“In Mandal’s light, we heal. In healing, we are reborn!”

Said the The Divine Prophet and finished his sermon on the divine altar. It was a rare thing to see the Prophet personally speaking like this as usually it’s the Bishop who handles the weekly service at the temple. Ethan, the Divine Prophet, stood adorned in white and gold robes, his deep blue eyes reflecting the temple’s flickering candlelight. At the center of his chest, the symbol of Mandal—a silver sun with an open eye—drew gazes like a silent judge, watching all who dared to meet it. 

Ethan looked into the crowd from the altar, he could see all the pious believers looking at him with a hint of reverence in their eyes, and also some people closing their eyes with their hands joined, probably praying to alleviate any of their problems. He walked down from his stage and walked in the middle of both rows to head to the exit, all the people surrounding him

“Holy Prophet, thank you for such a beautiful ceremony, we literally felt his grace Mandal’s presence while you were speaking”

“Yes, Yes Holy one, we really feel cleansed and refreshed after your talk”

Said most of the people around Ethan, so he stopped and looked at the people with a kind smile and said to them

“You have to remember that our lord Mandal is always with everyone, especially those suffering and trying to overcome, you just have to look out for him, understand his teaching and learn that you are not alone in this struggle. We are with you, and I am with you”

All the people around him nodded, some with tears in their eyes thinking about how much the temple has helped them with their struggles. Ethan nodded with a reassuring smile and As Ethan moved through the crowd, a single man stood near the back, arms crossed. Unlike the others, he did not bow. His gaze was sharp—questioning. Ethan met his eyes for a brief moment, then smiled. The man frowned and turned away.

Outside the temple door, he met Bishop Robert, who was a commoner before this calling, he was drowning himself with alcohol before this due to his whole family being murdered by a serial killer who was rampant in this part around 2 years ago. He was saved by Ethan personally and found his calling spreading the teachings of the temple of Mandal which helped him overcome his difficulties

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Ethan said smiling

“Bishop Robert, your teachings are really well received by the masses, everyone’s praising your work at the temple”

Robert said while beaming with pride and happiness

“No way holy one, I am far from acceptable compared to you, like the people said, even I could feel the holy energy during your talk and even now”

Ethan chuckled, shaking his head. “I’ve told you before, Robert—there are no ‘holy ones,’ only those who understand Mandal’s will. You are one of them.”

“No way Prophet! I am but a humble servant”

Ethan knew he couldn’t say much on this, so he just switched the topic

“Anyway Robert, how’s the preparation for the meal after the ceremony? Is everything ready for the believers? Please let me know if there’s a shortage of anything, feeding the people is more important”

Robert replied

“No worries at all prophet, we make sure that every week we prepare enough food for all the people visiting our temple”

Ethan nodded and went about his way to inspect the grounds. He could see all the believers either working around the temple to take care of it or preparing food for the feast after the weekly sermon. It was one of the most important aspects of this temple compared to even the temples of other religions found in the big cities, it was also one of the important reasons why the temple could expand to this level in just about 1.5 years of its establishment.

He finished his short walk and headed towards the center of the town. The town is called Ravenspire, A mid-sized town situated in a valley, surrounded by rugged hills and dense forests. The main source of income for the people in this town is farming and a copper mine situated a few miles away from town. But recently it’s said that the copper mine is being depleted and many people are losing their jobs one after another adding a layer of unrest to the town.

Ethan walked along the road surrounded by golden wheat on either side. The temple owns all of these lands, it was leased to their believers on a 50-50 contract. Far more reasonable than the other places where the best deal was 80-20 split. He looked at a store set up in town, his destination— Mandal’s Infirmary. He was immersed in the title for a while and murmured to himself 

“They come here broken, and they leave devoted.”