An Angel Called Eternity

To Bet on Losing Dogs - Lykourgos X: Honeyed Words

Lykourgos X: Honeyed Words

The Ninth Day of the Ninth Moon, 873 AD.
Stagspring, Central Owkrestos, Klironomea.

The hour was growing late, and still the prince trudged on through an endless tide of dull work. If he didn't know any better he'd say that the Owkrestans were piling on all the mundane work they could in the hopes that he'd throw his hands up in frustration, shout "Fuck it!" at the top of his lungs, and just go home. He knew better though; he had the clerks and administrators of this realm by the balls, and none of them were particularly keen to act against him. He hadn't been harsh with them, far from it in all honesty, but it was clear that the people here were still getting used to their new ruler. He didn't blame them, for it often took years for the worst of the unrest to die down and potentially generations for people to truly accept their new overlords, but it did make his life a mite annoying at times. Ah well, when he filed away the right papers and wrote the missive that would exempt his new subjects from taxes for two years they'd probably start to care for him a bit more. Well, enough to avoid rising in rebellion against him anyway. That was the main thing he wanted to avoid, for a rebellion fought on Owkrestan terms would be an absolute nightmare to slog through.

One way to ensure long-term dominance of Owkrestos, and the rest of Klironomea when the time came for that matter, could be had in his grip over religion. The various cults and sects of the Church of the First Saint were organised into a labyrinth of ranks and hierarchies all running parallel to each other, and don't even get him started on the inefficiencies of the lands under their purview. It wasn't that the church didn't know how to turn a profit with their lands, for they most certainly did, but rather the fact that the lands they held were disparate and small in scale; instead of a few counties under their control across his kingdom they held thousands of tiny scraps and patches of land that made knowing exactly who was to tax which region hell. If he could simplify those issues then he'd be able to cement his kingdom as a true power, built to last through the ages.

The trouble was, that required working with the Church rather than against them. Lykourgos wasn't one for compromise, nor was he particularly pleased to have to treat with his rivals and fellow powerbrokers as an equal, but there was no way he'd be able to hold this over the Church and have them accept it without some serious negotiating. No matter how much blackmail he had over Patriarch Olyver, the man wouldn't agree to such a thing.

Or would he? Maybe he wouldn't accept it all at once, but if Lykourgos could offer the man some support and an increase in his influence over the Conclave and Church as a whole...

As of right now the Conclave of Patriarchs, based in Anaria, held nominal control over all of the Old-Church and the churches of Klironomea in general. Nominally. In reality the church tended to remain split along national borders. Despite that fact there were still appearances to keep up, and so the various Patriarchs of all the Old-Church, as well as the more 'Klironomean' side of the New-Church, came together to choose one amongst their number to speak for them all. In this instance Olyver had been the one to rise to such a position. A layman might think piety and adherence to the scriptures were what decided the leader of half of Saintdom, and to a certain point that was true, but there was also a great deal of blackmail, backstabbing, and backroom dealings involved as well. Olyver had gotten in because he was an energetic firebrand, yes, but the man must have had some dirt on the other Patriarchs for them to have so readily accepted his ascent.

Lykourgos shrugged, deciding he didn't really care why the Conclave had picked him. The man could be worked with, and that was all that mattered. The Owkrestan clergy hadn't been all that receptive to being under the actual control of the Conclave and its leader in Anaria, and so long as the clergy were unhappy the people would be unhappy. The higher echelons of the church in Owkrestos weren't going to budge on this matter, not when it was their power and influence that would be curbed, and so Lykourgos decided that he'd have to start with the lower rungs of the church in Owkrestos. A few donations to local churches here, a few visits to shrines and monasteries there, perhaps a couple of letters being sent out...