Chapter 375 : Nation

Southwest outskirts of Tivian, north of Shield Hill, Barrett’s mansion.

In the dead of night, within the mansion where the tragedy occurred, the Eight-Spired Nest assassins led by Kenk are still frantically searching the entire mansion, trying to locate Barrett’s research chamber. Due to a mishap in their planned spiritual communication, they lack effective intelligence and remain clueless about the research chamber’s location.

While Kenk and his assassins are scurrying around the vast mansion like headless flies, deep underground in Barrett’s research chamber, Dorothy has her male servant corpse marionette successfully infiltrate the area. She begins searching through Barrett’s research materials, attempting to uncover the truth he had discovered.

In the hidden room, the male servant marionette controlled by Dorothy stands before a statue of Arthur, the legendary hero of Pritt. Through the marionette’s eyes, Dorothy examines the old pages found in a notebook beside the statue. The stories on these pages are vastly different from the familiar legends Dorothy knows.

“The bloodthirsty monster Anglo, slain by eight wounds, the witch who guided Arthur eight times with her eight eyes, Arthur who fought eight times after consuming eight eyes and died from poison… This is a completely different Arthur story from what I’ve heard. An Arthur who dies in the end probably wouldn’t be popular with children.”

Dorothy, sitting in a carriage several kilometers away, murmurs to herself as she reads the story through the marionette’s vision. The story contains many points that intrigue her.

“In the current version of the Arthur legend, Arthur is taken to heaven by the Holy Son. But in this story, Arthur’s ultimate fate is death. In a way, the popular version where Arthur ascends to heaven might also be hinting at his death.”

“What’s even more noteworthy is the bloodthirsty monster Anglo. In the story, it craves blood and can transform into a blood mist. After being slain by eight wounds, its blood forms a sea. This seems to have some connection to the Blood Shade Path. And the witch with eight eyes and eight fingers, the recurring number eight, inevitably brings to mind the Eight-Spired Nest. Anglo, the Blood Shade Path, the Eight-Spired Nest, the Witch, the Spider Queen… There must be deep connections behind these elements.”

Dorothy ponders this, then has the male servant marionette continue flipping through the old pages to see if there are any other stories.

As she flips through the pages, Dorothy realizes that these old pages, of unknown origin, seem to contain various Arthurian legends. However, most of them are severely damaged, making it difficult to discern their contents. After reading through the pages, Dorothy finds only one other relatively complete story besides the tales of Anglo and the Witch. If the story of Arthur and Anglo marks the end of the Arthurian legend, this other story tells of its beginning.

In the popular version of the Arthurian legend, Arthur’s story begins with him receiving a stone sword from the Holy Son disguised as an old man. Throughout his adventures, the Holy Son provides guidance multiple times. However, in the version on these pages, there is no mention of the Holy Son at all. In this version, Arthur’s story still begins with him obtaining a sword, but it is not given by the Holy Son.

According to the story on the pages, the young Arthur trained in martial arts and vowed to use his sword to protect the innocent. He traveled with two like-minded companions, vanquishing evil and slaying monsters wherever they went.

They swore to eradicate the monsters plaguing the Land of Pritt and bring peace to the people.

One day, Arthur and his companions arrived at a lake as clear as a mirror. There, they saw a monster attempting to pollute the lake. The three immediately drew their swords and engaged in a fierce battle with the creature.

The monster was soon slain, but their swords were destroyed in the process. As the three lamented the loss of their weapons, the surface of the mirror-like lake, reflecting the moon, began to ripple. From the water emerged a beautiful fairy.

The lake fairy, grateful for their bravery in slaying the monster, offered to compensate them for their loss. She retrieved three items from the lake and placed them on the shore.

The first item was a small bag of glittering jewels. The fairy said each jewel was worth a fortune. The second item was a short, exquisite scepter. The fairy said it was the symbol of a lord of a fertile land, and whoever possessed it would become its ruler. The third item was a stone sword. The fairy said she had personally carved it from stone.

The fairy asked the three to choose among the gifts. The first companion chose the jewels and left the adventure to become a wealthy merchant. The second companion chose the scepter and left to become a noble lord. Only Arthur chose the unremarkable stone sword.

When the fairy asked why, Arthur replied that while the jewels and scepter were valuable, what he had lost was his sword. Jewels were not a sword, and the scepter was not a sword. Only the stone sword was a sword.

Though it was made of stone, it was still a sword. Arthur had lost his sword, not something else. He did not desire wealth or power; he only wished to continue his adventures, slaying monsters to bring peace to the people of Pritt. Thus, he needed a sword in his hand, even if it was made of stone.

Seeing Arthur’s response, the fairy smiled and gifted him the stone sword. When Arthur took the sword, he found it surprisingly light, not heavy as he had expected. He asked the fairy why, and she replied that the sword was imbued with the power of the wind. It was, in fact, a divine sword capable of harnessing the power of the wind.

As a reward for his steadfast heart, Arthur received the mighty power of the wind from the lake fairy. Guided by her, Arthur continued his adventures, using his newfound strength to create one legend after another.

In the distant carriage, Dorothy, watching the legend unfold through the marionette’s eyes, wears a serious and solemn expression.

“A lake fairy emerging from a moonlit mirror lake…”

Dorothy murmurs as she reads the description of the lake fairy in the story. The moment she sees the lake fairy, Dorothy immediately thinks of the Mirror Moon Goddess.

In this allegorical legend, the Mirror Moon Goddess appears as the lake fairy, guiding Arthur and granting him the sword and power, rather than the Holy Son.

Seeing the lake fairy, Dorothy recalls some local folktales from Pritt. In remote areas far from the cities, there are small stories about lake fairies and similar figures. When Dorothy was a child, she heard adults in her village tell tales like “The Lake Fairy’s Treasure” and “The Lake Fairy and the Greedy Lord.” Now, she realizes that the lake fairy in these stories might have been inspired by the Mirror Moon Goddess.

As she ponders this, Dorothy has the marionette carefully flip through the pages to find more valuable clues. After searching for a while, she doesn’t find any more clues on the pages but does discover something written in the notebook where the pages were tucked away.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

It’s a note Barrett left at the end of the notebook, recording the origin of these old pages.

“The Legend of Arthur, 524 edition.”

“The Legend of Arthur from 524… That’s a book from over 800 years ago. So, the stories recorded here are Arthurian legends from over 800 years ago, vastly different from the current version.”

Dorothy thinks to herself as she reads the note. She then has the marionette continue flipping through the pages and the notebook. After confirming there’s no other noteworthy information, she sets them aside.

Next, Dorothy has the marionette walk over to Barrett’s main desk and begin searching for useful materials. After a while, she finds a notebook placed in the center of the desk. Opening it, she discovers it’s filled with Barrett’s notes, likely what he was working on before his assassination.

Dorothy has the marionette start reading the notebook and soon realizes it’s a research record. The research project is titled “The Influence of the Radiance Church on Pritt’s Traditional Culture.”

As Dorothy flips through the research record, she finds that Barrett’s study focuses on the Radiance Church. Using Pritt’s local folklore as a clue, he delves into how Radiance Church has deeply influenced Pritt culture over the course of a millennium. In his research, Barrett directly claims that Pritt’s traditional beliefs and culture have been utterly distorted by the Radiance Church.

In Barrett’s research, he discovers that the Mirror Moon Goddess, represented by the Mirror Moon Statue, was once a widely worshipped deity across the Pritt Isles. Around the years 100 to 200 of the Radiance Calendar, the Radiance Church spread from the mainland and quickly established its influence throughout Pritt. The worship of the Mirror Moon Goddess rapidly declined over the centuries.

By the years 500 to 700 of the Radiance Calendar, the worship of the Mirror Moon Goddess had transitioned from a widespread belief to a figure in local folklore, the lake fairy. After several more centuries, even the stories of the lake fairy began to be replaced by figures from the Radiance Church, such as the Three Saints or other holy figures. A typical example is the Holy Son replacing the lake fairy as Arthur’s guide. There are many such instances.

In the latter part of the research record, Barrett documents the current state of the Mirror Moon Goddess’s belief in Pritt. Only in some remote villages do a few scattered tales of the lake fairy remain. Many of Pritt’s native myths have been Radiance-ized.

At the end of the research, Barrett leaves a comment summarizing his findings.

“For a millennium, the Radiance Church has been destroying and reshaping our original beliefs and culture. Although there have been instances of resistance and conflict from our people, it seems that this resistance may have been the primary factor behind the Wind King’s Rebellion.”

Through the marionette’s eyes, Dorothy carefully reads Barrett’s research record. Barrett’s research corroborates some of Dorothy’s earlier conjectures. The lake fairy indeed evolved from the image of the Mirror Moon Goddess, and the decline of the Mirror Moon Goddess worship in Pritt, driven by the Radiance Church, was something Dorothy had already suspected.

What catches Dorothy’s attention in this research record is Barrett’s final comment about the so-called Wind King’s Rebellion.

The Wind King’s Rebellion is a term Dorothy is familiar with. In the History of the Pritt Kingdom, which Dorothy read in the university library, the rebellion is described as a large-scale civil war over 500 years ago, involving the Despenser royal family and almost all the nobles of the kingdom.

According to historical records, the cause of the civil war was the young and illegitimate heir to the throne. Several branches of the Despenser family with territorial claims fought for the throne, and the nobles of the kingdom chose sides, eventually escalating into a nationwide civil war.

The ultimate victor of this war was Edward Despenser, the direct ancestor of the current Despenser royal family. He was later known as Edward the City-Builder for ordering the construction of Tivian. The victor was crowned in a grand ceremony by the Archbishop of the Pritt Diocese.

“The Wind King’s Rebellion… In every history book, it’s portrayed as a bloody struggle for the throne among ambitious individuals. The cause of the war is always the throne. But according to Barrett, the primary trigger for the Wind King’s Rebellion was the Pritt people’s resistance against the cultural and religious oppression by the Radiance Church… Interesting…”

“If Barrett’s claims are true, the war wasn’t just about the royal family and the nobles but also deeply influenced by the Radiance Church. Given the current state of Pritt, it seems the Radiance Church was on the winning side.”

After finishing the research record, Dorothy, sitting in the carriage, murmurs her thoughts. She then has the marionette put down Barrett’s research record and continues searching the desk for anything valuable.

Before long, Dorothy’s attention is drawn to the wall beside Barrett’s desk. Upon closer inspection, she notices a scroll-like object hanging there.

Dorothy has the marionette approach for a closer look and discovers it’s a piece of coarse cloth tied with thin string, looking rather dirty. After examining it carefully, Dorothy has the marionette take it down and unfold it.

What unfolds before Dorothy’s eyes is a severely faded, abstract coat of arms. Though many parts are blurred, the overall design is still discernible.

The coat of arms is divided into four sections, depicting two male and two female knights in highly abstract forms. Behind the knights is a large crescent moon, and beside them are ancient Pritt letters that Dorothy can barely make out.

The two male knights are labeled “Wind Knight” and “Blood Knight,” while the two female knights are labeled “Spirit Knight” and “Dream Knight.”

In one corner of the cloth painting is a label with Barrett’s handwritten note.

“Unearthed from the Eisenk Family Tomb on June 18, 1359. Likely drawn by the Traditionalist Faction during the Wind King’s Rebellion.”