Unlike many places in the world, the Kingdom of Ikaria was largely a peaceful realm. Blessed by the goddess Syla, the kingdom has a ward that discourages or prevents those of deep evil from entering its borders, as well as blessing the fields and making the kingdom more prosperous. As with all blessings of such power, though, it has weaknesses and exceptions.<br/><br/>Over the course of every millennium, the ward slowly weakens, providing less protection and allowing danger to increase within the borders. Every thousand years, a young virginal woman is chosen by Syla, blessed with beauty and grace. Upon the young woman is bestowed the Goddess' Orb, a sapphire jewel that melds into the young woman's womb, to be empowered by her faith and confidence, as she bears the crest and power of Syla, in the form of an azure holy crest over her womb, and with divine magic that grows with her faith.<br/><br/>Syla's church knows that it is at this point that the church is most vulnerable, so they have long kept the exact course that things take secret, allowing the young women the last two cycles to travel almost unnoticed as they progress on a pilgrimage about the Kingdom. Anchoring the deific ward are six temples, one in the capital and five in cities near the borders of the realm, and the Chosen must make a pilgrimage from each temple to the next, starting with the northern Temple of Valor. The other temples are the temples of Charity, Serenity, Faith, and Wisdom, with the High Temple at the heart of the kingdom. In each of these temples, the Chosen must take several days in seclusion to focus her spirit and empower Syla's grace within her, using the faith of the kingdom to empower the orb, and eventually the ward itself.<br/><br/>In this millennium, the Chosen is a young elven woman named Lorelei. Unfortunately for her, this time one of the demons lurking in the shadows has learned of the process used to protect Ikaria, and the succubus set her sights on the young woman...<br/><br/><hr/><br/>Lorelei was accompanied by four female guards and a higher ranking priestess named Yaris, a kindly elven woman with blond hair and a bright smile. As far as outsiders would be concerned, Yaris was on a pilgrimage to check on all of the major temples of Syla, and Lorelei was her assistant.<br/><br/>It had been a cool, pleasant spring so far, though the snow hadn't entirely vanished as far north as the group was. The guards and Yaris were in good spirits, for the previous day they'd managed to chase bandits away from one of Syla's roadside shrines, saving the young shrine maiden tending to it. The thankful young woman had gifted each of them, and Lorelei herself, with a new holy symbol made by her father. The five-pointed star of Syla was made of silver with a thin filigree of gold, and with a ruby at its heart. She'd refused any offers to pay her for them, instead treating them to a good meal that evening before they went on their way.<br/><br/>That night they would be staying at a town before setting out on the last day of their journey to the Temple of Valor. The town ahead of them was fairly large, and Yaris paused as they halted at the ridgeline above the city, her voice warm as she asked. "Would you like to see anything before we settle down at the church for the evening, Lorelei? If I remember right, this town has a fair number of merchants that deal in rarer imports. While we may not be able to purchase any, I often find them intriguing to look around."