Have you tried this?
Code:
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<title></title>
<style>
p {text-indent:1.2em; margin:0; padding:0; line-height:1}
p.first {display:inline; padding-left:50%; text-indent:0}
p.first span {font-size:3em; font-family:serif}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<p class="first"><span>E</span>nter all ye who would... yadda yadda
yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda
yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda
yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda
yadda yadda yadda yadda yadda</p>
<p>And pay heed to those who are...</p>
</body>
</html>
It seems to do what you want - at least within Sigil.
Cheers,
edit:pictures added