THE TRASH PRINCE'S SYSTEM

CHAPTER 7: PRINCE THERON'S MISCHIEF

True to his word, Prince Theron, the mages who attached themselves to him, Lady Caelora, and his supporters showed up at Lady Philippa’s Theater later in that day to grace a play depicting the Holy Church, The Crown Prince, and House Blackmoor as evil villains that mercilessly persecuted ordinary mages, taught the citizens of Thaloria to pray what he considered senseless useless novenas, and useless religious rites, while withholding the right of  every Thalorian citizen to decent education, by calling those who supported education initiatives in the Kingdom as irreverent heretics who have no love for humility, honor, tradition, and obedience to the Holy Church. 

The Second Prince made sure the bill was charged into the account of the Crown Prince, The Holy Church, and House Blackmoor, and the Second Prince took care to rent the entire theater for private purposes until such a time the play ended, and gave Lady Philippa Hamilton trading rights with the province of Caelora, and introduced her to the wealthy mages, and expert craftsmen he he always associated with, in exchange for the right to rent the theater whenever he wanted to, and protection of mages in Hamilton Province. He even gave her two rare dragon eggs, said to be bought directly from Lord Dragonfyre. 

The event was that of total mockery, and irreverence, with Prince Cain, the male mages, and his male supporters dressed up as Holy Mages, with the attire altered to show the symbol and insignia of the Second Prince, who quartered the Royal Insignia with that of House Caelora on his coat, and in the lapel attached to the upper part of his Holy Mage attire. They even carried Holy Mage Books with the words inside altered to scream the crimes committed by the Holy Church, the Crown Prince, and House Blackmoor. The female mages, female supporters of Prince Cain, and Lady Caelora wore a bastardised version of the Lumen Veil, a shapeless, transparent white dress with a white veil on their heads, and their hair tied into a traditional bun, worn by the Holy Sisters, a group of women and young ladies who assist in Masses and other religious activities of the Holy Church. Instead of the prescribed shape of the Lumen Veil, along with the prescribed white veil on their hair tied into a conservative bun, which the Holy Church considered sacred and holy, Lady Caelora, the female mages, and the female supporters of Second Prince Theron wore a form-fitting transparent version that accentuated their sexy bodies, cut low to reveal the forms of their breasts, with the bolder ladies among the wealthy female commoner mages showing skin by turning the veil into what would have been considered as a modern croptop, and turning the lower portion of the veil into what would have been considered as a modern miniskirt that barely covered their thighs,  pairing it with high heels, and walking with a seductive sway that caught the attention of passersby. 

The refreshments served would have been considered as nothing short of sacrilegious and heretical. Holy Drinks served with chunks of ice floating on top of the Holy Drinks, and Holy Bread meant only for the Holy Church to serve to their guests, along with butter, plain fried eggs, pickled sour gourd, and thick dragon fruit slices paired with honey,  as if the Holy Drinks and Holy Bread were nothing but common snacks to be eaten by mere mortals. 

Supporters of Prince Theron, who wore costumes posing as theater attendants of Philippa Hamilton Theater, are seen outside the theater, giving free tickets to random passersby so they could watch the play for free, along with the same free heretical and sacrilegious refreshments as that being currently served inside the theater, courtesy of Second Prince Theron. 

Meanwhile, inside the theater, the next act of the play was being enacted. 

It portrayed the events right after the Holy Church was founded, and started to gain power and wealth, not only in Thaloria Kingdom, but also in the neighboring Kingdoms that declared themselves friendly with the Holy Church, and with House Blackmoor, an ancient House which dated back to the days before the Great Disaster, and had played a major part which caused the Holy Church to be founded. 

The theater actors and actresses re-enacted how the Holy Church  came to power, spread its influence outside the borders of Thaloria, amassed great wealth at the expense of its believers, and started persecuting the mages, not only in Thaloria, but also in the other Kingdoms where it held great sway and influence. They also enacted how the Church suppressed magical teachings, education, and the innovations brought about by the mages of the past, and instead introduced blind faith in the Church, focus on tradition, honor, piety and humility, constant prayers, and religious rituals, rites, and dogmas that were too numerous to count, and as a result, the advanced civilizations in various Kingdoms ended up slowly decaying and stagnating into Dark Ages where nothing but faith, endless, and senseless performing of religious rites and rituals mattered. The play ended with the actors and actresses showcasing the advances made in Caelora Province, which sheltered mages, promoted education, trades, magical skills, and financial literacy over endless religious rituals, a place where Holy Mages, the Holy Church, the believers and supporters of the Holy Church are looked down upon, and even laughed at in broad daylight, in public places without fear of being questioned under the punishment of torture and even possibly death, by Inquisitor Mages. 

The play ended with the actors and actresses doing a mocking bow while kneeling and touching their heads together right in front of paintings brought onstage, which were supposed to signify the Holy Church while saying with mock apology “ Your Holiness, my lords and ladies, we have disrespected you. Come after us, and silence us, if you dare. Show us your oh-so righteous anger and indignation against us sinners, who dared to defile and desecrate your oh so clean image. “ 

It earned a ripple of loud, mocking, irreverent laughter from the audience who stayed silent from start to finish of the play, followed by a standing ovation from the audience, who tossed flowers and coins onstage as a show of support. 

Later that night, Prince Theron made love to his wife, after making his wife dress up in a bastardised version of a nun's attire, in a blatant mockery of the Holy Church.