Prolog: Battle Plans

“I see...” The old King sighed, rubbing his forehead with his hand. He couldn’t lean hard enough on the arm of his throne to take the stress off his shoulders. “Thank you for your efforts, Lord Corun. I’m sorry that you were subjecting to the clergy’s bickering”

The Lord nodded and clasped his hands behind his back. “It’s not your fault, your highness. There’s nothing more stubborn than religion. For certain men, anyway.”

“I suppose I shouldn’t have gotten my hopes up, but we need at least one priest, monk, even a lay preacher would work! Damn it!” The king of Opal punched the armrest. “For crying out loud, we’re facing a demonic invasion and we need someone from the church on the battlefield with us! Serving God and standing for what’s right is their job! Even if they distrust the mercenaries, it’s not about them! Innocent lives are at stake here and they can't be bothered to suffer some minor discomfort?”

Lord Zarak Corun eyed the king hesitantly. “Well, it’s not so much that they dislike the mercenaries, but rather one in particular.” 

The King sighed and looked up at the ceiling “Oh for the love of- not this again!” He groaned.

“Yes...everyone at the grand cathedral refuses to help if it means that they have to be near Azreal.” The Lord looked embarrassed.“He’s a demon child, a psychopath, he’s so evil that he’ll bring damnation on them just by looking at him with his ‘creepy eyes’...the usual." 

The King rolled his eyes at the cleregys stupidity. “Nothing for it, I suppose. As long as we have a seasoned wizard, we should have a handle on this until we can bring in a priest from another town who doesn't have any biases.” He looked out the arched windows at the setting sun with a mix of exasperation and resignation.

“Really though! You would think at this point, they’d stop being so superstitious about Azreal. Yes, he’s done bad things, but so what? They don’t have this aversion to soldiers who’ve been charged with crimes! Aren’t repentance and changed ways something they’re supposed to rejoice over? He was a child solider for God’s sake! How many times does he have to prove that he’s changed and doesn’t have any ill intentions before they’ll tolerate him existing on the same planet as them?"

Lord Corun watched the majestic, silver-haired King’s rant with a timid curiosity.

“Pardon me, my King, but...” He paused.

“Hmm, yes?” The King asked, collecting himself and resuming the air of serenity that a leader should have.

“Azreal is...highly capable...but...” The King’s trusted councilor and friend was unsure about sharing his personal feelings, knowing full well the ruler's thoughts on the topic. “I have to admit...he makes me feel uneasy. I know he’s no threat to us, but he’s so intimidating. All the stories are just exaggerated fairy tales. I’ve interacted with him enough to know that. But even so, I can understand why they would think he’s cursed or a potential traitor.”

The King could easily discern the heart of what his friend was saying. They’d known each other long enough for that. “You don't understand why I trust Azreal so much, even when it causes problems with other factions in the Kingdom.” The Lord nodded.

An amused look crossed the King’s face. “Well, appearances are deceiving. You must look at the evidence of a person’s character and behavior to really know who they are. I did that with everyone we arrested during that underworld sweep. They were a real awful lot, so I only chose the ones who could be constrained for my experiment with espionage. Take the former lieutenant Cryph, for instance. He’s a repulsive person on a moral level, but he’s able and willing to restrain himself if there’s something in for him. But Azreal...he was a unique case. A traumatized child who hadn’t wanted to do the things he’d done. That doesn’t excuse his crimes, but he had been forced into the role when he was young and only did what he had to do to survive. The second he was offered a way out of that life, he took it. He’s strong and skilled, and he’s a good natured and trustworthy person, so why not offer him a way to use his strength for good? It benefits us, and he’s the sort of person who deserves to be offered a second chance. No matter how creepy he might act sometimes.” He smirked.

“I see.” Lord Zarak nodded. “We’re both old and have seen a lot. I trust your judgement. Besides, you did have the Wizard do a soul gaze on him before you pardoned him.”

“Yes, Zircon gave his nature a glowing recommendation, and you know how hard it is to please him.” The King closed his eyes thoughtfully, getting back to bussiness.

“I’ll have word sent to Sariel tomorrow. After he comes and is informed about the intelligence we gathered, then I’ll send for Azreal. I have a few things I want to confirm but, otherwise, Zircon has a plan that allows for any future developments in knowledge about the demonic forces. We need to get started as soon as possible. We might have already lost precious time from not knowing about the infernal nature of Tempest’s attack.”

 He opened his eyes and looked at Zarak with the gleam in his eye that always indicated one of his predictions. They weren’t prophecies; the King didn’t have any such magical gifting; but they were usually just as accurate. “Maybe I’m old and overly optimistic, but I have a feeling that Azreal’s going to be crucial to winning this war.” The King mused.“Maybe this will finally be his time to prove his usefulness.”