All the Dust that Falls

Chapter 257: Theology 101

Finalizing my painting decisions had only taken a few hours, but it drastically changed the look of the mansion. The adults also arrived with some basic furniture that allowed us to have a table and some chairs, along with simple cooking utilities. They'd have to make do with sleeping on bedrolls atop rugs for now, but they had dealt with much worse in the city. Transporting enough beds for the entire mansion just wasn't feasible in such a short period of time.

I helped them arrange what they had and touched up a few things that I had missed on my first several passes. By the time night fell, though, the manor was in an almost acceptable condition. The only thing I hadn't done was fix up the gates, and that was just because I hadn't really put enough thought into how I was going to work the metal. But for today, they could wait.

As everyone settled down for the evening, I considered what to do next. There were still other things I could do around here, but nothing pressing anymore. That meant I might have time to prioritize other things. Was it time for me to finally go out into the city and clean?

It would make sense. The city certainly needed the help. At night, I could work openly without having to worry about hiding my presence too much.

Humans certainly couldn't see well enough that I would need to keep my camouflage up all the time, at least. Plus, I wouldn't have to worry so much about keeping track of my humans when they were all asleep. It was an excellent opportunity to do my own thing.

Once I made sure everyone was all comfortable and there was no danger nearby, I hovered myself over the outer wall. Then, I started to head into the city. I wasn't going to just clean in a circle around our manor. That would be suspicious, and Beatrice did want it to stay unnoticed for a little while while she was setting things up. So, instead, I trundled over towards the city gate and started cleaning from there in a broad arc.

I wasn't doing anything super fancy yet, like polishing the road's stones. Right now, I contented myself by just moving at a quick pace. It would allow me to clean up refuse and give a general quick wash of everything. I could maybe do some more detailed passes later if I had time, but this was the highest efficiency and rate of return that I could give the city. This makeover would last quite a while, as some of the refuse I was removing from the stone streets had evidently been there for years. I wasn't sure when the last time some of these thin alleyways were cleaned, but I would’ve believed it if they had never been touched by a broom or mop.

I worked my way towards the fancier parts of the city where I could move even faster. It took far less effort to clean something that was regularly swept, if not deep-cleaned like I was intending. As I reached the opening of a very nondescript alley, I saw Beatrice walking, her head hung low. She made her way back to the manor. Huh. I wonder what that was all about. I should go talk to her.

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The lone street preacher led Bee to a little basement into a corner of a street far into the Warrens. It was normally a nasty part of the city, but this spot was different. Within a dozen yards of the gathering place, everything was cleaned. The normally grimy stones and dilapidated buildings transformed into painstakingly shined surfaces and freshly painted facades.

When the two of them slipped into the room, it was set up in a strangely familiar configuration. An older man with gray at his temples stood at a lectern, speaking to a small congregation sitting in rows of chairs facing the front.

"-And so shall things be cleansed!" he intoned, with a very strange diction, as if he was trying to speak more formally than he actually knew how. "We shall sweep the streets and purge all those who dare defile the land. We shall raise our presence and, in the name of Lord Void, rise up like the cleansing tide!"

As he yelled, he shook his fist at the sky before he slammed it down on the lectern. A book placed atop it jumped slightly as he cried out in passion. He was working himself up, and the crowd was nodding along and murmuring phrases of agreement.

Bee listened for a few minutes as the man went on and on about how the world would be so much better if only things were cleaned up. Not just houses and cities but those causing such filth and disorder in the first place. Including unenlightened humans. And once they were taken care of… the world would return to its natural state with none of the disorder that life caused. And the world would be better for it.

She had some questions. Bee raised her hand to ask a question as if she was in a small classroom rather than wherever this was. The man paused mid-sentence and stared at her raised hand, confused about what to do for several seconds. Once he realized her hand wasn't disappearing, though, he stopped and waved in Bee's direction as though giving her permission to speak.

"So. You're saying the ultimate goal of the faith is to end all life?" She asked in a falsely credulous voice.

"No, miss... of course not. We simply strive to make the world clean. If life has proven unable to handle this level of purity, it may have to go, but that is not set in stone. Perhaps we can teach the world to live in order." The man reassured her in a somewhat uncertain tone.

Bee was not satisfied. She pressed him further. "And how is it that you've interpreted Lord Void's words to mean that? Have his teachings not been clear?"

She couldn't stop wondering where such ideas had come from.

"Well. The prophet often speaks about how disorderly humans can be and how the city needs to be cleaned up of all filth and all who make it. And every human makes filth to some level or not. So we must start by cleaning the filth created and stopping the worst offenses from occurring again. Then we can eventually get to the point where no more is even created."

Bee had a sinking suspicion, and she could feel the zeal coming off his man as he tried to hide his quite hideous dogma behind honeyed words and false promises. She smiled sourly at the man. "But you admit that you yourself make a mess as well."

He nodded sagely. "Of course, miss. No human is perfect. We all make great messes. I am no worse nor better than any other man.” He smiled smugly and bowed in apology.

Bee saw through the faux look of commiseration on his face. The audience ate up his words, murmuring about how humble he was. But Bee had a question. "Well, if you are such a causer of mess, why have you not removed yourself?"

The man straightened proudly. "People need to be around to make sure the work gets done. And if it has to be me... The world may have to bear with my presence a bit longer, for I shall remove more disorder and filth from the world than I cause until that is no longer true."

"Mm. So you just wish to be the last to go?"

The man spluttered in indignation at Bee's ability to see through his deceptions so easily. The congregation started to speak, shouting over each other as they turned and talked to their neighbors. Bee heard snippets of conversation erupt from all around.

"Yes. What is the point of cleanliness if nothing is here to observe it?"

"Right."

"Well, I've heard the Lord Void himself is not organic or living so clearly. There should be intelligence to enjoy the order without life."

"Yeah, well, I mean, sure, we get rid of the rats in our house, but we don't kill the cats. That would just be absurd."

"We can't get rid of the cats until there are no rats."

"But we've never once been able to firmly extinguish rats, so calling for the extermination of all of them is rather pointless!"

"You doubt that Lord Void couldn't get rid of all rats?"

"That's just not how things go. Maybe he could do it personally. But then, why hasn't he already done it? He clearly doesn't wish for that."

The discordant voices made up a rather coherent conversation in multiple parallel lines as everyone agreed or disagreed with their neighbors, yelling out points about the faith. Bee leaned back for the most part until, eventually, someone next to her turned in her direction. "You seem to have different ideas than these street preachers. I, of course, understand that their message of cleanliness is great to be heard, but… why do you have such different ideas? Where have you gotten these from?"

Bee heard snippets of conversation erupt from all around.

Bee launched into telling the story of Lord Void's coming. Of the summoning in the mage's castle, the fights with demons, and its ability to clean them all up. She talked about Void's flight to Caleb to save the city. She didn't tell the story from her perspective, though. She told it as if she had been one of the members of the faith listening to her preaching in the castle. She wasn’t quite ready to back up her claim as High Priestess of the faith just yet. They were still supposed to be keeping a low profile, after all.

People had been enraptured. Even the one preaching had stopped to listen to her tale.

Though they seemed curious about the whole thing, her mention of Caleb, in particular, turned heads. Evidently, that story, in particular, was quite familiar to them.

They had a slightly different view of the actions that had taken place there, though. The facts were never really in question, as they had heard the same story, but the meanings they derived from it were very different.

The organization apparently had originally taken root in Caleb. As they worked to fix their city and clean up the mess that the zombies had made, the teachings then spread to the capital at some point. Bee spent nearly an hour going over the philosophical differences and found that their faith was much harsher than the one she had cultivated at the castle. She didn't think Void would necessarily approve of their direction. But she clearly wasn't able to convince everyone, and the meeting adjourned with no real conclusion about who was right.

People filed out, heading to go about their evening. The leader called out to her as she made to leave. "Miss, may I have a moment of your time?"

She nodded and stayed behind until just the two of them were left. Then, the older man sat in one of the chairs. "The castle that Lord Void first appeared at. You come from there?"

Bee nodded, eliciting a smile from the man. "Then there are truly others who follow the faith, even if your views differ from ours. If I might be so bold. May I ask what your goals are for visiting here?"

"Yes," she said, "you may ask. Lord Void has questions about this place. About the attack on the castle the king perpetrated, in particular. I have come as part of an investigation and perhaps to spread the word of Void through the city. To prepare it for his coming."

Up to this point, she hadn’t really identified Void as male. However, it was pretty common among everyone she’d met, so it was easier to communicate that way. Once again, the man nodded. "Mm. Well, my views may differ from yours. But I imagine that my leaders may wish to talk to you and get more of Lord Void’s teachings from the source." He added. "Perhaps we can find a way to assist you and our mutual master?"

Bee nodded and gave him a forced smile. "I hope we can find a way to work together and that you may come to find the error of your ways one day."

The man gave her a sad smile. "And I you."

She turned to go, then paused. "Oh. In two days. I will make contact again with one of your people. Hopefully, we can arrange a meeting then."

As she was walking out, he called after her with one last word. "Is Lord Void truly coming? Will he be here? Will he see our works?"

She half turned and gave him a look. "Don’t fret. The Master is always watching."

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