[Chapel] The Isur and the Symenestra (Maliken)

[Veldrys]

Spring 80, 511 AV Being in the Chapel always calmed Veldrys down and comforted him. It was not as grand as the Temple of Viratas in his native Kalinor, but it was entirely sufficient. He was closer to his god when he was here. It was almost as if he could feel him. When he was here, all his problems, all those conflicts of the past and the present, seemed minor and insignificant. Everything seemed to be easy to solve. In moments such as this one he was convinced that it had been the right decision to come to Denval, that he would find what he was looking for here, that Denval would bring him one step closer to solving the problems of his race and find a way for their women not to die. As always when he was in the Chapel, the Symenestra was dressed in a robe that marked him as one that served the Blood God, although he was only an acolyte for now rather than a priest as was his ultimate goal. He stood in front of the bowl where he often sacrificed his blood. This time he only donated a few drops, just a small prick with his dagger, on his right index finger. As somebody who had trained as a healer he knew that it wasn’t wise to cut oneself and sacrifice blood too often. The cut he had made on his other hand was still healing. After this sacrifice he likely wouldn’t make another one for at least another couple of days, but only pray instead. The Symenestra stood with his back to the entrance of the chapel so that a visitor would only see the robe and his silver hair, but not be able to tell whether he was a human or something else. The Denvali hat gotten used to him to such an extent that he didn’t feel the need to constantly look over his shoulder and wonder if somebody would try to hurt him or accuse him of raping their daughter and poisoning her in the process.