Devourer

Chapter 169: Faith of Unity

Navis stood calmly at the door of the throne room. He wore a set of pure white robes that was devoid of any embroidery or motifs. It was like he was covered from head to toe in a simple white cloth. The robe had a hood and the hood also had this veil that covered his face. It was the garb that he had chosen to represent his new faith.

Navis used to be a Captain in the Tralis army until he was captured by the Great Beast. He had entered his mind and seen the power that the Great Beast held. In his mind the Great Beast could be nothing but divine. He looked around and saw his followers. 

This whole thing began on the eve of the war in Zarima. Many were frightened and afraid. Navis remembers wives and children tearfully hugging their husbands and fathers as they got ready to leave to fight the forces of the dead. Though the Empire’s military has never been stronger the fact remained that they were facing the horrors of Necoronas, the land of the dead.

The hives were considered forgotten horrors, creatures that lived in the past. Even the few that remained in Zarima were considered the withered remnants of the old world. Things that were just barely clinging to existence. So when a full-fledged Hive of the old world emerged, it was met with more shock than terror. There simply wasn’t that much folklore around the hives of old. The Vampires and the dark art of Necromancy on the other hand, were far more present in the minds of the common folk.

Navis had known that the seraphim could not and would not protect them, but the hive on the other hand could and would. He remembers one husband telling his wife that the divine will protect him and his wife just shot back tearfully that the seraphim haven’t done anything in the past thousand years, so why would they care now?

So Navis approached them and started speaking to them. He told of how the Hive would protect them, how the wise Empress and the ancient Great Beast were well prepared for the war. The war with Tralis was proof enough, the Elysians barely took any casualties as they brought the entire region to heel. 

That yes, the meagre strength of mortal men would struggle against the denizens of Necoronas. However, against the might of an ancient Hive and the power of phoenixes, the dead would be cut down like wheat. This seemed to make the wife seem calmer, as having something that was based on plausible reality was better than some vague hope.

This was what the Hive was: reality. The Seraphim was nothing but a vague hope. At first, Navis just started preaching in the hopes of making everyone understand that they didn’t have to blindly cling to just the Seraphim. They could also put their faith in the Empress and the Great Beast. After all, they have done an admirable job preserving and improving the Empire. 

The state officials have said it was in the Empress’s plan to eliminate hunger in the next few years and for a bottle of wine to be on every table. These were obviously not empty words since at least in Elysia and Voleria, food prices have plunged to but a fraction of their past prices. Meanwhile, income has risen all across the Empire. Schools were filled, healthcare was readily available and many were on track to building a better future. Of the people he knew of at least a dozen children were selected for magical education, in the past the only people who had a real chance of being a mage were the rich since the price of a magical education was astronomical.

But now things were different, as long as you had the ability and the drive, the state would provide. Peasant children were now learning the intricacies of the arcane arts and their parents didn't have to fork out a single coin. 

Navis had no doubts he was witnessing the start of a golden age. So he spoke and preached, but to his surprise, he wasn’t the only one who had the same thoughts as him. Many of those who approached him and joined him were those who were disenchanted with the Seraphim. So slowly, a group of like-minded individuals became a new faith. 

Thus was born the Faith of Unity. Modeled after the traits of the hive, the members would swear to be of one mind, to serve the greater good of the lands they live in. They would shed their material needs and wants to live as servants of the greater good. So, their robes were pure white to symbolise purity and simplicity. The veil over their faces was in imitation of the Great Beast’s lack of eyes and to symbolise that their identities do not matter, only their actions.

Right now he was waiting with four of the most trusted members of his faith. They were about to meet the Empress to discuss the formal creation of their faith. He was sure he would receive pushback from the Church of Order, whose doctrine bans all other faiths. But the Faith of Unity has no quarrel with the Church of Order. Navis was confident that the Empress and the Great Beast would see reason and allow peaceful coexistence.

Navis took a deep breath as he saw the immense golden doors swing open. As it did, his eyes travelled to the along the door. The most striking feature was this plaque made of bone that was made in the image of the Great Beast’s domed head and gaping maw. This piece of bone wasn’t carved, it was grown to exact dimensions as an ornament. From what he knew of how hard the hides of the Hive creatures were, chances are the Great Beast had to build in holes for it to be fixed to the door.

Proof of the Great Beast’s power can be found everywhere you just need to pay attention. When the doors fully swung open, Navis saw the Empress and the Great Beast waiting at the end of the throne room. However, he also saw High Mother Justina standing at the foot of the throne along with Grand General Montis. The presence of the other two caught him slightly off guard. Especially considering Grand General Montis used to be his commander in the Tralis army.

Navis took a deep breath before he stepped forward and began approaching the throne. As he scanned the room, he saw a look of amusement on the Empress’s face and the Great Beast had a similar smile. It was almost unnerving how similar the expressions were on the two of them.

As for Mother Justina it looks like it was she was nursing and migraine. General Montis on the other hand had his usual stern expression on his face. 

When Navis reached the throne he made to kneel, but the Empress’s voice rang out.

“No need, to kneel or anything else. Mother Justina and General Montis are busy people. Say your piece.” the Empress said from her seat upon the throne. In response, the Great Beast let out a low grumbling chuckle that rattled Navis’s ribcage.

“Your grace we come to you today, to seek formal recognition of our religion. The Faith of Unity.” Navis said.

“Sounds simple enough, a few questions first. Does your faith plan to incite violence against the Church of Order?” the Empress asked, and Navis shook his head.

“Does you faith seek to weaken the Church of Order?” the Empress asked.

“No, we specifically put our days of worship on a different day of the week from the Church of Order so that our converts may still attend to their faith within the Church of Order.” Navis said calmly.

“Does your faith seek to limit the freedoms of any group of people?” the Empress asked, and Navis shook his head again.

“Does your faith seek to disrupt the functioning of the state and do you conceed that your faith is beholden to the laws of the land and my royal mandate?” the Empress asked.

“Of course your grace.” Navis said with a bow.

“Very well, I see no problems on my end. What about you friend?” the Empress asked as she turned to the Great Beast.

“Well, he isn’t lying, you leave anything out? Any uncomfortable truths or any desire to play with any technicalities?” the Great Beast asked in his usual low guttural voice that rattled Navis’s bones.

“No.” Navis replied, and the Great Beast nodded as he laid back down onto his cushion.

“Excellent, what about you Montis?” the Empress asked.

“No issues on my end, if his answers satisfy you and the Great Beast I have no complaints.” General Montis replied calmly.

“Now then Justina I believe this will be a problem?” the Empress asked as she lazily laid back against the throne.

“Yes, the doctrine of the Church of Order preaches against the tolerance of other faiths. Other allegiances can cause the spread of chaos. Those without the divine sanction of the Church of Order may be led astray.” Mother Justina said.

“But their faith has no intention of pulling the current faithful away.” Montis said calmly.

“They are still teaching a different doctrine.” Justina countered.

“From the report sent in, what I see of their doctrine doesn’t seem to contradict anything you say. It just lifts some restrictions. Like the tolerance of monsters which we are already doing now. The tolerance of other faiths would naturally be necessary given the current situation. The main thing that would seem to be a major issue was that it does not demand worship of the Seraphim.” Montis stated.

“General Montis makes a good point Justina. Your doctrine preaches to destroy the monstrous and yet here we are. Our Empire is more secure and prosperous than ever thanks to the very monsters your doctrine vilifies.” the Empress said.

“Can’t have your cake and eat it too.” the Great Beast added with a laugh.

“We tolerate the existence of the monstrous, but we do not condone it,” Justina said.

“A convenient technicality. The reason why you can do this is because we haven’t pressed you for an answer.” the Great Beast said with a laugh.

“If we asked for a concrete answer, all of you would be exiled to Divonia.” the Great Beast said with a laugh.

“Are you going to ask for an answer?” Justina asked, her demeanour unphased by the veiled threat.

“Of course not, why ask for trouble when it can be avoided? When you ask for trouble do not be surprised when it finds you.” the Great Beast replied with another laugh, his veiled threat all too clear to those listening.

“It seems to me that a live and let-live attitude would serve you the best. From what I hear the Faith of Unity has a decent following. Some of the peasants are already praying to my friend here for luck even without an organised faith. Wouldn’t it be better to permit this? Better to have a threat you know than one you don’t know.” the Empress stated bluntly.

“The only reason you would feel it’s a threat is because it gives the Church of Order competition.” the Great Beast said with another laugh.

“In my opinion the risk of competition is minor. The Faith of Unity is more focused on teaching rather that worship. It seems perfectly compatible with the Church of Order as far as coexistence goes. Besides, the Church of Order still holds a monopoly on healing magic. So no matter what the people are dependant on the Church.” Montis said and Justina sighed.

“Then we must wait for the Seraphim’s reply. I cannot make this decision alone.” Justina replied wearily.

“They should be getting back to us any day now. In the end, if they don’t agree I’m not about to go to war over this new faith.” the Great Beast replied lazily.

“The worship of humans does not interest me.” the Great Beast added as he did a lazy stretch before leaning over backwards and resting the top of his head on the floor. In the back of Navis’s mind, he couldn’t help but notice that this reminded him vaguely of a cat.

“I was not informed that the divine has visited again.” Justina stated her voice betraying slight offence.

“The visit was on rather short notice. You were away from the capital at the time.” the Empress replied with a casual wave of her hand.

“They came and left using illusion magic, which was why no one knew they were coming. Cecilia here realised they probably wanted to keep a low profile, so she made sure everyone who knew about it kept their mouths shut.” the Great Beast said, 

“I see…” Justina said stiffly.

“Mother Justina, remember your responsibilities lie with the people, Leave the matters of the state to me.” the Empress said her tone laced with the faintest bit of ice. As Navis looked on he noticed her eyes seemed to be slightly glowing with magical power.

“My empire is built for the people but make no mistake we have many enemies beyond our borders. The Seraphim are no exception, they may be cooperative for now but there may come a day when we may be at each other’s throat.” Cecilia said as her fingers crackled with arcane power, reminding the court she wasn’t just a pretty face. The Empress was also the most powerful mage in the empire.

Navis remembers the stories that started circulating after the Empress made a visit to the mage academy. The rumours said she beat the entire elder circle of Archmages by herself. They say she dismantled spells hurled at her with nothing but a wave of her hands.

From what she heard the fight wasn’t even close. The Empress was using ancient magics that were lost to time. She was using the magic of the angels and the demons, she called forth dark shadows and blazing gold fire. What’s more all her magic sprang forth without her even uttering a word. Her skill was so great she bypassed any and all incantations, her spells came out with such speed that the Archmages were overwhelmed in short order. 

Later when she was asked on where she learned such spells and techniques, her simple answer was that the Great Beast was an excellent teacher.

Navis didn’t know much about magic. However, what he did know was that the branch of magic that allowed one to shape and mould flesh like a sculptor did marble was beyond what humans could do. It was also a basic requirement for any creature to command a hive. This knowledge was not publicly known until recently. From what Navis knew this information came to light after the Great Beast gifted some ancient tomes to the Istland Academy. The very same type of tomes that were confiscated by the Seraphim all those millennia ago. He has also heard the Church of Order was less than pleased by this development.

Navis didn’t have many problems with the Church of Order. But one of the few issues he had with the church was their intolerance of progress and what they would brand “unnatural” powers. It was clear that the Church of Order felt that the population was not ready to receive such powers. Navis accepted that there was some argument to be had. Many of the older branches of magic often tapped into the darker powers such as Blood Magic, Necromancy and Soul Magic. These types of magic have the ability to cause great harm, but on the flip side, they also have the capacity to do great good. The most powerful healing magics were based on Blood Magic. Necromancy was not only able to raise the dead it was able to delay the end almost indefinitely and buy time for treatment. Soul Magic allowed for fantastical enchantments such as creating intelligent weapons that could fight in tandem with their wielders or even create intelligent magical constructs that could help society.

The civilisations of old used all of these abilities and as a result, their cities looked nothing like the ones today. Even now Navis could see the Imperial Captial slowly creeping towards this ideal where every stone was enchanted. There were stories where magical domes were erected around cities, effectively creating an eternal spring around a city. The children born in those cities will never know the cruel bite of winter unless they leave the city. 

The potential was immense, yet the Church of Order was fearfully advocating holding back on them. All because of some vague fear of abuse. Yet with the Great Beast and the Empress, Navis doubted that anyone could really abuse it in any meaningful manner. There would probably be isolated incidents but the old world was filled with horrors like plague, famine and war. 

Was it better to wallow in misery for fear of a better world? 

No, Navis did not agree. That was the crux of his faith, they would further this civilisation and advocate for a brighter future. They do not preach servitude, they preach progress. Unity in the service of the greater good. With strength comes prosperity, that was how the Great Beast was able to raise the empire from a civilisation mired by corruption and slums into a shining example of civilisation. 

With all this in mind, Navis made his final point.

“We hold no quarrel with the Church of Order…” Navis began.

We look to the Great Beast and his hive as an example

We will rise above our failings together

Unity in the face of chaos

Unity for the greater good…