Archbishop Tomark had devised a new system for Annan, one outside the Sorcerer system.
After all, Divinity was wonderful stuff. It could let Annan use Mage Hand and the formidable Edict Divine Arts, and even shrug off the effects of low-level spells!
Most importantly... he could use Mage Hand!
Annan couldn't help looking forward to tomorrow night's dream. It would bring him the first bit of Faith Power he'd ever received...
Would Lady of Wealth snatch it away? If not, he'd have gained yet another unexpected advantage.
"I have no more questions. Rest well, and may you live to a hundred."
"Oh? So I'll die before I turn three hundred?"
They shared a smile, and Annan hurried out of the Embassy.
Archbishop Tomark watched Annan leave, thinking quietly.
Annan was an excellent City Lord, but he hadn't yet learned to hide what he was thinking.
Did he possess Divinity, or did he have news of Lady of Wealth?
Archbishop Tomark couldn't tell. He beckoned over a Priest in the distance. "Ask Bishop Garcia to come here."
At the Archbishop's summons, an elderly man Annan had seen at the banquet came into the hall.
"Teacher."
Bishop Garcia bowed his head. Archbishop Tomark had groomed him as his successor.
"I intend to deepen our ties with the Holy Son. What do you think?"
"Teacher, I have no objections. The Holy Son is crucial to the Church. I only worry that our brethren elsewhere will resent us for favoring Free City so strongly."
During the Year of Turmoil, every Church was trying to contact the Gods, and the Wealth Church was no exception. It had tried calling to Lady of Wealth by building a city of pure gold—a city of wealth—and sacrificing Godspawn, among other methods.
When Annan first became the Holy Son,