Faith Lost, Faith Found

This somewhat controversial work was written by Cardinal Dalius Throckmortor.  This is written in common and is known to be one of the last works Throckmortor wrote before his death in 66AS.

Faith. What does it truly mean? Is it the opposite of doubt, or are they two sides of the same coin? Do those who keep the faith in the goddess and her heavenly manifestations only do so because they have seen the light of her love and glory? Likewise are those who doubtful only because they have not had such an opportunity? Should we judge so harshly those like the elves and dwarves, who hid away during the War of Ashes to protect their people? They did not see the carnage wrought upon the people like our forefathers, but nor did they see the great deeds performed by the archangels and saints and common folk. I hope to examine here a case of faith lost, and faith found in hopes that you may learn the lessons of those who came before you, who paid such a price in that knowledge. We shall examine the stories of Saint Tysus and the former saint, Misiri the Fractured.
During the War of Ash, there were many who sided with the demon-god, some out of their own sin and vice, and some because they were deceived. One such of the former was Saint Tysus who came to us from a people across the mountains. She fought alongside the demon-worshipers for some time, however over time she came to see the damage her queen had caused her people. She saw that those who questioned the queen were quickly executed, and soon all who remained were the deceived and the deceivers. Tysus however was perhaps the only exception to that, and one night, she stole out from her post and fled through the mountains. Pursued by demons, it took her ten days, without much rest, and with little food and water, but she made it out and found refuge across the mountains where the faithful were gathering at what would be the Imperial City. There she prostrated herself among the leaders of the resistance and offered all the information she could, telling the tales of the queen's evil deeds. With the information she offered, a campaign was possible to cleanse the demon filth from her home and so it was.
Even after all she had been through Tysus offered more. The light she had seen in the faithful of Celestine had inspired her, restored her faith that hope could once again find purchase in the mortal Realm. After the evil queen's forces had been routed Tysus was given a command, with the mission to find out where the remaining demons in that area had fled to. Her task was joined by the only other equals of her faith, angels, the Hunter and the Warrior, who also each led their own arm of the faith militant to route out this evil. And while that evil was eventually destroyed, Tysus never saw it, for she was captured by that evil queen, who served the demon god. It is believed that Tysus was tortured to death, however it is also believed that she did not give up any of the secrets of the Army of the Light, as if she had, the battle surely would have been turned. For this great deed in keeping the faith, she would eventually be granted sainthood.

Then we have the story of Misiri the Fractured. She was one of the few who was granted sainthood while living, and quite young as well. For she may be one of the greatest factors in opening the eyes of the dwarves to the light of Celestine. Born in Argenthrane, Misiri saw the tail end of the war, and the consequence of the dwarves' inaction. She also saw the great deeds performed by Celestine through the Heavenly Chorus, and how they protected even those who did not hold the love of Celestine in their heart. This was what inspired Misiri, who we then called Misiri the Missionary, the one who brought the faith of Celestine to Argenthrane, the place where once was the center of dwarven paganism with their god-stones and souls of the mountains. She traded her pagan tattoos for markings of Celestine, bearing the star upon her hands and head.
However for Misiri the Missionary, it seemed her faith was not as tough as the stone gods she once worshiped. As she traveled further silver tongued demons found her on her journey, whispering infernal lies, playing victim, in hopes that Misiri the Missionary could be turned, and through her start a new wave of sin and vice the demon god could use to restart his conquest of the mortal realm. For in the hearts of the faithless, the demon-god lives, and until all hearts are bathed in the light of Celestine, there is always threat of its return.
And with Misiri's faith broken, she began to spread the word of the demon king. Advocating for mercy for those demons that were revealed and captured. She tried to use the writings of Celestine to spare them from the light's justice, to allow them to slither away and worm their way into the minds of other innocents. But what chance does any mortal, even a saint, stand against the will of demons? With her sainthood removed she attempted to flee rather than face judgement, however she did not make it far. The demons she had put her faith in vanished as soon as there was any threat to them, and she was easily captured and executed, her tattooed head placed on a pike for all in the Imperial City to see, to remind them what happens when you lose faith.