Steel Empire
Kufstein Council

With the defeat of the Teutonic Order in Oberstdorf, Berengar's fame had increased exponentially. The fact that he fought such a large army and dealt a crushing blow to the Crusaders who invaded Germany on the orders of the Pope to bring down the so-called Berengar heresy has strengthened Berengar's followers.

The city of Suhl and the destruction wrought by the Papal forces became a symbol of resistance to the Papal Authority. As a result, nobles and clergy alike flocked to Kufstein to discuss the details of the German Reformation and how to proceed. While Berengar was hosting these delegates inside his Great Hall, he was just sitting in his seat of power with the skull trophy in his hand, he said, drinking from wine as he listened to the nobles and priests quarrel about the direction this Reformist movement should take.

At present, there was an important figure of the Catholic Church present, and it was the old and wise Cardinal who had tried to correct the divisions within the Catholic Church at the meeting of the Council of Constance the previous year. After seeing what Simeon and his French counterpart had done to the Catholic Church, the old Cardinal decided to surrender his fate to Berengar. Right now, he was closely observing Berengar's actions. He was quite surprised to see that Berengar let the discussion run its course naturally, rather than forcing his gaze upon others. 

While Prince-Bishop Chur and Prince Vorarlberg argue over the extent to which the Church should separate, Berengar watches quietly as if all his plans are going smoothly. Finally, the Prince-Bishop of Chur made a bold statement for the entire Council to hear.

"I will gladly give up my authority over Chur for the sake of a like-minded noble! The Church should focus on the spiritual affairs of God, and not the mortal affairs of man!"

With this said, a grin spread across Berengar's lips as he watched the scene come to fruition. A powerful Prince-Bishop will lead and dissolve Church authority over Chur County, one of his neighbors, in favor of a German-speaking reformist nobleman. That is a bold statement of course. Nevertheless, this would be the key to conquering the Swiss Confederation and incorporating it into his Empire in the future, and as such, Berengar was delighted.

However, it was a plot for another time; now, he needed to strengthen the foundation for his reform. Ultimately the topic of separation of Church and State was practically universally agreed upon by the people of the room, and the reason for the debate was more of a border quarrel between Chur and Vorarlberg than religion. So as the men continued to argue about such irrelevant matters, Berengar let out an unhappy snort that instantly silenced both sides. After that the subject of the Council moved to the next point of contention.

The next item on the menu was the clerical celibacy question that sparked a major debate. After all, there were many scandals of*** in the Church, even during the medieval period. However, Berengar knew exactly what could cause and opposed such a thing. While the people debated which options their reformist movement should make, Berengar spoke for the first time at the meeting. As he did so, everyone stood in silence, listening to his words, which were not his own, but those from the Gospel.

“Now the Spirit speaks unequivocally, that in the last days some will apostatize, heed the spirits of deceivers, and the teachings of demons; speaking lies in hypocrisy; their conscience is burned with hot iron; Forbid to marry, and ordered to avoid the flesh, which God created to be received with thanksgiving from those who believe and know the truth. Every creature of God is good, and nothing is rejected, if it is received with thanksgiving: Therefore it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:1-5."

When the room heard these words, they knew exactly what Berengar meant; The Gospels state that acts such as celibacy and refusal to eat meat as well as some other Catholic practices are contrary to the teachings of the Apostles and Christ himself. In particular, the old cardinal who had been waiting for Berengar's input was surprised to hear Berengar quote the Bible so perfectly, even memorizing the exact verse. Finally, the old man spoke up as well.

"I agree with Berengar, if we take the words of Christ and the Apostles as the basis of the reformation, then forbid the marriage of priests, he said, and forcing them to swear celibacy is against the teaching of Christ and must not be enforced."

Hearing both Berengar, who was the head of the Reformation, and the high-ranking members of the Church today both agree on the issue, those who doubted the validity of such a concept before now found themselves nodding their heads in agreement. Because of the topic of spirituality, who can refute the words of the Gospel?

Berengar nodded at the Cardinal, who he had been aware of watching him closely all along. To be honest Berengar did not know whether the man was a Papal intruder or whether he was as irritated as the behavior of the Church as Berengar. However, with his support of this, he began to suspect that the man was truly godly and more concerned with the teachings of Christ than the power of the Papacy. A very rare trait in a man with his position during this era. 

After closing the topic, we come to another important aspect of Christian reform, namely salvation and how it is achieved. One of the priests present, an old man with a long white beard, expressed his opinion on the matter.

"Through a life of good works and faith in God is the way in which one enters the gates of heaven!"

However, other priests strongly disagreed over this and voiced his concerns.

"The Bible teaches us that it is only through faith in Christ that one attains eternal life!"

The two pastors began to quarrel, which was a common occurrence in any religious discussion, and as such, Berengar voiced his opinion on the matter.

after saying this, Berengar was once again able to attract the attention of everyone present. Therefore, he quickly followed his thoughts.

"Through the Bible, it is not the tradition of the Catholic church that is the basis of our reformation, and since the Bible teaches us that only through faith in Christ can we enter through the Gates of Heaven, it must be so!"

Through the interruption of Berengar, these two problems were finally resolved into agreement; through faith, one obtains salvation, not action, and the fact that religious truth comes from the Bible, not the teachings of the Catholic Church. After giving such information, the final argument for the basis of their reform came down to the Eucharist, and Berengar personally did not care in the slightest for the matter. As a closed Athiest, how the Reformers viewed the Eucharist or communion as some of the branches of Christianity referred to in previous lives had no effect at all on its political authority.

Thus, the people present argued among themselves until it was finally agreed that the Eucharist represented both the body and blood of Christ, but also the bread and wine. With all the main points of this dispute settled, the First Council of the German Reformist Church was closed and although there would be many more later on. The divisions within the Catholic Church, which had been prevented for so long in this timeline, finally occurred; with the support of the wise Cardinal who had previously sat in the Council of Constance, German Reformism had emerged, and the, bringing a further level of civil strife to Germany as Reformers and Catholics would soon begin to break up the already fragile duchy.

The wise cardinal was aware all the time of Berengar's plan. After the meeting was over and the Reformation had been decided, he approached Berengar to talk to him about his plans for the future personally. Seeing the wise old man coming at him directly, Berengar initially felt cautious and raised his hand, gesturing for the old man to keep his distance.

"Cardinal, how can I help you?" 

The Cardinal smiled kindly at Berengar, although behind his friendly smile was a face filled with a level of vigilance similar to Berengar; therefore, it was, he started talking to a man he knew would change the world.

"I must say I'm impressed ..."

Finding a cryptic message, the cute Berengar decides to take the bait.

"With?"

The man stood a few meters away from Berengar, who was currently sitting in his position of power. Thus, there was plenty of room to prevent any threat; of course, Berengar's guards were on guard and would have no trouble killing the Cardinal if he took action on Berengar's life. Lucky for everyone in the room, he had no such intentions.

"For many years, I have met Kings, and Emperors, and many of them. Yet none of them have the ability to influence the Church as you have. In one year, you have ascended from the position of Low Baron.The son of an influential Prince whose arms and armor are sold to every corner of Germany, supplying competing factions for vacant thrones. But all this time, you have also managed to inspire division in the Church, things like I fear we have never seen before. Tell me the truth, Berengar, are you an Angel sent here by God to free us from the shackles of Church corruption, or are you a Devil whose sole purpose is to benefit from the chaos and destruction you leave behind you?"

Berengar studied the man's words closely; he knew very well that the old Cardinal did not literally ask whether he was an Angel or a Devil, but which side reflected his character. Berengar played the lamber skull for a while with his finger before taking a sip of its contents. After that, he took a deep breath. After careful consideration, Berengar decided to tell the truth to the old man; after all, he could tell from the way he voiced the questions he had seen through Berengar's plan.

"Can't I be both?"

The Old Cardinal's smile never disappeared, and instead, he turned around and walked away, saying his thoughts on the matter before walking out the door. After all, he had received a satisfactory answer to his question.

"Good game..."