Glan Natural Science Academy

The long winter season was finally coming to its end. Warm sunlight shined on the last vestiges of snow.

Ryger could never forget what happened on that night a month ago. He knew that the last gaze that his frail father gave him after the bloodletting was his father’s wordless blessings.

From here on, Ryger would have to disguise himself and live a careful life in this world filled with the faith of Light. He must not speak of his ancestry with anybody else.

He opened a window and looked far into the distance. A hint of puzzlement seen in his eyes. The book that he was holding now was one of the three possessions that his father left to him. It was a book titled The Secrets of Evolution and was published by a pioneer of the Glan Natural Sciences Academy, Antonio. Though it wasn’t exactly a forbidden book, it, nonetheless, belongs to the type of books considered dangerous for an ordinary clergyman.

The scholars of the academies often loved to publish a bunch of bizarre theories. It was something that everybody knew. Long ago, a scholar in the Utlan Principality published his theory of Heliocentrism. He believed that the sun was the centre of the universe, that Star-Veil was a large spherical celestial body that orbited the Sun. Not only that, he also believed that there were countless other spherical celestial bodies like the world Star-Veil world which orbited the Sun. It was branded as heresy by the Church.

That scholar refused to repent and held on to his academic arguments at the ecclesiastical court. Eventually, he was burned to death.

If it was before, Ryger wouldn’t have read such a dangerous book. But now… 

The Secrets of Evolution:

The wonders of life; Interdependency; Natural selection; Survival of the fittest. No living beings can live independently and outside of natural law.

Microorganisms break down minerals and convert it to soil.

Plants live above the soil. They nurture higher-class insects, avians, wild animals, proteuses and humans.

Humans look down on all creatures, but are they truly the apex predator of a food chain?

If there is a higher-class organism, then it must be above humans in the food chain. It feeds on that special something that is present in humans but not in plants, avians, wild animals and proteuses – the spiritual mind, the spiritual cognitive strength of the brain!

 

The Secrets of Evolution listed the evolutionary process of several hundreds of organisms and described the concept of survival of the fittest. It provided Ryger with an unprecedented worldview shock.

But what made Ryger lose the power of prayer completely was the mere hundred or so words. Words that were un-obsequious and hidden among paragraphs, like a drop in the ocean.

Ryger lost the power of prayer. His faith was shaken and he could no longer sense the God of Light. In the eyes of a believer, it was as if the sun suddenly disappeared and the world fell into limitless darkness.

An unprecedented feeling of horror!

Could the Light God Ryger had worshipped day after day for 17 years be the higher-class organism written in the book? Could it have been feeding on humanity’s spiritual cognition by captive breeding?

Faith needs to be deep-rooted. It requires constant self-hypnosis. Once there is any suspicion, the foundation of faith would crumble completely.

“Beep! Prompt: Starcore possesses information about 397,449 species, mineral resources, and novel elements. If perusal of information is needed, please input image data or activate recognition function after getting close to the object.”

This piece of Starcore necklace was the secret of his father’s success as the best hunter in the village. The pendant of the necklace looked like an ordinary piece of agate and the dark-red pattern of it seemed normal.   

But when one observes closely, they would be able to find a small protrusion on the pendant. And when this protrusion is pressed, the prompt from before would appear.

Ryger couldn’t understand what the Starcore necklace was. According to his father, he got it from his father, who also got it from his father. It was most likely a relic which had belonged to an evil sorcerer.

Ryger’s father relied on the necklace to differentiate between animals which descended from proteuses and those which didn’t. But he never thought that because of his overreliance of the necklace, he would be attacked by a proteus which wasn’t recorded in the necklace.

Ryger must not let anybody know of his identity as a descendant of the sorcerers. Otherwise, what awaits him was death by burning from the Church.

Lastly was a badge which was like a blooming redbud flower left by his father. Ryger finally knew its function. It was actually a contribution badge belonging to the Glan1 Natural Sciences Academy and was used to recognize those who’ve made major contributions. Those who have the badge can receive enrollment into the Academy without sitting for any exam. Additionally, suitable mentors will be arranged for them as a form of giving back to those who contributed majorly to the Academy in the past.

He still remembered the expression made by the pastor when he saw Ryger took out the redbud badge – one of shock and incredulity. The pastor even said something about having Ryger make selfless offerings then told Ryger to distance himself from those atheists.

“Brother Ryger” A girl with pelt clothes walked in the snow. The girl’s face had some faint freckles and she had a shy expression. She put some black bread and cured meat in front of Ryger and said quietly: “Grandpa said to call you over for dinner at night.”

Anna’s grandfather was a good friend of Ryger’s father and also a famous hunter in the village. It was said that Ryger’s father saved Anna’s grandfather’s life once but Ryger didn’t know whether it happened or not.

As for Anna, she was a childhood friend of Ryger and they grew up together. But the two grew further apart as they got older because the Church decreed that both preachers and nuns were faithful servants of the Light God and so cannot marry and have a child.

Anna stole a glance at Ryger. His eyes were always full of pious faith towards the Light God and made her feel warmth, safety and sincerity. Sadly, Ryger aspired to be a preacher and serve the Light God for all of his life. He simply couldn’t be with her. Every time Anna thought about this, she would feel lost, like something precious to her was taken away by the Light God.

She probably never thought that she would be jealous of the Light God.

Ryger looked at the black bread and cured meat, and said ashamedly: “Winter is going to end. I… I can live on my own. Your family isn’t wealthy either. Don’t always give things to me.”

Anna looked at the ashamed Ryger. Even though he was weak and skinny, he still had a strong, independent heart. It made her like Ryger more and feel even more lost. “Grandpa asked me to send it here. Don’t forget to come over for dinner.” Anna left after she finished speaking.

While holding the bread and meat, Ryger looked at the fading silhouette. Both of them grew up together and at this point, it was hard to tell what sort of relationship was between those two. He had thought of being together with her. But faced with faith towards the Light God, Ryger kept cautioning himself. Anna is my sister. I will serve the great Light Creator and spread light to this world.     

And now… He was actually a descendant of an evil sorcerer. Once it was found out, not only him but also those close to him would be branded heretics and wailed as they burned to death on stakes. It was in these sorts of fear that father lived his entire life, to the point where he needed to thank the Lord for everything to protect those he loved.

Will he need to live a life like his father? A life of fear and uncertainty with Anna.

Ryger thought of how once his identity was revealed, the Church would investigate everything and Anna would burn at the stake. A wisp of terror passed through his face.

No. He must not let something like that happen. He needed to leave the town to prevent the townspeople from being implicated. But he had never left the town before. Where could he go then?

Just then, Ryger thought of something. He took the redbud badge out and muttered: “Glan Natural Sciences Academy”.