The Accidental Heretic

The story is inspired by a real-life Spanish Inquisition trial from 1756.

1754, in Europe, is a time of shifting public attitudes that history would call The Enlightenment. A period when thinkers like Voltaire, Rousseau, and Euler are challenging old beliefs with ideas grounded in science, reason and human rights. These ideas spark tensions with long-standing traditions, and in Spain threaten the power of the Holy Office of the Inquisition.

Into this world arrives Antonio Albrono, a man from a noble Genoan family, on a mission to recover a century-old family debt, naive to the politics of the country and the enemies he may create.

Two years after his arrival in Spain, Antonio has failed in his mission, and is now a soldier in the garrison of Valencia. Popular, clever, and respected, when asked by his commanding officer to help uncover a thief, he devises a ruse. Under cover of darkness, he has the men dip their fingers into a bowl of water, claiming those of the thief will be stained. The thief withholds his hand while his comrades dip theirs, unaware that Antonio has tipped ink into the water. The thief, identified by his unmarked fingers, is dealt with leniently. But for Antonio, disaster follows when he is reported to the Spanish Inquisition for necromancy, and falls into the hands of an adversary.