Loyalty Anew
Miserable and without direction, old men gathered around the dying twilight fire and conversed amongst each other of what to do in the wake of their crumbling leadership. With no true desire to provide for their followers, the number of faithful servants to the Twilight Hammer’s banner slipped into a rapid downward spiral. It had no effect on influencing the council to amend the situation as they always fell back on the theory ‘the Gods will provide’ and all will fall back into place as designed by Them.
Their inaction caused more than pain and suffering among the thousands left starving in an abandoned desert. The thirst and hunger they felt could not be satisfied with clean water and full meals. A need for consumption beyond what mortal life offered endlessly gnawed away at the people, leaving them to beg at the council’s feet for direction on how to sate the sensations. Stuck in the hopeless transition of power, the executioner could no longer abide by the rulings of a council unfit to pass judgment.
Months ago, the executioner had been ordered to locate, rehabilitate, and retrieve a Draenei and his failure of a student. In doing so, the intent was to reeducate them to become pillars of the Twilight Hammer’s leadership and ensure the recovery of the faithless ones who faltered from the banner. It was an insult to be sent on such a degrading mission, but with status and respect behind the executioner, an unlikely opportunity presented itself.
Standing among the soldiers clad in rich crimson and gray armor, the executioner patrolled the lines and inspected every inch of the ever expanding army. Men and women of all creeds, backgrounds, and origins burned their Hammer banners to wear the colors worthy of their servitude. The trust they once carried for the Hammer was fragile, but there was a certainty among them all that the executioner would not abandon their needs as the council did. For that, they turned to the executioner and labeled themselves the Redeemers of the Faithless. Sworn to their duties of their Gods and banner, they wore the colors; her colors.
Within, the council scrambled to their feet to meet their foes. Unsure of which band of Azeroth’s heroes they were going to face, they gathered every able bodied individual and dragged them along to face the blistering sun outside of the sanctuary. As they filed out in ranking order, they were faced with the Eye printed on thousands of crimson tabards staring back at them. It left many unnerved to the point that their cowardice took over and they tried to shuffle themselves to the back of the lines where they could flee safely if the opportunity presented itself.
“SHOW YOURSELF!” A councilman yelled out over the army, aiming to draw the attention of the rebellious leader.
Steady heavy strides were taken by the executioner as she followed the command, but never did she reach the front lines. Instead, she uttered the word ‘strike’ and her legion of Redeemers rushed forward to begin the first slaughter of many.
Screams quickly overtook the usually quiet desert as blood was spilled across the sands. Through it all, the executioner made no haste in reaching her target. It would take a small bit of effort to strike down those she once viewed as brothers and sisters and yet, the only emotion running through her veins was the confidence in what it took in taking the next step for them all.
These people were unworthy, undeserving, and misguided. For years they wasted away resources and opportunities, when time could have been better spent reigning in a new era of the Twilight Hammer’s history. The council had something and now, it was nothing.
As the minutes slipped by, the Redeemers filed back into place once they were assured their targets drew their last breaths. The executioner loomed over the ‘revered’ councilman, almost appearing to take pity upon him, but such an assumption was a foul one to make.
“You WILL pay for this destruction you have brought, executioner! Stripped of your titles, honors, and respects! The Gods will NEVER look upon you in favor EVER AGAIN!”
His high pitched rantings did little to move her. To give him a response would only validate him before his death and she was not in the business of allowing as much to happen. Instead, the executioner forcibly grabbed at sides of his head with one finger jabbing into each ear hole. Violet strands erupted from her fingertips and directly invaded his mind, forcing him to withstand the burning sensations from his brain being fried, but at the same time, he was forced to see the vision only she could project onto him.
“And now, I see,” he whispered as death took him into its embrace.
Dropping his limp body to the ground, the executioner stared at nothing for a few moments as the Void retreated from her fingers. This was the moment she had longed for, to be free of these shackles to tired old men who knew nothing of what the organization needed.
A new dawn, a new generation of Twilight loyalists. A start to something more and as the executioner brought her full attention back the army awaiting their next orders, she shouted out with her sword raised high.
“Our lords sing Their praises to the first victory, but this is ONLY the first of MANY! Reclaim these camps as our own, tear down the banners of old, and raise the new! We march on, Redeemers of the Faithless!”