Imperial Capital of Solhaven - The Same Morning
Grand Inquisitor Matthias Crowned-in-Light stood before the Celestial Council and felt the familiar weight of divine righteousness settle over the chamber like a shroud.
The Hall of Eternal Radiance lived up to its name, every surface gleamed with white marble veined with gold, enchanted to emit a constant, sterile glow. No shadows could exist here. The Light permitted no darkness, no ambiguity, no refuge for impurity.
Just as the God of Light commanded.
"Explain," High Luminary Seraphina intoned, her voice carrying the weight of absolute moral certainty, "how an abomination has been permitted to establish a foothold in our righteous domain."
Her emphasis on 'abomination' was precise, clinical. After all, that was the official designation for any being whose existence contradicted the Light's divine order.
Demons: abominations by nature, corrupted essence given form.
Dragons: abominations by choice, hoarding power instead of submitting to proper authority.
Demi-humans: unfortunate accidents of creation, to be pitied and purified.
And chimeras? Chimeras were abominations squared, multiple impurities fused into a single walking affront to natural order.
"The Shadowfen zone has always been designated a Containment Region," Matthias began, his tone carefully neutral. "Our Cleansing Protocols focus on mapped territories first. The deep forest was considered... self-correcting."
"Self-correcting," Arch-Purifier Aldric repeated, his white robes shimmering with woven light-spells that could burn the flesh from heretic bones. "You assumed the forest would kill it."
"Yes, Arch-Purifier."
"Instead, it thrived." Aldric's disgust was palpable. "It conquered our dungeon... a dungeon designed to destroy precisely this kind of corruption. And now it breeds."
The word 'breeds' was delivered with particular venom. The establishment of bonds between non-human species was considered one of the gravest sins against the natural order. Cross-species contamination, they called it. Willful corruption of divine design.
Seraphina gestured, and the magical projection shifted, showing fuzzy images of Ashenhearth, its mixed population visible even through the scrying interference.
"Catalog the corruption."
Matthias pulled out his report, each word carefully chosen. In the Empire, language was a weapon, a shield, and evidence all at once. "Primary entity: chimera-class abomination. Three confirmed base races, a demon variant, a primordial dragon bloodline, and unidentified stellar corruption. Designation: Knox Ashford, self-styled Warden."
"It has a name," one of the Council members spat. "As if that makes it a person."
"Continuing," Matthias pressed on. "Bonded entities: One primordial shadow dragon... confirmed sentient-class threat. Two fairy nobles... racially acceptable but ideologically compromised through voluntary bonding with corruption. Three Oni warriors from the eastern wastes. And..."
He paused. This was the part that would cause problems.
"And?" Seraphina's voice was ice.
"Matron Siraq of the Northern Bear Clans has entered romantic entanglement with the entity."
The temperature in the room plummeted.
"Siraq," Seraphina said slowly, each syllable sharp as broken glass. "The matron we've been tolerating as a buffer state against northern expansion. The one we've been grooming for eventual Integration into proper civilization."
"Has joined a harem of monsters," Aldric finished. "This is beyond contamination. This is willing corruption of a borderline-acceptable species."
Matthias kept his expression neutral. 'Borderline-acceptable' was the Empire's designation for demi-humans who could potentially be Integrated, forced breeding programs, re-education camps, strategic dilution of non-human traits over generations until the offspring were "pure enough" to be considered human.
The bear clans had been resisting Integration for decades. Siraq's "corruption" gave the Empire the excuse they'd been waiting for.
"There's more," he continued. "Intelligence suggests the entity is establishing Ashenhearth as a sanctuary. It's been accepting refugees, displaced demi-humans, dungeon-warped creatures, even sympathetic humans who reject our Purity Doctrine."
"Sympathetic humans," another Council member hissed. "Traitors to their own kind."
"Precisely. The entity appears to be building a deliberate counter-cultural movement. A place where species intermingle without proper oversight, where corruption is celebrated rather than cleansed, where beings exist outside Imperial authority."
Seraphina stood, and every person in the room instinctively straightened. The High Luminary was more than a political leader; she was the Voice of Light, divinely ordained, answerable only to the God himself.
"This cannot stand," she declared. "The Light's mandate is clear: corruption must be cleansed, impurity must be purged, and the natural order must be maintained. This... Ashenhearth... represents everything we stand against."
"Proposed response?" Aldric asked.
"Immediate Cleansing Protocol would be optimal," Seraphina said. "Overwhelming force. Purification by holy fire. Ensure no trace of corruption survives."
"Shadowfen terrain makes large-scale military operations problematic," Matthias pointed out carefully. "Our forces suffer ninety percent casualties in deep-forest deployment. The entity's location is heavily defensible, and the bonded beings include threats capable of inflicting catastrophic losses."
Translation: they'd win, but the cost would be enormous and very public.
"Then we try diplomacy first," Seraphina said, the word 'diplomacy' carrying the same tone as 'necessary evil.' "Send an envoy. Assess the extent of corruption. Determine if the entity can be... redirected."
"Redirected," Matthias repeated carefully.
"Convinced to submit to proper authority. To dissolve its abomination bonds. To accept Integration protocols for itself and its companions." Her smile was colder than a Frostreach winter. "Or failing that, to conveniently perish during negotiations. Diplomatic incidents happen, after all."
"And if it refuses both options?"
"Then we have legal justification for full Cleansing." Aldric leaned forward, his expression hungry. "A formal rejection of Imperial diplomatic outreach, combined with harboring of corrupted beings and establishment of an illegal territory? The documentation writes itself."
Matthias understood. This wasn't about assessment. This was about manufacturing justification for genocide while maintaining the appearance of righteousness.
"I'm assigning Paladin-Commander Gavriel Lightsbane," Seraphina announced. "He has experience with... difficult negotiations."
Matthias's stomach dropped. Gavriel was many things: efficient, ruthless, and absolutely devoted to the Purity Doctrine, but diplomatic was not among them. His previous "negotiations" had ended with three villages burned and their populations processed through Re-education Centers.
"High Luminary," he began carefully, "perhaps someone with more experience in cross-cultural..."
"Are you questioning my judgment, Inquisitor?"
The threat in her voice was unmistakable. Matthias had seen people disappear into the Purification Chambers for less.
"No, High Luminary. Merely suggesting that Commander Gavriel's... direct approach... might escalate rather than resolve."
"That," she said coldly, "is rather the point. The entity needs to understand that the Empire's patience has limits. If it submits, accepts proper authority, and agrees to Purification protocols, it may be permitted to exist in a supervised capacity. If it refuses..."
She didn't need to finish. Everyone in the room knew what happened to those who refused the Light.
"Commander Gavriel will depart in three days," Seraphina continued. "He'll be accompanied by a Purification Squad. fifty Paladins, twenty Battle-Clerics, full sanctification equipment. Enough force to defend our envoy or, if necessary, establish a forward Cleansing position."
"That's not a diplomatic mission," Matthias said before he could stop himself. "That's an invasion force."
"That," Seraphina's smile was terrible to behold, "is proper precaution when dealing with concentrated corruption. After all, we wouldn't want our envoy to be contaminated by proximity to such impurity."
Aldric nodded sagely. "The paperwork will list it as 'diplomatic security detail with optional Purification capability.' Perfectly legal under Emergency Corruption Protocols."
"What about Siraq and the bear clans?" another Council member asked. "They've been valuable in containing northern expansion. Losing their cooperation could..."
"Could nothing," Seraphina interrupted. "The bear clans have been a temporary convenience at best. If Siraq has willingly corrupted herself through mongrel bonding, then the entire species is clearly beyond salvation. We'll use this as justification to accelerate Integration protocols across all demi-human territories."
Matthias felt something cold settle in his chest. This wasn't about Knox Ashford anymore. This was about using one chimera in a forest as an excuse to expand Purification programs empire-wide.
"The Oni?" he asked, already knowing the answer.
"The eastern wastes have resisted proper civilization for too long. If their warriors are consorting with abominations, it demonstrates the corruption has spread further than we feared. Recommend upgrading their designation from 'problematic neighbors' to 'active Purification targets.'"
Around the table, heads nodded in agreement. This was how it always worked. identify one target, expand justification, increase authority, eliminate entire populations while calling it divine mandate.
"What about the humans?" Matthias pressed. "Intelligence suggests some Empire citizens are seeking sanctuary in Ashenhearth. Citizens fleeing legitimate Imperial authority to join corruption."
"Traitors," Aldric said flatly. "Contaminated by proximity to impurity. Standard Purification protocols apply... immediate detention, re-education if viable, cleansing if not. No exceptions."
"Even children?"
"Especially children. Corruption spreads fastest through the impressionable." Seraphina's expression was utterly serene, completely convinced of her righteousness. "Better to cleanse a generation than risk contamination spreading."
Matthias had been an Inquisitor for fifteen years. He'd overseen dozens of Purification operations, signed hundreds of Cleansing orders, and watched entire communities disappear into the Light's holy fire.
He'd told himself it was necessary. That order required sacrifice. That purity demanded a price.
But sitting in this chamber, listening to mass murder being planned with bureaucratic efficiency, something in him finally broke.
Or maybe, for the first time in fifteen years, something in him finally woke up.
"I understand, High Luminary. I'll prepare the necessary documentation."
"Good. Dismissed."
After the Council - Private Chamber
Matthias made it to his office before his hands started shaking.
He'd spent years rationalizing. Years telling himself the Empire's actions were harsh but necessary. That civilization required order, and order required... sacrifices.
But this wasn't order. This was genocide wrapped in holy language and bureaucratic efficiency.
And he'd been complicit in it for fifteen years.
A knock at his door. "Enter."
Paladin-Commander Helena Dawnbringer stepped in, her silver armor gleaming, her expression carefully neutral. "Inquisitor. I heard about the Ashenhearth assignment."
"You heard they're sending Gavriel with a Purification Squad disguised as diplomatic security?"
"Everyone heard. The man doesn't understand subtlety." She closed the door, checking for surveillance spells out of habit. "Matthias... are we really doing this? Planning to eliminate an entire population because they're different?"
"The High Luminary has spoken. The Light's will is clear."
"That's dogma. I'm asking what you actually think."
He looked at her... really looked. Helena had been a Paladin for twelve years, risen through ranks on merit and genuine conviction. She'd joined to protect people, all people, and slowly watched her order become an instrument of systematic elimination.
"I think," he said carefully, "that we're about to murder innocents and call it righteousness. And I think I'm tired of pretending that's acceptable."
Helena's eyes widened. "Matthias, that's..."
"Sedition? Heresy? Corruption of faith?" He laughed bitterly. "Maybe. Or maybe it's finally seeing clearly after fifteen years of willful blindness."
"You can't say things like that. If anyone hears..."
"I know. Purification Chambers, re-education, cleansing fire. I've signed those orders, Helena. I've written the protocols." He pulled out a hidden bottle of wine, real wine, not the watered sacramental stuff. "I've been telling myself it was necessary. That order required it. That the Light demanded it."
"And now?"
"Now I'm watching them plan to eliminate an entire population because their existence is inconvenient. Because someone dared to build something outside Imperial control. Because different species chose to live together peacefully."
He poured two glasses, his hands steadier now. "Knox Ashford conquered a dungeon that kills gods, built a sanctuary for the displaced, and established bonds across species lines. By any reasonable measure, that's extraordinary. But to the Council? It's corruption requiring cleansing."
Helena took the wine but didn't drink. "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying Gavriel is going to provoke a conflict, use it as justification for Purification, and kill everyone in Ashenhearth regardless of innocence or threat level. And the Empire will celebrate it as a great victory for civilization."
"We can't stop it."
"No. But we can warn them."
Helena nearly dropped her glass. "That's treason."
"That's preventing mass murder." He met her eyes. "Helena, you became a Paladin to protect people. I became an Inquisitor because I believed in order, in civilization, in the Light's mandate. But this?" He gestured toward the Council chambers. "This isn't protection. This isn't civilization. This is systematic elimination of anyone who doesn't conform."
"They'll kill us if we betray the Empire."
"They'll make us complicit in genocide if we don't." He finally drank, the wine sharp and clarifying. "I'm done, Helena. I'm done signing death warrants for children because they're 'contaminated.' I'm done watching entire species disappear because they're 'impure.' I'm done pretending holy language makes atrocity acceptable."
"So what do we do?"
"You have three days before Gavriel departs. Use them to gather intelligence, prepare escape routes, anything that might help. I'll delay the documentation, create bureaucratic tangles, buy time."
"And then?"
"Then we hope Knox Ashford is everything the reports suggest. Because he's about to face the full weight of the Empire's righteous fury, and if he falls..." Matthias stared into his wine. "If he falls, there's no hope for anyone who dares to be different."
Helena was quiet for a long moment. Then: "I have a cousin. In Ashenhearth. She fled after her village was scheduled for Integration. If Gavriel finds her..."
"He'll execute her as a traitor and use it as proof of corruption."
"I can't let that happen."
"Then help me stop it."
She set down the wine, her expression hardening into something between determination and terror. "What do you need?"
"Names. Every sympathetic officer you know. Anyone who joined believing in protection, not purification. Anyone who's started questioning the doctrine."
"That's a resistance cell."
"That's survival." He pulled out blank parchment. "The Empire is accelerating. First Ashenhearth, then the bear clans, then the Oni territories, then anyone else who doesn't conform. Eventually, they'll turn on their own citizens. They always do."
"You're talking about civil war."
"I'm talking about not letting them commit genocide unopposed." He started writing, each word careful, coded. "Three days, Helena. Help me use them well."
She studied him for a long moment, then nodded slowly. "I'm in. Light help us both."
"The Light," Matthias said bitterly, "stopped listening a long time ago. We're on our own now."
Meanwhile - Gavriel's Preparation
Paladin-Commander Gavriel Lightsbane stood in the Sanctification Chamber and smiled.
Finally. Finally, a proper target.
He'd been wasting his talents on minor Purifications, small villages, isolated demi-human clans, and scattered heretics. Important work, certainly, but not glorious.
But this? A concentrated corruption, a self-styled fortress of mongrels and abominations, led by a chimera demon that dared to call itself a Warden?
This was the kind of target that made reputations.
"Status," he barked at his second-in-command.
"Fifty Paladins assembled, all Purity-sworn. Twenty Battle-Clerics with full sanctification loadout. Support includes ten Purification Mages and a Judgment Priest for official documentation."
"Excellent. Siege equipment?"
"Two blessed ballistae, portable altar for field sanctification, and enough holy oil to burn the entire fortress if needed."
Gavriel's smile widened. "Perfect. The High Luminary wants assessment, but we're prepared for Cleansing. I want minimal survivors, enough to interrogate about the corruption's spread, not enough to rebuild."
"The diplomatic protocol?"
"Is a formality. We'll offer surrender terms designed to be rejected. Demand the entity dissolve all abomination bonds, submit to Purification processing, and hand over all demi-humans for Integration. When it refuses... and it will refuse... we have justification for immediate Cleansing."
His second nodded approvingly. "What about the dragon?"
"Primordial or not, it bleeds. We have dragon-bane weapons, sanctified chains, and if necessary, I'll call down Judgment personally." He checked his equipment, sword blessed by the High Luminary herself, armor inscribed with Purity wards, holy symbol of rank. "This corruption has existed too long. Time to remind the world that the Light tolerates no darkness."
"And if it actually surrenders?"
Gavriel laughed. "Then we process them through Purification anyway. Corruption this deep can't be cleansed, it can only be eliminated. But at least we'll have documentation showing we tried diplomacy first."
"The High Luminary will be pleased."
"The High Luminary understands necessity. This chimera has built a symbol... a symbol that says you can exist outside Imperial authority, that corruption can thrive unchecked, that mongrel bonds are acceptable." His expression hardened. "We're going to burn that symbol to ash and scatter its remains as a lesson."
"When do we depart?"
"Three days. I want this done efficiently, march in, offer impossible terms, document refusal, initiate Cleansing, burn the fortress, eliminate survivors, report success." He turned to face his assembled Paladins. "This is the Light's work, brothers and sisters. We go to cleanse corruption, to purify impurity, to ensure the natural order remains intact."
Fifty voices responded in perfect unison: "By Light, through Light, for Light eternal!"
"Three days," Gavriel repeated, his smile cold and certain. "And then Ashenhearth falls."
[DIPLOMATIC ENVOY: ACTUALLY AN EXECUTION SQUAD]
[DEPARTURE: 3 DAYS]
[KNOX'S AWARENESS: ZERO]
[GENOCIDE: FORMALLY APPROVED]
[RESISTANCE: FORMING IN SHADOWS]
[THE LIGHT'S MANDATE: ABSOLUTE PURIFICATION]
The Empire had noticed Ashenhearth.
And unlike reasonable authorities who might negotiate, discuss, or even ignore...
The Light saw only corruption requiring cleansing.
No mercy. No exceptions. No survivors.
The storm was coming.
And it wore holy armor and called genocide righteousness.