Ijani had hoped that the argument would die down on its own, but it was not to be the case.
"Just, no. While I am a cleric, I believe that corruption runs within the church and that it should be violently purged. I trust no politician, and many of the church are politicians. Straying from the path of our Goddess. I have no problem with your kind Ijani. Not everyone can gain the powers of the Goddess, and so they must seek out the power to fight some other way."
"Just don't let the beasts control you, or I will put you down."
It would take more than that to convince Ijani that it was truth, but he was grateful that she didn't seem to be totally brainwashed like most of the people that came after him were. It was somewhat... refreshing to hear words like that from a cleric.
"I'm sorry, but you must be deluded,"
"Not once did I ever rally the people to atheism, neither did I speak up against the church. I didn't make myself a threat to anybody, nor did I throw my political weight against any group. I was victimised without good reason. I earned my rank through battle and they had no reason to feel insecure, and no right to declare me a traitor. The church wronged me, Lady Clearwater. Regardless of your religious belief, I thought you would be wise enough to know when they are in the wrong. I guess I overestimated your genuinity."
"Aw, so you are barking mad. We come from different corners of the world Welda. I have never met you before this. I had no idea what happened to you. I only made assumption based on what I know. I may be able to cast miracles, but I'm no mind reader." Catherine was obviously upset.
Ijani was still bitter at the church for what it had done, but Catherine had a point, and it would do none of them any good to keep arguing amongst themselves when they might need to work together to survive.
"You're asking too much if you think that a devout cleric would be so easily convinced that her institution was in the wrong. After all, we're all complete strangers here."
Even though it was true, he said it with some reluctance. Defending a member of the church was not something he felt comfortable doing, but it was in the interest of keeping things from getting out of hand.
"We could be together like this for a while, so it would be best if we didn't fight amongst ourselves." He glared at Darius as he said it, remembering the incident that had happened earlier.
Turning back to Catherine, he added "I appreciate your acceptance, but forgive me if I don't trust you." He refrained from saying so out loud, but in his mind, he continued "Besides, you may not be so willing to accept me if you knew everything I have done..."