The Usurper Appears in the Dead of Night – Part 01

The man believed that news arriving at night was always bad news. And this man was Pope Luvain, the head of the Theocracy of Bios and the leader of the continent-spanning Church.

But tonight’s news wasn’t bad. It was, in fact, excellent. The artworks sent to the auction in the maritime nation of Vireocean had sold for five times the expected price. Even with the time difference—while Ville Zentra was deep in the night, the Holy City of Agiapole was still early evening—it was big enough news to warrant a message.

Churches of a certain size communicated over long distances using a magical device called a Linga Quill, but it required expensive magical catalysts. Messages had to be as concise as possible.

At the end of the report, the sender had deliberately written, “Silver Face was very helpful.” That note brightened Luvain’s mood even further. His aides and priests later told others