Tales of Luxendarc: Where the airy lies

An Adherant's Chronicle

I came upon a pile of badly worn papers lying in a forgotten corner of Everlast Tower. They appear to be the journal of a high official within the Orthodoxy. The oldest legible entry dates twenty years back, the newest fifteen—written the day of the templar's strike on the Orthodoxy's head temple.

The Great Pleague

The terrible plague ravaging the world finally reached our shores. Already, there are those falling ill in villages to the east. To halt its spread to the Orthodoxy's headquarters, top officials of the faith have closed all roads and forbidden the influx of people and goods. Controversy arose when a young cleric appealed to his superiors to use the power of the Earth Crystal for purification and medical treatment.

The Great Plague 2
But the proposal had no hope of approval, as we hold the crystals as sacred. The hierarchy ignored it. Refugees seeking to thwart the blockade were slain on sight, but the Orthodoxy claimed the dead were not victims but martyrs

I care to read no further.

Between missing pages and text too worn to be legible, the next entry I can read is dated significantly later.

The End of the Plague 1
The young cleric appealed to his superiors day after day to no avail. When the Great Plague showed signs of abating, the Orthodoxy was overjoyed, and those who had advocated the road blockade were showered with praise.

Some days later, the young cleric was summoned before the vestal, whereupon he was mocked and reprimanded for hours on end.

The End of the Plague 2
The plague has wiped out his village of birth, save for a few who escaped, and there were many other villages throughout the faith's lands that suffered the same fate. Henceforth, the young cleric was never again seen amongst the ranks of the Crystal Orthodoxy. Perhaps he was shipped to a post of no consequence, or left altogether.

Even beyond the pages' wear, most of the text is redacted in heavy black ink. Whether this is the writer's own doing or not, I cannot say. The next clear page is the last, dated far later. It provides a record of that day, fifteen years ago. The text is a frantic scribble, as if written amid utter chaos.

The End of the World 1
The Orthodoxy's head temple has already fallen, and it shall not be long now before my refuge, too, is discovered by the invaders. The earth vestal was dragged before their leader. It was the once young cleric—now a seasoned soldier, fearless and self-assured.

The End of the World 2
The vestal faced him, hurling words of contempt and scorn, but ere she could finish, an enraged member of his guard cut her down in one fell swoop, and the vestal's lifeless body fell silently to the floor.

It was an account of the earth vestal's execution at the hands of the templar's men fifteen years ago. I had no idea he had so long pled his case as a priest within the Orthodoxy... I imagine her dying words were an accusation of betrayal.