Theemile wrote:Hi Phil and Philip!
Don't forget, the Temple was built AFTER the War of the Fallen started (If not after the war itself) and iirc Bedard did not survive the war. If the Church of Bedard was built a year after the Temple of Zion itself, It would have been built after Bedard's death - or the perfect time to hijack a portion of the religion with it's segment leader dead and the entire church in flux reeling from the War of the Fallen.
A separate Church, away from the main structure yet still externally espousing the same religion, would be the perfect place to hide something - especially if the one leading the effort had perfect credentials in the church's eyes.
Intriguing thoughts.
While the little bit of Bedard book we know of (From Maykel sermon in Charis) seems to indicate a much more self critical goal for the church and its servants, that is still quite a small difference to warrant clandestinity for several centuries. With church tenets goals similar or at least compatible with church of Charis, the serious difference of perspective would be what ?
The one key point of Merlin report nobody commented yet is the battlesteel toughness of Nynian principles. Nobody is surprised but it seems something in the report make them stand. Merlin fear those principles may be a problem if everything is revealed to her.
It could be that what is in the secret texts about Safehold origin is different from Brethens revealed truth. Her group may not derive from shan-wei but from a splinter of the command group opposed to Langorne and Shuller actions.