Interlude : Lumoof (Patreon)

Lumoof had many homes, though the one he most enjoyed was the quiet home up in the mountains, where the winds were cold, and the waters were clear. 

Down in Freshka, he could feel the lives of everyone in the city. Through Aeon, he could feel and if he so wanted, listen in on almost anyone in the city. It was a power that he tried not to use too much, because it made his head hurt. 

For that reason, his mountain home, where there were very few people around, was often his favorite resting place in the entirety of Treehome. 

There were two sides to being a priest that was often not mentioned. A priest, especially high leveled ones, received a sense known as [Received Prayers]. It was a sense of where their aid was required, where someone had called out to their god for help. 

The range of this ability increased with level, especially if they constantly responded to those prayers, and for someone like Lumoof, or even his lower-leveled matriarchs and patriarchs, this ability could sometimes span entire kingdoms. It was as if a priest instinctively knew where their aid was needed. This sort of ability was how the old four temples of Treehome could still maintain some sense of control over their old holy empires. 

Here, in the mountains away from people, those prayers were a little muted. Some of them got picked up by the other priests. 

But he felt there were prayers all over the world that made their way to him. 

Even Treehome, despite its outward prosperity, there were those who struggled. There was almost no outright poverty on the Central Continent. The Order ensured that everyone, even the poor, was well fed, and had a roof. There were purpose built towns and establishments for various poor folks. 

People would not die of sickness or hunger or cold. 

But that was not enough. For humans especially, meeting these needs did not mean much. Humans were a fairly social race, unlike the non-humans who were more insular and generally  happy to live by themselves. 

For non-humans, on a large, empire level, they were more focused on their craft, on their own interests. Their generally longer lives meant they were inherently less afraid of being alone. Or perhaps, their longer lives meant they were more accepting of being alone.

But regular humans, lizard folks and centaurs, needed the social element. Lumoof knew that delivering a sense of progress, however miniscule, was what triggered little sparks of joy and happiness in them, a lot more than others. 

Some called it hope. A hope that things will get better, however small that improvement may be. To do something and to be recognized for it was quite a large fraction of what humans needed. More than any other race. 

Dwarves, treefolk and elves could labor away on their own without being recognized, and they would not consider it to be a flaw. To them, the craft is its own achievement. Recognition was sometimes even unhelpful. Treefolks were an odd group to classify. They were sapient, had feelings, and had thought, but they also seem to be mainly affected by the conditions of the land for their emotions, than their own personal state.

If their environment was ‘happy’, then the treefolk was happy, and they were thus great caretakers of the land. If their environment was sickly, they would often adopt that trait.

So, lately, Lumoof tried to minimize interactions with treefolks, because he had a connection to them unlike anyone else. He, through Aeon, could influence their emotions directly, even their thoughts. Back when he wasn’t a domain holder, or just a lower level domain holder, his ability to influence them directly was limited. But over time, as his own power and Aeon’s power grew, that ability to influence grew with it. 

The treefolks exposed their souls to the world through the little roots on their feet. Higher leveled Treefolks were able to consciously control how much they allowed the world to influence them. Folks like the Treefolk Lord Kraveik sometimes wore specialized shoes to allow them to control how they interacted with the land. 

Lizardfolks, when placed in a spectrum and compared with the other races, were also fairly social in their desires. They had a rigid social structure that was in a process of change, and they were a little more egoistic. It was quite strange, that despite their communal origins, lizardfolks wanted individual achievement even more than humans. The mages who ran the lizardfolk breeding experiments reckoned it was a countercyclical reaction to their past as a highly collectivistic society where they had many children and were often sacrificed to die. That generational struggle merely evolved into one that focused on individual achievements. 

The success of Kafa only fueled this movement. 

He wasn’t quite sure what the effects of such great change in mindset to the lizardfolks would be over time, but-

He stopped. 

Lumoof found himself thinking in things at a large scale again. As Aeon’s avatar, he could feel Aeon’s thoughts, and vice versa. That rubbed off on him. 

Tea. He tried to focus on tea. He looked around his mountain home and made himself a cup of tea. There wasn’t much need for servants. An artificial mind ensured the home was spotless, and any of his wants would be met. 

But sometimes he just wanted a cup of tea from the small teahouse, and he’d often use a disguise to do it. If he walked in as Patriarch Lumoof, he would have people swarming over to speak to the man seen as the voice of their patron god. 

The strange colored tea was warm. The leaves came from one of the [herbalist]’s experimental farms. It was a matter of time before these experimental teas eventually hit the consumer market. It tasted a little citrusy. 

Lumoof focused his mind on being present and noticed the cup was made of wood. 

Why did he pick a wooden cup? There were a few other cups, some made of stone, some made of crystals, some made of metal. 

It was one of those things that he did without thinking. 

And without thinking, his mind tapped into the bigger things again. Sometimes he sat there staring at a cup, and hours would have passed. 

It was one of those quasi-vegetative states he needed to consciously resist. Just as he could influence Aeon, Aeon’s influence on him was strong. 

And so his mind drifted back onto the lives of his fellow humans. 

It was hard to call them fellow humans. Other than appearance, could he still be considered a human? He was more than a half step to godhood, perhaps more, and he had lived far longer than most humans. 

Just like Aeon, sometimes, he too thought about what he would do when all of this is over. Aeon said he’d like a good sleep. A peaceful one. Maybe it would be a peaceful dream. 

That would be nice. Lumoof’s dreams were often filled with places he had never seen. Aeon’s old world. Aeon’s other worlds. Places that Aeon’s trees touched. The world was so different then. 

What would he do when it’s all over? Lumoof thought about it too and wondered whether he could even go back to society. 

What role could he play if this was all over? He hoped their society would not need a powerful overlord looming over them. 

In the Central Continent, even as the basic needs of the majority were settled, the higher needs thus came into focus. There are those that needed to feel like they had a role to play in society. A valuable role. 

Still, cultural and social acceptance wasn’t something that could be forced. Even if the poverty of material goods and needs had been materially solved, there were social and emotional forms of poverty. 

A sense of belonging, identity, purpose. Somewhere to prove their skills and potential. Somewhere to fulfill their ego. Somewhere to chase their passions.

The Order did not significantly intervene in the commercial and industrial sectors outside of military matters. Commercial dealings and laws were still mainly judged by the various member-nations of the loose federation of the Central Continent, and it was here where most of the fraud occurred. The emergence of merchant states meant the commercial laws of these states were often biased in favor of their ruling merchant guild. 

Still, the state of commerce was generally more ‘fair’ than before Aeon.

The Order did intervene in matters of entertainment and culture, mainly through incentives to encourage faith and support for the Order’s demonic expeditions. In that lens, the Order used entertainment, events and culture as a tool for propaganda and as a tool for forging social cohesion and ‘nation building’. 

Entertainment, culture and faith were intertwined. 

Through the priesthood and the various entities, some structures were built so that it was easier for those who seek a place in society to find their place. 

Aeon’s ability to see through his trees and spy on the people of the world meant it was ridiculously easy to keep tabs on everyone. Especially those who had food and shelter, but lacked a place in society.

Lumoof recalled how some of those who came from Earth were repulsed by the idea of a surveillance state, and often, he could understand how easily such powers could be misused. 

The [Artificial Minds] were superb at this. The hundreds of these artificial minds dedicated to the administration of the Central Continent ensured every child of a certain age was under some form of surveillance. It was so intertwined with their military recruitment process that children of high potential were often identified as young as five years old. 

But Lumoof knew from experience that potential didn’t mean all that much. In the end, those who managed to cross the Level 100 line came from a wide variety of lived experiences. Those who were privileged. Those who were poor. Those who suffered. Those who sought out suffering themselves.

So, except for orphans, the Order usually did not approach these children. If they had family, the Order would take a step back and merely keep an eye on these children. 

He sometimes thought about the lives of those who were fed, who were living in Order provided shelters, but were lonely. They had no identifiable skills.  They could be enrolled in the various Order-run education institutes, but their lives would often be mediocre. They would pick up a trade, never really excel in it. 

The collective of artificial minds often estimated that 80%-90% of all people were mediocre, though the mediocrity was not as common among the Valthorn and Valtrian order recruits due to a dedicated training program. 

For most, they lived a reasonable life, gained some levels, but plateaued around level 30 to 50 with a basic class. Out in the general populace, only about 1-2% reached past that level 50-60 mark, and fewer still went above that. 

Again, it was significantly higher in the Valthorns due to the intensive training programs, but the steady state was not one that naturally created such high leveled individuals. Most adversarial environments such as the markets and business often eventually led to an outcome where there was a winner. Once there were such winners, which usually led to the temporary creation of powerful monopolies, that was usually the beginning of their stagnation. They no longer gain as many levels as they were no longer challenged. 

The [system] inherently had a ‘catchup’ mechanic simply because the person who stood on top had to push against the unknown, while the ones chasing after were always struggling against those who are stronger and thus could gain levels faster.

Lumoof knew most citizens did not desire to be in a state where they must always pursue this sort of relentless drive for improvement. It was not sustainable, and like Lausanne and many others, they needed a break. 

Each individual had a list of competing priorities. Family. Friends. Hobbies. Multiple different interests. 

It took a special kind of individual to chase after something, and that was not 90% of the population. Though the Order recruited extensively from that special 10%, it still relied on the production and resources created by the 90%. The prosperity and output of the 90% facilitated the exceptional achievements of the 10%. 

Like the wooden cup in Lumoof’s hand. It was likely made by a crafter who was around level 30 to 50. Unlike Aeon’s homeworld, most of the manufacturing in their world was still coordinated and managed by crafters. There was some incentive to create machines, but they would have to compete with existing magical workers such as golems, magical artifacts, and formations that functioned pretty much as sophisticated machines. 

Unlike Aeon or the heroes’ homeworlds, the guilds and merchants were unable to impose unfettered capitalism. The presence of the system, which ensured that everyone knew their own [levels] and [skills], meant most individuals had a clear sense of what their own worth and values were. The guilds and merchants had been able to set up their own merchant kingdoms, but they were also unable to significantly infiltrate the Order to rig laws in their favor. 

The Order also had control over one of the most powerful economic institutions on Treehome. The Valtrian Bank, which was pretty much Treehome’s version of a risk-free bank, backed by the might of domain holders and properly tracked by the weight of a hundred or so Artificial Minds. Without the Valtrian Bank rigging the financial systems in the merchant’s favor, the guilds and merchants’ debts were therefore real debts that they needed to repay and not just numbers they could roll and renew constantly. 

Also, for every merchant and guild to generate a profit, they must sell goods and services to others and that often involved other merchants, guilds, and consumers that lived outside of their own merchant states. 

Lumoof could imagine that if merchant states could build a strong army, they would never repay their debt, simply because no one would be able to demand them to repay it. The cost of enforcing a debt repayment was thus the price of winning a war. 

On the other hand, the Valtrian Order could do so if they so wanted, though as far as he was aware, the Order generally maintained real assets to trade for real goods, often in the form of gems, gold, and various precious metals. He heard once from Stella that the concept of money was fairly ‘imaginary’ back in their world, that money was to a certain level, just numbers in the ledgers of a bank, backed by a guarantee of their government. 

He still struggled to understand a situation where money was just an imaginary number, but according to Stella as long as there was ‘debt’ and that debt was on the books, there existed ‘imaginary’ money. 

It was beyond him, but in the end, the money and precious metals were secondary. The Order wanted a prosperous, productive state, where resources were made to feed and sustain the war effort. Some leeway was granted to ensure that more people were roped into this rising prosperity, but in the end, there would always be some losers. 

But at least they were not forced to be hungry. 

There were many people who were not hungry, but their hearts were starving for love. For friendship. For purpose. 

Matriarch Hoyia, Lumoof’s peer, may have had a point that having purpose is a great way for personal happiness. 

Lumoof knew why he felt happy. He was helping to slowly bring an end to the demonic cycle that had ruined so many worlds. 

Members of the Order were happier on average. They worked hard, were under stress, and often worked themselves to exhaustion, but they are united in that front. He knew many in the Valthorns shared in that purpose. Many who wanted to help. To live a life of purpose and have the means to contribute to that purpose. 

He was in two minds on Hoyia’s idea that the Order should create a purpose for the general masses. In Hoyia’s defense, propaganda was just that, creating love and faith in an institution, and adding a purpose is not really a stretch. 

She gave water to the parched and so the parched took her goals as their own. 

It was good for society when these drifters were productive. 

But Lumoof shared in Aeon’s belief that having no purpose was not a crime. Each individual should be allowed to choose what they wanted to do, so long as it did not bring harm to the others in their wider society. 

He closed his eyes and felt the prayers.

Hoyia was in a war-time state. Her words were simple. “We are at war, Patriarch Lumoof. There are sacrifices to be made, these are but one of many smaller sacrifices. Just like Aeon, our hands will be bloody, but at least, we will win.”

But to what end?

When the war ended, he should find a quiet world somewhere and just be a farmer. Live a life of peace and service. 

These were sins, no matter how necessary, and they would need to atone for them someday. 

Lumoof knew it. Aeon knew it too.