Avilmerg, Kingdom of Gadolin
Flowertide, 2339
"How could this happen?"
"She didn't tell any of us she was going to Rethsrond," Alard said.
"You were charged with her protection," Risbaume countered. "How can you be her disciple if you can't even find her?"
"It's not his fault," Borbnon said. "Azra was here in Avilmerg just this morning."
"Call her Messenger Azra," Risbaume said. "That's what she is. God's own messenger. Do you know how lucky we are to be living in an age when the Fourth has been revealed to the world? There hasn't been a living messenger in centuries!"
"We believe, Risbaume," Alard said with a nod. "But she's still a woman; she does what she wants."
Risbaume jabbed a finger at his face. "If the archbishop's goons took her, your soul will bear the burden."
"We need to act," Borbnon said. "Perhaps send word to our brothers and sisters in the capital?"
"Yes, quickly. And tell them to surround the basilica," Risbaume said.
"All of them?"
"If the archbishop has Azra, and he almost certainly does, then perhaps he'll be less likely to do something foolish if thousands of rowdy Congregants have their eyes on his gaudy basilica."
"Why do you call us Congregants, Risbaume?" Alard asked. "That's what the archbishop calls us."
"And we'll wear his slander like a badge," he replied, smiling broadly through his red whiskers. "They've now forbidden our forming congregations around Azra, but we still do anyway. Nothing can stop God's will."
"Careful that you don't start a religious war, Risbaume," Borbnon said. "The capital is already tense with the rumor of war with the Kingdom of Toninbern."
"I agree," Alard said. "And if Archbishop Gautrand has Messenger Azra, he could do something nasty if we threaten his beloved basilica."
"None of you has the faith required to be called Companions of the Messenger!" Risbaume shouted. "She is the Fourth. When Gautrand and the king are at last overthrown by Azra, her faithful disciples will be rewarded while her detractors and doubters will be condemned. You must have faith that Azra will overthrow them—but she can only do so with our help. This is God's unchangeable will."
Copyright © 2019 by Christopher C. Fuchs
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The Fourth Messenger
AdventureSome said Azra was guided by the divine, others that she was a false prophet. Later generations agreed: she was the beginning of a bloody schism that would last for centuries and span continents.
