Prisoner's journal

Journal entry

 * 30 Birke 1201
 * My fellow captive, Merten, who for so many months kept his neck stiff, mocked my faith in Lebioda and praised the joys of a riotous life, today broke down completely. He admitted he had wasted his gods-given time on pleasures of the flesh and all that he had to show for it were chains and indignities. I tried to lift his spirits, to tell him there is another Path, that he can cast off his past habits and devote his life to Lebioda and His teachings. For now, my counsels have fallen on deaf ears, but I believe he will one day convert and listen to the Truth.


 * [illegible entry]


 * 17 Lammas 1202
 * It is shocking how pleasantly I now converse with Merten. It beggars belief to think we once could not bear each other’s presence! He is a man transformed, metamorphosed! I feel he has accepted his new Path. He devours greedily all I tell him about Lebioda and His teachings. What rapture it is that, in this dank and dark dungeon, the Prophet sent me a sinner and gave my life meaning!


 * [blotted entry]


 * 43 Blathe 1203
 * It is over. Merten has served his sentence and left these accursed dungeon walls. The teachings which I have tried to pass on to him during these last dozen months have clearly taken root: Merten has vowed to go on a pilgrimage which will let him cast off his old ways and open the doors for a new life. As I advised, he will go first to the cave where Lebioda received enlightenment and on whose walls he carved four of his Great Truths. I hope the aura of that place will help Merten, as it has helped many before him, achieve cleansing and gain strength to continue his pilgrimage on to his next station, which I advised him should be… [rest illegible]