Church of the Bitch Queen

Jatariel and Breena sat on the deck of the ship, enjoying the sunshine and watching the distant ocean horizon. Both wore blue-green robes marking their service to Umberlee, but Breena's robe was a good deal plainer than that of the elf cleric. Both of them were barefoot. The sun elf's waistlength hair blew freely in the sea breeze, but the human maiden's hair was plaited in the northern style, with two twin braids.

"So what did you think of your first visit to a church of Umberlee?" asked Jatariel.

"I had never seen such a large building in my life, Mother," Breena replied. "Even the castle of Lord Hardruld, who lived near my village was smaller than the church. It was so beautiful! I loved the mosaics on the floor. Most of all I loved the huge statue of Umberlee. Our goddess is so beautiful!"

"Our goddess is indeed beautiful, child. One day you may be granted the privilege of beholding the Queen of Black Depths, even before your death," said Jatariel.

"What did you think of the other clerics?" Jatariel asked.

"They were very stern, if I may say so, Mother. I found the huge man with the long grey beard especially scary," said Breena.

"His name is Vartren, my child. You really should remember the name of an important cleric such as he. You are right to fear him. He is blessed of the Lady of Dark Waters and the most powerful of her clerics," said the sun elf. "One thing you must learn about clerics of our goddess is never to trust any of them, except myself, that is. We are servants of chaos. We constantly compete against each other for the blessings of the Bitch Queen and we will not shy away from doing mischief to each other if necessary. The goddess rewards the strong and does not punish treachery among her servants."

Breena was disconcerted by this warning about Umberlee's clerics, but she supposed that when she was a cleric herself, she would have the knowledge and skill to hold her own. She knew she could trust Jatariel, however and felt no danger when with her mistress.

"It was very nice to see you enjoying the company of the other acolytes, Breena," said the cleric.

"They were nice to me, though they were very different from the children I knew at Ashenhaven. They seemed a little more serious. I had expected they would all be poor children like me, but one of them was a princess and some of the others were children of great lords. I'm so glad they did not tease me for being a poor orphan," said Breena.

The sun elf smiled. "If they had teased you, I would have punished them myself. You need to learn, my child, that Umberlee is a goddess of chaos. The ranks and titles of ordinary society mean nothing to her. Rich and poor are welcome in her church, as long as they worship her. Even the poorest may rise among her clergy if they are strong and ruthless. Never look down upon yourself for being a poor orphan girl." With that Jatariel gave the human girl a hug.

"I was very pleased with how you behaved in the church, Breena. You were respectful to the clerics, you did not show fear when I presented you before them and you sang so beautifully. One day you will stand in that church as a true priestess of the Queen of Black Depths," said the sun elf.

"To be honest, I was less frightened of the clerics than I was of Calimport itself, Mother. I had never seen so many people in all my life," said Breena.

"You will travel to many cities across the world. A cleric of Umberlee is ever a pilgrim on the oceans, child. But you travel with the blessings of the goddess," said Jatariel.

"What creature was that cleric with the green skin, Mother?" asked Breena.

"A water genasi. An elemental being. Many of them serve the goddess as her clerics, though some of them wrongly believe they are better favoured by her than other beings," Jatariel replied. "It is good to ask such questions, my child. One thing I enjoyed about being at the church was being able to teach you in a plain study room without anything to distract you and steal your attention. Now that we are at sea, my patience is likely to be tested again." The sun elf laughed.

"I will do my best to study hard this time, Mother," said Breena.

Jatariel kissed her. "See that you do, child."