Deoric
Deoric (died c. 878) was an 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 the one of Wisweth's Celtic husband.[1] The Hidden Ones' intelligence indicated that Father Deoric actively spread false information about their group and was known to affiliate with the Order of the Ancients. Thus, Father Deoric's name was added to a list of other Order members in England and he was the first assignment target given by both Hytham and Marcella to their new associate, Niamh of Argyll.[2]
During a church sermon held in the middle of Cote, Father Deoric spoke to his congregation. 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 as he 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, she mentally noted 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]
Cornered, Deoric railed against Naimh's 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 her hesitancy and amateurish nature to kill him, until she interrupted his ranting with a kick in frustration. After Niamh accused him of destroying cairns, Deoric tried to break from her grasp and flee, but became imbalanced. In an instant, Niamh grabbed Deoric from behind and slit his throat. Although Deoric's death put an end to his work for the Order of the Ancients by spreading misinformation, it unfortunately did not end the Celts' persecution in Cote. In retaliation for his murder, his congregation blamed the local pagans and assembled in a lynch mob to attack Wisweth's house, burning it with her still inside and killing her.[3]
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