St Theresa's School & Halfway House

She looked up at the building in front of her and suppressed a shiver that had little to do with the cool evening air. It was a towering edifice in High Gothic style, all pointed arches, circular windows and dark polished granite. Stone gargoyles sat perched over the doorway, glaring balefully down at any supplicants who dared ascend the steps to the front entrance. A wrought iron fence enclosed a small yard, a rare thing on the Street here in Metamor City — but then, everything about the building defied convention. Though it sat in the shadow of skyscrapers hundreds of meters high, the ancient structure remained defiantly proud, standing out among the warehouses and factories of the Street like a cold, hard gemstone amid a pile of scattered refuse and rusty, discarded tools. It was a building designed to provoke awe — and, Abbey thought, fear.

Troubled Minds

"Impressive, isn't it?" Mother Anna said, her voice full of pride. "Saint Theresa's used to be the central chapel for the diocese, you know. Built over seven hundred years ago, after the Citadel was formed and Metamor City expanded into the surrounding valley." She waved a hand in mild irritation. "Of course, after those awful skyways went up and people forgot how to live with their feet on the ground, the bishop ordered a new cathedral to be built higher up. But I like to think we've found our mission down here, helping poor young girls like yourself to find their way again."

—Mother Anna, Troubled Minds

I could see Saint Theresa's off in the distance, its proud spires dwarfed by the rest of the city, but still managing to make their presence known. […] or the mystical confluence that Saint Theresa's was built upon in an effort to contain.
Artax in Make Believe

History and Location

Formerly the central chapel for the Metamor City diocese of the Ecclesia, St. Theresa's is now home to a boarding school for girls aged 10-18. The school and chapel are on the Street level, on the edge of a park (maybe the on the edge of the Square since it has a garden of its own, on the Street).

Mission

Their primary specialty is in assisting young women who have gotten into trouble with pregnancy, drugs, alcohol, or abusive relationships, providing them a safe place to complete their education and get ready for college. The nuns of Saint Theresa's teach classes and provide counseling, child care, and other services. The staff also includes three nurses, a psychotherapist and an OB-GYN doctor.

A Hidden Secret

The current staff of Saint Theresa's does not realize that the chapel's location is a place of supernatural significance. Artax has stated that it was built to contain a "mystical confluence"1, but exactly what he meant by this is unknown. It may be that the confluence is a weak spot in the veil that separates the material world from the Dreamlands; this could explain why the monster that Abbey fought in Troubled Minds was drawn to it. On the other hand, it is also possible that the confluence connects Saint Theresa's to someplace far darker, such as the Underworld or the tomb of a forgotten Titan. Whatever the confluence leads to, someone in the early days of the city's history clearly recognized that it needed to be contained; consecrating the ground above it and building a church there seems to have at least partially contained the danger.

Known Staff

  • Mother Annabelle (Mother Anna)
  • Additional sisters
  • Three nurses
  • One psychotherapist
  • One OB-GYN doctor

Author's Notes


Sources: Make Believe, Troubled Minds

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