As he falls, his life flashes before his eyes. It is, he realises, dull. Insignificant. For all his studies, he cannot stop a madman from simply tossing him out the window. What, truly, has he accomplished, but to hide himself from the world, and refuse to face his fears?
A voice.
A voice calls to him!
The gods!
The wind itself moves to slow his fall, direct him into the water, which cushions him, gently, easing him onto the shore.
There stand the gods. All ten, in a row. They look upon him. He cannot tell what emotion plays through their eyes. He cannot comprehend their nature at all. Fool! To think man could know the gods!
Bohromu, tall and resplendent, kneels down before him, and like a father, lifts him up. The god kisses him upon his brow, leaving a glowing scar.
Each god in turn blesses him, each touch lessening the pain.
Holy light fills his body; glorious wings burst forth from his back.
Delirious with pain, he hobbles towards the gates.
"Hark, ye demon lord!", he speaks, his voice towering and confident, "For the GODS themselves have spared me! Hear me now, for your reign of EVIL is at an end! I know the truth, and have been empowered by the gods to deliver it!"
"Your defenestration has merely opened my eyes! Yea, for when lesser men would die, I was visited by the gods! YES! The GODS appeared before me; and spoke, and told me to spread the word!"
Kninh, now supported by confused guards and servants, raises his arms to the heavens.
"LO! For in the Blessed Land, there lived the Piersyja. And they did battle with a mighty Haeger lord, and defeated him, and killed his soldiers, and took his lifestock, and raped his women. And in the Haeger village they found a group of slaves, and they asked the Gods, What Shall We Do With These People?
And the Gods, they replied; SET THEM FREE. FOR THEY, THE FREED-MEN, SHALL BE OUR PEOPLE. THEY SHALL RULE THE WORLD, AND LIVE IN THE BLESSED LAND. And so it was, and they were known as the ADRANI, THE FREED-MEN.
THIS IS THE TRUTH.
THIS IS OUR DESTINY.
We have ALL been saved by the Gods, and in our moment of need, the Gods will save us all! For WE are their people! And no DEMON will rule us! And no false prophet will fool us! And no king or beast or mountain will stand against, the Adrani!"
The Demon, wild-eyed and spitting acid, emerged from his twisted castle.
"HARK!", he shouted, a finger pointed at the demonic figure, "The DEMON approacheth! He is not of Adranic blood, but of the HAEGER, and would see us Enslaved once more! Reject his wicked ways, and bear me to safety! The GODS command it!"
The Messiah (new name pending, né Servus Kninh) whips up the mob into a frenzy based on near-death hallucinations, and has them bear him to safety.