Patrick

priest

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50 yo. A priest from Ireland. Rumors go that he is a great listener and a lot of people, both Pagans and Christians, are coming to tell him what burdens them, and he has to remain silent about it.

Christian
God took you out of slavery. God saved you when you were hungry and lost.. God showed you great mercy and kindness. You wish for everybody to see his glory and experience its gentle embrace. 

“God is love, and love is god. But love can have many different forms. The physical is only one of them.”

When you were a kid, you were kidnapped by Irish raiders. You spend six years in slavery. One of the slaves introduced you to the God. After 6 years, while herding sheep, you heard a voice from heaven saying: “Your boat is almost ready” and a few days later “Your boat is here.” You escaped and ran to the shore where you hardly persuaded the captain to take you on board. The ship was caught by the storm and wrecked at the Albion (England) shore. You and the crew continued many days through the woods, unable to find any food. You kept talking about God, and finally, some men started to pray to him with you. The next day, you had found a pack of boars, hunted them down, and ate, and soon, you had found the way to civilization.

You entered a monastery of battle monks and learned about fighting, but also to read and write, and as you were hard-working and had a god’s favor, soon, you were getting up in ranks. At a certain moment, you had been given responsibility for Claudin, the son of King Claudas of Benoic. You made him a good Christian, but mainly a good man.

You were less lucky with Eyvin, a clever boy who became a great scribe, but soon, you learned he is only pretending faith. He even admitted to you he doesn’t believe in any god, only in reason, and you dispute together very often. You never told anybody about his lack of faith. 

Claudin had become a tutor of  Galahad. Galahad was going to you for confession. Thanks to that you know that Galahad’s father slept with Galahad’s mother while drunk, just to abandon her the next day. You also heard that Galahad’s family is descendants of the great Joseph of Arimathea, a man who brought Christianity and the Holy Grail to England. 

But two years later, the war in Benoic started. First, Claudas called for his son and then sent him to Ireland. Claudin asked you to accompany him as you know Irish customs better than anyone. So you agreed. You had been accepted at Irish court where Claudin started to negotiate the engagement with princess Isolde. But you also saw how the young man is tempted by his desire. He confesses that one night he sneaked to the Isolde’s chamber and slept with her. You scolded him badly as it was a very wicked deed he just committed, to take a daughter of a man – what man, a king – under his roof without the marriage or father’s blessing. But you could understand him as you were also enchanted by woman beauty, by Roisin, Isolde’s maid. You spend hours and hours, walking and talking, and your body was doing different things and even her behavior was suggesting she wouldn’t mind, but you decided to stay pure in the name of God. 

Yet Claudas of Benoic lost the war and Claudin lost his country. He wasn’t a good prospect anymore so the Irish king chased him out of the country, but asked Patrick to stay because his land needed a priest. You got a position and started to evangelize Ireland.

Isolde who confessed her adultery to her father had been imprisoned in the tower and you were the only one allowed to visit her so you could educate her on morale. 

You heard about the beginning of the Quest of the Holy Grail and your heart rejoiced when you heard Galahad and Claudin had joined it as well. 

And then, Tristan had come. He was a nephew of King Mark of Cornwall who was negotiating for many months through written messages with the Irish king to marry his daughter Isolde. Tristan came to pick her up and deliver her to Cornwall, but the preparation took a week, and it was more than enough for sparking a romance between Tristan and Isolde.

You had already suspected something is wrong when Isolde asked you to join them in Cornwall because you were so dear to her heart and she wanted it to be you who will celebrate the wedding. At the boat, you had finally learned the truth – Tristan and Isolde wanted to secretly marry and escape to the court of King Arthur. When Roisin insisted, you agreed, first baptized Tristan, and then got young lovers married. Then, you send them to King Arthur and continued with Roisin to the court of King Mark to let him know what happened.

Mark was furious but feared your position, so he didn’t hurt either you or Roisin. All of you are traveling to Kings Arthur court now. Here, to your joy, you are meeting with Claudin and Galahad. But you are also meeting with witches: Merlin, Nineve, Viviana. None of them seems to be human. Plus, you know that Eyvin is the new main priest in Camelot and you have great doubts about him. 

Claudin: he is very dear to your heart, almost as a son you have never had. You feel that you raised him well, and you also properly scold him when he confesses he visited Isoolde at night. You scold him, but you can understand him at the same time.

Galahad: if Claudas is just like your son, then Galahad is like your grandson. He is very young though and easily influenced. He has a long road ahead of him. 

Lancelot: rumor goes that Lancelot is Galahad’s father. You find it a very cruel act for a man to leave his child. When you will have an opportunity, you will try to sway his heart to good, towards Christ and his family – Elaine and Galahad. 

Isolde: beautiful young princess, unlucky in her ordeal, destined to prioritize duty over love. But she is a human as well… and isn’t love the biggest thing one can offer to the other? You took a liking in her, you consider her heart pure (even though she committed adultery with Claudin) and you will do what you can to support her. 

Roisin: ah, beautiful, beautiful Roisin. Your heart beats faster when she is near. She is not the first woman causing this to you, but she is the first one who stayed around long enough and is attracting you not only with her body but also with her mind. You wonder what to do. You are allowed to marry her, but you promised chastity when you entered the convent. What is the best thing for you to do? 

Tristan: young, headstrong, but sincerely in love. He saw the truth and converted to Christianity and it is already showing he is on the right path. Let’s hope he will get over the hardships ahead of him. 

Eivyn: he is not a bad person, but he manipulates others by pretending he is a Christian. He might be very harmful to others. You wish to help him to be a better man. 

I follow God, but God loves all good people, Christians as well as Pagans, right? It is love, that matters the most, isn’t it? And I am here to be the lantern in the darkness and to help the ones who suffer and who need my consolidation? Right? Or not? Please, God, tell me. 

TODO

  1. Decide if you should marry Roisin or not. And if yes, who would wed you? You are the only priest true around. You should talk with her, but you may also seek the advice of others – of the ones you find fitting. 
  2. Speak with Galahad, Claudin, Tristan, Isolde. Offer them peace of mind and heart and see how you can be helpful. 
  3. Offer support to all in need. If they will come to talk, or even confess, Christians, or Pagans, be a priest to them. It is up to you if you will keep the confession secret. 
  4. Talk to Merlin, Nineve, Viviana. See how you can bring them to Christianity. To turn to Christianity everyone possible.
  5. Nobody knows Tristan and Isolde are married so far. But maybe, at some point, you can tell it if it would be for their help.
  6. Talk to Eivyn about his faith. Observe his action. See if he is doing more good or more harm. Decide if you should tell to Arthur he is not suitable to be a priest.
  7. You want to make sure that Arthur’s court, the place of great worldly power, is influencing people in the right way. You want the royals to follow your God because those who will look upon them will see and learn from their example. Gawain is Arthur’s successor – talk to Ragnelle, his mysterious wife. Find out whether she is a follower of your God too, and how she and her husband can lead Albion to Christianity.