After breakfast, they left the Green Serpent Inn. They had traveled only a few dusty steps when a voice shouted at them.
“The Green Serpent Inn? Not the most luxurious of lodgings, but a far cry from your beggar’s hovel.”
The Christians turned as one unit and faced a cocky, swaggering man. Their eyes met the hardened, petulant gaze and snakelike grin of a man dressed in a Ranger’s garb. He wore armor as if prepared for battle and two curved scimitars crossed behind his back.
Still speaking, he sauntered over, introducing himself. “My name is Pinchôt. I am the second in command of Rogis’ Rangers.” His gaze steadily held Rashnir’s. “I have a theory about this whole Harmarty ordeal that I’d like to share. I think that this guy who once held my position, an enemy of Harmarty’s, snuck in and killed the king. I think that he hated him from the start—although he let his hate simmer for several years, but then one day his selfishness overcame him. I think he made his own pitiful bid for power, killing the legendary Rogis and his family in the process. After his fall from the pedestal of public reverence, he hooked up with a random group of heretical travelers. Together, this group assassinated the king and works towards upsetting the whole nation of Jand for their own personal benefit. Come to think of it, I hear that they’re currently operating out of the city of Grinden.”
“That’s a pretty farfetched theory,” Rashnir replied casually. “Does Jaker also believe this?”
“He will,” replied Pinchôt, “as soon as I have the proof that I need. It’s all coming together. Step lightly,” he warned, “I will have my proof soon enough.”
With his threat delivered, Pinchôt turned and left.
Once the ranger traveled beyond earshot, Kevin asked Rashnir, “Was he trying to warn us that we are under scrutiny?”
“No. He wasn’t being friendly. I have never met him and I have no more friends among the Rangers. He genuinely thinks we are the assassins.”
“Then why tell us that he was on to us?”
“Because he is arrogant enough that he thinks we’re already as good as caught. He’s confident that he’s already got enough to convince Jaker to send the Rangers after us; he wants to rub our noses in failure, first.”
“Humph,” snorted Kyrius, “Good luck.”
***
They arrived early at the central park, as normal, in order to spend a little time praying. When they arrived, the Christians found a monk waiting for them. He stood in the same spot where the group had met for the past few days. Rashnir recognized him as the same monk he’d noticed in the crowd several days prior on the day that goblins visited the temple.
The monk looked around suspiciously, checking to see if anyone watched him. Something obviously agitated him.
For a combat-specialized monk, his body language conveyed a surprising lack of hostility. They approached the solitary monk with confident wordless strides and waited for the stranger to speak.
As soon as they drew close enough to keep the conversation quiet he opened his mouth. “Tell me something, Kevin. You speak of this Jesus so passionately and tell tales of his works in such a way that I cannot help but think that he is real. I am a learned man, and I know that the places you have named do not exist. Is this Jesus, and his story, an allegory of some sort?”
Kevin spoke with compassion, “I am not Jesus, if you are trying to draw such a connection, but I know Him personally. He is real and I tell His story.”
“Is he a prophet of Lucifer, or maybe even a demon?”
“No. He is a man, and more powerful than even Lucifer himself.”
The monk smirked, obviously amused. He could barely contain his laughter. “And you have met this man?”
“Yes.”
“Then the people are right, those ones who say that you are insane.”
“If the whole land were mad, they would claim that the one sane person amongst them ought to be committed.”
The monk returned a quizzical look, wondering what Kevin implied. Then, he abruptly left, walking purposefully towards the Temple.
Suddenly, the Christians realized that they were being watched. In the distance, on the far edge of the park, opposite of the Temple, stood the Luciferian combat arts trainer. The young monk’s master glared across the park at them; his posture reflected an obvious displeasure.
Only when the doors to the temple closed behind the young monk in the distance did his master break the angry pose. He, too, circled the edge of the park and made his way to the temple.
An odd thing happened next. As Kevin sat down and began to pray, vendors with carts began arriving wheeling portable storefronts and kiosks into the park. They set them up as a sort of wall making a semi-circle around Kevin’s location and creating a makeshift sort of amphitheater.
The place took on a carnival-like setting. Most of the stands prepared to sell some kind of snack or beverage to an anticipated audience. The vendors didn’t care if Kevin was insane or a heretic; they saw an opportunity to earn some coin.
After speaking with a few of the merchants, Rashnir figured that they must’ve expected an even greater crowd than Kevin had. Rashnir asked Kevin, “Should I send them away?”
“No, let them stay. This draws more attention to us. It might even increase the crowd. Just ask them to keep all distractions to a minimum.”
***
A short while later, people arrived in droves. As more and more arrived, many of the clustered groups merged together as friends found each other. One important characteristic of the crowd was that every sentient to arrive was human, although most cities in this part of the continent were predominantly human.
Many of the faces looked vaguely familiar from the crowds drawn over the past few days. Rashnir and Jorge both stayed beyond the clamor of the crowd, observing from the outside and looking for signs of hostility that might have been sent by the wary Luciferians.
The crowd swelled to a greater size than imagined. Rashnir guessed that there were nearly a thousand people gathered in the park.
From across the way, Rashnir noticed Jorge beckon to him and made his way over. Jorge met him in the middle of a gathering crowd.
Jorge pointed to a large group of people whose corporate dress and appearance looked rustic and foreign. “Something feels odd about those people. What can you tell me? Anything?”
“I’ll go check it out,” Rashnir shrugged.
He made his way through the maze of bodies and skirted the edge of the people in question. Rashnir made a few quick observations and then looped back around, rejoining Jorge.
The people looked like subsistence farmers, or more likely foragers. Most everything about them was drab, plain, and non-threatening. Despite their outward appearance looking unthreatening, they seemed to exude an aura that felt not quite right.
“From what I can tell, I would guess that they are werewolves. The tattoos on some of them might confirm it if I got a better look—or if I knew more about them. They’re all pretty mangy, though, so I would guess that it must be one of the lower clans if I’m right.”
“Werewolves? They are ekthro, are they not?”
“No, no. They are humans, but they have some power beyond human nature that grants them their shape-shifting abilities.
“They are probably harmless if they are in such a large crowd; werewolves haven’t openly hunted men in generations. Usually werewolf clans are nomadic and travel wherever there is food. They usually stick to the woods or mountains and seldom leave the wilderness. This group must have been nearby and gotten invited by someone. They certainly look a bit out of sorts here; maybe they’re a little uncomfortable with so many regular humans around them.”
The group looked innocuous enough as they found a patch of lush grass and settled down upon it. They appeared more uncomfortable than they did dangerous. Rashnir and Jorge let them be, but made a mental note to keep an eye on them.
Once the crowds’ influx ebbed, Kevin
climbed onto the small rock formation that marked the center of the park. The outcropping protruded upwards only slightly shorter than the height of the average man; the ground sloped away and made a nice focal point where everyone could hear and see him. The surrounding vendor booths helped improve the natural acoustics, too, making it possible for the assembly to hear Kevin. Once he stood on the stone platform the crowd took it as a cue to find seats on the grassy turf and give him their attention.
Kevin swallowed the lump in his throat.
“I am glad that you have all been able to make it here this evening. Many of you have met me over the past few days and heard the stories about this hero named Jesus. I told you that tonight I will tell you ‘the greatest story ever told.’”
As if in defiant response, the bell rang on the tower of the Luciferian temple causing a distraction. Its knell resonated crisply through the air, announcing to the faithful that time had come to begin the weekly Luciferian rituals. Only a few people entered the temple in the distance. Some of the faces in the crowd looked briefly awash with guilt as the bell reverberated; they likely broke their weekly obligations to Luciferianism in order to listen to Kevin’s story. Everyone present remained seated, however.
Kevin continued, “Many of you have become familiar over the last week with this man named Jesus, and with His power. Tonight I will tell you about His greatest miracle, and the reason that this is the greatest story ever told: it’s because this man is real. There are others present, here, who have also met Him personally. The signs and miracles that He performs are real.
“Now I know there are many others in this land who can perform miracles and magics; there is a huge difference, though. The miracles that Jesus performed were done to help others,” Kevin paused, knowing that this was not entirely different, “and, He did it for no gain to Himself.” This drew a few surprised looks. “In fact, Jesus had several encounters with those religious leaders who charged money for their help and rebuked them when they profited dishonorably. In one case, He chased the priests out of a local temple with a whip.”
A murmur of wistful laughter rippled through the crowd.
“I know this idea might seem foreign to some of you, but let me explain. Have you ever had tragedy strike and you had nowhere to turn? Let’s say that vandals ruined your crops: now you have financial hardship. Wouldn’t you want some help at this point? Would you set your pride aside and accept assistance if it was offered free of charge?
“What if your child grew gravely ill and you didn’t have enough money to pay a healer or to pay a monk to seek a boon from a spirit? What could you do? If it was you, and your crops were failing, and your family was in danger, wouldn’t you want free help?
“You go to a temple when you need help; you go to worship, or to learn, right? One day, Jesus entered a temple and saw a common sight: there were people there who kept animals for sacrifices. If you needed to make a sacrifice for any purpose, then you would need an animal. These men increased the prices of the animals and profited off of the needs of others. Jesus was so outraged that He took a scourge and chased these men from the temple, beating them, and then threw over their tables and chairs.
“Then, the people who needed His help the most began to come into the temple. These people were blind and sick and in great distress; Jesus healed them of their problems. He did not do it to make a profit; He was capable of helping those in need, and so He did. He did it because it was the right thing to do.
“There was a certain group of religious officials, like Luciferian monks, that thought they were the ultimate authority on religion. They made a nice living through their legalistic system, gaining money, prestige, and position. These people were called the Pharisees. The Pharisees were extremely upset by the things that Jesus did. Jesus, by doing only right and just things, made those Pharisees appear to be what they were: legalistic, selfish frauds.
“Jesus, as some of you have heard, traveled the land of Israel, accompanied by His disciples. I have told many of you over the last week of the miracles He did and stories that He told; they all take place under extreme pressure by the Pharisees who pressed Him to stop. It became evident to the Pharisees that Jesus would not cease, so they plotted against Him.
“After several failed attempts to trick Him into heresy, they went away looking like fools. The Pharisees eventually corrupted one of Jesus’ disciples, a man named Judas. They paid him to lead a gang of soldiers to Jesus and betray Him.
“One thing that I need to make clear to you all is that there were a great many prophesies concerning the Jesus. These prophecies were given even before the arrival of mankind in this realm, before the conflict between Lucifer and Yahweh. The Pharisees were blinded by their greedy ambition so that they could not see Jesus for who He was: the fulfillment of all these very specific prophecies.
“Back to the story. Jesus had a momentous week and people in the land of Israel were just beginning to recognize Him for the messiah who fulfills all of those prophecies. Then one night, during a religious feast, it happened.
“Jesus broke bread and drank wine with his closest twelve friends, one of them being Judas. Jesus told them that the wine was like His blood, poured out for men, and bread like His body, broken for them. His disciples were puzzled by this, not understanding. Jesus foretold them about His imminent murder. His disciples could not comprehend this; within the last week people had come to recognize Him as the Messiah and they assumed He would use His powers to conquer the oppressive government that ruled the land of Israel, even take over other lands and rule in peace with justice.
“The disciples, like the Pharisees, had misunderstood the prophecy. They did not see that Jesus had an even bigger purpose beyond human politics; He would save mankind from the pits of Hell.
“You see, just before this, Judas became indwelt, possessed by a demon known as Satan, the Deceiver. Satan engineered some of these events and tried to destroy Jesus and His power. The possessed Judas gathered soldiers to lead them where Jesus went to pray.
“Jesus prayed late in a garden; He prayed so earnestly that he began sweating drops of blood. After a while, He went to where His disciples were. They had fallen asleep so Jesus woke them, urging them to pray. He knew that His darkest hours were at hand.
“Judas secretly led the soldiers into the garden and gave Jesus a friendly kiss as the sign to the guards to arrest Him. One disciple grabbed a sword and cut off a soldier’s ear; Jesus calmed the disciples and even healed the wounded guard—he knew that all these events were foretold in prophecy. Jesus knew that He must be sacrificed to save all of mankind. His disciples scattered as He was arrested.
“Jesus stood trial and was falsely convicted as a criminal. The Pharisees even saw to it that Jesus was tortured. Then, He was nailed to a wooden cross in such a way that He died slowly and horribly. In the end, His executioners speared His side in order to verify His death; blood and water flowed out of the wound. These two things, interestingly enough, are symbolic of life and spirit and these are what flow out of Jesus.
“Jesus was murdered, and that demon, Satan, thought that he had defeated Him.” Kevin paused for a moment and looked at the crowd. None appeared sympathetic to the demonic character in the story. Since this realm’s conception demon overlords had exploited humans; that tradition had seemed to continue ever since.
“In three days’ time Jesus resurrected Himself and destroyed the power of death. He gained the power to grant to all humans the gift of eternal life, just as they were designed to have since the beginning.
“Where I come from, Satan is known by another name. Satan, the Deceiver, the Accuser, was originally named Lucifer.”
Several people looked on in shock; others foresaw the inevitable conclusion. Only one person seemed to bristle at the comment: that same monk that they had spoken with earlier. He had apparently snuck out of the Luciferian service and returned.
“Jesus is the Son of God; the name of
God is Yahweh.” A burgeoning energy stirred within the crowd, swelling and growing. It was hard to distinguish if it was a buzz of excitement or the murmur of revolt.
“Because God loves us so much, He came to make a way for us to come back to Him. He loved us enough to even die for us, so that those who would love Him could return to Him.
“Lucifer, Satan, lied to you! He deceived your forbearers from the beginning. Only a small part of the Luciferian tradition is true. I speak the truth,” he raised his voice, to be heard clearly above the crescendo of energy that continued building.
“God created mankind to be like Him and to commune with Him. Because He longed for companionship He made us, and He loves us very much, as a father loves his children. For us to be truly made in His likeness, we needed to be free: to have free will and the power of choice. What good is it if His creation only loves Him because they were forced to? That would be slavery, not love.
“Satan was jealous and persuaded Eve, the wife of Adam, the first man, to break God’s commandment and eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. After this, mankind lost its innocence. You see, God is like light and evil is like darkness; darkness cannot exist within the light. Because of this sin, all men had darkness in their hearts, but we can replace it with light—that is what Jesus does for us: He has the power to forgive our sins against His father because He was a sacrifice that paid for the debts owed against God’s justice.
“Mankind was originally made to have communion and peace, dwelling with the creator. It was Lucifer who devised mankind’s destruction. Because of his jealousy he manipulated it so that we are born as outcasts from God’s presence.
“I ask you, why was Lucifer jealous, why does he hate us?” Kevin shouted, drawing the crowd in. “He hates us because God loves each and every one of us infinitely more than He ever loved Lucifer, His brightest angel! Lucifer decided to destroy us; he rebelled against God like a spoiled child who couldn’t have his own way.”
A light seemed to flicker in the eyes of many. Many people in the crowd understood this chain of events; it made sense to them, ringing as true in their hearts.
The Kakos Realm Collection Page 15