<strong><br/>Chapter 1<br/>~ To war or not to war ~</strong><br/><br/>The first rays of sunlight revealed to the honest, hard working people of Krum a most gruesome view of their land. Where once fruitful orchards and abundant crop yields stood as an example of their labor, now there was only dried grass and scorched earth as if the fires of hell had somehow made their way through the earth, reaching the other side and taking everything in their path as tribute.<br/><br/>Everywhere Pestilence and Famine had her way, both animals and humans alike started to die in various horrific fashions.  Some were lucky enough to die on the spot, falling to the ground or simply in their sleep, but most of them would have to live with the disease slowly taking over their bodies or minds. The first days were slightly more peaceful than what came afterwards. People were confused and too busy to grieve for their loved ones to take any other actions except panic and cry. Then everything started to fall apart.  “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death.”<br/><br/>The people of Krum, maddened by grief and fear of the future, no longer used reason to assure their survival, but madness and crime. A lot of them, distrustful of what the King could do to prevent the crisis, would forget the law and simply took from others what little was left to eat or drink, until nothing sacred remained. Others sought out peace and comfort within the Church of God, saving their souls and even their bodies, for the lands on which monasteries and churches were built proved to be safe from harm.<br/><br/>Zefiriel was pleasantly surprised to see more than the normal gathering  of people enter the chapel’s doors first thing in the morning, where she and Antonius lingered their debate.  Unfortunately, their prayers were not of gratitude and blessings, but filled with fears and anguish as the general clamor of their desperate voices started to disturb the divine energies from within the church.<br/><br/>The angels under Antonius’ command and the few others who just passed under Zefiriel’s orders instinctively closed in on the kneeling people and covered them with their wings, joining them in their prayers, soothing their troubled souls. Those who had enough faith received cure for their ilness and many miracles took place that morning amongst them.<br/><br/>In the upcoming days, the people of Krum truly started to believe that the end of the world was coming and maybe they weren’t far from the truth. At least, as far as<em>their</em>world was concerned, for the land of Krum was no longer a part of Earth. Little by little, the laws of time and space started to change within it, taking it closer to a representation of the future land of God. Still, there would be more time and more ordeals to come until humans could prove worthy of it. For now, people would lay their hopes and troubles in front of their King, starting with a march to the castle. Will they be welcomed with soothing words and honest promises or viewed as an iminent threat to the King’s security? Only the King and his advisors would decide.<br/><br/><strong>NPC:  Karlile, commander of the guards and various others<br/>Location: the castle of Jeron</strong><br/><br/>On their way to the castle, Karlile and Geko took a little detour and went to see a chubby man in his late fifties who wasn’t keen on taking regular baths. He was one of the main suppliers of transportation for the army’s men and had the best horses in the land, except for King Arkand’s personal stables.<br/>The commander of the guards had little money to begin with, most of which he had spent it on women and various other (small) vices, but he had a way with bargains and diplomacy that put to shame even the best of ambassadors. Most of his arguments were based on the sharpness of his blade, more than on the sharpness of his tongue, a personal trait which left little room for arguing.<br/><br/>Soon enough, the two men were heading for the castle on two sturdy horses, quietly passing through the forest. By morning they have arrived to the castle gates, quickly receiving passage from the guards. They were welcomed with cheers and bows. In spite the fact that Karlile was a stern and rude commander, he was still loved by his men for his honesty.  The first thing he’d do upon entering his quarters was to ask for a painter. He wanted to send him to the tavern in which Shenovi was last seen and ask the patron details of his facial traits and body for the wanted poster. I think it’s needless to say that the wanted man’s portrait eventually turned out to look like a muscle-inflated horned figure of an asian emperor who died six years ago. You could only imagine the folklore that started those days and ended up as a part of Krum’s culture.<br/><br/>Karlile was quickly received by the main advisor of the court, an old man with a long beard and cunning eyes. The commander of the guards diligently answered every question the man had for him regarding the strange spy, although none of them actually remembered what a spy was or where he could come from. The advisor just had to ask out of habit and Karlile answered based on instinct. The conclusion was that the pink eyed man was an enemy of the land and no further measures were taken.<br/>“Let the troublemakers deal with their kind,” was the advisor’s request and Karlile – although excited to have finally met a worthy opponent – couldn’t agree more. Little did he knew then that fate had other plans for him.<br/><br/>By noon, all kinds of people from various social layers took the castle gates by storm.  At first, they were peaceful and whiny, asking from the castle guards to send for physicians, food and clean water, surely the King could afford all of it. Then the guards asked the advisors for help and the advisors ordered them to keep the crowd in control by sending them some sacks of cornflower, not nearly enough for a family of peasants.  Ignorance and Greed, two influential demons already took their missions into custody.<br/><br/><strong><br/>Zefiriel, Protector of the Sacrifice<br/>Location: going to wherever Reginald might be<br/>Tagged:  Shenovi, Reginald</strong><br/><br/>It was finally day time and Zefiriel was allowed to make use of her human form once more. Leaving Antonius not without taking her sharp gift and sending the angels under her command to establish in the abandoned building, she stumbled upon the local market. There was still some merchandise left to sell, as the people of Jeron kept everything they could store in their houses for bitter days, but there was little food on the stalls. She gladly bought a white dress to replace the dark priest tunic she took from the chapel when she first changed her form. The seller couldn’t see her face as it was clouded by the hood, but even so he was skeptical about selling a woman’s dress to a priest.<br/><br/>“It’s for a poor widow that comes to my church everyday” she said offering the man a gem from her sword with which she could have bought the entire market and the houses around. Her human form started to phase because of her lie. Even it was well meant, the lie caused her to loose energy again and Zefiriel had to take her purchase and flee from the man’s view. Now all she needed was a place to change her clothes, after which she could go back to the theatre and ask for the two humans left in her care. If she was lucky enough, someone might tell her where they were living.<br/><br/>