Flame

Good morning. My name is Brother Flame, I am the priest on Whitewings, and I believe somebody has been asking for me.

This does surprise me. She of the Stories told me about some Franciscan brothers who say that they 'do good and disappear'. In the years when King Silverbirch was in charge, that was all I could ever do. I suppose I got used to it, because that's what I suppose I'm here for. Prayer and love are all that is required of me.

Prayer and love. This sounds lovely, doesn't it? Sometimes it isn't. Not during an epidemic of Vomit Fever, as often happens late in the winter, or the time when a lot of little hedgehogs ate some very dead fish on a summer's day. At times like that, a priest can go through a lot of clean tunics. But it so lovely to see the little things getting well again, and running about the beach. As for the young squirrels, their favourite thing just now is rubbing fine sand into their fur and pretending to be Urchin of the Riding Stars. One of the brightest moments in my life is sitting on a rock by the sea in the evening and watching small animals splash about in the water, chase each other up and down the shore, build castles and skim stones. It is a vital part of a young animal's growing up.

One needs to grow one's heart, that's the thing. She of the Stories and I often talk about how good things and bad things, joyful things and tragic things, are always happening at the same time, and it takes a big heart to manage them both. A heart fed on good things. What grows our hearts? What is good for our hearts?

Now excuse me, for I believe a young lady from your side of the water wishes to speak to me. Why me, I wonder? I must disappear again.