Over the sea, the steam engine of a fishing boat with a displacement of about a hundred tons chugged and smoked as it carried everyone aboard, along with crate after crate of fresh catch, to open waters more than ten kilometers south of White Sand Bay.
The wind and waves were neither too large nor too small. The fishing boat swayed a little, but overall it remained quite steady.
It was afternoon. The sun shone upon this stretch of sea, allowing them to see the clear, azure waters beneath the surface.
These waters were relatively tranquil, and few fishing vessels came here to make their catch.
Seeing that they had arrived at their destination, the skipper emerged from the cabin and went straight to the bow deck, intending to tell the passengers who had chartered the boat that they had reached the spot they had chosen.
The bow deck was piled high with crates of fresh catch—bay shrimp and spotted clams. A group of people stood beside them, talking about something.
As the skipper approached, he heard a young man who looked only sixteen or seventeen speaking with great animation.
"The Church of the Guardian God is a very famous faith on the Western Continent. This church has profound mastery over the art of taming beasts. In the Church of the Guardian God's understanding, human consciousness is the most mysterious realm in the universe. When we focus our attention on the bodies of the beasts we see, we are actually telling ourselves that, because their bodies differ from ours, they are different from us. Once you have such a thought, you are rejecting communication with these animals. Your consciousness turns their bodies into an obstacle between you and them, preventing you from reaching their inner selves. Yet these animals are