Ed walked over the rock and debris and peered into the dark cathedral. The torches that illuminated the place had gone out perhaps due to the winds the crashing meteors created, apart from that however most of the cathedral was entirely unharmed.
Ed opened his palm and created a small ball of flame. He made it burn bright enough to illuminate a large part of his surrounding. Enough so for him to notice the various writings and drawings all over the cathedral walls.
'This…' Ed all of a sudden started to regret using such an over the top method to quell all resistance. While most of the knowledge held inside had remained mostly unharmed, the walls that had already crumbled would be a pain to restore.
'Whatever, I can think about that another time' He couldn't dally. He needed to free the captives as well as quickly take in some information. The best way to go about it would be to assess things.
The walls might have a clue as to where exactly the captives were held.
[New Dawn]
A mural of the first apostle of the dungeon faith, Sarfu.
[Scriptures of Dawn: Great Connect (Part Two)]
The continuation of Sarfu's journey and his quest to impart his wisdom onto the floor's main inhabitants.
[Scriptures of Dawn: Dissemination (Part Three)] The continuation of Sarfu's journey...
[Scriptures of Dawn: Parting (Part Four)] The continuation of...
Ed performed a quick scan of every wall and even the ceiling. The walls had large and uneven writing chiseled into it while the ceiling had a cracked mural of a slender orc. The orc, Sarfu, seemed to be wearing a robe and holding a simple staff as he held his arms out in praise towards the sun.
The scriptures of Dawn as Ed learned they were called, were separated into four parts. The first part was more likely than not near the entrance wall meaning it had crumbled away.
'No magic knowledge...' It was a pity but studying the writing on the walls, messy as they may be, would be fruitful enough on its own.
Therefore, Ed began by approaching scriptures depicting the Great Connect. The writing was legible and understandable even though it was large and uneven. The orcs' chiseling skills were simply not quite up to par.
'This seems to be the beginning…' Ed ran his finger across the large letters and words until identifying the start. He began to promptly read through it.
'Great Connect…' It wasn't unfitting. To put things bluntly, three floors merged into one. This didn't come without its consequences, however.
The dawn tribe, which Sarfu formed a part of and acted as a prominent figure in, faced shortcomings. The food which was abundant in trees and animals suddenly seemed scarce and limited. To be specific, the animals all became mentally disabled. It was as if their souls had been reaped and only their flesh body remained. This puts a hamper on their reproduction.
As food became rare, battles were inevitable. The dawn tribe no matter how strong was the most affected. Its great size meant less food during famines and famines lead to uprisings or rebellions.
Luckily, Hergob, the only herbalist of the tribe came through with his experiments on making the grass and roots of plants more edible. They could eat, even if poorly. Everything became an even larger commotion since the tribe had food, the dawn tribe was a prime target. Some tribes had already resorted to cannibalism as a mean of survival.
At that point, the scriptures follow the sights Sarfu witnesses under battle in a gruesome tale of pity. Sarfu felt deeply saddened by the endless bloodshed and turmoil!
'He sounds quite compassionate' Ed thought amused. He felt the part most worthy of pity was the way Sarfu was being used! Throughout the warring period, Sarfu continued to attempt to expand the dungeon faith!
Ed moved on to dissemination. It could only entail the spread of said faith, and as he read it proved true.
Rumors started up that Sarfu had predicted this all along! As a prominent figure of the tribe, he had a positive reputation. The rumors were not in any way malicious! They were trustworthy in the eyes of the dawn tribe!
Sarfu's prediction having come true gave him a large foothold in the tribe. He immediately became the most important figure, he was the shaman that delivered God's prophecies! Not even Hergob could compete and he had more or less delayed the starvation problem!
The cathedral was built during this period as a means to contain his wisdom and expand on it. Ed paid particular attention to this point as it might clue him in on where the captives were held. Unfortunately, the writing was not in any way a blueprint.
With his expanding influence, Sarfu made another prediction, he told another prophecy.
The great god is benevolent! Those willing to sacrifice themselves for his needs are always dutifully rewarded!
Much time had passed and the faith had solidified, although lots of them were doubtful, it only took a single zealot to shut them up. Through an exaggerated ritual, a boar had come to life. It shocked the entire dawn tribe to the core!
At this point, the scriptures cursed out the other prominent figures of the tribe who refused to condone the sacrificial rituals. It spoke of them as heretics and even went as far as calling them a disgrace.
The hearty meals of the dawn tribe did not go unnoticed. The curious orcs could not help but notice. The dawn tribe's countenance was healthy in comparison to their own.
Sarfu used it as an opportunity to further display his benevolence by letting them in on the secret. The tribes were hesitant but luckily Sarfu offered them an olive branch. They could witness the monumental occasion themselves. Desperate, they didn't even bother to consider if it was a trap.
And it wasn't, well sort. The tribes ended up being taken over by Sarfu as most of the orcs had converted to his belief. The leaders or skeptical figures didn't even see it coming.
News spread, Sarfu was a man connected to god and capable of providing hearty meals! This became key as even enemy orc and tribes would acknowledge Sarfu and treat him as some sort of sage.
This meant Sarfu's dawn tribe was free from strife during the warring period that followed the Great Connect and that the dawn tribe became a safe space. Thus, further expanding on the faith through refugees.
Part three spoke of the spread of the dungeon faith, Ed did not really enjoy to see the orcs becoming fanatics.
'Part four… parting' Ed recalled the chapter title, erm scripture title. To part meant to separate, to divide, to fragment, to portion, to fraction, etc... Basically, something would split.
Ed read it, it was rather short when compared to the others but it was perhaps the most enlightening. The history ingrained in that fourth wall was monumental, it explained the current state of affairs and how the sacred tribe was lost in history.
The dawn tribe's original leader betrayed Sarfu. They managed to work together to steal the dawn tribe's legacy. One of the boulders of knowledge. They moved it to who knows where while Sarfu piously spread peace.
After that, they took all of the orcs dissatisfied with the sacrifices, the hardcore orcs that believed that suicide was not a warrior's way to die. They took the ones smart enough to not become religious zealots, they took with them a large chunk of people.
These people all united under different leaders and went off into the forest. They claimed they would search for a sustainable source of food, they would venture out of the orc thickets until they reach the end of the world.
Those were their claims but to Sarfu, this seemed like petty revenge driven by jealousy. What was wrong with his methods? He stopped the wars, didn't he? He fed the orcs! He gave them a proper lifestyle!
He established a large community! He expanded the dawn tribe to the point where every day new residents would come! It was the pinnacle of peace! It was the pinnacle of prosperity!
'I wonder if this was all written by Sarfu himself…' Ed felt that it might not be all that unlikely especially with all of the grief the scriptures of parting imparted.
But whether or not that was the case was a triviality. Ed felt rather disappointed after finding that no where did the writings mention the tribe's architecture. Of course, to expect as much was perhaps a bit silly.
The greatest clue he heard was that of the stones of knowledge. The structure where they were held would likely have a high security making it ideal to also house prisoners.
Although it was also possible that was a safety hazard. Not to mention that Sarfu might have moved the stones after having one of them stolen.
'Hm, that might actually work' The prison would most likely not be moved. Keeping the prisoners near the stones was likely a safety hazard anyways.
Thus, Ed concluded, that the prisoners had to be in the cathedral or wherever the stones used to be held. Apart from that, it wouldn't be a bad idea to put together his other new knowledge.
'There used to be animals leaving freely…' Ed didn't know why this was stopped. The best he could think up was that following the merge, the dungeon was in desperate need of energy.
It called back the pieces of its consciousness it had given the animals as a failsafe and as to further save energy, it only responded to sacrifices, It would use the orcs' bodies and consciousness to create boars.
'Sarfu was a sarfool.' He spread words of compassion and benevolence when in reality the dungeon never cared. The famine, the merger, it was all created by it, and it could have been prevented by it.
Now, many years later, the sacred tribe, formerly the dawn tribe, had become decadent from maintaining themselves on sacrifices alone. They became decadent for refusing to leave their holy ground. For refusing to advance, to progress.
Ed witnessed the rise and fall of a community through these scriptures. He could only say that history was fascinating. As an outsider, one could see the mistakes of the past and learn from them.
'There is a moral to every story, that includes history' Ed was now ready to find and free the captives.. He needed to find a room in the cathedral.