Magi were a patient breed. Since he couldnāt deal with Leylin directly right now, Distorted Shadow would instead wait at the side, recovering to full capacity. If Leylin did not increase in power himself by that time, he would have a chance for revenge!
ā¦ā¦
The commoners of the prime material plane treated powerful existences like the gods and Magi like they came out of a fairytale. Regardless of what such powerful people did, all they cared about was earning a few more coppers for the next day. They just wanted bread to eat and beer to drink.
Doron was one such commoner. He came from a line of carpenters, having been forced into the job due to his background. However, his inheritance was lacklustre. In fact, he had to maintain the furniture of the regional lord for free a few times a year, including the mangers of the barn. He wouldnāt even be given food.
Clearly, matters related to gods and devils were like the epics sung by bards to him. Such events did not have anything to do with him, and listening to them would only be treated as a pastime.
However, all of this changed one day. Seeing the purple moon explode as it formed an evil eye, he felt like his quiet life had come to an end.
The loss of the moonās light was a minor thingā after all, most normal families went to sleep early because they couldnāt afford the oil for their lamps. There were many stars in the sky as well, so it didnāt really affect the night much. The only exception were ladies who loved to admire the moon with a midnight drink.
No, the important issue was the revelation the moonās destruction brought about. Be it the moon turning into that eye or the terrifyingly large Weave shattering along with the moon, this was too similar to the work of demons and devilsā¦
āThe end is nigh. A powerful existence is about to destroy the worldā¦ā A few deranged minstrels in the town had changed from their usual waltz music, replacing it with a solemn prophecy that made Doronās heart feel heavier.
āThe gods aboveā¦ perhaps iām thinking too much. I should head to the church more often and ask Priest Rockefeller for helpā¦ā Doron looked at the amount of money in his pocket. There were a few copper coins within, shining with how worn down they were. The edges were badly damaged as wellā¦
āDamned Lady De Lise, she mustāve gotten that fat pig of hers to cut the coppers at the edgesā¦ā Doron couldnāt help but complain to himself when he looked at the meagre salary he got for an entire dayās work. Of course, he wouldnāt dare to directly rebut his employer.
Having witnessed the strange phenomenon a few days ago, the uneasy Doron was considering making a trip to the local church, making a donation or something so he could ask for the Lordās protection.
The system of church and state ruled the World of Gods. With one controlling the peopleās faith and the other wielding authority over their lives, the poorest of commoners would still give one of the two all they could. Only the former may have been voluntary, but they exploited the commoners all the same.
āDoron!ā A cheerful whistle sounded on the street, āYouāve finished up with Lady De Lise?ā
Doron was familiar with the owner of this voice, turning around to face a young man wearing abnormally loose clothes. The freckled youth was called Mitch, and his eyes seemed to shine with brilliance.
āMitch! Werenāt you working at the Church of Magic? Why are you back now?ā Doron asked in surprise.
The town Doron lived in was under the control of a feudal lord, and the man had built a Church to Ilmater in it. Royals greatly favoured this god, wishing to make all their followers his worshippers.
On the other hand, a church dedicated to Mystra was only available in a faraway town, requiring a day and a half of carriage travel. This was basically the distance between the ends of the world to Doronā heād only been there once and had been deeply stunned by the bustling of the heavenly city.
He was extremely envious of Mitchās job. Even if he was only a lowly servant, the man was working at a church. He could one day awaken the power of magic, becoming a wizard respected by the rest.
Mitch grew crestfallen upon hearing this, waving his hands. āSighā¦ Donāt even mention it. I came back because the church closed down.ā
āThe churchā¦ closed down?ā Doronās mouth fell open. He clearly couldnāt understand how these words were sharing a sentence.
Churches were overseen by their respective deities. Priests all controlled bizarre spells, and the fees of even the lowliest of churches could still make them quite a bit of wealth. How could such a place actually close down?
āIt seems like you donāt knowā¦ Most of the priests of the church faced a sudden death on the day of the black moon. The rest of them cried all day longā¦ā
Having come back from the city, Mitch was full of conversation. He shuffled closer to Doron, hiding his mouth with his hands as he whispered, āI heard the Goddess of the Weave has fallenā¦ā
āThe Goddess of the Weave fell?ā Doron didnāt have much to say about this incident. It was far removed from him, and with Mystra not being the deity he worshipped he couldnāt comprehend the stakes of the situation. Hearing that a true god had fallen, the only feeling he felt was a slight bit of schadenfreude just like when a king died.
āMm, the wizards are out of luckā¦ā A smile appeared on Mitchās face. It seemed like the bullying heād faced from the priests and wizards wasnāt just occasional. āA lot of wizards were already beaten to death by a mob of peopleā¦ā
āWhat does this have to do with wizards? Couldnāt they use magic to avoid being beaten to death by the commoners?ā Doron was obviously suspicious of Mitchās āsecret.ā Wizards to him were all superior individuals, people whom even the lords had to be respectful and courteous to.
Even the domineering Lady De Lise didnāt dare to offend Wizard Holdman who stayed near their town.
āHeheā¦ The wizards lost their ability to cast spells once the Goddess of the Weave diedā¦ Say, would the lords and commoners they persecuted before let them off?ā
Mitch revealed a sharp, toothy grin, āThatās why I came back. I didnāt have much chance to become an effort anyway, so Iām here to hideā¦ Anyway, letās stop talking about this! We should head to Buckās Tavern to celebrate our reunion!ā
āButā¦ā Doron touched his cash-strapped purse, āI still want to visit the church once!ā
āChurch? Oh right! Some of the other churches seem to be busy all day, preparing to evacuate or something. Even businessmen and nobles canāt have priests cast spells for them right nowā¦ The church here should be the sameā¦ā Mitch patted Doronās shoulder, his look telling the carpenter not to waste his time.
āNo!ā Doronās faith was more or less solid.
āOkay then,ā Mitch shrugged his shoulders in frustration, āIāll follow you.ā
The town church wasnāt all that large, only the size of a few houses. A small fountain towered at its front, but unfortunately there was no spring water flowing out of it.
The shrine looked empty, with numerous items missing. Even the remaining servants gave off a languid air, with few people here to pray. Doron clearly noticed the change, but he still asked a servant, āHello! I would like to see Priest Rockefeller!ā
Doron still held a good impression of the kind and benevolent Rockefeller. Although the man could only cast a few low-grade spells, he could treat common injuries and had saved numerous lives in town. Doron had decided to donate to him, just in case heād have to ask the man for something in the future.
āPriest Rockefellerā¦ā the old fellow watching the door took a long time to react. He rubbed The sand out of his eyes, āHeās already left. He took everything, only leaving a few piles of potatoes for this pitiful old bakerā¦ā
āHuh? Nobody took over either?ā Doron was surprised. There were a considerable number of worshippers in town despite its small size, and no church would let go of a base where its foundation had already been laid. There should have been another priest coming over even if people were transferred.
Situations like this one were quite abnormal, and it caused a bad premonition to rise within Doronās heart.
āWhy? Do you want to pray and confess? Perhaps I can help you!ā Old Baker Tannerās eyes Were already aimed at Doronās purse.
āNo! Thereās no need!ā How could Doron not understand his intentions? He immediately grabbed his purse and ran away, Mitch following him.
Only after theyād left the town did Mitch turn around, fiercely laughing at his friend. āHahaā¦ā he said between ragged breaths, āIām right, arenāt I?ā