The moon was like a crescent in the sky over the Valerius estate. It cast shadows across the stone cloisters. In the chapel the air was thick with the smell of wax and old paper. Baron Vane sat on the floor his book open in front of him. The golden letters on the pages glowed with a light.
Isabella sat across from him. She wore a white dress and her hair fell down her back like a river of night. She looked like a picture of innocence.. I was watching from my bed my mind connected to hers.
I told her to breathe and let her hand shake a little. Baron Vane needed to think she was struggling. Isabella did what I said. She let out a sigh and her fingers trembled as she turned a page in her prayer book. Vanes eyes, which were usually hard as stone looked at her.
"Your spirit is troubled Lady Isabella " Vane said, his voice low and gentle. "The Princes illness is weighing on you."
Isabella looked up at him her eyes filled with tears. "It's not just the illness, Holy Father " she whispered. "I feel a darkness in this house. It's like I'm drowning in the sins of my family."
Vane closed his book. Stood up. He felt an urge to protect her. He thought Isabella was a soul and he wanted to help her. He reached out. Put his hand on her shoulder.
The air in the room changed. Isabellas skin was like a conduit for a kind of energy. Vane didn't know what was happening. He felt a strange sensation.
I told Isabella to invite Vane to a room where she went to pray. She looked up at him her face streaked with tears. "There's a place my mother left me " she said. "It's quiet there. Maybe we can pray together. The Light will be stronger."
Vane hesitated,. He followed her. They walked to a hidden door behind the altar. I was watching from my bed feeling a thrill of excitement.
As they entered the room the walls changed. The stone turned into ivory. The air was filled with the smell of incense and blood. Vanes eyes widened in shock.
"This is no family shrine " he said, his voice rough.
Isabella turned to face him. Her white dress seemed to glow in the light. "It's my sanctuary, Holy Father " she whispered.
Vane tried to leave. The door was gone. He saw a mirror that reflected a version of himself in chains kneeling before Isabella. He was confused and scared.
Isabella stepped closer to him. She reached up. Unbuckled the clasp of his robes. "You said you would help me cleanse my hunger " she murmured. "But how can you cleanse what you don't understand?"
Vane tried to push her but she didn't stop. She pressed her body against his and her lips touched his jaw. "Is it sacrilege to feel Father?" she asked. "Or is it sacrilege to lie to the Light?"
The room began to fill with a gas. It made Vane relive all his thoughts and desires. He fell to the floor his hands clutching the silk drapes.
Isabella climbed onto the altar straddling his waist. She was bare. Her skin was marked with special runes. "Then serve " she whispered. "Serve the God who will answer your prayers tonight."
As they came together the room erupted in a melodic chant. Vanes holy energy leaked out of him turning from gold to purple as it entered Isabellas body and then mine.
"Ah... Solus... Forgive me..." Vane cried out his back arching.
I whispered in his mind "Don't ask for forgiveness. Ask for more."
The air in the room turned into a intoxicating syrup. The ritual reached its peak and the book, on the floor began to bleed. The golden letters turned black. Then disappeared. The law of Solus didn't apply here.
Vanes mind. He was mine. The Inquisitors energy was. Realigned to the Shadow-Faith. I had won.
Vanes eyes opened wide. The fire that used to burn inside him was gone. Now his eyes looked empty and scared. His fingers were no longer digging into the altar trying to save his soul. Instead they were gently tracing the marks on Isabellas skin with a calmness that was really unsettling.
"It is so quiet " Vane whispered, his voice barely audible. "I do not hear the voices of the martyrs screaming anymore. There is the Void."
"The Void is the one place where the truth does not hurt Father " Isabella said softly leaning down to give Vane a kiss on the forehead.
Isabella stood up from the altar and her skin was shining with the power she took from Vane. I could feel this power through our connection. It was like a wave washing over me fixing the cracks in my soul.
[Divinity Recovery: +0.7% (Current Total: 1.3%)]
[New Feature Unlocked: 'The Shadow Parish'.]
[Effect: You can now mark others through Vane. Any person he 'blesses in the world will become a secret follower of my System.]
I sat up in bed even though I was away from Vane. I could feel his sweat and his fear. The "Iron Censor" was broken. I did not just stop an Inquisitor I got a High Priest for my faith.
"Get up Vane " I told him my voice echoing in his mind.
Vane stood up moving like a machine. He put on his silver robes. To everyone in the palace he would still look like an agent of the King.. Now the book he carried would only write what I wanted it to.
"You will go back to the King " I instructed Vane. "You will tell him that the Valerius estate is a place. You will say that Prince Alaric is a person who is close to the Light.. Then you will start to 'cleanse' the people close to the King."
Vane bowed his head almost touching the floor. "I will do what you say, My Sovereign."
[Closing Portal: Returning to the Mortal Plane...]
The room around Vane and Isabella changed back to the quiet chapel. They looked like a teacher and student who just finished praying.
Vane walked out of the chapel his face looking hard as stone again. He did not look back. He was like a disease spreading my influence to the heart of the Church.
I leaned back on my pillows feeling my power growing. The Duke was under my control. The Dukes daughter was my helper.. Now the Inquisition was protecting me.
The game has started. This is the beginning and the Kings throne is already, in danger.