Journal Entry 62
A stranger breezed into town today. He’s not the average traveller that passes through Willowdale. He’s not got a set destination in mind; I can tell from looking at him. He is like what I was; a wanderer, just following the road. I imagine he’ll be staying a little while.
I’ve been visiting the Temple more often recently, now that I know I’m welcome there - so long as I keep my arms covered, anyway. I don’t want to think about what will happen if someone sees what lies beneath my sleeves.
Those at the Temple are a strange bunch. The local Priest, Priest Nicolas, is a kindly grandfather kind of person, as I’ve said before. The Head Priestess, Priestess Shannah, is much the same, though she is more motherly than grandmotherly. The other two Priestesses, Celissa and Coris, are wards of the Temple, and Nicolas’ adopted daughters.
They’re like a family.
I’ve never been to a Temple like this one before. All the other Temples functioned differently. The Priest and Head Priestess were the most important people there. All the others were... underlings? I suppose? They did as they were told, they didn’t question the authority of the Priest or Head Priestess, even when what they were told to do was foolish or dangerous.
I think the way this Temple works is why Archcurate Felian doesn’t seem to like it much. Despite his much higher status than even the local Priest, none of them, particularly the younger Priestesses, seem to listen to him much. They have their own way of working, and no matter his protests, they’re not about to change them.
He’s too different to them - too different from the people here in Willowdale. The Archcurate stands out amongst the others in the Temple; a tall, thin, darkly robed shadow that lurks in the background as the people come and go.
Villager Observation 16 - The Temple Priest
The Temple’s Priest - the local one - is Priest Nicolas. He’s a friendly man, dedicated to not one, but all three of the Gods. I was surprised that he worshipped Taris, the Goddess of Magic, but he says he believes that all three of the Gods should be worshipped equally. Most Temples depict her, alongside the other two, but few of them worship her, due to her affiliation with Mages.
Nicolas talks of tolerance and acceptance, and seems willing to welcome even magic users into the Temple - I have seen a few of the travellers passing through Willowdale, some of them known magic users, allowed entrance without question. It still makes me hesitant to admit my magic, especially with the Archcurate around, but it comforts me to see.
Nicolas is the kind of person I wish I’d met earlier in my life - everything would have been so much easier for me. He speaks kindly - I’ve only ever seen him become frustrated with the Archcurate. He allows unrestricted access to the Temple’s library and lower chambers - something I’ve not encountered at any Temple in the past. To be allowed into such places was considered a great privilege, not a right.
I have learned that he adopted Celissa and Coris when they were still quite young, shortly after they became the Temple’s wards. He raised them as his own daughters, gave them a new family so soon after they’d lost theirs. It is not incredibly common for Priests to have children, even adopted children, so it is an interesting change.
The only thing that seems to get Nicolas riled up is Archcurate Felian. They have severely different opinions on how things in the Temple should be run, and the Archcurate’s disagreements seem to annoy him. However, in the end, the Willowdale Temple is Nicolas’ responsiblity; the Archcurate is only present to observe, or so I’ve been told. It is not his duty, nor his place, to interfere if things aren’t in need of fixing.
I will not tell Priest Nicolas about my magic, I have decided. With the Archcurate seemingly around every corner, I cannot afford to risk it, as accepting as Nicolas is. I shall, however, continue to visit the Temple - both to worship as I like, and because the library’s doors are almost always open.
And I know where to find the key if they aren’t.
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