Marked Ones: Advent of the Demon Prince

Panic set in as he immediately recognized them as items that identified members of the priesthood to one another. These three, in particular, were rather uncommon to find as they were given to special members of their church who specialized in collecting information.

Father Urd used to be one of these specialists when he was much younger, which was how he was able to recognize them for what they were so quickly.

He bent down to pick them up and discovered they were coated in blood. All common sense pointed to the fact that the blood belonged to the men who used to possess these pins, and that thought made him say a quick prayer to the gods above.

"Please open the gates and accept the souls of our brethren with open arms." He mumbled quietly.

Urd then gathered the pins and cast a simple water spell to wash away the bloodstains. "[Aqua: Water Ball]"

Satisfied the blood was gone, he rushed inside the ornate building once again. Its floors were made of white marble, and its walls were a beautiful stone. Countless paintings by famous artists throughout history lined the halls, and gorgeous carpets quieted his steps as he hurried toward his office.

Once inside, he pulled a book from a hidden compartment underneath his desk and thumbed through the pages. While he used to run information-gathering missions for the Church of Celestia, he now handled the assignments of their information-gatherers. Currently, only a handful of men were assigned to the capital; the rest were on jobs elsewhere.

On the back of the pins were secret numbers that determined the person\'s identity. Most people could not see them; however, when a special charm fed mana, the numbers became visible. Urd grabbed his charm from the desk and matched the pins to three men and their mission.

"It seems they were to track the newly announced Lord Kane, Lady Kane, and his subordinates… If rumors are to be believed… then they must have been caught by his people." Urd sighed while collapsing into his chair.

Though his day had only just started, he was already tired. It took him a few minutes to recover enough to start planning solutions. What those men were supposed to be looking for was anything that could be used to submit a formal request for an inquiry by the kingdom. If the church admitted to having him followed… then they could use this as evidence for launching said inquiry.

However, that was a double-edged sword as it also admitted to having a noble from a foreign ally being followed, and that would certainly be something that the King would frown upon.

"Clever man that Lord Kane," Urd admitted. "You realized you could taunt us openly with these men\'s identities and are making me choose whether or not to call your bluff."

Urd sighed once more before he penned a letter. After he finished writing the request, he left his office and walked back through the halls. There was a dead drop location for disseminating orders just a little down the hall from his office.

About halfway down the hall, before it hit a corner going left, there was a statue of a cherub. Urd ensured no one was around and turned the head in a clockwise direction. After doing so, the base of the statue clicked and ejected a small tray. He placed the letter in the tray and pushed it back into place while leaving the cherub\'s head turned.

"If\' it\'s a war in the shadows you want, Lord Kane. Then it\'s a war in the shadows you will receive."

Urd quickly walked away and returned to his standard duties. In a few hours, someone would pass by the statue, look for the rotation in its head, and retrieve his letter.

While it was possible to use communication crystals, the amount of people they would have to outfit with the items was prohibitively expensive. To purchase ones that were resistant to magical interference doubly or even triply so.

Urd reset his expression to a neutral smile more beholden to a priest of his station and walked to the cathedral\'s main worship chamber. Pews lined the sides of the main walkway, which led to a stage at the far end with a wooden lectern with intricate carvings of various gods.

Though the gods did not have names, their followers knew they were innumerable in number. To know or assume a deity\'s name was the height of hubris, so the mortal races simply worshiped the gods as a group of their own and the realm of Celestia in which they resided.

There were many ways that worshipers celebrated the gods all around the world, and the design of the main hall reflected that. The pews and lectern existed for those who wished to participate in daily sermons. Offering bowls and braziers were also available for those who wished to offer food, wealth, and magical items to the gods.

Some wished to write prayers and burn them in the church\'s holy flames.

In short, there were many ways of worshiping the gods that the Church of Celestia accepted. For Urd, he believed in burning prayer sheets to send the words and feelings directly to the gods. He pulled one of his daily prayers out of his robes and cast it in the fire of one of the many braziers lining the wall.

"Watch over us as we suffer through trying times." He whispered as he watched his prayer sheet turn to ash and smoke.