Dhelta of the Clerics Guild
A Tour of Guildmasters: Dhelta of the Clerics Guild
by Kerrin Gaile
This is one of a series of articles involving interviews with the
current guildmasters of the realm. We will be finding out what each
guildmaster thinks of his or her guild, and hopefully learning a little
about these leaders in our community. So, join me as we sit and chat
with each of these powerful and influential figures.
Since the clerics guild does not have one guildmaster but rather
a triumverate of three guildmasters, one from each ethos, I sent
requests for interviews to the entire triumverate. For this particular
article in the series we speak with Dhelta, one of the members of the
Clerics guild's Triumverate. Hopefully, the rest will grant interviews
soon.
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KERRIN: How long have you been a guildmaster of your guild?
DHELTA: Since they replaced the old Triumverate.
KERRIN: Since becoming guildmaster do you feel you spend less time
being a cleric and more time being a parchment-pushing
administrator?
DHELTA: Absolutely not. Triumvirs do only the barest minimum of
administrative work, mostly pertaining to ensuring that
Reliquary issues are dealt with.
KERRIN: How is your guild unique in that there are essentially three
guildmasters? How does that work?
DHELTA: Having a single person running our administrative bits and
pieces would have led to far too much conflict. But its really
not that complicated...clerics lead their CHURCHES. We don't
lead each other -- we can't, really. Some of us are working
rather hard to ensure that others of us cease to be -- not a
good teambuilder, that. So the triumverate only has to agree on
tour content, basic training issues, and storage of some
armaments.
KERRIN: Do you view your guild as a professional association, a
clubhouse, a close-knit society, a way of life, a comedy club,
or as something else entirely?
DHELTA: Clerics live to serve. Our lives are dedicated to bringing
mortals to the worship of the Aetherial gods. It's not a job...
it doesn't stop at the end of a day. It is something you live
and breathe.
KERRIN: What do you feel is the biggest misconception about your
guild?
DHELTA: That our prayers' strength belong solely to the cleric. If a
cleric can summon a whirlwind through prayer...it is most
important to remember that it is the DEITY that creates the
effect, and it is only through the cleric's continued piety
that it is made possible.
KERRIN: What are you doing to either encourage or change that
perception?
DHELTA: I tell them? Over and over? It's not exciting, but I was told
that whapping them over the noggin with a severed orc arm was
considered excessive.
KERRIN: What do you feel are the strongest traits of your guild and its
members?
DHELTA: Faith.
KERRIN: What sorts of things do your guild members do that make you
the most unhappy or cross?
DHELTA: When clerics lose their focus on matters of the faith and become
increasingly involved in the growth of their secular power, I am
made both sad, and afraid -- for turning aside from our vows is
a terrifying notion.
KERRIN: What sorts of things do your guild members do that make you the
happiest or proudest?
DHELTA: I'm always fond of the first time an acolyte successfully
freezes a chicken.
KERRIN: With which other guilds do you feel your guild has the closest
and best ties or relationships, and why?
DHELTA: I suppose the only guild I could say was "tied" to the clerics
would be the Paladins, since we both live in service of the
Aether. Their leadership model (or lack thereof) parallels our
own, in that we each serve our deity...not some mortal
guildmaster.
KERRIN: With which other guilds do you feel your guild has the most
contention or worst relationships, and why?
DHELTA: Historically, the clerics have had issues with the thieves,
particularly due to thefts during public sermons being a
deterrent to attendance. However, I don't feel that we
experience this any more or less than any other group in the
land.
KERRIN: Why is your guild better than every other guild in the realm?
DHELTA: There can't be anything more fulfilling than giving oneself
totally to the service of a deity. It is a road filled with
many obstacles and challenges, but if you can meet those
challenges face on, you have truely tested yourself under the
Aether.
KERRIN: Do the issues of ethos or religion ever cause disruptions in
your guild?
DHELTA: Should the day arise when ethical and religous matters cease
causing "disruptions" amongst us, I imagine that some of us
would be held most painfully answerable to our deities for a
lapse in our duties. What you might perceive as "disruption"
is our extension of policy and doctrine, and is not only
appropriate, but required of us.
KERRIN: Is it difficult to keep your personal beliefs in-check when
dealing with the usual three-headed debate that is ethos?
DHELTA: I don't keep my beliefs in check. Nor should the other two
triumvirs, hence why we only deal with rather mundane things,
like, "What should we do about the eighteen chain helmets?"
KERRIN: Do you feel your guild should actively promote a life based on
religious devotion or do you feel that it is more up to the
individual churches to attract people to a religious way of life?
DHELTA: You are kidding, right? The mortal realm of Threshold is the
final battleground. There is not one life here that does not
partake in the deities' gifts, and not one who can escape a
role in this battle.
KERRIN: Given the overwhelming power and divine nature of the Aether,
why do you think so many mortals repeatedly make grievous
mistakes that anger the Gods?
DHELTA: We're mortal, with the power to choose. With that power comes
the capacity to choose poorly. Without this responsibility, and
the capacity to fall short of expectations, the mortal realm
couldn't really be the final battleground.
KERRIN: How do you feel about so many people viewing your guild members
as walking hospitals?
DHELTA: Anyone who equates the healing powers granted through the
worship of a deity as being equivalent to a service industry,
like sharpening some blade, is sorely mistaken.
KERRIN: If you could change any one thing in our society or in the
realm, what would it be and why?
DHELTA: The perception that mortals are insignificant, and that their
actions cannot affect the outcome. If a mortal woman can serve,
and in time ascend to become a full deity of the Aether, I can
think of no valid excuse for any mortal not to try and make a
difference.
KERRIN: What is your favorite color?
DHELTA: Copper.
KERRIN: Is there anything else about your guild you would like to say
to the rest of Sable?
DHELTA: Nope.
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Keep your eyes peeled for the next article in this ongoing series.
Several guildmasters have already agreed to grant interviews, and
hopefully all will eventually appear here in the pages of The Sablean
Times!