[ Aymeric thought again, with wonder, what Cain's commanders had wasted. Even half-informed, his proposals had the quality of a leader's — the man didn't maneuver around walls so much as he swept through them, teasing out solutions where another man might have seen impossibilities. He had a natural understanding of the machinations of state, of power, of how to see things done. ]
So you've a mind for this, as well. Gods have mercy on any who would oppose us when we are wed.
[ It was a jest, like the rest of it, but a calculating part of his mind whispered: if it were done outside the city, without fanfare, in a proper chapel, and they could have witnesses attest to Halonic rites, and he came back to the city quietly with a ring on his finger — they already knew he was hardly a man of faith, and he tired of the unwed daughters of wealthy men concocting tales of his affairs, tired of using himself as bait. The interest would never end; teasing the lure of quiet trysts was a national pastime — but it might slow.
But the idea supposed conditions that could not be guaranteed, and many of them. It was a pleasant daydream. He pushed it away, focusing. ]
My...relationship with the Church is as poor as it possibly can be, to be frank. Much of what I've done in enacting peace, denouncing old teachings, and encouraging reforms was all once considered heretical — and remains so, you can be certain, by much of the clergy. The punishment for heresy was most often death, by direct means or otherwise, but the commonfolk were the most disadvantaged by the Church's teachings — and so their support swung to me, and that support has been something of a shield.
Still, there is a necessary balance: I must also maintain some favor among the most influential noble houses, whose supremacy was once a part of the faith. They have the most power to block my proposals, if they so choose. I am a representative among them, you must understand, not a king; I have limited my own authority. Ishgard has ever been ruled by a single man, and I have, effectively, deposed my father: accusations of ambition and patricide are not to be taken lightly, though I've weathered them thus far.
However— [ he shifted his arms, wanting to reach out for Cain's, reassure him that his ideas were right, even with these obstacles and qualifications— ] —with such advancements as you propose, I could win enough support that all but the staunchest, most conservative men of the Church would be forced to allow new ideas. Who could rightly oppose swifter trade, less danger along the roads? The chance to reclaim what has been lost with minimal risk?
no subject
So you've a mind for this, as well. Gods have mercy on any who would oppose us when we are wed.
[ It was a jest, like the rest of it, but a calculating part of his mind whispered: if it were done outside the city, without fanfare, in a proper chapel, and they could have witnesses attest to Halonic rites, and he came back to the city quietly with a ring on his finger — they already knew he was hardly a man of faith, and he tired of the unwed daughters of wealthy men concocting tales of his affairs, tired of using himself as bait. The interest would never end; teasing the lure of quiet trysts was a national pastime — but it might slow.
But the idea supposed conditions that could not be guaranteed, and many of them. It was a pleasant daydream. He pushed it away, focusing. ]
My...relationship with the Church is as poor as it possibly can be, to be frank. Much of what I've done in enacting peace, denouncing old teachings, and encouraging reforms was all once considered heretical — and remains so, you can be certain, by much of the clergy. The punishment for heresy was most often death, by direct means or otherwise, but the commonfolk were the most disadvantaged by the Church's teachings — and so their support swung to me, and that support has been something of a shield.
Still, there is a necessary balance: I must also maintain some favor among the most influential noble houses, whose supremacy was once a part of the faith. They have the most power to block my proposals, if they so choose. I am a representative among them, you must understand, not a king; I have limited my own authority. Ishgard has ever been ruled by a single man, and I have, effectively, deposed my father: accusations of ambition and patricide are not to be taken lightly, though I've weathered them thus far.
However— [ he shifted his arms, wanting to reach out for Cain's, reassure him that his ideas were right, even with these obstacles and qualifications— ] —with such advancements as you propose, I could win enough support that all but the staunchest, most conservative men of the Church would be forced to allow new ideas. Who could rightly oppose swifter trade, less danger along the roads? The chance to reclaim what has been lost with minimal risk?