The Harmony of Heavenly Peace.
The Harmony was founded in the same year the Colosseum started its first tournament.
They were the most elite group of knights in the world, serving the Church of Heaven—or rather... The Father. Some people still argued that this group could have taken down Aureth's old guard. Yet no one knew for certain, and they never would.
The church took them at a young age and trained them specifically for this duty. At every pilgrimage, their forces were split: half guarded the flying church on its path to its destination—or more specifically, guarded Priest Jonas—while the other half guarded the Church of Heaven. Anyone who entered a perimeter of one mile without permission was as good as dead.
White veils embroidered with golden symbols draped over their armor. Concealed helmets were fashioned after the beast with three mouths, hidden eyes, and two horns that almost formed a semicircle. Beneath those veils rested heavy armor. In the middle of their breastplates shone the circle of feverish yellow—the symbol of the church—which every one of them wore with pride.
The pilgrimage had just begun. Hundreds of Harmony knights marched alongside countless hooded believers.
Most of the knights held swords as sharp as the heavens in their right hands, while in their left hands they carried torches. Because the covered church was so immense, it cast an oppressive, constant shadow over the pilgrims below; without the torchlight, the people would stumble blindly through the rough terrain.
Maryam had wandered off to another group, leaving Anton alone with the frightened Stacy. Anton looked from one side to the other, noting idly that the knights looked quite cool.
"Stacy? Was that your name?"
Stacy just nodded silently.
"What a weird name." Anton puffed his cigarette smoke as he spoke.
Stacy turned her head sharply, staring at him. "Why?"
Anton didn't look back at her; his eyes remained glued to the knights. He stared at them for so long that he forgot to answer. His cigarette died before he could even finish it.
After a long pause, he finally looked back at Stacy. "It just is."
Anton pulled out his lighter and lit his cigarette once more.
Stacy remained quiet, which made Anton want to reach for his spoon as his eye began to grow uncomfortably hot. Yet he refrained, noticing Stacy rubbing the mark on her face.
"What happened to you?" He gestured toward her cheek.
Stacy looked down without answering.
God... I hate people who can't talk.
Anton finally pulled out his spoon and pressed the cool metal against his eye.
"What's up with the spoon?"
Now it was Anton's turn to remain quiet. He flicked his cigarette butt so far he thought it might hit a passing nun.
The total lack of response from Anton made Stacy deeply uncomfortable.
In that heavy silence, both of them had the exact same thought: When the hell is Maryam coming back?
In another group, almost the exact same dynamic was unfolding.
Eve, Elyon, and Vigil were walking in silence.
One of the Harmony knights was staring intently at Elyon. Elyon couldn't have cared less about the knight's gaze, but someone else certainly did—a fact Elyon found somewhat amusing, considering that "someone else" was the most wanted woman in the region. He couldn't understand why the knight wasn't staring at her, but only at him.
"Are you sure you really grabbed that robe from the side of the road?" Eve asked him quietly.
Elyon wanted to answer that he hadn't, but then he remembered the lie he had told her when they first met.
"Yup. Totally grabbed it from the side of the road," Elyon nodded, far too aggressively.
Elyon stuck out like a sore thumb. He was the only person in the entire crowd wearing garments that unmistakably belonged to a high priest of the Father.
Eve merely shrugged.
Vigil stared at Elyon as if looking at a guilty man. Elyon turned his head to glare back.
"What?"
"Nothing." Vigil shifted his gaze away from Elyon's face.
Elyon raised an eyebrow, but he didn't press the matter further.
Suddenly, Elyon glanced frantically from side to side. He could feel an intense gaze locked onto him, but he couldn't tell where it was coming from.
High above them, the giant wings of the covered church flapped wildly to keep the massive structure airborne. From inside one of its high chambers, someone was peering down—looking specifically at Elyon.
A living spine cut across the ceiling.
"So that's where you were hiding, boy," Priest Jonas chuckled to himself in the dim room. "Ah, no matter. We will arrive at the church in a few days, and the Father will deal with you."
Jonas turned around to face a General of the Harmony. The generals within the Harmony wore armor identical to any standard knight; if battle broke out, identical armor prevented generals from being singled out and targeted.
"Tell the units on the ground to keep their eyes on him," Jonas commanded.
The General nodded and he walked towards the massive, living spine running through the center of the church. He drew his blade and, in a swift, practiced motion, bit the edge of his sword into the church's exposed spine.
The biological pain caused the giant wings to flap in a subtle, altered rhythm—a secret visual code that only the knights marching below would understand.
Keep your sights on the suspicious individual.
All the knights on the ground caught the signal, and every single one of them knew exactly who the target was. The man stood out like a beacon among the pilgrims.
More than half of the marching knights shifted their hidden gazes directly toward Elyon.
Eve looked around, noticing the sudden, tense shift as dozens of armored heads turned toward their small group.
"Elyon?"
"Yes?"
"What did you do?"
Elyon reached up to adjust his glasses, but his trembling hand slipped, causing the rough glass frame to slice the bridge of his nose.
He knew he couldn't talk his way out of this one.
"Eve."
Eve looked back at him, her hand instinctively hovering near the pommel of Nightfall.
"I lied when I first met you."
Eve's eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Elyon... what do you mean—"
"I was meant to be the next priest of the Church of Heaven."