Re: Tales of the Rune-Tech Sage

Chapter 430: Ancestral Spirits

CH430 Ancestral Spirits

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Because the spirituality of Ancestral spirits is born directly from the faith energy of their believers, such deities are fully exposed to belief contamination from the very moment of their birth.

In other words, an Ancestral spirit is born already shaped entirely by what its believers think it is.

Returning to the example of the World Tree—

The reason World Trees grew so vast was simple– the elves believed a World Tree should be vast, capable of encompassing worlds. And because the nascent spirituality of the tree was newly born—lacking self-awareness or independent will—it accepted that belief as truth and norm.

Thus, its first ’miracle’ was often nothing more than enabling itself to grow—expanding its trunk, roots, and canopy—to meet the grand expectations of its believers.

Navi, however, were fundamentally different.

Navi were originally living beings with their own personalities, desires, ambitions, and—most importantly—self-awareness. And more often than not, they were deceivers at heart.

Unlike Ancestral spirits, Navi did not conform to what their believers believed them to be.

While Ancestral spirits were always what their believers believed them to be, Navi –more often than not—were not.

And this was one of the many reasons why Pangeans viewed Navi as deceivers, while Ancestral spirits were not treated with the same hostility.

Spirits did not set out to deceive. Rather, they were born into the delusions of their believers.

Navi, on the other hand, almost certainly deceived intentionally—shaping doctrine, miracles, and prophecy to extract greater faith and thus Providence.

One could understand a spirit’s nature simply by observing its faith, doctrine, and rituals. They were predictable and thus easier to defend against–and less of a true threat in the grand scheme of things.

Navi were different.

They were often nothing like what they portrayed themselves to be. And because they were once powerful cultivators—beings with ambition, grudges, and hunger for power—they were master schemers who wielded deception and subterfuge as effortlessly as a swordmaster wielded a blade.

That made them exponentially more dangerous.

There was a saying on Pangea:

”Between a Navi and a Spirit, even if the Spirit is stronger—kill the Navi first; For a Spirit will never change from what it is, while a Navi is ever-changing... and ever-callous.”

Also, because a spirit is born from—and sustained by—the strong, dogmatic faith of its believers, those believers are more often than not fanatical in their devotion.

Thus, whether their faith is benevolent or cruel, their behaviour is predictable. One only needs to understand the doctrine of the Ancestral spirit to understand its followers.

If Alex were in a land of Ancestral worship, and an Ancestral spirit were to issue a command or revelation to hunt him down, he could be certain of one thing—

Every believer of that spirit would set aside personal interests to fulfil that command.

Even if a noble stood before a territory ripe for conquest—bare and undefended—that noble would rather aid the territory if it meant capturing Alex and his party than seize the land for himself.

The same could not be said for Navi-controlled territories, as demonstrated clearly by the events at Barnsil Fortress.

Much like their Navi, the so-called believers of such lands would, more often than not, prioritise their own interests first.

At first glance, it might seem dangerous for Alex to venture into territory under the dominion of an Ancestral spirit.

But that assumption could not be further from the truth.

Unlike Navi—who were notoriously xenophobic and hostile to outsiders from other planes, largely out of fear that such outsiders might expose their deceptions and enlighten their followers—Ancestral spirits simply did not care.

They were, after all, entities thrust into divinity from birth by the free will and belief of their followers.

It never occurred to them to guard their territories against outsiders, nor did they actively monitor the planar barrier for invaders.

Ancestral spirits cared only about the wellbeing of their believers–mostly because part of their spirituality programming from their believers’ faith contamination dictated that such an Ancestral Spirit cared truly and deeply for its followers.

Thus, invader or not, as long as an individual harboured no ill intent toward their believers—or better yet, improved their quality of life—the Ancestral spirit would be unlikely to become hostile.

More often than not, such a spirit would instead grow friendly toward that individual.

In a sense, developing a territory within the Celahan Empire—regardless of whether it was under the influence of a single Ancestral spirit or multiple—would directly translate into a better quality of life for the citizens of that territory.

And a better quality of life for the believers would, more often than not, result in the Ancestral spirit or spirits becoming favourably inclined toward Alex.

In such lands, he would have far less to fear than in Navi-dominated territories, where both the Navi and the nobility were fickle, self-serving, and willing to turn on anyone the moment it became profitable to do so.

Furthermore, due to their fundamentally different origins and priorities, Navi and Ancestral spirits were, more often than not, antagonistic toward one another.

In fact, through extensive studies of multiple civilisations across the known universe, Pangean academia had come to a striking conclusion—

Many civilisations deliberately turned to Ancestral worship as a means of resisting the tyranny of Navi.

After all, without a greater powerhouse to rely on, the only being capable of opposing a faith deity was, more often than not, another faith deity.

Basing his reasoning on these findings, Alex concluded that even if the Navi of Verdantis had already released a so-called ’prophecy’ informing their believers of his and his expedition party’s arrival—and ordering their capture or execution—the Ancestral spirits and their worshippers would be entirely unaware of it.

And even if such a prophecy were to reach their ears, they would most likely ignore it.

It did not concern them.

In fact, if relations between the two sides were strained enough, Ancestral spirit-backed factions might even assist the so-called invaders—if only to spite the Navi and undermine their influence.

With all of this taken into consideration, Alex arrived at a clear conclusion.

Until he possessed the means to resist—or outright oppose—the world’s Pantheon, the wisest course of action was to shelter beneath the umbrella of an Ancestral spirit-controlled territory, such as the Celahan Empire.

Even within the Hollowcrest Wildlands—and more specifically, within BloodIron City—should the opportunity arise, he would align himself exclusively with factions backed by Ancestral spirits.

At least for now.

Until the day he gained the power necessary to challenge the plane’s Pantheon—

And bring upon this world... True Enlightenment.

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