Chapter 1: Long March Down
"It's been months. We were promised an empire and here we're starving to death far from home."
"Be patient my Texan friend, we're almost there."
"How much longer?"
"Three of four months, maybe six."
"Six months?"
"It's really difficult to say as there are hundreds of miles of thick jungle ahead of us."
"Maybe this is the best time to give up, maybe we can conquer Mexico."
"Don't give up now, You already know hunger, the worst of our enemies. Down in El Salvador, they will welcome us as liberators."
"I'm sure of that."
"You can doubt, but look at our leader, he's not a normal man, he's already a legend."
Both soldier look at the man leading the troupe. He's well in his thirties with fully dressed in pompous plate armour of Texan knights.
Captain George Rusk used to be a minor noble holding a single ranch close to Dallas. He had no relatives to speak of. Countess Elvira of Dallas had granted him the land few years ago for his deeds in her service. He still drove for her with the rest of Dallas Cowboys from time to time. One they, they were ambushing a gang of cattle thieves, when he came across a book written in Spanish. Back at his ranch he managed to translate first few pages and he got hooked. This piece of writing offered him, what he lacked in the Revised Testaments of Catholic Church. It gave him a sense of meaningful sacrifice and one's own worth.
George became obsessed with an idea, that he could be the savior of distant lands and perhaps lead a huge troupe back to Dallas one day and show Countess Elvira, that he was worth of her attention.
What convinced him to definitely leave his home county behind was a strange encounter, which happened to him one night. It was already dark, when he got notified about a pack of strangers entering his domain. He immediately ordered to saddle the horses and charged into darkness to stop potential robbers.
They could already see shadows in distance and George fired first shot from his crossbow. He managed to hit one of the invaders in leg before noticing a shining star falling right in his trajectory. He quickly stopped his horse and a second later the projectile exploded right in front of him. He spent the whole rest of night and a good portion next day watching the miraculous fallen star cooling down.
One his men, loyal man of faith Wes brought him a cup of coffee and some breakfast beans. He found his lord with alien metal in his hands. George took a sip.
"Wes, Do you ever doubt? Have you ever wondered that We should thank not only Jesus but also an archangel for taking care of humankind?"
"I'm not sure, I understand you, chief."
"We survived the end, the apocalypse thanks to the Archangel sacrificing himself and thus preventing our end. Now, I have a very evidence as He sent me a piece of his body yesterday. Take this ore to town and let them forge the finest sword possible. Spare no expense."
"Got it, boss. Promise me to take few hours of sleep after you're done with breakfast. It was a long night for you."
"I'm not tired, touching his body energized me."
Men and women present to see the miracle quickly renounced Catholicism and became loyal to Falling Star and soon various war veterans and other people unhappy with their life started visiting the holy site. It didn't took long for George to convince Wes and the latter started spreading the word to various leaders of rat packs and minor nobles. Finally, one day a sizable army gathered and they decided to march to El Salvador to forge a unified realm for all faithful.
Captain George has two artifacts at his disposal to prove his claim rightful. Ha has a nice antique box, which is hiding smaller pieces of raw angelic ore. This precious possession is carried yet in another chest and only his inner circle has keys to the chest. Every seven days, the host stops to perform a mass. The chest is opened and Fallen Star displayed during the mass. This way, every follower of Captain George has a chance to see the holy relic.
The second relic rest most of the side on George's side. But he's always ready to draw it and use Sword From Heaven for a just cause. It's a beautiful weapon, a showcase of craftsmanship, a relic perhaps more fabled than Captain himself.
For majority of his life, Rusk had an inner circle consisting of five lieutenants. Even back under Countess Elvira he quickly managed to turn himself into leader of his five childhood friends. Some of them accompanied him on his long Journey.
Red, Ike, Wes a Justice drove with him for as long as he could remember. Red was an illegitimate child of a Dallasian noble. He could talk his way out of every situations and if things got hot He could handle his bastard sword just fine.
Ike was a distant relative. Unlike George, he couldn't use a coat of arms and fancy name. These cousins were always good asset when it came to dealing with various criminal elements. He wasn't as good strategists or fighter as his noble relative, but he could use his mace and cared about well-being of soldiers just enough for them to stay loyal.
Both Wes and Justice grew up in a orphanage. Their parents both died during a Comanche raid. Justice always wanted revenge, Wes found his way in faith and became a priest. After Captain George forced him to adopt ideas of Falling Star, he became distant. He even called it a heresy once.
After they set out, Wes stayed behind to convince Chieftess Violet of Little Mo to join them. It goes without saying that he probably didn't give it his best shot.
Royce and Earl worked at Rusk's ranch for a while before entering his inner circle. Royce was a former cattle thief and Captain George mostly used him as a scout and spy. Earl had shown a good amount of zeal becoming a self-proclaimed battle priest as he was a decent strategist and appointed commander of one of the regiments under Captain George. Captian quickly started favouring him and when he needed someone replacement for Wes, Earl was an easy choice. Other lieutenants agreed.
The host marched for over a year. They crossed Americanist Airman under General William Stinson, where they could admire highly organized army and frown upon degenerated values. The journey continued through countries dedicated to Segrado Corazón. Populations were fairly scattered and friendly there. Sometimes Captain Goerge and his inner circle prayed for these poor people after looting them. Especially Justice, who was recruited orphaned children to help them with their difficult legacy.
They crossed Mexico. A land of many great cities and temples. Captain Goerge fell in love with Mexico, their might and celebrations and started thinking how to bring a piece of it down to El Salvador.
Finally, they entered jungles inhabited by savages performing human sacrifices. They avoided any contact with locals. That resulted in hunger. The host cooked most of its horses and still men kept dying. It was the hardest stretch.
One day, Royce returned with his scouts and a captured man of mercantile look.
"Who is that?"
"A merchant from lands of Mosquito. He said we were close. Only two more weeks of marching."
Captain George noticed a scroll hidden in merchant's coat. He pointed at it.
"What is it?"
The merchant handled him the item. Captain George took a look at it.
"Hm, news from Brazil. This means we're indeed close to our destination."
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