***The city of Hemelin***
The successive defeats on the hands of what they see as a 'ragtag' band of 'underground-dwelling' dwarves brought severe shock not only to the population of the holy city, but also to their allies. As they were convinced of the 'righteousness' of fighting for the Golden Hammer, the Church couldn't explain the losses they suffered, which slowly eroded the religious zeal of some of the loyalist cities, causing the support for the crusade against Montserrant to weaken. News also spread around Equality that the 'heaven's fervor' upon the Golden Hammer was lost after his disappearance, and so there were rumors of several guilds debating on withdrawing their support for their religion.
Which, to Miss Farah Koh and her guild—the Church Workers' Guild, was not a good sign of things to come.
"…"
As such, she was looking for ways to reverse the effects of the 'beatings' their forces incurred against Montserrant. And the dwarf security lady knew where to start her 'reforms.' First, with the disappearance of the Golden Hammer, he was succeeded by a weak First Deputy Priest, whose leadership was indecisive and 'soft.' Well, it was not that the Golden Hammer himself put the priest in that position; he was voted in, purportedly by the other leaders of the Church, so as his 'weaknesses' would complement well with the collective desires of the religious leaders. So, Miss Koh knew she had to remove the First Deputy Priest in power, though she would keep him in position for her own ends.
Second, the dwarf security lady wanted to unify the commands of the crusading army. While their forces outnumbered the miners of about 4:1, their uncoordinated actions made the latter defeat them in piecemeal battles. For that, she wished to take overall control of the armies loyal to the Golden Hammer, and deliver one strong blow against Montserrant that they wouldn't dare raise their banners in rebellion once again.
Third, the persistent problem with the 'black lady' and the 'raiding forces' of the miners' guild. The air armies of the Church were enough to crush the rebels in dogfights, but not the 'black lady'…or as the dossiers identify her as the Overseer Saint, Lady Seirna Stephanie. She was the biggest problem of Miss Koh, as her leadership of the miners' guild brought stunning victories over their airships and fighters. Not only that, the dwarf security lady knew that her 'magic abilities' gave the saint an edge over their 'machines,' and only the Golden Hammer could deal a 'countering force' against her. For this one, she had to double her guild's efforts to locate their god and bring him back…even if it meant that she would have to shoulder the costs for expeditions.
Miss Koh can only hope that they find him before their forces dwindled against the 'black lady.'
Well, while she knew they couldn't defeat Lady Seirna in terms of magic power, they could force her 'allies' to retreat. And she created a strategy just to inflict maximum damage to the miners' armies: the aerial zones. With the temple district as the main area of defense, Miss Koh planned to put a concentrated network of anti-air guns to make any 'raids' costly. The number of 'batteries' dispersed as the zones go from the temple district and into the limits of Hemelin to 'preserve' the anti-air capabilities of the loyalist defenders as well as 'shave-off' the enemies on their way to the temple district.
Satisfied with her plans, the Chief of the Golden Hammer's Security called for her lieutenants for a closed-door meeting. She wished to pre-empt any other factions with the same intent of supplanting the First Deputy Priest, and she'd use the elite Guards' Unit of the Church to force her power grab.
After all, Miss Koh knows the righteousness of her actions will be the salvation of their way of life.
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Under incessant raids from the forces of the Cole Miners' Guld, the aerial army loyal to the Golden Hammer were paralyzed from its commanders' indecisiveness for several days as they watched their enemies annihilate their allies' planes sent to reinforce them. Nevertheless, the Church's pilots fought the miners with tenacity, and determination, that the other side would retreat from their skies every time the enemy already wreaked havoc among their ranks. And even when the miners were led by the infamous 'black lady.'
However, the hit-and-run tactics of the Cole Miners is draining the morale of the Church's forces, and the remaining leadership in Hemelin is under pressure to deliver results.
And so, Miss Farah Koh took within herself to unite the factions within the Church. Commanding the Golden Hammer's Guards' Unit, she launched a 'power grab' against the First Deputy Priest and his commanders, much to the complete shock of the latter.
"What's the meaning of this, Miss Koh?" the priest screamed as the war hammers and battle axes of the dwarves loyal to her was pointed at him. "Tell your dwarves to remove their war hammers and battleaxes from my sight; or you'll be committing heresy and treason!"
Miss Koh stopped her dwarves from delivering the killing blow. However, she never asked them to sheath their weapons. "Your Eminence, the wise Golden Hammer had said this to me before: the end justifies the means. Simply put, I'm committing this grave sin against the Church to strengthen it."
"What are you saying?"
"It's been apparent that your leadership of the armies of the Golden Hammer is insufficient for the challenges we face right now," she explained, signaling for her followers to restrain and remove the commanders loyal to the First Deputy Priest from the chamber of the official. "While I never intended to do this, Your Eminence, the growing threat of a new religion in Montserrant is growing. We need to cut the seedling before it becomes deeply-rooted. Thus, I'm seizing the command of the Church from you; you still get to keep your position, but you'll be doing what I say from the shadows."
"This is blasphemy Miss Koh! The Golden Hammer—"
"We cannot know for certain what happened to His Holiness!" the dwarf guard reiterated. "And for as long as he is missing, or his faith unknown, I'll be taking over! I know my actions, Your Eminence, and after this conflict ends, you may do what you wish against me. But for now, I'll command the crusade. The Guards' Unit is behind me; follow my words, or the Church will fall! I don't think you have other choice, Your Eminence."
The First Deputy Priest could only glare at her as the Golden Hammer's chief of security produced the documents ratifying her appointment as the over-all commander of the Church's forces.