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AR Chapter 362
🕑 Added 2025-04-09 04:00:00 +0000 UTCThat there is an entire damned nation of the saharliard on our borders is bad enough, but now they’re religious! There’s a reason we’ve cast all worshippers and worship out of our borders. I’m not asking for permission, I’m telling you of my plans to march on them. If you have anything between your ears, you’ll pass on the message to the other Overlords. War is coming, and it’s our job to start it to keep it from our lands.
-From Overlord Hrathgarra to City Lord Ferrah of Harandal.
“Of course, Joral. Walk with me.” I answered the sole Kou’Tal Keel in my Empire. “What do you need?”
“I’m not sure if you can help with it…” Joral hedged as he walked alongside me. His thinner frame walked steadily at my side. “But we need more Kou’Tal. If there was even a single other Keel Kou’Tal, then it’d be immensely impactful. There’s just so much around here that needs my touch and I can’t do enough. The khatif Kou’Tal try, but they’re just not strong enough.”
“And you’re unique.” I added. When Joral looked at me in askance, I added, “I don’t think that even another Keel Kou’Tal will have your same touch with the animals. I don’t think every Zak’Tal will be able to use my magic. There’s so much that we don’t understand about ourselves yet. What little I can do to push other Kou’Tal to becoming Keel will be done, of course. Now that we’re in the city once again, I’m sure that some of the oldest khatif will find themselves evolving. I hope that some of them are Kou’Tal.”
Joral’s tail flicked back and forth as he sighed. “That’s about what I expected, though I hoped for some reassurance that you’d be able to just make it happen.”
“I’ll continue to lead.” I replied. “That’s all I can do at this point. If you want, you can send the two most promising Kou’Tal to spend half the day with me as I move around and address everything that needs my attention.”
“Thanks, Zaaktif.” Joral bowed his head as he pulled back from me. “I’ll send them over to you after midday.”
I flared my frills in dismissal as the Keel walked away. Brutus stayed at my side, and asked as he walked, “Why is he so needy?”
“I think I’ve just shown him miracle after miracle ever since he hatched, and now he expects me to be able to do the impossible whenever it pleases me.”
“You have done the impossible whenever it pleases you.” Brutus replied, his tone flat.
I chuckled as I responded, “I suppose I have.”
We walked in silence as I evaluated everything that was happening around us. For the first time since before I left the city, I took a look at all the things the [System] had told me to do to establish a country and so on. First were the two [Quests], and then the weird rules the [System] presented about how to actually become a nation in its eyes.
[-Establish a temple to Nievtala. Base requirements: Sanctum, Altar, Priesthood, Divine Representation. Rewards will vary according to effort, quality of materials, and quality of final product.
- Create a city that can house, provide for, and protect 10,000 inhabitants. Rewards will vary according to the quality of the final product.]
The second [Quest] was simple enough while also tying in easily with one of the nation establishment requirements. On the other hand, the temple requirements were strange to me. Perhaps it was because all of my worship that I’d engaged in thus far was entirely organic, but the forms and regulations for it felt stiff and awkward to me. I stepped to the side, in the shadow of a larger wall as I watched my people continue working in front of me. After a moment, I asked, “Please give me a definition of Sanctum, Altar, Priesthood, and Divine Representation.”
[Sanctum: A location which is kept holy and wholly apart from the world at large. The Sanctum is a place dedicated to a particular deity, and is insulated from everything outside of itself. Within the Sanctum, divine manifestations of the deity to whom it is dedicated are more easily facilitated. More details and examples of what materials to use to create a Sanctum can be provided.]
[Altar: A table upon which sacrifices can be offered. An Altar serves as a pedestal from which sermons can be delivered and dedicatory services can be performed. Within a temple, an Altar is typically dedicated to a particular deity and all services enacted on, around, and over the Altar are with respect to an in adoration of that deity. Details and examples of what materials to use to create an Altar can be provided.]
[Priesthood: An organization of individuals authorized to work in the name of a deity. Those within the Priesthood of a deity must obey a higher standard of the expectations of their deity. There must be an established leadership structure within the Priesthood to effectuate the rites and rituals of the religion dedicated to the deity. A Priesthood is only considered as such if there are at least 20 dedicated members of the Priesthood. Current progress: 14/20. Additional information regarding Priesthood can be provided.]
[Divine Representation: A physical representation of a deity. The Divine Representation does not need to be to the scale of the deity, but it must capture the likeness of the deity. If the selected deity blesses the Representation of them, then the Representation may be partially or wholly converted to one of their exclusive materials. More details and examples of what materials to use to create a Divine Representation can be provided.]
I let out a long breath as I read the [System’s] initial information. Out of curiosity, I opened the “more details” for the Sanctum and was quickly overwhelmed. Dozens of explanations of what materials could be valuable enough to be used in the creation of a god’s most sacred place on the world ranged from solid gold to their divine materials to things that didn’t sound possible, like “thrice-blessed divine remnants”. Maybe the Sanctum was the most valuable of the three things to create? I was quickly disabused of that idea. Altars were, by mere dint of the size of the product, the simplest to create. Before long, I realized that the [System’s] explanation itself gave me a person to give the duties for specifics of what to do for this.
As I turned around to talk to Brutus about how we’d need to go back to the workshop, Shraal poked his head around the corner.
“I believe you were looking for me?”
