Book 6: Showdown (The Kid Emperor of Occultoria)

Chapter 10 - The Pain of Excommunication

The people were shocked. They were mostly devout and pious people who had faith in the Gods, and the Gods' representative on Earth, the Matriarch. And when the Matriarch spoke ex-cathedra (from the Divine Chair), she was infallible, since she was guided by the wisdom of the Holy Spirits. It was called the concept of Matriarchal Infallibility. As such, the people believed that whatever the Emperor did to upset the Matriarch, it must have been really bad and therefore, deserving of the Bull of Excommunication.
But still, they were quite upset. Many of them were waiting to get married or to become ordained or to bury a loved one or to take communion. Now that an interdict has been placed on the entire Empire, none of those activities (all of which require church approval and is performed by an ordained deacon, priest or bishop) can happen.
In every corner of the semi-united Empire, which included the Provinces of Purgatorio, Celio, Demonia and Monstria, grumbling and groaning could be heard.
It was one thing for the Emperor to feud with the Matriarch. It was quite another for the Matriarch to punish the people for her feud with the Emperor.
They did not like this one bit.

***

Back in the Imperial Palace, the Archbishop received word of the Emperor's excommunication and informed Max about it.
"We are in a deep mess," said the Archbishop. "What do we do?"
 Emperor Max was surprisingly calm. "It's OK. I'll find a way."
"But the Matriarch no longer recognizes you as Emperor. She has encouraged all your subjects to rebel. They no longer have to obey you."
"I'm sure once I explain to the people how this all started and why I can't bow down to the Matriarch, they will understand," said Max.
The Archbishop pursed his lips. "And to think all this started because of money."
"It's not just money," said Max. "It's the principle of it. I refuse to be bullied and now, I'm locked in a battle of will against the Matriarch and I think I might be losing."
He paused then said, "I just wish I hadn't given power and rank and precedence to the Matriarch. That was the biggest mistake of my reign so far."
Ariel hopped onto Max's lap. "Mistakes are a part of growing up. It's normal to make them. It's how you fix them that matters."
"Yes," said Max. "And I will fix them."
An aide hurried into the Throne Room. "Sire, there's a mob gathering outside the palace doors."
The mood grew dark and ominous.
The Emperor and the Archbishop exchanged worried glances.
The Archbishop straightened the miter on his head. "Now's the perfect time to explain everything to your people, sire."
"Yes, it is," said Max. "I will face my people and be honest with them. And hopefully, all this will go away. Or at least, I'll get them on my side. The Matriarch is holding my people hostage in our fight. They don't deserve this kind of treatment."

***

Wearing his Double Crown of the Occult Throne, flowing imperial purple robes and clutching his scepter, Max prepared to face his people.
He wanted to face his people as their Emperor and that was why he was all dressed up. It would have an emotional effect on his people. He wanted them to remember just how much he had sacrificed for the sake of their well-being. He had even become engaged to a girl he couldn't stand in order to re-unite the Occultorian Empire.
At the appointed hour, the heavy wooden doors of the Imperial Palace opened and Max stepped out.
A large crowd had gathered on the drawbridge, standing beside the moat.
They looked very angry. Most of them were clutching weapons like hoes, pitchforks, torches and even muskets.
Max took a deep breath and said, "I stand before you as your Emperor. It is not a role I take lightly. In my augural speech, I said that I would rule with justice and I take it very seriously. The fact is that the Matriarch is bullying me and indirectly bullying you, my people. She has requested that I give her gold as tribute, but the Imperial Treasury is almost depleted. In order to grant her request, I would have to raise taxes and I didn't want to burden my people."
He paused and examined the faces of the crowd.
They didn't look pacified.
In the bright light of the moon, they looked downright ominous, especially surrounded the light of the torches.
He decided he would have to step up his game.
"When I was living in the Natural World," he said. "I was bullied a lot. I know what it's like to be bullied. I know how to deal with bullies. You don't give in to what they want, or else they'll keep taking from you."
Suddenly, a female voice from the crowd cried, "But I'm supposed to get married tomorrow. How will I get married when the interdict forbids the priest from performing the matrimonial rite?"
Another person, an old vampire, shouted, "I'm in my old age. I need to take communion everyday to feel closer to the Gods. I can't do without it."
Yet another person, this time an ogre, cried, "I'm burying my father tomorrow. How can he receive a proper church burial without a priest performing funeral rites?"
Max stammered, "Uhh...uummm. If you could all wait a few days, I can work out my differences with the Matriarch."
"We don't have a few days," cried the female voice.
Max identified the owner of the voice. It was a female ghost.
"Yeah," shouted the old vampire, raising his torch. "If the Matriarch wants money, I say we give it to her. Let's storm the Palace and take all the treasures!"
"Yeah," agreed the ogre. "You're feuding with the Matriarch and we're the ones paying the price. Let's just take the treasures!"
The crown began to move forward, raising their weapons menacingly.
Max stood there, a lump in his throat.
"But there are no treasures," he protested weakly.
He tried explaining that the Imperial Treasury was empty, but no one was listening to him.
They were advancing on him instead.