Galaxy 28: Sanctuary of Oryanthe

Aurélia is a golden temple the size of a planet. Its columns touch the sky, its altars shine like suns. It was the holiest place in the universe. It no longer is.

You enter the nave. The angels watching you have red eyes.

The paladins of Paladinia swore loyalty to the light. Then to the Archangel. Then to darkness, when he fell. Their golden armour still shines. Their hearts do not.

A fallen paladin raises his shield. His blade is black.

The corrupted angels of Angelia shoot arrows of black light. They fly faster than your archers can aim. They still sing, but their songs burn.

A song rises. Black arrows whistle down from the sky.

The Inquisition of Inquisitia judges first and never listens. Its inquisitors strike with a golden lightning that freezes you on the spot. Everything that has not fallen is guilty.

An inquisitor points his staff. "Guilty." The lightning falls.

The relics of Reliquia burn impure hands. Every hand is impure now. The sanctuary's guard defends them all the same.

The reliquaries open. What comes out of them is no longer sacred.

Autelia is the great altar where the Archangel fell. His fall corrupted the whole sanctuary. His guard of honour still keeps watch there.

Black wings unfold around the altar. The guard is here.

Oryanthe is the holy of holies, and the Fallen Archangel sits there. He was the guardian of the light, until the day he wanted to possess it. His blade is gold, his wings are black, and his aura heals his own. His paladins adore him, his angels sing of him, his inquisitors serve him. He wants to make the sanctuary the centre of a new order. Command wants the sanctuary freed and the Archangel brought down. You will have to pierce his aura and strike him before he heals his guard.

The Fallen Archangel spreads his black wings. The light goes out.