After hearing her parents were dead, Mia said she wanted to head to the manor and rest. However, it was nearly three, so Silas urged her to stay for a little while longer, at least until Lucian gave his welcoming speech, after which he promised they could go back together. Although listless, she agreed.

Silas reached out for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly, giving her a small smile. “I’m here for you.”

“I know, it’s just…” She sighed, then sucked in a breath and shook her head. “Forget it, let’s just get this over with. I think a good lie-in will help get my thoughts out.”

They headed for the central plaza where the speech was being held. It was four times as big as Lyfort’s plaza but despite this, it was already near full, people squeezed against each other in a thick crowd to catch the speech. It was likely that there was a separate space open for those who had come for the congress, but Silas and Mia had arrived too late to find it. Even with his perception, he failed to find such an area, and the guards he asked were either too busy dealing with the crowd to answer or equally clueless as him. As such, they shortly resigned themselves to the public plaza and waited with all the other hundreds, maybe even thousands, of people.

The stage which Lucian would use was in clear view from everywhere in the plaza, its elevated platform made of a shaped rock protrusion. From the threads of mana Silas detected in it, he figured it was an artificial creation made by a caster, which was to be levelled down once the speech was complete. Although they had come too late to get good places, they had arrived just in time to miss the worst of the waiting as hardly five minutes had passed from their arrival when the crowd came animated and rowdy. Cheering akin to thunderclaps filled the plaza, and Silas was cringing from the noise while he spied on the stage.

Finally, Lucian jumped into view. He was waving widely to all sides, a dazzling smile frozen across his face. He had skin like burnt caramel, glittering black eyes, and a physique which boasted indomitable strength. He wore a dark jacket over a white t-shirt and navy jeans; he had no forms of armour on at all, but Silas had the feeling he didn’t need any in the first place. There were too many people in between them for Silas to get a good feel of his aura, but his sixth sense was regardless giving him blaring warnings of Lucian.

Approaching the front of the stage, the Warlord stopped and took in the crowd, inhaling deeply with a lingering smile. “Good afternoon, Brightmoor. How are we all doing?” His voice boomed from the speakers positioned around the plaza, and the crowd answered in turn with wild abandon. They only showed signs of quietening down when the Warlord raised a palm to ease them. “This speech will be as much for Brightmoor’s citizens as it will be for our dear guests. In fact, this speech will be for all of humanity, even for those who are not here to listen to it, as today is a day like no other.”

Pausing, Lucian paced to one side of the stage, watching the crowd like a farmer appraising an ox. “For seventy-one days we suffered, our brothers and sisters falling by the hundreds, the thousands, the hundred thousands—” his voice lowered and became coarse, “the millions, the hundreds of millions, and indeed, the billions. We all need to acknowledge the fact, as hard as it may be, that humanity has been fucked over by the System and its Apocalypse.” He spoke slowly and deliberately, his bearing suggesting complete confidence.

“And I hear you asking, well, what of the other races? What of that sun cult with their fantastical races, what of them? What of those flying scorpions, those raiders, what of them? What about the dragonkin, what of them? I hear your questions, and yes, I’ll admit that all of them have also taken significant hits like us. But since when did we start allowing ourselves to be relieved by the fact that we’ve only sunk as low as these inferior races? Since when did each of you talk yourselves into such pathetic mindsets?” Lucian pointed at the crowd, his damning finger slowly drifting over everyone present.

“You are an apex predator, APEX, so how did this happen? Let me tell you how. If those rat bastards had come to us in a fair fight, we would’ve throttled their arses and sent them packing, yeah?”

The crowd answered with a resounding “YEAH!”

“Which is why they couldn’t allow that. They divided us because they had no other way to succeed. And divided, we fell, billions of us. Well, here I stand to take back what they stole from us: our pride and honour as humans. Some of you may have seen the visitors already, as today I invited every man and woman of importance to come here to Brightmoor and attend a congress where we set aside our differences and see the common humanity in each of us. Divided we fall, but united we rise, united we fuck every single one of these alien bastards up.” Lucian stopped and offered a devilish grin. “Didn’t I say today would be a momentous day?”

By this point, the noise had risen to such high levels that Silas’s ears threatened to rupture themselves. Exchanging a look with Mia, they moved as one out of the crowd, streaming against the flow of people as they made for the bus stop. Almost an hour later, they were back at the manor, and on reaching their room, Mia collapsed face-first into the bed.

Meanwhile, Silas wrenched his boots off and crossed the room to the bathroom, checking his reflection in the mirror to see if he needed a bath now. After a brief inspection, he decided against it and simply washed his face, treading over to the bedroom and falling in beside Mia.

“What did you think?” Silas asked, staring at the vaulted ceiling. Her response was muffled, but he still managed to decipher it. “No, I mean what did you think of the speech?”

She rolled over and faced him, strands of her auburn hair dangling across her face. “I don’t know, he seemed fanatical, don’t you think?”

“Oh, I thought he was really captivating,” Silas replied. “I mean, just the way the crowd cheered for him alone.”

“Well, duh,” she said, poking him on the nose. “Every cult leader ever was charismatic and engaging - it’s a compulsory part of their character. And remember how he said he invited everyone important. But earlier the prophet told you that he hadn’t invited Dahlia or… Kuraim, so clearly one of them isn’t telling the truth.” A strained look crossed her face. “Likely both.”

“Yeah, I guess,” he said, turning back to the ceiling. They both lay there idle for several minutes when suddenly someone knocked on the door.

“Hello, is Mr Wycliffe in?” came a voice.

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“You have mail, sir.”

Opening the door, Silas took the letters from the clerk and glanced over them on the office table while Mia continued to lie down. Some moments later, she spoke up. “What is it?”

“One’s from the Logger’s Office. It says Aengus is in Brightmoor like Roxanne said, and that he’s currently staying in Manor A-42.”

“That’s quite close to us, right?”

“Yeah, I think so. We can just ask the staff here about it. But I think I’m going to put off visiting Aengus until my business with my secret admirer is concluded.”

She rose from her lying position, propping herself onto her arms. For a time, she gave him an inquiring look, the lines deepening into a glare as he continued to return her gaze in a level manner. Only then did she roll her eyes and fall back into the mattress. “Oh, it’s the prophet, isn’t it?”

He chuckled at her reaction and crossed the room until he was standing over her. “Sure is - there’s no signature or anything but I recognise the handwriting. He wants to meet in central, in some lakeside cafe. Sounds quite romantic. Honestly, I’m a bit knackered, but I suppose I shouldn’t miss a date with my dearest.”

Growling, she reached back and flung a pillow at him, then another when he began to laugh. “Go fuck yourself.”

“You want to come?”

“No. Go on your stupid date and see if I care.” A while later, she sighed. “Besides, unlike you, I’m actually knackered, so I need to rest. But wake me up before you go visit Aengus.”

“Sure. See you later, babe.”

A low hum was all he got in return, but it made him smile anyways, at least until she spoke again.

“Bye bye, poppet.”