The bells of the Papal City tolled grimly as another round of solemn ceremonies were completed, but within the stone walls of the Vatican halls, there was no celebration — only grim preparation.
Pope Peter III, flanked by a cohort of red-robed cardinals, including the ever-watchful Matthaeus, stood in the Sanctum Majoris — the ancient heart of the Holy See — a vaulted hall where only the most secret councils of the Church were held.
Laid across the marble table before them were letters bearing the crests of the various knightly orders of Christendom — the Hospitallers, the Templars, the Santiagoans, and more.
Each had been sent summons with urgent missives:
Come to the Holy See.
Stand ready.
God's sword must be drawn.
The orders responded quickly, and The grandmasters were arriving day by day, their armoured retinues swelling the narrow streets of the Principality's great capital.
