Chapter 37: Chapter 37 – Interlude

Bishop Leonard

Berlin, Germany 

It was a beautiful and sunny church day in Berlin, without a cloud in the sky. And as on any such Sunday, the streets were full of dedicated churchgoers dressed in their nicer clothes. They would not be dedicated if not armed with children in their arms, carrying a bible or a church choir book.

Bishop Leonard watched the masses around him from a park bench near the Neue Kirche cathedral, now a museum. The Bishop had seen various states of this cathedral over the past few hundred years since its construction around the nineteenth century. 

All because he broke through his early core tiers relatively quickly. He had seen the now deserted cathedral at its prime when such churchgoers made their way on a similar Sunday to pay their respects and dedication to god.

The masses used to please him in the past when he was a dedicated, lone priest dressed in a simple brown gown, serving the common man in forgiving their sins. But with time, as the masses grew, outpaced only by the growth of their sins, the Bishop grew to hate them. Since those times, Sundays were not his favorite days anymore. 

Getting up from the bench, the Bishop returned to the cathedral, tired of reminiscing on memories when times were better. When the Church was better. When there were not so many muds, acting and pretending. On their best behavior on Sunday, when sinning from Monday till Saturday. Killing the nature around them and thus themselves. Taking magic along with them. The Bishop resented them most for that. 

Walking inside, he made his way toward the only staircase and a nondescript door next to it. Opening the door, he accessed a hidden stone staircase, lit by light crystals, that led him down to the Church headquarters in Germany. Similar headquarters were located around Europe, almost always in a major city. In many cases, they had built regional hubs in smaller cities.

Such headquarters varied in size and function. However, the Church had commissioned a teleportation array in every one of them. All not to repeat their past mistakes when their mobility was limited. Such luxurious transportation devices could be crafted only by the most skilled spatial mages. 

These hidden buildings contained everything a modern office space would; meeting rooms, data rooms, cafeteria, work cubicles, restrooms, briefing rooms, and training rooms. A modern hub for the most dedicated of their brethren, working for the cause.

Making his way down, Leonard arrived at a metal security door that was locked with a mana array. It was coded to read the mana signature of everyone who tried to get in. The Church did not trust mundane security measures and crafted its own to preserve their secrets. 

Passing the entrance, the Bishop slowly moved through the busy reception area to one of the meeting rooms reserved for him and the Cardinal of the Church, who was visiting this branch at the same time as him. 

The Church had started a hunt for the heretic they failed to capture. All because the foolish clan Aer head brought this mud to their doorstep in Germany. At least they managed to capture the fool Viktor.

The Bishop walked up to the door and knocked twice. Without waiting for an answer, he opened it and saw an old, hunched-over man dressed in a black-purple priest robe sitting at the head of the conference table that could house up to ten people. Bowing, he said, “Hello, your excellency. We welcome you at the Berlin branch.”

The old man coughed and said in an aged voice, “Leonard, my boy. No need to be so formal. Call me Antonio. Come, sit down.” Antonio pointed to a chair on his right. The Bishop bowed again, as was proper when meeting one’s elders, and walked up to the seat. 

“How is your youngest?” the Cardinal asked. 

“He is well. Thank you,” Leonard answered, sitting down and nodding to the Cardinal. “We are preparing now for his core awakening ritual. By gods, all will go well.”

“Do not worry. Judas will ensure that he receives the best care,” the Cardinal confirmed and sipped from a teacup before offering a cup to Leonard. “Some mana-infused tea?”

“Yes. Thank you,” Leonard accepted another cup and took a sip. After a brief pause, he decided to go straight to business. “So, the heretic. I trust you did not make all haste to join the search, coming down from Rome?”

“Of course not. I believe you will have the matter handled quickly,” the Cardinal confirmed. “I have long given up on such simple hunts, making way for youngsters to prove themselves. Though back in the day, when witch hunts started, we had to make due without all this technology assisting us. Much has changed.”

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“Indeed it has, your excellency,” Leonard agreed, ignoring the invitation to drop the formalities. “May I ask why did you come? As you surely have noticed, this branch is fully committed to the preparations. And for the search of the heretic, for him not to slip through our grasp.”

“I noticed. You have overfilled this place with priests and other specialists up to the brim. No doubt to find the boy?”

“Yes. We had to increase our headcount recently due to too many reports from all over the country. Our agents had since doubled the surveillance along with the mundane means.”

“Any particular place you have laid your eyes on? Where could the boy be hiding? I heard he is barely a pup, only twenty years of age?”

“That he is. None as of yet, your excellency. The reports are scattered and come from all over the place. The last one came from Speyer, near the Black Forest. Surely, the mud would not be able to run away so far.”

“Speyer, you say? Hmm,” the Cardinal looked thoughtful.  

“May we return to the topic at hand? The reason for your visit, your excellency,” Leonard tried to steer the conversation back so that he could join the search and be done with it, to join his son at the awakening ceremony.

“Ah, of course. Nothing special, Leonard. I could not sit still and wanted to stretch my legs. You know how it is with age. At one point, your heart seeks some excitement, especially when you are over seven hundred years old. After years of hard work, I had to see how the branches were doing on the eve of our plan’s climax. Makes you sentimental,” the Cardinal said, thoughtful, looking ahead as if remembering. 

“And what is your assessment?”

“We are not ready,” he responded immediately. “Our mages are lacking in both dedication and training. Priests are simpletons, barely with a red core. And do not get me started on those fools from the clans. Especially the Inpes. Nothing has changed over the centuries. Alexander still looking out for himself and his greed.”

“But we still have time, your excellency. The prophecy is nigh, sure, but surely we will...”

“A fool's hope, young Leonard. You have not seen real war,” Antonio interrupted him. “These petty scuffles, the muds had over the years, were nothing compared to a proper mage battle. And that is what we will have. You very well know what is coming. Ruin and destruction. You are still green, as talented as you may be. The Daemons will return and claim that what was taken from them.”

“But the Anjos? I was told that they left their agents in our midst. Have they not joined our Pope and his vision?” Leonard asked, hopeful. 

The Cardinal scoffed and said, “Those were not agents. Never were. Petty, small-minded heretics who managed to claim the power of the Virtues. They are weak. Each incarnation becomes even more vulnerable. On the other hand, the Sins are proper agents and have been on the move lately. They sense that something is coming and are mobilizing. 

That is why I cannot sit idle. I have not had a proper war since the middle ages!” The Cardinal said and released a tiny bit of power contained in his purple core, causing the whole building to tremble. 

Calming down and containing his small outburst, he said, “Apologies, that was unbecoming of me. Where was I? Yes. One step at a time. We are not ready as it stands now. The scarcity of mana is impeding our plans and delaying the desired outcome. The cull of the muds will help. However, it is taking too long with our subtle ways. Viruses, manipulation of politics, finance. Yuck,” the Cardinal spat. “Should have wiped them out when we had a chance. Now we must wait and play nice, not destroy the whole world.”

“And the Pope? His progression?”

“He is preparing for ascension. The final stages are in motion. If he manages to ascend in time - we stand a chance.”

Leonard sighed, understanding the stakes. Oddly enough, the confirmation of their efforts, what they were working for in the end, seemed to calm him down and focus his thoughts. Each had a role to fill, a job to do. And his was to find the little heretic that stood to risk their cause. 

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