The air in the Temple of Bralis was thick with the scent of incense and dust, a heady mix of reverence and a temple that had remained long-unused, that was just starting to come back to life. This was an old traveler's temple, one that was often filled with itenerant Lucents and their staff as they moved from one town to the next, and offered comfort and succor to any travelers upon the road. Since the invasion, most of these temples sat empty as the priesthood had been mostly scattered to the four winds as they refused to submit to Iwa's rule.
Sakaze wore the vestments of a Lucent, as she usually did--plain beige robes and a simple brass torc that served as both a symbol of devotion and her station, with a sun motif etched into the brass plate. Her face was covered by a simple, sheer veil that allowed one to see the outline of her face, though not its full shape--something that was not usual, but not unheard of either. Normally, it served to deter the patrols from recognizing her, but that wasn't an issue she worried about much anymore. The patrols had gotten a bit lax as of late, and that allowed the mad prophet to claim the temple as a small forward outpost for the Hokori--disguised, of course, as normal priests and functionaries that would barely draw a second glance so long as they payed the proper lip service to any Iwa nin that happened upon them.
Sakaze herself was busy sweeping dust off the altar and the platform it rested upon with a bundle of dried, woody grass that she'd plucked outside and bound together with a simple ribbon, creating a small pile of dust and sand that she knocked off the platform and into a small tray she'd set on the step below it. Three fresh sticks of incense sat upright within a small bowl made of brass, a single beam of sunlight coming from above to illuminate the fragrant flame as it smoldered away. Sakaze hummed an old tune to herself, a hymn of exultation she'd learned as a girl, as she picked up the tray and walked over to an open window, dumping the dust out into the desert from whence it came.
She brought the pan back inside and, along with her makeshift broom, put both in a small supply closet at the back of the tabernacle. The Lucent dusted her hands off and walked over to the alter, before kneeling before it and bowing her head as she began to pray out loud in the old tongue, a prayer of protection and the destruction of Her enemies--not that any Iwa nin would know enough of their language to understand what she was saying, should they happen upon her.
