Chapter 25: Sub-Human
Before the Abranyth Empire was established, there were many kingdoms that ruled over the Continent.
Wars raveged the land as the leaders of each kingdom got greedy with territories that with it brings about authority as one would have more land to harvest on, land where resources can be mined for.
Their greed got the best of them, and they neglected the people they are meant to rule over, with each outcome of the war resulting in several casualties for ordinary civilians and military personnel alike.
Avidius was a war orphan, an end product of the leaders greed and their misguided necessities.
When the wars were ongoing and the people were being mercilessly killed, the churches who preach harmony and love for one another turned their backs on the ordinary people after they were blinded by how much profit the outcome of the war brought for them.
Their major source of income in the wartime is by sending out the healers, a group of people specially blessed with the powers to heal injuries and turn a body on the brink of death back to before it was injured.
Their healing abilities were impressive as was their services rendered to the warriors that would have been lost in battle but got exposed to their effects and was able to pick up their weapon the next day, ready to venture out once again.
The healers were a major asset to the churches and they made sure to utilize their powers to its full potential during the wartime, using them as a means to rake in more money for the church.
The nobles are blinded by the harsh reality surrounding the church, why? Because they are also profiting from it.
They have the money, the means to call in healers, to utilize the church to their advantage.
While the war was going on, they were in the comfort of their homes savoring on their tasty dishes, participating in royal balls to show or their wealth.
During this moments, the ones that carried the aftermath of the foolishness of the nobles and kings are the ordinary citizens whose life became so hard that they had to start scavenging for a means of livelihood in the streets or resorting to unethical means.
Avidius hated the guts of the nobles more than anything, but even he is aware that brawns alone cannot rule over a kingdom.
To rule over billions, there had to be a system set in place for that, and that is where the nobles come in.
To prevent the nobles from getting as much powers as before, he had his own men who followed him during the Continent uprising get appointed to the status of nobles, and for the smart ones among them, he gave them crucial posts like for example, the Prime Minister and the four Grand-Dukes of the empire.
The race he belongs to also serves to anger the leading figures of the church who believes that humans are the dominant species, any race outside of humans are meant to be below human kind, not above them.
Vikings in this world are not considered full humans, even though they do have an appearance similar to humans in general.
What distinguished them from the general human cycle, is how most of them come in large sizes, and how an average Viking is physically more enhanced than an average human.
This reasons, made the humans count the vikings as a sub-species, a sub-human with human like properties but not fully human.
This are the reasons why the church and nobles disapprove of his reign.
The nobles cannot do anything against him even though most of them are not in support, why? Because he was the man who united the Continent.
The military force behind his movement overwhelmed what they have, and when the force the four Grand-Dukes control are added into the equation, he becomes a force to be reckoned with.
Even though he openly condemned the church before the nobles, the Emperor has not been able to shut it down not because he doesn't want to, but because he can't.
They hold as much power as he does in the Continent, and their influence runs not just in the Continent but world-wide.
Shutting them down is the same as declaring a war right to their faces, and the tragedy that could come out of that will be catastrophic to his Empire.
There are still citizens who have their faith tightly joined with the church, and an order from the Emperor saying that he bans the churches existence from his empire could lead to the outrage of citizens, both high and low.
He will also be incurring the wrath of the surrounding Continents which could in turn lead to having a World War.
That is just how much influence the church of the nine Gods has on the world. Avidius knowing that, resulted to using the oppression tactics.
He limited the activities of the church and imposed heavy tax rate on them, doing what he legally can to squeeze the life out of them.
"Your majesty, what about the guilds? I believe one of them has a branch in the city that is currently on lock down".
The Guild is the second most Influential organization in the world created by the Demi-Gods as a way to get closer to the mortals.
There are multiple guilds but all have the same functions which involves the raiding of dungeons, hunting down beasts whose existence threatens the state of the world.
They also take requests from the normal people in helping them with tasks that proved difficult to them due to several reasons like health issues or the dangers surrounding the task.
Just like the church, they also have branches all over the world but under different names depending on which guild is occupying the territory.
"the guild in charge of the city is the Black Tortoise guild. They are one of the most prominent guilds as of current".
The Black Tortoise guild has an history surpassing the founding of the empire, and their influence is built all over the world.
For a guild that succeeded in keeping its history still current, they are sure to have the necessary manpower needed to make that a reality, else they would have been devoured whole by the other guilds.
"fine. Inform the head office of the guild in charge about the situation of things and make it known to them that I grant them permission to take the necessary action needed".
The Emperor unlike the church, supports the actions of the guilds organization and the deeds they have carried out.
The help they rendered during the troubled times is a moment that he will never forget, and he is willing to open his gates for them to come in, as long as they are not affiliated with the church.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone