WANTED- New Archbishop (Must have own robes) - ASA and Hozland

[DaveIronside]

To:- His Holiness the Archbishop of the Blood

I am writing to you to inform you of the tragic death of Bishop Quintius Piovene, the leading Bishop of the Christian Prophets in the Allied States of Ardia. While our faith lacks the support of the vast majority of the people here our community is close knit and supportive of each other. While we number perhaps less than 70,000 individuals we are determined to continue to spread the truth of our faith and submit ourselves to the tradition that the holder of your title select the new Bishop to lead our nations true faithful. I am also writing to you to ask that you visit us in person and present the Bishop with his vestments thus giving our faith a much needed spiritual uplift while helping draw the media's eyes towards our Church family. It would mean a great deal to us here for you to visit in person and bless us with your guidance.

Your Servant in Faith
Cassian Corti
Chief Steward of the Christian Prophets in the ASA.

[EricaHozland]

Anderson Francis had held the title of "Archbishop of the Blood" for the last 8 years and in that time had not had the need to appoint any Bishops. The faith of the Christian Prophets was sadly not one with what could be described a global following. Hozland was the bastion of the faithful and dotted across Mundus were just merely outcrops of belief mainly sitting alongside their Christian counterparts. For the most part the faiths could be considered compatible save for a few relatively minor differences including the most major, the leadership of the faith. While Christians followed their Pope or in some cases monarchs or other local leaders the Christian Prophets believed that their leader was selected from a chain of unbroken Archbishops dating back to Simeon of Jerusalem. Yesterday he had held a service in the Cathedral at Mahlham attended by a great number of worshippers, among them members of the royal family who were considered protectors of the faith.

Today he had been joined on his flight to the Allied States by Princess Helena who was representing the royals of Hozland. King John had wanted to come but with the invite coming from the Chief Steward and not the ASA's Head of State he didn't think it appropriate to go forcing almost a state visit. She would be here merely to observe and pass on the families best wishes to whoever ended up in the position of Bishop.

[DaveIronside]

It was not often that Cescedia played host to the Archbishop of the Blood, 72 year old Octavia could only remember perhaps two visits in her lifetime but now as she joined around 5,000 others outside the small Cathedral that was home to the Christian Prophet faith in the Allied States. The group had been waiting patiently to see their spiritual leader and pay their respects. The first to arrive however was not the Archbishop of the Blood but Julius Devaux, the Praetor or effective King, of the Allied States. His fleet of blacked out SUV's pulled up and he exited the vehicle making a hasty line towards Cassian Corti, the Chief Steward for the Christian Prophets, an effective civil servant for the religion. The Chief Steward bowed deeply and then shook his monarchs hand. "Your Majesty we did not expect you here.......not that you aren't welcome."

"Thank you" Devaux responded. "While I don't follow your faith I am keen to ensure that all religions are respected." He was more concerned with the photo oppurtunity than actually any real meaningful involvement. He made his way with Cassian over towards the crowd and spoke to some about how long they'd followed the faith and why they'd made the journey here today.

"It is my hope" Octavia said when the Head of State spoke to her, "That one day you will see the real way to God and join us in our worship Your Majesty" She told him before adding, "But we keep you and the States in our prayers always."

"Thank you" Devaux said shaking her hand. "And while I appreciate the invitation I will maintain my own faith and perhaps then between your prayers and mine we can both look after each other and the States." The crowd gave a small clap and then were informed that the Archbishop was on the way. He waited for the vehicle to stop and a small choir of students from one of the local youth groups began a song that Devaux only vaguely recognised. "Your Holiness" he said with no sense of conviction other than a friendly handshake. He then noticed Princess Helena. "Your Highness." he said more warmly, "We are delighted to have you here......if my memory serves you are the first royal from Hozland to visit in a very long time. I hope once matters of your religion have been concluded you'd consider coming over to the Palace and dining with us and if possible we can discuss a few matters." The Praetor exchanged a bit of small talk as he, Cassian and the other Priests present guided the Archbishop and Princess over to the crowd. Octavia found herself tearing up as she got a few seconds with the Archbishop and then the Princess. "Your Highness we're so grateful your family are with us today. I just hope you could convince our own monarch to join your family." She said before the Princess was moved along.

[EricaHozland]

Archbishop Anderson Francis accepted the handshake of the Praetor warmly. "It is delightful to be here and thank you for the warm welcome you and your people have given us." He said with a smile. He wanted to ditch the formalities of meeting with the Allied States leader and just walk over and interact with those of the faith yet he was only too aware that the media would be gazing on and doing such a thing could be considered rather rude. "This is Princess Helena, I'm proud to say her family are probably one of the most staunch supporters of our faith."

"Thank you" the girl blushed slightly, while it was true the family had the titles of being connected to the faith not all of them held the faith so deeply. Helena wasn't what could be described as devout but she knew her way through their sacred texts and could talk about the faiths theology with the priesthood without being too embarrassed. "I'd be thrilled to chat with you about things once this is done. My father is keen for us to build closer ties, especially with nations where our cousins in faith live."

The pleasantries done the two Hozlanders made their way over to the crowd and began smoozing. The Archbishop was walking the rope line shaking hands, blessing those who asked and chatting happily. There was less of a clamour by the crowd to speak with Helena but she did her best to entertain those waiting for the Archbishop. As she spoke with Octavia the Princess couldn't help but be reminded of her old grandmother. "Well I can't promise I can convince him but hopefully we can educate him some."

It was about half an hour before the Archbishop and Helena had finished the meet and greet they made their way into the Cathedral to speak with the Chief Steward.