Prologue: Purification

The time had come.

The knights had been dispatched to this far-flung corner of the kingdom to counter the encroaching spread of the demonic realm. After all, powerful as it was, the protection of the Sacred Flame could only reach so far. The Enemy knew this, and was already hard at work establishing a base in a small village within the affected area. It was rare for these knights to take such a task- they were more often dispatched to attack the enemy in their own territory, slowly expelling the Enemy's influence from the surrounding lands. But upon arriving, they understood why they had been summoned. The conversion of the region into a demon realm was already well underway: the grass was black, and the sky was already beginning to darken from the demonic energies saturating the air. Any normal internal authorities would have quickly succumbed to the Enemy's wiles.

The knights had arrived under the cloak of night, observing the village in secret, and after several days, they had finally gathered enough information to mount their attack. In truth, many among the knights had wanted to put the village to the sword as soon as they laid eyes on it- there, men walked side-by-side with the Enemy's agents openly, unabashed. But to act in haste would only harm their mission, their captain had said, so they stayed their hands, and bided their time. And at long last, the time had come.

It was noon when the troop entered the village. A few of the knights had taken up positions at the perimeter. But the majority marched directly into the village center. And at the front of this group was another knight, the captain. His armor was just like the others- pure white mail, and a helmet that completely hid his features, smooth and featureless, with only narrow slits just above where his eyes would be. The only mark that distinguished him as their leader was a long, broad stripe of red paint that began just above the right brow of his visor, down the side of his helmet, his breastplate, and all the way down to the cuisse on his right leg.

All activity in the village came to a stop. The armor of the knights was meant to strike fear in the hearts of the Enemy, but not one of their agents moved to flee. It seemed they were unaware of the Purifiers.

But they would learn.

Eventually, a villager approached. He was accompanied by a revolting creature that slithered along the ground. Her upper body appeared to be a woman's, but below her hips was a long snake body with red scales- some variety of lamia, the captain guessed. For several long moments, the two stared at the knights, apprehension clear on their faces. Until finally, the man asked, "Um, hello there. Can we… help you?"

The captain broke away from the others and stepped forward, looking down slightly at them man. "Are you the leader here?" he asked.

The man scratched his head nervously. "Well, no. But, if there's anything we can do for you, please don't hesitate to let us know."

The captain touched the bottom of his visor, feigning deep thought. "There is… one thing you can do for me," he finally said.

He the quickly drew his sword, before driving the blade deep into the man's stomach.

"You can die."

The captain withdrew his sword. The man fell to one knee, clutching his stomach, surprise on hi face as if he couldn't believe what had just happened. The beast at his side slithered back, hands over its mouth in a feigned display of shock.

Then, all hell broke loose.

Scream of terror erupted from the surrounding villagers, who began to run away in all directions. As predicted. The captain held his sword aloft. "Perimeter team, move to intercept!"

The knights at the perimeter quickly intercepted the fleeing villagers, cutting them down without mercy. As they did, the captain turned to the rest of his men. "Everyone else, fan out and check these houses. Kill any survivors. Burn everything else."

"Yes sir!" the soldiers shouted in reply, and began spreading out, entering the houses.

The captain too began to search the village, stepping over the bodies of the inhabitants, until reaching a small house at the very edge of the village. He entered without a moment of hesitation, sword ready.

The occupant within froze. It was the lamia from before. But it wasn't alone, it's hands resting on the shoulders of another, smaller lamia. The smaller one didn't look like its mother, with yellow eyes and long, straight red hair. Rather, it looked like the man from the village center, with short black hair and blue eyes.

The older lamia wrapped itself around the smaller one. "Don't you come any closer!" it shouted, cradling the smaller lamia in her arms.

Without a word, the captain stepped into the house, shutting the door behind him.

A minute later, the captain emerged from the house, and calmly wiped away the blood on his sword with the crook of his elbow. As he sheathed his sword, another knight approached. "Captain, we've mopped up the last of the stragglers," he said.

The captain nodded, taking a quick look around. The village was quiet now, and most of the houses were now empty, charred shells. "Good work. Tell Osten to bring the Ember to the village center." Wordlessly, the knight saluted and hurried away. Before departing, the knight pulled a small vial full of red liquid from a pouch on his belt, and threw it at the door of the house he just left. When the glass broke, the fluid quickly came alight, and flames spread over the wooden building. He watched, ensuring his firebomb wouldn't blow out prematurely, before carrying on.

The rest of the knights were already assembled in the village center. The captains attention was quickly drawn by one knight in particular, who carried a long metal post with a small lantern mounted on the top. Upon laying eyes on the captain, the knight approached, and held out the post. "Here you are, Captain. I believe you should have the honor."

Nodding, the captain took the post into his hands, before he stabbed the post into the ground by his feet. At once, the lantern lit up in a brilliant blue light, and a faint white field was projected over the village. As soon as the barrier appeared, the bodies of the villagers suddenly came alight with small blue flames, as the ember of the Sacred Flame began to purify them of their taint. The bodies slowly burned down to ashes, which quickly blew away in the wind.

"Alright, we're clear!" the captain shouted.

The knights wasted no time in taking off their helmets. Thanks to the barrier projected by the lantern, the air was pure, free of the demonic energies that had corrupted it just moments before. At once, the calm silence they held evaporated, and the men began to excitedly chatter amongst themselves.

"Hahahaha! That was a fine hunt!"

"It's been ages since I've been in the field. I was worried my sword arm was getting flabby."

"…Couldn't even put up a decent fight."

The captain knocked his fist against his helmet, sending out a harsh clang that drew the other soldiers' attention. "You all did fine work today," he said. "The Enemy will learn that even outside the Great Barrier, they will find no safe haven in Alba."

The knights erupted into cheers, waving their weapons in the air. But another series of knocks silenced them.

"We will be returning to the capital shortly to report our success." The captain turned his gaze to two men in particular. "Hogarth, Danil, you will remain here to guard the Ember."

The two men in question looked to the captain: a portly man with curly dark hair and a bushy beard, and a thin, haggard young man with thin blonde hair. "Captain, we don't have the supplies for a long stay," the wiry man said- this one was Danil.

"There's a chantry in the village to the immediate north. We'll inform the praetor there of your situation when we depart. I'm certain he'll be more than happy to provide aid to a pair of Purifiers. Everyone else, helmets on. We're leaving in five minutes."