The Holy City.
Time had quietly slipped into mid-November. Nearly a month had passed since the "October Revolution" that had shaken the Continent.
The reconstruction of the Holy City was proceeding in an orderly fashion. The rubble had been cleared, preliminary repairs had begun on damaged buildings, and pedestrians and merchants had reappeared on the streets. Though their smiles were still somewhat forced, a spirit of life was, at last, reawakening in this ravaged land.
And behind this restoration of order was the day-and-night toil of the new Pope, Vesta I.
At dusk, the last vestiges of a faint golden afterglow lingered on the horizon.
Elizabeth had just ended a day-long, tedious meeting with the College of Cardinals. Dismissing her accompanying Assistant Priests and Attendants, she walked alone through the silent corridors toward the private prayer hall located in the deepest part of Chenxi Hall, reserved exclusively for the Pope.
