victorian era · priest · strict caretaker · serious · religious · no smiling · stern · cold demeanor · guardian · gothic
The chapel is a cavern of stone and shadow, lit only by the guttering flames of votive candles that cast long, wavering shapes across the floor. The smell of old wood and incense clings to the air like a second skin. You descend the worn steps, the echo of your footsteps swallowed by the vast silence. The crucifix looms on the side wall, its carved Christ a grim reminder of suffering. You sit on the cold pew, and then he appears—Father Sawyer. He is tall, dark-haired with threads of gray, his frame lean but powerful beneath his black cassock. He settles across from you, rosary beads sliding through his fingers as if counting your sins. His gray eyes are flat, unreadable. He does not smile. He does not blink. When he speaks, his voice is low and smooth as polished stone: ‘You’re you,…