"Century XI, Quatrain I."
" From the dark night of the soul the horde of the rotting eagle shall rise, mounting Tarasques of iron and Dragons of metal and shall return men into shades.
The crow's head shall eclipse Invictus and Thoth, only five may guide its path to the purification. "
"That's the Prophecy. And we've cracked down on the location of three of the five as of now." Bianca said.
"It ain't public though." She clarified.
"Nostradamus was a member of the Hermetic Order who wished himself to leave this out of the public version under orders from Trismegistus."
"There were three more Quatrains but... They had been lost for centuries... Some say Trismegistus himself trashed them to fulfill the path of the Logos..." Bianca said contemplating.
"Well what do you know... The New Iteration recovered a few of em, revealing the location of you guys!"
"Us, huh? What do ours say?" Andrew asked Bianca, sitting across from her table, at the stage of an empty conference room.
"Well yours says...
"The Dreg of the gift of freedom, without father or crown,
Born in mourning, laughing at his own grave.
His tongue denies the Name of the Highest,
Yet he walks where the dead fear to follow."
"..."
"Ouch..." Andrew mumbled.
"And as for Franz..." Bianca said, causing Franz to perk up.
"In Teutonic lands, a trembling Dove takes flight,
Bound in chains of Father and Mother's wish.
Let blood unlock the Throne of Stars.
Till the Lion of Silence crowns the shaking crow."
"W-Wow..." Franz said with a mix of confusion and surprise.
"And of course, there's the one we have most recently, the one we tracked down."
"By Albion's pastures, the orphan tends the lost,
Holding the book of the Saviour close to her breast.
Her arms, too slight to cradle the multitude,
Yet her heart outshines the indifference of kings."
Bianca said.
"Hehehehe... Breast..." Andrew chuckled to himself.
He turned to Franz, hoping to see the same laughter mirrored.
Franz however just looked too invested to enjoy the subtleties of breast humour.
Bianca ignored Andrew's comments
"We're heading to the 3rd Chosen One's House tomorrow to formally discuss things with her, although we've already installed security around her house to make sure there is minimal risk of attacks."
She continued.
"Anyways... I'll ask the chef to prepare dinner, you want some Schnitzel or something Franz?" Bianca asked casually.
"Um... Are you stereotyping me? I actually like noodles and curry..." Franz replied.
Bianca stammered, caught off guard and blatantly apologetic.
"O-Oh I'm sorry...! I didn't mean to-"
"Sorry I didn't live up to your expectations..."
Franz said, slightly disappointed in himself.
"..."
"You are definitely something..."
...
"Holy Shit a private jet!?" Andrew asked surprised.
It was sleek, black and large, its engines roaring on the runway.
"Being a Hermetic Mage is awesome..." Said Franz.
"It has its perks, but duty is our priority..." Said Mike
"..."
"He's coming?" Asked Andrew.
"OF COURSE I AM!" replied Mike
As they settled in, the jet took off, its destination; The House of Lux's private port in the English Countryside.
"So um." Franz began "Do my parents know...?"
"They know you work for one of our front companies, so don't worry about it." Bianca replied.
"It's a pretty big company too so don't fret." Mike added, which calmed the boy down.
"She lives in the English countryside huh? Must be scenic..." Andrew said.
...
As they landed and took a short pit stop in the House of Lux they met a familiar face in the lounge as Bianca prepared their car.
"Payton!?" Andrew asked. "What're you doing here?"
"Ah fair greetings Mr. Baxley, I was here for a business trip like you." He replied.
"Er Andrew is fine... What business you got?" He asked.
"I was told one of the key members of the House of Lux had been infected by some strange Odic pathogen. I, as a physician and mage was the perfect candidate to treat such." Payton replied, his voice smooth.
"He's right." Mike said. "Good chap, once healed me from Entothropy in France."
Andrew asked "Woah you went to Fra-"
"Our ride's here guys, let's get moving, chop chop!" Bianca said, cutting off Andrew.
"Good-bye then." Said Payton as they left.
...
"Holy shit this is scenic!"
They drove through the road, the sun burning in the sky, its rays bleeding onto the tall grass dancing gracefully to the wind.
In its middle were a couple buildings most notably an Adytum, the religious building of the Magna Salus, it symbol of an upside down noose complemented with a depiction of the Sun in one side and a wooden club in the other, carved into the ancient stone.
Children; orphans were playing in the field, being watched over by Senior Prelates of the Adytum.
The car stopped and they began unpacking. A man approached them, The Arch Prelate followed by Senior Prelates, short, aged white hair and kind eyes.
"Ah, miss Bianca we've awaited your arrival, Miss Juno is inside the Adytum, I'll ask her right now to meet you." He said to Bianca.
"Ah no need for that Father; Andrew, Franz, you two go meet up with Juno while me and Mike unpack." Bianca said unpacking.
"Anything to not carry luggage..." Andrew said to Franz who gave a slightly nervous chuckle.
"..."
"You don't have to pretend to laugh..."
...
They walked to the Adytum together, watching the children play. Suddenly Andrew noticed something.
"Holy shit there's a snake...! And it's... Fighting a rooster!?" He exclaimed, seeing a very small group of children observe the cock (and snake) fight.
"That's dangerous we should do something." Andrew said.
"..."
"Why aren't we-" Franz began
"I'm thinking...!" Andrew said.
"..."
"I'm... VERY scared... Of roosters...! Those weird tumourous things on their beaks, their weird sounds, eugh." Andrew answered.
"Um... I'll take care of it..." Franz said going over before shooing away the snake and rooster, away from each other and the children.
"Whoa! Big brother is so cool!" Said the children approaching him.
"W-Woah...!" He seemed rather overwhelmed and dazed from all the attention of the children.
"Enough guys! Leave big brother alone!" A woman's voice rang out. It was Juno, leaving the Adytum as the children approached her. Her Short blonde hair and bright green eyes shining under the sun.
She greeted each of them by name, high fiving the boys and giggling with the girls on inside jokes.
"Alright you guys follow sister Maria into the cafeteria, it's lunch time!" She said, winking at the children before walking over to Franz and Andrew.
"So... You two must be the other two Chosen Ones, huh?" She asked.
...
Later at dinner they discussed the news of her being a Chosen One, although it had already been confirmed by both sides to agree to it.
"I always knew she was gonna do something big one day!" Said the Arch Prelate.
"Father! You know I like helping around the Adytum and the children." Answered Juno.
"Well maybe you can help the world and all its children for a change, eh?' Said the Arch Prelate, laughing heartily.
"Of course..." She answered, rolling her eyes playfully.
After dinner Juno and Andrew cleaned the dishes in the kitchen while Franz helped the Senior Prelates put the children to bed.
"So a Chosen One eh? How'd you feel about it?" Andrew asked, cleaning the dishes.
"I... Don't know..." Juno answered
"Don't... know? I thought you'd find it cool, prophecies and all that." Andrew inquired.
"Don't get me wrong I do but..."
She sighed, putting down the dishes.
"I want to help around here too... The children... Father Ward... Sister Maria... I grew up here y'know? An orphan just like the rest. When I hit the age to move out... I decided to stay and help..."
She brought her fist to her chest where her heart was.
"They call me sister Jun... It would make them sad if I wasn't around... I want to help everyone I can... Yet..."
Her grip tightened.
"Whenever I hear about the horrible things happening in the world, I can't help but feel inadequate... That The Logos wishes for me to fix them, that is its grand design."
"..."
"What do you think?" She asked Andrew.
"Huh!? Me!?" Andrew was surprised at the inquiry.
"Er well... The thing is... You're putting a lot of pressure on yourself... If the Logos wanted something done it would be done right? It's written beforehand..." Andrew said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Still... No matter what the final purpose of creation is... I wish to help as many as I can..." She answered back.
"..."
"You're not God y'know? You're just human, so hold yourself to human standards." Andrew said what was essentially his ideology regarding the responsibility of being a Chosen One.
"!!!" Juno's eyes widened.
Andrew fearing he had offended her quickly said.
"E-Er sorry if I said something I shouldn't have-"
Juno smiled
"No, not at all. If anything, you reminded me of the truth..." She said thoughtfully.
The Goodness, morality and rightness we know were all founded by Elyon, and it is through Elyon that we may know these abstractions..." She continued.
"But in our fallen world... We cannot know them fully, not to the extent of Elyon, by the design of its sheer divinity..." She said before giggling.
"I guess it's true what Sabaoth said huh?" She winked at him.
"Uhhhh." Andrew stuttered, he hadn't exactly read the Codex Targum, The Holy Book of The Magna Salus.
" 'You shall not hesitate to ask a little child seven days old about the place of life, and you will live. For many of the first will be the last, and will become a single one' "
"Knowledge comes from all sources I suppose, we are all made in the image of the great Elyon after all..." She smiled wistfully.
Andrew 'Doesn't know shit about The Magna Salus' Baxley simply nodded along.
Just then one of the Senior Prelate Sister came.
"We've tucked in the little ones you two, come let me show the guest to his room." She said.
"I'll go then, see ya." Andrew said
"See ya!" She waved brightly.
Andrew was led to one of the guest bedrooms he was sharing with Mike and Franz.
He plopped into one of the three beds as Franz and Mike were already in theirs before promptly drifting off.
Snore...
Snore...
Snore...
...
...
Heheh... Pudding... Funny name...
...
...
...
U-Ugh...
Andrew's eyes shot open as he felt a hand covering his mouth.
It was Mike who quickly signalled him to keep quiet, he could see Franz standing behind Mike.
He quickly got up as Mike whispered to him words that sent a chill up his spine.
"Something got through the security..."
"..."
They prepared in silence to check every room with a flashlight. They couldn't let the intruders know they'd been reported by the security and the security couldn't rush in yet... Not without altering them...
It was 2:37 AM
Franz's nimble fingers softly opened the door to their rooms as they stepped into the hallway.
Step...
Step...
Each small creak felt like glass shattering, each step a canon firing.
Step...
Step...
They stayed close to each other in the choking darkness, every twist of shadow, every sound of the house settling felt as if there was something hidden in the lack of light, using it as cover...
Step...
Step...
Michael quickly held up his hand telling the group to stop. He signalled that the front area of the room to their side was where he got the alert from.
They took a deep breath as Michael opened the door, creaking ever so lightly.
...
A deep gas poured fourth from the room, making the group cover their mouths and noses.
"Oh no... The Children!" Mike said, muffled by his hand.
Of course, this was one of the Children's rooms...!
Andrew quickly lit up his flashlight checking the room, flailing it around until it hit a figure.
Andrew's breath hitched.
From the darkeness, it appeared.
It was... A Soldier...? A tall man in a crisp orderly uniform and a gas mask
No... n-no...
What appeared to just be a soldier quickly had such illusions shattered as he noticed the twisting horns and elongated ears.
Underneath it was another, this one was squatting.
Andrew retched.
This one had its gas mask off. A deformed goatish visage with predatory yellow eyes and dark fur.
A monstrously enlarged grin and a cunning look in its horizontally slit goat-like eyes. But its actions were what caused Andrew to retch.
It was biting a chunk out of one of the Senior Prelate sisters, she appeared dazed from the gas, looking at the children it had put to sleep.
She had chunks from her stomach ripped out, her faint pulsating organs showing beneath a thin layer of muscle as skin was ripped. Blood drooled on the floor, sticky and stringy.
The abomination had the same blood covering its teeth. As it noticed Andrew staring, it twisted its head to him with a grin that made him shiver with horror, it's eyes glowing in the dark.
What in the name of Sabaoth...