Dawn City.
Wars between people were driven by interests and the legitimacy of a just cause.
But what if one side of the war involved a great existence?
Then it needed the support of faith and the recognition of a deity.
Humans could not lay hands upon great deities, but if it was the will of the great existence people believed in, then there was no problem.
As contingents headed south toward the land corrupted by the Abyssal Faith, Ryan also needed support on the level of faith. Fortunately, that was not a problem for him.
The great Lord of Dawn, believers of the God of Light, resisting the invading evil forces of the Abyss—was that not wholly reasonable, inevitable, and necessary?
No reason was needed, because the Abyss was the Lord's enemy to begin with.
Dawn City was bustling. It had become the most economically prosperous place in the Andara Kingdom. Merchant caravans arriving from all directions would ultimately stop here before departing from here again.
Beyond that was the city's ancient historical legacy.
A city steeped in the Dawn Faith would not lose its atmosphere of faith simply because its original citizens had vanished. Now that the Dawn Followers had filled the temporary void in the city's faith, the buildings representing the power of faith began to bloom with glory.
On this day, tens of thousands of believers gathered at the largest church. From atop the tall castle in the distance, Queen Leta, draped in a fur shawl, watched the Dawn Followers pray.
"Can they succeed? They say the Lord of Dawn has not awakened, and that it is all a lie by the Church of Dawn."
At her side stood Viscountess Whitman, Rhino Horn Mountain's chief lady-in-waiting. Beside her slender waist stood the cloaked Catfolk Assassin, Apia.