27/05/2018

Thank you to PervySageChuckIII for betaing

The Cardinal of Sin

Prologue

-cos-

"It's still unconscious."

"Of course it is. Don't worry, the [Constraint of Umbra] will hold."

The human looked over at the prisoner. It was, as mentioned, unconscious and strapped across the saddle of one of the spare horses. It was small. It was dressed in white clothing with a red scaled undershirt. It barely looked like it needed to be contained. Face down it looked almost like a human child, except for its ears. They were long and pointed.

It was not human. It was a dark elf.

That's why there were shackles secured around its wrists. They were not iron shackles. They were almost beautiful, nearly delicate. Filigree work traced its way over the material. No one in the Slane Theocracy knew what the material was. No spell and no metallurgist could identify it. Not that it mattered. It was one of the treasures. An artefact left to them by the Six Gods. Despite being six hundred years old, the shackles were immensely powerful. They could subdue any creature.

They were not one of the greater artefacts. Those had other arcane abilities. The shackles, the [Constraint of Umbra] were functional.

"I think I should worry!" Midge Hunnisett said softly, careful not to be heard by too many of those riding with them. The [Constraint of Umbra] cut all stats by seventy five percent. It was them which was keeping the elf restrained, not anything else.

"The dragon was a pain," Kaan Utkin admitted, not caring about discretion.

Durk Esser snorted. "If the Black Scripture's Extra Seat hadn't loaned us these artefacts we wouldn't be here."

"Yeah, but we are," Kaan pointed out, brandishing an oddly shaped spear.

The Treasury Guard hadn't loaned them any of the High Artefacts. Those were not allowed to be used unless you were Godkin, or had the authority from the Cardinals and were extremely lucky. Not all the High Artefacts would work for everyone, and even if they did, what was the point of putting some of them in the hands of relative weaklings? Their effects were negligible then. But she had loaned them some of the lesser Artefacts and in some ways, those were more useful. The High Artefacts had too many conditions on them. They were costly to use. These Lesser Artefacts were more suited for every day usage.

The spear, [Frysta Javelin] had been used to bring the dragon down, shooting it out of the sky. The Windflower Scripture had then swarmed the beast. They all had their assigned tasks. Several had put it down, hacking at its throat with huge axes in an effort to ensure that it did not get up. It was not their usual play. They were usually far more discreet when they gathered information.

"We need the information this little pest has," Durk nodded to Kaan Utkin.

They both looked at the dark elf. It seemed so innocent. So small. They knew it wasn't. One of their spies in the Empire had reported on events that had somewhat lead to the battle of Katze Plain. This elf was one of the Sorcerous Kingdom's emissaries. It was far stronger than it looked. And it had to have information.

"How did it come to this?" Midge asked.

It was a rhetorical question. They knew how this had happened.

Ainz Ooal Gown. Such a being should not exist. The Undead tipped all the carefully wrought balances.

"What was that moron Jircniv thinking?" Durk Esser spat. It might seem out of place for a mere citizen of a neighbouring country to speak of the Emperor so, but the Scriptures were not mere citizens and the Windflower Scripture had access to far more information than other citizens. To them, the Emperor seemed to be just the first domino.

The Empire officially bowed to the Sorcerous Kingdom. The Re-Estize Kingdom didn't but anyone who could rub two brain cells together knew it was simply a matter of time. Even those without brain cells knew! They had been weakened by generations of war against the Empire and with the battle of Katze Plains… The Sorcerous Kingdom had not made a move towards Re-Estize. It didn't have too. All it needed to do was wait.

"He's being selfish," Kaan said, shaking his head.

"Bowing to an Undead might secure your life for a day, or a week, or even a few years but…" Esser didn't need to complete the sentence. The Undead hated those with Life. It was a fundamental truth of the Undead. It was the whole reason they were Undead!

The Empire, and their Emperor might have turned the attention of the Undead King from them but was only temporary. Eventually the blood of conflict would not be enough to sate him and he would turn atrocity against all Humans in his realm. It was only a matter of time.

The Empire would have been far better served by fighting. Yes, thousands, possibly millions would have died but they would have died fighting. Better than waiting for the slaughter the Slane Theocracy knew would eventually come.

"Has anyone heard about the Holy Kingdom?" Kaan Utkin asked, as Azra Wehner pulled her horse in close. Durk rolled his eyes. It was a transparent attempt to steer him away from his usual rant about the Empire. They'd heard it before. No doubt they'd hear it again but for the moment he was willing to be distracted.

Azra shook her head. The news isn't good. "I haven't got all the details but Jaldabaoth and the Sorcerer King fought over the South Kingdom."

They all secretly hoped the next line would be 'and wiped each other out' but this was serious and they knew they weren't that lucky.

"The Undead won," Wehner told them. "I don't know what happened to Jaldabaoth," she added quickly. "The Black Scripture's Thousand Mile Astrologer is looking into it."

There were head shakes all round. The Thousand Mile Astrologer was a long standing bone of contention between the Black and Windflower Scriptures. The Windflower Scripture was the intelligence gathering arm of the Slane Theocracy, should not they have the ultimate spy? Yet the Black Scripture insisted that the position better suited them since they needed the information on their targets. Over time, the position, or the equivalent had passed between the Scriptures and was at present with the Black Scripture.

Still, none of the Scriptures could afford to lessen their effectiveness because of petty internal rivalries, not against the strength of the Sorcerous Kingdom. All the Scriptures would have to work together.

"The Holy Kingdom?"

Azra shook her head. They knew what it meant. The Holy Kingdom had sworn loyalty to the Sorcerous Kingdom. The Paladins that once might have stood with Humanity were now in the service of the Undead. It was a travesty.

"As far as we can tell the Undead is on the way back to E-Rantel."

"We should send the Holocaust Scripture," Esser noted.

"The Black," Kaan countered. The reports from the Katze Plain Battle weren't public but the key members of each Scripture knew what they said. They knew what it meant.

The sound of another horse drawing close ceased the conversation. "Windflower Scripture," the Captain said, his voice flat.

"Sir!"

The mood became strictly proper. The Captain's eyes examined the prisoner.

"Prisoner secure, Sir," Utkin reported. He reached out, fisting his hand in the elf's hair to pull up the head.

The elf's eyes were closed. Yet even with the damage caused from capture it was still beautiful. The bone lines were delicate. Kaan let the head fall.

"Make sure it stays that way," the Captain growled. He did not appear impressed.

"How much longer to the transport point?" Durk Esser asked respectfully.

The Captain looked around. Looking for spies was ingrained in him, even when riding through open grassland. He even looked upwards. But then the Captain was still alive. Others weren't.

"Another 10 minutes."

Azra Wehner jerked slightly. They all did. That meant the schedule had been moved up. What did the Captain know that they didn't? The man glanced at the dark elf.

That made more sense. Given the events in the Holy Kingdom, the Cardinals were probably eager to glean all the information they could. Utkin looked up at the sky. The Captain wasn't the only one watching. They all were. While they had gotten the Dark Elf away from the Dragon, leaving it bleeding where it fell, it had not been an easy battle.

The element of surprise had been on their side but without the artefacts they carried, each of the Windflower Scripture knew the battle would have ended very differently. They were not weak but they did not have the overwhelming combat power of the Black Scripture. Still, the Dark Elf was strong and they had taken losses. The horse the elf was slung over was not the only one carrying such cargo. The only difference was the elf was still breathing. There were no plans to kill the elf. The Slane Theocracy could not gather information through necromancy.

"What do they think this one knows?"

The Captain shook his head. "They aren't sure. The Thousand Mile Astrologer reports that this one was one of the Undead's Ambassadors to the Empire."

"So young?"

The Theocracy had been in an ongoing scuffle with the Elves. They knew how elves aged. This one was still young. Obviously several decades old but still a child by elvish standards.

The Captain just gave Kaan a look. He should have known better. Youth was deceptive with elves. "You know what happened." He didn't specify where.

Utkin nodded gravely. He reached out and tugged on the elf's ear. The creature didn't move. It was still unconscious. They knew what had happened in the Empire but they had also subdued this elf. They had had a stroke of luck when they had shot the dragon from the sky. The elf had been momentarily stunned but the battle had still cost them members.

"We'll get answers, Sir," Kaan said solemnly.

"We will."

-cos-

"Well, you are strong, elf," Cardinal Dominic Ihre Partouche spat. He was annoyed for a number of reasons. Not the least of which was that the elf prisoner just glared at them. It was still shackled but had proven remarkably resistant to everything they tried.

The other was that the Black Scripture refused to use [Downfall of castle and country] on the elf. It would have broken its resistance immediately and it would have happily told them whatever they wanted to know. With Lady Kaire's death, they were still searching for someone to hold its power but the Black Scripture claimed that while the artefact would control the elf, it was better to save its power for those they could not subdue through lesser artefacts. It was frustrating but it was the truth. The ongoing skirmish against the elves had given the Theocracy a few ways of holding elves. This one, with its heterochromatic eyes was no exception, though its raw physical strength had given them some problems.

The elf's gear had been stripped from it. It was disconcerting to realise that all the gear, down to the clothes the elf had worn were all high level. Currently it was garbed in a hessian sack. It didn't appear to notice the rough weave of the material. The equipment was still being tested but none of it was reacting to them. It was as if it was charmed to react only to the elf.

They had no idea what some of the equipment was, though it was all beautifully crafted. There was one device that seemed to contain a woman's voice. The Elf had fought hard when they had taken that. More so than anything. It was obviously its trump card. Thus far though, it hadn't done anything except tell the time. There had to be more to it than that.

Zesshi Zetsumei was standing off to the side. Her expression was blank. She was always present to ensure the elf could not escape. The shackles [Constraint of Umbra] were still there but one idiot had removed them once, thinking that such a slight creature as the elf did not need such heavy shackles. They had paid the price for their idiocy, but the Black Scripture's Extra seat had been needed to subdue the elf.

She had been excited at first, then disappointed, when she had won. Cardinal Ihre Partouche knew that no one had bothered to tell her that her victory was tainted. Every scrap of food and water the elf was begrudgingly allowed was drugged. Not enough to kill but enough to ensure the creature was subdued, even without the [Constraint of Umbra]. Zetsumei hadn't had to fight the elf at its full strength. If she read the reports available to her as the Black Scripture's Extra Seat, she'd know that. It was standard procedure when dealing with an elf.

"You are very strong," Dominic repeated.

The elf looked disinterested. It always looked disinterested.

"I doubt we will be able to physically break you," Ihre Partouche continued with a cruel smile. "But there is more than one way to break a prisoner," he continued. As he spoke the door to the small cell opened and several men walked in. They were not the usual guards, or even members of a Scripture. These men had been brought in for this specific purpose. Even in a Kingdom that upheld the law, there were always those who broke them.

The men didn't even glance at Zesshi. They knew better than that. One of their number hadn't made it past the initial screening when he'd attempted to make a pass at her. The rest had been required to clean up what was left.

When the Cardinal was sure the elf had seen and understood the unspoken message, he smiled again. "This is your last chance," he invited, almost kindly. With the garb the elf had been captured in, it had been a surprise to find that it was female. Not that this wasn't an option, it was just others would have been required if the elf had been male.

The elf's eyes flashed. The green and blue taking on a hue of deep hatred. Dominic looked on. It would probably be more effective if the elf was older but he could feel the constrained power that was there. "I will not betray my Master, the ruler of the Forty One Supreme Beings, the one who stands above them all."

Zetsumei snorted. Dominic understood. Only the Six Gods could be considered Supreme Beings.

Yet the reference was interesting. Forty One Supreme Beings? What were they? Who were they? There was no doubt that the Undead Ainz Ooal Gown was far more powerful than any undead they had seen before but to call it a Supreme Being and a ruler of others..? That was going too far.

"You will learn, young elf, that there are only six Supreme Beings. The Gods of the Slane Theocracy." Dominic said calmly.

"And you will learn that my Master is greater than them all," the elf spat back.

He recognised the tactic and smiled thinly. Many spoke with such confidence but he had learned over the years of his life that everything had a breaking point. It was just a matter of finding it.

"Well, I regret that it has come to this, young one but I have given you every chance to speak. Perhaps later you will answer my questions." Dominic shook his head piously as he turned away. "I will return tomorrow."

He ignored the way the large men grinned. They were crude, foul beasts. Their only saving grace was that they were human. If not he would have seen to their execution already. To the rest of the Slane Theocracy these men were dead but the Church could use all men, even those who were trash.

The door of the cell thudded heavily behind him. Cardinal Dominic was surprised when he realised Zesshi was standing beside the door. "You aren't going to stay?"

"She was begging," Zetsumei shrugged.

He hadn't heard anything. The question was displayed in the raise of his eyebrow.

"If she was stronger, she wouldn't need to beg," Zesshi explained.

In an odd way, Dominic understood that. All the Scriptures, those who knew the Black Scripture's Extra Seat, knew what she was like. Zetsumei only respected strength and to her, the elf was not strong. It must have been the way the elf looked at her.

"Don't let her escape," Dominic instructed.

Zetsumei rolled her eyes. He overlooked the disrespect. With the Sorcerous Kingdom gaining ground, the Black Scripture's Extra Seat might be the only hope for Humanity. He could put up with some slight impiety.

-cos-

Note: some people will question Aura being captured. The next chapter goes over it a bit better with more details but there are good reasons that it happened and that the Slane Theocracy can hold her. They have been fighting Elves. So even without magic they'd know how to hold one. The Guardian's of Nazarick are not invincible, just very durable.