Chapter 20: The Pawn and the Bishop
Today was a solemn day for the followers of light.
Outside Graheel's cathedral of light, located on the western side of the city, there was a large crowd of people in black. Many were followers of the Church, waiting to be allowed entry into the cathedral to pay their respects.
The Light Speaker, Balc Sheridan, had passed away. He was the religious leader for the Church of Light. The man was beloved by many and the crowd size had reflected that. It was a bigger crowd of people coming to pay respect than it had been for previous Light Speakers. The number was probably in the thousands and it would take days for everyone to enter the cathedral and pay their respects.
While everything seemed mostly calm on the outside of the cathedral, it was chaotic on the inside. Half the members of the clergy and laymen were running around frantically preparing rituals and service for the people outside, while the other half was entertaining the wealthy and influential that were allowed entry into the cathedral ahead of the common people.
Organizing the whole thing was the former Hand of Light, Sam Crowley. He was an older gentleman in his fifties with short salt and pepper hair. Sam usually wore long flowing white robes for his job, but today he had switched them to black for the service. He usually exuded a calm and welcoming aura about him, but today there were bags under his eyes and anyone could tell he was stressed and tired. He was currently standing in a hallway talking to a nun and priest about the preparation.
Crowley: “If we are to run out of incense for the ceremonies, tell the others that there is more stored in the basement. I had it prepared for this week. So, hopefully it will be enough.”
Nun: “Just for clarification. You want us to let in only fifty people every five minutes?”
Crowley: “Yes, until someone comes to tell you to stop letting people in, or it starts to look too crowded to you. Now, do either of you have any more questions?”