The Age of Light

The modern history of Augusta begins with the removal of the imperial seat to the northern city of Medegia. Thereafter, Augusta's population declined rapidly as it lost its status as a center of power. In the absence of a central imperial presence, power shifted to the aristocracy and their priesthood. Augusta became a cultural and intellectual hub, with young men and women from all corners of the Empire coming there to embark upon careers of law or public speaking. The influx of intellectuals into a city recently bereft of central authority led immediately to controversy. Throughout its history, Augusta had always remained tolerant of a variety of cults, so long as those cults did not directly challenge the privileged status of the Nine Gods or the authority of the state. But many of those cults secretly ate away at the fabric of Augustan values, especially those devoted to the powers of chaos.

The Tale of Turnus Pol

Turnus Pol was a simple soldier called in his thirty-third year to the Light of Amon. Having seen a vision of the Lord of Light, he hung up his sword and gave himself over to Amon. First he ministered to those poor soldiers who had been maimed by battle, performing many miraculous feats of healing. Then he labored in the poor quarters, bringing comfort to those who were afflicted by want or disease. He stood up for poor craftsmen against the gang lords and brigands who preyed on them. But he never used violence or force after he had laid aside his weapons and walked in the Path of Light.

Inevitably he was summoned into the presence of the Emperor, whose only son lay sick under a malady that lay beyond the skill of all the court physicians, healers, wizards, and even the priests of the Nine Gods. When the Emperor offered him anything Turnus desired if he would only heal the boy, Turnus told him, "Give yourself to the Light." Furious at what he thought was a rejection, the Emperor had Turnus thrown in his dungeons. But that very night, the Emperor's son recovered. When the delighted father asked his son how he had healed so quickly, the boy told him that he had seen a pool of radiant light and a gentle figure leading him by the hand to the pool. When he woke, he knew that his sickness had departed.

The Emperor immediately sent for Turnus to be brought back from the dungeons. But the first guard sent to find him did not return. He sent another, and he too did not return. Then the Emperor sent a third guard. When this one did not return, the Emperor called his personal guard about him and went to the dungeons himself. When he arrived, he found Turnus seated in his cell, the door open, the shackles removed from his wrists, and the three guards asleep before him. He asked Turnus whether he had used magic to escape his guards and Turnus told him that the only true magic was an open heart. He asked Turnus why he had not escaped when his hands were free and the doors were open and Turnus told him that he could not walk free until his friend had been freed. When the Emperor asked him who could free his friend Turnus told him that the Emperor alone could set his friend free. When the Emperor asked who his friend was, Turnus replied, "That is yourself, great ruler."

Thereafter, Turnus became the Emperor's companion. Often they would talk for hours in a day. At times the Emperor would shout in frustration. But every time he tried to send Turnus away, Turnus replied that he could not leave until his friend had been set free.

They continued to speak for many years, during which time the Emperor grew old while Turnus seemed not to age a day. It is said that Turnus sat with the Emperor on his death-bed, long after the Emperor had forbidden all others to come to him. When death came upon him, the Emperor was surprised, for he thought that Morr would escort him into his dark gardens. But instead he saw a pool of light and a gentle hand guiding him there. Turnus said to the Emperor, "It is done. You have set my friend free." He rose, and the Emperor cried out, "Do not leave me, my friend!" Turnus replied gently, "Many years since, you took me into your court. Now I shall take you into the court of the Light, which is the highest of the heavens."

In the morning, they found the Emperor alone in his room, lying as if in sleep. On his face was a smile, his body was covered in white flowers, and a light shone bright in the room. Turnus was never seen again.

In after years, it was the Emperor's own son who threw down the altars of the Nine Gods, setting in their place the Light of Amon. But that is another tale.

--from The Chronicles of the Blessed