8. Coveted Children

"Tell me what you know before I consider this." Tyrus firmly held his ground.

The archbishop's eye narrowed. Staring deeply at Tyrus, Castus felt pressure descending into the room. This lasted for a few seconds, but seeing Tyrus didn't stand down the pressure relented. Sighing the archbishop sat down in his chair. Looking towards Tyrus he spoke, for the first time in a more respectful tone.

"He has what I only know as the Blessing of Creation. I do not know the origin god this comes from, but I can at least say it's something unique. The pedestal I have here is able to measure true information of all blessings up to certain levels. Your son has something that exceeds that. The most important part is this is something the church has never recorded or flagged for us to look out for." The archbishop leaned forward, and with a grave tone spoke. "Tyrus this is murky water. I can give you speculations, but I think it would be for the best if you let the church take Castus under our wing. He will be formally educated and give the position of bishop when he comes of age." The archbishop's eyes darted to Castus for a moment and Castus saw greed under that poker face. Ulterior motive leaked out ever so slightly, hinting at something else. The archbishop was a clergyman and didn't deal with business often, but Tyrus was. He saw the leaked motive and knew, that Castus was something the church wanted. The warning from before was forgotten by Tyrus, the unknown no longer scared him.

"Archbishop, while I appreciate the offer, Castus is my only son and I can't let my title fall after it was so recently acquired. Although I would not mind letting Castus come to the church a little more often if the church were to be kind to us." Tyrus looked at the archbishop with a sly smile. He understood how badly the archbishop wanted Castus to join the church of Sol. He wanted to play both sides, letting the church back his family giving him more legitimacy as a noble, but keeping Castus out of their clutches to inherit his title. It was a risky play as the church was not an entity to take lightly, but as a businessman he had to try.

The archbishop seemed disgusted at first by Tyrus' words. He was far more used to people rolling over for whatever he asked and he had not been denied in a long time. He believed that this recent noble would still have his peasant mindset to give in to higher authority. He gritted his teeth. The rules of the church were firm though and they bound him. He could not forcibly take Castus from Tyrus. Besides recruiting Castus had been second to learning more information about the blessing that had been bestowed upon him. As his ego battled with his duty, but Tyrus spoke up again. "Archbishop would you be so kind as to tell me the details of Castus' blessing and to confirm his citizenship?" This startled the archbishop out of his thoughts. He was angry at Tyrus, but seeing no path to gain both Castus and the information he sighed and spoke. "The information was minimal at best. The description was the same as what the name would suggest. The blessing owner will have a far easier time creating things. Thats all I could get." As the words of defeat left the archbishop's lips, Castus finally took a breath. While the entire conversation had been tense this information was all Castus cared to hear. He was safe. He parents did not find out his origins. With the concern of being discovered now gone, Castus realized the significance of the conversation that had just occurred. His blessing was something the church wanted. An organization of this caliber wanting him meant disaster. Sure, Tyrus was a lord, but they were barely nobility. If someone like a Duke discovered his blessing what could his businessman of a father do to stop them from stealing him away?

Castus' thoughts were cut by the words of his father. "Archbishop would you please record my son as a citizen and we can get back to this... discussion." Tyrus paused with a grin as he felt himself gaining ground to negotiate with the archbishop.

Castus squirmed with anxiety in his mothers arms while the archbishop walked towards her and placed a hand over Castus head and the other on a book. The familiar glow of magic covered him then transferred to the book in his hands. The archbishop walked away in a huff as he checked the book to confirm something. "Your son has been recorded as a citizen. When the larger branch comes by they will take it to the capital for safe keeping." The archbishop was clearly pissed that Tyrus was not simply doing as he asked, but the confines of his duty prevented him from acting on his emotions. He returned to his seat and Tyrus continued his discussion. "While I can't hand Castus over to you, I would be more than willing to have him come by every now and then to talk with you about this blessing as long as the church would to help him out." His words seem to dance in the air like a viper coiling up to strike. "All I ask is a declaration of the church's support for him." Those words struck down at the archbishop. He seemed petrified by the words. Sure that didn't sound big on paper, but the church rarely declared their support for anyone truthfully. The last time they had was in support of the current monarch, so giving their support to a mere child of a lord was unfathomable. The archbishop's face grew in anger at the audacity of this lord in front of him, before it softened suddenly as a thought grew on his face.

"I'm sorry Lord Tyrus that is far above my station. I cannot make those promises, but I will send word at a later time after I talk to my superiors." The archbishop spoke in a gentle way. Like all of the anger from before had left. It had been quelled, but a mischievous plan formed in his mind. Tyrus rose and shook his hand, pleased that the archbishop had caved to his demands. Tyrus knew public support of Castus was asking well beyond his worth. He expected the archbishop to settle lower, but he was happy he had asked so high.

Castus and his family left the church following the meeting with the archbishop and returned home. There was nothing left to do at the point. Unlike Earth with computers and internet, documentation of people was done by hand through the church that had an agreement with the current monarchy. The church would document new citizens and other important information throughout the territory in exchange for the land the churches were built on. It was a simple exchange, but the hassle of it was immense. The larger branches in big cities would often send updates to the capital once every year. These smaller branches out where Castus lived only sent reports every decade or so. The importance of monitoring these smaller towns was significantly less as these territories existed mainly for merchants and travelers to stop at on the way to a destination. This delay in reporting gave the archbishop the time he needed to complete his plan.