Crimson Twilight: Dusk
Chapter 29: Faith
Though she was the last to arrive among the companions, Silmeia Cafilence was the first to stand up and leave. "I'm sorry but I have to go." she told her friends. "I still have to attend a High Mass at the Pronteran Cathedral."
While she wanted to stay and talk with her friends some more, Silmeia knew that her duties to the Church came first. Besides, the High Mass served two purposes; both which she felt she should take part in. The mass was meant for the souls of those who fell and would fall in the war against the orc tribes as well as for a swift ending to the war; ensuring that peace would return to Prontera.
Silmeia's pace slowed as she remembered the previous battle with the orcs. While the army had won the day, she felt the burden of loss weigh heavily against her conscience. Eliarainne, Trenzein and Kreizen could talk heartily about the day's battle but she couldn't. It was a difference of perspective; the three of them fought the enemy while she tended to their allies. Like Makaelthos and Seihanine, Silmeia saw no "enjoyment" in battle. Makaelthos saw a task to be finished as quickly and efficiently as possible while the only thing Seihanine seemed to care about was that her often reckless brother, as well as Trenzein, had not gotten killed. Silmeia saw the injured, the dying and the dead. Eliarainne might remember a victory over a strong opponent but she remembered the times when someone died right before she could finish the prayer for a healing spell.
Silmeia clenched her hands tightly. They were still trembling from exertion. It was all she could do not to drop her glass in the tavern and raise more concern from her friends. Every time the Second Priest Division failed to keep its charges alive, she felt responsible for their deaths as the Head Priestess. She took it upon herself to stay and tend to the wounded after the battle, which was usually assigned to the acolytes of her division as they were not allowed to go out and heal during a battle.
"I will fight by your side to protect you, priestess."
Silmeia stopped as Sir Agranias's words of assurance echoed in her mind. It puzzled her that she was thinking of Agranias so much these days. She hated the idea of being venerated as if she was some sort of living saint or a fragile piece of crystal. Men were so quick to make grand gestures supposedly to show how much they cared even as they didn't care that she would be partially at fault if they, as Seihanine once put it, mauled themselves with their own idiocy. Agranias had made no grand promises. He had said the words quietly and sincerely.
During the battle she often looked out to where he was just to make sure he was still alive. Not only did he survive the battle but he did so without as much as a scratch. Throughout the entire battle, he did not ride back to her division for healing and support. He was always at the front; ensuring that no high orc reached her division.
Silmeia suddenly found herself remembering how he fought; a welcome change from the images of bleeding knights and severed limbs. Agranias didn't work himself into a rage like Eliarainne or Kreizen and he didn't throw himself into battle as if he needed to kill as many enemies as possible to gain her admiration. He had nothing to prove and did not relish fighting. Instead, he carefully pressed forward; letting his enemies beat uselessly against his defense while he cut down two or three orcs with each massive swing of his sword. On top of his pecopeco, an enormous bird that dwarfed even Eliarainne's mount, Bristle, he was easily the largest sight in the battlefield. Yet he wasn't ponderous or clumsy as big knights like Sir Gardzen tended to be. There was a grace to his movements, not the grace of a "prancing pretty boy" as this grace was tempered with his physical might.
For a moment Silmeia could almost see an inkling of what Eliarainne saw in battle. The moment passed quickly though. She was approaching the grand building of the Pronteran Cathedral. Even from afar, obscured by the darkness of night, the sight of the Church's center in Prontera never failed to impress her. It served as the seat of the Council of Cardinals and its four great spires marked where Prontera was from miles away.
The enormous double doors, big enough to dwarf even Agranias, were wide open to the people of Prontera. They were made of white wood taken from the northern forests near Al de baran; polished and smoothened until they looked and felt like ivory and then reinforced with steel for strength. The doors were carved so that, when closed, they showed the symbol of the Pronteran Church; an equilateral cross with an eight-rayed sun blazing from its center. Gold plating further enhanced the design.
Massive pillars of white stone, seven on either side, flanked the doors and extended well over a hundred feet to support the great threshold to the cathedral. Each pillar was carved so that between its base and its top stood a great, armored crusader of noble bearing making it appear as if these great people supported the Church on the shoulders. No two carvings appeared alike and both male and female figures appeared in the design.
Silmeia stepped into the threshold and then past the great doors into the cathedral itself. The inside of the structure was an awe-inspiring sight. Hundreds of pews, enough to hold every citizen of Prontera, circled a massive altar at the center. Great archways and slimmer pillars supported the ceiling. Light filtered into the building through massive stained-glass windows. Grand tapestries adorned the walls, each one depicting a holy event in Rune-Midgard's history; from Champion Osiris wrestling the six-armed queen of the isis and Horus founding the order of crusaders to the funeral of Lady Anixima, heroine of the War of Magic.
The statues and tapestries were each worth a small fortune, not just because of the material used but also because of their history. Many of them were made during the age of the Morrocan Empire. Indeed, the cathedral was a repository of many relics from that bygone period. Despite the great accumulated wealth in the cathedral, it had never been robbed in its nearly a thousand year history. Crusaders patrolled its perimeter and guarded its doors, arresting would be robbers and turning them in to the regular army. That fate was a mercy compared to what a rogue expected within the cathedral itself. Monks stalked the halls of the cathedral, making themselves as inconspicuous as possible. They killed robbers on sight and their martial training let them do it with practiced ease and violence.
Hundreds of priests, both from the Church and the regular army, were already seated and hundreds more were walking in along with Silmeia. She recognized one of them; Sixth Head Priest Gadian Ilderin, as he walked towards her. A friendly smile creased his face. "It's nice to see you again, Priestess Silmeia." he greeted her. "It's been a while."
Silmeia smiled and nodded in response. Around half of the Council of Cardinals was present so far. It wouldn't be long until the High Mass begun. Gadian was with the other Head Priests of Prontera's various priest divisions.
Though every priest respected each other as a vital member of the Church, it was often that the priests that were part of the regular army and the priests who stayed within the Church hierarchy formed distinct groups when socializing. More than a few army priests found their Church hierarchy counterparts ill-equipped to deal with real life situations and some Church hierarchy priests believed that army priests irreverently saw their gifts of healing and protection as just another tool for a soldier.
One of the Head Priests suddenly pointed at the cathedral's entrance. "Isn't that the black-armored knight we saw with the Second Division earlier?" he asked.
Silmeia followed the priests' stares. Sure enough, Sir Agranias stood by the cathedral's entrance. He was staring at the altar; completely unmindful of the stares and murmurs he drew from the surrounding priests. Suddenly, as if he felt her eyes on him, Agranias looked straight at Silmeia. He didn't say a word or raise a hand to catch her attention but simply dipped his head a little and tried to make himself less conspicuous; a difficult task for someone of his size.
The Head Priest of the First Priest Division turned to face Silmeia. "Is he another one of your admirers, Second Head Priestess?" he asked good-naturedly. A knight or two by the entrance during a High Mass always had something to do with Head Priestess Silmeia. A few of the stuffy old priests from the Church hierarchy disapproved of such "shameless flirting" but most of the army priests thought it was amusing. More than a few of them could relate with those knights.
Silmeia shook her head while other Head Priests chuckled among themselves.
"Well, he's more persistent than the other ones. He even came to a high mass just to watch her!"
"I think he's far better than that brutish dolt, Gardzen. Not a bad-looking fellow, I'll say!"
"Well, by the looks of him it looks like Silmeia's caught his attention completely!"
While the other head priests chuckled and commented, Gadian Ilderin quietly stared at Silmeia and then at Sir Agranias. Unlike the other Head Priests, he did not enjoy poking fun at Second Head Priestess Silmeia Cafilence. True, he himself found some amusement at the strange things that happened around her but, most of the time, he just felt sorry for her. She clearly didn't like being showered with so much attention. "Everyone, stop that." he interrupted. "The High Mass is about to begin."
The other priests stared at Gadian and laughed good-naturedly. "You've seen a lot of Silmeia's admirers, Gadian." one of them asked. "What do you think of this one?"
Gadian kept his gaze on Agranias a little longer before turning to face Silmeia. Unlike the other admirers, this Sir Agranias did not look at her lustfully nor did he try to catch her , his discretion and subtlety were mired by his enormous size and strange armor. This Sir Agranias also seemed to be able to carry himself straight; almost as if he was born with a sword up his back and he didn't have a bored or sleepy look on his face despite the lateness of the High Mass.
The strangeness wasn't limited to Sir Agranias as well. For the first time, Silmeia seemed…interested in an admirer. She had never even bothered to look at Gardzen and his ilk. Gadian wasn't rash enough to think that she had fallen in love already but this was certainly a change for her. "Such matters are not appropriate things to discuss inside church, colleagues of mine." aas all he cared to say to the other Head Priests. "Let us take our places; the entire council is here."
The other priests agreed and began to take their places. Gadian kept his voice at a whisper's level as he passed Silmeia. "Although I think he's caught our esteemed priestess's attention just as surely as she's caught his." he said.
Silmeia did not seem to hear him, though. Gadian noticed a strange expression in her eyes and decided to drop the matter. There were far greater concerns besides the love life of one priestess. There was another thing that intrigued him and that was the presence of a priest he had never seen before. The other priests did not seem to notice him but he was clearly not from the regular army priests.
Gadian stared at the man's cold expression. The priest's eyes seemed black from a distance so much that he looked eyeless. His short, oily, black hair was carefully swept back to touch the nape of his neck. He was thin, which was even more obvious because he was also quite tall. His high cheekbones were too prominent and his deep eye sockets were too visible. It was as if his skin, pale as death as it was, had been stretched over his bones. The man's robes were also a curiosity. Most priests wore the usual black and red robes they were given during their ordination. Adding to that outfit was frowned upon, especially by the cardinals, as being vain. This priest's robes had strange, spidery designs running up and down the gold trim of his robes. They looked like alien letters but, when Gadian concentrated on them, they seemed to play tricks on his eyes so that they appeared to dance about as if the man was crawling with spiders. Shaking his head and dismissing his strange concerns as fatigue, Gadian took his own advice and headed for his place. The High Mass was starting.
Silmeia took one last glance at Agranias before taking her place. She had not expected him to watch over her even during a High Mass. A lot of men followed her while she did her duties and a few even became reckless in combat training so they could ask for healing. Silmeia tolerated most such antics and let Eliarainne or Makaelthos punish those that she couldn't. Still, no one had ever watched her during a High Mass. Kreizen had tried it once a few years back. He was respectful enough but halfway through the mass, he had fallen asleep and his snores forced her to excuse herself before her fellows and then escort him out before he disturbed the mass.
"To protect you of course."
Silmeia shook her head to clear it of thoughts. Now wasn't the time to think of Agranias. 'Why should he protect me?' she couldn't help but ask herself. 'I should be the one protecting the others.'
Silmeia concentrated on the altar. The High Mass was starting with the gathering of the esteemed Council of Cardinals. This high-ranking group of twelve priests and priestesses were part of the Church's highest authority. Presiding over them was the High Cardinal, making him the leader of the entire Pronteran Church. While, from behind, some priests and priestesses called them "old fashioned, dried up priests", their presence commanded silent respect. Unlike most priests, the cardinals wore white and red robes, trimmed with gold borders to show their ranking. Most of them were indeed old; Silmeia could only guess that they were, at least, in their eighties.
"My dear brothers and sisters of the Church of Prontera."
The leader of the council of cardinals addressed everyone inside the cathedral; which included almost every priest and priestess inside Prontera. After a short and formal statement of intentions for the High Mass. The High Cardinal led the cathedral into the first prayer. Silmeia listened to the steady litanies; reciting them in her mind and making the words her own in her heart. Along with everyone in the cathedral, she responded alertly during the responsorial and then listened reverently when the Church-appointed bards played hymns of glorification and supplication.
Midway during the High Mass was a sermon from the High Cardinal. His voice was old and tired but it carried to each person inside the cathedral. "This attack upon our city has brought with it yet more trials for our Church. We-!" Only a few minutes into his sermon, the High Cardinal suddenly fell silent. At first the priestly audience merely shifted uncomfortably in their seats, unaware of what was going on. Eve the Council of Cardinals seemed perplexed. When the High Cardinal suddenly grasped the edges of the podium in front of him, several of the cardinals stood up in alarm to see what was wrong.
The rest of the priesthood watched the High Cardinal in horror and concern as he suddenly clutched his chest. That was when they heard a faint thump from the High Cardinal's place. It sounded like someone loudly striking a person on the chest with a fist. It sounded again and the High Cardinal lurched forward; leaning heavily on the heavy wooden podium. Two cardinals assisted him; softly chanting healing prayers while they tried to get him to sit down.
It sounded again; louder this time. Silmeia and the rest of the priests followed the sound this time. It was coming from the High Cardinal. That was when they realized that it sounded like a heartbeat, a very loud and heavy heartbeat. The High Cardinal clutched his chest and cried out but all that came out of his throat was a muffled groan. The beating grew louder and faster and the old man at the center of the cathedral convulsed causing many of the priests to cry out in panic.
The entire council was surrounding the High Cardinal now; each one casting his or her strongest healing spell. "He's not responding!" one of them cried out.
Amidst the panic, though, someone laughed dryly. The sound was so out of place that everyone heard it over the shouts of panic and cries for help. Many priests turned towards the sound.
"So much for your little prayer!" someone spoke out loud.
Dry, mocking laughter suddenly echoed inside the cathedral. More priests turned towards the source indignantly. It was the priest in strange, gold-trimmed robes; his laughter echoed derisively. Silmeia stood up; angry, confused and panicked all at once. There was something familiar about this man.
"The Church is weak!" The mocking priest declared. "It fails to save the lives of those it is meant to protect and now it whines before God to do the protecting for them!"
The other priests glared at the man. A few of them brought out their weapons.
"Blasphemy!" someone from the Church hierarchy priests bellowed. "Who are you, priest?"
"He insults the Church!" Another one cried.
The man walked towards the altar and raised his hand in a gesture similar to a priestly benediction. To everyone's horror, the High Cardinal gasped horribly; heaving one last time before his chest exploded, Blood spattered all over the altar and the other cardinals. A dark, purplish cloud escaped from the gaping hole on his torso and the nearby priests staggered back coughing and retching. Even at a good distance from the altar, Silmeia recoiled from the horrible stench of rotting corpses and moldering vegetation billowing from the altar where the High Cardinal's body lay. The priest held a human heart in his hand; still dripping with blood and smoking with the awful stench. The other cardinals cried in outrage.
"Monster! Who are you?" one of them shouted.
The priest smiled and raised his arms. A black aura of power began to surround him.
"Priestess!" Agranias shouted and then rushed inside the cathedral. His two-handed sword was already in his hand. He stood protectively before Silmeia, placing himself between her and the strange priest.
"Agranias, what's going on?" Silmeia asked. "Do you know that priest?"
Agranias's eyes narrowed as he recognized the man. He had seen him before. It was a long time ago but he recognized the man now as he did back then. He was still wearing the robes of his office as Grand High Priest of Glastheim and the spell he used was a simple cantrip compared to the horrors he had at command. "That is no priest!" he growled. "That is Abraxil Sovivor! The Dark Lord!"
Harsh laughter came from the priest as the other cardinals drew their weapons. Soon he was surrounded by sword maces and chains. He gestured once again before throwing aside the heart he was holding. He seemed to grow until he was as large as Agranias. Slowly, his features seemed to dissipate like smoke; revealing a fleshless, grinning skull. Two horns jutted from the sides of his head; curving downward and towards his empty eye sockets. A mass of animate shadow billowed from his bony shoulders, forming a cape of living darkness behind him. His robes had disappeared; replaced by bone armor etched with elaborate glowing runes. The Dark Lord's towering, sinister figure floated before the Council of Cardinals. Slowly, he turned about to face Agranias. "It's been a long time since someone called me by my mortal name, Sir Agranias." he spoke. "Perhaps you would like me to tell them a little something about yourself this time?"
Agranias pointed his weapon at the skeletal being. "Leave this place, Dark Lord!" he answered. "You have no business here!"
The Dark Lord laughed once again. The chilling laughter seemed to echo throughout the cathedral with the force of several peals of thunder. They made the pillars of the temple shake violently. Several statues fell to the ground, some cracking on impact while others shattered completely. Some of the weaker priests cringed at the sound. "But I do!" he replied. "I have business with the council here."
The Dark Lord turned to face the cardinals. One of them stepped forward bravely and pointed the staff of his office at him. "You defile the house of God, Dark Lord! Begone!" he commanded.
The points of red light that glowed within the Dark Lord's eye sockets flashed briefly. "Be silent, living one!" he answered. "If God can tolerate the presence of you pretentious vermin in his house then he won't mind me!"
The other priests around them began to cast their spells. The cathedral was filled with the chanting of hundreds of healing prayers; all of them directed at the Dark Lord.
The Dark Lord waved his hand at the priests around him. "Cease that noise!" he roared. A wave of darkness suddenly exploded from his outstretched hands; engulfing the nearest priests around him. Their screams were quickly muffled as if the darkness was a gigantic damp blanket smothering them. Healing energy streaked towards him in the form of great bolts of white light but, before any of them could strike, they struck an invisible field of power around him and simply dissipated. The darkness he conjured disappeared as well but the priests it engulfed had vanished; leaving nothing but their smoking, blood-soaked clothes. Silmeia began to chant her own prayer.
"You faithless worms!" the Dark Lord shouted; his taunt creating cracks on the pillars and archways around him. One tapestry was suddenly ripped in half. "How can you call yourselves servants of God?" He gestured; causing a large warp portal to appear before him. "Show me what the Church has become then!"
Before anyone could react, skeletons began pouring forth from the portal. Some of them still had on some strips of clothing, a few were still booted. Many of them carried a pair of daggers, others wielded bows while the others carried a wicked, curved sword in each hand. Other monstrosities emerged from the portal; including the animated bodies of dead orcs and the floating remains of Glastheimian priests.
The priests focused their spells on the outpouring undead. The Dark Lord gestured once again. It wasn't a simple gesture this time. He waved an arm; weaving magical energy and tracing alien symbols in the air. This time the cathedral itself was rocked by a powerful explosion from outside. Silmeia turned to see what was happening.
Meteors were raining down on the cathedral. One enormous boulder of molten rock crashed through the ceiling; tearing a large portion of the roof off as it smashed through a couple of pillars before exploding on the ground. Great gouts of fire followed each boulder as more dropped from the sky. Priests were crushed by the flaming rock or by bits of the roof, others were badly burned as they narrowly avoided being killed. The flaming rocks rolled over the undead as well but their seemed to be no limit to their numbers as they poured from the portal.
The Dark Lord laughed and floated towards the Council of Cardinals. Their healing spells bounced harmlessly against the powerful shield he had set up around himself. "Is this all you can do against the undead?" he mocked. "Show me the wrath of the Church before I slay all of you!"
One cardinal began chanting the required prayer for a Magnus Exorcismus. Before he could finish, the Dark Lord turned his gaze on him. The cardinal gasped and stared at his hands. His flesh melted right off his fingers as liquid rot. His eyes fell out of their sockets and splattered on the marble floor along with the rest of his body. Soon the other cardinals were staring at the gory puddle that was their former colleague. The bones exploded; striking them with flying shards. Blood sprayed all over the main altar. Silmeia made her way over to them. She could not allow the Dark Lord to go on his murderous spree!
Agranias sliced through the mob of skeletons the came his way. The rest of the priests fought valiantly but the undead continued to pour from the portal. Slowly, they were being overwhelmed. 'We have to defeat the Dark Lord or the undead will overrun as all!" he called out to Silmeia. He engaged any undead monster that tried to attack her. Most of them barely got a few feet near her before he cut them down.
"Agranias! Please help the other priests as well!" Silmeia called out to him. It was the same request as before and he nodded his assent.
Silmeia ran towards the altar. The Dark Lord had slain almost everyone in the Council of Cardinals. Agranias kept to her side. The priests were losing; so many of them were already dead. Some were hacked to pieces by berserk skeletons. Others were peppered by arrows or decapitated. The undead continued to emerge from the portal. One meteor broke through the cathedral's roof and struck the main altar. The curtains immediately caught on fire; soon the pews and other wooden objects began to burn, surrounding the Dark Lord with a lurid orange blaze. Agranias pointed his weapon at the Dark Lord once again while Silmeia's hands glowed with holy energy.
The Dark Lord watched the two in amusement. "You would fight me, priestess?" he taunted. "Perhaps you would like to take a look around first!"
Silmeia glanced at the scene behind her. Hundreds of priests lay dead on the ground. The remaining priests were surrounded by an ever-growing horde of the undead. Her eyes narrowed in fury. "Why are you doing this, Dark Lord?" She asked, her voice trembling with growing rage.
The Dark Lord was silent for a while as he stared at Silmeia. The Council of Cardinals had been reduced to mere bloody and charred skeletons behind him. "To show you priests how weak your Church has become for one reason." he answered. "I have one last thing to show but, before that, I'm going to give you this at least."
The Dark Lord spread his arms as if inviting Silmeia to do her worst. Agranias strode forward, his sword catching the lurid red glow of the fire. He was several feet away when the Dark Lord gestured towards him. A ring of darkness surrounded Agranias. Suddenly, he couldn't move. "I have no need of you right now, Captain Agranias. It's your priestess companion who must show me what she can do!" he taunted.
Holy energy surged through Silmeia's arms. "You come here…slaughter all these priests…just to prove something?" she cried.
Silmeia stared at the Dark Lord furiously. The words of a prayer came to her mind. There was no need to chant it, however; the energy was already there. The Dark Lord was suddenly floating over a massive cross of light on the floor. He admired the speed that the priestess had in erecting the powerful holy symbol right under him and the great amount of concentrated holy energy there. "Magnus Exorcismus…a glorious spell developed by the Church to eradicate the enemies of God. To cast it so quickly is proof of your power, priestess but-"
The Dark Lord raised both his arms. Black lightning surged through his skeletal body. Before the Magnus could explode beneath him, he waved his arm. The cross of light vanished without even fizzling.
Silmeia stared in shock at her failed spell. A protest began in her throat but left her lips as a hoarse cry.
The Dark Lord laughed derisively and pointed a skeletal finger at Silmeia. "For more than a thousand years, this body of mine has endured countless Magnus Exorcismuses!" he taunted her. "Did you actually think I would not think of a way to neutralize that attack as soon as I awakened? You fool…I was a priest too. A far greater priest than any of you mortal worms! Face it, Silmeia Cafilence! The power you have gained during your years of sacrifice is nothing!"
Silmeia stared at her hands. The Dark Lord's words struck her harder than any vile spell he could possibly cast. All her sacrifice had been for nothing? The mere thought of it didn't just plunge her into despair; it boiled her blood. She had given much for others and what she had and tried to keep had been taken from her as well. She stared at the Dark Lord, furious at him for telling her and furious at herself for being unable to express that rage.
Agranias struggled to move but the ring held him tightly. Silmeia didn't seem to hear him. She was quivering as she placed her palms together for one more spell. All around her, priests struggled against the undead. "Don't listen to him, priestess!" he shouted at her.
The Dark Lord slowly approached Silmeia. "That's right…frustrating isn't it?" he said. "It's time you got the power you should have for everything you've done. Cast the spell, Silmeia Cafilence. Your true best spell."
The Dark Lord's skeletal hand drew closer to Silmeia. A tiny arc of red lightning sparked from her hands as she slapped his hand away. Something invisible and intangible yet incredibly massive was forming in front of her. The sight of it made him laugh some more.
"Get away from him, Silmeia!" someone shouted from behind them.
The Dark Lord turned to see who had shouted. A crusader stood at the entrance of the church. Immediately the undead closed in on him. Silmeia looked up to see who it was.
"Makaelthos!"
When Silmeia diverted from her anger; the growing energy that she had been unconsciously amassing exploded in a violent blast in front of her. The blast sent her flying towards Agranias's feet where she lay unconscious.
Makaelthos struck the floor with his saber; causing holy energy to explode all around him. The skeletons disintegrated before managing to land as single hit. "Silmeia!" he shouted.
A mounted knight burst into the cathedral and waved her lance about. Soon a large body of knights followed behind her. The Dark Lord raised a hand to deflect a silver-tipped arrow that flew from an azure-haired huntress.
"Interference…very well then!" he declared. "I've accomplished enough!" The Dark Lord slowly dissipated along with the horde of undead. The cathedral was really burning now. Bits of smoldering debris fell from the ceiling.
Agranias broke free from the Dark Lord's spell and rushed over to Silmeia's limp form. Before he could lift the priestess, however, a giant piece of burning debris threatened to fall directly on them. In a burst of speed, Agranias lifted her in his arms and rushed for the exit; narrowly avoiding the cascade of stone and burning wood that filled the spot where he was a few seconds ago.
The surviving priests had left the burning building as well. Eliarainne began shouting orders for the knights to take all the wounded and run. It was only a matter of time before the cathedral collapsed. Agranias managed to run for the exit with Silmeia in his arms. He held the priestess tighter as the last vestiges of the cathedral burned down.
World Notes
Grand High Priest – the Grand High Priest (Priestess) was the leader of the Church during the ancient period of Glastheim and was often the most powerful, or at least the most influential, High Priest of his or her time. The Grand High Priest held absolute power over the entire Church including its armed division, the raydric army. The last Grand High Priest of Glastheim was Abraxil Sovivor who was known during his time as "The Dark Lord" for his shadowy reputation.
The Church discarded the title after the fall of Glastheim. High Priestess Isis, the last high priest, refused to have anything to do with the title and instead formed a council to rule the Church. That council later became known as the Council of Cardinals.
The Dark Lord's spells – many of the Dark Lord's spells are his unique creations and no lore about them exists in the Church or the Geffen Magic Academy's records.
In game terms – these spells are not based on the Ragnarok Online game.