Prologue
A vast continent lay off to the south, beyond the South Central Sea.
The expansive continent was largely unexplored by humankind, outside of the outcropping peninsulas the Revlon Empire had colonized along the western coast over six hundred years ago.
After the powerful empire split in two, the Great West Revlon Empire—the successor to the western half of the lands—and its nobility were graced with a multitude of rare spices and crops imported from its colonial towns, villages, and fields, which served as a beachhead to the southern continent.
The largest human settlement on the continent was a port town known as Tagent. At the center of Tagent was an exquisite-looking church with twin spires rising from the roof. Combined with the dormitories and various other buildings, this complex took up a great deal of the town’s available land and served as the central Hilk church on the southern continent. Unlike the austere, white façades seen on churches in the northern continent, this building was constructed of red brick and white mortar, giving it a rather distinguished flair. Were it not for its height and expanse, it would have blended right in with the rest of the town.
The homes built on the church grounds were even more impressive than those of the local magistrate, the man tasked by the emperor himself to oversee the town. Within these grounds stood a three-story building constructed in the same unique, symmetrical style as the church. And inside this building, a boastful-looking man dropped into his chair, sending his large belly jiggling as he settled himself.
The man had been born with a rather imposing frame, and the layers of fat only added to his massive bulk. The sturdily-built chair creaked each time the man shifted his weight. His head was completely bald, with nary a hair sticking out of its slick surface, while his eyes sat widely apart atop puffy cheeks, giving him the appearance of a frog. He narrowed his eyes at the two men kneeling in front of him.
“…and thus, I and my men have been ordered by His Holiness to serve under you, Sir Charros, so that we may assist you in the performance of your duties. We will follow your every command to enact his wishes.” The man dressed in the robes of a Hilk priest smiled warmly up at the large man sitting in front of him, then bowed his head low. The man kneeling silently behind him, dressed all in black, bowed his head as well.
The plump frog-man was himself a pillar of the Holy Hilk Kingdom, one of the seven cardinals. His name was Cardinal Charros Acedia Industria, and he was the highest-ranking Hilk church official on the southern continent.
Charros fixed the black-clad man at the back of the room with a glare and spoke in harsh tones. “Fine, fine. Go ahead and perform your duties, or whatever you have to do, but just get those monsters you brought with you out of my home! It’s going to start smelling something awful in here!” He waved his hand emphatically, gesturing for the two men to leave.
The man in black nodded almost imperceptibly, the long, black tail extending from his lower back rising as if to hide itself from view. The first man, however, showed no fear of the cardinal. He simply continued to smile as he once again bowed low.
Charros snorted, letting out a heavy sigh as he watched the two men leave.
“Gaah! And here I thought I’d finally gotten away from those annoying pests back in the capital. Isn’t that why they gave me free reign in this idyllic little spot of land in the first place? I swear, if they ruin this for me and take all my beloved snacks away, I’ll be livid! Besides, what could His Holiness be thinking? I was supposed to be here for the long run…”
Charros rested his arms on his large belly and propped his chin atop them.
Just then, something came to mind. He slapped his belly and looked up.
“That’s it! We only have ten thousand troops here in the underground garrison, so maybe I can send these newcomers and their hundred or so men off on some errand to keep them bust.”
A smile washed across Charros’s face as he gave voice to his plan. “Not much they can do with a hundred men, anyway! Tagent probably isn’t in any danger yet, and this would hardly be defying the instructions of His Holiness, right? I’m quite the genius, I am!”
He let out an unsettling sound somewhere between a snort and a laugh before sliding out of his chair with an easy grace that belied his bulk. His stomach rippled as his feet hit the ground.
“I don’t want it to look like the church had anything to do with the fall of Tagent, so it would be best to have just a small group of men with me.”
Moments later, a servant found the man in priestly robes standing in front of the large clock built into the compound’s chapel. The servant passed along the instructions he’d been given moments earlier by Cardinal Charros.
“His Holiness only sent us with a hundred or so men. Not only is there little we can do with a force of that size, but it will take us some time to produce results.” Despite his concerns, the gentle smile never left the man’s face. Rather, he seemed almost amused by the situation. “But I understand. First things first, I’ll see if we can scrounge up any other resources.”
The man in the priestly robes turned back and smiled at the beastman standing behind him.
“His Holiness has granted you a great deal of power, no? I expect you’ll prove to be of great assistance.”
The beastman in black took a knee and bowed his head.
Satisfied by this response, the robe-clad man smiled up at the large chapel that towered behind them.
“We mustn’t drag our feet in the face of an order from His Holiness.”
The man’s dark laugh echoed eerily throughout the compound.
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