Faith and Fate

The inquisitors were inside the superior's house. Ransacking it as they searched for documents or any items of interest. The neighbourhood had inquisitors roaming around questioning the neighbours on the man's political views and past. The superior's car approached amidst the madness the neighbourhood . A group of inquisitors advanced calmly blocking the path as Caltrops were quickly placed behind and in front of the car "please step out of the car! subject!"

The man left the car and was promptly charged by two inquisitors who handcuffed him before dragging him into his house. He was dragged inside the kitchen were Bernado stood working on documents. He saw the man entering , "You failed your duty subject." he coldly mentioned

Some neighbours were cooperative about the questions, others far less, the entire situation was more than a little tense, and the locals were noticing. A small crowd had gathered around the house, compromised of neighbours that had been questioned and passers-by, they all talked and murmured amongst one another, words like 'savages', 'dogs' and other far less pleasant ones could be heard.

"As far as i'm aware this is an occupation, not an annexation, and i am not your subject." the superior replied, acting cool, if only on the outside, "May i ask what said duty is when i was simply following orders? Orders you gave might i add?"
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"I trust you're all aware of the current situation?" Teitu asked, looking over the other priests gathered in the temple of Veltha.

"I am not here at your request, high priest." the high priest of Cel raised his voice, "But Aita will claim me before i allow those dogs to tell me where and when i can or can not go. Speak your words quickly, none of the triad priests are here and Veltha's priest or not you have no authority over us."

"Calm yourself brother", the priest of Laran interjected, "We should focus on what the true issue is. I assume you believe you have a way of handling this, Teitu?"

"I believe there is something we can do." Teitu started, clearing his throat, "The invaders seem to think they can do whatever they want and we'll take it like those thralls across the border. Just last week they tried to make me into their little propaganda machine, inferring our holy service to the gods could be twisted in their service."

"Blasphemy!" one of them shouted.

"Yes yes, blasphemy", the high priest of Cel interrupted again, "Hold off on the dramatics Teitu, if i wanted to go to a theater showing i would have bought tickets."

"Right", Teitu cleared his throat again, "Forgive my zeal, but as a result of that they've cut off all my utilities, and so i am perhaps a bit too disheveled. I highly doubt this is the end, and we are all that's left beyond the small community leaders. We need to do something that will show them we are not fooling around either, that we are not their property. So i propose we sanction the Ritual of the Nail."

"And the high priest of Nortia will just waltz across the militarised border to perform it?" the high priest of Cel started again, "Or perhaps you'd grace us with the duty?"

"It doesn't have to be me." Teitu replied, scoffing, "It just has to be a priest of the people, showing them that we have not abandoned them."

"A vote then?" the high priest of Laran asked, "Simple majority, we will act as the winning outcome requires?"

"So be it. And if the invaders continue pushing, we will push back in more ways than one. Thucer, the urn." he turned to his attendant, who retrieved a single urn, "One is for, the other is opposed, we will all place our votes within and after they are tallied, we will obey the results. Any complaints?" he turned towards the high priest of Cel in particular, but also gazed at a few other grumblers, though as none replied the voting commenced.

It took a bit for the votes to be tallied but the results were clear, "The majority has decided." the attendant counting the papers stated, "It appears over two thirds are in favour of performing the ritual."

"Then it is decided." the high priest of Laran continued, "We will handle the intricacies of who will hammer in the nail later, but for now we shall prepare the necessary rituals and inform our folk and the priests beneath us of the decision that was made here."

"So be it", Teitu clasped his hands together, holding down his excitement, "May the gods bless our endeavour. For the people, Tyrsennia, and the gods above, we shall see this through."

"We will see this through!" a large group of priests replied in unison. The decision was made, what would follow however, was yet to be seen.

Bernado looked baffled at the superior's response. "Couldn't you guess that you had to stay quiet???"
The inquisitors looked also confused as they looked at each other questioningly. "doesn't matter... we know that you told the priest about what we did." Bernado showed some documents on the table. "You have proven yourself to be a disloyal subject, and you would have betrayed us sooner or later." Bernado tiredly looked at the people lining up outside the house from the window, rolling his eyes. "You may deny to be a subject or a citizen, i can't really care about that." the other inquisitors made the superior sit down on a chair as Bernado handed over the paper. "You are to be flown to Vintelle tonight, were you will be judged by an inquisitorial tribunal. You will receive a lawyer to defend your case in Vintelle, but i wouldn't rest my hopes on it. You will be judged for treason and you will be either sentenced to exile in a Bagne or to a plantation in the Holy empire's imperial holding overseas. If lucky you might be sentenced to prison only. " Bernado took a bottle of wine , taking out a glass and filling it. He offering it to the superior. "I am sorry, that we are to part in such conditions.."

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"So that's the second's house?"

"Yes it is. So shall we go."

"aye." The two inquisitors marched towards the house , knocking at the door. They waited for a while before the door was opened.

"Hello sir!!! We meet again" The inquisitor whom he met with Bernado in the plant was back, he had a smile on his face and seemed to be jolly and in a good mood.

The Superior sighed, "I follow orders as given, i do not divine them from the flight of birds or the rustling of the leaves. Since i'm screwed as is, in for a daric, in for a zugloi", proceeding to slap the wine out of the Inquisitor's hands, "I don't drink with rats, and i don't let rats drink my alcohol. I'll send you a postcard though. With my love and kisses."
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"H-Hello?" a muffled noise could be heard through the door before it unlocked after some clanking, "How can i help you?"

Bernado just shrugged. "So be it." A document was given to him which Bernado signed demanding the superior's judgment . After finishing to sign it,Bernado looked back at the superior "Cover his face and mouth." he ordered as two inquisitors gagged the man so he couldn't talk or scream. And proceeded to put a cloth bag to hide his face.

"The van is ready sir." a van arrived to the front of the house, with the sign of the inquisition

"Pack him inside, quickly and without attracting attention." Bernado advanced to the door, and opened it. The inquisitors dragged the man to the truck quickly to avoid any reaction from the crowd . The inquisitors followed by Bernado managed to run to the truck, entering the back of it and closing the door.

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"Well we are here to tell you good news." the inquisitor paused. " We have heard that there is much ....anxiety about the recent events. So we have decided to give you and your co workers paid holidays and a raise in salary for when you all return to work. " The inquisitor took out a document. "Here take it if you don't believe me."

"What the hell are those madmen doing?!" a man shouted. The crowd that had gathered was both outraged and befuddled as they just saw these men carry out their neighbour with a sack over his head and shove him into a black van.

"What gives you the right?" a few people stood in front of the van, some began crowding around it. The crowd was already on edge from the occupiers' behaviour and this was pushing them that much closer towards the edge, voices of discontent rising as some of the neighbours began filming the entire thing on their phones.
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"O-Oh." the worker breathed a sigh of relief, some great tension leaving him as he exhaled, looking behind him and becoming a bit more tense yet again, taking the document from the man's hands and reading it through. He pondered for a second why the director signed it instead of a direct superior but chose to stay quiet, "A-And for how long is this holiday?"

Fumes emerged from the motor as the van engine was started. "Get us out of here quickly!" Bernado shouted at the driver

"No problem sire." the driver started to move the van trying to avoid hitting anybody, continuously hitting the horn as to make people move.

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The inquisitor frowns raised themselves.
"Well that's something i don't myself, let me check." the man took the document and searched through it before smiling again "HAHA! Lucky you, you're holidays are to last two weeks and three days. "

"Plenty of time to spend with your family and friends." The other inquisitor commented with a smile

People began slapping the hood and sides of the van, "Brigands, whores, bastards!" being among the more 'polite' language used. The crowd stirred now, if the line wasn't about to be crossed it was never going to be crossed. A people so use to freedom in turn found themselves incapable of comprehending a mindset that likewise couldn't comprehend them, and now that the two began to spark, one could only wonder, what will this lead to?
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"Oh." the man looked down, "W-Well, thank you for the news. I-I'll inform the other men and boss."

The driver groaned out of annoyance as the peoples slapped the hood and sides of the van. The driver kept blowing the horn till he turned to Bernado. "Do something!!" he shouted at the man, Bernado ran to the speaker grabbing it. His breath could be heard in the street as he gasped loudly. The other inquisitor grabbed what seemed to be a recorder from a bag inside the van. Bernado grabbed it and he placed it in front of the speaker.

One of the inquisitors looked through a book stress-fully fumbling through the pages, he then raised his head towards Bernado and made the sign of the number three with his hands. Then Bernado clicked a button

"Respectable citizens. The Inquisitorial authorities ask humbly from you that calm down and let us carry through our mission protect the nation." It was said in a flawless Tyrsennian , meanwhile the driver turned his head

"I don't think its gonna be very useful." Bernado turned off the speaker.

"Fuck your nation!" a man shouted.

The tension was near a tipping point, and the crowd seemed to be thirsty for blood. Perhaps there was still a chance for the inquisitors to calm the people down but it would be the last. The violent acts against the van continued, some people trying to push it over, at the very least shaking the people held inside. Booing continued to echo as some people began filming the entire thing on their phones, watching the chaos unfold.
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The man slumped against his door as the Inquisitors left, "Oh fuck. Fuck fuck fuck fuck crap fuck fuck." he swore to himself, clutching his face as his mind raced, "Now they are going to send me to one of their death camps. Why did i have to be so hasty? Why did i send her out? Could i have known had they a desire to take me in? Fuck."

His wife meanwhile continued on her way with her children to their local temple for prayer, clutching her handbag as she strode onward, completely unaware of what her husband had done.

The inquisitors were being moved around as the truck was being pushed, the superior was moving profusely also as his handcuffed body "danced" around with the inquisitors. Bernado was starting to ooze with sweat , and in the middle of the stress he raced on jumping inside the van as he grabbed the phone attempting to ring a number .

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The room was lighted with the ray of the sunlight which entered through the windows, it had paintings of the Holy emperor, his family and of the ministers spread across it with a glorified marble bust of a younger Charles in the middle of the room. The room seemed to just have being recently accommodated .There sat a man who was in his 50s smoking and laying on the chair. The phone rang and he suddenly shook up , grabbing the phone within seconds

"Si?"

"WE NEED BACK UP NOW!!!!" Bernado screamed at the phone as the man turned pale. The phone hung up and the man took out his tablet from the closet , fumbling with it attempting to write a pin . "Putanna!" he finally wrote the pin and he sent to a menu showing the recent calls to his bureau. The man nodded, he moved his chair and pressed on a button before moving towards a speaker.

"Inquisitional personnel to assemble in the Folie secteur now!"

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"Sire take note!" a man in military uniform handed a note to what seemed to be a general. "Sire looks like the inquisition is in trouble what should we do?"

"Get the soldiers ready Edouard. And track where the truck is, we might be intervening."

"Wouldn't that go against the law sire?" another officer chimed in

"The inquisition can't complain if we save their agents, plus if the army can be the one to save the situation , i'll love to see Delimo's head when he sees he owns a debt to us." The general advanced towards his sabre and fitted it on his belt.

"Come on move the men!!"

News of the riot was spreading throughout the town as people called friends and family alike, in some cases out of concern, whereas in others to merely gossip as was the want of most folk. Velzna wasn't a large town and news of the riot could very well spread if the issue wasn't dealt with quickly. Indeed, news of the clash could be far worse than the clash itself, for how would the rest of the Velzna's population feel about this event? What's more, how would the priests gathered within?
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A woman in her mid thirties walked down the street, children in hand and bag on her shoulder. She whistled as she enjoyed the day, completely unaware of the events that were unfolding, or the role she would come to play in them.

The armoured vehicles moved swarmed into the streets rushing towards the epicentre of the riot with fervent intent. As the column of armoured vehicles was joined by other columns of armoured vehicles.

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The inquisitorial QG (HQ) was in chaos was the inquisitorial rushed for all their equipment as they huddled all together inside the rows of van
"MOVE IN FASTER!!!" the officers shouted at their officers as all armed themselves with anti riot gears and water canons. The inquisitorial vans vomited out onto the streets as a cacophony of sirens began.