Archbishop Holden Cross

CHAPTER 1 - A Rough Start

Holden Cross was one of the most prominent figures within the Thalion Theocracy. Holden grew up within the Theocracy itself in a small town on the outskirts of the kingdom, and was considered one of the "Low Born", the poorest of the poor. It was if he had been cursed from the beginning; at least, in the eyes of his father he was, due to his birth resulting in the death of his mother. An enraged father, distraught by the death of his love, disowned Holden and put him in an orphanage, where he resided until he was seven years old. Life was rough on the youngling, but at an early age he learned a harsh truth that many would describe as one of the rules of nature: the strongest are the ones who survive. Not long after he turned 7, he got his first taste of combat. He was outside of the orphanage one day where he noticed a soldier running towards the town, badly injured and bleeding all over; not far behind him was a horrid monster, what could only have been the most vile and putrid of demons. The demon entered the town and saw the young Holden, darting towards the child with unimaginable speed, and in a split second Holden's life could have been over, had the injured soldier not have stepped in front of Holden, protecting him yet dying in the process. Holden prayed the hardest he had ever prayed for someone to rescue him, but there was no answer, and no time to wait for one. Out of desperation, Holden turned his fear into pure rage and something completely unexpected happened: lightning. Blinding, crimson lightning arced from his hands, so powerful that it killed the demon in an instant and, at the same time, turned his hair a bright red color, and it would remain as such for the rest of his days. More soldiers soon entered the town to try and save the rest of the townsfolk, and were astounded. This young boy had, through pure determination and rage, manifested the dreaded Dragon Lightning at only 7 years old, magic that would take even a well-versed lightning mage months to just start learning. Some of the soldiers believed that he was a monster in a boy's form. Others believed he was cursed, much like how his own father had ever since his birth. But others saw him as a young man with great potential, a fighter that acted as if he had the blood of Therian coursing through his veins. The soldiers tended to him as well as the townsfolk, after which he approached the soldiers and asked about their work. Even though he was 7, Holden showed great interest in protecting people just like the soldier who gave his life for his protection did, and asked the soldiers if he could join the Theocracy's ranks. While they would typically wait longer until he was much older, they spoke with their commander and, after hearing his feats, allowed Holden to enlist and join the Theocracy's military. 

CHAPTER 2 - A Path To The Top

As a soldier, Holden was given much of what he didn't have in his orphanage, more so than others due to rising through the ranks at an impressive speed. For 37 years he served his kingdom, and eventually became the first of the Low Born to be chosen as one of the Bishops, the Theocracy's mightiest generals; however, the toll of becoming a bishop is a heavy one. Bishops receive many augments, and the process of implementing these were rough on his body despite his strength, taking 3 years of recovery and training to get him accustomed to them. During this time, he was assigned a caretaker named Marissa Cross, a woman who, unbeknownst to Holden, was a dragonkin. Holden eventually fell in love with his caretaker, and not soon after, married her and had two children. After these three wonderful years of his life, he was out of recovery and finally ready for war. Now, Holden was the 14th Bishop of the Theocracy, and was sent to fight for the Pope and the Theocracy for almost 10 years more years. When Holden returned home, he was distraught to discover that both Marissa and his two children had been slaughtered in cold blood. Unbeknownst to Holden, Marissa was one of the biggest protestors of the Pope, regularly speaking out against his corruption and manipulation of the Theocracy; for this, she and her unholy spawn were purged. But this was not mentioned to Holden. Instead, the Pope saw this as an opportunity to hone Holden into the perfect weapon to use at his disposal, and personally summoned Holden to his chambers. There, the Pope discussed that inhumans had raided the capital during his absence and, while they were defeated, his wife and children were slain by them. Ever cunning, the Pope even used some of his magic to show him a replay of the events; though these were only illusions and false recollections of the past, Holden had no idea of knowing, nor any suspicions that the wise Pope would lie to him. Filled with pure rage, Holden vowed to slaughter all inhumans that stood in his way, and eventually grew spiteful and cold to his fellow bishops, challenging their ranks and dueling them. His rage peaked after seeing the Inhuman Nation of Galron, and after their first true battle in which Lycan and Holden fought against them, Holden knew he would require more strength to challenge and vanquish this kingdom. He then traveled back to Anor Londo, and challenged the First Bishop, Azadeon, to a duel for his rank. Azadeon was a monster of a man, one of the fierce Wardens of the Theocracy, and was as heartless as he was cruel. Their fight was long and brutal, and despite his strength, Holden barely had an impact against Azadeon. Holden was strong, but Azadeon was stronger, and Holden had barely been able to lay even a scratch on the beast. At this point, everyone had known Holden's rise from a Low Born to a Bishop, and Azadeon--as prideful as he was ruthless--attempted to induce rage in Holden to further impair his judgement and make victory even closer to his grasp. He struck him where it hurt, calling Holden a "Low Born failure, the biggest disappointment to the Theocracy [he's] ever seen.", and saying that "Had you been stronger, your wife wouldn't be dead!". However, what Azadeon didn't know was that rage and anger was Holden's strongest weapon. Holden was sent off the edge thanks to the warden's words, and fought with more drive and ferociousness than he originally had. Quickly, the fight turned in his favor, and eventually Azadeon knew he had lost, and surrendered. But Holden didn't stop the fight. As a matter of fact, he was so blinded by rage that he continued a brutal onslaught on Azadeon, and eventually unleashed almost all of his mana at once, resulting in an attack so powerful that it completely destroyed the arena and put Azadeon on the brink of death. Holden had won the fight, and as such, was declared the First Bishop, a title that Holden renamed to the Archbishop. As for Azadeon, he was forever changed, losing all of his limbs and had to be put within a large metal mech suit to continue his life as the Second Bishop.

CHAPTER 3 - Recalled To Life

Despite his newfound position as the Archbishop, Holden only grew more cold and heartless, and his rage continued to fester inside him. He continued his assault on the foes of the Theocracy, and was originally tasked with fighting Veldora but was called to attack Galron due to the massive threat they posed to the Theocracy. He launched several raids and attacks on Galron's towns, but was never fully successful in taking them. Over the course of the war against Galron, Holden grew increasingly angry at the nation, and eventually took several legions of soldiers to directly assault San d'Oria to finish them off. At this assault, Galron's citizens were badly harmed and Holden etched into the castle's walls that he would be back in a few months to finish what he had started. However, at this second assault, the battle's outcome was very different and his forces suffered greatly. Even though for this battle Lycan himself was called to fight against Galron, unbeknownst to them Galron had acquired a new ally; Matthew Cortez, a powerful Nekhacian who knew Reality Slash. This spell was casted in the grand hallway leading to the fountain in Outer San d'Oria, severing off Holden's left arm permanently and killing all Theocracy soldiers there apart from Holden and Lycan, where the two fled afterwards. An important member of the Theocracy who has not yet been mentioned was the Saint, an angel that was particularly close to Holden and was crucial to the Theocracy's success. At this point she had learnt of the Pope's corruption, and upon coming into contact with Holden once more after she had gained the trust of Galron, told him that the Pope was the man who really killed his family. Holden was distraught beyond belief. He had been taken advantage of for his whole life, fighting for the wrong cause the whole time; but, the Saint told him that it was not too late to begin fighting for the right cause. Holden, due to his position of power within the Theocracy, began to sabotage and cripple it from the inside; changing military deployments and messing with trade routes being among the most devastating to the Theocracy. Indeed, it is largely thanks to his efforts that the Theocracy began to fall. As the Theocracy slowly weakened and the Bishops began to be killed off, the war between Galron and the Theocracy came to a head at the siege of Anor Londo. It is here that Lycan was killed (for a time) by the mysterious man who would later be known as Jericho; but additionally, it is here that Holden's life would be threatened by a demon, at a time where he was at his weakest and his life was surely in danger. However, to save Holden, the Saint killed the demon, violating the ancient Heaven & Hell Contract yet saving Holden's life. After the siege, the Saint was killed for violating the contract, and this enraged Holden beyond belief, as in his eyes if it weren't for Galron, she wouldn't have died. His rage took control of him once more, and caused him to be the fiercest he'd ever been, reducing this warrior to fight with similar ferocity to a savage animal fighting for it's life, and he fought against Galron for a final time. However, this time his rage would not give him success, and what was left of his fighting spirit had faded. He lost this battle, but was not killed. Instead, he was approached by Cortez, who spoke with him and teleported him to his farm within Nekhacia. Here, he offered the broken warrior that was Holden a chance at a life he never had; one free from strife and the shackles of the Theocracy. And Holden was, for once in his life, truly happy.

CHAPTER 4 - A New Life Cut Short

For a time, Holden--now almost 50--finally achieved the peace he seldom found throughout the entirety of his life. However, this peace was short-lived. Merely a few months after he had began a truly normal life in Nekhacia, he was tracked down and approached by Galron. Galron knew of his strength, and requested his aid in dealing with a new threat that posed a risk not only to Galron, but the entirety of Cynderin: Jericho, and his undead army of darkness. It was difficult to convince the exhausted warrior to aid Galron, but because his peaceful life would have been disturbed either way, he had decided to help in their efforts to fight against Jericho. He had not been seen many times, but has been said to have fought many of the undead that Jericho and his subordinates conjured to assail the kingdoms of Cynderin. However, Holden's last known sighting was during the fight against Jericho himself, where he was believed to be slain. But, some eyewitness accounts swore that he got back up after being slain, and after a faint whisper, vanished into thin air. 

His whereabouts now are unknown to all.

Perhaps, the story of this broken man ends in a fate unknown.

Or, perhaps his tale has not yet ended?