A priest scurried to the door, and shortly thereafter a brawny officer with red hair, a polished breastplate and armed with an embossed shield and antiquated short sword entered. His expression clearly showed that he was aware of the army at the city gates.

‘One question, Colonel,’ Dolmant said to him. ‘My brothers have asked me to chair their deliberations. In the absence of an Archprelate, do I speak in his stead?’

The colonel considered it for a moment. ‘You do, Your Grace,’ he admitted, looking somewhat pleased.

‘That’s unheard of,’ Makova protested, obviously a bit chagrined that he had not taken advantage of this obscure rule during his own tenure as chairman.

‘So is this situation, Makova,’ Dolmant told him. ‘A Crisis of the Faith has only been declared five times in the history of the Church, and in each of the four preceding crises, a vigorous Archprelate occupied the throne which so sadly stands empty before us. When faced with unique circumstances, we must improvise. This is what we’re going to do, Colonel. The Patriarchs are each going to sign documents turning command of their individual detachments of soldiers over to the Church Knights. To save time and unnecessary arguments, as soon as those documents are signed, you and your men will escort each Patriarch to the barracks of their sundry forces where the Patriarch may confirm his written command in person.’ He turned then to look at the Preceptors. ‘Lord Abriel,’ he said, ‘will you and your fellow Preceptors dispatch knights to take command of the soldiers just as soon as they are released and to assemble them in a place of your choosing? Our deployment must be quick and unfaltering.’

Abriel stood. ‘We will, Your Grace,’ he declared, ‘and gladly.’

‘Thank you, My Lord Abriel,’ Dolmant said. He looked back at the ranks of the Hierocracy, rising tier upon tier above him. ‘We have done what we can, my brothers,’ he said to them. ‘It seems most appropriate now that we proceed immediately to turn our soldiers over to the Knights of the Church, and then perhaps we might each devote ourselves to seeking counsel from God. Perhaps He, in His infinite wisdom, will suggest further steps we might take to defend His beloved Church. Therefore, without objection, the Hierocracy stands in recess until such time as this crisis has passed.’

‘Brilliant,’ Bevier exclaimed. ‘In one series of master-strokes, they’ve wrested control of the Hierocracy from Annias, stripped him of all his soldiers and forestalled the taking of any votes while we’re not here to stop them.’

‘It’s kind of a shame that they broke off so quickly,’ Talen said. ‘The way things stand right now, we only need one more vote to elect our own Archprelate.’