The Emperor and the Servant: A Tale of Two Heroes

Chapter 7: Power

Previously: The battle between the Emperor and Lord Infinity concludes…with a loss.

Main quote: "You know what real power is? It is not magic, not divination, not ninjutsu, not even divinity or the mere utterance of the name of God. Real power is how people try to tell you one thing and make you think it is something that solve all your problems, to see it work before them as you predicted, then they continue to live under the assumption YOU ALONE ARE THE ANSWER TO EVERYTHING!" (Duke Frank De Jure on the nature of power in Imperial Politics)

 

  June 1205 A.D.

  A month has passed since the disappearance of Lord Infinity and the Dark Knights.

  All the world was calm again.

  But the armies of the world were agitated.

  The United Imperial Forces…have been disbanded.

  Under the nineteenth condition of the Treaty of Goodwill, once the threat has passed, there will no longer be any need to have a major coalition of world armies. And this has come to pass.

  A lot of men in white robes have been spotted across the world.

  These were believed to be the missing remnants of the UIF that might have deserted and became monks of penance in order to redeem themselves. This was the perception of the majority.

  The people of Italy rejoiced. For once, there was no conflict between any of the city-states.

  The election for the new Holy Roman Emperor was on the way. Once again, there is politics.

  As it was before and it is now, there would always be one candidate favored by the Pope and the other opposing him. In this cycle, the Pope, Innocent III, would choose the Welf Otto of Brunswick and his rival was the Hohenstaufen King Philip of Swabia. Both were kings of Germany in their own right. However, it would seem Otto had already been ahead of his rival as he was already crowned King of Germany in Aachen, which Solus Tenebrae, not yet a full scholar, witnessed and recorded with his father. This was the proper place of coronation. The holy city of scholars was also the place where the Emperor was said to have fled when he was still a teenager, which would explain why he possessed so much knowledge.

  Philip was rather depressed over this claim of legitimacy. It was his belief that he was the rightful heir because the previous Holy Roman Emperors that ruled Italy and Germany were of the same family tree, the one planted by Frederick Barbarossa, he who was the Scourge of Italy, for having razed so many Lombard cities, hated even by the Imperial Family. Ironically…he became Emperor Vincent’s own candidate for the throne, leading to a rift between state and church.

  “Sire, we must avoid such a conflict. Why have you made such a decision on this serious issue?”

  Words from the new Minister of Peace and Diplomacy, Lord Elector Ulbert von Heilig.

  They meet in the Chancery of Peace in the Imperial Palace of Rome together with the new Deputy Minister, Bravo De Sanctis, a newly initiated noble from a small middle-class Italian family.

  “Because…we cannot let every decision be under or overlooked. Because as Emperor, it is my duty to select the candidate that you shall elect and finalize the decision. Because I want to influence the way Germany is to be run as far as mainstream Imperial politics is concerned. Because I cannot let His Holiness carry the burdens of temporal authority while shouldering the duty he has to the faithful as their Pontiff. Because I know what I am doing. And because I hate the Welfs for terrorizing my German relatives every time my uncles bring me up in one of their negotiations for ownership over some property with an obvious Imperial title nobody ever cares about on the deed. Alright, does this suffice?”