The great city of Belobog had been built seven hundred years ago by the Architects, followers of the Aeon of Preservation.
The Architects were not a single person, but many.
Alisa Landau was the most famous Architect, and she was also the first Supreme Guardian.
After her death, every Supreme Guardian had been a woman, either appointed by her predecessor or elected by the Architects.
It was worth noting that after the original Architects died, the title of Architect did not disappear. Instead, it was inherited by their direct descendants.
The Architects were believers in Preservation, but that relationship was one-sided. In theory, as long as they proclaimed their faith in Preservation, they were Architects.
Unlike Pathstriders recognized by Preservation, the Architects worshipped the Aeon of their own accord and did not need the Aeon's recognition.
Of course, those who believed in an Aeon and embodied its Path in their every word and action were likely to receive power from that Path.
But after centuries of inheritance, how many of the Architects who remained truly believed in Preservation?
After all, throughout those seven hundred years, the Aeon of Preservation had never bestowed a miracle upon Belobog.
Among the Architects of today, very few walked the Path of Preservation.
The Path of Preservation was embodied by patience, sacrifice, and protection.
Yet by now, the Architects had become Belobog's nobility in all but name.
They no longer possessed the devout faith of their predecessors. They merely held lofty positions through their bloodlines, drawing on their ancestors' glory to bleed the great city dry.
Of course, a small number of Architect families still maintained strict family traditions, followed the tenets of Preservation, and stayed true to their convictions.
But how much of today's collective of Architects could such idealists account for?
The vast