Chapter 158 - 146: Legal Principle

She only shared her basic information before shrinking back into herself, unmoving.

When Richard heard she was a native of the Gael Highlands, he was reminded of another red-haired girl.

’Maybe Maggie knows the Blackwood family.’

The four Newcomers exchanged a few more pleasantries before the senior members at the other end of the table finally joined in.

Mrs. MacNeil was the first to speak.

"Have a seat, have a seat. What are you all standing around for?" She gestured for everyone to sit.

"The innkeeper left a pot of hot ginger tea for us. Have a cup to warm yourselves up after the journey."

The innkeeper emerged from behind the bar with a pewter pot. The tea was filled with ginger slices and coarse sugar.

Richard picked up his cup and took a sip.

The spice of the ginger hit the back of his throat first, quickly followed by a wave of sweetness.

That single sip seemed to ease much of the chill that had settled into his bones during the journey.

"I will be serving as the team leader for this mission." Mrs. MacNeil clasped her hands in her lap.

"Although everyone calls me Mrs. MacNeil," she added pointedly, "I’m not actually married. ’Mrs.’ is a professional title in our line of work, so please don’t go looking for my husband."

A few people around the table chuckled.

It wasn’t dinnertime yet. The clock on the bar read 5:20.

The four Newcomers were left at their own table, while the senior members moved to a small round table on the other side of the fireplace.

"Getting to know each other is important."

Theodore, the young man from the stables, was the first to speak.

"Out of the four of us, who do you think has the most interesting background?"

His question instantly livened up the atmosphere.

"What do you think?" The freckled girl looked up.

"The one from the Church, I’d say." Theodore jerked his chin in the preparatory priest’s direction.

"The rest of us have some connection to the government, academia, or private Guilds, more or less. But the Church... I’ve never had any real dealings with that path."

"What are you curious about?" Edmund didn’t seem offended. "Ask away."

"I’ll go first." Theodore set down his cup. "At your Divinity School, do they teach actual Mysticism, or just theology?"

"They do, but only a specific kind." Edmund elaborated on what he had told Richard earlier. "To be specific..."

"What the Divinity Schools teach is ’Ritualized Mysticism.’"

"Ritualized?" Maggie asked, confused.

"What you’d normally call ’Mysticism’—including things like Divination, Spiritual Vision, Techniques, and Seals—is reinterpreted in our Divinity School system as an extension of our liturgical rites."

Edmund spoke with a rhythmic cadence, sounding very much like he was giving a sermon.

"You say ’Divination,’ we say ’Sacred Object Revelation.’"

"You say ’Spiritual Vision,’ we say ’Abiding Spirit.’"

"You say ’Seal,’ we say ’Saint’s Guardian.’"

"You say ’Technique,’ we say ’Sacred Rites.’"

"The actual practice is largely the same; we’ve just changed all the names."

Theodore was blunt. "So it’s just old wine in new bottles?"

"It’s a matter of form over substance," Edmund didn’t deny. "But for the Church, the form itself is crucial."

"Why?" Maggie asked.

"To maintain legal precedent," Edmund said, getting to the heart of the matter. "The Church cannot admit to practicing ’Mysticism.’ It can only admit to engaging in ’Faith Practice.’"

Richard understood what he meant.

"You mean the Church isn’t allowed to openly involve itself in matters of the Mysterious Side?"

Edmund glanced at him, a look of newfound approval in his eyes.

"That’s a legacy of history."

He scooted his chair forward a bit.

"Over four hundred years ago, Henry VIII broke with the Roman Catholic Church, declared the independence of the National Church, and appointed himself its head."

"Anyone who’s been to school knows that," Theodore said.

"The textbook version is that Henry VIII fell out with Rome over a divorce."

Edmund continued, "But what the textbooks don’t mention is something else that happened at the same time."

He didn’t leave them in suspense.

"At the same time, Henry VIII initiated the ’Great Dissolution,’ targeting every monastery in the nation."

"The Great Dissolution?" Maggie’s face peeked out from the collar of her thick sweater.

"Over the course of two years, more than eight hundred monasteries across the country were forcibly dissolved."

Edmund said, "Their land, property, and archives were all confiscated by the Royal Family.

The monks were driven out, those who resisted were executed, and the few monasteries that were allowed to remain were converted into institutions under the direct control of the Royal Family."

"Over eight hundred?" Theodore instinctively did the math. "How much wealth would that even be?"

"Nearly a third of the nation’s entire landed wealth at the time," Edmund said.

"A third..." The stable lad gasped. "No wonder."

"The textbook explanation for the dissolution is ’religious reform’ and ’anti-corruption.’"

Edmund continued to explain, "Both of those reasons are valid, but there’s a third reason that isn’t in the textbooks."

He paused, letting the others think it over.

"The Seals?" Richard was the first to figure it out.

"Correct." Edmund nodded. "Of those eight hundred-plus monasteries, dozens were built on nodes for important Seals."

"The monastery to which Whitcombe Mill once belonged happened to be one of them."

"After the monasteries were dissolved, the monks were driven out. Some were executed, and some fled to the continent."

"There was no one left to maintain the Seals."

"They were just abandoned?" The stable lad scratched his head.

"Yes." Edmund nodded. "For about twenty years."

"And nothing happened for twenty years?"

"A few minor incidents occurred over those twenty years, but they were all handled by the locals.

The Church and the Royal Family were too busy arguing with each other at the time, and neither was willing to take responsibility."

"The Church’s stance was, ’You’re the ones who dissolved us. Why should we be the ones to keep managing it?’"