Day 1: The Andethyst Incident ( Chapter II )

Angel / Devil

The Grand Master returned to Josephburgh Castle the next day. It was past sunset by the time she entered through the sixth and final gate. There her retinue of handpicked elite warriors awaited, standing at attention in their elaborate shimmering armour with halberds and glaives. The only acknowledgement she gave them was that she picked up her pace.
She found herself in the cavernous Great Hall, where heroes and saints from long past overlooked the castle grounds as monuments of white stone within the recesses of the imposing walls. So large and elaborate was the Great Hall that it was impossible to know the shape of the ceiling at a glance only without thinking about it. The population of a city could no doubt fit inside. Yet Catalina alone inhabited the Great Hall that evening, apart from a single elderly man in white gown and brown coat. He walked along the labyrinthian walls with an ember on a wooden stick, lighting up the rushlight inside the sconces in preparation for the night. One by one.

Spiralling staircases slung around towering pillars, and reached any of the four galleries from where large banners hung, depicting a black Order crest on a white background.
Catalina passed the poor man tasked with lighting the candles for an entire castle. She paid him no heed. Neither did he her. The dauntless task of aiming his stick preoccupied him fully.
His bushy brows furrowed. He leaned his already slumped figure ever closer to the sconce, so as to get a good look inside. It was as if the proximity to his crooked nose was a vital part of the lighting process.

Once out of the Great Hall, Catalina found herself traversing one of the narrow corridors, when a young chaplain stepped out from an archway she passed by.
“Ah, my lady Grand Master Catalina! The Chief God has truly blessed us! The return of our lady Grand Master could not have come at a more timely occasion! I trust the journey of our lady Grand Master was safe and comfortable?”
He had to pick up his black frock, along with the white vestments he wore like a tabard, in his efforts to keep up with the Grand Master. As fast as he ran, his willow sandals made no sound that were not drowned out by the clopping of Catalina’s boots on the black stone tiles.

“Lady Grand Master… Please, wait! We have oh so been anticipating her presence! The envoys from Urklan… They arrived this very morning! We need our Grand Master to…”
“I’m not interested.” Catalina replied coldly, not even granting him so much as a glance, “Tell them they’ll have to wait.”
“But my lady Grand Master… That simply is not possible. Supper has already been prepared! We’ve got venison, with leeks and gamelyne sauce! They’re awaiting our Lady Grand Master’s presence in the refectory at this very moment! They’ll…”

Catalina stopped abruptly, turning on her heels. The chaplain skidded to a halt so fast his tonsures swiveled over the back of his head. Suddenly he found himself nose to nose with the Grand Master’s baneful scowl.
“They’ll have to wait. Is that understood?”
The young chaplain immediately ceased talking. Instead, he **** a smile on his face. He adjusted his tonsures, lifted his habit so he could back away, then bowed deeply before her.
“...Of course. I will tell them our Grand Master needs time to prepare herself.”
“See that you do.” Catalina pulled off her cloak, folding it over the chaplain’s arms, “I will be visiting the dungeons shortly. Tell the men to raise the portcullis.”
“Yes, my lady Grand Master. I shall do so at once.” The chaplain hoisted the mantle over his shoulder as he backed away, before turning around and rushing awkwardly away.

Catalina herself continued her procession. She eventually reached an antechamber, where a rusted portcullis was in the process of retreating into the wall, giving way to the staircase leading down below. The tall man with furrowed face saluted Catalina as she made her way down.
The first few floors under the castle were a neatly organized system of corridors connecting the various vaults where treasure, food and fresh water were stored. She rather enjoyed the murals painted along the top of the corridor. In one corridor, the wall her left depicted people at the height of their lives fiesting and frolicing about as they engaged in the most vulgar enjoyments. On the other side, the end results of their hedonism was displayed. The same people were being tormented, flayed and devoured by hideous monsters.

Any favourable impression one might have of the cellars vanished quickly as she descended into it depths, where the tunnels began to resemble irregular ribcages of brick and mortar that connected and tangled into one another. They had been dug in desperation during times of strife and warfare, where they served some purpose or another. Then afterwards forgotten quickly when the purpose was served out, only to be repurposed at some other point, reshaped and expanded. New rooms were dug out when new purposes were needed. The result, an entire city of forgotten history. Right under the administrative center of the Chivalric Order of Meruvia.

By the time she reached the furthest stretches of the dungeon, even the slightest sliver of light could not reach into the depths. It was too far for even the fungus or lichen to grow. She couldn’t feel so much as a tinge of spiritual energy in the air.
She raised her finger to draw in the air an arcane glyph, and a bright light radiated from the tip of her finger. Before her a grand bridge connected to an alcove in the cliff face opposite of her. Within it stood a massive pair of doors embedded in the wall, upon which was painted in paint of white and gold an elaborate circle of eldritch symbols.
She crossed the bridge. Once before the doors, she pulled out from her belt a keyring.

“AUUUUUU- UAAAAAAAAHHHH!”
The echo lingered in the air, long after the ear-piercing shriek had settled.
Catalina waited until silence returned to the hallways, then inserted the keys into the doors’ lock.

The doors parted, and before her an angel wrapped in chains knelt. The thick iron bands suspended the ephemeral winged woman to the floor, within the center of the magical ring that took up a considerable surface of the prison dome. The chains were thick, void of rust and dug into her milky white skin. They warped across the room like a spider's web.
Her long silver blonde hair was tossed raggedly over her face. From behind it, one could discern the strings of glowing crimson runes that snaked its way from around her left eye, down her neck and towards her collarbone and chest.

Dressed in a ragged and bleak blue dress, her arms were kept tied above and behind her.
Catalina could not remember when she stopped feeling disheartened seeing her Ceta in such a state, but at that moment only joy filled up her heart.
In spite of the miserable predicament that the angel found herself in, she was the most beautiful woman Catalina ever saw. She had a slight narrow frame with long shapely legs. Her pearly white wings spanned well over eight ells across, when they were not folded in on themselves like they were then. Her slim but firm chest heaved with each ragged breath. When her eyes peered towards the entrance, where Catalina stood with an admiring gaze, Ceta let out a deep guttural growl.
Ignoring that, Catalina approached Ceta at the center of the room.

Ceta looked up at the Grand Master, her eyes from beyond the silver mane burning with a mix of the savagery, desperation and lucidity that battled within the angel.
“Kill… Me…” The angel whispered.
Catalina kneeled down to her level, brushing her gloved hand through Ceta’s hair, “That’s the one thing I’ll never do for you. I won’t lose you. Ever.”
Ceta kept panting, a trail of saliva dripping from the corner of her mouth.

“I know. It’s painful for you. But please, I need you to stay strong. It’s been hard for me too.”
Ceta growled again.
“It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I was made Grand Master for my loyalty to you. For my zeal to the cause of Orderdom. For my unrelenting dedication to your words. To your wisdom. I was not meant to lead. Not on my own. Not without you. I hoped that maybe it would be easier with time, but it never was. I don’t even know how long it’s been since your battle with… Her.”
“Twenty… Seven… Years…”
“Twenty- seven years… Never could I have imagined I’d last this long. But what choice did I have? To leave you to your fate?” Catalina sighed lingeringly, “Any other knight would have had you executed. You know that, right? Even after all that you did for us. That is after all what the Chief God decrees. All those who fall to the demonic taint must be destroyed. Even her own messengers. But... I can’t do that. I won’t let that happen. To me you’re more than a divine messenger. You’re my otherworldly muse. Without you, I wouldn't be alive. You’re… You’re my guiding star. When the world turns dark and bleak, the one thing I can rely on to shed light and lead the way is you. The only time anything ever makes sense these days… It’s when I’m with you.”
“Kill… Me… Now…”

Catalina smiled warmly. She slipped her hand under her armpit and stroked the length of her side, her thumb slipping under her dress to massage her ample breast. Ceta shuddered for the touch. She writhed around, **** to escape the touch. But the chains kept her firm.
The demonic curse which corrupted her may have rendered her sanity all but a tiny sliver of its former self, and transformed her into a wild bloodthirsty beast, yet it was united with her angelic nature in but one regard; how much they reviled these chains.

“Oh, my angel… There’s no need for that. I found another lead. There was a devil attack in an abbey. I should say, about twenty-seven years ago, by my count. What do you say? Will we get lucky this time? Was it Andethyst Abbey where you sealed the demon which cast its curse on you all those years ago?”
Catalina waited for an answer from her angel, but no answer came. Only another scowl.
“Have it your way. I will find who did this to you. Even if I must turn over every stone in the world. There must be a way to lift the curse. And if anyone knows the way, it’s her. Just sit tight there, my angel. Soon you will be free once more.”
“Go... Go fuck… Yourself…”

Catalina’s smile widened. She stood back to her feet and walked towards the exit. She knew she didn’t mean that. It was just the curse. It made her say the most deplorable things. She knew that deep inside, Ceta remained the star of virtue and justice that she knew she was.
“I love seeing you, my angel. I always do. But I must tend to my duties as Grand Master now. First thing tomorrow, I will set out for Andethyst. I promise, I will visit you again. Soon.”
“Kill me… Kill me… Kill me… ”

But the Grand Master ignored her. She walked out the gate, and the doors slammed shut behind her.
“AUUUUUU- UAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!”
She had better see those envoys she learned had arrived. The chaplain mentioned venison with gamelyne sauce. Catalina had heard some of the maid servants had picked mushrooms in the forest. If they did not serve the venison with some porcini, Catalina mused on whether to get that chaplain flogged.