176 Chapter One Hundred and Seventy-Six – An Unworthy Son of Gilderalz (1/2)

The headquarters of the Order of the Ruby Heart was up on the Third Circle.

At one time, he'd been told, it had stood on the Second. But as the power of the Aruan Church had waned, its greatest knightly Order's standing had fallen with it.

Part of this was due to the increasing stratification of wealth in the city. Aru wasn't really a chosen god of the nobles of the city. His power was rooted in the middle-class, of farmers, crafters, merchants, traders, ranchers, and the like, deeply embedded into many of the crafting guilds and working men and women alike. He had the broadest number of followers, and his priests were fiercely protective of their flocks, strong in their communities.

But that root of power was more outside the city, among the people, and not in the hearts of nobles and the greatly wealthy, who were more concerned about grasping after power then bringing prosperity to all.

Marginalizing the Aruan Church enough to silence its constant pointing out of their own moral faults had been quite a success, and it was largely unwelcome by the mighty in the halls of power... unless there were undead to be fought, in which case they were happy to send the incensed servants of Aru out to eagerly die against their dark foes, yes, indeed.

The Order of the Ruby Heart had a long and glorious history of defending the people of the Empire from threats from within and without, and its knights were known inside the Empire and without for their no-nonsense dedication and service to the people, righteous behavior, and willingness to die for their god and the people behind them.

Being demoted from the sight of the Empire and Court hadn't really hurt the manpower of the Order much, since it drew most of its recruits from outside the city, anyways. However, in the halls of power, they were largely ignored and with few friends, other Orders crowding in to take on the tasks and rewards of the Court, and the glories that went with it.

Not much of the Order's official business actually got done in the ornate, lovingly made hall up on the Third Circle. It was mostly there to attend court, keep track of who was playing whom, and receive proclamations from the Emperor and the Court. There were still people willing to deal with the Order, as it did command power and influence outside the city, and many lands and holdings of noble knights retired to estates and temples to manage them for the good of the people and the Order.

Given his unique status and abilities, the Inquisitor agent gave him a token and sent Errant right up to the Third Level to speak with the Grand Maester of the Order, a lauded Ten and powerful knight of the Empire, Knight-Baron Daemo Lawvin.

It was a bit of a long walk, for all that the road was arrow straight and free of obstructions. Traffic was restricted between Circles, after all, consisting mostly of unceasing deliveries of food and some processed materials going up, and high-end crafted goods going out... along with endless messengers and clerks moving this way and that on endless errands needed for running an Empire.

Clothing was increasingly expensive as Circle increased, he noted, as the wealthy moved further and further upwards to be among more of their own kind, and the powerful gathered to power. The Ninth Circle would see minor business magnates or successful merchants, while the Eighth would start to see the truly wealthy, minor nobles, landowners, and caravan owners, highly skilled craftsmen, and lower-level governmental officials.

The Seventh would be fleet owners, multi-city trading organizations, wealthy nobles of at least Baronial rank, and elite craftsmen. The Sixth was for rare specialized craftsmen, major landowners, fleet owners, Counts, mid-level governmental officials, and business magnates known across the Empire.

The Fifth was dominated by organizations. Here were the highest mundane Guild officials and halls, labor unions, the highest tier of non-Court officials, most embassies, and the largest military offices.

The Fourth was dominated by lesser Court functionaries, the greatest craftsmen in the country, generals and admirals of the Empire, many smaller knightly Orders, and lesser temples.

On the Third were those just outside the halls of true power. Powerful Churches out of favor, great knightly Orders, the families of powerful Dukes, the Guild Arcane and many powerful Casters and Champions of the Empire.

The Second was the heart of the Court, where most of the high-end business was done. The most powerful ministers, favored Churches, and powerful servants of the Empire resided there, and no one else.

The First was restricted to the Imperial Family and its branches and guardians. The Emperor actually descended to the Second if they wanted to hear the business of Court, otherwise whiling away their time at the top of the world in luxury.

He really didn't have any desire to visit the top of the Circles, as the Emperor was widely known to be living in debauched luxury while the Empire rotted underneath him. The Prime Minister effectively ran the Empire, jockeying and manipulating all the many factions of nobles, generals, merchant lords, and guild leaders with callous skill and ease.

After all, that was why he was there, right? To start hunting for problems.

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