Chapter 117: The Dream of a Theocracy

"I don’t believe we have been followed again." A bald man with a gentle voice spoke to the other in the darkroom as they all pulled off their hoods to reveal their faces. They all made their way to one side of the room and did a deep religious bow towards the images of the two moons and Gaia carved into the wall. Once finished they made their way into a separate room and took their seats.

"Thank you all for meeting so quickly." A new woman walked into the room once everyone had taken their seats. Everyone looked towards her with slight worship in their eyes. She had dark hair with a slight purple glow to it. She wore black robes with the image of a purple star on her back. Taking her seat at the head of the table she put on a caring smile. "I know that you all worry for your lives in these trying times and the great risk that is posed by us all meeting like this, but I believe it is time to begin."

She turned to the door that she had come from, "Come in." Her voice called out into the dark corridor and a man with an angelic smile walked in, his hand behind his back.

"Thank you, Mother." Konrad walked in all eyes tracking him. All were suspicious but chose to keep their tongue, not wishing to anger Mother. "I will cut to the chase with all of you. I’m sure you are all nervous enough as is it. My King is very eager to help you. He sees the danger that this new empire poses to the world and he very much wishes to stop it before it becomes a problem. To show how much this means to him I have come down here to relay this myself." Konrad said calmly, looking at all of them with his smile.

"It is a the sir says." Mother spoke once more. "We need the Commonwealth’s support in this matter. Whilst I’m sure many of you may not like this, we have no choice in the matter. We must see to it that Khors’s truth does not get extinguished so easily. Gregor." Mother turned to the bald man. "I need you to become the middle ground between the Commonwealth and us. Go to Nakhla. A noble who I trust will be waiting for you." Mother got a bow for her order and Gregor began to plan in his mind his trip to the port city.

"It will be a dangerous time ahead of us and I am sure that all of you fear greatly for the future to come. I’m sure many of you wish to hide, but I know even more than that; that you see my vision and agree with it. A state ran by us faithful." Mother said with her kind smile and everyone looked at each other giving subtle nods. "I will be in touch with all of you soon. For now, I wish to show you that we are not alone in this struggle. For now, disperse, I will know how to find you."

Everyone got up leaving, wishing to quickly return to their safe houses. Konrad smiled at this taking his seat. "I’m sure my King will be happy to know everything went smoothly," Konrad said with a smile. His words got a scoff from Mother.

"Let us be honest. Just because you are helping us now does not mean I trust you or your King. I know we are just another enemy. But I know better that we both have someone who is of greater threat." Her kind voice was gone speaking to Konrad, but he only smiled deeper hearing her words.

"As long as you are truthful in not wishing to expand your borders once Citadel of Khors is created then my King will have no issues. He can always look west after all." Mother rolled her eyes at his words.

"Okay. Get in touch with Gregor when you wish to begin. You know where to find him." Konrad nodded and got up. Mother sat alone looking at the man’s back with a suspicious gaze.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Adrian and I have narrowed down our search to three people." Esmond stood in front of the council. Clapping his hands three of his people walked in, carrying portraits. They set them up before quickly leaving. "The first is a Khorish priest named Gregor." Esmond pointed to the painting of the blade man. "We are lucky they have many portraits of their priests as it makes finding them easier."

"He was a man with great influence within the old Sultante, being in charge of many important religious affairs. He however wasn’t politically savvy, so he could never work his way up the ranks within the faith. It is why he is the one we have as least likely to form anything."

Esmonds words got a nod from everyone around. "The next two however is a coin flip. Both have extreme levels of power within the faith and numerous connections among the nobility. First, we have the Record Keeper; Abdul Hakim." Esmond pointed towards the portrait of an old brown man with wise eyes. "He was the one in charge of keeping track of doctrine and works of the faith within the old Sulatane. He is also the one who kept tabs on all the members of the faith for the Sultans."

"Do we have a clue where he is?" Alfred spoke up and asked. He could already see the threat the man could pose. He was someone with a close connection to the Sultans and was the de facto leader of the Follower’s secular side.

"A couple of places but to get an exact location is impossible. He moves constantly and has the funds to keep himself afloat without outside support. The one bit of luck we have is he is a zealot. He probably won’t work with outside forces unless they also follow Khors." Esmond pointed at the portrait of the woman with slight purple hair. "Which takes us to the next one. A woman is only known to the world as Mother. Her past is unknown and she rose within the ranks when the old Sultan fell ill."

"Some say she is Kissed by Khors, due to her unique hair colour." Esmond took a pause wetting his mouth. "She is someone, unlike the Record Keeper, who would be willing to work with other nations, The Commonwealth. I tracked a ship carrying someone quite important from the Commonwealth recently but I couldn’t follow him properly, the man throwing the tails on him every time. This however does confirm the Commonwealth has made contact."

"Is it possible to slowly stop trade with the Commonwealth to try and hinder this?" Charles spoke up asking, "We have numerous new trade routes and many more gold and silver mines now, plus good farmland."

Alfred thought about it and kissed his teeth. "It depends. Trade with Chent could be stopped if we cut relations with the Commonwealth. Although it is only luxury goods people will get angry if it’s for too long. We also need the Commonwealth for the very high-quality paper they produce. Most importantly the crown will see a drop in its budget. Is it possible yes, but it will be a headache."

"It matters not anyway," Esmond spoke up. "They will get the supplies over one way or another. Horace can try and stop as many as he can when he is over there, but it will never be enough." Charles nodded in understanding. "Returning to our topic. Mother is a very popular figure with the common people. Being able to claim she is kissed by Khors is a massive thing that makes it hard to get her. Many people would be willing to hide her from us."

"She also is someone who has the help of many nobles. Sure we can try and remove every noble that helps both her and the Record Keeper, but that would make Marcus’s time harder and also upend the entire new land with how many it would be. Our best bet is right now trying to find out who poses a bigger threat which I am already working on. Then let the operation in the Commonwealth get established."

Alfred leaned back in his chair and nodded. "So one is deep within the secular circle whilst the other can rally the people." Alfred grabbed his eyes and thought. "What do you think is the split of clergy between the two."

Esomond put his hand on his chin and scratched. "A little heavier in the Record Keepers’s favor if no deal is made with the Commonwealth. If Mother can make one a little in hers. The worst case is if they work together but I doubt it. Mother has always styled herself as Blessed by Khors. She created a cult following around herself, and I doubt the Record Keeper is willing to just let go of his de-facto leadership of the faith for her."

Alfred went silent and thought, trying to plan. "Try and get in touch with the Record Keeper. He is old. I don’t wish to completely destroy the Followers yet. If he is willing to hear any reason, I will set up a meeting between him and Raven to allow him to keep his power. Wait for him to die and we are free of an annoyance."

Alfred looked at the portrait of the woman next. "She is more difficult. If we can find her, have her killed quickly. We can frame it as whatever, but she has a stable following and the years ahead to become a thorn in our side. If we can’t get to her, begin taking out the Follower’s clergy. If we destroy her secular following it will undermine her." Esmond gave a nod as they moved on to the next matter.