Intermission 1/1
The Times of India
An Extract, October 16th, 1876
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UNEXPECTED EVENTS IN BHUTAN
(Apocalyptic portents seen in sky)
INDIA REMAINS IMPASSABLE
DISASTER STRIKES PARO TAKTSANG - reports are unclear from Bhutan as there are rumours of rebellion or plague from the monastery. Witnesses have fled the nearby towns, citing superstitious accounts of creatures and battles. Local religious contacts have been sporadic in contact.
One cleric claims a plague of hysteria has caused riots and a massacre in the western part of the town. Other information suggests that there has been a local insurrection against local leaders, based in the palace. By all accounts this has been unsuccessful and civil order has been maintained. Refugees have been reported travelling to nearby villages but are still too involved to give any clear answers.
Members of the clergy nearby have taken on the burden of caring for all those displaced. A mission has been set up and donations will be accepted at any diocese.
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Religious fervor continues to grip India and the surrounding regions. Signs of the apocalypse have been claimed with one guru proclaiming that he had seen Kalkee, a being claimed to bring about the cleansing of the world from impure and heathen elements. This being, riding a pale horse and with a crown of fire, has been said to be residing on a hilltop, seen by hundreds of locals over the last few weeks. Accounts vary, with some stating that he had dispensed wisdom, prophesied the return of home rule in India and healed many who came to him for guidance.
These sightings could not be confirmed by reliable observers but have been attributed to militiamen involved in the insurrection. Other recent events, including the continued curtain of fire which surrounds the territories, are attributed by Robert Mallet, Fellow of the Royal Society to a seismological event. A presentation will be given at the Royal Society expressing how these developments can inform us about how mountains form.
It is anticipated that this presentation will be well-attended, as many members of Lloyds of London are seeking clarification of the situation before paying out any claims based on investments held in overseas territories.
Queen Victoria has expressed absolute confidence in her servants abilities to resolve this without further fiscal damage to her Empire.
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Scene End
Intermission 2/1
Regrettably someone else had also sealed shut the windows.
This meant that there was a distinct lack of the loyalists she had hoped to use to maintain her control after the election. She doubted she would ever find out who was responsible for that. It might even have mattered, once. Now it would be incredible for anyone’s agents to have survived the rounds of purges and counter-purges which were making their way through the structure of the Church.
Chaos, yes. But directed. It would take years for anyone to be organised against her.
Still, there was much to do. Time was against her. It took months for the potential cardinals to get here, even longer to do the vetting. At current count, roughly one in every three of the candidates had been tainted by the demons before reaching Rome. That number was only getting higher with time. Eventually there would be war against their enclaves.
Other papers were stored safely away. Some of her predecessors had been preparing for this. Centuries of preparation.
With a sigh the next urgent telegram was opened. This one got a smile. It had been a wrench, letting the harp strings out from the vaults. As it went on, the situation became both more and less clear… apparently he had not left the Church? From this account, Ruler had been defeated by a single Servant and a Master… but not the Master of that Servant? And the town was both on fire and not on fire. She threw the telegram on the pile of important documents. At some point she would have to resolve why the spy networks still sent garbage through from time to time. Perhaps it needed a closer reading...
Still, it was better news than before.
As quickly as it came, the news of the Grail War passed from her mind. There was a knocking from the door - an innocent enough gesture to anyone else. She smiled. The assassins had not yet discovered that ability. No disguise could work against her while she could detect the ‘intention’ of all sounds, a power beyond that of ‘knowing lies’. Envy gathered prana for the next battle and gave thanks, once again, to the rotting bodies of the Estray families whose obsessions now gave her such power.
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The fires this time were intense, they had made note of her burns before as one of the few ways she could be harmed. Hours later, once the last of them were rooted out and crushed, Envy returned to her office to find only ash floating in the wind. She sighed. At least this time, it hadn’t been in the accounts. The second page of the report, charred beyond recognition, crumbled to dust as the door brushed past it. There would be no further instructions from the Vatican.
Scene End
Intermission 3/1
It was dark outside when she finally roused herself enough to lift it from her face. Dinner had been prepared, placed beside her then grown so cold she couldn’t even smell it anymore. Beside it sat the tray for lunch as well as the accoutrements of the high tea she had ordered. The chair was still comfortable but her head had drifted to one side, giving her a terrible crick in her neck. She straightened and started to write down some of what she had seen.
By the time the report was finished and handed to the Mask, it was truly the middle of the night. There was news, important to their interests. The defeat of the Demon was a mixed blessing, to be sure, shedding light on the objectives of Atlas. The fall of Ruler, better news still. It was unlikely, but not impossible, that any of the other competitors would maintain the barrier around India. Still, the ascendancy of the Church’s faction was troubling. It would be better by far to have Estray or even Atlas win the Grail if their own agents were not willing to take the steps necessary. And this specific Ruler… the allegations made against them were incriminating, if not conclusive.
The gaslights of London flickered outside her window, dancing in the rain and occasionally spluttering out. Not all of them would make it to the morning.
Clocktower was weaker now than it had been since its founding. Many of the Lords were concerned about the implications of war with the Church. Many more had seen their vassal families wiped out already by the powers of Envy and more sickening by the week.
Still, the Church had struck with poor timing. If the Church was united, undamaged itself, Clocktower would be crushed. As it was, there was hope if they were willing to take the fight to them. That would depend on too many things to calculate at the moment. Right now she needed sleep.
A night’s rest undisturbed by the Council. Just this once.
It wasn’t light outside when she was woken, called by the Council of Lords. They wanted to know more about the Finn family, to have confirmation of the rumours surrounding their Irish interests before making any further decisions. She took one look at the requests and threw it in the fire. They had reached no decision, and by the time she was finished, well… they would know anyway, one way or another. She went back to bed to make the most of the darkness.
The Grail War would end before they were finished.
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