《The Cleric》


 Late night musings

    I do not belive in the idea of a god. This may sound self contradictory seeing as I am a Cleric sworn to serve one, but the idea of a benevolent and all powerfull god in a world such as this has always dumbfounded me. How are we meant to belive that a god in possession of such power would care for or even notice us mere mortals?


    Now clearly there is some higher power- some thing- that stands behind the might which I, as well as other Clerics and Paladins across the world, wield. However; the idea that this something cares for us mortals beyond it''s own selfish gains and amusement is ludicrous to me. I do not see myself as a selfless devotee of a benevolent benefactor, I am mearly a contractor towards something greater than myself; exchanging the spreading of its faith and bidding of its will in exchange for the possibility to wield parts of its powers to heal the wounded and dispell the evils of this world.


    When we pray nothing awnsers. A being supposedly so power-full seems power-less to act of its own accord in this world. Instead they must rely on people such as myself to enact their will through. Giving us free reign over a sliver of their power to do with as we see fit untill the day they call upon our services for some cause of their choosing. They can then decide to revoke these powers whenever they so choose.


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    I''ve witnessed many a believer be abandoned by their god in the most critical of situations: Facing down a horde of undead; standing before a plauge ravaging their town; or seeing their loved bleed out before them.


    There is merit to faith, of course. Whether it allows people to face an otherwise seemingly uncaring and unforgiving world or it simply gives one meaning enough in life to carry on. As a Cleric I''ve witnessed the power of faith in all walks of life, but these supposed gods that said faith is directed to are the problem, they do not deserve anyone''s faith. If nothing else, the fact that a so blatantly blashpemous person such as myself retains their gift of strength when it has abandoned so many good men before me, shows just how little they truly care for us beyond their own senseless whims and fancies.


    Obviously these musings will never see the light of day. I do not know why I still put to paper these thoughts of mine when I know that they''ll soon be no more than ash in the brazier which lights my camp. Yet I persist in my writing, if for no other reason than to find a measure of solace in this journey of mine.


    Gods know I''d be hanged were these ever to see the light of day. Then again, the gods couldn''t care less.

 Journey to Mistfall Manor - Day 3

    Three days have passed since I started walking this road and I¡¯ve decided to start keeping a journal after today¡¯s encounter. It was my first time meeting other travelers since starting this journey. An adventurer party heading the opposite direction of myself, haggard and beaten each and every one of them. They came just as I was about to break camp and head out for the day, but seeing their broken spirits, and their relief at seeing a friendly face for the first time in what must have been quite a while, I decided to hang around for a while and mend any wounds as well as provide a measure of solace to the group.


    Through my chat with the adventurers I found out that they were a group called the Red Hound coming back from the same place that I was headed. Apparently news of the barrier weakening had reached the ears of other organizations before it reached our priesthood, despite the uncharacteristically fast decision from those higher ups and the coincidence of me being in the area. At least I asked the group to dissuade any people they meet on their way from going there. They ended up like they did despite being quite an experienced group. I can only hope that they were the first to foolheartedly venture in there, or at the very least that they are the last.


    Why the Red Hound was going to the manor was quite unclear. When asked they stated that they went in pursuit of any treasure they could get their hands on. I, however, doubt that a group such as theirs would go into this with such a simple objective and without proper preparations. Something is amiss with this whole situation. In the first place a holy barrier doesn¡¯t simply fall to the passage of time. Whether it be forces on the outside, or worse, on the inside of the barrier that¡¯s caused this sudden failing of the barrier I do not know, but all is definitely not as it seems and I doubt it will be as straight forward of a mission as I would¡¯ve hoped. Orders from the High Priests can¡¯t be ignored however, and either way whatever is causing the barrier to weaken needs to be remedied no matter if there¡¯s more to it than what meets the eye.


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    My meeting aside, I¡¯ve finally reached the dead lands of Riveria. The province of Riveria was always renowned as one of beauty and bountiful nature when I was still a young apprentice back in the temple. It¡¯s quite hard to imagine, looking out over this desolate wasteland of rotten trees and dusty barren ground. The rustling of leaves and skittering of critters that¡¯s been the norm of this journey has been replaced by this unnatural quiet. From where I¡¯ve made camp I see no threats, and luckily the full moon is out, making it harder for any to sneak up on me out in the open like this.


    From here I do not know what to expect. Before the trip I tried searching for any information on these scourged lands, but little is known as few ever venture here and those who do often do not return. In my infinite wisdom I of course forgot to question the Red Hound before our parting, losing my one potential good source of information on this place. Disappearances here are usually choked up to animals or bandits, but seeing this place I doubt that that¡¯s all there is to it. No matter, I will merely have to be on guard for any potential dangers and take precautions on my journey onward.