Chapter 386: Chapter 383: Justification by Faith
After giving Andre some time off, Rorschach’s avatar began to tackle the backlog of work.
Rorschach first taught the two new apprentices three spell models: Mage’s Hand, Spirit Armor Skill, and Oily Skill. Of course, these were Techniques composed of Descriptors and Feature Symbols.
"You are both intellectually mature adults. It would be more efficient to give you the written materials rather than have me drone on." Rorschach handed them a textbook he had compiled himself, then demonstrated the three spells.
"Master, do you always cast silently?" Hanna had assumed all Mages were supposed to be familiar with various Spells, setting up Magic Arrays, and carrying Spellcasting Materials Bags.
"Not entirely. I just don’t chant aloud; there are still gestures involved in the Casting process. Most Magic works by using one’s own Magic Power to trigger movement and Transformation in the ambient Magic Power, thus achieving the spell’s effect. The flow of one’s own Magic Power is, in turn, governed by our Soul and our mind. Physical gestures and chanting are merely specific paradigms used to activate the corresponding brain activity."
"Using Casting Materials, Alchemy Devices, and the like are all just aids for Casting. Some of them stimulate the Caster’s will, while others act directly on the ambient Magic Power. The variety is extensive."
Rorschach explained these and other basic theories of Casting, albeit superficially. He also gave them the corresponding Magic Arrays for the three spells, emphasizing that they should pay attention to how Magic Power surged during the process.
In other words, even though a "Rapidly Trained Mage" learns Magic through Rorschach’s "Spell Cloud," they could still understand, or even learn, how other Mages cast spells. They would just need to compare the circuits of the Magic Array, master the flow of Magic Power during Casting, and investigate the principles behind modern Magic.
This was, of course, on the condition that they accumulated enough knowledge and skill, and were capable of reflecting on and investigating the principles of Magic.
If they treated their training like an experience-grinding game, they would forever be dependent on Rorschach’s framework. The system’s creator had no intention of revealing the existence of the "Spell Cloud" himself, but he did hope they would one day discover the truth behind it.
Another issue was the "signal." Rorschach discovered he functioned much like a Tower Spirit, since the first "special Feature Symbol" of the Technique pointed directly to him.
So, how could he establish another "signal source" in Kempson to accelerate Casting? After all, neither his main body nor his avatar could remain near Kempson forever. At first, Rorschach considered creating something similar to Bart’s Tower Spirit substation. But this solution wasn’t perfect. The distance between Wertz, Kempson, and Lansite was too great. If the connection wasn’t strong enough, the Tower Spirit would have to split off more of its Artificial Soul, weakening its overall performance.
Then, he accidentally discovered a new method: "borrowing" the Faith Power of the Lord of Order.
Rorschach met with the devotees who were clamoring to build a "Soul Residence." Their leader was an elderly gentleman with a firm spirit. His clothes were old but kept clean and tidy. The group behind him consisted mainly of women.
As Rorschach observed the old man, the old man was observing the youth before him.
This young man, who could have been his grandson, seemed to be the true master of this place. Whenever he asked anyone here for permission to build a Church, they would all demur, saying they needed to report it to their superiors. And Rorschach was the superior of all the "superiors" he had sought out.
The old man took the initiative. "Lord Rorschach, thank you for your mercy in giving us shelter. Life here is so convenient, with food and places where we can work to support ourselves."
"But, my Lord, when we were fleeing war and famine, our physical needs went unfulfilled. We overcame that hardship with spiritual completeness. Today, thanks to you and Bayern, we have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a roof over our heads, yet our spirits feel increasingly empty!"
In other words, when they were starving, they used "God" and "salvation" to trick themselves into enduring. Now that their material conditions had improved, this group of devotees wanted to press their advantage.
The old man and the other believers had concluded that Rorschach was a merciful Lord. This was clearly a misunderstanding.
Rorschach and the entire Special Zone weren’t treating the refugees as slaves, but as new residents of the city. Of course, the original inhabitants’ identification documents clearly stated they were citizens of the Bayern Kingdom, whereas these newcomers had only received "residency permits" for now.
For now, there wasn’t much of a difference. They rented their homes, with the cost deducted from their factory wages. Since the factory-set rent was quite low, the money they had left over was still enough for food and daily necessities.
However, if these refugees ever had to deal with legal matters, their children’s education, or healthcare, they would discover a vast difference between the two types of identification.
Obtaining citizenship was simple: either purchase the house they were living in, or buy and/or cultivate no less than one mu of land.
’From Rorschach’s perspective, striving for citizenship was the most important task. The refugees should be actively engaging with the administrators for that purpose.’
Yet, the most proactive group among them was focused on satisfying their spiritual needs.
’Should I praise you for your unwavering faith?’ Rorschach kept a straight face. "You all wish to build a Church? Fine. The entire Empire, as well as Bayern, tolerates normal expressions of faith. But here, there are rules."
"First, the Church cannot have any Clergy appointed by the greater Church. This has been the rule since the founding of the Empire, and no one should even think of defying it. Sir," he said, looking at the old man, "if you are a member of the Church, we will deport you back to Valois, no matter what."
This rule caused a huge uproar, making the subsequent ones—such as the prohibition on proselytizing anywhere outside the Church grounds—seem insignificant by comparison.
"Of course not, esteemed Master Mage. You are welcome to use any Magic to verify my words. Please, prove my honesty or simply believe that I speak no falsehoods." The others erupted into an uproar, but the old man remained perfectly calm.
After speaking to Rorschach, he turned to the other believers behind him. He cried out, his aged voice somehow managing to overpower the entire crowd.
"Do we truly still need the guidance of the Church? Can the omnipotent Lord not shelter us without the Church? Will He not punish our sins without the Church? The Lord of Order watches over every single person. The Lord is in each of our hearts. Our piety and salvation do not require the Church’s intervention to be achieved!"
Someone in the crowd, as educated as the old man, immediately pointed out, "Aha! That argument of yours is Empireist heresy!"
"But we are within the Empire’s borders now!" the old man retorted, unafraid of the accusation. "Has anyone here not seen it with their own eyes? Our pious offerings became the Priests’ lavish robes, were transformed into magnificent Monasteries, and into wine cellars that would rival those in Heaven!"
"And what of them? Those faithless devils in disguise let our homelands fall into chaos. Yet here," he gestured around, "everything is orderly. Everyone enjoys a life of peace and order."
Rorschach wanted to say, ’Sir, you’ve misunderstood them. The Church has its own difficulties...’ But he was a Mage; he was more than happy to see this group abandon the Church.
The more the old man spoke, the brighter the light in his eyes became. "I believe our Church should not be for amassing wealth or hoarding wine. It doesn’t need insignificant people like us to display the Lord’s glory with gold or giant stones. Our Church will simply be a warm Soul Residence where brothers and sisters can share fellowship. It needs no lavish decorations, no high towers or pipe organs... It needs only our love and our faith."
’Yes, yes, exactly,’ Rorschach nodded along. The old man continued his passionate speech: "Since the Lord has already generously promised that we can build a Church for ourselves, what more is there to be dissatisfied with? What more is there to covet? Must we support a flock of Monks who do no labor, just to prove our piety to the Lord?"
’Well said!’ Now, most of the believers had been won over by the old man. The time happened to be high noon, the "Holy Time" of the Master of Light and Order, so the old man simply began leading everyone in a recitation of hymns.
Rorschach, however, remembered the rules he had just set. He unfolded a Domain that enveloped all the believers, setting up a Static Force Field at its perimeter to prevent the sound of their prayers and praise for the Lord of Order from spreading.
However, after extending the Domain, he discovered that the crowd’s actions and collective mental state were causing the ambient Magic Power to resonate, transforming it into sacred Faith Power. Rorschach was very familiar with this energy. Both in Valois and on the recent battlefield, the Church had used a similar power to perform large-scale Divine Arts.
The large-scale rituals held by the Church during the Age of Silence were, to some extent, for the purpose of collecting this power to create Holy Artifacts and to supply Divine Benefactors for their training.
Here in Bayern, there were no Church structures to collect it. Through his Domain, Rorschach could sense the Faith Power constantly ascending, but with no person or god to receive it, it simply began to dissipate upon reaching the Symbolic Realm.
’Well... I figure if no one else wants it, I’ll just take it!’ Rorschach suddenly felt moved by these pious believers with "light in their eyes." He absolutely had to sponsor them to get that Church built!
’And it wouldn’t be too much to quietly collect a little "remuneration" while you’re all praying, would it?’
