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I'm sorry I took my sweet time to make this illustration for this chapter, just had tons of things going on irl (such as me having sinusitis problems, taking my grandmother to the doctor, etc.).

As promised, here's the chapter with some lore I've written, because everyone loves lores! :D

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Chapter 11

Content warning: A few references of blasphemy and anti-Christian violence on Darius's part

Great Saint Llywelyn–the imposing Christian–loomed over Brian as the former approaches him, giving him a scornful expression.

“I do not appreciate anyone with an evil heart attempting to bring destruction on that legendary sword,” he muttered, “I knew that Father Darius would send you on such a futile mission. Even Fionn mac Cumhaill would be aware of your presence at this moment.”

Dover quietly gasped when that line caught his attention, and whispered, “He also knew about Fionn mac Cumhaill!”

Brian, having Llywelyn’s sword pointed at him, knew how powerful the tall Christian is. Especially when his divine powers killed off his remaining fellow cultists.

“P-please, sir,” he begged fearfully, “D-don’t kill me. I won’t even touch that blade in the ruins, I swear!”

Llywelyn dismisses his sword, pleased with Brian’s promise.

“You have made a wise choice,” he commented, “Now return to your church and do not return here. Understood?”

The friar nodded and just like that, he teleported out of the area.

Grundal looked up at Callum and Gwynfair on the cliff and called out to them, “A’ight, you two! The coast’s clear, so you can come down ’ere now.”

Without hesitation, the two climbed down the cliff’s slope and made it toward the others at the ruins’ entrance. Both of them were amazed to encounter Llywelyn.

Dover, knowing that the Christian had better knowledge about Darius, Fionn, and the legendary sword than he had, approaches him. He felt somewhat diminutive compared to the robed man.

“Excuse me, sir,” he spoke up, attracting Llywelyn’s attention, “My name is Murchadh Dover of Clan McAlister, and I would like to request some information about Fionn mac Cumhaill and White Steel, if you will.”

The benevolent saint nodded, “I am more than willing to explain about them for you if you are willing to know.”

After being introduced to everyone else in Dover’s party and being told about what Parry told Dover about, Llywelyn sat down on a nearby debris next to the ruins to explain the story to them.

“As many of you know, Fionn mac Cumhaill is a legendary giant warrior of Ireland and the leader of the band of hunter-warriors known as the Fianna. He was once accompanied by his two hounds, Bran and Sceólang, that provided great loyalty to him before their death. As for the sacred blade, White Steel, I created this sword and allowed God to grant it a divine blessing, and gave it to Fionn so he would battle with evil along with his other weapons, including his sword Mac an Luinn, long ago. After many a battle, I entrusted him to bring this sword to the ruins you see before you, in which he has hidden it in a secret chamber and guard it. That is to prevent those with an evil heart from finding and attaining it, let alone abusing its divine power.”

The four, especially Dover, were quite mesmerized by the lore behind Fionn and White Steel. They knew Llywelyn would tell them this tale brimming with so much detail.

Callum then asked, “But what about Father Darius and his men? Do you have any knowledge about their lore?”

The kind Christian somewhat felt uneasy about answering this question, but responded, “Hm, Father Darius... that vile man has committed many a heinous action, especially against Christians. I would never forgive him for what he has done to my followers in the past.”

He paused long enough to remember the horrible events related to Darius, then continued his story.

“Long ago, an atheistic Satanist told me that the cult was once lead by the late Father Richard until he was murdered in the hands of Darius, who then became their new leader. He has learned and attained the dark powers of witchcraft that he believed to be blessings from Satan, some of which increased his size drastically and permanently. Ever since his leadership, he and the cult began to terrorize Christians with the most blasphemous atrocities imaginable, from destroying Bibles to church arsons that resulted in the death of countless Christian victims. The only Christian church that wasn’t destroyed is the one here in Scotland that Father Richard and his cult have taken over and desecrated long ago, making it their own. Now if you would look in the sky...”

Llywelyn points to the sky for Dover and the others to see. The four were taken by surprise to see a gigantic monastery floating in the sky in a faraway distance.

“This monastery is what God created due to these attacks. It served as a sanctuary for Christians so that neither Darius nor his cult can reach so none of us would have to worry about having our lives threatened.”

“So is there anymore lore behind Darius, Llywelyn?” Dover asked.

The tall saint shook his head, “I am afraid this is all the lore I can provide to you for now. The rest of Darius’s lore would be up to you to discover. However, I must warn you, Dover”

He sits ups straight and approaches Dover with an important warning.

“I have eavesdropped on Darius who plans on looking for a maiden to be a servant to Satan. And that maiden he is looking for... is Gwynfair.”

Gwynfair gasped fearfully when she heard what Llywelyn said. The saint continued.

“And so, Dover, even with White Steel in hand, you must never let her fall into the hands of that wicked warlock. You and your party must do everything in your power to protect her at all costs, as well as putting an end to Darius for his crimes against humanity. Are we all clear?”

Dover nodded.

“You are a courageous man,” Llywelyn muttered with a gentle smile, “I shall return to the monastery for now. Farewell and good luck.”

He then summoned a portal the leads to the monastery and as soon as he steps through it, the portal disappears

Dover went into deep thoughts. He learned everything Llywelyn says about Fionn, Darius, and White Steel. He’d never thought a Christian would double as a excellent storyteller to any adventurer. All these lores he can learn from Llywelyn throughout his journey would give him enough valuable information that he and Callum would tell everyone back in the Clan McAlister settlement.

As for Darius’s plans, what purpose does Satan want from Gwynfair in order for her to do his bidding? She’s far too kind to do anything evil like what that warlock has done, so there’s no way Dover would let him take her away for that very reason. Taking the Great Saint’s warning to heart, the Scotsman knew he had to be Gwynfair’s bodyguard and to keep her safe from Satanists, no matter what it takes. After all, she resurrected him when he was initially killed by Darius, so he’s more than willing to repay her. Everything Llywelyn told him is compelling to him.

“Hey, what’s the hold-up, Dover?” Grundal spoke up, “Are we gonna go get that sword or not? Because we don’t have all day, y’know!”

Dover snapped out of his deep thoughts and responded, “What? Oh, yes, we are. Onward to the ruins!”

And so the four finally entered the ruins. And little do they know what else lies beyond this point besides White Steel itself.

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Disclaimer: I know what Darius has done in the past is quite appalling to Christians reading this chapter, but I'd like to kindly tell you that White Steel is not a book about Christophobia or blasphemy against Christianity as a whole. And even though I'm a LeVayen Satanist, I absolutely don't condone anything anti-Christian or blasphemous in real life as I respect Christianity.