That evening, a young acolyte emerged from Saint Denis Church, the Church of Radiant Prayer's house of worship in Blackport City.
Had Leo been there, he would have noticed that the acolyte bore some resemblance to the recently deceased Kozmo Enwei. His skin was fairer, however, and even in the darkness, his lips shone a vivid red.
The young acolyte walked toward the western gate. As he passed beneath one streetlamp after another, his shadow kept changing direction. He carried an ever-burning lamp, its faint glow playing over his face and shifting it between light and shadow.
As he passed through the city gate, the young acolyte addressed the soldiers standing guard.
“Hardworking soldiers of His Lordship the Count, I am Koliver Enwei, an acolyte of the Church of Radiant Prayer.
“Under the guidance of His Excellency Bishop Notte Bonet, I am going to attend to some people outside the city who require the comfort of a Soul Mage.”
With that, Koliver Enwei bowed to the soldiers.
The city guard squad leader often visited the Church of Radiant Prayer to seek the Soul Mages' help. Their ministrations effectively eased mental strain, fatigue, and distress, so he knew Acolyte Koliver Enwei.
Soul Mages were the most unusual of the five schools of mage. The vast majority of young mages were recruited into the duke's Unicorn Legion as officers, but Soul Mages were not required to follow that path.
Some Soul Mages did join the Unicorn Legion, but most entered the Church of Radiant Prayer. Soul Mages were not powerful combatants and had no reliable means of directly attacking an enemy, but they had an organization of their own.
The Church of Radiant Prayer's Sufferer had no name. Legend held that the Lord of the Eternal Sun had blessed him and that he was the first Soul Mage on the Audrian Continent. He possessed the power to soothe people's hearts and influence their souls.
The Sufferer measured every inch of the Audrian Continent with his bare feet. He witnessed countless forms of suffering, and amid that suffering, he founded the Church of Radiant Prayer and spread the radiance of the Lord of the Eternal Sun.
The Church of Radiant Prayer established churches across the Audrian Continent, giving its poor lambs refuge from the world's suffering.
Koliver Enwei was an acolyte in Blackport City who assisted bishops and priests with baptisms and Masses.
The city guard squad leader removed his helmet and returned Acolyte Koliver's bow.
“Of course, hardworking and noble acolyte. Please, go ahead.”
The gates opened, and Koliver Enwei stepped out into the world beyond.
As he walked, Acolyte Koliver studied Blackport City's defenses by night.
It had been fifty years, fifty years since the Audrian Continent had seen a major war. What conflicts there had been were minor skirmishes, so Blackport City's defenses had inevitably grown lax.
Mount Morn lay to the north and east of Blackport City, while the broad Loire River ran close along its southern side. From the western gate, one could already hear the sea.
The land beyond the city was no open wilderness. Low wooden shacks hugged the walls for at least a kilometer, housing the poor hired laborers and slaves who worked in Blackport City.
But Acolyte Koliver's destination was not there. It was Blackport Harbor in the distance.
The harbor was utterly tranquil at night, stripped of the bustle and clamor of daytime. Acolyte Koliver followed a pier out over the water as waves slapped against its pilings with a ceaseless rush.
When he reached a fishing boat, Koliver called out, “Captain, my apologies for disturbing you. Could I trouble you to come out here?”
Acolyte Koliver's voice was not loud, yet it carried clearly to every person aboard.
This was a Soul Mage's unique ability. The simplest whisper could reach the deepest recesses of the heart.
A short, stocky, middle-aged man emerged from the cabin. His narrow, triangular eyes flicked over Acolyte Koliver, then swept across the acolyte's cream-colored robe.
“I'm Captain William Kidd. You're with the church? Judging by those robes, you're only an acolyte, aren't you? What do you want?”
The captain was plainly no follower of the Church of Radiant Prayer. He could not even muster the most basic courtesy toward the Lord of the Eternal Sun.
Acolyte Koliver paid no mind to Captain Kidd's frosty manner. There would always be lost lambs beyond the glorious light of the God of the Blazing Sun.
“This afternoon, I heard from one of the faithful that you had recovered a body from the water,” Acolyte Koliver said. “If the worst has come to pass, then... I am here to claim my younger brother.
“Captain Kidd, did you happen to find a very thin young man of seventeen?”
“Thin?” Captain Kidd said. “Even the thinnest man swells up once he's soaked through. How could anyone still tell? Wait here.”
Captain Kidd turned and went back into the cabin. When he reappeared, two men followed behind him, carrying a body bag.
They unzipped it, revealing the gray-blue uniform of the Unicorn Legion and a deathly pale face.
The warmth finally vanished from Acolyte Koliver's expression, replaced by sorrow.
Kozmo Enwei, my brother...
The stocky man with triangular eyes said, “I was planning to go to Unicorn Legion headquarters tomorrow.
“This body will fetch a reward. That's what Major General Stuart, the superintendent of Cavendish Military Academy, said.”
After he spoke, Captain Kidd's men zipped the body bag shut and prepared to carry it back into the cabin.
Acolyte Koliver's eyelids trembled slightly as he watched the bag slowly disappear below deck.
“How large a reward did the major general offer you, Captain Kidd?” he asked.
Captain Kidd appeared to smile. The rolls of flesh bunched across his face, making his triangular eyes look even smaller.
“Getting paid for fishing up corpses is as certain as the rise and fall of the tide. That's how it's always been.
“Three silver shillings!”
“Three silver shillings...” Acolyte Koliver took five silver shillings from inside his robe. “Yes. Getting paid for fishing up corpses. That's how it's always been.”
Captain Kidd was delighted when he received the silver, two shillings more than he had expected. In a burst of generosity, he said, “Holy acolyte, I can send my men to help you carry your poor brother.”
“There is no need to trouble yourself,” Koliver said. “These are the last moments I will ever share with my poor brother. I do not wish to be disturbed.”
The body bag was carried onto the pier, and Captain Kidd returned to the cabin without looking back.
One of his men asked, “Captain, how could we take money from an acolyte?”
Kidd snorted.
“Why not? When you make an offering for Mass, does the cathedral tell you it doesn't want your money?”
The man tried to argue, but Captain Kidd kicked him.
“Have you been a fisherman so long you've started believing you really are one?
“If we hadn't heard that the West Empire's fleet had crossed the Mist Sea, would we have needed to come here and play fisherman?
“The West Empire's fleet will soon bring a new order to these waters. When that happens, springtime will come for us pirates!”
Out on the pier, Acolyte Koliver unzipped the body bag. Ignoring the corpse's cold, bloated flesh, he reached inside and searched it carefully. In the end, he failed to find the parchment scroll he sought.
My dear brother, my foolish brother...
I should not have gone soft. I should never have given you the Intimidation Scroll.
If you had been left with no other choice, you would have obediently practiced your Haste Magic.
Many strokes of good fortune come from persevering when there is no other choice.
May you rest in the burning paradise of the Lord of the Eternal Sun. The Lord of the Eternal Sun will watch over you.
My dear brother, you can no longer know the sorrow I feel at this moment.
Just give me a little time. I will avenge you...
Four or five people suddenly appeared on the pier and helped Acolyte Koliver lift the body bag. Together, they headed toward another fishing boat.
Its six oars dipped into the water, carrying the group out of the harbor and toward the open sea beneath the cover of night.
They rowed for most of the night before finally reaching their destination.
Under the moonlight, three colossal vessels loomed upon the open sea, radiating the oppressive might of weapons built for war.
They were enormous galleons, each flying the West Empire's twin-lion flag from its tallest mast.
Three rows of gunports lined one side of each hull, twenty to a row: sixty broadside cannons on a single side.
They were weapons unlike anything the people of Blackport County, or, for that matter, anyone on the Audrian Continent, had ever seen.
For now, the black muzzles rested in perfect silence, awaiting the moment when they would roar.
A boat was lowered from one of the warships, and Acolyte Koliver climbed aboard to be taken up.
At the highest point of the deck stood a twenty-five-year-old woman, a vice admiral.
Close-fitting white naval trousers encased her long, firm legs. Her handsome, heroic face was distinguished by the emerald-green eyes characteristic of the people of the West Empire.
She bore an incomparably noble surname: Vice Admiral Helena Augusta, one of the heirs of the West Empire's revered monarch, Queen Margaret Augusta.
Acolyte Koliver's conversation with Vice Admiral Helena was most agreeable, and he received the answer he wanted.
On the return journey, Acolyte Koliver stood in the bow of the fishing boat, his eyes brimming with hope.
He gazed toward the distant shore. Slowly, the silhouette of Blackport City emerged at the edge of his vision.
Let it be destroyed. Everything here deserves to be destroyed...
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