A letter to Grandmaster Elizabetha d'Avergne [DM]

[Anthee]

Esteemed Grandmaster of the Cinquefoil Rose,

I write to you as a recent arrival from Il Modo and a lowly priestess in the service of Sage Santina the Compassionate, to petition for your adjudication in a conflict I did not seek. The matter itself is fairly minor to you, I am sure, and so I hesitate to contact you – but the resolution may prove to be an important precedent in matters of faith within the Krak des Roses.

A certain Balladeer and Twindari priest by the name of Alain Chauderon has repeatedly harassed me about my faith in Sage Santina and the Divine Dome, without provocation. Or to be precise, it seems my faith is by itself enough to provoke him. At the end of the latest altercation, he threatened to use his authority as a Balladeer to ban me from the Krak des Roses if I did not refrain from speaking about my Sage and my faith within its premises.

To be clear, I have never preached publicly within your establishment, although I have had private discussions. The majority of my activities within and without Ephia's Well have thus far been prayer, works of charity – especially in the almshouse – and providing healing and medicines to all in need, including many in the service of the Rose and adventurers dealing with threats beyond our walls. I have also given considerable donations to the Temple of B'aara and towards the planned new district. My Sage is a protector of the poor and healer of the diseased, and it is my privilege and duty to try to live up to her example in my service to her.

The above I write to clarify that there is nothing that could possibly be objectionable in my activities as such – unless one feels so strongly about the Wheel that the presence of other faiths simply cannot be tolerated. Balladeer Chauderon certainly is such a person.

My humble question to you is: Do you allow him to exercise his authority in this manner? Is it forbidden to teach about non-Wheel faiths in the Krak des Roses – even faiths that urge everyone to pursue such lofty ideals as the Balladeers themselves claim to uphold? It is my understanding that the Cinquefoil Rose was founded by people from other lands, realms where the Wheel was not and is not worshipped – but is the Wheel now the only faith publicly allowed in the Rose's premises? It would seem an extraordinary decree considering that many in La Banda Rossa venerate the Sages of the Dome.

I apologise for having to bother you with this, but as a matter of principle, I believe it should interest you. If, however, you think somebody else is better suited to deal with it, I would ask you to kindly forward this letter to that person.

Many thanks for your time.

Yours sincerely
Sofia d'Andrea
Sister-Priest in the Order of the Lezrous Brethren
of Sage Santina the Compassionate