"Do they even know we're coming?" asked Wenzel, albeit rather late. "Of course! The meeting has been planned for some time and this morning the leader sent a messenger to inform His Excellency that we were coming," replied August. The road was clearly going uphill. The group turned onto a tiny path on the right between the little houses and wound their way up a serpentine track until they came to the entrance of a simple little home, that seemed to be carved into the rock. They dismounted and knocked. A man called out and asked for a password. This time it was a different one, namely "orange grove". It was correct and the gentlemen were asked to enter. Theodor was the first to rush forward, followed by August and so on. They passed through a small, nice interior that gave the impression of a hermitage. The old man who had let them in led them to the back of the room, where they pushed aside a shelf to pass through a hidden door. Brahm would stay out here and keep watch.

  The others kept following the old man. The path led through a cool, damp passage carved into the rock. But soon the cave opened up into a larger room. This was extremely impressive. It was a large cavity in the mountain, which had obviously been converted into an underground church. Statues of saints and pictures hung on the sides. Many of the painted images depicted icons of Melgar, behind whose head a sun shone, forming a halo over his head. A starry sky was painted on the vault, which candelabras hung down from. There were also a few wooden benches facing the centre point of the room, which was naturally occupied by the altar. Angels and saints were depicted there again. Huge burning candles were at the front, too. Moreover, there was a white banner with a red triquetra with a circle on a white background with the letters Alpha on the left and Omega on the right and a golden sun behind all of it. The smell of incense hung in the air.

  After Wenzel had stared silently at the things in the room for some time, a handful of old men in robes entered from a small door on the right. They were obviously clergymen. They all greeted each other politely, then the gentlemen sat down at a table, that had been set up in advance. The "martyrs" and Wenzel sat down on the armchairs that had been placed opposite them. "Is that the boy?" the priest sitting in the centre asked straightforwardly. All of them now eyed the boy sceptically from head to toe. He was wearing rather modest, practical clothing, but so were his companions. "Indeed," replied Theodor without further ado. He then grabbed Wenzel's upper arm and asked him to introduce himself to the clergymen. The boy stood up and stepped forward. He held out his hand to the man in the centre and introduced himself as Wenzel, without his surname. The man shook his hand and said: "The honour is all mine! I am Elias II, Patriarch of the Teleiotic Church of the Ordanian Patriarchate. These here are my archbishops, though not all of them."

  Wenzel bowed politely. "And you claim to be the Chosen One?" - "No, I don’t!" the boy replied bluntly. The clergymen looked quite surprised at that. Behind him, August put his face in his hands. As it was almost always the case, Theodor showed no reaction. The priests' eyes fell on the revolutionaries, but then back to Wenzel. "How are we supposed to understand that? Then why are you here?" The lad replied: "Because I have magical powers. I can prove it to you." For a moment, he wanted to use telekinesis to knock over a chair, but then he remembered what had happened the last time he had used telekinesis. He knew that he had no control over this ability and wanted to leave that be for the moment. He simply levitated himself briefly, touching the ceiling and then lowered himself back onto his chair. With levitation, he could be sure that he would be able to do it properly, as he had been practicing it for a long time. The men were definitely impressed, even if their faces only showed it to a slight degree. But then the patriarch asked him a question: "If you are capable of magic, then why do you question your chosenness by God? How can you deny your holiness in such a case?" - "What?" Wenzel returned irritated. "How could I be considered holy? I'm just Wenzel, a human being like everyone else!"

  "Why should someone who has powers that can transcend reality itself be anything different than holy? How else could this gift from God be understood? Anyone who can work miracles is blessed and not "cursed", as the diabolical FALSE church of these Alethic heretics claims!"

  Wenzel understood these men’s perspective. But he would not accept it. "Just because I can use magic doesn't mean anything. What about all the other people who can use magic, who the Inquisition is trying to destroy? Aren't they all saints, too?"

  The clergymen looked at each other in astonishment. They even began to mumble. Elias II thought for a moment and then answered: "I can see what's going on here. You've spent too long being indoctrinated by the Alethic heretics." He leaned across the table and motioned Wenzel closer with a wave of his hand. "Try to overcome what you have believed to be true. The propaganda of this regime has poisoned and twisted your mind! There only exists a single magician, therefore, there only is a single Chosen One. There are no others. Just look around you! Have you ever seen anyone else who can work miracles? I certainly haven't and I'm sixty-one! All the lies these usurpers spin serve only to destroy their opponents and prevent the return of the Chosen One. But they have obviously failed!" The old man began to grin and then even laughed a little. "The truth will triumph! And the truth is with God and the Chosen One! Praise the Lord!"

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  At that moment, Wenzels didn't have the faintest idea how to react. He was absolutely shocked. His whole life he had been lied to! But then his grey matter immediately got to work. "Then why did they let me live at all? Why the pendant? Why go to all this trouble?" It swirled through his head. The boy then reached under his tunic and pulled out the pendant hanging around his neck. He held it in front of him for a moment to take a look at it. An astonished archbishop then asked: "What have you got there?" - "Oh, that's...er...my soul is in this pendant. It's complicated." Naturally, everyone present, including the three revolutionaries, became interested.

  "May I have a quick look at it too?" the patriarch asked him. Thoughtlessly, Wenzel took it off and handed it to him. As the gentlemen looked at it closely, it occurred to the boy what they would find on the object. "M.R.!" The clergymen were now visibly beside themselves. "Where did you get this piece of jewellery?" they asked. But the lad could only reply that he didn't really know. "From my parents, I guess. But I really doubt that one myself." As a result, he also had to explain to them that the Althuns were not actually his real parents and that he did not know his true parentage. The boy asked for his pendant back and they complied without hesitation.

  They then got up from her table and asked the guests to wait here. They had something to discuss. So, the group disappeared behind the door from which they had previously entered. Behind it was a small room that led nowhere else. The men and Wenzel, therefore, approached the closed wooden door quietly and unnoticed in order to listen. Curiosity killed the cat, but these four were no cats! The following could be heard from inside the chamber:

  "Undeniably..... a sign from God! ...........ecy fulfilled.........Anointing......"

  The meeting did not last long. The eavesdroppers quickly returned to their seats shortly before the door opened again and the spiritual authorities stepped out. "The decision of the commune, although it was already predetermined, has been made!" the patriarch announced. "I would like to ask the Chosen One to hold a special mass with us and to be anointed." Although Wenzel could not hide his displeasure at that moment, he agreed. The option of refusing would have been very unwise. Besides, he had no idea what an anointing was. Thus, all the other visitors, except Wenzel, were asked to leave the cave and wait outside until the "ritual", as Wenzel would have called it, was over.

  The procedure for the anointment was explained to him while the necessary things wer assembled and prepared. The boy was not pleased when he heard what they were going to do. Then they began. The priests sang religious songs he didn't know, which they read off their books. Wenzel couldn't understand what they were singing, but the words sounded a little familiar to him. It was Ancient Camenian. They lit more candles and waved incense around. During all this, the lad just sat in an armchair in front of the altar wrapped in some kind of ceremonial dress. Immediately afterwards, however, these were removed and the crown of his head, chest and neck were smeared with oil and prayers were recited. The patriarch, who led the ceremony, then read out something in Old Camenian again, with Wenzel having to reply several times simply, "I solemnly swear". Finally, the whole thing reached its climax with the reading out of a formula, which for once was in Ordanian:

  ?We praise you, we bless you, oh Lord!

  Now we proclaim high and mighty the dawning of the last age of the Camenian prophecy

  the great cycle of ages is born anew.

  Now returns the Maid, returns the reign of Melgar,

  now from high heaven a new generation comes down.

  Holy, holy, holy!

  A boy is born,

  in whom the iron race shall begin to cease,

  and the golden to arise over all the world,

  holy Elisabeth, thanks be to thee; now thine new Melgar reigns.

  We praise you, we bless you, oh Lord!“

  At the end of the ceremony, Wenzel was simply glad that it was over. He changed back into his normal clothes, and they all went out together to join the others. Unfortunately, the meeting was still not finished. "For the length of a person's lifetime, we have had to hide underground. People started calling us Old Believers because we clung to the sanctity of Melgar, God’s Chosen One, praise be to him. But we are the one and only commune! We are the truth! And now hope has returned in the incarnate form of the Chosen One!" the patriarch began his litany. "Evil will be swept away and the iconoclasts will burn in hell!" Enthusiasm was written over everyone's faces. Something big was developing here.