[center][h2]Holy Empire of Vigentino - January 1905[/h2][/center]

Pope Carlo Bocci was an old man, having seen more than seventy years pass during his life, twenty of those as Pope and de facto leader of the Holy Empire of Vigentino. He had seen empires rise and fall, the borders of the nations around him shifting, but the one perpetual had been his burning faith. Through all the trials of his life; the death of his parents; the struggles that priesthood in the Holy Empire brought with it; the trials of his faith; and the wars that raged both around, and throughout Vigentino. Despite his age, he still held his head high, walking proudly and giving off an aura of inner strength that contrasted with his frail form. 

The Pope was more of a figurehead to the Holy Empire. While still a pivotal figure within the nation, over the years he had taken to leaving the running of Vigentino to a handful of ministers, who wielded power in his name. Under their reign, the Holy Empire had thrived. Cogoli was one of the most cultural city across the Known World, a boiling pot of different cultures and professions that allowed for innovation to blossom. When he was a younger man, Carlo Bocci had spent long days wandering the cities streets, breathing in the scents, sounds, and bright colours around every corner. Now that he was an older, more important man, he sometimes yearned for that freedom, watching the city move beneath him from his chambers within the High Cathedral. 

But it was not in the High Cathedral that the Pope now found himself, but within the Grand Theatre, deep within the heart of Cogoli. Carlo’s position meant he did not often find time to visit the theatre, nor was he himself an overwhelming fan of the plays and opera’s that passed through the Holy Empire, but he knew that what he saw before him was special. ‘The Emerald Dancer’ had become a sensation almost overnight, and as the Pope watched Silvana Golino move across the stage, her face an ever shifting mask of emotion, he lived every moment as she did. When the play drew to a close, he applauded without thinking, and when the young actress bowed towards the top box, where the Pope sat with his gathered ministers, Carlo nodded his head towards her in gracious thanks and praise. 

He smiled, even as he was carefully escorted by a handful of his bodyguards, through the theatre and out to where his carriage was waiting for him. Stepping inside, he turned to watch the city pass as the carriage returned to the High Cathedral. He smiled again. A new age was coming, he could feel it in the air.  

[b]OOC: +1 to all actions[/b]