Knowledge is Power

-Shoggoth-

The cloaked man paced nervously in front of the door leading to the dilapidated church that served as the headquarters for the Trifecta. He had gone through the entire encampment, past countless guards and true believers, allies one and all, and didn’t tell any of them of the threat that he brought with him.

And now? He was expected to… to just bring this… ‘Shoggoth’ right into the holiest of sanctums? Right up to the face of the three true heroes of this world?

“Ruddy, Ruddy, Ruddy…” The disembodied voice spoke from the shadows near him. From the shadows far away from him. From the shadows on him. He glanced at a person nearby, as if briefly thinking the voice was coming from them instead. “Getting cold feet? I know just the cure~” And yet, no one else seemed to hear it.

The cloaked man couldn’t hold back the ‘eep’ that escaped his throat as he felt something press against his back. Terrified at being mentally changed again, he stood still, yet was still shaking like a leaf. “M-my name isn’t Ruddy…” He forced out, sounding softer than he would have liked.

“Well, the people here… they seem to like color-themed names. And Ruddy just slips off the tongue better. Don’t worry about it. Just focus on what’s next.” It almost felt like the voice was massaging ‘Ruddy’s’ shoulders, but those tendrils of shadow could not feel anywhere close to soothing.

“A-and… what is next?” At this point, he didn’t care. If Shoggoth wanted to kill the Chosen, Ruddy would sooner kill himself. There was nothing left to lose now.

“Now? Now… you’re going to sell me.”

“Huh?”

“That’s right. What the Trifecta are doing is… admirable in a way, but they’re missing something vital. And that’s where we come in. We’re offering… Stability. Insurance. Depth. A way to reach more hearts and minds. And that’s something I can offer like no one else.”

“What?” Ruddy was lost.

“Just walk in, introduce me, and I’ll take care of it. Don’t worry, in time, I’ll teach you how to really sell a product.” This time, Shoggoth did not sound disappointed. More… eager… excited. Like it couldn’t wait. The shadows around Ruddy wiggled and shimmered.

The pressure only increased on Ruddy’s soul. No matter what he did, he’d still lose.

Reciting a quick prayer to the Pariah gods, not for magic, but for courage, Ruddy opened the door to the church, closing it behind him, without sparing a look towards the three figures deeper in.

Taking one more deep breath, he turned around and approached the center of the church. He moved past pews assembled from wood or stone. Past boarded-up broken stained glass windows. Up to where three desks lie. Light was provided through cracks in boarded up windows, candles placed around, and a massive circular stained glass window in good shape that stood on the far opposite wall, looking down at everyone who entered the church.

The three desks were all set up facing the door to the church, but not fully side by side with each other. Instead, they formed an open triangle, where the users of each desk could easily face each other as well as face anyone who approached.

The desks weren’t high up either, being fairly regular desks looted from the estates of nobles. The Trifecta didn’t sit above their followers. In fact, if one stood, they’d be looking down at anyone sitting on those chairs.

Upon Ruddy’s approach, two of the three figures stood up. First was the one in the middle, and the second was the one on the left. The man on the right stayed sitting down, legs on his desk.

Some might consider Ruddy disrespectful for leaving his face concealed behind his hood, but these three knew that this face was his true face. This was the face he chose to hide the pains of his past, and all three accepted it like they accepted him.

On the left, was a woman with deep red hair and piercing red eyes. Her hair was cropped short and practical. She wore a thick leather long-coat over a set of thin leather armor that covered every inch of skin below her neck. Countless knives were visible on the inside of her coat, with only the best attached at her hips.

The knives weren’t crude instruments like cleavers or hunting knives that the majority of her followers use. Instead, many of them were very small and thin blades she called ‘scalpels.’ Some were even smaller and thinner, like large needles. There was only one ‘large’ knife, and it was a serrated knife with a wider shape that she had strapped to her waist.

Each and every one of the blades were kept ridiculously clean, without a speck of chipping or rust. On her desk were other assorted blades, some of which were in the process of being polished and sharpened.

The most noticeable thing about her appearance was that her bottom half, everything below her waist, was that of a spider. Long legs clad in dark chitin, the top of her abdomen was adorned with a blood-red image of two drops of blood, connected but separated enough to resemble a lopsided heart.

Her front most legs, the smallest and most dexterous of her inhuman biology, were carefully sharpening a knife on the table as she stared emotionlessly at Ruddy. Her arachnoid eyes were mostly hidden within her bangs.

This was Scarlet, chosen and great-grandchild of the Goddess of Blood.

On the right, the man who remained seated, had no obvious facial features, as he never took off his thick wolf’s head hood in front of Ruddy. All that was visible was two purple lines where his eyes presumably were. Wispy black shadows leaked out of any opening of his clothes, especially around his uncovered face, which was cloaked completely in the writing shadows.

His whole body was covered in furs, typically dark colors, often changing by the day and the mood. A leather cloak was folded on top of the chair behind him. A bow rested against the desk on the ground, and Ruddy had noticed the handles of a few knives from time to time on the man.

On the desk itself, was a bundle of arrows and oddities being strapped to them. There were plenty of regular arrows, but things Ruddy didn’t quite know were being attached as well.

His race was unknown, his appearance undeterminable, even his voice felt muffled and distorted by the shadows. The only things known about him were things he wanted them to know.

Legs were kicked up onto his desk, showing the thick boots he preferred.

This was Ash, chosen and grandchild of the God of Shadows.

Finally, in the middle, was a man with a few scars on a strong face. He had no hair, and a gouge spread from the right side of his mouth to a missing ear. Kind gray eyes looked at Ruddy with some curiosity.

He wore charcoal-colored robes, a simple garment that somehow stood out among his companions for how unassuming it was. Around his neck was a neck gaiter with the symbol of a silenced mouth on it.

A longsword could be seen, sheathed, resting on top of the desk, as far away from him as possible, so he could instead focus on the seemingly unending piles of paperwork he had instead. Reports and requests and letters from the slowly expanding operation.

He was definitely human, a rare oddity in the army of outcasts. He wasn’t cursed, he wasn’t hideous, he wasn’t even impolite. If it wasn’t for the scar, he wouldn’t even draw any stares in any human city.

He stood ramrod straight, arms behind his back, almost army-like.

This was Galen, chosen of, yet not related to, the God of Silence.

“Rudosterni,” Galen started with Ruddy’s real name, something that sounded way too relieving to hear. “What brings you back? Do you bring news of the princess’ death?”

Galen would say that all three members of the Trifecta were completely equal. That he wasn’t above either of his companions. But everyone knew that this Trifecta wouldn’t exist without him and his capacity for speeches that reach the heart of the outcasts of society. Even the other two chosen follow his lead.

For a moment, Ruddy thought Shoggoth would speak first, yet there was no presence of him. Not even the weight on his soul. As if he was free!

Was Shoggoth nothing more than a smaller power that could not even stand before the Trifecta? But the power it showed…

“No, I am afraid there were… complications in the plan, Sir.”

“Don’t ‘Sir’ me, Rudosterni. We are all equals under the eyes of Silence. Now, tell us what went wrong?” Galen didn’t seem upset, the cogs in his brain already building new plans, assuredly. And then he sighed. “Don’t tell me she had assistance from another Chosen already?”

“No! As far as I could tell, after we wiped out her knights, she was all alone.” There was that person she was drinking with, but Ruddy was briefed on every known chosen and demigod. It was probably some local she took a liking to. Good for the kid, might have a career ahead of him if he’s lucky. “It’s just… that… well…”

Ruddy’s tongue felt fat in his mouth, as he struggled to get the words out. It felt like acknowledging Shoggoth here would be giving it a way into this sacred place.

But, the choice was taken from Ruddy, as a chilling presence grew in the church, candles flickered and dimmed, and the shadows seemed to grow. “Since this one seems to have lost his voice, I suppose I must speak in his stead.” Shoggoth’s voice rang out from every shadow.

The trifecta of chosen tensed up, all clearly wanting to reach for their weapons, before a chill down everyone’s back froze them in place. The large circular window in the back felt like a massive eye, looking down at them all. None dared to even turn around, eyes instead locked onto the impossible reflection of a silver slit pupil eye on the ground before all their desks.

The chosen didn’t look back, but Ruddy, facing towards the window, could see out of the corners of his eyes, no matter how much he wished his curious eyes to stop moving. His skin grew cold and clammy, the feeling of scratching in the back of his mind got louder. Words he didn’t know popped into and out of his thoughts. Colors that didn’t exist reflected before his eyes for a moment.

Ruddy locked his eyes onto the ground before it could get worse. But something in him had shifted through that brief glance from his traitorous eyes.

“What… what are you?” Galen spoke first. Ash was the one who moved the most so far, having taken his feet off of his desk and put them on the floor, hands unseen on his lap. Scarlet stayed silent and completely still, even her always moving legs were stopped in the middle of cleaning a knife.

“I… am exactly what you need.” Shoggoth’s voice sounded like it came from all three of the chosen.

“‘What we need?’ What is it that we need?”

“Depth.” Shoggoth let the word hang there.

“You’ve reached a decent amount of people, but they’re all outcasts. All pariahs themselves to society. Bandits, thieves, murderers, freaks. You proclaim the righteousness of your cause, yet your people pillage and rape. I offer a way to… expand your operations.”

“Reach those who’ve contemplated joining, but don’t want to throw their life away.” Shoggoth’s voice changed to Scarlet’s, sounding clearer and echoey compared to ‘normal.’

“Reach those who are unaware of your motives.” The voice changed to Ash’s.

“Reach those who believe in the causes you fight against.” Finally, the voice changed to Galen’s, before going back to its freaky ‘everywhere’ style.

“I can offer that to you. To turn your operation into a full blown movement. To have believers in every city, a church in every port, and be the latest word on everyone’s tongue.”

“What do you know about our cause?” Scarlet spoke up, scowling and distrustful. Her pedipalps chittered anxiously.

“I know that your gods have been outcast by society for their domains. Some may say it’s due to changing times, but I believe there’s still merit in your causes.”

“Blood, once used for healing, now only murderers and sadists pray.”

“Shadows, the guardian of the night, overtaken by bright lights.”

“And Silence, ever the underdog. Always on the side of the underprivileged, acting as their voice. And ever declared wrong by those in control.”

“You all wish to spread the words of your gods, but only those already scorned by society listen, afraid to rebel against the Pantheon of ‘Good.’ Why don’t you let me change that?”

“And, what d’ya get in exchange? You want us to worship you?” Ash spat out.

“No, nothing so crass. I merely wish for the chance to build up a following of my own.”

“A following? So you are a god?” Galen asked, latching onto any information about this presence.

“Of sorts. You can consider me… Knowledge, if you will. Though I go by ‘Shoggoth.’” The lights shining through the window flickered just briefly to make the image of a wicked toothed grin appear, just below the unblinking eye watching them. “Now, do we have a deal?”