Steampunk: Sixth Era Epic

From the Feather Quill Avenue where Miss Luisa lived to the Dawn Square where the Dawn Chapel was located was quite a distance. To prevent being late, Shard Hamilton took a hackney carriage at the intersection. He would first send Mia home, then head to the church.

In the sweltering summer of Tobesk, smog hung heavy in the air, the scorched scent in the atmosphere becoming increasingly unbearable due to the high temperature. On the way to the church, Shard tucked the leaf into the decorative pocket watch cover (note) while looking out the carriage window at the cityscape of the Steam Age.

The rapidly moving street scene, the respectable gentlemen, and the barefooted children, the low walls overgrown with weeds and the stately noble mansions, the densely packed steam pipes, and the porters carrying sacks—all of this illustrated to Shard the balance and imbalance of the era.

But the Outlander knew this was a node in the progress of civilization. To civilization, there was never absolute balance, only a dynamic relative equilibrium.

He was so lost in thought that he almost forgot to pay the coachman his fare when disembarking. Embarrassedly, he gave the hunchbacked middle-aged coachman an extra two pence, which the man accepted with cheerful gratitude—as two pence held value for the lower-class poor.

It was the second week of the Thunder Moon, and Holy Prayer Day was drawing near. The clergy members of the Dawn Church were increasingly busy. But Priest Augustus still found time to welcome Shard at the entrance of the church and embraced him with exaggerated warmth:

"Remember to act like you're injured."

That was a quiet reminder from the priest during the embrace, then he naturally asked with concern:

"Shard, how's your wound?"

"Cough, cough."

Shard did not know exactly how to act out symptoms of internal bleeding, so he pretended to cough weakly:

"The doctor said I was lucky and that being young and strong, I'm probably fine now."

"That's great, great, Mr. Dawn will protect you."

With that, he led Shard into the chapel.

In a world with deities or without, churches as functional buildings are always constructed to be majestic and solemn. Even though it wasn't Shard's first time entering the Dawn Chapel, once both of his feet stepped inside the building, he couldn't help but lower his voice and slow his pace.

Of course, this also had to do with the power inherent in the church itself. In this world where thoughts could affect reality, the church itself was blessed with the power of the True God, coupled with the protective measures set by Circle Sorcerers and the power contributed by believers' long-accumulated yearnings.

Tobesk's safest place was actually the churches of The Five Gods, not the Yordle Palace.

The two men, one after the other, quickly passed through the main sanctuary of the Dawn Chapel, then entered the area behind the church through a corridor on the side. Priest Augustus greeted people continuously along the way, a few clergy members seemed to know who Shard was and warmly shook hands with him.

It seemed, the incident that happened yesterday noon had an impact on the church itself as well.

They soon arrived at Bishop Owen's office and after knocking, Shard and Priest Augustus entered the room together.

The Old Bishop had just been looking at documents through his reading glasses. Seeing the two men enter, he temporarily put aside the things on the desk. Removing his glasses, he adjusted his expression and then spoke amicably to Shard:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Hamilton, please have a seat. I invited you here today because I want to discuss with you a topic about... faith."

Shard raised an eyebrow, indeed it was this topic.

The conversation that afternoon was very pleasant. Bishop Owen, on behalf of the Dawn Church, inquired whether Shard was willing to convert to faith in Mr. Dawn. This was not only because Bishop Owen very much appreciated Shard but also due to the silver coin incident from yesterday morning. Experience more on empire

With the church's encouragement and the Royal Family's tacit approval, the incident had already spread. The church wanted to use it to propagate the faith of the Dawn Church, while the Royal Family wanted to show that indeed they were blessed by the True Gods.

For the Dawn Chapel, such an incident with coincidences and dramatic significance was absolutely excellent material for Holy Prayer Day and even for future church promotion. And the key was that Shard Hamilton, as the main character of the story, had to become a believer, so it would show Mr. Dawn's care and protection for his followers.

"Mr. Hamilton, last time you said you are but a Shallow Believer of the Lady of Creation, so what do you think about the faith in Mr. Dawn?"

"It's quite good."

Strictly speaking, Shard did not have any conflicts with the values of the Church of the Five Gods. The church played the role of enlightenment and progress in this era.

"If you are willing to join us, I can personally administer your baptism."

That was the condition proposed by Bishop Owen.

After all, it was the church, and matters of faith could not involve inducement into the faith with things like Gold Pounds—clergy members have such a baseline. But being personally baptized by the bishop of the Archdiocese already represented many things. Simply put, Shard would be considered "one of us."

For instance, at No. 6, Saint Delan Square, room 2 on the second floor, which had been queueing for an exorcism—that queue would be unnecessary for "one of us." Or considering Mr. Dawn's wide-reaching community of believers, if Shard encountered something during a detective commission that he could not handle on his own, the church would not mind providing help to one of their own.

Of course, this presupposed that Shard truly became a believer.

"That's not a problem."

Bishop Owen gave Shard time to think, and Shard did not answer immediately. Before coming, he had thought about this matter, but he absolutely could not agree outright; that would make him seem insincere. Feigning struggle, he hesitated for a full ten minutes before giving an answer, causing the Bishop to show a relieved expression:

"I knew you would make the right choice."

Becoming a believer meant many conveniences, and all Shard needed to do was to spend some time, learn the necessary religious scriptures by heart, and then make time to come to Dawn Chapel to attend some prayers and listen to some sermons. Compared with the benefits gained, the cost was completely acceptable.

The only consideration was whether joining the church as a "shallow believer" would attract the attention of the True God. But on second thought, such a large church was bound to have more than one shallow believer. Since others had no problems, he certainly wouldn't either.

After all, compared with truly high-dimensional beings, the thoughts of insignificant mortals like ants were superfluous.

Bishop Owen was probably worried Shard might change his mind, so he arranged a baptism for him that very afternoon.

Known as baptism, the rite of initiation, the ritual used by Dawn Church was a relatively traditional water blessing ceremony. That is, under the Holy Emblem, a high-ranking clergy member qualified to preside would recite scriptures and pour or sprinkle water, dropping it on the forehead of the baptized.

The Church of the Five Gods often used such rituals, but each church had its own characteristics. "Mr. Dawn" was the "God of Light and Shadow", so the baptism required that, apart from the Holy Emblem, the body of the recipient should be simultaneously in shadow and light.

In an age with gas lamps, this was not difficult, but being illuminated at close range by a high-power movable gas lamp in front of a large crowd made Shard feel even hotter on this stuffy afternoon.

Of course, traditionally, those receiving baptism also had to pass a test of faith and be recommended by three clergy members acquainted with the circumstances before they could be baptized. But with an old clergy member like Priest Augustus, plus the near miracle at noon yesterday, Shard was able to skip this step.

"Thank goodness I don't have to write an application or report."

That was Shard's exclamation while wiping his face with a towel after the baptismal ceremony. Coming to this era, writing reports had become a routine part of life.

"Shard, how high do you think the literacy rate is now? How many people can write their own names?"

That was Priest Augustus's helpless retort.

In any case, the outlander now had an oral faith in this world. Saint Byrons, powerful though it was, far in the Far North, could not influence the detective's life in Tobesk, whereas Dawn Church was rooted in civilized society. Joining the church meant life would be more convenient.

As a token of gratitude, after his baptism, Shard gave the commemorative coin with the bullet embedded in it to Bishop Owen. Of course, the bishop wasn't stingy either and pulled out a stack of books to give him—these were religious classics, and now that Shard had become a believer, he had to be familiar with them.

Besides that, Shard also received a small bottle filled with a transparent liquid. When Bishop Owen handed this over to Shard, even Priest Augustus beside him was surprised:

"Holy Water No. 3?"

The bottle in his hand, even if very likely diluted, was definitely worth no less than 100 Gold Pounds.

"Yes, Mr. Hamilton. This is a special product of the church, a miraculous liquid that can heal injuries. I know you are hurt, but you have to attend a banquet on Sunday night, so take this and pour it on your wounds."

The old bishop winked at Shard:

"The deities really exist, the church is not as simple as you think... You won't regret today's decision."

He made a few gestures over his chest and then silently began to pray to the deity.

Shard nodded and then turned to Priest Augustus:

"Priest, I remember that Dawn Church accepts donations, right?"

"Yes, the money donated is partly used for church maintenance and partly goes directly to help the poor."

Shard hadn't forgotten what he had said at noon the day before:

"Well then, I want to donate... 10 Gold Pounds."

No matter what, in an age where mystery and steam coexisted, becoming a believer in a True God did not pose any harm. Sometimes, Shard also wondered, if he had not met Dr. Schneider first but had been recruited by the church instead, then life in this strange world would probably be completely different from now.

"But this world has no 'if's..."

The church arranged for a carriage to take Shard back to Saint Delan Square. Shard looked out the window. The sun was setting, and the busy day was coming to an end.

"Might as well consider some more realistic problems."

He leaned lazily against the backrest of the seat.

"Like what should I eat tonight?"

The evening glow bathed his face, and Shard was amused, but he shook his head:

"No, like what the exorcist coming from the church tomorrow morning to check will find in room two on the second floor."