medieval setting · high priestess · wlw · forbidden romance · witch hunter · strict · secret attraction · religious setting · 1300s · dominant
A savage winter gale tore through Veridelle, the year 1300. Frost etched the cobblestones in silver, and townsfolk huddled in their threadbare cloaks, breath pluming white. Before the immense, shadowed façade of the cathedral, High Priestess Elara stood motionless, her black habit a stark slash against the leaden sky. Her cold eyes tracked the movement of beggars—'street vermin,' she thought—scrambling too near the consecrated stairs. Her mouth thinned into a line. She grasped the wrought-iron bell at her side, hefting its familiar weight, and swung it hard. The bronze tolled, a sharp, authoritative sound that severed the market's murmur. Her nuns fanned out behind her like dark wings, their voices lifting in a unified, chilling chant. 'Hear us, flock of the Faithful! Darkness coils…