6 Dark currents in the capitol (1/2)

Immediately after Elise and Ashley had left the royal chamber, all the whispers that had been suppressed erupted violently. Nobles began to gossip, and the faction leaders were worried as Elise had thrown them all for a loop. With the child no longer present, in the event of an accident all the properties would fall to the guardian. No noble was stupid enough to tend the farm only to have another reap the harvest.

”Silence in the chamber!”, the king bellowed violently. ”I have made the decision that Count Marcies of house Calestine will act as the stewards for the lands”.

Scattered applause rang out around the chamber, but the king had enough of this farce and dismissed the assembly immediately. The nobles streamed out of the palace one after the other still shocked over the events that had occurred. No one noticed the strange man in the hood who slipped out with them as they exited the palace.

Hours later.

As the dark night fell in the capitol, a man in a hooded robe hurried along the empty streets. He seemed to be fearful of something as he kept shifting his gaze left to right as he walked. His destination seemed to be the grand cathedral of the Church of Light.

It was a building with a long history predating that of the capitol itself, it was a marvel of ancient architecture with grand stone archways and paintings of the chosen races scattered on the walls. The entrance door was unlocked, and the man swiftly walked inside.

He was greeted by a plain looking nun in a white robe who nodded quietly and led him to a small side entrance tucked away in the corner of the main hall. The inner area of the cathedral was surprisingly modest with simple benches for the congregation to prey and worship and very few decorations or sculptures present in the main hall. The man followed the nun silently through the twists and turns of the side tunnel which lead to room underground where an old man was sitting quietly on a chair with two knights standing guard behind him.

”My eminent holy lord I pray that our father allows his eternal and everlasting light to shine gently upon us all”, the man bowed his head and looked up with an expression of reverence.

The old man was wearing nothing but a simple white tunic, he held a scepter in his hands and his eyes were filled with wisdom and compassion. One would be surprised to know this old man was one of the archbishops leading the Church of Light.

He developed a reputation of a man of mercy and kindness but recently had led campaigns against the dark elf villages of the neighbouring countries. While his congregation knew him as a man of peace, to the dark elves he was akin to a smiling demon. He slaughtered men, women and children with an unchanging smile on his face as he sung praises to his god. His name was Archbishop Belmont and had been serving the Church of Light ever since he was a small boy.

”What news do you do have my dear child,” he spoke slowly with an almost invisible sense of pressure that weighed heavily on the man.

”Terrible news! The duchess of house Blackwolf decided to adopt the child and is going to take her back to the north” the man spoke urgently.

A small frown appeared on the archbishop's face as he processed this information, he cursed silently in his heart. I knew this king could not be trusted! The kingdom of Eternia was a vital cog in the church's plan for expansion. The girl should have been placed in the care of a puppet house and then properly disposed when the time was right. He could hardly return to the pope with news of his failure.

His hands shivered almost involuntarily when he thought of that old monster, people of this backwater kingdom might think call that duchess a 'devil', but she would be nothing, but an insect compared to the truly powerful figures on the continent.

”There is some good news however, it looks like the duchess did not push for the right to manage her ward's properties, the king has appointed the minor house of Calestine to act as the guardians of her lands”, the man added on. Hopefully this news would mean the plan could be set in motion.

Contrary to his thoughts the archbishop was still not pleased by this news. That woman was cleverer than he thought, by having the royals indirectly in charge of the properties there would be a lot of attention on the land. The people calling her an idiot for not taking charge were simply fools, how could one woman manage two dukedoms at the same time.

”Dismissed”, the archbishop was in no mood to continue to keep his mask on and waved his hand to show the man off.