Remnants

History Lessons

"Long story short, they're an ancient society that is hell-bent on world domination through the use of magic. They're the guys that orchestrated the Separation. And the ones who have been stirring up trouble with goblins. And they're the ones who hit the Council meeting back in the fall," Evan said. His answer began in good humor but the mention of the disastrous meeting of master Journeymen was a solemn reminder of the seriousness of their coming mission.

"Oh, right. Yeah, Jack told us about them, I just didn't know their name," Henry replied. He paused, a question forming on his face and in his mind. "Order of le Fey? Like Morgan le Fey? From Arthurian legend?"

Jack nodded his head. It was something that had often troubled him since learning the true origins of the Journeymen. "Didn't you say that your unit was called the Arthurian Guard? Does all of this go back that far?" he asked, leaning against the kitchen counter, arms across his chest.

"I really can't be sure. There are no records of our history before the Civil War. At least nothing we have. Our library was in Atlanta when Sherman and his troops burned the city back in 1864," Evan explained.

Brian, a self proclaimed "Civil War buff," now perked up at the mention of his favorite subject matter. "Wait, the Arthurian Guard had a library that got burned in Atlanta? Were they apart of the Confederacy?"

Evan shook his head, "Absolutely not. The library was already there before the war. Arthurians were spread throughout both sides, trying to stop the war. That's how it has always been, The Order spreading war and chaos, trying to bring humanity to its knees, with Arthurians doing everything we can to stop it. We have always speculated that the burning of Atlanta was an intentional attack by The Order."

"So Sherman was part of The Order?" Brian asked, now having stood from his seat at his excitement over the huge revelations that Evan seemed to be so casually explaining.

"It's doubtful. The Order almost exclusively operated from the shadows to stir up conflict around the world so they could stay off of the radar of the world powers. That is until they decided it was time to strike," Evan said, jaw set.

"So what do you mean when you say that they orchestrated the Separation? Did they control the world leaders of every country?" Aly now asked, her curiosity keeping her from her normal silent observation in group settings.

"We had no idea how bad it was but essentially yes. Not every country but every country that mattered. Any country that had the potential of stepping into power in a vacuum had to be broken apart. It wasn't the leaders, though. It was people who had influence over them. They were promised that they would be a part of ruling the new world. From what intelligence I have been able to gather, they were all killed by pre-arranged assassins after they signed the Separation into law," Evan said.

"So why aren't we living under the rule of The Order now?" Jack asked.

Evan shrugged his shoulders. Jack felt for him as he sat at the center of an interrogation room as he was being questioned by a room full of people. "We aren't because my unit took out their leadership and scattered The Order. We thought for good. I thought for good. I'm the only Arthurian left after that last mission. We thought we could stop the Separation from happening but we were too late. Things he already been set into motion."

"If they wanted people gone, why didn't they just use nukes? If they exercised so much control over world governments, why not just wipe everybody out that way?" Jack asked.

"My guess is that they still wanted a world to rule and not a wasteland. I'm not sure how but magic seems to be connected to nature. Back before the Separation, we could always tell our magic was stronger the further away we were from urban areas. So if they let everybody either starve or kill each other with conventional weapons, then they don't ruin nature and therefore have greater access to magic," Evan said.

Jack found that with each of Evan's answers, he was only left with more questions. "So what about all the crazy dictators that had access to nukes? What kept them from using them?"

"Order funded assassins took them down and made sure the nukes couldn't be used. It wasn't perfect though. I didn't know it for a while but D.C. was hit, or at least that's what I've heard from a few people in my travels. As for other countries, I can't be sure. I haven't had contact with anybody outside of the U.S." Evan patiently answered yet again.

There was an obvious sadness over the founder of the Journeymen when he mentioned the former capital of the nation he had signed up to defend. The whole room felt like the air had been sucked out of it.  The impromptu interview with the man who was likely one of the only people in the world to know what actually happened to the world five years ago had been sobering for everybody. And now the knowledge that Washington D.C. had been obliterated by a nuclear weapon thanks to the chaos caused by this secret society called The Order of le Fey had silenced all questions.

Jack didn't know the exact number of people who lived in the capital but he knew it had to be hundreds of thousands of people. During college, he had read accounts of the destruction at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. How tens of thousands had been vaporized instantly in the initial blasts and how so many more had been killed due to the radioactive fallout after. To think that hundreds of thousands more had to suffer that same fate was a heartbreaking realization for everyone there.

The Order had planned everything perfectly up until they had been wiped out by Evan and his men. Evan had said that they always worked in the shadows. Jack in that moment believed fully that the divisiveness that had defined the era before the Separation had been in some way influenced by them in preparation for their big plans. The world was perfectly arranged to tear itself apart at a moment's notice and all it needed was a nudge to make itself ready for the Order's magical, tyrannical rule.

Finally, Anya broke the stunned silence.

"So what about this mission? And why did you need all of us here for this meeting?"