He gazed in the direction of Fallpoint. Even if the forest made it impossible for him to really see it, he could still imagine the marvellous sight of the palace lying within the city. The palace that was rightfully his.

“Patience, Friedrich,” a woman said. “Your time will come soon.”

“You’ve been telling me this for years! When greenskins attacked, Rikse left my family on their own! They begged for help, Boewards and Farangers alike, even the King, yet everyone ignored our pleas! Now, those gold-flipping rats turned our palace into headquarters of their guilds and consortiums, while we lost everything, even our titles!”

“What value is there in titles granted by mortals… for mortals?”

Semora found Friedrich years ago. He was but a child when she sneaked into a garden he was playing in, told him about both magic, and his great destiny. Back then, he never really understood how she could always come and go unnoticed by the guards of his family. Nor why, despite the passing years, she never changed. Beautiful beyond any other he ever saw, none of his lovers could even compare to her.

She taught him about the deity she served, Sudomeas. The king of a domain within Soul Planes, willing to bless Friedrich, distinguish him as one of his clerics. Eager to grant him powers that would make him a rival to the kings of men!

For years Semora has been teaching him how to create artifacts that would allow him to call forth Sudomeas’ servants. He had to be really clever to get enough funds from the family vault to gather all the required resources without anyone noticing.

When orcs attacked, it quickly became obvious that they won’t be able to hold the city. His family evacuated. However, while they had decided to futilely beg other nobles for help once again, she had shown him another path.

He used chaos caused by the fall of the city to perform the sacrifices required to finally bring the items to their full power. Unfortunately, the feat, as well as mastering the required ritual, took longer than he expected.

Before he has learnt how to reliably use it, Riksians reclaimed the city, and damned merchants bought their titles and usurped the lands once belonging to his family. He knew it was a plot to discredit his family! Otherwise, how could the unstoppable orcish horde be so quickly repelled?

“Our Lord predicted that within a month seven leylines will converge near the village your people call Crestfall. Gather enough believers, and with the help of my artifact, you’ll be able to call forth even the most powerful servants of Sudomeas.”

****

“This part of the array requires a rework,” a sudden voice startled Friedrich out of his meditation.

He should have grown used to her sudden appearances by now, yet she still managed to catch him off-guard from time to time.

The cleric looked at the huge ritual circle he began preparing since they captured the castle.

“I trusted Jane with this part,” he sighed, “of all my apprentices, I believe her to be the most competent.”

“You should manage to fully attune yourself to the place in the remaining time, yet everything needs to be perfect. And the draft of this ritual circle is far from it. You did a good job growing your flock, but there are still some things they can’t do on their own.”

“Only two weeks remained! With constant distractions, I can’t do it alone! Help me!”

“You disappoint me, Friedrich. Haven’t I already told you, that for this spell to work, everything needs to be done by hands of mortals?”

They heard a knock.

“Come in.”

A teenager entered the room. His glance slid past Semora, who appeared to him to be only one of the priest’s apprentices, and focused on Friedrich.

"We've found traces of a huge group of goblins heading east..."

Friedrich glanced at Semora.

‘Why they are so focused on the damn goblins…’

He projected his thoughts, knowing that it would allow Semora to hear him. Just one of the ways her kind could communicate with others. Even if just by materialising on the Material Plane her powers has been diminished, as long as her energy was sustained by rituals of beings native to it, she could remain here. Friedrich felt a pang of irrational jealousy, knowing there must be a few other warlocks that she guided.

‘You’ve shown them how to fight against beasts threatening their homes, then decided to strike against a nest of gobbears… now they are trying to show our Lord that they are capable of continuing what you have started…’

‘Goblins! Who cares about them! I only needed to capture this castle as it would become the focal point! The creatures living there were just critters that needed to be removed.’

Friedrich nodded sagely, pretending to listen to Josh’s attack plans.

‘Your intent, your goals… Often, they won’t matter to your subordinates. As a scion of nobles, you should have understood this. Yet even after all my teachings, despite the effects of your own work, you still don’t really grasp it. Be to them what they want you to be. Direct them, but make them think they are furthering the goals they want to see achieved. Make them believe your goals are the ones they want to see done, or better just the steps towards something they really desire…’

‘I understand, but until I reclaim my position, none of this really matters!’

He knew Semora was right. Yet he was so close now. And there have been so many things that had forced him to delay preparation of what was really important.

First, the band of mercenaries Crestfall had contracted. Not even a week passed since he managed to convince the villagers to get rid of them, a group of soldiers arrived and decided to stay. To make things worse, they served the treacherous bastards who profited from the fall of his family.

He came up with a plan to turn some of them into vessels. They would have made fine lieutenants for his cult. However, before he managed to finalise it, another group of mercenaries arrived. They saved the village from an attack and undermined the position of his cult… They will pay for this!

“A marvellous plan, Josh,” Friedrich assumed his pious persona. “I can see the wisdom of our Lord inside your words. However, I’m not sure if you could really achieve this at this point. Maybe you should consider waiting until more brothers join us?”

“Amongst the new mercenaries, there is at least one really interested in joining us. I saw him fighting gobbears when they attacked the village. With another wizard supporting us-“

“A wizard?” Friedrich was surprised. “When did he arrived? Why I know none about this?”

“Trevor hasn’t spoken to you? There were two mages in the group that arrived yesterday…”

The door to the hall opened, revealing a heavily breathing cultist, supported by the other two.

“We’ve been attacked,” a man managed to gasp.

“By who? Where is my sister?” Josh immediately recognised the speaker and ran to him.

“The mercenaries, they abducted Bran and Jane. We tried to release them… but they killed everyone. I’ve been ordered to stay behind, to pass a message if something goes wrong. The mercenaries were too strong…”

“Why? How could they? Why Jane?”

“Imbeciles!” Friedrich sent a blast of energy, completely obliterating one of the already ruined furniture in the room. “Why no one felt the need to inform me that it’s not just a simple band of mercenaries, but wizards that are sniffing around? They must be there because they’ve learned about the convergence. They want to defy the will of our Lord, and use it for their own gains!”

‘Impossible. To divine this… it’s not a feat a mere mortal could achieve. To know where a convergence might happen is one thing, but to predict how unusual this one would be… Even for our Lord, it’s not an easy task. And if they had somehow divined this, they wouldn’t be arriving that late. There would be no hope for them to attune to this place and to prepare a ritual utilising all power that would be available in time that short. They can’t be aware of this convergence…’

“I will rescue my sister!”

“They’ve been already working with soldiers and preparing to attack us when I fled the city. They might arrive any time now,” the man said.

“Let them come, we will be prepared-“

“But-”

“Josh, our Lord will grant you an opportunity to avenge your sister. After we deal with the blasphemers here, we will return to the village to rescue her. Get everyone to prepare.”

“We can’t wait, she might kill her before-”

“You’ve proven your loyalty to our cause since the very beginning. Trust me, Sudomeas won’t forget this. Gather all my apprentices. We would channel the Lord's powers into you, bless you with the assistance of a warrior of his, turn you into his champion!”

‘It’s not wise. It might drain the two leylines that are already in the place, and destabilise the upcoming convergence. This may endanger the ritual-‘

Friedrich only glanced at Semora.

‘It might endanger it, but so would be losing more followers trying to get rid of them. This would allow us to overwhelm them and limit our losses. I will adjust the ritual for the changes in the leylines if I’d have to afterwards.’

“You will become the embodiment of our Lord’s powers. The personification of his wraith. With this strength, none would dare to oppose you!”

****

Josh kneeled in the centre of the ritual circle priest Friedrich and four of his apprentices has been preparing.

He clenched his fists. After the cleric convinced him, Josh has been simply sitting idly, staring at the preparations.

Why had Ion and the other mercenaries who helped Crestfall betrayed them? What have they done to Jane? Was she still alive? Why was he wasting time here, while his sister suffered?

He stood up, ready to run to the village and look for her immediately. Yet, like many times before, he forced himself to sit again. If they were strong enough to capture Jane and Bran, he wouldn’t be able to save her without help.

“You will know when to use it,” priest Friedrich offered him an ornate chalice which he just finished blessing. Josh remembered drinking from it during his initiation.

Afterwards, the priest and his apprentices took positions at the tips of a five-pointed star they had drawn around Josh.

“Thee I call, the Knowledgeable one…” Friedrich started an incantation as he and his apprentices formed flames of mana inside their hands.

“Thee I call, O Thou great, who governest over legions of Amaymon. Hearest My cry, and through thy Seal makest thy servants subjects unto Me.”

Mana gathered by the spellcasters coalesced, interacting with that already contained within the ritual circle. Josh could see the energy assuming various shapes, losing track of time as he observed it. When it finally settled on an intricate shield of noble bearing, he was surprised to find one of the apprentices lying unconscious, the remaining three heavily breathing as they sustained the spell.

“Being with power armed from the Majesty, I do command thee, Marchosias. I do invoke thy name, and command thy to cause, enforce, and compel a servant of thee, Ror’eth, to come into being within this Circle. Thee, who once rebelled, shall listen, as My words are the will of the Knowledgable one!”

The priest’s powerful voice contrasted with his strained silhouette as he continued the incantation.

“I do invoke thee, and by invocating conjure thee, Ror’eth. And by this ineffable name, Sudomeas Asmodai, at the which being heard the elements are overthrown, the air is shaken, the sea runneth back, the fire is quenched, the earth trembleth, and all the hosts tremble together, do I command thee! Wherefore come thou, Ror’eth, forthwith, and without delay, from any or all planes of the worlds wherever thou mayest be. Come thou without delay! Grant thy strength to the one waiting for thee!”

Friedrich’s last words were yet to pass as the mana filling the ritual circle shifted once again, and Josh understood that the thing he took for a shield was instead a door. It opened, creating something slightly resembling a tiny rift. A formless shape seeped through it. When the mist touched Josh, he saw glimmers of images appearing in his mind. Of armies of impossibly beautiful winged beings fighting against horrible creatures, then another, of them fighting each other. With them came knowledge, and he felt something changing inside himself.

It was similar to the sensation he experienced during his initiation but much more intense, personal. He felt a touch of an ancient being; he knew it was not Lord Sudomeas himself, but one of his followers. Yet, while the former, during his initiation, only spared a moment to consider Josh, as would do a king when looking at one of his numerous subjects, this time the presence was focused solely on him. He felt a relief when the inquisitive presence subsided, apparently pleased by something it has found.

He received a promise. Fulfilment of his dreams. If only he’d take what is offered to him, he would be strong enough to save Jane. And later, with the being’s guidance, he could really become a knight, achieve deeds that would be remembered in legends.

Making his decision, Josh looked at the ethereal being standing in front of him. Currently, it had a vaguely humanoid shape, with two pairs of huge wings adorning its back. As he raised the chalice to his mouth, he could swear that earlier the liquid it was filled with was transparent, not crimson. He drank its contents in a single swallow and his body collapsed as the world turned black.

The mist forming the summoned being begun slowly seeping into Josh lying body. The figure flexed his wings, glancing at the spellcasters who conjured him.

“You, mortals, dared to summon me, the mighty Ror’eth, the one who dances on the corpses of the fallen, third amongst champions of Marchosias, offering a vessel this pitiful?” he addressed the four that were still conscious, “If I’d used even a fraction of my real might, it would destroy him within seconds. If you lack the ability to conjure the image of my true body, you should have at least chosen someone adequate. Praise our Lord, for if not for his will, I would have slain you for this insolence. Now, use what remained of your dismal mana to conjure me a weapon worthy of myself. I will make up for deficiencies in your skills. Pray to Sudomeas that you have enough energy to satisfy my demands.”

An unsettling grin appeared on Ror’eth face when another apprentice has fallen unconscious.