Royal Power and Divine Authority

Time slipped quietly by. Streams of torches converged from every direction, illuminating the area around Stone Tower as brightly as day.

There were over a hundred clergy members alone, representing every major church, chiefly Selune, Lothander, Tyr, and Tymora.

There were even more believers and adventurers. Together, they numbered nearly a thousand, completely surrounding the Royal Guard.

The Royal Guard numbered barely a hundred, while there were even fewer Court Mages—only a dozen or so. The two sides were utterly mismatched in numbers.

No fighting broke out, but the Royal Guard had already panicked. No one wanted to go to war with the churches, especially since many of the guards were believers themselves.

Yet they received no orders from their superiors and did not dare withdraw. Many guards stood empty-handed with their heads lowered, refusing to touch their weapons in protest.

Anse watched it all with a beaming smile, looking thoroughly entertained by the chaos.

He felt that he had underestimated the power of faith. At this rate, if the two sides came to blows, the Royal Guard would surely collapse at the first clash.

The Brarr Royal Family had grown too accustomed to looking down on everyone else and had lost sight of its own standing. This move had been somewhat brainless. After this uproar, their already poor reputation and prestige would likely plummet to rock bottom.

Here and now, divine authority outweighed royal power.

Moreover, the gods of the evil alignment had their limitations.

Some preached truth, goodness, and beauty. Some worshipped strength. Some revered death. But few would jump out in broad daylight and declare themselves executioners, grave robbers, or poisoners—

Where there was light, there was darkness, but darkness was destined to remain in the shadows, able only to hide in the Shadowfell, the Underdark, tunnels,