The Count and the Bishop

March 13th, Imperial Year 879
Cartethene Academy, Galeria

"Father Simos. You've finally arrived."

A ferocious looking man paced back and forth before eventually meeting his eyes with the Bishop, who had just entered the room.

"I hope I have not kept you waiting too long, Count." Father Simos stated. "Well? Has everything been arranged?"

"That is none of your business, reverend. Will his majesty be present at the ceremony?"

"If all I have arranged will be correct, yes." Simos stated dryly. "As will the Archbishop. I will trust that you get the plan correct, because if you do not, I will not hesitate to cut you loose. No amount of wealth will prevent that." The bishop grimaced, his face full of disgust.

"My end is my end, and your end is yours. There is nothing more to this, father."

"And yet you would use me as courier to speak to your own daughter. How pitiful, Count. All the money, all the land, and yet none of the power to control your own catalyst." The man turned to Father Simos with a glare in his eyes. He slinked up to the bishop like a predatory lion and stared him down.

"If you were not a member of the clergy, I would have you cut into fifteen pieces, Simos. Never forget who made you Bishop." Simos smirked at Aeneas's threat, clearly unaffected.

"You would threaten a priest, Aeneas? For shame." Seeing Simos so nonchalant, Aeneas frowned and sauntered backwards.

"In any case." The Count looked over at a small magical contraption he had set up in the room. "It has to be now. Prince Alex and Princess Calli have grown of age. Now we need to spark the firewood now before the nephew gets any older."

"Should I have him eliminated too?"

"To kill both Piccelli and His Majesty at once is already needlessly complicated. From what I've heard from you, both Alex and Calli are ambitious enough to desire power anyways." He turned to Simos. "And that would mean doing away with the crown prince."

Simos frowned.

"You ignore something as usual, Aeneas." Simos chided. "Our two claimants are ambitious, yes, but you are so sure they would kill a defenseless child. You have not seen them up close, Aeneas. Ambitious, yes, but compassion has a way of getting in the way of ambition."

"So you are against this plan?"

The bishop smirked.

"As the bishop, it is my duty to say no, Count. Well, I'm sure I can look the other way if a more uh...ahem, zealous follower of either of theirs was to do away with the 'residue.' After all, if it is not their order, what could I do about it?"

"Already fancy yourself Archbishop I see."

"My duty, is to His Majesty, and his heir, the son of the late Prince Hector. My duty to the salvation of the Church's herd do not go beyond this as of the present moment." Simos smiled. "Unless of course, I became the Archbishop of Galeria."

"A man of spirituality, and yet you are full of nothing but worldly desire, Simos. This is why you cannot understand my plans."

"The richest man in Galeria, you would rather waste it on magical nonsense over improving that lowly rank of yours count." Simos spat. "This is why you can hold power for a day, but not for a decade, let alone a century, if your precious legacy is what is so important to you."

"Silence." Aeneas declared. "A corrupt man like you will never understand. I do not seek the wealth of gold, but the wealth of memory. I will be remembered the savior of Andoria."

"And yet you would spark a civil war in one of it's countries. For all my greed, I at least acknowledge the fact that I am a man of sin. You would bring this kingdom into the depths of hell for your goal, and call yourself righteous."

"I have no more need for your talk, Father." Aeneas snapped. "Have you told the vessel the instructions?"

"I have." Simos leaned back. "You truly have nothing but ice in your veins, count. Have you truly no care for your own blood and flesh? Not even an ounce?"

"She is but a vessel for the Miracle. Nothing more, Simos. Do not try to read me."

"Your facade is peeling, Aeneas Cordelia." Simos chuckled.

"You could never understand me, Simos!" Aeneas roared. "My goal is the will of justice. I will kill hundreds of thousands to save millions. One single girl is just another drop to the pile." Simos laughed uproariously and threw his arms up in the air.

"Just kill Piccelli for me, and I will be a happy man, Count. Whatever happens afterwards, I can handle. I'm frankly not interested in what unspeakable horrors you'll commit against your daughter, or the endgoal of that experiment so long as I get to keep my seat. So long as the war doesn't damage my church, I will be fine."

"Good. Then, I will be going. And so should you." As Aeneas looked out the window, Simos turned on his heel and put his hand on the doorknob, before turning around.

"Oh, one last thing, Aeneas." Simos turned around before he left. "There is a slight...pest around Phoebe, if you will care to listen?"

"And why would I care what that girl is involved with?"

"He may become a liability." Simos said, with a grin on his face. "What if that bug fancies himself a hero and runs away with your precious little catalyst?"

"What?"

"Uh, what was his name? Jerome? No, Juli...ah, it was Jason, I think. Jason Thame! Ah yes, Jason Thame, heir to the Thame Barony." Simos threw his hands up in the air once more. "Ah, I finally remembered his name. Ah, I also do know that his title is but a recent one, despite the antiquity of the family. A scion of a certain Baseli family...?" Simos grinned with a smug pride as he stared at Aeneas's face. Yet, the Count was unmoved.

"Baseli? The old dynasty?" Aeneas snorted. "And what would I care for such a family?"

"You are sounding an awful lot like Caliros after all, Aeneas. Be careful not to walk his path." Simos turned to head out the door, but turned around one more time. "Oh, do you want me to kill the bug too?"

"No." Aeneas said. "He is a minor annoyance. A mere baron concerns me not."

"Ah, I figured that old Caliros's experimental data could possibly be lying around in their estate somewhere. I only thought it would be useful for you to have..."

"I surpassed that mediocre amateur long ago. Do not compare me to him, Simos."

"Clearly, you have not yet, Aeneas, your little wonderland is far from your fingertips."

"Call it whatever you want Simos, it is the future. The world will begin anew, in the way that it should be."

"I hesitate to ask this once more Aeneas, as I am sure you are tired of me asking you but-"

"Not to worry Father, the Miracle will not interfere with your position as Archbishop. I will assure you that - the Miracle does not concern the Church."

"Wonderful. Enjoy whatever dark forbidden magics you wish Aeneas. Just keep it out of my face and we will be fine. I would hate to have to turn the witch hunters onto my former benefactor to keep up appearances after all." Satisfied, the bishop walked out, the door closing behind him.

"The Miracle will not interfere with your position as Archbishop, Simos." Aeneas looked out the moon. "I don't intend for the Church to last that long anyways."