The sun had risen high in the sky before the Arch Mage and the Legatus appeared before Toric. He had ignored all attempts to sway him from his course of action. After thirty minutes of listening to himself talk, Marrick had finally left to begin the dismantling and evacuation of the Temple. The two older men stopped in front of Toric and waited patiently for him to climb to his feet, sheath his weapons, and hang his helmet from his belt. He stepped aside and pointed wordlessly into the High Priest’s chambers. Both men entered and were only gone for about ten minutes before they re-emerged, ashen faced.

Toric’s voice was level as he spoke.

“Do you agree with my decision?”

The Arch-Mage turned to the side and threw up against the wall. He was a mage yes, but also a scholar. A man unused to the horrors found on the battlefield, and lacking the memories that Toric had of various similar atrocities. He nodded in agreement with Toric’s question.

The Legatus looked into Toric’s eyes and held his composure, asking a few questions of his own.

“How did you know and what will become of the Temple now?”

Toric smiled sadly.

“I did not know. I came here today to speak to the High Priest about the behavior of his clerics yesterday. I was trapped and attacked at the earliest opportunity, but even before that I was appalled at what the Temple has become. Daath doesn’t care for ostentation, despite humanity’s natural greed. It is loyalty and bravery that Daath craves, and the Legion gives that in abundance. As to what the Temple will become, I do have a few ideas. I will destroy this monstrosity and upon its ashes a simple hall will be raised. We will rebuild it as a library and a place of learning. The Priests will have to be evaluated and the truly pious will remain, but I expect a great deal will be dismissed back to the Legion, if not found guilty of any crimes. I will require that all Priests serve at least two of every five years among the Legion itself, administering the faith upon the field. The Temple Guard will be disbanded completely and a post will be established that will rotate men from the regular Legion to serve as a small guard to protect the Library once it is built. Once my father is freed I will turn over any other decisions to him. The High Priest will be removed from the Council and for the remaining interim until my father returns I will hold his veto power. These are not arbitrary judgements, except the destruction of this so called Temple. Present my findings to the Council and have them vote. I called the two of you here to bear witness to my reasons. Is there anything you have to add?”

The Arch-Mage shook his head and then smiled for the first time since leaving the room behind him.

“You are so much like your father it is uncanny. You present your decision couched in language that sounds like we have a choice, but seated in so much logic we would be fools to not follow it. It is like time has turned back and I am seeing him again before me, a student that became my liege. I will take your decision to the Council and have no doubts it will be followed to the letter. When you have time please visit the Academy, there may be a few things you can learn there.”

The Legatus chuckled and nodded in agreement with his learned colleague. Then the two men turned and headed for the exit.

Toric decided it was time he left this place of madness and with a simple gesture used his rebuilt power to seal the entrance behind him with an impenetrable wall of Veil-Fire. He caught up to the two men and chatted amicably with them as they left the Temple. In the courtyard they found all of the Fists awaiting Toric as well as Marrick who looked to the Legate First.

The Legatus spoke swiftly at the questioning gaze.

“Hurry your efforts Legate Marrick, if the Temple is not emptied by sundown, then whatever remains will burn with it.”

Marrick looked simultaneously relieved that the Legatus agreed with Toric and concerned because he also believed the reason should be kept secret. However he was a Legate and a Legionnaire besides, and he saluted swiftly before turning to hurry the Legionnaires along.

Xander caught Toric’s attention and then pointed to the Temple Guardsmen that sat in a huddled mass under the careful supervision of another of the elite squads, this one bore the mark of a crimson hawk on their armor.

Toric touched the Legatus’s shoulder and then walked toward the group. The Legatus followed behind him, leaving the Arch-Mage discussing the earlier action with Valeria. Toric and the Legatus stopped before the Crimson Hawks and looked over the sad looking group of men. Several of them bore bloody bandages and Toric was a little bit relieved to see the woman he had punched through the doors was still alive. He wasn’t sure why, but he just didn’t like the thought of having killed a woman, despite the fact that she had been trying to kill him. His voice showed no signs of his internal emotions as he spoke.

“The Temple Guard will be disbanded, and all that are found without guilt in the crimes of the Temple will be returned to their original posts within the Legion.”

Toric had no doubt of that happening, the Guard had attacked the legitimate Princeps and there was no excuse for that. The question was whether they had acted under orders, or because they were complicit in the crimes.

One of the Guards responded in a vehement tone.

“How can a man think to judge those who serve our god directly?”

Toric raised an eyebrow and responded in a soft tone.

“I am the Sword of Daath, and as such I apply His justice upon those in His care. Furthermore, Daath is the first one to tell us He is a Greater Being, not a god. You have been twisted by men that sought power beyond their ken, and your only hope of living through this is if you simply obeyed lawful orders. However, there is no way that at least some of you did not know what went on up there.”

His hand rose to point at the windows of the High Priest’s quarters, and he saw two men bearing the crossed scepter and sword of Guard Captains wince. Toric stepped through the ring to stand before them and the seated guardsmen scrambled away from him. He had obviously made an impression on those that witnessed him in battle. His hands reached down and dragged the two Captains up so they hung freely in the air, an impressive display of strength. His voice was like ice as he spoke.

“You two knew, did you not?”

Toric applied pressure to the backs of their necks as he spoke and the one in his right hand spoke almost immediately.

“The High Priest said it was the will of Daath. He needed young virgin women, never more than twelve years old to sacrifice for Daath’s favor. We brought them at night, because he said that there were some unenlightened Priests and Guards that did not understand the truth about the god’s needs.”

Toric grimaced and tossed them both outside of the ring, speaking to two of the Crimson Hawks.

“Take them away and have someone write down their words. Just you two and one other to be a scribe, I don’t want anyone else involved in this filth.”

He turned back to look at the Guards still on the ground and he saw their horror stricken faces at the thought of children, little girls, being sacrificed. He nodded and then said a final thing.

“All of you that are found free of crime will still have to live with the guilt that not only did this perversion happen right under your noses, not only did you ignore the little things that might have led to you discovering the truth and making it right, but you also attacked the men that came to stop it. Justice will be done and those two Captains will face crucifixion for their crimes, as will any others that participated.”

Crucifixion was the most terrible punishment the Legion could dispense, and only a Legate or higher rank could order it. As Toric had suspected, as soon as the word left his mouth, two men made an attempt to run. They did not get far and he ordered the crosses to be prepared. He was not an overly cruel man and as soon as the crosses were ready they would be raised within the Temple and burn with it so that the punishment would not be drawn out. He turned away and looked at the squad leader for the Crimson Hawks.

“Take the rest of them to the Fortress and house them in the Stockade. They will be dealt with eventually, but I will leave the decision of those not involved in the crimes of the Temple to the Legatus, excuse me, to the Legate First.”

The squad leader looked at the Legatus and received a nod in return, then sorted his men out and began escorting the remaining former Guards to their temporary home.

Legatus Octavian and Toric sat down on a bench and conversed for a while as the emptying of the Temple continued. After an hour or two food and drink was brought to them and as they shared a meal the Arch-Mage and Valeria joined them. The Arch-Mage looked at Toric and asked a question that caught him off guard.

“Valeria tells me that you summoned Chimera to help you fight, spoke to them in their language, and that one of them called you Beast-Master in common.”

Toric sat speechless for a moment, part of the reason being that he had to finish chewing, and after a little while responded to the Arch-Mage.

“I am a Veil-Walker, as is obvious by my eyes. Veil-Walkers receive training in their abilities at the School, a place our mind and soul is drawn to while we sleep. The Instructors there taught me to summon beasts from beyond the Veil to help me in battle. That is how I learned to summon Chimera. My mother is born of the line of Camnorous through her father. He is the Lord of Beasts, much as Daath is Lord of Water, one of the Greater Beings. The Chimera recognized His blood in mine as well as the Mark as the Sword of Daath. I have been given many gifts and the blood of two Greater Beings leaves a mark on a man. The Council of Elders within the Veiled World apparently cast a vote, and gave me the title of Beast-Master, enabling me to call upon any of the Veil Beasts to help me fight. It is a great honor, as well as a terrible responsibility. Veil Beasts are immortal on their side of the Veil, but on this side, the mortal side, they can die. I will have to send men and women, elves and mages, dwarves and others that already exist on this side to their deaths. I do not relish adding other beings to the list. However, I will do what is necessary to win the war that is coming.”

The Arch-Mage simply nodded and waited for him to finish before asking another question.

“And what might this war that is coming be? I agree, you have been gifted with great power, and you seem to be handling it well; but there are all these little hints of a terrible war in the making, but nowhere have I found an enemy that could challenge the Legion. Let alone all of the mortal world as you seem to think.”

Toric looked around and then pushed the first magical construct he had ever learned into being. The bubble of force that had surrounded him and Drax and Vorxin for their discussion popped into place. It was not made of his element, and was difficult to create, but once it was built it was self-sustaining. He spoke before either of the magi could question him on it.

“Do you all know the history of why Daath called for the Legion?”

As they all nodded he continued.

“The enemies we will face are the Forces of Shadow that once fought the Armies of Light on the shores of this very lake. Daath banished them to a far northern clime and in that act of twisting space and time; the Legion as it was in the beginning slipped through the cracks and landed upon this world. Daath brought them to him to serve and guard his anchor upon this world. The Forces of Shadow did not die or fade away in that far away land. No, they grew and became even mightier as there was no force to stop them. They are led by a Shadow Fae and he is a being of great power. I will eventually have to face him, but his armies will need to be defeated first. It will be a war unlike any we have ever faced, and we will need to find and make contact with the Armies of Light in order to have a chance. We have decades yet before any of this begins, but we have much to do to prepare. By the time my father and mother are freed, I want this entire Island to be a veritable Fortress in and of itself. The docks are vulnerable, and we do not have nearly the naval power we will need. The galleys are impressive for what they are, but we need some faster clippers, and I would prefer a couple of large galleons. The Academy and the Fortress are the only two really defensible spots on the Island. I would prefer that we have at least ten full-fledged Citadels with interconnecting tunnels and above ground walls. The City is open to attack, we have always relied on the lake and its natural defense to protect us, but for the war to come it will not be enough.”