Every so often, it comes - the feeling that here is not the right place, that moldering in this backwater is no fate fit for such a talented son of the Church, that such skill and power is better deployed somewhere else,where the need is more urgent, more real...not some imagined residue of ill, but real problems. But of course, the ill is not imagined but fabricated, probably by enemies within the Church hierarchy, those jealous of such ability, who have used this stupid notion to effectively sideline a potential rival...
Gedner Hallop shakes his head, cursing gently under his breath: they come more often lately, these errant thoughts, self-serving meanderings. His duty here is truly important - the odd thoughts and impulses he has been fighting lately are proof enough, for he knows whence they come: the Chaos Well. He knows that the Well - or the force that powers it - is in some sense alive, active and straining to break free of its bindings. No longer content with the slow leakage of the last century, the Chaos walled away at the bottom of the Well is pushing, stretching the bonds that hold it. Dark thoughts rise like bubbles to the surface of the Well and then drift, miasma-like towards the village, seeking to take hold of minds willing and unwilling. In the case of the guardians and observers, it would be useful to convince one or more - or all - of them to find something better to do with their mortal lives, so frail and short in the face of Chaos Eternal...
Gedner Hallop is the local Priest of Vlynn, God of Good Fortune and Lost Things Found. A hale and cheerful fellow in his early fifties, he is outwardly no more than an ordinary priest of his faith, in a quiet village with just enough of a congregation to justify the expenditure of building and maintaining a Temple. However, he is in truth an experienced and gifted priest - his powers mostly kept secret from the villagers and the few visitors who bother with Chelmsey. Mostly, aside from his regular priestly duties, Gedner provides a willing ear and wise counsel to those who need it or spends time using his considerable skills as a carpenter to repair anything that needs fixed or to help build a new barn (or other such things).
Gedner came to Chelmsey at the behest of his superior, the Bishop of Brejlgard - as one of the more experienced and capable priests in Rakhanay, seasoned by long service dealing with the Demon-cultists that continually attempt to subvert the provinces of the north-west and a stint as a mediator in the conflicts between Khoul and Reymedo, to serve for six years, watching over village and Chaos Well. This Gedner has done willingly - he is not particularly ambitious, and, like many priests of Vlynn, detests intrigue. Although he is often bored with his bucolic living, he enjoys the opportunity to serve the villagers - most of whom are decent folk - and the Kingdom. Keeping an eye on the Well appeals to his veiled sense of romanticism.
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