In the Town of Hornview, the streets were quiet and empty; as it was barely early in the morning. It was a Town similar to Rivertown, filled with stone buildings that were in decent condition, clean, and somewhat serene. It was surrounded by large fertile fields that were owned by farmers who grew crops that contributed to the town's wealth as some of the crops supplied the Kingdom's food.
The only difference was that it wasn't next to one of the main rivers of the countryside of the Bull Kingdom. It had its underwater systems, as some wells would be located throughout the large town which were good sources of water.
Every morning, the food merchants would set up their shops in the town square, selling their fruits, vegetables, and any other food. The townsfolk would walk out of their homes and make their way down to the square and buy their food as they went about their day. Some would go to their jobs, others would return to their homes, and a few would occasionally stay in the town square.
This was the routine, every single day, without fail. Every hour, the people would walk occasionally and chat among themselves on the side of the street, spreading daily gossip. One would think this small and friendly town would just be what it looked like; a serene place with friendly people that like to socialize, without a sign of violence. And that is true; Hornvein hasn't had violence in over a year, which was impressive for any settlement in Terra.
Every day, they do the same routine, albeit each day varies in their activities. But on every sixth day, there's always a modification to that routine; a large group of the townsfolk would gather at a large building on the hill outside the town that is barely being built and they would work on it for a few hours. This had been happening for over a few months, and the occasional patrolling army would question it. The Mayor of the Town would always say the same thing; it is a new building for worship.
But to worship what? That was the question. The Bull Kingdom was mostly an agnostic country, the Bull King himself has denounced any and all religions but he never once outlawed them. In fact, he's indifferent to the beliefs of his people. Due to this, the Bronze Bulls that would ask around would dismiss it, not caring much about what happened in Hornvein. That building would continue to be built. This never once roused suspicion, not a single time.
It was odd that the people were too friendly, a large building was built outside the town, not much violence was happening in the town, and the townsfolk had a nearly ritualistic routine. But Hornvein has not once produced problems for anyone in the Bull Kingdom, which was convenient in the eyes of a single Sorcerer.
Lunaris's direct subordinate, Michael, went deep undercover over a month ago. He infiltrated the town and embedded himself into the routine, trying to uncover and expose a cult that he'd believed had dug its claws into the town. The Cult, according to his reports, is related to the Oakview, a town in the Monkey Kingdom.
Michael is an eccentric man who always does things his way. Despite Lunaris's protests, the Sorcerer took it upon himself to take on this operation by himself, without anyone's help. It was unknown if he'd made any progress since he cut himself off from communicating with the Darklight Sect until recently; he'd sent a message to her, asking for help.
Lunaris knew of the town's weirdly peaceful nature and if anyone from the Darklight Sect would just approach it, they would be suspicious and anyone related to the Cult would leave without a second thought. That is why she sent Brodin and Lucian, two Traversed that are newly acquainted to the Sect. While they are new to it, they're formidable enough to help Michael out.
Despite Lucian's previous escape, Lunaris is more than confident that he won't try to do the same this time. Brodin is one of the reasons she's confident as Michael is the other one, if they manage to extract him.
Brodin and Lucian arriving at Hornvein would kickstart a chain of events that would affect the Bull Kingdom at large, even more than the Rivertown Incident, where an actual Demon appeared. The two Traversed, however, were unaware of what they were about to stumble into.
There was no way of knowing.
************
Tristan stopped atop a hill, his horse shifting as he looked ahead, the town of Hornvein in the distance.
"This is as far as I'll go." He said as he looked at Brodin and Lucian, "You remember the safehouse?"
Lucian nodded, "Yea."
"You remember Michael's code?" He asked
Brodin sighed, "I wish I couldn't."
Tristan nodded, "You're on your own now." He said, "Dismount, I'll take your horses back."
"Hey." Lucian said, "I want to keep mine."
"It's not yours." Tristan frowned, "It belongs to another Sorcerer that is currently working on that damned crystal. You borrowed it, that's all."
Brodin dismounted as Lucian reluctantly did the same, "Very well." He said as he patted the neck of his stallion, "Take care of these beautiful creatures."
He handed Tristan the reigns of his horse as Lucian did the same, a serious scowl on his face.
"Don't give me that look, Cursed One." Tristan said
Lucian scoffed, "I got a name, asshole." He said, "It's Lucian."
"Don't care." Tristan said, "Don't forget your gold and supplies. This operation might take days, alright? Hopefully, by then, the bridge is cleared and the way to Moongate is opened."
Brodin nodded as he held a leather satchel in his hand, "Yes." He said, "Let's go, Lucian. Thank you, Tristan."
Tristan nodded, "Good fortune to you both." He said as he looked at Lucian, "Don't rampage out."
Lucian tilted his head, "I won't."
"I don't want to hear another family died because of you," Tristan said coldly as he steered his horse and the others away, slowly trotting away
Lucian scowled, "You...." He started
"That's enough." Brodin said, "What's done is done."
Lucian clenched his fists, "Fucking asshole..." He said as Tristan left them on the hill by themselves, "I.....that's not my fault, dammit! I..."
"I know." Brodin said as he gave Lucian a serious stare, "Calamities rampaging out is common in this world. Well, not in the Bull Kingdom. But others have had more casualties than you. Three was a lucky number in your case."
Lucian glared at him, "Shut up." He said with a serious tone, "I didn't mean to kill anyone...."
"I believe you." Brodin sighed and turned back around, walking down the hill, "Let's go. And I agree with Tristan, don't rampage out. This is an infiltration mission, we have to take this seriously. We're not looking for a Darklight Sect member, we're just looking for work, that's all."
Lucian slowly followed him, his mind still on Tristan's comment, "Y-Yea...." He grumbled, "I know...."
As they walked towards a small dirt road that stretched towards the entrance of the town, Brodin looked at Lucian, who was looking down, his hands in his trench coat's pocket.
"You fused that wyvern into you, the one that attacked us." Brodin said as he looked ahead, "You feel it inside you?"
Lucian shook his head, "No." He said, "I don't feel anything."
"What of that other one, the baby?" Brodin asked
"Lucy? I don't know." Lucian said, "I....Brodin, I don't understand my own power that much. I mean, yes, the whole Flame Sorcery yes, I have a grasp on that, you've seen it."
"I've never seen such mastery of flames like yours, you're a prodigy, I'm being honest here." Brodin said, "I've gone against my fair share of Pyromages, but the progress you've made in such a short time compared to them is beyond insanity."
"Yes, my point exactly." Lucian said as he walked up next to him, "My Sorcery is a mere effect of my true power, which is still fully sealed. But I don't know how to wield that. I hear this voice, trying to guide me, but my gut tells me to ignore it. I don't get it. Sometimes, I do what it says and it works out, but I have this feeling that whatever it wants me to do, it's for its own benefit...."
"Like the Calamity breaking out," Brodin said
"Yes." Lucian said, "When I had Lunaris pierce my Ether Vein, apparently that's what it was, the First Seal broke and I gained access to it. It wanted to be free, to help me. But I became doubtful, from the moment I heard that voice, I became doubtful about it, conflicted on whether I should listen to what it says."
Brodin didn't say anything for a few moments, but he understood what Lucian was saying. The young man in front of him wasn't a powerful member of the Darklight Sect he had just gotten himself involved, he wasn't a member of the Free Kingdoms, nor a member of the Imperium. Lucian was just a Traversed who was unfortunate enough to be granted a Calamity. He didn't ask for that power and now he has three lives on his conscious.
"The wyvern. She was a manifestation of your Calamity after the first seal was undone." Brodin said, "When it returned to your body, your Calamity's true power was activated, at least the one for that time. Now that the Second Seal is undone after you fused that other one inside you....you can both manifest the wyvern and still enter that state of yours, the one that greatly enhances your power."
Lucian looked at him, "You think so?"
"I am not so sure, but it's a hunch." Brodin said, "It's going to be tough to train that power....it's unstable, overwhelmingly powerful....but if you get a firm hold of it...."
"You'll be strong."