"Well old friend, I wish we could be meeting under better circumstances," Raben smiled. "However, the time has come for the Clan Corvo to bring peace to the world. I really wish I didn't have to do so by force of arms but there are far too many people infatuated by power."

"It is you," Leo gasped. "How? It's been 25 years since we met at Ephesus!"

"The Pope of Corvoian Christianity was just one of my many titles," Raben smiled. "I was the first Bishop of Barmaz, consecrated in 287 by the Bishop of Rome, Caius. I am the founder and head of the Clan Corvo. I am the Demon Slayer as well as founder and commanding General of the Raven Raiders. I am the founder of Corvus Scriptorium. I am the founder of Corvus Shipping. I am the head of Corvus University, and have many other titles. I was born in the year 161. In the year 175 I took on the Curse Jesus bestowed upon the legionnaire who pierced his side when he hung on the cross. I have not aged since that day. I'm 295 years old yet still look an immature 14."

"That's impossible," Leo shuddered. "How dare you claim such absurdities!"

"I dare because they're true," Raben declared. "You heard the tale when you were a child that Stilicho burned the Demon Slayer at the stake. That was me! I can't be killed or poisoned. It is because of my longevity that the Clan Corvo is so strong! My guidance on morality and Christianity is based on the teachings and lessons of Jesus Christ.”

Raben could tell Pope Leo and those with him doubted the truth of what Raben told them.

“Let me tell you about the Curse,” Raben continued. “Marcellus Longinus was a legionnaire in Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. He was a member of the unit who nailed him to the cross and gambled for his robes. It was he who pierced Christ's side to see if he had died. When he did, the last tiny spark of Jesus' human life left his dead body in the water released by the piercing traveling down the spear onto the centurion's hands. Marcellus felt a slight tingle but thought little of it. That last spark of Jesus' humanity was the Curse."

“Longinus... he wielded the Holy Spear... the Spear of Destiny...” Leo gasped.

"Indeed. After receiving the Curse Marcellus never aged," Raben explained. "Any wound he received quickly healed. He had no idea why those things were happening but it didn't take long for people to realize he was different. Some accused him of witchcraft. He fled, moving from place to place trying to live a peaceful life but he failed. He was a soldier and had no other trade. He bought a marginal subsistence farm in the remote mountains of Switzerland, a place called Barmaz. But he could find no peace. In 175 he signed on as the captain of an unscrupulous merchant's slave raiding party." Raben went on to explain how he rescued his captured clanspeople and killed Marcellus Longinus inheriting the Curse.

"Since I was a trained Ianuarian as well as a skilled hunter, I was able to use my skills to do good," Raben summed up the story of his life. "I started Corvus Scriptorium to collect all writings about Jesus. I have them all in the Corvus Scriptorium Library in Barmaz, even those that have been labeled as false and heretical since they form part of the history of Christianity. My scriptural knowledge is so broad because I've read them all. I fully agree with the Nicene Creed and as the Pope of the Corvoian Church that is our Creed. So don't even try to say that we are blasphemers."
Leo was momentarily speechless finding Raben's story difficult to believe but clearly Raben and his people believed it. "If what you say is true, then you must admit that as the successor of Peter, I am the head of the Christian Church."

"No." Raben replied. "Jesus was a humble man without pretensions of grandeur. He dressed and lived simply with no possessions other than what he wore. Peter lived the same modest unpretentious life. Even the great Apostle Paul performed manual labor to support himself while preaching about Jesus. I endeavor to live the same way, a simple honest caring lifestyle. You can see I have no jewels nor precious metals. My clothes are simple and plain. I have no palatial home. Yet I lead the Corvoian Church and the Clan Corvo. We have moved to take over the Roman Empire because of the turmoil in and outside the borders. I will do the same with the Roman Church. You know the Clan Corvo has been taking in widows and orphans for years as well as feeding the poor. Even now as we take over we're bringing in food for the starving population. Yet while your ‘sheep’ starve, you and your priests eat well. You preach about Jesus yet do not listen to your own words. The Clan Corvo treats everyone as equals. No one is better than another. The man who cleans latrines is just as valuable as a priest. Your so called Christian church does not follow Christ’s teachings."

"You establish priests as an omni-competent administrator, teacher, evangelist, theologian, and counselor; setting them up as the paternalistic authority figure in the church. The priests are self centered, arrogant and present themselves as superior to the laity. Extensive legal privileges including complete tax exemption have turned the priesthood into a lucrative and rewarding career rather than the humble servant Jesus wanted his followers to be. Being a priest has changed from being an avocation to a career. Most began studying for the priesthood from a sincere desire to help their fellow man. Unfortunately the way you operate the Roman Church places the priest in a position of power and wealth. Power and wealth corrupt. Their sincere desire to help mankind slowly morphs to judgmental hypocrite where they simply tell the people what to do while taking in more wealth. Such pastorates are the antithesis of Christ’s teachings. Rarely does such a priest truly unite with the laity of the church. Congregations are governed by priests who are self-important lone leaders who consider themselves to be far superior to the non consecrated elders in the church. Bishops have drifted even further from the congregations they serve leaving smaller churches for more prestigious ones. The bishop should be the minister of the word, the keeper of knowledge, the mediator between God and the laity in the divine worship. In your Roman church you have made Bishops rulers and governors with the Pope as king and potentate; he is, next after God, your earthly god, who has unjustly appropriated the right to be honored by the laity. The bishops preside over the laity as one honored with the authority of God, which he is to exercise over the clergy, and by which he is to govern all the people. It has become practice that the king-like bishops of some churches were more important than others. Such monarchial bishophood has led to your demand all Christians recognize the special honor due to the bishop of the church of Rome as the successor to Saint Peter. You ignore what Jesus said in rebuking his disciples starting in Luke 9:46 ‘Jesus’ followers began to have an argument about which one of them was the greatest. Jesus knew what they were thinking. So he took a little child and stood the child beside him. Then Jesus said, “If anyone accepts a little child like this in my name, then he accepts me. And when he accepts me, he accepts the One who sent me. He who is least among you all - he is the greatest.’”

"Jesus condemned the Jewish hierarchy amongst the Pharisees for being arrogant and more concerned with the minute of the laws while ignoring the intent of the laws. Your ecclesiastical structure is clearly patterned after the Old Covenant. Where else could one find a model of church government which exalted a priesthood over the rest of the people? What you have allowed to happen to your church is a resounding denial of Christ's proclamation of the priesthood of all believers! Your exaltation of Old Covenant principles is in clear opposition to the New Covenant of equality. Many of your churches deny the grace of God to those who they consider to be sinners which is exactly the opposite of Christ's teachings! Christ specifically ministered to sinners! As the self assumed superiority of the clergy continues to develop, so does their contempt of the laity. You put yourselves above others, making yourselves an exclusive clique. You collect wealth but are hesitant to use it for the good of the masses. You attempt to force non-believers to believe. But your worst actions are against women."

"In Galatians 3:28 it clearly states: ‘So there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, between slaves and free people, between men and women; you are all one in union with Christ Jesus.' Raben explained. "Yet you and those before you have prohibited women from seeking leadership, teaching the Gospel and being priests. Jesus had women with him in positions of leadership. Mary Magdalene supported Jesus' ministry and was the glue that kept the disciples together. She was the first to see Christ after his resurrection! Yet you deny her importance and the importance of all women. In your church women are not even considered part of the laity! Your treatment of women is more than enough justification for the Corvoian Church to crush the Roman Catholic Church."

Leo was livid. "How dare you judge us? You blaspheme..."

"I dare because it's the right thing to do and because I can," Raben cut him off. "You dare accuse me of blasphemy when it is YOU who is the true blasphemer! Those who follow in Christ's footsteps are to be humble and subservient to the their flock. Jesus is the great shepherd who's life is devoted to his sheep, living WITH them, suffering what they suffer. Instead you live separately in luxury and hold yourselves above those you should serve! You have corrupted Christ's teaching just as much as the Pharisees corrupted Judaism. Jesus specifically pointed out their hypocrisy yet you and your predecessors have led your church into just such hypocrisy! The utter destruction of the Roman Church is not open to debate. It is happening and will continue to happen. You know the Roman Empire was dying. I'm giving it the coup de gras. There will be no Pope in Rome, no Pope in Alexandria, no Pope in Constantinople. Clan Corvo women have been welcomed into the Corvoian Christian priesthood. We will welcome women in the areas we're taking to become priests. All priests at every level will study and be ordained in Barmaz at Corvo University so there is no conflict about theology. Any priest who puts himself above others will be reprimanded and if necessary removed."

“All current priests at all levels who wish to remain priests will be re-educated in gender equality and Christ like humility and servitude at the University of Corvo,” Raben explained. “Jesus said his disciples are to be SERVANTS of the people and share the message that Christ died as atonement for our sins. Jesus called himself the Good Shepard, one who looks out for the well being of the flock. A Shepard leads their flock with love and kindness, leading by example. A true believer will not rule over fellow Christians, they well guide from within the group, not by positioning themselves above the group. A priest has no right to judge. Jesus said judgement was to be left to God on high. We should not judge others lest we be likewise judged. That does not mean sins can’t be pointed out and explained. It means giving the sinner the word of God so each individual can make a decision about how to live their life. Humanity has free will to decide how they behave. No one will be forced to follow the teachings of Jesus.”

“If you or one of your bishops or priests can not accept Corvoian Jesus centric Christianity, they will be allowed to leave the priesthood and become part of the employed laity. Any who will not accept the new reality but want to retain their priestly prerogatives will be relocated to isolated monasteries where, as monks, they can contemplate the majesty of God. Any who rebel or attempt to recruit followers to the now banished Roman Christianity will be enslaved as punishment. I will be replacing each of your priests and bishops with ordained Corvoian Christian priests. All priests will have the same 4 choices you must now choose; to be reeducated at Corvo University to become Corvoian Clergy, go to a monastery, leave the ministry taking up another profession, or slavery. I expect your decision when we reach Barmaz. If you fail to make a decision, I'll have no choice but to assume you intend to resist the change which will mean slavery."

Leo and those with him were left outraged and speechless. Yet they realized that Raben held all the pieces and power. They knew all in the Clan Corvo were utterly loyal to Raben so there would be no way of talking their way out of their situation.

Emperor Avitus was not given a choice about his fate. He was enslaved and sent to Senegal. If he accepted his fate even he could earn his freedom in 3 years. Unfortunately, since he had never done physical work in his life he didn’t survive slavery.

After securing the city of Rome, the III Corps continued advancing down the west coast of the Italian peninsula pushing the stranded Vandals south onto Sicily as they took Naples. As the III Corps swept down to Reggio Calabria, one brigade was quietly detached for a special mission. Alaric, the Visigoth King, had died in Cosenza in 410 after sacking Rome. They had diverted the Busento River to bury him in the river bed with a good portion of the treasure they'd taken from Rome. They executed all locals who knew the location after putting the river back into it's bed. They didn't know Clan Corvo spies with raven overwatch knew the location. The detached brigade quickly retrieved the treasure.

The rest of the III Corps moved across the Strait of Messina to take Sicily from the Vandal occupiers. The Vandals had been under heavy naval blockade for weeks and knew they were facing the Clan Corvo. The appearance of the Raven Raiders on the toe of Italy crushed their hopes of relief. Determined to die bravely, the fighting was brief as the Raven Raiders brought their artillery to bear. The explosions and flying death of the cannonballs and explosive shells shattered their courage. But it was the Raven Raiders using their hand-held black powder weapons that terrified them. All Vandal resistence quickly collapsed.

The IV Corps traveled down the east coast of Italy around the boot to link with the III Corps. The V Corps stayed in reserve along the Po river in the north. Once III and IV Corps linked, V Corps moved over to take up position with the II Corps around Udine. Italy was totally under the control of the Clan Corvo.

The Army Group B swept out of Barmaz along the Durance River. The I Corps took Avignon, Arles, then up the Rhone to Valence as well as west to Nimes, Montpellier, Narbonne, Toulouse down to the Pyrenees. The II Corps headed west to the Bay of Biscay securing the coast from the Pyrenees north through Bordeaux, Limoges, Nantes, Brest Caen, Le Mans, Tours, Orleans, Bourges and Poitiers. The III Corps crossed the Pyrenees taking the Atlantic Coast of Iberia through Bilboa, Santander, A Coruna, Vigo and Porto taking the cities of Vitoria-Gasteiz, Leon, Valadolid, Salamanca and Coimbra. The IV Corps swept down the east Iberian coast taking Valencia, Murcia, Grenada, Malaga, and Cadiz linking with Gibraltar. The V Corps headed across the interior of Iberia to the southwest coast taking Zaragoza, Madrid, Toledo, the silver and lead mines at Nerva, Cordoba, Seville, Lisbon and Faro overwhelming all resistence both Roman, Suebi and Visigoth.

Word of the taking of Rome and capturing/deposing the Emperor and Pope spread rapidly across the Roman world. The battle weary Roman and Germanic peoples only put up token resistence to the massed Raven Raiders when they appeared. Only twice was the artillery unlimbered. Short barrages were all that was needed to convince the resistence to fold. The priests and bishops were sent off to Corvo University for their reeducation. The Corvoian Christian priests easily slipped into the vacuum. Many of the Clan Corvo members selected for the priesthood and Corvo Assimilators had learned the languages of the people they were administering. It became standard practice that all nobility and upper classes, the former societal elite were rounded up, their excessive wealth confiscated and used to increase the sanitation and cleanliness of the newly acquired areas. The former elite were distributed across the Clan Corvo holdings from the Americas, Europe and Africa.

Army Group C headed out of Barmaz down the Rhone River. I Corps took Lyon, Macon, Saint-Etienne, Clairmont-Ferrand, Besancon, Dijon Troyes and Paris. II Corps swept west to the Atlantic coast linking with the II Corps of Army Group B taking Roen and Le Harve, Reims, Amiens, Arras, Calais, Lille, Ghent, Brussels, Burges and Antwerp sweeping up the Franks. III Corps headed east into Switzerland through Luasanne, Bern, Lucerne, Zurick Basel, Liechenstein and Constanz. IV Corps headed north taking Nancy, Stausbourg, Metz, Saarbrucken, Ludwigshafen, Mainz, Trier, and Luxemburg sweeping up the Burgundians. V Corps headed further north taking Koblenz, Liege, Aachen, Bonn, Cologne, Eindhoven, Arnhem and Utrecht. They secured everything west of the Rhine.
The Gaulic/Roman and Germanic peoples here were also tired of the near constant fighting and raiding. The legends of the Raven Raiders were known by all and to see so many unnerved them. Some of the Germans briefly resisted. Fortunately the Raven Raiders moved too fast for them to organize meaningful resistance. The few who attempted to fight were swiftly cut down under cannonade followed up with the hand held black powder weapons.

In Ireland, 24 years after the Corvian conquest, the 350,000 Irish were thoroughly assimilated as part of the 1,490,000 Clan Corvians living on the Emerald Isle. They supplied 40 divisions of Raven Raiders, 271,440 troops, 111,640 ravens, 3240 wolves, 360 eagles and 40 tigers. In addition, 5 divisions of Raven Raiders came south from Bazram and another 5 were drawn from the Isle of Man since this operation would eliminate the need for such a large force on the island. The 50 divisions gathered on Ireland in 2 armies to cross the Irish Sea in a 2 pronged assault into Anglesey and Pembrokeshire. Civilians were ready to follow to bring the Clan Corvo to the conquered people of Britain. The Army Group D moved across to Anglesy, then swept east to take the Roman fort at Chester, Manchester, Sheffield, Leeds, York and Hull on the east coast. Army group E crossed at Pembrokshire swept east taking Cardiff, Bristol, down through Cornwall along the southern coast taking Dover and London. At the same time the Corvus Shipping fleet from Bazram was crushing the ships of the Jutes, Angles, Saxons and Franks as the forces of Army Group C took their homes on the continental coasts south of the Rhine. Their traders and raiders were shut down. All trading would now be done by Corvus Shipping vessels. They were allowed fishing vessels only with the threat of wholesale destruction if they attempted to renew raiding as they had done for the past 300 years. Without the support from their continental homelands, their colonies on Britain were swept up along with the Britain/Roman peoples of the country. The continental wars had drawn off virtually all the Roman troops. All that was left were a few mercenaries, some retired legionaries and the private troops of the wealthy landowners. When faced with the well organized and efficient Raven Raiders, resistence quickly crumbled. By the end of the year, all of Britain south of Hadrian's Wall was under the control of the Clan Corvo.

Again the resistence was brief and disorganized. They were unable to mass large numbers of fighters and were quickly defeated. The mostly earth and wooden defenses of the numerous forts of the wealthy and the cities were easily breeched by a brief cannonade. The overwhelming strength and numbers of the Raven Raiders along with the promise of fair treatment they quickly surrendered. The priests were rounded up and sent to Corvo University while Corvoian Christians took over.

The biggest attacks came out of Senegal. There were 110 Raven Raider divisions in Senegal with more than that number of civilians to follow up to assimilate the overwhelmed peoples. Ten divisions would be on garrison duty inside Senegal. Some Raven Raiders divisions had adapted to the desert raids of the Berbers by replacing their horses with camels. Army Group F swept north and east. The I Corps was 5 camel mounted divisions. One division swept across the deserts of Mauritania into Morocco, another division went through Mali into Algeria, a third division traveled through Niger into Algeria/Libya, a fourth division swept through Niger and Chad into Libya/Egypt and a fifth division headed through Niger and Chad into Sudan. They bypassed walled communities in the areas of sub-Sahara as they moved into the sandy wastes. These units with raven/eagle overwatch would search out and sweep up the desert dwellers. The remaining 4 Corps of horse mounted divisions swept up the coast through Mauritania into Western Sahara into Morocco then swung east through Algeria into Libya and into Egypt stopping in Sinai, linking with the camel mounted troops. The Berbers were too independent to organize. Their clans didn't trust each other so could not come together. The Vandals were stretched far too thin with their presence in Iberia and their fleets throughout the Mediterranean and troops of occupation to be able to mount meaningful resistence. The Romans remaining in north Africa were under the thumb of the Vandals. Word of the conquest of Rome left them without the will to resist. Resistence in Egypt was brief. The Egyptians knew how the Clan Corvo and Corvus Scriptorium always helped the poor and those in need. The speed of the Raven Raider advance virtually eliminated resistence before it could begin.

Remembering the murder of Hypatia, Fiach ordered the intolerant, arrogant bishop of Alexandria, the city’s priests as well as the priests of the rest of Egypt along with the thousands of aesthetic monks from the desert monasteries of Egypt and Sinai were rounded up; numbering around 25,000, all were enslaved with no chance of reeducation and put to work cleaning out and expanding the Pharaonic Canal. Senusret III, a pharaoh of Egypt {1878-1839 BCE}, was the fifth king of the 12th Dynasty of the Middle Kingdom is the first who tried and failed to build a canal from the Nile to the Red Sea. Necho II of Egypt was a Pharoah of the 26th Dynasty {610–595 BCE}. Necho undertook a number of construction projects across his kingdom one of which was an uncompleted canal connecting the Nile with the Red Sea. Darius the Great {522–486 BCE} was the fourth king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. After conquering Egypt, he resumed construction of the abandoned canal, completing it in 497 BCE. Unfortunately, the level of the Red Sea was higher than the Nile so salt water started intruding threatening the entire Nile delta so it was closed. Ptolemy II, was the king of Ptolemaic Egypt {283-246 BCE} who re-dug the abandoned canal digging a trench 100 feet wide, 30 feet deep and about 45 miles long, as far as the Bitter Lakes through the Wadi Tumilat. {A no longer existing branch of the Nile, the Pelusiac, which reached the Mediterranean near Port Said, ran on the east side of the town of Zagazig. The Wadi Tumilat, which was an even more ancient branch of the Nile, starts 11 miles southeast of Zagazig and runs to Lake Timsah paralleling the Ismalia-El Zakazik road.} adding a lock to prevent salt water intrusion. The canal would allow Corvus Shipping to send trading missions to India.

Army Group G had boarded the Corvus Shipping battle fleet to capture or destroy the Vandal fleet in the Mediterranean taking the Islands of Corsica, Sardinia, Mallorca, Menorca, and Malta in the western Mediterranean as well as the Eastern and Western Roman fleets then sweeping into the western Mediterranean to take the islands of Crete and Cyprus as well as all Greek islands with sizeable ports. The cannons on board the ships made short work of harbor defenses and other ships. The wise sailors surrendered, the ignorant sank to their deaths.

Army Group H headed east following the camel division heading to Sudan taking Mali, Niger, and Chad and Sudan. The camel division headed north between the Nile and the Red Sea while Army Group H swept through the horn of Africa taking South Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda and Kenya. Army Group J headed south and east from Senegal taking Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guiana, Gabon, the Republic of Congo and the northern half of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Army Groups H and J had a division of Pathfinders attached to each Corps. Raben knew there were virtually no roads in the areas they were entering. The paths that existed did not accommodate wheeled vehicles. The engineers had to use the conquered peoples to build roads and bridges as they split up and intermixed the tribal and clan populations. The experience gained in Senegal enabled the priests of the Corvoian Church to begin converting the conquered peoples. As was Clan Corvo practice, the languages were recorded with their legends and lineages written down.