”Why can’t we light a candle for Jeren?” little Maires eyes where wide as she looked at her mother.
“We can honey, just not at the temples.”
“But you said that we would light a candle, and Jeren would use it to find us, when he sits at the Lord’s side.”
“And he still will, sweety. We’ll light a candle for him, and put it in the window, so he’ll know where we are and can visit us in our dreams.” Karen squeezed the hand of her little daughter as they both sat at the window of the little shack. It had been almost a year since Karen’s brother Jeren had been slain by the wraiths that had plagued Ilien, and they had all agreed that they would light a candle on the day of his disappearance, only now, with the city under siege and the faithful forbidden to congregate that day would come, and none of the dead would be remembered at a mass as should be.
“But why can’t we light it in the temple? You promised!” Maire was clearly too young to comprehend the situation. She had seen the many soldiers walking about, and been both fascinated and frightened. People had gone missing when the men in iron had turned up.
“Because the temples are closed… because Pappa and Hakon and people like him answered the call of the priests and where stopped, honey.”
“But if they do the Silver Lord’s work, why were they stopped? Have they been bad?”
Karen smiled. “Yes and no, Maire. It is too early to know yet. It depends on the future now…”
“But…” Maire seemed to be brimming with questions.
“Shush, child. Come sit with me.” She lifted the young girl into her lap, so she could see above the windowsill and pointed at a new building that stood out from the surroundings with a serene beauty. “You see that building over there? That is a chapel… do you know what a chapel is, Maire?”
“Like a temple?” the girl tried, unsure of the answer. Karen smiled.
“You could say that, yes. It is like a small temple, only this place is dedicated to a man.”
“But aren’t temples the homes of gods?” she really was bright for her age. Karen planted a kiss on her forehead and nodded.
“They are. But this man was no ordinary man, he died serving the Silver Lord and this place is built to honour his sacrifice.”
“He was sacrificed?!” Maire half turned to look at her mother, her large eyes wider still.
“In a way, yes. His name was Egris Enlien… have you heard that before?”
Maire started to shake her head, but then stopped. “The High-Priest is also named Enlien?”
Karen nodded. “And the Ninth Patriarch too… there are many Enlien’s on the south coast, even some in Ilien still, but yes, the High-Priest and Egris Enlien was closely related.”
“So the High-Priest built a temple for his relative?” Maire was confused.
“You could say that, but it’s not the reason why it was built. Egris Enlien was slain by his own brother, also an Enlien.” Maire gave a shocked expression, and Karen squeezed her hand once more.
“It’s true… but that is also not why the chapel was built. He died for something he believed in, and even knowing what would happen, he still did not change his path. He gave his life for the Silver Prince, so others did not have to.”
Maire sat for a while, digesting this information. Then she brightened. “Like Pappa?”
Karen was taken somewhat aback by this, but eventually just ended up hugging the little girl tight, a tear rolling down her cheek as she stared out of the window and at the serene chapel. “Like Pappa…”
