The Still Flame [PK]

[alienescence 1415]

 

 

ᛏᚻᛖ ᛋᛏᛁᛚᛚ ᚠᛚᚪᛗᛖ

 

---

 

What say we ride beyond the walls? You will learn to fish in the river as your forefathers did.

 

JOSEFINA remembered her childhood as one that was untouched by sorrow. 

The streets of Kretzen that were filled with her laughter as she ran down them, as well as the wooded trails of the Ferdenwald. A time that was untouched by the grief that would later weigh on her. Death was mentioned only during sermons. It did not feel real, and Josefina believed it would always be that way.

But as she grew into adulthood, it felt more real.

Her first true encounter with death was the sudden loss of her mother. Josefina believed she could have done something to prevent that werebeast from killing her. Her father succumbed to his grief only a few months later, becoming yet another memory for Josefina.

She clung to her prayers, not because they would be answered, but because they provided her refuge—as did the priesthood, into which she would be ordained some years after her parents' death.

In her later years, that old joy returned. The smell of incense, beekeeping, and laughter. It remained that way for many years.

Until it no longer did.

She was growing old. The tightness in her chest and the shaking of her hands had been ignored until she could no longer dismiss them.

The illness slowed her steps, though she refused to stop walking. Her flock was her main priority.

Though in time, it was not that easy. 

As she lay in her final days, her thoughts wandered, not to sacraments or rites, but to Kretzen, the Ferdenwald, her parents, and the Franklands that had welcomed the Reinmaren once more.

During her last breaths, she found peace.

Not because she could face death, but in remembering the life that came before it.

 

BISHOP OF GELIMAR

1965-2042

 

 

---

Issued by the Bishop of Gelimar

 

My son, OSWALD VON WESENBURG,

I am leaving you a pendant I commissioned for my aunt Gertrude. 

 

My grandsons, EDMUND AND AERIK VON WESENBURG,

I leave both of you a vase that I have kept, one I designed with Aerik, to be kept in your family manor.

 

My nephew, PRINCE ERWIN I,

I leave you my dirk, which I received from my mother after her death. It was the first weapon she learned to fight with. It is my wish that you pass it down to your successor. 

 

My niece-in-law, PRINCESS WILHELMINA,

I leave you my many pieces of jewelry.

 

My cousin, FATHER WITMAR,

I leave you my golden rosary.

 

My friend, CASTIEN VON EHRENWALD,

I leave you my books on medicine that I have never read.

 

My friend, SIR ARN HONEYWINE,

I leave you the rest of my honeycomb.

 

My friend, SIR CAROLUS, 

I leave you the following letter.

 

 

 

---

 

HER EXCELLENCY, JOSEFINA, Bishop of Gelimar, Prelate of Reinmar

 

[sapphic_spidy 1089]

Why, why, why?

 

Why can't time stand still for just a little while? Why can't he bubble up the good moments and keep them close forever? Why does everything have to end the same way every time?

 

Castien, down an eye, down an ear, down a dear friend. 

[MRCHENN 4741]

Father Drusco falls to his knees within Waldemer, weeping.

[Random 1690]

Spoiler

Noooooooooo she was my favourite Reinmaren :(

Martin sighed as he read the missive, his eyes watery. He had pleasant memories of accompanying the Bishop to Lemon Hill during the war, her presence having allowed him to travel freely in times of struggle. "A great loss for Reinmar.", he spoke to those at the Kanunsburg fort, "A void that will not be filled easily. We ought to honour her properly."

[TheOnlyTub 550]

In the depths of the Holy See a priest tirelessly poured over documents and penned his own by candlelight before he was interrupted by a deacon which brought him the missive.

His brow furrowed first in annoyance at the disruption, then softened at the news as his face fell in despair
"Oh Bishop" Her former acolyte lamented "I always did say to not speak such ill tidings upon yourself"
And for a brief while the Father Iudas did rest his pen, to pray for the soul of the glorious Bishop Josefina in the Seven Skies

[Morphine 823]

Oswald wept privately within his room after receiving the news. "May you rest well, mother."

[siglms_ 932]

Beaumont sighs while watching the stars in some far-flung region of Aevos. He sheds a tear upon receiving the news.

 

"A great loss for all of Canondom, truly. If only there were much left to see."

[zuziee 4004]

A little brunette pupil greeted Josefina in the skies with a warm smile, "Now we wait for the rest." Philippa spoke, turning back to the ground below. 

[dmitris 391]

Father Helbrecht wept at the news of the Bishop's passing. Having been an acolyte under her, he was inducted into the priesthood under her guidance. He crossed the Lorraine three times, muttering a prayer under his breath.

[Tentoa 3160]

The Acolyte Viktor sighed as the news of the Bishop's death reached him. In his hand, he clutched his letter of reassignment to her as his mentor. "Well... Ea guess back to square one." The nerdy priest muttered, wandering from the noticeboard. 

[Security_ 2287]

Father Casimir sheds a tear for an unlikely friend, a dear and beloved woman who left a certain hole in his heart. A candle was lit for the fallen Bishop, and a prayer in leave... "I will miss the banter, the theological arguments, the collective logos we shared..  requiescat in pace, dear friend, for I know you rest high within the Skies."

[Schneebo 1593]

The newly ordained Father Maurus heard the news while in the depths of his scriptorium. Surely he misheard the murmurings from those who passed by, but he did not. The work that he had been long working on had become stained with those tears, "A proud woman until the very end. I will forever owe her thanks for guiding me along this path... requiescat in pace, Bishop Josefina."

[Piov 2643]

Father Basim mourns the death of a kind and dutiful prelate. The Faith has lost a truly compassionate soul.

[confusedjester 813]

Spoiler

AUHGHHHHHHHH JOSEFEINAAAAAAAAA

 

FEIN

FEIN

FEIN

JOSE-A-FEIN

FEIN

 HORSEY NOOOO

 

[Lortime 1153]

"Another Pillar collapses. Soon, there will be nothing and no one left to call for compassion in a den of beasts."   He murmured in thought. "But you've earned rest friend."