The church bells sounded as midnight mass was held. Brother Antony said a quick prayer asking forgiveness - full penance would have to be granted later, when he was in front of a priest acting for the Lord. Confessions were something the Brother didn't like. They made him anxious, and the demeanour of his personal priest-confessional made him faint. His hand reached for the sword he had only used in training exercises and he drew it, pointing it about in the air.

The others on the roof stared at him.

He sighed. What was the point of having a sword if you never got to use it? Semi-automatics and pistols were well and good against human adversaries, but against the servants of the Adversary, nothing worked quite as well as a sword blessed by Him. That was more than enough proof of the Lord's existence, at least for Antony. He'd heard stories that his mentor, Sir Brightglory, had even spoken with St. Michael. They were, of course, stories, and Sir Brightglory didn't enjoy speaking of them, so he didn't push it.

His mentor scared him, on occasion. Not because he was a bad person, far from it. But more because he was the most visible extension of the Lord's will Antony had, and anyone like that could easily kill Antony by poking him. Not that his tutor would do such a thing, but still. The thought was there, in the back of his mind, and he prayed that he never strayed too far from the path of Light so as to fall from grace, as Lucifer did. We can fall for the best of reasons, after all.

He knew that whatever it was they were hunting would soon arrive. He knew nothing of the beast, because no one told him anything. He was just 'Sir Brightglory's assistant', to the hunters. He'd have to prove otherwise through valiant deeds and actions - just as fair. That test would be his final one. If he could win their hearts, he thought, he will have found his Voice, and his Vocation will be complete - as long as his ruler for all eternity (His Holiness) obliged.

For people often misunderstand vocations. They are not the goals are not ones that higher powers assign you: rather, they are the choices you make in fulfilling these goals. If you 'save the village' by murdering half of it, you have hardly fulfilled your vocation. The letter-of-the-law is not what God is interested in. God doesn't seen flags, he doesn't see faces, nor countries, nor even religions. He sees hearts. All Brother Antony could do was pray his heart could see God.