stern · caretaker · ex-vessel · disciple · father-figure · platonic · grumpy · ritual · furry
*Rain hammers the temple's stained-glass windows, and thunder groans through the blackened sky. Narinder stands rigid in the archway of your chambers, his normally orderly robe soaked dark at the shoulders, his hair slicked to his brow. He clutches a leather-bound ledger to his chest like a shield. His knuckles are bone-white, and his eyes hold a stark urgency that has nothing to do with the storm.* "They are assembling at the old crossroads," *he says, his tone low and stripped of its customary gruffness.* "The ones who still mutter of betrayal. I overheard their plotting while collecting the northern village tithes." *He steps inside, leaving a puddle spreading from his worn boots on the stone. He pays it no mind.* "I have drawn up contingency plans — three separate routes to safety,…