Challenge #04440-L056: Put Your Muscle Where Your Mouth is

They claim to be a cleric of Tyr, but they certainly don't seem to believe in the concept of justice. So how can you be a cleric of something you don't actually believe in? Simply put, you're not a true cleric. -- Anon Guest

[AN: Possibly in reference to this: https://peakd.com/fiction/@internutter/challenge-04426-l042-not-made-for-you ]

Powers of the Divine come from devoted worship to the god in question. The magic and how it effects the work depend not on the deity, but the worshipper who is the 'filter' of its influence. And when a god is popular enough, one worshipper doesn't stand out very much.

Unless the worshipper in question monumentally screws up.

Saying, "That's not fair," when one follows the god of justice is very dangerous when one is saying such about a situation that is, indeed, more fair than one thinks. That sort of thing gets the god's attention. It may be pitiable to lack the response of the divine, but it is even more pitiable to get the divine's focus.

Witness Sunni Valence, Cleric of Tyr, who has said the fatal words. She said them in regards to a situation in which the downtrodden were favoured instead of her and her crew.

In this case, the second such utterance, it was when a vendor in the Hellkin ghetto charged her team extra instead of the 'usual' Teufel Tax. So of course, there was going to be a reckoning.

As with most interventions, it began with a dream.

She was small, and hungry, but old enough to know what the sign on the display of buns said. Two copper. All the coins she had in her hands. She had to stand on tip-toes to put the bun and the coppers on the counter.

"Not enough," said the shopkeep, pocketing the coins. "Fuck off or I call the Watch."

That was when she caught her reflection, and saw she was a Hellkin. She heard her own voice, echoing. That's not fair! The world around her dissolved into a world of greys. Spots of colour came from crystals or gigantic fungi. All she knew was this world was dangerous. It was harsh and cruel and didn't suffer fools gladly.

She was cooking when the fools invaded her current shelter. A survival cache with essential supplies for the next leg of her journey. They didn't kill her, just fatally wounded her. Leaving her to die slowly as they took everything she had and raided the cache for everything it had. Once again, she heard her own voice. That's not fair!

She was standing in the bowl of Tyr's balance, looking up at his gigantic face as he sneered down at her.

"Are you sure you know what 'fair' is? Are you sure you're using my cause accurately?"

Sunni didn't get the time to answer, because she startled awake to the breaking dawn. Sweating and out of breath, and feeling a crack in the wolf fang that was her holy symbol. The message was clear. She had acted in a manner that was counter to her faith. Thus, her link to the divine power was closed.

Pending her showing her true faith in justice. Not just the law, but what was truly fair.

This would take more than a month of prayer and introspection. More than a year of penitent punishment. No. She had to roll up her sleeves and get dirty on behalf of those suffering the unfairness thrust upon them from the greater world. And take everything she got as something she deserved.

The closest place she could do that was at a different temple. The Church of Kind Hands. The followers of the Eternal Wizard welcomed everyone, gave whatever they could spare, and were the place of refuge for the Unwelcome. Otherwise known as those who had everything being entirely unfair.

Without the divine gift to heal, she had to brew, mix, and make medicines. Salves, potions, pills. Endless bandages. Washing and cleansing padding. Scrubbing any kind of cloth, but especially tailclouts. Some of the Kinder Hands decided to give Sunni the sweatiest and dirtiest jobs, knowing exactly why she was there.

Gods, after all, gossip. Amongst many other things that intelligent creatures do. Word about that sort of penance got around.

The world was not nice to a Cleric who acted opposite to their god's cause. All the gods had to do was withdraw their favour, and the Cleric in question was powerless. Until, or if, they regained their place in the divine light.

How soon or how late that was going to be for Sunni? Well. That was up to the gods.

[Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash]

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