Deoric
Deoric (died c. 878) was an Anglo-Saxon priest of the village Cote and a member of the Anglo-Saxon sect of the Order of the Ancients.
Biography
In 878, Father Deoric, a middle-aged and thinned haired man, served as a priest to the settlement of Cote for around three months. During his tenure as Cote's priest, Deoric was known to be prejudiced against pagans, especially Celts, and destroyed cairns within the settlement, including one of a Celtic lady's husband.[1] From the Hidden Ones' intel, Father Deoric worked to spread false information about the Hidden Ones and was known to affiliate with the Order of the Ancients. Father Deoric's name appeared on a list of Order members of England and he was the first assignment from the Hidden Ones' members, Hytham and Marcella, to their new associate, Niamh of Argyll.[2]
During a sermon, Father Deoric spoke to his constituents at his church, which was in the middle of Cote. However, as viewed by Niamh, Deoric seemed cold and emotionless when addressing his fellow Christians. Once the sermon finished, Deoric was not kind or social with his people but retreated back home quickly afterwards. Through Niamh's investigation, Deoric was found to be a monstrous and unsympathetic priest as he tried to rid the village of its pagan citizens.[1] With further inspection, an unfortunate example was found as Deoric destroyed a cairn and a grave of fallen pagan man and replaced it with a Christian cross. When Niamh decided on Deoric's fate, a note was mentally made about how Deoric was rarely alone, as he either spoke with rich, affluent members of his parish or was waited on by his altar boys within his home. As the moon rose, Deoric was being waited on by one of his altar boys until Niamh broke into his home.[3]
Confronting Niamh, Deoric spoke against her heritage as a Celtic witch-warrior but noticed that she hid to the shadows, like a Hidden One. Nevertheless, Deoric spoke boisterous remarks about Niamh's people and how his Order and people outranked the pagans. Focusing on Niamh, Deoric criticized Niamh's hesitancy and amateurish nature to kill him, until he was kicked by a frustrated Niamh. After being blamed by Niamh for destroying cairns, Deoric tried to flee and break free from Niamh's grasp, but became imbalanced. In an instant, Deoric was grabbed from behind and immediately killed as Niamh slit his throat. With Deoric dead, his community blamed the pagans and as a result, his death led to the burning of Wisweth's life and her house. With his death, Deoric was no longer to spread lies and continues his work for the Order.[3]
Appearances
References
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