Omake: Faith in the Emperor
- Location
- Rapidly approaching your location.
- Pronouns
- Any/Morb
Faith in the Emperor
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I walked into the town square yesterday. Why wouldn't I? The Sun
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is shining ever so brightly, cobblestones
felt great beneath my talons and paws
, and all the shops
are bustling with all kinds of activity. Now, I'll preface as I am a griffon of my word: I'm not religious.
Never have been, probably never will. With the kinds of places of worship in this place-- from the ancient and mystical temples of old Gryphus, to sparkling underground caverns dedicated to Diamond Dog entities, to the grand carved stones marking the presence of the Yak gods, to the shrines which are said by my Neighponese friends to house thousands of spirits, and even the small heart-shaped amulets sometimes seen worn by Crystal Ponies-- you could say that Griffonstone has seen a great revival in faith.
You could also say that it would be difficult to not be part of a religious organization, with how statistically likely one of them would adhere to traditions or fit your world view.
You could also say that I didn't see the light in any of that.
I was in a dark place before... the Winter War had taken my older brother.
I could never forget waking up to my mother screaming, sobbing, scratching hopelessly at the door as she saw Gallin's goodbye message nailed to the front entrance. My father, when I asked "Papa, why is mommy crying?"... only gave a curt "He's gone to the Front."
I couldn't understand, but I did, even if I hadn't realized at the time. The very notion of war was still fresh in peoples' minds. The Unification War was talked about by proud patriots as well as common citizens. That had been a war of honor, a war against tyranny, a war to unite Griffonkind!
But this.
What was this?
Honor had died with the countless lives trampled in the snow.
Tyranny did not merely exist, but threatened to end our existence.
Unity was all that we had to hold onto.
Thankfully, it had been enough.
I couldn't understand why brother had gone there.
Why would he have gone to fight?
I could understand why he had gone there.
He fought so others could live.
--One more block to go, and we'll be there--
So yeah, I suppose that makes me a bit guilty about how everything went down, who knew?
Well, after Sombra's final defeat, people started to realize how we were under the guidance of a griffon who had turned the entire continent around. Some said this wasn't a mere Emperor, but a messenger or a herald of old Gryphus. Some surmised that Garrick
was no mere griffon, but a god.
A god! You should've seen the looks in peoples' eyes when they heard these murmurs.
Eyes, wide open! Whether it was in surprise or rapturous revelation, I couldn't tell you. I can tell you that I had found solace in those murmurs when my family had been more broken apart than it had before the war-- but that's another story.
Point is, I saw-- no, wanted-- nay, needed something to believe in! Something that told me "everything is alright".
That's when I found the Church of The Great Garrick.
Hey, don't give me that look. I don't insult your beliefs, you don't insult mine. Now you want me to continue?
Okay, so when I found new hope, I was stil-- what's going on over there?
...
Oh, no. My talons are shaking wildly, my breath erratic. Everything's getting dark-- oh, I'm back.
...
how much time had passed? Why are the streets a mess? This... this graffiti... /The Great Garrick is not as Great as people claim!/ but... who would desecrate the church walls?
There... blood? Signs of a scuffle... oh, Garrick, my talons are bleeding! No... What had happened h--
I'm whipped around by the paw of a priest, also covered in blood.
"What is going on, child? Please, I saw you and the others tearing apart greenery, toppling statues, and fighting each other! These are all against the tenants of the Church... but I had a vague recollection of myself being in such a physical altercation... Child, please tell me you had nothing to do with this!" Father Douglas had tears running down his crimson fur.
"Father, I assure you, I had no idea what had happened..." I began, but a vision tore into my mind.
Suddenly, the scene was all clear:
I was there, clawing at a shrub, ripping its roots out and toppling it over, showing nary a thought to the laborers who planted, grew, trimmed, and maintained the plant.
I was there, breaking down a statue of war hero Hardbeak, one of the Saints who fought alongside The Great Garrick. A thousand hours of prostrating before The Great Garrick himself would not begin to forgive such a transgression!
I was there... fighting Father Douglas? He had sprung out of the ground to tackle me, presumably to stop me from further vandalism and heresy. I had made a nasty cut along his face, while his claws met mine and I howled in pain before waking into the present--
"I am so sorry, Father. I had no idea..." Gasping for air, I came back to the waking world.
Shaking his head, "no, my child... it was clear that we were under the influence of a dangerous foe, to behave so differently from our normal selves." Father Douglas took out a Golden Garrickbit and put it to my forehead. "The Great Garrick watch over you. The Great Garrick protect you. The Great Garrick save you."
And a burst of light poured forth from the coin, enveloping me in shimmering light which I later realized was just sunlight reflecting off the shiny surface.
Still, the light reminded me of one thing: The Light has not left me. It never will. I saw the light here.
Of course. Peoples' faith in Garrick had wavered. It was from matters beyond his control. What? Who is talking? Perhaps we should have taken precautions to at least keep public opinion up? Y'know, for our ENSLAVED POPULACE??? Wait, we hadn't saved them? Who are you? What's important is long term. I hardly think there would be any real loss from losing a bit of "public opinion", honestly we could afford to lose some! Hey, the people are important! They give The Great Garrick His powers, through our belief in him! Fine, fine, I'll vote for that plan, but we'd better...
"WHO ARE YOU TO SPEAK ILL OF THE PEOPLE OF THE GREAT GARRICK?!" I found myself spitting into the face of Father Douglas, other passersby looking dazed but staring at me.
"It was a joke to them... the beings..." the words barely left my mouth.
Father Douglas began to speak, but seeing me curl up with my forelegs around my hind legs made him second guess me and himself. "I'll come back to check on you. Please keep strong. I understand you."
Seeing him retreat into the desecrated church made me return to my thoughts.
Who were these... voices? They spoke... a different language, but I could understand them? I think I saw... their devices... screens of obsidian and boxes of metal...
No, these voices would not break my faith. No, never again will I lose my belief again. The Great Garrick is real, he is already a legend. He is in the palace, in the streets, on His earth and in His skies. He walks and flies among us, showing he exists. That is enough proof of what he represents to everyone, and more than enough reason for me to never stray again.
Standing back on all fours, I looked out at the town square suspiciously on fire.
I walked into the town square yesterday. Why wouldn't I?
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Since @Questor didn't expand on exactly why people are starting to doubt The Great Garrick's rule (that I know of. My reading comprehension is bottom notch), I made my own reason. Load it onto a carrack because this is cannon now.
Behold. My Magnum Oppai. My Mooner Lisa. My HamLettuce. My Hot Tub Time Machine. My Store Warts. My Declaration of Lintipendence. My Puntastic Reference.
Every stroke of my stroke a stroke of stroke.
Genius doesn't grow on trees and you can't fake money.
Free will is a myth and religion is a joke.
Etc etc. Feel free to critique because I think I'll stick to silly jokes and not paragraphs of characters and settings.
Is a lazy name, rhymes with Erika. Perfect for me to use in my slashed-now-disfigured fic.
