Cardinal Sin VIII: Two Black Hearts
The Twenty-Seventh Day of the Seventh Moon, 873 AD.
Aegos, Aegan Hills, Western Dathan.
His meeting with Adikos was going to be a stormy one, that much he was sure of. In his own mind he knew that he had done the right thing, even if she'd been set free with a slap on the wrist rather than any true punishment. The display had earned him some allies in the form of the Aegan Watch and the Chief Inquisitor, so that was something at least. None of that really made him feel any better about the meeting that he was about to endure, however.
"Cardinal Sin. His Holiness, Archcardinal Adikos, will see you now."
Sin nodded to the secretary and made to stride into the chamber.
"Oh, one more thing." The secretary said. "Your cane. Leave it here."
Sin froze for a moment, weighed his options and, realising that he didn't really intend to kill Adikos here today, acquiesced to the secretary's request.
"Thank you, Cardinal. You may now enter."
He strode into the Archcardinal's office with as much steel in his spine as he could muster. The office was a grand thing, toned down a little since the theocracy had been established, but still with marble walls and golden ornaments adorning tables and surfaces. There was even a noose of golden thread hanging from the ceiling, as if the First Saint would have cared at all for the colour of the rope around his neck whilst he swung.
The office looked grand, yes, but the Archcardinal himself just looked... well, he wasn't imposing, not with how thin he was, but certainly intimidating. There was a fervour behind his eyes, a gravitas when he spoke, a measure of surety in all that he did. His mitre and ornate robes were carefully laid out to one side on a chaise longue to one side. He was wearing a far plainer set of white robes at the moment, a stark contrast to the black and crimson of Sin's own robes, and yet of the two of them it was this old man who was the more intimidating.
"What in the name of the First Saint were you thinking, Sin?"
Sin swallowed hard, taking a step forwards and then moving to kneel on one knee.
"I- she attempted to have me killed, your Holiness. Worse still, Spyridon might have been caught in the volley and killed as well. I needed to see her arrested to ensure that there were no further attempts on my life whilst I smoked out the rats who'd been supporting her in this endeavour and seen them repent."
"Nevertheless, you arrested the wrong Cardinal. Trios was the one you should have arrested. Killed as well."
Sin blinked a few times in confusion. He hated Trios, yes, and the man had tried to kill him before, but in this instance he was likely to be at least mostly innocent.
"But Trios was not the one who attempted to kill me, your Holiness."
Adikos scoffed.
"Does it matter? You're Cardinal Sin, my favourite successor. The only man in all the Aegan hills who could countermand your words is me, and if you were to have said it was Trios then I would have backed you to the hilt."
"Admeta was the one who tried to kill me."
Adikos shook his head and spoke in a tone of warning.
"It was not Admeta."
"It was, your Holiness! She intended to-"
"IT WAS NOT ADMETA! The first rule of governance, Sin, is to never let a good crisis go to waste! Admeta is influential, valuable even, but Trios? It has simply been said that he blackmailed her into committing such actions. As we speak he is being tied to a stake and burned. His co-conspirator as well, a Canoness who now languishes in a cell beneath the barracks. Admeta will be admonished in private for her actions, as should have been done from the start, Sin. Your little spectacle has cost us greatly in the eyes of the public, in the eyes of those who now sit in the senate.
"They will look to the three of you as the future, my star pupils, but if you are seen to be at each other's throats then knives will start glinting in the darkness. When there is a knife firmly lodged in your back, Imperator Thrax will cross the river Daedala and all of our work here will have been for nothing. He wishes for a return to the days of the pagan Aegan Empire, and I would not be surprised to learn that he harbours the pagan gods in his heart as well. Whether Admeta tried to kill you or not, Sin, is no business of mine. She will be sternly reprimanded, and I will ensure she knows not to try such actions again. As for you..."
The Archcardinal glared at him, seemingly incensed by the public nature of Admeta's arrest.
"If you want to get her out of the picture, make sure to do it quietly next time. You should have gone to the inquisition with your information, not the watch. They could have handled it discretely, had her bundled here to meet with you and myself. I will forgive you this time, for if what you say is true then her actions no doubt warranted an extreme response, but I will not abide such public displays in the future, Sin. Not whilst you're both in the capital with me. Disunity is a very dangerous face to show to outsiders."
Sin nodded stiffly, biting the inside of his cheek to keep himself from ranting at the man about how she'd tried to fucking kill him and so he was more than within his rights to order such a thing, that he was the only one in this fucking city who was doing the right thing, and that he was-
He took a deep breath to calm himself down. It wouldn't do to lose his temper here. Not in front of Adikos. Not in front of Adikos at all.
You could overpower him, the voice said. He's just an old man, and here we are, alone with him. Kill him and have done with this.
If I kill him, he responded within his mind, then I'll be killed and Admeta will take control. Adikos is an evil man, but Admeta is ambitious, which is far worse.
"Well, what's done is done, I suppose. You will endure penance for this, my child, but only a light sentencing. A dozen or so lashes should suffice, followed by a day of ascetism. You are good, Sin. Pure, even. You merely need to be nudged onto the correct path from time to time."
He swallowed hard, as though the action might physically force his revulsion back into the pit of his stomach.
"Thank you, Father. I am sorry for displeasing you in this manner. I acted on impulse, and will take the punishment you have mercifully selected for me. Thank you, Father."
Adikos nodded, smiling a sickly-sweet smile down at him, which gave Sin a moment to think things through properly and to consider his situation.
So Cardinal Trios was set to burn, and Admeta was to get off almost freely. Well, at least one of his main rivals had been dealt with permanently. It was a pity that the more competent of his two foes remained, but he'd take what he could get at the moment. Right now he had self-flagellation to endure, followed by a day of fasting. Far from the worst punishment he'd endured; memories of the cells under the Cathedral of Saint Mikah sprang unbidden to his mind, which he quickly did his best to ignore. He'd rather die than go back down there again. It was so cold and sparse down there that there weren't even any rats to keep one company, just four dark walls of sheer stone and a book of penance that he couldn't read thanks to both the darkness and the fact that at that time he'd only just come into Adikos' possession, and so barely had his letters down anyway.
That didn't matter at the moment. Sin wasn't going into those cells again, not if he could help it, and the old man bore him some level of twisted affection, so he counted himself lucky in that regard. Still, he could sense that his mentor wasn't done, and as such he turned his gaze back up from the floor to meet the eyes of the man who had raised him from his early teenage years with as little fear in his eyes as he could manage.
"I will be meeting with Cardinal Admeta after yourself, Sin. Depending on what she says to me, there may still be a trial. If there is, then you have full permission to bring forth your story in front of the Holy Courts. If there is not, then you will drop this matter until such time as it becomes relevant again. Am I making myself clear?"
Sin nodded gravely.
"Of course, Father. Your will be done."
"Excellent. Onto further business, then."
Sin nodded, rising to stand at a motion from the Archcardinal. The man moved to pour some heavily watered wine into a pair of glasses, and offered one to Sin. He took it with a respectful nod of the head, and waited until he was given permission before drinking. It wouldn't do to be discourteous around the Father at the moment, not with how unstable the ground he was now stood on appeared to be. Adikos nodded at him, and only then did Sin begin to sip from his glass.
"Firstly I must say that the Chief Inquisitor is most intrigued by you. I believe he wishes to begin cooperating with you as an equal, perhaps even a lesser. It is good that you have him on your side, my child.
"Of course, what intrigues me more is that he fully expects you to vote against the proposal to increase inquisitorial insight, but on further reflection I believe he will order his own inquisitors to vote against it on your command, provided you support the bill to centralise the monasteries under a few select orders."
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Sin nodded stiffly, as though he were intending on voting for any of the bills. He had no intention of supporting the motion about the army, but if the Chief Inquisitor could be relied upon to ensure the centralisation of the monasteries passed... well, that would only help him in the long run. If one or both of these bills passed there would certainly be upsides for him, just... hidden a little. He would just have to get creative. Still, better that the army answers to him instead of a group of mind-addled zealots who couldn't tell a drawstring from a drawbridge.
"I'd be a fool not to, Father. The Monastic Order of Saint Khidon will benefit greatly from an influx of new monastic holdings. So long as I can ensure that their name is one of the few granted this new status the bill will have my enthusiastic support, though I will confess that the Chief Inquisitor is right; I do not intend to support the motion granting oversight powers within the military to the Inquisition. I mean no offence to the Aegan Inquisition, but I can see no way in which ideological officers outside the chain of command will help the combat effectiveness of the army. In my experience it is better to leave such things in the hands of the professionals, and take a more 'hands-off' approach to dealing with dissent in the ranks. Order the officers to mete out punishment themselves if it becomes an issue, but do not rely on those outside the army to be able to keep discipline within it. It can't end well."
Adikos nodded at him, a ghost of a smile about his face.
"You've always been an exceptional holy soldier, Sin. There are few matters in which I will defer my judgement to your own, but this is one of those few occasions. I trust that you understand the hardliners within the Most Devout Church will be... most displeased with your refusal. Many of them hope for your ascent when I am one with the Saints, and as such may see this as a 'betrayal' of sorts."
He swallowed, moving to look out of a window to compose himself but being sure to keep his voice level all the same.
"I understand, Father. I am almost certain that any hardliners who may feel such a way will be mollified by the promise of several changes in their own favour."
Adikos stared at him for a long moment, no doubt trying to get a read on him.
"Changes like what, child?"
Sin stilled for a moment, thinking on the spot for something that both suited the 'character' he had formed around himself whilst also gaining the support of the hardliners without reneging on anything else he'd said today.
"The destruction of the treasonous General Thrax would make for a good start, would it not Father?"
He turned to see Adikos positively beaming at him, the mere sight of the man's genuine and almost kindly smile making his gut churn in a deeply unpleasant way.
"Indeed it would, my child. That would be a most wonderous start to any reign. Unfortunately I will be taking that opportunity from you, child. We move to cross the river Daedala this time next year, assuming the false Imperator does not attempt to invade us before then. Still, there is plenty of glory for you in the coming war, just as there are a million vile heathens and heretics beyond our borders. Dathan is ripe with opportunity for you, Sin. You need only ensure that internal opposition is crushed as ruthlessly as you have crushed dissent from the heretics within your own lands before you strike abroad, but then one so well-versed in the world of battle no doubt knows that already."
Sin looked up and did his best to smile at his mentor, hoping the expression came across as genuine and emotion-filled instead of being corrupted by the internal turmoil that felt real enough to burst forth from his chest any moment.
"Thank you for your words of advice, Father. I will do my best to heed them in the coming years and... and make you proud."
The last words gave him pause, made him want to throw up, but he forced them out all the same. Luckily it seemed as though Adikos had mistaken his pause of revulsion for one of reverence, and as such simply continued to smile down at his 'star pupil'. By the Saints and the Boy-King, he wanted to leave this room. I want to be done here, please, let this be done and let me go.
"Good. Then I believe we are done here. You are dismissed, Sin. See to your punishment tomorrow, but rest for today."
He very nearly let out a sigh of relief at those words, but caught himself at the last moment. That would not do, not in front of Adikos.
"Thank you Father. It will be so."
With that he turned to leave the room, feeling as though he were sweating enough to fill a sitting bath. He made sure to walk with a little of his usual swagger, for he could feel that the eyes of his mentor were burning holes into the back of his head, but he was still a little out of it when the secretary pointedly coughed to his side, gesturing towards his cane. Sin gripped the walking stick as though it were a cherished childhood toy, then walked away as fast as he could without appearing concerned.
Angels, but he hated Aegos.
----------------------------------------
"So, I take it your brilliant scheme was successful in the end?"
The caustically sarcastic tone of Spyridon told him exactly what his olive-skinned friend thought of his recent actions, but it served to do little more than raise his hackles at the moment.
"What do you want from me, Spy? I gambled and lost, is that what you want to hear? Trios is or otherwise soon will be dead, so I'll take what victories I can scrounge from out of this shitheap. Admeta is free a few weeks after her imprisonment, but that still postponed her own plans and wishes for that same amount of time. In this line of work I take what I can get."
"Even if you nearly had to poison yourself to get an excuse? Even if it could have killed you?"
"Especially if it could have killed me; if the actions are dangerous then I absolutely need to get whatever and as many morsels of goodness out of them as I can. This job kills you Spy, but I only need to outlast Admeta and Adikos. The rest is for everyone else to work out. For you to work out."
And that was the truth of it. Since coming here, since being reminded of his place here, he'd almost completely given up on the idea of surviving past the death of the theocracy. Nonetheless, he had a job to do, and do it he would. What matter his death when a hundred-thousand more would breath freely as a result? He was Cardinal Sin, a symbol of fear and hatred. What need would a free Aegos have for someone like him?
Better that he be washed away with the deluge of change, living on only as a faetale to frighten wayward children into behaving. "Behave, or Cardinal Sin will punish you", he could almost hear the crones say as they jabbed bony fingers at the chests of misbehaving youths. To be honest, that didn't even sound too bad to him. It was immortality of a sort, wasn't it? Besides, with how he'd lived his life so far he was prime faetale material, if he did say so himself.
Spyridon spluttered a little, indignant.
"What- you can't just decide that it all ends for you with the Most Devout Church, Sin! You don't get to make that call!"
He snorted, mildly amused.
"And you do? Come on Spy, talk to me. What's got you so riled up today?"
His friend spluttered a little more, pointing a finger at him.
"You! You have! I'm tired of how casually you put yourself in danger, of how resigned to death you are. You're my friend Sin, and I care for you deeply, but your constant resignation to fate is almost grating! You talk as though you care not for the life you now live, and at times it almost seems as though you would welcome death as brandy is welcomed by a drinker!"
Despite the seriousness of the conversation Sin smiled at the comparison.
"All travellers welcome the end of the road, friend."
"You're not just some traveller! You're Cardinal Sin, one of the most powerful men in Aegos! If you die all of this-" the olive-skinned man gestured out of a window leading into the city, "will continue on indefinitely! Death, death and damnation for all! Punishments for crimes that exist only in the minds of the few in charge will continue to be the order of the day, and all who inhabit these lands will fade into the obscurity of the grave. How can you not fear death?!"
Sin sighed a deep and tired sigh. Time to share yet another part of himself he'd kept secret for years to sate the emotions of another.
"I became a patron of the Monastic Order of Saint Khidon for a reason, Spy. Death is just a path we all must walk, though no two paths are ever the same. What awaits at the end... well, we'll all have to find out. Death holds no fear for me, Spy."
Spyridon looked at him, a mixture of surprise and genuine fear on his face.
"You- you're a Khidonean. I knew you followed the Ichorian Cult already, but Saints above, you follow the Khidonean Heresy? Sin, that's punishable by death nearly everywhere on the continent!"
Sin just shrugged. Honestly he was more surprised that no-one had raised an eyebrow when he supported the Monastic Order of Saint Khidon, but then he supposed that they weren't really 'Khidoneans' at all; they, as were all monuments and churches in the name of Saint Khidon, were named for the 'sanitised' version of the ill-fated Saint, the falsified version that the New-Church and Old-Church alike pretended had existed as opposed to the true Saint Khidon, the man who learned of the true nature of death. Even still, it baffled him at times that no-one thought to raise an eyebrow at this. Maybe they had but had never had the opportunity to voice their objections for whatever reason. Who knew?
"Then it is a good thing I fear no end. Besides, I prefer the term 'Khidonean Doctrine' as opposed to heresy. Saint Khidon was many things, but he was not the apostate people believed him to be. His words were feared for they were uncomfortable truths, and indeed they still are. Few who now live understand his teachings, myself included, but I have continued to hold what I learned when we were younger in my heart. Would that I had the time to study his teachings more, but such things are indulgences I can ill afford at the moment. One day perhaps, before all of this comes to an end, I will have been able to learn more. I would be most interested in relaying his teachings to you one day, not as an attempt to convert or convince you, merely to discuss such theologies with you. You cannot say you've never been intrigued by sects and doctrines of the faith other than the one you were raised in, can you?
Spyridon shook his head, seemingly in disbelief.
"Saints, I thought I knew you."
"Well, you did. Just not all of me. I didn't survive this long by sharing everything with everyone, Spy. In fact there's only one other person alive right now that knows about what I've just told you, so you should feel privileged."
His friend groaned and let his head fall into his hands. Fair enough, that was a relatively large revelation to drop on someone. What was annoying was how this had side-tracked them both from the main topic of their conversation.
"I still don't like your lack of care where your own mortality is concerned. It's... it's grating, because I know you can do so much more just by living a little longer."
"Look Spy, it's not that I don't care if I die or not. Believe me, I do. The fact of the matter is that if I were afraid of death then I'd never be able to get people out of this man-made hell and away to relative safety. We need to work without fearing the end, otherwise we won't work at all. Please just trust me in this, Spy. I know what I'm doing, even if it looks like I'm fumbling along and clutching at straws. I know what I'm doing, so for the love of all the Saints please don't get mad at me for taking risks. In the last two years I have never once acted without carefully considering my actions, without measuring out the steps I take with meticulous accuracy, and if I want to continue moving forwards I need to know that you aren't going to turn around and sell me out when the going gets rough. I need you to trust me, Spy."
His friend shuddered out a rough breath, then settled into a breathless and almost silent laugh.
"Fine. I don't like it, Sin. But I'll trust you. For better or for worse, I'll trust you. Just stop trying to make light of your death, for Saints' sake. It's driving me mad."
Sin nodded, moving over to the wine cabinet in his friend's quarters and pulling out a bottle Spyridon hadn't even realised he'd put there.
"You want any?"
The man looked between Sin and the wine, then back at Sin, then at the wine, and finally back at Sin again.
"You were very recently poisoned by wine."
"Yes. This is from my personal stash, hidden in your room for emergencies. Do you want any?"
"You're not going to be able to eat tomorrow because of your penance. Won't you be badly hungover all day?"
"Probably. Do you want any?"
Spyridon looked at him for a few seconds as if he'd grown a second head, then sighed and hung his head a little while nodding.
"Yes please. I'd like some."
Sin smiled. He might not be exactly who his friend had once thought, but he liked to think he was close enough. Who could profess to look inside the mind of another and see their true self anyway?
Saints, he was looking forwards to this drink.