Heresy (Premise)

Valimaar is a former Expurgator of the Ecclesiarchy. He as well as the other Executors of the Expurgators have been exommunicated from the church and have been labeled as heretics. Throughout this story, the eight Executors as well as Lady Elaine, the Vicar Forane, struggle to defend the sovereignty of Lokken against the crusades of Ecclesia.

The battle to defend the Scriptures of the Black Sacrament and its vast knowledge of the world's past weighs a heavy burden on all of them. As each Expurgator has been possessed by one of the eight princes of hell, they are in constant battle with themselves, and their inner turmoil.

Ithaca, Azaal's most powerful prince, has denounced his allegiance to Hell, and decides to aid humanity in their struggle to maintain control of their world. Ithaca himself resides in the spirit of Valimaar.

They learn that the plague, the daemonic presence, and the failings of the Ecclesian clockworks have been orchestrated by the Ecclesiarchy, and that they themselves are mere creations of the daemon Azaal. As they continue in the militaristic defense of the sovereignty they begin to discover that the clockworks were not intended for seperation between the planes of Heaven, Earth, and Hell, but rather, intended for its upkeep.

They learn that Azaal and man created the clockworks to power Arlia, as well as heaven, and maintain the cycle of life that fuels Arlia's existence.

What they begin to understand is that though they have been taught that Azaal is an evil daemon who sparked the battle between man and daemon a thousand years ago, he is their creator. In his vanity, he does not realize that his return has been undermined by one of his servants, Baalberith, the general of Hell's armies.

It was Baalberith that began the Ecclesian crusades, and brought the plague to ecclesia. He struggles to shut down the clockworks, and destroy Arlia, and Heaven, and in so doing, he shall feast on the souls that the clockworks cycle through the earth, becoming more than a god.

What if man and the devil were fighting for a common goal?
What if what we believe is the opposite?
What if we had to choose between life under the rule of wickedness, or no life at all?