He continued his lecture "No Aggie, that's not the reason, although it might be a beneficial consequence. No, the reason is simple – We are the fist of the Lord's vengeance. The point of the spear that extracts that vengeance, and no saint has dominion over that. 'Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord, Romans 19.' Also note that we extract that vengeance not from humans, but those who are no longer or never have been human."
Agatha grinned at that and said. "So why does God need us to combat them? I mean if he's responsible for vengeance and all." She liked tweaking his faith sometimes. Not that she didn't believe, but he could be overly dogmatic.
"And God will help those who help themselves." He growled at her. "Now if I may finish without more interruptions?" He continued with a half-hearted glower as Agatha nodded her assent. Griffin shook his head. Sometimes he worried he took it too easy on her.
"The second point is God doesn't mind if we swear, fuck, or anything else as long as we still respect him while being true to ourselves. So long as we harm no-one in the process. I don't view telling that uptight prick William that he needs to get that stick out of his arse as hurting him. None of the other Paladins have ever told a Master that, but I do because I'm trying to help him see his flaws. My faith has led me to live an unfairly long life.
"I always heal faster than anyone else, so I am sure of God's faith in me to keep doing things as I do. I think it is part of his faith in me – that I still do His work even while I am true to myself. So what if some of them castigate me for being foul mouthed? If God had a problem with me I doubt I'd still be around. And believe me I have nothing on some people out there when it comes to language."
"What I'm telling you is to be true to yourself. I see you wanted to call the sisters something other than timid but that isn't what you did. By being untrue to yourself you undermine yourself." Agatha blushed at this.
She knew, all the paladins learned, Griffin's opinion of them denying themselves an occasional drink or woman. (Or man, he said about that 'God made us who we are, if a woman prefers women or a man, men, God knows and still loves them. We are not called to judge if a human sins - that judgment is his and we must acknowledge we are also humans. If he gave us flaws it is only because he loves those too.'). He was also the only man she knew who treated every woman, at least every human woman thinking on tonight's events, he met with respect.
She knew, it had become legendary, that a century ago he'd killed a fellow Paladin for not risking harm to save a prostitute. The Paladin's defense preposed that she carried more of Eve's sins than a respectable woman. When 10 of the 12 senior paladins backed him, the master abstained and Grif dissented.
Despite knowing his opponent would be armed, and he wouldn't be if he challenged, he called for a Duel under God. He'd walked into the field unarmored as well, while his opponent was equipped with a breastplate, shield and sword. It finished in minutes, with him the victor, completely uninjured. His opponent's name had been deliberately blotted from all the records and was known only as Fallen.
With his victory he said, (at least it was written that he said), 'He forgot the sins of both Adam and Cain.' With that proof of God's will, all humans were to be protected by a Paladin, no matter the faith or status. It was called the 13th law, and the only law to be added since Joan of Arc's time. That was when the Order recognized that women possessed the potential to be Paladins. It tool them longer to actively recruit them.
"So remember these two things. We are God's fist, and we must also be true to who we are – or God would not have let me live so long and so many less true to themselves fall or age. This is not the accepted wisdom, but it seems to me to be the truth."
Agatha became visibly uncomfortable when she thought of the only man she wanted to lie with. But that was too far for her. Griffin was a Paladin and probably saved her when they met. He was a great guy from all she knew of him. Some feared him and his skills. Others saw him as almost automaton-like after seeing him combat both the terrifying and the unsettling, like tonight's target, with the same rock-like demeanor. She'd trained with him for three years now and saw he owned a heart under the mask he showed the world. But she also understood he would find sharing a bed with her in other than platonic necessity a breach of trust – from his side.
They walked in companionable silence back to the cheap motel they were staying in. There Griffin changed into a different shirt and pants and they both went to the nearest pub. There they bought a few drinks with the rest of the team and called it a night. After what Griffin told her about being true to herself, and a bit of Dutch courage, she was tempted to ask to go into his bed with him, but even then she decided it was a bad idea.
Interlude
By the 1600's it is thought that almost all, if not all demons had been hunted down and banished, but children of their lines still appeared. The plagues of werewolves and vampires had been quelled with only relatively minor outbreaks (compared to in the past) from time to time. Warlocks were a rarer problem either because they hid better than other threats or due to a sharp decline in their numbers. All these beings were relegated by the majority of the world's population to myth or legend
Still the order stood ready with at least two dozen monasteries around the world, supported by the Order of St Michael and the Order of St Rita. It is during this time that the Order allowed women to join its ranks as they were often allowed greater freedom of movement in certain circumstances, and more able to gather intelligence through gossip and rumor.
From the introduction to A History of the Order published in 2010, kept internally, given to all new recruits of the Order.
Chapter 2
17th January, 2014, Rural Greece, The Order's HQ
After a flight to Greece, it was back to the cloisters for them. The doctors X-rayed Agatha's arm and found it to be completely healed. So, back to training for both of them. They kitted up in protective padding, basically a padded gambeson tunic and padded greaves, and headed for the training hall.
The training hall consisted of a huge arms salle. The walls were lined with racks of lead cored wooden training weapons from nearly every culture. The floor was sanded to prevent slipping but still hard and falls on it were punishing. Around the edges of the circle were wooden railings, with four entryways equidistant around the salle. Benches had been placed around the rails for spectators. It wasn't unusual for there to be a few people watching whoever was training. Some enjoyed watching for the sake of watching while other were looking at the more technical aspects in the hope of improving their own skills. Today there were no spectators.
Griffin had an idea of what to train her with this time – she needed to learn wood tipped spears. If she'd known how to use one, the vamp mightn't have gotten her arm. She needed more than just short weapons, but also effective ones that could be hidden in plain sight. A silver topped walking stick could be effective against both werebeasts and Vamps, especially if the wood had been treated with silver nitrate. Useful last resort against werecreatures and good against weaker vampires.
"So Agatha, any of the other Paladins given you any training with a spear?"
She looked at him. "If you mean have they trained me with what you are going to call the basics? No – they ran me through what they call the basics. I can tell you it is a stabby weapon we rarely use and how to hold it properly with one or two hands." She said it with an irreverent grin. Griffin grunted in response.
"They also say anything that doesn't go 'Bang' is something we don't use often these days. If the Master and I didn't insist, I think they wouldn't use bayonets on their rifles. But you've seen me fight often enough. How often do you think that a rifle is even useful to me? They can go through 25- 30 shots taking out a Were and up in the hundreds taking out a Vamp. I remember passing through the rec room and hearing someone on TV saying 'Knives don't run out of bullets'."
"The same sentiment is true of swords and the other weapons I've taught you. Spears slightly less so. They can be broke
n more easily. I will give this caveat - A broken spear becomes two batons, one still with a sharp point, at least of the size we'll be using. Besides, if you get surprised by any of the Hidden, you won't get off more than two or three shots. That's why the Master agrees with me on bayonets and bayonet training." He knew she'd been trained in batons and bayonet drill. He'd checked her training and even given her some fencing bayonet styles. And collapsible batons were too easy to hide for the paladins to ignore their potential in cities.
He walked to the training weapon racks set against the wall and pulled down two, four foot oak poles with cloth and leather padding on one end. Griffin tossed one almost negligently to Agatha. She caught it, appreciating the smooth, polished wood. It was carefully balanced, but with the lead weight it was far heavier than she would likely use in the field. The smooth, silky haft moved freely in her hands as she stabbed the air with it to find its balance.
"The key to a spear is accuracy - A wooden point can still kill. In fact one of the reasons it's so lethal to vampires is they can't heal moving muscle - and the heartbeat tends to spread splinters through the heart, impeding their healing even more. No wood allergy or something stupid like that, no mystical mumbo-jumbo, just the injury making itself worse. Stakes really only work on relatively weak vampires - but that's all you'll be sent to face until you're fully trained, so hows about you show me what you can do. Start with the moves I taught you and we'll work from there."
At Agatha's nod, they squared off against each other. For the next half hour she went through every move and combination she could think of to try to get past his guard. They were both sweating, mostly from the weight and heat retention of their training padding.
Then she remembered what he'd said earlier. Something about batons. She turned her shoulders as if frustration had driven her to do something stupid. Like a full force swing to his head or legs. She reversed her grip on the spear while doing this, stepping into and past his thrust and hit him hard in the solar plexus with the butt of her weapon. He grimaced in pain and gasped for air and went down to his knees. Seeing her look of triumph he pulled her legs out from under her sending her sprawling onto the ground. He got up and put her into a gooseneck hold, locking her arm at the shoulder and forcing her onto her face with her arm behind her back.
"What mistake did you make? I'm impressed by what you did, but what mistake did you make?" He demanded of her
Agatha grimaced "I focused on getting a blow to land on you - finally - and not on following through for the kill."
Griffin released the grip and nodded "Exactly. Habits formed in training can kill, especially bad ones like that."
As he stretched his hand out to let her up and a mischievous thought occurred to Agatha. She glanced around and saw that her plan had a chance so she took it. She grabbed his hand with both of hers and threw him off balance executing a perfect throw over her body, picking up her spear as she rolled to her feet. Then she charged him, sliding to knock his feet out from under him as he was trying to get up. She turned and stabbed the padded point into his throat, stopping it as it touched.
"Matte" He said, shaking his head. It had taken everyone else he trained with more than a year to realize the opening he was giving them by not calling the fight. Her, only a little more than three months.
"Better Boss?"
He decided to let her have her victory, despite using boss. "Yes, much better. Now let's get cleaned up and see if there's any worthwhile jobs for us to go on as a pair." That meant the two of them, her backup of two lay-sisters and his backup of six laymen.
Griffin was really proud of how well Agatha had progressed through the training over the last three years. It was amazing how fast she had taken to combat. He had never seen anything like it. When she was training against anyone else he could almost see the laser focus she would eventually attain.
He was still bemused that she was intent on making sure her team was always female. There wasn't a sexist bone in his body. If a person did the job that was all he required of them. She needed to prove that women could be as good, or better, than men in their line of work.
He constantly reviewed the skill sets of all his potential backups. He then chose from the list based on merit, personal compatibility and availability, although he wasn't likely to pick Gomez again. Glory hounds like him died quick in the hidden world. The last thing he needed on an operation gone bad was someone with that attitude.
"If there aren't any jobs we'll round up the lay brothers. They all need more work. I'll start you out against Gomez. If they really think they're as good as you or me we need to beat it out of them. It's for their own good and idle hands are, after all, the devil's plaything..."
Interlude
...To this day, the Order maintains monasteries in dozens of countries and has an active roster of over 500 junior Paladins and over 100 senior Paladins supported by thousands of lay brothers. They average two missions a month per Paladin. It is currently led by the Master Paladin William Harspinger, and its Champion is Griffin. Griffin has served for 200 years in the Order after being raised from an infant by the Order. He had been left at the gate of one of the monasteries of St Rita. Griffin's faith in God and service to the cause is reputed to be the cause of his longevity and is not without precedent in the Order. The council of 12, consisting of the Master Paladin, the Champion and 5 elected representatives from each of the tiers of Paladins settles disputes internally. Every six months the designated headquarters is shifted. This is for security and to maintain both political and religious contacts.
Higher Direction is given by a Council of Religious Authorities during times when events that may have slipped through the Order's information and intelligence networks come to their attention. These personages are always senior members of their respective churches but rarely the leaders...
From The Structure of the Order Today given to lay-members since 2008
January 24th, 2014, Various Places, High Council electronic meeting
The computer screen was split into nine sections, each lit up as the various members came online. Everyone knew the reasons. Artifacts had been stolen from 3 obscure Churches in Sydney, Australia. All of the artifacts had been significant to the various cults of pagan Egypt. There was growing concern that they were being gathered for a purpose. No-one on the Council wanted to know what they might be used for. What, after all this time, could be the purpose be. How could it strengthen the majority of people's faith in the one true 'God'?
All their faces were obscured, but they all knew that was in case someone broke the encryption. They all had voice changing software up so their voices wouldn't give away much either.
"So does anyone have any ideas of how to deal with this problem?" said the figure in the center of all their screens
"Why are we even bothered? We are in a solid position no matter what, so how can it hurt us?" Another figure said.
"We are bothered because none of our plans are far enough along. If an outside player interferes at this time it could not only mean the failure of all our goals. It might also destroy most of our contingencies, and we never managed to figure out what those items did before we hid them. If it hadn't been that the records for Australia are all intact we might not have any idea what faction was moving. If they manage to bring in help..."
"So what can we do?"
"We tell the local authorities that these are predicted to be the likely targets. Let them sort it out." There were snorts of disapproval from most of the other cameras.
"No. The risk of people finding out about the real truth is too great. Best not to tempt fate."
"Then what do you suggest?"
Everyone waited patiently, listening to the tapping of fingers on a table as their leader thought.
"I don't like it but our options are limited. We are going to have to send in the Order, with as much information as can be safely given to... Him." The 'Him' was said with extreme distaste.
There was a mass
of protests and arguments "It can't be that bad." "They're over tasked as it is." "What if He finds out the truth?"
Their leader raised his hand. "Can you really think of a better plan? We are so close, only another few years - a decade at most - and we will achieve our goals. This path is the most likely to work. Look, I don't like it either but unless one of you can come up with something better I don't see a choice. We need to move now and this is the fastest practical way we have."
Eventually, it was agreed that it was the best choice they had. Not that they liked any of their options
They would take this chance.
Chapter 3
January 25th, 2014, The Order's HQ, Master Paladin's office.
William was annoyed. The Lay brothers had sent a deputation to him complaining about the extra training they'd been getting from Griffin. Considering what they went up against, Werebeasts, vampires, warlocks and demonspawn, his sympathy was somewhat limited. However he could see this time someone had really annoyed Griffin and he was making a point. Apparently several of them. The Sisters then complained about not being invited and were graciously given permission to join in. The also did better which pissed the brothers off no end. About a quarter of the brothers, and two of the sisters received broken bones in his 'voluntary' extra training sessions.
They recognized that while they might be officially 'voluntary' they'd never get picked by him or any other senior Paladin for a mission again if they slid out on it. The lay sisters joining had surprised the brothers but not Griffin or William. The women that made it through the Orders training were far more focused than any of the men. Most of the men were ex- special forces, a role few if any women had on their resumes. The men's egos got in the way of seeing how dangerous the job was sometimes.
He said "Look, I'm meeting with Griffin shortly. I'll mention my concern at the damage to morale he might be causing. But some of you will be going on mission soon so it won't be a problem. You should be grateful for the extra training." There was a pause. "Now I suggest you leave before Griffin gets here..." There was a knock on the office door and two of the three brothers looked concerned. The third one, Azim, calmly nodded and led the other two out past Griffin and Agatha.
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