"Heed my words, my prayer, o' you almighty Divines above heavens, for the humble servant of yours kneels before you and beseech your blessings and wisdom..."
So were the words of prayer from Father Esteban, one among the Empire's cardinals, the most devout priests the whole land had to offer, who was now in service of Governor Rothgarr as his adviser. The Cardinal was kneeling alone before the statue of 3-Divines, decorated in gold, silver, and many kinds of precious jewels alike. It was a huge collection, a solid collage of seemingly countless sculptures, large and small-some seeming like living animals and chimeras while others being rather abstract objects, all of which embodied the heavenly ideals, hopes and dreams a man or woman on the earth could ever conceive. On top of the collage, there were the enormous heads of brass serpents-three of them in total, each biting their preceding colleagues' bottom end so as to present themselves like a circular shape. As one would draw closer to the statue and look up into the bronze snakes, it should be seeming like they were circling forever around the invisible wheel, which they were bound to.
"... Our land, o' ye 3-Divines of might and grace, had suffered greatly by the curse, the living plague named Glen-gohr, until a barbarian prince of Geats, crossing the northern seas to aid us, defeated it in a fierce battle once and for all. Yet, there are even now so many wounds and scars, my divine Lords, left in the wake of the beast's rampage, which do not seem to be mended nor healed any time soon."
The Cardinal was indeed a priest who would willingly put the land's good before his own, personal interests and safety. He was a paragon of others, whom every men and women under his spiritual guidance would regard with awe; praise the Divines who thus bestowed this barren land with a capable, yet pious priest that was Esteban! So did he think of himself.
After a moment of pause as such, the prayer continued: "My Lords in heavenly realms, among the starry stars and comets have you watched over us as always until present-may your glory persist forevermore, and your names be remembered for eternity. However, I, your old and hereby withering servant, draw near unto you with tormented soul of mine."
"My loss, o' my gracious Divines, all my losses have I endured, have I withstood so far! My heart wails in torment whenever I think of them. I have, as your pious servant, sacrificed everything I once had; my youth, energy, lover, and even my only son!"
Upon finishing his words, there suddenly arose a fiery sentiment of anger, slowly but surely, from the bottom of his heart. Esteban put his hand onto the chest, in torment, as if he felt like his inside was set on fire. Blood was being pumped out of his heart, gushing through every single thread of his veins like ferocious torrent. Nevertheless, his aged body was no longer sturdy enough; the Cardinal, failing to withstand his fury inside, soon fell on the ground. With an aid of his arm and elbow, he barely managed to prevent himself from collapsing straight onto it, though. Esteban rose back. Then again, concentrating his mind anew, he continued with the prayer.
"Yet, o' you masters of all beings, I assure you with firmness that I have not lost my faith unto you, despite the terrible adversities of mine. Now, at this very moment, I kneel before you, beseeching your guidance for the sake of the people-the lambs I have to take care of, and their lords unto whom I preach your words of wisdom."
Their numbers were getting thin, however, ever since the land had started to produce less, and much more thinner since the beginning of Glen-gohr's rampage. Not only his herd diminished-the lords and commons alike-as such, but the amount of tithes collected from them suffered greatly, too. Without the herd to guide thereupon, and without their tithes, the church of the Divines would soon collapse, rendered to mere dust. His vault, dedicated to the cause of 3-Divines, would be empty. Yes, there shall be only emptiness in the end, should this kind of events persist any longer.
"I seek your wisdom, your divine insight, the holy guidance of yours..."
He looked up into the three brazen serpents above, lifting his bowed head. As his gaze met theirs, they began-or at least they seemed like-to be squirming, as if they were about to come alive, breaking off their metallic mold made of brass. The serpents, as well, were staring into Esteban's eyes. They let out their tongues, long but thin like a paper, seeming like they were trying to say something to the Cardinal. They hissed, occasionally shrieked-albeit faintly, and whispered to him. Within their bronze pupils, there was flowing a stream of elixir, silver in color, which was the very production of a philosopher of grand wisdom. No one would ever know whether it shall prove to be a remedy, or poison, to any mortal being; yet, it was a product of wonder, making it hard for anyone not to drink it.
All the sudden, everything was becoming clear to him; It was Governor Rothgarr, a greedy fool drenched deep in alcohol, a culprit behind all this misery. He had failed to do anything about Glen-gohr while it was rampaging, wrecking havoc in the wake of its bloody trail. He had been so helpless as to rely on the help of barbarians, even paying them the gold and silver in return. How shameless, powerless he had been so far! Because of his incompetency, people on this land had suffered; Esteban, himself, was of no exception.
Yes, he was at the center of it, at the very core of misery brought upon hitherto! Alas, what had he done when his retainers and servants had been slaughtered alike by the talons of the hideous chimera? What had he ever done to console his weeping arch-priest, in sorrow of losing his mistress and the only, yet illegitimate child, even though he had already known all this in prior? In what ways had he benefited so far this very land under his reign? Just how much had he shown himself to the church of 3-Divines, even barely contributing to it by means of both gold and faithfulness? He was of no worth, of no value, to the church and its flock alike. He shall be removed from the throne, and then replaced by someone new, for the sake of everyone in the dominion.
By the time he nearly spoke these out of his mouth, he found himself no longer kneeling before the holy statue; he was standing there, straight and forward, with determination. Esteban could not help but become astonished at himself. This was an act of treason, an uprising, even a mutiny. He could not risk losing everything, merely by his impulsive mistake. For so many years, what had preserved his priesthood, and likewise his own life, was his prudence; he had known when to talk, what to speak, how to defend himself, and the right moment to strike his enemy. Blessings unto 3-Divines, by the fact that the chamber was free of any possible surveillance!
Yet, despite all other things that mattered, it was immutable that the current Governor must be replaced. It shall be the only way to secure the church, its herd-lords and the commons alike, and their tithes in gold and silver. However, one question still remained upon his mind; who should be appointed to the position anew, then?
With these thoughts on mind, Cardinal Esteban moved his feet toward the exit. Behind him, the brazen serpents were wheeling slowly, circling around the emptiness where none of the earthly existence, even light and the darkness themselves, would penetrate. They shall be there for eternity, spinning around the wheel of fate on which every lives of Gaia-seven were laid and bound.