Yarra’s Adventure Notes
Chapter 998 - 113: The Priest of Yuktiraxil

Chapter 998: Chapter 113: The Priest of Yuktiraxil

"Do all elves have such personalities?" The reaction of the shopkeeper startled Catherine. Flare was gentle and kind in any case, but she was still the queen of the Elves, and every elf was her subject. However, when the shopkeeper saw her, he hardly reacted at all. In the human world, it would be like the Emperor of the Falar Empire or a duke from the Neville Federation walking down the street; people would merely glance at them instead of bowing or tipping their hats. It was hard to understand this reaction, even in places known for equality like the Holy City and City of Freedom. Therefore, the young girl could only ask Flare blankly, "Or is his identity special or an exception?"

"Well, he’s not special at all, just an ordinary clansman." Flare said with a wry smile, shaking her head, "Sometimes, inspiration only appears in a fleeting moment, so everyone is quite focused when creating, unbothered by the outside world. That’s why you see what you described. And according to our elf customs, aside from the Forest Guardian Army which requires militarized management to maintain hierarchies, all other civilians and retired Guardians are equals. As queen, aside from representing the Elder Council to execute certain decisions, I have no distinction in status from them."

"Only responsibilities, without corresponding status?" The leather shop had already fallen behind them, but Catherine still frowned and pondered, "It’s not that this isn’t good; for commoners, it’s the best state to be in. But in the long run, it can easily cause problems. No one is born solely to serve others, and a system where there’s only giving without receiving can hardly last. If such a state persists for too long, those who make sacrifices will eventually become dissatisfied. Then they might no longer want to continue in their roles or seek other ways to receive adequate compensation, and often, these other ways aren’t so pleasant."

"Hehe, thank you for your concern, my enemy," Flare said with a beautiful smile blooming like a flower, speaking softly to Catherine, "But actually, it’s okay because we elves are different from you humans. Our power structure is quite special; even if this state is maintained for a long time, the situation you’re worried about won’t occur. Look, in the Lost Forest, there are temples to the hunting goddess Artemis, the god of arts and music Yeda, the guardian of waters and flora Daphne, the goddess of withering and decay Nyx, and all the deities of the forest and life pantheon have temples there in the Lost Forest. Yet, only the chief deity of the forest gods’ pantheon and Lord Denia, Lord Caleto, who are among the oldest primordial deities, walking the forests from the dawn of sentient life, representing all the plants in the Yarran World, the great Yuktiraxil, doesn’t have a temple, a priest, or even a church in this forest she created herself. Don’t you find that strange?"

"Uh, the way you say it, I think I understand," Catherine said with a verifying look at Lina, the expert on church matters, but Lina just shrugged, indicating she didn’t know either. Thus, the knightly young girl tentatively added, "Indeed, it’s strange. But, I suppose you mean that all elves are followers of Lady Yuktiraxil. It may appear that the forest goddess doesn’t have a church or temple, but the entire Elven Royal Court is actually her church, and as queen of the Elves, you are actually the goddess’s priestess. You not only oversee the secular affairs of the Elves but also handle the religious affairs of the goddess. No wonder, Your Majesty, you say maintaining that state of having responsibilities without status doesn’t matter. Actually, successive queens haven’t been without compensation; it’s just that we can’t see it, and indeed, the reward for every queen has been in the form of Divine Grace from the goddess herself."

"Such a clever child," Flare said, nodding with a smile, "As the priestess of the goddess, it’s naturally my duty to manage all earthly matters well, which is only proper. If I were to ask for more, how would I be worthy of serving the goddess? Moreover, I’m not entirely without status; only when I am as the queen do I find myself in this situation. When I appear as the goddess’s representative, I naturally receive respect from all believers."

"It’s complicated," Catherine said with a wry smile, "Why must we complicate issues deliberately?"

"It’s necessary. After all, you are still young and haven’t experienced the chaos of the Third Epoch. Also, humans have continued for so many generations now; your understanding of that period isn’t very deep," Flare explained, shaking her head. "But we elves are different; although I haven’t seen anyone who lived from that era, our family has only continued for six generations since the start of the Fourth Epoch, and we have very detailed records of the chaos of that time."

"Does it have something to do with the War of Gods?" Catherine tried hard to think, but the more she considered it, the more confused she became, finally asking, "I’m sorry, I can’t figure out how the War of Gods era relates to your current situation."

"Hmm, you’ve misunderstood. It’s not about the War of Gods, but about the chaos at the end of the Third Epoch," Flare said, sighing deeply. "You probably can’t appreciate what kind of destruction a power that combines theocracy and government can wield. It’s said that many nations in that era were single-belief states where the theocracy also held governmental power. The endless lust for power combined with theocracy’s demands for pure faith led too many nations into wars against each other, with a death toll beyond numerical measure."

"So, no powers in the Fourth Epoch chose the route of combining government and theocracy?" Catherine recalled what she had learned in the sociology classes of her aristocratic education, which did confirm Flare’s words. "It seems, indeed, combining government and theocracy isn’t a very good choice. But, aren’t you elves essentially doing the same thing?"

"That’s why our family took it upon ourselves to introduce checks and balances," Flare explained. "While I am both the priestess and the queen, in reality, theocracy and government have been split. In terms of government, we leave all decision-making to the Elder Council. All decisions, from troop movements and starting wars to city affairs, involve the queen only as a member of the council, without any special powers. This method uses government to balance theocracy. Conversely, as the highest overseer, the priestess can in turn monitor the government, balancing the government with theocracy. This way, we can..."

Flare’s words were cut off when suddenly, in the center of the city, a firework shot up into the air and exploded midair.

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