Queen Henrietta sighed inside her private private chambers as she thought about what she had learned at the meeting . She had learned that the group she had joined was called the Order of the Ancients. That they had entered and gained members from societies all over the world, and that the world was far larger than the Halkeginian kingdoms could have ever imagined. The Order had set sail on the seas and skies, heading off into the horizon in every direction. There were at least seven continents that she had never heard of, and at least a hundred countries and kingdoms between them. And many of those kingdoms had individual Rites

For example, the subcontinent of Elláda, which she never knew existed despite it's close proximity to Halkeginia, was home to several city states. Like Spárti, a warrior society led by two Kings, one of which was a member, and one of the leaders, of the of the Elláda Rite of the Order, know as 'the Labor'. And then there was Athína a city state of philosophers and playwrights, where the citizens voted for their leaders. Two other members of the Elláda Rite resided there, one was known as 'the Playwright' who was, as their name suggested, a popular playwright who used his artform to influence the people of Athína to the Order's way of thinking, while the other was known as 'the Philosopher' and she did something similar, though she did so in less public areas and smaller numbers.

She also learned that the Order had been in Halkeginia for centuries, and over those centuries they had led groups of both Nobles and Commoners to overthrow some of the most hated Kings and Queens to have ever lived. They had also infiltrated the Church, with members of the Order from monks to the Pope himself. She had been horrified to learn that the Order had members in Reconquista, then they told her that those members of the Order mission had been. The members of the Order in Reconquista, 'the Treadle, the Spear and the Stalk', were supposed to convince the rest of Reconquista to only kill James I de Albion, and install Prince Wales as King, with a parliament made of commoners to keep the Nobles 'in check'.

What had shocked her the most was that King Charles VI de Tristain, her five times great-grandfather, had been a member of the Order known as 'the Reformer'. He had been beloved by the people of Tristain, having enacted several reforms to the law that allowed commoners bring forth serious charges against Nobles without being punished, as well as a law that stated children born to a commoner and sired by a Noble would be given a state sponsored education in not only academics, but magic as well. Many of Tristain's greatest Mages would have never been known if not for that law, and it was one of the few pro-commoner laws that the Nobility and Monarchy had never gotten rid of.

A glance at her desk reminded her of the documents she had been given to her the day she had joined the Order, she hadn't looked at them yet, she was still absorbing everything that had happened over the past few days. Walking over she picked them up and looked them over. Two lists of names, the first was a list of criminals, Noble and commoner alike, the crimes ranging from tax evasion to slavery. Some even had details on where they could find evidence. The other had the aliases of Order members in Tristain, along with a brief note about where they were and what they did.

'The Ladle' is a high ranking woman of the cloth in Antwerpen. 'The Treasurer' is a rich merchant in Tristainia. 'The Scalpel' is a well respected doctor in Leuven. 'The Saber' is a beloved commander in the Tristainian army. 'The Dirk' controls the bandit clans in the southeast. 'The Wine' is a influential Noble who throws lavish parties. 'The Plow' is a Noble who hoards and preserves food for the people in case of a bad harvest.

Religion, commerce, medicine, military, banditry, politics, even supplies. Louise hadn't been exaggerating when she said that the Order was everywhere. And that was just here in Tristain, who knew how many members there were in the other Halkeginian kingdoms, let alone the world. All of them working toward the same goal, peace. Henrietta smiled as she thought about what she could do for her people with the aid of the Order, though she was a bit concerned by the brief message at the bottom of the parchment.

"Beware the Hidden Ones." She shook her head and placed the parchment on her desk. That was something to worry about later, right now she needed to hold court.

Marseille, Gallia.

A hooded man leaned against a wall on the busy docks of Marseille. He was a Hidden One, a protector of the people. Not from bandits or abusive nobles, but something far more dangerous. The Order of the Ancients, a group who sought to take over the world. And at last, after months of investigation and tracking it was time to eliminate his target. Pierre Abreo, 'the Incense' a bishop who took in orphaned children, fed the poor, preached the word of Brimir... And arranged for people, those who would pose a threat to the Order, to disappear.

As the church bells rang he pushed off of the wall, it was time. Every Day of Water, the Incense and his would come to the docks with bread and bandages, and he and his helpers would feed the poor and heal the injured. At last the Bishop came into sight and the Hidden One approached. And as the Incense handed a loaf of bread to a one legged man, the Hidden One struck, his hidden blade piercing the bishop's back.

The world faded to white and the Incense opened his eyes, looking around. He was in his church, a hooded man he immediately knew was a Hidden one sitting in one of the pews. "It would seem that my time in this world ends prematurely. Tell me child, why did you do this?" The Hidden One remained silent as the Incense passed him, headed toward the confessional. Suddenly the two were inside, they could cot see one another, but they could hear each other through the holes in the wall between them. "Please, grant the wish of a dying man, let me hear one last confession, and let me absolve you of sin."

"You are a member of the Order. That alone is reason enough to end your life, to say nothing of those you had killed. The men and women you perceived as a threat to your Order."

"Is that why you think I had them killed? You are wrong child. They were monsters each and every one. Murderers and rapists, robbers and slavers. Had I not arranged for their lives to be taken there is no telling how many more would have suffered by their hands."

"Even if that were true, that does not give you the right to haven them."

"Tell me child, what do you see when you look in the mirror? A man, a Hidden One, a hero?" He was behind his pulpit now, needing to look down to see the Hidden One, shadowy figures filling the pews. "I will tell you what I see when I look at you. I see a fool, a murderer, a hypocrite. You believe I had no right to have those people killed, and yet you think it righteous to kill me." Now he stood behind the Hidden One, who turned to look at him. "And did you think what the consequences of my death would be? What will the next bishop do? Will he continue to help the poor and feed the needy? Or will the throw the children I took in back onto the street, will he take whatever he wants from his flock, will he force the injured to pay for treatment, will he take food from the mouths of the starving?"

The hidden one frowned. "I do not know."

He was back behind the pulpit. "And that is the problem with you Hidden Ones, you don't know. You don't know what the Order seeks, you don't know how we help people, you don't know what chaos your actions will cause." Sweet smelling smoke began to rise from the Incense's robes, drifting toward the Hidden One, then he vanished. "All your kind know, is how to kill."

Tristainia, Tristain.

Henrietta's eyes snapped open and she looked around her room in panic. She didn't fall back asleep that night.