Alice in the Land of Steam

Fei climbed up the pure white marble steps and came to the All Saints Gospel Hermitage on the top floor. She looked back and saw the magnificent and sacred city of Ardes extending from her feet, occupying nearly half of the vast plain, and the rest of the area was filled with neat fields and scattered farmhouses. The city was prosperous. The red roofs and ancestral temple shrines that could be seen everywhere formed the first impression of the city. In the orderly streets and the spotless drainage canals, residents shuttled back and forth, strolling leisurely, walking hurriedly, negotiating, or spending money; craftsmen, merchants, farmers, monks, and guards who maintained order... each performed their duties and was full of vitality.

Fifty years ago, this place was still a barren wasteland, suffering from the baptism of war and natural disasters. Even birds and insects were unwilling to linger here. Fifty years later, Ardes, the hometown of all spirits, has become another great city that can be compared with the ancient and majestic cities such as the Dragon King City Rabit, the Feathered Sky City Karagang, and the Mirror Elves' Sea King City. Human beings have also risen and gained their own place in an era of disputes and turmoil among hundreds of races. It seems that other races have re-recognized this tiny ethnic group, and they are wary and keep their distance from it.

What is commendable is that after the rise of mankind, they did not retaliate against the once superior races because of the oppression they had suffered before, or even participate in the war for continental hegemony. Instead, under the teachings of the Goddess and the saints, they carefully restrained their desires and never used their strength for battles other than self-preservation and resistance.

Although this cautious, conservative and neutral attitude has caused a lot of misunderstanding and ridicule, it has also won the trust of some peace-loving races, such as fairies, wind elves and dwarves. They also hate war and take the initiative to form an alliance with humans to help each other. Although their individual forces are small, they have become a decisive force when they gather together. Fearing this alliance, races such as dragons, giants, dust elves and feather elves, which have frequently launched wars and attempted to dominate the continent in the past, have also stopped fighting in recent years and restrained their edge.

The situation on the mainland thus reached a strange balance. Under the premise that no one was willing to actively break the balance, a fragile but reassuring peace came. For a long time, no war broke out. Although there were often small-scale conflicts, compared with the previous era of endless wars and chaos, it was already unimaginably stable.

The rise of mankind is undoubtedly a major opportunity for the advent of an era of peace, and Fei has personally participated in various processes on the road to mankind's rise, from following her teacher to study the fourteen royal sacred vessels, researching the formulas of magic potions of different extraordinary paths, analyzing spirituality and acting, assisting her teacher in establishing a spiritual prayer meeting, and later, as a disciple of the saint, confronting those races that did not want mankind to rise, and protecting the believers and homes behind her through one difficult victory after another... This road is like walking on the edge of a cliff. If you are not careful, you will fall and be smashed to pieces. Fortunately, they finally survived.

Fei has always been proud of himself for creating such a peaceful era, but he also knows that such peace is hard-won, with many people's sacrifice and departure. Even one of the thirteen disciples who followed the teacher to study went crazy due to mistakes in the research process and disappeared. It is said that someone once saw his lonely figure wandering on the sea, but he did not dare to return home for fear that he would make a big mistake again.

Having absorbed too much royal power but unable to control it, he almost destroyed the entire temple in pain and chaos. If the teacher had not arrived in time, no one present would have survived. The new and majestic temple in front of us was rebuilt thirteen years after the tragedy, but the foundation of that year is still preserved. If you look closely at the supporting pillars or solemn arches under the ceiling of the temple, you may still be able to find a trace of those times.

I hope that we will not repeat the same mistakes and that this peace can be maintained forever.

Fei thought to herself, then silently retracted her gaze and walked towards the Great Temple. She was originally in another city on the Midgraal Plain, teaching the locals the secrets of magic and the knowledge of agriculture, handicrafts and commerce, hoping to make it prosperous and strong. It is not enough to have only one Ardes city. Only when more Ardes cities and more extraordinary people emerge, and the power of mankind is always guaranteed to be no less than that of other races, can the current peace have the possibility of long-term existence.

However, a decree from the Great Temple of Ardes City called her back to the Holy City after a long absence. After receiving the decree, she did not dare to delay for even a moment. She returned immediately after finishing her work, fearing that she would be late and miss some important matters. Such worries were not excessive, because the person who issued the decree was named Tumi Omirons, not only her teacher, but also a saint praised by all people. Nowadays, he has a more well-known name -

Saint Tomi.

……

The Great Temple enshrines the Great Goddess and her fourteen sacred offspring. The Goddess is the initiator of the universe and the creator of all things, while her offspring are the protectors of the living and the guides of mankind. Without the power of the kingship passed down by them, it would be difficult for mankind to rise in that turbulent era. Therefore, even though time was tight, Fei still closed her eyes and prayed in front of these statues one by one, reciting the scriptures of the Spiritual Prayer Meeting, and completed the entire process with an extremely pious attitude.

In addition to the goddess who was enshrined in the main seat, she stayed in front of the statue of the dark kingship, the master of all darkness, nothingness and the soul, the Lord of the Night, Her Majesty Carabosse, for a relatively long time. This was because when she was studying with the teacher, the thirteen disciples, including her, were responsible for studying a royal sacred artifact, and the royal sacred artifact she was in charge of happened to be the eternal dark gem that symbolized the law of darkness. As a result, she was favored by the night and was able to master the power that calmed the mind and spirit.

Her teacher's corresponding royal power is Fate, and he does sometimes act as if he can see the future.

After finishing the prayer, Fei left from the side door of the main hall, walked through the long corridor and atrium, and came to a relatively secluded side hall. This was the place where the saints practiced diligently, so there were not many guards and priests. Only two knights in silver armor stood outside the door of the study hall, silently guarding the silence here.

When they saw Fei, they bowed silently, turned around and pushed open the heavy stone door. The creaking sound accompanied by the shaking of dust made people feel a little sad. It also reminded Fei of an incident when she followed her teacher to study. Because of her own lack of strength, she always needed to rely on others to push the door for her. She once complained to her teacher, but at that time, the teacher just looked at her calmly, and then said meaningfully: "What you are about to do is much more difficult than pushing open this door."

Now, with her strength, it was easy to push open the door, but could she say that she had succeeded in the difficult task she had vowed to accomplish in the past? Perhaps she was still on the way, but no matter what, she could see hope.

Fei thanked the two guarding knights, and then walked into the study hall. The interior space was spacious, but the shape was quite primitive. It was just a semicircular building built purely with stone bricks. The furnishings were also very simple. In addition to the rows of bookshelves on the left wall, which were piled with books, parchments and scrolls, there was only a rectangular stone table in the center of the hall and a dozen stone benches. The stone benches were not fixed and could be moved, so there was no need to arrange the seats.

In the past, teachers would often sit casually on a stone bench and share their research results with students in a circle, and discuss their feasibility. However, this kind of discussion was not completely harmonious, and sometimes even heated arguments would break out, not only between students, but also between teachers and students. However, the contradiction would only be reflected in the problem itself, and would never extend to other places. Teachers would not hate a student who always opposed them.

The saint and his disciples have a teacher-student relationship, but there is no sense of distance. "Fei, you are late."

At this time, the stone benches in the study hall were already full of people. A girl with short white hair and a cold temperament raised her head and glanced at Fei, who had arrived at the last minute. Her tone seemed to be blaming, but in fact it was comforting: "You made me wait for three minutes. As a punishment, you can't eat for a month... um, Tatar."

Tartar is a wrap filled with grilled meat, cabbage and various seasonings. It was Fei's favorite food when she was in school and it helped her through many difficult nights.

Although Fei no longer likes to eat that kind of burrito, she still apologized with a smile: "I'm sorry, Mingte, I was delayed for a while because of something when I set out. How about I treat you to Tatar later?"

The girl called Mingte pursed her lips tightly, a touch of excitement flashed in her eyes, but she quickly lowered her head, not wanting others to see her like this. At this time, another middle-aged man with black hair and brown eyes, a calm and majestic temperament, looked up at Fei and said in a deep voice: "It's just a few minutes late. You came from the West Midgraal area and were in a hurry. Don't worry about it, sit down first."

"kindness."

Fei nodded obediently, then found a place to sit down next to Mingte. When no one else was paying attention, she spoke and silently said thank you to the white-haired girl. The latter did not look at her, but just nodded her chin slightly to show that she received it. Looking at her serious look, Fei couldn't help laughing.

It’s still the same as many years ago, both Fate and Cenos.

Kenos was the middle-aged man who had just spoken. He was also the earliest disciple to follow the master. Not only did he make great contributions to the research on the royal sacred vessel, he also held a high position in the minds of the other disciples. He single-handedly formulated various rules for the saint's disciples, strictly restricting what everyone could and could not do. Later, this was extended to become the official law of the city of Ardes. Now he is responsible for the judicial and law enforcement affairs of this great city, and his majesty is growing day by day.

Being late is not a big deal for a disciple of the saint, but it is also a loss of status. If Mingte had not spoken in advance and "blamed" Fei, it would have been Kenos who scolded him. Fei did not want to experience that feeling, so he said thank you to the girl.

After sitting down, Fei looked around again, and familiar figures came into view. Compared with many years ago, they seemed to have changed a lot, but also seemed to have not changed at all. The only thing in common was that they all had a great reputation among humans and even in the entire continent. She couldn't help but feel a little emotional, as time passed and things were no longer the same as yesterday.

"Cursed Ring King" Kenos, "Disaster Blade" Abraham, "Sky Knight" Dester, "Eye of Death" Vanos, "Sleeper" Patricia, "Spiritual Mentor" Inos, "White Griffin" Zoroaster, "Enlightener" Constantine, "Construction King" Tutankhamun, "Blood Drinker" Baimon, "Ancient Angel" Mingte, and "Silent Saint" Fei...Except for the "Crimson Disaster" Mecantheus who has fallen into madness, the twelve saints of the Spiritual Prayer Society gathered here.

There is undoubtedly only one person who has the ability to call them together.

In the study hall, when the last Saint Fei sat down, everyone's eyes were focused on the old man in the middle of the crowd. Compared with the abundant energy many years ago when he could conduct experiments in the study hall for seven consecutive days and nights without sleep, he is much older now, but the aging of age has not made his soul quiet, but more stubborn. He sat there with a posture even straighter than many years ago, like a flagpole that did not know how to bend. The whole person exuded a towering temperament from the inside out, like a mountain, majestic without anger. This temperament made everyone who faced him unconsciously ignore his bleak white hair and the old ravines on his face, but lowered his head, feeling awe and shaken from the bottom of their hearts.

In front of this old man, they were still like the ignorant young men fifty years ago, feeling that they knew nothing about the world and could only wait for his scolding and teaching.

This can be said to be the majesty of the saint, which is not a product built up by power and strength, but by those incomparably dazzling deeds: crossing the starry sea to explore the power of royal power; analyzing spirituality and creatively creating an extraordinary path for mankind; establishing a spiritual prayer meeting to condense the beliefs of human city-states in the form of religion; personally reforming agriculture, commerce and handicrafts, and being the strongest but willing to lower his posture to care about the lives of the people of dust... It is these deeds that do not need to be boasted about, and their mere existence is enough to prove their significance, which make the saints who are extremely respected and noble in the eyes of the world bow their heads in awe and listen to their words.

When discussing academic matters, teachers and students can speak freely and debate with each other; however, when discussing matters other than academic matters, among all the disciples, only the Curse Ring King Kenos dared to speak up, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he pointed directly to the core of today's gathering: "Teacher, you have gathered us here today, there must be something important to discuss, but your instructions are vague and have not touched on the key point. Can you explain it to us clearly?"

As soon as the words fell, the atmosphere in the study hall suddenly became much quieter, even the breathing became fainter, and everyone held their breath and waited for the teacher's answer. For some reason, they all had a premonition that this answer was extremely important and would even change the fate of many people.

Saint Tomi slowly raised his head and looked around, his eyes lingering on the faces of the students one by one, taking in their different expressions, and finally falling back on Kenos. He spoke in an old, low, but still firm tone: "The world is about to change, and humans should prepare early. I intend to select four people from among you to unify the cities, establish a kingdom, and spread the glory of the goddess and the fourteen crowns to the lands of all races, so that all spiritual people in the world will come to worship. This is-"

"Everything has a soul." (End of this chapter)