Alice in the Land of Steam

"Have the Shatoto people ever been to space?" Linger looked as if he saw Alice studying seriously. It was not his fault that he was ignorant, but it was really incredible. Since ancient times, mountain people have been called the sons of the earth or wanderers in the mountains. They have walked on the earth all their lives, staring at the mud and rocks under their feet, as if they have never looked up at the sky and had the urge to fly. If there was a moment when the sky and the earth were reversed, the earth became the sky, and the sky fell to the earth, then the mountain people would probably be the only group in the world who lived upside down.

Their dependence and attachment to the earth are so profound that if you try to connect these down-to-earth mountain people with the distant and mysterious universe, you must have a rich and shocking enough imagination, and young people do not seem to have such qualifications.

Seeing the surprised expression on Linger's face, Chief Wilhelm couldn't help but laugh. There was a calm power in his laughter, just like his body, so the words he said seemed so calm, as if he was just stating an indisputable fact: "It's just a rumor."

He slowly raised his head, and on the top of the 7,000-meter-high snow-capped peak, he made a move that ordinary mountain dwellers would not do. He did not look down at the earth, but looked up at the sky: "In the past, there was indeed a Xia Toto who followed the saint and took care of his daily life during his enlightenment. Later, when the saint ascended to heaven, he stood where we are now and witnessed the magnificent miracle with his own eyes. After returning to the tribe, he described the scene to his people and left a record in the tribe. But somehow, the legend gradually went astray during the process of transmission, and evolved into the current statement. However, for thousands of years, everyone has always believed it without a doubt, and no one has ever thought of questioning it."

At this point, he smiled again, but this smile was not a joke, but a sigh: "In fact, many people know that mountain people belong to the earth, and there will never be a day when they leave the earth and fly into the universe. However, no one has ever thought of exposing this legend. Why do you think this is, Mr. Lingge?"

Perhaps it is because, even the most rigid and stubborn mountain dwellers have a rebellious and romantic impulse to defy tradition? Just like an angel lady who imprisoned herself in a cage for fear of curse, don't they also long for the free posture of the white whale jumping out of the sea?

Lingge thought so, but did not answer. Instead, he said, "So, you asked Songtaya to deliver food to us. Do you want to make the legend come true in this way, Chief Wilhelm?"

In the past, a Chatotuo was responsible for taking care of the saints' daily life; now, Songtaya is also responsible for delivering meals to them.

In the past, the Xia Toto man witnessed the saint's ascension to heaven, but did not follow him; now, Songtaya may become the first mountain dweller to leave the earth.

So the topic naturally turned back to the Chattoto girl.

"Yes." Chief Wilhelm nodded gently. This action seemed to carry a heavy force, so it seemed very solemn: "If Songtaya has the opportunity to walk the path that the saint once walked, then no one in the Mountain Guard can raise any objection."

Because this is an even older tradition, and the mountain people all respect tradition and act in accordance with its philosophy - even though leaving the earth itself goes against the mountain people's tradition.

It breaks a tradition while maintaining another tradition. It is a contradictory but also very interesting statement.

After explaining the cause and effect, Ling Ge still had doubts in his heart and asked, "Excuse me, may I ask, what happened to those who were chosen as containers like Songtaya?"

"died."

These two simple words made the young man's heart sink. However, after seeing his expression, Chief Wilhelm added: "One died in a sudden snowstorm and was buried by an avalanche while trying to protect his people from evacuating in time; one died of illness, and the other died of old age."

"..." Lingge was silent for a moment before he said, "It sounds like these are normal ways of dying. They have nothing to do with the ritual of summoning the gods."

"We, the Shatto people, originally had no intention of the Divine Ceremony and the Holy Stone Magic. We were forced to get involved in this storm just to fight against the alliance of the religious orders." Chief Wilhelm said in a deep voice: "Since the promulgation of the Religious Decree over the past hundred years, the situation of the mountain people has become increasingly difficult, but it actually has little to do with the alliance of the religious orders. The Night Watch and the Balance of Order also seem to have no intention of entering this mountainous area covered by wind and snow. In this case, there is no need for us to blindly hold the Divine Ceremony, which would endanger ourselves."

"If that's the case, why are you so anxious?" Ling Ge was puzzled: "Perhaps Songtaya can also live a safe and sound life like her predecessors?"

Although classifying both "accidental death" and "death from illness" as "safe and sound" sounds a bit like the joke from hell that Alice mentioned, but compared to the identity of the core of the ritual, isn't it lucky enough to die as an ordinary person rather than a refined believer in God?
"That's true. If I could live my life like you said, it might be a good choice, but that's just an ideal situation." Chief Wilhelm shook his head slightly. "Recently, I've had a similar premonition more and more. It seems that the current peace will not last long. Soon, the traditions and rules that the mountain people abide by will be forcibly broken by external forces. Whether this change is good or bad, judging from the current situation, it is mostly the latter. Moreover, the scope of its impact is probably not limited to the mountains we see, but will sweep across the entire North Ashuka Mountain Belt, the entire Western Continent, and even the entire world. If the people of Shatto don't want to be swallowed by the tide of the times, you have to fight back. However, our strength is weak after all. Only the power of the gods can be relied on."

He looked at Linge deeply and said, "In other words, a vessel like Songtaya is indispensable. You should understand what I mean, Mr. Linge."

The young man fell silent. He not only understood, but also deeply felt it. Before the surging tide of the times, someone would always sacrifice. Why couldn't that person be Tianxin Church, Rochelle, or Songtaya?

There is more than one choice, but the people who are chosen are often powerless.

"Songtaya doesn't know about this yet, right?" Linger couldn't help but ask after a moment of silence. To be precise, the girl seemed to know nothing.

"Yes, but we respect her opinion, and I think Mr. Linger should respect her opinion as well."

Does it mean that the girl should make her own decision? But when a 15- or 16-year-old girl hears that she can leave her closed old environment and go on an adventure to the distant and mysterious universe, won’t she be so excited that she can’t help but agree without thinking, instead of giving a rejection answer?
Linger asked again: "So, after Songtaya leaves with us, what should the Mountain Guard do?" Choose the next person and continue to accommodate the power of faith of others until the day comes when they become the core of the ceremony? They can save one Songtaya, but it seems that they can't save more people.

Chief Wilhelm was silent for a moment, then gave an answer that Linger did not expect: "I will replace Sontaya."

His tone was calm, as if he was just talking about a trivial matter. Linger looked at him in surprise and found that there was no wavering on his face. He immediately realized that this decision was not the result of a momentary impulse, but the product of countless days and nights of careful consideration. The young man considered his tone and asked cautiously: "But I heard that only people with pure souls can play the role of a container. Is that why Songtaya was chosen?"

Children's souls are too fragile, while adults' souls are full of filth. Indeed, only Songtaya, whose soul is in the stage of transformation from immaturity to maturity, is the most suitable.

Leader Wilhelm said, “That’s true, but that’s because only a soul that is pure enough can avoid being polluted by the mixed power of faith and lose its self-awareness. Besides that, there is another way to resist this pollution.”

This silent and steady mountain man openly called the assimilation of the power of faith into believers pollution. Lingge seemed to sense his firm attitude from this statement and said thoughtfully, "That is, a soul that is strong enough to face the erosion of the power of faith head-on?"

This is not an easy task. For example, Saint Mida of the Steam Cult, or Walker Rochelle of the Fertile Soil Sect, both find it difficult to resist the erosion of the power of faith. In Ling's opinion, Chief Wilhelm's decision is still too risky.

Although, he himself doesn't seem to think so.

"exactly."

Chief Wilhelm was full of confidence. He believed from the beginning that his soul was like the thousand-year-old snow peaks of the North Ashok Mountains, rooted in the embrace of the mountains, extremely tough, and not afraid of any pollution from the blizzard. It was just that when Sontaya was chosen, he was not yet the leader, so he was not qualified to express his opinion at the meeting of the 18 leaders of the Mountain Guard. He hated his cowardice countless times, so much so that he lost the only chance to change his daughter's fate. This feeling was tortured by the wind and snow, and was constantly honed in the process of Sontaya's growth day by day, and finally forged the sharpest sword in the ice and snow of the Eastern Alps.

Countess Nevile's evaluation of Chief Wilhelm was spot on; this man was always waiting for the right opportunity, but what he wanted to change was not his own destiny.

Perhaps the mountain people have an unyielding will buried deep in their bones, just like the walker who tried to fight against the united cult on his own. Linger was shocked by the confidence of the man in front of him, and fell silent for his perseverance. This complex feeling was prompting him to make a difficult decision, but at this point, with Chief Wilhelm being so frank, could he still refuse?
"I'll try my best." The young man never made any grandiose statements. He just made a promise within his ability: "If Songtaya doesn't object, I will take her away from here."

This reserved attitude did not make Chief Wilhelm angry, but made him more satisfied, because it is well known that the more conservative a person's attitude is, the more he cares about what he says.

"Then I'll leave it to you, Lord Lingge. When the sun shines over the end of the Ismir Sea of ​​Trees, Songtaya will bring lunch to you. That will be the best time for you to be honest with her. As for now, I have to say goodbye. There are still many things waiting for me to deal with in the tribe. This magnificent and shocking sunrise——"

The man looked up and saw the mountains, trees, snow-capped peaks and rivers that sparkled like gold in the morning light after the mist had dissipated. His eyes were filled with indescribable memories and attachment: "Please enjoy it. After all, many people on earth will only see this kind of scenery once in their lifetime."

He turned and left, and Lingge also turned around, watching his back gradually walk away, leaving only a trail of footprints on the snow. It was like stepping on hard and stubborn stones, every step was so firm and unwavering.

Only when he could no longer see his figure did Linger withdraw his gaze. He did not stay to continue admiring the beautiful sunrise as Chief Wilhelm had said, but walked towards the stone house where he lived. For the young man at this moment, the most important thing was to analyze the manuscript left by Saint Tomi as soon as possible.

At this time, Saint Xia Liya and Xino had also woken up - to be precise, they had woken up a long time ago, but they deliberately stayed in the house and did not show up, leaving all the negotiation work to Lingge.

They naturally heard everything that Lingge and Chief Wilhelm talked about Sontaya, and at this moment they couldn't help but express the same feeling as Sister Livia last night: "It seems that Chief Wilhelm is caught between the tribe and his family, which is really not easy."

They both looked at Lingge, and Xino, who was more direct, asked, "Will you help him, Lingge?"

Saint Xia Liya did not speak, but looked at the young man with expectation. The latter did not give a clear answer, but just said: "It does not depend on me, but on the opinion of Songtaya herself."

Although what they said was true, Saint Charlia and Shino were very confident about it and felt that Songtaya would definitely agree. What child would not look forward to leaving home and going out to explore the world? Besides, she looked like the type of person who couldn't sit still.

Lingge saw through the girls' thoughts, but said nothing. He just walked into the house silently and found something left by Chief Wilhelm on the table - it was a wooden box with a simple shape. It seemed to be made of large cedar wood. The wood texture had become dark brown due to the passage of time, and there were faint winding lines like fog, which was quite mysterious.

With a gentle push of the delicate lock, the wooden box slowly opened with a slight click, and the young man's long-cherished manuscript lay quietly inside. (End of this chapter)