In the cold, sterile infirmary of the Grand Cathedral, the air should have smelled of incense and healing herbs. Instead, it was thick with a tension that made the junior priestesses whisper in hushed, frightened tones. High Priestess Elara lay upon a bed of white linen, her skin a stark, ghostly contrast to the pillows.
The Church's most experienced medical officer, a stern woman named Healer Sister Martha, moved aside the golden-trimmed sheets to perform a physical assessment. She had treated battlefield wounds and demonic blights, but what she saw made her breath hitch.
"The Goddess protect us," Martha whispered, her eyes widening.
Elara's body was a map of physiological contradictions. Despite being in a "holy recovery," her skin was flushed a deep, feverish pink. Her pulse was racing at a rate that should have been impossible for someone at rest. But it was the localized reaction that stopped Martha's heart.
Elara's intimate areas were slick with an unnatural amount of moisture—a clear, sweet-smelling fluid that carried the faint, unmistakable scent of the Arousal Mist. Her body was acting as if it were in the middle of a violent, prolonged carnal act, even as she lay there unconscious.
"This isn't an injury," Martha murmured, her face hardening with a mixture of confusion and disgust. "This is... arousal. But it's forced. It's as if her very blood has been turned into a stimulant."
Elara's eyes suddenly snapped open, glazed and unfocused. A soft, shameful moan escaped her lips as she gripped the edges of the mattress so hard her knuckles turned white. "It... it burns, Martha... make the shadows stop touching me..."
"There are no shadows here, Elara," Martha said firmly, though her hands shook as she applied a cooling holy salve. The moment the salve touched Elara's skin, the Priestess let out a loud, vulgar cry of "pleasure" that echoed through the stone hallway, causing the acolytes outside to freeze in shock.
The report would have to be suppressed. If the people—or the Church elders—found out the High Priestess was in a state of permanent, unholy lust, the faith would shatter before the Grand Commander even returned.