The High Priest

The High Priest

Peter stared at the High Priest in front of him. He didn't make eye contact with the party, his attention seemingly engulfed within the book in front of him. This Priest was significantly younger than Roko was, with only the emerging hints of craw’s feet and laugh lines across his face. His wispy blonde hair also seemed a bit longer than the other Priest he’d seen, and he didn’t grow any facial hair to go with it. Yet, his demeanor was far from aloof. Any rattle of chainmail or shifting cloth from those around him seemed to catch his ears, as his eyes seemed to acknowledge everything that surrounded him.

“How do you know what I am?”.

The Priest closed his book but didn’t look towards them. He instead went to kneel at the giant mural of a pyre depicting the Anointed burning for the crimes of man. “That isn’t the best question to ask, if you’re seeking true answers. What you should be asking is what I can do for you.”

“Alright, then what can you do for us?”

One of the guards leered at Peter, “A Vojvoda should know to refer to their Father as such.”

“It’s quite all right, where he’s from, he’d not be familiar with the custom.”

“If you know so much, why don’t you just get to the point?” The Priest finally looked towards the group as his attention went firmly onto Lyana. He stepped forward to examine her more closely, leaving his position at the altar.

“If we jumped to conclusions, we’d all be put on the Pyre, now wouldn’t we?”

Lyana shrunk back, trying not to shake at The High Priest’s words. “The Anointed has many gifts, and while the past is always a stream, the future is as much of a bog for me to see clearly through as it is for you. Faith would not be needed if it weren’t. So, what kind of future do you propose?”

Jakov couldn’t contain himself and knelt down to the High Priest, “Father, if you see the past, then you know what’s happened to our people. Our only hope is that the good graces of Kraji Ratamir inspire him to share his army to help us deal with our infestation.”

The priest looked away, from the scribe and out towards the mosaics that bled in their sunlight, dyed in reds, greens and blues, as if he were wandering far away from the group in front of him.

Lyana scoffed at the squire and priest, “Bullocks, if this Priest really saw the past then he’d know fully well what the str-”

The priest barked out a roar, not unlike the one Peter had done several times before to paralyze his enemies. Five of them stood frozen while he circled around them. “Do not speak their name, lest you invite them into our walls. I’ve felt their Oman encroaching on our city and seen their actions towards yours. Your words ring true, and you will have your audience with our Kraji. He won’t listen to me on such matters, he never does, but perhaps you will have better luck.”

Peter could feel his jaw releasing as the effects of his roar wore off., and bowed his head, “Y-your support means more than we could ever repay.”

The priest inspected the room once more, as if we were searching for something that was lost, “Yet what interests me most is the one I cannot see.”

Peter looked around, unsure who or what he was searching for. . “-And which one is that?”

“The Tintilinić, his past is as shrouded as his future, though his present appears to now remain just as obscured.”

“What do you mean, he’s right-”

Peter looked down to where he saw Tinnie last, but the dwarf had vanished, as if he were never there. The last time he saw him was when he stepped into the cathedral walls.

The guards looked to point at one another for their lapse in attention while Jakov sneered, “He would be the one to leave us at our most critical hour.”

The Priest darted his eyes around the building, before settling on the guards. “You have performed your duties marvelously, these three will now be in my domain. You are dismissed.”

“Father, are you sure that’s a good idea? These vaga-”

“-I’m aware of the risks, have some faith.”

The guards nodded and turned away from the party. The Priest watched them until they closed the cathedral doors behind them, leaving him to their privacy. “We must move fast, eyes and tongues are just as deadly as daggers here.”

The Priest motioned for Peter, Jakov and Lyana to join him. As they left the church walls, Peter looked around, searching for the imp that followed them this far. He thought back to what could’ve been his point of escape. Then it hit him. The roar of the Priest. Tinnie had remained immune to its effects, even when he used it while directly in front of him. While he had no doubt that he’d be encountering the imp in the future, under what circumstances he wasn’t sure. All he knew is that his laughter would never conceal him from the shadows for long, and no one knew how to make a bigger display of showmanship than him…