Book 3, Chapter 116 - No Longer Alone (2/2)

“Members of the council, what are your thoughts?”

The representatives from Skycloud’s noble families and government officials immediately began arguing. While the Polaris family had been in decline for a while, it was not dead. Even a camel that was wasting away was still bigger than a horse. Since Governor Arcturus had not stated a clear position, the other nobles weren’t prepared to provoke Skye’s famous anger.

A dark-skinned officer stood and called out over the tumult. “I feel Cloudhawk’s guilt has been absolved. Skycloud is in need of strong hands to help rebuilt. Have him atone for his failures through public service.”

This man was the patriarch of the Thane family. Theirs was a name synonymous with lauded generals and military elite, boasting many notable persons. Drake, for instance, was already Lieutenant-General of the Border Army and was still in his twenties. Just by himself, he was an example of the weight his family held.

“I agree.”

A voice that was almost overlooked joined the first. It was neutral, hard to determine whether male or female, and almost monotonous. Almost mechanical. Yet although the voice was easy to miss, when it arose everyone sat up and listened intently.

The head of the Court of Shadows, Janus Umbra.

The Court of Shadows, despite being the largest of Skycloud’s special forces, was very secretive in its missions and methods. Its leader Janus never took sides in decisions such as this. Today was the exception. Cloudhawk had managed to impel the Umbra family to take an unprecedented stance.

Was it because of Atlas? It would hardly be that simple!

Although the reasons weren’t clear, both the Thane and Umbra households had spoken out in defense of Cloudhawk. With the support of the Polaris family, it was increasingly unlikely that Cloudhawk would be consigned to the stake, as his sentence demanded.

“You all have shown great faith in him. This is good.” Arcturus gave a slight nod before turning his eyes back onto Cloudhawk. “But do you have such faith in yourself? After what you have experienced, are you still willing to serve Skycloud?”

Cloudhawk looked to the small group at his side and took a deep breath. However he had been treated in the past, it was time for him to put down his roots, here among his friends. For no other reason, just for them. “I am!”

“Very well.” The governor continued. “Then it is my suggestion that Cloudhawk’s sentence be amended. Instead, he shall help Skycloud to recover from this tragic circumstance.”

Arcturus had spoken, no one disagreed.

He then turned to regard the old man, who had remained completely silent through this proceeding. “What are our venerable High Priest’s thoughts?”

“Let it be as you recommended. The future of Skycloud belongs to our youth, and it is encouraging to see so many excellent representatives of the next generation. This is the only encouraging light in a sea of darkness. May it bring peace of mind to old men like us.”

At last the old man, who had until then merely sat there upon the central throne like a statue, shared his words with the council. His voice thrummed through the hall, deep and with a supernatural sort of gravitas. It filled the listeners with a sense of tranquility, though it was not without a note of command.

Dawn shot to her feet. Atlas nodded in approval. Drake, Felina and Hammont felt like they could breathe once again.

Seeing his goals achieved, Skye was also filled with pride and inspiration. It was his first victory in a long time. “There is one thing I still don’t understand. If it was not the intention of the Sanctum to attack Skycloud city, why did they mislead Cloudhawk to believe this was their target? All they accomplished was to reveal their foul breeding lair.”

Skye wasn’t the only one pondering this question. Everyone was curious to know the logic behind it. It seemed superfluous, even haughty for the Church to add this extra flair.

Governor Arcturus answered. “You do not understand Sterling. His aim was not to destroy us. He seeks to integrate our realm and the wastelands. He has rejected not only the will of the gods, but also the sway of demons. This fact explains why he would obliterate our defenses and expose a demonic plot in the same act.”

It was just as Arcturus said. Sterling’s aim was to guide humanity to take hold of its own destiny. Liberation from outside control! This meant casting off the yolk of faithful servitude to the gods, but still railing against demonic influence.

Sterling was at war with the Elysian realm, not the Elysian people. His conflict was with the faith that he felt kept them tethered. In this way, the Sanctum of Judgment was different from other wasteland groups. Somehow, through whatever channels they’d managed to cultivate, they must have discovered demonic sympathizers long dormant in the midst of Skycloud.

Adder’s actions were designed to throw Cloudhawk off the scent, but more importantly to use him for the Sanctum’s own ends. It was a plan expertly crafted to force him to drag these demons’ plans from the darkness into the light. Skycloud would be distracted while investigating a potential threat – one that would have certainly come back to haunt them in the future. On the one hand this protected the Elysian lands from a common enemy, while on the other it took some of the stress off the Sanctum’s shoulders while they prepared for their grand opus.

It sounded almost too perfectly orchestrated to believe, but Sterling was just intelligent and ideological enough to do such a thing.

Cloudhawk understood now that Arcturus had it all figured out from the start. What other secrets was this man hiding?

The High Priest, Ramiel Caelestis, finished off the council meeting.

“For the first time, our great society has come to know a succession of tragedies. Discord touches our land of miracles, and I can feel dark powers growing in strength. A danger the likes of which we have never experienced looms on the horizon, but I have faith. My faith in our people remains unshakable.”

“Soon the Lord of Lords will return to us. You, who are the mightiest guardians of this city, are also staunchest in faith and service. This is a test. The sullied and the sinful have provoked a war with our fair people and released our birthright into the tainted lands without. They must pay the price for their sins.”

Cloudhawk knew that war was inevitable the moment that wall fell.

And here he was, wrapped up in it all. The tide of events that was sweeping across the world had caught him in its current. There was no running from it now.

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