Journal of the Black Abbot; Part The First

In the year 4713, in the mid-day of my life, I took it upon myself to pay last respects to Professor Lorrimor. I had been on a pilgrimage to the Monastery of the Vale in the mountains of Ustalav to show my young student, Agile, where it was that I first learned to deliver babies and to bury the dead. I made the young boy stand near the bleak stones of the monastery, in the graveyard, where I had first heard the whippoorwill's call, a psychopomp of the Lady of Graves. I had arrived at the Monastery only day's before the news of the professor's demise, and thus immediately set forth for Ravengro with Agile and my horse, Gypsy.

As we traveled the foggy moors of Ustalav, the journey to Ravengro reminded me of my youth, and thus I began explaining my memories of the professor to Agile–along with memories of my mentor, Master Angelo, and thus shared with my young student a retelling of my life's story...

Early Years (Age 1-13)
Thirty years ago my mentor, Brother Angelo of Caliphas, became advisor to the newly relocated royal court in the wealthiest, most accessible, and most cosmopolitan city of Caliphas. Within this old city is carved the grim statuary, soaring buttresses, and sharp gables that became the hallmark of my childhood and youth. It was here in Caliphas, that I, a lone orphan, was taken in and raised by Ustalav’s most intimidating embellishment—the church of Pharasma. In my twelfth year I became apprentice to Master Angelo who showed me the reality that lay beyond the grim Pharasman cathedral walls; At such an early age I learned to make this dreaded labyrinth of crime my home and embraced the truth of the city’s corruption, disease, exploitation, and its horrifying secrets. Thus early-on I learned that lives are cheap and the unwary are all too often swallowed by the fog, never to be seen again.

Pharasma and Academics (Age 14-24)
Master Angelo introduced me to the Lady of Graves at such an early age that I cannot recall a time without her, thus Her wisdom became my guide as I eked out an austere life of academics in private, beneath a gigantic dome of amethyst-veined black marble. I became a scholar like my mentor’s friend Lorrimor, who on occasion loaned precious, rare, and oft scandalous books to him which I loved to read between chores, and devotions. Thus I became aware of life beyond Ustalav, yet I learned to embrace that we are all fated to experience bad things and our role is to endure them and thus achieve fair judgment upon death. Due to my knack for balancing matters of science and religion, the cathedral’s merciless inquisitor an exorcist once commented that my "personality possesses the duality of both religiosity and academic knowledge." In my early 20s, for several years I courted the idea of becoming an inquisitor—back in the early days when inquisitors strove to guide not to punish. I have a penchant for new scientific tools and magic items; for example I travel with a magnifying glass and an astrolabe.

Barrister-At-Law and Prison (Age 25-28)
By age 25 I became learned in the profession of Barrister-at-law. However, after defending a heretic I soon found myself at odds with the inquisitors (specifically Inquisitor Gravis who did not appreciate my expansive academic knowledge) and served a sentence of several years in prison for defending a man who was later burned at the stake. Upon my release, I gave up legal practice in and around Ustalav and returned to the church in Caliphas.

Caretaker of the Chapel’s Heat within the Temple of the Maiden’s Choir (Age 29-33)
From my 29th year to my 33rd, I excelled at higher degrees of education and religious knowledge in the church and earned the title of Caretaker, a precious reward for years of selfless service and a prestigious honor as steward of the chapel’s heart. I proudly earned my vestments of black with silver trim. There, in the heart of the Temple of the Maiden’s Choir, each night I cared for the silver, mausoleum-like reliquary said to bear such holy treasures as the Sarkorin song skulls, the scroll bones of Father Gesenge, the armored Gown of Tears, and one of the steel splinter-feathers of the goddess’s own herald. Unlike the faithful who believe and have not seen, I have touched these artifacts. Thus for me, divine power feels as real as the wind and as certain as the breath of life itself.

Chance Savior (Age 34-35)  
In my 34th year when Professor Lorrimor expressed yet another need for my master to accompany him on an archeological expedition along the Inner Sea, the matter befell delegated to me, as master Angelo was physically too venerable and no longer suited for travel. During the journey, through a matter of pure chance, I was in a position to save the late scholar’s life and did so. The great chandelier of Auxius rattled and hurtled down upon Lorrimor! With a sudden burst of alacrity and without concern for my own life I knocked him to safety, whilst myself nearly dying in the process. To this day, on rare occasion my left leg suddenly numbs beneath me for a few seconds, but I am (at all other times) still quite agile and well. Professor Lorrimor’s gratitude was effusive and he promised that he would never forget me. I am unsure of the nature of the summons of his Will, but believe he may have listed me as a possible heir in thanks for saving him from an untimely demise.

My Novice/Apprentice, Agile (My current age is 36)
A young orphaned boy by the name of Agile has entered his 14th year and has been assigned to my care. As his mentor I will begin his education earlier than had been begun my own. He will travel with me to Ravengro to pay our respects to the late Professor Lorrimor who had given so much to my mentor, Brother Angelo. Agile is a novice/my apprentice and I seek to not make the same mistakes my mentor made with me.