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Description
The high priest shuffled in his chair, re-arranging his papers as he watched the rune circle in front of his desk impatiently. Finishing, he placed the papers in a stack to the side, and drummed his fingers on the desk idly.

In front of him, the magic pattern began to glow a violet shade, growing brighter before diminishing. The glow vanished for a moment, and then a human figure was projected from the magic symbols, heavily obscured.

"You called?" The figure said, in relaxed tones.

"I did, your majesty." Replied the high priest, his voice on edge. The figure in front of him chuckled slightly, and spoke.

"There's no need to be so tense about this," he said, smiling. "Nor are the formalities required." His tone changed, while still relaxed, to a more authoritative voice. "Now, what do you need me for?"

"A child scheduled for testing for aspecthood has escaped us," The man said, mindfully cutting off his reflexive formality. "I would like authorization for deployment of a paramilitary search unit."

"I don't believe the aspect testing was ever even officially made mandatory." Replied the figure. "That in and of itself was simply an unwritten mandate of the church."

"Still," The high priest said. "A heroic aspect is the only hope for our dying world; and so all with the potential have a duty to aid."

"Once again, mandated by the church without word." The figure smirked cruelly; he might as well have cursed at the priest for all the contempt that was plainly obvious. And yet that would have been less formal, less professional. "Considering the fates of the last three aspects discovered, and the rigours forced upon them prior to their death." He paused, and added, "Also, you seem to be implying that the city-states – that I rule, even if unofficially or discretely -- are doomed and unsafe."

"So..." The high priest trailed off, grudgingly giving in.

"Yes. Permission is denied." Replied the enigmatic man. "Is there anything else?"

"No, your majesty." And with that, the figure disappeared.

The high priest pounded his desk with a resounding thud. Not only had he and his entire organization been defied by a mere three people, but as a direct consequence, he had been made a mockery of by his only direct superior.

He wouldn't stand for it.

Exhaling deeply, he dipped a quill in the inkwell on his desk and began to write on a blank sheet of paper, Paramilitary Organization Request...

***

"Well, this is-was my place." Announced William, gesturing all around. "It may have some space issues; it wasn't meant for three," he said, tone of sarcasm in his voice. "But please, make yourself at home."

"Oh, we will, trust me." Replied Reina, grinning. "But thanks, Will."

"I knew the boy's father for as long as you did." Said William, his tone growing solemn. "Don't thank me."

For a moment, the stares of the two collided. Distant, accepted sorrow met restrained and bitter resentment; William broke off with a heavy sigh, casting his gaze at the floor. Reina lingered in thought for a moment before continuing to unpack her belongings.

"You two don't look very happy." Said Caliandros, walking in on the end of a conversation he knew nothing about. "Are you okay? Mom? Uncle Will?" Silence fell for a strained moment, and both replied in unison.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Again, this time in tone, distant sorrow met repressed resentment.

***

"Do we have to wear this stuff? It's impractical, sarge." Said a man, eying the priestly garment in his hand with visible disdain.

"We've got our orders, shut up and stop wasting time." Barked the officer he was complaining to. "We're not supposed to be obvious, you idiot."

The man cut off a sigh, following his orders without question; the sergeant didn't take kindly to anything he didn't like; he hated insubordination or what he viewed as 'smartass' remarks. As he donned the last of the religious garb, his unit began to march out the door, all dressed similarly.

It was only their organized march that gave a hint as to what a simple group of travelling priests would be doing; it was not rare to see travelling pilgrims, or other groups travelling with religious associates. But the group knew their destination and their purpose; there were six of them, all armed with concealed weapons. They hadn't been told who they were going after, nor did anyone but the sergeant with the orders.

"Keep moving, dumbass!" Shouted the sergeant at the thoughtful corporal unnecessarily. The corporal, snapping to attention, said, as he had grown used to, nothing.

***

There was a loud knocking at the door, repetitive and impatient. William knew such a knock from his days in the military; somebody arrogant and authoritative, probably a peacekeeper, was knocking only because it was legally required. "I'll get it. Cal, hide, now. " He said, tones of steel in his voice. Caliandros ran to the back, Reina hurrying him along, and William opened the door. "What is it?" he asked, politely as he could manage.

"Don't act innocent!" Shouted the leader of what seemed, visually, to be a group of priests. It was clear to William what they were from the start, however. "Where's the kid?"

"I'm not obligated to show you that, now." Replied William, contempt dripping from his voice. "Under what orders are you acting?"

"The high priest ordered us over here to take the child, and we're going to." Replied the sergeant, barely restraining himself.

"There's no laws regarding the punishment or authorized action for missing an aspect test, if I'm not mistaken." Said William, looking over to the back of the group. "Oh, hey, Thomas!" he called, waving to the corporal. "Good to see you; you're probably going to want to step back soon."

"Is that a threat?" Yelled the sergeant, approaching even closer to William.

"No, just a lack of trust." Said William, smiling thinly.

"Okay, that's it!" shouted the sergeant. "By the authority of my rank as ser-"

"By my authority," said William, producing a badge from his pocket. "As a captain of Toril's peacekeeping force, I order you to stand down and return to your employer."

"I'm acting on orders from-"

"The high priest doesn't have direct military jurisdiction, and your orders included no legal exception that you mentioned." Stated William confidently. "At this point, should you attempt to force me into anything, any acts of retaliation I commit are perfectly within the legal realm."

The sergeant growled, and drew his sword. "There's six of us, and one of you." Gesturing to his men, he saw that one of the soldiers was gone – the corporal – and scowled. "Five. It doesn't make a difference."

"You really plan to do this?" Asked William, smiling cruelly.

"Hell ye-"

In a moment, William had drawn his swords and struck, ruthlessly and efficiently – justification had come from the second syllable of the sergeant's affirmation, and his guard was down . The sergeant fell, his body hitting the ground with a solid thunk, and the other soldiers stepped back, drawing their weapons. "Get him!" shouted one of the soldiers, and-

Thud. A cut-off gasp was heard from behind the group, followed by a soldier tumbling through the group without his weapon. Reina was standing, at the back of the group, holding the fallen soldier's sword. "You people aren't too careful." She mused aloud, looking at the hesitating group, now three people. "Sorry, you looked violent, Will." She said, "I figured I'd give these people a chance."

"Fair enough." Replied William, still holding a thin smile. "I mean, you pegged 'violent' right." He added. "So!" He announced aloud in a sarcastic voice. "Any of you want to keep fighting, or are we all good for now?"

The remaining three soldiers standing fled without word, as did the desperately recovering soldier that Reina had attacked. In their wake, the soldier known as Thomas emerged from a nearby corner. He walked over to the corpse of his superior, and shuffled through its belongings, producing a scroll; Its label indicated that it held the mission orders. "Good riddance, man." He muttered to himself as he retrieved it, looking at the sergeant's corpse.

"Anything useful to you in this, captain?" He asked, handing the scroll over to William. Reina stood to the side, listening quietly.

"I'm not on duty now." He said, unrolling the scroll and reading through it. His expression was grim, and he rolled it back up, cursing under his breath. "Well, it looks like the high priest here is not paying any attention to the rules at all." He concluded, handing it back to Thomas. "And is determined to make our life a living hell so long as we don't hand over Cal. Guy's got some serious authority issues."

"Well, I doubt that in an unexpected situation such as this, anyone would question it if the report back was lost for a few days." Replied the corporal, grinning. "Not my fault if you're off their radar by then."

William returned the grin. "Thanks," he said, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'll put that time to good use."

"No problem, capt." Said Thomas, tucking the scroll away. "Be careful, though; our priestly friend up in the cathedral seems to take these things a bit too personally."

William, in response, simply shook his head. "And to think I was under the impression that positions of power were supposed to be reserved for the professional." He let out a small scoff, unenthusiastically.

"I wish." Muttered the soldier. "Anyways, I'd better report back before the others get enough of a grip to."

"Alright. See you, then." Said William, waving.

"Goodbye." Thomas replied, returning the gesture in kind.

"So," Said Reina as the soldier left. "We're going to have to be on the run for a bit." It wasn't even a question; she knew full well what was going on.

"Yeah." Said William grimly, "Until that idiot goes overboard and gets busted for it, at least." He sighed, and added, "I hope Cal can take it all in stride."

"I'm pretty sure he will," affirmed Reina, calm as ever. "I'd worry more about yourself, really." She said, looking down. "Don't let it get to you too much, Will."

"I won't." He replied, heading back into the house.

"...You're already pretty bitter." She added to herself.

***

Thomas gulped as he handed over the late report, hoping that there were no signs of his tampering. The man before him looked ready to order large amounts of punishment arbitrarily, so he would no doubt jump at any opportunity to deal it out in a justified manner, and with disproportionate results.

This man was the high priest, whose expression only grew more furious as he read the report, muttering to himself in progressively louder tones. "report was initially lost... the sergeant is dead... all action justified and legal... that man is a captain of the peacekeeping force..." he paused, slamming the report down on his desk. "Subjects escaped without trace?! "

"Y-yes, sir..." said Thomas, backing away instinctively. "We didn't have the legal permission to-"

"To hell with legal permission!" Shouted the high priest, losing all pretence of a composure. "I won't tolerate this...this blatant defiance!"

"Sir, you-"

"This no longer concerns you." Stated the priest, the hatred in his tone frighteningly clear. "Begone."

"Yes, sir." Said Thomas, saluting and nearly sprinting until he had left the building.

Inside, the high priest had already begun to take action. Waiting until he was sure the soldier was gone, he travelled through the halls until he reached a large door, labelled "Magical Systems". Inside was a bare room, filled with magic runes, all labelled differently. He placed his hand and retraced a symbol on the wall, waiting for a moment as it glowed. As it continued glowing, it began to show a faint image of different parts of the cathedral. He spoke into the rune, in clear and projected tones.

"Attention, all of our holy faith!" He announced. "I have a very important announcement to make; this is a call to action for every able body that can aid in any way!"

Throughout the building, confused murmurs and whispers spread, but the announcement blared brightly and clearly over the quiet din.

"A child, possibly an aspect, and his caretakers, have fled the aspect testing." He went on, his voice still controlled and calm. "They have no right to refuse this test; an aspect, a personification of what we worship, is the only hope for the purification of this dying world." Anger and indignation began to well up in his voice as he spoke, but still he restrained it. "It is their duty to aid this world by taking such a test, and if that child is an aspect it is his duty to do all he can to aid this dying world."

Among the church, the less doubtful began to make quiet exclamations of enthusiasm and approval. The more doubtful remained silent, shying quietly away from the more zealous among them.

"And so it is the duty of each and every one of us to find them and bring the testing upon them." He concluded. "They will resist, no doubt, so don your battle garb before you go to do your duty; use whatever force is required against them." He paused for a moment before soundly finishing his announcement. "May God and angelkind alike protect you, brothers. Now go forth, go forth and bring them to justice!"

He traced a different symbol over the rune, nullifying its effect and ending the magically projected announcement. Following that, he cast a divine spell of his own, conjuring otherworldly energies to seek out and destroy several of the runes. They flared brightly, bolting from his hand and burning away the inscriptions on the wall. Then, he activated a smaller rune, labelled "Chief Acolyte com" and spoke into it.

"I need you to disable all the long-range communication runes, and quickly. Then begin ordering the stragglers into action." He said urgently.

"Your will be done, sir." Replied the chief acolyte in a trained monotone. He ran over and hastily engraved a dysfunctional symbol over the one that lay in front of his desk, and moved out to pass on similar orders to others possessing of rank.

In a matter of minutes, the church was alive and bustling with overenthusiastic zeal, newly outfitted soldiers moving out into the city streets.

Description
The high priest shuffled in his chair, re-arranging his papers as he watched the rune circle in front of his desk impatiently. Finishing, he placed the papers in a stack to the side, and drummed his fingers on the desk idly.

In front of him, the magic pattern began to glow a violet shade, growing brighter before diminishing. The glow vanished for a moment, and then a human figure was projected from the magic symbols, heavily obscured.

"You called?" The figure said, in relaxed tones.

"I did, your majesty." Replied the high priest, his voice on edge. The figure in front of him chuckled slightly, and spoke.

"There's no need to be so tense about this," he said, smiling. "Nor are the formalities required." His tone changed, while still relaxed, to a more authoritative voice. "Now, what do you need me for?"

"A child scheduled for testing for aspecthood has escaped us," The man said, mindfully cutting off his reflexive formality. "I would like authorization for deployment of a paramilitary search unit."

"I don't believe the aspect testing was ever even officially made mandatory." Replied the figure. "That in and of itself was simply an unwritten mandate of the church."

"Still," The high priest said. "A heroic aspect is the only hope for our dying world; and so all with the potential have a duty to aid."

"Once again, mandated by the church without word." The figure smirked cruelly; he might as well have cursed at the priest for all the contempt that was plainly obvious. And yet that would have been less formal, less professional. "Considering the fates of the last three aspects discovered, and the rigours forced upon them prior to their death." He paused, and added, "Also, you seem to be implying that the city-states – that I rule, even if unofficially or discretely -- are doomed and unsafe."

"So..." The high priest trailed off, grudgingly giving in.

"Yes. Permission is denied." Replied the enigmatic man. "Is there anything else?"

"No, your majesty." And with that, the figure disappeared.

The high priest pounded his desk with a resounding thud. Not only had he and his entire organization been defied by a mere three people, but as a direct consequence, he had been made a mockery of by his only direct superior.

He wouldn't stand for it.

Exhaling deeply, he dipped a quill in the inkwell on his desk and began to write on a blank sheet of paper, Paramilitary Organization Request...

***

"Well, this is-was my place." Announced William, gesturing all around. "It may have some space issues; it wasn't meant for three," he said, tone of sarcasm in his voice. "But please, make yourself at home."

"Oh, we will, trust me." Replied Reina, grinning. "But thanks, Will."

"I knew the boy's father for as long as you did." Said William, his tone growing solemn. "Don't thank me."

For a moment, the stares of the two collided. Distant, accepted sorrow met restrained and bitter resentment; William broke off with a heavy sigh, casting his gaze at the floor. Reina lingered in thought for a moment before continuing to unpack her belongings.

"You two don't look very happy." Said Caliandros, walking in on the end of a conversation he knew nothing about. "Are you okay? Mom? Uncle Will?" Silence fell for a strained moment, and both replied in unison.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

Again, this time in tone, distant sorrow met repressed resentment.

***

"Do we have to wear this stuff? It's impractical, sarge." Said a man, eying the priestly garment in his hand with visible disdain.

"We've got our orders, shut up and stop wasting time." Barked the officer he was complaining to. "We're not supposed to be obvious, you idiot."

The man cut off a sigh, following his orders without question; the sergeant didn't take kindly to anything he didn't like; he hated insubordination or what he viewed as 'smartass' remarks. As he donned the last of the religious garb, his unit began to march out the door, all dressed similarly.

It was only their organized march that gave a hint as to what a simple group of travelling priests would be doing; it was not rare to see travelling pilgrims, or other groups travelling with religious associates. But the group knew their destination and their purpose; there were six of them, all armed with concealed weapons. They hadn't been told who they were going after, nor did anyone but the sergeant with the orders.

"Keep moving, dumbass!" Shouted the sergeant at the thoughtful corporal unnecessarily. The corporal, snapping to attention, said, as he had grown used to, nothing.

***

There was a loud knocking at the door, repetitive and impatient. William knew such a knock from his days in the military; somebody arrogant and authoritative, probably a peacekeeper, was knocking only because it was legally required. "I'll get it. Cal, hide, now. " He said, tones of steel in his voice. Caliandros ran to the back, Reina hurrying him along, and William opened the door. "What is it?" he asked, politely as he could manage.

"Don't act innocent!" Shouted the leader of what seemed, visually, to be a group of priests. It was clear to William what they were from the start, however. "Where's the kid?"

"I'm not obligated to show you that, now." Replied William, contempt dripping from his voice. "Under what orders are you acting?"

"The high priest ordered us over here to take the child, and we're going to." Replied the sergeant, barely restraining himself.

"There's no laws regarding the punishment or authorized action for missing an aspect test, if I'm not mistaken." Said William, looking over to the back of the group. "Oh, hey, Thomas!" he called, waving to the corporal. "Good to see you; you're probably going to want to step back soon."

"Is that a threat?" Yelled the sergeant, approaching even closer to William.

"No, just a lack of trust." Said William, smiling thinly.

"Okay, that's it!" shouted the sergeant. "By the authority of my rank as ser-"

"By my authority," said William, producing a badge from his pocket. "As a captain of Toril's peacekeeping force, I order you to stand down and return to your employer."

"I'm acting on orders from-"

"The high priest doesn't have direct military jurisdiction, and your orders included no legal exception that you mentioned." Stated William confidently. "At this point, should you attempt to force me into anything, any acts of retaliation I commit are perfectly within the legal realm."

The sergeant growled, and drew his sword. "There's six of us, and one of you." Gesturing to his men, he saw that one of the soldiers was gone – the corporal – and scowled. "Five. It doesn't make a difference."

"You really plan to do this?" Asked William, smiling cruelly.

"Hell ye-"

In a moment, William had drawn his swords and struck, ruthlessly and efficiently – justification had come from the second syllable of the sergeant's affirmation, and his guard was down . The sergeant fell, his body hitting the ground with a solid thunk, and the other soldiers stepped back, drawing their weapons. "Get him!" shouted one of the soldiers, and-

Thud. A cut-off gasp was heard from behind the group, followed by a soldier tumbling through the group without his weapon. Reina was standing, at the back of the group, holding the fallen soldier's sword. "You people aren't too careful." She mused aloud, looking at the hesitating group, now three people. "Sorry, you looked violent, Will." She said, "I figured I'd give these people a chance."

"Fair enough." Replied William, still holding a thin smile. "I mean, you pegged 'violent' right." He added. "So!" He announced aloud in a sarcastic voice. "Any of you want to keep fighting, or are we all good for now?"

The remaining three soldiers standing fled without word, as did the desperately recovering soldier that Reina had attacked. In their wake, the soldier known as Thomas emerged from a nearby corner. He walked over to the corpse of his superior, and shuffled through its belongings, producing a scroll; Its label indicated that it held the mission orders. "Good riddance, man." He muttered to himself as he retrieved it, looking at the sergeant's corpse.

"Anything useful to you in this, captain?" He asked, handing the scroll over to William. Reina stood to the side, listening quietly.

"I'm not on duty now." He said, unrolling the scroll and reading through it. His expression was grim, and he rolled it back up, cursing under his breath. "Well, it looks like the high priest here is not paying any attention to the rules at all." He concluded, handing it back to Thomas. "And is determined to make our life a living hell so long as we don't hand over Cal. Guy's got some serious authority issues."

"Well, I doubt that in an unexpected situation such as this, anyone would question it if the report back was lost for a few days." Replied the corporal, grinning. "Not my fault if you're off their radar by then."

William returned the grin. "Thanks," he said, letting out a sigh of relief. "I'll put that time to good use."

"No problem, capt." Said Thomas, tucking the scroll away. "Be careful, though; our priestly friend up in the cathedral seems to take these things a bit too personally."

William, in response, simply shook his head. "And to think I was under the impression that positions of power were supposed to be reserved for the professional." He let out a small scoff, unenthusiastically.

"I wish." Muttered the soldier. "Anyways, I'd better report back before the others get enough of a grip to."

"Alright. See you, then." Said William, waving.

"Goodbye." Thomas replied, returning the gesture in kind.

"So," Said Reina as the soldier left. "We're going to have to be on the run for a bit." It wasn't even a question; she knew full well what was going on.

"Yeah." Said William grimly, "Until that idiot goes overboard and gets busted for it, at least." He sighed, and added, "I hope Cal can take it all in stride."

"I'm pretty sure he will," affirmed Reina, calm as ever. "I'd worry more about yourself, really." She said, looking down. "Don't let it get to you too much, Will."

"I won't." He replied, heading back into the house.

"...You're already pretty bitter." She added to herself.

***

Thomas gulped as he handed over the late report, hoping that there were no signs of his tampering. The man before him looked ready to order large amounts of punishment arbitrarily, so he would no doubt jump at any opportunity to deal it out in a justified manner, and with disproportionate results.

This man was the high priest, whose expression only grew more furious as he read the report, muttering to himself in progressively louder tones. "report was initially lost... the sergeant is dead... all action justified and legal... that man is a captain of the peacekeeping force..." he paused, slamming the report down on his desk. "Subjects escaped without trace?! "

"Y-yes, sir..." said Thomas, backing away instinctively. "We didn't have the legal permission to-"

"To hell with legal permission!" Shouted the high priest, losing all pretence of a composure. "I won't tolerate this...this blatant defiance!"

"Sir, you-"

"This no longer concerns you." Stated the priest, the hatred in his tone frighteningly clear. "Begone."

"Yes, sir." Said Thomas, saluting and nearly sprinting until he had left the building.

Inside, the high priest had already begun to take action. Waiting until he was sure the soldier was gone, he travelled through the halls until he reached a large door, labelled "Magical Systems". Inside was a bare room, filled with magic runes, all labelled differently. He placed his hand and retraced a symbol on the wall, waiting for a moment as it glowed. As it continued glowing, it began to show a faint image of different parts of the cathedral. He spoke into the rune, in clear and projected tones.

"Attention, all of our holy faith!" He announced. "I have a very important announcement to make; this is a call to action for every able body that can aid in any way!"

Throughout the building, confused murmurs and whispers spread, but the announcement blared brightly and clearly over the quiet din.

"A child, possibly an aspect, and his caretakers, have fled the aspect testing." He went on, his voice still controlled and calm. "They have no right to refuse this test; an aspect, a personification of what we worship, is the only hope for the purification of this dying world." Anger and indignation began to well up in his voice as he spoke, but still he restrained it. "It is their duty to aid this world by taking such a test, and if that child is an aspect it is his duty to do all he can to aid this dying world."

Among the church, the less doubtful began to make quiet exclamations of enthusiasm and approval. The more doubtful remained silent, shying quietly away from the more zealous among them.

"And so it is the duty of each and every one of us to find them and bring the testing upon them." He concluded. "They will resist, no doubt, so don your battle garb before you go to do your duty; use whatever force is required against them." He paused for a moment before soundly finishing his announcement. "May God and angelkind alike protect you, brothers. Now go forth, go forth and bring them to justice!"

He traced a different symbol over the rune, nullifying its effect and ending the magically projected announcement. Following that, he cast a divine spell of his own, conjuring otherworldly energies to seek out and destroy several of the runes. They flared brightly, bolting from his hand and burning away the inscriptions on the wall. Then, he activated a smaller rune, labelled "Chief Acolyte com" and spoke into it.

"I need you to disable all the long-range communication runes, and quickly. Then begin ordering the stragglers into action." He said urgently.

"Your will be done, sir." Replied the chief acolyte in a trained monotone. He ran over and hastily engraved a dysfunctional symbol over the one that lay in front of his desk, and moved out to pass on similar orders to others possessing of rank.

In a matter of minutes, the church was alive and bustling with overenthusiastic zeal, newly outfitted soldiers moving out into the city streets.