The monastery was out in the fields, and Lucas could not help but sigh. It felt like he was moving back and forth along the same line over and over again, it made him wonder if he could figure out enough about how the telegraph worked to build one. Probably not enough for his first try, but he knew the basic principles to figure it out eventually… Maybe…

Regardless, this trip was more annoying that the previous ones as Julian kept pepering him with questions the whole way. Somehow the conversation had ended up about the nervous system this time, and Julian apparently was eager to test some ideas he had thought of based on the information Lucas gave him. Supposedly, Julian thought he could use it to increase the power of mages on the front lines, while Lucas idly wondered if he had just given Julian the information he needed to kill people even more easily. He really did need to have a working understanding of magic, there were certain parts of science that these people should not know, and if he didn’t understand the capabilities of magic… Well, he might accidentally tell people to much and cause disaster.

Still, Lucas liked the guy. If someone had come to his world with knowledge beyond his own, he probably would react the same way. Also, he was apparently providing Terrasin and to some extent Versi with quite a bit of entertainment as they watched the animated discussion.

So at the very least, the time passed quickly for the four as they approached the monastery, which looked like a small castle surrounded by the fields around it. Unlike Lucas’s view of a monastery though, instead of men in robes working and praying, there were actually quite a few heavily armored soldiers patrolling the area. These men were Paladins, the military order within the Church. They were housed in the monastery instead of the castle barracks, and it certainly made an impact on Lucas.

Still, it was older men in robes, including Cardinal Simon, that came to greet Lucas as he arrived.

“Ah, welcome Lucas.” Cardinal Simon bowed slightly, “To what do we owe the pleasure of your visit? Have you come to learn the words of the Church?”

“Though I know that I probably should,” Lucas said more politely than he usually would, he had enough fanatics trying to kill him already after all. “Unfortunately, I have come for a different reason today. Would I be able to meet with Heidall Are?”

Simon frowned slightly, then smiled again. “Indeed you can, however he is in meditations at the moment. Would you be able to wait for him to finish? It is an important ritual in the life of the monks here, and it shouldn’t be more than a few hours.”

A few hours? He would have thought that his status would be able to cut through things like this, but Lucas decided not to push. He needed Heidall on his side after all, and he could tell that Simon was hoping to use this time to educate him. Well, he needed to know about this Church anyway…

“I think I can wait,” Lucas agreed. “And perhaps you would be able to explain the beliefs of your church while I wait?”

Simon smiled broadly as Julian sighed slightly, “I would be delighted to, and don’t worry Knight Enchanter, hearing the Message once more won’t hurt you.”

Julian had suggested this, but it turns out he wasn’t heavily religious himself. Most mages were not as they followed the teachings of their founder, which focused on personal strength and accomplishment over accepting the help of the Gods. According to Julian, the two different groups did not conflict however. They respected the teachings of the heros who brought both into the world, and stayed out of each others way and came together to fight the demons together.

“Cardinal…” One of the armored Paladins spoke up, “Is it not wrong to address the Lord Saint in such a casual tone?”

“I have accompanied him for a while now,” Cardinal Simon laughed. “And honestly I have come to the opinion that Lucas here finds being called by a title more uncomfortable than being stabbed!”

“Well I wouldn’t go that far,” Lucas laughed. “But on the whole you are not wrong. But Saint is a new one for me, I am hazarding a guess that the Church views summoned people as Saints then?”

“That is correct,” Simon had them follow him into a receiving chamber nearby. It was much more humble and practical than the nobles decorations and furnishing, honestly Lucas prefered it quite a bit. Or he would, if the simplicity had not also extended to the padding. But hey, it was better than flying coach on an airplane so he wouldn’t complain.

“I would have thought that the title of ‘saint’ would be used instead of ‘lord’ if both were available.”

“Well, the title of Saint is not very accepted outside of the Church.” Simon said casually, “After all, giving the title of ‘Saint’ to the Demon King was a very contentious decision.”

Lucas raised his eyebrows in astonishment, “This Church gave that title to a demon?”

“History often brushes it aside, but the Saints were not all good people all the time.” Simon accepted some tea from a servant, took a sip and continued. “Our founder was a reformed criminal in his own world, he commited murder and robbery before he found his way to the Word of the Gods. The First Sorceress was known for her own foibles as well.”

“That is a kind way to say she is legendary for sleeping with most of the people she met and had a tendency to experiment on them in their sleep afterwards.” Julian chuckled, “I remember one story passed around regarding her and some ancient queen, let’s just say that it isn’t exactly something the Church would put into the sermons for common folk.”

“Yes, well…” Simon coughed into his hand and moved on. “In short, no Saint is fully good or bad and there are some factions of the church that believe that the Demon King may have good features much as the heroes have had bad.”

“I would appreciate if I could get a grasp on what the Church believes first,” Lucas tasted the tea as well, bitter, but overall not bad as it could be. Kind of like the furniture… “To be honest, there are many religions and beliefs in the world I come from, and there has never been any concrete proof that any of them have any truth to them at all. So that you have Gods and that they answer your prayers… Well, I am a mix of skeptical, awed, and scared.”

“That is interesting…” The Cardinal looked at Lucas with interest, “The First Sorceress came from a different world than our founder, but they also worshipped the same Gods. True, she had little to do with the Church because of her… Proclivities… But still, with perhaps the exception of the Demon King the Saints have all followed the Church of the Spoken Word.”

“Well, although I think it unlikely, perhaps your religion does exist in my world with a different name.” Lucas replied, though he really did doubt it highly. If any Gods had answered prayers with any degree of predictability that religion would have easily dominated the world.

“The basic tenet of our beliefs is that of the Word’s of Ascension,” The Cardinal’s eyes sparkled and Julian sat back with another sigh. Lady Almistraus and Lady Versi were still attentive, although they clearly would already know this. “That by human effort we can reach a higher plane of existence.”

“There are a few religions with beliefs like that in my world,” Lucas nodded, understanding the concept.

“The Gods we worship are divided into two groups,” Simon continued. “The Ascended, who were mortals who followed the teachings to reach a new plane of existence, and the Three Perfect Builders, who Spoke the Words that brought us into existence.”

Lucas was fairly sure that this religion did not exist in his world at this point, but he did see elements of other religions within it.

“We cannot communicate with the Three directly,” Simon seemed sad as he considered this. “We are too far beneath them for them to notice, and before the Ascended made contact with them we were beneath their notice. The Ascended channel our prayers to the Three and the power of the Three to us and our worshipped for their glory and the great aid they have given to us.”

“What sort of power?” Lucas leaned forward, curiosity getting the better of him. Would it be like fantasy games in his world? Or perhaps something different altogether?

“There are many, but all come at a cost.” Simon turned more serious. “The Ascended were once human, but they are beyond us now, and only someone with great faith and mental fortitude can handle contact with them. But even then, it slowly wears away our Paladins and eventually they must retire to a monastery. However, they gain the ability to shield themselves in holy light and imbue their arms with that same light. Demons cannot abide the light, which burns away their impurities.”

“Older Paladins, who had the strength to survive years of contact with the Gods, can call upon their miracles to heal wounds, strike out at enemies from a distance, or even create things from thin air. But there are almost none who last that long before retirement.”

“I hesitate to ask,” Lucas took a breath and forged ahead. “But how do you know these powers come from ‘gods?’ What proof do you have that the Ascended exist? Or even that they are what they claim to be?”

“Relatively few answer that question when shown the miracles of the priests and Paladins,” Simon smiled. “And there is an answer that we give to the people at our sermons, but for you, as a Saint, there is something else.”

“Some sort of hidden scripture?” Lucas guessed, familiar with the cuts that churches and mosques had made to their own holy book over the years. Though he had to admit those edits had rarely been to hide things and were more often an attempt by the religious leaders to provide the message they thought their flocks needed.

“Not quite, it would be more accurate to say that there are some people that you should meet before you see Heidall.”

“Who, precisely, should I meet and what will they be telling me?” Lucas frowned, starting to feel like he was being stalled. He wondered if Heidall was even meditating or whatever at all, perhaps they had said that just to get him here for some reason.”

Simon looked at the three others with him and told Lucas that he could say nothing further unless they were alone, but Lucas was suspicious and simply refused. Last time he had been separated from people he knew he had been stabbed, and Simon was clearly hiding something.

Eventually, Simon sighed. “At least send the Knight Enchanter out. The Ladies here are believers from families I can trust, and as much as Julian is respected as a colleague…”

“I am not precisely devout.” Julian laughed and got up, “Fine then, but don’t take too long.”

After Julian left, the Cardinal’s next words surprised Lucas and stunned the two ladies with him.

“I would like to arrange a meeting between you and the two previous Saints, Lucas.”