He was seated on a bench in a backwater tavern that smelled of cheap booze, bodily fluids, burnt meat, and acrid piss.
Wearing a grey tunic with sandals and a scarf around his neck, he spoke eloquently, entrancing all those who dared to listen to him speak.
With a head full of gray hairs and a beard of similar shade, one would think him old but the lack of wrinkles said otherwise.
He was a healthy young man, but most importantly, he was wise.
His brown eyes, though basic, seemed to hide great truths.
It caused many to believe he was cursed by knowledge during the event known as the Baptism.
Some thought him to be a prophet to some newborn deity, but the vast majority saw him simply as a man on a mission to spread hope, hence the reason they called him Elpis.
It was perhaps the first time Alex didn’t need to give himself a name.
Just as he finished speaking, having just shared a sermon with the people that were seated in that tavern, a middle-aged man rushed in, his face marred with panic as he remarked. "Teacher, you must flee, they are coming for you!"
Those in the tavern gasped, their eyes filled with worry as they turned to Elpis.
"Who?" Alex asked with a frown.
"Us!" A response came a moment later as a group of men barged in, their appearance a telltale to their identity as mercenaries.
Their kind had been growing since the fall of order in Henos, individuals that went around preying on the less privileged and selling themselves for coin to those seeking their services.
Alex guessed that right now, these ones were here due to the latter reason.
"Who are you?" Alex asked, his expression serene, betraying not the slightest hint of panic.
The mercenary leader withdrew his blade as he replied. "That is none of your concern. What you should concern yourself with is why we are here and the reason for that is to put an end to you and your pointless teachings!"
"Pointless?" Alex raised a brow. "I have given many people a means to rebuild for themselves without falling prey to the whims of those that would seek to control them, yet, you claim that this is pointless."
"If those are your last words, then so be it." The mercenary leader coldly remarked before giving the order.
Alex remained in place while those that sat with him, remained seated.
All seemed to be waiting for something and it didn’t take long before that ’thing’ arrived.
The first mercenary to arrive before Alex never got the chance to even raise his sword as a bullet whistled through the air and lodged into the side of his head, claiming his life in an instant.
Before the others could react, the shooter had already moved positions, causing the mercenary leader to immediately pull out a revolver and aim it at Alex.
The hammer struck, and the bullet left the muzzle, swiftly traveling towards him only for a figure to drop down and, with a single motion of her blade, cut through the bullet, splitting it in half.
The mercenary leader’s expression turned cold as he muttered. "It’s you."
This wasn’t the first time a group had tried to end Elpis.
His presence was somehow able to stifle the growth of cults and the like, as those that should have been easily malleable had already been given hope, making them unwilling to join the cause of those seeking to capitalize on the disorder destroying the continent.
For that reason, most cults had placed bounties on Alex’s head, seeking to put an end to him and in so doing, plunge the people into despair yet again.
Unfortunately, all those who had come to collect the bounty had all died gruesome deaths at the hands of the one the people referred to simply as Athena.
As Elpis gave hope, Athena accompanied him, delivering justice to those deserving of it and putting down those seeking to end the life of the Beacon.
She wore a wooden mask with two vertical slits for her eyes and two horizontal skits for her nose while wearing a leather suit along with a hooded cloak.
Wielding a sword in one hand and a gun in the other, Victoria found herself slowly getting used to the persona of Athena, even going as far as to feed into some of the tales that had been written about her by wandering bards and traveling merchants.
Taking a deep breath, she rushed forward, causing the mercenary leader to step back while giving the order. "Spread out!"
Unlike others who had been foolish to attack Elpis directly, he planned on using a different approach.
What would happen when those who came to listen to the Beacon of Hope died?
Naturally, his image among the diverse peoples of Henos would be severely affected... Unfortunately, he did not account for the fact that he wasn’t the only smart mercenary leader.
Elpis spread hope... a means for the people to stand up for themselves.
Why, then, would those who listened to his teachings be weak-minded and easy prey?
It started with one elder pulling out a musket and downing a mercenary before he could grab hold of a little girl, after which the others took up arms as well.
Anything could be used when defending oneself.
That was one of the teachings of Elpis and it showed as brooms, pans, knives... even forks were used to slaughter the mercenaries that had barged in unceremoniously, leaving the leader to stare at the corpses of his men in stunned silence by the time they were finished.
Alex approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Did you not do your research before coming for me?"
The man glanced at her, his eyes still widened though apart from shock, yet another emotion was visible within them.
To those in despair, he gave hope.
To those who came for him, he gave fear.