The words here were Obsidian, Cauterise and Archiepiscopal. Once I'd looked up what the last one meant, I was given the idea to write about the colonisation of South America, and this is what I ended up with. Dear friend, I write to detail our attempts to complete our archiepiscopal duty in bringing the love of God to the peoples of the Americas, specially those that call themselves Aztec. It would bring great relief to my heart if you could bring this information to his Excellency, the Archbishop. All in all, our efforts go well. We have been welcomed to the village and have begun work on the mission. Some small number are attending our services regularly, and that number grows slowly but steadily. There is resentment from some quarters – a large part of this seems to be from those who fought in the war, but there seem to be a few who do not appreciate what we are trying to do for them. There is one man amongst the villagers who seems to have some authority and I am confident that if we can convert him the rest will follow. He is an older man but seems to be well respected by the other locals. His ability to speak Spanish is far greater than our ability to speak his language, though that can be said of most of the people here. He tells old tales, this man, of their own religion and gods, if you can call them that. Demons more like! He speaks of ancient rites, of sacrifices and other primitive practices. He assures us that these things do not happen anymore, and I am glad to hear it! They still partake of some of their old ways though – there is one of their temples only an hour or so away in the jungle and many of the village visit it often. I know that we should be more forceful with them, that we should not allow such flagrant blasphemy when we know it is occurring, but I do not believe that that way works. I have seen villagers turn from their would-be saviours due to such, and I wish to try another way. I believe that they will be readier to listen to me if I show respect for their ways. I will, of course, keep you and the Archbishop informed as swiftly as the ships can deliver my letters. In Faith, Father Miguel Dear friend, I pray that all is well at home and that the Archbishop’s health is good. I am pleased to report that more and more of the villagers now attend mass, in our recently completed mission. It is still a minority, but the number grows week by week. Soon we may have as many as a quarter of the people here. I hope the Archbishop is happy with my methods here – I know it isn’t the way that many others would try to engage with the heathens. I have not received any reply to my previous missive, so I can but pray for guidance and hope I am right. If his Excellency wishes me to stop, I shall of course do so. The villagers have given me a gift – it is a dagger made of obsidian. Of course, I have no use for such an object, and it is a little savage in nature, but I believe it is a sign that they are accepting me and more may start to listen to me. The leader of whom I wrote previously presented it to me before the whole village! I am saddened to report that one of the missionaries that was assigned to us has been lost. Father Rodriguez is lost to us – the dangers of the jungle where wild beasts do roam. We found him mauled and savaged, only a few hundred yards from the village edge. In truth, it was a local that discovered him and tried to save his life by cauterising his wounds – their medicine is primitive. Sadly, he did not survive, and so I conducted last rights for him. I have visited their temple but, naturally, do not partake of their practises. It is impressive to see what they have been able to build out here – a remarkable people, if ignorant in many ways. I await word from yourself and the Archbishop and will, of course, keep you informed as to progress. In Faith, Father Miguel Dear friend, Firstly, I am sorry to say that I did not receive any reply from you yet. There was a storm recently, and a Spanish ship was lost with all hands in it – I suspect it may have been carrying any letter that you had intended to reach me . Progress is good with the mission – we now have nearly a third of the village as part of our congregation. I do not think that all of them believe yet, but we have our first baptisms scheduled to take place in a few days. I know that I should have started by baptising them to keep safe their souls, but I sincerely believe that would have hindered our progress. I have found myself unsure in this difficult times – baptism would, of course, cleanse them of their sins and allow them to walk a new life in Christ, but if they still continue with their old practices, they will simply accumulate more sin. I think I begin to understand why others have begun with baptism and outlawing old practices – one without the other achieves nothing. However, I am firm on my course and it appears to be working. Better, I believe, a willing convert than one forced to it. Regrettably, we have lost two other members of the mission. Fathers Gallegi and Ramonis have fallen in a similar way to Father Rodriguez. This time the beasts had eaten their hearts! It was, truly, a horrifying image to behold and it is only the strength of Christ that kept me to my path and able to conduct the funerals. It is strange that it is only members of the mission that seem to be in danger in the jungle – the locals all appear to be well. As do I – the elder here says that my dagger keeps me safe, but that is clearly superstitious nonsense. However, it does mean that I am now alone here. If his Excellency could send more missionaries, it would make our task significantly easier. I have witnessed their ceremonies. It seems that they worship the sun, as far as I can tell – my grasp of their language is still not complete. Similar to ourselves, they seem to drink of a deep red wine, though I have seen no grapes or other ways in which it might be made. They have not been able to explain it to me, though clearly it must come from some other jungle fruit. I pray that this missive finds you well, and that you can respond soon. In Faith, Father Miguel Dear friend,
There is no need to send further missionaries. The work is complete, and I am pleased to say that all souls here now follow the same god. Your friend, Miguel
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October 2021
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