Chapter XXVII

So as not to draw attention to the event, and in order to get through the ceremony over with before Sir Gilad could do something about it, Bishop Tahan and his entourage arrived in Bogeid in the middle of the night. Well, roughly three in the morning, actually, but it was still dark, and most of the soldiers in Bogeid were lying in their beds. It was a dark night, as black clouds had rolled in, covering up the stars and the moon. The air had a certain uncomfortable humidity to it. The people of Bogeid were losing sleep to the sound of thunder in the distance. Some of the Bishop's paladins could feel little droplets of water falling on their skin, and smell the change in the air indicating that a storm was imminent.

The temple was left unlocked at all times, even at night, though certain rooms would be locked during the late hours, so the Bishop and the paladins with him slipped in quietly and made their way to Galia's room. By the time they found her room, they could hear the sound of raindrops pattering on the roof and battering the windows of the temple. Bishop Tahan gingerly knocked on Galia's door and waited a few moments. When there was no answer he knocked again, this time a little harder.

Galia, in her sleep, thought that the first knock was part of a dream she was having, but when she heard the knock again she awoke with a start and walked over to the door. “Who is it?”

“Bishop Tahan, child.”

“Oh! Your eminence!” Galia threw on her dressing robe, hurried to the door, and opened it for him. Her hair was a mess from her pillow, all pushed up in the back, and she rubbed crusts from her eyes. “I thought you were showing up tomorrow.”

“We're here now so that we can move quickly. We'll make you a bishop before the sun rises and remove Sir Gilad from power by the time he sits down for breakfast. Everything needs to play out just so. Come, child, let's have the ceremony in the sanctuary.”

“If you don't mind, your Eminence, there are two people whom I would like to bear witness to the ceremony.”

“By all means, collect them, but do hurry, we are short on time.”

Galia first went to Sir Kedem's room, which was just around the corner from hers. She knocked on the door five times in rapid succession, a signal they'd worked out so that he knew it was her at his door and not a stranger. A few moments later Sir Kedem came to the door, clad in his sleeping shirt, which hung down to his knees. “Whutizut?” he asked, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

“Bishop Tahan is here.”

“Taha...whut?”

“He's here for the ceremony, to make me a bishop.”

“Oh!” Sir Kedem had finally adjusted to reality, though he was still having trouble loosening up his tongue. “That's grape! Wurr is he?”

“He's in the sanctuary. I'll meet you there.”

“Aye. See you in a momen'.”

Next Galia went to Ardal's room and knocked on the door excitedly. After she did it she realized how loud she'd knocked and hoped she hadn't startled him. A few seconds passed, though, and neither did he come to the door nor was there even a sound from within. She knocked a second time, this time just a little softer, “Hello? Ardal? It's me, Galia.” There was still no answer. “I'm coming in,” she said. “If you're not dressed cover yourself.”

She slowly creaked the door open and peered in. The bed was made, and Ardal was nowhere to be seen. “Maybe he went to the tavern to drink with his friends from the wall,” she thought, “He has been going there to meet with them a lot. Then maybe he got too drunk and passed out there.”

She decided not to worry too much about him. If she'd looked for him a few days ago only to find out he wasn't in the temple it would have been cause to panic. Now both the Inquisition and Sir Gilad believed he was a hero, he would be safe, so long as he didn't do anything stupid. In any event, she was going to go on with the ceremony, even if she was sad that Ardal wouldn't see it.

She stopped by her own room and changed from her sleeping robe to her priestly robe. She didn't have time to fix her messy hair, but she at least wanted to be dressed a little more appropriately for the situation.

Bishop Tahan had in his hand a small ring with a large, round, blue stone when Galia approached. “There you are, child,” Tahan said. “Are you ready to take your vows?”

“Yes, Eminence. I'm ready.” Galia took a knee before Tahan. Sir Kedem and the other paladins looked on with pride as the Bishop began the ceremony.

“You have already sworn to live by the Law, to only take a spouse who is a member of the clergy, to look out for the weak, the poor, and the downtrodden. Today...tonight, rather,” the ceremony almost always took place during daylight hours, so it was a little strange doing it while the moon was the only light in the sky, and even that was hard to see beyond the clouds. Lightning struck outside, and a few seconds later they felt the rumble of the thunder. Rain poured down on the roof. “Tonight you become a bishop. A bishop is more than a priest, bishops are called upon to hold other priests responsible for wrongdoings, and to hold them to their vows. Bishops are called upon to lead paladins into battle, to make political decisions, should there be a need. They are called upon to be rulers. Do you swear to do all this, Mother Galia? To uphold the Law, even over your fellow priests? To protect the innocent and the oppressed?”

“I swear it!” Galia said.

“Then, by the power given to me by Arch-Bishop Livana, head of the Agalmite Church, I name you Bishop Galia.” Tahan slipped the ring on Galia's right index finger. “Now, rise, your Eminence!”

It was the first time she was called by that title, the honorific that was now truly hers, and she rose to her feet proudly, to the sound of the paladins' applause.

Yet, just as she had risen to her feet, all of them heard screaming from outside, followed by an earth-shattering blast. The blast was so loud that the windows in the temple all shattered on one wall. The bishops and paladins hit the floor and covered their heads. The wind had blown out most of the candles in the sanctuary, and now a strange, purple glow illuminated the temple from outside.

As bits of broken glass fell out of his gray hair, Sir Kedem slid over to the wall and slowly peered out the window to see what was going on outside. To his horror, he saw that Sir Gilad's keep was burning. The fire was a bright shade of violet, rather than orange or yellow. He saw men and women running from the keep, their skin itself fueling the purple flames. They couldn't run far before the fire completely consumed, them, and they fell to the ground, melting away and turning to ash. They left behind only their bones, and some didn't even leave much of that behind. The rainwater on the ground bubbled and boiled as the purple fire drew close. The flames leaped to anyone nearby who was compassionate, and foolish, enough to try to help those who were already burning.

Sir Kedem watched as men with buckets full of water ran to the keep and heaped the water on the flames, only to have the flames explode outward. They were sent hurtling through the air, their flesh on fire. The other paladins were soon watching this horror next to Sir Kedem, in utter disbelief.

“Oh God...what...oh God...” was all Sir Kedem could say, his blood and body frozen from the terror of it all.

Three men with buckets full of water ran towards the temple, along with a fourth one who held a sledgehammer in his hands. Galia saw them and thought for sure these men were seeking refuge in the temple, and she ran to the door to open it for them. However, much to everyone's surprise, the man with the sledgehammer ran up to the temple wall and smashed a hole in the bricks with three powerful swings.

“What in the Void?” Sir Kedem said, just before the other two men splashed their buckets of water on the wall, high above the hole the man had made and ran off as fast as they could. Mere seconds later, the water ran down to the Wet Fire in the walls, and there was another explosion. This time it blasted that entire wall of the temple. It threw bricks and mortar everywhere, and burned and crushed the paladins who were pressed up against that wall. Sir Kedem's body, torn in half by the force of the explosion, flew across the sanctuary and collapsed in a heap on the ground. Bishop Tahan screamed and flailed as the fire caught his face, and he bashed his head against the floor until he'd crushed his own skull in a frantic attempt to put out the flames. All of the paladins had all either died in the explosion itself or been hit by debris.

Galia was just far enough away to not get caught in the explosion, but the heat was still intense enough to catch the edge of her robe near her feet on fire. She screamed and stamped out the flames and scrambled out the front door, just as the fire spread across the carpet and up the curtains. The glass statues of angels cracked and finally shattered from the intense heat. Galia took one last moment to look back at the statue of their God before she left. “Please! Please help us!” she begged.

Outside was total chaos. Sir Gilad's men ran around frantically, slipped in the mud and made the mistake of trying to put out the fires by heaping water on them. Some people, dressed as civilians of the town, sneaked up behind Sir Gilad's distracted men and shoved knives up under their armor plates, slit their throats, or bashed them over the head and kicked them into the fire.

Since this was a Nihilite town most of the houses were made of wood, and Galia guessed that it would not take long for the whole city to be on fire. She had to make sure the children were alright. She ran along the side of the temple, as mud and ash splattered all over her robes, and came around to the other side, where the children's windows were. Her plan had been to break the windows and help the children climb out. However, when she got there, she saw Ardal. He was also covered in mud and looking frantic as he helped the last child out of the window. The rest of the children were already running for the front gate.

“Run!” Ardal shouted to Galia as he set the last child down on the ground. “The city's going to burn!”

“What's happening?” Galia asked.

“I have no idea!” Ardal lied. “Just get to safety! I'll stay here and help who I can!”

“I won't leave without you!” Galia shouted back.

“Damn it, girl, I said run!” Ardal grabbed her and gave her a fierce kiss on the mouth, which caught Galia completely off guard. He then pushed her away and ran off. In her shock, both from the kiss and from the city being on fire, Galia couldn't tell where Ardal had gone, and so decided to do as he said and pray he'd make it out as well.

Several more explosions shook the city as Sir Gilad's keep blew apart and then completely collapsed. The Inquisition headquarters were next. Followed by the temple. The rain itself, at this point, seemed to be fueling the violet flames. Each drop of rain water made the flames grow just a little more. Inquisitors and knights ran around in confusion and panic. The west wall blew apart, allowing a swarm of men in black clothing to rush in. They swung axes and pick-axes, hitting the Arxian oppressors by surprise. Then Galia's greatest nightmares were realized as demons started to appear. Huge beasts, resembling boars with badger's claws, or leopards with three heads and ram's horns. There was even one demon rampaging through the city that resembled a giant bear with golden fur.

Stopping to stare in horror at this scene proved to be a mistake, however, as two men with blood-soaked clothes and glinting knives looked at Galia and ran at her. Galia fled. She knew she could not hope to fight these men, unarmed and untrained as she was. Since then men were between her and the main gate, she found herself running further into the city, closer to the purple flames, rather than away. One of the two men slipped in the mud behind her and fell on his own knife. Galia felt some sympathy for him, but also thanked God that he was apparently protecting her, or so it seemed.

She found that she had run right into a large group of Nihilite rebels, all armed with knives and axes, and with demons around them. They quickly stepped in to surround her. “We found the priestess!” one of them shouted.

“Blasphemous harlot!” one of the Nihilites shouted at her, and he spat.

“She's taught the scriptures that have had our people burned at the stake enough times, whaddaya say we show her our appreciation for that!” The rebels seized her by her arms and lifted her off of her feet. She kicked and flailed, but she was no warrior, not strong enough to stand up to men who had spent every day for the last several years doing hard, intense manual labor.

They hoisted her up and walked with her over toward one of the houses that had caught fire. Even from far away she could feel the intense heat. “Gonna burn, girl! Maybe you should've picked a better God to follow.” they laughed and jeered, her struggles only made it more fun for them.

Galia stared at the flames, terror and despair gripped her. There truly seemed to be no way out. No matter how hard she struggled she couldn't get free of these vicious men who wanted to see her burned alive just because of her faith. The heat was overwhelming, and beads of sweat poured down her face and down the sides of her body, staining her robes. Looking up at these men who pulled her towards the fire she wondered how they could be filled with so much hate. She hadn't done anything to them, not to any of them. Quite the contrary, she'd been kind to the unbelievers in Bogeid, where everyone else in power was cruel. In their eyes, though, perhaps it was not enough. She didn't do enough to put a stop to the tyranny and the abuse of their people. She didn't speak out publicly about the Shows of Faith the Inquisition held, and out of self-preservation she'd even cooperated with the inquisitors more than once. Perhaps this was her punishment for not standing up for what was right.

As she looked into the purple flames, with the occasional golden spark licking upward, she suddenly felt a new sensation overcome her. It was cool, refreshing, and soothing. A comfort washed over her, the sort like she'd never experienced before. Suddenly the flames didn't look terrifying any more, they looked beautiful, welcoming even. These were the gates to Heaven.

“STOP THAT!” Ardal shouted. “Stop!”

“What?”

Galia jerked her head to see Ardal run up, his mud-soaked coat flapped behind him. What was he thinking? Did he really think he could fight all of these men and save her?

“She's mine!” Ardal said as he walked up and shoved the men who had Galia's arms. They let go of Galia, dropped her in the mud. Ardal bent down to pick her up, helping her to her feet again. “Elykos promised her to me!”

“Well damn, Ardal!” one of the men said, letting out a booming laugh. “A priestess? Really? Well, I hear the clergy are the biggest deviants, so if that's what you're into...”

“Shut your damned mouth!” Ardal shouted. “Start conjuring the Jotnar, we need to put out these fires before they burn the parts of the city we were trying to save.”

“Alright, alright!”

All of the rebels chanted and soon seven men, made of ice, standing twenty feet tall, appeared and began to breathe their misty breath upon the purple flames. Even their cold breath had little effect on the fires at first, but in time the fires began to calm, the flames began to die down as they were robbed of their heat.

Ardal led Galia over to a calmer part of town, away from the fires being put out. Away from the charred and melted bodies of those caught in the Wet Fire. “Are you hurt?” Ardal asked her. Galia said nothing, merely stared off into space, quiet, her eyes seemingly lifeless. “Galia! Hey! Look at me! Are you hurt?”

“You're with them...” Galia said, her voice choking. “They planned this...atrocity...this disaster...killed all those people, nearly burned the city to the ground...and you helped them...”

Ardal sighed. “Yes, Galia, I helped them.”

“Why?”

“Because if I hadn't helped them you would have burned too.”