Role

Chapter 10

Aurew sloshed through the foggy shallows away from the Cathedral with a
measure of confusion and dejection. Elra stated the only way Aurew could
disappoint was by giving up, but Aurew also felt there were countless ways
to achieve it beyond abandonment. Aurew's duty to uplift, protect and bring
hope to the Light, while not mutually exclusive with the way of the Mourner,
was certainly becoming harder to manage.

Aurew's instinct in most situations was to save her allies from danger or
harm, from pain, and sometimes from themselves. Her tendencies were to do so
without fanfare or flash but with the demure grace of an elf. Elra, on the
other hand, shared concern that Aurew's altruistic duties as an Acolyte had
the potential to interfere with all the blessings that come with loss. They
would not learn to survive and become stronger if she shouldered every burden
in their place.

So Aurew went back out into the world and to the Fortress, and tried to be
more vocal about the suffering of others she took in their stead. It wasn't
easy, and neither were the reactions she received. She found that some didn't
even understand the nature of an Acolyte's gift and had no knowledge of how
it worked. Others, like Drissa, were very intuitive and at times would rebuff
this type of assistance. But more stunning were the situations, as with the
Captain, in which she took all of his lacerations, punctures, suffering only
to die in his place, without a single word of regret or even acknowledgement
from Knaor. It gave Aurew pause. Was it just her, or was this the way of all
Acolytes? She had much to consider.