Cardinal Spyridon I: Deicide

The Fifteenth Day of the Seventh Moon, 873 AD.

Aegos, Aegan Hills, Western Dathan.

Well, this was not what he'd wanted to happen.

Sin had warned him that there had been an attempt on his life before arriving to Aegos, and despite genuinely believing him all of that had become so distant in Spyridon's mind when they reached the city. It wasn't like anyone would be brazen enough to call down the wrath of both Cardinal Sin and Archcardinal Adikos when they were in the same city, would they?

Evidently that assessment had been wrong. He'd needed to re-evaluate a great many things in the wake of this attempted killing, though luckily it seemed he was above suspicion. It was a selfish thing to admit, but his first thoughts upon seeing his friend hit the floor was that the blame would be his to shoulder, but that had never happened. He'd explained the situation to Adikos after seeing Sin to the internal hospitaller ward, praying to the First Saint that the old man wouldn't see him as a suspect in what had been an attempted murder of his 'star pupil'.

As it turns out Adikos had been more worried about the blow to the perceived unity of the theocracy than he had been with the actual attempted murder. In fact Spyridon was fairly certain that, even if he had been the one who tried to kill Sin, Adikos would have helped him cover it up. The old man had been fuming at the botched killing, yes, but he wasn't worried about it. That was the key difference. If he were worried then he'd need to do something about it, but the Archcardinal never acted on the impulses of anger. He'd not raised himself to the head of Aegan politics and gathered the support necessary to dissolve the republic without a level head and a calculating mind. Someone would be punished for what had been done yesterday, but that didn't mean it would be the people who actually deserved it.

"A message from Cardinal Admeta, your Holiness. She wishes you to meet with her."

Spyridon's immediate thought was to dismiss the invitation out of hand; she'd just attempted to kill Sin and maybe himself as well, after all. However Sin had been right in some of his words recently, specifically when he said they needed to take risks and walk into traps. If this was a trap, which it probably wasn't but it didn't hurt to be paranoid, then he'd need to make sure it snapped shut on thin air.

"Inform her I will arrive shortly. Thank you, child."

The servant bowed deeply before walking swiftly away. Right, how was he going to do this? What would Sin do? Sin snorted. Sin would probably walk in there without a care in the world even if there were two-score men with blades beyond the door; his friend wasn't exactly the best model for rational thought. He was hardly a model for any kind of thought, to be honest. Not in a way that Spyridon would ever be able to understand, anyway.

He changed into a more casual set of robes and began the short walk to the quarters of Cardinal Admeta. He'd always liked Admeta when they were kids, but the two of them had engaged in what might charitably be called an argument after the civil war. He couldn't even remember what it had been over, probably a mix of things. Yes, that was right. It had been a great many things that they disagreed upon, and it had all exploded out of them both over the course of that night. They'd argued about the course the theocracy was set to take, over the public execution of dissidents, over a hundred issues both minor and major, and then of course there was their disagreement over him. Over Cardinal Sin.

When Sin had stormed the walls of Thermanthus, thus returning the city to the hands of the theocrats, the paved roads had been slick and red with the blood of the faithless and the faithful both. Sin himself had been wounded, but with the capture of the city the civil war was over. Admeta had wanted Sin to be held up as a model soldier of the theocracy, placed in direct control of all the armed forces in the new state. Spyridon had wanted his friend to return to quiet contemplation and healing. They'd shouted at each other and pointed fingers, blaming each other for all their ills over the unconscious body of their closest friend besides each other. Neither of them got their way in the end, Spyridon supposed. Adikos had decreed he was to reign over Athio, and so it was done. Knowing what he did now Spyridon wished he'd supported Admeta's plan to have Sin take control of all the soldiers in the theocracy; this nightmare would have been strangled in its cradle if Sin had held that much power so early into its existence.

It was in that hospitaller tent that the bonds of shared hardship and love that had held the three of them together for so long finally shattered and splintered into pieces. Neither of them were there when their friend woke up. Admeta had gone back to Aegos and he had made for his new lands on the Isles of Aercad. Things hadn't ever been the same since then.

And yet he couldn't afford himself the luxury of looking back. There were too many 'what-ifs', too many things he could have done differently, too many things that he just wished hadn't turned out the ways that they had. He had to keep looking forwards, no matter how hopeless the future seemed.

Before he'd reconnected with Sin that future had seemed very bleak indeed, but at least now there was a glimmer of hope shining in the blackness, a sliver of silver light breaking through the clouds and guiding the way forwards. The future didn't look so bleak now that someone had been courageous enough to defy what had seemed so certain, and not only had they defied the powers that be but they had been doing so for two years!

Sin was an actor, Spyridon knew this, but he'd never really seen it used for anything other than funny skits and little pranks when they were teenagers; it had always been little more than a tool to make someone laugh, to cover his tracks when he'd been mischievous. He'd never understood what Sin meant when he'd said it was a very useful set of skills to have. Now? Now he understood very well. Now he was seeing just how far one could be taken with acting and brazenness, with lies and trickery on a scale that almost beggared belief. His friend, his colleague, was at the heart of a web designed to topple the very nation he had helped build. It was a web that consumed him, a web that would strangle him alongside the prey he hoped to ensnare, and yet he had spun it all the same. A thousand lies, a hundred plots, ten-thousand disappearances and one young man sat at the centre of it all.

And not once had he been found out.

Spyridon couldn't do that. He hadn't the skills, hadn't the willpower, hadn't the courage to do that. That was just another reason that Sin had always been the best of them, had risen to the top of their class despite not even knowing how to read when first he'd arrived at the cathedral-school. He was everything that a leader needed to be.

Everything except patient.

He'd done a lot of thinking on his friend's actions these last few days, less since last night but that was to be expected, and had come to the conclusion that he really lacked patience. Yes, he'd been doing this for two years without overplaying his hand, but an effort such as the one he would embark upon would take a lot more than two years. His friend wouldn't stand for that, this much Spyridon knew. He'd try and act at the first opportunity, provided that said opportunity wasn't doomed to total disaster. Apparently he had a batman back in Athio named 'Hawk', and Spyridon really wouldn't be surprised if that man were the only reason Sin had been as level as he was. Without him here the Cardinal of the Sleeping City had certainly been rather reckless in his actions, though not ever putting his schemes at risk of actually being discovered.

As that though came to an abrupt end he found himself outside Admeta's rooms. He knocked quietly and, hearing the almost excited call of "Enter!" from inside, pushed open the door.

Within the room was a grand patchwork of holy icons and symbols along the walls, almost pushed to the side by the more secular items of opulence that took the central position in the room. A dresser and wardrobe of ebony wood stood off to one side, a silver mirror next to them, and at the rear of the room next to a truly grand balcony was a very large bed.

Admeta never had been one to ignore the comforts she could find.

"Spy, it's very good to see you again. It has been some time since last we spoke."

He nodded politely, hands clasped behind his back.

"Indeed it has. Much has happened since then, I am certain you will agree."

He really needed to bring up the whole 'poisoning' thing, but he couldn't force the words out right now. He didn't know what she might do.

Admeta raised an eyebrow at his obvious reluctance to speak before shaking her head a little in amusement.

"Much has happened, and yet the three of us are about the same as ever. You, me, and our dear friend Sin."

Spyridon swallowed, stepping further into the room and looking around a little more, mostly just so he wasn't looking at Admeta and giving himself away too much. That was something you had to do whilst pretending, wasn't it? To pay attention to something else and act unconcerned?

"I suppose you could say that, yes."

"Sin's still the actor and soldier, all discipline and confidence without the mind to put it to use properly. I've got a good mind and plenty of confidence, but I admittedly lack the discipline he does. Then there's you, and though you lack confidence you display both discipline and brains rather well. Your discipline is a very different sort to Sin's, that much is true, but you are disciplined nonetheless. That's why Adikos wanted the three of us to work together; we make up for each other's shortcomings."

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When she finished speaking Spyridon swallowed hard, and at last turned to her and confronted her for what she'd tried to do. His words were rushed and heavy, though he did not raise his voice. The words he spoke may have been a little frantic, but none could say he'd lost his temper.

"So why? Why did you try and kill him? And me, for that matter. Why try and kill us?"

Admeta raised an eyebrow at him again, standing a few inches taller than he did and as such looking down at him. Spyridon knew he was far from intimidating, but he still needed to know regardless.

"I never tried to kill you. I knew you'd never try and drink the wine. I knew Sin would survive as well, probably. If he died I'd have been sad, yes, but not as sad as I may once have been. There's too much work to do."

"You really do believe in what we do, don't you?"

She smiled a little at him, for despite the words he had just uttered amounting to treason she seemingly held no malice towards him.

"Of course I do. Aegos is being made pure as we speak, and soon all of Dathan will follow behind us. I just needed Sin to fall momentarily so that the Archcardinal will act rashly and endanger his own position. It isn't you or Sin that I want dead, not truly and not yet at least, but Trios."

"But I don't understand! Trios has been your ally at the holy court this entire time! Why do you want him dead?"

Admeta was silent for a long while, but just when Spyridon was about to repeat himself she spoke up again.

"I do not like Trios. I find the man to be rude, incompetent, misogynistic and feckless. But all of that means nothing next to the real reason I want him dead; I want him dead because he would support Adikos if me and the Archcardinal ever came to blows.

"Of the four Cardinals it was Trios who genuinely supported Adikos past the civil war. Can you honestly say you hold any positive feelings towards the Archcardinal?"

Spyridon swallowed hard.

"O- of course I do. He raised us and-"

"Bullshit!" Admeta shouted, slamming a fist on the table between them. "He had us beaten and starved, and that was when we were trying to be good! If any of us spoke out against him, if any of us- do you not remember the fucking cells under Saint Mikah's Cathedral? Because I do!"

Spyridon shuddered where he stood as unwanted memories flooded into his mind, memories of darkness and hunger and fear. How could he ever forget those cells?

"I remember them." He whispered. "You don't need to remind me of them again."

"I'm going to kill Adikos, Spy. But the only way to kill him is to remove him from all of his allies, to render him powerless and impotent whilst I increase my own hold over him. I believe in the work we do here, Cardinal Spyridon, but I do not believe in that man."

"But what does this have to do with me and Sin!" He cried in frustration.

Admeta chuckled a little.

"Well, it has absolutely nothing to do with you. No offense to you, but I don't think Adikos cares much for either of us. Sin, on the other hand... if Sin were to be badly hurt, as has happened, Adikos would have to act. Sin was always his favourite pupil; as soon as that little street rat was brought into his class it was like a candle had been lit in Adikos' mind. He'll lash out and try and 'use' the crisis to dispose of elements of the theocracy he has grown to hate."

Despite calling Sin a street rat, there was no malice or hatred in her voice when she spoke of him. Instead the words were filled with a warm and almost wistful tone. She may not have hated them or wanted them dead as Spyridon had first feared, but she still genuinely believed in and supported the burnings and the killings. She might not have been a bad person to him and Sin specifically, but she was still very much a bad person. Affable, but far from good.

"Like Cardinal Trios and the old guard?"

"Just so."

"So that's it then? Sin needed to be hospitalised and I needed to be a murder suspect so that Adikos could use the opportunity to kill off Trios, who in reality is probably his only supporter amongst the cardinals and as such will isolate him without him knowing it."

Admeta pulled a face that suggested she was mildly amused, shrugging as she looked at Spyridon.

"That's the gist of it, yes, though when you break it down like that it does seem rather far fetched. Besides, you're going to be fine. You've not done anything to stand against the glorious task we undertake, so why should I seek to harm you? You've weeded out the non-conformists, shuttered Aegos from the outside world, and completed the tasks you were bid. You've been rather good in your role as an enforcer of the regime. Unenthusiastic, yes, but we don't have to like the things we do, we only need to do them. You understand that, and I commend you for it. There are many out there who follow their hearts instead of their minds and souls. You might lack courage, but you are still capable of doing the right thing. That takes guts by itself."

Spyridon did his best to force down a grimace at her words, but at the same time her words had given him a sense of resolve that she definitely hadn't intended for them to give. The truth was that he hadn't tried to do the right thing yet, and as much as he may have hated what he'd done he was only marginally better than her because he'd still done it. Well, not anymore. He did lack courage, but maybe he was capable of doing the right thing regardless. Sin had told him before not to act before they left Aegos, but before he'd collapsed last night Spyridon could tell that he'd been getting antsy. They'd been told that they'd only be away from their seats of power for a months, two at the most, but already they'd been in Aegos for four months with no sign of being dismissed anytime soon. Sin would snap soon and feel the need to act, Spyridon was sure of it. He'd just need to try and do the right thing as well.

"Deicide, Spyridon?"

Admeta gestured to the free chair on the other side of the small table, game board already set and ready. He nodded slowly and took his seat, readying himself for a game of strategy whilst they talked.

"Tell me, would you prefer ivory or obsidian?"

"Ivory, if you would be so kind."

Admeta nodded to him and gently turned the board so that the darker pieces were on her side of the table, then gestured for him to begin.

"Footsoldier D to D4."

"Footsoldier E to E5. It seems there's a little risk here already, isn't there Spy?"

He squirmed a little as she used the old nickname that both she and Sin had used when they were teenagers. Sin still used it now, but Spyridon didn't mind that seeing as he now knew that Sin hadn't tried to kill the innocent since then. Sin hadn't, Admeta had.

"There's always risk in these games. Footsoldier D to E5."

Admeta smirked a little, removing her small obsidian piece from the game board. He wasn't sure exactly where she'd gotten an actual board of ivory and obsidian pieces for the respective armies, but he couldn't deny the quality of the carved pieces he was looking at.

"That much is true. My own Footsoldier D to D6."

Spyridon raised an eyebrow at her.

"More sacrificing of your own men? And to what end, I wonder? Ivory Footsoldier D to D6."

"Angel to D6. This is a game of action and reaction, Spy. What might seem to be a foolish move is ofttimes little more than a concealment of your true intentions. If you can predict how your opponents will respond to your actions, you can predict how and when they will fail."

He wordlessly moved his own Angel to take hers, moving it to D6 despite knowing that such an action would cost him his own Angel as well.

"What are you saying?"

"I want to go back to a previous point of conversation: did you think at the time that you and Sin were the targets of the wine you were given? Of course not! Trios was."

Spyridon whipped his head up to look at her, confusion and cold dread flowing through him. He wasn't sure why he felt this way, for she'd already explained in brief why she'd done what she did, but there was something in his gut that told him he very much wouldn't like the rest of it.

"What do you mean?"

"Footsoldier C to D6. Now we are both without our Angels on the board. Our most prized pieces, thrown away just as readily as we threw away a couple of our footsoldiers. Now where's the sense in that? I knew you'd sacrifice yours to take down mine, and yet I allowed it to happen anyway. What benefit could that serve to give me?"

"No more speaking in riddles, Admeta. What are you getting at?"

Admeta was silent for a few moments before flicking her eyes up to meet his own, her voice low and filled with pride as she spoke.

"Did you know that Trios has been placed under house arrest by the Archcardinal?"

"But he's your ally!"

"Indeed, he is. And he's still got a fair amount of power. We've both got an Angel on our side of the board, a powerful piece that can see either one of us to victory. Here's the thing though: I can play just fine without mine. You can't. You'll flounder and panic, wondering at what my next move will be. The Angel on your half of the board is worth infinitely more to you than mine is to me, for yours holds your only chance at victory. And yet he lies still at the moment. When he wakes up he will act rashly, of that I have no mistake. Do you think you can keep him from faltering and falling, Spy? No, of course you can't. None of us ever could. That was our greatest failing, not his. Sin should have sat where Adikos sits now, and we both know it well. We should have stayed by his side. This is our fault, truly."

Spyridon just stared at her for a moment, taking in what she'd said. He didn't know if it was intended as a warning or a boast, but he knew he had to take note of her words either way.

"Horseman to B3."

The game carried on for another ten minutes or so, Spyridon deep in thought but with his attention split between both the game and the words of the woman who had once been one of his closest friends. He was losing, that much was clear. It wasn't a large imbalance in pieces on the board, for they both maintained a relatively even amount of pieces, but in their positioning; Admeta's pieces were in a far batter place to act than his own were, each on of them positioned to support one another in subtle ways. Spyridon could plan his next move well, but Admeta could come up with plans that stretched several turns into the future and predicted his own moves as well. He knew that Sin would have been able to do the same, for he was her equal when it came to such matters, but he was not Sin. He was Cardinal Spyridon, the most lacklustre of Adikos' three students and the one for whom none of this had ever seemed right. He wasn't able to handle this sort of thing with the same degree of skill as his two old friends were, and he knew it well.

Eventually he couldn't take it any longer. He couldn't just sit here and dance around the point any longer. He needed to know why he was here.

"What's all this about Admeta? You invite me to your chambers, you offer me a game of deicide, and you tell me with veiled words that you see Cardinal Sin as your opponent and do not fear his retaliation. Why am I here?"

The game paused for a moment as the two of them locked eyes and stared at each other. Spyridon wasn't intimidating, far from it, but he channelled as much sternness as he could into his glare to try and get her to talk. Eventually she did, but she didn't seem worried in the slightest. Instead she seemed... amused.

"Oh, nothing much. Well, save one thing: I just find it very interesting that the voice of the internal reformers, the squeamish and soft Cardinal Spyridon of Chytos, has suddenly reconnected with the figurehead of the hardliners. The notorious butcher, the infamous Cardinal Sin of the Sleeping City. An odd partnership, don't you think? Now what could have brought upon that partnership I wonder?"

She gave him a pointed look and a cocksure smirk, and though he didn't know what exactly she knew he wasn't willing to sit here and entertain this farce any longer. He didn't know her anymore. She wasn't the person she once had been, and as much as he wished it were otherwise as it was with Sin, he knew that he needed to let go of what had been and look ahead at what could be. At what had to be. He rose from his chair and stood by the table for a moment.

"I think we're done here."

"Indeed: dragon to C1. Checkmate. Now if you'll excuse me Cardinal, I have a meeting with the Chief Inquisitor at the Cathedral of Saint Aurea."

She stalked past him and out of the room, leaving him stood at the table staring down almost in disbelief.

Oh, Sin, he thought to himself as he closed his eyes, I hope you know what you're doing.