Lovesick
The voices of the arguing men could be heard outside the closed room and through the corridor. They sat at a long table, dressed in either elegant noble garb or modest working attire, these squabbling captains of industry. They were the heads of the various business guilds in Colbrand, from blacksmiths to textile workers, all thinking they deserved the biggest piece of the pie and projected it by bickering over resources and coins.
The doors to the room then opened, and all eyes turned, expecting to meet the host of this get-together. Instead, they faced an interesting trio. On one side, a beautiful blond woman, around twenty years old, wearing a blue battle dress and carrying a bow. On the other side, a similarly captivating beauty with long crimson hair and a sunny smile, holding the trio's winter coats. Between them, a young girl wearing a witch's hat and tiny evening gown, smoking a long-stemmed pipe held in her small hand.
"Greetings, gentlemen. I hope you weren't all waiting for little old me," the girl said with a wry smile.
"Ah Cyrilo, you always love to be fashionably late," one man laughed.
"Isn't it a bit early for you to be so short? You told me you only turn into a wee lass in the wee hours of the morning," another man asked.
"I've been making some headway in solving my aging hex," said Cyrilo, walking around the table to an empty chair. "You could say my current state is a work-in-progress. Regardless, I wouldn't miss this for the world, especially as the head of the newly-formed brothel guild." She took a seat, but her chin barely came above the table.
"Now that you've taken down the church, your little pet project can finally grow to fruition. Congratulations, you're close to your ultimate dream of ruling Colbrand with an iron fist," said a third man.
"My rule would be a gentle utopia, you know that."
Alexis and Sophia took their places against the wall behind Cyrilo, along with several other bodyguards and attendants brought for the meeting. These days, Cyrilo never left the Knight's Sheath without them, even to come here, the palace. They had become famous for revealing the church's schemes and corruption, how the clergy planted their agents in the military, using their authority as knights to commit murder, arson, and all manner of immoral acts in the name of their gods. Anyone who became a threat to the church or challenged their doctrine was eliminated and their removal was covered up.
Since then, the king had been working to purge Uther of the shadow council organizing the assassinations. Every priest was arrested and questioned, and every church and clergy safehouse was searched for evidence and ill-gotten gains. The purge was a mixed blessing. The actual churches were mostly untouched, as well as the priests innocent of any wrongdoing, all to protect the faith and the citizens' access to their houses of worship.
Removing the fetid, corrupt order was necessary for every system occasionally, but not everyone was happy to see it go. To oppose the church was to oppose against the gods, a mindset pushed by all religions, and plenty of people believed it. Having their spiritual leaders arrested for everything from bribery to assassination was disheartening, to say the least, and challenged their beliefs. When faced with new evidence contrary to their beliefs, the mature and intelligent will change their views, but most don't have what it takes to admit being mistaken about what they hold dear. For the fools of the world, unpleasant truths and inconvenient changes were always the result of hoaxes and conspiracies.
Armies of zealots challenged the purge, accusing the kingdom of framing their most pious deacons and cardinals. The clergy wasn't corrupt; it was obviously the king, and who started the king on this warpath? Madam Cyrilo. For months, the Knight's Sheath had been attacked and vandalized by angry citizens trying to avenge their fallen clergy.
It wasn't all that different from the usual level of controversy the Knight's Sheath generated and the ire it invoked, and these lacked the planning and authority of the attacks made by the clergy. Though the messes were annoying to clean up, Alexis relished the action. Fighting kept her from getting bored, and her day felt wasted if she didn't get to punch someone who deserved it.
Finally, the meeting host arrived, a man in a government uniform with long hair and a scar over his eye. "Apologies for the delay, everyone. There was a last-minute issue that required my attention."
"There you are, Lord Strauss. Finally we can get down to business instead of waiting with our thumbs up our asses," the leader of the blacksmith guild said.
Strauss was one of the king's advisors, focusing on the nation's wealth and economy. Though the kingdom had ceded most of its control over the private sector to the nobles in exchange for military power, no business or group could reach a specific size without the government involved.
"Yes, I have invited you all here today to talk to you about the Arena Project."
"Don't tell me it's still stalled," said the head of the fishermen's guild. "I could see that thing from the sea, growing like a giant barnacle, and then it just stops?"
"That's why we're here. Due to troubles in Handent, more of the imperial budget is being spent on bolstering defenses and troop presence. As such, funding for the stadium has hit a momentary snag."
"I thought the king was paying for it with all the wealth accrued from the church purge. I heard stories of chests full of jewels, gold statues, and elven silk being wheeled out of the cardinals' mansions," said Cyrilo.
"Let's just say that the church is good at hiding its assets. As such, the flow of wealth has halted, as has construction of the arena."
"And the king wants us to foot the bill, is that right?" asked the head of the farmers' union.
"Temporarily. At most, you would be funding around 15% of the arena."
"Dwarven labor doesn't come cheap," said the banking guild leader.
"They're the best stonemasons and architects in the world, and since Vandheim is nothing but snow and mountains, they're used to building in the cold," another man stated.
"To think that the king would commission such a massive project in such a short time frame. A massive stone stadium, completed in less than a year? Even with earth magic, it's preposterous," said the fisherman.
"Preposterous if it fails, genius if works," said Cyrilo. "Every year, Knight's Day is sullied by the bloodshed of the Red Revelries, and the past two years have been particularly damaging to both the city and the country. Arresting and killing the revelers has failed as a deterrent, so why not find a way to profit off this wellspring of bloodlust? An arena, where we can put these murderous fools to work for the entertainment of the people. Give them the battle they crave and rake in the money. I wish the king had thought of this years ago."
"I'm glad you are in agreement as to its merits. If it is to be completed before next year's Knight's Day, the kingdom will need help in funding it. That is where you come in," said Strauss.
"I'm sure our generosity in this matter will be well-rewarded, right?" the banking chief hummed.
"The kingdom is prepared to offer you some very generous tax cuts, as a start," said Strauss.
"Then by all means, let's talk business," said Cyrilo, smoking her pipe. "I have a sweet tooth, and am in the mood for more honeyed words."
Behind her, Alexis and Sophia prepared themselves for a long meeting. After more than two hours of negotiating rebates and dividends, the heads of all the guilds were released back into the winter cold.
"I didn't think that was ever going to end," said Sophia.
"Once Carson starts talking, he doesn't stop. He'll eat breakfast and then spend the rest of the day describing it," said Cyrilo.
"Don't forget that textiles guy," said Alexis. "I don't know what it is about his voice, all I know is that I hate it. Every time he spoke, it was like there was a centipede in my ear."
Rather than walk the frosty streets, they got a carriage to bring them back to the Knight's Sheath. The interior had no heat, but it got them out of the wind and snow. As they rode back, they glanced out the window at the unfinished coliseum looming over the rest of the city. It replaced the old Uther slums, a long-time haven of criminal mischief. After all the damage it had suffered in recent years, especially during Noah's battle with Seraph, little demolition was required to clear the area for construction. The slums had always been a gangrenous limb attached to the city, and the people were happy to see the space used for something better.
"Do you really think this new arena is going to put an end to the Red Revelries?" Sophia asked.
"Maybe not put an end, but definitely cut them down to a manageable level. The Red Revelries started out as just rowdy academy applicants getting bored and looking for a fight, usually because they were drunk. With each year that passed, more and more fighters started getting involved, simply for the rush. Hopefully, with this arena, we can give these battle addicts a place to satiate their bloodlust, while keeping the public entertained."
"It also keeps everyone off the king's back for a while," said Alexis. "With everything that's been going on these past few years, he needs all the help he can get. The nobles are growing bolder, and this purge of the church is giving them both plenty to fear and plenty to complain about."
"It's been much more than a few years," Cyrilo sighed. "The power of the royal family has been in question for centuries, but it didn't used to be that way. It used to be that the royal family possessed the ultimate means of protecting this city from invaders, an unstoppable power that granted them near-divine authority."
"You mean the Wassengel, correct? I read about it in the library," said Sophia.
"That's right. Part of the reason Colbrand was built on this spot is because it is the site of Enochian ruins, and among those ruins was an unstoppable weapon, one so powerful that it supposedly created the Paleon Channel. The first king of Uther managed to awaken this weapon and use it against his enemies. He linked control of it to his bloodline, so only those of royal lineage would be able to harness its power.
Unfortunately, the temple that was used to control the Wassengel was destroyed around two or three hundred years ago. Since then, it has remained inert and useless. Numerous armies have attacked Colbrand since then, and because the royal family can no longer protect the city as it once did, every mistake makes the king more expendable."
