“It’s not that simple, brother,” Birch said.
“It never is,” Hoil grumbled under his breath.
Birch smiled faintly, but the expression was a ghost that faded away in the same instant it appeared.
“The human soul is a blending of good and evil,” Birch said again. “As is all life in our world. Imagine the two immortal planes being held apart from each other.”
He turned to a nearby easel with a piece of glass resting over a white background. He lifted a marking stick treated with a chemical that would stay on the glass, but was erasable afterwards. Birch drew two long, parallel lines.
“The upper plane is Heaven, the lower Hell. They are always opposed, always exactly opposite each other, always balanced,” he said. Then he shaded the space between them. “When the two were originally rent apart, that’s what we call Creation – the dawn of the world of Lokka. It is the separation of Heaven and Hell and the resulting mixture of good and evil that allows life to exist at all. Continue these lines infinitely, and you have all the life on our world.”
“And?”
“Now take away one of those planes,” Birch said. He used his thumb to wipe away the upper line, then the shaded space. “No more conflict. No more separation. No more life. At all. If Hell overruns Heaven and destroys that half of the balance, all life will cease to exist in our world.”
Hoil stared at his brother a long moment.
“Oh.”
“So what do we do?” James asked.
“We regroup and prepare for the worst,” Birch said. “This isn’t the end for us. Kaelus’s role has yet to be discovered, and Satan’s hand has yet to be played. This war, this immortal game we’re all involved in has yet to reach its conclusion, for any of us.”
Birch did not tell them the rest. They didn’t need to know yet. His death and the miraculous intervention of Kaelus had shaken his sense of his own role in the dangerous game far more than he had let on to anyone else. For now, it was enough for them to know that the game continued, and the stakes had been raised to the fate of all creation.
…the Barrier War concludes in Book 3 – “Satan’s Gambit”.
Appendix C
The Prismatic Order
I. A Brief History
II. Training
III. The Seven Virtues
IV. Daily Life
I. A Brief History
The Prismatic Order of Paladins was founded in 743 AL, approximately 100 years before the Age of Merging began. Since the Epiphany (0 AL), men of all races eagerly sought to learn from the immortal angels, and the first teachings of the seven virtues began not long after the angels’ arrival. Those teachings quickly coalesced into a religion that spread throughout Lokka like a wildfire, burning away heretical pantheons and religious naturalism with equal fervor. The formal structure of the Prismatic Order would not take shape for another seven centuries, but the groundwork was laid from the moment the first angel set foot on Lokka.
The presence of angels during the Age of Lords is documented fact, but less well-known is that demons walked the world as well. They went to great pains to keep their presence hidden from their immortal enemies, but some demonic cults sprang into existence devoted to the worship of the unholy. The largest of these cults was the Myein, a secret society that grew in power primarily in the lands west of modern-day Nocka. By the time the immortal angels became aware of the font of demonic influence, they were too powerful to be put down as lesser cults had been for centuries.
The Seraph Uriel is recorded as the first angel to suggest militarizing the mortal religion as a way of combatting the threat of the Myein, and the first paladin was anointed with his cloak by none other than Mikal, one of the most powerful angels in Heaven.[31] The Prismatic Order began in a city nestled in the valleys of the southern Delnar Mountains, but the city was destroyed during the Merging War and the exact location has been lost from mortal ken.
The Myein were eradicated during a war that spanned nearly five years, and the last traces of the secret cult were wiped out in 752 AL. By that time, the presence of demons in Lokka was a well-known fact, and the fledgling paladin order devoted itself to hunting and destroying the infernal presence.
In the year 6 AM, the advent of the Devil’s Horns brought Hell to Lokka in the very truest sense of the term. The dwarven city of Nocka was overrun almost immediately as demons swarmed through the newly formed Merging. Until that time, no one had been able to trace where the demons were entering Lokka, and for years, the exact source was still unknown. The Prismatic Order had swelled in size, but they were a paltry force compared to the demons who ravaged unchecked across the lands.
Many historical records indicate the immortal angels, who had removed themselves from Lokka following the fall of the Myein, returned to combat their immortal foes and fought side-by-side with the paladins. Even with their help, it was years before the demonic hordes could be turned back and their destruction held at bay. Religious scholars discovered a way to limit the spread of the Merging, and with the help of the angels, they began forcing the demons back to their own plane of existence.
The full force of demonic might was finally broken in 15 AM, and the infernal immortals retreated to Hell to replenish their numbers for another assault. Over the next year, the demons sent forays across the Merging to attack the construction of the Barrier, but the Prismatic Order stood vigil over the massive wall, which was erected under the careful hands of the world’s foremost dwarven craftsmen.[32] It was during this time the paladins took up residence in Nocka and established their primary chapterhouse in the city (following the destruction of their original locale, as mentioned above).
The Barrier was completed in 16 AM, and in a ceremony devoted to the fallen warriors who gave their lives protecting the world, seven monuments were uncovered, one in each of the seven courtyards of the Barrier. The Stones were hewn from angelstone, a substance brought from the immortal plane of Heaven, and colored to match the seven Facets of the Prismatic Order. Those Stones serve as a constant reminder of the ultimate sacrifice given by the paladins to ensure the survival of the mortal races.
II. Training
There is no strict age limit[33] or experience requisite to enter paladin training, for men may be called from all stages and lots of life to follow the will of God, nor is there a standard length of time over which a man becomes a paladin. Training sessions often bleed together, and those unsuccessful in one session often find themselves flowed into the next.
Paladin training focuses heavily on combat, owing to the universal role of all paladins in hunting down and destroying demons found in the mortal world. Unarmed combat and survival skills are standard fare, allowing paladins to survive under disparate adverse circumstances. The training that sets them apart from a nation’s military, however, are the courses they receive instructing them in the application and internalization of the six primary virtues. Practical and theoretical instruction go hand-in-hand with swordsmanship and devotional prayer.
Perhaps the most unique aspect of paladin training, however, is their use of dakkans. The powerful creatures are shape-shifters, ranging from horse-sized, wingless “runners” to dragon-like titans that rule the skies in the wild. Dakkans are also capable of assuming a third shape, mimicking any creature of the animal kingdom. (For more information, see “Care and Handling of Dakkans” – while published in 203AM, it is still the definitive text on working with the majestic beasts.) Use of dakkans as mounts dates back from before the Merging War, when early paladins looked to the skies and sought to emulate the flight of the immortal angels. Breeders maintain weyrs of dakkans from which the paladins can select an appropriate mount; most are chosen in their youth, but a dakkan will frequently outlast two or even three paladins in its lifetime.
The additional perils of winged combat (namely, falling) gave rise to the blessings imbued into every paladin’s cloak that allow them to control their descent at will. A paladin can slow his descent alm
ost to that of a feather drifting on the wind, or resume a natural speed with a mere thought. The blessings bestowed upon the cloaks used during the training process are temporary and must be renewed annually, but those upon a true paladin’s cloak remain so long as the paladin lives and stays true to the Prismatic Order.
The completion of a paladin’s training is dependent on two factors – the judgment of his instructors and the readiness of his own soul. When the training master deems his wards are ready to take their place among the holy warriors, a paladin will place a blessed cloak upon each trainee’s shoulders. The blessings of the cloak react to the true reflection of the man and will immediately change color to denote the Facet most indicative of his soul. Those whose souls are not ready for the burden and privilege of being a paladin do not experience any such change, and they are given the option of continuing their training until such time as the change occurs or they opt to remove themselves from the Prismatic Order entirely.
III. The Seven Virtues
The virtues of the Prismatic Order have their roots in the early religious teachings following the Epiphany. The virtues were imparted to ancient man by the immortal angels, and while modern religion has moved away from their strict adherence, the belief structure of the non-militant orders is still spiritually grounded in the virtues. The sole exception to this loosening of standards is the Prismatic Order itself, which still demands fidelity to the virtues at all times.
In general, the virtues are considered a narrow path between opposing extremes of sin and vice and consist of the proper measure of their defining trait. Religious scholars consider it all but impossible to understand them independent of one another, as they reinforce each other and are inextricably bound together in their existence, and to think of a virtue solely as the balance between just two extremes is a gross over-simplification. It is generally accepted wisdom that the only way to truly understand a virtue is to practice it.
When a trainee dons a blessed cloak, it changes color to signify the Facet most strongly “reflected” in his soul.[34]
Courage (Red) – Courage is the proper balance between fear and brazenness. It is not the absence of fear, for no such state ever truly exists. Fear is to be acknowledged and used, for in hiding or denying its presence, a man allows the fear to rule him as surely as if terror stayed his hand. Courage requires knowledge of the dangers being faced, although leaping into the unknown may be considered courageous in some circumstances. The virtues are often difficult to live by, and it takes courage to adhere to them in adverse times.
Knowledge (Orange) – Knowledge is not simply the accumulation of data through study, but rather a balanced combination of intelligence, wisdom, and experience. Knowledge can be gained by direct experience or careful application of intellect, but neither should be accepted as truth without verification and study. Knowledge for its own sake – without purpose or application – is generally not considered sinful, but accumulating and using it for the purpose of gaining power over others is considered just as vile as willful ignorance and wasting information. Knowledge underlies the other primary virtues, for without knowledge there can be no intent, and therefore no moral or virtuous value.
Temperance (Yellow) – Temperance is both a virtue and the means by which all virtues are followed. It can most easily be defined as proper self-restraint. Being angry is no more a sin than being happy, but being angry to the proper degree, for the proper reasons, and directing that anger to the proper source is a difficult skill to master. Giving in to one’s passions is just as harmful as quashing and rejecting one’s own feelings.
Love (Green) – Love is considered the most complex virtue by many scholars, largely because the word has taken on so many meanings, each with its own vice-filled opposite. Hatred, disregard, self-centeredness, self-loathing, idolatry – all are vices resulting from the misapplication of the virtue. Love is proper consideration for one’s self as well as others, two separate continuums existing in cooperative competition. It is possible to love one’s self too much or too little, just as it is possible to love one’s fellow men too much or too little. Placing another’s needs above your own to your own detriment is just as potentially harmful as ignoring the needs of those around you in lieu of your own gratification. Love is the source of the miracle of healing, which is a gift from God. Paladins manifest this virtue through healing prayers and can reverse or repair many forms of physical damage, although death, disease, and dismemberment are beyond any hands but God’s own. It is through love the other virtues find their place in the world, for it guides one’s path of spiritual development as well as informing how a man of virtue interacts with those around him.
Justice (Blue) – Justice is often confused with “fairness” by laymen – the primary difference being that justice concerns matters in which the individual(s) had a choice, while fairness does not. Indeed the virtue of justice is the means of achieving fairness. Justice is unique among the primary virtues in that one does not have too much or too little of it, rather the virtue is an act of balancing competing external forces, and tilting in favor of one over another creates the collective vice known as injustice. The vices most frequently cursed in the absence of justice are vengeance and lawlessness, but the subtler vices of expedience, pity, and even positive discrimination can just as easily taint one’s soul with injustice. The virtue also has an internal component, balancing the often competing impulses stemming from the other five primary virtues. Justice is the means by which a paladin might attain the White Facet of beauty.
Piety (Violet) – Often confused with “faith,” piety is proper devotion to God. A man on the pious path should beware the zealot and the apostate with equal fervor and deny credence to the words of the fanatic as well as the atheist. God calls each man and woman to an appropriate level of service, taking one to evangelize His words while leaving another untouched, and each is following the will of the divine. Coexistent with this idea is that a pious man should show proper devotion to those around him as well. Ignoring a friend in need is as vicious a deed as ignoring the call of God, as is devotion solely to the bonds of family and amity to the exclusion of some other responsibility. In a life of competing duties, a pious man must seek the proper path as he is called by God and man, finding the proper balance within himself. Piety often works in tandem with justice in seeking to balance the virtues and leads to faith in their strength and teachings.
Beauty (White) – As a virtue, beauty has nothing to do with physical appearance. It is a state of relative balance between the other six virtues, desirous because of the purity and stability it represents in a man of God. The six primary virtues do not have to be in “perfect” balance for this virtue to become a paladin’s reflection, and leading scholars currently conjecture that each man has within him an ideal balance specific to his own life, and seeking an ideal personal balance is more meaningful than aspiring toward some as-yet unknown universal balance. As there is no way to quantify or measure one’s strength in one virtue over another, the exact nature of this balance is impossible to study. A better understanding of the virtue is further complicated by the inexplicable curse that comes over all paladins who attain the white cloak of beauty. Beginning in 113 AM, every paladin who has had his reflection change to White has been overcome with an overwhelming compulsion to cross the Merging, leaving the mortal world behind in some maddened, suicidal quest.
IV. Daily Life
Once a man becomes a full paladin, his life is generally his own to live as he sees fit within the tenets of the Prismatic Order, however all men are expected to continue to learn and improve themselves to be better men and better soldiers of God. Prismatic chapterhouses are located in many major cities throughout Lokka, and most paladins prefer to live in or nearby one of these cities so they are available if called to serve in a jintaal or some other official capacity.
Green and Blue paladins frequently travel throughout Lokka (political borders mean little to paladins, who are universall
y revered and treated as honored guests) offering their services as healers and officiators of justice. Payment is never asked, but donations are willingly accepted and sent back to the Prismatic Order to fill its coffers. When they’re not training to hone their combat skills, Red paladins are often found searching throughout the land for nests of demons. Violet paladins are the evangelical wing of the Prismatic Order, spreading the religious teachings and providing spiritual guidance to all in need. Orange paladins are most often found in libraries and other centers of learning, and the rare times one is found out and about in the world, it’s usually in pursuit of some obscure text or source of research. Yellow paladins frequently serve as advisors to all levels of government and handle most of the administrative needs of the Prismatic Order.
Author’s Note
About the only thing I love more than writing is being a husband and father. Thanks to my brothers, I started playing Dungeons & Dragons sometime around the second grade and read my first real fantasy book a year later. I blame them for my fervent love of a genre that’s come so far just in my lifetime, and I can’t help but feel like it’s a little arrogant of me to offer my own work into the world for your enjoyment. I love these books, and my hope is that if you’re sticking with me, you think they’re pretty damn cool, too.
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