"The Sky and the Cosmos are one!" This quote confuzzled me at first. I interpreted it as "the sky and space are one", which was really out of place at the time. Little did I know this quote was actually a pretty big deal.. Here we stand, feet planted in the Earth, but might the Cosmos be very near to us, only just above our heads? Today, we will be talking about the Church, but not [i]just[/i] the Church, but about Oedon, and the Choir. Now, for a "Church" it's a bit strange how we never really hear very much signs of a god, or gods. Well, that makes sense, actually. Most of the encounters with the Church involve its ins and outs, and the Church wasn't [i]really[/i] a religious place. And yet.. You've heard the name Oedon before, hm? Don't lie to me! Yes you have! Oedon Tomb Oedon Chapel Oedon Writhe Formless Oedon The first place we encounter upon emtering Cathedral Ward is this chapel dedicated to some guy named Oedon. Oedon apparently also has a tomb. At first, you woulf think he's dead, but Runes say otherwise. "The Great One Oedon, lacking in form, exists only in voice, and is symbolized by this Rune." It's partially just speculation, really, but the way I see it, Oedon was the central figure of worship to the Church.. And "both Oedon and his inadvertant worshippers surreptitiously seek the precious blood..". That is a very.. Interesting sentence, don't you think? Inadvertant means unintentional, and surreptitious means stealthy. This means Oedon has some unintentional followers who stealthily seek blood.. Sounds like a certain Workshop to me.. But, how are they unadvertantly following Oedon? Well, Hunters come follow the Church, which worships Oedon, and they acted in stealth at first. This likely doesn't apply to most modern Hunters, but anyway.. Let's focus on the word [b]both[/b]. Oedon wants "precious blood". As a Great One, he probably doesn't need the Old Blood.. For himself anyway. There are 3 interpretations I got from this; 1. He wants bloodshed 2. He wants the Blood Moon/Red Moon I think 1 is the most likely.. How convenient that men start turning into Beasts, from a mysterious Blood found from an unknown source in the labirynth, hm? Oedon also plays a major role in the story, but we'll get to that some other time. The Choir.. The upper echlons of the Church.. The Church elite.. It's ironic, really. Laurence split from Byrgenwerth due to believing Blood>Insight, but the Church elite reverted back to a style resembling Willem's teachings.. The Choir originated in a place called the Orphanage. During Laurence's time children either went here, or were taken here, to become great scholars of the Church. Given the name, most of the original inhabitants were likely orphans. Originally it was probably a small institution, inferior to the School of Mensis. But, as Micolash plotted behind the scenes, the Orphanage discovered something amazing in the tombs beneath Yharnam.. The Pthumerian city of Isz. Isz seemed to have ascended, through means of insight.. Or perhaps, it was simply abandoned by the Great Ones who were once there. Either way, really, the Orphanage stumbled upon something amazing; the Great One Ebrietas. Abandoned, left behind, and in mourning, Ebrietas probably felt happy, when the soon-to-be Choir accepted her. Through her teachings, they created the Augur of Ebrietas, and she was happy to assist them. But they wanted more.. They wanted to fully commune with her, not just hear her whispers.. To that end, they required test subjects. By this time, the Church's three branches were formed. The elite Choir, the militaristic Workshop, and the secretive School of Mensis. As the elites of the city, they were easily able to get ample subjects. In a dangerous city of beasts, wouldn't it be safer to leave your children with the savior Church, after all? "The Choir stumbled upon an epiphany very suddenly, and quite by accident. Here we stand, feet planted in the earth, but might the Cosmos be very close, only just above our heads?" -Cosmic Eye Watcher Badge As they experimented on the children of Yharnam, their research yielded many tools such as the Blacksky Eye, and A Call Beyond, but their research culminated in the Celestial Emissary, able to commune with Great Ones.. And there was a Great One very close indeed.. "The Sky and the Cosmos are one!" Oedon existed everywhere, and nowhere all at once. He gave the Church their tainted Old Blood, guided the Choir to grand heights, and caused Yharnam to collapse upon itself.. Why? For blood? Or maybe.. He had something to protect.. But what? And from whom? And how did he plan to protect it? [i]"Ah.. The Cosmos of course! Let us sit about, amd speak feverishly.."[/i] [spoiler]disclaimer: this post had a lot more speculation than the other one[/spoiler]