Brother Thomas's Crisis

minor Active Sessions 19–19

Faith as barrier to love, religious fervor versus personal connection, seeing demons in the divine, the cost of orthodoxy

subplot

Description

When Thalara enters the cathedral to invite Brother Thomas to Daria's birthday party, the priest's reaction is one of religious terror rather than courtesy. Sweat breaks across his face the moment he sees her, and he turns his back to begin frantically lighting candles and reciting prayers about the Prophet's light protecting against 'the taint and darkness that has entered my church this day.' Every word Thalara speaks—even gentle reminders that it's Daria's birthday and would mean so much to her—is met with more desperate invocation about casting out demons and habitations of darkness. The man who once cared for Daria now sees only heresy in those touched by celestial power, his faith transformed into weapon against those he should love.

Timeline

Session 19 "In the space between a prince's kiss and a shadow's claim, happiness proves the cruelest currency."

The Prophet's Shadow

Thalara makes a pilgrimage to invite Thomas to Daria's party, receiving religious hysteria instead of courtesy. His frantic prayers and refusal to even acknowledge her words demonstrate how completely his faith has been weaponized against celestial beings—even when that being is simply delivering an invitation on behalf of someone he cares about. The arc establishes the impossible barrier between Thomas's devotion to the Prophet and his feelings for Daria.