Lessons Of Faith, by Christopher Hughes

Story name: Lessons of Faith
Author: Christopher Hughes
Publication date: December 30, 2007

Date: April 30 - May 12, 707 CR
Location: Metamor Keep

Overview

Unable to cast Lightbringer magic, and anxious without Lurene, Christopher's anxieties may be the end of him, unless he can demonstrate his faith.

+ Story info - Spoilers!

Summary

Christopher tries and fails to cast a witchlight spell by calling on Samekkh. Frustrated, he exits his study and visits Wanderer. Sensing his distress, they visit a local inn for dinner. Wanderer suggests that Christopher treat the invocations as prayers instead of spells.

Ever since he became an acolyte, Lurene has been working with Jack deMule to become a field mage, and was recently sent up north for a month-long expedition. Christopher has recurring nightmares of her being attacked and paralyzed by a Stalker, and becomes too exhausted to study or work at the temple. Anxious for his well-being, Wanderer sends for Celine to talk to him, but they are unable to console him.

In the midst of another nightmare, Lurene urges him to fight back; the Stalker wants him, not her. It grabs him and begins feeding on his will and emotion. Desperate and helpless, Christopher prays to Velena for her power, in exchange for his loving devotion to Lurene. A bright light consumes the Stalker, and Christopher drifts off to sleep.

Lurene is laying beside him when he awakes. Christopher confesses his love to her, and releases her from her apprenticeship to him. Lurene confesses her own love for him, and Christopher asks her to marry him. She agrees.

At the Lightbringer temple, Myers of Lorland had arrived, having feared Christopher already consumed by the spirit. Christopher promises to tell them when Raven returns, but stops to pray at the altar for Samekkh to bless him with His light. Specks of light appear before him.

Characters

Main Characters

• Christopher: a mage and bear morph stuck in feral form. He is able to talk to others with a telepathy spell. He became an acolyte a few months ago, but is struggling with having to relearn the fundamentals. He is in love with his apprentice Lurene, though has been unable to admit it until his near-death experience against the Stalker.

Supporting Characters

• Wanderer: Metamor's bard, Christopher's best friend, a wolf morph. He tries to counsel Chris in how to approach his studies. Fearing for his well-being, Wanderer brings Celine to examine him.
  • He is back in anthro wolf form. Christopher still does not know how he regained his form.
• Lurene: Christopher's apprentice and ward, a female gendermorph and wolf morph. After Chris became an acolyte, Jack began training her to become a field mage. She was sent on a 30-day journey to the Giantdowns to search for arcane magics. When she returns, she is quick to accept Christopher's marriage proposal.
  • She had sword-training before arriving in Metamor.

Minor Characters

• Celine: A child morph, head acolyte of the Metamor Lightbringer Temple. She examines and mentally probes Christopher in his apathetic stupor. Realizing the seriousness, she summons Myers to dispel the spirit possessing him.
• Myers: A stag morph, the Lothanasi priest in Lorland. He is summoned to Metamor to deal with the Stalker, though if Christopher hadn't dealt with it on his own, it would have been too late for him.

Important Mention

• Raven: The Lightbringer priestess, a wolf morph. She had tasked Chris to continue his studies while she and Merai left on a secret mission.
• Samekkh: The Lothanasi god of light. Chris tries summoning his power throughout the story, but he does not succeed until the end.
• Jack deMule: The Keep castellan, in charge of training the Keep guards. He recognized Lurene's usefulness as a field mage and began assigning her patrols after Chris became an acolyte.
  • Chris suspects he had been wanting to enlist Lurene as a field mage, and Chris's infirmity stopped him. Since Chris now has other acolytes to assist him, Lurene has no responsibilities to keep her from patrol.

Referenced

• Merai: A Lightbringer priestess, a cat morph. She is with Raven on her mission.
• Kyia: The nymph spirit of Metamor Keep.
• Eli: The Follower god.
• Christopher's father. He was a lapsed unrepentant Ecclesiast when he died.
• Phil: Metamor's former head of intelligence, known for being a former Whalish navy officer.
• Eryn: A Temple acolyte who has asked about Chris's absence.
• Akkala: The goddess of healing.
• Lilith: The daedra of the undead. The Stalkers are her creations.
• Velena: The goddess of love. Christopher prays for her aid in his fight against a Stalker.

Chronology

• Days after Christopher was inducted into the Order (see A Pawn Advances), Lurene is regularly called up for patrol duty.
• Around April 11, Lurene was sent north to the Giantdowns. Within 3 days, Christopher struggled to sleep.
• On April 20, Raven and Merai were attacked in Bozojo, though they escaped. (See A Road into Darkness.) Christopher struggles with his spell and visits Wanderer.
• On May 8, Christopher stops visiting the temple.
• On May 10, Wanderer visits. He brings Celine either today or tomorrow.
• On May 12, Lurene returns to Metamor, just in time for Christopher to defeat the Stalker on his own.

Society

• The text Christopher reads from consists of invocations to the Lothanasi gods to perform various spells, from witchlight to lightning. They are written in the Old Tongue.
• A Stalker is described as a creation of Lilith, feeding on the emotions of her prey while her other creations feed on the physical body. The target begins feeling apathy, indifference, and boredom. It appears in Christopher's dream as a shapeshifting black mass with tendrils and empty eye sockets.

Story Connections

• This story takes place during the events of A Road Into Darkness, and references both Raven's and Merai's unexpected departure, and the attack in Bozojo.
• Christopher mentions that Wanderer never told him how he regained his morph form — a story that was, indeed, never written.

Pawns of the Gods
Stories	For Knowledge's Sake · Lightbringer · Tail of a Young Wolf · Fetish · Ward · En Lieu
	The Lessons Trilogy	Lessoned · Hard Lessons · Lessons of Solitude
	Lethe · For I Am Lost · Passing Notes · Clearing Away · The Winter Assault · Misericardia · Koinonia · A Pawn Advances · Lessons of Faith · Dances
Major Characters	Christopher · Wanderer · Raven · Lurene