True Eden had only been founded somewhere around a century ago, and the Isaiaites that settled it were the remnants of the lunatic fringe driven from Final Eden. As a result, the planet was actually sparsely populated, which was in line with the relatively small size of its defense fleet. The fact that their fleet possessed a battlecruiser and no galleons spoke to their lack of resources; someone at the top had clearly decided that that single large ship was needed as a deterrent because a handful of galleons wouldn’t be as intimidating.
Well, that, or it was a simple ego trip. Megalomaniacs tended to like huge war machines.
As the Astrum Vitae descended towards the surface of True Eden, more such evidence became apparent. There were very few settlements on the surface outside of New Jerusalem. The city itself was surrounded by farmland and only a small number of towns existed beyond that area, placed in locations rich in some resource or another. Fishing towns, mining towns, and logging towns, mostly. Maybe eventually some of these would develop into proper cities.
New Jerusalem itself was small as cities go. It was a blend of architectural styles clearly meant to evoke imagery of the three religions used as a basis for Isaiaism, although Miliam could only recognize the gothic style used in Christian churches and the domes common in Islamic mosques. It was really just her assumption that Jewish imagery was in there somewhere, but it seemed stranger to her that it wouldn’t be. Notably, the builders had incorporated these elements into every building in the city, making it difficult to discern which were actually religious structures and which were homes and businesses.
Aoibhe put the Astrum Vitae down on the landing pad that had been designated for it by flight control, marking the first time Miliam had actually set foot on a planet since leaving Earth. The pad was little more than a slab of pavement on the edge of the city in an industrial area; New Jerusalem probably received so few visitors that its only landing spaces were intended for mining vessels. Standing, she took a deep breath.
“Alright, let’s get this over with. Eun-ji, Min-ji, you have the bridge. Aoibhe, as soon as you’re done with post-flight checks, meet me in the cargo bay. I’ll get Abigail on the way down,” she instructed, still somewhat ensconced in the fanatic persona she’d be using during their time here. Miliam felt as if her emotions were hidden behind a wall of fluff, and her tone had an evenness to it that felt unnatural.
“Creepy…” one of the twins muttered, and Miliam didn’t disagree. She wasn’t Miliam right now; she was a robot pretending to be an Isaiaite.
Shortly after, Miliam stood in the cargo bay with Abigail and Aoibhe, who would be the only ones accompanying her into New Jerusalem. Although the dokkaebi twins likely could have infiltrated using illusion magic, it was best not to take the risk. That would have required bringing along at least two grimoires, and given that only Isaiaite clergy could carry them, being caught with any on hand would only lead to trouble.
“…did you change something?” Aoibhe asked Abigail while they waited for their escort to arrive. Abigail gave the fay pilot a blank look as Miliam face palmed.
“Indeed. Might you recall the usual coloration of my robes?” she asked wearily. Aoibhe cocked her head to the side as she thought it over.
“Oh! Aye, they’ve usually got all that gold embroidery,” she observed after a few moments of thought.
“They are not mere embroidery but functional spells. One ability built into my robes allows me to alter the colors, so I have made the spell circles a matte black that would be difficult to detect with the naked eye. So long as no one runs their hands over the surface their presence will go unnoticed,” Abigail explained, running her hands over one sleeve as a demonstration. The ideograms there turned gold again before a second pass made them disappear.
“I’d thought they might be spells,” Miliam noted flatly.
“You just gonna be like that the whole time we’re here?” Aoibhe asked.
“It’s best I stay in character,” Miliam acknowledged with a nod.
“Captain, we just got a message saying the escort is outside,” Min-ji notified them over the comms.
“Thank you, Min-ji,” Miliam replied before hitting the button that lowered the cargo bay ramp. It dropped to reveal a man not far away, standing in front of a car that looked like what a 21st century artist’s rendition of a futuristic vehicle. In other words, gaudy, with way too many useless lights. The man himself wore clerical robes and had a face with sharp features and an amiable smile, framed by brown hair. Miliam wasn’t really an expert, but she thought he might have been attractive to someone that favored men.
“Welcome to New Jerusalem. My name is Salazar Reynolds, but you may call me Brother Sal. I have been assigned to guide you during your visit,” the man said as the trio of women descended the ramp. As was proper, Miliam greeted him with a bow and curtsy, while Aoibhe and Abigail merely bowed in their role as her subordinates.
“Thank you for the warm welcome, Brother Sal. My name is Miliam and these are my employees, Aoibhe and Abigail,” she introduced. Obviously Abigail didn’t fit that description, but otherwise she likely would have required her own escort if her knowledge of Isaiaite doctrine wasn’t out of date. It was complicated, but the essence of it was that since Isaiaite women couldn’t rule over men but sometimes required assistance, certain rules of propriety could be waved to allow women to have their own employees.
Part of the reason the Cardinal-Admiral had been taken aback was the possibility that a woman could be captain of a ship with male crew members- the offer of an escort was likely a method of probing Miliam’s adherence to doctrine. He hadn’t just wanted to know if she needed an escort. If she had admitted to having men onboard while claiming to be captain, this entire mission would have been over before it started.
“Of course, of course. It is my duty to provide succor to a pious one such as you. Am I correct in my understanding that you wish to visit our holy sites?” Brother Sal replied, smiling to each of the three in turn before returning his attention to Miliam.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
“Yes, Brother. I have heard the Prophet himself is interred here, despite the claims otherwise of those who have strayed from the path,” Miliam answered, inserting a hint of blind and righteous fervor into the last part of the sentence. A true believer, one that would go out of her way to travel to True Eden, would never buy into the words of heretics…even though it was almost certainly true that Isaiah was buried on either Earth or Eden. How would a small group of refugees fresh from being ousted from power have spirited the holiest relics of their faith from their resting place?
“Then your faith shall be rewarded this day. I would be delighted to show you to the Holy Sepulcher where the Prophet rests. You will, of course, need to be searched before entering, but I assure you the task to fall to the sisters of the cloth whose duty is to maintain the site,” Sal said. Miliam’s smile never wavered, but she was silently grateful she’d chosen not to risk bringing the twins. She’d been afraid of exactly that.
“I would expect nothing less of those who guard the holiest of resting places. I am grateful to both you and your order for your tireless vigilance,” Miliam lied as naturally as she breathed. Brother Sal guided the three of them to the car he’d arrived in, bidding them to sit in the rear seat while he alone sat in the front. Miliam obeyed without hesitation. This wasn’t something in particular Abigail had told her to expect, but she was worried any objection of any kind would be seen as out of place, so she was keen to project the image of an obedient adherent.
The trip to the tomb was exactly like being on a guided tour. Sal eagerly pointed out landmarks and monuments as they passed, explaining their history and significance as if they weren’t copies of copies of copies meant to replicate the original structures on Eden or Earth. Those were, of course, referred to as merely hollow facsimiles. Practice for when the time had come to erect the final renditions seen here. Although Miliam kept her thoughts to herself, she couldn’t help but wonder if another man would be telling another woman the same thing on a planet far from here in another few centuries.
It would certainly be in line with Isaiaite history to date.
During the drive, while listening intently to Sal’s words, it occurred to Miliam that there was a startling lack of traffic. The streets were nearly empty. Most of the vehicles they passed were trucks of a size indicating they were meant for supplies. The city had looked small from the sky, but from the ground it hardly even looked lived in- like it was built for the edification of the religion, not for residence. Despite this, the drive to their destination was strangely long, which Miliam eventually realized was because the route had been deliberately circuitous.
A paranoid person might think that was a delaying tactic, but…Miliam was fairly sure she knew how these people thought. She’d said she was here to tour the holy sites, and Brother Sal likely loved nothing more than to talk about the glory of the religion. In his mind, he was simply sharing his joy with a like-minded guest. Miliam was careful to make note of a few of the locations he described, as she had a sneaking suspicion he’d be offering to take her to any that caught her eye once the main event was concluded.
Eventually they did arrive at the central attraction of New Jerusalem. Informally referred to as the Holy Sepulcher, its true name was about five times as long and half as informative. It exemplified the design philosophy of the city as a whole, incorporating a mish-mash of architectural styles from the old world. Soaring arches, stained glass, minarets, domes- even the symbol that represented Isaiaism itself was a fusion of the faiths that came before it, appearing as a Star of David set within a crescent moon at the tip of a cross.
Most of that had likely developed long after Miliam’s time, as these things did. Her family probably would have hated it. That almost made her like it.
After parking the car in a small lot occupied by identical vehicles, Sal led the trio into the building, which Miliam was scared to admit she didn’t know whether to call it a temple, church, mosque, or some other words invented in the time since the birth of Isaiaism. The entrance was grand, with a plethora of gold and silver embedded in the surfaces and even entire mosaics made with nothing but precious stones. Out of context that sounded wasteful, but transmutation was one of the earliest magical arts and accepted even by Isaiaism, so it was entirely possible that all of it began life as common lead.
Miliam was in the middle of such thoughts when she approached a statue positioned centrally in the entrance hall. It depicted the titular prophet of Isaiaism, Isaiah himself, cradling a depiction of the other three- Abraham, Jesus, and Muhammed, the last of which was represented by a blank outline in keeping with his prohibition of graven images.
She stepped back, blood draining from her face, when her eyes fell on the head of the statue. Brother Sal took note, stopping to check on her.
“Is everything alright, sister?”
“O-of course. I was just…momentarily overawed by the prophet’s depiction, set amidst the backdrop of this divine chamber. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. May I have a moment to take it in before we proceed?” she replied, rallying herself to give her best depiction of a believer overwhelmed by faith. Which…was really just pretending to be herself, ten years ago, during a gathering of members of her denomination from all over the country where her mother passed out from excitement.
“Take your time. I understand. I will wait for you at the end of the chamber whenever you are prepared,” Brother Sal told her amiably before strolling off. Aoibhe came up behind Miliam and leaned over to talk into her ear.
“Alright, spill. No way that was a religious experience. What did you see?”
Miliam looked in Sal’s direction, checking that he was out of earshot before speaking.
“His name isn’t Isaiah. That’s my little brother, Zachary.”
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Codex Entry: Isaiaism
Although Isaiaites claim to be the heirs to the long and storied histories of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the extent to which this is true is a matter for debate. The motivations of its founders in choosing to make this assertion have been lost to time, and the significant amount of upheaval combined with wild swings between political extremes at the time have made information on the religion’s early teachings dubious at best as well. Further complicating matters is the fact that, despite their claims of originalism, Isaiaite teachings have been found to have drifted significantly each time a formerly Isaiaite colony was admitted to the Gaian Collective.
What is agreed upon is that Isaiaism was founded in the early 2030s by a man calling himself the prophet Isaiah whose true identity is unknown. Initially a fringe movement, the religion gained momentum as opposition to magic grew among Evangelical circles, likely indicating that it originated from within that group and came to encompass it before members seized control of the United States government via a popular election. At some point between then and the start of the Witch Hunter Wars, Isaiaites began attempting to unify religion in that country either by forced conversion or by syncretism.
Isaiaism is known to have trended towards being increasingly oppressive and conservative over time, likely in reaction to the rejection of the status quo on successive colony worlds. Their holy book remains largely unchanged, consisting of the Torah, Bible, and Quran in addition to the Antimageia, but interpretations of which passages take precedence have drifted over time. On Final Eden, Isaiaism is known to have adopted most rules reinforcing traditional gender roles and empowering the church, in addition to implementing a sort of proto-cast system in which the church handles all administrative matters while the remaining population assumed duties assigned by the clergy.
In the current day, Isaiaism is largely restricted to colonies founded by members of the religion, having disappeared entirely from Earth in a mass exodus. The three religions it purports to have succeeded, however, still exist throughout the Gaian Collective, albeit with far fewer adherents by percentage of the population.