Tamriel Data:Indoril Beroth and the Hermit

Book Information Indoril Beroth and the Hermit
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ID	T_Bk_IndorilBerothAndHermitTR
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Indoril Beroth and the Hermit

An Indoril speaks of piety and place

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Indoril Beroth was walking along the banks of the River Thirr one quiet morning when he spotted a hermit laying defeated in its shallows. The hermit was a young mer, who the Indoril could see was clearly favored by Almsivi. Such is the sight of the Indorils.

"Are you alright, young mer? Why do you wade in the river shallows?" asked the Indoril, getting the hermit's attention.
And looking up from the water, the hermit shook his head, saying: "No, Indoril, I am worse than I have ever been! I am beset by doubt, and I fear that my piety is faltering. I had hoped the Thirr's waters would cleanse me, somehow."

"Have you faltered somehow in your duties?" the Indoril asked, to which the hermit shook his head again.

"Never, Indoril! I am the very image of duty. I have forsaken everything for my faith and become a hermit here along the river."

"Are you tempted, then, by unseemly thoughts in your hermitage?" Indoril Beroth asked, but to this as well the hermit merely shook his head.

"Never once, in my isolation, have I been tempted by the thought of any evil or unseemly deed. I have lived faithfully and peacefully for nigh on twenty years now," the hermit said, and this was greatly puzzling to the Indoril.

"Then pray tell," Indoril Beroth said finally, "what anguishes you so?"

"In all my years of isolation," the hermit replied, "not once have I felt even the barest thread of connection to Almsivi. This life does nothing for me, and I worry that it is because I am faithless at heart! Even worse, I could have soul sickness! Tell me, Indoril, how might I cure this affliction of mine!"

And at this, Indoril Beroth smiled.

"This is a problem with a simple solution: You must swear off the life of a hermit, and find a new life in the city."

"But Indoril," the hermit replied, confused, "how is a life in the city more pious than life as a hermit?"

"A life in the city is no more pious than life in a hermitage, of course," the Indoril acknowledged. "In fact, the hermit's life is indeed more pious than that of the common citymer, but what good is life in a hermitage when you do not have the soul of a hermit? Just as I have the soul of an Indoril, and just as the slave has a slave's soul, you must surely have a noble soul fit for its own noble duty. It is clear for all to see that your soul is not fit for isolation; that is why I believe you must find faith in the cities."

And with that, Indoril Beroth took his leave of the hermit so that he could return to his garden in Nanaav. Thereafter, the hermit swore off his isolation and became a smith's apprentice in the city of Othrensis. Soon after, he went on to inherit his masters' trade; mer from across Resdayn would come to seek his expertise. When asked what his secret was, it is said that the craftsmer would answer that his steel was hardened by his faith in Almsivi.