Old days, dice and investigator's manual

Lano rowed the boat to the center of the lake, and the small boat slowly circled on the water.

"Lano, do you know how the people of this region of Vesta lived before the arrival of the Imperial Order?" Carlo suddenly asked.

Lano knew that Carlo hadn't brought this up to give a history lesson: "I'd like to hear more."

"At that time, many tribes were scattered around Vesta, and historians today collectively refer to them as the 'Vestians.' This classification is partly due to the convenience of later generations. After all, it would be too much work to investigate the origins, customs, and beliefs of each tribe one by one. By unifying them as Vesta, it would be enough to only talk about the history of the Vesta."

"However, these tribes do share similarities on a cultural level, such as their reverence and worship of lakes."

Lano glanced at the water beside the boat.

"In the myths of the Westernes, water is the gateway to the world of the dead. The reason is simple: people who sink into it die soon afterward. Isn't that mysterious?"

"What's so mysterious about that? People drown when they sink in water; that's common sense."

Carlo shrugged: "But abandoning our current common sense, when a person sinks into the water, struggles a few times and then stops moving, and is pulled out without a breath, isn't that a mysterious phenomenon? Thus, under the influence of mystery, the idea that water is connected to the land of the dead gradually arose."

"So the Westers held water burials on the lake, letting the bodies sink to the bottom, believing that this would allow the souls of the dead to smoothly enter the other world."

"It's not just the Westernes; the connection between water and death can be found in many groups, some in rivers, some in the sea. The dead are thrown into the water, and their souls float downstream to the other side. This image can almost be considered one of the common archetypes of humankind."

"But in Vista, the largest body of water that people can access is Lake Pert. So for the people of Vista, Lake Pert is the gateway, and beneath its waters lies the land of the dead."

"And the gods who rule that world are called 'Morzur'."

Lano was taken aback.

"The name Morzur means 'tree in the lake' in the language of the Vester," Carlo continued. "They believe that the world of the dead and the world of the real are reversed. In the world of the dead, there is a giant tree whose roots connect both worlds, penetrating the mud at the bottom of the lake and spreading out to form the tangled water plants in the lake."

"The bodies of the dead are entangled in the water plants and dragged to the bottom of the lake, taking them to the world of the dead. So when the Westernes perform water burials, they tie stones to the bodies. They believe that only in this way can the souls of the dead be received by the roots of the trees."

"And those corpses that float up are rejected by the world of the dead and will become water ghosts to do evil."

"Morzur's original form was a tree, and the Westerians' imagination of it was that simple. But human beliefs always tend to anthropomorphize, so gradually, Morzur transformed from a tree into a deity, possessing a human form, will, joy and anger, and the possibility of communication."

"At the same time, His domain is expanding. People need water to survive, and plants need water to irrigate. Water takes away life, but it can also bring life. The cycle of life and death cannot be separated from water."

"The Vester people believed that this power of water was a gift from Morzul. Thus, Morzul transformed from a god who only controlled death into a deity who controlled the cycle of life and death."

"The cycle of life and death—this is the power that Morzur now proclaims. Death is not the end, but a return, nourishment for the next cycle of life."

"Later, death became associated with war. War meant death, and the dead would return to Morzur. Before going to war, the Vester people would sink their weapons into the lake, praying for Morzur's protection to bring death to the enemy. Morzur then began to wield the power of war."

"In the later period, Morzul became the common god worshipped by the Westernes. No matter what grudges they had against each other, all tribes, large and small, were united in worshipping Morzul."

"This situation persisted for a long time until the order of the Empire arrived in this land. The Empire's legions advanced, the Westerdian tribes were scattered, their lands were annexed, and their populations were incorporated into the Empire's administrative system."

"The Empire's rule brought many things to the Westernes: garrisons, laws, technology, and the birth of another faith..."

"Vicania".

thump—

Lano's oar fell to the gunwale, and he covered his ears with his hand: "By Vicania, Mr. Schuster, please stop! I don't want to hear this!"

Carlo watched with interest as Rano tried to avoid the situation. "Was that really necessary?"

“Of course you need to.” Lano lowered his hands from his ears. “You don’t have to follow church rules, but if the church members find out I was discussing blasphemous things with you…”

"Afraid of being burned at the stake by the church?"

"I'm afraid of being dismissed from my public office!"

"Look how scared you are. Maurice is still fine, didn't he get fired?" Carlo shrugged. "Alright, I won't say anymore. But Lano, you should be very familiar with similar arguments I just made, right?"

Lano's expression twitched; of course he was familiar with it. He had heard those discussions about the evolution of primitive beliefs from someone twenty years ago.

Twenty years ago, when Lano was still in university, there was a professor in the history department of West University who was very famous. His classroom was always packed with people when his class started. Not only students from his own department came, but also students from other departments, and even some graduates would take time to come back and audit his classes.

That professor's name was Edward Lessing.

Lano is not a history major, but he has been there a few times, purely out of curiosity.

He still remembers that classroom. The way the person on the podium taught was completely different from other history professors. The theories were fresh and reasonable. They did not just list dates and events, but also talked about cause and effect, and how ideas, systems and cultures arise and evolve under specific material conditions.

Many people discuss these topics after class. Some feel that Lessing's views opened up new perspectives, while others think that they are too unconventional and will inevitably cause trouble sooner or later.

Lano belongs to the former group; he felt that even if Lessing's statement was not entirely correct, it at least provided a framework for discussion.

Then, on the eve of his graduation, the Golden Bough Church officially listed Lessing's remarks as blasphemous.

The atmosphere on campus was strange on the day the news came. No one discussed it openly. Those who used to crowd classrooms to listen to Lessing's lectures knew the unspoken truth and all fell silent overnight.

It was as if they had never been to that lecture hall, never heard those eye-opening insights.