Jocelyn's Vignette

[JadedDM]

Ruebon 03, 312 (10:00 AM)
It had been over a year since Jocelyn had been to Serenity City, on the island of Sanctuary. Not since she first became an acolyte of Octhanus. It was here she was assigned to Noah and sent to his small parish for training.

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Now she had returned, Noah in tow, to the beautiful city once more. They had arrived the previous night, and having eaten and slept, it was now morning and time for her to face the judgment of the holy tribunal of the Octhanus Church.

Jocelyn is taken to a room in the Divine Temple that is apparently set up just for occasions such as this. It's a large room with a wide, circular table of marble. Only four chairs have been set up--one at one end, and three on the other. Noah has Jocelyn sit in the lone seat, and he himself sits on the other side.

Before long, an elven woman arrives. "Ah, this is the Bishop of Hashadeth, Landra Tarneth," Noah says.

The woman smiles. "You must be the acolyte Blaine," she says as she sits next to Noah. "Nice to meet you."

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"The last representative is supposed to be the high priestess herself," Noah explains. "But of course, she's usually too busy to attend every single tribunal, so she often sends someone to represent her instead."

They sit and wait a bit, before the door swings open and a figure bathed in light enters. He has green skin and beautiful white wings. His eyes are blue--not his irises, but the entire eyes themselves. They glow softly with their own inner light. He wears little clothing, but his physique is sculpted like a god. He is not a god, though. Jocelyn has read of such creatures, although never seen one before. He is a planetar, a divine servant of Octhanus herself. Only incredibly powerful clerics, like the high priestess, can summon them to the mortal realm.

"I am Tor," he says, his voice echoing. "I have been sent by the High Priestess."

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"Well, then," Noah says, tenting his hands. "Looks like everyone is here. Are you ready to begin, Jocelyn?"

==========

Jocelyn makes a Religion check [17] (1d20): 10, pass. She recognizes a planetar.

[HorizonsDream]

Jocelyn had naturally said that it was nice to meet the Bishop while she was waiting for the planetar around. The moment he stepped into the room, she started to fidget in her chair. The sight of him, alone, made her extremely nervous. ~This might not go well,~ she thought to herself as she looks over the tribunal. "Um, well, I guess I'm ready," she admits softly as she tries to keep her hands steady.

[JadedDM]

The Planetar takes a seat, his features unreadable but rather imposing. He holds perfectly still, almost like a statue.

"Well then," Landra begins, "we've all read the report Pastor Sanderson wrote about your progress. You've obviously a talented healer and spellcaster, but...there is some concern about your motives for wishing to be ordained into this church."

Shuffling some papers before her, she looks at Jocelyn directly. "Can you explain, in your own words, why you wish to be a priestess of Octhanus?"

[HorizonsDream]

Jocelyn looks down at her hands as she tries to gather her thoughts. ~Ignore the green guy,~ she tells herself as he was the one that was making her the most nervous. "I don't know everything that has been told to you," she says. "But I grew up in a place that is completely different from here. Matter of fact, I would say it was the exact opposite of here. I grew up knowing only of Renos," she explains. "When I came here, I was suspicious because no one had ever shown me real compassion or mercy, or even love. It took some time for me to realize that people weren't just acting, but showing me true compassion. I grew to like it, the more I was around the followers of Octhanus, the more I realized that I liked the concepts and beliefs. I want to be apart of it, and spread the belief to others in hopes of helping them."

[JadedDM]

Landra smiles. "We're not here to judge--"

"I am," Tor states plainly.

"What my associates mean," Noah interjects, "is that you originally joined to hide from certain people. If those people were to ever stop being a threat, would you continue with us?"

[HorizonsDream]

Jocelyn gulps as she stares at Tor for a few moments. She shakes her head, and clears her throat as a way to clear her thoughts once again. "Yes," she finally says. "I realize I used the church to hide, and you allowed me to do so which I'm thankful for. Though, I feel I have learned a lot during my hiding period, and I'm not lying when I say I would like to continue forward with what I have learned."

[JadedDM]

The three share a look, then continue on. Landra shuffles her papers again and seems to find what she is looking for. "I understand that you have claimed you don't understand the three virtues, particularly love and mercy."

[HorizonsDream]

"I understand the concept of them," Jocelyn admits. "But practicing them is another matter. I've never really experienced love before, so how can I understand something that I've not experience?" she asks. "As for mercy, it is a difficult concept to grasp when it is full of so many gray areas," she says. "I have a problem with people trying to kill me, which means I'm going to defend myself. I guess, in those situations, I should find a way to knock them out or disable them instead of actively trying to kill them. I sometimes get caught up in the heat of battle."

[JadedDM]

Landra goes through her notes again. "You have no family. You have no friends, either, is that correct?"

[HorizonsDream]

"I don't have any family, and as for friends...well I'm not sure I would call them friends. Maybe travel buddies?" she offers, but she seems to even question that.

[JadedDM]

"I see," Landra says. "Is there anything else you'd like to add before we reach our decision then?"

[HorizonsDream]

"I have more of a question," Jocelyn says. "How does having family or friends effect this decision?" she asks.

[JadedDM]

"One cannot understand the three virtues of Octhanus if they are cut off from the rest of the world," Tor states.

"Exactly," Landra says. "You have isolated yourself from others, and we think this may be the problem."

Noah adds, "You seemed to improve when you started working with those other women."

[HorizonsDream]

"When it comes to family, there is nothing I can do about it now. They are dead," Jocelyn points out. "And as for friends, the women I worked with are probably the closest thing I have to friends, even though they drive me crazy. Of course, I do consider Noah a friend. I've always been on my own, so I suppose it is what I'm use to. Though, that isn't to say that won't improve with time."

[JadedDM]

"Family isn't limited to just your parents," Noah points out.

"And not all family is based on blood," Tor adds.

"Still, you seem sincere in your attempts to learn. Perhaps a trial run would be advisable," Landra ponders.

"An opportunity to work with a community, to become part of it?" Noah asks.

"Yes, keeping her in isolation will only make things worse," Landra continues. "She needs to be around others, develop her people skills, I think. I have a parish that could use a new pastor. It's not much; a tiny fishing village of little consequence. What do you think? If you agree to take it, you'll be in charge of the temple, its finances, and the flock. If you can adequately prove yourself, we might consider giving you a larger responsibility down the road."