Chapter 595: A Tale of the Past. The Old Testament - 2
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 595: A Tale of the Past. The Old Testament - 2
A king's nation rises and falls with the King of Humans. After the previous king was dragged away by tigers, the reign of the new girl-queen should have been as weak and chaotic as her youth suggested.
However, the reign of ‘Sister’ was more brilliant and magnificent than any that had come before. Voices praising the king could be heard throughout the land, and people flocked from a thousand leagues away just to express their gratitude. The fields were heavy with bountiful crops, and people gathered in small groups to show off their knowledge.
Civilization had blossomed. A radiant civilization had finally borne fruit. The people stopped their infighting, united by the simple fact that they served the same king. Instead, they shared and boasted of their knowledge, becoming teachers to one another.
Songs praising ‘Sister’ echoed everywhere, and portraits of her were sold in the streets. The lands that enjoyed her grace shed tears of joy, while humans in faraway lands could only wait with bated breath, yearning for the day their sovereign would arrive.
It was a season where both body and mind grew plump and bountiful. It was humanity's autumn.
“My lady. What say you to leaving a tent behind here?”
El, the Lorekeeper who had appeared one day out of the blue, spoke as nonsensically as ever. The warriors who served ‘Sister’ naturally showed their disapproval.
“What are you talking about? We have exactly the number of tents we need. Why leave behind one that’s perfectly fine?”
“This is a point where one waterway and seven land-paths meet. If we leave a tent and mark it with a wooden sign, it will help travelers find their way more easily. People will gather, a village will form, and it will become a signpost to guide others down the right path.”
El was always like this. Though she stood in one place, her eyes saw far into the distance, and her lips sang of things yet to come. Her words were nonsensical, but the Lorekeeper El’s voice carried too much weight to be simply ignored.
After all, it was El who had ushered in humanity’s autumn.
If the King of Humans was the tree that bore fruit, the Lorekeeper was the wind that carried the pollen, the butterfly that pollinated the flower, and the bird that scattered the seeds far and wide.
Knowledge and wisdom spread from El’s fingertips. As the head of the Lorekeepers, El created an alphabet and printed scrolls, spreading literacy so that knowledge became a source of pride, not a secret. She astonished the king’s warriors with ingenious and remarkable technologies, piquing ‘Sister’s’ curiosity.
Thanks to her repeated successes, the Lorekeeper soon became second only to the queen.
“The tent you leave behind will grow into a village, and the steps you have taken will become the path for all humanity. The marigold seeds sown here will one day grow into a proud nation. I implore you, my lady.”
In a land that would one day become the capital of the Marigold Duchy, El pleaded with ‘Sister’. Before ‘Sister’ could even reply, the king’s warriors erupted in fury.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about! Do you know how much material and effort it takes to make a single tent! Do you intend to make our lady sleep on the bare ground?”
The warriors, absolutely loyal to ‘Sister’, shouted at the Lorekeeper, veins bulging on their necks. They were jealous of her and were determined to teach her a lesson this time. Even the younger warriors, who were more favorable to the Lorekeeper, rebuked El with troubled faces. Though the Lorekeeper had achieved great things, the demand to leave the king’s tent behind was far too presumptuous.
But one person, and one alone, was favorable to the suggestion.
‘Sister’ spoke.
“Let’s do it!”
“My lady!”
The startled warriors hastily protested, but ‘Sister’ simply waved her hand.
“It’s fine. We’ll just make another one.”
‘Sister’ was still a beast. Some expected her to have the authority befitting a king, but the Beast King retained a simplicity, repaying kindness only with kindness and enmity only with enmity.
The nation had already shed its skin as a simple tribe and was becoming something far greater, but humans were still beasts. The King of Humans, too, had not yet moved beyond being a Beast King.
“El worked hard, so I’ll work hard for her.”
With ‘Sister’ siding with the Lorekeeper, it was the king’s warriors who were left in an awkward position. They felt resentful and ashamed at the Lorekeeper’s audacity, and at the fact that their loyalty had gone unrewarded.
Nevida felt something similar, but as she was ‘Sister’s’ friend before she was a warrior, she first tried to understand her lady’s heart.
“My lady…”
“Nevida? What is it?”
“You shouldn’t do that. The warriors spoke up for your sake. The Lorekeeper’s request benefits no one, so it is right for you to reward their sentiment.”
“Huh? They did it for me, so I have to reward them?”
“Because hearts, too, are something to be given and received.”
“Ah, like bartering?”
‘Sister’ nodded as if she understood, but that didn't mean she would act as Nevida wished. ‘Sister’ told her:
“I don’t want to hear a request not to do something. If I listen to that, I’ll be stuck standing still right here.”
“I’m worried it will be a bother for you.”
“It’s fine, Nevida. It’s not a bother at all. It was the same when I wrote the scrolls for you. I never once thought it was a bother!”
There was no emotion in ‘Sister’s’ words. She was merely whispering to Nevida, calmly reminiscing about a memory.
But Nevida, who had become a proper druid thanks to that very whim and mercy from ‘Sister’, could not lift her head for shame.
The Lorekeeper who had appeared so suddenly commanded an unrivaled presence. There was nothing she did not know, and her decisions always led to good outcomes. Correct judgment brought trust, and as it was repeated, even doubting her became a ridiculous joke.
The word did not exist back then, but had a connoisseur of tales been present, they would have said this was the moment it was born.
The word ‘faith’.
“Lorekeeper…! Thank you! You saved my life by predicting the flood!”
“Lorekeeper! To think you found our secrets buried in the sand! How can we ever repay this kindness?”
“Thank you so much…! The crops you gave us are growing so well! There will be no more starving in this region!”
As if predicting the future, she drew out only the best possible results. It wasn't as if she did anything spectacular. She would tell a passerby of the heavenly decree she had read, light a signal fire upon discovering some ruins while walking down a path, or take out a small seed she had picked up somewhere and plant it.
She received praise from countless people, but even that was just a fraction of the many things the Lorekeeper had done.
One day, El had a tree cut down as she was walking. When one of the warriors following her felled it in a single blow, she tucked an ember into the split wood and left. A great plume of smoke rose up after she was gone.
One day, El caught a butterfly resting on a flower petal. She walked for half a day with it cupped in her hands before releasing it in a field of white blossoms. The butterfly, exhausted from its unwilling journey, staggered and landed on the nearest flower.
One day, El had several people copy a scroll. After receiving the copied scrolls, she tore them up without a word and stuffed the pieces into her clothes. As she walked for several days, the pieces of the scroll trickled out behind her, like footprints along her path.
The Lorekeeper would sometimes set up a pole in the ground for no reason, or weave a sacred rope and wrap it tightly around a large tree. She had even painted a picture on a large stone with a brush. When people who admired her asked what it all meant…
“A butterfly’s small wings will return as a great storm.”
No one understood the Lorekeeper’s answer. And it seemed she had no intention of making them understand.
As these events repeated, the king’s warriors split into two factions: those who trusted and followed the Lorekeeper, and those who were displeased with her.
Unlike the former, who had a focal point, the latter had nothing but their resentment, so they championed their loyalty to ‘Sister’. They insisted that only ‘Sister’ was the greatest being, and the Lorekeeper was merely basking in her grace.
It was a fundamentalist argument that no one could refute. Even those who followed the Lorekeeper had no intention of abandoning the King of Humans. Even if they had, they would not have been able to voice it.
Naturally, the balance of power should have tipped to one side. But the King of Humans herself, ‘Sister’, adored the Lorekeeper more than anyone, so a precarious balance was maintained.
“Great Druid. I have something urgent to discuss with you.”
Nevida was now being called the Great Druid. Her own talents were exceptional, and having been taught by the King of Humans and learned the druidic arts of the entire world through the Lorekeeper’s knowledge, she was especially respected among the king’s warriors.
Above all, she was a loyal subject who never got involved in politics or power struggles, caring only for ‘Sister’. Thus, the fundamentalists sought to gather around Nevida.
“If it’s about that, I believe I’ve already refused.”
But Nevida was on a different level from those who dared to call themselves fundamentalists.
“What our lady says is the law, and the path she walks is the path we must follow. Only she can command us. If you truly serve our lady, then you will accept her will.”
A biting dog doesn't bark. It has to use its mouth to bite. Likewise, Nevida didn't proclaim herself a fundamentalist. She simply glared, ready to bite.
Those who cloaked themselves as fundamentalists fell silent before the real thing.
“One day, the Lorekeeper will challenge our lady’s authority.”
“The Lorekeeper is devoted to our lady. And our lady is rewarding that devotion. It is right to watch for now. If the Lorekeeper plots treason, it will not be too late to deal with her then.”
Nevida dismissed their concerns and continued.
“If the Lorekeeper is truly wise, she would never dare to raise her hand against our lady.”
The King of Humans was strong, wise, competent, and benevolent. Even if the Lorekeeper’s actions were incomprehensible, they must all be for ‘Sister’s’ sake.
‘Sister’ cherished the Lorekeeper just as she had once cared for Nevida. That was what Nevida believed.
“My lady! Please, avenge me!”
But before long, that faith was put to the test.
“Those wicked fiends who burned our village, kidnapped the virgins, and devoured the newborns…! Please, in the name of the king, kill them! I will offer you my life!”
A lone commoner, who had walked until his feet were raw to find the King of Humans, vomited out his blood-soaked grudge and died.