{picture is a work in progress}
"Esarus thar no'Darador—By Blood and Honor We Serve."
→Excerpt By The Knights of The Silver Hand←
Within the foul forest of Teldrassil, the satyrs watched, while the druids schemed, as a boy was made to run, jump, and swing a sword twice his size for hours… but while the sweat dropped from his fur, he looked out to the forest to see a harpy…
A harlot with orange feathers, a young but beautiful creature, with a skinny waist and curves to kill, with talons as sharp as steel blades… but carving tree bark in frustration out of reflex, as she spies on a male of her choosing…
Smelling her sweat and hormones, a sweet odor that was dangerous, at least Cetrisa thought so… And so, from within the shadows, as the harpy stared with drooling spit, from above within the tree leaves, Cetrisa made her move! Quick and deadly, and precise with her dagger, she jammed it right into the harpy's throat!
Feeling the red coursing blood on her hands, while enjoying its sweet, savory smell, and while the harpy screamed and tried to move away in fear, Cetrisa then drove her sword through her back and in between her feathered breasts! And as the harpy fell from the tree line, Cetrisa stared back and Lanthios with a sinister yet happy smile, with a hand wave of pure innocence.
[Boy! Snap out of it!] Yelled Wexford as he hit Lanthios over the head, as he waved back to Cetrisa.
{ouch! What was that for? Master!} retorted Lanthios, annoyed.
[Look, boy, stop concerning yourself with what the friend is doing and focus on your training!]
Confused, as Lanthios stared at the dead body of the harpy, then back at his master, he was about to retort when Wexford suddenly interrupted him:
[look, I'm only here to train you, so whatever your friend is doing doesn't concern me, even if I do think she's a little weird…]
{You call her killing a harpy for no reason just a little weird?}
[well… I mean, it wasn't for no reason, as in, isn't Cynthia teaching her? Also, it's not it's a human, so why should I care? And nor is it an undead… but a creature of whore-dom so… meh… in any case, stop concerning yourself with the wild life at the moment!]
{But haven't I already finished my hundredth set of sword swings…isn't it time you taught me something more pally-like?}
[oh! You mean a spell like judgment… and such…]
At the mere mention of the word judgment, Lanthios shone a bright smile, which only caused Wexford's hand to shake as he wanted to smack that dog's grin. But holding himself back, Wexford said:
[No! You're not ready yet!]
{Am not?}
[Of course not! You lack some serious sword skills, not to mention, you have a strong desire for violence… which isn't bad and is normally good for a paladin to have, but you are not human…]
{And what about me not being a human has anything to do with it?}
[simple as a gnoll, your kind of have a tendency to go berserk, which is not the pally way. Sure, your temperament may have been suppressed by your priest's teaching, but now with flesh and blood to be drawn on your blade, who's to say when you won't be able to tell friend from foe? Or before you lose yourself in anger and the light leaves you at a crucial time…]
{Alright, fine… then why not teach me something that can at least buff me or my friends? Like my priest buff! I mean.. That should be fine…right?}
[hmm… You do have a point, and seeing how you can already control the light within, I don't see why not…]
{sweet! So, which buff am I learning first?} replied Lanthios with a big, toothy smile.
[easy…easy.. Why don't we start from the beginning, with a simplified version of might!]
Hearing the word "might" caused Lanthios to pause for a moment before asking:
{might? Not devotion arua?}
[oh! Now, this is interesting…where had you heard the term "aura"? My little gnoll?]
{??? Is it that much of a surprise, master? I mean… am or was a part of the priesthood…}
[yes, that's true, but to the priesthood out here in the big tree, not much of the paladin ways are either known or talked about, especially to a gnoll…]
{Well, I always wanted to be a paladin first and a priest second, so I talked more than I probably should have back in the priesthood.}
[hmm… very well, little gnoll, I guess what you say makes sense… so.. Then would you like to learn Arua first, then?]
Seeing Lanthios reply with a jump and a vigorous head nod, only caused Wexford to sigh, but he continued to explain…
[Arua is not just a simple buff with a timer; it is much more than that… It's a coating you must wear with you at all times, never to remove… to turn off… the devotion aura is just the basic of the basic, the others or higher versions are much more strenuous on the body… as such, I hope you're prepared…]
{prepared for.. What? Is it not just a magic spell I place on my body that somehow helps others?}
[Hahaha! Oh! Child… are you even listening! An aura is not like a spell, but it's similar, yet different… why do you think I had you train your body first? Well, there are many reasons, but aura is but one…]
{so.. A strong body…}
[Ah! And mind my squire, you forgot the most important part… here, let me ask you… What is devotion…]
{A feeling… of something, like an oath, I guess}
[close enough, my young squire! So, let me ask you this: what devotion is needed to master the devotion aura?] Replied Wexford as runic symbols glowed beneath his feet!
Seeing the runic powers and feeling its blessing coursing through his body, Lanthios closed his eyes as he felt it wash over him and harden his flesh! Then, as he slowly opened his eyes after soaking it in for a bit, he said:
{to give oneself entirely in the defense of another… to protect them… to resolve oneself fully to that end…}
With a satisfying smile, Wexford said:
[I guess there is some hope for you yet, boy… now then show it to me…]
{but.. I…}
[Oh! Hogwash! Don't give me that " I don't know look", you do! You just said it! Now, close your eyes and feel it! Feel it in your heart! After all, why did you want to become a paladin in the first place? What was your reason… now, sit and reflect on yourself, what is my devotion! What do I want! What are my desires! Then simply let it out! Let the light guide you, boy… just trust it like you always have…]
Crossed-legged and sitting on a tree stump, while birds sang, and the wildlife stared, Lanthios closed his eyes as he sank into his inner world, his inner thoughts, feeling his magic at the heart…
Watching his squire take this so seriously caused Wexford to grin as he thought:
[Mastering aura isn't as easy as one would think, Lanthios… even with the light help, hell, it might even be impossible for a gnoll to unlock such an ability… well, from the light anyway… gnolls are such a selfish and violent race, with the patience of a dog! But if you can succeed, then you can truly say you are walking down the paladin path… as this right of passage is where most fail… and I'm sure a brat as smart as you will soon realize why…]
[Well, if he fails and quits, then that's all he was worth, though I could still teach him other paladin skills, but without aura, something that is so fundamental to a paladin… he would be better off staying with the priesthood…sigh, boy… remember you chose to learn this first… so don't hate me should you fail.]
Locked in veins and flowing down the Mana River, Lanthios can see the light that surrounds him, but more than that, he can see the red hue that hangs around the light… but with its overpowering gaze, Lanthios blinks for a time, as the red line forms a figure of a gnoll…
Savage and angry, with huge protruding teeth, with spotted furs of black and white… naked and tall, with a ferocious mace! A design taken from between human bones and something else… a crown of yellow and gold, as if made by elven hands! With a pristine body chest, that showed a tattoo made of burning light, in the shape and symbols thereof…
An older version of himself, guarding what looked to be what Lanthios could only describe as his heart! With each beat, the floor pulsed in waves of blood, where the very cells that made up his body sparkled with hidden light. Lanthios had no idea what was going on, what he was seeing…
It was then, as if expecting his confusion, his heart suddenly became see-through, a thin, like film of pink and glass… and inside said glass was Lanthios' old self.. His human self… They're resting with a white orb of some kind…
Getting closer to it, but stopping midway, as his glowing self spewed smoke from its teeth… and then, like between night and day, his comproal self split in two! Two colors of shadow and white! A crown split in two, with shadow horns and an elven light on opposite ends… with red eyes, his snarled… But no words, just an angry expression as half the blood waves turned pitch black!
Not understanding what was even happening, Lanthios could only assume he had to fight, but lacking in skill with the blade, there was no way he could match his future self. And knowing that, he dropped his sword! Let go of his shield… watching his past self.. His weak self drops his blade.. His shield.. Only enrage the copy, and while staring down his small self, his child self, with a roar that produced no sound, none that Lanthios could hear, only the waves of blood moved to its tune, while the shadow and the light expanded to encompass the room!
And like an old television, the room shook and turned to static as the corporal copy rushed to bring his mace down on Lanthios! As it came down, Lanthios only smiled as he tossed a renew and a protective barrier on the glass heart!
But as he watched the heart, the world suddenly went grey! With a mace just an inch from his head, and there in that odd state, he heard a voice call to him.. Asking him….
[So… is this the extent of your devotion?]
Hearing the voice and giving out a slight chuckle with a smile, Lanthios said:
{I know my limits as I am right now… and thus know I can't protect the heart as I am… fighting or defending was not a possible option for me, but still…}
[You must project the weak… right] injected the voice suddenly.
Nodding in agreement, Lanthios was about to reply when the voice suddenly said:
[It's just a shame… that a heart like yours is so… empty… so.. Selfish..]
{selfish? Empty? What do you…}
[Isn't it obvious?]
Meanwhile, at Tallonkai office:
[Sir… that gnoll… he… sigh… to be honest, we have no idea..]
[no idea? Of what? Did he become corrupt? Or what?]
[No, sir.. At least we don't think so; all the signs show that he is fine, but that in itself is the odd thing… as no mortal should be able to look into the rift and have it not leave some kind of effect on their mind! Maybe it's just hidden deeper than the ritual can pull…]
[hmm… so what you are saying is that he passed the ritual, and no source of corruption showed itself… either he is really lucky or his favor in the light goes deeper than we thought…if I remember right, he should be with that human paladin, right?]
[Yes, I believe his name was Wexford, a paladin of the silver hand…]
[I see.. Well then, let him handle it. I'm sure if the boy shows any signs of corruption, he will take care of it, but in the off chance he doesn't assign some of our shadow guard to watch them both… Oh! And speaking of the boy, about that girl he brought back with him, have you found anything in her background yet?]
[strangely no, it's as if she never existed before the day he brought her to the village, we're even beginning to suspect the story about her parents' death was a lie…]
[So, a satyr's trap then?] Tallonkai replied with an eye raised.
[That is a possibility, as it was "him" who brought her to the boy in the first place. However, most records in Star Breeze were damaged or destroyed during the battle, so most of this is just speculation at this point.]
[sigh, why are so many complicated things happening around that gnoll… oh! Continue.] Tallonkai replied while squeezing both eyes in a tired and frustrated manner.
[yes… well, that is everything we currently know about her, as for any personality traits, well, we might just have to go and personally ask Lanthios himself for that information, but even then, he himself just met her, so… not sure any of that information will be useful or accurate just yet.]
[hmm… well, it's fine for now, as it's not like she could do much harm at her current level, just inform the shadowguard to keep tabs on her, but prioritize Lanthios' safety above all else, in that if she shows any signs of trouble… well… remove her from the equation altogether… understood!]
Meanwhile outside Lanthios
While the world outside Lanthios was a blur, where the birds landed on his shoulders through the peace and silence of the wood, Wexford stared silently as he watched the mana inside Lanthios move like emitting waves…
[so.. It has begun…sigh, boy, I sure hope you have something worth protecting, or a devotion strong enough… sigh, maybe it was too soon for him, he is very young after all… as most don't even start aura training until well into their early twenties….but still… even I don't have much time… left…] said Wexford to no one but himself as he coughted out a mouthful of blood…