Ascending Pride

Suspicions

Bodin and the others quickly excused themselves, they were staying in the long-neglected palace chapel. While nothing was broken, there had only been basic cleaning done so the bedding and pews would all have to be replaced before worshippers attended.

Bodin sat down in the Pope's private chambers to discuss what they had observed, "He is... not supportive of the Lindorm faith, while I don't think that is because of Emperor Lucian's dislike, we should move with caution."

Wilbert shivered, "Perhaps he is a traveling, Cardinal? There have been a few priests who took on the Reece title in the hopes they would be enticed by foreign countries." While it had only been a moment, he had felt as if something was going to snatch the soul from his still living body.

"He seemed interested in the dragon artifacts, there has also been no word of any pieces of the defeated land dragon being sold." Promise added clutching her fang to her chest. While it was only symbolic after losing all its mana it was still a holy relic that brought her honor.

Bodin looked into the dragon heart, the red flecks would occasionally glow like sparks that refused to die out. Now that they were in the capital the flecks had multiplied, he caressed the heart. "I believe Ashton is an ascending Dragon." He finally admitted, neither appeared surprised.

"There are rumors he is Prince Alphonse's hidden son, the Seibel Kingdom do not follow Lindorm teachings." Wilbert reminded also looking at the heart, its revival over the last few months had been practically a miracle. More than the heart, the holy enchantments were working better meaning less mana had to be pumped in.

Promise hesitated, "If Lord Reece has royal Smyrnaean blood... and is Prince Alphonse's son... It would make sense why Lucian murdered Alphonse to bring him here. There were rumors Alphonse's was murdered because of his mother followed a heathen faith."

Bodin smiled down at the dragon's heart, "Whatever faith he may be following, a dragon should be convinced to join the Lindorm faith. I want everyone to act as cordial as possible over next few days. Beasts are prideful by nature, but they are also easily tamed. Remember, he must be willing."

Promise took a deep breath, "If he is a dragon... why kill the land dragon?" Usually, stronger dragons would subdue their wild kin.

"I heard the land dragon was being controlled with a sixth-tier spell, if he is still a hatchling he might not have been able to overcome the spell. He's also hiding that he's a dragon..." Wilbert trailed off.

"Did anyone confirm the death of the land dragon? The corpse was never recovered, correct?" Bodin reminded looking up from the dragon heart.

Wilbert and Promise shared a glance, if Lord Reece was hiding the dragon in the eastern palace, it would make sense people were no longer allowed inside. The people would panic, and Lord Reece would have to explain how he tamed a lord class beast.

"We will see if anything stands out." Wilbert agreed, there was still much to do to prepare for the blessings. They spoke for another hour making plans, and between the three of them seven official blessings could be offered.

While informal blessings were often accepted, they tended to offend anyone of genuine faith. They hoped Lord Reece would perform a few blessings so they could decide how to convince him to convert to the Lindorm faith.

Bodin joined Charmaine for breakfast so they could discuss the last-minute addition of blessings. Bodin also subtly asked about Lord Reece but Charmaine was unusually tight lipped. Even Serafin during practice would not say much about the youth.

Bodin wasn't at all discouraged by the lack Serafin's knowledge of Smyrnaean language, Promise worked diligently but he would need a lot of work to say his short speech without mistakes. Luckily the chanting was much simpler, and Natasha was able to pick of the first phrase easily.