Post

Region: The East Pacific

A monastery? Oh, a temple. No, he'd probably get kicked out in a day. "If you do not mind, I would prefer to stay here in the University. It is so beautiful!" Martis takes a look around the meeting room and takes it all in before turning back to Letwin.

"We try not to pry too much into the caravans' business, but we do know that those that mentioned the Brethren did not actually come here; they always say they heard the tales from the sailors who ferry them across the great waters, or sometimes they see great waves off in the distance in the direction the sailors associate with the Brethren and conclude that they are related. As for the caravans themselves, they are a very diverse bunch, but in the temple we have others go out and haggle with them. Sending one of the priests, such as myself, usually results in great furor and occasionally a declaration that the caravan will cease trade with the city immediately -- which, of course, is forgotten come the next market day. But they, for the most part, do not follow the word of Ademar, which tends not to sit well with us."

"If I may ask, I saw on the mural outside a pair of warriors holding back a tide of abominations, and when I asked, Asp said they were 'great powers' and that one of their names was 'Tarkel,' or rather that is how I can pronounce it. The standing warrior, wielding his blade with great skill. What are these great powers? That has become one of the foremost questions in my mind after seeing that exquisite painting."

"Mm." Letwin taps the table a couple times in thought. "'What are the Great Powers' is a slippery question, because while in our language we have a word for them, we've yet to find something in another language that means exactly the same thing. We often call them gods and angels when we're talking to foreigners, but that's not entirely correct. They're more like extremely powerful spirits; I've heard of God and his angels from our Sanquis Catholic immigrants, and our 'gods' are not that." He puts air quotes around 'gods.' "They and their adversaries are originally from a realm 'above' our own, called the Aether, and they came here long ago to help us and prey on us respectively." He quickly stands up, spins around and takes a small replica of the mural down off the meeting room wall. He lays it on the table and points at Zerachiel. "This is the one you mean?"

Pakitsk

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