Chapter 596 : Wind of Chaos

“King Geoffrey the Black Venerator…”

In the dimly lit room, Ed, sitting in a corner, frowned slightly upon hearing John’s words. After briefly recalling some memories, he responded.

“If I remember correctly, in mundane history, Geoffrey was considered the chief of the rebel kings. He opposed the progenitor of the current royal family—Edward III the Builder’s father, Baldric the ‘Rightful Successor’—during the Wind King’s Rebellion and was ultimately defeated…”

“That’s right… According to surface history, that’s how it’s portrayed. But in truth, Baldric was never a rightful successor. If you actually go by the lawful order of succession at the time, Geoffrey’s claim was far more legitimate.”

John, sitting on the bed, replied calmly. Ed raised his brows in surprise at this revelation and asked.

“Geoffrey had a more legitimate claim than Baldric?”

“Exactly. In the Despenser royal bloodline, neither Baldric nor Geoffrey belonged to the main branch—but Geoffrey was significantly closer to it. Were it not for the Church’s manipulative interference, he should have been the one to be crowned king.”

As John spoke, he slowly looked toward the ceiling, deep in thought, and began recounting the historical knowledge he had studied.

“The Wind King’s Rebellion began with the Wailing Wind Incident. Back then, in the royal city of Pritt—Solfurstone—the ‘Mad King’ Volsioff, after years of battling madness, committed suicide without warning. The throne of Pritt was left vacant. Upon hearing of his death, his five sons rushed back to Solfurstone overnight.

“By law, they were supposed to jointly support the eldest prince, Howard, to ascend the throne. But during the coronation ceremony, Howard was poisoned—killed by a cup of wine. The remaining four princes accused one another of the murder. Their conflict escalated, and they each rallied their forces to fight. The battle raged for three days, setting Solfurstone ablaze and reducing it to ruins. All four princes perished. The Roaring Lance Dynasty was extinguished, and the main line of the Despenser family was declared extinct.”

Still gazing at the ceiling, John murmured these recollections. Ed, listening, rubbed his chin thoughtfully and replied.

“If I recall, in mundane records, Volsioff died during a hunting accident… And his sons inherited the throne one by one but all died young and without heirs, which led to the extinction. I didn’t expect the hidden version of history to be so different… So he died from madness…”

“Yes… Madness. It’s said Volsioff suffered for seven long years, constantly delirious, incoherent. His suicide was the spark that ignited the Wailing Wind Incident, which then became the prelude to the Wind King’s Rebellion.”

John continued and turned his gaze back to Ed.

“After the Wailing Wind Incident, the royal city was destroyed, the throne empty, and all direct heirs dead. The lords across Pritt, especially those with Despenser blood from side branches, all began to stir—each harboring ambition. Initially, they didn’t go straight to war. They convened what became known as the Round Stone Table Conference to try and peacefully select a new king. But none of them could command universal respect, so the deciding influence fell to the greatest foreign power in Pritt: the Church.

“With no consensus from the nobles, the Church gained leverage. Previously, though it had influence within Pritt, it hadn’t been strong enough to sway royal succession. But this time, it seized the opportunity to expand its authority and intervene.

“Eventually, at the second Round Stone Table Conference, with the nobles still unable to agree, the then-neutral Archbishop Nestore suddenly declared: the Lord on High had made His decision—Duke Baldric of Lisco was to be the new King of Pritt. This announcement shocked the assembled lords and provoked widespread discontent.

“Up until then, the Church had never interfered in royal succession. While Baldric was indeed a powerful lord, in terms of strength and legitimacy, he was far from the most qualified. His only advantage was that his domain was deeply influenced by the Radiance Church—its ‘Radiance conversion rate’ was the highest and was therefore most favored by Holy Mount. Meanwhile, many regions in Pritt remained wary of the Church’s growing control.

“The second conference didn’t resolve any disputes; instead, it made things worse. Nearly half the attending lords rejected Archbishop Nestore’s so-called divine proclamation, declaring, ‘The Three Saints belong to the Three Saints; Pritt belongs to Pritt.’ Enraged, they stormed out. The meeting ended in total failure.

“Baldric returned to his territory and accepted Nestore’s coronation. He proclaimed himself the divinely anointed Guardian of All Pritt—the one and only king. His actions enraged the lords who opposed him. These lords began proclaiming themselves kings in their own lands and jointly waged war against Baldric. They became known in history as the Wind Rebels, and thus the Wind King’s Rebellion fully erupted.”

John continued his calm narration of the mystic history he had studied. Ed, listening closely, absently stroked his chin and said:

“So… it was the Church’s intervention that caused the war?”

“No… I believe the Church’s interference was only a catalyst—it merely sped up the war’s outbreak. The core tensions among the lords were already irreconcilable. War was inevitable. But the Church’s involvement, while not the direct cause, changed the nature of the war.”

John explained, pausing for a breath before continuing.

“During the early phase of the Wind King’s Rebellion, each lord fought independently. None could match Baldric, who had the full backing of the Church. He won battle after battle. The rebel lords suffered repeated defeats. It was then that the most powerful of them, Geoffrey Elrell, stepped forward.

“Geoffrey was the side-branch noble with the closest blood tie to the main Despenser line, possessing great prestige and strength. As Baldric’s forces overwhelmed the other rebels, Geoffrey used his diplomatic genius to unify the scattered Wind Rebels into a single alliance. They began to cooperate and support one another, barely managing to hold off Baldric’s advance. Geoffrey became the de facto leader of the rebel kings.

“As the war dragged on, Geoffrey skillfully consolidated this alliance. Eventually, the other rebel kings relinquished their own royal claims and began calling themselves Geoffrey’s vassals, honoring him as the sole King of Pritt. Geoffrey thus came to rule over half of Pritt.

“To rally more support against Baldric, and to resist pressure from Holy Mount, Geoffrey abolished the Radiance Church in his territories and began reviving Pritt’s ancient native beliefs—those that had been suppressed by Radiance doctrine. From recovered ruins, they unearthed ancient scrolls and revived worship of a once-forgotten deity who had long ago ruled Pritt: the Queen of the Night Sky.

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“They established a new religion centered around the moon and night, revering the Queen of the Night Sky and her Four Knights as divine symbols. Thus Geoffrey became known as the Black Venerator King.”

John recounted all of this with calm composure. After he finished speaking, he reached for the glass of water on the nightstand and took another sip to moisten his throat. Sitting in the corner, Ed listened silently, then asked.

“So Geoffrey, in order to oppose Baldric, actually went so far as to revive Pritt’s native religion… Did doing that really make him stronger? I mean, such a move would sever all possibility of reconciliation with the Church. Was it worth it?”

After finishing his drink, John replied.

“From his perspective, it absolutely was. Pritt five hundred years ago wasn’t like it is today—it hadn’t yet been so thoroughly invaded by Radiance Church culture. Most of its customs and traditions were still distinct from those of the mainland. While the Radiance Church was influential back then, it hadn’t yet fully taken over. Many customs tied to the old beliefs still persisted, and the Church’s expansion sought to wipe them out, which naturally drew resentment and resistance from many conservative Prittish. By waving the banner of reviving the old gods, Geoffrey gained their support.

“That’s the practical side of it. But as for Geoffrey himself… perhaps he didn’t act out of mere pragmatism. He was a devout follower of the Queen of the Night Sky. He believed she would help him and that he could win the war through her aid.”

John’s explanation made Ed frown slightly. He then asked.

“He truly believed that some long-lost god from centuries or millennia ago would help him? On what basis?”

“On the presence of a ‘Divine Envoy’ by his side.”

“Divine Envoy?”

Ed’s surprise deepened, and John calmly continued.

“Yes. According to our research, during the Wind King’s Rebellion, there was a woman by Geoffrey’s side who called herself the Divine Envoy of the Queen of the Night Sky. She was originally a witch active in Pritt’s countryside and seemed to possess miraculous powers. Geoffrey recruited her, and she advised him in both military strategy and political alliances, helping him counter Baldric’s forces and unify the rebel lords. She earned his absolute trust—he truly believed she was sent by the Queen herself.

“We no longer know her name, but we know that Geoffrey’s rise was closely tied to her. Her presence solidified Geoffrey’s belief—and that of his entire Old Faith faction—in the Queen’s existence. This ‘envoy’ claimed that the Queen had abandoned the land and its people, but if they truly repented, she would return.

“And that repentance involved seeking out ancient ruins tied to the Queen across all of Pritt and performing what was called a ‘Rite of Repentance’ at each one. If enough of these rites were conducted at sufficiently important sites, the Queen would sense the sincerity of her people and descend once more—to bless her loyal followers.”

“Rite of Repentance… What exactly did that entail?”

Ed asked, still frowning. John shook his head.

“We don’t know. We’ve never found any documentation describing the rite in detail. What we do know is that Geoffrey believed the witch’s words without question. While battling Baldric’s forces, he dispatched people across Pritt to search for the Queen’s ruins and to hold repentance rites.

“Strangely enough, these rites did seem to produce results. The more of them that were held, the stronger Geoffrey and his envoy appeared to become. Their strength grew to the point that the Old Faith faction briefly gained the upper hand. They were so effective that even Holy Mount considered whether it needed to increase its intervention in Pritt.”

John remained steady in tone. Ed, now looking serious, asked.

“So… in the end, did the Church decide to escalate—send reinforcements to help their proxy win the war?”

“No… The Church never got the chance. Just as the Old Faith faction was riding high, an unexpected event ended the war: King Geoffrey the Black Venerator suddenly died—by suicide. Leaderless, the entire faction collapsed. Baldric won the war, established a new dynasty, and restored the Despenser name.”

John’s answer caused Ed to stiffen. It took him a moment before he finally asked.

“What… he committed suicide? Why? Was he also afflicted with madness?”

His tone carried genuine shock—he clearly hadn’t expected the war to end that way. John, still seated on the bed, responded calmly.

“As for Geoffrey’s final condition… we don’t really know. When we were studying this part of history, the mystic records we had merely noted that he suddenly died. No cause was given. The only mention of his death as suicide came in a confidential letter we found last year, one Richard had uncovered in the archives of the royal family.

“The sender of the letter is unknown, but the recipient was a lord deeply trusted by Geoffrey—Ampere Devonshire. During the rebellion, he had been tasked with leading the search for the Queen’s ruins. Most of the ruins used for the repentance rites were discovered by him.

“After Geoffrey’s sudden death, Ampere was the first of the Old Faith lords to switch allegiance to Baldric. As a result, Baldric valued him highly and treated him well. His descendants today are the Dukes of Devonshire.”

Upon hearing the name Devonshire, Dorothy—hidden behind Ed—suddenly froze. That was Misha’s surname. Misha was a member of the Devonshire family.

As Dorothy processed this, John continued speaking.

“At first, we thought Ampere was just another opportunistic turncoat, someone who shifts with the winds. But when I studied the contents of that confidential letter, I found some important details worth noting.

“The letter was sloppily written, full of errors and unclear phrasing. The sender’s mental state was clearly unstable, yet he still wrote to Ampere in a commanding tone. He ordered Ampere to immediately destroy the secret of the most important temple of the Queen of the Night Sky—if destruction wasn’t possible, then he must guard it with his life and never allow it to leak.

“Beside that letter was an unsent reply penned by Ampere. In it, he pledged to take the secret to his grave—even in death, he would carry it with him into his tomb.”