6 years ago, Bogdanovich palace
Duke Yuri Bogdanovsky was on his deathbed, surrounded by his closest family and friends. Women sobbed and cried for their benevolent master, while men held themselves stoically in face of their Duke’s death. Only one, a 16-year-old boy, was crying uncontrollably which made Yuri furious. With what was left of his strength he pulled the boy to himself and gave him a terrifying look.
-“Stop being such a crybaby. You are the next Duke in line, Aleksandr. When I die, you’ll no longer be a boy, but a man. A man that has to fight for himself with all he has. Your uncle and my good advisors we’ll help you in your rule. Now wipe your tears and behave like a man.”
He pushed the boy off himself and closed his eyes, praying together with priest who came to give him final blessing. Aleksandr left the room and went into hall to calm himself down wipe off his tears. It was all still hard to accept that his father will be gone and he will have to run his Duchy. He felt a soft touch of a hand on his shoulder.
-“Young master, I know how hard this all must be for you, but you must show strength and resilience in this moment.”
-“I-I know Vasily, but it all feels like a nightmare. The plague has claimed my brothers and sisters and now father is leaving me, too. You and my uncle are the only one whom I can trust.”
-“You can on me, Young master. Now let’s return to your father’s chamber.”
They walked slowly back to the chamber when they were intercepted by a tall figure in black outfit.
-“Boy! What the hell you and Vasily doing right now?!”
-“Uncle, I apologize for my behavior. We’ll return to my father’s chamber.”
-“No need to. He just passed away.”
***
Present
Not long after Prince Yaroslav’s appointment of five successors, the High priest Seraphim got seriously ill. He was completely bedridden and many of the Malensk elite thought this is the end for one of the most powerful and respected members of principality. But this raised a serious question - who will be the fifth successor after his death? Or will there even be new appointment? All this questions were occupying the mind of Dmitri Ryazanovich, who was currently on his way to visit old Seraphim in his private residence that was connected with the temple complex in the city’s center square. This square was known as Beggar’s square because of the large number of beggars who sat leaning against the wall of the temple and begged in various ways: some praised passer-by’s how God would reward them for their kindness, while others thundered about God’s hand of justice that would fall on the miserly and selfish, sometimes with more zeal and fanaticism than the priest of the temple themselves. For many years citizens have petitioned to ban beggars from entering this square, but the High priest and his clique always protested this and threatened to close all temples in the city. Dmitri arrived at the residence in his carriage with two bodyguards by his side. As soon as he stepped out of it, a horde of beggars started walking towards him with outstretched arms and fake smiles on their faces.
“Unbelievable. They’re multiplying faster than rabbits. Vlad, Kazo, throw them some coins.”
Dmitri’s bodyguards reached for their money bags and threw the silver and golden coins on sides to clear their way to residence. Beggars threw themselves on the muddy ground, fighting each other to get some pittance. Only one was still standing and watching others rolling the mud like pigs. He approached Dmitri with a smug look on his face.
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” I hope you have some good news for me, Pyotr.”
-“Why, yes I do, m’lord. Seraphim will not live to see the next morning. And there wont be a replacement for him”
-”How are you so sure?”
-“I will tell you,but first…” Pyotr held out his hand towards Dmitri with a sly grin.
Dmitri took a few coins from the bodyguard’s bag and handed to him.
-“Why thank you, m’lord. I overheard the conversation between him and prince Yaroslav just an hour ago. Seraphim tried to convince him to pick someone else but he refused for some reason unknown. ”
Dmitri felt a huge relief hearing this. Perhaps he can still take the throne for himself without too much bloodshed. Without Seraphim, four of them will have to restore balance one way or another. Maybe he can ally with one of the successors and get rid of other two and then turn on his temporary ally? Or maybe make a triumvirate with Kiril and Nikolai as it was supposed to be before that upstart Aleksandr showed up? After all, Aleksandr didn’t have any major support of any factions of Malensk so three of them could easily oust him from his new position. Or maybe keep Aleksandr as a puppet and instead get rid off of Kiril and Nikolai, who were much more dangerous to him…
So many possibilities! He felt like everything was going back into place. He rewarded Pyotr for his service and went into residence to give a quick final goodbye to Seraphim and of course to gather support from clergy and a new candidate for the position of High priest. Entire residence was filled with fragrant smoke of incense, with monks and priests in simple black robes gathered in every corridor and prayed silently for the High Priest. Dmitri was led by a young theologian who informed him about Seraphim’s health,but he largely ignored him as he knew already the severity of situation. He coughed and rubbed his watery eyes, which burned from the incense smoke. They reached the door of Seraphim’s room where the theologian asked him to wait there while he announced his arrival. He cursed under his breath because of the huge amount of incense in the air. A few minutes later, another theologian, an old, one-eyed man with long gray beard opened the door and greeted Dmitri with a cheerful smile and extended his hand towards him. Dmitri shook his hand firmly and reciprocated with a polite smile.
”Ah, Dmitri, your visit is a true blessing from the Heaven. His Holiness is in critical condition. Doctors say he wont see the next morning.”
-” Yes, I’ve heard it all. What a saint is leaving us! We must pray to God to give him a well-deserved reward for his service in this bleak and pitiful world.”
-“Well said, Dmitri, well said. Let’s go in now. His Holiness is eagerly waiting for you.”
The room in which Seraphim resided was much more simpler and modest than the rest of building. Where as the whole residence was decorated with images of saints, angels and God, with gilded candlesticks and icons and multi-colored woolen carpets, this room had just one icon on the wall above the bed in which Seraphim laid. On both of his sides were priests, praying on their knees for a peaceful death of their superior. Seraphim already looked like a corpse - his skin was pale, his once fiery blue eyes were now static and he was breathing hard and loud. The only thing his body felt right now was immense physical pain and coldness, but they were somewhat mitigated by prayer of his brothers and a smell of incense that was coming from outside. His blurry gaze was fixed to the many icons on the wall opposite him that showed struggle between good and evil. He suddenly felt a warm touch on his right hand. He slowly turned right and his dried, weary eyes met a pair of fiery and lively green eyes.
“Your strength amazes me, Seraphim. "
-“It’s not… my strength… it’s coming… from heaven…”
-“Don’t strain too much, my friend.
-“Where is… Nekarios…?” One of the priests rose up from kneeling crowd and got closer to Seraphim’s bed. He was of average height, overweight and sweating from the heat and his pencil mustache was very greasy. He reached his bed panting.
-“You called me, Seraphim?”
-“Nekarios… you will be… the next high priest…”
-“Y-Yes, I know that Seraphim.”
-“Help Dmitri… in his future rule… of Malensk…”
Nekarios was puzzled by this, but Dmitri was positively shocked. He knew Seraphim was always on his side, but he never dared to say it publicly. And now he explicitly stated his support in front of all important clergymen. He struggled to keep his joy inside so he bowed his head and kissed Seraphim’s cold hand in gratitude.
-“I… I can’t thank you enough, Seraphim. I will lead Malensk according to heaven’s will. One step closer to total domination. Without even lifting a finger. Splendid! Dmitri was barely holding himself from jumping in ecstasy.
-“Now… leave me alone… "
-“Of course, my friend. Goodbye.”
The last thing Seraphim saw was Dmitri’s saddened face after which he drew his last breath. All monks in the room gathered around their former head of church and they wept and sobbed for him. Dmitri quickly left the room and the temple with a huge grin on his face, ready to move onto his next target.