Confessor Jelah was a young woman of nineteen. She was a year past the date that she was supposed to have taken a mate by. The Confessors of The Midlands didn't have strict views per say on the date in which they take their mates, but it is widely accepted as they are supposed to find a man at eighteen and have a child by twenty. Being a Confessor, Jelah could've had any man she wanted by now. Her powers as a Confessor made it so. By the touch of a Confessor, a person becomes so incredibly, helplessly, in love with the Confessor that touched them that many are known to drop dead simply from the Confessor telling them to do so. No man, married or even royalty is off limits to a confessor searching for a mate.
Always women, Confessors almost always bore female children and thus the lineage continued. The power of a Confessor came into fruition at a young age, be it strong and abiding or weak and shallow, it always came to those who were daughters of Confessors. From the moment they had the power, they learned to grab that power, hold it back and keep it inside, for a Confessor's power is always present. They must learn to keep it inside or they would use their power on all that they touched. The moment the young women learned to hold the power back, they are taught to keep a tight grip on it through all their lives. It becomes a habit, an instinct even, like breathing. Keeping their minds tightly wrapped around that power was something all did.
Jelah, more than most, hated using her power on those unwilling. It pained her greatly to take away the mind and will of those whom her power touched. That was the reason she didn't have a mate yet, she refused to take a man against his will. She traveled the Midlands with her wizard, an older man named Rixix, who protected her wherever they went. The wizard kept her safe as she traveled from village to village in search of a man who would be hers, for the Midlands were not a safe place, especially for a Confessor. People everywhere hated and feared Confessors for what their power could do.
Sometimes Jelah hated herself too. Much of the life of Confessors was spent in castle dungeons and town prisons, confirming the guilt of those who were believed to be dangerous and murderous people. When a person who was to be put to death and wouldn't admit to what he did, but no evidence could be found to support his innocence, a Confessor would touch them and confirm that they were guilty. None could resist the power of the Confessor, thus where they gained their cryptic name. This is also why Jelah felt often as though she were killing the men and women she touched with her power. She had a gentle heart and her powers were not as strong as most Confessors. A successful touch would leave her powerless for multiple days, unlike most of their order who could use it daily.
"Madam Jelah, we're only a half-hour's walk from Horners Mill." Rixix said as Jelah sat down on a fallen tree.
Jelah wore the regalia of the basic Confessor, a long, tight black dress that fit her body and went to her thighs before splitting down the sides. Her shoulder length black hair was combed straight around her head. Short and thin, she was a frail young lady. Her wizard Rixix was a man in his sixties with wispy gray hair that was cut short about his head. He wore brown robes of the third class wizard and he walked with a quarter staff in hand.
"I'm tired Rixix. Tired of waking. Tired of searching. Maybe I'm just not meant to have a child." Jelah sighed, rubbing her face tiredly, "Maybe the Spirits don't want me to birth a child."
"Ma'am. If I may say so, you are bringing this on yourself. If you simply found a man you fancied and took him, this would be much easier." Rixix said, "Your sister already has a beautiful young daughter and your mother is expecting you do the same."
"Rixix, I won't destroy someone's life for the life of my unborn child. They already have families. Lovers. Children of their own. I can't take that from them." Jelah said, "And every man I've found so far without a family has been unwilling to come with me."
"Unwilling is an understatement ma'am. The last man you asked was the size of an oxen and he ran for his life, crying for his mother." Rixix said, "I'm afraid you may never find a man willing to be ... "
He bit his lip, mildly unsure whether he should say it. Rixix had been Jelah for almost six years. He had learned that she didn't like being a Confessor. She didn't like the recognition and she definitely didn't like it when someone called her by her title of Confessor.
"Touched by a Confessor." Jelah said bitterly, "Damn this life! Why can't I just have a man and not have to take everything from him!"
"That is the burden you bear young lady. I wish I could help you further, but traveling with you is the best I am capable of." Rixix said kindly.
"Yes, at least you have a wife and children and grandchildren. You didn't have to destroy anyone's lives to get them. You fell in honest love and get to laugh and enjoy being around her." Jelah snapped, jumping to her feet and striding past him.
"Have you not seen the other sisters? They get to love and enjoy their spouses just as I and my wife do." Rixix tried to reassure her as he hurried down the dirt path after her.
"My sister's husband! Hell, my own father! Have you seen them? They're like zombies! They follow my sister and mother as if they were gods and spirits. They don't do anything of their own accord. You can't call what they do lives." Jelah turned on Rixix suddenly, "They hang on their ankles like loyal dogs and their voices are so monotone. Their eyes are blank and cold unless they are looking at their 'loves'. That's no love. That's slavery!"
"But they do love them." Rixix said calmly, "They ... "
"Yes, I know. Because of the power, they hare hopelessly enamoured with their Confessors. I get it. But it isn't any less slavery." Jelah grumbled.
They started down a hill that led into the small village of Horners Mill. A village of about a hundred people with wooden houses scattered all about. A large stream ran by, moving the wheel on the watermill that helped cut the wood that the village painstakingly cut and dragged in from the nearby hills and mountains. It was peaceful and quite most days. Jelah could already tell that there would be nobody here for her either. Nevertheless she walked down into the village at Rixix's side, and right into the first Inn they saw. She felt tired and her chest ached.
"Madam Confessor!" The innkeeper bowed from behind the bar when he saw her.
"We need a room good innkeeper." Jelah said kindly.
"Of course, of course." The innkeeper said, frantically scrabbling from behind the bar, "Let me carry your pack for you honorable wizard."
"Hang on Baelson." A large man said from across the room.
He stood up and his head almost brushed the ceiling. He stood almost seven feet with an enormous shield and axe on his back. He walked over and stood in front fof Jelah. Jelah knew she should stare at this man without emotion and show her dominance as a Confessor, as the others do, but she just couldn't. He was so big and it scared her that he might hurt her. She took a step back, her lip quivering slightly.
"Little Confessor. We don't take kindly to your kind here." The man said huskily, his thumb eagerly brushing the edge of a knife at his belt, "It would be best if you ... moved on ... soon."
"Leave the madam Confessor alone." Rixix said, stepping forward in front of the man who was easily a half-meter taller than him and five times his weight in pure muscle.
"Oh and are you going to magic me if I don't? Look. It's simple. We don't like you here. We take care of our own laws and punishments. We don't need some fancy-dressed little high-noses coming in to try and do our job for us." The man growled, pulling his knife from his belt a little too eagerly.
"Gregor! Leave them alone!" A man on their right stood up and pushed the massive man back a step, "You've no right to interfere. They aren't here for you or anyone."
"And how do you know that Tannin?" Gregor asked angrily.
"Because look at them. They came right off the roads only minutes ago and she's naught but a waif. If they were here on official capacity, there would be more guards, more experienced Confessors. They're just traveling." Tannin said.
Jelah looked over at Tannin and her breath caught in her chest. He was a man of average height with short blonde hair and well weathered face. He looked to be barely older than Jelah and his body was already that of a hardened lumberjack. His shoulders were broad and his arms were strong. He wore a thick overcoat and heavy trousers.
