Terni

Bodies fell like apples from a tree to the ground in deep prayer and the sound of it echoed through the sanctuary of the Church of St. Valentine. At dire times such as this, extreme measures had to be taken. The blood of a pure youth, a delectable sacrifice in the eyes of their savior, filled the room with a certain smell that made the mind alert and the heart pound. Her blood spilled on the altar, the lifeless body of Maylene Lagorio looked like a sleeping angel’s in the light of the midnight moon. Poor Maylene. It just had to be done. All of the People had been set on edge at the horrible and unfortunate news brought to the church by Magdalena Katherine, a devout follower of the People of Valentine’s Way and a City Councilwoman. At this moment, Arcea and the lovely, innocent people in it were falling from grace into an abyss of inescapable despair as the reality that Monora was going to starve and burn its child, Arcea, to death sank into the People’s hearts. This turn of events was truly hopeless. Without St. Valentine, there was no hope. However, where there was despair, hope always rose from the ashes, and where there was chaos, peace could and would be found, waiting to embrace humanity in the warmth of joy and love. Hope came as a message from St. Valentine himself; according to the People’s High Priest, their prayers were answered. They would be spared, by St. Valentine’s most glorious grace, from a slow death by disease or starvation. Rather, to be saved from…

The Valentines honored on February 14 were Valentine of Rome and Valentine of Terni. Valentine of Rome was a priest in Rome who was martyred in 269 A.D, and was added to the calendar of saints by Pope Galesius in 496 A.D. Valentine of Terni was a Bishop, and he was martyred during the persecution under Emperor Aurelian in 273 A.D. Valentine’s day was first associated with romantic love through Frey Chaucer in the 14th century, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. Noel Lenski, a…