Soulbreaker: the heel of Achilles

5:15

 

It had been a few hours since Santana had arrived at the Illuminati’s headquarters, and since then the number of occupants had diminished to the point where it was only him and a few others. Santana, never one for waiting, had gone from calm, to annoyed, to downright pissed off as he sat, waiting to be given further instructions. The Felis looked at his cell phone, noting that he had been forced to wait for a good four hours since his arrival, and he was at the limit of his patience.

“Yo,” Santana yelled, getting the receptionist’s attention yet again. “How long is this going to take? I’d like to start my two days of liberty sometime this millennium.”

“Please have patience,” the receptionist said, knowing from her short time of watching Santana that her request would fall on deaf ears. She too was aggravated on the time it was taking for her to get word from her higher ups, if only because sitting with an irritated Santana worked her nerves.

“F**k that!” Santana yelled, standing up. “I would think that this would motivate the higher ups to take the molasses out of their asses.”

Suddenly, the sound of the stone door was heard opening once again, drawing both Santana and the receptionist’s attention. As the door opened, it took nothing more than the sight of the arms of the new arrival for every occupant in the room to know who had just entered the Church of Illumination. Upon recognition, every person that was still in the hall stood up to offer a proper salute.

“Santana Del Rio?” Raven asked in a strong, commanding voice, waving off the round of salutes as he glanced around the room. “Is there a Santana Del Rio here?”

Santana almost tripped over his own feet as he made a mad dash toward the Exemplar, stopping in front of Raven to drop to a knee and bow. “Exemplar Raven!” Santana said, not quite believing his eyes. He had been thinking that he would be escorted to the Exemplars, not that one of them, the most prolific at that, would personally come to meet him. ‘Well,’ Santana thought as he kept his submissive posture, ‘When you think of the circumstances, it isn't so surprising after all.’

Raven sighed before grabbing Santana by the scruff of his neck, hoisting the 18 year old to his feet with practiced ease. “No need to bow Del Rio, I’m not one for those types of respect.” Once Raven looked him in the eyes, he instantly saw Santana’s familial resemblance to Selena, filing that tidbit of information in the back of his mind. “You are the one who delivered the information on our lost artifact?”

“Yeah,” Santana said, quickly getting over the fact that he was standing in front of an Exemplar. “The hell took you so long anyway?”

‘Well, that was quick enough,’ Raven thought, noting the vulgarity in Santana’s speech as the teen looked to take Raven’s words to heart. “I have more titles than Exemplar, Santana. I teach at Princeton, and today was their freshman orientation day.”

“Spare me,” Santana said, rolling his eyes. “Can we get this all over with already? I've been sitting here for four hours.”

“Four hours?” Raven asked, raising a confused eyebrow in the direction of the receptionist. “That doesn't sound right. After this is over, I’ll make it a point for someone to review procedure here. I’m sorry for the wait; at least you could have been taken to one of our residential rooms to stretch your legs.”

Santana bashfully scratched his head, seeing the worried glances from the receptionists at the desk. “Well,” Santana said in a tone laced with a small amount of shame. “I may have had a bit to do with that. I didn't exactly come here in a cheery mood.”

“Ha,” Raven said, turning to walk to a door near the end of the desk. “I wouldn't be in a good mood either with the traffic in this place. New York is the worst.” Santana let out a laugh at Raven’s small joke, liking the Exemplar’s easygoing attitude. “Will one of you make yourselves useful and send word to the Pharos of my arrival?”

“Will do Exemplar,” the redhead said, immediately picking up the phone to do just that.

With that being said, Raven opened the door, walking with a familiar ease towards the place of his destination with Santana in tow. The two passed several offices, with Santana eyeing everything he saw as he took note of the differences of the headquarters in regards to the other churches he had been to. He had to admit, the church of New York had style. Santana marveled at the intricate decorations inside the halls of the church as he walked through with Raven, taking note of the fine blend of modern decor with influences of the ancient of the past.  

After a walk that seemed like forever to Santana, the two made it to a small room that had glass walls yet no visible way of entrance, allowing Santana and Raven to see inside. The room itself was bare, all except for and intricately shaped six pointed star in the middle of the room. The star had a mass of symbols etched into its interior, with Santana at a loss for their meaning, having never seen those particular symbols in his service to the institution. Raven however looked at the star with a look of familiarity, as this star was the only way of getting to his true destination. It was a teleportation pad that the original architects of the Church had built, a link to the private floor of the Exemplars, known as the Pharos of Illumination.

 “Alright Santana,” Raven said, in a much more serious voice than Santana was expecting, quickly getting used to Raven’s laid back demeanor. “There are a few things that you must know before proceeding any further.” He turned to face Santana with a look that matched his serious tone, but noticed the confusion in the face of the younger operative. “I might be a relaxed person by nature, but this is one of the few times where you will truly know the full weight of my station as Exemplar. Under no circumstance are you to repeat anything that is said, or reveal anything that you might see once we pass this point, do you understand?”

“Yes sir,” Santana said, literally feeling Raven’s seriousness pressing down on him like a phantom force. ‘How strong are these Exemplars?’ Santana wondered, doing anything he could to keep from passing out due to the pressure of Raven’s aura; it felt like a thousand pound weight on his shoulders, and it was only getting heavier as the Exemplar stared at him with a hard look.

“Good,” Raven said, suddenly reverting back to his earlier poise, to the instant relief of Santana, who was not used to that kind of presence. “Now, give me your hand.”

“Excuse me?” Santana asked, thrown for a loop at the sudden question.

“Give. Me. Your. Hand,” Raven said slowly with a matter of fact look, before forcibly grabbing Santana’s right hand. As he did so, Raven discretely stomped a small black square, which coincidentally was the only one of its kind on the all-white floor in the room, his blue eyes glowing brightly for a slight second as he did so. From the square, a skinny, stone column rose up, as if the square itself was made of liquid, stopping at Raven’s waist. The column then opened in a manner similar to a budding flower, forming itself into a bowl which had a stone needle in the middle. “Now,” Raven said, with a tone that instantly made Santana suspicious as he stared at the needle that glistened in the light with its sharpness. “This will only hurt for a second.”

“Wha!” Santana yelled, a split second before Raven smashed his hand onto the needle. Santana screamed, both from surprise and pain as the needle penetrated the skin on his palm. Eerily though, as much as it had hurt, the needle had stopped once it cut through the first few layers of skin, which surprised Santana, as the force Raven had used had him thinking that his whole hand was about to be impaled. From the small wound, a trickle of blood flowed down the needle into the stone basin. Once a small pool had collected, Raven lifted the teen’s hand, who forcibly jerked it away from the Exemplar’s grasp. Santana inspected his hand to see how bad the wound was, but to his shock, there was no wound to be found. “How?” Santana breathed in amazement.

“Trade secret,” Raven said, watching Santana’s astonished expression in amusement. This wasn't the first time he had seen someone freak out from the needle; little known to most Sovrumano, members of the Illuminati included, that needle served as the teleporter’s way of verifying an entrant into the Pharos for the first time. However, it was made to extract only the set amount of blood needed to verify the person, before it healed the wound as if it had never happened. After a few seconds of waiting, a translucent keypad appeared on the glass wall next to where the column was, where Raven entered in his own key code to further authorize entrance into the Pharos.  Once doing so, the column sunk back into the floor before the glass opened, finally granting the two access to the teleportation pad that would take them to the Pharos itself.

“The hell just happened?” Santana asked, curious about the high security measures that the Pharos’ entryway had. He had never seen this in the Church at Alexandria, and seriously doubted that any of the other churches had the same level of security. 

“Verification,” Raven said, walking inside the room before pulling Santana in with him. It was a good thing he did, for as soon as Santana’s entire body entered the space, the opening in the glass wall reformed itself before their eyes, good as new. “Now, I will warn you about this. Once you step onto the triangle, it’s going to feel like a rubber band, like someone shot you out of a cannon, just at a much faster pace. It only lasts for a second, but the first time is quite the doozy.”

“Thanks,” Santana said with a slighted tone as he rubbed the hand that was stuck by the needle. “Why didn't you warn me about that needle thing? That things stings like a sonofabitch!”

Raven chuckled as a mischievous grin graced his face, suddenly giving Santana a bad feeling in his gut. “It was funny!” The Exemplar let out a humorous laugh before stepping back on the star, instantly being surrounded by a bright blue light before disappearing from sight seconds later, leaving a gaping Santana in his wake.

‘A*****e,’ Santana thought before getting himself together as he looked at the star shaped teleportation pad.  Steeling himself for the feeling Raven had forewarned him about, the teen swallowed before taking an apprehensive step on the pad. ‘Pharos,’ he thought as he said a silent prayer. ‘Here we come!’

 

 

Not even a second later, Santana found himself unable to stand due to the spinning in his head. Raven’s warning was right on the money; although he never felt his feet leave the ground, he felt like he had hit the speed of light while simultaneously crashing into the side of a cliff. Santana took a few moments to re-orient himself, staggering to his feet to try and establish some sort of vertical base. He did not want to look like a fool in front of the Exemplars in their own domain.

Unfortunately for Santana, that personal goal was shattered the moment he got his first glance at the place known as the Pharos of Illumination. ‘The hell is this!?’ Santana wondered with no small degree of amazement, spinning around in a complete circle to take the majestic sight in. Even in his wildest dreams, Santana would have never expected a place like the Pharos to exist, marveling at the expansive structure in disbelief.

Santana quickly realized that he was in the direct center of the Pharos, and there were a few key things that he had immediately noticed. The floor itself was see through, which drew attention to another glaring aspect, the fact that the structure seemed to be floating in a cosmic space. It was like he was looking down on the universe itself, and if it wasn’t for the fact that Santana was breathing, he would have thought that he was in space. The thought still crossed his mind, seeming to accept that this Church was in many ways different than his own, but the lack of seeing any obvious planets around, as well as the presence of an ethereal wispy mist that seemed to be floating all around the Pharos, struck it from his mind.

Looking up, Santana saw that the Pharos had a high domed roof, made of a white marble which was held up by a series of Greco-looking columns in a circular arrangement at the edge of the structure. The Pharos lacked any walls, instead having massive golden bookcases placed in between every other column. The columns each had waist sized golden busts proudly placed in front that were placed on oak stands, representing the visages of the Exemplars of the past. Finishing the look was the presence of five raised benches that surrounded Santana, with the one directly in front of him raised considerably higher than the rest. They shared a close resemblance to those you would see in a courtroom, with the bold exception of being carved from onyx stone. Each of the four lower benches had a different golden symbol encrusted into its front, a crest which represented the racial background of each of the Exemplars. The tallest of the benches, however, contained a highly detailed depiction of the famed eye of truth, formed from silver and a large diamond that seemed to glow in the soft ethereal lighting of the Pharos.

“Someone impressed with the view?” an unknown voice behind Santana asked, bringing Santana’s mind back to the world of the living. Santana smacked himself lightly before turning to face the owner of the voice, a female sitting in one of the lower podiums. For all the vision of an Exemplar that Santana had in his mind, he wasn't ready for what he saw. Santana was dumbstruck for a second time as he gazed at the female that looked to be no more than a few years older than him; whoever this red eyed chick was, Santana had to admit that she was easily one of the most attractive females he had ever laid eyes on. She was dressed in clothes that Santana wouldn't have ever thought a person of her station would wear, especially inside a Church of Illumination. She wore nothing more than a pink wrap around top that hid nothing more than her ample chest, and the red royal looking robe that was draped over her shoulders hung in a way that left little else to the imagination. The woman chuckled, noticing the look on Santana’s face, as well as the tinge of a blush that was on his cheeks. “I’ll take that as a yes,” she said with a lustful looking smile that nearly caused the poor teen a heart attack.

“Saraya,” Raven said with a serious tone that was undermined by an amused grin, addressing the attractive female. “Leave the kid be.” The sound of Raven’s voice snapped Santana out of his thoughts, causing the kid to turn to the right, where he found the Exemplar sitting in the podium to the right of the tallest. Despite his position, it was clear that Raven was much more relaxed than most of the occupants in the room, kicking back in his chair with his hands behind his head as he put his feet up on the podium. “You of all people should know the reaction someone has seeing this place for the first time; you think you’re helping the situation any?”

“But I’m not doing anything wrong,” Saraya said in an amused voice tinted with a hint of lust, not so subtly leaning forward with a lustful smile aimed at Santana. That got Santana to turn an even deeper shade of red, visibly gulping as a nervous bead of sweat formed on his forehead, almost feeling the Exemplar as she stared at his back.

“Wrong?” another female, this one looking to be in her early fifties, said, turning Santana’s attention to her. This woman seemed to be as traditional as they come, with a conservative short haircut and her own purple robe wrapped tightly over her form. She was seated in the podium between Raven and Saraya, and she made no attempt to hide her displeasure at the antics of Saraya, glaring at the girl with a purple eyed gaze. “And you think shamelessly flirting with one of the lowest class members of our organization is okay? You think your attitude is befitting of the station Exemplar?” The annoyed shouting from the woman instantly rubbed Santana the wrong way; she seemed like the type of person that would clash with him if they ever interacted, as he hated people who were stuck up. This woman was obviously that kind of person in his eyes, but her attitude did do well to remind Santana just where he was at. This was the domain of the Illuminati’s finest, so he had to be on point in terms of professionalism, despite how the other two Exemplars seemed to carry themselves.

‘Don’t mind her,’ a voice rang in his mind. “That’s just how Exemplar Victoria is; you’ll learn to brush it off once you’ve been around her as long as I have.”

Santana’s eyes suddenly widened in confusion; by the sound of the voice, he could swear it belonged to the exotic Exemplar, but her mouth didn’t so much as twitch from what he saw. ‘I didn’t think that,’ Santana thought, becoming suspicious of the girl, before the obvious smacked him like a truck. Oh yeah,’ he thought as he cast a knowing glance in her direction. ‘She must be the Exemplar of the Lamia .’

‘Got it in one,’ Saraya said, still speaking directly into his mind while she wore a smirk. This was but one of the abilities of the Lamia , which were the true historical basis for all myths and stories related to the mythical vampire and succubus. The Lamia had incredible psychic powers, able to manipulate the mind itself by use of their ki. This didn’t mean that they weren't physically strong; Lamia were some of the hardiest of all the Sovrumano races, and their feared thrall’s fang was arguably the most dangerous of their supernatural abilities, as a simple bite to the neck let a highly skilled Lamia take control of an enemy. ‘Welcome to the Pharos of Illumination. I’ll be your guide of sorts, to help you understand the things that go on here.’    

‘Cool,’ Santana said, speaking through his mind, knowing that the Exemplar could very well hear him. ‘Can you start with a name?’ Santana took another look around the expanse of the Pharos, noticing the form of a middle aged man with blonde hair, cut in a military fade. ‘And tell me about the other Exemplars here while you’re at it if you can.’

Saraya cast a quick glance at the other Exemplars before nodding almost imperceptibly to Raven, before turning her focus back on the young Corporal. ‘Well,’ Saraya said. ‘I’m Saraya Steckzolfer, the beautiful Exemplar of the Lamia. The old crone between Raven and myself is Victoria O’Hara; she’s the Exemplar of the Daeva.’

‘Wow,’ Santana said, feeling sorry for Saraya. Victoria was not the kind of person he ever wanted to work with, that much was instantly clear by the way she acted in the first few minutes of him being her. ‘That must suck.’

‘Not exactly one of the good perks of the job,’ Saraya lamented, feeling that she and Santana shared similar feelings for the Daeva Exemplar. Lamia were naturally empathetic, thanks to their mental abilities, but Saraya was especially empathetic. It was thought that this was the true basis behind the skill she had; the more in tune with the mind a Lamia was, the easier it was for them to advance their skill. 

‘You’re…’ Santana thought, hesitant to even think about his true opinion of the attractive Exemplar in fear that he would offend her. However, Santana seemed to have forgotten how futile it was to do so, as Saraya easily saw thorough the mental guards he had. She gave him a reassuring smile as she used one of her more latent abilities to soothe him.

‘Young?’ Saraya asked, sounding like she was used to those kinds of thoughts about her. ‘Sexy? Technically, there isn't a such thing as an age requirement for being Exemplar, although I do rank as the third youngest in history. As far as my looks, this is just who I am. People misjudge me as a free spirited girl, but I believe in being who you are, despite the status quo.’

‘That’s definitely a plus,’ Santana thought, for a moment completely letting his guard down as he fantasized about Saraya. Unlike Victoria, she sounded much more his type, both in the professional and personal standpoint.

‘A flirt I see,’ Saraya said with a knowing smile. ‘Maybe we can meet in a place other than this sometime.’

Santana visibly froze, drawing another laugh from Raven, who knew exactly what was going on. Saraya was in essence the last test of authorization in the Pharos; no one could hide from Saraya with her near mastery of her abilities. If Santana was, let’s say a turncoat, Saraya would have known, as she was using her mental link with Santana to gauge his loyalties, and Santana would have very well been reduced to a blabbering fool.

‘I’ll pass,’ Santana said with a shake of his head. ‘Mi madre always told me to never mix business with pleasure.’

‘Scared?´ Saraya asked playfully. ‘But admirable. Professional when you need to me, relaxed when you want to be. You’re an interesting guy Santana.’ She felt Santana’s feeling of agreement through the link, smiling softly before she got back to her introductions. ‘You see the older blonde sitting next to me, the one in the golden cloak? That’s Justinian Considine, the Exemplar of the Angeli, and currently the longest tenured of us with a 42 year reign.’

“And there it is,” Justinian commented with a bored expression, aware of the sudden look of confusion on Santana’s face. That was a fact about him that few believed before it was explained to them; The Angeli's supernatural abilities lied in healing, able to cure a person from most ailments and injuries depending on their level of skill, and that translated into a lifespan that dwarfed all the other Sovrumano races. That wasn't to say Angeli weren't warriors; just like the Lamia were physically powerful, the Angeli were equally powerful when it came to ki manipulation, being known to use their healing ki to hurt just as much as it did heal.

“Happens every time,” Raven said with a smirk in the direction of his comrade and friend. “You should be used to it by now.”

Before Justinian had a chance to fire a retort in Raven’s direction, he was stopped by Santana waving at him in an attempt to get his attention. “Yes?” Justinian asked, already telegraphing the question that he knew Santana was going to ask.

“She’s playing right?” Santana asked, honestly not believing Saraya. Justinian didn’t even look like he was 42, much less sounded like it. “You couldn't have been Exemplar for forty plus outright. That would make you like sixty.”

“Nope,” Justinian said with a smirk, laughing inside at the reaction he knew was to come. “I’m 88, which is middle aged when it comes to all Supremo, especially an Angeli such as myself.” What followed was exactly what Justinian had anticipated; the look of Santana with his jaw dropped in disbelief. “A blessing, a curse, everyone has their opinion.”

“I don’t see anything that has to do with a curse,” Santana said after he had gathered himself. “You’re all but guaranteed to be at least a centenarian. Lucky as hell, that’s what I call that.”

“Watch your mouth,” Victoria suddenly said, irritated at the casual atmosphere in the Pharos. “You speak as if you are our equal, yet you’re just a mere Corporal.” Victoria’s words were like ice, immediately putting Santana on edge as the other three Exemplars shot her matching looks of disdain.

“And you should watch yours,” a melodic sounding voice said, ringing out in the expanse of the Pharos as a human sized golden sphere of bright glowing ki suddenly manifested in the air above the highest pedestal, before descending down and fizzling out, revealing a tall, alabaster toned man with long, silver hair cascading down his back. “Being Exemplar is a title Victoria; that doesn't mean any one of us is greater.”

“Lord Skylar!” Victoria said, her tone changing to one of respect as she regarded newest individual. “I was just trying to keep decorum in this hallowed place.”

Skylar sighed, calmly turning his head to face Victoria, before leveling a fierce glare in her direction. The intensity was not lost on the other occupants; it was a pressure that filled the Pharos itself. Santana dropped to his knees as took a series of shaky breaths, trying to calm the terror that had welled up in him from the presence of Skylar. ‘W-who is that?’ Santana asked in his mind, never in his life encountering a person with such a force. 

‘Lord Skylar Sedeyn,’ Saraya answered with a respectful tone, her feelings thereof being felt even in the Felis' mind. ‘The High Exemplar of the Illuminati, descended from the Angeli. The most talented of all the Illuminati healers, and the fiercest of our warriors.’ She sensed the trepidation still in Santana, so she made an attempt to soothe him once again. ‘You have nothing to fear; when he and Victoria aren't at each other’s throats, he’s as laid back as Raven.’

‘You sure?’ Santana asked, not fully believing that about the obviously powerful Sovrumano.

‘Trust me,’ Saraya said before standing up and saluting the High Exemplar. “Lord Skylar,” Saraya said in a much more professional tone than Santana was ready for, motioning to him so he could come to attention in front of the leader of the Illuminati. “This is Santana Del Rio, the Corporal from the Alexandrian Church of Illumination. It is his request for an audience that brings us here today.”

“Hmm,” Skylar hummed as he gave Santana a look over, seeing the nervousness on his face as he scrutinized him. After a moment, Skylar nodded before giving Santana a hand signal to stand at ease. “Corporal Del Rio, one of Judge Magister Siobhan’s most reliable scouts. I admit; I know little more about you than that, but each of us has already looked over your written report, and it compels me to ask: Do you have any idea on what you have just stumbled on?”

That wasn't the question that Santana had been expecting, judging by the surprised cough that he let loose from his mouth. “Um, Lord Skylar,” Santana said with an embarrassed tone. “With all due respect, I’m confused right now. The reason I came here and delivered the message was due to being lost myself. He said that you all would have a better idea of what to do with it than I.”

“Explain,” Skylar said, beckoning for Santana to speak as he sat back in his chair. He noticed the unsure look on Santana’s face as the Felis noticed that he was now the center of attention. “Don’t worry about them,” Skylar said dismissively as he shot another hard glare in Victoria’s direction, knowing just how hard it was to deal with her on a regular basis. “Just talk to me like you would anyone else.”

‘Told you,’ Saraya said, nodding a Santana from behind. ‘Skylar’s a down to earth leader; fierce, yet benevolent. Take your time cutie.’

‘Thanks,’ Santana said as he forced a sigh out of him mouth, calming him completely now that he knew what kind of person Skylar was. “Alright,” Santana said as he gathered his composure, his confidence returned to him in full force. “I was on a solo training mission, in preparation for the advancement tests. I chose the isle of Rhodes because of its relative isolation from the world in a manner of speaking. It’s one of the few civilized places on Earth where a Sovrumano can openly train without drawing suspicion from the locals, seeing as many of them are Sovrumano themselves. About a week into my training, I met this old man who introduced himself to me as Nestor, of the line of Paris, from Troy. At first, he thought I was an enemy, so he attacked. Quite honestly, I thought the man was paranoid.”

“So what happened during the conflict?” Skylar asked, noting Santana’s bashful look to the side as he addressed the Pharos.   

“Is that really important?” Santana asked as a nervousness suddenly took over him for a moment, with the teen scratching the back of his head. “It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Sounds like this Nestor handed you a genuine a*s kicking,” Justinian said with a knowing tone as he flashed Raven an amused smirk.

“In a way of speaking,” Santana answered, his mind taking him back to the moment when Nestor did all but kill him, thinking him an enemy. That was on experience Santana did not want to relive anytime soon; for an older man, Nestor was quite powerful. “Afterwards, he made sure I was rested up, but then, he asked me to deliver this message to you, that Soulbreaker needs a new home.”

A pause followed the end of Santana’s speech, marred only by the tap of a pen on the podium by Skylar, who looked to be in deep thought. “Exemplar Raven,” Skylar said after a moment. “You know what this means right?” Santana looked to Raven, hoping for some sort of explanation, but he was graced with perhaps the most serious look Raven had ever worn on his face. If he had to guess, the famed Draco Exemplar looked to have a bit of fear on his face.

“With all due respect,” Santana said as he noticed the downward change of mood in the Pharos. “What is so special about this Soulbreaker? Nestor actually showed me it, and besides it being a badass looking bow, I don’t see anything special about it.”

“Soulbreaker,” Raven said reverently, letting the world roll off of his tongue as his voice boomed through the Pharos. “One of the legendary relics of the Scions themselves. To think that it has resurfaced now of all times.” Raven saw the confusion on Santana, and surprisingly, Saraya’s face, so he cleared his throat to explain. “The Soulbreaker is a weapon of near unmatched power, wielded by the Scion Apollo in their war against Ut Puri in the dawns of civilization. When the Scions left, they entrusted their legendary relics to the Illuminati, so that we might be able to combat the forces of Ut Puri.”

“But,” Justinian said, taking over for Raven, knowing the story of the Soulbreaker by heart. “Soulbreaker was spirited away from the Illuminati, in the days leading to the Trojan War. Troy was once allied with the city states of Greece, who themselves shared alliances with the Illuminati of that day, but the ambition of the young Prince Paris was all Ut Puri needed to launch their offensive.” Justinian closed his eyes in reverence, almost like he was watching everything he spoke of in his mind. “He desired Helen, who was known throughout the world for her beauty, and he, a Lamia himself, used his abilities to subjugate her to his will. It was by doing this that he learned the location of Soulbreaker, which was in the coffers of the Greek King Agamemnon. At the command of Ut Puri, he stole the weapon, which drove Greece to war against the Trojans, who were revealed to be allies of Ut Puri at the start of the conflict.”

“Troy was a city known for its superb defenses; never once had it fallen in war.” Skylar had now taken over the story, pointedly looking at one of the golden busts as he continued. “But, once the Illuminati got involved in the war, the tide started to turn. Perhaps the biggest reason was due to the prize warriors of the Illuminati of that day, commanded by nearly invincible legend known as Achilles.” He saw the look of shock on the faces of the two youngest listeners, but waved them off to continue the story so that they might understand in the end. “Yes, the leader of the powerful Myrmidons, the last descendants of the lost Equus Divino of Atlantis. History depicts the whole conflict as a myth, but the scars it had left on the world were too deep to erase completely. The ruins of Troy can still be seen today, never rebuilt thanks to the decimation the city suffered at the hands of Achilles and his men.”

Santana stopped Skylar from speaking with a wave of his hand. “Lord Skylar,” Santana said. “If that is true, then why does the Iliad, the only known ‘historical’ account of the Trojan War, say that Achilles perished there, as well as the rest of the Myrmidons?”

“They did,” Skylar said somberly. “Achilles met his end at Troy, as well as the rest of the Myrmidons. The catalyst to their death, is Soulbreaker itself. After Achilles had slain Prince Hector, the mightiest of the Trojans, Paris looked to the powerful weapon for a way out, knowing that he was next in line to face Achilles’ wrath. The epic says that it was Apollo himself guiding the arrow of Soulbreaker to Achilles’ heel.” Skylar sighed at the laughable concept. “That was a story concocted to hide the power of Soulbreaker itself; the ability to erase life itself from its unfortunate victims. Paris used the Soulbreaker to slay Achilles and his men in a last defense of Troy, but the damage was already done. Ut Puri deserted the Trojans, and with their betrayal, finally opened Paris’ eyes to their true goal. Determined to keep the weapon from the hands of Ut Puri, Paris entrusted the protection of Soulbreaker to a group of hermits with no allegiances, where it stayed, eventually being forgotten about in all circles save the Illuminati. It seems that our ancient task of protecting the relics of the Scions calls once again.”

‘Wow,’ Santana thought, dumbstruck at hearing this version of Troy and Achilles from the Illuminati’s highest leader. ‘I would have never thought it went down like that.’    

A tense silence reigned in the room, as the Exemplars were deep in thought about the implications of the legendary artifact’s resurgence. This was something that took priority over anything else; for a descendant of Paris to willingly hand over Soulbreaker to the Illuminati, it meant that there was more to the situation at Rhodes. “Corporal,” Victoria said after a moment. “Did this Nestor give you any reason for wanting to hand over Soulbreaker?”

Santana scoffed; Nestor had a good reason alright.

“Ut Puri,” Santana said, disgust evident in his voice. “During my mission, I noticed their presence on the isle. It seems as if they are preparing for something; I just have no idea what. They’re being far more blatant than usual in their methods. The only people on the island who haven’t realized it are the tourists that vacation there.”

Justinian let a tense sigh escape his lips; he had seen this from Ut Puri before in his long reign as Exemplar, and it never meant anything good. “We have a problem,” he said in a stone cold serious voice. “A big problem. Is there a chance that Ut Puri knows of Soulbreaker’s location Corporal?”

“I honestly don’t think so,” Santana said, remembering the enemy forces that he had seen on the island. “If they did, I’m sure they would have already took it. They had the forces necessary to do so, and that’s to say nothing of who’s leading their forces.”

If there was anything that could make the general feeling in the Pharos worse, it was this announcement by Santana. “Who?” Raven said as a bad feeling manifested in his gut. “Who is their commander?” That was quite the question; by knowing just who was controlling the Ut Puri contingent on Rhodes, they could plan accordingly, as well as to truly tell just how big of a threat this was.

Santana took a deep breath as an icy chill ran over his spine; he knew that none of the Exemplars would like this particular piece of information. “Ut Puri’s personal manslayer,” he said as a hush fell over the Pharos. “The Justicar, Julian Draven.”