A bright sunny day the smell of morning dew and fresh grass permeates the air. Birds roaming the skies and critters skittering the lands. The caravan is treading the dirt roads,
"Are we there yet?" yells out Knight Estefan
"Little ways over and we are almost at Grimgarde" replies one of the Paladins.
"You said that yesterday… and the day before… and the day before that as well", Knight Estefan whines.
"Pipe down" yells out Stan.
"We've been on the road for 5 days already!" whines Knight Estefan
"Stop whining so much!" screams Knight Seris, "Everyday it's the same with you, EVERY DAMN DAY".
"Calm down Seris, no need to scream so much" says Stan.
"OH YOU DON'T LIKE ME YELLING IS IT" Knight Seris screams mockingly
"Wow someone is having a day huh" says the Voice
Aciel chuckles a little.
"What's so funny heathen?" says one of the Knights.
"Nothing" says Aciel quietly
The Knight scoffs and rolled further from him.
The caravan makes its way and at a distance a small tattered wooden wall made of log and sticks can be seen.
"We are there, happy!" yells out one of the Paladins to Knight Estefan
"Woohooo we are there, let's go!" yells out Knight Estefan
"Alright everyone calm down, we are here on a mission not vacation" says Sir Gregory
"Yes sir!" they all yell out.
The caravan reaches the front gate of the town but there is no one to greet them, as the venture further in they notice there is no one in the streets, all windows closed and all shops barren. Then a sudden waft of decay and disease permeates through the air. Everyone draws out their swords and is on high alert.
"What the hell happened here?" says Seris.
"Maybe those wretched heathens had their way through here" says Sir Gregory
Sophia rushes to the last cart and gets close to Aciel,
"Your Holiness, you shouldn't be back here" says one of the Knights
Sophia ignores him and stays close to Aciel,
"Your Holiness please don't-"
"Aciel I'm going to need you to stay near me when we get off, alright"
Sophia then leaves and heads back to her cart.
Stan notices Sophia but he doesn't say anything and continues onwards with the caravan.
They reach the town square and come to halt.
"Alright everyone fan out and find what is going on" Sir Gregory orders.
"Yes sir!" they all respond.
Everyone splits in groups of threes and fives and make a perimeter.
Aciel joins up with Sophia, while doing so the knights guarding the Saintes scoff.
Stan gets close to Aciel,
"You better not hold us back" he says, then takes the front.
Aciel and the rest move deeper to town, everyone holding up their guard, they progress through. The wretched smell of decay grows stronger, a shiver runs down Aciel's Spine.
"Worry not boy, you gonna be fine" says the Voice,
"It's alright no worries, I'm not scared… more so excited" Aciel replies.
"Heh, that's the spirit, now watch out to your left" says the Voice.
Aciel without a moment's hesitation turns to his left and sees a horrid sight, the walls smeared with blood and bodies hanging from the roof of the warehouse. Kids, old people and everything in between hanged in a row, all mangled and gutted open.
Aciel's bravado wavers and his breathing start to get harder.
"Look away!" Yells out Sophia.
"Oh by the Morning Sun, what happened here?" says Stan,
He inches closer to inspect the bodies, gray marks on their necks and dark veins protruding through their entire bodies.
"That's horrible… they have been cursed… what heathens!" Stan says as his jaw begins to tense up in anger.
The other knights and paladins begin to shout,
"Sir Gregory we found something",
"Over here as well",
"Guys I don't think you will want to see what's here".
As they all gather and report their findings some knights wretch at the sight of the town, everyone, without a single survivor left behind, have been killed or tortured to death.
"We were late, but don't let that falter your minds, we are here on a mission and we have to prevail through this!" Sir Gregory says as he draws his sword.
Everyone then slowly pulls themselves together and slowly gather the bodies of the deceased.
"It's a fucking kid man,a kid! What monster could have done this!" yells out Knight Estefan
"I get it, but try to relax," says a paladin.
"Man this is absolutely…sighs… Theo…" says Knight Estefan softly.
As they all lay everyone in rows, Sophia begins to chant,
"By the Edict of Flame and Form, I call upon the Radiant Lord—He Who Walks the Skies, Keeper of the First Light."
Then the knights join in,
"He sees. He knows. He brings the final peace."
"Let this soul be released from the bounds of flesh. Let no shadow claim them, no chaos bind them." Saintes Sophia continues.
The Knights reply "In Light, they are seen. In Law, they are judged. In Life, they are remembered."
"By His grace, suffering is undone. By His will, their path is made straight. By His fire, all darkness ends."Sophia raises her hands in the air,
"Guide them, O Sunfather, into the lands beyond the veil." The Knights clasp their hands together.
"Go now, children of light. Your burden is lifted. Your name is known." Sophia emanates with a bright light which envelopes the surrounding bodies, as they begin to shimmer, the disgusting stench slowly filtering away and the smell of marigold encompassing the area.
"And dawn shall rise for them again!" The Knights yell.
"Oh by the World, these guys and they versed chanting, so-"
"Shush, don't say that!" Aciel cuts off the Voice.
"Fine…" the Voice replies.
As the chanting finished Sir Gregory gathers everyone,
"We need to continue, Paladins protect the Saintes, Knights with me!"
The paladins pull the caravan into a circle and set camp on the inside, Saintes Sophia gets inside a cart and sets up a small praying altar and begins chanting,
Knight Seris stands guard outside the cart.
"Aciel you are coming with us!" yells out Sir Gregory.
Aciel jumps up and follows Sir Gregory and his troupe.
"Do we really need him?" asks Stan.
"Yes! We do!" Sir Gregory says with a smile.
Stan looks at Aciel with slight empathy, but shakes his head and continues forwards.
"Hmmm, he is quite nice ain't he?" says the Voice.
"Huh?" Aciel with a visible confused face.
"Don't worry about it, just be careful and watch out" says the Voice worriedly.
Sir Gregory's troupe marches into the forest near the town, the foliage seems to be decaying and to be wilting, there is no sound, not even the wind is whistling or any birds chirping. Pure silence,
"I'm getting a very ominous feeling with this" says Sir Gregory, as his eyes begin to glow a bright golden light.
"Divine Detection of Evil and Good" Sir Gregory chants.
Sir Gregory begins to grin a little,
"Nothing major, everyone… Aciel head back and inform the rest."
Aciel then rushes back to the camp, but the woods seem different from before,
"Was it left or right?" Aciel asks the Voice.
"Huu boy, uhm what was that, I didn't hear you?" says the Voice.
"No time for games now, just tell me which way is back." Aciel says starting to get irritated.
"Huuh! What did you sayyy!" says the Voice, increasing his volume.
"Are You kidding me now, please I beg of you, I'm lost!" Aciel begins to shout.
"I think you are in some cursed woods boy, I can barely hear you, now I don't know if you can hear this but head East and don't stop heading East" says the Voice loudly.
"East, which way is East…" Aciel looks up so he may direct himself with the sun but he can't see it, so he decides to go left. Which ended up being a mistake.
"Please let this be East" Aciel says.
Sir Gregory and his troupe notice a strange light coming from further in and approach slowly, the trees seem to give way and lead them till they reach a clearing in the forest, where a large amalgamation of withering plants and decaying tree trunks is positioned, a shambling mound is resting in the middle of this clearing, it's vines covered in blood and guts, an area that seems like the mouth, a small limb protrudes through.
"Prepare you heathen! Everyone attack!" He shouts.
Everyone gathers at arms and attacks in unison, striking first.
Their swords glow in a bright golden light.
"Divine Vertical Slash - Tier 3" yells out Stan,
I great light emanates from his greatsword, shooting forth creating a trail of destroyed, decaying dirt behind.
He then moves closer and takes another slash, leaving a massive gashing wound to the side of the Shambling Mound.
"Searing Smite - Tier 4" yells out Sir Gregory, stabbing the ground with his longsword, white and golden flames gather at the tip and unfurl and homing into the beast, bursting into a great flame.
The rest of the Knight rush in and keep slashing at it.
The Shambling Mound, angry that it got woken up from its sleep, howls in great pain from the Searing Smite and tries to launch vines at Sir Gregory.
"Not so fast!" yells out one of the Knights, as he throws his body to cover Sir Gregory. The vines wrap around the Knight and tug around his neck, immediately cracking it, killing him on the spot.
Stan takes notices and yells out in a rage,
"You will pay for this, you heatheeeennn!" Stan's greatsword begins to glow with another great searing light.
"You don't like fire, how about this! Searing Smite - Tier 5, Flaming Strike - Tier 5, Crusader's Mantle of Fire, activate!" Great flames spew out of the greatsword enveloping the Shambling Mound and Stan, searing and scorching everything, as Stan shouts in great pain, the flames grow and engulf everything.
The smell of scorching wood turning to charcoal and flesh being burned permeate through the air.
"Stan!" the Knights yell out,
"Everyone back away, or you will turn to ash!" yells out Sir Gregory.
As the flames begin to die out what's left is a pile of burned charcoal and the figure of Stan still standing.
"That's what you get, you fucker!" Stan falls on his knees, burns covering his face and hands.
Sir Gregory gets closer, takes off his gauntlets and puts them out,
"By Light made flesh, by Law made whole,Let pain be gone, let breath be bold.
Sunfather, shine through me—And mend what shadow stole." his hands glow in a great golden light and envelop Stan and the burns begin to fade away.
"You damn psycho, how many times do I have to tell you to take it easy on your fire power!" says Sir Gregory after the healing.
"He killed one of ours, it was only logical" Stan retorts.
The knights gather around while carrying their now deceased comrade.
"Poor guy…May the Sunfather guide him to peace" says Sir Gregory.
Everyone gathers themselves and leave,
"This way" says Sir Gregory, with a glow in his eyes.
They manage to find their way out of the forest.
Meanwhile Aciel is still lost, he begins to tire out.
"This is definitely the way out" he pants,
He then stops, he closes his eyes. He begins to focus, he begins to envision the way out, slowly the shadows around him gather at his feet, the moccasin jumps from his shadow, Aciel opens his eyes, the snake begins to slither onwards, he follows it instinctively.
The shadows began to whisper,
"This way… This way, follow my Voice", Aciel tries to turn, but the snake catches him with its tail and slowly drags him. A faint voice coming from it.
"Don't lisssten to thossse voicesss, follow only meee-." Aciel snaps out of it and follows the snake again, they walk a long way, they keep going till night time falls.
Sir Gregory and his troupe arrive back at camp,
"They are back!" yells out a Paladin.
Sophia comes out of her cart, but then a slight realisation,
"Where is Aciel?" she asks one of the Knights.
"He didn't make it back?" says Sir Gregory, "Weird?"
"Greg, where is he? What do you mean he didn't make it back?" Sophia asks worriedly.
"I had sent him back, to report and ask for backup" says Sir Gregory,
"Can we do this later, one of ours is dead!" he says while pushing her away.
Sophia looks at the deceased knight and gasps.
"How?" Sophia asks,
"He died protecting me from the heathen" Sir Gregory says softly.
Everyone gathers around to mourn their fallen brother.
Stan goes to sit on the last cart, as he sighs, Seris comes up to him.
"So what really happened?" she asks,
"Toby used himself as a meatshield to protect Greg, and his neck got snatched and cracked" he says,
"Not that, I'm talking about Aciel, you guys entered a cursed forest and decided to let a kid come back by himself and here I thought you were a good person, how could y-"
Before she finishes, Stan cuts her off.
"I didn't expect that to be his plan, I would have done something but…" Stan pauses.
"But what, too scared Greg will kick YOU out of the paladins, YOU the one titled the Flamebound Templar? Are you shitting me!" she says loudly.
"I…sigh…" Stan remained silent.
"Screw it and you took an oath to protect!" Seris says, then walks off.
"Troubles with the girlfriend?" a voice in Stan's head speaks.
"Who said that?" Stans says drawing his sword.
"Woah there! Heh, I am in your head, relax. I'm Aureon Flameward, the deity you chose to follow and took an oath to.
"What?" Stan shouts.
"You alright over there?" asks one of the knights.
"Ah sorry, uhm yeah I'm fine just.."
"I understand we lost a comrade, but we move forwards" the knight says.
"You have been chosen to be my voice and sword in the world, so ahem, Sir Stan of the Solar Paladins, The Flamebound Templar, I hereby give you my blessing to cut down and scorch the enemies of the Sunfather" I small flame appears in front of Stan.
"Now grab it and claim the power, my friend," He says.
"I Stan of the Solar Paladins accept this gift and vow to protect the weak and cut down the enemies of the Sunfather" Stan reaches to the flame and it envelops him hugging him in a warm manner, as the flames get absorbed everyone around notices Stan and yell out his name.
"Congratulations Stan!"
"Finally my brother, you finally achieved it!" yells out Sir Gregory." This is great news!"
Everyone gathers around to congratulate Stan into finally achieving what's called, Divine Breakthrough.
"So which God was it that bestowed you their blessing?" asks one of the Paladins.
"Aureon Flameward, The Shieldfire." he responds.
"The Shieldfire? Hah, of course who else would it have been, Miss Everfrost?" Seris says while laughing.
"Alright now Seris… well I think this deserves a little celebration, tonight we shall feast on killing the heathen and for our comrade achieving his Divine Breakthrough, I guess his title now will be more accurate" says Sir Gregory as he opens a bottle of wine.
Everyone gathers around, they get a pot cooking with food, and begin to chug on their drinks as night begins to fall.
Sophia is in a cart praying for the safety of Aciel and doesn't join the rest.
Seris get on her cart and lies down close to Sophia,
"You should relax, Aciel is gonna be fine" she says.
"How do you know that? He is only a kid, he could be in danger and here we are just celebrating, even worse he could be attacked by a monster or… or" Sophia begins to panic.
"Hey, you should calm down, trust me, if he has a Saintes worry for him, I'm pretty sure he is going to be fine, here" Seris hands her a bottle of wine.
"We don't have to join them but we can at least drink here" Seris says with a smile.
Sophia can't help it but sigh in a worry, but accepts Seris' offer and they drink by themselves.
"He will be alright…maybe? Nah most definitely" says the Sunfather in Sophia's head.
"Can you look after him or bless him in a way, please" Sophia asks.
The Sunfather sighs, "Fine, I'll see what I can do".
As the Selune rises everyone is laughing and telling stories by the fire.
They all slowly drift to sleep, while some knights keep watch.