Chapter 4 - A Test of Faith

Tagada pushed the food around on his plate before leaning over to Anna. “So what’s the history behind the sword?”

Stony silence was his only response.

“Didn’t hear me?” he asked, all thoughts of politeness gone. “I’m wondering when Sigmar touched it.”

The muscles in Anna’s jaw clenched and unclenched. “Oh I heard you alright. It’s clear you’re an infidel. Worse, you masquerade as devout. I don’t talk to people like you, I skewer people like you.”

“How is it clear I’m an infidel?”

“To level such baseless accusations. No true believer would do that.”

“So you no longer need to test my faith?”

Anna barked a sharp laugh and let that be answer enough as she took another drink of her firewine.

These people were so sure that Tagada experienced a moment of doubt. Was it possible that he had been mistaken when he looked at the blade? Anna had sheathed the blade again and between the twin tailed comet hung on the wall opposite the bay window that looked out over the sea, and the various hammers on the wall, this room looked the picture of piety.

“How does the test of faith work?”

Anna turned towards him and grinned, her face looked different this time. The malevolence writ across it pulled her face into a leering shadow.

She put the sword partially out of the scabbard. Tagada caught sight of the runes on the blade again and felt lancing pain behind his eyelids. He averted his eyes and she laughed again. At least, he conceded to himself, I managed to get her talking again.

“Basically, the blade tests you. And if you’re pious it heals you. And if you’re found wanting it continues to drink from you until there’s nothing left for the chaos gods to corrupt.”

Tagada’s eyes nearly fell out of his skull. They were going to test his faith in Sigmar using a tool of the dark gods.

He took in the full room. He had already noticed the scarred forearms of Lord Feterene and Lady Anna, but now he saw them on everyone else. It must be connected to this test. This is not happening. This farce was ridiculous. But what could he, one man, do against a household full of these macabre zealots.

“I suspect,” Anna continued, though it was clear in her tone that she was dead certain, “that with your fake faith you will be found wanting.”

Heat flooded Tagada’s neck and it was all he could do to avoid shouting or striking her. If his stomach had still been empty, he knew he would not have been able to resist. Blinking a few times, he started rubbing his bone comet bracelet and humming a tribal war cant praising the victories of Sigmar. So that’s what awaited him - to be cut apart by a daemon blade. If he was lucky his soul would still make it to Sigmar. But he knew better than to trust luck against daemons.

Soon, he felt cool enough to continue. He reached between his robe and pulled his necklace out and slammed it down on the table. The comet on the end was heavy, maybe 40 pounds, and the noise reverberating through the room. Conversation stopped.

“Would you like to see my test of faith?” he asked, in a voice just loud enough to carry most of the way down the table. No one said no, and he took that as a sign to continue.

He slowly peeled back folds of the cloth covering it. “This is a twin-tailed comet made by the Grand Pietr of the Blazing Sky Order in Hammerhal Aqsha with materials transported straight from Chamon at great expense. It’s travelled to Azyrheim and has even been blessed by Gardus Steelsoul of the Hallowed Knights.” There was some incredulous muttering at that - apparently even here they had heard of the Steelsoul. “It is not mine, something as fine as this cannot be owned by those such as me. It is something that I carry at the behest of the Grand Pietr across the Ember Road of Aqshy to help cleanse the land of any lingering taint.” His voice had picked up as he talked, and he was projecting it so a phalanx of mounted warriors would be able to hear him. To rally them before battle.

He peeled the last cloth away and held it up. It still took his breath away every time he saw it. It was as long as his torso - the outer shell was made with chamonite quickglass, a metal that was nearly transparent, and inside were two liquid metals - the head of the comet practically glowed with silver light, and the tails with a golden radiance. They swirled and undulated and gave the comet the impression of being alive. He made the sign of the comet in reverence.

A collective gasp went through the crowd.

“That is beautiful.”

“Blessed Sigmar.”

Tagada noted the appreciation with a smug smile. He gestured down to the comet tails. “If the light hits it just right, you can see the inscriptions on the tails. One says: ‘The realms are cleansed by the rage of the believer.’ And the other says: ‘The realms are purified by the blood and sacrifice of the faithful.’”

He noticed that Anna had remained silent. Placing the comet on the table in front of him, he looked around. Lord Feterene gazed into its depths as Tagada had on many occasions. The liquid metal made hypnotic patterns inside as it continued to move even as the outside was now still. Lady Anna just looked at him.

“What is the test?” she asked.

Right. He’d said it was his test of faith. As if faith was something that could be measured. “To carry it one thousand miles barefoot through the Aqshyan wilderness.”

She scoffed. “Anyone with two legs and a decent sword arm could do that?”

“Would you like to try?” he asked.

Her eyes widened as she realized what he was suggesting. “I’m needed here.”

“So,” Tagada replied, “you’d have me undergo your test of faith, but you aren’t willing to undergo mine?”

Anna snarled and gripped the hilt of the sword. “Uncle, let me carve out his throat.”

Lord Feterene looked up from the comet. “He has a point. Though the banquet draws to an end and he shall soon cease to be our guest of honour, for our faith to be the purest it must surely pass all tests before it.”

Tagada smiled just as Anna started to speak. “But uncle…”

Feterene held up his hand. “But obviously it’s not quite workable for you to leave to undertake a 1000 mile pilgrimmage.” He turned to Tagada. “You will figure out a test of faith that can take place here, now, and she will undergo it as you will undergo hers.”

Tagada looked between the two of them. A slow smile crept onto Anna’s face. Lord Feterene continued. “Should you fail hers, we will keep the comet in safekeeping until we can safely return it to Hammerhal Aqsha. You both have five minutes to prepare.”

“What if she fails mine?”

“She will not.”