An Angel Called Eternity

To Bet on Losing Dogs - Lykourgos XIV: The Day of Crowned Ascent

Lykourgos XIV: The Day of Crowned Ascent

The First Day of the First Moon, 874 AD.
Anaria, Western Teleytaios, Klironomea.

The day of his coronation was finally here. A year ago to this day he was supposed to take this ceremony, but things hadn't really worked out that way. He was fine with that though, for a year ago he'd have been king of only one kingdom, yet today he was to be made the King of Owkrestos, Teleytaios, and Triarios. Such a shift in geopolitics was unable to be missed by any, not even those in the backwater that was Dathan, and so he had needed to ensure that the occasion that was his coronation was one to remember for all. It would be expensive, yes, but this was to be an important propaganda piece for the earliest years of his reign.

It helped that he genuinely wanted his coronation to be something worth celebrating as well.

Of course, this wasn't only the day of his coronation. This was also the Day of Ascent, the holiest day in the calendar of the church, and thanks to his status being amongst the highest echelons of society he was expected to have spent eight hours in prayer, head bowed low as the scriptures were recited before him. He'd sat through the sermon of that day diligently, forgoing sleep that night and instead beginning his penitential prayers as soon as the day rolled over, being first led by the Archdeacon who oversaw the Westcoast Church and, when morning rolled around, Patriarch Olyver himself. Patriarch Olyver was a man with whom he was bound to have a complicated relationship, but on a day like today there was no room for petty grudges or politicking. The Day of Ascent was for mankind to give thanks to the First Saint for giving up his life to spread the truth, and to endure penance for the complicity of ones forefathers in his death.

He'd entered the church just before midnight, as he'd let the patriarch know he would, and so an elderly man who identified himself as 'Archdeacon Wylde' was ready to receive him and lead him in prayer. Lykourgos had thanked the man for his piety even at such a late hour, his willingness to help shepherd his soul, and the man had just smiled kindly, waited for the bells to signal the beginning of the Day of Ascent, and had begun his sermon.

Somewhere around five hours in the darkness had broken as the sun began to peek over the horizon, and an hour after that the Archdeacon had been replaced by Patriarch Olyver, though Lykourgos daren't raise his head from its bowed position to watch them swap over. More people began to filter in, some richer, some poorer, some guards and some vagabonds. Today it mattered not who they were, not when they were in here. There were likely a great many people gawking at him in there, for how many could say they'd been in the same room as their monarch before? He knew they were likely staring, and could feel the eyes flick over to him when people thought the patriarch wouldn't notice. He had been popular here as a youth, had been known by the downtrodden most of his life, and now he was back with them once again. Whether the patriarch did notice the attention received or not he said nothing, simply continuing to lead the congregation in prayer.

Both Archdeacon Wylde and Patriarch Olyver had been good orators in their sermons, the Archdeacon's tone being that of a kindly and elderly man, filled with warmth and understanding, whereas the Patriarch's had been stern and paternal, almost dark at times. They had both been good orators, and it was clear to see why Patriarch Olyver had risen to the top of the Conclave of Patriarchs, but Lykourgos still found himself wishing that it could have been Nasos and Dreamwulf ministering to his spiritual needs. Still, he needed to show deference to the church when it came to matters of piety, and so that's what he would do.

He felt exhausted by the end of that eight hours, despite the fact he hadn't really done anything. His thoughts were constantly racing thanks to the silence and the time he was spending doing nothing, but every time that happened he did his best to try and keep his mind clear. There would be plenty of time in the coming months for planning and thought, but right now he needed to be calm, collected, and most of all present. The Day of Ascent was important, it was the one day a year that everyone came together and actually paid attention to the sermons being given as though their lives depended on it. Some believed that he was impious, and whilst his brother had killed a Patriarch and yes, Lykourgos had blackmailed another, he wouldn't consider himself 'impious'. He cared deeply for the faith, and for the scriptures for that matter, but he didn't much care for the church itself. The church was, after all, composed of men.