Neia sat before the priests of the Synod, the room was large and round, and contained many levels, the priests of old gods and the followers of Black Justice were arrayed at her back, front, left, and right, but she sat upon the first level, where all could see the woman who had become a legend in the service of the god of justice. After the invocation, she was called upon to speak, she stood proudly and removed her visor, baring the eyes of the evangelist and moving to the center of the room with the confidence of the hellwalker, she opened her arms wide as if to embrace the room. "I am Neia Baraja, and I come to tell you of my god, that you may know him for what he is, and bow to him as all peoples should!" Her voice was filled with passion as she spoke, and she stilled the muttering that echoed the many tiered circular hall all the way down to where she stood, but raising her hands with her palms out.

"I will begin by giving to you the words of his sacred text, I have memorized them all, and I know many of you have never heard them, and as wise decisions cannot be made without knowledge, I will present them to you now!"

And then she began to recite...

The Book of the Child...

To be a child is to be the beginning. The foundation of what one is and what one will be, begins in the earliest youth, therefore by the will of the Sorcerer King, the God of Justice, all who have advanced beyond the beginnings of their lives should know how to behave towards those coming behind them.

B.C. 1-1 To shape the boy is to shape the man, to shape the girl is to shape the woman, if you in your old age do not wish to live under the dominion of a strong and evil youth, then you must shape children to do what is just and right, even against the desire to do wrong.

B.C. 1-2 Teach them first by deed and then by word, for though children may not always obey your words, they will often emulate your deeds.

B.C. 1-3 If they fall and cry for aid, will you not aid them, as you would wish to be aided when you fall and are unable to rise? Do this, and you fulfill the will of the world's true king.

B.C. 1-4 If you pluck out a child's eyes, are you then right in complaining they cannot see? Even as you show your worth by action, tell them the meaning of the things that you do, teach them how to think in terms of justice and injustice, that they may know why they must do right, even when wrong is easy and profitable.

B.C. 1-5 Where there is knowledge of how to think, there is no need to tell what to think, therefore guide the child through reason to know and understand all things.

B.C. 1-6 Know that as the child needs father and mother alike, they also need their neighbors near and far, even those they have not met, teach them to find their place within their community, that they be a boon and not a bane to those both near and far.

An Encounter with the Sorcerer King

B.C. 1-7 …It happened one day that as I walked with the God of Justice through the city of Shurapak, a place you surely know, my lord and I beheld a sight that displeased him. -8 A boy who seemed to favor the attentions of a girl, who for her part did not seem to favor him, grew too familiar. -9 He reached to touch her body, and though she strove to pull herself beyond his reach, he came near to her again, indifferent to her desire for distance. -10 My lord, in his wisdom, came near to them and towered over the boy, and spoke to him. -11 My lord said unto the lad, "Why are you doing this thing you should not do? Is it not clear that she does not wish to be touched? Is not her body her own? How can you claim to like her, if you will not allow her the sanctity of her own skin?" -12 My lord is a fearsome figure. The God of Justice exudes power from his frame and could have crushed the boy without laying a hand upon him, yet instead he chose to speak to reason first. -13 The boy was silent, and my lord continued, "If you wish your body's autonomy to be respected by others, then offer that to others in turn. Your actions shape the expectations of those around you, apologize to the girl, and be on your way, and know that you will be held accountable for your choices, to your father, your mother, your children yet to come, and the community which surrounds you." -14 This my lord did, and the boy, shamefaced and red at his misdeed, made his apology to the girl and went on his way without further trouble.

B.C. 1-15 It is the obligation of the elder to guide the younger in their thinking, and teach them empathy and in seeing others as they see themselves, to understand better how inconsistent it is that they expect to be well treated themselves, while mistreating those around them.

B.C. 1-16 To strike a child is to tell them that to strike others is acceptable, do you not see the cycle of violence that this creates, a climate of fear where there should be trust? Which thought do you desire in the mind of your child? "I'm in trouble, I should speak to my parent." Or "I'm in trouble, I'd better hide this from them." -17 To strike as the course of discipline is to teach them to lie to you, to hide from you, to mistrust you, and to teach them that power alone is the basis for your rule, and in turn when you become aged and weak, and they are young and strong, what power will they exert over you in turn? -18 The basis of your authority will become the basis for their own, think well on this before you raise your hand to the small and weak who must depend upon you.

The Blackened Eye

B.C. 1-19 The Sorcerer King was moving through a village, walking as was his custom, that he may see the people and the people might see their king, when he came across a boy with a blackened eye. -20 Seeing this, he approached the boy and asked after the cause, which was revealed to be an angry mother. -21 Though full of obligations, the Sorcerer King in his grace asked the boy to lead the way to his home, and so he found himself before a small cottage with a woman tending the front. -22 Seeing the boy leading the greatest monarch ever to grace the world sent her into shock, but she knelt before him as was proper and he bade her rise and account for the injured state of the child. -23 When called to answer, she explained that the boy had failed to obey her properly. -24 Thereupon the King asked the boy if this was true, and the boy confirmed that it was so. -25 "What did she ask you to do?" He asked the boy, who replied that he was asked to gather extra firewood. -26 "Will you do it next time?" He asked of the lad, who promised that he would, and then the Sorcerer King asked, "Why?" -27 This perplexed both the mortals, and the boy answered, "So I don't get hit." -28 The Sorcerer King then turned to the mother and asked, "Did you tell him to gather firewood so that he would not get hit, or did you tell him to gather firewood because you required it for some purpose?" -29 The boy's mother replied that she needed extra wood because she needed to heat the cottage as well as prepare food, and then he asked, "Did you tell him that?" to which she replied that she had not. -30 "Boy, do you desire a cold house to sleep in tonight, or a warm one?" the Sorcerer King asked, and the boy answered, "A warm one!" to which the King replied in turn, "Then you need more wood than usual, don't you?" and the boy acknowledged that this was so. "Then go and gather it." He said, and the boy went to his chore.

B.C. 1-30 The boys mother then asked of the king, "My lord, he should obey me without question should he not?" -31 The Sorcerer King replied to this by saying, "If he does not ask questions, he does not gain answers, if he does not gain answers, he does not gain knowledge, if he does not gain knowledge, he will be helpless. If all you teach is to obey to avoid pain, he will end up avoiding you in all things, and you will teach him that pain infliction is the means to gain what he wants, and he will know no other way. And too, if he asks you questions, it is because he trusts that you will answer him truthfully, would you prefer he mistrust you?" -32 "Yet my lord," the woman answered, "How am I to discipline him, and when?" -33 "A child requires discipline when reason cannot reach them, when they stray, guide them gently back to the right path, deprive them of their privileges or the benefits that flow from you, and let them bear, within the bounds of safety and reason, the consequences of their actions. -34 Tonight would be a chill one, but it would not be dangerous, let him bear the consequence of a cold room one night, and explain in the morning what the extra was for, and he will be wiser, and recognize your wisdom, not merely act out of fear."

B.C. 1-35 The values of a child will be as the values of the parent are, show them the meaning of generosity to neighbors, by bringing them to see generous acts done, speak to them of the why even as you show them the what. -36 Do not wonder that your child is ungenerous, if they did not learn generosity from you. -37 Do not wonder that your child strikes younger children, if you as an elder parent strike your younger child. -38 Do not wonder that your child laughs at misfortune, if you show them that misfortune is funny. -39 Do not wonder that your child is ignorant and does not learn, if you failed in the paramount duty of teaching them the value of learning. -40 Do not wonder that your child will not read a book, if you do not read to them when they are small.

B.C. 1-41 Teach them that among the greatest of values is the acquisition of knowledge, and the love of it for its own sake, and from that fertile soil will wisdom grow.

B.C. 1-42 Teach them the value of their integrity, that the bond of trust between even strangers meeting across the counter in a shop, is worth more than the coin trading hands. -43 What world will you have for yourself if no man can trust another and no woman trust her lover and no shopper trust a shop keep and no shop keeper trust his banker and no farmer his laborer and no laborer their employer? -44 It is a world of nightmare, where every hand is turned against every other, or clutching close that which is valued for fear that it will be taken from them. -45 Teach them the value of common trust and the vital need that one must place faith in another, and that this faith in each other is impossible if they do not act as if it is well placed.

The Sorcerer King Encounters Loose Change

B.C. 1-46 It happened one day that the Sorcerer King was walking through E-Rantel, when he espied a young boy whose coin purse, which had clearly seen better years before that one, reached its last day before his eyes, it tore and copper coins spilled out onto the sidewalk, clinking and clattering everywhere. -47 The boy was much distressed by this, and those around him dropped to their hands and knees upon the stone and began to gather them up. -48 The Sorcerer King approached, and picked up a few himself, and handed them over to the boy. -49 The others present, seeing his returning of the lost coin, handed their own over as well. -50 To which the boy said, "Thank you, but you are the King, why did you do that?"

-51 To which the Sorcerer King replied, "Because I am the King. -52 None are too high above others to do right by those below them, and I shall have the citizens that I accept. If I am a thief, then I shall have a nation of thieves. -53 "If I am to have the trust of others, I must show that I am worthy of being trusted, if I had walked away with what I gathered, then perhaps others would have done the same." He said and gestured to those who were one by one, handing in what they had taken. -54 By setting the example as is my duty, I set the standard for all others. -55 In this, even a peasant can stand equal before their god, as each of you serves as example to the other, showing your virtue as honest men and women, and deciding by your choices, to steal or return what is lost and found again, and in so doing, shape the nature of your entire community, and through it, the world. -56 You see me but little, but one another daily, who then is truly influential? -57 Therefore should your influence not be virtuous?"

B.C. 1-58 Teach children to take what they wish, and they will take from you as soon as they are able, teach them to give what they can, and they will grow to give to you as you have given to them. -59 Teach them to abide in patience and they will not act rashly and in haste. -60 If you teach them to sneer at the honest tailor and revere the bad noble, then you will create a community of both bad tailors and bad nobles, never shame honest labor, shame instead that which destroys honest labor. -61 The noble who does not do his part is not to be revered, nor is the honest tailor who gives his labor to creating warm clothing in winter and enduring clothing that survives hard labor to be reviled. -62 Will you be surprised when you lack good food because the farmers were mocked into departure, or that your bankers have stolen all your wealth when you revere the wealthy no matter how ill gotten their gains? -63 In all these things, children must be guided, for as your fathers and mothers are the past, and you are the present, they are the future, a future that you will live long enough to either bask in…or suffer through, according to the foundation you laid in them. -64 Teach them to know their duties, for all have duties, to do what they can with what they have, in the times and places they find themselves.

A Lesson in Duty

B.C. 1-65 As a certain person of high station was traveling with the Sorcerer King, they spoke of their duties and their place in the world, and the person of high station said to him, "What is my duty here, do you think?" -66 The Sorcerer King in his vast wisdom, looked around and saw down an alleyway, and there near where it exited onto the street, there lay a figure who personified poverty and want. -67 The Sorcerer King led this person over to the alley where the figure lay, and said, "What do you see?" -68 I see a man, poor, unkempt, and hungry. He is weak, perhaps sick, asleep in the day perhaps because he dared not sleep at night." -69 To which the Sorcerer King said, "Are you in front of this man, present at the time he is also, have you the resources to address his dire need and ease his pains and heal his sickness, and have you the power to act?" -70 To which this person said, "I do. I am an Emperor, of vast wealth and power second only to your noble self, I have the facilities to care for him and the means to end his hunger, I can save his life, and he is before me now where I can see him." -71 "Then is that not your duty? -72 The duty of those with the means and power to act as they should, is to do so. Were you not an emperor, were you but a peasant in this city, your duty would differ only in the degree to which you act. -73 A peasant with ten coins cannot address everything, but a community of many can, and you are the personification of that obligation of the whole. -74 If all give some, then none need lose all. -75 What purpose to power if not to act on it? What value is wealth that sits in an otherwise empty room? -76 Duty is defined by our ability to effect a change, whether it is a peasant shopkeeper or whether one stands a noble or an emperor, or even a god, every living…and unliving figure is party to this world and bears duties to it that pertain to the needs of those around us, and even in the smallest action, the peasant stands as a god, in that they can change the world how they see fit by doing even their smallest duty well."

B.C. 1-77 Children must pursue strength, but not all strength is identical, do you yell at the birds that they do not sound like dogs? -78 Shall you yell at the rooster that it is not laying eggs? -79 Shall you yell at the cow that it has yet to build a barn? -80 No. -81 Justice by strength relies on many strengths coming together, just as the body is made of many parts, so too is justice forged by many strengths. -82 Seek to excel in all things, and in the end excellence will come in nothing. -83 Instead teach the child to value new experience, new knowledge, and in trying these things, they will find their own strength, where the eldest son may make a great warrior, his sister might be a great scholar, and her mother a great writer and their father a wise farmer. -84 There is no wrong in not being the equal of the great in all things, the wrong rests in not doing anything and expecting all things to be given over anyway. -85 Do not curse the child for their failure, nor abuse their fragile hopes of excellence, rather praise their effort that they tried a new thing and pursued something rather than doing nothing. -86 Teach them the value in trying what they have not tried before, and in so doing, they will find their place in the world. -86 If their instrument is not the same as yours, what of it? -87 The music of community has many voices and many instruments, and if sung and played in harmony with an eye to the common good, they will find their place in the world, and if they have done this, then you as a parent have done well.

The Sorcerer King Encounters a Laborer

B.C. 1-88 The Sorcerer King was visiting Carne one day, being given a tour by a certain famous general, who was a native of the town, and while there they passed a site where a new building was being erected. -89 There they saw a laborer being spoken to harshly by a passerby, a man of evident wealth, and the Sorcerer King, in his greatest of wisdom, chose to inquire as to why the passerby was cruel to the laborer. -90 "What does it matter your majesty, he is but a laborer is he not, and he was in the way. -91 Perhaps I should not have gotten angry, but what was wrong with what I said?" -92 The Sorcerer King then chose to ask the laborer what he was doing, and the laborer explained that he was clearing the road of fallen debris from a cart that carried materials to the site. -93 He pointed to the building, and the Sorcerer King asked what the building was to be, and the laborer explained that it was to be temporary housing for the soldiers who would be returning from the war, who would need a place to stay as they sought new residences. -94 The Sorcerer King then said to the wealthy man, "Would you have spoken as harshly to the architect of that building?" -95 To which the man admitted he would not have. -96 "Then you should also not speak harshly to this man, though he is a common laborer, without the labor of his hands, this building could not rise, will the materials gather themselves from the street and go to where they are needed?" -97 The wealthy man had no good answer for this, and so the Sorcerer King said, "All who contribute, share in the legacy of the labor, whether a great architect or whether mining rock from hard earth or clearing a road to bring the materials together. Every honest man is noble in his honesty and valuable for his contribution." -98 It pleases the God of Justice that all are treated justly, in deference to virtue and to labor and to wisdom. -99 It is therefore paramount that children be guided in all these things, first by deed, and second by word.

B.C. 1-100 To fail in these things is to create weakness in the social fabric that is still being sewn in the form of growing children, and this weakness is a sin that the future will not forgive, nor will the Sorcerer King overlook.

AN: Well here you go, the first chapter of Ainz Ooal Gown's sacred text, as compiled by Neia Baraja as a result of her letters to his majesty, her experiences, direct observations, and interviews with those who were with him. :) Now, in case you're wondering, this chapter was a commissioned work, paid for by a charitable donation to bdgiving dot org. This donation helped stock a pharmacy in Uganda. So if you're about to complain that you didn't get a chapter of God Rising, and instead I chose to stock an impoverished area with medicine...well what the hell is wrong with you?

Plus, I really liked doing this, and will add more chapters to it in the future. If you enjoyed this glimpse into the religion of Black Justice, leave a positive review...join my discord server, become a supporter at dot com slash godrising, or donate to the charity organization previously mentioned.