The Day of Reckoning

Chapter 2--The Pillar of Spirituality (Part 4)

Teodoro, the Pastor-Prophet-Priest of the Twelfth Regional Congregation, sighed pleasantly as he moved from the vestry to the pulpit, notes in hand. He had been preaching here for—well, a very long time, and every sermon had been spot-on. At least, he always came away with a distinct sense of having done his job perfectly.

He braced himself against the edges of the pulpit and took another long sniff through his nose, preparing to blast the unbeliever yet again, as only Teodoro could. An odd scent wafted on the breeze; was someone wearing a new perfume? Where had they gotten it? Perhaps a certain pious young lady who had recently found it necessary to meet with him regularly (purely for religious purposes, of course) would do well to find out more about this wonderful perfume.

Teodoro looked down at his notes again.

"Members of the Congregation," he began sternly, "You have heard me speak of this odious virus that threatened not too long ago, that there were some among you who experienced strange thoughts. I encourage you to resist these thoughts. Why? Allow me to demonstrate. Look around you."

Every member of the congregation obeyed. It never occurred to them that he had never called upon them to look at their neighbors in the pew. They had always merely sat in the same seats as Teodoro thundered against the odious unbelievers. Now they sat, staring vacantly at one another, compelled by his words.

"You will notice, some of you, that there are a few faces missing from the crowd."

A collective gasp rippled through the sanctuary. There could be no way for anyone to know the truth of his words for certain, but now that he mentioned it, they all accepted that it must be true.

"They are gone," Teodoro continued, "plucked from the very pews by the unseen hand of doubt, restrained from our illustrious company by fear. Oh throng of Enlightened ones, I urge you, keep your minds and hearts pure from dissenting beliefs. Steel your reserves and put up your guard against—"

Teodoro stopped and blinked at his notes again. Somehow, they did not seem right. There was something around the edges of his mind that told him he'd gotten part of his message muddled. He, Teodoro The Great, had made a mistake somewhere! Well! It would not do to preach from erroneous notes! Teodoro merely cast them aside and picked up right where he left off.

"—put up your guard against... Intolerance."

Yes! This is what the congregation needed to hear! Surely this was a message of enlightenment!

"Brothers and sisters—for we are that, whether elf or human, dwarf or any other species. The very fact that we are gathered in the same space makes us brother and sister of one another. So tell me, brothers and sisters, do the siblings in a typical family always believe the same things exactly the same way?"

A few began nodding, but Teodoro shook his head.

"No!" he pronounced, "Does that make them any less of our family? No! So I tell you, turn to your neighbor, your brother and your sister, and welcome them with open arms! Let us rejoice in diversity of thought, and let us hear with open hearts what other minds have to say!"

Just then, a hooded figure rose from the midst of the crowd. Teodoro blanched, fearful that he had just declaimed the Elitinati in front of one of their own (yet the words he said coincided with his thoughts, so they must be true!). The figure threw back the hood to reveal the face of a kindly Elvish maiden.

"Good people!" she announced, "I have a message of vital import!"

"Yes?" Teodoro asked, "What is it? We will hear you."