Elden: Ring of Calamity

Chapter 510 Divine Religion
The main peak, located in the center of the volcanic region, is named Egra. The name originated thousands of years ago and was constructed from a mixed language of ancient giants and dragons, meaning "the place where the long river meanders".

Since the Age of Revival, scholars throughout history have studied the geography, hydrology, and historical legends of various regions, and have offered numerous interpretations of the word "Aigele." Some say that the meandering river refers to the varied and winding terrain along the Boiling River, while others say that the ancient people of the volcanic region who worshipped the serpent god regarded the serpent as the embodiment of the river, and Aigele was the name of the serpent god. There are many such interpretations.

During the Golden Age, although the authoritative scholars of the three dynasties never reached a consensus, they at least kept in sync on one point of understanding.

That is, the name "Aegire" must have been created before the volcanic serpent. Even if there is a name that is the same, it is the latter's own far-fetched association.

The reason is simple: the earliest origins of the local civilization in the border region are nothing more than the ancient dragons and giants. Therefore, the dragon script and the ancient giant language are the earliest verifiable languages ​​and scripts on this land. As for the common language, it is a product of the integration of various cultures after the arrival of the Star Moon Civilization.

Since the word "Aegire" is a mixture of three language families, its birth time could not have been earlier than the Star Moon Era. At that time, the alliance between Sky City and Eternal City ruled almost the entire border region. Even the Giants' Court at its peak had to retreat to the far north ice plains. Under such circumstances, it was impossible for a Serpent God to emerge who would carve out a territory in Gmir and rival the mainstream system of the border region. Even if there were one, and the Dragon God, Moon God, and Supreme Will really took pity on you and chose the Serpent God's name to name the volcano, would you, Serpent God, dare to accept it?
Regardless of the complexities and evolution behind it all, today, the name Egri has ultimately intertwined the volcano, the serpent god, and the serpent god worship cult.

As a sacred mountain in the hearts of believers, Eigeré refuses to allow any unscrupulous individuals to set foot on it. All those who attempt to sneak in are stripped of their skin and flesh and left as a warning to those who follow.

Especially after the Northern Expedition of the Dragon and Moon Kingdoms began, more and more bandits, robbers, and cannibals instinctively wanted to flee to the mountains where the cult was located, and without exception, they all turned into mummies on the piercing rack.

However, at this very moment, two figures dressed in black robes walked one after the other, brazenly ascending the mountain path.

"What a bunch of uncivilized beasts!" The figure behind spat towards the roadside, his face under the hood extremely ugly, as if he had just vomited several times.

“They are nothing but lost sheep, Norn—” The man in front held a golden basicist emblem in his hand, his half-open eyes surveying the hundreds of corpses on both sides, his gaze filled with nothing but pity.

"But lambs also have their purpose. If they can dedicate themselves to fundamentalism in their lifetime, and after being cleansed by the Dharma after returning to the tree, they will be no different from us."

Behind him, the second-level envoy named Norn frowned imperceptibly. In his opinion, his superior seemed to have drifted further and further away from normal humanity after becoming an "Envoy of Order," remaining so calm in the face of such a disgusting scene.

Having served as a secret agent for many years, Norn knew perfectly well what should and shouldn't be said, so he lowered his head and tried his best not to look at those lumps of rotting flesh, silently walking up the obsidian mountain path.

The two men were not slow, but it still took them a full half hour to reach a relatively spacious platform. Two tall figures, their bodies wrapped in white cloth, holding curved serpent spears, blocked them at the edge of the platform.

“The token,” one of the figures said in a hoarse voice.

Their physiques were clearly different from normal humans; their extremely broad shoulders and backs did not taper into normal necks, but instead extended upwards, like wearing a huge crown. Although their faces were covered by white cloth, Norn could still hear the sounds of scales rubbing and snakes flicking their tongues, and the air around him was filled with the unique, cold, and fishy stench of snakes.

He took out the serpent token he had received during his first visit a few days ago from his pocket, held his breath, and handed it forward, waving it back and forth in front of the white-robed man, saying, "Did you see it clearly? If you saw it clearly, then hurry up and let us up." Faced with this rude behavior, the white-robed man was not offended at all, like a machine that only followed one instruction. After verifying the token, he and his companion stepped back a few steps and activated the mechanism at the same time.

With a series of mechanical clicking sounds, an iron cage, just big enough for two people, slowly rose from below the cliff and stopped at the edge of the platform, its doors sliding open to the sides.

"Coming here every day is such a hassle. Why don't we just live on the mountain?" Norn thought to himself, but on the surface he had to put on a nonchalant expression and accompany his superior as they rode in the iron cage to the top of the mountain.

Upon reaching the end of the cable car, one can already see a large number of palaces built along the mountain peak in the distance, and white-robed guards holding serpent spears and serpent staffs stand on both sides of the marble path in front of them.

As the two walked forward, the guards remained completely silent, not even glancing at them. Yet Norn felt as if countless vertical pupils were staring at his back, and a constant hissing sound echoed in his ears, as if he were in a snake pit, sending chills down his spine.

As the most secretive and powerful department of the Golden Dynasty's papacy, the Secret Envoys had dealt with other sects many times. Norn himself had met bishops of the True Church and liaisons of the Corrupt Church. Although those heretics should all be exterminated, he could sense that they were at least his kind, and their behavior, logic, and thought patterns were not far removed from normal humans.

But are these things in front of us even human?
At the entrance to the main hall at the end of the road, a white-robed priest standing by the door finally moved, stepped forward, and said in a hoarse voice, "My lords, our lord is waiting inside the hall. Please come in."

The priest's voice was extremely strange, as if he had no vocal cords at all, but rather a deep resonance emanating from his throat.

Norn suppressed his discomfort and followed his superior into the main hall with his head down. The hall in front of him was actually only the front half of the building; the back half was directly connected to the mountain. At the end of his vision was not the throne, but a cliff a thousand paces wide, with a bottomless sea of ​​lava below.

There was no one else in the hall. All that could be seen were the serpentine reliefs coiled around the stone pillars and the ceiling. The heads of countless giant serpents opened their ruby-carved eyes and flicked their tongues downwards, as if they would tear the uninvited guest to shreds at the slightest command.

"Your Majesty, Lord of the Volcano, God of Ten Thousand Serpents, and Lava Queen Egret—" The second Order Envoy, former First-Class Secret Envoy Mitchell, faced the abyss, placed his hand on his chest, and bowed deeply.

"As agreed upon when we first met, this is my third meeting with you on behalf of the Supreme Golden Tree, and it will also be the last."

Mitchell straightened up, his eyes, which had been half-open, now fully open, gleaming with dazzling golden light. "Please allow me to repeat our conditions one last time. His Majesty King Radagan is willing to abide by the treaty you signed with the false god Marika at the end of the Resurrection Era. The volcanic region will remain a sacred land of the religion. Furthermore, the southern Gmir region north of Karen will also be placed under your rule."

"Believe me, in this world, this is the greatest goodwill His Majesty can receive."

(End of this chapter)