He wasn’t afraid. At least, that’s what he told himself. It was everyone else that was afraid with all their mumbling once they found out.
“What could he have done to get the bishop to summon him..?”
“It’s Allen. What hasn’t he done? It’s probably all catching up to him.”
“But he doesn’t do a lot in public, does he? He attends service and everything.”
“Besides, they almost always make a big deal of it.”
“Only if it’s directed by Queen Zofie. We haven’t heard anything about her getting paranoid again.”
“It’s just something from the bishop, then?”
“Still doesn’t mean it’s anything good.”
Then, the single one that would actually say anything to him: “Good luck, kid. And say hi to Vriuh for us.”
But he was not scared. There was nothing awaiting him here that he couldn’t deal with. He was too young to die. As far as the church knew, there wasn’t any reason to kill him. His father was close to the bishop, so maybe that had something to do with it. But why such a blunt summons? After all, the only thing it said was “Allen Karsten has hereby been summoned to see the bishop of the Pasha Region.” Hardly anything to go off of.
He greeted the clergy with the kind of casualness he usually did. None of them showed any sign of even knowing that he was summoned there, let alone what awaited him. He kept a nonchalant appearance all throughout the cathedral before he finally reached the bishop’s office.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
He didn’t need to knock before hearing the cheerful, “Come in!” The bishop was smiling when he saw Allen opening the door, getting up to give a hug.
“Good afternoon, Lord Pasha,” Allen greeted, somehow making it sound like he wasn’t the least bit concerned. “You wanted to see me?”
The bishop smiled. “Yes. Sit, I have a story to share with you.” He wandered over to his chair, Allen hesitantly doing the same. “I believe it was thirty or so years ago when I was first brought into this office. I was foolish back then, hardly acknowledging the power of Orestis; of course I had a family, but it was riddled with problems. I thought the bishop at the time had grown delusional, to be frank, when he told me his plans. Then by Orestis’s will and might, I took up his position as bishop and grew in faith to lead this region.”
The bishop moved around a few of the papers on his desk before continuing. “And then there’s you. I’ve watched you grow into a fine young man; what I believe to be the perfect example of what we should all be. You’re in a much better position to take the role of bishop than I ever was. As I prayed before calling for you, you were the only person that came to mind. I believe Orestis has great plans for you in your new role as the Pasha Region’s bishop.”
…
Some Ravens simply stared in disbelief; others laughed; several more gave scornful mutterings… then there were the older few who congratulated him.
“This is something we must tell the boss right away,” one of them said before darting off.
Another stayed to explain it to Allen. “We thought we had lost our chance with Nigel—being who he was, dying was the best thing he could do for us. But here you are, in the second best position. It won’t take much longer until the Ravens will be able to see our deepest wishes come to fruition…”
If someone had asked him how he thought his life would go, it would’ve been the average story: after joining the Ravens he’d continue working in the background, though never getting out in the open, then eventually find love and have a family to be surrounded by as he grew older. Being bishop was definitely not a part of that list, nor something he would’ve ever considered himself doing. And while love was closer than he’d thought, he never would’ve expected it to be with who it was and the things that would come out of it…