All-Father Balor glanced over the girl, his dark eyes studying her face. He smiled, gently, the edges of his mustache twitching as he did. He was a kindly man, a man of the Gods, Aidalis could tell. But he was a Gaulmen, and Gaulmen were known for their stubborn, unmalleable natures. If they hadn't saved Donegal from Sahariel, Aidalis knew that the people of Gaul would have been all killed long ago, for the way they still clung to their old beliefs, the way they distorted the words of the Gods Who Are Many in the old Gaulian tongue. The All-Father settled back down in his chair, with the shift of fabric and the clink of his golden armor. Aidalis, however, preferred the way that Balor looked at her than the All-Brother they had seen when they first entered the city. His looks were looks that a father gives to a child, the way that a much older brother looked at his very young sister. Aidalis had a feeling that he could trust the All-Father, even if the All-Father didn't approve of the way that Aidalis touched the angel. Even now, Balor's eyes were trained upon the scarred fingers that were touching Kieara's shoulder. The look, to Aidalis' surprise, was not a critical one, but instead, a look that seemed curious, inquisitive.
At Kieara's explanation, All-Father Balor spoke, his dark eyes still trained on the featureless fingertips that belonged to Aidalis, but his words were directed towards Kieara; "The good Beannaithe Saul is an honouable man." Beannaithe. It was the old Gaulian word for a holy knight - like the ones that had protected their High Priestess and Priest when the Gaulmen were still uncivilized pagans. It was strange to hear the old, archaic title come from the All-Father's lips, but Aidalis felt a strange sort of identity with the title. The Beannaithe had existed to protect the pagan gods-on-earth from the evils of the world and the violence of Man. Now, Aidalis was doing nearly the same thing, protecting an angel from the same wickedness.
All-Father Balor repeated in his clear, warm voice, "He is an honourable man, but All-Sword Caleb Ezekiel was an honourable man as well." He traced a gauntleted finger down one of the heavy vellum pages int he book infront of them, over one of the inked words, "Sahariel fell from the high-heavens in the Year Five-Hundred. She landed in the outskirts of the Gaul-lands, in a place called An-Càrn-Bàn. Unlike you, my dear elohim," The All-Father's eyes lingered on Kieara, "She did not land near a town. An-Càrn-Bàn was near nothing but a small mining post. Suddenly, the Lady of Light found herself in the amongst the most unwashed of men."
Balor's expression turned sad, brows knitting. He ran a hand down his beard, and continued his tale. "There was a man in An-Càrn-Bàn, the foreman for the mining operation. His name is recored in the Codex as Cyhir. Most know him today as Cyhir the Black, or Cyhir of the Blackened Sky." The All-Father turned a page in the book, which had a sketch of a man with a nest of braids for hair, and fair features. The illustration's smile, though, was hungry and dangerous. "Cyhir was the first to find Sahariel, and he was overcome with her beauty. A gift from the High-Heavens had been dropped into his camp, and he had to have her, as Cyhir saw it. Sahariel explained that she had come to this world to bring Light - and that she had to speak with the All-Voice. Cyhir agreed to her terms, and assembled a group of the five most able men, with himself as the sixth, to bring her to the All-Voice. Sahariel was deeply grateful, and the Lady of Light promised that the Gods would reward them."
Aidalis's hands tightened on Kieara's shoulders. He knew what was coming next, the dark part of the story, the part that he dared not tell the angel. From behind his mask came a snarl, an animalistic sort of sound. Words soon followed, sharp, cold words; "All-Father, she does not need to hear this." The All-Father turned his bearded head towards Aidalis, and he shook his head, hands turning a page in the book. "She must hear this, Beannaithe Saul. She must understand what may face her, in this world. Ignorance will not protect her, no matter how much you wish it would." Aidalis let out a low growl, but he was placated. The All-Father was right. He could not protect her from the truth. His hands flattened on Kiearna's shoulders, pressing his palms against the round flesh and bones of she her shoulders, holding her, to brace her for the continuation of the sad tale of Sahariel.
The All-Father continued, his voice cold and condemning. "But Tir Caderyn, the seat of the All-Voice is many miles away. And it had never been the intention of Cyhir to ever take Sahariel to that place. Instead, he and his men led her into Mara's Woods, and the innocent elohim, not knowing better, followed. He had brought five men for a reason. One held down her right leg, the other, her left. Two held down each of her arms, and the fifth held down her shoulders." Aidalis suddenly released Kieara's shoulders, and folded his arms across his chest once more. He could not touch her. Not for this part of the story. "Then, Cyhir raped her. Each of his men had their turn with the elohim." The All-Father's words curled with disgust. "They did things to her that no man should do to a maiden. And they expected her - a Lady of Light - to accept this. While they slept, she ran from them."
"And in the woods, she ran into a mysterious stranger, all dressed in shining armor like our own Beannaithe Saul." The All-Father gestured with an armored hand to Aidalis. Aidalis visible tensed, his hands curling into fists at his sides, the muscles in his neck standing out sharply. But he made no sound. None could see his grimace behind the mask. "A handsome man with gallant poise and a soft voice who rode upon a tall white horse. He offered to take Sahariel to safety, seeing her torn dress and tears. She gratefully agreed, wishing to be away from these evil woods as soon as possible. But instead, he carried her off to the depths of the Abyss - her mysterious rescuer had been one of Abraxas's pets." Abraxas the Oathbreaker. The Lord of Deceit. At the very mention of his name Aidalis let out another growl, his hand resting on the pommel of his sword, fingers tensing around the hilt. "And there, the demons did horrible things to her; polluting her body with their vile magics. They discovered something terrible. All demons are inherently male, or have no sex, which forced them to make crude clones of themselves to fill their armies. But a womb had been bestowed upon them. And from Sahariel's cursed womb, demons budded and flowered. She began to be called Mother of Monsters by the Prime Evils. The King of Kings, the Prime Evil Bel, came to her once, when she was pregnant with his children. He promised her many sick and vile things."
The All-Father shook his head. "She accepted. And then, she was no longer Sahariel of Faith, Lady of Light. she became Sahariel, the Mother of Monsters, the Lady of Heretics. The Heresiarch. All demons, all the ones with minds and beings, come from her tainted womb. And she vowed to punish the Gaulmen for the unspeakable acts done to her. She came to Gaul, and began to butcher our people, beginning with the men at An-Càrn-Bàn. She killed Cyhir first." The All-Father's words were still harsh. He clearly had no sympathy for the man. "But then she thought that the rest of Gaul should become like her - and she began trying to seduce men from the Gods Who Are Many to our old gods, and to her dark masters. Women, she carried off in the night, giving them to the armies of the Abyss to do with as they pleased. But All-Sword Caleb Ezekiel cut her down, and subdued her. He was not able to destroy her, however, so the Gaulmen gave their spirits up, to guard and watch over her eternal prison, deep, deep beneath the earth, under the tree within the heart of the forest. Cyhir's name is cursed across the wide-world."
The All Sword's eyes flickered over Kieara, "I tell you this story, so that you might understand what dangers are in this world. The Gods of All blotted out the sky because of man's great sin, their desecration of Sahariel. The good Beannaithe Saul is an honouable man - " The same phrase again, Aidalis noted. The same expression of the man's faith in him. There was a but in there, somewhere, something that the man was going to take issue with. Balor continued, "- but even he is only a Man." His dark eyes turn to look back down at his book. "The Codex has words for this, for what is to be done with a fallen Lady of Light. But I would advise you to merely make way to Tir Caderyn. I fear that if Beannaithe Saul hears this prophecy, he will no longer be suitable to protect you, my dear."
