[color=gray]
[center]
[img]https://randomc.net/image/Tate%20no%20Yuusha%20no%20Nariagari/Tate%20no%20Yuusha%20no%20Nariagari%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2010.jpg[/img]
[h1][color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b][u]Faith[/u][/b][/color][/h1]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qnLvoGPMKM&ab_channel=ASKII](Mood Music)[/url]
[/center]

Auriel nodded to Fer when he asked that she find ways for him to expand his usefulness with the shield. Of course she would help, after all, that was her entire purpose. She looked at the two heroes to make sure they were good to go without her for a while, before finally stepping away. Auriel took a deep breath and made her way to the Cathedral of the Four with little hassle. A few townspeople saw Auriel and made small talk with her as she passed, but she was moving with enough of a purpose to tell people she didn't have time to talk. When the cathedral came into view, Auriel felt a sort of calmness wash over her. She had visited it many times before, and was even present at the foot of the hourglass when the decision was made to summon the heroes. The cathedral was where many of Auriel's lectures were held. She treated like another home apart from the monastery.

She stepped through the great front doors of the cathedral and heard the choir chanting. The air within the great stone walls was cool and crisp, and everything just seemed cleaner. When she stepped through the plane of the doors, a few nuns and lesser priests stopped to bow to the Holy Warrior. In places like this, Auriel was near the top of the hierarchy, beneath only the bishops, cardinals, archbishops, and the pope. While Auriel was a part of the faith and the structure of the Church, she had always felt somehow separated from them. Sure, Auriel had grown up with plenty of privilege and respect, but she could never shake the feeling that she was viewed more as a tool or a means to an end rather than a real member of the hierarchy. Growing up, Auriel was constantly used as propaganda and as a symbol of the faith. Her unique trait had only magnified that perception, an angel with great wings gifted to the mortal realm. A justicar to uphold the innately flawed tenets of the Church of the Four Heroes.

Auriel made her way past the many denizens and visitors of the cathedral. Plenty of eyes had been on her the entire way down the center aisle through the pews. She was greeted by the cardinal giving a sermon at the foot of the Dragon Hourglass. [color=white][b]"Lady Auriel."[/b][/color] the cardinal said. There wasn't surprise in his voice, and he had spoken her name like it was just a fact of her identity.

[color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Hello, Father."[/b][/color] Auriel formally addressed the cardinal and bowed before him.

The holy man looked to the visitors in the pews and raised both of his arms, [color=white][b]"Our brightest servant has come to us today! Even with the looming shadow of the End among us, during a time where living legends walk our lands, the Holy Warrior keeps her devotion a priority!"[/b][/color]

Auriel stared at his feet while still bowing. She didn't have the heart to tell him she wasn't there to pray, not in front of so many people seeking salvation with such dark times ahead. She took particular note of his words. 'The End'... Was it really so hopeless for him? Auriel found that to be strange since the entire belief system revolved around the Four Heroes stopping the End from happening. Auriel saw through the veil, the cardinal was capitalizing on the fear of the waves to maintain the devotion of his subjects. It felt wrong. Predatory even. She thought about the many priests and priestesses in the monastery, and realized that the most altruistic devotees were sent there, away from the public so they couldn't bring about the entire truth of the Church. It had been so long since the last time the Waves plagued the world. The leaders of the faith had found comfort in money and servitude without question. Perhaps that in itself was a symptom of the Waves.

Auriel felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, making her look up at the cardinal. He seemed rather puzzled by her appearance, [color=white][b]"I have a burning curiosity, Auriel,"[/b][/color] he said, his voice low enough that the acoustics of the great hall muffled his words, [color=white][b]"Why are you here when your Charges are not? You are to stay by their sides."[/b][/color]

Auriel felt chills run down her spine. His voice was almost scolding. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Father, I was sent by both the Sword and Shield heroes to consult the Dragon Hourglass and glean whatever useful information I could get from it... It is important we do not lose sight of the dwindling time."[/b][/color] A half-truth. It wasn't their decision that Auriel should go there, but the intent was pure and beneficial for them all.

The cardinal studied her face for a moment before stepped aside and gesturing to the hourglass atop the stone steps. [color=white][b]"The first wave is mere days away. I trust you and the heroes will have your affairs settled before then?"[/b][/color]

Auriel nodded. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Yes, Father. They will be ready when the time comes. You have my word."[/b][/color]

[color=white][b]"Excellent, I expect to see one of the heroes standing in the defense of this holy place. Just not the damnable Shield."[/b][/color]

Auriel winced at that. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Father... The cathedral is in the heart of Melromarc, surely the soldiers of the city can defend it. There are far more fragile and defenseless places that need the strength of the heroes to survi-"[/b][/color]

[color=white][b]"Not everyone will survive the End, Auriel. But it is imperative that the Church remains. Without us, the recovery of the world will be fraught with heresy and chaos. We are needed to be the guiding light in the aftermath."[/b][/color]

Auriel felt the cardinal's hand slip from her shoulder and up one of her fragile wings. She twitched slightly when she felt the hand take hold of the frail, broken bones, just enough for her to know he had power over her. [color=white][b]"You are their mentor. So show them the important of the Church. It is your sacred duty."[/b][/color] With a light squeeze of her wing, Auriel knew there was veiled threat in there. Her teachings had never spoken of defending the clergy. The focus was always on the heroes. That she must be willing to lay her own life down if it meant saving a hero from death. The clergy was being selfish. They were valuing their own lives above that of the people. He spoke against the rise of heresy after the waves, yet the words that had just come from his mouth may very well have been heresy in its own right. One of the tenets she grew up being taught was selflessness, and she was shown none of that from the cardinal. He was trying to save his own skin.

Auriel stood straight again, bringing her wing out of reach of his hand. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Time is short, Father. I must gather what information I can and return to the heroes."[/b][/color] She was thankful her back was turned to the visitors. The look in her eyes was stern with the cardinal. With just her look alone, she had told the cardinal everything. Auriel was going to remain true to the heroes, not to the clergy. She'd defend those who couldn't defend themselves from the Waves. Not everyone would survive the End, but the clergy already had higher chances to get through it all. The hidden threat didn't scare Auriel into following the cardinal's command, and the cardinal knew it. He stepped aside, allowing her passage to get closer to the hourglass. Auriel kept her golden eyes on his old, pale greens as she passed by him. She thought about the consequences of her silent disobedience, and how it all might come to pass in the future. Nevertheless, it would be an issue to confront another time. There were far more pressing matters to attend to.

Auriel climbed the dozen steps to the base of the hourglass. She looked up at it, seeing the sand within constantly draining into the many bulbous spaces below. Auriel's best guess was that they had only three and a half days left before the first wave. She hoped they could track down Rayla before then, failing that, were able to drop the matter with the bandit queen and shift their focus on the defense. As Auriel looked upon the hourglass, she couldn't help but feel a certain coldness. One she had felt before in the aftermath of the battles with the Hordes. Death. She pondered on that feeling, perhaps the hourglass was giving a hint of what was to come. Of course, death was going to be inescapable during this, but... The feeling was more than that. The feeling was beyond death, moving, ebbing and flowing. Auriel thought back to the ancient records of previous heroes and holy warriors, that the hourglass was capable of predicting the types of creatures the waves sent. Perhaps it was signaling to her just that. She wished it was less cryptic...

Auriel laid a hand on the golden structure of the great hourglass. She gasped when she suddenly saw images of her previous battles. Fields of dead soldiers, splintered shields and torn banners. Faces burnt into her memory rushed forward, young soldiers who never survived the ruthlessness of the Hordes. Auriel felt like was standing in those muddy fields, bloody water and rain soaking her body. She could smell the air again, the putrid scent of death and everything that comes with it. He stomach twisted. Auriel blinked the sting of the infectious air away, and suddenly the dead soldiers were standing. Their mortal injuries still present on their bodies. They were all staring past her and shuffling wherever it was they were looking. Auriel looked over her shoulder and saw the vibrant light of the city. And just as quickly as the images had come, they simply vanished, and Auriel saw herself looking over the pews of the cathedral yet again.

She had felt death from the hourglass, and now she had seen it too. The dead would march on the living... That was what the horrors of the first wave would be. Auriel felt a sensation of dread well up in her. Undead were among some of the most terrifying things to fight. It worried her how the heroes would react to the mere sight them. She was so concerned about the heroes' reactions, that she didn't even consider her own. Why did the hourglass show her the fields of the dead from her previous battles? The angel never thought about the possibility that she'd possibly have to stand against soldiers and friends she had once stood beside.

Auriel took a moment to collect herself before stepping down the stairway. She'd have to study the threat if they were going to have an advantage. Luckily for her, the cathedral boasted a massive library second only to that of the monastery's. If there was going to be anything regarding the creatures of the waves and the powers of the heroes, it'd be at the center of faith.
[/color]