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Post by Emerald Snow on Jun 7, 2010 16:33:38 GMT -5
Darissa Corrent arrives at the Cormyr border outpost from her home in Suzail a short distance away. Carrying nothing with her but her clothing and a few lions she had been saving, she goes through registration processes for an adventuring charter, just like those who travel from distant lands. Darissa reflects with a certain pride on Cormyr's fair treatment of all adventurers, not showing any partiality to native Cormyreans.
After attaining her charter, she travels to the hamlet of Greatgaunt . . . after all, that's where all the bards and merchants say to go if one wants to be an adventurer.
She has one goal in mind:
Become a Paladin.
No, not the common stock of 'holy warriors' that are so numerous in these lands . . . the ones that call themselves 'paladin.'
These holy warriors are just that; 'holy warriors.'
They mean well and defend their faiths as any devout champion would, but Darissa has noticed something awry in the wave of so-called 'paladins.'
None that she has met or heard of has actually attained the endorsement of their church. Not one. They have achieved a connection with the power of their deity, and can perform righteous acts with that power, but not one can produce a charter of endorsement from their church granting them the holy right to call themselves 'Paladin.'
She is going to be different.
She may walk the path of the holy warrior, but she will 'not' call herself 'Paladin' until her church does so first.
When she does recieve the church's blessing, she will strive to be a paragon of righteousness and a beacon of all that is good.
She knows that she will need help along the way, and she will learn from everyone she can, whether it's an example to emulate or an example of what not to do.
The caravan arrives from the border outpost and comes to a jolted stop in the town of Greatgaunt . . .
"So it begins . . ."
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Post by Emerald Snow on Jun 8, 2010 22:57:34 GMT -5
The journal of Darissa Corrent:
"After my arrival in Greatgaunt, I familiarized myself with the layout of the immediate area and the different personalities and services of the town. I was told of different menial tasks that certain townsfolk needed accomplished, and decided to perform these tasks. No good deed is to small for the full attention of any man or woman of faith and standards. After a few days, I had completed many deeds for the folk of Greatgaunt, and learned of a few places that were trouble spots in the immediate area. One is the ruins of what some say is an old Elven temple or dwelling, I'm not sure which. I do know that it is overrun with foul and hideous monstrosities now. Whatever mirth the place had when the Elves occupied it is long gone. It took several journeys into this place to finally cleanse it, if only for a short time. Somehow I get the strange feeling that this place is more powerful than many would believe. Time will reveal more . . . time and persistance . . ."
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Post by Emerald Snow on Sept 19, 2010 11:30:36 GMT -5
Some time has passed . . .
I have attained the approval of the three necessary individuals on my path to truly be a paladin of our Lady of Strategies.
Those individuals are:
Champion Gorstag Redsteel
Champion Kelandros Armelis
High Priestess Raillia
I still await the church's quest to be assigned as my final test and task, then my service can truly begin.
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Post by Emerald Snow on Dec 2, 2010 23:41:58 GMT -5
I have seen corruption's taint . . . a fallen and former paladin of a most holy order . . . fallen and brought to undeath by the slaves of "the Vaunted." My two companions and I fought them all and finally him . . . I hope that his soul finds some peace in his former glory, now that his mistake has been erased by our flawless execution of strategy.
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Post by Emerald Snow on Jan 25, 2011 13:05:28 GMT -5
I sit atop a saddle, adorned in adamantine plate armor, gazing a hollow stare through Equestria's mane . . . such a long road. I rest my mind now, for soon I shall have need of my wits . . . the Necropolis . . . I have found it . . . and it lies just beyond the next rise . . .
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Post by Emerald Snow on Mar 3, 2011 13:34:26 GMT -5
All this seemingly endless toil and labor have not gone unrewarded . . . our Lady now has the temple she so rightly deserves . . . I only hope that I can push myself to greater heights that I might serve my Lady and her church in equal commitment.
A most precious gift has been bestowed upon me by a priest of our Fellowship . . . a sword created for only the most noble and holy of wielders . . . I know I do not warrant such things, but I will wield this blade in the name of our Lady of Strategy, who certainly does warrant such things.
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Post by Emerald Snow on Mar 3, 2011 14:13:32 GMT -5
I sit alone in a stone room, pondering all of life's different applications of strategy as I clean my armor . . .
Not just battle strategy . . . that much is all too obvious. No, I think of strategy as it applies to the day-to-day life of a common man or woman. It is more strategic for the shop owner to be competitive with other shopkeepers, and to keep inventory fresh and attractive to clients . . . it is more strategic for the farmer to seperate rows of plants to allow for best growth . . .
Then my mind turns to a memory . . .
I recall the letter I sent to the Red Fellowship when I began my path of faith . . . I set my armor down and shuffled through my scrollcase until I found my copy of it (making and keeping copies of correspondence is also a sound strategy).
I take out the letter and read it, as I do often, to reaffirm within myself my resolve and commitment to our Lady and her church . . .
"Greetings, most holy church of the Red Knight . . .
I am Darissa Corrent, a servant of the church and a warrior in the name of the Lady of Strategies.
Like others in these lands who have been granted by their gods the ability to show works of faith, I walk the path of the 'holy warrior.' Many call themselves 'Paladin,' though I question such a claim more often than not. I do not question their faith, nor their dedication or piousness. I do not question their connection with their god, for that is decided by the gods. I do question their connection with their church though. Some of these holy warriors are self-proclaimed paladins, and their actions and words do not uphold that which is most good among us. I have studied to exhaustion the histories of holy orders and paladins, and I know that true paladins are exceedingly rare. "one in ten thousand" I have heard and read.
I wish to serve true and pure the Lady of Strategies. I will never call myself 'Paladin' until the Red Fellowship does so first. I will, like the paladin of old, await my church to assign to me a task to prove my faith. When I complete this quest for the church, then and only then can I be truly considered to recieve a charter of endorsement from the church proclaiming my pure service to our Lady. I want to restore the former glory of this holy order in its true spirit, and I am submitting my life to the Red Fellowship to see it done. Thank you for your consideration, most gracious hosts.
Sound Strategy.
Darissa Corrent of Suzail . . . "
After reading the letter again, I fold it neatly and place it back in its envelope, returning to the maintainence of my effects that our Lady has seen fit to bless me with . . .
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