“To think that Manda’s pupil turned out to be Panzel of Baldemost. Rumors of his valor reach us even in this region, including how he defeated the monster at the bottom of that labyrinth by himself and that he crushed the Northern Knights numerous times. Though those rumors would also have you believe he defeated one hundred knights alone.”
“That’s true.”
“What? I’m sorry, but I can’t bring myself to believe that one. It is impossible for a single person to defeat one hundred knights in battle.”
Zara opened his Treasury in front of Patagamon, pulled out Bora’s Sword, and laid it down on the desk.
“He did it by borrowing this sword’s power.”
Patagamon held the sword in his right hand, closed his eyes, and activated some kind of spell.
He has the Appraisal skill?
Patagamon’s eyes shot wide open.
“This sword! This is a god-blessed item. And from a high god, no less! I didn’t think something like this could still be obtained. Hmmmmmm. What potent blessings.”
“A god-blessed item? What is that?”
“They are items produced by gods or divine spirits and imbued with the very best blessings, and they always bear the name of that god or divine spirit that created it. Nearly all the signature divine weapons we have identified have become treasures of countries, temples, or lords. It seems that the blessings of these items are related to the characteristics of the god or divine spirit that produced them. The blessings have tremendous effects, but in many cases, the conditions for activating them are very strict. It is common for there to be a limit on the people who can use a god-blessed item. No small number of them have remained unusable for hundreds of years because the people who fulfilled the conditions died out.”
“What is a high god?”
“Divine spirits that are worshipped by people and earn divinity become lower gods, and if their divinity increases to a certain point, they become middle gods. Divine spirits that inhabit lakes, waterfalls, rivers, trees, rocks, and other such places rarely move from their original location and do not take on much of a personality when they receive divinity. When divine spirits that are born from interactions between gods and humans, such as dragons and giants, receive divinity, they become able to move anywhere and display unique personalities. High gods, on the other hand, are spiritual beings that originally lacked physical form and existed in this world before the appearance of humans.”
“If Bora is a high god, does that mean Gahra and Zara are as well?”
“That’s right. But I’m surprised a person from the north such as yourself has heard of Gahra and Zara.”
“Honestly, I only recently learned of their existence.”
Zara told him about his experience on the Gahra Mountains. He also shared the myth that the girl of the mountains had taught him.
“Well, I’ll be. So that’s what happened. I sensed that there was a strong disturbance among the divine spirits in the Gahra Mountains, so I dispatched some members from the temple to investigate if anything had happened there. But never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined someone had turned their blade against the divine spirits and then made that kind of oath. You’re as reckless as Bolton himself.”
“Is Bolton the name of a god?”
“Yes. His name is used in many expressions and metaphors in parts of the south. He is a very popular god in fairy tales. He was originally a dragon god who lived on Dona Lake along with his wife, the dragon god Raika, who was known as an angry goddess. Raika had quite a jealous personality and could fly into a rage almost instantly. Bolton was afraid of his wife, yet he seemed to have a habit of going out of his way to make her angry. Those around him would get dragged into the messes he made as well. For that reason, whenever someone willingly invites trouble their own way, they are called ‘as reckless as Bolton.’ The saying ‘don’t do anything to ruffle Raika’s scales’ survives today as well. It is said that Raika is Kaldan’s younger sister.”
Oh, so that’s why Bolton’s Charm has that kind of blessing. That makes sense.
“Do you know the names Alestra and Ende, too?”
“Ende was another dragon god, said to be Bolton’s little brother. The name Alestra is not known in the south. In the north, there is a legend that Alestra was a god who served the goddess Pharah. Alestra’s birthplace is unknown, but because there is apparently a god-blessed item bearing that name, he must have been a real divine spirit.”
“Are the six major gods in the north all high gods?”
“The earth goddess Bora and the sea deity Elvetta are high gods. Toran, the god of healing and death, is a middle god. I believe the other three gods may be rising from lower gods to middle gods.”
“You sure have a deep knowledge of gods and divine spirits.”
“That is because of the mission of this temple.”
“Is gathering legends this temple’s mission?”
“No. Our mission is to watch over the trends of gods and divine spirits and prevent them from turning into devas. We calm down any who are in the process of becoming a deva.”
“What is a deva?”
“This will be a bit of a long story.”