bathe in flames - lambert & eldigan (faith+1)
@hjartblindr
In a gesture that seemed to gently jostle his mind into trying to process whatever memory fragments he had left, Lambert ran his index finger down the edge of a map. A map of Fódlan that he kept to himself, as a way to further stimulate his brain into perhaps focusing on any specific name or location that could light his path. Until now all he could remember was Faerghus and a couple handful of its territories, but no names seemed to ring any bells.
Disappointing, but he wouldn’t allow it to bring down his spirits. Not when he was on his way to an expedition he had been assigned alongside a fellow professor from another house: Eldigan, of the Golden Deers. During the entire way towards their destination, Lambert’s eyes were focused on the map at hand- which some would claim was careless seeing as they were all traveling on horseback, but it didn’t bother him in the slightest. He just wanted a reference. Anything he could recognize.
And once they arrived…well, he remained the same. He put the map away for now- they had arrived there with a purpose. Some noble houses of Leicester wished to showcase their many boons, and here in this literal hell land there were rumors of a spell that could shield one from the boiling temperatures of the valley. Which…was interesting, definitely. Lambert was by no means a man for high temperatures and just standing in Ailell already made him want to go back to the monastery’s much kinder weather, but it was the other rumor that made him want to come.
Sayings of people, primarily maidens, accused of sin and doomed to wander around the valley, waiting for divine punishment. In Lambert's eyes, such treatment was barbaric.
“Purging damned souls with fire until they come out clean and unblemished…” He wiped sweat off his forehead with his forearm, sleeves already rolled up. “More like power-hungry fools trying to scramble for excuses to make others miserable and make baseless accusations.” Lambert’s stance on the Church was something he kept neutral until he could remember anything of more substance, but this…he couldn’t agree with this. He wanted to see for himself if that was just a rumor- or if it was real. He hoped it was all just some legend.
“If that rumor is indeed real, I would much rather rescue those people. If they committed a crime then the tribunal shall decide their fate, and not some vague divine punishment nonsense.”
A pause. Then he turned around with a confident smile to his fellow teacher. “How about you, Eldigan? How do you view the situation?” He grabbed a hair tie from his pocket, pulling his hair into a small ponytail. “I hope that at least you are faring better in this godless temperature than I am…”
