"Really?" Solomon asked dryly. "In that case I think I'm about due." If waiting was all that was needed, then a lot of people would be due. It wasn't just about being patient. There was a certain entitlement to expectation; most sorcerers had it. Necromancers, in particular. Solomon tried not to expect anything.
There was definite teasing in Paddy's tone this time, far less genuinely reassuring than his previous tease. Solomon gave him another Look. "Don't let the others hear you say that," he said. "The last thing I need is for them to think I've been authenticated by an official."
He traced the rim of his nearly-empty mug; his headache had nearly subsided completely, so he could actually tally up a rough count. "There's one for nearly every Sanctuary," he said at last. "I think it was deliberate, in the past, to counter what they saw as a heathen--" His lips quirked ironically. "--influence on the population. There are hundreds of them and large countries like America have several to cover each major area, but correspondingly some of those Temples are very small, just as some of your parishes might be."
His fingers drummed against the table. He'd seen some of Tenebrae's paperwork; he'd seen the latest census a few years ago. It had been one of Tenebrae's attempts to convince him to add to the breeding pool, actually. "At last census, perhaps a few hundred thousand practitioners," he said finally. "Ireland's Temple has been small ever since the war with Mevolent; we had perhaps a hundred in the Temple here when I left. Another hundred or two across the sea. At least a thousand on the Continent, probably more--the Necromantic population there bloomed during the Second World War. And so on. Less than a million all together."
Which meant that Tenebrae was going to be extremely possessive over the people he still had. Which was why he had the Temple on lockdown after losing just one. He knew exactly what this might begin.
"As for what might happen ... I haven't the faintest idea. I doubt we'd ever be able to wipe it out entirely, just like Meritorious wasn't able to destroy the Church of the Faceless Ones. And young sorcerers will no doubt experiment with power, just for the sake of power." He shrugged. "At best, I suppose on a political level we treat it like it is--an addiction."
no subject
There was definite teasing in Paddy's tone this time, far less genuinely reassuring than his previous tease. Solomon gave him another Look. "Don't let the others hear you say that," he said. "The last thing I need is for them to think I've been authenticated by an official."
He traced the rim of his nearly-empty mug; his headache had nearly subsided completely, so he could actually tally up a rough count. "There's one for nearly every Sanctuary," he said at last. "I think it was deliberate, in the past, to counter what they saw as a heathen--" His lips quirked ironically. "--influence on the population. There are hundreds of them and large countries like America have several to cover each major area, but correspondingly some of those Temples are very small, just as some of your parishes might be."
His fingers drummed against the table. He'd seen some of Tenebrae's paperwork; he'd seen the latest census a few years ago. It had been one of Tenebrae's attempts to convince him to add to the breeding pool, actually. "At last census, perhaps a few hundred thousand practitioners," he said finally. "Ireland's Temple has been small ever since the war with Mevolent; we had perhaps a hundred in the Temple here when I left. Another hundred or two across the sea. At least a thousand on the Continent, probably more--the Necromantic population there bloomed during the Second World War. And so on. Less than a million all together."
Which meant that Tenebrae was going to be extremely possessive over the people he still had. Which was why he had the Temple on lockdown after losing just one. He knew exactly what this might begin.
"As for what might happen ... I haven't the faintest idea. I doubt we'd ever be able to wipe it out entirely, just like Meritorious wasn't able to destroy the Church of the Faceless Ones. And young sorcerers will no doubt experiment with power, just for the sake of power." He shrugged. "At best, I suppose on a political level we treat it like it is--an addiction."