Age of Adventure

The New World is a world that is rich with resources. And it is also very large so they both agreed to explore in different places, not interfering with each other.

But the progress is very slow

The new world is not all rainbows and flowers. There is also threat. And the threat is very terrifying

There were many enemies in the new world. there is hostile creatures and natives that inhabits the new world.

And others that hostile beast there is also mystical being creatures in all shape and sizes. And there is also Gods. Ancients gods that were worshiped by those natives.

He sighed again and Ariana shakes her head

’It is not good to always sigh’ Alex just nodded and then she said

’This is not as big as a problem considering the many other problems the week before. We could slowly plan our steps. We maintain our neutral position regarding Vanheim and we could still explore. I don’t think Vanheim also want to mess with us considering that they are fighting a war with Veranis.’ she said.

Alex nodded again. If he is with Ariana, he would always only nods to this woman. Though Ariana never noticed this behavior of Alex

’If this is the only problem I had to deal this week, then of course I would not be this distraught’

’What else?’ She asks, he snorted and then said with disdain

’The Medici family of Venicia.’ And hearing the name of that family Ariana also frowned. It is clear that the Medici family is also a headache for her.

The Medici family is one of the oldest merchant family in the Vanan Federation.

When the Church came conquering, they were the ones that help the Church in terms of logistic and persuading the others to surrender

It is led by Cosimo de Medici.

They were the natives of this world. Many adventurers used to ask patronage from them especially if they were painters or art related profession

They started from humble beginning originating from the countryside of Mugellon, a small territory on the borders of Vanan, gradually rising until they become a powerful merchant family and have their own banks and cooperate with Banks of Vanheim and the leagues of merchants all over the Vilajeri Continent

This is the background of the family that almost every adventurer knows.

They were also a patron of the arts and many churches in the holy city had some kind of sponsorship from this family.

During the absence of the Pope and the Apostle, they expanded their power to reach a lot of places that it could not reach before because of the Church influence.

’What about them?’ Ariana asked

’They are conspiring against the Church. I had some people telling me that the Medici family support the Lady of Vanan

Hearing this Ariana frowned.

’Isn’t the Medici family is the one who ousted the ruling power of Vanan? How could the rebellion effort of Vanan accept such help from the one that made them homeless and destitute?’

Alex nodded.

Then snorting he said

’That old fox is very cunning. He had helped us when we first tried to gain a foothold in Vanan thus we gave him high position and gives him a lot of benefits. But, he was also the one that sponsored the Vanan rebellion against the Church. His heart might possibly has always tied to the Federation and not to the Church.

Arianna then understood.

’You mean he was never one of us in the beginning’ Alex nodded and then he said

’He surrenders because he knows fighting was pointless. He is a shrewd man. He waited his time and he hide his relationship with the rebel forces of Vanan’

’Then why would you not send a capture order for him?’ Alex sighed and said

’There is no proof whatsoever to say that he is colluding with the rebellion. All the things I said could not be presented as evidence and the Medici is very good at covering their tracks. While most things do not require evidence, if I wanted to kill one of the most influential family in the Holy Zun, I must provide proof. If not, we are setting ourselves up for a civil war with all the princes of the city state all around the Holy Zun Empire’

’Then the wolf outside the gates would also come in to take a bite out of our flesh’ Arianna close her eyes and shakes her head

Alex continue by saying

’This city state that has formed a powerful independence from the central authority might rebel openly if we punish the Medici without any proof. That is why I could not make a move against them’

’They are still a civilian of the Empire. We can find ways to frame him for something and summon him to the Holy City. If not that, we force the city state to choose a new leader’ Arianna said

At this Alex smiles bitterly

’Political questions of the city state of Venicia are settled in Cosimo’s house. The man he chooses holds office. He is the one who decides peace and war. He is king in all but name. First among equals.’ Alex said with disdain.

’Does that sound like a civilian to you?’

’The Empire had relaxed their restriction on Vanan during the absence of the Pope and the Medici had used it to expand his power to all the surrounding kingdoms’

’Their influence reaches the imperial palace and their wealth is unimaginable. The weakness of adventurers was that we do not have a firm foundation. The native of this world on the other hand had a powerful foundation. The Medici is related to most of the powerful families all over the Empire, such as the Visconti and Sforza of Milani, the Este of Ferrara and the Gonzaga of Mantua.’

’They are connected to them through marriages, partnerships or employment so the Medici family had a central position in the social network. Several families had systematic access to the rest of the elite families only through the Medici. Their influence is growing bigger and bigger every day and I am beginning to become annoyed’

Ariana also knew that the Medici also have powerful military.

Armies in the Holy Zun Empire was not like the disciplined army of the Vanheim Empire or under the order of noble generals like in the United Kingdom of Veva

Armies in Holy Zun Empire is generally comprised of associations of knights who usually came together to defend a cause defined by the Church.

All of the major knight orders such as the Knight of Light, the Light Sermons, the Templars all had presence and properties in the Holy Zun Empire and they follow the order of the Holy See.

Other than major orders, there is also minor order that was also established, mostly by the religious clergy to combat religious transgression.

One of them even answer directly to Ariana which is the Militia of Light and Order of the Blessed Holy Rose

And the Medici also have its own orders of knight. There is some that is known and there are some that is hidden.

And since they have a lot of money, Arianna could imagine that their army must have nee fitted with high quality weapons and armor.

Alex sighed again as he knew there is many problems at his heels right now.

The rebellion of the churches in his absence and the subsequent hiding of their forces after Arianna killed the Bishops had led to another hidden threat.

The Antipope claimed to be the true pope and Alex could see a schism is forming in the church. There is news that some of the high ranking priest and bishop wanted to debate the matter.

There is now a movement all around the many churches that sought to limit the power of the Pope.

Arianna did not know what to say to ease Alex worries.

She is talented in leading and inspiring her soldiers but this administration thing is not her specialty.

And it is not Alex specialty either. Alex once said that if only he had someone like Aero beside him, it would not be hard for him to gain the entire world.

Because of the holy status of the Pope not many dares to say that they know more than the Pope in a territory ruled by the Church of Light.

But if its Aero, he would probably not mind telling the pope what he did wrong.

But alas, Aero is of different camp and sooner or later that Chancellor would become the enemy of the Church.

Even though the Church did not seem to care much about the disappearance of Aero for the past two years unlike that of Veva Prime Minister who sent all kinds of spies trying to seek the trace of the elusive Chancellor, the Pope himself was not as unaffected by the news as he portrayed himself to be.

When the Pope heard that Aero was accused of a heinous crime of killing one of the noble families of Karak, one of the hopes that he has was for the Emperor of Vanheim to renounce Aero.

If the Emperor of Vanheim did that, he was confident that he could persuade that Divine Strategist to join him.

But the Emperor of Vanheim of course would not ever criticize the Chancellor especially when he needs the Chancellor to return to him

It is just impossible for the Emperor to try to chastise the Chancellor and he even shows sign of protecting the Chancellor regardless if the Chancellor was truly responsible or not in the matter of that massacre.

No matter how stupid the Emperor of Vanheim is, he would never do such an unfavorable thing to his staunchest ally in the court especially when his own position is compromised by his brother

At the same time that the Pope and Ariana was meeting in the Office of the Poe, in one of the administrative building of the holy city, a pigeon enters the pigeon home.

Tied onto its leg is a message.

There is a Bishop there that is assigned to this place. He like always wake up in the morning and then ride his horse carriage to work.

For the past half a year there were many letter that come from outside the holy city reporting of the many happenings of the world.

There are not many happenings.

considering that the western kingdoms did not move and the matters in the borders between Veranis and Vanheim had devolved into slow war with Veranis slowly advancing forward in the Plain, the news is much more of the same.

Today is no different.

This Bishop name is Paul.

His job is to shift through the mundane information and relayed to the Office of the Pope important matter that needs the Pope orders.

Most mundane stuff would be settled by the others church officials.

Paul cut the rope around the pigeon ankle and then took the rolled up parchment.

He opens it and he saw it is coded.

The way to read it is to solve the code.

It is a magical code and only Bishop Paul know how to break the code because he is the one that created the code

He did not immediately break the code as he went out from the pigeon tower. He took a sip of morning tea first before he decided to resume his day working today.

Like the Pope and the Holy Maiden Bishop Paul is an adventure.

He did not have any high ambition. He was quite content living his life as a high officials of the Church.

He had big house, and east luxurious food every day. There is nothing to complain about his life.

He sips his tea slowly and he even have the time to lean back on his cushy chair as he closes his eyes, while sipping his tea.

His job is quite relaxing. It is more of the same. And he likes the more of the same. More of the same means peace.

It is good that he did not become a knight of the order where he had to sacrifice his life in the battlefield.

It is not like before when they could revive infinitely.

This time, dead means dead.

Many his other friends envy him.

’Ah, this is the good life’ he muttered while smiling.

After finishing his tea, he began to break the code.

The code is broken in less than a minute.

Then he adjusts his monocle and started reading the report, his hand holding a pen to record the news in the parchment, determining whether this is a mundane news or not.

Halfway through reading the report, Paul face become pale and his hand is trembling. He got up from his seat and then he shouted from his room

’Men! Prepare my carriage. I’m heading to the Apostolic Palace!’

Whatever he had read in the report had alarmed him so much that he had immediately ordered his servants to send him to the Apostolic palace immediately.

The report must be relayed as fast as possible to the Pope and it is clear from this urgency this is a matter of great importance that it could not even be delayed for a second.

As Paul is inside his carriage, he is trembling. He fears that because he took that morning tea and late in sending this message, the world might have changed.

It would be quite an amazing story if someday in the future it would said that the reason the power structure of the world changes because of a blunder of Bishop who drink morning tea and late in telling the Pope.

Sweating and nervous, his horse carriage rush full speed toward the Apostolic Palace.

Today....it would not be like yesterday where it is more of the same. The letter that is inside that Bishop sleeve ensure that today, the world will change