In fact, these practices and beliefs were as common as the droplets splashing during the downpour. And as such, it’s not surprising that their influence is so great.
It can even be said that the Churches and their authority are no less than that of the governance of any given region. And the greater their influence, the more skeptical Ulrich was in the past.
Though at this point, he was essentially an agent under the watchful gaze of the Great Mother. So Ulrich kept his thoughts to himself and did not dare to utter them.
It didn’t take long for Ulrich to make it to the entrance. He stood beneath the giant white arches, shook the umbrella of excess water, then retracted it.
He didn’t recall the other churches being this enormous. But it made sense. Even at the shore of the southern district, the bell on top of St. Samuel stood like a second sun.
While carrying these thoughts, Ulrich tapped his boot on the ground—shaking off the excess mud and dirt that may have clung to his sole. With the umbrella in his left hand and his right tucked inside his coat pocket, he entered the Cathedral.
The inside was spacious, to the point that Ulrich felt like he was floating in space.
The Churches and the Ministry are the same, so why is there such a huge difference in budget… Ulrich's eyes twitched, recalling the state of the Cartwright Security company front building.
“Are you lost, child?”
He turned his head toward the voice. It was a man dressed in a black cassock and white linings. Immediately, Ulrich recognized his status—A priest.
He was smiling, the kind of smile that radiates warmth and pacifies one’s distress.
Even through the constant knocks on the Cathedral window, Ulrich can’t help but feel strangely at ease. It was as though the noises from beyond the gate were shrouded, and the inside of the cathedral transformed into its own world, separate from the outside.
“Father,” He greeted. His right hand lifted from his pocket to reveal a small insignia, the same insignia that hung on the Priest’s necklace.
Seeing the black star symbol in Ulrich’s hand, the smile on Lorel’s face swelled. “What is your name, child?”
“Ulrich,” He said respectfully,” Ulrich Constantine.”
Father Lorel nodded and introduced himself, “You can call me Father Lorel. I am surprised to have not seen you around this part.”
“This is my first time here, Father.”
Ulrich stuffed the black star insignia back into his pocket and followed Father Lorel. They strolled along the nave, passing all the wooden chairs, eventually stopping at the bay.
Currently, the cathedral was rather empty. Perhaps it was the downpour that discouraged people from going outside. Either way, this was better as the matter of their discussion was not to be heard by ordinary people.
“Are you here to attend the lectures? And I don’t mean regular lectures.”
Ulrich's eyes fluttered, his mouth opened, but no sound came.
Lorel took it as a sign of confirmation. At the same time, he noticed Ulrich’s confusion and shook his head, “Every children of the Great Mother will eventually find their way here. You are the most recent one.”
With that said, Father Lorel gestured for Ulrich to follow him. They skipped the confessional booth, strolled down the side hallway. And finally, entered one of the rooms meant only for the church's personnel.
After closing the door behind them, Father Lorel asked, “What would you like to learn?”
He was stumped. Where should he start? Ask about the origin of mysticism? Or learn Ancient Hermes? After all, he still intends to decipher the book in Gu Lan’s possession in the dream.
Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.
However, recalling Rosaline’s words, Ulrich blurted aloud, “Divinations, I would like to learn about divinations and ritualistic magic.”
Father Lorel nodded, then walked up to the cabinet resting against the wall. From here, Ulrich couldn’t exactly see his actions. But, he did see Father Lorel taking off his necklace and pressing it against something.
“Sorry, move your chair a little.” He said. Ulrich didn’t question it and moved his chair. Then, a mechanical sound followed. The floor opened, revealing a flight of stairs leading downward.
“You’re not afraid of the dark, are you?”
“I’m fine, Father.”
With that said, they headed down the flight of stairs. At the end of the stairs was a narrow tunnel, lit by the candlelight embedded in the wall. From here, Ulrich could see more than just a single straight tunnel.
There were entrances, many entrances that opened to Mother-knows-where.
They didn’t travel far and stopped in a small room. Inside was a plain wooden table and several chairs. What caught his attention were two giant bookshelves filled with books.
The title of each cover was written in different languages—Celtic, Hermes, Latin, Drunese, Fenans. There was no lack of languages available. In fact, there was even a couple that he recognized as Ancient Hermes.
Father Lorel didn’t waste any time as he started speaking without any warning.
“The art of divination is old. It began before the arrival of the Second Epoch, during the Dark Era of Humanity. The essence of divination is based on the belief that future or unknown knowledge can be obtained through supernatural means by interpreting signs, symbols, or omens…”
Immediately, Ulrich's eyes grew heavy. It didn’t help that Father Lorel's voice was monotonous, like a straight string of a violin that was fine-tuned.
“Divination often involves specific tools and rituals, such as interpreting the flight of birds (augury), reading cards (cartomancy), or using a pendulum. These act as a bridge to the ‘unknown’.”
He stopped, perhaps to organize his thoughts, before furrowing his brows and continuing,” For Seers, the act of ‘interpretation’ is a core principle. A Seer provides meaning to the signs they perceive to answer a specific question or provide guidance on a decision.”
Hearing this principle, Ulrich's body jolted, “Is the interpretation more important than the ritual and steps themselves?”
“Yes. For Seers, details matter. Everything has symbolism, and every symbolism is a revelation. Often, Divination is vague and abstract. The job of a Seer, besides facilitating the rituals of divination, is to interpret the corresponding results.”
With that said, Father Lorel smiled, “I will assume you know a bit about the principles of Divinations, but to be safe, I’ll explain this. The Core of Divination is information and interpretations. The source of information can come in various forms, and possibilities of interpretation are infinite.”
“Rituals and steps exist to facilitate these two principles.”
Regarding the principle of interpretation, this was his first time hearing about it.
“Do you know why Shadowmancers are so good at Divinations?” Lorel asked. He wanted to see if Ulrich had been paying attention. After all, a lecture is no good if the mentee does not learn anything.
“Is it due to the principle that divination is built on a subset of information and knowledge? And the Shadow Realms, which overlap with our own, have this information?”
These were the words that came from Rosaline.
“You are half correct. Firstly, the Shadow Realm is the closest realm that overlaps our own, and thus, the information from this realm faces the least interference. We will go through the concept of interference later. Just know that you want to avoid as much interference as possible when performing a divination.”
“And secondly, Shadowmancer has an intimate relationship with Shadows, and in turn, the Shadow Realm. For this reason, they have the easiest time to extract information from the Shadow Realm, and then use it as a foundation for a ‘revelation’.”
“Besides this realm, the Dream realm is used most often by normal people. Even some Weavers lean toward the Dream Realms to perform divination. The reason is the same—in that this realm closely overlaps with ours. And more importantly, it is one of the safer Realms beyond our own."
Ulrich nodded to showcase his understanding. Meanwhile, Father Lorel continued to spit information at him like a machine gun. He never thought that there was someone like Father Lorel in Belham, not until now. Either way, Ulrich tried his best to stay focused and grasp as much knowledge as possible.
From this, Ulrich learned many things.
One of these things pertains to the names of various realms that existed beyond the ‘surface world’. Notably, there was the Shadow Realm, Dream Realm, The Depths, Spirit World, Mirror Realm, and Astral Realm. Fortunately, Father Lorel stayed on topic and did not expand on each realm extensively, as that would’ve taken several days.
By the time their first lecture concluded, the sea had long wrestled the sun down.
Ulrich stood at the entrance of the Cathedral gate. The lamp light flickered and fluttered his shadow.
At this moment, he pressed down on his top hat, then fiddled with the copper coin in his pocket. Ulrich wasn't sure where to go from here. Return to Unit 106? He can't use that place forever. There were other things he needed to do as well.
So after giving it some thought, Ulrich decided to head to an antique store. Ulrich wanted to procure a few items necessary for a seer—this was a form of preparation. And besides this, he also wished to use his new knowledge to attempt a dream divination regarding Selena's status.
With those plans in mind, Ulrich called for a late-night carriage and visited the nearest Antique Store.
Don't forget to follow, rate, and drop a comment if you like on the []
All is appreciated ^-^