#108 The Second Ecumenical Synod of the Sanguine Rose

December 13, 2022

#108 The Second Ecumenical Synod of the Sanguine Rose

The King of Thorns could see what was happening. But the Wight King was entirely content to remain silent; to watch as the hubris of the Soulblight lords played out. Every faction except House Heisenberg was represented. They had gathered for another of the Hermit's inane 'synods', his latest futile attempt to bring together the factions of the Sanguine Rose in hope of the Reunification of the Cinquefoil. The truly religious vampires such as the Bloody Pilgrims genuinely believed such a reunification would represent the ushering in of a messianic age of glory. The King of Thorns did not, but he had no intention of expressing that opinion.

He had no heart, not even a cold dead one, but it had stirred when he beheld the Pontifex Surrexit for the first time. For they knew each other - they had once been one, but were now merely two parts of five, two Petals of the Cinquefoil. Another two Petals yet dwelled in Barfunweltz and had also come to this gathering - the False Messiah and the Empty Hearse. But one was insane, and the other unknowable. The Fifth Petal was lost to them - stolen and reforged by Sigmar as a Stormcast Eternal: Calyx the Vengeful, Lord-Exorcist of the Gravewalkers. The Wight King was one of the few who knew this truth, but he kept it to himself for this knowledge was of little worth. He could perceive no way to reunite the soul shards of Gulaab Kaphool, and he was not certain it would be advantageous if they could. Perhaps one day he would use his knowledge to buy some advantage. But he was content to wait.

In the meantime, the King of Thorns silently watched the Soulblight do their politics. He was intrigued by signs of a secret alliance which appeared to have penetrated all the vampiric factions. Sir Jean de Majeure of the Crusaders of the Rose appeared to be in control of it, and their agenda seemed to be the installation of Elohiim the Ineffable, Primogenitor of the Cinquefoil, as figurehead of the Servants of the Rose. Individuals from each faction were making his case in more or less obvious ways. The deluded ghouls of the Raptured Court already worshipped him as one of their messiahs. The King of Thorns had no argument with his former Warden enjoying such power, although the Vengorian's episodes of insanity would surely render him vulnerable to shifting political winds. But why was Sir Jean and his diverse co-conspirators making such a ploy? Elohiim's original bloodline was the Legion of Night (another fact the King did not feel the need to share). Had Barfunweltz been infiltrated by a cabal of vampires in service of Mannfred von Cartstein?

As before, the religious zeal and arcane passions of the vampires and necromancers began to coalesce, and new endless spells were manifested and released into Barfunweltz. The Wight King watched and listened, unmoved and unspeaking.