The last traces of blood from the Path of Devotion still clung to my boots as I fought my way further up the cliffs. The wind howled like a warning, tearing at my cloak with every step. But I kept going. Ever forward. The monastery of the Holy Brothers emerged from the mist like a forgotten temple, large and solemn – untouched by time, or perhaps simply abandoned by it. I had heard the stories. Of sacred halls. Of golden brothers who had devoted themselves entirely to the worship of Orius. Of rituals, of meaning and purpose.
But the path here was steeped in blood, and the marble walls did not greet me with hymns, but with silence.
I found my first rest in an unexpected place: the baths. Magnificent, warm, fragrant. The steam rose into the air like memories. A place that had once calmed the righteous – now only the past echoed.
There, a familiar face was waiting – Thehk-Ihir. A strange man, but honest. A kind of pilgrim, or perhaps a philosopher who had lost his way in the sacred storm. He sat at the edge of the water, his gaze lowered to his reflection, his arms resting on tired knees. At first, he said nothing. He just watched the waves.
‘A place of purification,’ he muttered finally. ‘But water alone cannot wash away guilt. Only the surface.’
I listened. He admired the place, the elegance, the peace it pretended to offer. But there was disappointment in his voice, a slight crack in his belief. ‘You have built so much,’ he said quietly, ‘but what will remain when the light goes out?’
But there was no bitterness in it. No anger. Only conviction. Somehow, even now, he still believed in Orius. And that belief – fragile, stubborn – struck me deeper than any sermon. I didn’t stay long. This place was no refuge. It was a threshold. A test.
As I left, Thehk-Ihir turned his gaze back to the water, as if searching for something beneath the surface. Warmth. Forgiveness. Or perhaps just something human. I stepped into the halls behind him – marble, shadows and silence… with my shield, flail and silent determination.
#LotF2023 #ManseOfTheHallowedBrothers #LordsOfTheFallen #Partisan #Heilay
Accompany the partisan Heilay on her journey: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQRPy70pDgKXsdb4gtFobn-vOZqhx2QGS
