Excerpt: Letters in a Grimoire

She stumbled into the church area, finding several priests deep in prayer or reading sacred texts. This would be the perfect spot to find someone with both the literary knowledge to teach her and sufficient charity to actually want to do so. Everyone looked pretty busy, though. Then she saw one older priest sitting in a pew and doing something idly with his hands. When she came closer, she saw that he was carving a tiny figure out of a piece of wood.
“That’s a fine little doll,” she said without thinking. Then she cringed. “Oh, no, I didn’t mean to sound so dismissive. Is that some sort of holy relic you’re making?”
The priest let out a hearty, braying laugh that caused a few heads to turn before resuming their duties or dedications. “No, child,” he said, “holy relics come to churches through the grace of the One God. We cannot simply *make* them.”
“Oh,” she said, blushing. Maybe she would find someone else to speak with, to make her request of, that would be best at this point.
Before she could escape, he raised a greying eyebrow at her and said, “Have you come to join the order, or just to sightsee?”
“I’m sorry,” she said, “I know I’ve intruded without permission. I was on an errand…” The words died from her mouth. “The truth is, I would like to learn how to read.”
He nodded, not seeming surprised. “That is one function we can provide—but only to those who are interested in helping with our mission. *Do* you believe in the One God, child? Be honest with me, as you’ve been so far.”
She shrugged, which was about as honest as she could get in this area. “I don’t know. My family doesn’t concern itself much with religion. We’ve revered the gods of old Demos because that’s what our predecessors have done—our ancestors lived in Zantia. But… I would like to learn more about the One God. I would be willing to help you.”