Chapter 135 Church
Ogma, a powerful god of the absolutely neutral camp, is also called the god of inspiration, invention and knowledge. He is also known as: the namer and the lord of knowledge. The shape of the holy symbol is An open scroll.
First of all, Ogma is not a god born in Toril in mythology. His followers spread a myth about the creation of heaven and earth.
Shortly after the Moon Goddess Selun and the Night Goddess Shar created the world of Toril, and the Earth Mother Chantia was born, a traveler ventured here from an extremely distant country.
When this traveler came to this world, he found that this new world was in chaos, and many basic concepts were still changing and forming. These constantly changing concepts were in desperate need of settling and fixing.
Thus, the traveler spent the long years defining and naming each concept.
The name given by the traveler generated power and fixed all the originally elusive concepts of transformation, thus forming the materialized natural world.
This traveler is Ogma, the binder of all knowledge. He brings order to the chaotic world. This legend also explains why Ogma is called: the Namer.
Although Brian will not dedicate his faith to a certain god due to his personal philosophy, this does not mean that he will be as eccentric and eccentric as the great arcanist of Netheril. Tsundere.
It is said that during the Netheril era, these arcanists would rather use healing potions and never accept the healing magic of priests.
Because they believe that accepting treatment from a priest, a slave of God, is a kind of giving up the opportunity to become a god, or a blasphemy against their belief in becoming a god.
It's like a god disdains to accept treatment from another god.
It can be seen from this that they are arrogant to such a life-threatening level.
As for potion bottles, because they believe these are created through magic, they are not opposed to potions.
After all, if you continue to reject me, your life will be at risk.
Not only is Brian not as pedantic as them, on the contrary, he will even take the initiative to contact some kind of god that is consistent with his own ideas.
Ogma, the God of Knowledge, is one of them. If his beliefs are forcibly divided, he believes that he is definitely a pan-believer of Ogma, the God of Knowledge.
His original plan was to wait until his territory was stable before contacting the Ogma Church. Who would have thought that they would come here on their own initiative.
In this regard, he will naturally not miss the opportunity to win over the church to serve his territory.
After all, Ogma, the god of knowledge, is a very influential god in the country.
Myriel, the god of poetry, eloquence, and singing, and Dinir, the lord of words and images, the god of literature and language, are considered to be like Ogma's subordinate gods.
And at present, that is, after the end of the Arcane catastrophe, Ogma's belief has been further developed.
He not only holds inspiration, invention and knowledge, but also represents the highest and most primitive form of knowledge - idea.
As the priests of Ogma chant in their hymns: Ideas have no weight, but they can shake mountains. Ideas have no power, but they can command thousands. Ideas have no power, but they can destroy empires. Before anything can exist, the Idea must exist.
Followers of Ogma firmly believe that knowledge is the greatest tool available to mortals, surpassing anything created by human hands.
In the words of a famous mage from other planes: What attracts the body is money and extravagant hopes, while what attracts the soul is knowledge and ideas.
Therefore, Ogma believers will try their best to spread and preserve knowledge. At the same time, eradicating illiteracy is also an important task of the Ogma Church.
However, the Ogma Church's extreme attitude towards maintaining and protecting knowledge often causes conflicts and contradictions between them and other churches and forces.
The Church of Ogma believes that no knowledge should be destroyed, and knowledge itself is no problem. In the words of another famous archmage from other planes: Power itself is not terrible, it is terrible. is its owner.
Some Ogma believers even believe that all knowledge should be disseminated, and hiding knowledge will bring absolutely no benefit.
No matter how unreal or crazy a new idea may seem, don’t hide or cover it up. Let the public judge it.
This means that many Ogma temples usually contain a large amount of 'forbidden knowledge' or 'knowledge that should be destroyed' that is considered by other churches and organizations.
The most typical one is necromancy. On the other hand, the Ogma Church will also take the initiative to crack down on organizations that spread false knowledge, rumors, and lies.
Anyone who encourages deception, fraud and believes that ignorance is a good thing will be regarded as an enemy of Ogma, so members of the Ogma Church are not so idle.
The followers of Ogma are mainly wizards, cartographers, bards, artists, scribes, inventors, sages, scribes, and all kinds of people who discover, protect and create knowledge and learning. people.
At the same time, Ogma is highly respected even among ordinary people.
His name is often mentioned. After all, no matter where you work or what industry you are in, knowledge is a necessity for you.
Brian knows very well that if he wants to establish a magical kingdom, the first thing he needs to do is to enlighten the civilians in the territory. The so-called enlightenment means to let them learn to read and write, and to impart knowledge related to various fields. .
This seems to be a very simple thing, but if it is really promoted, the difficulty of implementation will not be mentioned for the time being, and the wealth just spent will be immeasurable.
Getting help from the Church of Ogma is different. With the support of the priests of the God of Knowledge, it is equivalent to getting many people who specialize in art, invention, cartography, etc. for no reason. Knowledge free tutor.
This is a win-win choice for both the Ogma Church and himself.
Brian signaled Balerius to wait outside the door and entered the study alone.
The moment he entered the room, the priest of Ogma immediately noticed his arrival, put down the book in his hand, stood up and signaled.
This is a middle-aged priest who is tall and thin, but shorter than him. A hawk-like nose protrudes from his skinny face, and his eyes are like steel with a few wisps of white. His beard hangs down to his waist.
Doctor Tysonde.
Brian recalled some information about the Ogma priest and the organization he belonged to, the Gilded Laurels.
Once upon a time, the system of the Church of Ogma depended entirely on the will of one person, the Archbishop of Ogma, Curran Coudement. He had been living in the City of Knowledge, 'Plokanpur', and was recognized as As 'the chosen one and the voice of Ogma'.
Until the turbulent year when the Saint's catastrophe came, the archbishop disappeared and there was no news.
Ogma's answers to what happened to him were contradictory and confusing.
Because of this, the church has never had a supreme leader and has split into multiple sects and branches.
The largest sect is the Orthodox Church of Ogma.
It does not recognize anyone who uses the title of bishop, because its ruling group believes that the archbishop who disappeared during the Years of Troubles is still serving Ogma.
Maybe the Archbishop is in another plane or has ascended to a demigod state, but in any case, until Ogma says otherwise, he is the only legitimate Archbishop.
The ‘Gilded Laurel’ organization of the Temple of Knowledge in Arabe City is also not recognized by the Orthodox Church of Ogma.
The idea preached by Priest Ogma of the ‘Gilded Laurel’ faction is that one should be armed with knowledge, not scrap metal.
The second largest sect is the Church of Ogma in Sambia, a merchant kingdom east of Cormyr. Its main difference is that it believes that a new Archbishop has been appointed and that all knowledge should be tested before being released to the public. Proof is worth spreading.
This sect is composed of pure knowledge seekers from Mintan Island. It stands on the standpoint of the church's ruling group, not on the standpoint of theology.
The philosophy they preach is exactly the opposite of the 'Gilded Laurel'. These priests believe that the most efficient way to implement the truth is the sword rather than the parchment scroll.
The general meaning is that knowledge is not the only sacred thing, there is something far more sacred than this, and that is truth. Knowledge comes from books, but there is only one way to bring the truth to the people, and that is action, which is a relatively paranoid method of spreading knowledge.
So far, most local churches have maintained fragile collaborations.
But disagreements between the Ogma and Komi churches in Sambia have led to a complete breakdown in church relations in these kingdoms.
Loremasters of one kingdom are not welcome in temples of other kingdoms, and vice versa.
The core of this problem is due to the hypothesis behind a keynote address given by a Sambian intellectual guru at a Sambian arts festival.
At that time, the delegation of the Cormyrian Ogma sect led by the scholar Tysonde happened to be attending.
Then a tit-for-tat debate (trash talk was exchanged) completely broke the relationship between the two churches.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, Bishop Tysonde." Brian met the pastor's gaze and greeted the pastor in the study with a smile. "My name is Brian, the newly appointed lord of Mokou Town in the Kingdom of Cormyr. . ”
The priest is dressed in a white shirt and trousers, with a brocade vest depicting many hieroglyphs, symbols, runes and symbols of magical power and arcane significance.
These symbols seem to run through the realms of all ages across the continent, and then are all marked together by a golden braid.
Dr. Tysonde was surprised that this strange and young lord directly called his name. Then he bowed slightly, saluted him, and said kindly, "Your Majesty, you are so polite. Thank you. I apologize for my sudden visit, and may Ogma protect you.”
The pastor’s voice sounded a little hoarse, and Brian guessed that the other party was probably in that debate. The aftermath of falling.
"Thank you for your compliment." He stopped talking nonsense and chose to go straight to the topic:
"In fact, I also believe that there is great immortal energy hidden in books. Although knowledge is weightless, it can be used well. Knowledge can move entire mountains, Bishop Tysonde, I already know your purpose, and I hope we can have a happy cooperation."
Facing Brian's confession, the pastor looked slightly surprised, as if there was something profound about it. He glanced at him and said: "The lord's pursuit of knowledge is respectable. Ogma, the god of knowledge, will help every soul who is passionate about knowledge and pay tribute to Lord Cormyr for his wisdom and strength."
< br>After finishing the polite words, Brian stopped beating around the bush, "In that case, I will speak out, Bishop Tysonde."
"As the lord of Mokou Town, I agree with the God of Knowledge. The church has a foothold here." He thought for a moment and expressed his thoughts to the pastor.
"Not only am I willing to allocate a piece of land for your church in Mokou Town for free, but I will also fund the establishment of a monastery and temple for the God of Knowledge for you. What you need to do is to popularize education for the people in the territory and teach them to read. Be literate, and impart relevant knowledge in various fields. At the same time, help me defend the order of the territory."
After hearing Brian's words, Doctor Tysonde was immediately shocked, with no expression on his face. Cover up with an exaggerated expression.
In fact, the main purpose of his coming here is to observe the situation of this small town that was re-conquered by the Kingdom of Cormyr and whether it is suitable for spreading the faith of the God of Knowledge.
Who would have thought that when he came to Mokou Town, the new lord here not only welcomed his arrival, but also took the initiative to put forward conditions that he did not even dare to think about.
For a moment, Tysonde felt that happiness came so unexpectedly.
He could even imagine what kind of appreciation he would get from the archbishop of Arabe City if he told the new lord's conditions to him.
However, as a scholar who is over fifty years old and has experienced many storms, Tysonde quickly recovered from the shock.
He glanced at the confident lord of Mokou Town, immediately calmed down, and said to him,
"I'm very sorry, Lord. Ogma is here, I can feel it. I appreciate your enthusiasm for pursuing knowledge, but this matter is beyond the scope of my decision. I must return to Arabe City and report to the Archbishop, and he will make this decision."
"Understandable." Brian didn't pay attention because he had already guessed that this would be the case.
Although the conditions he proposed seemed to be very beneficial to the Ogma Church and allowed them to take advantage of him, he also played a small word game in these words.
Those are the words ‘my territory’.
In Tysonde's understanding, he must instinctively think that this so-called lord refers to Mokou Town, but Brian's vision is not just as simple as Mokou Town.
If you let him know that he still has a small world
"I understand what you mean." He continued, with a hint of coldness in his tone involuntarily, "So I also hope you can understand. In a word: It is easy to add icing on the cake, but difficult to provide help in times of need.”
It’s easy to add icing on the cake, but difficult to provide help when it’s time?
Dr. Tysonde secretly remembered Brian's words in his heart and immediately understood the true meaning of what he expressed.
Mokou Town is now only conquered by the Kingdom of Cormyr, and has not been completely occupied in the true sense. If it wants to get the support of Mokou Town, the temple, which has always maintained absolute neutrality, has to make a choice.
Today's Church of the God of Knowledge is no longer in an era where the Supreme Leader is unified in command and obeys one will. If the 'Gilded Laurel' wants to become the most orthodox temple of knowledge, the fastest shortcut is to teach more people , spread the teachings of the God of Knowledge, and expand the influence of the church.
“Don’t worry, Lord.”
The priest pondered for a moment and said to Brian with a respectful expression, "When I return to the Arabe Temple, I will definitely convince the archbishop to agree to the conditions you proposed."
In fact, he also has selfish motives.
If the archbishop agrees to the conditions proposed by the new lord, it means that Mokou Town needs a bishop to manage the temple, and as the envoy to Mokou Town, he is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate.
In this case, he will completely break away from the archbishop's shadow and develop his own temple power in Mokou Town.
At the same time, from the conversation between the two, he could clearly feel the emphasis on the belief in the God of Knowledge that the new lord had just proposed for universal education.
He has been traveling across the continent to preach for so many years, but he has never met a lord who values knowledge so much.
This is undoubtedly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for Doc Tysonde, and he must grasp it firmly.
"Then I look forward to good news from you, Bishop Tysonde."
Brian smiled, stretched out his right hand to the priest of the God of Knowledge, and said 'Bishop' without leaving a trace The two words were emphasized.
“May Ogma protect you!” Doc Tysonde shook hands with Brian, said a sincere blessing, and then turned around and left respectfully.
Seeing the pastor's hurried away figure, Brian knew that the pastor would definitely not leave immediately. He would probably secretly observe the development of the entire town before considering the conditions he proposed.
However, he is confident that the other party will take it seriously. From the moment Brian decided to build a magical kingdom, he knew that knowledge is power, and it was true.
What's more, this is an era where gods and arcana coexist. In his view, magical knowledge is the primary productive force.
Only by popularizing education and imparting magical knowledge to the people in your territory can you play a leading and overall role in realizing the revival of the great arcane empire.
Because the fundamental purpose of education is to use a huge population base to create high-quality wizard apprentices, professional wizards, and a large number of top-notch spellcasters.
This is the foundation upon which a magical kingdom is built.
In this regard, Brian has also conducted special research and investigation.
According to the results of the survey, based on numerical deduction, almost all the intelligence attributes of ordinary civilians living in a civilized society remain around 10 points.
In the group of spellcasters, most people need to keep their natural intelligence attributes above 16 points in order to go further on the path of wizards.
Because the intelligence attribute of 16 points means that he has the possibility of touching the nine-ring spell.
With an attribute of 14 points, you can only master 7-level spells at most, 12 points with only 3-level spells, and 10 points with 10-level attributes, you can only master zero-level magic.
This is the convenience that Magic Network brings to disadvantaged groups.
If a commoner's intelligence attribute reaches 10 or more points, it means that he can learn the simplest zero-ring trick as long as he undergoes systematic magic education.
Zero Ring Trick is the weakest magic in the spell list. For spell casters, there may be few opportunities to use the spells in it.
But this does not mean that these spells have no use.
If he can popularize magic knowledge and master zero-ring magic among the people, it will bring about unimaginable changes to the entire society.
Give me the simplest example.
The function of the Zero Ring Trick "Repair" is to physically repair a breakage or crack in an ordinary or magical item.
For example, repair a broken chain, or a key broken in half, a torn cloak, a leaking wine bag, etc.
As long as the damage or break does not exceed 1 foot (33cm) in any direction, it can be repaired without leaving a trace.
If most ordinary farmers or workers master this zero-ring trick, it will definitely bring about great changes in their daily lives.
Putting it into the real world, this civilian who has mastered the "repair technique" is the most skilled tinker.
This is just a change brought to society by a zero-ring "repair technique".
So, when these techniques such as cleaning, construction and repair, copying, communication, switching, etc., and many other tricks that are practical for daily life and production are mastered by the general public, it means that With this country, it has begun to move towards a magical civilization.
The premise of all this is to enlighten the people, allowing them to read and read systematically from an early age, just like the nine-year compulsory education, and then improve step by step until they master professional magic knowledge.
During the entire learning process, in addition to allowing people with insufficient talent to master magic, spellcasters with outstanding talent will also be selected to make greater contributions to society.
Considering the spread of knowledge, Brian knew that there was no more suitable candidate for popularizing education than the pastor of Ogma Church.
This gave him direct access to a powerful teaching staff, completely free of charge.
Just like if you want to open up a large area of land for farming, choosing the priest of the Mother Earth Goddess Chantia is the most correct choice.
The Earth Mother Chantia is one of the oldest deities in the world of Toril.
Chantia is a good-aligned god who is extremely popular among gardeners, farmers and ordinary people in many kingdoms. It is thanks to her blessing that most parts of the continent are fertile and productive.
It is said that after the world was created, Selun, the goddess of the moon, and Shar, the goddess of the night, jointly created the stars in the world.
In the process of the two goddesses creating the celestial bodies, the earth mother goddess Chantia begged the moon goddess to provide herself with light and heat, but the night goddess strongly opposed this suggestion.
The goddess of the night believes that the original chaos and darkness of the world are the essence, and any act that breaks the pure essence is a blasphemy to the world, even if it creates life.
The Moon Goddess disagreed with her sisters who were born in darkness.
So Selun created the sun with pure fire, which brought warmth to the entire earth mother goddess Shantia, thereby promoting the generation and growth of life on the earth, but this also made darkness and light antagonistic from now on.
In the countless years that followed, the Earth Mother Goddess Chantia continued to increase her priesthood as the Earth Mother Goddess due to the gradual enrichment of living objects.
With the emergence of intelligent creatures, the original wild and unrestrained character of the Earth Mother Goddess Chantia has also begun to be affected.
In ancient times, the Mother Earth had a strong figure, wild and full of wild vitality. She was a wild deity who loved to run with animals and rejoice in the prosperity of nature. .
But with the increase of intelligent races, people used the richness of the earth to plant crops and domesticate livestock. As a result, the Mother Earth Goddess, who was originally known for her nature and wildness, began to become docile and full of maternal aura.
In recent centuries, the Earth Mother has become more fond of intelligent creatures, especially humans who use the earth.
So she put more effort into helping her people with farming activities than before.
The personality of Chantia, the mother of the earth, also began to change, causing the intelligent creatures who believed in her to become divided.
The Druids are a sect that believes in the original Earth Mother Goddess.
Every druid respects and protects nature, follows the guidance of the wild heart of the forest, and is good at utilizing and protecting natural resources, so that the race can reproduce and develop.
The Earth Mother Goddess Chantia’s preference for humans has led to humans occupying large areas of forests and other natural lands. The Druid belief even believes that the Earth Mother Goddess has abandoned nature and become wise. The production tool for racial enrichment.
This is indeed the case.
A long time ago, the Earth Mother Goddess had transferred the priesthood of the wilderness area to other gods, and firmly moved towards human agricultural civilization.
This changed the image of Chantia into a plump middle-aged woman with an amiable smile and white hair, exuding the brilliance of motherhood.
Chantia is therefore worshiped by diners, farmers, and all humans who are engaged in agricultural activities or produce natural materials for people. People even spend their wedding nights on newly plowed land.
Because they believe that spending their first night on the earth will make them have many children and grandchildren.
The Earth Mother Goddess Chantia does not object to felling and harvesting. She believes that it is part of the cycle of life. In the coming spring, people will start new sowing.
Of course, if it is eternal destruction, it will make Mother Earth very angry. The poisonous lady Talona is one of the most hated enemies of Mother Earth.
This god's hobby of spreading blight, poison, and disease in nature directly destroys the regeneration ability of life, making it impossible for new life to be reborn in the highly toxic land.
If you want to worship the Earth Mother Goddess Chantia, you only need to create and cultivate life to please this goddess.
When people who believe in the Mother Goddess of the Earth cast magic about the earth, there will even be additional bonuses, and they can detect traces of people on the earth through the earth or plants.
So, when Brian thought about opening up wasteland for farming, the first thing he thought about was the Church of the Mother Earth.
After all, the entire continent of Toril is the body of the Earth Mother.
If he only relies on the little modern knowledge he has mastered, trying to show off his farming skills in front of the priests of the Mother Goddess who specializes in farming magic, it is simply a trick.
This is as ridiculous as if you were dividing Chantia's body with her followers.
You must know that the technology of this world is no lower than that of the real world. The Xianglong Empire of Kara Tu Continent and the Eternal Judgment Island of the Elves both have complete interstellar navigation fleets.
The Skull Port in Waterdeep even established a space port for berthing starships.
This world seems like a contradictory combination of the Middle Ages and the future interstellar era.
But you only need to think of modern technology and primitive African tribes in the real world to understand this truth.
There is such a big gap even in the real world without God, let alone a world with gods and magic.
If you want to play farming style and draw a field pattern on the body of the Earth Mother, you must have the strength and means to surpass the Earth Mother.
If you want to change the gameplay and improve technology, you first need to pass the Xianglong Empire's guns, cannons, aircraft, and space fleets.
After thinking about these issues, Brian realized that it was his most correct choice to study magic honestly and build a magic kingdom based on magic.
Just as he was thinking about his next plan, his mind moved and he sensed a magic alarm.
Brian immediately realized that with the Purple Dragon Seal Ring, in the name of the Kingdom of Cormyr and the Lord of Mokou Town, the priest from the Church of the Earth Mother God he had invited had arrived in Mokou Town.
So he activated the teleportation circle and came to the castle garden to welcome the priest.
On a forest path, when Brian heard the crisp and rhythmic sound of horse bells, a figure riding a horse was walking towards him.
The man was wearing a blue-black sandproof traveling cloak, and the black horse under his crotch was undoubtedly carefully taken care of.
After seeing him, the mysterious rider raised his gloved hands, pushed back the hood of his thick traveling cloak, and smiled in greeting.
Brian could clearly see that the priest from the Church of the Mother Earth was a beautiful human woman. Her hair was as black and shiny as her horse. It was draped over her shoulders like a waterfall. Against the backdrop of her dark green riding uniform. Below, it looks particularly eye-catching.
Although her face is pale, her facial features are so perfect that she looks like an exotic beauty.
This woman must be a noble or something, Brian thought to himself after not recognizing her identity.
However, he at least saw that the other party was a priest, not a druid.
The church of Shantia has two branches: the standard clerics who serve the faithful in towns, cities, and civilized areas, and the druids who work in more remote areas.
As the town priests became more successful, the druids' areas of activity became increasingly remote.
The relationship between the druids, who call themselves the 'true priests of Shantia', and the more civilized priests is warm and cordial, but can sometimes become tense.
Because the druids have always admired Shantia and regarded the priest disciples living in the town as the new upstarts.
The more civilized priests believe that the era of druids has passed. Although druids still have their value in the wilderness, what the rising nations need is a more reasonable and rational system. A faith controlled, organized, and professionalized by the clergy.
In the breakdown of the clergy, priests account for about 40% and druids account for about 50%. Cultivators and shamans are independent of the two branches and are only responsible to the shaper of all things. , accounting for 5% in total.
As for monks, they are always aligned with the leader of a specific temple or druid circle, making up the remaining 5%.
As a lord, Brian is naturally more willing to cooperate with the priests of Shantia instead of the somewhat stubborn Druid organization.
Let the druid organize civilians to clear up wasteland and cultivate land in their own territory. If they don't cause trouble for him, they will burn high incense.
"You must be the new lord of Mokou Town."
The priest of the Mother Earth got off his horse, walked to Brian, took off his gloves, stretched out his white right hand, and said to He said, "I am Kalena, a priest from Morning Star Town. Nice to meet you. May the Mother Earth protect you."
"On behalf of Mokou Town, I would like to welcome Ms. Kalena. My name is Brian." Brian briefly shook hands with the female pastor and introduced himself.
Although his territory only consists of one town, Mokou Town, the area of the territory under his jurisdiction is approximately more than 35,000 square kilometers, which is equivalent to the area of Wanwan Island.
Furthermore, the rocky wasteland has been affected by climate change and has turned into land dominated by hills and plains, which is completely suitable for land reclamation.
"I have already explored the environment around the territory in advance." Pastor Kalena flipped her hair and said to him in a professional tone:
"At the same time, I have also tested the soil. The fertility of your land has proven to be suitable for farming, of course, if you can clear out the wandering evil humanoids.”
"Okay, please, Lord, please arrange a guide for me. I need to observe the situation inside the town." The pastor smiled slightly and continued, "This way I can report it to the church truthfully."
"I understand. What do you mean?"
Brian was not surprised. He took out a parchment scroll he had written in advance and said to her, "Praise the Mother Earth. This is what I plan to cooperate with your religion. If necessary, you can check the details carefully and consider the conditions I proposed."
After that, he stopped talking nonsense and arranged for a subordinate to take the dusty female pastor away. castle.
The conditions on the scroll are not much different from those of the Church of the God of Knowledge.
As long as these two churches are willing to cooperate in depth with him, the territory's education and production will gradually get back on track.
Next, he also needs to deal with the most important issue, which is how to solve the population problem when education and production are both satisfied.
After all, no matter how good the planning is, it is useless without a population.
(End of this chapter)