Ageless

Chapter 18

The Tale of the False Pontiffs

Passage 1

In the days before darkness, the world was ruled by the Old Gods. For many years they presided over man, dictating their will directly to the priests of the Old Church. But the priests of the church were weak and scared. 'We are lost,' they pleaded. 'We hear your words, but many of our kin do not. Give us a strong leader, one with the strength to punish those who disobey your commands, but also the compassion to reward those who serve you faithfully.'

So the Old Gods decided that the Kingdom of Lentempia would be ruled by the Lord Pontiff, a single priest who would report directly to the Gods. In exchange, he would rule over all men as a Holy Monarch, and this rule would be absolute.

Next, the Old Gods arranged a great festival. It was at this celebration that the Lord Pontiff was announced, and from that moment forward, this chosen man would rule over the Kingdom. Years later, when the Lord Pontiff grew old and frail from age, the church would hold the next festival, and his successor would be named.

For many years the Lord Pontiffs ruled peacefully, and mankind thrived. The Old Gods grew to trust man, content that he could govern himself.

Many more years passed. Now in the foreign lands across the sea, lived a of pair twins. They hailed from an ancient holy tribe, the Sha'red. The Sha'red began as an ordinary tribe of people, keeping to themselves in a distant country, away from the true Kingdom of the Gods. But one day, an Old God fell in love with a woman of the tribe, and afterward she birthed two twins, beings with the flesh of man but the power of the divine.

The twins spent their youth traveling with the Sha'red people, growing and learning amongst the elders of the clan. When they reached adulthood, they usurped the tribe from the acting leader, declaring themselves new heads of the clan. The Sha'red bowed down to them, and those who did not bend the knee were killed. However, the twins were ambitious, dissatisfied with their conquest. So they set their sights on the prosperous Kingdom across the sea.

When the next Festival of the Lord Pontiff was held, the twins traveled to Lentempia with hopes to rule as Kings. At the festival, the twins demonstrated their power, and everyone was awed. Each twin made a claim for the crown, and the people were swayed. 'Truly, these men have been touched by the gods,' the people said.

The people could not decide on which son should become the next Lord Pontiff, so on the day of the festival, both were sired as equals. 'They will rule over us,' they decided, 'as the first dual Lord Pontiffs of the Kingdom.' This angered the Old Gods, for it was commanded that there should only be one Lord Pontiff, for there cannot be two Holy Kings. Furthermore, these men were from foreign lands, and thus could not be trusted.

'They are false prophets,' the Gods said, 'and for this, they should be condemned.'

But the people were deceived by the claims of the twins, awed and fearful by the might they possessed. They revered the twins as idols, destined to bring humanity to new heights. So the Old Gods reached out to the twins directly, and ordered them to step down from their titles. But the two men ignored the commands of the deities, instead arguing and bickering with each other. For they vied to be the savior mankind, but was consumed with jealousy and mistrust by their sibling.

Each twin Pontiff chose a different path in the pursuit of power. The younger twin, Bahn'ya, pursued control over death and destruction, but he was ill-suited to bring divine judgment as a god himself, and this angered him. Instead, he vowed to turn his wrath on the Old Gods themselves; so he became the Slayer of the True Gods. Pontiff Bahn'ya was fierce with an explosive temper, feared by many for his terrible wrath and violent impulses.