191 The blue flame

Henry's face was covered by the hood of his cowl. His neck was bent downward and his eyes were looking around for signs of danger.

Vuono's streets were narrow and dirty. Wooden two-story houses were on the side. Horse-drawn carts occupied the pothole-riddled road. Henry squeezed among the crowd with three of his knights.

A sudden clearing met them. The street became wide and the road's quality turned better. This was the only part of Vuono that is comparable to the grandness of Bivon. It was also the area Henry hated the most.

A statue as tall as the dome of the headquarter stood in the city center. It spanned as wide as eight carriages put from end to end. The sphere that was supposed to represent the Omniscient was made of wood and painted with a bright golden dye. It was hideous.

"Even if they make this statue as large as Tulosa itself, it cannot represent the magnificence of the Omniscient" said one of Henry's knights

"Yes" Henry agreed "And you know the story behind the construction of this statue right? The order of the knights tries to glaze over the topic and sweeten the story by praising Cerwin the Pious' earlier acts. But it was a disgrace. Cerwin the Pious demolished the statue of the Great Rider and built on top of it that of the Omniscient. A religious war followed that killed many believers of the Great Rider. It was mockery. The Omniscient's teaching is tolerance and yet we once waged a war just for a statue. If it's up to me, I'll demolish this monstrosity. I cannot believe a mere statue could divide the people"

"But it is up to you. You are Grand Master now"

Henry turned his head towards the smiling knight and then looked up to the statue again. He didn't say anything in reply and just continued walking.

They entered a small dilapidated house just a few corners away. It was dusty inside- a suffocating atmosphere. The darkness was countered by only a few small candles. A few people were already inside.

Henry and his knights sat on the stools reserved for them. The men they were meeting were clad in knight's armor.

"Ave, brothers" Henry greeted.

"First Spear" the oldest of the knights greeted. He eyed Henry's companions "How many did you bring?"

"Two hundred sixty-eight"

"I'm afraid that wouldn't be enough First Spear. The Punishers now number close to five hundred. King Brice has also brought soldiers from the north"

"Our goal is not to defeat him. We are not strong enough for that. We just need to rescue my knights. How many joined you?"

"A few hundred" the senior knight said "Many of our brothers are also disgusted by Tobias' acts. But I am careful to screen those who join us. It only takes a single fanatic to destroy all of us"

"And the sacrifice?"

The knight sighed and leaned forward on his stool "In two days time. They are also sacrificing believers of the Great Rider. Fifteen knights and fifteen believers of the Great Rider to make the thirty. They call it fire and brimstone. They would burn brimstone and melt it into liquid. Them fanatics love that blue liquid. They would then shove their sacrifice into the burning brimstone. The smell would be disgusting and the person would suffer a horrifying death"

Henry felt his stomach churn. It was truly a disgusting filth. "Has this happened before?"

"Not that I'm aware of. Master Tobias was a little too zealous in his faith before, you know that. But lately he has become what he is now. It all started when he got that new squire of his. Jason is his name if I'm not mistaken. Since then Master Tobias would always act crazy. I've seen him run naked in the street once. He is lost Henry. Master Balian would be a better choice"

"Master Balian has committed sacrilege. He used the sacred authority given to him by the Omniscient to slaughter innocents. He cannot become Grand Master"

"And so who will we chose? The order needs a leader Henry" He looked at Henry "Oh no. Don't tell me..."

"We trust in Grand Master Henry's command" Said one of Henry's companion.

The senior knight fixed his stern eyes towards Henry "Indeed you are better than those two but I do think you are too young Henry. How old are you again?"

"Twenty-four summers"

"Aye. Too young indeed. You are a good knight Henry. Among your generation, you are the best suited to become the Grand Master. But there are older Prefects than you. I'm not saying that you don't deserve the position but you must think of what will happen. Many will question your rule"

"Have no worries. This is only temporary until I get my knights back. I will return to being a Prefect again after that"

"No Henry, you won't. I can see it in your eyes" The senior knight scratched his head beneath his helm "Well it might not be a bad thing after all. Others may be against it and you'll face problems but that will be better than having a leaderless order of knights. I pray everything works out in the end"

"Thank you. But the Omniscient's will shall be followed and we mortals cannot do anything to stop it. But enough of that. Let's talk about our plan"

*********

Stan was being dragged by two Punishers in the main hall of the outpost of knights in Vuono. The place was dirty and the odor was pungent. The walls had cracks and the floor wasn't marble but wood. It truly is an outpost.

The Punishers led him to a room in the end of the hallway. The door was opened and he was dragged inside.

The room was worse than what was outside. It was dark. The floor was suspiciously sticky. And although he tried to deny it, he really smelled the pungency of urine.

An old man closed up to him. The old man's beard was unkempt. His hair was in disarray. His eyes were bulging and his lips were in a creepy smile.

"Master Tobias" Stan sighed while shaking his head "You look different"

"Of course. I am a new man Stan. A new man!"

Tobias laughed. It was shrill. Stan's bones shook. His body turned cold.

Tobias lifted Stan's chin. "You have changed yourself. You have grown boy. You look different"

Stan furrowed his brows. His head limped "What happened to you Master? In just a year you've changed so much. You were once a good man. I know. But now you are lost"

"I am not lost my dear boy. I just saw the light. I saw the truth. God talked to me. Take pride in knowing that you once squired for the prophet of the Omniscient!"

"A prophet? What does that mean?"

"I am his sword. I will cleanse this world of false beliefs. I will cull those who are unrighteous. I will wash the world of their sins!" Tobias declared as he raised his arms "I will start with the infidels. Those people who still cling on the belief of the Great Rider will all convert or they will perish. They will all tremble under our faith!"

Stan breathed heavily. The odor of urine didn't concern him. He thought that making a human sacrifice was the worst idea of this madman. But his old sire was taking about a cleanse. "They will not convert Master Tobias"

"Then they will die"

Stan lunged towards Tobias but was kicked by the two Punishers behind. Amidst the pain and blood on his mouth he still sneered, "You are crazy! Insane! You are talking about a genocide. This is not the Omniscient's will. The Omniscient's teaching is peace and tolerance"

"Peace cannot prevail unless we erase the smudge of the unbelievers Stan. Now I called you here because I'm offering you a chance to repent. Even though you have been poisoned by the evils of Henry, I still think you can repent. For old times sake, join me Stan. I still have a soft spot for my old squire. We can sacrifice another unbeliever in your place and you can become one of my Punishers. Of course you'll have to wear their beautiful helm every time but that's a good trade for repentance right?"

"You want me... to join you in killing the half of the population of Tulosa? You dare insult me with that proposition? No! I will do everything in my power to oppose you"

Tobias put his hand on his chest "Pity. Such a pity that Henry's poison have consumed you so far. Drag him outside. It's such a pity to lose an old friend"

Stan was again dragged by the Punishers . "Wait! Answer one question of mine for old times sake"

The Punishers stopped and Tobias turned to him again. "Go on"

"Fire and Brimstone. What is it?"

"A method of cleansing you. Just like how I cleansed the faithful Punishers of their sins"

Stan was confused. He looked at the Punisher holding his arm. The Punisher removed his helm and the state of the man's face shocked Stan.

There were ugly scars borne of burns. The Punisher was disfigured.

"You see Stan" Tobias' voice was cold as ice "Fire cleanses sin and the blue flame of brimstone lights our hearts"