[hider=Lycaon Plans]
For now Lycaon had served his time in the King’s Court, at least for today. For now he would have time to think on what he had saw, but he would not be able to rest. He could never truly rest. Yet at least it was better than during his days in the war. There he never knew peace. As his mind wondered, he thought of how those armchair aristocrats had never and would never really get a taste of the battlefield, even though there was a war on now. 

“The more I learn about these aristocrats the less I like them,” Sir Daeleth said.

“I expected that you say that,” Lycaon said.

“They tried to kill a little girl,” Sir Daeleth said. “The only one of her entire family who has a soul worth a thing.”

“They are honorable men and women,” Lycaon said.

“Could’ve fooled me,” Sir Daeleth said. “To a simple man like me they simply look like a bunch of bullies and plotters.”

“I appreciate your honesty, Daeleth,” Lycaon said. “But we have more pressing matters to attend to than complaining about barbarians.”

“The Grand Cleric,” Daeleth said.

“Yes,” Lycaon said. “I’ll make no qualms about it. She has been obstinate, preventing us from using the resources of the Church to our own advantage and fighting with us every step of the way. She will prevent us from getting anything worthwhile done, so she must be eliminated.”

“Make it look like an accident, then?” Daeleth said.

“No,” Lycaon said. “I already have it all planned out. She has long lived passed her prime, and everyone knows that luxury is her only true friend, other than decadence. No one shall be surprised of a little heart attack. I have sent Antony to get it done. He will be able to get close, and the lad is well enough that he knows how to get them both alone and get her a drink while he’s at it, and to tamper with the drink.”

“I see,” Daeleth said. “And what then? What is my part in all this?”

“Killing Mildred is the easy part,” Lycaon said. “The hard part is ensuring that Yvainne becomes Grand Cleric. If he doesn’t, then the whole enterprise was merely a waste of time and energy. I need you here, Daeleth, because though you may hate the noble’s tact and their masquerades of geniality, of all the men and women I have besides me that I trust, you are the smartest.”

“I’d rather be out fighting than stuck up in here,” Daeleth said.

“You may get your wish in time,” Lycaon said. “The Order is not fighting – not yet – but it is only a matter of time, I am sure.”
[/hider]

[hider=The Assassination]
Sir Antony was there, standing over High Cleric Mildred. He felt very uncomfortable around her, but at least today he was not there to grant her any “favors.” Antony did not poison the drink himself. That was left a young, handsome youth about twenty who had suffered the same fate that Antony had at the fate of Mildred, though he had suffered it repeatedly. He was given a small bribe and then eagerly inserted the poison into Mildred’s goblet. Antony was glad that Mildred could finally die. He was sure that no one would ever miss her, and he was glad that her legacy would consist mostly of a name, scrawled on lists of the heads of the Church. Fellow Knights of Order were stationed outside, so no one would disturb them. No one would know that Mildred had been assassinated, maybe even Mildred herself. Only a select few within the Order would know. 
“My, if it isn’t my favorite young squire from that little Order,” Mildred said. “Is that a drink for me in your hand there?”

“Yes, your holiness,” Antony said. It made him angry that she had called him a squire. He wasn’t a squire anymore, he was a knight. He had worked for this job. He swallowed his pride and ignored it, and he put the goblet filled with poisoned wine on a finely-crafted wooden table. Now Antony only had to wait for Mildred to take a drink from it.

“But I much prefer you on your knees,” Mildred said. “So why not take a little kneel for your holiness?”

Antony did not argue. He took a kneel.

“Ah you are one of the few-” and Mildred could not help but laugh at that word. “-Who knows that I am not a saint. So let me ask you, did you not enjoy your night with me? Tell me that you enjoyed it.”

It was an order, so he could not refuse. He knew that she was taunting him, tormenting him. “Yes, your holiness, I enjoyed it,” Antony said.
Mildred uttered a wicked laugh. “I could not help but bring it up, for when you called me holiness I could not help but stare the irony of it in the face. But, you know, boy, that you were not the only one I enjoyed. There was also your leader, Lycaon. When he was a youth he was a much better sight than you, with his long, flowing blonde hair. How do you think he got a holy order of his own?”

Mildred took a big gulp of the gobley. Antony waited for the poison to take effect. It was supposed to take effect immediately. To his surprise, it didn’t.

“I give favors, you know?” Mildred said. “Sexual favors for a favor of my power. Material favors for material favors, in a way. I help give Lycaon everything he now values. How else could he hope to make his way up in the ecclesiastical hierarchy than by impressing a cleric or bishop? You wasted your favor by giving it to Lycaon. As for that boy in the kitchen, I gave him everything that his life as a pauper deprived him of, and more. As a result he’s more loyal than a puppy, and would do anything to keep me alive, for otherwise his useless self is back on the streets.”

When Mildred began to talk Antony was nervous. Now he was horrified. 

“You know, that Lycaon is an impressive man,” Mildred said. “He has a superb intellect, he’s a great visionary, but he doesn’t read people well enough to belong in the capital. Did you really think you could outsmart me with such a simple plot? If I could be killed that easily, I would have died years ago. I am aware I am not the most popular woman in the country.” She laughed.

What was he supposed to do now? He now realized why he had been stripped of his weapons when he came in here. This was all very bad, and Antony was not sure exactly what he was supposed to do. He didn’t want to die, but if it came to that, so be it. That, however, would not be all. If a member of the Order was implicated in an assassination attempt, it would end up trickling upward to Lord Lycaon. Lycaon could prepare an excuse, to be sure. “Antony was abused by Grand Cleric Mildred, so he had her assassinated,” Lycaon could say. But it would not be enough to avoid scandal, if a member of his Order was involved in something something so shocking. 

“Clever, I’ll give you that,” Antony said. “But there’s one thing that you didn’t account.”

Mildred laughed. “And whatever could that be? My guards will be here in mere moments, and both you and your fellow Orderlings will be dispatched.”

“When you had my weapons stripped from me,” Antony said as he pulled out a knife. “Your lackeys forgot to search me. They accepted my honesty by faith.”

“Those fools!” Mildred said.

Antony ran forward. Mildred uttered a scream, but it was quickly silence. Antony with a first slash slit her throat, and then he stabbed his knife into her heart. She died relatively quickly, for Antony cut at her furiously and with much strength. Now that this part was done, Antony had to deal with the hard part.  Antony had only one hope, and he had been lucky for it. There was a fireplace here, and Antony knew where Mildred kept the oil lamps. That left only choice. He went to the cupboard where the oil lamps were kept, and one by one emptied their oil on to the ground. Then he picked up a stool and like it was a torch led it into the fireplace. Once it was on fire he took it from the fireplace and made sure it touched all the paths of oil before letting go of it and allowing it to disintegrate in flames. 

Then once everything in the room was firmly being set ablaze, Antony left the room, and went out to meet his two fellow knights who standing outside. They were both dutifully continuing to guard the room, but when Antony came out they could hear the cackling of the fire and the heat of the flames.

“So, uh, what’s going in there, Antony?” one of them asked.

“Continue to this guard this room,” Sir Antony said. “Do not let anyone in, and I mean anyone, even under the threat of imminent death.”
Then they saw soldiers who served the Church, but were not part of their Order, approaching them. They looked guarded, and had one hand on the hilt of their swords. As he saw them approaching Antony sighed, and then drew up his sword.
“I do not like where this is going,” the other Knight said.
[/hider]

[hider=Return to the Throne Room]

Lycaon still had on his mind what happened to Mildred, and to his Knights. It was very clearly not what he had in mind. There had been a fire at Mildred’s country estate, and nearly everyone inside, including all of his knights, had died. So far, they had been unable to identify the Grand Cleric’s body. This was supposed to have been simple, easy, and clean. Instead there was this fire. He had large plans for Antony. He was so young, but already a knight. He was bright, and he learned easily, but also was a warrior some skill. Every week it seemed he was a better fencer. Now he was gone. 

“Sir,” Tydeus said.

“Yes?” Lycaon said. He had become distracted by fonder memories.

“If you were serious about meeting the King, then we better be on our way,” Tydeus said.

The priest was right. So Lycaon entered into the Carriage, and Tydeus entered in behind him, and both of them took their seat. As the driver let loose the horses with a slap of the reins, Lycaon for a moment allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts. There had been many men and women who Lycaon had known that had died – Yzebel, Hanot, Harnish, and now Antony – and the answer to it all was not to let some passion overwhelmed you when it happened, or you would go crazy. Lycaon did not talk to Tydeus, for he had nothing to say to the priest, nor did he have anything to say to him. He had only brought Tydeus because unlike himself, Tydeus was not here to make friends and allies, and so his statements towards the King could be bolder.

The guards were hesitant to let them in at first, and blocked their way. It was because of the death of Aurelia. After she had briefly gone missing, her body was found. Assassination. He honestly did not know enough of her, only that she was a great mage, and one with a considerable degree of influence.

"Peace, men," Lycaon said. "I am Lycaon, Grandmaster of the Order of Saint Elenor, and chosen represented of His Majesty between the Church and the State. I have business with him, and I cannot promise His Majesty's approval if you do not move your spears."

Lycaon's expression, serene, remained unchanged throughout.
 

 Then They entered into the Kingly hall, where King Duncan was on his throne and the conniving and whispering aristocrats were all around. Lycaon with Tydeus close behind him approached Duncan with reverence, and then kneeled before their King.

“Salutations, my King,” Lycaon said. “For what is worth, her holiness Grand Cleric approved of my position as a representative between you and the holy Church. Though the Church has been thrown into limbo by the death of her holiness, my position still stands. I am sure you already are fully aware of that situation, however, so I shall pass over it. I understand that in these times of conflict and war, soldiers and the supplies needed to supply them are always running short. If you do not mind, my King, would you be willing to hear a proposal of mine in that respect? I have brought with me a priest. A scholastic. He specializes in the theorizing and speculations that the scholastics do.”

"Salutations, my King," Tydeus said.

Duncan stared intensely at Lycaon as he walked towards the throne. Duncan had only found out about Mildred's death a few days prior to the days hearings and had had little time to prepare a solution for the problem. Duncan found it suspicious that Mildred's death happened so soon after Lycaon's promotion.

"Greetings to you Sir Lycaon. I am greatly saddened to hear of the death of her holiness. Someone as pious as her did not deserve such a cruel fate. Tell me, what do you wish to propose to me?"

“What I propose, my King,” Lycaon began. “War is always wears a heavy price on the nation, especially on its treasury, so I aim to lift the burden slightly. I can raise a brigade from the populace, train them, and supply them, all without your Majesty paying a single piece of gold.”

Duncan raised an eyebrow at Lycaon's proposition. He was skeptical of how Lycaon planned to achieve his offer. "A most generous proposal, in response of which I have three questions. Firstly how many soldiers do you think you can raise? Secondly how do you plan to arm them? weapons and Armour are hardly cheap, after all."

"A full brigade, your Majesty," Lycaon said. "One-thousand strong. Indeed, it will not be a cheap endeavor, but at the moment the war is not so desperate that the supplies are not available at a price. The Church has the funds to provide it."

Indeed, Lycaon could gather the funds from within the Church. At the moment, while the Church was in limbo, he had never been more influential.

Duncan remained silent for a moment. In principle there was no reason Lycaon couldn't achieve this goal. He now had full access to the Church’s funds, and his influence over both the clergy and people would make it easy for him to find recruits across Sypius.

"Very well. I don't doubt that you can achieve this, but that bring me to my next question. What do you want in return?”

"Nothing, your Majesty," Lycaon said. "But the satisfaction of helping in the war effort."

Duncan didn't believe Lycaon for a second. Though he hide behind the pretense of good will, Duncan knew that Lycaon wanted the one thing that everyone in this room desired; power. No that this was a problem, Lycaon was loyal to him, and whatever power Lycaon attended would ultimately belong to Duncan.

"A most noble gesture, Sir Lycaon, and I gracefully accept. Tell me, has any process been made by the clergy to elect a new leader of the church. After all, in such perilous times it is of paramount importance that the Church elects a Grand priest quickly and decisively."

"The initial panic, your Majesty, has subsided," Lycaon said. "And by now letters are being sent to our priest-electors and cleric-electors across the Kingdom. Once they have arrived, there begins the real challenge of getting a majority to agree on who shall lead the Church."

"Will you be taking part in this vote? If so, who do you plan on supporting? I am sure that someone of your influence would provide substantial aid to whomever you decided to vote for."

"I myself take no part in the vote, your Majesty," Lycaon said. "Though for my part, I have been hoping that Secretary of the Grand Temple, Marcus Irenaeus, shall go into the running, for I know him, and he is a man of good character and reputation. But, your majesty, I shall not bother you anymore with this, and I thank you for your generosity."

"Very good, Sir Lycaon," Duncan said as he gestured at Lycaon to leave. "I hope your brigade truly can help bring peace to the lands of Sypius."

Lycaon bowed to King Duncan in respect, as did the scholastic Tydeus next to Lycaon.

“Tydeus, your Majesty, shall remain here at your honorable court should you have any questions on any of my plans.”

Then Lycaon soon left, departing from King Duncan’s court and heading on his way to the future business at hand.
[/hider]

[hider=Meeting with a Dishonest Man]

Lycaon left the Palace grounds, having let the scholastic stay back at the Court. He would be able to care of Lycaon’s business there if anything came up, and he could more frank about it than Lycaon could. For now, Lycaon had business to take care of elsewhere in Nyhem. He went into his carriage, and took a seat upon the leather. 

“Driver,” Lycaon said. “To the Grand Temple.”

The Driver asked no questions and quickly got the horses moving with a crack of the reins, and drove quickly along the bumpy roads of the city. Lycaon paid no attention to the bumps in the road, however, and mere lost himself in the thought of what his next move was be. He did not know what Duncan would do. For the time being his position seemed unassailable as King. However, he had been quite cooperative, and for Lycaon that was a good thing. Lycaon’s next move did not involve the King, however. For now, Lycaon needed to speak to the Secretary of the Grand Temple. His position not only made him an elector on his own terms, but also the closest thing to a leader of the Church during this transitional period. 

He gave the driver the money he was owed to him quickly, and then Lycaon was quickly on his way. He quietly entered into the Grand Temple, which at the time was quite empty except for the caretaker-cleric inside.

“Greetings, Mother,” Lycaon said. “Is the Secretary here?”

“Greetings, Lord Lycaon,” she said. “Yes, he is here, at his desk. Would you like me to fetch him for you?”

“Yes, if you would be so kind,” Lycaon said.

So the caretaker-cleric brought Secretary Marcus Irenaeus, dressed in garish clothes and an obnoxious smile, to the front of the Temple.

“Ah, if it isn’t Lord Lycaon,” Secretary Irenaeus said. “I am told that you have some business with me? Pray tell me then, Grand Master, what is it that you seek from me?”
“Nothing too great, your excellency,” Lycaon said. “Only that with a heavy heart I must speak to you more on the tragic death of her Holiness.”

“Yes, yesterday was a great loss for all of us, indeed,” Secretary Irenaeus said. I knew her well, and she was a great friend, honorable and trustworthy. But what was it that you wished to speak to me about, Lycaon?”

“The election,” Lycaon said. 

Secretary Irenaeus’ face darkened at the word, but then quickly was filled with greed.

“With her Holiness’ death, we must make it so that there is a candidate put forward that can properly replace her,” Lycaon said. “Put forward your name, your Excellency, into the conest and I will do everything I can in order to ensure that your victory is assured.”

“Then I shall,” Irenaeus said. “Thank you for your words, Lycaon, and for your declaration of support.”

“I will return later,” Lycaon said. “For now, your Excellency, there is much work to do.”
[/hider]

[i]Collab with TheDuncanMorgan[/i]