The room remained quiet, dark, tense. 7 people sat around the table and looking at papers right in front of them with tense impressions. The woman standing next to one of the men spoke up first.
“Thank you all for arriving at this evenings meeting, called by High Bishop Faroz.” Her voice was calculated and calm. The man she was standing next to immediately responded.
“Let’s make this quick, High Priestess, Kireen Silverhelm.” He said with a stern tone, quite intimidating in fact, like that of a strict employer speaking to one of their employees.
“Yes, of course, my apologies…Pillar of Earth, High Bishop Perzan. Pillar of Water, High Bishop Letoria. Pillar of Air, High Bishop Faroz. Pillar of Fire, High Bishop Heridor. Pillar of Spirit, High bishop Marzoan. Pillar of Light, Archbishop Luminor. This meeting is to address the recent attack on the Rearil Village, our forces were sent to wipe out the native people and remove influence to allow land to be converted into Solmara, or White Light Theocracy territory, however, our forces lost contact after supposedly reaching the village. Even camps further away from the village has been found massacred by unknown assailants. Spies sent to the area disguised as adventurers have discovered demi-humanoid races such as Lizardfolk and Orc’s co-existing in the land as well as multiple Inhumanoid species too, more specifically undead such as skeletons, a ghoul and a vampire. Some reports suggest that a Lich has been spotted there too, but that detail is yet to be confirmed to be accurate.” Her words are strategically measured, but there’s a clear underlying hate in her voice at the words ‘Demi-humanoid’, ‘Lizardfolk’, ‘Orc’, ‘Inhumanoid’, ‘Ghoul’, ‘Vampire’, ‘Skeleton’, ‘Lich’ and ‘Undead’. There’s a pause before she continues, as if to calm herself. “With that said, reports indicate that this…unexpected group is the likely cause of our initial assault on this land, to better supress demi-humanoid races, have proven to be a failure.”
All the other people at the table, ranging between ages of 40 and 60 remain quiet, looking through the papers in front of them. A report of multiple platoons sent out by High Bishop Heridor, led by the trusted and extremely successful, General Selark, only for them all to seemingly either vanish into thin air or get massacred by an unknown force. It was simple, Heridor wanted a method in which their Theocracy could subdue the demi-humanoids near Rearil Village, General Iriar came up with the plan to do so, Heridor green lit the operation which was planned by General Iriar and led by General Selark. It was a strategic operation to deal with the pressing issue of demi-humanoids, a natural enemy of the Theocracy. One that was the main role of High Bishop Heridor as the Solmara Theocracy’s Pillar of Fire, subduing the threat of demi and Inhumanoid species to reduce their overall threat to their home by any means necessary. This one was meant to be a simple job, an easy take over and a huge success, a low risk and high reward manoeuvre, yet somehow the worst thing that could happen came to be.
“This is an extremely serious issue, High Bishop Heridor, many of our forces lost their lives in this attack. I hope, for your sake, you have a good explanation for these events.” High Bishop Marzoan said carefully, eyes both disappointed and intrigued, wanting to see how someone with such a powerful resources and soldiers could fail something so basic and so easily.
Heridor stared back with an equally as stern look on his face. “It’s obvious, isn’t it? It was these enemies of our great nation. They we’re responsible for the failure and because we failed to identify that these creatures could be here, which means the defence of this village has to be planned far further ahead of time, meaning we likely have a spy working against us within our own ranks, giving information to our enemies as we speak.” His tone was absolute as he looked at his fellow members, despite this being likely the first ever time the idea of this was ever mentioned or thought of.
“Then what can we do? Do we send the Ashen Inquisition? Penitent Veil? Confessors Veil? Maybe even the White Scripture?” High Bishop Perzan demanded, he wanted answers to this situation, one that was clearly escalating far quicker than any of them had wanted.
“No…No, we will not be doing any of that.” Archbishop Luminor said calmly, he was probably the only person in the room who was remaining calm in this discussion. “We will continue to keep things under control what can be, and with what cannot be, we will continue to observe, study and learn of this new threat before reaching a conclusion as to what must be done. Is that understood?” He asks, looking at everyone one by one.
“It will be done, Archbishop Luminor.” They all said in unison, closing their eyes while facing him while doing so, bowing their heads slightly in respect.
“There is, however, an aching feeling at the back of my mind, like there is a great darkness that has brought itself into view without anyone even batting an eye for a mere moment. I fear this darkness may in fact be just within reach. Regardless, we must remain vigilant in the coming times to ensure the preservation of the Theocracy, failure is no longer a simple flaw but a great danger and one we cannot afford to handle. With this flaw with the Rearil Village, the Conflicts with the Khrazhai Eastern Empire only intensifying and potential civil war in the Ironveil kingdom, remaining perseverant is an absolute necessity to ensure our continued existence.” He said calm yet firmly, like absolute facts that we’re practically revelation, each of the others hung onto every word he said with intrinsic intent for what needed to be done in the future.
“Another thing, Archbishop Luminor…I apologize for interrupting.” The priestess standing next to him began, her tone wary like she was deeply afraid of interrupting such a prestigious man. “High Bishop Faroz called this meeting because of important information he has obtained.” She said, looking at him with a desperate look, as if asking him to finish for her.
Everyone looked at him curiously, interested in what it was exactly he wanted to say when he called this meeting. “I am aware that the recent events, as previously talked about, has prevented this meeting from occurring and as you all know, it’s important that we discuss these things. So, with my position as the Pillar of Air, it is apparent that I share the information I have obtained in more recent time. My spies have gained word from adventurers that the 7 may have returned.” The silence was thicker than the tension, and the expressions ranged from disbelief to shock, even the priestess was surprised that the people who had practically mastered the poker face had shown a reaction like this. Only Faroz and Luminor had dead serious expressions so tense, one would think they were angry if they had saw them.
“But that’s impossible! They we’re destroyed thousands of years ago and buried in the northern mountains! Killed with blades specifically designed to kill them! How could that be possible?!” Letoria demanded, her voice stern and shocked. All the others were too shocked to speak. “If it is true, then we must find and destroy them. Keep your spies vigilant, all useful information is important and will be used to our advantage, making sure they do not pose a threat is our number one priority, for now, in the meantime, we may keep a silent eye on Rearil to see how they will grow. Apart from that, we will continue to move on as usual.”
Everyone calmly nodded, understanding Luminor’s words. Their Theocracy was at the pinnacle of their current and potential struggles and hardships, even a minor incident could cause a domino effect that could either greatly help or harm them, a risk that wasn’t worth taking.
“So, with that out the way, does anyone have anything that requires addressing as we speak?” Luminor asked, everyone remained quiet and a few shook their heads. “Good, now we have work to do, and let the power of the angels be with us all.” They all agreed, understanding the seriousness of these times. The priestess stepped forward and spoke. “Thank you all for coming, I will be sure to begin investigation for a potential traitor and ensure they have a fate worse than death.”