Located at almost the end of Angaria was a place that had many stories surrounding it.
As it was in the sparsely populated western part of the continent, the number of people who lived here was limited, and even life would almost seem as if it had been slowed down, instead of inexorably marching forward like everywhere else on the continent.
A major part of the disconnected settlements which the King of Lanthanor had wanted to contact and 'experiment' with were located in this area, and if he hadn't found that perfect village and that perfect little girl who was now actively preaching far and wide about the generosity of the Godking, he would have chosen one of the villages here.
This kind of a desultory life also resulted in something else: gossip always spread quickly, and the same could be said about stories and rumors, of which there was no shortage due to a very peculiar place that was present almost near the shore.
These stories would always be told in hushed tones, in dark rooms filled with dancing shadows that lent an additional sense of malaise to the tales.
They spoke of a spot which, if crossed, would mean that the one who had been foolish enough to not listen to the caution advised by all of the stories would never return. They spoke of stakes driven into the ground, impaling those whose curiosity had gotten the better of them. They spoke of flesh-eating savages who were always waiting for their next meal to walk into their hands, and of their powerful king who was so invincible in his domain that no one else in the continent dared to come to challenge him where he was.
'But why don't they come out and attack us, then?'
Such an innocent question would be quashed by a single statement, which was always repeated when logic reared its head among those who were listening to the tales.
'Those of the glade, keep to the glade.'
Sitting in a tavern while sipping the bitter, but invigorating local beverage in a village whose name he had already forgotten, Perfect looked up and gazed at the old lady who had just said this statement in a corner of the room.
Around her sat people of all ages, as for some reason, no matter how many times it was narrated, the stories about his family were always captivating.
The weirdest thing…was that they were all true.
The Order was a place filled with generations of research by countless individuals, some of whom were bound to be crazy.
Hence, it was not too surprising that one of the Paths that could be earned…was that of cannibalism.
To be specific, it was cannibalism of human flesh, as the concept was that one would be ingesting the Energy of Angaria in this manner, which would give all kinds of benefits to both the Mageroot, and the body at once, allowing one to progress as both a Mage and Fighter at the same time.
It was the root of this Path which had resulted in the creation of the formation which kept the Chief of the Fortress alive, but where the latter only needed blood taken harmlessly, the former required the death and dismemberment of the targets.
Of course, as was common with all Paths which endangered the lives of those in the Central Continent, this was a banned one that was only present to be studied for inspiration, in case someone was progressing on something similar which did not involve all the gore.
Only…for those who were privileged, lazy and possessed a certain vile streak, this was the perfect Path to get the most progress with the least effort.
The good thing was that only those who truly hated the people of the Central Continent for one reason or another chose this Path, as in general, eating flesh was not a very pleasant, or preferable thing to do.
Perfect still remembered when his father had found out about those perusing it secretly.
They had been abducting families who they thought would not be missed, but because they got too greedy, word reached the nearby Kingdom, which in turn alerted the Big Four, who in turn turned to the Order as they knew of the old, powerful family which lived in this region.
His father had simply told them to be discreet, and to wean off the Path slowly as it wasn't really effective in the long run, unless one could establish a constant supply of Warrior level bodies.
That was just one of the many times when Perfect had been just…shocked due to the way his family saw all life that was not of their own blood.
Hell, even if it was of their own blood, there were many instances where the good of the family was placed above the good of the individuals who were unlucky, or simply unwilling to watch as untold acts of cruelty were performed in front of them.
Of course, one of the individuals who had fallen due to just this reason…was his brother.
Remembering him, and knowing that his silhouette was something he would never see again, Perfect pursed his lips and took another long sip of the bitter beer.
He knew. Even though he hadn't said so in front of the King, he knew.
After the two of them had witnessed the truth that their family was aligned with the Church, his brother must have acted to save his life. After all, the members of the family had been alerted to the fact that someone had overheard them, and fearing that Perfect's entire life might be destroyed by being thrust into the dark inner ring too early if he was exposed, his brother must have taken the blame.
Even during the last time he had seen him, his brother had put on a brave face, and hence, Perfect hadn't really suspected anything.
He had been young and naive, and when asked for a hug, he had given it willingly.
He vaguely remembered feeling as if something had fallen on him from above during that hug, but he had dusted off his hair then, thinking that it was just something falling from the ceiling.
It was only now, when he looked back, that he realized…that it must have been a tear from the man who knew that it would be the last time he would be seeing the most important person in his life.
Taking a deep breath, Perfect wished that that moment had lasted longer.
Theirs had probably been the last, pure bond that existed in this twisted travesty of a family, and sadly…it had been snipped too soon.
From then on, nothing had mattered. Nothing had meant anything to him, and he had entered a vicious cycle of feeling sad, drinking to forget to his pain, and then drowning his sorrows in a sea of woman who were all too willing to help him.
But then…it had all changed.
He still remembered that moment when his heart had moved after what felt like forever. He still remembered that feeling of fearful hope, when he had been afraid that it might only be crushed again.
He remembered that face which he knew was fake, but those eyes…those eyes were something else.
When he had heard the announcement that declared the King a fugitive, it was those eyes that had told him that it could never be true. That man could do no wrong.
He had been right…and after awakening from the slumber induced by the late Overlord, he had rejoiced silently inside.
He had hoped that the time for the King's promise to be fulfilled would come soon, and now…it was finally here.
An hour later, the message that Perfect had been waiting for finally arrived.
"It's done. Go, and keep a careful eye on everything. I'm depending on you."
No response was needed. Finishing the 8th cup of beer in front of him, he cast a spell that flushed the alcohol from his body and walked out before disappearing at the edge of the village.
A few minutes later, he was walking through an arch on which were written the words which best represented the cesspool he had been born in.
"Take, take, take, even if the world burns around you."
Shaking his head just like he did every time he saw it, Perfect sped up and reached a domed building that looked empty, at first glance.
Instead of entering, he passed it and entered a villa nearby, before checking whether all of the formations he had placed were intact.
2 minutes later, he was standing within the walls of the dome.
Using a special spell which made his body bend and compress as if it was made of jelly, he waited, until finally, he heard the sound of footsteps.
A few more minutes later, a familiar voice was heard.
"Elder, give us your report."
"I've checked the formations around the continent. There have definitely not been any changes. So…I think that our earlier supposition was right. The King simply had no choice. He knew that it would tip off the agents of the Church that there is a mole on his side, but if he didn't do what he did, the war would have ended in a lot of bloodshed that would definitely have weakened the continent. I was watching the kid. He showed unwillingness, which means that he was hoping that everyone would follow his plan, and merrily choose to come together after realizing that they were matched in power. How naive!"
Sounds of agreement could be heard, which were followed by the first voice, again.
"Very well. Now is the time to make the decision. He may be a kid, but we have seen his craftiness. Something tells me that he must have prepared for this eventuality, too."
"It's impossible! He has no way to intercept the communications between the continent and the Mainland. They were placed at great expense by the Church to ensure that there would be no problem. Even the Order is helpless! Are you really saying that it's possible for him to be more capable than the Order?"
The crazy statement elicited many scoffing sounds, but when that deep voice spoke up, all of them were silenced.
"We can never be too safe. This is the final step. Caution will dictate whether we come out as the rulers of the continent who will be revered by millions, or as traitors who will go down in history as the vilest family in modern Angaria. Let us vote. I say that we lay low. Even though there is no indication that the King can intercept communications and identify us, it is too risky. There are others who will send the message anyway."
Now, a second, even deeper voice spoke up, and as he heard it, Perfect could swear that it made the people in the room stop breathing.
"I vote to send the message. There is another risk you do not speak of- if we don't send the message, we might be suspected of allying with the King. I would rather have that whippersnapper as an opponent, than the entire Church."
"I vote to-"
The voting took a minute. And hearing the result…Perfect could hardly hold in his joy.
"The majority have voted to send the message. Very well. I shall do so right now."
Perfect felt strange surges in elementary particles right after this statement was said by the man he knew to be his father.
His father had always been an extremely fearful man. Even now, he had come close to saving the family, but alas…greed was just too strong an opponent.
"Message to the Church. King Daneel has-"
As his father described the vision and gave all the details which would definitely be enough for the Church to identify just who the mole was, Perfect held his breath, as even he didn't know what would happen now.
Would the message fail? Would the entire Order come down on his family now? Would they all be locked up?
In a turn of events that chilled his heart, a 'click' sound resounded in the dome, and a moment later, he could hear his father let out a sigh of relief.
"I guess I was wrong. The message has been successfully received. We even tracked it to a point far outside the Endless Sea- there is no doubt now that the King had no means to stop us. We will definitely be rewarded profusely!"
As everyone else in the room also started to rejoice, Perfect wished that he could contact the King right now so that he could find out just what the heck was going on.
While he started to curse the man's apparent love for theatrics, Daneel, who was sitting comfortably in a place far, far away coughed, knowing exactly what Perfect must be thinking of him right now.
In front of him was a glowing crystal globe, and around him…was a large area which could house thousands of people.
Sitting in the middle of Elysium, Daneel grinned, and sent the reply.
"Message received. The Bishop will contact you shortly. Standby, and keep the line open."
As he saw the globe pulse and notify him that the message had been successfully sent, he couldn't help but sit back and grin.
Chuckling, he spoke to the sovereigns who were sitting with him.
"It's lucky that the fact that Elysium can move was not mentioned even in the annals of the Order. Why risk tipping off the rats by adding methods of detection in the continent, when you can sit outside, in the Endless Sea, and simply intercept the message at a spot where they can't detect anything? The first rat has arrived. Now, for the rest…"