Age Of Faith - As the centuries grow past and heroes become stories become legends, nations rise from insular collections of cities to continent-spanning empires roaring their challenge and triumph over nature and equals into the winds. And yet, as riches rise in every corner of the world and oaths abound with sword-hand and divine guidance, so, too, do cults begin to form within these bastions of change. Cults bening and mundane...and those
twisted by secrets whispered.
(Focus:
Change seeps into minds capable of supping from the Great Ocean. A
Plan unfurls to satisfaction.)
The temple of Tzeent was still and silent.
Even decades past, such calm would have been unthinkable. The grand city of K'iami had been build around the great temple of Tzeent, and the grand city of crossroads was never silent. But today it was, for every citizen knew that the quiet wars would soon flare up into something much worse. Those who could leave had left to mountain fastnesses or rural retreats, but all else were either sheltering and hoping that the coming violence would pass them by, or preparing to ensure that violence would fall upon their foes.
The only sounds that disturbed Inyo's meditation were the smouldering of incense and the slow metronome of blood pattering into the divine fractal. He rested upon the stone before the altar, keeping his eyes off the sacrifice as blood welled from their flesh and their body twisted in patterns of divine mathematics. His role was not to attempt to understand such things, and he could not spare the cost of the attempt. His duty was to attune himself instead to the tides of godly presence sweeping out from the everburning ritual. To hear the words of their god and guide the temple's influence along the appropriate path.
Here and now, that meant more than it usually did. This temple had been founded by a holy prophet of Tzeent, who had foreseen the significance of this stretch of farmland near the mouth of a great river. The cult of Tzeent had funneled resources here, building edifices of worship and creating infrastructure to enable trade to flourish. To encourage innovation and the spread of ideas. To encourage their people to break the mold of tradition and embrace new ways of living, of
changing. They had been the mind behind the founding and the expansion of the grand city of K'iami, that broke the power of those lords too foolish to change.
Now, it was time to initiate the plan. To fufill the purpose for which the temple had been built and the entire city with it. But to discern the proper plan, Inyo needed the silence. And so he rested there in silence, attuning himself to the will of Tzeent.
Hours later he staggered to his feet, feeling his mind restitching itself in a new shape, one both lesser and greater than before. He knew he had lost things. Maybe the names of his cousins, or the smell of his children. But he knew Tzeent's wishes for the coming violence, and that was what truly mattered.
He turned and left the grand hall, keeping his eyes low to avoid looking upon the greater miracles of his god. Once outside his path was not straight, twisting and turning through the forest of columns that made the outer court. A wrong step in the Pillar Maze would mean death by traps, but such was the way of Tzeent.
Inyo arrived at the room where his commanders awaited, each and every one of them marked and sworn to Tzeent in ways usual and unusual. None were blessed with the capability to hear their god, but that made them practical and efficient in ways beyond those blessed by Tzeent could be.
"We are blessed by the secrets of Tzeent." He intoned, raising his arms high and watching as every commander supplicated themselves before the chosen conduit of their god. "Our path is twisting, with turns and blinds aplenty. But such is our way, and we shall navigate the divine route perfectly."
The soldiers remained supplicant, as was proper. Inyo continued. "The way our of lord is
change, and so our guiding principle tonight is to
strike down the victor. There shall be no group ascendent in this chaos. If
any faction is victorious, that will be our defeat. Break the Hwan, turn the Leauge against itself, and strike at the underpinnings of each cult as it rises ascendent."
He panned his gaze around to be sure he was understood. "Those are your orders. You will disperse to your assigned positions and groups, with five exceptions. Aowika and Inobabe are to switch assignments. Yokiwa and Hosaka will command each others' forces. And Yameto. Your entire detachement will be issued the Nectar of Ascension, and march to the central square. Before the Palace of Trade, you will all drink.
Is that understood?"
The young woman shivered but nodded, accepting her one-way assignment with the stoicism of a true worshiper of Tzeent. "Yes, lord prophet."
Inyo gave her a small gesture of approval. "I envy your future closeness to our god." Then his gaze returned to the other commanders. "That act will signal the beginning of all our deeds. Strike true, and beholden yourselves to our guiding principle."
"
All is Change." They chorused, then turned to leave the room and go to their assigned forces. There was much preperation ahead for the night's work.
Inyo spoke again, interrupting the silent soldiers as they filed from the room. "Hishio, pause. Mamoj and Yati, wait outside." The others knew too well to pay attention as Inyo gave them additional instructions, these ones meant to be secret from the other commanders. It was nothing serious. Hishio was to ambush Yokiwa as the latter commander attempted to assassinate the leader of a rival cult, the swap of commanders enough to ensure Hishio was victorious. That would gain them valuable trust that would enable Hishio to kidnap those who could hear the words of the gods. They would be valuable indeed, in what was to come.
Next was Mamoj, to whom Inyo merely reiterated their instructions. At first the man was confused, but after a time understanding stood in his eyes. He was receiving no special instructions, but his inclusion would make it appear that he had. Once Inyo was done the soldier bowed formally 'Thank you, lord prophet."
Inyo allowed him to leave with a benediction. Mamoj had understood that it was a sign of trust. A shame that his mission was to act as bait to set the Hwan against the trading guilds, and that he would die in the ensuing fighting. It was a fixed point in the plan.
Yati received the simplest instructions. "Your mission was given to another. You have no mission. Act as you wish.
Follow Tzeent's plan." He held up a hand to prevent questions. "Dismissed."
He watched as the soldier left him, confused and betrayed. Her interpretation was that she had lost his trust. But such could not be farther from the truth. She was the best of his commanders, and he trusted her to do the right thing.
The next morning, Inyo stood on the highest balcony of the temple and watched the violence in the dawn light. If the city had been built from wood instead of stone, more of it would have burned. But such was not in the plans of Tzeent, so the city had been built from stone. And now that stone was painted with blood from one end of the city to another.
Inyo watched as Aowika's troops dragged yet more civilians into the courtyard below, preparing them for the grand sacrifice. Everything was going to plan, and the cult of Tzeent had risen, victorious. Their faction has emerged ascendent from the Night of Knives, and now their influence would spread from the city.
He heard footsteps climbing the stairs behind him and smiled. Or it would have, if such had been Tzeent's plan. After all, why should there be only
one Night of Knives? He did not turn, waiting for what he knew was coming.
"If any faction is victorious, that will be our defeat," Yati said from behind. "Strike down the victor."
He was still smiling as her Naginata struck his head from his shoulders. After all, such was the plan of Tzeent.
