The Vampire & Her Witch-Chapter 1175: Using Power Differently (Part Three)

"This is the second of the Church’s great deceptions that you will have to confront tonight," Ignatious said, though Loman still wasn’t certain whether or not the Church’s promises of a path to the Heavenly Shores or a chance at another life after death should be considered the second, and this the third.

"You have to understand that one of the things the Church fears the most is the spread of understanding about how to use power, any kind of power," Ignatious said. "It was the greatest concern of the Saint Teacher and the Great Prophet in the era of chaos that followed the collapse of the Empire of Endless Waves."

"The Church prevents its priests from becoming a force for chaos by limiting their learning," the vampire-priest said, shaking his head in shame as he considered the actions of his former superiors within the faith. "Like Loman in Hanrahan, you recite scripture and perform rituals to produce exactly the effects the author of the scripture intended, with no deviation or modification."

"You’re saying that the Saints and Exemplars, the leaders of the Church, do this in order to keep the rest of the Church from growing too powerful?" Diarmuid asked. "If we never learn the secret rites that are reserved for the higher orders of the Church, we cannot oppose them?"

"That is an outcome of the Church’s strategy, yes," Ignatious acknowledged. "I won’t even say that it’s an unintended outcome. But it isn’t the primary goal."

"We believe that the Empress of Endless Waves was a Great Witch," Ashlynn explained as her fingers broke a delicate cookie into smaller pieces for polite nibbling. "Specifically, the Mother of Tides. During her reign, the coastal cities of her empire became immensely powerful, and her coven shared their knowledge freely. Sailors learned to sway the wind and tide, learned to search through depths for schools of fish or great whales..."

"More than just the Mother of Tides," Aspakos added from the far end of the table. "I wish you had more records of this ’Empire of Endless Waves,’" the sorcerer added, tapping a talon on the table in front of him, next to the pile of crumbs and fragments of nuts that were all that remained of the plate full of tasty treats he’d devoured during Ignatious’s lesson.

"I do not know what sort of calamity led a Great Witch to build a mighty empire," Aspakos said. "But the few scraps of information about that empire that I’ve seen make me think that the Mother of Tides was aided by the Sovereign of the Moon. The blessings of bounty that accompany the Harvest Moon, and the ferocity of warriors empowered by the Blood Moon are just two of the tools the Sovereign of the Moon could have used to help a witch like the Mother of Tides bring her power inland, where she should have been weaker," he speculated.

There were other signs as well, but even Aspakos would be forced to admit that he was extrapolating a great deal from the pattern established by the Sovereign of Stars and the Mother of Forests when they rescued the Eldritch people from the brink of extinction at the end of the Age of Ice.

Since meeting Ignatious, he’d learned about the role the Jaws of Death had played in ending the Age of Ice, creating the opportunity that the Sovereign of Stars and the Mother of Forests needed in order to mount their rescue which only left the feathered sorcerer with greater certainty that great change was brought about by the unification of multiple sources of power... much like he was seeing here, in the Vale of Mists, and at this very dinner.

"But those lessons didn’t stay confined to sailors on the waters, or the farmers preparing for a harvest," Ignatious added, picking up where Ashlynn’s voice trailed off. "The oldest writings of the Great Prophet and the Ascended Scribe speak of terrible battles where the power of nature was harnessed freely, and great sacrifices were made in order to snatch victory from certain defeat."

"Allowing anyone outside of the control of the Church to harness power," Thane said from his seat next to Nyrielle. "Would be like allowing any commoner to own a suit of the finest armor, along with the swords, spears, and shields to fight like a knight. You might trust the first commoner with his arms and armor, but could you trust the son he would pass them down to? Could you trust his grandson?"

"How long would it take before that suit of armor fell into the hands of a brigand who would use it to raid their neighbors with impunity?" Thane asked. "How long before the armored commoner decides that he’s stronger than the sheriff and doesn’t need to obey his lord’s laws?"

"That’s a bit exaggerated, don’t you think?" Liam asked from the far end of the table. "I’ve fought brigands like that. Scavengers who looted the bodies of knights during the War of Inches and passed down their plunder or had it stolen from them. They might be able to bully the common folk, but once a proper knight shows up with trained soldiers, they’re easy enough to subdue."

"Certainly," Thane conceded. "But what if it wasn’t a man with armor and a sword, but a man like Inquisitor Diarmuid, or Disciple Loman? You and your knights would be helpless against Diarmuid’s Holy Flames or Loman’s Bow of Stars."

"That’s why the Inquisition was formed," Diarmuid said as the pieces fell into place. "Because someone had to be able to hunt down those who abused divine power. But, to go back to Sir Thane’s analogy, a commoner with a suit of armor could protect his village from lesser brigands. He could be a force for good, a worker of miracles," he said with a slight smile.

"I imagine it’s the same with other people who can use divine powers," Diarmuid acknowledged. "There are some, like Lord Hauke, who use their power to defend others, even sheltering their enemies once those enemies have surrendered. Only, the Inquisition doesn’t differentiate. Anyone outside of the Church who touches divine power is deemed a heretic, whether they have done anything wicked or not..."