Lortas Arana'Thid the Puritan of Virtue, Scholar of the Creed

Role

Chapter 15

Time passed.
Seconds. Minutes. Hours.

Decades.

Nothing marked the passage of time. The sun was a poor measure, with how
quickly it rose and fell from the sky. There were no seasons in this
place, no cold, no heat, only eternal springtime under the sheltering
canopy of the trees.

It is our duty, they would say, to seek the purest goodness within, that
the peace in our hearts will overcome the shadow darkening the souls of
others.

And so they meditated, day and night, seeking the bright light within
themselves. They sat for as long as they wished in meditation and
prayer, for there was no need to hurry. Indeed, those who were always
last to stand were considered impatient, or vain.

But there was one who was always among the first to stand. His brightest
light was not within.

Role

Chapter 14

She stood to greet him. This was the light he would never find within.
This was the embodiment of peace. The darkness ceased to exist when she
graced the world with her smile. Purity in flowing white robes. He
needed nothing more.

As she sat down with him he smiled to himself, thinking of their history.
They had grown up together, sharing their first memories. The only two
children in the community at the time, they had little time apart, even
after their lessons began to diverge. There were no objections when they
moved into their small home together. Indeed it seemed to be expected of
them. There was no pause in the passage of eternal time.

Just another second, another minute, passed in quiet bliss. Prayer,
meditation, and her.
He gazes at the plaque before the door:
__________________________
Nothing worth doing is completed in our lifetime,
Therefore, we are saved by hope.
Nothing true or beautiful or good makes complete sense in any immediate
context of history
Therefore, we are saved by faith.
Nothing we do, however virtuous, can be accomplished alone.
Therefore, we are saved by love.
__________________________
(Reinhold Niebuhr)

But love does not conquer all.

Role

Chapter 13

The darkness came.

The light within their hearts did nothing to stop it. It did not fall
before their great virtue. It did not falter.

But it did not come with fire. It did not come with blood, or anger.

It came only with cruelty.

The dark ones herded all of the elves of the village into the town
square, beneath the statue of an ancient robed elf holding up a book
emblazoned with the creed of the village's people.

They took the women. Each being lead off succession towards the horses.
When they reached for his beloved, he attacked them, but a spear butt to
the head stopped him cold. He fought unconsciousness as he watched her
being brought in line with the rest of the women. The dark ones then led
them, bound in rope, to their nearby camp, while the village men sat
helpless, the light within grown dim.

The screaming soon began.

Role

Chapter 12

Time ceased to pass.

Seconds became minutes, minutes became hours.

He fell into despair. A life devoted to finding the peace within, to
passive virtue, did nothing to stem the tide of darkness. It had cost
him everything.

It had cost him her.

He had to get her back. So he set to practicing with a wooden sword,
intending to steal a real one from the invader's camp. He practiced day
and night, the screams from the camp serving to give him strength when he
had nothing left.

And then the elder came. He pried the sword out of his exhausted hand
and broke it.
"What you intended to do is to commit the worst of sins. I will not
stand for it! Have you forgotten our creed, young one?"
"Yes elder, I have forgotten it! We stand by and do nothing while they
suffer! They must be punished for their crimes!";
"You sound like one of Hers. That is not the way to peace. I will
remind you then. Whoever destroys a single life is as guilty as though
he had destroyed the entire world, and whoever rescues a single life
earns as much merit as though he had rescued the entire world. I will
rescue you from slipping into the war She preaches."
"And you will not rescue them?! The teachings are flawed, elder. I will
not stand by and let them have their way!" And with that he pushed the
elder down and stormed away towards the camp.

Role

Chapter 11

He entered the camp without mishap under the cover of night, silently
thanking the Gods for being born a light footed elf. He walked silently
among the tents, his heart beating so furiously he knew it must be louder
than his footsteps. And then he saw it. A sword and shield lay upon the
ground next to a tent, unguarded.

He inched ever so slowly towards it, ensuring that no one would hear him.
Just as he picked the both of them up a pain exploded in his head.

He awoke with a start as a bucket of water was dumped on him. He looked
around as his vision was clearing, then suddenly froze when the situation
came into focus.

All around were the bodies of his people, or what was left of them.
Organs and body parts lay strewn around the large tent, some barely
attached to their owners by way of mesentery or veins. But on the table
was the worst sight.

She lay upon the table, bound and gagged, just as he was. He looked into
her frightened eyes, longing to cry out to and hold her. But he was
powerless. It was then that he noticed the man standing near the able.

He grabbed a scalpel from the table, and winked at the bound, struggling
elf. He then began his work.

Role

Chapter 10

Words are inadequate to express the sorrow of seeing his only love
tortured before his eyes, and knowing that she suffered even greater pain
and humiliation at the dark ones in being used for other purposes.

He stared, curled into a ball for what seemed an eternity. Finally the
muffled screaming ceased, and she looked deeply into his eyes as the
light faded from her own.

The man spat to the side, the saliva landing on a corpse he could not
recognize, and turned to him.

"I'll be lettin ya live, seein as ya de only onna dees bluh'y elves ta
show some spine.";

He moved his face in very closely.;

"Ye be harnessin dat hate now...Make it useful. Sorrow aint gonna be
bringin dem back, but mebbeh ya can cut some vengeance outta mah hide.
Git yaself some strength. I be needin some worthy souls."

He tapped the elf lightly on the head with his mace in a mocking gesture,
and then turned and walked out.

Role

Chapter 9

Time passed.

Seconds. Minutes. Hours.

It took a great deal of time to bury all the bodies, doing the best he
could to return organs to their proper owners. A painful process as
well, both in body and spirit.

Finally it was time to lay her body to rest. He took extra care to make
her grave as proper as he could, and even etched a tombstone for her. He
decided to lay her within the garden behind their home, the flowers
seeming to lower their heads in homage.

Upon her grave he lay an Arbutus flower, whispering the words it
symbolizes, "Thee only do I love."

He then took a sprig of honey locust flowers to tie in his hair in
remembrance. "Love beyond the grave."

He sat there upon her grave for a time, unsure of how to proceed. All
that he had been taught was flawed, or a lie. It was time he took a
stand, he decided, and ensure that nothing like this happened to anyone
else. He was going to embrace his life, rather than spend it in silent
solitude.

He would seek out the God that his people deemed barbaric and
foolish...The God they considered beneath all others, for the ways of war
do not bring peace. He would seek Her out.

Role

Chapter 8

Lives as a religious monk in a village of religious monks.

Takes lessons slightly less seriously as his beloved awaits him at home.

Invaders come and take all the women away to their camp.

Tries to practice with a sword, village elder confronts him, saying he is
defying the creed to never kill, so he pushes the elder away and stalks
off towards the camp.

Infiltration fails, wakes up among the bodies of all the dead villagers,
watches his beloved being tortured.

Torturer tells him to harness his hatred and not wallow in sorrow.

Buries all the villagers, and leaves to seek Baerinika.

Role

Chapter 7

Time passes strangely for him now, sometimes seeming as if the sun starts
to set the moment it rises, and other times it seems as if he can count
the beads of sweat upon the enemy's brow between every sword stroke.

It is in those times, where it seems a year must pass between heartbeats,
that he thinks of her.

More than a decade has passed since that day, since his life was
shattered. But the fragments are coming together once again. He is now
a full fledged paladin, low ranking though he is, and has seen more of
the world in that decade than he did in the century and a half he spent
meditating in that flimsy bubble of eternal springtime.

He still seeks Her out, the one he had forsaken. He prays daily that the
great Lady Baerinika will find him worthy of Her presence, and allow him
to fight in Her name, and in Her holy army.

He feels he must do all he can to make up for his century and a half of
wasted time, sitting weak as a lamb within the confines of his own mind,
allowing the darkness to run rampant within the world. He must become a
soldier of the Light in all ways, that the world will no longer bear the
taint of evil, that all may know pure and noble love, without it being
cut short, as his was.

Role

Chapter 6

Confusion is a difficult emotion. Insanity, he believes, is quite
simple. Sometimes it seems the whole world is mad. He sees the
Battleragers as quite insane...He had the shock of witnessing one elf
slay another over their insane beliefs, and it shook him to the core.

But he keeps his faith, and indeed is strengthened by the thought. He
must maintain absolute focus on his path, lest he succumb to the same
madness that grips the Village.

Then there are those who call themselves neutral...He does not believe
that it is possible to be lukewarm as we fight a war. There are those
who oppose the light and those who aid it Thus, he takes all cases as
individuals. He will aid them, and welcome them to join him on his path,
so long as he never sees them engage in evil acts. Even then, he will
not hunt down even those who show themselves to be aggressive to him. He
will defend himself and those he walks with, but not hunt them down. He
feels both the Battleragers and those who are lukewarm will need to be
reeducated once the cleansing is complete, but for now, there are more
important matters.

Role

Chapter 5

Many years have passed.

Seconds, minutes and hours pass quickly in the company of those one
identifies so well with.

He has reached the pinnacle of his guild, been allowed to join the ranks
of the Fortress, and seen much more of Thera than he had
expected...Mastering the Dream and walking the halls of Thar-Acacia.

But he is concerned. The others call him sorrowful, or just expect him
to be because of his past. That was so very long ago, and while he
cannot replace his lost love...her memory fades when others are present.
He feels it is time to move on from what was to what is now. It calls
for a symbolic gesture.

He has not found many opportunities to strike out against the dark ones,
but he does what he can to ensure his brothers and sisters in arms have
aid in their fights. He feels he is acting more as an acolyte than a
maran, and hopes to change that.

He still is unsure about the balance within himself. He does what he
must, but not with a frothing bloodlust that he might have had, nor is it
what he was. He feels a peaceful serenity abut his efforts. He fights
what he can, and if he falls, he rises again wiser for it. He fights
with courage and with purpose, and will not falter.

Time flows in its proper course.

Role

Chapter 4

In war, many difficult decisions must be made, often in the heat of
combat. He recently had to make another of those difficult choices. He,
Vermillon, and Haidoril were making their way back from collecting the
Ebony Scepter when they were ambushed by the Scions while in Hamsah
Mu'Tazz. He was attacked, and was forced to flee so that he would not be
fighting in town and breaking the law. He had to then only heal
Vermillon as he watched him nearing death, but such was the requirement
of the Code. In the end, all emerged safely, and the Scepter was placed
in the rightful hands of the Watcher.

He learned well that while at times the Code may seem a burden, it is
that which will guide us to a righteous world, and so he must have faith,
and he must never succumb to temptation. To violate its precepts even
just once, or to allow any diminishing of its words, would be to break a
seal on his soul. While he might close again that gate, it would never
again have any strength. He must be pure of soul and deed, to be any
less is to invite the taint to blossom within him. He will not falter.

Role

Chapter 3

There are times in life when the world seems to be crumbling around you.
Times that when you feel satisfied you're afraid that it won't last, and
when you're not you're afraid that your sorrow will go on forever. He
has suffered quite a bit as of late...losing that which was entrusted to
him, dying once again at the hands of an enemy that seems insurmountable.

But most of all he worries that he may be disappointing the Lady by his
agonizingly slow improvement.

He sees the flows through the veil of the mind, anticipates
movements...but reacting to them is quite another thing. Even in reading
the mind of the enemy perfectly, it will avail you nothing if the body
cannot react to what it knows. It is painful to know what is coming and
not know how to react.

It is in these times that he must call upon the image of his purpose, and
of those he cares about. The lady healer expresses her affection even
more of late, which warms his soul. He wants to be worthy of it. Of
them. Of his place in the Fortress.

He must be strong, and work even harder to be a better soldier. He
desires greatly a moment of aristeia, a moment of absolute excellence in
combat that will surpass all expectations of him. But even if it does
not come, he will work to ensure that every moment is a step towards that
excellence.

Role

Chapter 2

He has not much been thinking of past events enough, and indeed may have
forgotten some in the flurry of activity at times.

He has been making progress in his goal of getting everyone thinking of
what they need to do to improve themselves tactically...though mistakes
continue to be made he hopes his brethren are active enough to be
thinking of how to not make them in the first place, rather than learning
after they are made.

He will not accept aid from lukewarm outlanders, as he has seen them go
so far as to protect the council for their foolish dark ideals. They
serve none but themselves, making them effectively evil.

He does not agree with Sarien's belief that nexuns are not to be trusted
at all. Their acts are misguided, but they can be trusted insofar as
they say, thus they make excellent fodder, and he will treat them as
such, for they can be just as useful for evil as for good, so if they
cannot learn to become pure, as with Lygram, they need to be used for the
utmost of the light, and if they die they are no longer a threat.

The applicants had made him edgy for awhile, and irritable. After
speaking with the Lady he feels more comfortable with the slight lack of
insight. He will continue to act accordingly.

Role

Chapter 1

His dreams have betrayed him in a way...he has caused pain to the one he
loved in the confession of such. He had worried that Sarien and she were
becoming close, in the time they spent together, but had thought that he
and Adelin werre together. Looks can be decieving it seems. Now
Ailinilia is in the middle of a strange triangle, and is suffering for
it.

But having loved and lost he knows he must not let anything come between
it. He musnt falter in that. He will continue to pursue his love, for
it is she that has kept him fighting so many times. He must be there for
her always.

He worries though that he may be growing older too quickly while she is
left so young. It makes him consider the state of his Lady...how she
must feel at times.

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