As if he were Samson parting the pillars beneath Dagon’s temple, Gherardus shoved opened a pair of wooden doors and entered a miserable little antechamber near the bottom of the world.

We enter Chapter 3 of Betrayal, a chapter titled Betrayal, with Gherardus Fabbro firmly in charge of Parthenope. His parents were killed, murdered, assassinated in the palace several floors above this dingy room twenty-eight years ago.
Gherardus wears a gold ring on his right index finger with his mother’s name etched inside. Meliore. The gold ring was a gift from a former pope, Celestine III. Gherardus clearly resents what it stands for – enslavement to the religion of the Christ.
There are several figures gathered in the cella waiting for him. Gherardus walks by them all and sits on an oak chair as if it were a throne. It is the chair his mother was sitting in when she died. It still has a tear in the back where the arrow passed through her and into the cushion. Why is his father’s chair kept in the basement far from view? The reader is left to speculate but why I believe he did it, because I’m the author, is because he doesn’t want that reminder of his sin near him every day. The gold ring is reminder enough.

Talento Fabbro, the ambassador who had arranged this unofficial assembly, materialized like a spirit from the darkness behind the throne. Slender and clean-shaven, Talento is an eclectic man of ease and grace. He has a proud but effeminate pose, his wiry emasculated frame confidently sporting a brocade gown of many colors.

Talento is Gherardus’ youngest son, and the ambassador to the Church. He is also a sneaky, unscrupulous person who knows a lot of secrets and uses these secrets as leverage over his enemies and his friends. Few trust him, but still, he thinks himself intelligent and worthy of the throne one day. I placed him in showy gowns to present him as an unworthy David-type. He is crowning himself. Talento doesn’t respect his father, the Lord Commander, and believes he can influence him but nothing could be further from the truth. Despite his advanced years, Gherardus Fabbro is still a formidable man who was once a warrior. His keen mind and years of experience can usually outwit Talento. Experience is something Talento underestimates.

Talento gently touched the left shoulder of the Grand Duke. “Father,” he murmured in Gherardus’ ear, “we must begin. Bishop Anselm is anxious to finish and deliver our verdict to Rome. Pope Innocent is growing impatient with our progress. He awaits our decision. Time is wasting.”

The secret assembly in the cella is a matter of protocol. It wasn’t really necessary but they needed to speak a few secrets in a remote place where no one else could hear what was being said.
We learn now why Gherardus was upset about his enslavement to the Church before entering the room. He must play his submissive role yet again, be a subordinate and loyal subject. And he hates it.
“Time is wasting,” is a constant theme throughout The Crystal Crux Series. All the characters deal with time and how to use it, how not to waste it, how to manage it, throughout the story. Some are patient and some are impatient, but they are all aware of time. And they often butt heads with one another when decisions must be made than involves time usage.

“Just once before I perish, I want to see the deific fire that blanched Moses when he withstood the burning bush. I tire of his minions and their prattling. They are not even men. Celibate. Gluttonous. Ravenous creatures who do nothing more than whisper the whims of the great mosquito.”

Gherardus Fabbro goes on a bit of a tirade and insults the Church and its acolytes. Facing an unfamiliar bishop, he teases that he may swat this bishop away and see if God gets mad at him for it.
Gherardus is tired of hearing God’s instructions through sinful mouthpieces he does not respect.
Bishop Anselm steps forward, and disturbed by Gherardus’ accusative words, decides to address the allegations, pushback against them, treat Gherardus as sinner who has fallen from grace and needs to return to a right way of thinking.
Gherardus has no time or patience to listen to this condescending man who is younger than him, preach to him about anything. They get into a tit-for-tat until it seems like the bishop might turn and leave without resolving the situation.
In Chapter 4 : Derogated, Gherardus is forced to surrender his will to the way of things.

They had turned a corner and Gherardus had gone as far as he could go, prolonging the inevitable. His railings ceased. Held at bay by his own chain of sin, the Lord Commander became mute.
Talento enthusiastically stepped forward and spoke for him.

Gherardus knows what they are about to do is wrong, but he has sinned so many times in his past he has become numb to it. It is inevitable, this betrayal. And now we will learn who and what the betrayal is all about.

“And his name for the record?” Anselm asked.
“Pero de Alava. A knight of Penafiel. The apostate has vocally, in the presence of dozens of witnesses, supported the profane claims of Philip.”

Here I worked some actual history into the fictional story. The tale is taking place in the year 1198.
In September of 1197, Henry VI, the Holy Roman Emperor, died.
The Roman Empire as many people know it with its Caesars and tribunes, was long gone. What eventually replaced the Roman Empire was the Holy Roman Empire which was more Germanic than Italian.
The Holy Roman Empire began with Charlemagne in 800AD, reaching its peak with the Hohenstaufen Dynasty, which operated out of Swabia in Germany. Rome and Italians in general, were often in opposition to these tyrannical German emperors and there was often conflict between them. The Church was also involved and hated the Hohenstaufen line because of the Investiture Controversy which I do touch upon in the series.
The Church does not want Henry VI replaced by Philip of Swabia, another Hohenstaufen.
The reason Pero de Alava is in Capua is because Emperor Henry VI appointed him to the post, the empire’s southernmost post. It’s a dangerous place for any member of the empire to be stationed.
Pero’s loyalty to the empire and Philip’s claim to throne is about to be severely challenged.

“Rugerius!” Gherardus barked.

Stay tuned for the next installment where we learn about Gherardus Fabbro’s eldest son, Rugerius, and his role in the betrayal of Pero de Alava.
See you next time.

Betrayal: Understanding the Beginning

Allen M Werner is the author of the epic dark fantasy books
THE CRYSTAL CRUX SERIES

Be sure to also check out the Greek mythology novella – Ares in Chains.