy city of kirie for the fit time in over 20 years. Things had not changed, while the structures we bigger and more numerous , the people were still people of god, they were all prosperous, happy and most importantly, faithful to the lord at all times.

"oh, apologies sir" said a young boy who bumped into him as he walked through the primary street of the holy city, a city that housed over 100,000 inhabitants.
He progressed through the city watching the people gather and disperse in a local marketplace, selling goods; paintings, tools, spices, exotic goods, beautiful fragrances and a wide assortment of silks were often traded.
"what a bustling trade this city has now, hmmm"
He passed the marketplace and saw the great cathedral in front of him, towering over the other structures like a monolith.
Before the cathedral, to his left was the Citadel of Horden, where the high priests gathered and discuss religious affairs and affairs of state.

To his right is a path with diamonds at each side, incrusted every few meters on the floor, beyond the path at either side is beautiful grass spinkled with flowers... at the end of the path is a door to the headquarters of the diamond templars, the highest ranking crusaders in the nation, all matters of war are dealt with here.

At the entrance of the three floored structure, an acolyte casually stands guard, calmly sitting in his chair to the left of the entrance.

"may the lord bless you sir acolyte, i am bishop scavrefamn , i am here to meet with the cardinals "
"yes sir bishop, we we're expecting you, please enter with the lord's blessing"
"only our lord himself can give blessings"
and with that, he entered , leaving the acolyte behind.

inside he found a long corridor, with many entrances at either side. Though he had never entered this structure, he knew exactly where he needed to go...

3.3.- Shattered

Towards the end of the hallway, an expanse greeted Bishop Scavrefamn, past the offices and the stairways, he saw a chamber with a ceiling three stories high with two great pillars on each side, in a way it was rather humbling.

Near the pillars were small work stations with desks and beautiful young females sitting at each of the four desks.

In the middle of this was an elegant looking table with two chairs at each end and nine chairs at either side. Upon arriving, one of the female assistants escorted him to his seat.

"there is nothing more to be done, those who reject the dogma, who reject god , will overrun us within five years. We have no hope of survival." said one of the senior members.

"I'm afraid you're right, our brave paladins and squires are outmatched and outnumbered on every front, only god can save us now." said a face that Scavrefamn recognized.
"cardinal marcus if I may interject" said scavrefamn ,"has god's path not always led to victory? Is it that you have always doubted the path of righteousness?"
Cardinal marcus and the other clergymen began to murmur amongst themselves.

Finally, a high ranking cardinal at the edge of the table got up and all were silent.
He spoke with a soft voice and yet there was no one who did not fear his words.

"Bishop Scavrefamn , we assembled here today to discuss the possibility of surrender, to reduce bloodshed to a minimum and still keep a semblence of our faith. You have been called here to defer you powers over the region of Verius back to us in an official ceremony.
We will concentrate all power and dissolve our order, it will be part of the surrender agreement. There is no other way."


"Many years ago i helped defend this city from insurmountable odds, if we work together against the heretics, we can surel..."
"this is not up for discussion" said the high cardinal , interrupting the middle aged Bishop "you will concede your powers to cardinal marcus and return to Verius, you are to speak to no one about this, to ensure a smooth transition of power"
"Very well high cardinal , thy will be done"

(I was tricked, i would have rallied my forces together, i would have informed my wife and child, i would have acted, but now, under the pretense of being "needed" i have been given a gag order by a grand authority. Is this really the true path...?
No, i know what i must do, i know what needs to be done to preserve our gospel)

After completing the ceremony later that day, Scavrefamn bid farewell to the diamond templars and headed to Verius, inteding to make a few crucial stops along the way.
With his image of the order in shambles, he set out to correct the path of the world itself.

4.- Sleeping Beauty


Desavaros' home was rather humble compared to the chapel-esque structure where he would give class to the people.

wescot and dominick had each had an arm around their shoulder , greatly struggling with the weight of the unarmored knight above them.

"oh man.. this... lady... needs to lay off... the snacks" said dominick
"tell me about it, carrying a bag full of bricks would be easier than this"

Wescot and dominick slowly took her to a sofa.
The grey room was large but mostly empty, it had a large sofa a table in front of it, a bookshelf at the entrance, a bedroom entrance towards the back which only had a bed and a relatively small ... Clothes.

Lady Seridia rested on the sofa but her breathing seemed labored and hoarse. Her lungs sounded like they were struggling for each breath.
Dom and wes didnt know what to do so they walked outside and brought one of the sentries in.

The guard they brought in examined her for a bit, her body laying across the sofa, legs on an armrest with her head resting on the other , she was breathing very irregularly. He had seen this before, during a skirmish just outside a town called edith, a fellow soldier had suffered a heavy blow across his chest, courtesy of the enemy mangonel. The soldier couldn't breathe with his armor constricting his chest and he needed as much room to breathe as possible, once it was given to him, his breathing slowly returned to normal.

Reciting this story to the kids, the guard knelt in front of the sofa; lady seridia was wearing a cloth guarment across her chest, her royal armor was taken by a squire in her troop to guard until she needed it.

"uhh, you're really gonna rip her top off?" asked dom
"Hot. Do it soldier, for the good of your people"
"dude shut up, look sir, maybe we should wait until lord desav..."
**TRRRRRRRRP**
And with that seridia's covering became a rag now on the floor.
The two kids' eyes were immediately glued to the dark skinned girl's chest, they studied it intensely as it rose and fell with each completed breath. Wescot contemplated lunging at her chest but ultimately decided against it.

"uh oh. She has no wound, no visible injury, this means the damage is all internal, this kind of wound ... It could not have been produced in hand to hand combat, it's impossible!"
Naturally , the two young lads ignored his words completely and kept devouring her with their eyes, her supple skin so smooth in comparison to their own, her sizable bossom calling them with each breath she took.

not oblivious to her actual plight the sentry noticed that her labored breathing was not improving, she needed a healer immediately, or she certainly would not survive.

"I'm taking her with me."
this seemed to awaken the chikdren from their mental afk, especially when they saw him start to pick her up
"like hell you are!" said an irate wescot, who charged at the sentry.
He quickly released her on the sofa before turning to address the kids.

"so, i can't take her with you two interfering, i guess we just need to fix that now won't we(?)"
He quickly walked outside and very soon after, seven knights in addition to the sentry entered the house.

wescot stood above her body and defiantly extended his arms to either side before stating;
"this can only end in two ways, you leave or you leave with bruised and battered bodies, which is it then?"

Once again the knights were unimpressed and grabbed him, quickly moving him out of the way.

Dominick stepped aside and said;
"you are making a huge mistake, listen to us"

The knights shoved dom aside even though he was not in their way.

Two knights placed seridia's breastplate back on and proceeded to carry her out.

It was then that the owner of the house returned ...

4.1- Penance

*desavaros household*
"you come into my home, interfere with -my- will *and* you strike at my guests who are tending to the lady. You -will- leave now, without the girl"' stated the lord of the household
"fat chance, old man, out of the way, NOW" the knight then approched the exit, where the frail looking old man blocked his path.

As the knight placed his hands on desavaros' shoulders ready to violently shove him aside, the old man grabbed the knight's armored wrists.
"what..?" it was at this point the knight let out a scream and fell to the ground, writhing in agony, blood started to slowly leak out of his wrists where gauntlets and bracers meet. He passed out soon after.

Immediately the two knights holding lady seridia placed her back on the sofa and joined the other five in a charge against the ex arch deacon.

"N..o...s...top... all...f... y..u" lady seridia cried out weakly.
"Hmph" desavaros charged at two knights while they were distracted, placed his hands over their heads and slammed them together. Speed like that seemed unnatural in a fragi e old man, thought the knights.

"GET HIM" cried out one of the five remaining knights.

Three of them drew their swords and carefully approached, far wiser than the other three that had fallen.

Desavaros moved to a corner of the ample room and seemed pinned down. However, he was, in reality, luring the three men into a trap, in that corner was a plant and a small bucket of water, he quickly picked up the bucket with one hand on the bottom and another on the handle and threw the water in an arc in front of him, drenching two of the three knights and barely missing the third, who jumped back upon seeing the water.

The two knights closed in and a moment before piercing through their would-be victim's flesh, their bodies became aware of a sudden change in temperature. Their armor was heating, as if in a blacksmith's forge. They began to pant in desperation, knowing the pain that would soon come.

they rushed to remove their gauntlets and managed to do so,but upon attempting to remove anything else, the heat became too much, their hands burned upon contact with the superheated metal and their flesh seared from the heat emanating around them. They fell to the ground screaming and flailing around in abject pain.

The sizzling of their flesh soon stopped as their motions came to a halt.
One of the two remaining knights suddenly ran away in unadulterated terror.

One lone knight remained. Staring desavaros head on, he said to him;
"coward, face me without your tricks or devilry. Fight fair, with honor."
"hmm...? Fair? With honor? You think seven well-armored knights vs. one frail old man in rags is a 'fair and honorable' fight? "
This revelation seemed to surprise the knight as he dropped his sword and surveyed the carnage around him.

Two men , dead; burned alive.
Two unconscious with minor injuries.
One man unconscious with potentially fatal wounds.
One man cowadly fleeing from the battle.

The lone knight dropped to his knees.

"are you a god...? old man, How can you do these things?"
"its easier than you think, now sleep, i have business with your mistress"
And with that, he placed a hand on his helmet and he fell sideways to the ground from his kneeling position.

"Now, where is that big girl..."

He looked around and spotted the female knight on the sofa and moved to her, he placed a hand on her head and soon, the female knight began to stir...










................







*desavaros household*

a disoriented lady seridia sits on the sofa while the arch deacon walks in holding two cups of tea.

"what happened? when we fought i stopped breathing and felt death upon me but now i feel perfectly fine."
"that's because i shoved the air right out of you and wounded your lungs so they could not easily recover, fortunately for you, I'm a bit of a healer in addition to being a crusader/soldier... Well used to be at least"
"you really -are- him, what are you doing in a worthless city like ledesma? You should be commanding the most elite armies of the church or being commended or something ."
"well, i decided to take a vacation... Or that is to say, i was forced to take a vacation.. far away from my people, and the vacation isn't really temporary"
"WHAT?! They exiled THE Arch Deacon, Lord Leon DeSavaros?!... what...?"
"well, its a long story... and when i have a beautiful young girl as a guest i do try to keep things light. Drink, sweetheart."
And with that she slightly blushes and takes the cup with both hands. After taking a few sips, she puts the cup down and props her elbow on the sofa arm and rests her face on her hand while folding her legs up onto the sofa.

"Train me?" she blurts out quickly, in a meager, inexperienced attempt at being sensual and pursuasive.
It went unnoticed
"hmm? What? don't you have a war to fight or something?"
"i did, but not anymore, the church state is negotiating a surrender with the kingdom of guardia, that's why we haven't invaded any provinces lately. Things will be over soon..."
"ha! They must be regretting exiling me now i bet. Anyway, if the fighting is over, why do you want training?"

"you are one of the three legendary masters of this continent, i've heard stories about you all my life. It would be an honor to serve under you and learn from you. Also... I uhh... It would be... Ni...ce... To spend ... Some..."
"hmm? Some what? "
"Iwouldlovetospendsometimewithyouandgettoknowyoubetter... THERE"
the old man grinned evily.
"sweetheart, i'm awfully old, could you say that a bit slower and a lot louder?"
"Urrrggh
*she blushed profusely as her eyes searched all the scenery in front of her but never at the eyes of the old man who never disconnected from hers*
I... want... to...SPEND SOME TIME WITH YOU...
...
oh god"
*she pulled her hands up to her face in a gesture of extreme shyness*
*the old man chuckled under his breath, took a step towards her, pulled her arms down and beamed a warm inviting smile at the young warrior*
"then that's what we'll do, sweetie"
*Seridia swallowed hard and had an expression that said "REALLY?!" all over her face before briefly collecting herself*
"ahem, it would a great honor to train under you and be given the chance for us to become better acquainted, Master "
*the old deacon raised his eyebrow and forced a half smile*
"just call me Leon, sweetheart"
*she closed her eyes and bowed her head, acknowledging his request*

"now" said Leon finally breaking the silence "what of your duties with the knights?"
"I've learned all i can from them, it's no big deal"
"you do realize that abandoning your position of power means you'll be stripped of your rank and never be allowed a return to the order, correct?"
"I am aware of that"
"You seem determined. Oh well, it's your life after all . Let's get you a room ready."
*she pouted*
"I thought I -already- had a room ready..."
*he raised a single eyebrow and gave her an inquisitive look while she got up from the sofa and stood under the door frame with her back towards him*
*turning her head slightly, seeing him in the corner of her eye, she summoned a mischievous smile and with her back still towards him she stated in her most sultry but playful voice*
"...this one"
*Leon scratched the roof of his skull with his eyes, tilting his head back and to the side, he then closed his eyes, brought his index and middle finger up to his temple, began to rub and listfully stated*
"This will not be easy..."

5- Ripple

*valley town of Vitae*

"Our way of life is being threatened, our very existence is in jeopardy." exclaimed Bishop Scavrefamn.
A middle aged man moves forward with his eyes open halfway, contemptuous and skeptical.
"How is ending this war a threat to our existence? That does not make sense"
The crowd began to murmur, wondering if the man had a point.
"There is no existence without the presence of god. The true path does *not* believe in surrendering our faith to oppressors."
"you're a madman, their forces are double what ours are, they are better trained, more organized, the "true" path leads only to a pointless death"
Icy silence.
...
"Pointless? POINTLESS ?! Was it pointless when we fought in the holy city 20 years ago? we were outnumbered and outmatched and yet our brave crusaders fought against an implacable foe.
Will you always abandon the path when a fierce foe challenges you?
Are you so cowardly that the threat of death causes you to abandon your beliefs ?
Well I am not ready to abandon MY belief, no matter how brutal the foe, how grim the day looks,I will *not* yield. THE THREAT OF DEATH IS NOT ENOUGH. I WILL NEVER FORSAKE MY LORD. WHO IS WITH ME? "
A loud cheer erupted from the small town and the skeptical man quickly ducked under the crowd, fearful of retaliation.
"Our leaders would have us lay down our arms and surrender. I say, THEY ARE OUR LEADERS NO MORE, LET US TAKE BACK WHAT IS RIGHTFULLY GOD'S. WE SHALL CARVE HIS PATH INTO THIS WORLD, WITH BLOOD IF NECESSARY "

And so a new movement began, Bishop Scavrefamn chose this town because of its isolation. Said isolation diminished the influence the high cardinals have and allowed an easy launching point for his campaign.
He would select his generals and begin his descent...

6- Drift

*Open street of Ledesma near the marketplace*
"I don't like hanging out here, let's go hang out with the old man." - said a disgruntled Dominick he eyed some wares
"That's what you want to do lately, got the hots for his new girl? I saw you eying her, you perv."
"Shut up. We were -all- eying her you simp clown."
"Yeah whatever... okay, let's go to Savvy's house, I'll race you"
"You're on, chump!"

The kids immediately set off, dashing away from the stand where they were browsing trinkets and other assorted goods that looked modestly exotic. The shopkeeper observed them curiously as they exited.
As they ran across the open street, they each dodged passers by as the people attempted to wander from shop to shop to make their purchases.
Wescot used the tried-and-true strategy of ducking low and dodging people with use of ballistics, I.e. calculating where they would be before he would rush into them, only needing to move ever so slightly to the left or right without fully stopping his dash.
Dom used a completely different strategy, rushing to the extreme side of the street with the least amount of people but greatest amount of terrain-obstacles.

Wescot had a clear lead until he bumped into a large man carrying water as they approached the DeSavaros household. He fell to the ground but jumped back up onto his feet and resumed his dash, the man was indifferent to this event.
Dominick used this to recover and they were both neck to neck reaching the semi-derelict home, as they neared , they swerved closer to each other till they were practically arm to arm during their dash.
They were almost to their destination until Dominick tripped and grabbed Wescot by the arm, dragging him down as well.
When they hit the ground, they began to playfully wrestle with Wescot almost immediately pinning the other boy.

Their eyes met and Dom's eyes seemed annoyed that he lost the bout, but Wescot's were blank, coming to a realization which had been floating in his mind for some time.

"Get off me" said Dom struggling against the weight of the other.
"..."
"C'mon, we're almost there, fool"
"Yeah... let's go (sigh)"


When they approached, Dominick's eyes immediately searched for something, as if he was eager to lay his eyes on something important, something that could have change him ... or worse, already did.

It didn't take long to realize that Dominick was searching for Seridia.

It had only been a week since they had last checked in on DeSavaros and his houseguest dejour... for the past week.
As it turns out, she had quickly become quite integral to his work during her stay, she had also begun to take the first steps in apprenticeship. She was quick to learn and eager to please her teacher which made him mind her company less and less.

As they entered the hall, DeSavaros was telling a story to the people who had assembled that day.
"... and those who surrounded us not only dwarfed us in size but also weaponry... skill however, was on our side.
Even then, the odds were against us.
The Corsairs approached from all points and then abruptly ceased their advance.
A middle aged man..."

Dominick sidled towards Seridia who was standing near the end of the front row of seats, he nudged her arm and attempted to whisper in her ear, which was a daunting task as he was substantially shorter than his target female, she soon lowered herself so the young one would not interrupt the lecture.

"How're the wounds from your duel healing up? ... good?" said Dominick in the least convincing "unexcited" tone that a boy could muster.
"They are fine now. Our Lord DeSavaros did not strike me in any vital spots, I was fortunate." said Seridia, both reminiscing and fawning over her current teacher and master.
"So... I was wondering if I could become a discipline too......? you guys seem so righteous and powerful, I would love to be able to protect people the way you guys do"
At this, Lady Seridia chuckled under her breath.
"What makes you think we protect people for their sake or are as "righteous" as you believe? in any case, it's not my call, ask the master when he's done his lecture."

During all of this, Wescot was wandering around, waiting for whatever Dom was doing to be done, so they could go back to roaming the streets and having fun, but it didn't seem like he had much interest in doing that today.

"Hey Dom , I'm going to go browse some wares, have fun with the chick, see you tomorrow man"
"SHHHH" - ordered a collection of voices.
And with that Wescot set off, hoping to see his friend tomorrow and pick up where they left off.

"... as the Corsair leader and I finished the third bottle, he finally told me why he spared my unit and I.
As it turns out, I had spent some time in the Ailuge Islands, following some of the Barbarians that had been plaguing the outskirts of the Holy City. During the time I spent there, I assisted the people in rebuilding homes, establishing a clean water source and helped them combat the Barbarians that had laid siege to some of their scattered homes. He was one of the kids of those islands.
I counted my blessings and went off the room that was prepared for me, well aware that I had yet again eluded death by the many threads of fate woven during my travels, hmph.
Anyway, that's all for today, we'll continue another time."
After a brief series of protests, the audience started to leave the great hall and in the end, only Seridia and Dominick were left.

From where he was standing, he could see that Dominick clearly had something on his mind ...

The master was shaking people's hand and accepting praise/compliments, while he had a distaste for ego stroking, he found that people would feel very uncomfortable if he did not respond to their kind gestures in this fashion.

"So, how're you like this little setup we've got here? " said Dominick in a way that was a little too casual.
"I am getting used to it. The rows of seats, the gawdy windows, the not-a-podium in the front... It is a thinly veiled church. Something I was trained to oppose, I cannot fathom his..."
It was at this point that she realized the tangent she was going on.
She was quiet for a bit.
"I mean, it is nice" she said, finally breaking the silence.
"You look so different without all that armor.. In casual clothes"
"Of course I look different, my royal knight's attire was designed to make me stand out from the garbage you often see wearing plate mail. Now I'm just nobody. I blend in perfectly, unlike before."
He wasn't sure if he should tell her that a very tall, beatiful, dark skinned woman would blend in here just as well as a horse does in a rooster pen.
He decided against giving voice to that thought.
"So, how long're you gonna stay ? "
"As long as is necessary for the Master to train me. Longer if he will have me... As his guest I mean... Errm... he is a legend you know...
He saw her gaze in his direction and practically swoon.
"Dominick, right? it's a pleasure to properly meet you."
"Yeah, same here"

Dominick watched as the lithe and elegant knight walked up to DeSavaros' side and transformed from being haughty and regal to insecure and subservient in the presence of the master of the hall.
He studied them briefly and then left them as they discussed their training together.

"(Wonder what Wes is up to...)"




*Esir's sanctuary*

"Good afternoon Wescot, how was your day?" asked a plain looking middle aged woman with a very pleasant voice and non judgmental tone.
"Hey Clare, it was fine, was jus' browsing wares at the store, comparing prices, appraising the quality of stuff, same old song" as he said this he approached the table behind Clare which had several assorted foods lying in wait.
"Where's Dominick?"
"Beats me, could be out swimming , could be dead or he could be out with old man Savvy. " he replied lazily as he pulled up a chair and began woofing down food.
She slightly tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow.
"Odd that you didn't go with him, are you okay, sweetie?"
"MmfaHeen"
"Alright"

Clare moved away from Wescot to greet children who were arriving at this time from who knows where, famished from their activities.
She led them to the table and once all were sitting, she went to the end of it and placed her hands on it to begin a quick speech

"I know you're all hungry, but before we all eat..." this made Wescot finally stop practically inhaling the food briefly. "let's all hold hands and have a moment of silence for Esir. His love is with us always."

There was a brief moment of silence before one of the kids began to scarf down some food with the rest following suit shortly after.

Clare watched the kids eat and wondered where Dominick could be...

Progress

*Mountain village of Stratos*

"Spread this word, in silence, only to the faithful." said a well dressed holy man to the small crowd in front of him.
A conservatively dressed but still attractive woman gently pushed her way to the front.
"How will we know when to act , Bishop?" she asked.
"When the time comes, I will send a runner to each town, even one as isolated as this is accessible to god, don't worry."

Nods all around in agreement.
One bishop Scavrefamn was nearing his last stop, his campaign was reaching this phase's end...

*The Master's home*
Dominick sat down on the table and lithely took an apple to gorge himself and sate his hunger.
As he took bites from the red robin in his hand, he looked around and realized that Lord DeSavaros' home was much more plain than he remembered. Grey walls lacking ornate design all over, no paintings or fine tapestry anywhere to be found.

Even the design of the house itself was rather humble.
The outer portion looked of even lesser grand origin, however that image betrayed the size of the interior.
The entry point led to a small room shaped like an inverse T, with two bland, uninteresting looking chairs on either side and a corridor which led to a living room, that had only a table on the right side and a shabby looking carpet on the left which was near two bookshelves resting against the wall, beyond the carpet towards the back corner were five steps heading up towards a new corridor which had a series of four doors, most of which were visible from the table, due to a windowless frame that comprised that wall.

Dominick figured that two of those rooms were the quarters of the current members of the house , but was curious what the other two doors were for, they had an unusual design near the middle left side of the door which he couldn't quite place. One was slightly obscured from view as opposed to the other two doors which were fully visible and the other was completely hidden from the living room.

As his curiosity got the better of him, he began to explore the room more carefully, approaching the five steps, careful not to make any noise which would alert the Lord and the Lady.
As he approached the door which was previously unviewable from the living room, he examined the symbol and saw a sort of crest, which was in the form of a fantastic creature, he knew not what it was called but somehow the symbol seemed familiar... his hand seemed to, of it's own volition, reach out to touch the crest.

"Boy, come with me, we have matters that need discussing" - he froze, as he saw an imposing female standing behind him, placing an arm on his shoulder.
"Errm, yes Lady Seridia, I uhh... will... uhmm, go... WITH YOU yes...(What's wrong with me)" - His mind seemed flustered, as if recovering from a storm that just fluxed through.
Seridia scorned at the child and turned to head to the entrance of the house, periodically viewing behind her to ensure her target was following.
(What was that feeling...? what was that creature? it seemed... like I knew, like it was calling...)

The young knight brought her target to the T and saw Master Leon DeSavaros sitting in one of the chairs, casually holding a cup of an unidentified drink with a somber look on his face.
"My lord, I have brought the child" - stated Seridia very coldly.
"Very well, good job. Now, Dominick, you've been coming to see me for a great deal of time and I feel as if I have had a hand in your destiny. That has not changed. There is a city to the far south of Ledesma which is facing strife and I am going to send Seridia to face the issues that are plaguing the city. I want you to go with her.
This last statement caused Seridia to wince briefly before returning to her previously cold demeanor. Saying nothing and expressing nothing, simply watching the conversation unfold.
This will not be a short trip to the other city and you will be there for a long period of time. This is not something you need to decide immediately but you will have to give me an answer within two days, after that it will no longer be a choice, you will stay here."
"I don't understand, why me? what can I offer that you could possibly need me instead of some big knight somewhere?"
"It's no secret to me that you admire our skills and wish to be trained. Because of this, I want you go with Seridia and learn from what you observe, she is very talented and her potential is still untapped, yours is as well. You will be her apprentice and you will assist her in anything she asks, this is your role, now go, think about this carefully, once there, there will be no returning until the task is done."

And with that, Dominick was escorted out by Seridia, who seemed completely unfazed by what had just transpired.

...