Chapter Text
The Lamb trembled in fear as he was bound in chains. His fleece, white as snow, soon to be dyed red with his own blood. He shook away the thought, but the biting cold of the dark reminded him of his fate.
“Move it, sacrifice!” A hooded individual with a dagger shoves the Lamb forward nearly causing the young one to topple over. Soft whimpers could be heard as the small lamb walked forward through the corridor of bones and blood.
With each step, he felt his heart sink further and further into despair. There was no saving him now. He was doomed, and as he stepped into the open area, he could see the four Bishops, the executioner, and some more robed beings. As he took his place in the centre of the pentagram, one of the Bishops started to speak.
“Before us stands the last of its kind. All others we have hunted down and put to blade.”
“With this final sacrifice, the prophecy will be impossible to fulfil.”
“The heretic who lies bound below will be condemned to eternal captivity.”
“And the Old Faith shall be preserved.”
Tears blind the Lamb as he felt the executioner approach. Closing his eyes tight, he waits for the inevitable cut.
The Lamb opens his eyes to find himself in a white expanse with chains, bones, and upside-down crosses everywhere. He heard the rattling of chains and turned to see another large being, but this one was chained and thrashing about. There were two other beings, but neither were chained.
“Come closer.” The Lamb hesitated a bit, seeing that he was also still bound in chains. “Fear not, for though you are already dead, I still have need of you. Those foolish Bishops thought they could keep you from me in death. But instead they sent you straight to me. I will give you life again, but at a price! All I ask is for you to start a Cult in my name. Do we have a deal?” The Lamb looks up at the one who is also in chains and sees his smile behind the veil. His three red eyes glued to the Lamb.
“Yes.” The One Who Waits chuckles deeply as the crown on his head floats down and lands on the Lamb’s head. His eyes turn red as the chains are broken and he’s given a red cloak with a golden bell around his neck.
That’s when the Lamb awakens and just runs on pure adrenaline.
Entering another clearing, the Lamb takes a few breaths. But then he hears something coming up from the ground and summons his sword… which he didn’t know he had, but felt a rush wielding.
“Fear not! I am Ratau. I was once a chosen vessel like you, but those days are lost to the winds.” The Lamb lets the blade go as it returns to being a crown. “I was sent to guide you. We are deep in the lands of the Old Faith and in grave danger. My instructions are to lead you to safety. Continue through the woods. Escape lies ahead. I will be close by.” He then burrows away.
The Lamb takes a few breaths, collecting his thoughts about everything. You do not have time to think. The deep voice of The One Who Waits rings in his mind. The Lamb continues onward, battling demonic creatures with skill that felt new, yet learned, before arriving at an eerily familiar scene.
“Oh mighty Bishops of the Old Faith! We ask you to accept the sacrifice of this wretched soul-” It’s then that the hooded figures noticed the Lamb.
“Hey! Who interrupts our ritual and trespassed on sacred grounds?!”
“I do.” The Lamb summons the blade and defeats two waves of enemies as the ropes snap and the table breaks. He walks up calmly and softly to the crying individual. He summons a portal, his eyes turning red as another takes control, that takes away the cow. And with that, he continues on.
“We have reached safety. You have done well. The Red Crown will allow you to use those markings on the ground to transport yourself great distances. It will take you to a temple that has fallen to ruin. There you will be able to begin your new Cult. I will meet you there.” And with that Ratau leaves. The Lamb steps into the circle and sees the pentagram below him pulsing with the same red as his crown. It’s then that he feels himself getting sucked into the pentagram below him.
Popping out of a different pentagram, the Lamb looked around at all the ruin and debris.
“This hallowed ground which once was mine, is now yours. This crumbling ruin is to be the site of your new Cult. We have much to do. We begin with indoctrinating this poor soul into the warm embrace of your Cult.” The Lamb nods and walks over to where the cow was already praying.
“Convert me to your Cult, I will follow your teachings faithfully!” The Lamb begins a ritual where the rags on the cow turn into red robes of the Cult. The Lamb sends Yarmer to go get wood.
“By your hand, our Cult will grow powerful!” The Lamb looks to see that Ratau is back. “Now, we must build a Shrine- but first we will need more Followers and more gold. Both of which can be found when crusading through the lands of The Old Faith. Our mutual benefactor The One Who Waits has been trapped by the four Bishops of the Old Faith. Each of them guard a chain that binds him to the realm beyond. We have conjured openings to their realms. It is your task to track them down and slay them so that he may be free. Now go! There you shall find gold and willing recruits and for those who are not willing, convert them by force!” He then leaves.
I guess I’m going back. The Lamb looks at the crown on his head. But this time, I’m not alone. A small smile appears as he heads out. He goes to where there are five doors. Two small doors on either side of a big door in the centre with chains on it. Guess that’s where he’s waiting. It’s as he steps farthing into the room, that the green door begins to glow. Guess that’s my first target.
The Lamb opens the door with his follower, before heading in the door. Passing through, he slaughtered the enemies that approached before a sickening feeling took over.
“How can this be?” Leshy, one of the Bishops, has hold of the Lamb as he’s trying to fight. His eyes a glowing red as he levitated off the ground. “You were put to the blade, Lamb, as all your kind were. And yet here you stand before me, unrepentant.” Leshy notices the crown on the lamb’s head. “The Crown… his power… could it be? But I am stronger still. Turn tail and run, Little Lamb.” The Lamb is released as Leshy leaves. He feels anger rise in him.
“Don’t remind me of why I want to kill you.” He whispers to the air as a growl is present in his throat. Travelling on Lamb finds himself following floating stars and moons.
“Praise the Lamb, conduit to great power, promised liberator of The One That Waits Below.” Clauneck sits before his tarot cards. “So the cards showed me, once. Many lifetimes ago.(Or has that yet to be?) I have always drawn your cards, Lamb. And yet, this is the first. Take these cards, and I will draw another each time we meet. When drawn by me, they will grant you power. What power? Well, that is both known and unfathomable. The cards, they shall decide…” Drawing a card, the Lamb felt the power flow through him before leaving.
Entering another room, the Lamb sees a cloaked enemy kneeling in the centre of a ritual circle. They’re the only one in the room. Lamb puts his sword away and cautiously approaches the circle. Before he could even utter a word, Leshy arrives in a black puddle.
“You have come far enough Little Lamb. My Followers are willing to do anything for me. Can you say the same for yours?”
“I give myself to the cause, oh Mighty Leader!” The one in the circle calls out.
“By the blood of the Great Ones, destroy the Red Crown!” Leshy leaves as Amdusias melts into darkness before popping up as a monster. The Lamb summons his blade and the battle begins.
Using quick wit and dodging rolls, the Lamb wins turning the monstrous Amdusias into a scared creature. The Lamb retracts his blade as he looks down at Amdusias.
“Please, spare me… Convert me to your Cult, I will follow your teachings faithfully!” A simple portal spell and Amdusias is gone. The Lamb is about to exit the Darkwoods, but notices that the door now has a light one-fourth of the way.
Returning to the Cult, Lamb noticed Ratau in the centre and rushed over.
“I am relieved to see you made it safely, and you have not returned alone. You have convinced another to join our faithful flock. Let us indoctrinate this new convert so that we may continue.” Lamb goes over to where the followers appear and with another ritual, Amdusias, Am for short, joins the Cult.
“Followers will either work or worship. Build a shrine so that they can worship you.” The Lamb does so with the help of his two other Followers. “Here’s another Follower, have them worship you.” Ratau leaves. Lamb goes up to the new Follower, Fitz, and welcomes him with a smile. With him around, Lamb builds a temple as Ratau reappears.
“The Temple is the centre of your cult. From there you will preach Sermons to grow stronger and perform Rituals to mould the fragile minds of your Followers. You are responsible for maintaining the Faith of your Cult. If it falls too low, your Followers will dissent against you and eventually leave. Your Followers are ready to hear your word. Show them that you are their great leader. Preach a Sermon from within your Temple.”
The Lamb goes into the Temple and his eyes turn white as he preaches. Ratau appears as the Followers leave.
“You were amazing to behold. A natural leader. I see why you were chosen. If you are to guide your Cult you will need to declare Doctrines so that they might obey you. Return to the lands of the Old Faith and seek out Commandment Stone Fragments. With these you will be able to declare new Doctrines.”
Heading out on the crusade to collect the Commandment Stone Fragments, the Lamb feels, once again, the sickening feeling as Leshy arrives.
“So you foolishly persist, little Lamb. I hear your lies and I smell your fear. The Red Crown rises again… but what an unworthy bearer it has.” Leshy leaves the Lamb with a parting gift of enemies, whom the Lamb swiftly gets rid of.
Continuing on, the Lamb gains Crown Abilities, which allows him to use magic.
He also finds a spider named Helob who’s willing to part with the creature he’s captured for a price. The Lamb pays for Henry's freedom and sends him back to the Cult.
Further on, he finds another potential follower sitting in the centre of a structure surrounded by bones and destruction.
“Help, get me out of here, please.” The Lamb does so before continuing on.
Battling Valefar went the same way as Am did. In the end, the Lamb chose to convert Valefar as well.
On his way back to the Cult, the Lamb finds himself before The One Who Waits.
“Very good, my vessel. It seems I chose well when I kept you from Death. I will be watching your every move. Do not disappoint me.” With a bow, the Lamb returns to the Cult.
Indoctrinating three new Followers, giving them beds, and a sermon closes out another day. And as all of his followers go to sleep, the Lamb is left alone. The dark of the night, and the noises within them are all that remain with the little lamb.
He wanders around the land of his cult seeing his followers sleeping. He doesn’t feel tired as he notices Am whimpering in his sleep. He goes over and soothes his fur with pets relaxing the converted follower back into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, the Lamb gives another sermon. Yarmer comes up to him as he was heading out on another crusade.
“Great leader! The Cult is growing by the day… it is time you gave it a name.” The Lamb hadn’t thought of that before.
“Cult of Kind.”
“Cult of Kind… that has a nice ring to it!” He nods to Yarmer before leaving.
Returning to the Darkwood, the Lamb finds a possessed Theadore.
“They’re all dead… Oh Lord, how could I? Again? Do you see it in me? The Darkness in my soul?”
“I absolve you, join me.”
“Thank you… master.” Sending him back to the Cult, Lamb continues on only to feel the sickening feeling again, but this time stronger.
Leshy returns, but this time they’re not alone.
“So it is true. The Red Crown sits upon the brow of another.” Heket says from the right of Leshy.
“But how? We did everything we could to-”
“It matters not.” Heket cuts Kallamar off. “We need not bother Shamura with this. Deal with it, brother.”
“As you command, my sister.” The siblings leave and the Lamb is left to deal with the enemies that follow. After beating them, the Lamb continues till he fights Barbatos, who, like the two before him, converts after being beaten. Heading out, Lamb notices the door is three-fourths of the way lit.
While trying to return to the Cult, Lamb is summoned by The One Who Waits.
“Do not make the mistake of becoming the servant of your Followers. They are for you to use to your advantage! Their Faith is a resource, spend it as you would gold. For you can always regain their trust with a well placed gesture of kindness. Let it empower you, let it give you licence to do unspeakable things. Bend them to your will. I grant you the power to read their feeble little minds.”
“I won’t hurt them.” This gets a chuckle out of him.
“We’ll see.” He sends the Lamb back to the Cult of Kind.
Upon arriving, the Lamb indoctrinated Barbatos and Theodore before giving a sermon and performing a bonfire ritual. Creating more beds and ensuring everyone is taken care of, the Lamb goes on to see Ratau at the Lonely Shack.
“I must thank you. By relieving me of my duties you have granted me what I desire most: peace. Now that I have taught you everything you need to know, I can pass my days playing Knucklebones. Now I am retired, I am free to enjoy myself.” The two played a few rounds of Knucklebones.
“Am, I have noticed you struggling to sleep.” The Lamb called out to the Follower who was currently worshipping at the shrine.
“Apologies, Leader, I’ll try to rest more quietly.” It was as he had his head bowed, Am noticed the necklace before his eyes. It was a crescent moon shape. “For me?”
“You won’t need rest, so you won’t have nightmares.” Am puts on the necklace as the Lamb watches.
“Thank you, gracious leader.” The Lamb smiles and continues to aid the growth of the cult before returning to the Darkwood.
“Finally… let us end this.” Leshy was there waiting. “I’ll be awaiting you in my temple… come! Witness true power.” And he’s gone.
While travelling through, towards the temple, Leshy returns with the chilling feeling.
“Your persistence is beginning to annoy me, little Lamb. You may think yourself clever. You may think yourself righteous in your service of HIM. But you should not be so trusting of the Chained one. Oh, well. It’s too late for talk. One such as you deserves no absolution. Thus will not end well for you.” He leaves as the Lamb carries on meeting a fisherman who was a fish telling him about a place to fish.
Then he arrives at the door. All the lights turn on and the door opens. The Lamb enters and walks down the corridor where he sees a mass of hooded figures, followers of Leshy, gathered around him in a ritualistic circle.
“I grow tired of you, little Lamb… time to put an end to this frivolous masquerade!” The five in the centre circle sacrifice their lives as Leshy becomes a massive worm killing the others on the outside. While Lamb should have been filled with fear, seeing the real form of Leshy, he was calm and filled with nothing but a killer's serenity.
The Lamb claims the heart of Leshy and exits the temple finding himself summoned before The One Who Waits again.
“Leshy fell before you like a grain of sand before a tidal wave.” And that was all he wanted to say.
Returning to the Cult, Lamb was welcomed back by all of his Followers waiting for him. He shows them the heart and they celebrate.
Deciding to take some time to improve the cult, the Lamb focuses on improving their lives with new doctrines and visiting Pilgrim’s Passage.