[OP: ]
It did not take long for the Knight captain Kartz to arrive outside with the Knight that had gone to him with the letter that the unknown individuals had handed to them.
This was the first time something like this was happening ever since the two of them were assigned the roles of Door knights, so they couldn't understand what was happening.
However, as someone who was already familiar with most of the things that could happen here, the Old knight captain knew exactly what was happening right now.
"I will lead them from here. Open the gates."
"Yes captain!"
The knight captain was fairly old and seemed to be in his late sixties, so it was obvious they other knights respected him. And still, if there was someone that called him a kid, the two knights couldn't even fathom the identities of the four individuals they had greeted rudely.
They didn't know what was going to happen with them or if they would face any kind of punishment for doing their job, but as they saw the subtle tension on their ever calm Knight captain, they knew something was going on right now.
The four individuals were no simple people.
They were here for something that the Knight captain already knew about so, as someone that were only Gate knights, they didn't even want to know what was going on at the moment.
-Karrrrrr...
They used their Auras to open the gates for the two individuals, and after the Knight captain gave the four individuals his own Aura marking as a permission to enter, he five of them entered the giant gates.
"The air has changed here." One of them in purple hood spoke with an authoritative voice, making the Knight captain blink worrily.
"The times have changed." But then the one in the golden hood spoke up and thanks to his words, the knight captain breathed a sigh of relief.
The four of them walked in and the view that greeted them was a garden, a vast place that looked attractive and was filled with a dense air filled with various fresh scents that the one in the green hood found not as attractive as someone entering in this place for the first time would have.
"We will follow the usual route, Kartz."
"Yes!"
The knight captain who was one of the oldest people within this institution, a Knight King as well as someone blessed by the god of true winds, was conscious as he walked alongside the four individuals.
He did not know their identities however, he knew for a certain what was going on right now.
"The garden used to have Green Sunflower Gimins."
"They seem to have gone due to climate change... or the gardeners have lost faith in the Great goddess." The one in the green hood criticised once again, however, this time the Knight captain had no choice but to speak up against her words.
"That can't be!"
He shouted at her... which he wasn't supposed to, and he knew that as well.
"I... I apologise."
"..."
This was a religious institution that should preach equality and empathy, and the knight captain knew that as well.
However, the (Grand Order) of this institution, the person that was the highest authority hers and the one that possessed a stigma had changed the rules a little ever since he held that position around three decades ago.
He was smart enough to understand the unpleasant truth of the matter, however, he had no authority over this place to change what was happening.
He was the Knight captain and did not have any significant authority over the workings of the institution.
Kaksha was a place for the ones who taught and for those who were picked by the Temple.
It wasn't supposed to be a place that discriminated against individuals but after the stigma holder of the Goddess of eternal flames: Niag, the current highest authority within this institution that did not know about the visit of these individuals yet, many things had changed here.
And certainly these changes had brought them many positive changes, they were still not enough to justify the redirection from their orthodoxy principles.
"Let's move on."
"Yes."
When he got the letter that the Gate knight had delivered to him directly, he did not understand why someone like him was coming directly to him for something that obviously had no connection to him.
However, as soon as he saw the secret text, the language that even he only knew about after gaining the position of a knight captain, he knew that letter was no simple thing.
And when he opened the letter and saw the words inscribed in it with golden ink that resembled pure liquid gold, a single sentence that said: "Be our guide this time", he knew what these individuals wearing multiple layers of the disguises were.
"The new prospects, I've heard, contain the most potential ever in the history of this place?"
"It is said so, yes m'lady."
The four individuals that were travelling with him from one place to other were mostly covered in a powerful magical spell that contained a strange kind of pure energy that even he could not describe with words.
"I see."
He was a holy knight but since he was a knight, magic was not a subject he had much knowledge about aside from the general, common stuff.
He was one of the older King ranked knights and there were only six of them in the entire of the Temple, so his position as a knight captain of all the holy knights of the Temple was much more important than it seemed.
And yet, the reason he was acting so careful and docile before these four individuals was because of who they were most likely to be...
"Well, we will see the truth ourselves."
He had seen many things, many people of various age, faith, and authority since he was young and part of this very institution.
He had seen how the world worked and what people in the higher power, people who were closer to their gods than him were capable of...
The position he had reached after all the years he dedicated to his faith was one thing, but the truth of the matter was... he was standing before individuals that were the closest to their gods than anyone could ever be.
That's why they were called Elders... that's why he couldn't help but respect them even against all the questions he had about them.