"Everyone, do you think it is better to let these people who possess magic power roam freely, or would it be more beneficial to bring them under the control of the Seven Gods Church?" Lynd calmly asked the High Priests before him.
The High Priests hesitated for a moment, looking at each other. The High Priest of the Grand Cathedral of Stars, who had the best relationship with Lynd, asked on behalf of the others, "Since that is the case, why do you want those Wizards, Diviners, and Pyromancers to openly recruit apprentices?"
Lynd replied earnestly, "This way, we can gather all those who potentially wish to learn magic, teach them the magic we have screened, and prevent them from going astray!"
Although Lynd appeared very confident when establishing the Tranquil Court, as if everything was under his control, in reality, the Tranquil Court was a spur-of-the-moment idea.
He had not expected so many people from the Kohor Mages Association to be among those who came with the escort teams. A rough estimate put their number at over seventy, not including their followers, apprentices, and servants who understood some related knowledge. If all were added together, there would be over a thousand people.
Without exception, all these people were devout followers of the god of magic, and they all wished to learn magic from Lynd.
Their arrival could indeed make up for the Black Hollow's shortage of talent in magic. After all, currently, only Moroa was engaged in magic research in the Black Hollow. Although Marwyn had joined, he had not yet adapted to the Black Hollow's rules and environment.
But the problem was that there were simply too many people, and the Black Hollow's current capacity could not handle such a large influx.
Yet, he felt it would be a pity to just let these people leave. More importantly, these people might not even leave, and allowing them to stay in Summerhall or Miracle Port for a long time would instead become a hidden danger.
That was why, upon learning that some people from Sphinx Academy had arrived in Miracle Port, he had a sudden idea to imitate Sphinx Academy and build a Tranquil Court next to the Redemption Sanctuary, to house all these people in the academy.
After understanding Lynd's thoughts, the High Priests could not find any fault, or more accurately, they did not want to find fault.
As for the Tranquil Court, they also thought it was a good thing, and even proposed its expansion, believing that Lynd should also establish an organization similar to an Inquisition within the Church, specifically responsible for apprehending those who used evil magic and sending them all to Lynd's Tranquil Court.
Seeing that the Church was willing to actively seek out magic talents for him, Lynd naturally agreed wholeheartedly, even offering to provide personnel for these Inquisitions.
The High Priests of the Church quickly agreed to Lynd's proposal because, after seeing the Redemption Sisters and Silent Monks, they believed that this was the kind of armed force the Seven Gods Church should possess. Therefore, an ecclesiastical organization like the Inquisition, which required the use of force, naturally fell to the Redemption Sisters and Silent Monks. They also requested Lynd to expand the training of the Redemption Sisters and Silent Monks, and offered to provide people, effort, and money.
Lynd was naturally pleased with this, as the Redemption Sisters and Silent Monks trained would ultimately be loyal to him.
After resolving the issues with the Church, Lynd began to deal with the matters concerning the Arcanists.
"Prophet Lynd." The three representatives of the Arcanist factions immediately bowed to Lynd after being brought into the study.
Compared to a divine incarnation, the Arcanist factions were more willing to regard Lynd as a prophet who would guide them onto the correct path of magic.
"I already know your demands, but I do not agree. I will say it again: only those who pass the Redemption Sanctuary trial can join the Black Hollow. This is the minimum requirement." Compared to his earlier friendly attitude towards the Church, Lynd's expression was now much more serious. He looked at the three most famous and powerful Arcanists among the subjugated Arcanist factions before him and emphasized, "Furthermore, I must warn you, if those people are unwilling to stay now, they can still leave. But once they join the Black Hollow, they can never leave unless they die."
Although it appeared to outsiders that Lynd had only established two magic-related organizations, the god of magic Church and the Tranquil Court, he had actually retained the Kohor Mages Association and managed this newly joined Arcanist faction through a system of separation of powers.
"Prophet Lynd, we actually all agree to the loyalty trial, but if the Seven Gods Church conducts the trial, we are concerned that differences in faith might lead to errors. So, could the trial be held at the god of magic Church instead?" Maroxin, respectfully requested Lynd.
Malohin, who originally held all the power, voluntarily relinquished his authority and only served as the High Priest of the god of magic. This was not because he was magnanimous, but because he clearly understood that he had no other choice. Even if he withdrew and returned to Kohor, he could not regain his former status.
So, when Lynd met him last time and clearly stated his intention to reform the Arcanist factions joining Summerhall, he proactively offered to reduce his own power and yield to others, while he himself would focus on the evangelism of the god of magic Church.
He made this choice not because he particularly enjoyed evangelism, nor because he was a fanatically devout believer, but because he could discern from Lynd's various policies that Lynd was most tolerant towards the ecclesiastical forces under his command, invested heavily in them, and granted the Church more authority.
Furthermore, and more importantly, the Arcanists who joined might not necessarily be members of the Mages Association, nor might they join the Tranquil Court, but they would certainly be followers of the god of magic Church, even if they were false believers. Therefore, as the High Priest, the influence he could gain from this was the greatest among the three Arcanist powers.
"This proposal is feasible in principle," Lynd nodded, seemingly agreeing to Malohin's suggestion, then changed the subject and said, "But the problem is that the structure of the god of magic Church has not been fully established yet. You haven't even finished compiling the Magic Scripture, and the internal monks and priests haven't been fully recruited. How will you complete the trial?"
Upon hearing Lynd's words, Malohin couldn't help but feel a headache, because he had been compiling the Magic Scripture recently, putting aside all other matters. If it weren't for the urging of his subordinates this time, he wouldn't have left the god of magic Temple, which was under construction, to come here to see Lynd.
Actually, when Malohin chose to become the High Priest of the god of magic, he had already presented a Magic Scripture for evangelism. However, after reading it, Lynd completely rejected the content of that scripture because it was entirely written by slightly modifying the content of the Calamity Scripture.
"Since you like the Calamity Scripture so much, why not just let the god of magic Temple become a subordinate faith of the Temple of the God of Calamities?"
That's what Lynd told Malohin at the time, which forced Malohin to take this matter seriously. He gathered all the available personnel to revise the Magic Scripture, striving to complete the compilation of the scripture on the day the god of magic Temple was finished.
Therefore, when Lynd mentioned the Magic Scripture now, Malohin could no longer sit still. He quickly got up, stating that he needed to return to complete the scripture, and then hastily left Lynd's study.
The other two did not expect Malohin to leave so decisively. They looked at each other, cursing his cunning inwardly.
Brum, the President of the Mages Association, said with a troubled expression, "Prophet Lynd, if they cannot join the Black Hollow, then they cannot do anything now. Others are fine, but if those Necromancers, Dark Warlocks, and Blood Witches remain idle for a long time, I'm afraid something might go wrong."
The person who replaced Malohin as the President of the Mages Association was named Brum. He looked like an old farmer and was the leader of the Kohor Cloudsky Arcanists. This time, he brought all the Kohor Cloudsky Arcanists to Summerhall, and even the Cloudsky Arcanists from Norvos and Pentos were influenced by him to come to Summerhall.
Among the Arcanist factions under Lynd's command, the Cloudsky Arcanists were definitely the backbone, because unlike other Arcanists whose spells were sometimes effective and sometimes not, Cloudsky Arcanists could cast their air magic at any time. Moreover, Lynd saw a hint of the Storm Dragon Rune in their air magic and felt that the two might have something in common. Therefore, when Malohin stepped down as the President of the Mages Association, Lynd appointed Brum, who had the best interpersonal skills, to be the President of the Association.
"This matter is easy to solve. The Tranquil Court is currently building a library and organizing books. They can assist in expanding the library's collection." Lynd thought for a moment and said, "Additionally, the apprentices of the Tranquil Court cannot be taught according to the outdated master-apprentice tradition. There needs to be a unified set of basic magic knowledge for teaching purposes. Only apprentices who have completed the study of all basic knowledge and passed the assessment will be qualified to be selected by the academy tutors for learning different magic factions. Therefore, those who are idle can go to the Tranquil Court to compile basic books. You should know that this set of books will be the first formal and systematic basic magic scripture in the entire world, and all those who participate in its compilation will be recorded on the front page of the book."
Upon hearing Lynd's words, not only did Brum, the President of the Mages Association, begin to breathe rapidly, but even the usually composed Ragaz, the Dean of the Tranquil Court, showed an excited expression on his face.
It was conceivable that once this basic magic scripture was compiled and spread throughout the world, the prestige they would gain would be immense, and their names would undoubtedly be passed down like those legendary heroes of ancient times.
Ragaz, the bald-headed Dean of the Tranquil Court with mysterious runes tattooed on his head, suppressed the strong excitement in his heart, quickly calmed himself down, then looked slightly troubled and said in somewhat unfamiliar Westeros common tongue, "Lord Prophet, although I know that establishing a library and compiling basic magic knowledge are very important, the transmission of magic in the past has always been secretive. It might be difficult to get them to reveal their secret arts, write them into books, and allow people to read them."
Ragaz was a famous Alchemist master in Kohor, holding a respectable position. Several of the best metal formulas in Kohor currently were discovered and improved by him.
However, compared to smelting metals, he was more skilled at creating magic potions with special effects. The magic potions used by Mages Association members for daily meditation were all made by him.
Because of this, he had the most disciples following him, and more than half of the Arcanist faction that joined Lynd this time were his disciples and assistants.
Half a year ago, he accidentally obtained a Seven Mystery Medicine and discovered that this potion contained extremely powerful magic. His best meditation magic potion could only be described as garbage compared to this Seven Mystery Medicine.
However, he also disdained the manufacturing process of the Seven Mystery Medicine. Such a magic potion was only used to restore the user's physical injuries and boost their energy. If he were to make the Seven Mystery Medicine, he could maximize the magical effects contained within it.
Upon learning that the Seven Mystery Medicine came from Summerhall, and hearing various rumors about Lynd, he had already entertained the idea of coming to Summerhall.
However, he was also very clear that as someone who held many of Kohor's metallurgical secrets, if he dared to even think about leaving Kohor, he would undoubtedly face thunderous retaliation. The Kohor nobles who respected him one second could stab a knife into his heart the next.
So he had been biding his time, never mentioning any thoughts of leaving Kohor, not even to his closest associates.
It wasn't until Lynd, with the might of a calamity, shattered the arrogance and confidence of everyone in Kohor, forcing Kohor to deal with Zoid according to Lynd's instructions, that he felt the opportunity had arrived. He then secretly incited Malohin and others to follow Lynd, ultimately allowing himself to successfully and safely leave Kohor, and even take all his people and belongings with him intact.
And because he had been planning for a long time, among all the Arcanist factions who came to Summerhall, he was the best prepared. That's why Lynd directly promoted him to be the Dean of the Tranquil Court and promised him that once the construction of the Tranquil Court was completed, he would be allowed to enter the Black Hollow to research what he wanted. Therefore, he was also particularly dedicated to the construction of the Tranquil Court. Whenever he encountered a problem, he would come to Lynd first for a solution, thus becoming the person among these Arcanists who had the most contact with Lynd.
Through these days of contact, Lynd clearly understood Ragaz's character, knowing that he was pragmatic. When he encountered a problem, he would only report it as it was, without exaggerating or concealing anything. Therefore, the difficulties he spoke of now were certainly the most pressing issues to be solved.
Lynd thought for a moment, took out a Dragon Rune necklace made of dragon crystal, and handed it to Ragaz, saying, "Will this be an attractive reward for them?"
The moment Ragaz took the Dragon Rune necklace made of dragon crystal, he immediately nodded and said, "The library should be built very soon."
As Kohor's best Alchemist master, he must have participated when Zoid crafted the fallen knight armor for Lynd, and he had studied the Dragon Runes and patterns on the armor's surface.
However, his research had been somewhat unsuccessful until Zoid was inspired by the Ice Dragon Rune inlaid on the Stone Giant armor and extracted the Ice Dragon Rune. Only then did he gain a slight understanding of the Dragon Rune, but this understanding was merely enough to barely replicate it.
The current Dragon Rune necklace made of dragon crystal clearly contained a new type of Dragon Rune, and its mysteries could be studied at any time. This was an irresistible temptation for anyone obsessed with magic power.
Moreover, he could feel that the power contained within the Dragon Rune necklace could calm one's mind. This was precisely the most desired piece of equipment for any magic researcher, which was why he made such a bold claim without hesitation.
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