Eternal Theocracy.
Unlike what most Avalonians imagined, the Eternal Pope did not live in a pure white palace filled with glorious light.
White had never been the representative color of the Theocracy. It was merely the Avalonians' imagination of order and holiness.
Some people might know a little more. They knew that the elves actually lived atop a giant tree, and thus imagined that elves loved embracing nature and lived in lush, verdant forests.
But green was likewise not the representative color of the Theocracy. Green was the color of adaptation and beauty, the hue belonging to the Iris People.
The only color the Theocracy revered was red.
Blood and flames. Hearts and candles.
They were all symbols of sacrifice and devotion.
In terms of land alone, the Theocracy's territory might be less than one-seventh of Avalon's. Yet the number of people living in the Theocracy exceeded one-fifth of Avalon's population. Even so, the Theocracy never felt crowded.
Because the reason was simple.
The Theocracy was not actually a "flat" country.
A towering tree that reached the heavens grew on the island, occupying nearly seventy percent of its area.
Legend had it that the giant tree had willingly offered up its heart, allowing it to house small creatures; it had offered its trunk to protect the fragile, easily withered lives that were weak compared to it; and it had offered all of its sap, granting some among them the blood of immortals. Those immortals chosen by the giant tree were the elves.
It was the father of fathers and mother of mothers of the elven race.
And because of this great deed, the giant tree had also become one of the Candle Holder's most beloved apostles.
--From this perspective, the Eternal Theocracy was actually a country built within an apostle's