Highmother Maud

To praise Lumaya is no simple thing, assert the Sacred Order’s leaders, whatever the masses I might believe. To truly sing of her glories one must have more than a strong voice; one must be able to memorize innumerable ancient hymns written in a dialect known to many in Anhelt as the Old Tongue. Believed to have been spoken by the first Humans of Teleria, and rumored to be the mother tongue of Lumaya herself, the Old Tongue is fragmentary and mostly forgotten, save by those few sages tasked by the Sacred Order with its reconstruction. One such sage is Highmother Maud, the Headmistress of Hymns for the Eternal Citadel, and supposedly the only person capable of speaking the Old Tongue with any real proficiency. Maud was once merely one Mistress of Hymns among many, with a voice that could shatter glass and be heard for miles around on a clear day. But it was her grasp of the rudiments of the Old Tongue that drew the attention of her superiors, including Abbess Eufemia Corday. Maud had an almost instinctive understanding of the primeval dialect, and was capable of translating the oldest scrolls and most ancient of tablets with a clarity and precision that far outstripped that of her peers. Her translations were among the finest ever composed. Thus, at the Abbess’ direction, Maud was given responsibility for compiling a volume of precisely translated Lumayan hymns for use by her peers. The creation of this devotional text, the first of its kind, took nearly a decade for her to complete, but when it was finished it was judged by many sages to be the most complete and accurate compilation of its nature in existence. However, Maud was the only Mistress of Hymns capable of singing it in its entirety in its original form, though many tried. Abbess Eufemia chose to see this not as an obstacle, and decreed that if Maud was the only one who could sing the truest songs of devotion in their truest form, then such would be her responsibility. Thus, Maud became Highmother. The position was an old one, last held sometime in the dim past of the Lumayan Church, and its duties had been scattered among the most senior Mistresses of Hymns. Maud took to her new duties with great eagerness and has performed them with all the assiduousness with which she once scoured primeval texts. Under her stewardship, the hymnals of the Sacred Order have grown more potent, with many previously untranslatable songs added to the hymnals of the faithful. While Maud is no stranger to the battlefield, having fought as a Mistress of Hymns before her ascension to Highmother, it is rare these days to see her outside the precincts of the Eternal Citadel. Like Abbess Eufemia or Roshcard the Tower, her duties often keep her from the fray save in the most exigent circumstances. During these times, Maud will often march to battle at the head of a choir composed of her most favored Mistresses of Hymns, those who have shown both talent at translation and a gift for the sacred rhythms of Lumayan battle-hymns. Their unified voices will drown out all but the most cacophonous sounds, and under Maud’s direction, the songs of her war-choir can make the difference between victory and defeat. On the rare occasions that she is able to fight alongside her subordinates, Maud’s voice hammers at the air with the force of a hurricane. Her hymns can be heard across the battlefield, and they invariably give heart to her allies, driving them on even when they are at death’s door. Stories abound of wounds of the faithful closing themselves and broken limbs being mended by the soothing and balming tones. For her enemies, however, her voice brings nothing but terror, causing the less courageous among them to quit the battlefield entirely. When the time for singing is done, Maud will drive her great spear through any foe within reach. The weapon, a gift from Abbess Eufemia, was forged from the finest steel and capable of piercing even the heaviest Kaerok war-plate, and her skill with it is such that she can leave even the most heavily armored foes choking on their own blood. Recently, Maud has sought more opportunities to venture outside of the Eternal Citadel to test her newest translations personally, as well as meet with certain sages outside of the Order concerning those of her discoveries that do not fit smoothly into modern orthodoxy. While Abbess Eufemia has been reluctant to grant her valued Highmother’s request, Maud’s influence with the rank and file of the Sacred Order, especially among the Mistresses of Hymns and the Sisters Militant, has made it all but impossible to reject her requests. Some within the Order whisper that the Abbess is regretting elevating Maud to her post; others insinuate that it might be time for someone new to take over as Highmother…