Volume 4: The End of the World Chapter 7 Hobien Ebony
Exquisite magic crystal lamps are inlaid on the four walls of the temple, and the soft light illuminates this originally deep and winding tree hole.
At the end of the tree hole, there are seven holy emblems carved from animal bones - they respectively symbolize the seven holy spirits believed in by the Holy Spirit Church.
The order of placing the holy emblems was different from the customary rules of the church. The one placed in the most prominent position in the middle was not the "father" holy emblem that symbolized royal power, but the "mother" holy emblem that symbolized life. And the holy emblem was also deformed. The deviation of some lines made the outline of the holy emblem, which was supposed to be the shape of a mother hugging a baby, look like a towering tree.
In addition, the other six holy emblems are illuminated by the light from the magic crystal lamps at their bases, except for the "Mother" holy emblem in the middle, which is illuminated by the sunlight projected from the opening at the top of the temple.
The layout of the entire temple was far different from the temple in William's memory - the Holy Tree Mother Temple more than a thousand years ago was completely in the style of shamanism. The tree hole, symbolizing the source of life, was deep and dark. Except for the sun, moon and starlight shining through the skylight at the top, no artificial light was allowed. The interior of the temple was filled with primitive and rough furnishings, and only the "Great Mother" god was enshrined in the deepest part.
If this temple had not been built in this tree hole, William would have even thought it was a church of the Holy Spirit Church. Whether it was placing the "Mother" Holy Spirit in the center or making subtle changes to the holy emblem, these operations showed the extremely helpless struggle of the forest elves in resisting the influence of the empire's rule.
The maid who had been there before led William here. In front of the seven holy emblems, a man wearing a deer antler crown and gray fur was kneeling there praying.
"Your Majesty Ebony, the guest you are waiting for has arrived."
After the maid finished speaking, she bowed respectfully, then lowered her head and walked away.
"Your Majesty? You?"
After the maid's footsteps faded away, William looked at the man who was still kneeling in front of the holy emblem and praying, and asked with some confusion.
Putting aside the fact that in the Jade Province, which was still a province of the Riel Empire, how could anyone calmly accept the title of " Your Majesty really dared to overstep his authority, only the Duke of Holy Tree would have the qualification. However, according to the information William had obtained before, the current Duke of Holy Tree should be a woman.
In addition, William was very familiar with the style of the antler crown on the man's head. It was the crown of the "Father of the Wilderness", the leader of the forest elves. This thing not only symbolized the power to rule the many tribes in Ravenwood Forest, but was also a necessary prop for the wedding ceremony between the "Father of the Wilderness" and the "Great Mother".
"Please don't mind it too much. People here always like to use this kind of irony to constantly remind me that I am a despicable loser."
After hearing William's question, the man stopped praying and slowly stood up. Then he turned to look at William and said with a self-deprecating smile on his face.
Although there was a self-deprecating smile on his face, there was no emotion in that person's voice, as if he was not talking about himself, but about a stranger who had nothing to do with him.
This man was extremely tall, two heads taller than William when he stood up, and his body was almost twice as wide. With the antler crown on his head and the gray fur on his body, he looked a bit like a beastman on the Daemon Continent who had been fused with the body of a large beast through secret techniques.
"My name is Hobien Ebony. I am the current listener of the Great Mother's will and the person in charge of this temple. According to the Great Mother's revelation, I have been waiting for you here for a long time."
The man didn't say much and introduced himself directly.
"Do you know who I am?"
William asked, frowning.
The man shook his head and explained:
"The Great Mother only revealed to me that a person who can completely change the fate of Ravenwood is coming. He will cut the chains around the necks of the forest elves, end the curse that has eroded this land, and drive away the famine that has spread among the people of the forest. But what kind of hero you are, I don't know..."
"Wait a minute..."
William ignored those mysterious prophecies, but raised a hand to interrupt the other party's flattery and continued to ask:
"So you don't know my identity... Then how can you be sure that the person the 'Great Mother' is talking about is me? And not another person who decided to make a pilgrimage to the Great Mother Temple on a whim?"
No matter how the other party praised him, whether he was a hero or a liberator... after the other party said those words, what William was most concerned about or most vigilant about was how the other party knew the time of his arrival so accurately.
It is always unsettling to have one's whereabouts and existence known to others or even "God".
"The Great Mother told us your appearance and the time of your arrival in the prophecy."
In response to William's question, the guy named Hobien Ebony answered:
"Is that so?"
William nodded thoughtfully.
He did not believe what the other party said - it was hard to convince people that all inexplicable things were attributed to a silent god.
What's more important is that he had suffered losses in predicting things before.
However, William did not continue to dwell on this matter. After all, the other party had said so, and he probably wouldn't get any results if he continued asking.
So he changed direction and tried:
"I heard from the lady who brought me here that the Great Mother you believe in seems to know that I saved Ava Continent in the Moon Realm?"
Even gods cannot be omniscient and omnipotent. No matter what the nature of the "Great Mother" is, this god-level existence is undoubtedly inseparable from the World Tree that William is standing on. In other words, no matter what, the other party should be a god existing in the world.
How could a living god know what happened in the Moon Realm?
"The Great Mother sees everything."
In response to William's question, the man answered calmly.
But no matter how frank the other person is, this is a worthless answer.
And based on this answer, William directly ruled out the possibility of in-depth cooperation with the person in front of him.
The premise of cooperation is the consistency of interests and sufficient trust.
In the previous conversation, William really couldn't find any trust in the other party.
As for the former's "common interests"...
"Since you said so, I have another question that needs to be confirmed - since you are wearing this deer antler crown, does it mean that you are the true ruler of the Emerald Province? Or at least you and the lady who called you 'Your Majesty' earlier, at least that's what you think?"
William asked directly.
Combining the information he had collected previously, William could naturally guess what other identities the person in front of him had besides the "Great Mother Listener" he claimed to be.
Although the details were not clear, the essence was the same - the real ruler who was originally elected according to the tradition of the forest elves was taken advantage of by the opposition supported by the imperial family. The real king of the forest elves could only be squeezed out of the core circle of power and come to the temple to take charge of religious matters.
This kind of thing is not uncommon, either in the past or now.
"You flatter me, I..."
"No need for polite words."
William immediately interrupted the other party's speech, then looked around, found a stool to sit down, and then continued:
"You wear the antler crown that symbolizes the highest power in Ravenwood, and you don't stop your men from calling you 'Your Majesty'. And you wait here for someone who will help save the forest elves according to the prophecy. Don't tell me that you do all this for a purpose, just to make yourself feel at ease when you pray to those holy emblems. "
William smiled slightly as he spoke.
"And originally, in the temple of the Holy Mother Tree, the symbols of worship of the Holy Spirit Church should not be enshrined, right?"
