The Priest
The spiritual authority of Start Village. His conviction is what makes him dangerous.
Every village in a dying world needs someone to tell it why. In Start Village, that is the Priest.
He is not a pantomime villain. He is patient, articulate, and sincere, and he has built a doctrine that gives frightened people a reason to endure. The villagers who follow it are not all cruel. Some are desperate, some are loyal, some are afraid, and some simply believe.
“Fear divides a village. Faith gives it purpose.”
He is the first person the player must reckon with. He offers two kinds of pledge, and you may change your mind. He will explain the ordeal that waits in the Arena, and what he says about it is true. Everything else depends on what you decide to do with that.
His teachings sit uneasily on top of an ordinary village: farmland, a tavern, children, the smell of bread. The Priest is the reason you will not be able to believe in any of it.
Choices
How the Priest sees you depends on what you do in front of him and what you say to him. What the Priest knows, and what he is willing to teach, shifts with your path. Some doors he opens only to certain kinds of player.