Later that night Nigel could not sleep, he wondered if the inscriptions on his body were truly the runes aldrian spoke of but then again why would they appear on him and he was also worried that being in such a big city like Venus where there is a high concentration of both the Church's forces and the Kingdom's forces it was only a matter of time until he was caught and possibly taken into custody.
At the same time he was afraid of sleeping, what if that nightmare was not a once of thing? what if it was recurring? These questions Plagued him so he decided to stay awake, wondering about the mysterious voice in the wind . Who is it? Is it the being in the storm or is it someone else? What was that person or being's intentions? A thousand questions but none had yet to be answered
"I wonder if sebrina misses me? How is life in Padres? Are they finally happy without me? Mother, father are you now satisfied? You probably think that I'm dead don't you?" Nigel questioned silently, his mind was quiet a mess, currently he felt alone even though he had hope and aldrian by his side these two were complete strangers to him who could sell him out if one of the forces after him pressures them. He did not trust them at all, trust was a big thing that had to be earned and one life or death battle did not cut it. Shifting slightly he was now looking at Hope, this little girl was the same age as his little sister sebrina. Both of them had been abandoned by their families but Nigel knew it was not safe to keep her around but the little girl persisted on following him around maybe it was because they shared the same fate. Whatever it was he hoped he would one day figure it out, sleep slowly embraced him and soon enough he was out cold.
When he was soundly sleeping Hope's eyes opened in a manner that suggested she was never sleeping at all, she studied Nigel's face for a moment and even smiled a bit before closing her eyes again still unclear if she was sleeping or not?
Early in the morning the dim sunlight peaked through the closed curtains and the sound of the bustling city woke Nigel up, he had been the lat to wake and both hope and aldrian were not in the room. Getting up he got out of bed and decided to take of the bandages covering his arm and chest he believed it was time for him to start his training under aldrian. After taking out the bandages and washing his face Nigel wore his usual clothes that had been washed by hope, he wss surprised by how clean they were after all hope grew up in a wealthy household she had people to do everything for her so Nigel doubted some of her skills, but the girl had proven him wrong. A white linen shirt, black trousers and a black coat that reach the knee the only thing missing was his cane.
Today was the 22 second of August which made it a week and a day since the storm hit delin, opening the windows the sky was cloudy ad always, this strange weather phenomenon had been a pandemic to the kingdom. For the past 15 years denta had been a victim of countless rain storms nonstop but the one that hit delin was the biggest till date, that city would never ever be built again well not in his lifetime.
The spire of the church of the seven pointed high at the sky and from its majestic sight an idea formed in Nigel's mind, it is time for me to go to church, he thought with a smile. Seeing that his mother had warned him to be wary of the church Nigel thought that if he went to the church to study the holy texts and murals that adorn its walls. But he was only interested in any depictions that might relate to the runes on his body or the storm that changed his life if they had those. Deciding to wait for his allies he cleaned the room and after he was down sat by the window observing the people down below.
....
Keith and Aden stood by the entrance of the church in irongrove waiting for the doors to open, people all stared at them with pity wondering what had happened to the two priests in training(acolytes) most priests were middle aged men so whenever they saw a young clergyman they knew it was a priest in train and most of the citizens of irongrove were familiar with Aden.
The doors opened revealing a Steve , one of the twin deacons, the moment he laid eyes on Keith all of his worries dissipated replaced by a new found joy, ignoring Keith's battered appearance Steve went in for a hug and powerless as he was Keith could not even evade. Aden was about to throw Keith a look of pity when he was suddenly yanked into a powerful bear hug
"You-" He couldn't even finish his words as the air was suddenly squeezed out of his lungs.
In the church , Keith and Aden were seated on the bench listening to the three decons bombard them withe dress questions
"Rank four!?" Steve and Steven shouted in unison, Keith nodded lightly and continued explaining how it was Aden who saved them by casting the tier four spell Banishment and from then on they fought the fallen that spawned from the gate.
The deacons listened intently and they somehow wondered if they would have survived that encounter themselves, aden's deacon Hansel shook his head with a weak smile
"You are monsters." He spoke weakly forgetting that it is not by their strength that they were powerful but by the grace of the seven, Steven rebuked him and he quickly corrected his words
"What I meant was you two are truly blessed by the seven." Hansel corrected himself with a weak laugh, they all stared at him for a moment before bursting into laughter, Keith smiled and shook his head, standing up he signaled to the twins that they should return but Aden so it and interjected
"So fast, you have not even checked your wounds yet." He protested but Keith shook his head smiling, "The church's doors have been closed for a while now, the people are worried, you need to heal up fast and resume your duties. After all our sworn duty is to make sure that everybody gets to know the love and compassion of the seven and we can't do that with the doors of the church closed, we would be dying the seven their praise by doing that. Remember our worship is the food of the seven." With that he left headed for the door followed by the twin deacons
Aden smiled at Keith's words, the past three days a bond had been birthed between the two of them. To the simple folk they were just priests but in reality their duty was the hardest, they defended the kingdom against the fallen.
"Such wise words." Hansel commented after they had left, staring at aden's expression for a bit he smiled.
"Come let me heal your wounds." Aden nodded and followed behind Hansel.
....
At the entrance of Venus two men stood there both in silent. The middle aged men looked more of a butler and the young men seemed like a young master, the young man was dress in such a manner that everybody who passed by the city gates threw him a glance, the people of Venus were not used to the type of fashion he was in. The young men wore a black robe with a golden trimmings, with a big fancy hat adorned with countless jewelry he wore pointed shoes made of leather and even the shoes had two big red rubies on them, his fingernails were painted black and on his right hand he wore thee different rings all engraved in a strange language. Despite his odd fashion sense the young man was very handsome. He had a strong face with high cheekbones and a straight nose. His eyes were dark and piercing, with thick eyelashes that made them stand out. His hair was dark and stylishly messy. His skin had a warm, golden tone.
He had a subtle smile on his lips, which were full and inviting. His fingers were long and slender,
His butler on the other hand, stood tall with a dignified air, his middle-aged frame dressed in a black tailcoat with a subtle sheen. His silver hair was slicked back, revealing a prominent forehead and a pair of piercing brown eyes that seemed to have seen it all. A thin, well-groomed mustache framed his lips.
His white dress shirt was starched to perfection, with a detachable collar and cuffs that added a touch of elegance. A white waistcoat with a subtle pattern of silver threads covered his torso, and his formal black trousers broke perfectly above his polished black shoes.
A silver pocket watch chain gleamed in the light, attached to his waistcoat, and a simple white bow tie completed his attire. The butler appeared very normal just like any other butler you would meet in Venus, but his master on the other hand, well he was peculiar.