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This document is protected by the Eccelsia Turrim Authorisation Policy. Access, replication or mention of the contents of this document without the proper authorisation may lead to persecution under said policy.

[Note] Under the order of His Holiness, the Propheticus Primoris Benevolence VII, this report has been redacted as of 3201 AXIII.

Serial Number: TTS01 -5314A

Authorisation: Alpha

Subject: Burning Hatred

Author: Harm Chronos

Date: 3135 Anno XIII

Incendius has always been a world comprised of clear divisions between parties. Where most other Stations insist on mingling species, Incendius is divided not only by the colour of one's skin or the presence of fur but also by physical boundaries.

A prime example of this are the members of the Custodia Vampiri or the 'vampires' of Incendius. Due to their mutations given to them during the Shadow War, they are incapable of braving the icy climates of the Southern Frostenlands. However, because of their mastery of Light Magic and similarly their keen hearing and night vision, they are best suited for the underground caverns situated around Mirecragg.

On a similar vein, the Custodia Lupus (werewolves of Incendius) have thick coats and hides that allow them unbridled resistance to the cold and are suited for the South. Natural affinity towards Ice Magic also makes them well suited for the harsh, frozen environs. However, such thick fur causes great discomfort to the perpetually warm climates of the north, particularly the areas closer to the Sun Spire.

Finally, there are the Darkened, the species of strange and hostile creatures that once nearly brought all of Incendius to heel with their corruptive shadows. They were defeated and pushed back beyond the iron walls of Chillfarn and restricted to the lands beyond. There have been no attempts at diplomacy, trade or even contact with them since the war many, many centuries ago.

However, despite these differences, the most hated of enemies will unite under a common cause. While many would argue that love is what joins hearts together, hatred is just as efficient as an adhesive. Many epic tales and quests have been written on the hatred of unlikely heroes banding together against a common foe. It was not love that brought them together but hatred for a common enemy.

Incendius is rife with hatred.

Ruled by humans, the Church of the Tower has directed hatred towards the Darkened for centuries. This common goal has united the Vampiri and Lupus. Others have clamoured to join their ranks readily to partake in the mob mentality, deriving honour and glory from wielding steel and spell on the walls of Chillfarn against the Shadows in the South.

It is this hatred that preserves a balance on Incendius. The Darkened, in all their unending night, harbour a hatred for the light-loving people of the north, ever staring at the shining Sun Spire and wishing to extinguish that which keeps them in the shadows. Yet they do little but send skirmishes that merely remind the other residents of the Station that they still exist. Similarly, the Church maintains the Sun Spire, gathering its followers to its magnificent centre of worship around the Sun Goddess Apollia like moths to a flame. They nurture the need to protect it and thus all of Incendius against those that would seek it destroyed.

Perhaps, then, Incendius is fittingly called 'the Station of the Sun' for it is a world based solely on hatred, a hatred that burns with the ferocity of the sun. It burns brightly, wanes ever so often and always rises up periodically to remind those that harbour it that it is their reason for existing and they could not live without it.

Incendius, the Station of the Sun.

Guarded by wolves, cultivated by bats, ruled by man.

Shadowed by darkness, kissed by the sun.

Gripped by hatred.

*****

Church bells rang ominously through the quiet township. A dense mist clung to the ground, swirling around the feet of the town's residents. Moss covered brick walls sprang from the fog like silent sentinels barring the path of any intruders. Even the cold, iron gates with the words 'Welcome to Riverflow' formed into an arch above it was far from welcoming.

A single guard stood at the forefront of the town, dressed in a dirty, sweat-stained uniform despite the cold. In one hand, he held a primitive, flintlock rifle. In the other, his nose as he mined for the ever-elusive glob of hardened mucus.

When the mist slowly gave way to a stranger, the guard lowered his rifle, peering into the shadows. The silhouette of the creature approaching almost seemed... angelic. It had a pair of wings fluttering behind it. An easy mistake to be made with most Avios but the guard remained diligent. At least with one hand. A sigh of relief condensed in front of his bushy features as a broad, masculine, white muzzle emerged from the dense mist accompanied by two, perked, triangular ears tipped with brown fur. Short, spiked brown hair sat atop lupine features in the fashion of the upper Stations. They used - what did they call it? - hair gel to mould their hair into such, odd patterns.

The 'wings' that billowed behind the Wulfun were but a white scarf with two trailing ends wrapped around a thick neck. Despite the chill, the approaching non-human only wore a brown vest and a barely-visible white shirt that melded perfectly with his snow-white fur. The pants he wore seemed quite dapper as the guard could detect some faint pinstripes running down their length. Contrary to the Wulfun's formal attire, he wore a pair of brightly coloured shoes. Red and white. 'Sneakers' they were called if the guard recalled correctly.

"Who goes there?" the guard announced gruffly, lowering his rifle.

The Wulfun lifted his eyes. Gold glinted in the faint, light emanated from the sleepy town. The guard shook the imagery from his head. Gold eyes were impossible and a mark of a long-extinct race.

"A traveller come to pay my respects to the dead," the Wulfun answered, his voice calm, collected and filled with mirth. Somehow, the ring of his words seemed to push the cold mist away, revealing more of his unimposing figure. His attire was not from Incendius. Perhaps from one of the upper Stations. There was a faint jingling that came from the golden chain that hung from his belt, swinging upwards into the pocket of his trousers. "Will you let me pass into your quaint, little town?"

"A traveller? With no bags? You're far from the closest town, mutt." He lowered his rifle at the Wulfun, pulling back the hammer. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't fill you with bullets this instant."

The gentle smile on the Wulfun's face remained unmoving. One, white-furred paw reached for the golden chain and slowly drew what appeared to be a long length of gilded metal. The guard lowered his gun immediately upon the sight of the large 'X' with three, vertical strikes crossed over it.

"My Lord..."

"May I see the graveyard?" the Wulfun asked.

"Of course, my Lord."

There was little hesitation in opening the rusted, iron gates. The Wulfun stepped into the misty, chilling town of Riverflow. Soft sneakers made little sound on the cobblestone streets. Even the faint lamplight could do little to truly penetrate the thick mist.

The tolling of a bell led the Wulfun through the darkness. Every so often a silhouette would skulk through the mist, sliding by and disappearing into the alleyways or shadows of the nearby houses. Tiled rooves seized the moisture in the air greedily, turning mist into delicate droplets and leading them on a cascading trail down their slanted formations. The wood and plaster walls appeared like ghostly sentinels, watching and waiting as the white Wulfun passed amongst their midst.

The bell tolled for a fifth time...

Cobblestone gave way to small, stone islands set in muddy soil. Specks of grass sprouted in between the gravestones. The epitaphs of the stone monoliths were either faded or the mist was too thick to read their respectful words.

A sixth toll.

The imposing structure of a chapel sprang from the mist like a voracious monster opening its maw to gobble up the Wulfun. Its bell tolled for a seventh time, its broad, open doors seemingly sucking in all the mist from around it and pulling the life from its surroundings.

The white Wulfun stepped into the chapel on the eighth toll of the chapel's bells.

No candles were lit, no lamps shone their brightness into the darkness. The pews were almost invisible, the wooden columns like ghosts. Far down the aisle, the altar stood wrapped in the gold and black silk of the Eccelsia Turrim or more commonly known as the Church of the Tower. Its stylised 'X' was drawn on the forefront, three vertical T's imposed over it. The governing power of Tower Thirteen made its mark everywhere.

The Wulfun came to stop in front of the altar, stepping onto the dais and running a single paw over the silk cloth. His forefinger stopped on a single badge, one that was jet-black and nearly undetectable in the near-darkness. The word 'Agares' was drawn on the rim of the circular device.

"Tis an odd hour for a visit, my lord."

The Wulfun turned towards the speaker, closing his paw around the badge and sliding it into his pockets. The gentle smile on his muzzle spoke of benevolence while the matching one on the hunched, old crone's was far from welcoming.

"Time has little meaning in a world where the sun rests atop a man-made spire," he answered calmly. He bowed theatrically. "My name is Harm. Harm Chronos."

"I am merely the keeper of this chapel," the old woman answered, her wrinkled, craggy face seemingly breaking with the sheer effort of moving her lips. "Why would a finely dressed Wulfun honour this small town with his presence?"

Chronos turned his golden eyes away from the vast array of religious decorations littering the chapel. The bell had fallen silent though he could still see flecks of dust falling down from the rafters as the old structure shook from the lingering notes from the deafening booms. "Riverflow is a town that sits on one of the major distributaries of the Solaris River." He perked his ears towards the distant rush of water. "What's that river called? The one that flows through this very town?"

The old woman bowed in return and straightened almost immediately. "The Fireflood River, my lord. We offer much trade to the smaller town and farmlands surrounding Corona."

"Little hard to travel upstream, don't you think?" he said, wandering over to a nearby column. His paw ran over a few gashes across the surface that seemed worn by age.

"We make do, my lord. We are a small town."

"I would hardly call the population of a thousand-odd people small," the Wulfun answered, slowly approaching a banner. His fingers traced the intricate lines and drawings across the surface. "It is a formidable number of people. You must be proud to be one of the major stewards in this township. Especially one that is so critical to the rest of the northlands."

Soft shuffling indicated her approach. "I meet my duties with humility, my lord." The volume of her voice revealed she was but a few steps away from Harm.

Harm briefly gripped the edge of the tapestry and flicked it lightly aside. The smile on his lips grew wider by just the slightest of measurements before he turned back towards the keeper. "Well, a friend of mine resided in this town a while back. I just wished to pay my respects."

"Do you know the name of your friend, my lord? I know these tombs like they were my own children."

"I'm sure you know him," the Wulfun answered. "His name..." Then he let out a soft laugh and shook his head, brushing back his short, brown hair. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't bother you at this ungodly hour. I know the way. I'll find him myself."

Harm turned to towards the altar, striding past the woman and coming to stand directly in front of the stone edifice.

"But if you must know..." His smile evolved into a grin. "His name is... Agares, Demon Lord of the 12th Station... Prince of Wrath... King of the Lost, Returner of the Wayward and Orphaned. Cleaver of the Earth and Destroyer of Dignities."

The Wulfun moved, seizing the silk coverings of the altar and sweeping it directly towards the keeper. There was a sound of tearing cloth... and flesh. The gold and black coverings fluttered in the still air like a slow cascade of ebony water. Its smooth linings dropped around the glowing, red spear of bone that had erupted from the old keeper's forefinger. She stood straight, her eyes glowing an unholy red. Her pursed lips showed no signs of her former welcoming nature.

"It was foolish of you to step into this place alone knowing full well what it holds, Paladin," she hissed, her voice dripping with unholy undertones.

The smile on the Wulfun's face did not falter. Even with her extended, blade-like nail embedded deep into his chest, piercing his heart, he continued to smile. His golden eyes locked with her glowing, red irises, never losing their mirth.

"Sorry. You've got me mistaken with someone possessing a Valour." Inch by inch, Harm lifted his right paw and rested two fingers on the glowing, red blade that protruded from his chest. The old woman's eyes widened with her mounting shock.

"What are you...?" she whispered.

"I'll give you one guess." His smile grew sinister, the edges curling upwards while his eyes filled with smug glee. "You have until I count to three. One..."

The red blade around where his fingers touched began to lose their glow, falling into a deep, lightless black. Like an acrid disease, the light faded slowly along the length of the blade. A moment later, the sharp edge crumbled to dust, falling to the floor with the sound of cascading sand.

"Two..."

The old woman could not move. She remained paralysed but her lips managed to utter one word. "Demon."

Harm winced theatrically. "Oooh... No, sorry... Wrong answer. Incidentally..." His lips parted, showing his sharp lupine fangs. "Your time is up."

Quick as the flash, the entire length of her extended nail turned black and crumbled to dust. She gave a startled yelp and fell back on her rear. Fear was clearly etched into her eyes, widening them to saucers as she lifted her hand to eyelevel. The wrinkled flesh back to wither and dry, turning black and rotten. Bone began protruding through her flesh before her skin crumbled to her lap. Her white bones turned grey and flaked off piece by piece.

An unholy scream escaped her lips, filling the church and ringing out to the rest of Riverflow. The rotting disease spread quickly, consuming her entire body in moments. Her skull pressed against her withered flesh, her eyeballs popping before they were sucked of all moisture and disappeared into the hollows of her head. What strength remained in his body faded as her body crumpled onto the steps of the dais, her entire body exploding in a puff of black dust.

The wooden doors to the church sprang open. Dozens of glowing, red eyes twinkled amongst the silhouettes dancing in the mist. Pitchforks and torches were lifted amongst primitive firearms and other farming tools.

"Kill the intruder!" someone shouted.

"For Lord Agares!"

"Fiat Chaos Regula!"

Harm let out a soft, chuckle and reached into his left pocket, retrieving the folded, gilded bar that bore the emblem of the Church of the Tower. With one flick, it split open down the middle, revealing a blade hidden within its broad confines. The enlarged butterfly knife's grip clasped together but the blade extended further to become a broad, gold-edged longsword. Six smaller blades extended out of the blade's grip, forming a dangerous, bladed guard. The symbol of a handless clock face sat where the blade met the guard.

"He has a Valour!"

"Kill the Paladin!"

"Fiat Chaos Regula!"

The Wulfun's smile returned, unwavering as the townspeople charged at him, waving their torches and tools wildly through the air. He could feel their acrid, rotting breath filtering into his nose by the time he moved. A sickle cut through the air, its curved blade just brushing his neck.

His golden blade was up quicker than the sickle could cross the millimetre between his neck and its blade. There was a high-pitched, resounding clang where the two blades met, a small array of sparks flying from where they clashed. The instant when the corrupt farmer's eyes went wide at the block was the same instant Harm's free paw lunged out, seizing the man by the throat and yanked him forwards.

In one, single twist, Harm turned the man around and drove Timekeeper - his golden sword - through the man's chest. There was a deep, gurgling noise as lungs quickly filled with black, corrosive blood. Harm ignored the putrid stench of the farmer's last breaths and pressed his shoulder against the man's back, charging forward with all his might. His makeshift battering ram parted the crowd until he came to an abrupt halt.

The townspeople had started pushing back.

A moan escaped from his victim's throat, growing louder by the second. Knowing full well was it was, Harm yanked Timekeeper out of the man's chest, leaping back a good six feet. The possessed man's body bubbled and inflated to grotesque proportions. Every townsperson around them scrambled to get away but in the tight quarters of the small chapel, that was nearly impossible. A few managed to scramble out the door before -

Boom!

The man exploded, spraying black, acidic blood in all directions. Columns were spattered eagerly, the blood eating away at their decorated, wooden frames with gusto. The floor melted away to reveal the dirt beneath and even that was slowly dissolved. Those unfortunate enough to stand too close were splattered completely and they fell to their knees, screaming as they clawed at their faces which slowly melted away. One townsman fell to the ground, dead. Then he too exploded, spraying more of evil, demonic blood on his comrades.

Harm spun swiftly, speeding past the explosions that seemed to chase after him. A splash of blood fell on the left side of his face, eating away at his fur. Just as it touched the bone, the acid stopped its wanton consumption. Some force pushed it back, his flesh regrowing, his fur returning to its former lustrous sheen. Even when a heavy shower of the blood splattered on his back, his flesh merely knitted together and his clothes grew strands to close over the holes.

A boom like none of the others shook the walls, dropping streams of dust from above. The Wulfun turned back towards the exploding demonic townspeople. His lips parted on the left, placing a sidewards grin on his muzzle. Like the show of teeth was weighing him down, he tilted his head, left ear folded downwards.

"Of course there has to be a 'big, threatening, muscular' type," he commented. "What demon-possessed village doesn't have a 'hulk'?"

The towering human blocking the doorway let out a tremendous roar, storming past his comrades and tossing them out of his way only to have then explode and spread more of their corrosive blood across the room. Even as the acidic blood splattered all over his face, he ignored them and stormed towards Harm, red eyes glowing so brightly that it cast a glow on his bald, head and traced delicate lines along the thick beard that ran down to his chest.

Harm's half-smile, half-grin remained in place as he said, "Now the heroic type would face you head on."

The hulking man grunted, seizing a demonic citizen by the skull and crushing her head in his palms.

"And this is the part where I make some witty remark stating how I'm far from a hero," Harm continued. He lifted Timekeeper to eyelevel, letting it hang horizontally. "But let's face it. This is modern times. Let's not play into clichés."

A loud roar erupted from the man and he charged at Harm, massive hands outstretched. His movements were slow but brimmed with unholy power. The black coat wrapped around his titanic form fluttered and revealed little beneath their dark confines. Enormous thighs the size of trees cleaved right through the masses of exploding demons.

The Wulfun ducked under the man's broad bear hug. The grin on his muzzle grew wider as he deftly lashed out with his free paw, seizing a scrambling minor demon by the throat and slamming him hard against the hulk's leg. Quick as a flash, he was gone, dancing towards a nearby column with Timekeeper lancing out like a golden beam of light, cutting through the swathes of demons.

Multiple explosions rang out in the chapel a moment later. An acidic mist veiled the already dark room, sizzling joining the otherwise otherworldly silence. The creak of wood was the only thing that broke through the eerie quiet.

Harm ducked. The dissolving form of a pew shattered against the wooden column behind him, splinters of wood showering down like tiny, wooden needles. Large, meaty hands sprang from the dark mist, no longer covered by a thick coat. Its movements were still too slow and cumbersome. The Wulfun easily sprang to his right, his back pressing up against the crumbling form of another column.

The monstrous man emerged from the mist, clutching a makeshift, wooden club from the remnants of one of the pews. His coat was disintegrating around him. Sick, greyish-blue flesh was revealed beneath, mottled and diseased.

Harm chuckled softly upon spying the large, red welts covering the man's otherwise built, muscular torso. "I see... So that's it."

He nimbly slipped around the pillar just as the man's club shattered against the pillar's wooden frame. Timekeeper sang out with blinding speed, slicing through the pillar with frightening ease. Its golden tip was levelled directly at the man's glowing left eye. The smile on the Wulfun's face never faded. Even as the pillar was suddenly inflicted with dozens of clean cuts and their fragmented wooden pieces toppled to the ground, that smile remained in place.

Even when all the other pillars in the chapel were suddenly sliced into dozens of pieces, that smile was unwavering.

Harm lowered his blade, quietly folding it back into its closed position and sliding it into his pocket. The hulking demon remained frozen in place, face set into a vicious snarl and eyes not even registering how close they had come to being gouged. The entire chapel began to crumble around him, the walls suffering from likewise clean cuts that sliced right through the stone and wood. The bell began to ring loudly like the structure itself was screaming. Its death knell.

The Wulfun stepped out of the chapel, not even turning around to watch it crumble to pieces and its bell let out one, last deafening gong before becoming abruptly silent. Golden eyes turned towards the skies, watching the stars mill about and glide quietly across the deep, red sky. A smile touched his lips just as the distant horizon began to brighten with dawn's coming.

Screams erupted all over Riverflow. Followed by explosions and unholy roars. A fire started somewhere and suddenly, the entire town was ablaze. A little girl screamed and came running at him from the mist. Human, just like the rest.

"Please!" she begged, falling to her knees in front of him and gripping his pants in her small fingers. "Help me!"

His benign smile seemed to fill her with hope. He gently placed a paw on her head, cupping her crown. The tears in her eyes dried at that moment.

"What big red eyes you have."

The demon screeched but that died quickly. It fell to the ground in pieces. The explosion that followed filled the air with a rotten, sulphuric smell. As the sky began to brighten, a ray of sunlight touched the remains of the demon. The pale, human-like flesh was instantly set ablaze.

"Agares must be losing his touch," Harm sighed loudly. "Demons that can barely stand the light of the Sun Spire and need to hide in the skin of humans. They're no better than the Darkened."

A thunderous crash erupted from behind him. A soft gong followed. He turned his golden eyes back towards the ruins of the chapel.

A hulking figure rose from the debris.

The Wulfun sighed softly, emitting a small laugh. Slowly, he drew his blade. "Guess I'll be late to class today."

******

The instant the door sprang open, the fifty or so students instantly sat up in their seats, attentive and eager. Many blinked in confusion as Harm Chronos stepped into the auditorium, wiping himself down with a towel and with his clothes dripping wet.

The Wulfun cleaned his big, triangular ears before tossing his towel onto the back seat of his chair at the very front of the auditorium. He flashed the gathered class a big, broad grin and clapped his paws together.

"Okay, class! Today's lesson is -"

Boom!

A towering figure stood at the door. Her amethyst eyes burned with rage, her porcelain face dripping with anger. Everyone in the room save for Harm cringed. A female Felonix near the front even brought up her textbook and covered her face even though her rounded ears poked out from the top of her makeshift barrier.

"... when you do something wrong," Harm continued, offering the newcomer a sly smile, "don't get caught."

"You," Aria Valkyrie demanded, pointing at the floor in front of her. "Here. Now!"

Harm was unmoving, his grin only growing broader. "Why Lady Valkyrie, right here? In front of the students?"

"Do not twist my words, Harm Chronos!" she snarled, bounding forward. Her long, black coat gilded with white fluttered beneath her white, feathered cape. Long, platinum blonde hair billowed behind her like a halo. In one hand, she clutched a long, gold, white and black spear with a feather motif drown on the spearhead and the grip shaped like feathered wings. "Come with me now!"

"I fear you may have your anatomy incorrect... I was not aware women could -"

Her hand lashed out, seizing his left ear and tugging it painfully as she dragged him out of the auditorium.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!"

The door slammed behind them and Aria immediately let go of his ear. "That did not hurt," she accused.

Harm straightened and dusted himself off theatrically. "True but it's funnier if I went out like that."

"Is it 'funny' that you massacred an entire township just outside of Corona's borders?" Her eyes were once again ablaze with anger.

Harm casually sidled towards the auditorium door. He banged his fist against it a couple of times and there was a soft crash from the other side of the door. With a single nod, Aria turned and strode down the hallways of the Academiae Militares, one of the premier centres for education of all members of the Church of the Tower in Incendius.

Broad, sweeping walls curved to make the hallways seem more organic were decorated with designs of the sun. Corners were shaped to appear like streams of fire while banners hung from the ribbed ceilings decorated with the black and red of the 1st Station of Tower Thirteen. Knights dressed in the red and gold of the Custodia Solis passed them by, each one bowing and offering the customary bow and greeting - a palm raised, a bow, eyes cast down and the words 'May the Mother Goddess bless and keep you'. Others even hazarded a few titles.

"Lady Templar."

"My Lady Valkyrie."

"Lord Chronos."

Harm strode beside Aria, head held high even as Aria's severe features drove away others. They mounted a flight of steps, Aria storming forward like she was eager to be rid of the exercise and reprimand the Wulfun.

Perhaps to delay his inevitable tongue-lashing, Harm glanced out the windows of the magnificent structure. The grassy, green plains of Incendius rolled out in front of him as did the clear, blue skies and the distant lands covered perpetually in snow. The summery northlands unfolded to him as he glanced down. A sea of white buildings built on a gentle slope formed the capital city of Incendius, Corona.

He dared not glance upwards lest he blind himself for not too far away from the Academiae Militares stood the source of all of Incendius' sunlight. The Sun Spire was an immense tower that stood on top of the world, a powerful artefact at its peak providing eternal light to most of Incendius. It shone everlasting save for the moments when it dimmed for the 'night'.

"You know, despite being here for six months and coming here every eleven years, I can never quite get used to how the sun 'rises' and 'falls' on this Station."

"If you continue on this path, you may not have to grow accustomed to it at all," Aria growled, seizing his arm and tugging him upwards. "Or is that your agenda?"

He gave her an airy wave even as the last droplets of water sprang from his soaked fur and clothes, leaving him dry. Not a single batch of moisture remained on him and it was like he had never been thrown into the Solaris River by a titanic demon. "Don't be like that, Aria. You know I absolutely love the sun." He rolled his eyes for emphasis. "It brings out the shine in my fur." For further emphasis, he stretched out his arms and ran his paws through his fur.

The Templar seemed on the verge of retorting when a loud clanking could be heard from the steps above them. Both stopped and Harm flicked his ears back at the answering clanks from behind them. Three, bulky soldiers dressed in armour almost too wide to fit in the stairwell appeared ahead of them. Another two calmly stormed up from behind. All save one held vicious looking weapons that seemed hybrids of scythes and automatic rifles.

"The Custodia Puria," Harm greeted, regarding the knight's titular grey armour. His golden eyes settled on the man leading them, the only one without a helm and with one eye missing, replaced by a glowing, red mechanical device. "And Inquisitor Warton. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

The Inquisitor's eye flashed. "You know very well what, Chronomancer!" An accusing finger was lifted against Harm. "At the break of dawn today, you destroyed the town of Riverflow!"

"Me?" the Wulfun replied with mock incredulity. "But Riverflow is miles away from Corona's border. How could I possibly get from there to here in less than an hour? It is only an hour after dawn, isn't it?" He made to check his watch. "Oh right... I don't have a watch. I don't need one. I'm a Chronomancer."

"You answer and condemn yourself with your mocking jests and jibes," the Inquisitor sneered. "Seize him!"

Aria lowered her spear one inch before Harm quickly placed a paw on her shoulder. The Puria advanced but Harm's next words stopped them.

"Tell me, how can you be sure it was me?"

"We have witnesses," Warton answered. "Several townspeople saw you, described you and uttered your name as they fled the burning remnants of their village."

Harm nodded, seemingly acknowledging the evidence against him. Then... "Tell me... did those townspeople suddenly turn into murderous demons and attempt to slaughter or possess your troops?"

Warton - and even Aria - gave him a horrified stare.

"What?" the Inquisitor demanded.

The Wulfun reached into his pocket, retrieving a small, black badge with the word 'Agares' engraved into the rim. "While I was casually strolling through Riverflow, I wandered onto this. Oh and after I let it drop that I worked for the Church, I was attacked by countless peasants with glowing red eyes who exploded upon death and sprayed acidic blood along with their strangely intact livers." He shook his head in confusion. "I never understood why the livers remained intact, though. I'm pretty sure I sliced a couple of them up..."

He shrugged absently. "Oh well. At the very least you'll have plenty of organs for the donation box. Oh wait..." His eyes turned to Aria, his features convincingly puzzled. "Do people get possessed when we transfer livers from the possessed into their bodies? No idea? Then I propose a test!" He thrust his fist into the air.

"For science?" Aria asked dully.

"Heck no! For shits and giggles!"

Inquisitor Warton instantly spun to face his accompanying Custodia Puria. "Go! Find the civilians! Have them processed!"

Harm's ever-present smile became a sly smirk. The Wulfun lifted his head, making him seem to stand taller than Warton despite the Inquisitor being on a higher step. "Congratulations, Inquisitor. You just happen to be the first man to introduce a demonic corruption to the very heart and soul of this Station." His mocking tone dripped with evil glee. "How do you feel?"

Warton's face burned with rage, growing beet red. "If I learn you have deceived me, Chronomancer."

A scream rippled out from somewhere in the distance. It seemed far from natural. Harm's golden eyes flicked briefly out the window, his smile becoming even more mocking. "Tell you what? If we don't hear a third scream, I'll throw myself into jail and I'll spill all my secrets. Everything I know. Even how you absolutely love it when you take little Wulfun boys and bend them over a table." Harm widened his eyes and pressed his paws against his muzzle. "Oops?"

Another person screamed, this time joined by dozens of others. The cry was joined by the words 'Demons!' and 'Help!'

"Let's just call that one, shall we?" Harm mocked.

The Inquisitor gave a loud humph and charged past him, purposefully knocking the Wulfun to the wall. Harm's head banged against the stone columns sending an envoy of stars flashing before his eyes. The other Puria charged forward hurrying after their Inquisitor.

Aria ment to join them but something about Harm's smirk stopped her. "The Inquisitor does not truly defile Wulfun boys, does he, Harm?"

"Of course not." Harm straightened, dusting himself off and rubbing the back of his head. There was a trail of blood on his paws but that quickly disappeared as the droplets of blood sprang up in small, ruby orbs and flew through the air to slide back into his skull. "The bastard is a human supremacist. It's little human boys."

"That is a very dire accusation."

Harm returned to striding up the steps. "Well, that's the beauty of how I delivered it. It might be taken as just me taking a swipe at him or it could be taken as truth. Whatever the case, it's enough to cast doubt."

The Templar shook her head, lengthening her pace so she could walk beside him. "Warton will not believe you know his secret, if it is a secret at all."

"The key to an accusation is not to convince the criminal of their wrongdoings. It is to convince the jury." Harm's smile grew wider. "Besides, Warton has been a real ass ever since we arrived here. I've played the good little puppy for six months. It's time I got back at him."

Aria's amethyst eyes flicked sideways to meet him just as a third set of screams erupted from the city. This was joined by flashes of light, bursts of fire and displays of magic. "Petty revenge is not like you, Harm. What are you planning?"

"You always think I have something planned," the Wulfun answered, rolling his eyes. "Aria, I live in the moment. I don't have any plans."

"Then why do events always work in your favour?"

"Because I act like it was according to plan." He broke into a broad grin. "It's not about having a plan. It's making people think you have a plan."

She shook her head in defeat, sighing loudly. "I am not one of your students, Harm." A second sigh escaped her but this one seemed to lift a great weight from her chest. As they came to the top of the stairwell, they stopped, Aria turning to him. "Harm, I wish you had summoned me. You are an irreplaceable asset to the Church. If a demon were to corrupt you, it would mean disaster for all of Tower Thirteen. Every Station would fall against the might of immortal demons."

Their footfalls made little sounds as they walked the marbled hallways of the Academiae Militares' administration spire. "Demons already are immortal. Even in death, the Mother Goddess Athena will not take their corrupt souls so -"

"They merely return to the void and the fragments of the 12th Station from whence they came," Aria intoned, her voice dark and her eyes narrowed. "While they lack power and they must devour, corrupt and strengthen themselves again from the bottom of the demonic hierarchy, they are undying." Her lips pursed together as she said, "But if they were to become Time Locked, like you, they will be unstoppable. Even the most grievous of damage will not spare them the freedom of their unholy cycle of rebirth. So long as they have the faintest sliver of strength, they will recover."

"But there are ways to keep a Chronomancer from recovering," Harm answered. "I believe I showed that over a millennium ago at the Purge of Time when I created weapons to destroy my own kind."

Aria's jaw hardened. For an instant, she seemed tempted to reach out and comfort him but she stayed her hand. "The Chronomancers had to be eliminated. They were poised to conquer all of Tower Thirteen and had become undying monsters corrupt by their own power."

Harm broke into a broad grin. "And that's why I made a spear that could suck them of all of their magical strength save for the faintest" - he lifted his paw, placing his thumb and forefinger an inch apart - "of energies for all eternity, locking them in an unending, perpetual state of torment where they are fully aware but are unable to move. Oh, and have a spear jabbed through their chests."

The worried glance Aria gave him caused him to tone down his humour somewhat. He stopped one more time, placing a paw on his him and giving her a sidewards glance. "Aria, you know very well that I wouldn't be called 'sane' by most of the Church. Hell, I shouldn't even exist. If people outside of the Church knew I was a Chronomancer, they'd try to skin me, roll out my intestines and use my pelt as winter clothing while my guts are used for jump rope. But everything I do, I do for those very same people that would rather see me dead than accept my help."

The Angel seemed to roll something in her mouth before speaking. "And destroying that village of demons by yourself was for the benefit of the Church and all its people?"

"Riverflow stood as a centre of trade to both Corona and the rest of the northwest. Farmers and other towns must cross Riverflow. Imagine them being corrupted before being sent on their way. Their corruption will spread." Harm retrieved the badge that he had snatched from the corrupted town. "And you know I've been hunting Agares for a while now."

Aria's eyes darkened and she gave a firm nod. "Indeed. That Demon Lord has been quite obsessed with entering this Station."

"It worries me that Agares had managed to corrupt up to a thousand people in Riverflow." His paw closed around the badge. "I don't know how long that town has stood corrupted. I can't tell how many people have passed through its gates and come out with a blackened soul."

Only then did her hand fall on his shoulder. "You could not have known. I understand now that you acted in haste. Time was of the essence."

A bitter laugh escaped him. "Funny you should say that. I control the ebb and flow of time and yet I was late."

"Can Chronomancers not peer into the future?" she mocked as they continued their walk.

"You know as well as I do that would take too much power. Chronomancers have died in the attempt. Manipulating time itself takes so much strength that any ordinary magic-user would perish in the attempt. Chronomancers are a special breed. Now more than ever since they're all but extinct."

Aria smiled slightly, the curves in her lips almost invisible and she appeared as straight-faced as ever. "I think would prefer not to know the future. I would rather not have knowledge of my death looming forever ahead of me."

Harm flicked his ears towards her. "So you'd rather have the threat of death creeping up around you from every corner than knowing with absolute certainty when it'll take your life?"

"Life is not about certainty. Fate is not set in stone. Our destinies are malleable."

The Wulfun remained silent, a genuine smile on his features. Even as they strode towards the large, white doors at the end of the hallway, that smile was unwavering. A pair of Custodia Solis pushed open the doors. A broad, circular chamber unfolded in front of them. The golden visage of the Sun Goddess Apollia was forever engraved in an enormous statue looming above them, her arms spread wide with the insignia of Incendius looming just above her head - the hollowed out eight-flared sun with an 'I' drawn vertically down its centre.

Right beneath the statue stood a proud, strong man dressed in billowing robes with the insignia of the Station drawn in so many places it was almost like staring at a man covered in slitted eyes. The gold and red robes matched the colours of the chamber. Ruby columns rose around the central dais, gilded with gold. The floor was made of an odd material that appeared like red marble with thin veins of gold running through their face. Banners of gold and red fluttered down from above. The multitude of Custodia Solis added a few more splashes of crimson.

The man pounded the long staff of office he held against the dais, sending a loud ringing throughout the chamber. Small, black eyes flared with anger as Harm strode up to the dais, head held high and a smile on his features.

"What have you done, Chronos?" the Apex Clericus Solis boomed. The High Priest of the Sun and religious leader of Incendius spoke with clear, enunciated words but there was no hiding the anger in his voice. "You have brought demons to Corona's walls!"

"Oh that's unique," Harm chuckled softly. "Tell me, Your Holiness, did the good Inquisitor tell you that I also bend over little Wulfun boys in an attempt to sate my insatiable Chronomancer's lust?"

"The Inquisitor has yet to return with his report," the man growled. "But you..." He levelled his staff at Harm. "... you have brought chaos upon Corona! What would happen should the demons reach the Sun Spire!?"

"I'm thinking they'd try to turn the Scorium Axis into a Sin and its corruptive light would end up turning everything and everyone under the sky into a demon. Or maybe they'll try to make it flash rapidly in quick succession for a while. I hearyou're still trying to convince most of your apocatheriums that epilepsy isn't actually demonic possession."

"Enough of your jabs and mockery!" Novallier boomed, storming down the dais. "This is a dire matter!"

Harm's smile grew broader. "It must be to finally have you come down from your throne in the Sun Spire, come down to the Academiae Militares and talk to me after I've asked for an audience for six months."

"You gave me no reason to meet you," the Apex snarled, his hook nose almost coming level with Harm's black, canine nose. "But now... You will pay, Chronomancer."

"I'll gladly pay the fine," the Wulfun answered smugly. "If you will pay yours."

"What do you speak of, Chronomancer?"

Harm reached into his vest and retrieved a folder. It was an ordinary manila folder. Unmarked and unassuming. He handed the document over to the leader of Incendius. Novallier gave him a foul stare before opening it very slowly.

Novallier's widened eyes was enough to cause a chilling silence to fall over the entire chamber.

"What... What is this...?"

"They are called the Justitae Ignibus," Harm answered. "The Fires of Justice. They are a large congregation of non-humans who have called bullshit on the Church's treatment of non-humans. They claim the Church harbours a human supremacist ideology and treats anyone who isn't human like well... like bullshit."

Harm gave a dismissive shrug. "In fact, they're making some rather convincing cases against Incendius in particular. Human males are chosen to become part of the Custodia Lupus and after they transform into Incendius werewolves to fight the Darkened beyond Chillfarn, they are treated like second-class citizens. Your lords and ladies have been caught verbally slandering the Lupus."

"They are allowed their opinions," Novallier countered.

"And what about these savage beatings to members of the Custodia Vampiri?"

"Acts of misfits and vagrants!"

"All hundred and thirty-seven of them?"

Novallier shut the folder with a snap. "Over how many years? The Church has existed for millennia! The Shadow War ended just over one and a half millennia ago! Are we to suffer for crimes that have occurred in the span thousand and five hundred years even when they seem related? Answer me that, Harm Chronos!"

Harm's smile unsettled the Apex Clericus Solis. "That's one hundred and thirty-seven cases... since I came here six months ago."

Again, that chilling silence.

Slowly, Novallier opened the folder again. "What do they say about the Church?"

"They're calling you out on your inaction," the Wulfun answered. "They're claiming that because you aren't doing anything to stop these acts, you are actually supporting it."

"That is -"

"Valid," Aria interrupted. Novallier and Harm turned to her, Harm with one eyebrow raised. "Your Holiness, even if you were unaware of these acts, you are now. We must act upon them."

Novallier regarded the folder again. "Their protests are rapidly gaining momentum," he stated. "Very well... This may turn violent and turn the people against the Church. Where is their highest concentration?"

"A town far to the south," Harm answered, "sandwiched between the lands of the Vampiri and the Lupus. Clockwork."

"I will deal with this." Novallier shut the folder one last time. "I will make arrangements." He turned his back to them, his billowing robes smacking Harm's chest lightly. "Dismissed."

"Your Holiness," Aria answered, bowing low.

"Hey," Harm began, a big grin appearing on his face. "Maybe you can now let it slip that the demons were infecting Riverflow and use the fact that they got really close to the Sun Spire as justification as to why you weren't acting. Demons are top priority, right?"

For the last time, that chilling silence.

Aria slowly rose, giving Harm a horrified stare.

Even Novallier had frozen in place.

"Well, bye!" Harm announced, waving cheerily before spinning on his heel and marching with exaggerated steps out of the chamber.

When the chamber doors shut behind him, Aria quickly overtook him and seized his shoulders. "You planning this!" she accused. "You used Warton's hatred of you to cause this attack on Corona! You used the attack to lure the Apex Clericus Solis to meet us so you can present your case! Now, you're using the same attack to justify Novallier's inaction for the past six months!"

Harm smiled at her, shaking his head at her. "Oh Aria. What did I just tell you? I never have plans. I just make people think I have plans."