Thou In Faith
Chapter II
Saladin emerged from the assembly hall with a great vigor in his step. The convening of the Arch Knights was not a common phenomenon. There were meetings among various parts of the Arch Knights, true, but very rarely did all dozen of the Knights gather. Perhaps this would be war? Saladin delighted at the thought. He had yet to experience the thrill of true battle, the exuberance of spilling his enemies' blood, the triumph of standing on the battlefield before their broken ranks.
Yes, this could very well be war.
And the Saint Knight Saladin was nothing less than pleased.
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The Celestial Knight of Oracle was not in such good humor. Before him was a squad of infantrymen, dressed in the bland tan robes of those with no status. Why he still had to deal with such rabble was beyond him.
"So you see, my lord, we had little choice but to kill them." The squad's leader bowed down. He seemed quite confident for one who had just failed a mission for a Celestial Oracle.
"Your mission, Commander, was not to kill the forest beasts. I made that quite explicit." The commander reeled back a bit before attempting to stammer out a reply.
"But, m-my lord! The Sangheili, they… they were suspicious of our presence! Had we not killed them then-"
"You would have become honorable sacrifices in my name. Instead you've failed abysmally. The forest beasts will no doubt be on their guard now."
"Yet, even had we made martyrs of ourselves, surely the Sangheili would have been just as alert to a hostile presence. At least now they don't know whether or not it's us!" The Celestial Oracle smirked. The fear on this commoner, he could sense it so easily. His eyes were widened in preposterous fashion, sweat practically rolled off his body, and his heart was pounding so hard that even from several feet away the Celestial Oracle could see each palpitation. The Celestial Oracle thought for a second that it might be wrong to enjoy such a thing, but then again, this garbage had already dared to question his wisdom, and on multiple occasions at that.
"Commander, do you know what fate has befallen the solo infantryman you sent out?"
"26-3-T? No, not at all." The commander was quite confused now, and his fear had died out some now that his master was no longer concentrating on his failure. This could turn out to be rather amusing.
"Nor do I. He has not been in contact with the rest of the temple since his dispatch. At this time, there is little choice but to presume him dead. No doubt by the forest beasts."
"Then I don't see how what we did could be of any consequence. The Sangheili already know of our incursions, surely-" The Celestial Oracle cut him off one final time.
"But commander, your decision made all the difference. Either way, the forest beasts would have known of our presence, yes. But what would they do with that knowledge? Had they killed you and your squad, we would not be a threat. But, they lost. And the forest beasts hate to lose.
"And for that matter, commander, I hate to lose." The Celestial Oracle looked past the commander to the six infantrymen behind him, then back at the commander. Here he allowed himself his most sadistic grin, before forcing his face to relax into an entirely apathetic expression. And the commander, the poor commander, stood there, fear once again in full effect. "Your station to whoever kills you first." Somehow, the commander's eyes shot open even wider at that.
"But-! Preposterous! My men are loyal to-" The Celestial Oracle of Tragedy had no need to cut him off this time. His men were quite surgical in the task of killing their commander. The one on the farthest left took all of a second to have his carbine at the ready, and in another fraction of a second the weapon spat out a projectile aimed at the commander's skull. Three more seconds, and the commander's body was slumped on the floor. Four rounds had entered his body, including one posthumous expression of loyalty.
"No, commander. I assure you, your men are quite loyal to me." The Celestial Oracle of Tragedy motioned for one of his aides to clean up the mess.
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Antares looked over the assembled Arch Knights. The knights were seated at a new addition to the Sacred Antechamber: a long rectangular table carved of out of an illustriously smooth crimson wood. The species of tree which the wood had originated from was considered quite sacred among the warriors. The trees could live for well over 5,000 years, and it was a very popular Sangheili myth that the table of the Arch Knights had been taken from a tree the Forefathers themselves had planted so very long ago. There was however no truth to this myth. The Arch Knights had simply forced a very popular Sangheili craftsman to do the job. The wood for the table was taken from a tree deep within the forest, and the tree had been no older than five hundred years. The Forefathers, then, outdated thewood by roughly two hundred years.
Ignoring, however, the most storied architects behind the rise of the warrior caste, there were a number of problems in the present. Each Arch Knight sat at his designated spot, chosen by rank among the Arch Knights. Two, however, were missing. The Saint Knight and Holy Knight of the Sangheili had yet to show up, which was quite troubling for Antares. He had sent out Saladin over an hour ago! The matter at hand was extremely urgent, and each second wasted waiting for the knights to show up was an ordeal for the Eternal Knight of the Sangheili. Until Saladin returned, they could not proceed in dealing with the matter, so for now they languished, indecisive on what measure to take, unsure on what method provided the best solution to this issue. They were, quite simply, vulnerable.
At that moment, surely in response to his worries, Saladin burst into the room. He slowed down to a halt as he neared Antares beside the head of the table. He was, unfortunately, alone.
"Where is the Holy Knight?" An inquiry rose up from the front of the table. The asking Knight was Virulem, eldest of all the Arch Knights, including Antares. A long scar ran across the left side of his face, an unyielding memory of the last war. Even in his age, Virulem was finest of the Arch Knights, and had learned to carry his scar in an intimidating manner as well as speak gruffly, so as to project his toughness. Yet only Antares knew that behind this was a great deal of insecurity. Virulem undoubtedly could have been the Eternal Knight in the place of Antares, but he had turned down the opportunity to ascend amongst the Arch Knights multiple times, fearing that he simply wasn't adequate. Now, as senior amongst the nine lower knights, he was the fourth highest warrior of the Sangheili, and frequently used what power he had to keep the higher knights in check. Virulem, something of a recluse, held very little power in public and rallied perhaps the least support of all Arch Knights. In the Sacred Antechamber of the Forefathers, however, he wielded enough power to make or break any given knight, including those who outranked him.
"I could not find him. As far as I can tell, he must be in the wilderness." Even with his superior conditioning, Saladin showed the signs of exhaustion, gasping for breath in between thoughts, indicating how furiously he must have searched.
"Then we shall not commence." Antares stated coolly. "It was your task to find the Holy Knight and bring him here. This meeting cannot hold any weight unless all the Arch Knights are present."
"But, if he is in the wilderness, it could take hours on end to find him!" Saladin protested. "If this meeting should hold any weight, we have to act quickly." Antares looked at the nine seated Arch Knights, and observed that there seemed to be a consensus with Saladin's opinion.
"Arch Knight Virulem?" The Arch Knight closed his eyes in pensive thought. He undoubtedly already knew what he was going to say, but one of his subtler quirks was an apparent need to ensure people that everything he did was done with great deliberation.
"I do not like to act in haste, yet the circumstances leave us with little choice." Antares sighed. He was defeated on the matter.
"Very well then. I am sure you all know of the crisis at hand, so let us not waste what little time we have reviewing the circumstances. Instead, let us discuss what to do now. What shall the warriors do?"
"It would seem infinitely clear to me…" Began an absurdly calm and serene voice before a long pause. This was the Arch Knight Adhara. He was lowest ranking of the Arch Knights, but had managed to gain respect, mostly due to his affiliation with Antares. Adhara was one of the few warriors Antares had personally trained, and Antares viewed him as something of a protégé. Still, he had a tendency towards simply imitating Antares as opposed to truly sharing his beliefs, which was one of the reasons Antares had made no attempts to elevate Adhara to higher status. "We must simply view this as something of a tragedy, and move on. Surely the lives of four Sangheili are not cause for war."
"Careful what you say, young Adhara," Virulem cautioned. "To disregard the life of just one warrior is a blatant sign of contempt towards the Creed of the Forefathers." Yet another reason Antares had not helped Adhara was that Virulem held him in contempt.
"I apologize if I do not seem to care for the lives of our fellow warriors-"
"Your brothers." Virulem corrected him with the proper term for one's fellow warriors.
"Indeed. I do not disregard the lives of my brothers. I simply see no reason for us to risk the lives of more of our brothers in some blind act of vengeance." Adhara glanced nervously at Virulem. The elder knight accepted this argument. Saladin, however, was not so tolerant of such forgiveness.
"So you would suggest we do nothing? That we simply allow them to take the lives of our brothers? The sorcerers of the plains do not wander into the forest by accident. They certainly don't wander this deep into the forest. This was hostility on their part." The Saint Knight spoke with a mix of disbelief towards Adhara's statement and passion towards his own. The effect could have been a potent mix, had not another Arch Knight immediately spoken up.
"While your point is certainly valid, I cannot agree with your intent, Saladin." Midgard. Next to Virulem, he was the lower knight of greatest consequence. He served as something of a generational bridge among the Arch Knights. He was not as young as most of them, nor was he as old as Virulem and Antares. His viewpoint tended to be entirely unique, and this independence carried favor with the other Arch Knights.
"And what intent do you see, Arch Knight Midgard?"
"That of a warmonger, Saint Knight." Saladin had to restrain himself. Insolence! To make such an open statement to the Saint Knight! Then again, this behavior was what had allowed him to reach such influence. Of course, Saladin had plenty of influence himself. He regained his composure and chuckled lightly.
"Warmonger? Not at all, Arch Knight Midgard. I simply don't choose to be ignorant when war is at my front door. They came here with weaponry and killed our brothers. Retaliation of some sort is demanded by the Forefathers." And now Virulem again.
"But it does not have to be war, Saladin. The Forefathers do not demand blood. Especially not in such a foolish manner." Virulem exhaled heavily, quite stressed by the matter. He was a naturally aggressive warrior, but he held no love for war. Not anymore. "It is troubling that the plains sorcerers came this deep into our forest. Yet it was a minor excursion, and only lightly armed. To claim this as an act of war would be rash, impulsive. We'd merely spill more or our brothers' blood."
"Then what do you suggest we do, Arch Knight Virulem?" The knight again closed his eyes in thought. From the looks of it, Antares was willing to bet the knight had no clue what to say this time.
"I do not know. I cannot give all the answers, Saint Knight Saladin."
"Yet you somehow know which ones are wrong? Can we truly trust your opinion on this matter, Virulem? Or are you still too badly scarred by the last war?" And now Saladin was in dangerous territory. To mock Virulem, especially in such distaste, was not a gambit that paid off frequently. Graciously, Virulem dismissed the remarks.
"You must understand, Saladin, that war is not a game. I would rather mourn four brothers killed and not avenged as opposed to four thousand brothers slaughtered by our inability to be flexible. If war comes to us, so be it. But war is not yet here, and I for one shall do nothing to entice it." Saladin had no response to that, and simply growled in minor frustration. Virulem was adamant on the matter, and he was not gaining support from anyone. Antares simply stood silent, observing the debating of his fellow Arch Knights. He found himself much too conflicted to take any firm stance on the matter. He, like Virulem, had been in the last war of the Sangheili. They were in fact the only Arch Knights to have been in a war, which was in part what made the matter so difficult. The other Arch Knights had not known war, and lacked knowledge of its horrible results. On the other hand, the last war had been a most terrible affair for the Sangheili, perhaps the most brutal conflict they had known in their history. It was indeed possible that he and Virulem were still scarred too badly by the last war, and were paralyzed now by fear. What was there to do? Antares closed his eyes, chased away the real world. What was he to do? Could he sacrifice his brothers in war? Could he sacrifice his brothers to inaction? For the first time in his life, Antares could not decide. So he simply closed his eyes, and let the world go away.
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"Antares." The comfortingly resolved tones of Saladin brought him back from his peaceful oblivion. He opened his eyes to see the Saint Knight. The room was cleared of the Arch Knights. After deliberating for an hour in vain, seeking to find the proper action, they had decided to retire for the night, and come back tomorrow, hoping that perhaps then they might have more clarity on the issue. If nothing else, the Holy Knight would no doubt be back by then, and he could perhaps add a new perspective to the matter. "We must do something."
"I know, Saladin. The question is, what?" The Saint Knight, apparently, had found the answer where Antares had not.
"We do not need necessarily engage in war. We can still avenge our fallen brothers without risking any further death." Antares laughed at such a notion.
"And how would you suggest going about that?"
"A raid." Antares was taken aback by this.
"That is an act of war, Saladin! Were we-"
"Not war." The powerful voice of the Saint Knight interrupted him. "Simply a warning to keep away from the forest. We shall take only as many lives as they have. The message will be most clear." Preposterous as the rational part of Antares found the idea, something in the Saint Knight's voice compelled him to agree. There was such confidence there, that Antares could not help but believe that Saladin knew what he was doing. Still…
"I cannot condone such an act. Not when the Arch Knights have not approved it."
"If we wait for the rest of the Arch Knights to decide we'll be dead!" Now there was a pleading, urging tone in his voice. And Antares, oh how we wanted to comply! But…
"You shall not use me to circumvent the will of the Arch Knights, Saladin. Do not think I will allow you to undermine the authority of the Forefathers." Saladin hung his head in disappointment. There was something there. It was not that he seemed eager to fight. It seemed more that he genuinely believed that the opportunity was slipping. Saladin was willing to acquiesce though. With a solemn step he began to skulk out of the Sacred Antechamber. Looking at Saladin, Antares saw the golden inscriptions in the back of his luminous white armor. 'Strength is granted only to serve the Weak.' Looking outside, Antares saw the twilight sky. It was beginning to get quite dark. "Yet, Saladin…" Antares amended his statement. Saladin turned about, his attention piqued by the Eternal Knight. Antares looked at Saladin's torso. As opposed to a gap between his armor plates, chains ran the length, symbolizing his duty to those less powerful than Saladin. He had risen so quickly, so easily. Partly because he was passionate, and partly because he was strong. Mostly, he was a rarity among even the warriors, a gem among the Sangheili. He was motivated, above all else, by the urge to do what he believed was right for all Sangheili. Were the rest of the Arch Knights similarly motivated? Yes, but hardly to the same degree, to the same persistence as Saladin. Antares could not agree with him, but he hardly knew what was right. "You are the Saint Knight. Many warriors lie at your disposal, regardless of whether I, or the Arch Knights, like it. I will not condone your actions. But it is hardly in my power to control your actions."
At that, Saladin gave a knowing nod, and was off. What was to ensue, Antares did not know.