Cardinal Sin VI: A Call to Order
The Fourteenth Day of the Seventh Moon, 873 AD.
Aegos, Aegan Hills, Western Dathan.
Saints, but he hated these meetings. If he had to listen to one more puffed-up Archbishop give some self-centred speech highlighting an issue or transgression so small that it would make even Admeta scoff then he was going to ride to the coast and take the first boat west to some place that wasn't a tinderbox waiting for a spark.
Not that there were many of those left at the moment.
He sighed a little and slumped on his throne at the dais. The five of them, the cardinals and Adikos himself that was, were seated in a raised position in the senate building that had once been used by the speaker of the senate and the consuls, should any have been in office of course. Sat in the chair of the First Consul was Adikos himself, the grand throne raised above all others. Sin sat in a smaller throne to his right, Spyridon to his own right, whilst Admeta and Trios were to Adikos' right. He sat there, vaguely aware that his master was somewhat amused by his boredom, and tried his best not to just stand up and leave. People expected him to be bored, that much was a given, but he still needed to be present here.
There was an order to such proceedings, after all.
The old senate building was a magnificent and huge monument to the democracy that had come before, having originally been used as a colosseum during the reign of the Aegan Empire and the Terraneans who conquered them. It had been the only building with enough seats to hold so many landholders and men of importance at once, and so where it had originally only been used as a stopgap before a true senate could be built it had transformed over time to fit the new needs of the burgeoning republic. A raised stage some fifteen metres off the ground was built in the centre to allow those proposing motions and laws to speak to all their peers at once, then a magnificent roof had been built over the top, then the benches had been replaced with far plusher seating, etcetera. The building was beautiful, but where once elected representatives, landholders, business owners, and freemen had sat, there were now only men of the cloth. Bishops, Archdeacons, Inquisitors, Abbots, even Paladins sat around within the circular building, though it was folly to pretend that any of them spoke for the people outside these walls.
Still more had been added to the old colosseum since the establishment of the theocracy; bureaucratic offices here, withdrawing rooms scattered around there, a small barracks for guards just over that way... the senatorial building almost resembled a city within a city. It certainly housed more people than some of the villages Sin had been to as a kid.
"I concur with the delegate below." Sin heard Admeta call out. He didn't really know what was being spoken of, but he also didn't really care. It wouldn't be anything good, he knew that, so what did the specifics matter to him? Admeta continued unabated. "The centralising of the monasteries will enable our great theocracy to better administer to the spiritual needs of the rural parts of this realm. Whilst my dear friend and colleague was perhaps overzealous in his desire to ensure unity in this land through admitting every monastery to the Order of Saint Brassica, the suggestion of the delegate below is one that has my enthusiastic support in the days to come, and I hope that others will see the merit in such a plan as well."
With that she stopped and sat back down, a look of deep satisfaction on her face. Ah, she was using Trios' bungled attempt to centralise power to provide a 'compromise solution' to the old guard. Likely a compromise that gave her exactly what she wanted, but they wouldn't know that.
As if sensing that he hadn't been paying attention Spyridon leaned over, whispering the delegate's plan in his ear.
"The delegate put forwards the idea of sponsoring or creating ten or so monastic orders, and allowing all of the monasteries in Aegos to choose which one they would rather be a part of. Admittance to one of the orders would be mandatory of course, but they would at least have the illusion of choice."
Sin hummed a little, discontented.
"That won't be popular amongst the independent monasterial delegates, nor the backbenchers of the old guard. The paladins probably won't like it either. That said the newer generation of clergymen, as well as some of the established orders that will grow in power and influence if this goes through, are likely to support it. As will the inquisitors, I think. I'll have to talk with the representative of the Monastic Order of Saint Khidon after this; the order operates out of Athio, and so theoretically should listen to me and vote against this motion when it comes to the floor. The trouble is that they're likely to be one of the sponsored orders alongside the Monastic Order of Saint Brassica, so they might try and ignore my prodding anyway."
Spyridon nodded, seeming to agree with his observations.
"Well, good luck on that front. I always found the Order of Saint Khidon to be rather more intimidating than most monastic orders, what with the deep scarlet robes and vows of silence, but then I guess that's why they fit in at Athio so well. No offence, but it's a really creepy city. Ah well, you know the order better than I do."
"My thanks to the most holy delegation! Next on the agenda is a proposal from her Holiness, the Cardinal of Thermanthus."
There was a great deal of murmuring as Adikos announced the next in line. For all the history of the senate those in the box were not permitted the ability to propose laws themselves. For sure, it was easy enough to get around such measures by having a lackey or stooge do it for you, but it seems that Adikos was keen to do away with even the pretense of impartiality in his rulership.
Admeta stood from her throne and smiled at him and Spyridon before walking down to the floor of the colosseum and then up the stairs to the raised speaking stage. When she spoke her voice was poised and graceful, but the content of her words were, in his opinion, far from pious.
"Holy delegates, I come before you today to bring light to an issue that has plagued our state since its inception: the weak minded and feeble who stand amongst the ranks of our armies and cannot stand to act in our name!"
There was a few seconds of feet stamping and orderly papers being waved from around the colosseum, mostly from her supporters and the inquisitors, which wasn't at all a surprise.
"The fact of the matter is this; many of the members of our watchman forces have struggled with the weight that their new and holy task has taken on their minds. They feel too much sympathy for the impious and the pagan, and as such the rates of suicide and suicide by desertion are only growing amongst the ranks. We need to ensure that the defenders of the peace in Aegos are not subverted from their holiest of tasks, and so to that end I propose that the city watches of all the great cities of this theocracy should be centrally administered from Aegos and, more importantly, placed under the direct command of the Aegan Inquisition!"
There was silence for a few seconds, which afforded Sin a little time to think on what had been said. He'd hardly gotten over how fucking evil the 'suicide by desertion' comment was before the last line of her little opening statement had thrown him completely off track.
There was a great deal of shouting from around the senate building now, the old guard along with a great many other delegates shouting that this was preposterous, that it was unneeded, that it was dangerous! Members of the inquisition, who initially had been stamping and waving their orderly papers in the conventional show of support in these walls, instead began to shout back at those who had interrupted that if they had done their jobs properly this wouldn't be a problem, that the inquisition wouldn't be needed, that they were the only ones capable of enforcing discipline amongst the ranks of the watches and keeping desertion at a lower ebb.
Sin just closed his eyes and let out a deep sigh. At least this session was turning out to be more interesting than he'd thought. Adikos raised his hand from his throne with a look of thunder across his face, and all fell silent once more. With a flick of his wrist he gestured for Admeta to continue, and so continue she did.
"As the hallowed book reads, 'to err is human, but to forgive is divine'. We cannot presume to act at the same level as divinity! Those who have turned their back on the faith and their sacred duties must be punished! As this contagion is, at its core, based in the soldiery of Aegos, my proposition would see an eventual rollout of inquisitorial oversight amongst the armies of Aegos as well. Inquisitorial oversight for the guards might be termed a 'trial period', a test to see if our friends and esteemed colleagues of the inquisitorial orders are up to the challenge. I, for one, have no doubt in their abilities to perform this task at its fullest, but such things require care, hence the proposed trial period."
Sin relaxed himself in his chair, almost lounging, trying to appear as unbothered and unconcerned with the affairs of the council as he possibly could before speaking.
"Cardinal Admeta," he started, his voice a bored drawl, "don't you think that such matters are a little trifling to justify handing total oversight privileges to the inquisition? There are few things soldiers hate more than someone watching over their shoulder, the officers more so."
"That is true, Cardinal, however was it not you who said to me on these matters 'A needle in a haystack can still kill a horse' when we were but acolytes?"
Sin nodded stiffly, conveying nothing but his false agreement. He couldn't remember saying that, but it was highly likely that her memory was better than his when it came to these things anyway. He didn't want to see the military turned over to the inquisition but fuck it, it would only serve to make the soldiery hate the theocracy more. That or it would just kill off all of the officers with enough brains to actually think. Either way, it would probably be good for him in the long run.
If I could sneak some of the officers targeted into Aegos that would certainly give me a leg up.
After a few more seconds of silence he nodded at Admeta once more, signalling that she should continue, and seeing that he would not stand up against the motion those in the council opposed to it jumped from their seats in uproar once more.
Saints, he couldn't wait for this to be over.
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By the time the session had ended the hours had already began to slip into the gloaming. Sin knew there was to be a banquet later today, something to celebrate the fact they'd all been able to gather together for so long a time, despite the fact that it hardly felt like something worth celebrating to him.
"Cardinal Sin."
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A familiar voice came from behind, that of the man who had practically raised him, and he had to stop himself from jumping a mile.
"Yes."
His voice came out as a squeak, and he stopped to clear his throat. He'd squeaked.
He was Cardinal fucking Sin.
And Cardinal fucking Sin did not bloody squeak.
"It is good to see you're already pondering the events of the day, my child. When this trial period inevitebly gets voted through we will surely see a vast improvement in the capabilities of the men under our command. I trust you will not attempt to subvert such a course, if and when it is decided upon?"
Sin swallowed heavily and shook his head.
"Of course not, Archcardinal. It will be as you command. Should you feel any of your subordinates to be... lacking, then please do not hesitate to allow me to 'improve' them. I serve at your command."
Adikos smiled at him with his sickening smile, and Sin bowed his head in reverence so he didn't have to look at the man's satisfaction face any longer than he had to.
"Good. I am glad to hear your convictions remain as strong as ever, Sin. Every cardinal in our great and holy state, though amongst the purest men and women that live, are still not without sin. All harbour impurities in their hearts and doubts in their minds, but not you. No, not you, my child. You are as pure as a mere man can be, which whilst impressive by itself is made doubly so when one considers the daemon that has made a home in your mind. Most men would have broken under the weight of such sin unbound, but not you! Even on the day you arrived back in this city I saw the bloodied discipline and the fresh wounds across your back; you are resolute in your conviction, your wish to never let the daemon dictate your life and your ways. You are pure, Sin, in a way that most are not. I will be relying on you a great deal in the decades to come, and should you prove yourself worthy you may one day find yourself sat upon the seat I now hold as my own."
"Me, your Holiness?"
He filled his words with as much piety and reverence as he could, hoping that his master would not be able to tell how disgusted this conversation was making him.
"Yes, you, Sin. Trios is a bumbling oaf who few would mourn should he falter and fall, and whilst Spyridon may have a good heart he cares not for the new realities of our nation. He is soft, effeminate, almost weak. That leaves only Admeta as one that can boast a similar level of competence when compared to you, and... well, you were the one that fought on the frontlines against the renegade General Thrax, not her. It makes sense that you should be the one to succeed me."
He bowed even lower, moving to his knees and prostrating himself.
"You honour me beyond words, your Holiness. I have spoken to Spyridon recently about his 'softness'. I hope you will forgive me if I have overstepped my boundaries, but I offered him my assistance when it comes to enforcing loyalty and unity amongst the islands of the Most Devout Church. They are closest to the lands I oversee, and so I thought that my cooperation and coordination with him would allow for more effective measures to be undertaken in the more remote parts of the Rocks of Aercad."
Adikos nodded, seeming very pleased at this news.
"Good. Your initiative is most welcomed, Sin. Be careful not to neglect the needs of your own lands outside of Athio; you have made the Sleeping City magnificent, of that there can be no doubt, but you need to ensure that we do not risk famine again."
"Of course, my master. Is there anything in particular you would have me do in this instance?"
Adikos nodded at him as he looked up, his skin crawling at just how easy it was to slip back into being the Archcardinal's favourite protégé.
"I do. If the reports given to me are correct there is a great deal of farmland that now lies barren and empty thanks to your... efficient measures. Consolidate these lands, seed them with the pious and the true, and let the work of the humble farmer continue with renewed efficiency. The remaining vineyards, be they of the grape or the olive, may be burned away and rebuilt for humbler agricultural purposes. Their produce is that of excess, that of sin, and must be burned away."
Sin nodded, not at all intending to do any of what the man had just said. He almost had to stop himself from laughing at how funny it was that the man believed he'd killed those farmers. He wasn't sure where exactly each of the groups he'd gotten out of the city had gone, but he knew the broad strokes and he knew that they were all alive. At the end of the day that was the important bit, made all the sweeter by the fact that Adikos actually believed they were all dead!
"It will be as you decree, your Holiness. I shall not fail you."
His old warden nodded dismissively at him, and bid him rise to his feet before turning to walk away.
"Good. See that you defy your name once more, my child. Dismissed."
Sin resisted the urge to roll his eyes, having been waiting for a joke about his name this whole conversation. In the name of Harald, he needed a drink.
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Saints, but this banquet felt as though it had gone on forever. Adikos and Trios hadn't been in attendance tonight, which was a small mercy, and to the surprise of many it had been Sin who was selected to sit at the head of the table in the Arch-cardinal's place. Admeta had sat to his right, which was at least as uncomfortable for her as it was for him, and Spyridon was sat to his left, which was somewhat more tolerable. Spyridon and Admeta had talked across him for most of the evening, which he didn't really have a problem with since it stopped people from trying to talk to him, but he did have to make sure he didn't seem too suspicious of Admeta. He'd really expected her to try something tonight, to challenge him to a debate of wills and wits before the banquet so she could take the head seat at the table, but she'd been perfectly cordial this whole time. Perhaps he was simply being paranoid, after all it had been two years since last they'd spoke and it was possible that she was genuinely just trying to reconnect, but he doubted that greatly. With the amount of spies and informants he knew that she had in this city she must have heard Adikos state that Sin was his favoured successor earlier today, and so something would surely be forthcoming from her. Whether it would come in the form of a dagger in the night or some more subtle means he didn't know, but given that Trios had already tried to have him killed on the road he was surprised it hadn't happened already.
Surprised, and a little disappointed to be honest. He wanted something to spice up his life here, something that would give him a reason to be standoffish and act against his fellow Cardinals. If nothing happened then he wouldn't be able to act against them in the eyes of the clergymen in this city, and if he couldn't get any of their support for such actions then he was as good as dead.
In all his musings he hardly heard Spyridon finish giving a toast to his left, a toast in his name no less, and he readied his glass to join in with the toast when it was done.
"To our continued and renewed partnership! To you, Cardinal Sin!"
Spyridon's voice was very deliberately not amused as he raised his glass in a toast, since Spyridon wasn't supposed to enjoy Sin's company anymore, but Sin could recognise the suppressed genuineness in the words. The two of them were entering into a renewed partnership after all, just not in the way anyone here suspected. Well, he hoped no one suspected it anyway.
He looked at the remaining heeltap in his glass and swirled it around a little, admiring the deep red colour as it left a faint trail where it flowed. Not many regions of the world had moved on from metal goblets for the supping of wine, but here in Aegos such glass drink receptacles were the rule instead of the exception. The cut-lead glasses that he and Spyridon held were particularly high-quality examples of such craftsmanship.
The two of them drank from their glasses, smiles coming across their faces as the last of their subordinates and peers left the hall. It seemed like that was the end of the evening, finally. He wasn't a fan of most of the lickspittles and lackeys, for though they might not have approached him thanks to both his reputation and the permanent scowl on his face both Admeta and Spyridon had been engaged in conversations with many of them all night, meaning that he had needed to sit there in the middle and listen to them all without throwing his fucking silverware at them and telling them all to shut the fuck up. Still, it was over now and the others were all gone. He nodded his goodbyes to Admeta as she left for the night, then when he was sure they were alone save only the servants he gestured towards an antechamber off to the side of the banquet hall, Spyridon nodding when the man caught his gaze.
When inside Sin walked to lounge on the windowsill, staring out at Aegos in the twilight. It was still a beautiful city despite all that had been done to it, and that was a pleasant thought. Spyridon followed behind, his mostly-full glass in one hand and a small beaker in the other. Tonight's meal had been good, or at least the food had been, but the company was... less tolerable.
"It was awfully nice of Admeta to try and make amends with us like that. She gave me this beaker of wine before she left as well."
Immediately Sin's suspicions were raised at this, but he did his best not to alert his friend. If his suspicions were correct, if he could play this correctly, things could go very well for him indeed.
"Well, I'll have some. Your glass is still nearly full, but I'll have some now if it's alright with you."
Spyridon nodded, moving to pour out the drink.
"Sure. Why do you think she wants to make amends now, when she was so clear in her dislike of us before?"
Sin shrugged, choosing not to tell his friend that he was certain she was very much not trying to make amends with them at all.
"She probably wants to try and get our support for this proposed centralisation of the monasteries. If all four cardinals support it then she'll be able to go to the voting session and present it as a fait-accompli."
Spyridon nodded.
"Maybe, yeah. That makes more sense than a sudden and drastic change of heart."
Sin raised his glass mockingly and drank again. Ah, yep. That was exactly what he'd expected from a wine gifted by someone who hated them both.
"You wouldn't like this wine, Spy. Too sour for your tastes."
Spyridon looked a little put out, but nodded.
"Well, I'll leave that for your judgement. I always did have more of a sweet tooth when it came to drinks."
"Heh, it's a pity there's none of that bramble-fruit wine you always liked. You'd be hard pressed to find something sweeter than that."
Spyridon laughed a little at that, and Sin used the few seconds of quiet that brought him to think over what was to come. The wine he'd just drank was poisoned, hence his wish not to have Spyridon drink any, but that left him with a few options; the most logical course of action would be to stop drinking it now before the poisons became too dangerous, but if he could play this right... if he could get this just right and make himself very ill, he could spin this and have Admeta removed from the picture completely. It was high-reward, yes, but also high-risk; if he misjudged this even slightly there was every chance he would be dead. He had tasted this poison before, but not enough to have developed a tolerance. He thought, anyway; he had to admit he was having a little trouble placing the concoction. He probably didn't have long left to think before his body rejected the substance violently, so he needed to think quickly.
More importantly, he needed to know if Spyridon was in on this plot to kill him or not. Did he know that the beaker had been poisoned, or was he just the unwitting bearer of the gift and as such an easy scapegoat for the attempted murder? Sin didn't know, and so he had to act as though he didn't know that there was poison in this wine. He needed to allow himself to fall prey to the maladies that were sure to soon manifest, for that would give him the casus-belli he needed to deal with Admeta once and for all.
"Spy? May I ask you a question?"
His friend nodded, a little confused by the apparent severity of his tone.
"Of course Sin! Why, what is it?"
Sin was silent for a few moments, arms starting to tremble a little, and Spyridon looked at him in confusion and concern.
"What's the matter?"
"This wine tastes odd."
His friend raised an eyebrow at him. Not in a manner that suggested complicity, but in such a way that signalled genuine confusion.
"Oh? Odd how so?"
He smacked his lips a few times, trying to place the flavour. It was a poison, yes, but what sort... what sort was it... hopefully one that wasn't too deadly. He wasn't actually sure how much he'd drank anymore; his head was swimming, and it took a lot out of him to make sure his words weren't a garbled mess when he spoke.
"It tastes like... almost like almonds. Strange. I've never known a wine to taste like almonds before."
"Sin... Sin, you're bleeding. Your nose is bleeding. Sin?"
Spyridon was looking at him with quickly mounting horror as he began to sway on his feet.
"Sin, are you alright? Can you hear me? Sin?!"
He held up a finger in a 'please stop' motion, staggering his way to a table and supporting himself on that. Wait, I was sat down a moment ago, wasn't I? When did I get up? Saints, his muscles ached. How? He hadn't been doing anything strenuous, had he? No, he'd been poisoned hadn't he, that had to be why.
By the Boy-King, he thought as he dropped to the floor, I really shouldn't have risen to the bait on this one.
Spyridon let out a panicked shout as he dropped, rushing to the door and calling for guards, calling for physicians, and shouting "Poison!" as loud as he could. Sin really wished he would stop; Spyridon was nice, but he was being really loud at the moment and Sin really just wanted to close his eyes and go to-
No. No. He couldn't do that. He'd just ingested poison, somewhat willingly as well. He couldn't let himself succumb to it. He was Cardinal fucking Sin, and he needed to live to help those he had sworn to protect. He'd gambled by ingesting the poison, yes, but it was a calculated risk. He couldn't afford to lose, not now. He just needed to stay awake a little while longer, just long enough for a physician to reach him and look him over and make sure he would be okay, and then he could collapse.
If he fell asleep right now then he would die, but he was Cardinal Sin and he was not prepared to fucking die yet. He would stay awake long enough to survive, and then he would sleep. After that? Vengeance. Vengeance. Heh, that felt like it would be a long way off.
"Saints," he croaked out weakly through a rapidly drying throat, "why did I take that risk?"