MANDATES OF DIVINITY

EPISODE 8

 Episode Eight

To die is man’s true purpose

All will decay, no matter how young or old

Hella grants us the power of our nemesis

Hella makes us an ally of decay…

-Lazarus of Hella

The northern teachings.

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Walking out of the isolated temple, Darus stared at the ruins that enclosed the little temple. The towering walls, archaic but exquisite architecture, everything he saw spoke of glory and dominion. A dead one. Darus was the high priest of Hella, the man who was visited by Dead flame. He was also the head of Hellos, a cult of people dedicated to serving and worshipping Hella, their goddess who was also referred to as the herald of decay.

            The ruins spoke of the glory days of Hellos cult, thousands of years ago, they were once a huge cult that had a lot of kingdoms under their influence. They subdued every other sects and cults they came across, they were a force to be reckoned with, a super power in that part of the world. Being the high priest or priestess of Hella meant being vested with an incredible amount of power, political power. You controlled monarchs, you would be worshipped like an idol. It indeed was glorious.

“What a waste.” He feels a statue beside him, it was of a man upon a horse with three horns protruding from his head. The figure also had a staff, more like a trident with the engraving of an eye. “Lazarus.” Darus sighed, grief was written all over his face, he recalled history with pain.

            Lazarus was the first high priest of Hella, he conquered most of the kingdoms the cult dominated. The documentation of his teachings and lifestyle became the cult’s sacred book, an immortal of legendary abilities. His disappearance still remained a mystery and no other high priest could fill his shoes. The trident was said to have been Hella’s personal weapon, delivered by Dead flame to Lazarus, a lot of myth surrounded the god-like abilities embedded in the trident.

“Those savages.” Darus was once again infuriated, he turned towards the exit and stormed out of the ruins with his fists clenched. The course of history infuriated him, the downfall of their great cult, the bane to their ego. The church.

            The high priest during that period had received instructions from Hella about a being that would be born, a man of powers such that the world had never seen. An immortal right from birth, Hella tasked the priest with finding the mysterious child and bringing him into their fold. It wasn’t just the Hellos cult, virtually every other sect knew of the god that would be born, they just didn’t know where and when.

            When the day finally came, the birth couldn’t be hidden. Strange things occurred all over the globe, legendary happenings that would be narrated for years, things that would never be forgotten. The super sects of the world searched without relenting, even monarchs led expeditions in search of the born god but to no avail. The world once again descended into chaos and the ages became even darker than they had always been and although the times were deadly, Hellos continued to flourish.

            The world was taken by storm when the born god returned, now a man, he utterly destroyed all the sects he came across slowly forming his own. He had no match all over the universe and when he struck the Hellos cult, they crumbled under his feet. He kept on subduing until his sudden disappearance, his disciples followed in his steps. Their strength being far terrifying than the weakened sects around them, this movement became known as the church.

“The church...” A cold glint flashed in Darus’s eye, there was nothing he despised more than that “band of savages…” They continue to suppress cults like Hellos, preventing the rise of the fallen dragons. “Professing they are righteous and void of misdeed.” Darus was almost trembling from rage. “I still have not met a people more heartless and hypocritical.”

            Darus had just one goal, one and he could give up his soul. He wanted the church to crumble, that they return to dust was all he required. “They think they are perfect, they believe their cause is true, they are nothing but flawed savages with way too much power.” At this point he had left the ruins and was in the forest surrounding it. He grabs the bark of a tree in anger and his rings glowed, the tree began to wither and rot. In no time, a tree that could be considered as huge had withered completely, the branches had become twisted, every leaf had fallen, rotten.

            “High priest, the council of five awaits your arrival.” A figure appeared out of thin air, a man cloaked in a dark robe. The cloak completely hid his face and the rest of his body too, if it wasn’t for the voice you couldn’t tell the gender.

            “Go before me.” That was all Darus said, his voice was different from when he spoke to Dead flame. He was composed and his actions depicted authority, he was finally surrounded with the lofty air of a ‘High priest`.

            Once again the cloaked figure disappeared, he faded gradually like a drawing that was being erased and soon he was out of sight. The leaves ruffled and Darus gave a deep sigh, he glanced at the ruins in the distance one more time. “It is time to make them pay for their sins!” With that declaration, Darus also disappeared, leaving nothing but smoke behind.

            In a large hall, some figures clothed in robes could be seen standing before a throne. The throne was made out of bones, behind the throne was the statue of a woman. She had just one eye in the middle of her face, she also had four arms that held various objects. The entire hall was lit by wooden torches hung on the wall, the wall had various images of beasts, monsters and even other beings.

“Council of five.” The voice came from no one but in an instant, Darus appeared on the throne of bones. He had a particular menacing looking skull to use as a footstool. As soon as they spotted him, the five cloaked figures standing before his throne fell to their knees and bowed on their faces. “We have been charged with a duty by Hella, delivered by her emissary Dead flame.”

“We will serve Hella our goddess, we yield our essence to her will.” The figure that knelt closer to the throne responded, it was the voice of a man. The other four knelt behind him in an orderly fashion, none of them produced a sound.

“According to our spies, the church has been silent since the death of the pope, there were signs of movement but the agenda of the church remained hidden. Now, Hella has revealed their secrets unto me.” Darus rose to his feet as he spoke, he took strides towards the five before him. “The church is amassing an army, one that would lead new crusades. Another batch of vermin to be nurtured by the Sanctus Primus for the sole purpose of more massacres in the name of cleansing.” Darus’s expression changed once again, he really hated the church and their affairs. “We have to destroy the army and foil their plans! Reduce it all to dust, their plans must never come to fruition!” Thus Darus concluded his charge. Like an unseen being gave approval, the throne of bones glowed brightly.

“You can be rest assured high priest, I Hurd, the fourth cardinal of Hellos cult will leave no stone unturned. The army will be utterly consumed by the rage of the herald of decay.” The same figure replied with confidence, he rose to his feet and the four behind him did the same. They gave a slight bow and proceeded to leave the hall.

            Hurd smiled as he exited the hall, he removed the cloak covering his head to reveal the face of man with an evil smile planted on his lips, confidence surged from the middle aged man. Apart from the murderous intent within his gaze, his eyes were strange, they looked like two yellow balls that glowed. When he narrowed his eyes to a slit, he looked like a serpent. The four behind him also revealed their faces and they were relatively young compared to Hurd. Particularly a young lady that had an aura somewhat similar to that of Betty, the four were around the same age as her.

“Let them taste the wrath of Hella!” Hurd yelled and his eyes glowed even brighter.

One of the four levitated and raised his right hand, a gauntlet suddenly came into view like he already had it on. A ring of light appeared before the five, it got wider and wider and when it was wide enough, Hurd walked right into it, disappearing as soon as he did and the rest followed in suit. The last to go in was the one who had summon the ring and like that, the ring dissolved into nothing, like it was never there.