The Arcade Series

P.O.V. Earl Mills

Life has been hard on me all my life, right from the get go on my birth on the streets of the capital. Of course there have been worse experiences than my own, but compared to the spoiled lives of the merchants, mages and heaven forbid I mention the royalty… But that was never a reason for me to cry to myself at night or start talking to the bottle.

I always pushed myself the hardest for the longest instead of becoming a wreck of a person like some did. I was the first to rise in the morning and the first to ask the businesses if there was work to be done and I would be the last to leave with the most pay. Other people didn't like that of course, and I was robbed and beaten up because of it, but I was a quick learner and most days I came home to my little alley with a loaf of bread in my hands and a full bottle of water from the well.

Then came The Church of the Purifying Flame, the worshipers of the goddess Hethea, goddess of the purifying flame, bringer of light and growth. Oldest and head of the Holy Pantheon. The Elders of the Order of the Clerics in their wisdom had brought it upon themselves and the Order to, in the time of peace that was across the land, lessen the suffering of the citizens and the homeless, sheltering and feeding the homeless when they could. So they descended from the Green Cititel into the capital and made shelters and gave out food for the people like myself, establishing the Citizen Support Foundation.

They experienced troubles and some pushback for the establishment of the Citizen Support Foundation, as the majority of merchants and lords of the city were determined to put a stop to this organization as they felt it would undermine the agricultural industry or something. But through the support of the church it became a firm part of life on the streets of the capital before spreading to other cities across the kingdom, to the dismay of those trying to shut down this movement.

The kingdom's lords and merchants came to realize the benefits of this organization quickly however, as the people who were on the brink of death started to join the workforce in masses. Not everybody who received the support of the church did, but it was enough to be noticed. The capital turned into a prospering utopia and the kingdom started to recover from the war as the years came and went.

I could see what the church was trying to accomplish even from on the streets as my oldest friends got jobs and the gangs were quelled by the city guards that had grown in numbers significantly from the recovery of the injured and disabled that wanted to do their part. Adventuring became a more secure career as the healing provided by the church spread across the kingdom. The roads became safer as the Adventurers Guild grew in power and numbers, issuing quest after quest to slay dangerous beasts and bandits. People were living in comfort that there never was even before the war.

So like another good part of the people who were helped by the church's efforts I wanted to help and do my part in the mission of the church, so I became an Initiate of The Church of the Purifying Flame. Of course there was the problem that made all my friends laugh in my face when I told them what I was doing. I was an atheist. Note I said ‘was’ and not ‘am’. I ‘was’ stupid, but I ‘am’ not anymore. Yes, I was aware that people used the ‘holy magic of Hethea’ to heal people. No, I did not believe that the source of this magic was from faith in an all powerful divine being. I think that I thought it was some secret form of magic that the church was trying to cover up so they could exclusively use it.

But my experience while I was an Initiate changed me. Changed my entire world view. I connected to the divine domain of Hethea during those years and I learned how to strengthen myself to bear the tiniest fraction of her Divine Energy. I could feel the proof of the goddesses divinity with my very soul. It was during those years that I learned to devote myself down the path of the divine, or as the churches have named this path, Cultivation.

The workings of Holy magics was not known to the general populous, as the church has rightly kept all the secrets of the divine and Cultivation hidden for their proper use. When that knowledge escapes the bounds of the church's control… terrible things happen. People try to pervert the divine into Dark magic which they use under their own power instead of the holy power of the gods. Undead are only one example, Spirits in the form of evil Liches maintained by their unnatural and artificial domains. Demonic Cultivators being another example, people whose minds and bodies are corrupted by the power between the holy domains of the gods.

But for the right people under the care of the churches, Cultivation is the power that fuels the will of the divine through the bodies and souls of men.

We can infuse our bodies and souls to be able to hold a mite of divine energy, allowing our ability to contain more power as we learn and grow. We can channel this energy into our bodies to follow the Order of the Paladin and empower ourselves beyond our levels. We can shape this power in our souls to create blessings and curses to follow the Order of the Priest. And finally we can construct spells to heal the body and mind to follow the Order of the Cleric. These are the three paths of The Church of the Purifying Flame. There are other paths in the other churches that make up the Holy Five Churches, but as the followers of Hethea these are our paths according to the teachings of our goddess.

Legends within the church say that when one's Cultivation reaches the level of an Elder they become immortal in the god's service and they can level mountains with a thought. But I like everyone must start at the beginning, an Initiate of the church at the first stage of cultivation and no levels to my name.

Oh how I remember my time as a young Initiate. Walking the halls of the Green Citadel, meditating among the plants of my room and listening to the instructors in the open air chambers.

It was hard, being surrounded by the people who were raised in the knowledge of the divine and the talented and myself only just glimpsing at the true nature of reality. So I worked hard through the years. Hard and long. I joined the Order of the Clerics to aid in the holy work, and worked myself up from Novice Cleric to Adept Cleric, then to Apprentice Cleric before I found myself at the prestigious High Cleric, just two Cultivation grades away from an Elder Cleric.

My system levels didn't fall behind either, and I had managed to reach a prestigious level of a hundred and twenty and the Purifying Cleric of Flame class, a Ultra Rare Grade class that was beyond the ability of most, even inside the church.

But it is there that my progress was stalled and I realized that my own power was sufficient to start the holy work that the church was made to do. Purify the land of sickness and injury, bring the light of the goddess and allow the world to grow. I left the Green Chapel to wander the land as a wandering healer and missionary.

Those days were not the most comfortable, but they were the most rewarding by far as I felt the kindness of the villages and towns I found myself in as I tended to their sick and injured, supporting those who could not support themselves. This was the reason I had joined the church, and the reason why it was created by our goddess.

Those were the glory days. Traveling by foot or with other adventures across the land. Aiding the people with slaying beasts and saving towns and cities. I gained quite a prestige among the commoners and the church alike. Sadly it was this prestige that caused the end to my days as a wandering healer and missionary for The Church of the Purifying Flame.

The Healers Guild took notice of my actions. They had influence among the church as most of their members were part of the church to begin with, and they saw my actions helping the people as a threat to the wealth and power that they had established themselves. I was sent back to the Elders of The Church of the Purifying Flame and forbidden to leave the Green Cititel because of the corruption of the Elders. But I could not defy their orders as their actions were considered the will of the goddess, and I would be labeled as a heretic and an unbeliever.

So from that day onwards I became reclusive and focused on my Cultivation and leveling using the resources of the Green Cititel.

Until a message from the Holy Churches from the gods was made known unto the Elders. Liches were massing to the south west of the continent and forming an invasion force to attack the kingdom and the Holy Churches. The Elders were thrown into disarray at the message but it was clear what the path forwards would be. We would wage a Holy War against the unholy Liches. But when the king was told of this news he became frightful and commanded the Elders of The Church of the Purifying Flame to stay and defend the Capital, defending himself instead of the people who were on the front lines.

The Elders did as they were told by the king. The frontlines of the Holy War became small in number and the Capital became crowded with soldiers of the kingdom, adventurers who were conscripted by the crown and the presence of the Five Holy Churches.

Then the frontline disappeared suddenly during a fortnight. No news on how this came to pass was never delivered. Villages and towns were destroyed as the Liches progressed, though the only way we could tell was from the scarce news from the occasional spy and the sudden cease of messages. The Elders became scared with how these events came to pass. The king was worse. He commanded that the church was to send a force to stop the progress of the Liches once and for all, but behind his order he told them that the main force of the church must stay with the entirety of his army at the Capital. He ordered ten to be sent against the Liches.

A suicidal mission to discover the power of the enemy before they reached the Capital by the end of the year. A stand would be made by this force at a small town that was weeks away from the invasion. Golden Bridge was its name, but in our hearts we knew that it would be destroyed and names mattered not. We were all prepared to die for the Holy War, whoever was assigned the duty to go on the Holy Quest would just be the first ones to do so.

A few days passed and the people who were selected to go on the quest were brought forward.

For the Paladin Order, there was five selected for this quest. Anim Jamal, a Human Paladin who used the unusual combination of eastern martial arts and short swords. Brutus, a Minotaur Paladin who used his great strength to wield an iron shield as big as his body. Piath Ordal, a Human Paladin sword wielder who taught me for a time while I was an Initiate. Emily Kendal, a Elf Paladin who has been with us for near a century and is known for her brutal fighting style. Liam Lased, a Paladin that I have never personally met but has had his name known for slaying a dragon using the ways of a monk.

For the Order of the Priests, Orphilius Endal, who was a Druid and a High Priestess and next in line to join the Elders was selected to lead this quest.

Then I learned of who from the Order of the Clerics were selected. Snadle York, an Orc Archcleric who had long been a friend of mine since I was an Initiate. Arial Earnest, a Beastkin High Cleric who had revolutionized the method to regrow limbs. Loral Grey, an Elf Archcleric who had been a member of this church long before I was born. Then the last name on the list. Me. Earl Mills, the Human Archcleric legendary from my exploits during my younger years against the invasion of the Northern Giants among many other tales.

I knew of what this Holy Quest really was, but my mind and body were sharp and ready for the fight once more. I had spent too long hearing of the outside world and I was ready to venture beyond the walls of the Green Citadel once more.

Our team of ten departed immediately and we arrived at the town to find it almost completely deserted. All of the normal townsfolk had long since left, leaving only the tiny amount of lower level militia and guards that were ordered by the crown to defend the towns walls. Even the town's lord had vanished when the news had gotten out that the front line was growing ever closer.

Yet, when our group arrived in the town and met with the Guild Master, Henry Augman, a man who I have traveled with in the past and has accompanied me on my journey and many quests, he had a smile on his face. He might have changed in his old age, but the rogue I knew would never give such a happy smile unless something had changed. Something more than what meets the eye was in play in this Holy Quest. I just prayed to the goddess that it would make enough of a difference to the hopeless quest.