Sigma Octavus
28-03-2007, 05:58
The moon shone brightly in the sky, the blazing sun having long gone down, leaving the inhabitants of the desert below it to sleep. The usual military patrols wandered the massive city of Thresh, keeping the rabble out and enforcing one of the safest places in the world. The one thing out of the ordinary was a large number of unmarked black vehicles roaming the streets. Each one stopped at a different home or apartment and oddly armored soldiers stepped out.
Each one was dressed in complete black save their arms, which shone bright white in the moonlight. Their arms were heavily armored, wicked gauntlets giving each the air of a midieval knight. The sword strapped to each was a solid black blade, shaped much like a machete. An old Sigman berserker design. Each also carried an oversized pistol with a foot long clip. Various belts and pouches also decorated each soldier, almost seeming to be restraining them.
They proceeded to kick in the doors of each home and storm in. They came out dragging people, who despite all their fighting and yelling, could not pull from the soldier's almost inhuman strength. Each was tossed bodily into the black vehicles and dissapeared into the night. A hundred and fourteen Sigmans taken in the blink of an eye.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next day, each of these people awoke to find themselves wearing convict uniforms and strapped to chairs. The same faceless knights that had taken them in the night stood watch over them, each one almost completely still, give them a statuesque appearance. One of the knights, this one much more ornately decorated with silver pauldrons and none of the weapons or equipment of the others, stood before them. His helmet differed from that of the others, his more that of a knight than the normal round shape. He spoke, his voice coming through the same modulator installed in all SOET uniforms designed to distort the voice and make it more intimidating.
"You all may wonder why you have been brought here, stolen from your homes in the dead of night, taken from your safety. Well, we have taken you to serve as an example to the people of this nation." A collective gasp went through the group. 'Example' was one word that not a single Sigman in the current reign of General Snowlander ever wished to hear. Each began to realize they would never again see their friends, their loved ones, or even the sky ever again. "Ah, I see that you all know what that means. But I still believe that most of you don't know why you were taken."
He lifted a silver cross in his gauntleted hand, making it sparkle. "You see, each of you were not taken at random. Far from it. Each of you is a community leader of one form of religion or another. Each of you is responsible for the weakness of religion holding our nation back from true progress."
He crumples the cross in his fist, the metal bending almost as paper. "You will do as we tell you. You will serve your motherland once before you die. Each of you will die with at least a shred of honor."
He pointed at the nearest knight and nodded. Ten decended on the crowd, unstrapping the entire front row and marching them out a side door. "Most of you will be taken to the desert for special treatment. You will take part in the Seven Sins program. You will benefit your nation in doing so."
The crowd was at this point praying to their indivual dieties, each waiting for their turn to be taken. As the hours passed, the crowd thinned until the last four. The head knight walked up to them and drew his sword. "You four are different. You four will be televised. People will know of your deaths." He pointed at the camera that had picked up his entire speech and then back at them. "So far, everything that has happened in this room has been caught on camera. So we won't be taking you anywhere for this."
He lifted his sword and swung it into the neck of the first on the right. The decapitated head spiralled several feet to the side, spraying the three remaining with blood. The grissly task was repeated three times more, each one dying in a single stroke. He wiped his blade on the shirt of the last, pointed the blade at the camera and sheathed it. He left the room, and the camera feed is shut off.
This video is played on national television, purposefully let slip into international hands. After the entirety of it, the same knight from the video appeared in a live broadcast, this time wearing normal clothing for a Sigman, the constant blowing sands making him look unrefined and dirty. Thus is the curse of holding an announcement outside during a sandstorm.
A flag decorated stage sits outside the capitol building in Thresh and several prominent figures stand upon it. Immediately in front of the stage stand a dozen SOET in honor dress, their ceremonial greatswords held in a defiant fashion, sand beginning to build upon them, each representing the great city itself. A great crowd of people stood in front of them, most bundled in various wraps and clothing, thousand of sand goggles glinting as sun penetrates the sand in the air.
"Citizens of Sigma Octavus, people of the world, hear this. I, Marcus Trest, 3rd General of the SOET, Brother Commander of the Atrox Deus brotherhood, am announcing the ban on all religion within Sigma Octavus. This ban is effective immediately, the penalty for practicing is anything but pleasant. Imprisonment. Reeducation. Logic. These will be the tools of our evolution to a greater nation."
Behind him, High General Snowlander, Head Assassin Jacob Kane and 2nd SOMI General Brigand could be seen, assuring that this was not the work of a rogue element in the nation. This was now law. Follow or be shot.
"Around me, these black clad knights, are what we in the brotherhood call the Exuro Purgo. Most members of our brotherhood become an Exuro at one point or another, and their duty is to fix any resistence that religion would have against us. They are quite well versed in showing people the errors of their ways. Present amongst their ranks are members of every branch of our military, civilians and naturalized citizens, all have seen what can be."
"The misled nations of this world can pray to their dieties, turning a blind eye to the realities of science and logic, and we shall turn a blind eye. It is not the place of the Sigman chapter of the brotherhood to help other nations progress into the next age, when man will let drop it's silly superstitions and take up the reigns of brotherhood and logic. My chapter, my brothers and sisters, my people shall only deal with those within our glorious, be it slightly misguided, nation. But to all of you out there who feel that spark, that glimmer of truth, I urge you to drop your useless figureheads, talismans and idols and look to the future."
He raised his eyes to the sky, a smirk across his face. "I know that our nation may not be immediately recognized by many of you out there, as we have not had too active a relationship with the international community as of late. But to those of you, those foolish enough to think us an easy prize, remember only this. As a member of Gholgoth, we are one of a few elite, those held to a higher standard than the squabbling and fighting masses of this planet. If it comes to war, we would stand alone, as we would have brought it upon ourselves. Our defenses are amongst the best on the planet, any attack for any reason would be comparable to suicide."
His eyes narrowed into a glare, his finger pointing into the camera.
"And to those blinded by the 'light' of holy worship who wish us harm for our beliefs, as is your way, I only ask that you step back and reason for a second. What would be gained by attacking us, we are not threatening you. If your misguided governments begin seeing Brotherhood movement within their nation, it is not we that should be hated. Your own people have joined us in this case, tired of being misguided by lies, hypocrisy and corruption. This is a sign for you to take up our cause and push our world into the future."
"I thank you for your time, your attention, and your interest."
He saluted, his right arm held out, elbow bent to ninety degrees, fist gripped tightly. The other knights present as well as Snowlander returned the salute.
Brother Commander Trest
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/Snow_Fall/Characters/mtrest.jpg
Atrox Deus Brotherhood
"Let not the lies of faith lead us into ruin!"
Each one was dressed in complete black save their arms, which shone bright white in the moonlight. Their arms were heavily armored, wicked gauntlets giving each the air of a midieval knight. The sword strapped to each was a solid black blade, shaped much like a machete. An old Sigman berserker design. Each also carried an oversized pistol with a foot long clip. Various belts and pouches also decorated each soldier, almost seeming to be restraining them.
They proceeded to kick in the doors of each home and storm in. They came out dragging people, who despite all their fighting and yelling, could not pull from the soldier's almost inhuman strength. Each was tossed bodily into the black vehicles and dissapeared into the night. A hundred and fourteen Sigmans taken in the blink of an eye.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next day, each of these people awoke to find themselves wearing convict uniforms and strapped to chairs. The same faceless knights that had taken them in the night stood watch over them, each one almost completely still, give them a statuesque appearance. One of the knights, this one much more ornately decorated with silver pauldrons and none of the weapons or equipment of the others, stood before them. His helmet differed from that of the others, his more that of a knight than the normal round shape. He spoke, his voice coming through the same modulator installed in all SOET uniforms designed to distort the voice and make it more intimidating.
"You all may wonder why you have been brought here, stolen from your homes in the dead of night, taken from your safety. Well, we have taken you to serve as an example to the people of this nation." A collective gasp went through the group. 'Example' was one word that not a single Sigman in the current reign of General Snowlander ever wished to hear. Each began to realize they would never again see their friends, their loved ones, or even the sky ever again. "Ah, I see that you all know what that means. But I still believe that most of you don't know why you were taken."
He lifted a silver cross in his gauntleted hand, making it sparkle. "You see, each of you were not taken at random. Far from it. Each of you is a community leader of one form of religion or another. Each of you is responsible for the weakness of religion holding our nation back from true progress."
He crumples the cross in his fist, the metal bending almost as paper. "You will do as we tell you. You will serve your motherland once before you die. Each of you will die with at least a shred of honor."
He pointed at the nearest knight and nodded. Ten decended on the crowd, unstrapping the entire front row and marching them out a side door. "Most of you will be taken to the desert for special treatment. You will take part in the Seven Sins program. You will benefit your nation in doing so."
The crowd was at this point praying to their indivual dieties, each waiting for their turn to be taken. As the hours passed, the crowd thinned until the last four. The head knight walked up to them and drew his sword. "You four are different. You four will be televised. People will know of your deaths." He pointed at the camera that had picked up his entire speech and then back at them. "So far, everything that has happened in this room has been caught on camera. So we won't be taking you anywhere for this."
He lifted his sword and swung it into the neck of the first on the right. The decapitated head spiralled several feet to the side, spraying the three remaining with blood. The grissly task was repeated three times more, each one dying in a single stroke. He wiped his blade on the shirt of the last, pointed the blade at the camera and sheathed it. He left the room, and the camera feed is shut off.
This video is played on national television, purposefully let slip into international hands. After the entirety of it, the same knight from the video appeared in a live broadcast, this time wearing normal clothing for a Sigman, the constant blowing sands making him look unrefined and dirty. Thus is the curse of holding an announcement outside during a sandstorm.
A flag decorated stage sits outside the capitol building in Thresh and several prominent figures stand upon it. Immediately in front of the stage stand a dozen SOET in honor dress, their ceremonial greatswords held in a defiant fashion, sand beginning to build upon them, each representing the great city itself. A great crowd of people stood in front of them, most bundled in various wraps and clothing, thousand of sand goggles glinting as sun penetrates the sand in the air.
"Citizens of Sigma Octavus, people of the world, hear this. I, Marcus Trest, 3rd General of the SOET, Brother Commander of the Atrox Deus brotherhood, am announcing the ban on all religion within Sigma Octavus. This ban is effective immediately, the penalty for practicing is anything but pleasant. Imprisonment. Reeducation. Logic. These will be the tools of our evolution to a greater nation."
Behind him, High General Snowlander, Head Assassin Jacob Kane and 2nd SOMI General Brigand could be seen, assuring that this was not the work of a rogue element in the nation. This was now law. Follow or be shot.
"Around me, these black clad knights, are what we in the brotherhood call the Exuro Purgo. Most members of our brotherhood become an Exuro at one point or another, and their duty is to fix any resistence that religion would have against us. They are quite well versed in showing people the errors of their ways. Present amongst their ranks are members of every branch of our military, civilians and naturalized citizens, all have seen what can be."
"The misled nations of this world can pray to their dieties, turning a blind eye to the realities of science and logic, and we shall turn a blind eye. It is not the place of the Sigman chapter of the brotherhood to help other nations progress into the next age, when man will let drop it's silly superstitions and take up the reigns of brotherhood and logic. My chapter, my brothers and sisters, my people shall only deal with those within our glorious, be it slightly misguided, nation. But to all of you out there who feel that spark, that glimmer of truth, I urge you to drop your useless figureheads, talismans and idols and look to the future."
He raised his eyes to the sky, a smirk across his face. "I know that our nation may not be immediately recognized by many of you out there, as we have not had too active a relationship with the international community as of late. But to those of you, those foolish enough to think us an easy prize, remember only this. As a member of Gholgoth, we are one of a few elite, those held to a higher standard than the squabbling and fighting masses of this planet. If it comes to war, we would stand alone, as we would have brought it upon ourselves. Our defenses are amongst the best on the planet, any attack for any reason would be comparable to suicide."
His eyes narrowed into a glare, his finger pointing into the camera.
"And to those blinded by the 'light' of holy worship who wish us harm for our beliefs, as is your way, I only ask that you step back and reason for a second. What would be gained by attacking us, we are not threatening you. If your misguided governments begin seeing Brotherhood movement within their nation, it is not we that should be hated. Your own people have joined us in this case, tired of being misguided by lies, hypocrisy and corruption. This is a sign for you to take up our cause and push our world into the future."
"I thank you for your time, your attention, and your interest."
He saluted, his right arm held out, elbow bent to ninety degrees, fist gripped tightly. The other knights present as well as Snowlander returned the salute.
Brother Commander Trest
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v335/Snow_Fall/Characters/mtrest.jpg
Atrox Deus Brotherhood
"Let not the lies of faith lead us into ruin!"