Is This Apocalypse Necessary? - Wizard of Yurt - 6 by C. Dale Brittain Read Free Book Online Page A
Authors: C. Dale Brittain
obediently broke the seal on the letter with the thumb of my free hand. "Didn't anybody ever tell you," I asked with a chuckle, "that witches aren't supposed to have any respect for the Church? It can't be anything very important or he would have telephoned."
Joachim's note was short—he had never had any use for chit-chat. But it turned out to be very important after all.
"There is a problem with the election of the new bishop of the City," it read, "and the cathedral there has asked other western bishops for assistance. Normally I would never bother you with this, but there seems to be a difficulty with the wizards' school trying inappropriately to influence the election. I need your advice on the wizard Elerius."
Part Two * Naurag
I
"So now that he's effectively a king, is about to become the leader of the wizards' school, and also mayor of the City, it sounds as if he also intends to dominate the Church."
I sat in Joachim's office at the cathedral, the morning sun shining on the polished woodwork as if nothing was wrong. Faint in the distance were the rumble of winches and workmen's shouts from the ongoing construction of the new church. I had just been filling the bishop in on the approaching death of the Master and on Elerius's intention to work it into his schemes. All I omitted was the Master's desire to make me his successor, which, because I was not going to do it, was irrelevant.
"This is even more serious than I had thought," Joachim commented gravely.
"So is Elerius trying to get himself elected as bishop of the great City?" I asked, feeling both furious and helpless.
"It's not quite that simple, Daimbert." Joachim drummed his fingers on his desk, something I had never before seen him do. He must be wondering if it was appropriate for a church leader to be asking the advice of a wizard. Not that I had any good advice to give him. "Normally the cathedral priests of each diocese elect new bishops on their own," he continued, "with little if any advice from outside. And when the old bishop of the City died two years ago, that is just what they did. They had a dispute within the cathedral chapter for a while, with two if not three contenders as I understand it. Eventually they compromised, taking a path many cathedral chapters have taken before them. They elected none of the various candidates, but instead a holy hermit from up in the hills, one whom some people were already calling a saint."
"Don't tell me," I said bitterly. "The holy hermit has decided that being the head of the most important diocese in the West is much too active a life for somebody who wanted to devote himself to solitary prayer.
Especially since an angel has been showing up, telling him it's fine to step down: an angel with a black beard and illusory wings."
The sun was a glint in Joachim's dark eyes. "I do not believe Elerius has been quite that blatant. But when the hermit indeed did, as might have been expected, return to his hermitage a few months ago, the cathedral chapter was faced with resolving the same internal split they had been unable to resolve two years ago. And Elerius, expressing what he says is a deep yearning for the wizards' school and the Church to work together for the betterment of humanity, has thrown his support behind one of the candidates."
"Where is he getting these ideas?" I demanded.
For a moment Joachim looked amused. He could find amusement in the strangest places. "He may have gotten this idea from you and me."
If Elerius intended to turn even my friendship with Joachim into part of his schemes, there was nothing he would not do. "So is it too late?" I asked quietly.
The bishop stopped smiling. "His candidate has not yet prevailed. Too many of the cathedral priests are uncomfortable either with the man himself or with his backing from the wizards' school. As much as I myself believe that some of my colleagues are too quick to dismiss the idea that any good can be found in a wizard, in this case
Joachim's note was short—he had never had any use for chit-chat. But it turned out to be very important after all.
"There is a problem with the election of the new bishop of the City," it read, "and the cathedral there has asked other western bishops for assistance. Normally I would never bother you with this, but there seems to be a difficulty with the wizards' school trying inappropriately to influence the election. I need your advice on the wizard Elerius."
Part Two * Naurag
I
"So now that he's effectively a king, is about to become the leader of the wizards' school, and also mayor of the City, it sounds as if he also intends to dominate the Church."
I sat in Joachim's office at the cathedral, the morning sun shining on the polished woodwork as if nothing was wrong. Faint in the distance were the rumble of winches and workmen's shouts from the ongoing construction of the new church. I had just been filling the bishop in on the approaching death of the Master and on Elerius's intention to work it into his schemes. All I omitted was the Master's desire to make me his successor, which, because I was not going to do it, was irrelevant.
"This is even more serious than I had thought," Joachim commented gravely.
"So is Elerius trying to get himself elected as bishop of the great City?" I asked, feeling both furious and helpless.
"It's not quite that simple, Daimbert." Joachim drummed his fingers on his desk, something I had never before seen him do. He must be wondering if it was appropriate for a church leader to be asking the advice of a wizard. Not that I had any good advice to give him. "Normally the cathedral priests of each diocese elect new bishops on their own," he continued, "with little if any advice from outside. And when the old bishop of the City died two years ago, that is just what they did. They had a dispute within the cathedral chapter for a while, with two if not three contenders as I understand it. Eventually they compromised, taking a path many cathedral chapters have taken before them. They elected none of the various candidates, but instead a holy hermit from up in the hills, one whom some people were already calling a saint."
"Don't tell me," I said bitterly. "The holy hermit has decided that being the head of the most important diocese in the West is much too active a life for somebody who wanted to devote himself to solitary prayer.
Especially since an angel has been showing up, telling him it's fine to step down: an angel with a black beard and illusory wings."
The sun was a glint in Joachim's dark eyes. "I do not believe Elerius has been quite that blatant. But when the hermit indeed did, as might have been expected, return to his hermitage a few months ago, the cathedral chapter was faced with resolving the same internal split they had been unable to resolve two years ago. And Elerius, expressing what he says is a deep yearning for the wizards' school and the Church to work together for the betterment of humanity, has thrown his support behind one of the candidates."
"Where is he getting these ideas?" I demanded.
For a moment Joachim looked amused. He could find amusement in the strangest places. "He may have gotten this idea from you and me."
If Elerius intended to turn even my friendship with Joachim into part of his schemes, there was nothing he would not do. "So is it too late?" I asked quietly.
The bishop stopped smiling. "His candidate has not yet prevailed. Too many of the cathedral priests are uncomfortable either with the man himself or with his backing from the wizards' school. As much as I myself believe that some of my colleagues are too quick to dismiss the idea that any good can be found in a wizard, in this case
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