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Harco Empire	By : Toddy Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 34430 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or films. I do not make any money from the writing of this story, just enjoyment.

Chapter List
- 237
- 238
- 239
[Note conversation =: “speech” & ‘thoughts’ & *telepathy* & #Parseltongue# & {telephone}]
~~~ PROTECTORATE ~~~
The seers’ party shook hands with the representatives of the members of the Caucus – for that was what they called their governing assembly – and marvelled at the sight before them. This had been revealed when that assembly had parted to let them inside Elysium.
A long level valley extended before them, its end hidden in a haze. Its sides were as steep as the ones they had seen nearby. However, instead of being scrubby, they were clothed in verdant terraces, some of which appeared to be attracting giant butterflies. Those insects were a puzzle, but what really caught the mages attention was the lake in the valley bottom, in the middle of which was an island reached by a zigzagging causeway. On that island was what appeared to be a small Doric temple, built in the Greek style. Standing on its roof was an enormous statue, obviously female and clothed in golden robes. It shone so brightly in the sunlight that it was an effort to stay focussed on it for very long.
Nicanor saw them trying to stare at the statue: “That is the statue of Athena, from the Parthenon. Let me tell you her story as we walk over the causeway. It was sculpted by Phidias and stood in the Parthenon in Athens for more than a century. One of the greedy Christian Roman Emperors ordered her dismantled and carried to Constantinople. She never arrived there because that emperor was assassinated and the order revoked. Now, the centurion in charge of the carriage of the statue decided to hide it somewhere. Whether he was still loyal to the assassinated emperor, or whether it was for personal gain, we shall never know; because that legion became embroiled in one of the revolts and lost. The few captured legionaries were executed as traitors, the others left for dead on the battlefield.”
Draco chuffed: “So the secret died with them?”
“Quite correct. The next part of the story is so mixed up with legend it is difficult to extract the truth. It centres around a Count Milos. Likely to have been a strong roman prefect who held territory around here. It was at the time of the Arabic invasions; they were killing every magical they could find of whatever race. Count Milos held to the old ideas and wanted to preserve a little of the ancient romano-greek culture. He had gathered a number of the persecuted magicals around him and some of the ancient races. They suggested hiding in a valley and covering it with a tholus. So he commissioned them to seek out a suitable valley. They found one which already had a tholus. Some say it was by divine guidance, others by pure chance. As you probably can guess; it was this valley.”
“Do you mean I have been clambering around above this?” questioned Janos.
“Quite likely, it is a very efficient one.”
Janos grabbed Harry’s hand: *Could they have seen me, up there? *
H: *Probably not. We have one like this in Britain, muggles walk all over it, but we can’t see them and they can’t see us, below them. The idea seems to worry you? *
J: *Yes … Well … somewhere up there I lost my virginity. *
H: *I see! Let’s listen to Nicanor’s explanation, shall we? *
“… … they found the parts of Phidias’s statue,” Nicanor was saying: “According to the legend, he commissioned the magicals to erect the statue on an island. Of course, the wooden framework that supported it had rotted away whilst it had been stored, so some other support had to be made. The goblins in the band of magicals proposed a hollow stone statue, and Milos agreed. He also desperately needed cash to pay his retainers in the war. So he proposed to cash-in some of the golden panels to pay them, but keeping enough over to gild the statue, once it was finished. This is how you see it today.
“I must say it’s quite magnificent … Um … Do some of the people here worship the old gods?”
“No. We worship the single creator either as Christians or Muslims.”
“So you’re all descended from the original magicals, are you?”
“Some are, but we have acted, over the years, to shelter magicals when various zealous fanatics have persecuted them. The countryside surrounding us has been a battleground for followers of both faiths for hundreds of years. Now, come and meet the Caucus members, that’s our governing body where every race and sect is represented.”
~~~ TEMPLE ~~~
Draco had been looking around him whilst Harry had been questioning Nicanor. He had seen someone, whom he assumed to be human, dressed in an extremely colourful robe. Then that person unwrapped the robe and flew off. The robe had been four wings wrapped decently around his body. Once in flight he was naked and sporting an erection, of much the same size and shape as a satyr’s. He then scrutinised the beings he had thought to be overlarge butterflies, and realised that they were another magical race, probably from antiquity. He was sorting through his memories from the old books as to which beings these were when one landed near him.
#Hello, I’m Calisto, you’re new here aren’t you. # He extended a hand from inside the folds of his wings.
#Hello, I’m Draco, yes I am new here, but not as a refugee, more as a visitor. #
#It’s many, many moons since we had visitors. Are there still wars and atrocities outside? #
#I’m afraid so. Our society has been erecting tholii to protect many magicals. Our main enemy is magical not temporal. Many, many moons ago we separated ourselves from the muggles because of persecution. Harry and I, with our friends, are searching for other magicals who need protecting. However, I suspect your tholus is stronger than any of ours. #
#Harry? Harry? I’ve heard that name somewhere … Oh yes … Prophet International … Defeated a dark lord some years ago. #
#That’s the one, I’m his partner. #
#I hadn’t realised that mages had become hermaphrodite, ours haven’t. #
#They haven’t, we’re gay, but we are married too. Our wives prefer each other, but such good genetic heritages could not go to waste, so we sired four healthy children. Three of whom are now attending the academy. #
#You have an academy? Marvellous! We have an eclectic system where our youngsters visit various clans within the enclave. I suspect that is not as disciplined or all-embracing as an academy. Would you be able to set one up here? Of course the Caucus would have to agree. #
The being’s enthusiasm made Draco feel that he should be cautious: #We are prepared to discuss something like that, but we need to get to know and trust each other first. #
#Yes, that does take time. That’s why our Caucus takes so long to make up its mind about anything. We are so diverse that we have to be careful not to alienate any one clan. #
#I don’t want to appear rude, but I have been racking my brains as to which of the creator’s creatures you are. #
#Not rude. We believe in plain talking; it leads to less misunderstanding. I’m a dryad. Before you say it, I don’t look like the depictions in classical art. When dealing with muggles we adopted a glamour. Things have changed in other ways too. Historically our females were naiads, but some many, many moons ago we drew apart and became hermaphrodite. Maybe it’s as the creator intended, but we are definitely two different races now. #
#That happened to the satyrs too. #
#There are still satyrs? Wonderful! Are there any in your party? #
Draco was starting to feel slightly uneasy about this slightly camp and overly enthusiastic being: #No! They have their own enclave elsewhere. #
With some relief Draco spotted another being approaching them, who said: #Are you going to introduce me, Calisto? Don’t hog all the guests, we all want to meet them. #
#I’m not hogging all the guests, Psyche, only one. #
#So? Share him then. # Psyche was less colourful that Calisto, her/his coverings were all greens and blues which subtly blended with each other and shimmered as s/he walked.
Draco also noted fin like structures at the back of his/her legs and ankles: #Hello. I’m Draco. I heard your name, do I presume you are a naiad? #
#At your service, sir. # Draco got a nod of the head and a laconic smile: #You’ll need to watch Calisto; he has a certain reputation. We naiads have to water him down occasionally to keep him in check. #
#I’m not that bad. Last time you did that; it took absolutely ages for my wings to dry out. Anyway, you enjoy those kinds of pleasures, too. #
Draco chuckled: #Is she as randy as the merpeople, I wonder. #
#Do they exist as well? # Calisto scowled at Psyche: #It seems you have distant cousins to torment, for a change. #
#Why bother, I get a much better reaction from you. # Psyche turned her back and concentrated on Draco: #You have met, the merpeople? #
Draco blushed: #Yes, and joined in their underwater frolics. #
Psyche grinned at him: #I hope you enjoyed it. I’m told they have prodigious stamina. #
Draco grinned back: #And prodigious accoutrements too. #
Psyche glanced towards Calisto: #Bigger than his? #
#I have some friends who enjoy ragging each other. We try not to feed their squabbles. #
Psyche nodded her head: #I see you have the measure of us. It’s a game we play when we get bored with the endless diplomacy of the Caucus. It’s almost second nature to us now. We’ll desist and introduce you to some other members of the Caucus. #
Flanked by two colourful beings; Draco made a stately progress around the stepped arena. Realising that this was their place of assembly. It was almost square and had four deep steps around the centre oblong, they had cushions upon them and were obviously used as seats. In two places there were shallower steps, in order to reach the deeper ones. One set led from the wider pillared entrance down to the floor. The other set, opposite, led up to the speaker’s podium. The podium was backed by a wall flanked by two pilasters. On each side of that, after a space, were the corner pillars, from them lead three other pillars to the other corners. The entrance had two widely spaced pillars between them. He mused upon the arrangements and realised that if he included the podium wall, then there were thirteen supports to the coffered ceiling. Whilst being politely friendly, in the back of his mind Draco was calculating the arithmantic possibilities of such a layout.
The two Italians had Janos and Valentina with them. She introduced them to a group of mages and, quite soon, they were talking about agriculture. The two Italians describing their methods and the other mages doing the same. Janos was fairly interested, having helped Vratsa in his garden. He was especially interested in the description of the irrigation systems that they used.
Harry, meanwhile, had continued chatting to the two clerics, as well as being introduced to various Caucus dignitaries.
Whilst the Caucus dignitaries had been entertaining the visitors in the temple, many of the ordinary folk had been coming across the causeway, or even apparating across the lake. They had set up tables upon which were many dishes. Harry had never seen such variety, even on Hogwarts’ feast days. As well as the big dishes there were small sample pots enough for a spoonful. Not only was he experimenting to see if the taste suited, but so were many of the other denizens. The people in charge of each table would, if asked, describe the ingredients and the cooking methods. Harry was in a foodie heaven, for once he remembered Aunt Petunia with some good feelings, because it was her harsh training that had started him off. Then, Mum Molly had added to his culinary vocabulary and Winky had tolerated his efforts in the cottage kitchen.
What started out as lunch slowly morphed into teatime and changed yet again to resemble dinner. There had been gastronomic breaks; when one of the sects put on an entertainment. Some were musical, some poetic, and some re-enacted stories from their past. By the end, the visitors had a good idea about the various ethnic traditions represented in Elysium. However, as the last performance took place, a mist started to form.
#It’s time for us to retire, # said Nicanor: #Are you staying with us, or would you rather go back to your camp? #
#So many people have asked us to stay with their clan; I think it best for us not to be shown favouring anybody, # said Draco: #We have much to ponder on and, I think, we would be better doing that in familiar surroundings. #
#Sorry if we overwhelmed you, but we get so few healthy visitors; just bruised people crawling here for asylum. It gave our people a good excuse for a party, too. #
#You didn’t swamp us; I can assure you. We enjoy meeting new people, but we also need time to savour that enjoyment. Now if Janos, Vito and Max wish to stay, we won’t advise them not to. #
Janos stared hard at Harry and grabbed his hand. *Can I talk to Nicanor if you hold his hand? *
*I expect so. * Harry took hold of Nicanor’s hand, who started to shake it: *No, Nicanor, we’re not leaving for a minute or two. Janos wants to speak to you. *
*Am I actually hearing you inside my head. Harry? *
*Yes. *
*Nicanor, this is Janos. I, like you, have only just started with this form of communication. Up to a couple of days ago, I had no idea that your enclave, let alone the magical world, ever existed. Harry may not feel overwhelmed; I most definitely do. I would like to return, were I allowed to, but I need some time to quieten my thoughts. So I would like to do what Harry does, at the moment. *
*I quite understand. You must do what you think fit. You will be very welcome any time you wish to visit. *
*This is Max speaking, Nicanor *[the Italians had grabbed Draco’s hands] *We would feel happier staying where Draco and Harry stay. We were learning Parseltongue, but we are still beginners. Were we able to come back we would like to practice some more. *
*As I said before, you are all very welcome. Now we must hurry before the mist gets much thicker. * Nicanor led them, at the trot, over the now slippery causeway and then crept cautiously and almost blindly as far as the entrance.
Valentina was waiting there: #Nicky; you must stay with me tonight. You’ll catch a chill if you return to your house, that is if you don’t lose your way and drown in the lake. #
Nicanor looked as though he was about to refuse, but a puff of mist blew in, almost obscuring them from each other: #Thank you. I will. #
Back in the paved yard and under Valentina’s lights, Harry’s pullover looked as though it was adorned with diamonds. The others looked equally expensive.
“Shake them off, before you come into the house, please?”
Draco waved his finger: “Sicco Nos!” and the dewdrops dried up: “Is that sufficient, Madame?”
“Yes. thank you. You’ve even dried my washing.” She pointed at the clothes line full of garments.
Pop: Robbie appeared and Janos jumped: “I’ve set up a homing beacon, Harry, if you want to apparate. I’ll side-along Janos. Here are the co-ordinates.”
“We’ll do it together as a mass-app. It’s less sickening that way.”
“Understood; three, two, one:”
“APPAREMUS!”
“Jebote! That was quick. Is that how your wardrobe thing works?”
“Something like that, Janos, but over much longer distances. No sick feeling either. Have a little sip of this it’ll settle your stomach.”
“Thanks … … … That’s better.”
Whilst taking their shower they discussed the following day’s programme.
“We have met so many people and been asked to visit their clans that I think we should make a start on that, suggested Harry.
“I agree, this time we’ll go together,” added Draco: “Maybe we’ll be able to fix people to places and callings. My memory is full of jumbled up faces and the jobs they do, although, most appear to be agricultural.”
“I’m still getting my head around all the astonishing scenes I’ve seen. Especially the butterfly-men and the green ones,” put in Janos: “I think I’d like to just be ordinary for a day … Erm … Would you mind too much if I went to help Vratsa? I’ll work an extra day with you to compensate.”
“We’re happy for you to go gardening if you wish, Janos,” averred Harry: “No need to work the extra day either. We agree that it’s a lot to take in. I was thrown in at the deep end too, but things were not quite as complicated, I had a week to get used to the idea, before I went to our academy.”
“Tell me about it, please?”
“YES!” added the Italians.
“Not now, we’re working out what’s happening tomorrow.”
“OH!” disappointment oozed from the trio.
“We really need a change of clothes,” said Maximiliano, with Vittorio nodding in agreement: “And there are one or two things to do at the Patrimonio. We can use the portal, can’t we?”
“You’ll need handing through.”
“One of us elves can do that,” replied Bobby: “Talking of clothes, we need to replenish yours, Harry and Draco. We only packed for a week and you’ve been grubbing around too.”
“We haven’t been ‘grubbing around’ as you put it,” denied Draco, haughtily.
Robbie chuckled: “Well your clothes definitely look as though you have.”
Draco scowled, then shrugged: “Very good, if you say so. I recall Mother saying that to me when I was much younger.”
There was no horseplay in the bath that night, each person was considering what they had seen and its implications. In fact, Draco and Harry chuntered for a couple of hours in bed, before they hugged and went to sleep.
~~~ ATHENA ~~~
Nicanor met the pair of seers when they emerged from Valentina’s adit after breakfast: “Would you like to see the goblin’s handy-work? It’s definitely something, and I think you may understand a little more about Milos’s attitude.”
D: *It’s worth a go. Might be an idea to get a bit of historical background. *
“Fine! What are you going to show us?”
“Something on the island.”
It was rather refreshing to walk along the causeway without being stared at or having to shake hands. Elysium’s denizens were at their normal daily occupations. The terraces were alive with activity. People were pruning and cultivating, the dryads were tending the upper terraces, not that there were that many. What intrigued Draco most were the naiads. They were in the lake causing waterspouts to rise, fountain-like, up the hillsides and thereby watering the plants. Although the inclined water-spout was a solid column as it ascended, once it reached its peak it split, fountain-like, into individual rain-drops.
D: *That explains how the hillsides look so verdant. *
H: *Neat little charm that! I must get the formula and the flourish noted down. It might help at Montecristo, on their terraces. *
“Watching our eco system at work. Are you?”
“Yes, Nicanor, we were.”
“Do you remember the mist, yesterday evening?”
“Yes? It was quite dense.”
“Well, as you already know, no doubt, plants breathe out oxygen which we inhale and then we, in turn, exhale carbon-dioxide and water-vapour. The heat from the sun keeps this in suspension and, in normal circumstances, the wind blows it away. Our tholus does not allow the wind to circulate, so, in the evening, as the valley cools down the water-vapour condenses, absorbing a little of the carbon at the same time. The mist slowly gets heavier and the water drops return to the lake. At certain times of the year we enhance this process by casting chilling charms.”
“So it’s a mini water cycle?”
“Yes Draco, and the plants get the carbon they need to thrive, too. We rely on them and they on us, just as our creator intended. There is also a manure and excrement cycle that we operate by including any waste vegetable matter. You can see one of the silos over there.” Nicanor pointed.
They were now walking around the back of the Caucus temple. From this new angle the wall behind the speaker’s podium appeared to be much thicker. It looked like a small buttressed building supporting the cloak of the statue.
“According to the records, the trailing cloak was not part of Phidias’ original, but it does serve a purpose, as you will see.”
Nicanor went to the back of the building. Looked carefully at the stones in the wall and pressed two. Slowly, a hidden door swung outwards, revealing a flight of stairs with a return; so what had appeared to be a buttress hid the first flight. Those steps were all that the building contained. It took the trio to just above the temple’s ceiling and they emerged beneath the solid train of the cloak. At this level it was possible to walk around the roof’s perimeter with the entablature forming a protecting wall. They made a circuit, once out from under Athena’s train. Nicanor pointed out various features and clans’ holdings as they went. Having circumnavigated the walkway, they ascended a further set of irregular steps set into the curve of the dome.
Again there was a hidden door, which Nicanor opened: “Only one at a time please.”
“You go first, Harry.”
“Fine!” Inside, Harry found a set of narrow spiral steps, which ascended inside the statue’s body. After a couple of turns, he was presented with a steep stone stepladder. Climbing up he passed through an opening and almost bumped his head on some protruding masonry. By dint of sitting on the floor he had gained and shuffling backwards, he was able to stand and poke his head through a circular gap into a space lit from without.
Looking out, he found himself, high up, peering through a narrow unglazed oval. Below him, he could see the place where they had assembled yesterday and the wooden causeway that led towards Elysium’s entrance adit. He reckoned that he was now six storeys up from the ground. Looking up he saw the crest of the surrounding mountains where he noticed a slight shimmer, in the place where the edges of the tholus touched them. Quite an impressive sight. He carefully extracted his head, sat on the floor, shuffled forward, placed his feet on the rungs and descended.
“That’s a much better viewpoint than from behind that wall.”
Draco scowled: “It’s an entablature, Harry, those relief carvings are on its other side. The ones you thought were so interesting.”
Harry grinned at Draco: “Whatever! Now it’s your turn to go and have a look.”
Draco grimaced and set off on his own expedition. Ten minutes later when he returned, Draco was chuckling.
He grinned at Nicanor: “Very useful, especially with an illiterate rustic audience.”
It was Harry’s turn to scowl: “What was?”
“You were looking through Athena’s lips.”
“So?”
“Imagine you had a superstitious set of lazy minions and you wanted to energise them into a raiding party, or something equally as strenuous. Then you tell them that the goddess will speak to them.”
Harry chortled: “Got the idea. Do you really think they were that gullible?”
“Those days were more superstitious than these,” explained Nicanor: “I imagine that the mob would have been given a drink, probably containing some ergot, or fly agaric; both hallucinogens and known to ancient civilisations. It would give them some false courage too.”
“I imagine that the speaker would distort her voice,” posited Draco: “Maybe even a male using falsetto.”
“More likely the second, Draco. Within the legends of Milos there are references of the goddess commanding her people to go out and exact revenge.” Nicanor smiled: “Now you know the secret of how it was accomplished.”
Having watched the hidden door be closed, Harry remarked: “I expect people were led into the idea that the building was there to support her train.”
“I hadn’t thought of that before,” mused Nicanor: “That’s quite a possibility, it does look heavy from down here. Now, come and share some coffee with me?”
~~~ CLAN ~~~
They walked over to the clan enclosure where Nicanor lived. It was not as one might expect. The houses were not grouped around a communal area. Instead they were above one another in tiers. It was difficult to know whether the houses had the terraces built around them, or the houses had been inserted into the terraces. In fact, the walls of the terraces had doors and windows in them and plants were growing upon their roofs. The houses were in pairs rising up the hillside and had a broad staircase leading up between them.
Nicanor’s dwelling was about halfway up the flight. As they passed each tier, the steps momentarily flattened in order to ease access to a pavement running in front of the dwellings. In front of the paths were kitchen gardens with vegetables and fruit bushes growing in neat rows. Every inch was used, including the walls with vines trained along them. When they turned along the path to his presbytery Harry noticed a pool in front of his front door.
Nicanor saw him looking: “That’s for watering the plants, Harry. All my washing water goes into it.”
“I thought the naiads caused water spouts for that.”
“They do, but some plants need extra water.”
He opened the door to a short passageway, and the another on the right: “This is our church.”
Although it had a low ceiling there was, at the far end a royal screen, and through the half open doors could be glimpsed the altar beyond. There were no chairs. One long wall was covered in icons, whereas the other one had windows pierced in it. The whole area smelled of incense and had a peaceful aura. Nicanor took them on a tour, describing the saints depicted on the icons.
Exiting the same way, they crossed the passage through another door and into a pleasantly cluttered room. Desk by the window, easy chairs in the middle, a dining table by the back wall. The door by which they had entered was fitted into an enormous bookcase, not entirely filled with books, having ornaments a bric-a-brac on some of the shelves.
“Do sit, I won’t be a minute.” Nicanor opened one of the doors opposite, which revealed a small kitchen, where he set about boiling a kettle and preparing their beverage.
D: *I think he lives by himself. *
H: *I think he’s celibate, many orthodox priests are, like Estéban and Beppe. *
D: *I’d have thought one of the magely families would have loaned him an elf. *
H: *Think of Petunia. She doesn’t trust them, despite letting them help cleaning the church. *
D: *Yes, but she’s peculiar. Don’t forget your upbringing. *
H: *In muggle eyes, and they are the major world population, it’s us that’s peculiar. *
D: *I s’pose so! *
“Here we are … Milk? … Sugar?”
They chatted generally about what they had seen, and the different groups in Elysium, slowly mapping out who to visit first and trying not to be seen favouring anyone.
“Will you be attending church tomorrow?”
“We hadn’t realised that it was Sunday, we’ve been so busy. The last time we were in an orthodox church Bishop Vasil took the service. Have you met him?”
“D’you mean Holy Vasil the miracle worker?”
“Yes!”
“I’ve heard of him, but never met him.”
“We came across him when he was still a priest. We were lucky enough to be invited to his consecration, too.”
“That must have been something!”
“Yes it was. Not that we understood all of what went on. Yes, we’d love to attend you church, Thank you. Perhaps we should be going. We had better visit Qasim next, so as to keep the balance.”
“Good idea, let me show you where his demesne is.”
It took half an hour to reach Qasim’s dwelling. He lived like Nicanor, a number of terraces up. However, he was married and the two seers were met by his children first. As with Nicanor, they were invited to see the mosque. It occupied the terrace on the other side of the steps from his house. As well as ritually washing in the pool outside, they covered their heads and took off their shoes before entering. As they had learned when visiting Sahir’s mosque. A beautiful carpet adorned the floor, which had prayer spaces woven into it facing Mecca. Qasim also had plaques on the back wall, these contained verses from the Koran, some of which he explained to them. They sat quietly at the back whilst Qasim and his flock said their midday prayers, and then were invited to join the family for lunch.
Qasim’s house was laid out in a similar way to Nicanor’s. Where the church would have been, there was now a passageway with bedrooms leading off it. As the passageway was at the back there was a full-height angled mirror to supply some light from the front door. At its end was the bathroom. The living room was bigger and had, like Nicanor’s house, the kitchen in one corner. The room resembled the ‘L’ shaped room at the cottage, except that they sat on low cushions to eat.
D: *I suppose that other door in Nicanor’s room led to his bedroom. *
H: *It was, I got a glimpse when he put his cloak away. *
This pattern of being shown around and then offered some refreshment, continued throughout the day, so much so that they did not need anything more to eat. Apparating back to the quarry the pair rushed to the toilet to rid themselves of excess liquids; relaxing afterwards and discussing their day with the others.
###
On Sunday Janos thought he would like to attend Nicanor’s service and so accompanied the seers. Astoria came too.
“Where’s Ginny?”
G: *I’m at The Seclusion with Vasil. We thought we’d give Nicanor a surprise. Is it possible to apparate through their wards? *
H: *We did yesterday. You should be able to home in on us. *
G: *Astoria’s got a beacon just in case. *
H: *Fine! *
G: *Vasil’s conducting a service with the Satyrs at the moment. We’re on hour ahead of you so that will give him enough time to greet his flock here and then come over to give the final blessing at your church. *
“It might be nice for us to surprise Nicanor,” surmised Astoria: “But I’d rather he was let into the secret beforehand.”
“I agree, Tor, it would be diplomatic.”
The found Nicanor getting ready for his service.
“I can give you five minutes.”
“You remember us telling you about Vasil?”
Nicanor narrowed his eyes: “Y-e-s?”
“Well … He would like to come over and bless your flock.”
“Good. Let me know when and I’ll make the arrangements.”
“At the end of your service today, be alright?”
“You must be joking!”
“No!” said Draco: “This my wife Astoria, and she has a homing beacon with her.”
“Nice to meet you.” Nicanor looked worried: “What’s a homing beacon?”
“Something Vasil’s apparition can focus on.”
“His ghost?”
“No – thaumic transportation.”
“Oh! Look at the time, I must start.” Nicanor focussed himself, said a quick prayer and went into the church. The three seers followed him.
The ceremony followed its usual two-hour long course and just as the royal doors were opening for the priest to give the blessing, there was a crack of apparition behind the screen. Instead of the expected priest in his vestments coming out, a bishop appeared. There was some consternation, but, being a magical congregation, most guessed what had happened. They were relieved when their priest followed him out.
Blessing over, Nicanor introduced Vasil to his congregation. A sort-of procession formed and went down the steps. On the flatter ground on the lakeside it was possible for people to actually crowd round and shake the prelate’s hand.
Vasil held up his hand for silence: “Thank you for your welcome, magicals all, but we must redress the balance.”
There was a double crack and Ginevra appeared with a very pale Sahir in a side-along.
“Imam Sahir has been looking after displaced Muslims for us.” Vasil continued: “I feel it would be good if he met your Imam Qasim.
In fact, Qasim had been alerted by the appearance of a bishop from within Nicanor’s church and was coming over to see who the unfamiliar dignitaries were.
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Harco Empire