Tests of Loyalty
Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 9:53 pm
I beg patience for my ignorance. Until now, I have not had the benefit of clerics to guide worship of the Dark Maiden. The Spider Queen held secure domain over the city of my birth such that our gatherings were more like quiet commiserations and we feared to speak our goddess’ name even to each other.
Even so, the Temple periodically discovered –or pretended to discover – rotten elements among various houses and clans. To purge them, the priestesses held trials in which those accused must perform acts intended to prove loyalty to the Spider Queen. These included, but were not limited to, the torture and killing of other guilty members of the house, rites and rituals of the Spider Queen, and defamations of the other deities.
Does the Dark Maiden wish us to die to prove our loyalty to her… or does she understand if we deny her to save ourselves and/or others?
Is it wrong to pray that family and friends are able to do as the priestesses command so that they may survive at the cost of others?
Should we teach our children the ways of the Dark Maiden, risking our lives and theirs, or wait and pray that they become disillusioned and are able to successfully play the subtle game of discovering who else is of like mind?
T’rissrak, former sword dancer and bard of Do’Tathtel
Even so, the Temple periodically discovered –or pretended to discover – rotten elements among various houses and clans. To purge them, the priestesses held trials in which those accused must perform acts intended to prove loyalty to the Spider Queen. These included, but were not limited to, the torture and killing of other guilty members of the house, rites and rituals of the Spider Queen, and defamations of the other deities.
Does the Dark Maiden wish us to die to prove our loyalty to her… or does she understand if we deny her to save ourselves and/or others?
Is it wrong to pray that family and friends are able to do as the priestesses command so that they may survive at the cost of others?
Should we teach our children the ways of the Dark Maiden, risking our lives and theirs, or wait and pray that they become disillusioned and are able to successfully play the subtle game of discovering who else is of like mind?
T’rissrak, former sword dancer and bard of Do’Tathtel