Debauchery of a Soul-Eating Wraith

Chapter 211: So Says The Council…

The Knight entourage took the lead so Dolan Karsten could stroll in with every bit of self-importance he had. His eyes roamed all about the landing bay and then observed the Arcanists who had been sent to receive them.

Evian was observing as well, wondering about the possible ease if he decided to leave this entourage right now but almost as though she could read his mind or at least hear his thoughts, Olivia gave him a pointed stare,

"Stygian, stay close!"

"Dame Olivia, I implore you to treat Young Master Evian with more respect. He is here in place of Lady Astrid."

Olivia scoffed,

"Lady Astrid is not here herself so Stygian here will listen to orders."

They were now a foot away from the squad of Arcanists appointed as their guides. Here, the Knight entourage stood aside and let Dolan step forward and take center stage. With his hands behind his back, Dolan gave a few anglings of his chin in greeting.

"Ambassador Dolan Karsten," said the Arcanist at the front of the group and there was no smidgen of respect in his tone.

"His Majesty has ordered me to have an audience with His Holiness the Pontiff. Lead the way," Dolan said, and following how he had been addressed, he made sure not to sound respectful.

"I'm afraid, that is not possible at the moment," said the lead Arcanist.

Dolan raised a brow,

"Why not?"

"It's—" the Lead Arcanist started before his words mellowed into a sigh, "The matter is much too delicate for me to speak of it."

"Very well, then. Lead me to your superiors. People who actually have enough of a standing to speak to me," Dolan said.

The lead Arcanist frowned but said nothing in rebuttal to the thinly veiled insult to his prestige,

"I will lead you to my Superiors as you have asked but I do have a word of advice," he said.

"And what is that?" Dolan asked.

"Don't get your hopes up. You might have been conferred the title of Ambassador by the King but your authority is not recognized here. Matters of the Sacrosanct are matters of the Sacrosanct and have nothing to do with heathens such as yourself," the lead Arcanist said and with every word, his smile got deeper and the mockery in his eyes got clearer.

Evian smiled to himself watching the exchange and the battle of egos.

*Thud!*

Angrily, Dolan stamped a foot against the ground, and almost like it was a signal, the ladies by his sides produced swords that they stretched out toward the lead Arcanist.

"Whoa," Olivia said, taking a step forward with her hands directed toward both sides of the burgeoning conflict,

"Let us be civil please."

Dolan frowned at her almost like he was asking her, how dare she not take his side instantly but Olivia stared right back.

Although Dolan had the hierarchy to technically order the Knight entourage, their duty was to safeguard his safety and they had enough authority to do that however they saw fit. If Olivia believed the civil path was best to defuse the situation, she had the authority to follow through with it and ignore whatever rage Dolan had building up.

To that end, Olivia adopted an authoritative tone to speak sense into the heads of the two opposing sides,

"This expedition was to foster the continued good relationship between the Royal Family and the Holy City. His Majesty is worried about internal matters at Sacrosanct and it is to that end that Ambassador Karsten has been sent here.

Again, let us be civil."

A few seconds of silence passed as both Dolan and the lead Arcanist glared at each other but it was the latter whose face softened first as he gave a small bow that held no deep meaning beyond barely looking repentant,

"I apologize if my words made you feel… displeased. I merely meant, that there are many nuances to matters of the Arcane faith and you might not be well equipped to— understand them."

'Wow, what better way could there be to say 'Fuck you' without actually saying 'Fuck you'?' Evian asked himself with a smile. He made no real attempt to hide that he was absolutely loving the ongoing exchange.

"Spare me your thoughts," Dolan said, refusing to let things slide, "You are here to guide me and my party and not to bore us with your opinions. Turn your face away from me and do your fucking job!"

Olivia frowned and looked from Dolan to the Arcanist wondering if her attempt at defusing the situation had just gone awry but she had nothing to worry about.

The lead Arcanist let out a sigh, his comrades looking agitated with twitching fingers as though itching to cast spells only for him to call them to order with a wave while he said calmly to Dolan,

"You're right. Come with me."

As they walked, Evian looked over at Olivia, complimenting her conflict resolution skills and when she caught him looking and glared at him, he flashed her a smile.

The Arcanists led the way to Carriages prepared by the Sanctorum to welcome guests from the Martial Temple/Royal Family and it was a powerful statement on the wealth steeped deep within the Holy City.

The Carriages were built with an incredible combination of Gold and wood whose very fusing was evidence of powerful Arcane acumen. Every inch of the Carriages were etched with such intricate symbols, they could only have been made by a Master Runemastering Craftsman and the most interesting thing was the symbols were not needed for the Carriage to run.

Although some of the symbols were to give them an added layer of protection, most just told a story and were there purely for aesthetics. To put this into perspective, imagine a painting created by Leonardo De'vinci being used to pimp out a ride just so the owner of the said ride to announce just how flush they are with cash.

Anyway, Evian thought riding through Sacrosanct was wonderful. The stone-cobbled street had a history. The buildings filled him with awe.

'This must be how tourists feel,' he thought. Back on earth, he never took trips. Never 'saw' the world. Party because he hadn't had the money for it and more because he hadn't 'seen what the big deal was' but now he did.

He couldn't wait to break free of this entourage group to explore it on his own.

Anyway, despite all the beauty, there was sadness in the air, and as a Wraith, Evian was extra sensitive to the bad emotions that permeated the Holy City's atmosphere.

"Death," he mumbled.

"What is that, Young Master Evian?" Sir Armin asked, startling Evian from his observation out the Carriage window.

"Nothing," he said, "Just musing to myself."

The ride to the Sanctorum from the landing bay was long but eventually, they were before the magnificent structure. They could see it all through their ride since it was the largest building in the Holy City and built to take center stage and be viewed no matter where you are within the City. However, seeing from a distance was nothing compared to being right in front of it.

It felt… almost intimidating.

For the first time since he had arrived here, Evian actually felt something. Whatever Spiritual mumbo-jumbo the denizens of Sacrosanct were fed seemed to have been built on some layer of truth.

'There's strong Spiritual Energy here,' Evian thought. He could feel it. He could feel it trying to repel him and he smiled knowing it could not.

Had he been outside the City walls trying to get in, he would have certainly been repelled but he had he had found his way in. Traveling through a proverbial trojan horse in the flying Carriage and getting accepted into the City walls by its authorities themself. He was here now and he was here to stay. At least until he was done with what he came for.

He looked around at the Sanctorum while Sir Armin narrated details of the structure to him,

"Largest church in the Verlice Kingdom and perhaps the entire World. The coalition of all the Arcane Faith the Kingdom has to offer. Magnificent, isn't it."

"Maybe," Evian said causing Olivia and many of the Arcanists to glare at him for his blasphemy but Evian wasn't paying attention.

He was detecting a whiff of something— something that did not fit with all the Spiritual 'pureness'… Something Eldritch. It was faded already but he could still almost taste it…

'Was there someone like me here?' he asked himself. |em|p,yr

"Right this way," the lead Arcanist said pulling Evian out of his quickly building investigative mood.

They were led through corridors of the Sanctorum and into a massive Hall with an arching ceiling that again was built with impeccable attention to detail.

They didn't have to wait too long but Dolan tapped his fingers impatiently against the desk top regardless and then the doors to the Hall opened and a woman walked in.

A beautiful face that would cause the heart of any man to beat fast. Black hair flowing down her back. Perfect skin complimented by her black gown. Speaking of the gown, it had galaxy patterns all over it and they shimmerred with a mystical feel.

Daria's eyes roamed the Hall and paused when they lay on Evian. His eyes widened as well as he stared at her because although he had embarked on this trip to meet her, he had not expected it to be here.

Daria's heart beat fast and, looking as though it hurt her, she looked away to address Dolan Karsten, the Royal Ambassador,

"His Holiness, Pontiff Agregor Giyern is no more. He passed away last week and was put to rest yesterday.

That is the news you came for. That is all you will receive.

You are welcome to wait for a more official gathering in a few hours after which you will leave Sacrosanct and let us carry on our proceedings without your watchful eyes.

So says the Council of Cardinal Priests!"