Since the military had led the initial colonization of Loen-occupied East Balam, far more Storm Churches than Churches of the Evernight Goddess had been established in its major cities, with an equally wide gap in the number of worshippers. When Angel and Antigonus entered Saint Disia Church, Grahame's largest Church of Night, there were even fewer worshippers in the Prayer Hall than bishops and pastors.
His hair half white, the coarse, dark stubble on his cheeks a little longer than when Angel had last seen him, Antigonus found a pew and sat down as he said:
"To curb the spread of the Goddess's teachings, the Church of Storms has strongly advocated preserving the faith in Death throughout East Balam. That includes using coffins as transportation, customs that venerate death, and buildings shaped like inverted pyramids... of course, it now appears that all their efforts were wasted."
Was that because Death and Evernight were adjacent pathways, yet held different views on death and eternal sleep? Angel silently speculated.
Unfortunately, Death now amounts to the Evernight Goddess too...
Sitting on a pew in the corner, Angel gathered her thoughts and used mirror magic to shield them from prying eyes. After Antigonus finished reporting on the recent movements of the Primordial Moon's followers, she quickly turned to the main subject:
"How much do you know about the Blood Emperor of the Fourth Epoch?"
Unsurprised, Antigonus nodded and said:
"A great deal. Which part would you like to know about?"
"Did his cooperation with Cheek, the Primordial Demoness, begin before or after he became a god? What exactly were they doing?"
Rather than asking about the history of the Tudor Empire, which she already knew, Angel pressed him on the most important questions.
"Before becoming the Red Priest, Alista Tudor was not yet His