On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor Side Twenty-Four – Revelation-Cardinal Lorenzo Giudice

Side Twenty-Four – Revelation-Cardinal Lorenzo Giudice

“So, we have gathered, yet alas, so of our faithful are missing, I see.” As he glanced around the room, Revelation-Cardinal Lorenzo Giudice noticed that of the thirteen souls that should have been occupying the decorated podiums carved out of the stone of the surrounding catacombs, faced in marble and chased with gold, only eight, including himself, was present.

“Non importa. Such is to be expected. For we have waited long for this day.” His piercing hazel eyes surveyed his fellows. “Still, for those of us that have made the journey under the auspices of the one and only God, I offer you benvenuto. welco.” Despite being Italian, and that being the main language of the Catholic Church, he spoke flawless English, for that was the word of True Revelation.

“It has indeed been too long.” The speaker was old, his hair a snowy white, yet his body was still muscled, lean and tanned. He was wearing vestnts as would any other Cardinal, yet they were armoured with plates of a golden tal, and in his sash was belted a sword, old-looking, the hilt a cross, yet the blade was bright and free of rust, shining under the many candelabra that lit the hall. “I knew when I heard the voice of tatron in my dreams, and Crucis Purgationis started waking from its slumber, that the ti long prophesised in the true book of Revelations has co. Praise be to God, an!”

She wears the Anulus Fortunae. And with that colouring… “Would you be the successor to Magdalena Stuart? I had heard she died, so was expecting one of our missing brothers and sisters to be her. If so, this is il volere di Dio, most certainly. God’s will indeed.”

“Yes, my grandmother, God rest her immortal soul, may it return safely to the Ninth and only True Heaven to await our arrival after Armageddon, she was raising to carry her burden. I admit, when I was young I did not believe, only doing it to please her, but when the voice of tatron was revealed to … my path is clear.”

“Bah, to have soone of such weak faith as one of the Cardinals of True-Revelation is upsetting. How low we have fallen. God tasked us to prepare for this for nearly two-thousand years, yet… this… is all we have? We once controlled nearly the entire globe, kings and peasants alike heeded our words, or else they faced ruin and damnation!” the speaker was a big man, with dark brown hair and eyes. His ceremonial cassock was straining under his muscles, and was adorned with silver chainmail, each loop secured by a tiny crucifix. Beside him was a monstrous wooden wheel, ringed with stakes, and he rested his hand on it sourly, glaring at the new successor.

“Enough, cessare, Judgent-Cardinal Luca Aloisio! If our esteed successor did not have the requisite faith, tatron would not have graced her with orders. Who are we to gainsay the very voice of our Lord and God? Be thankful we do not have another empty podium, and another of the treasures we have been bequeathed unrecovered.”

“Indeed, I thank you, Revelation-Cardinal.” The beautiful young woman curtsied politely. Turning to Luca she gave him a pretty smile. “My Grandmother told of you, and to take no notice of your fury. After all, to use the Rota Iudicii, our Wheel of Judgent, you must be resolute, unstoppable. I am her granddaughter, Mary Stuart, and I shall serve the Lord, never doubt it. Besides I see two more who do not match my Grandmother’s descriptions.”

At the remaining two filled podiums, there were an androgynous pair of beautiful young people. They had dark hair, as black as the darkest of nights, and their skin was white and beautiful, without blemish. Their eyes were a unique colour too, a rare red, yet not the pinkish red of albinism, but the rich red of ruby or blood. Under their robes it was hard to see their body-shapes, but one had short hair, the other a long cascade. As they t everyone’s gaze, they both responded, one bowing and one curtsying as Mary Stuart had done.

Such eyes and unearthly looks. Surely in the past they would have been suspected to have Devil blood. Still, to be here, and to be carrying those… The long-haired one was holding a golden goblet, a treasured replica of the long-lost Holy Grail, the Poculum Orationis, while the other… yes, the Falsa Testa, spear ho to the last precious shard of the weapon that pierced the very flesh of our Lord, Jesus Christ on the cross. For our sins he had paid the ultimate price willingly, his divinity unquestioned.

Unlike the many false beings we shall have to contend with now. For two thousand years we have driven them back, purging them where we found them, rooting out all who trafficked with unholy powers… and our efforts have born great fruits, yet in our success we too have withered, only a re portion of our once great power remaining… alas, God’s great mansion contains many rooms still, yet all but the Ninth Heaven are crawling with sin… so we must take up arms…

“You two must be the new Blessing-Cardinal and Cursing-Cardinal. Again, I expected those podiums to be empty. Gloria e lode to your predecessors, they have done well finding you.”

“It is an honour to be here at the End of Days.” The long-haired one spoke, her accent appalling. It was Russian, by the sounds of it, the sa as the previous Blessing-Cardinal. “I am Anastasia Solovyova. My brother here is Konstantin Solovyov. Sadly he cannot speak, for he has no tongue. God has called for him to deliver his word by actions, not sounds.”

Konstantin nodded, opening his mouth for all to see the stump of his tongue. Still, his gaze was firm, pleasing to the eye, and full of faith. Hmm, the old Cursing-Cardinal was Arabic. There is a story here. But that is for later.

“So, we have all gathered then, those of us who are able. I believe that the Faith-Cardinal passed several years ago, and the Seminary was destroyed. A vile blow. Those unbelievers will pay a high toll now that the ti for true Revelations has co. An. Does anyone know of the others? Can we still hold out hope?”

“My grandmother told that the Charity-Cardinal was waylaid in the Far East. I believe she said it was Cultivators, if you can believe that nonsense.” Mary Stuart made a sign of the cross and spat in disgust.

“Such trash do exist, though like the cowards they were, most fled nigh on fifteen-hundred years ago.” Luca stroked his wheel. “Now all that are left are a few vermin who practice their ungodly arts in secret, hiding from their equally faithless governnt. If we have to start a purge before Armageddon, I suggest we start there. I know that the Charity-cardinal was old like the rest of us but tale follia, such a disappointnt…”

“Do not be so harsh on our fellows.” Maximillian said suddenly. “In my youth I duelled a pair of these Chinese Cultivators when I did missionary work. They were quite annoying. One even got away. The other is currently where he belongs in Hell, though…”

“Enough. Peace.” Lorenzo sighed, unamused at the bickering. “We will make do with what we have. The Choir still stands, even if we have lost the Seminary, and several of the Orders. And with God on our side, what do we have to fear? The Pontiff, God rest his naïve soul, is too wedded to peace and reconciliation to understand the threat. I do not bla him, successive generations have softened their stance, leaving it to us in the shadows to make sure that the sacrifice of our Lord, separating this world from the sinful, protecting this Garden of Eden, is not in vain. As ti passes and the chaos begins, more will flock to our banners and faith will be rekindled, as is stated in the True Revelations. But first, we must take stock. As is in the Choir, others will have heard the call of God. We must gather them, before they use their Hallowed Ground. I trust you have all refrained until now?”

As everyone nodded, Lorenzo was pleased. The temptation to deploy Hallowed Ground and reap the benefits was imnse, but as n and won of faith, they resisted, as they would the whispers of the Devil himself.

“Excellent. We need to carefully choose where we call upon them. As Armageddon approaches, only under Hallowed Ground shall the faithful be saved. We must protect the worthy and the sacred.”

But to do so, one must dip their hands in the filth of the returning sinful lands. Yes, God’s mansions truly are now filled with abominations…

Clapping his hands together, the sound echoing around the catacombs under the Vatican, Lorenzo smiled. “Go with God, my friends, my brethren. Go with God, and save those of worthy faith. We must also recover the lost treasures our missing brethren were entrusted with, for should they fall into the wrong hands…”

With Armageddon fast approaching, every grace God left us must be used. We cannot, no WILL not fail him.