Anointed Ones

In the beginning, men believed in their god. That was their first mistake...

Vasruda, God of Light, watched over the infant fifth race. Within Vasruhal, the City of Flame, the race of men grew from just a small handful to millions. But a goddess beyond the realm named Mortua saw an opportunity to curse that which was pure.

Now, with cataclysm spreading across the lands, a newly christened Holy Templar, and Anointed One named Habrin, prepares to defend their capital city, their people, and the seat of their One God. His Vahami, his 'holy journey', ended with chaos. He prepares for what crests the horizon of enshrouding darkness.The undead and Necromancers of the Dark Goddess will not stop until they are all dead.

But what else is coming will change everything....a supposed immaculate conception and a woman claiming she has the child of the One God within her. Habrin and his brethren will have an impossible task against insurmountable odds.

The Anointed must not fail their creed or their god. No matter the costs.

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The sun rose over the Eastern Mountains, fractal light coming over the edge of the walls of Vasruhal. The cold northern winds twisted through the overgrown oak trees that surrounded the keep of Temple of Vasruda. Here, the monks moved from within the temple to the edges of the Starlit Circle that bordered the Garden of Awakening. It was a ritual that they had followed for as long as the city had stood.
Beyond them, the High Seers, went out on one of the balconies overlooking the Southern Stairwell, one of the four Stairwells of God that led into the inner temple.
As the monks began their chants, looking out towards the sunrise and kneeling, the High Seers lifted their hands towards the Light of Vasruda, a massive torch that burned bright high above the temple.
This was the essence of the God, their creator. His eternal flame gave life to the race of men and within the Starlit Circle, the first man and woman awoke.
This was the 40th day of the year 2135 since the foundation of Vasruhal and the Star of Vasruda was visible just to the right of the sunrise. A holy sign of coming blessings, as it had been interpreted by the seers.
But this morning, something was different. One of the Great Seers collapsed and down below, healers from the Western district hurried into the inner Temple.

Habrin had only been awake for a few minutes when he saw the white and blue robes of the Templar Caste Healers moving through the halls besides the altars. He was not to join the monks as he had done as an acolyte, his charge was more personal.
While he had prepared a bundle of incense to burn at the altar in the lowest sanctum of the temple the night before, the arrival of the Templar was a cause for concern of its own.
He proceeded to follow them, as they were moving with purpose unlike he had seen them before, especially within the temple.
As they went up to the third level of four within the temple, they turned towards the Upper Sanctum and place of the Great Seers.
In a time before he would not have been able to enter such a place without explicit permission but Habrin had recently returned from his Vahami and with it, he had gained a most rare admission

Weeks Earlier

“The bells! Ring the bells!” Habrin said, thundering through the open gate of the city of Vasruhal on horseback.
The horse he was on, collapsed, throwing him across the road. He slid to a stop, hid body aching as the guards of the gate hurried to him.
The Anointed pulled him up as their commander, a Sapphire Captain, looked at the gauntlet he wore on his wrist.
“What is this?” he asked, in a soft tone. “You are Habrin, you left weeks and weeks ago now and you return wearing that of my order? And it has not destroyed you?”
The gauntlet of the Sapphire Captains could only be worn by one either blessed into the position or one given said gauntlet at a time of extreme trial and suffering. For Habrin, it had been the latter though he did not know it as exactly that yet.
“Another, one like you,” he explained, “He gave it to me and told me to ride with haste, to sound the bells of the city. Our enemy comes.”
“None of my order would so willingly give up that which ties us to Vasruda!”
The gauntlet of a Sapphire Captain gave them a unique tie to the torch that was high above the city, abilities such as ward and elemental fire then could be controlled in a way unlike any else in the city.
“His power was taken, sapped by out enemy. He fought a necromancer, giving me time to escape.”
The Anointed stirred as the Captain looked at him.
“Speak nothing of this,” he said to the others. “We go to the temple.”

As healers were called for the horse, Habrin was taken to another horse and he and the captain rode for the High Temple.
Nothing was said to him, even as he passed through the city streets and up, higher into the twisted passageways of the lower district and up the hill to the temple grounds.
As the Torch of Vasruhal burned high above he felt a distinct warmth, unlike any he had felt in some time. His body ached but the longer the light he saw was upon him, the better he felt.
As they came upon the eastern stairwell, they dismounted. Habrin looked up to see the Great Seers in an assembly coming down the stairwell with none other than Father Ulna in their lead. The Seers were the highest of those of the holy, their eyes glowed white for they could see that which others could not. Of the realm of spirits and of the future, neither was hidden to them. Father Ulna was the head of their order and has a gift beyond even theres. His eyes glowed gold as he was the closest to the Holiness of the One God.
The Sapphire Captain immediately knelt, “Vasruda, Fire of the One City. Protector, I am. What service does God have for me?”
Father Ulna touched him on the forehead, “No service save that which you have done.”
As Habrin stood, the Seers looked upon him and then to the gauntlet.
“So, the one who sought truth, has found it? Tell me of who gave you that gauntlet, of your journey. But first, come within the temple. We shall prepare tea.”

Within the Upper Sanctum, Habrin was given a fresh set of robes and his injuries tended to. While the other seers had been present, he set alone with Father Ulna now.
“I went upon my Vahami with faith and openness. I found the that there was deep fog over the lands. Then, Telis… there was a horror upon that city. An unholiness.”
He went on to recount the details as they had happened. Then, as the hour drew on, he came to the final bits of his story.
“But then a great pillar came over the ocean, it was bright and I thought it something it wasn’t, with it came the dead and those that were empowered by it went about, attempting to destroy all life. He came then, fighting death. I fled and then he came again to save me from a necromancer. His power, his connection to the High City, faltered. He told me to come with haste, to warn those here of what was coming.”
Father Ulna remained silent for sometime before touching his fingers to his lips and sighing.
“Then I will say that that which I and the others have seen is upon us. We must be ready for the tribulation to come but I think of most importance for you is that gauntlet,” he said, nodding.
“I will give it back. I am no Sapphire Captain, I am not even a monk.”
“No,” Father Ulna shook his head, “You are not either but—” he paused, “As I have seen, such titles and rituals have fallen from favor in the light of the works of the few. You, my child, have ascended that which was before you to a place that I can only express was a blessing and it is not my place as the Head of my Order to determine what is and isn’t acceptable in the will of Vasruda.”
He stood up, taking out a golden rod from his robes, “Kneel,” he said.
Habrin quickly stood, sitting down his tea and did as Father Ulna said.
“Do I have a witness?” he asked aloud.
Several other Seers nearby came to him.
“We oversee your actions, Father,” they said.
“Habrin returns to us with news that confirms what visions we have seen. As such, he has walked both the path of a monk and has been blessed as a Sapphire Captain, holding the power of Vasruda within himself and not being destroyed by it. It is in such I give him a new title, one in which there is no other save himself.” He touched the rod to Habrin’s forehead, “I ordain you, Habrin, Son of the Vasruda, Sapphire Templar of Vasruhal.”
Habrin shook as he heard the words, he was silent as he tried to catch his breath.
The Seers present seemingly went to say something but Father Ulna’s very presence grew in stature and energy, that which was strangely palapble to Habrin at that time.
“Such belief of waning faith has permeated our city as of late and I feel that such actions will be tested in ways that we cannot understand as we stand here today. A sickness of the mind, a lessening of the valiant guard we hold here over the sanctity of our people’s souls. May Vasruda guide us as our path darkens.
Habrin looked up into the glowing golden eyes of Father Ulna.
“Arise, Habrin. Take hold of your mantel in honor.”

***

Father Ulna was a Seer but unlike the others, he had walked so close to the fire of Vasruda, his eyes were not white but golden, a clear sign of his sanctity and purity under the grace of God. But that sign this morning seemed less, his eyes were much softer than Habrin had ever seen.
As Habrin stepped into the room behind the Templar and several other Seers, Father Ulna looked through them to him.
“Young one, come to me.” He said.
The others present in the room turned and Habrin approached. The Upper Sanctum was an ornate place with gold and blue jewels lining the edge of the room. Hundreds of candles surrounded the outer walls of the Sanctum as the scent of incense permeated the air. Above, a center crystal at the peak of the room took in light from the outside and twisted the energy into a glowing painting of the night sky.
Father Ulna was laying on a bed dressed as the other seers but his face was white.
Habrin knelt beside the bed, bowing.
“Vasruda High, Fire of the One City. Protector, I am, what servi-”
“Not this morning, Habrin. My service as a Seer holds different purpose. Others,” he motioned to the seers present, “They do not understand. But you have seen,” he nodded, “You have seen what others only question.”
Where before there were mutters that Habrin ignored, now there were no sounds at all.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I struggled to wake this morning, as if my mind would not allow it. With the morning gong I stirred from my bed though as a dizziness befell me. Still, I bound my robes and tied my sash but upon reaching here I still did not feel well. I looked out upon the Starlit Circle and at the Faithful, then to the Sunrise. Upon seeing the Great Star, I saw only blackness.”
“What can I do for you then?”
“Pray in earnest, seek truth. Do not let the sword at your hip go unsharpened and if it is called to draw blood, do not stop until Vasruda himself tells you to. Now, I must rest. Go about your day, dear child.”

Habrin bowed as the High Templar continued to tend to him. The other Seers looked at him and smiled before bowing.
It was a contrast to how they had looked at him before, especially as word spread of his ordained position as a Sapphire Templar.
He still did not feel he was deserving of such a role but he tried his best to own it. Though even as he went about similar tasks as both Templars and Sapphires, he was unsure.

Now, standing before the altar at the base of a statue of the first man and first woman of his race, he tossed the bundled incense into a basin and stretched out his gauntlet. The jewels burst to life and ignited the offering.
He closed his eyes.
“In honor,” he said, aloud.
Beyond this altar was the First Pillar, the literal base of the Torch that was atop the temple. It burned with the fire of Vasruda. A physical manifestation of the power of god.
Habrin exited from the High Temple and proceeded down the Southern Stairwell. From the High Temple beneath torch that set at the pinnacle of the towering structure, four sets of stairwells went out. A Northern, a Western, and Eastern, and a Southern. From here there was a outer wall that encircled the temple guarded by Anointed and High Templar alike. But there was only one single entrance, along the Western steps, that led inside the temple itself.
Beyond the temple walls was the grand garden of the Southern district, filled with the great oaks and a twisting river that fed from a spring that created the Pool of Moonlight. The River Ilian flowed from that and fed the entire city from high near the Temple to every place it was required within the city.
While the Southern District was a garden, the Eastern was a Grand Library with all the knowledge known to Vasruhal. To the West, was the Halls of the Anointed, where warriors trained and ate and the High Templar caste filled a double role: as the healers and arcane enhanced, they also forged the weapons for the Anointed. Then to the North was the Rocks of Meditation, a place of connection to the entire land and the Encircling Winds, a connection to the temples all across the realms.

Habrin, of course, had hoped to ascend from monk to become a Templar like on his oldest friends, Lasita. She was beyond mere Templar and of the High Templar of the Flame, there own place was mostly that of messengers from Vasruhal to other temples. As he looked up, he saw her and her mount, a white eagle flying high above in formation with the others of her order. They formed a great V, flying east, high above the city.
He smiled, they were to meet later. For now, he’d go into the city. It was still early. He wished to see what the people were speaking of and to see to any needs. He was still understanding his place in service to God but as Father Ulna had told him before even his Vahami, “Be of the people, in the name of the One God, in doing this you will never be lost.”