Chapter 5: Religious Study The month of Noel Day 15, Year 681 of the second holy calendarThe capital city of Lapetra was located along the Bck Knife River, which was known for its rapid currents, twisting turns, frequent flooding, and dangerous monsters. Lapetra had been constructed on one of the most stable parts of the river, allowing the river to aid the agricultural development of the immediate surrounding region and the construction of a riverport. Michael had chosen to construct his stronghold well and expanded it further throughout his lifetime. His descendants also took a great interest in the development of their capital, particurly Veronica, who would develop the workshop district, turning the Kingdom of Bck into one of the biggest weapons producers in the entire Western continent.
The city was constructed with a street pn that most modern American cities could only dream of. Five gates were on the outer walls of the City. Each one had a main road that connected directly to the Heart of the City, the Citadel, and each other. Two so-called Bridge roads connected these main streets. The rest of the street pn was gridded and pnned, allowing for the easy flow of traffic throughout the entire city.
Zoning was also logical and to the point. The southern part of the city connected to the river dock was the Industrial and Warehouse Zone. Going more northward was the commercial zone, where all the shops and stalls had to be located. The northern part of the city was dedicated to the residential district. The military facilities and the prison were all located in the East Central part of the city, except the military bases on the immediate outskirts and in the Citadel. The red light district connected the military section of the town to the commercial. The one compint residents had about the setup was that they didn't have stalls and shops immediately outside of their houses, like in many other cities; instead, they had to take a bit of a walk. But this prevented shops from having huge caravans carrying supplies directly to their shop, and there wasn't the noise of a market directly outside of their home. The closer to the Citadel you got, the nicer the shops and houses. Hence, the nobles primarily built their own residences directly around the Citadel, while the freemen's (noncitizen residence) homes were on the far northern side of the city.
The city also had basic conveniences readily avaible to all citizens. Every apartment building was required by w and provided by the government with a free waste disposal system and a water fountain that could provide clean drinking water to all of those living in the apartment. Although non-citizens of the Kingdom couldn't live in these apartment buildings, they had to live in Freeman's homes, which didn't have government-provided benefits. Animals were also forbidden outside of those who had a special animal pen approved by the city hall, and to be permitted to have animals within the city, you had to pay a special tax. The money from the tax went to cleaning up the town's streets.
The city was renowned for its cleanliness, convenience of Transportation and doing business, and General Comfort. The ws of the kingdom were enforced strictly, keeping the kingdom's popution safe. The city was clean, secure, and quiet, and it received the praise of many foreigners. Although these foreigners did have compints, there was no theater or Arena. Mine public building was the Temple of Noel. Although a tourney ground was located outside the city where frequent jousts melee and other such events were held, the city could be considered dull compared to more lively cities such as Higgsbury port, the capital of the Kingdom of Anttur.
However, the citizens of Lepetra were themselves known for their dullness. They were primarily illiterate, focusing on work, pious prayer, and family matters rather than on the drama of the theater or the excitement of a gdiatorial match. Their piety was the primary characteristic that foreigners would take away from the city. Bspheming the gods was frowned upon in other towns but might get you straight-up murdered in Lepetra, especially if you bsphemed their god, Noel. The citizens genuinely believed that their royal family was descended from Noel and that she favored their kingdom. How else could one expin their multiple victories over more powerful opponents such as the Uscan Union, the Kingdom of Red Towers, and the Kingdom of Anttur?
For the above reasons, foreigners found it challenging to integrate into society. They would always stick out like sore thumbs within the city, and thanks to the fundamental xenophobia of most countries(in this world), they were often discriminated against and found it difficult to acquire citizenship.
At least, according to Dominic's understanding, he had never spoken to an actual citizen within the city. All of this gave Dominic the feeling of living inside a firm mountain, especially as he gazed at the walls from the carriage window. They towered over every part of the city except the Citadel. Even the tallest parts of the rgest estates couldn't reach the height of the walls. His ancestors devoted much of their resources to building defenses for the city, understanding that the city was the core of their power. The walls of the Lapetra had saved the kingdom more than once. Like the Theodosian walls of Constantinople, they stood as the Bastion of Defense, repelling invaders repeatedly. The city, internally and externally, was secured, allowing the Bck family to project power throughout the entirety of the Bck Knife River.
Noel's birthday happened on the 15th of Noel's, which was Dominic's and Nora's birthday as well. The birthday of Noel was also the festival celebrating her as the Kingdom's Patron God. Her Festival was obviously vish and magnificent. A joust was held in her honor, as was a melee. In addition, prayers and Thanksgiving were offered at the temple alongside many more sacrifices than usual. The Temple of Noel offered free healing to all during the day. All temples in this world had priests who could use a thing called Divine Magic that healed people. Although they said they prayed to the gods to heal their pious supplicants and a bunch of other nonsense that you would expect to hear from a cult. What they were actually doing was closer to that of a hospital healing people in exchange for money. However, Michael started a tradition to offer free healing to everyone on the 15th of Noel.
The carriage finally pulled up in front of a square before the Temple. The Temple of Noel was built during the rule of Michael Bck. Despite the usually Thrifty Michael's Style, he spent rge amounts of money on the temple even though, at that time, Noel wasn't even the patron deity of the Kingdom he technically belonged to. This had raised some eyebrows then, but Archduke Cymor said nothing about this.
The temple was half in the Citadel and half outside it. The inner part was reserved for the staff's residences, while the outer part was the Temple itself. Like all the gates in front of the Citadel, it had a rge Square in front of it. This one had a towering statue of Noel looming over it, which Dominic was becoming used to. The square was lined with people. It was a bit like a parade with fathers having their children on their shoulders
When Dominic stepped out of the carriage, there was a moment of silence. He momentarily felt all eyes in the Square lock onto him, which was something he hadn't been expecting. He almost wanted to take a step back and fear. There were tens of thousands of gazes staring directly at him, and even someone with abundant courage would be momentarily afraid. But then cheers erupted, filling the entire Square. Eliana approached and whispered in his ear, “Smile; the people are watching.”
Dominic thought about it momentarily before he smiled, or at least his best attempt at one. A ripple passed through the crowd, quickly becoming a roar as they started cheering even more enthusiastically. The horses of the household knights sent to protect them by house Neivul started neighing and kicking due to fear. Dominic felt his face twitching. He didn't understand why smiling made them even more enthusiastic.
After a bit of smiling and waving to the crowd, Dominic and the group headed up the long steps leading to the temple. Once again, Dominic started wishing that he could grow up quickly as the small stature made climbing steps so difficult that multiple of the household Knights, Jane and Eliana, offered to carry him up the rest of the steps. Being overly proud, Dominic obviously refused.
Once they reached the top of the stairs, there was a receiving party waiting to greet them who led them not through the main doors but through a side door. When Dominic entered the building, he immediately saw Luce and a rge group of people heading for them. “ Thank you for coming to greet us, Lady Luce,” Eliana said politely.
“Well, it was hard to miss with all of the noise,” she gestured at the rapidly closing door. “You and your sister are very popur with the people. 43 of the elected council members from the people are pro-Nora.” She said to Dominic. Most of the militant faction backed Nora over Dominic primarily because she was the Elder. If there weren't a rge difference in ability, Nora would likely become the queen if the militant faction won the political dispute. She turned back to Eliana. “Thank you for taking Dominic as your baptismal son. I know it's a lot of extra work.”
“There's no need to fret. He's been very quiet and obedient the past few days, completely unlike my other children.”
“Dominic is unique among all children,”
“You must have a close retionship, which is why I was surprised. Have you never heard Dominic pying music before?”
Luce looked confused at the comment before gncing at Jane and turning her gaze back to Eliana, a look of understanding crossing her face. “Just brushing up.”
Dominic felt sparks flying between them as the tension rose. He coughed before asking Luce, “And all are these people, Lady Luce? "From his usual understanding of her, she generally operated alone, but now she was accompanied by a motley band of diversely dressed people.
“These are your new retainers, Dominic. Some of them you know, and some of them you don't know.” Luce gestured at the first one. “This is Mr. Oswald Coldheart. He's your head retainer and scribe for now.” She gave Dominic a look, and he returned. Although this was the first meeting, he'd specifically requested Oswald to be his head retainer and Scribe. The Kingdom of Bck was divided into four main managerial regions, each one was run by a governor elected by the council.
The Bck Knife River Region was divided from north to south rather than east to west. This was because there were only two ways to cross the river: one was at the Lapetra Crossing, and the other was by the Howard Bridge, a bridge constructed during the days of the tower's Empire. Running constant fairies was an option, but it also posed an inevitable risk due to the dangerous river monsters. Instead, it's just divided into the North and South. The North Region was where the Lapetra was located.
At the founding of the Kingdom, the southern region had been a retively unimportant part of the country outside of running the occasional Farm. However, it exploded in importance following the dredging of the swamp that would become the Pins of Francis, which became the Kingdom's breadbasket. However, the southern region of the Bck Knife was managed from the town of Megalos and not from the pins of Francis. Because of that, every time a governor was installed, they would send one of their Vice Governors to manage the pns of Francis for them while keeping an eye on it themselves. Oswald was almost always sent there as he was repeatedly elected vice governor. At one point, he was offered the position of governor of the South Bank, but he refused it instead of remaining the mere Vice governor. He had recently retired from that position, so Dominic had asked Luce to extend an invitation, which he honestly expected him to refuse.
Oswald was dressed impeccably and had combed his hair impeccably; it was what many women would describe as a silver fox. “It's an honor to serve you, Lord Dominic,” he said while giving a picture-perfect Noble bow, pressing his right fist to his heart and his left to his tailbone.
“It's an honor to work with you, Lord Oswald,” Dominic responded with a polite nod.
Luce gestured to the next one. “This will be one of your guards as of today. I believe you've already met her, Maria Neivul. She'll be one of your guard knights from now on.”
Maria gave Dominic a friendly smile and a knight salute. “It's an honor to serve you, Lord Dominic.”
“I'll be relying on you when the time comes.”
“This is David Haggsworth. He's from the first division and achieved great honor during the Second Battle of Hayden's Ford,” Dominic was curious about it, so he asked, and Luce told him that David had killed General Linea Anttur. Dominic couldn't help but stare at him. Linea Anttur was the household name in the Kingdom of Bck. She had led the Vanguard during the Golden Stallions invasion and ultimately met her end at the Battle of Hayden's Ford by a no-name knight named David. David came from a registered Noble family, a family which had only been around for David's generation as his brother was the first patriarch of that family. They had almost no achievements to their name and could barely maintain their Noble status until David slew Linea. He'd expected him to be a tall and fearsome man, the type of person who rose above his low status to achieve glory, but instead, he was just an ordinary brown-haired man by the standards of this world he was average in appearance, and although he was a bit on the muscur side he was far from brawny. Dominic shared the same greeting with him before.
Dominic's eyes drifted to one of the st of the group that hadn't been introduced yet. She was beautiful with silver hair and light blue eyes. She had an abundant figure and was obviously trained in noble mannerisms. But Dominic looked at her not because of any of those reasons but because of her gaze on him.
Oliver attended a Taylor Swift concert after being dragged along by a senior in his previous life. The senior in question had made friends with the Taylor Swift fan because she felt “obligated to be friends with that loner in her css.” And she dragged Oliver along so she wouldn't have to suffer alone. Overall, Dominic enjoyed himself. The girl's mother paid for the entire trip, and he had no particur opinion about Taylor Swift or her music. The main problem came when they were selected for Taylor Swift's meet and greet. They had waited several hours just to get the opportunity to shake her hand and take a photo with her. Oliver never could understand such passion. However, the way that the girl looked at Taylor Swift when they met was like a devotee meeting their god in person. The way that the silver-haired woman looked at him was the same exact way.
“This is Sophie Seamont, and she's your new attendant,” Dominic could feel the reluctance oozing off of Luce as she spoke. But he didn't understand why, as far as he knew, the Seamounts were loyal members of the militant faction, and besides Luce was one of the faction's leaders, it was difficult for anyone to get her to do something she didn't like.
Sophia bowed sincerely. “It's an honor to serve you, Lord Dominic.”
He momentarily gnced at Luce, who gave him a subtle shrug. “It's an honor to work with you,” he replied.
Dominic turned his attention to the st one that hadn't been introduced. “This is Priestess Isabel. She'll be helping guide you through your baptism.” Isabel had bck hair and light purple eyes and was clearly from the nobility. Dominic was led to believe that it was normal for many nobles who wouldn't inherit to choose to serve in the military or the priesthood. She also looked at Dominic in the same way Sophie did, as if she was looking at a god.
Isabel greeted him very formally, “It's an honor to meet you, Lord Dominic.” She said in a voice that sounded forced to remain calm. After Dominic returned, the greeting he and his new retainers parted. As he went along with Isabel deeper into the temple. Not even Jane accompanied him, leaving Dominic feeling rather strange as he'd never been left alone with a stranger in his short lifetime.
Further down the hallway, they encountered a rge painting that spanned across an entire wall. It depicted a silver-haired woman with golden eyes standing in the forefront. The background of the painting is split into two parts: one is a fire with people clearly suffering, and the other is a pce with lots of nature and water. The woman was extending her hands to the left and right, gesturing as if to say one or the other. What drew Dominic's attention was the beauty of paintings like the Mona Lisa or other masterpieces that draw the eye without even trying.
“Does Lord Dominic know the mythology of this painting,” he did know, but before he could say, Isabel continued. “Those who are judged to be righteous and just throughout their lifetime go to the field of blessings, a pce where they were awarded for their service to the gods. All those who do wicked things and serve evil deities are sent to the field of punishment. And that is decided by the ruler of the underworld and the Judge of Souls, Noel, and the three judges that she appointed.”
“It's a beautiful painting,” Dominic said, turning away.
“It's the pride of the Lapetras,” Isabel said confidently. Down the hallway until they reach the door. When Isabel opened the door, Dominic saw a bck curtain in front of him, and smoke started drifting out of the room. Feeling like he was about to walk into a psychic tent, he followed Isabel into the room.
Pushing past the curtain, they entered a room that was indeed filled with smoke candles and countless murals on the wall. Dominic felt his heart sinking when he saw the first mural as he had a premonition of what awaited him. “Long ago, there was nothing,” Isabel began, and Dominic imperceptibly sighed. “In that nothingness came the first one, a deity of incomparable power.”
“He created the universe, all of the pnets, the stars, the silver and red moon in the sky, and the pnet we live on. He made the nd, the mountains, the rivers, and the oceans. He blessed the Earth with bounty and with Metals. The primordial deity created the goddess Neysa and the Praxis. Neysa created the Sacred races, elves, dwarves, humans, and beastmen. These races began to build civilizations and cities, and peace and prosperity were established, working harmoniously to build a better life. But Praxis reasoned that there was no creation without destruction, and so created monsters and the unsacred races, vampires, goblins, ogres, Orcs, and trolls, among others. These races only cared for destruction and death. He also created sin so that the sacred races would fight amongst each other and against those of their own kind of their own kind.”
“This angered Neysa and so started the war of the Gods, rallying the sacred races and fighting back against the unholy races and Praxis. She raised six heroes to Divine status to aid her in her war. These six heroes went on to kill Praxis. However, the six heroes were unsatisfied with the reward given to them by Neysa, and so they rallied once more to kill her and rule the heavens for eternity. However, the sacred races preyed on different deities, not the six heroes, creating more deities, as the unsacred races did. More and more gods were spawned due to the power of faith, beginning the war of the gods, which would st for over a thousand years.”
“Eventually, out of all the death and hatred formed by the war by both the sacred and unsacred races was created the nameless Tyrant. The Tyrant spread evil, fear, and death across the entire world and attempted to conquer it and subjugate the sacred races. Eventually, a hero emerged among the sacred races: Sia, a goddess of Justice and Light, and Adele, another goddess of light. The two would eventually triumph over the tyrant and seal him for eternity. They would then establish the pantheon of all of the acknowledged gods of the Sacred races. Gods who did not meet the standards of the pantheon were deemed heretical. Beginning the final days of the wars of the gods as the pantheon waged war on all of the heretical deities and their believers.”
Dominic gnced at the mural depicting the tyrant. It looked like Orion, the consteltion, merely an inky, dark mass rather than something with a face. Apparently, saying the name of a god attracted their attention, but in the case of the Tyrant, that was always a negative thing, so nobody said its name. He vaguely heard Isabel going on about how the war between the humans and the elves started, and it was all Adele's fault, although he didn't know how much of that was human propaganda. The histories of mankind written in this period were very pro-human and provided by the Temple of Sia. They would obviously spread a pro-human narrative that painted the elves as the starter of the interracial conflict that had sted 10,000 years. From his understanding of the Temple of Sia, they had always proposed pro-human cooperation to deal with monsters and foreign races. Although they weren't quite at the level of being racists, they certainly were exclusionist.
He already knew all of this and momentarily worried that she would continue her story until the Modern Age of deities, but thankfully, she stopped before a statue of Sia. “Let us pray to the protector of humans and thank her for her guidance and protection.” The two adopted the praying posture before the statue and lit a candle.
After praying to Sia, they walk through a door into a changing room. Dominic gnced at Isabel, who reached into a basket and pulled out a white robe. “Please wear this, Lord Dominic,” he did as instructed without much hesitation.
They entered another with a rge pool in the middle; multiple statues were on pedestals within the water. Dominic could sense how this would happen, so he gnced at his guide. “Baptism is a sacred ceremony of submitting yourselves to the gods and accepting their guidance and protection. For that reason, you must first be humbled before your baptism.”
Dominic approached the pool and dipped his foot in, immediately retracting it. “Cold,” he muttered under his breath.
“Indeed, this pool is intentionally made extremely cold. During your time in the pool, you will come to realize that you are merely a mortal.”
“That sounds like fucked up child abuse to me.”
“Lord Dominic, please get into the pool. Everyone has to spend at least 2 hours in it, and we don't have much time before you start.”
Dominic gnced at her and saw in her eyes that she had no doubt that he would get into the pool. This wasn't confidence out of threatening him or even confidence out of societal pressure; it was confidence in the Bck family and their divinity. Since he was a demigod, of course, he could surpass this trial, or that is what she probably thought. Dominic gnced backward towards the mural room before gncing back at the pool.
“I have no idea if you ordered this to become a societal tradition, Sia, or if it was another one of the gods.” Somewhere deep inside himself, Oliver's arrogance rose up his pride, and his absolute belief in himself took hold: “I submit to no one.” Dominic took a few steps back before jumping into the pool.
