Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 105 Was it once the temple of God?

Fertile Soil Sect?
When Lingge heard the name, he was slightly stunned. At the same time, what emerged in his mind was the full name of the "Religious Decree", which is the "Decree on Restricting the Operation and Preaching Rights of Illegal Church Organizations Such as Spiritual Prayer Societies and Druids". The word "etc." includes a total of seventeen religions, and the Fertile Soil Sect is one of the seventeen.

It is worth noting that whether it is the churches such as the Fertile Soil Church that have been ignored in the past, or the Druids that appear in the text of the decree, they essentially have the same source, that is, the spiritual prayer meeting that has always been placed at the top of the "list of illegal churches".

That is the origin of "animism". The founder is Tumi, a saint recognized by human history. It is said that he had attained enlightenment on the top of a mountain. Through hard practice, he clarified the law of "animism". Taking this as the core doctrine, he created the first religious prayer meeting in history, settled here with believers, built houses and temples, and gradually formed a huge city-state, namely, Yaldes, the hometown of all spirits.

That’s right, the ancient Aldean language that Lingge learned in college originated from here. It is said that it was the language formed when Saint Toumi and his believers communicated with each other. It contains the mysteries of the spirituality of heaven and earth. Whoever can understand the rules of language will understand the core of "all things have spirits."

Regardless of whether such legends are true or not, at least in terms of its historical significance, Old Aldese is the first systematic language in the history of human civilization. Both the higher education institutions in the Western Continent and the feudal aristocratic education in the Eastern Continent have included it in the compulsory courses.

In terms of inheritance, modern human civilization directly inherited the spiritual core of Yaldes, the land of all spirits.

There is a clear line to prove this point: Abraham and Baimon, two of Saint Tomi's twelve followers - later called the Twelve Saints - established the White Griffin Empire and the Volomv Dynasty respectively. The White Griffin Empire later split into the United Kingdom of White City-States and the Kingdom of Zoroaster, and the Volomv Dynasty split into the Kingdom of Brittany and the Kingdom of Minsuria.

The United Kingdom of the White Cities completed the democratic revolution under the leadership of "Joan of Arc" and established the current White City-State Republic on the ruins; the Kingdom of Minsuria quickly became powerful due to the iron-blooded rule of "Red Bearded King Barbarossa", and was later renamed the Great Empire of Minderias; the Kingdom of Brittany was led by "Marshal Napoleon" and the National Salvation Alliance Army won the Hundred Years' War that laid the foundation of the country, which led to the current Kingdom of Brittany.

Aside from the annexed Kingdom of Zoroaster, the three most powerful countries in the Western Continent today all have close ties with Saint Tomi and the Spiritual Prayer Society he founded - it is said that the same is true in the distant Eastern Continent, or even closer.

But the glory of the past cannot save the present decline. The history of animism was once glorious. However, in the steam age, their dominance was replaced by the Steam Cult, which mastered the core technology of the steam engine, and they began to show signs of decline. After the Steam Jihad, the united cults rose strongly again, not only curbing their development for the second time, but also issuing the "Religious Decree" to suppress the most threatening spiritual prayer societies and their branches, causing the wandering churches that had disappeared for a thousand years to reappear in the world... It has to be said that history always takes the most ironic path.

The man who called himself Rochelle was probably a member of the Wandering Church. Having lost the temple where God resided, he could only build simple shrines and offer devout prayers while traveling.

The Fertile Soil Sect is one of the branches of the Spiritual Prayer Society. The believers of this sect have further refined Saint Toumi's "animism", believing that "all things have spirituality, and all spirituality comes from the earth beneath our feet; fertile soil has spirits, shaping all things in the world, and is the mother of all living things." Therefore, their god is called: Mother Earth Titan.

Similar views include Druidism that worships the "spirits of nature", Ancestral Spiritism that worships the "spirits of ancestors", and the Order of the Holy Springs that worships the "spirits of springs", but they are basically all branches derived from animism.

Walker is Rochelle's position in the sect, similar to the chief pastor, bishop, saint, etc. in the church union. It can be seen that he should be of a high status, otherwise he would not be able to develop such a majestic and profound temperament.

While Ling'er was thinking about a thousand things, Rochelle spoke again, and said in a deep voice: "I have traveled all the way from the 'City of Holy Steel' Rheatom in the north to this place. Every thousand miles I walked, I would set up a shrine to inform the spirits. During the time, I saw people in the mortal world, some of whom mocked and laughed at me, and some who gathered to watch. This is human nature and there is nothing wrong with it. Only you are willing to leave me a quiet moment so that I can have a firm faith. You should empathize with me, or even understand me. As the saint once said, if someone treats me with sincerity, I must treat them with sincerity. Therefore, I should express my gratitude to you again, and may the spirits of the earth bless you, the mother earth." He solemnly performed an ancient etiquette, which should have been passed down a long time ago and was full of solemnity.

The "City of Holy Steel" Rheatom is located at the northernmost edge of the Great Brittany Kingdom. In the Steam Age, Saint Mida once issued the "December Declaration" here, announcing the establishment of the Alpha Knights. If Rochelle really walked from that city to Rostin City, then his will and patience can be said to be amazing, because the distance between the two cities is conservatively estimated to be thousands of miles away.

"Nothing." Ling Ge simply replied: "Just due courtesy."

Rochelle shook her head: "But it's hard for many people to do it."

Linger didn't want to talk to him too much, and had already thought about leaving. Because so far, the seventeen religions that believe in "animism", including the Spiritual Prayer Society, are still being jointly wanted by the government and religious groups of various countries. It is said that they took extreme measures when resisting the "Religious Decree", and even caused casualties, which had a very bad impact.

But before he said goodbye, Rochelle had already retracted his gaze and fell on the theater in front of him. Looking at its mottled white exterior wall, his eyes showed a look of nostalgia, and he began to tell a little-known history: "This is the Central Theater. It was first built a century ago and has been rebuilt and renovated three times. Its history is not longer than other theaters on Square Street, but it has unique historical significance because Shakespeare's "Macbeth" and "Hamlet" were performed here. At the same time, the most popular legend in the Rustin area was born: "March Diary"."

"..."

Linger was silent. He felt that the scene before his eyes was a bit absurd: he was listening to a devout believer telling about the history of theater and art, and just a few minutes ago, this believer was praying in the direction of the theater. Could it be that the two are actually inseparable, and a devout believer must also be an upper-class audience with artistic accomplishment?

"In fact," Rochelle's voice came through the dim light of the street, "few people know that in order to build the Central Theater, a church was demolished here, and the statue enshrined in it was smashed into powder with hammers and chisels by the people in charge of the construction. Memories will be covered in dust and fade. Today, not to mention outsiders, I'm afraid even the residents of this neighborhood have forgotten the owner of the church and the name of the statue."

When Lingge heard this, his expression slightly changed. Thinking of Rochelle's prayer to the theater just now, he took the initiative to speak: "Is it the Earth Mother you believe in?"

"Do not."

Rochelle shook her head and replied calmly, "That noble, kind and tolerant god is named Quan Ling Di Fu."

"He is also the god believed by fellow members of the Holy Spring Monastic Order."

　I wasn't going to update today, so these two chapters are extra chapters, so give me some meow
　　
　
(End of this chapter)