A man in dirty robes walks down a dingy hallway, his mouth wide open with a yawn. As he finishes the yawn, he shivers slightly, causing his steps to falter a little. He corrects himself without another thought and continues down the hallway.
At the end of the hallway is a large door, with two guards posted to either side of it. Their armor appears to be very old and worn out, contrary to the young faces of those wearing it. In one of their hands, a long spear is held, the other holds a shield at the ready. A sword can be seen hanging at the waist behind the shield. The eyes of the two men stare ahead with a blank expression. As the man approaches, their eyes shift to his face for a moment before looking forward again.
The man stops in front of the door and looks to the guard on the left, "Well? Open the door, slave!" he says. "I don't understand why I have to tell you guys every time." The guard on the left switches his spear to the hand holding the shield and turns to the door, soundlessly opening it and stepping to the side to let the man inside. "Tsk!" The man clicked his tongue as he entered. Once he entered, the guard silently closed the door, shifted his spear back to his main hand and resumes his position, staring down the hallway.
On the far side of this massive room lays a large altar, with a man standing behind it with a bored expression on his face. When he looks to the man who just entered, he said, "Bryan! Oh, thank goddess you've arrived. I'm so hungry I could eat one of these blokes." He said as he pointed to the bodies on the ground in front of him. Bryan only sighed and walked around the gigantic magical ritual construction that takes up most of the space in the room.
"How long since you did the summoning?" he asked. The other man pondered for a moment before replying, "Hmm, about half hour?" Bryan frowned and replied, "Should be soon then. Here have some jerky and wait with me." He tossed a bag he had hanging on his waist to the man behind the altar, who caught it and began to tear at the strings tying it closed. As soon as he was able, he threw two pieces of jerky in his mouth, chewing loudly.
Bryan sighed and shook his head before turning to the magical ritual construction in the center of the room. A greenish metal walkway extended out from the area a couple meters in front of the altar, before branching off to form ten platforms. All around the platforms were metals and crystals of different colors all inscribed with or shaped like runes. They appeared to be placed randomly all around the center, filling a majority of the air with this massive three-dimensional ritual “circle", with the only areas clear being that from the platforms to the walkway, and from the walkway to the altar.
This construction took 53 years to complete and required hundreds of priests and mages working together. Originally, its intent was to absorb and store mana, and provide the capability to summon 10 people from a different world once every 5 years. But modifications were made to both it and areas around the country to make this process quicker. Foci were set up around the country at nexus points to create artificial ley lines with the focus being this ritual chamber. Even with that though, it was only enough to reduce the summoning to once every 6 months.
As a result of avarice and thirst for conquest, an additional method was incorporated into the ritual to fuel the summoning process that it could be done twice in a single week. The process was the consumption of lives, as evident by the bodies in front of the altar. Many of the bodies appeared to be severely injured, missing limbs, or appearing to have just returned from battle, as they were the ones who were summoned previously. The leaders send their soldiers out to conquer the lands, and those that survive, but can no longer continue to fight are sent back to be used as fuel for the next summoning.
The sacrifices were sent to Lady Helles, the goddess they worship. Not only does the goddess receive the souls of the sacrificed to feast upon, but she also gets fed from the suffering of those who are summoned. The ritual originally found a worthy soul to be summoned. As for worthy, they aren't looking for a strong or heroic soul, quite the opposite as they are looking for weak souls. Weakened souls can be suppressed much easier, effectively suppressing the mind and only letting the natural instincts remain to control the body. Even that which remains is further controlled by an enslavement curse.
This type of enslavement is different than others. It forces the enslaved to obey the commands of the current leaders of the military, and country. It had been decided previously that if a slave's master died, without a new master assigned to it, it would be incapable of actions. And as the magic has religious and arcane properties to it, it will only activate for a true citizen of the country. Resistance had tried to wear the uniforms of the leadership to issue commands but found the slaves turning on them instead. The crystals that are summoned with the slaves are kept in the basement of the cathedral, where they are heavily protected.
That basement has a much less complex construction as well built in it. It's through this one specifically that the leadership of the armies can have control over them and establishes a hierarchy. The command given by someone with a higher authority is given priority, so even if a leader is killed, there is always a master to control them, so they will always continue with their orders.
When a slave dies, the corresponding crystal shatters, which is convenient, because when a slave dies in the field, they don't need to search for the control crystal to remove it. Monks of the goddess tend to the chamber and clean up after the shattered crystals. They are the only ones who are allowed in the chamber and once they are assigned, they never leave.
As if dry tinder, the bodies of the slaves burst into flames. They burned fiercely and hot, reduced to ashes in mere moments, the flames were then absorbed into the circle, illuminating the ten platforms. As the light got brighter and brighter, outlines of bodies began to appear. Both men in the room covered their eyes with their hands, seemingly oblivious to the phenomenon happening in front of them. When the lights dimmed down, nine people stood on the platforms, each holding a crystal in their hands. There were six men and three women.
“You want the men this time, or the women?” the man said. “Men.” He replied immediately, “The Baron creeps me out.” Bryan shrugged and started walking towards the entrance, “You just have to ignore him, Tim.” When he reached the door, he knocked twice and turned to face the ten platforms. “Women slaves, follow me.” He said as the door opened behind him. The three women soundlessly moved to the door and followed him as he exited down the hallway. Tim had followed the women, chewing loudly on a piece of jerky he had popped in his mouth. “Men slaves, follow me.” He picked up the lantern that was by the door, providing light to the room, and followed the women out to the hallway. The door closed as the last slave exited. The guards maintaining their post as if nothing had happened.
