MANDATES OF DIVINITY

EPISODE 5

The little one sat before the priest and the crusader,

Fondly listening for a fantastic story.

The priest told of heart and love.

The crusader, blood and survival.

Thus leaving the young one seeking for balance.

-The Book of Deeds                            

                                                ****************************************

The Communion of Saints was meant to be adjourned till the next month, with plans of instituting a new mega force underway after the Pope was given a vision of the culmination of things. The communion already believed, and came to the agreement that it was Divine will that the times were revealed. And as such, it was Divine will that plans be underway to secure the prime victory of the church. The new problem is, the man with the mandate to lead the church to glory is now dead…

Vio’s body was lain in crimson robes in an elevated stand right before the conclave desk. They all stared grimly, less at the body and more at the reality of the implications. Xandar was just making the point, albeit officially this time.

“Should we say the Church is in danger?”

“The Lord protects his own.” One of the saints replied, trying to pacify the hopes of his colleagues.

“I say, the Lord blesses the effort of the vigilant. We cannot just keep watch whilst doing nothing. The greatest living soul in the realm of light has been murdered! Murdered by the very spills of his neglect.” Xandar was having none of it.

The cardinals pondered in the midst of the silence that engulfed them afterwards. True to Xandar’s words, Vio was the Church’s most powerful, not just in mind and spirit, vision and orientation, but also in terms of abilities. Touted as the best thing to happen before the arrival of the day of blessings, Vio lived out his entire time, doing the bidding of the canons, unfolding at a very rapid pace. He outsmarted his opponents and brought the best out of his friends. In the end, he became the Church’s best asset.

At that time, Puri IV had died, sacrificing his body so that the church would be preserved, or so the saints say, because of insidious moments cleaving hard to the depths of the church’s stability, one of the darkest periods of the church. At it’s very core, the Church was rocked by the Dark invasion, putting every forms of crusades on hold. Puri believed that if he sowed a seed, a very productive tree would sprout fruit. He became the seed, and Vio the fruit… or so the saints say.

When Vio took the seat after Puri was buried, he instituted great changes to the church. For the first time, crusades were sent only to the Purple Provinces. But then even the Dark invasions had ceased, like the cohorts of the fallen became toothless beasts. Thus ushering the church into 154 years of peace, progress and development in the Red Provinces… which all but ended yesterday.

Somebody… someone from the Blue Provinces now possesses far greater power than the pope and had come to signal the church for the incoming Dark invasion. And what better signal than to smite the Church’s greatest weapon. At this point, Xandar broke out in anger.

“What say you of the little chimps eating out our funds and living in saintly castles when they cannot put their talents into good use for the church? This is embarrassing!” Xandar had always been an advocate of weaponizing the gifts of the day of blessings, they ran into scores. It was a super army!

“Patience Xandar, they are still under development.”

“At their age, Vio was already winning conquests…” Xandar chipped in

“By conquests you mean the needless crusades into the blue provinces?”

“Needless…? Needless you say? Is it not the lack of crusades that has given those damned souls time to reinforce their strengths and devices? Tell me! If we had been leading campaigns into their territory, would we not have enough idea of their strengths and potentials?! Tell me!!!”

The conclave hall trembled under Xandar’s brimming anger. Silence prevailed. None of the others dared speak a word. Pleased at this development, Xandar proceeded.

“Brothers of the Apostles! Today, we face a common enemy that has suddenly grown so strange. An enemy we used to know but has suddenly outgrown us. An enemy we must be wary about. Yet! We cannot cower in fear and act like we have been broken. We need to act now!” He continued energetically, “We must secure the globe and ensure that the expected day might finally be manifested. The day ignorance will die!”

He let that sink in for a moment, waiting to see if anybody would challenge him. Instead, they were all silent, staring wide and nodding at his speech. It spurred him to continue, his voiced echoed off the colorful walls of the hall.

“Let us all sign this edict therefore, Code Sigma! Premium renovations to our military, extensive bases setup in tactical locations in our provinces. We, the Sanctus Primus, taking trainings ourselves. Let us show them how battles were fought in the Puri days, not these chicken exhibitions they display just to dazzle and flatter the feather-minded. Most importantly, let us launch our super talents, young, resourceful, warm blooded and full of energy. Those spawn of the unclean will never know what hit them. And the church shall emerge victorious!!!”

The cardinals all roared in unison at his speech. They went straight to the registry book, in files of four, and there they all signed the edict, ushering the church to a new phase. Although some hesitated, they all yielded after the tugging from Xandar.

“Tell the Bishop in charge of the schools of the gifted, that he should begin extreme tests for our subjects and send the extraordinary down to the main institution. It is time. We cannot keep waiting any longer. If there is a godling among them it must be revealed. Or do you not agree with me?” Xandar was smooth and full of zeal. He had always been.

“Well said Xandar. As a matter of fact, don’t you think Vio should be put to rest so the new era can fully begin?” A man with a peculiar set of brown eyebrows spoke.

The smile on Xandar’s face was as bright as the cloak he adorned.

“Very well then. Let us conduct an official autopsy and sign the burial papers. Brothers of the Apostles, shall we?”

They marched together again, in the usual files of four, to the elevated body of the deceased pope. The saints skilled in autopsy already had their tools in their fingers. The body was fully uncovered as the sheets were pulled apart.

The shock that greeted them when they saw the body was huge. None of them needed to be an autopsy expert in order to figure what the omen portrayed. There lay Vio, sprawled on the flat palette, filled with dark energy.

The Pope had died in sin…   

YO! READER:-)...

A Short talk on regions…

So you don’t get lost in our color palette of a map, this is a sort of classification by the church of all the plains chartered in the world, they include:

RED REGIONS: These refer to the parts that are totally subjected to the influence of the church, the church stands supreme, even over the monarchs of these regions.

BLUE REGIONS: These refer to parts totally unreached by the church. They are either resistant, belonging to other sects or just too far off to be reached by the church yet. The foes of the church.

PURPLE REGIONS: Are regions that have been influenced to a particular degree, they might have rulers that refuse to bow but remain allies or regions that are still a work in progress. It is in the purple so far it isn’t dominated by enemies of the church.

Love yah, read on!