Aedan swept over the threshold of the cathedral. He came for Mass and Confession, of course, but to him they were perfunctory duties, performed like the most despised chores; this time, however, it was Political. God damn it all; politics, worship, the lot of it. Aedan wanted to take care of his wife and his war. Affairs of his soul could wait. His soul, in any case, was tarnished; not blackened. As for the vagaries of marriage and the ravages of potential infidelity, kingly duty was kingly duty.

The war came first, and everything else could be damned.

Thus it was with a certain arrogant bathos that he adjusted his modest circlet (in the House of God, one should not make a spectacle; he was also wearing a light silk tunic, albeit embroidered with gold, and none of the enormous sleeves his tailor tried to give him) and made his way to the front pew. It was a peculiar place to speak, but Aedan liked the idea. It was disarming. And they were both--for their positions and their power--relatively young men.

Aedan remained standing while he waited for the Archbishop to approach, measuring the man with his eyes. Exigencies of faith and exigencies of mammon--he knew on which side he would come down (the practical, always the practical); what mattered was whether this man would be an ally or an enemy. He couldn't afford to make enemies with Roma... but there were other ways of dealing with enemies here on Thiasan soil.

Cardinal Erich Heaton, the Metropolitan Archbishop of Camaria, had never met royalty before. In fact, he had never really met any kind of nobility before. Even though he was perhaps the most important churchman in all Thiasa and perhaps second only to the Pope himself (a friend actually), Erich had been a minor priest and Dominican friar before being elevated to this most grand of roles. Thus, he was extremely nervous when he had been notified by special messenger that the King of Thiasa would be paying him a visit.

For the meeting, the Cardinal had decided to dress as simply as possible (for a Cardinal that is). He wore a black wool cassock trimmed in silk, black wool rabat, black stockings and black buckleless shoes. Hanging from a chain around his neck was a very simple wooden pectoral cross and on the proper finger was his ecclesiastical ring. For an upper-level clergy, he was dressed exceedingly simple: no sash, no hat and a simple wooden pectoral cross.

Shaking a little, the Cardinal nodded when a deacon told him that the King had arrived. Stepping out from a small alcove he was almost hidden in, the young Cardinal slowly approached the Thiasan monarch. At the appropriate distance, he bowed deeply, "Your Majesty, it is a great honor to meet you in person," even the Cardinal's voice had a bit of shakiness to it.

Waiting for the King to respond, the Cardinal's mind was reeling. The Pope was concerned about the Scalian War and the last thing His Holiness wanted was to anger the Thiasan monarch. This information and concerns had been conveyed to the Cardinal by special messenger a few days back.

A weakling! That was Aedan's first thought. The man who faced him was younger than he was himself... shaking like a leaf. Where the fearless pride of Godliness (or, as Aedan knew, faked Godliness) of the old Archbishop? Better a proud liar than a cringing saint.

"Your Eminence." His voice was dry. "The honor is mine. Worldly station is humbled beside the glories of God." Given he himself cut a figure so obviously more impressive than the Cardinal's, the comment was highly ironical, and he knew it. There would be no subsuming of temporal beneath ecclesiastical authority in Thiasa, not as it was in the mire and morass of the Scalian baronies.

"Please, have a seat." Aedan himself sat down in the first pew. It was about spectacle, as was all regarding the Church and State. What onlookers would recall would be his humble words and actions--and his regal manner. "Tell me, how are you finding your new post? Is everything to your satisfaction? I know Thiasa is quite different from Scalia." Quite different. Here the Church had less power, and the King had more, as had not been the case in the larger country for years.

Of course Erich knew that the King was patronizing him. The Cardinal had heard enough Confessions to have learned the intricacies of human speech. Some people confessed with a sincerely repentant and contrite heart, while others were merely going through motions. Yes, this monarch was simply going through the motions. That said, it really did not matter for there was little the new Cardinal could do about it.

At the King's motion to sit with him, the Cardinal nodded respectfiully, "Of course, Your Majesty," and nervously sat down near the Thiasan monarch. Truly, he had never been this close to a man of such worldly power...oh yes, when he was in Roma, he had conferred with the Pope somewhat, even though Erich had been a mere lowly Priest, but the current Pope was not a man of worldly power.

Erich shrugged at the King's question, "Your Majesty, I have lived here in Thiasa for the past few years, but I was only a Priest and cloistered Dominican. In all honesty, Sire, I would have been content to remain in that position for the rest of my temporal existence," sighing, he continued, "But, alas, His Holiness called on me and I had no choice but to go where I was needed."

Might as well let the King know that the Cardinal was not here by choice. Erich was not out to aggrandize himself or a build a worldly kingdom behind the facade of God's Church. No, he was here to serve the Pope and the Lord...the One True God.

"And I would wish to be a common soldier, but God has ordained that I am King. God and my father," he added, a half-smile playing over his lips. No secret what Scalia thought of Sir Aelfric's rise to power. And though this curate was lately from Thiasa, he had been born Scalian; that much Aedan knew. "But I am trying to do my best to live up to His will," Aedan went on, letting his gaze sweep from the impressively arched windows, over the stonework, and back to the Cardinal.

"I, too, am only trying to go where needed. We live hard by a people whose unrepentant and savage paganism--they have lately captured one of our own men for their Satanic ritual--is a threat to Christendom. I know the Pope agrees." He had not only legislated the use of crossbows against the Baskar (who were, after all, only heathens); he had sent some of his own army to Thiasa. This Cardinal Heaton was a tool of the pope, but even the King could see he wasn't only that. No one corrupt was so nervous. Nervousness and care in speech were the marks of honesty. Of all things!

"So I hope you'll put your support behind our war." It wasn't really a question. It was an order.

The Cardinal nodded appropriately at the King's further pleasantries about being a servant himself. Of course, it was nothingness again. From what the Cardinal had heard, His Majesty was a warmonger and a bit too interested in attaining more and more power. Although he had never met the man before, the Cardinal heard things. "Of course, Your Majesty," he said in faux agreement, as though he truly believed the monarch's words.

When the King began discussing the war against the Baskari, the Cardinal could not help but flinch a little. What a brutal war that was turning out to be. A real mess. Of course, he would say nothing like that to the King. "If the Pope supports the actions against the Baskari, Your Majesty, then who am I to question his decisions. I have heard of the Baskari's paganism, but I fear that unless we increase the number of missionaries, we may defeat them temporally, but not spiritually, Sire."

Cardinal Heaton was not one to support warfare, but he also knew the Pope was supportive, at least on the surface, of the King's military actions. Thus, Erich had to be supportive as well.

"As I said, Your Majesty, if the Pope is in favor of your actions, then I concur with His Holiness," he bowed his head slightly.

Aedan frowned.

"We've tried conversion. Some souls are too stubborn to hear the word of Christ, and it is surely better for them to suffer Limbo in ignorance, that their souls may find some measure of peace, than be cast into the Hell of conscious nonbelievers." The King's theology was very simple and very pragmatic. He believed things that suited his goals, and found himself quite pleased that he could in good conscience do so. Religious feelings were so conveniently malleable. Indeed, so were amorous ones; he had forced himself to favor his new Queen, for all her youth, inexperience and physical plainness. God willing, she'd become pregnant soon and this disagreeable business could end--disagreeable for both of them, he was sure. What fourteen-year-old girl could enjoy having a husband like him?

"Besides, it surely isn't a matter of spiritual victory, Your Eminence." The king's tone was severe. "Their souls may be saved in the afterlife. The Pope understands this, and I can see your reverence for his authority on Earth. But your position here will naturally require some amount of personal decision; I cannot believe God guides you directly. So tell me, what manner of Cardinal will you be, away from the Pope?"

"We've tried conversion. Some souls are too stubborn to hear the word of Christ, and it is surely better for them to suffer Limbo in ignorance, that their souls may find some measure of peace, than be cast into the Hell of conscious nonbelievers."

"Your Majesty, I applaud the efforts taken to try and spread the Gospel among these pagans, and I agree that we have not been as successful as we might hope for, but we cannot shirk on our holy mission so quickly, can we, Your Majesty? Of course, we can always pray for God's eternal mercy on their souls," he paused, a distressed look crossing his face, "And for our souls as well."

This King was quite temporal, that much the Cardinal could figure out, both from the man's somewhat sordid reputation and from just these few words with him. Erich would make sure to remember His Majesty in his prayers. Although the Cardinal was disdainful of the worldliness of many so-called Catholics, his goal was not to see any suffer Hellfire. No, if it were up to him, every human being would be welcomed into God's eternal love, but it was not up to him, was it?

"Besides, it surely isn't a matter of spiritual victory, Your Eminence. Their souls may be saved in the afterlife. The Pope understands this, and I can see your reverence for his authority on Earth. But your position here will naturally require some amount of personal decision; I cannot believe God guides you directly. So tell me, what manner of Cardinal will you be, away from the Pope?"

"For me, Your Majesty, it must be about spiritual victory. His Holiness supports your military campaign, so thus I stand with the Supreme Pontiff, but, for me, I would rather see their souls converted then to see their blood shed," he sighed at the thought of all that needless (to the Cardinal's sensibilities at least) warfare. "As for what manner of Cardinal I will be, Your Majesty, that I am not sure of yet. Prior to this appointment, I was but a simple priest, a friar in the Dominican Order. I never thought His Holiness would elevate me to a metropolitan archdiocese. I know my predecessor was a man of politics and temporal authority, but that is not my goal, Your Majesty. Maybe that is why the Supreme Pontiff chose me for this most delicate of roles."

"Yes," Aedan murmured. He leaned back and watched the Cardinal from below lowered lids, his hands folded on his lap.

What he had learned was that this man was young, he was frightened, and he was weak. Men of principle and no strength were just as useless, and sometimes just as dangerous, as men of strength and no principle.

"You are wise to keep the spiritual and temporal worlds separate," he said at last. "There are matters of the flesh the Church should not need to dirty its hands with; I think here of the barbarians and pagan practices we're trying to stamp out in the countryside." It was cynical, but a witchhunt would keep the poorer of his people occupied during the inevitable hardships of war. Piety; piety meant a docile people. It also meant a docile, satisfied Church.

"Wise indeed." Considering King Aedan (King Aedan, not Aedan the man, who did after all believe in what was right; the King... who knew when to pursue the goals of state at the expense of--people) could well have set him aside in any number of ways had he shown too much desire for political authority. The pontiff he would still have to deal with. And there was a danger to this Cardinal; he couldn't be kept easily in the King's pocket with monetary incentives. He would need to play him carefully, would need to show a sincere face.

"It's been a pleasure to meet you. Two young leaders in two spheres. I wish you luck with my people's souls as I try to aid their bodies." He stood, and held out one hand.