The Knight-Captain Alphonse stepped onto the podium located within the Cathedral’s main hall, helmet wedged between his shimmering golden chestplate and right arm. His flowing blonde hair and blue eyes gave him an aura akin to young naivety. Alphonse straightened his posture and peered into the crowd. He took a deep breath then began to speak to the hundreds of soldiers gathered solely to hear what the Knight-Captain, second only to the Archbishop of The Lumian Church, had to say.
“My fellow Holy Knights, Chaplains, Priests, and devotees of The Church. Though death permeates through the lands beyond our borders, I am proud to see all of us-all of you standing here, resolute.” Alphonse waved his arms with grandiose vigor as he continued to speak, taking brief glances at the speech already laid out for him on paper. “With that being said, I humbly ask that you all send your thoughts to our newly appointed Archbishop Alexos Lumian III, who even now stands firm in the face of death, holding the evil at bay, alone. Though he asks for no thanks, I ask that you all practice gratitude.” Alphonse continued through the speech, his tone tinged with annoyance as he read further into the script on his pedestal. This new Archbishop was nothing like his predecessor. Alexos was arrogant and manipulative, unwilling to cooperate with tradition. Instead he blemishes the halls of The Motherflame’s holy cathedral with gold, jewels, and other earthly desires. As Alphonse continued, all he could think about was the hypocrisy of his words, or rather the Archbishop’s. His Holiness Ser Benedict, would never conduct himself so indignantly, Alphonse thought to himself. “Again, I thank you all for attending. I just wanted to say a few words to you, our holy defenders, and our last defense against the evils of dark magic. Do your duties with honor and with diligence. May the Motherflame guide you.” The Holy Knights held their fists to their foreheads, a salute of sorts.
Alphonse turned away from the podium with a theatric wave of his gilded cape and disappeared behind a curtain. As soon as Alphonse left view he immediately began stripping off his armor. “O Motherflame, pray do not smite me for wearing this blasphemous suit of armor”. The gold trimmed armor, Alphonse thought, was made for pride, and not for protection. Even moreso, the armor was quite tasteless as far as armor goes, he mused. Alphonse glanced around the room behind the curtain for something to wear. The only thing that caught his eye were a pair of neatly folded robes. The robes were for a priest, but they would have to do. Behind Alphonse, another door stood leading to the winding hallways of the cathedral. He strode through the corridor, attempting to retain his dignity, even in robes which in hindsight were made for a man twice Alphonse’s size.
“Knight-Captain.” said a passing priest, nodding as he continued his own path. Alphonse gave a half-hearted wave and pressed on. Alphonse, finally reaching the door to his quarters, breathed a sigh of relief and opened the door. The room had a quaint feeling, with it’s sparse furniture and empty walls, but along with that feeling, the room also had an air of elegance. A large window made up most of the far wall by Alphonse’s bed, creating a puddle of light on the marble floor below. Alphonse barely had a second of respit before an armored knock came from the door.
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“Yes. Come in.” Alphonse did his best not to sound tired. A knight stood in a full suit of gleaming silver armor. Though the knight wore a helmet, the visor was raised revealing the knight’s deep brown eyes. The two stood in silence for a moment before Alphonse began. “Do you need something?” The Knight’s eyes lit up, and he came to life for a moment, producing a scroll from a belt. Alphonse’s eyes shifted towards the red wax seal on the scroll. It was the Archbishop’s mark. These were orders directly from him.
“Ahem. Uh, you are to speak with His Holiness, Ser Archbishop Alexos Lumian III immediately regarding an urgent matter. Pray make your way towards His Holiness’s chambers as soon as you are able.” The knight finished speaking, pounded a metallic fist against his armor twice and left. Alphonse stared at the doorway, pondering as to what the Archbishop could want, and so suddenly. Alphonse gathered himself before heading towards the Archbishop’s chambers, unsure of what was to come.
Alphonse briskly marched towards the chambers, his loud metallic steps echoing through the empty cathedral halls. It was mid-day and most of the church staff were on duty somewhere. The Archbishop’s chamber used to be behind a humble wooden door, Alphonse began to reminisce as he looked upon the massive gold-trimmed double door, adorned with different portraits of the current Archbishop. On one side the Archbishop was depicted singlehandedly fending off a horde of demons. On the other side he was mediating some sort of treaty between nations. Alphonse heaved the doors open, trying not to let his sour mood show. After all, no matter what Alphonse thought, Alexos was the Archbishop chosen by the Motherflame.
The Archbishop greeted Alphonse with a haughty stare.
“Alphonse! Punctual as always. I’ve some special errands for you today.” The Archbishop spoke excitedly. He motioned over a young man, who was essentially his personal secretary. The young man unraveled a long scroll and began reading out chores before Alphonse had a chance to speak.
“Clean His Holiness’s personal chambers, Deliver a new batch of wanted posters to the guildhall…” The young man droned on, as Alphonse listened with pursed lips. The Archbishop motioned for the man to stop reading and began to speak.
“Assign some men to do that menial labor, but I need you to do something a little more personal. I’ve chained the entrance to the catacombs, but a guard reported to me the lock had been tampered with recently. I need you to investigate the matter.” The catacombs used to be where many sacred rites were held. Recently, according to The Archbishop many of the tunnels were flooded or on the brink of collapse, so The Archbishop locked the entrance to avoid anyone getting hurt.
“Yes, your Holiness. I will send some men to investigate-” The Archbisop waved his hand lazily.
“No, I want you to do this personally. Church forces are already stretched as it is.” Alphonse wanted to argue, but held his tongue out of respect.
“Of course, your Holiness.” Alphonse took a bow, met the Archbishop’s gaze. Archbishop Alexos was a short man, his only remarkable feature being his bright, golden eyes, a feature only blessed to an Archbishop and their descendants. As Alphonse took his leave the Archbishop croaked one last word of warning.
“Tread carefully within the catacombs. If you must enter, stick to the main tunnel. The ceilings there have been reinforced.” Alphonse said nothing as he began to make his way to the sealed catacombs.