Adien was dressed in his meticulously tended white leather armor with the newly attained red sash at his waist, which marked him as a Father of the Temple of Life. He carried a simple walking stick but no other adornments or weapons. He was a priest, welcomed by just about everyone and many knew his young face on site. A simple walk through the market would have kept the young Priest fed for days but in his humility, he politely turned aside these offers.<br/><br/>Adien wore an easy smile as he picked his way through the streets, shyly waving at those who called out to him. He kept his head down but his eyes forward, humble but ready. Suddenly he found a girl on each arm and looked up to see Besea and Caylin Miller. The twins were often considered the most beautiful in town but there was a lot of talk about why they had not married yet. Rumor spoke of their father who kept them at home for his own purposes but Adien knew this was gross gossip. Their father simply had not found a man good enough for either of them yet. Adien had healed them both after they had been attacked one night in the streets by a group of leering drunken brutes filled with malicious intentions.<br/><br/>It was marked up to coincidence that Adien was even out that night but in truth, Adien had been drawn there. There had been five of the men and they had made a disgusting amount of progress in removing the girl’s underclothes. Their older brother Danby lay facedown in the muck of the street, motionless and a small trickle of blood from his ear. But what brought up the fighting rage of the cleric, was the number of people who simply were turning away from the act.<br/><br/>And so it was with the holy rage of the Goddess of Life that Adien waded into the group. As he had experienced before, these men were bullies and their first instinct was to run. But then they saw it was five of them versus a young cleric, they thought the fun was just beginning.<br/><br/>The leader was a sewer dog, a large smelly beast of a humanoid species but behind the hair and dirt, it was hard to decipher which one would claim him. The other four were all smaller men, quick to befriend the biggest bully around, just as fast to abandon them when a bigger one came onto the scene. Adien knew how this would play out, the beast man would send in the cronies to try and hold him so he could take free shots.<br/><br/>“Oooooo a preisty,” the beast growled, “Never tasted one of yous before.” He pulled out what looked to be a meat cleaver but it was so dirty and chipped, Adien wasn’t certain. “Surely the bitch of life must be favoring me to send me a soft squishy priesty boy.”<br/><br/>Adien waited patiently, it would happen soon and he already had his attack routine in place. There was a tense silence as Adien stood there. Strangely, there were no signs of nerves or his usual humble confidence. He recalled only feeling rage and calm fighting for control. All priests knew what happened when rage won the battle and so spent years developing calming techniques. Deep breaths in, then let the rage have its say, and breathe it out.<br/><br/>The first man came from the left with a looping right punch meant to end the fight quickly. Adien simply leaned back and let the hand sail by his head and straight in the face of the man approaching from his right. As the punch connected with the other man, Adien sent his left hand under the punching arm and gained control of the wrist, bring the arm down and twist the hand back so it was touching the top of the man’s shoulder. Adien used the hand to force the man to his knee before clenching his fist and hammering it down onto the man’s collar bone, which snapped under the mix of tension and the sudden force. The attacker screamed and fell but before he hit the ground Adien turned to his right and placed a hard low kick, crushing the knee of the attacker who had just been hit in the face.<br/><br/>Two down in the blink of an eye caused the other two to rethink their strategy so Adien went straight for the leader, taking a two steps before stopping as the large man took a wild swing, allowing Adien to snap a kick into the man’s groin. The beast had been in numerous fights, however, and had long since become accustomed to this blow. What he didn’t expect was the open handed shot that flew in behind the kick so fast to smash into his throat, nor was the beast prepared as Adien then clapped the ears.<br/><br/>The ear clap was the final straw as the force rang through the beasts thick skull. The beast crumpled to the ground, and lay very uncomfortably trying to catch his breath. The remaining two men wasted no time in running off into the night.<br/><br/>The two sisters and their brother Danby had never stopped thanking him for that night. Besea had even discussed marriage with Adien, assuring him their father was convinced of his nature. Adien had politely deflected the inquiry though, and the sight of the two women, or any woman really, had him instinctively reach at the burn scars that ran from his chin to his chest. He knew the only reason she had offered was to be kind to him. No one this beautiful would want to wake up to his face every day.<br/><br/>“We heard you are joining the Universus,” Besea said from his right. The girls were twins from their raven hair and ample curves with only the blue of their eyes separating them. Besea had eyes of the summer sky while Caylin’s blue eyes were closer to the color of berries.<br/><br/>“Danby is practically raging at not being invited,” Caylin laughed.<br/><br/>“I hope he does not bare me any ill will,” Adien replied kindly. The girls only rolled their eyes at this though.<br/><br/>“You saved his life Adien,” Besea said softly.<br/><br/>“None of our family could bear you ill anything,” Caylin finished. “In fact, I’ll bet we could convince daddy for you to marry us both!”<br/><br/>Adien stopped short as the girls busted into laughter. Of course, it had only been a joke. No woman would want anything to do with a scarred cleric. He unknowingly stroked the scar tissue on his neck and the girls stopped laughing immediately.<br/><br/>“Adien we certainly didn’t mean…”Caylin said. It was clear they were both horrified at what he might be thinking. Adien buried the sad thoughts and worked up a smile.<br/><br/>“Please ladies,” he managed to say, “it is of little consequence. You will both find a deserved husband once the city has resettled itself. But I really must be off to meet with this Master Craw of the Universus to ensure they have right person.”<br/><br/>The girls only nodded and Adien never caught the look of genuine regret from Besea as he continued on his path. He arrived at the address a short while later, loaded with breads that Ervina the baker insisted he take. Adien was certain that there was no one in the city, possibly the world, more stubborn than the short, skinny woman with a smile as a warm as the bread she made. So he had arrived at the headquarters with an armload of bread, trying to figure out why they would need a priest in this division. Maybe the armload of bread would soften the blow once people took in his scarred features.<br/><br/>With one more gentle pawing at his scars, Adien approached the man standing outside the doors. The red headed man was of average build and height but he wore an easy smile. The earthy colored uniform made Adien feel somewhat foolish in his radiant white leathers.<br/><br/>“My apologies for bothering you sir but might I find a Master Craw here?” Adien asked of the man.