In the nation of Ititlis, inside the capitol of the nation itself, was a second and smaller city that was encircled by the city of Reme itself. This place was the miracle of magic and science that was the Holiest of Holies for the Luminas Church, the mobile Papal City. Capable of moving from its position if the need was great enough and armed to the teeth with all manner of potent weaponry, this place could easily be called a Mobile Fortress. However, it had been centuries since it had last seen active use, and while the magical machines inside the city kept everything working, no one had any idea how it all worked, only that it did. In the highest tower in the center of the ‘Battle-Vatican’, two rulers were discussing the recent turn of events with Pope Emilia IV, Lumina’s vicar on Mortis.

“The longer we wait, the more time the Great Enemy has to secure a stronger foothold! We must act, your grace!” A man in heavy furs adorned with several ruby stars tried to urge the elderly pontiff to act.

“…..”

Too old to be active yet too healthy to die and/ or be replaced, Pope Emilia IV was effectively a body without a mind. So aged was she that she had long since lost herself to Alzheimer’s and Dementia and now she was just a being that was just too stubborn to die and be replaced. The only things stopping the other leaders of the Church from replacing her were the reverence they had for her, her past actions that she had taken and the occasional and opportune moments of clarity that peeked out whenever others attempted to oust her. It was almost as if Lumina herself was keeping the more than 80-year-old woman in her position.

The two men grumbled internally about how they were forced to rely on the whims of a nearly brain-dead old woman to allow them to intervene and avoid undue trouble. Just as they were about to give up hope, the Pope turned her head to one of her aides and mumbled something unintelligible.

“You will forgive Her Grace, but this meeting is adjourned for now. Her Grace requires rest and nourishment. You will be escorted to your rooms. Thank you for your understanding. May The Goddess Shine Down Upon You.”

The two men held back their fury and responded with the same phrase before leaving. Things were going nowhere fast. If only the old bag would just kick the bucket and be replaced with someone younger, then something could be done about this dangerous situation. Of course, to want the death of a member of the clergy was heresy, but even the rest of the Church had grown weary of Emilia IV’s inability to act reliably.

Thus, while it was a shock and sorrow, it was also quietly celebrated when the Pope died in the middle of her meal, falling lifelessly and face first into a bowl of porridge. Of course, there was the fact that the remaining members of the Council of Elders had to be summoned from the rest of Europa to decide on a new Pope. While this would take weeks, and the selection process would take weeks more, it was believed that the new Pope would be able to allow intervention soon enough to push back the tide of darkness.

Nobody honestly believed that Teutonia would be beaten in the time it took for things to pass. Albion had been slowly drifting away from the Church’s teachings, so it was no wonder that they fell, but Teutonia was far more devoted, and thus it was assumed that the Goddess would not let her loyal servants fall to evil so easily.

Oh, how wrong they would turn out to be. If they had known that the three months of time it took to elect a new Pope would prove fatal for the Teutonian Knightly Junta, they may have acted sooner. But, in their hubris and naivete, they didn’t. This sealed Teutonia’s fate, along with the fate of every other member of the Confederacy.

…

“All according to plan so far. We only need to provide a little more force and then the gates will be as good as useless to them. Any news regarding the election of the new Pontiff of the Luminas Church?”

“No, my Leader.”

Krueger laughed a bit and smiled at his aide.

“I am not the Leader of Teutonia yet, and besides we have been together through thick and thin for a good decade and a half by now. If anyone gets to call me by my name it’s you, Rudy.”

Standing at attention, Rudolfus ‘Rudy’ Vandal Stahlheim watched as Krueger went over intelligence and battle reports. He was glad that the one who had raised him from the dirt-poor life he had previously as a disposable frontline soldier to be a current Field Marshal was doing so well. Having served as his new Leader’s second in command for roughly a decade and a half, Rudolfus owed everything to this man who now stood at the cusp of being Teutonia’s white knight.

He was, along with others, proud of what he was doing. Everyone in the room had at one point in time or another grown totally disillusioned with how the Knightly Junta were doing things. Now they all had a way to tear down the whole rotting structure and build something better in its place. Everyone had absolute faith that the man who had saved them from being left by the wayside would be the Leader that Teutonia needed, even if their Leader was unsure about this himself.

“We need more supplies for the war effort, not to mention more troops. Preferably I would like to have more of those prototype siege weapons that you have been developing, but if we cannot have them then we would like to request additional trebuchets and ballistae. Additionally, we need to think about securing our borders, as even once we win, we will no doubt be beset by foes. I trust this is within acceptable parameters?”

Sitting across the table from Krueger was a massive man in a regal black and platinum armor that meshed cloth, metal and leather to form something that was as much a work of art as it was a practical defense. Upon his head was a skeletal crown made of a mix of dark metals and gold with diamonds inlaid into it.

“It is acceptable. Show me where you need them, and I will dispatch the forces as soon as they are mustered. Am I correct to expect that the Bombards I loaned to your forces have proven their worth?”

“You are indeed correct, my liege. The noise and destruction caused by those Bombards actually forced a festungs to surrender after a few shots. This weapon would, if modified and refined, be useful in more situations. But I am sure you realized this already, no?”

Kain smiled and nodded.

“You are correct. I am certain that by next year we will have successfully begun the process of improving the prototype not only in terms of destructive power and range, but also reload time and size. I hope to modify them into more easily portable versions soon afterwards. I expect that they will be invaluable in the conflict to come.”

“Indeed.”

Kain relaxed and took a drink, but immediately tensed up when he heard Krueger’s next words.

“I don’t mean to alarm you, my liege, but I thought you should know that the new Spymaster, Lord Wolfenstein, has found evidence that points to the Luminas Church attempting to begin the process of summoning more Heroes.”

The air thickened with killing intent and the armored hand of Kain crushed the diamond wineglass in his hand like an eggshell. Kain’s eyes glowed with a sinister crimson light as he stared daggers into Krueger, who was now deep in fear’s grasp. Kain’s killing intent slowly faded away, and those in the tent could finally breathe again. Kain sighed and snapped his fingers and in a heartbeat Lord Wolfenstein appeared from thin air behind Krueger. Kain’s gaze attempted to drill through the man(?) as he made a one-word demand of the enigmatic Spymaster.

“Explain.”