A Newfound Ally

Damon commanded the owls to fly over a young couple who were about to enter a back-alley.

"Did you go to the latest rally?" The man whispered.

"Of course I did! The Great Crusade is only a few steps away! All that stands left is the removal of those old fools!" The woman declared brazenly.

"Quiet down! Although I share your enthusiasm, you must know that we can't let the Old Guard hear us." The man looked frightened.

The woman's zealous eyes dimmed as she remembered the past.

"We'll win this time, Ezekiel. We've learned from the last revolution and we won't make the same mistakes." The woman said somberly.

"You are living proof that we haven't learned just enough." Ezekiel muttered under his breath.

"What did you say?" She asked curiously.

"Nothing!" He said as he began rapidly tapping his fingers on the brick wall.

WHOOSH

The black bricks began rapidly retracting until nothing was left.

Soon, a bright alcove appeared.

Ezekiel turned around. "Just save your zeal for the meeting. Though we aren't in short supply of it anyway!" He huffed as they walked inside.

Across from the opened alcove, a strangely reactive shadow could be seen.

'Seems like there really is some deep internal conflict. Between secret meetings and past revolutions, this looks very promising.' Damon thought from the shadows.

'After all, if not a God, then who could lead a revolution to victory?' Damon inwardly laughed.

-----

In the bright alcove, an important meeting was taking place.

"Ezekiel! We cannot continue to hide like rats just because they have control of the government. We are the future and they will have hell to pay if they want us gone!" A man with golden hair and blazing blue eyes roared.

"People like you are exactly those who lost us the last war! We are planning a victory, not a glorious march to death. We just need to listen to my plan and use our 'planted seeds' in order to sow confusion and eliminate key targets." Ezekiel yelled back.

"Enough." A sharp voice cut in.

The woman to whom this voice belonged sat at the end of the table.

In total, there were 10 chairs lining this wooden table. Although most of them were filled, two were left abandoned.

The woman at the end of the table had blazing red hair and a dominant aura. She was the perfect representation of an inspiring leader.

"You both are correct in some respects, but we need to learn to work together to make this work. Focusing on a single aspect wouldn't be enough to even counter the Old Guard, let alone the rest of the populous." She lectured them.

"What we need, is a perfect storm of chaos and disruption. Only then can our weaker force forcefully take control of the government." She continued.

While the two men contemplated her advice, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Why don't I solve your problems for you?" Damon said as he manifested from the shadows.

Immediately, all eight attendees stood up with alarm.

Four of them drew their weapons and moved towards Damon cautiously.

"Stop." The leader commanded.

Five of the members looked towards her with mixed feelings. Ranging from confusion to anger to shock.

"As your leader quickly concluded, I wouldn't have announced myself if I intended to hurt anyone here. Hell, the fact that I snuck in here without being detected tells you enough about my power." Damon said calmly.

Internally though, Damon was sighing in relief.

'I wasn't sure how desperate they were for support, but it looks like my bet worked out.'

"What can you offer that we can't already do?" The woman asked.

"Let's just say that I have a very...special talent regarding the creation of artifacts."

"What do you mean by special?" The woman asked curiously.

"I can build powerful knights that run entirely off of my spiritual energy." Damon declared with pride.

The woman's eyes were full of doubt. "What level of creature can they match up against?"

"They have been tested against and beaten many Beasts and Fiends at once. They will likely be able to deal with a Monster if they have enough numbers but that would be their limit." Damon said with confidence.

Everyone in the room's eyes opened widely.

"The-they can beat a Psyker then?" One of the members shakily asked.

Damon frowned. "It's too hard to say. Psykers are too unpredictable."

The leader had finally awakened from her stupor. "Just how many of them can you produce? We have people who can counter Psyker but what we truly need are a number of Cultivators and Aspirants to defeat the Old Guard."

"I can make about two a day." Damon said.

"That's quite good." She nodded. "But who are you and why do you want to help us?" She asked cautiously.

It would be all for nothing if this supposed ally betrayed them in the end.

"I'm a traveler of the Wilds. I am from another fortress city and I simply want to help begin the Great Crusade. The revolutionaries in my city were crushed and I was forced to flee." Damon disclosed.

"I see. We'll need proof of your claims and you will also need to prove that you are trustworthy, but that can wait. Our next meeting will be in the Wilds just outside the Eastern City Gate. Be there by sundown tomorrow." She said.

"I surely won't disappoint." Damon said as he blended back into the shadows and swiftly left.

'Now I just need to make some more knights and then I'll be able to prove myself. With their trust garnered, everything will be easy.' Damon thought as he began flying out of the city.

Although it seemed like Damon had been foolhardy, he had taken into account the intelligence of the leader and the fact that the rebels would be quite desperate for support.

If they had tried to attack him, it would be quite simple to escape and they would have likely exposed themselves as a result.

'It feels awesome when a gamble pays off.' Damon thought.