CHAPTER 4 COOKED POISON

Walls of towering inferno encompasses the whole cavern sounds of unhatched eggs start popping off with the yolk of the eggs spurting out like a fountain, sounds of obscenity in the gurgled and pained screams for help or demise of the troglodytes the inferno was rentless and all consuming it did not spare a soul as it engulfed many of the unlucky few but it did not shake the tribal warriors seeing the flames no to many it was like a massive bonfire but what frightened them the most was the creeping smog it was far worse then the inferno although painful it was far better knowing that you were dying then slowly being killed from the inside by a thick dark serpent like fog slowly corroding the lungs many of the weak willed keeled over and died coughing up bloody and scratching at their throats from trying to breath the stronger ones could bear it but the could feel their breath labouring muscles ceasing every now and then the wisest of them covered their mouths with wet fabric strangely though only the mysterious priestess and her apostats were unaffected by the smog and flames but they weren't unaffected by the deaths of their fellow tribesmen it infuriated them seeing Raloth slay their members like common cattle and to lean into their fear all they can see through the hazy fog was a blurry figure of some kind one moment their watching out for their brethren next thing is seeing them dissapper or more or less fall inexplicably this caused those near the priestess to panic the statement spoken in common tounge became their reality they were fucked with nothing left the priestess started a ceremonial pray and a couple of apostates behind her looked at each other knowing whats to come they walked in front of the priestess still looking at each other before sitting cross legged and engaged in a staring contest before nodding to each other before ritually killing each other before the final defiant phrase was uttered from the scaly lips of the priestess"laogzed lasop di bekiliple sho'voth hesi nelith plythu kol sjek wux zklaen si require aso(Laogzed patron of destruction devour our dead, weak kin if you must I require aid)" as the last of the phrase was uttered the dead troglodytes had a symbol of a bite mark with a talon scratch mark going through the centre of the mark pulsating a deep dark green tinge just appear unwarranted and unnerving the blue blood of the two sacrificed apostates started to move to the centre of the cavern etching a rim and as if to deny natures rules the once rich blue colour blood started to change shades of green releasing a nausea inducing smell the deceased troglodytes that were marked by lagozed started to melt away due to a dark living abyssal like ooze that secreted from opened cuts and orficese the ooze sliming it's way through the eyes and ears devouring all that stood in its way what once laid a burnt tribesmen or those with punctured abdomen and slit throats is now a thick viscous ooze slowly moving towards the marked out circle consuming all in its path leaving a dig out ground as if it was a snails trail snuffing out the raging inferno to nothing but embers the once prized huts into nothing although the tide of the situation was turning into their favour the troglodytes started to give a wide berth to the insipid ring of nauseous gas as the ooze slithered its way to the centre of it pooling into an abyssal type lake it was unnerving and serene and smooth barely any ripples raloth and Serena only noticed the change after the inferno was smothered to embers but what changed their outlook was that the tribesmen they had put to the sword the mark of laogzed materialised on different parts of their body and what was a spectacular cascade of blood coating the cavern surface was reduced to the corrosive ooze that instead of flowing like water was flowing like sludge Raloth lost his weapon due to the corrosion of the sludge but it did not stop him in his tracks what did was the ceremony and how eeirey it was however it was only for a moment before he continued to slaughter his way towards Serena as he could see she was slowing down her pacing unsteady a unmatched rhythm once he caught up to her he stopped as her final victim to her blade died oddly enough she wasn't out of breath and her blade was still the same when she got it possibly due to her coating it in mana but the reason for distress was made apparent as her gaze fell on the poisoned rim and all the markings on the the corpses had made her even more weary of what was ahead she turned to raloth standing next to her looking like nothing phased him but that's not what was happening in fact his mind was racing like a hydrogen collider analysing everything he could the serene unnatural yet natural unnerving yet belongs this is all he could see from the abyssal lake with a green nauseous mist the lake wasn't even rippling or rolling like a normal lake as the final pieces of the ooze was making its way Serena piped up "this is a ceremonial summoning their guardian deity by the markings I assume it's a beastial and poisonous" "laogzed is the patron deity" raloth gruffed in a upset tone as he spoked those words droplets started to bounce as if sound was playing starring small till it grew across the whole lake then in mid air a sudden stop till it started to move like a current in a tumbling fashion till it stopped in horizontal fashion still tumbling till it turned into a portal vortex a dark green scaled snout of a horned lizard eyes piercing red a poisonous bile spilling out of its mouth like lava burning the cavern floor although comical in some aspects it waddled out of the vortex revealing along its spine instead of horns or spike it had a flowing river of ooze with geyser looking holes on either side of the spine only thing stopping from a complete burst is a thin regenerative membrane making it look like a boil rather then a geyser it also had the body of a komodo dragon with its length excluding the tail as it was tapered off near the end similar to that of a toad with the hind legs and webbed feet with an addition of talons its fore legs were that of a komodo dragon with the addition of webbed feet and talons its scaled skin coated in mucus oil it also had scars and missing bits of flesh either from itself or its many engagements this beast even when scaled down smaller would still be fearsome as this beast stood at 15M tall and 18.5M long which almost encompasses the available flat cavern floor within its reach as the last of itself made its way out of the vortex the vortex itself moved above the beast before imploding into itself then expelling the ooze like it was acid rain forcing the inhabitants and Serena to seek cover except for those who couldn't find any to perish under the rain hail and raloth who defied the beast causing it to smirk as it croaked with laughter with its gullet expanding in and out with acid bile spilling out adding to the acid rains torment much to the anquish of others amused with its patrons intruder and the debilitating screams it was still unsatisfied having the sacrifices was enough for him to materialised but it didn't satiate his hunger for wanton destruction how could it it craved more but seeing Raloth defie him as if the man knew how to defeat him was not what gave it pause for amusement it was his grin and light in Raloths eyes one which lagozed knew all to well it was hunger it didn't matter what type of hunger as hunger is hunger all consuming still lagozed wanted to devour the man patrons be damned as if by instinct both man and beast began to move lagozed in a pounce position expelling his acid in a wide stream missing Raloth completely but Raloth didn't take it laying down he picked up speed to that of a railgun shot but as if by premonition laogzed pounced out of the way but Raloth took this opportunity and grabbed the beast leg almost letting it slip past his hand due to the mucus oil but raloth grew his nails into pointed talons and dug it into the beast leg before smashing said beast into a wall but laogzed didn't take it laying down either as its stomach was about to hit the wall it fired its poisonous acid geysers in full blast smashing itself faster into the wall but forcing raloth to move though he did not come out of it unscathed he lost his left arm blocking some of it and some parts of his face but it did not hinder him in the slightest no he sped up almost vanishing from sight picking up various throwables rocks spears and javelins awkwardly holding it in one arm until flesh tendrils of muscle and bone start to form before it was fully formed he had already switched holster arms and proceeded to continually throw the throwables aiming for the blisters and boils stopping every fe steps to commence the action but that's all that lagozed needed just those short burst but he couldn't wait any longer as each boil or blister popped caused the deadly fluid to spill out although his insides were immune his scales were only resistant minimal was okay but large amounts became a bit of risk but a risk laogzed was willing to take as he launched an acidic ball followed by its chameleon like tounge that was coated in hallucinogenic poison saliva or mucus the ball missed but the tounge did not as it latched onto Raloth with both its sticky mucus and what appears to be hyperdermic silica hairs laced with neurotoxin and it attempted to swallow Raloth like a common house fly but it was cut short as Serena threw her blade it was in mid spin till she sped it up into a sawblade severing the beast tounges engorged lump causing the toad lizard to reel in pain as its tounge snapped back into its mouth being seared by the bubbling poison in its gullet causing it to agonise in pain for it on the other hand Raloth unhooked himself from the bulbous flesh feeling an intense pain and coming down with a heavy fog of delirium till he stabbed his leg with one of the javelins strewn around from the impact of the tounge just so his mind his clear of the fog and he wanted to coat it aswell with his highly hazardous blood after his mind was cleared the tip coated he threw with so much force it was hard to see but the javelin left a trail of fragments and splinters of the polearm as if it was a shooting star before lagozed could react a massive impact struck his left eye losing all of its though minimal vision in it but unlike others of his kind he didn't panic not that he could as disbelief washed over him realising that the pesky humans blood wasn't normal as he could feel his brain tissue molten away nit that he cared he was deity All he had to do was return back but he just didn't want he finally found a meal a hunt worthy enough for him to satiate his blood-lust and wonton violence though it wouldn't satiate his real hunger for food and it would start the cylce again he wasn't called the devourer for nothing so both members of this overzealous duel of violence and wills didn't stop not that they could at this point each trading blows lagozeds breath of unadulterated cooked poison melting almost all the surfaces while also releasing a vapor of poison causing Raloth change his approaches as the times he was hit he would lose a chunk of his body but he returned the favour in kind causing lagozeds once elegant steel like scales were beginning to be covered up by burst open geysers and poison lake spine spilling slowly tearing its flesh apart like magma it was just pure actionable violence no witty banter there wasn't a need to Serena was watching all of it on the sidelines rapture of it all but she wasn't alone either the troglodyte tribesmen were staring in awe but they also noticed the intruders companion by herself and on the orders of the priestess all the warriors began to encumber the surrounding area around Serena but it wasn't without flaws as Serena felt her surroundings enclose she began to stalk from the shadows seeing the unlucky ones get caught in the crossfire between raloth and lagozed Wether some got skull dragged and pinned to the moltening hide of lagozed then being liquefied into nothing but particles or that they were dissolved mid sprint by lagozeds many acidic cascading stream of poison though some found their untimely demise by stumbling over each other did raloth and lagozed cared about the near comical way the tribesmen were slain not at all well lagozed did just enough to laugh at their expense as hopeful as Serena was seeing their numbers dwindle due to their hubris it did not detract the danger for her so she began to attack with long range utilising the environment as she saw fit Wether it was dropping stalagmites that were damaged by the ensuing conflict but the priestess didn't take it laying down as she began her mystical chant "troth wer sihei di wer jennu sho'vothir si mareex oidot (Protect the children of the great devouring I summon shield)" as those chanted words left her lips a dark shimmer coated some of the warriors whenever small or penetrative shrapnel came their way a small vortex appears and consumes the shrapnel but it didn't come without caveats as the vortex only appeared in one direction and at seemingly random points on their body however it was far more targeted only removing the heaviest hitting threats though some of the younger warriors didn't know this facet and unwittingly died due to their hubris thinking of being invincible the older ones took this opportunity with stride and made it near Serena's last known area they were scattered looking for a needle in a haystack seeing a possible opportunity Serena took it as she aimed for the stragglers slitting their throats with the same situation happening as before with black sludge dissolving the body and with the mark of lagozed appearing despite the insipid sludge it did not do anything for lagozed it only sustained him like a light snack no healing or crazed benefits just a snack and besides the point lagozed sustained to harsh of damage for any meaningful healing the deaths of the tribesmen could ever achieve so Serena pressed on aiming for opportunities when sound covered the screams of the newly departed or when it was one on one she never fought more than that risking more then she should at this point in time she did keep an eye on Raloth seeing the state of him she wasn't all to worried as before as long he didn't die but he looked worse for wear but what surprised her was no fresh rosy pink clear skin no it was still pink and fresh but the peculiar scars remained the same no change it confused her but she would have to pin it as the troglodytes started pairing off making it harder for her to take them out so she just observed noticing the pattern the vortex was making capitalise on its flaw she attacked from range only throwing the projectiles when there was environmental threat such as Raloths stray shots or lagozeds devastating attack from his maw and sometimes the occasional debris despite the insensibility of sneaking and stealth tactics used against her better nature of believing in a righteous duel and the sensiblility of a deity her mindset began to shift slowly to that of mortals and realised that due to her actions of dwindling and distracting the tribesmen it afforded raloth freedom to go unimpeded or deal with a reasonable number knowing this her thoughts weren't of 'this is an inane style of fighting its stupid and dull' to that of 'everyone has a role to play and better keep mine up' with this Newfound enlightenment she started to see a path a chain if you will the first in her chain of death had his ankles severed and buckled knees the second didn't notice till his throat was slit using the first as a shield against a falling stalactites and several javelins she charged at the third throwing the javelin riddled body at the troglodyte to incapacitate then using the javelins from the porcupine like troglodyte picking off already engaged vortex shields picking them off one by one once the numbers dwindled to onle 10 tribesmen left 6 being the priestess entourage and herself the other 4 being what appears to be the tribal council lords each with marks signifying there roles one was marked with a visceral image of lagozed on its back with other images of reptilian beast marring his body their lines marked by an emerald green colour what made him stand out more he was albino his weapon of choice was the halbered the second member was a relatively giant beast that was marked with flames had an eye-patch over his right face that was marred by a burn scar of a hand print his skin was like other troglodytes of this tribe greyish hue with brown highlights his weapon of choice were pugilist gauntlets coated in a black soot the third member was similar to Serena in loadout duel welding daggers his markings were that of a chameleon he was the only one besides the priestess to be clothed in robes except for the last of them which was unusual and unnerving for a troglodyte he was one marked by swirls but the markings wasn't setting her off it was the fact he was and probably the only troglodyte she has seen so far welding a tower shield in one hand in the other he was wielding a long sword to hammer the point home of how unusual he was he wore full plate armor with chainmail and stood like a knight watching a spar his markings that was denoting swirls as if it was a mix of wind and waves seemingly moving at their own pace as menacingly as they looked these four intense council members didn't deter Serena even though the fear was palpable in her mouth she was undeterred due to her belief in herself and raloth and so she kicks off this one vs four trial by combat by aiming for the chameleon she forced him into a corner figuratively putting him squared with the titanic battle he wasn't to fussed with the position as he thought there was nothing this little one could do although he was arrogant it wasn't without warranty although Serena's combat prowess improved with leaps and bounds she was in his eyes still a novice though a scary one with each clash her blade skills improved and refined but her footwork was relatively left to be desired but she wasn't looking for insights at the moment she had to time everything right although the other members were surprised they didn't engage it was as if they knew she will fail when the combat was getting intense the chameleon was still calm and believed he was safe oh was this so wrong and oh was his hubris fatal as the vortex took a full brunt of lagozeds breath and suddenly fell causing the other members to react trying to figure out what it was then they saw it a stalactite pierced through the top of his skull buried deeply inside his neck with his head split in half Serena took advantage of the situation and scavenged what weapons she could now in her possession she has dual serated claw knives and a bondolier of arrow etched throwing knives she didn't have time for the armor and her previous improvised glaive knives where thrown in a seemingly random fashion but where actually sent hidden away she had to prepare because this time around her target wouldn't be so careless to prove it the halberd began to move his skin shining a white blur with emerald trimmings as he was getting closer Serena darted away from the fallen chameleon to find a better environment for her as she was doing so lagozed and raloth had been at each other's throats for close to two hours at this point one might think as intense as the fighting was with all the tossing pinning and craters that they would be exhausted one would be right to assume this but the combat between the two didn't even let up with lagozeds body now looking more of a tumour then a majestic lizard toad as one might assume was a detrimental effect was in fact working in lagozeds favour disallowing close quarters combat forcing a range confrontation however lagozeds materialised form couldn't be sustained for long and he had a creeping feeling slowly crawling on the back of him as the acidic poison was working less and less and then it hit him every confrontation parts of his flesh was taken off and raloth ate it like it was a scrumptious meal at first lagozed thought it was to help with his regeneration but he remembered his encounter with one of the beast of gluttony and how it was formless blob like a slime but of flesh and bone as he fought it it began to take his traits slowly but surely he was able to be rid of it because he utilised his acidic breath rather then continue the farce of playing around but the puny mortal in front of him surprised him by continued regeneration and sheer perseverance it was starting to look dire for lagozed as for raloth he needed to hold lagozeds attention and assist Serena in anyway he could while also slowly but surely adapt and adapt he did every piece of lagozed allowed him gain the ability of lagozed this fight no this sludgefest of titans continued with the roles reversed raloth on the offensive in a bid to consume and lagozed on defence making sure his flesh wasn't consumed each blow from the beast becoming less effective and the blows from the mortal becoming more brutal as for the priestess she could not interfere with the titanic battle and as much as she wished to to assist her fellow tribesmen further then just the vortex shielding she could not one would be wondering as to why it was because she was enamoured with David vs Goliath battle between Serena and the tribal council and the titan vs mortal between her patron and raloth but as much as she was enamoured it was also because of the three rituals of providence the first was the ritual of blessing for her tribes continued growth the second ritual was her patron summon and the last which required concentration and will was the shielding as she was the one moving the directional shield however her entourage made up for this shortcoming each apostates giving buffs to the lords after the chameleon fell while also providing a barrier for the priestess but despite these efforts there is only so much they can do before it begins to wane so to combat this one of the apostates that was free grabbed the priestess breaking her out of her stupor and urgently cried "yth rigluin ekess zhen svitraniv coita ti tokeq tenpiswo(We need to move priestess its not safe here)" as the apostate said this the priestess glowered at apostate not for the wise decision to move to a safer location but because she was interrupted from her trance like state of reverence of the chaos unfolding before her the smell of cooked poison baths the sounds of bones being crushed and curdling wails of the dying the ever brutal scene of flesh turning into bubbling soup all this was euphoric to the priestess she wanted more she wanted to revel in pleasure of the suffering but as her apostate said they needed to escape while they could so began their preparations to escape on Serena's side she was aggressively being cornered by the albino beast this time rather her bladework improving it was her footwork slowly improving from being lousy to being firm but it wasn't quick enough luckily for her her opponent was becoming feral and animalistic rather then ending it swiftly he was playing and toying with her slashing wherever he desired allowing Serena's continual improvement but she had to go on the offensive once she was in area with the cavern ceiling coverage being mostly stalactites she began her gambit with evading backwards and making sure her mana levels were sufficient before using her telekinesis to start tearing the stalactites apart causing them to be obstructions for the beastial troglodyte and inadvertently causing her footing to become more unstable forcing her to adapt quicker the beastial troglodyte was getting more frustrated eventually deciding to ditch dodging all together and bust through the stalactites this causing a smirk to appear on Serena's lips she then began started to manipulate the debris into rapid projectiles suprising the albino at first causing lacerations along his back this caused him to be aggrieved further raising his arm like a shield to barge through the stalactites while using the halberd to block the projectiles this caused Serena to notice that the vortex shielding was waning and wasn't fully concentrated with a lag in its movements so she decided to take advantage where she could instead of throwing more debris at the problem she caused more havoc to the environment by the time the last of stalactites in the path of the raging albino had fallen he had become unruly and cocky his actions and words portrayed as much "leon hawga ekess nomeno moxt lehhav youwe, algbo si mi gethrisjir ekess lamith wer gribkoan jaci jasevea aivl sjek jaci tiric ti ricin(Leon lost to this little play thing, well I am going to enjoy the feast he left behind if he does not mind)" his sharp toothy grin was as wide as his predatoral gaze eyeing his preys trembles and flinches that was until the side of his face felt something out of place an intense heat and small embers finding some way to burn the albinos face before he could react to this strange sensation his head was grabbed like a vice grip slowly applying pressure to a watermelon but instead of the crushing pressure one would expect he had his skin under his scales crackle like pork crackling his pale white skin turning pink like a flamingo except for the point of contact it was not turning into the flamboyant pink like the rest of the body no it was a rapid burn a disgusting one the skin rapidly changing darker shades the head becoming more like a lit candle wick there was an unbridled scream of agony coming from the once predatoral beast now a hopeless prey the perpetrator who once bore the greyish hue and brown tips was now coal black with flaming embers coming from his offhand gauntlet and the other a still proudly lit flame the giant like pugilist took out a tobacco pipe automatically lit and took a long toke Serena being ever vigilant till the coal giant stopped his toke and let out a simmering smoke before he spoke common "Aussir you arrogant prick you lost we all did guess pilums death was meant to be if he faced that monster" he looked over to raloths titanic battle with a solmen look as he witnessed lagozed gone from a deity worthy of patronage to a desperate animal seeking asylum he took another toke of his pipe until Serena spoke with piqued interest but weary guard "this is new a troglodyte speaking common and I thought that knight was the odd one out so you killing uh aussir here what does that mean friends or foe" the coal giant looked towards Serena feigning ignorance of her trap and laughing heartedly and with a jovial response "hahaha why not both young miss or should I say young goddess myself and my two compatriots or bloodborne siblings the knight niaruuthli or teal in common tounge and priestess aona who at this moment is currently leading the last of the tribe to their demise and if I were to be honest this tribe was our last chance for her to find a patron though it seems she lucked out with you and that titan of a man over there" he tilted his head back towards Raloth who was currently riding on the back of lagozed on the nape of the neck behind the horn crown slowly burrowing into the skull but providence of the ancients had saved this fool of a lizard toad as his body started to liquidize whatever remaining materialised flesh into a slime like consistency only for a few moments that it held its hideous form before collapsing and causing raloth to fall comically splashing into the toxic waste and being covered head to toe in it only showing his crimson eyes as he laid in the sludge cesspool to slowly get up to slog through it to Serena's delight before she turned to the coal warrior in front of her as she giggled on the humorously display of raloth falling before she spoke "that man never ceases to surprise me so I know the titles of your companions what's yours one eyed warrior" having cut an already tense situation the two unlikely pair began to walk towards the bubbling emerald cesspool though it did not mean Serena's guard wasn't down no on the contrary as she picked up while utilising her telekinesis the unblemished halberd she had an orbit of her glaives and arrow etched throwing knives hovering around her though tension may have gone suspicion was always there though this display of security didn't phase the coal warrior no it bemused him as he replied to her question "pral lerutl is my title and name, what pray tell is yours young goddess and that titan guardian" Serena glanced at pral as he still smoked the tobacco pipe tapping it with his fore finger to empty the contents like a relaxed wisened warrior while she gripped the halbered while she used it like a hiking stick still suspicious of him before replying "my esteemed name that was bestowed is Serena Serena of the warm flame that guardian of mine his name is raloth valour the first archon of the scared flame" she became a bit boisterous after the first introduction of both her name and templar orders archon "Raloth valour huh strange but strong and firm name" pral spoke as he gazed at the man he may serve under aswell as looking at Serena noticing the admiration for the man though there was hints of sorrow or regret he didn't pry though they got closer to the cesspool and noticed the knight kneeling for a knights oath and the priestess bowed in worship sincerely in front of raloth with a small pile of dead troglodytes from the priestess entourage behind them raloth however was to focused on removing the filth of lagozed off his body slowly to reveal his marred body of scars still covered with trails like water of the sludge still trickling through the crevices once sufficiently cleaned he was a bit put out of place seeing the duo prostrate themselves the best way they could he eyed them a bit before he saw pral and Serena speaking comfortably as they walked over to the spectacle they quietened down looking between the duo and Ral Serena with a bemused look and pral with a saged look Ral looked over to them and growled in an asking tone towards Pral "re wux gethrisjir ekess unite mrith astahi usv creolnali tagoa si tir ti vucot svabol ui gethrisjir shafaer tenpiswo(Are you going to unite with them or something because I do not know what is going on here)" pral looking at Ral impressed with the dragon tounge responded "no I already serve a deity agni though these two are the ones looking to serve a diety" Ral then gave the would be worshippers an incredulous look before responding "that would be for Serena to decide but I wouldn't decline the assistance" Serena then walked to stand next to Raloth and tried not to be distracted by the possible comical look of him being not only coated in the sludge but also feathers once gazing upon the duo she took a deep breath and spoke with regality " your kin faced us as a threat but once subjugated you wish to be a subject for my cause but how can I trust something that wishes myself and my archons demise to now wishing for our success so how will you show your sincerity do note I do not accept sacrifices or martyrs" the prostrated duo was perplexed not by her reasoning but how to show their sincerity without those conditions but the still kept their head down brain storming until raloth spoke up "our order is that of templars and worship combined with that being said the best way is through 4 grueling trials first is the trial of repentance warfare which entails a trial through the embers of war show your prowess of absolute warfare to achieve the goals laid in front of you however seek repentance from the victims of your travesty through humility and revered governance in order to show temperament over your sins this grants you the rank of follower of sacred flame the second trial is that of humble growth through this trial you must prove that your first trial bares fruit in your personal growth and that of others be it your subjects or entourage this trial is to humble you though making you create bonds of brotherhood or sisterhood and to improve those around you by working with them and guiding them through this trial you obtain insights you'd not normally think of and you attain the rank of disciple and those that follow your banner are granted initiatite allowing them to participate in these four trials but must overcome the grueling trial of spiritual advancement that is at your discretion to distribute but the level of acceptance is that of battalion commander they must prove their capabilities of a warrior and administer the third trial is that of passage in this trial you must prove the worth of your journey through a pilgrimage alone with the bare essentials which is a weeks worth of rations and a simple weapon for self defence and is restricted from your personal armoury and connections you have made to this point so whatever you obtain on this pilgrimage is the fruits of your labour you are to be on this pilgrimage for a duration of 15 years with 3 years to return to your sphere of influence you can space as 5 years pilgrimage 1 year rest 5 years pilgrimage and so forth or start off with the 3 years of rest and commit 15 straight years of the pilgrimage it is entirely in your hands during your rest periods you are reinstated in your role as before however after it you may only use what you have gathered during your pilgrimage once more after the pilgrimage you obtain the rank of templar and the items and connections you've made remains in your custody and for your discretion of distribution and you may participate in the final trial which is that of succession trial which entails a trial by combat the simplest of the trials on paper and is mock in nature however you competing with your fellow peer the succession trial is completed in 3 stages first is duel between the two the second is order vs order and the final is co operation each is broken down as such duel between yourselves to gauge personal strength the second clans capability and third is putting animosity aside for a common threat once successful you obtain the position of templar commander of one of the 4 major orders first is bulwark second is bellator the third is alhukm final is sucher but for our purposes just succeeding the first trial should prove your worth" despite the long winded explanation the three troglodytes which included pral aswell found the conditions not lacking in the least if anything it was nightmarish after pondering for a while it was the priestess that spoke not daring to gaze upon the would be guides of faith "then what of preaching or spreading of our faith" it was Serena's who replied with a firm tone "actions you prove with not of fanciful words of testament but through the actions you partake" this response did not deter the prostrated duo no it spurred them to prove their capabilities but they would have to follow the mantra actions speak louder then words