by Rex Jameson
“Brothers,” Thomas said. He looked at Allison and corrected himself. “And sisters!”
Thomas threw his hands up to the heavens. “Today is a truly great day to have the first woman paladin initiate here with us. Thousands of years without a woman, and here we are. Truly, it is a great sign of the coming Age of Magic! As foretold, eons past, the cities of the elves will fall. The undead will rise. The demons will escape from the underworld, and the great paladins will be the only force in the world powerful enough to stop them.”
Thomas looked at each of the new initiates, nodding to each of them in turn.
“Your numbers have dwindled,” Thomas admitted. “Long gone are the days of a thousand paladins roaming the lands of Surdel. But where you find one paladin, you find immense strength and power. You have trained your whole lives. Your families have nurtured and protected you, as the Creator Cronos has nurtured and protected you, for it is their right and obligation to do so, despite the dark times that approach us.”
Thomas laid his hands down on the altar.
“The darkness encroaches. Soon, very soon, it will be upon us. The demon lords have fought for every inch of the underworld beneath the great Kingdom of Surdel. The dark elves have contained these creatures, and they have fought them valiantly. But what once took hundreds of years, now comes in quick succession. The elves, in their dangerous curiosity and ego, believed they could stop the demons, but one-by-one, their cities have fallen. We didn’t even know we needed you, the paladins, until the city of Balahambria fell over 10,000 years ago. The elves despaired, and the Holy One heard their calls. She created the Order and gave us artifacts of Light. She gave us hope. And now, many millennia later, it is your turn to part the darkness and bring forth the dawn.”
He motioned to the initiates to approach the altar.
“Would you please place your weapons on this altar,” Thomas said, “so they may receive the Holy One’s blessing?”
The young initiates released hands and retrieved their weapons. Fred and Allen placed a sword and a spear, respectively, at the edges of the altar. Cedric placed his father’s war hammer and his long spear at the center. Allison placed a sword next to his spear. They exchanged a long look as they returned to their positions. He wondered what she was thinking.
“My people,” Thomas said, “the monks of the Order of Godun, found the first Light artifact and we gave it to the King not long after the first elven city fell, so that he might be a symbol of hope for his people and this world. We called to the Creator Cronos, and he sent us the Holy One, who agreed to take in a new order of human fighters, the paladins. She would bless this order with the tools, the weapons of Light that would vanquish our enemies and send them back to the Abyss.”
Thomas raised his arms in an embrace of the initiates.
“That’s where you four brave souls come in,” Thomas said. “Soon, the hordes of demons and undead will sweep across the land, and the people, despite their mistrust and even hatred, they will call to you for aid. The very people who malign you, even the King himself, will beg for help. You must not falter. You must take these weapons, once they are blessed, and you must drive them through the heart of the demon hordes. Surdel depends on you. The men and women, elves, and even the orcs reach out to you for protection. Nirendia needs you. We rely on your strength, your wisdom, your guidance, and your purity of character. You must be selfless. You must be brave. You must be paladins!”
Cedric felt his pride spill over. He shouted defiantly. Against the King who denied him and his family their lands. Against the people who denounced the paladins when they fell from grace at Xhonia. Against the demons who killed his father. But most importantly, he yelled in support of his brothers and sisters who knelt beside him. They too raised fists and screamed mightily, and the paladins along the walls roared in support.
Above Thomas, on the pedestal, a glistening track of tears ran down Jonas’ face. He shook his head and looked to the ceiling. Cedric lifted his fist to him, thanking his adopted father, but Jonas looked only at Allison—who was so caught up in the emotions of her peers that she didn’t notice her father.
“The paladin bond and powers are not for me to bestow,” Thomas said. “I am merely a conduit. I bring the Holy One here. I am a practitioner of the ancient arts handed down to us by Selenor the Seer and other astral projectionists of the past. It is she, the Holy One, who will bestow the title of paladin upon you. It will be she who blesses your weapons. She will stand over you. Be ready. This oath is all that matters in your life right now. Nothing at home should be on your mind. Cleanse yourself of your doubts, your worldly ambitions, and your weaknesses. If you are unprepared, if you have a dark mark on your soul, if you must leave this place, she will sense it. Are you prepared to do what is necessary to protect Nirendia from her enemies?”
Thomas waited for the four initiates to respond. Each nodded. They were here to stay. They were here for their families, friends, and the future of the planet.
“Very well,” Thomas said.
He clasped his hands to his chest, lowered his head and began speaking a strange, low and guttural language—almost like the sounds Sharmat had made commanding his pack of demons. It was not at all how Cedric had imagined communing with the Holy One. The sounds were more fit for beasts.
But then there she was, in answer to Thomas’ strange prayer. Blonde hair. Beautiful white dress that flowed down past the altar. Pale face. Blue eyes.
She glowed in the darkness. She lit the entire room with white light and warmth.
“My children,” she said in a powerful but soft voice.
“Oh, Holy One!” Cedric exclaimed, his eyes filled with love and devotion.
Allison, Fred, and Allen each pronounced her name in turn and pounded a fist to their chests.
“I would speak to my people,” the Holy One said, “alone, as usual. Their oath and contract to me is private, between only them, myself and the Creator Cronos.”
“Of course, Holy One,” Travis said.
He bustled to the stone and a handful of paladins helped him roll it aside. He nodded briefly to the initiates and the Council on the pedestal and then hurried away. Three other monks who had been inside followed Thomas out.
The paladins pulled the stone back, where it stayed secure but unfastened, as those mechanisms were outside.
“Initiates,” she said. “Each of you brings before me weapons to use against our enemies. Know that I intend to use you against them. I will depend on your loyalty, your obedience, and your bravery. I cannot defeat the fiery creatures of the great demon lords without you. You are Nirendia’s last great hope. You are the water that will extinguish their fire. You are, like me, champions of nature. Can you be my champions? Are you brave enough to stand against the demon horde?”
“Yes!” Cedric promised. “I will do anything you ask.”
“Anything?” the Holy One asked. She smiled, seeming to be very pleased with his answer.
“My family has ever been your faithful servants,” Cedric said. “My father died in battle with the demons on Godun. His father fought and died for you. We trace our lineage back to Joran Arrington, the first paladin to join the Order!”
“Ah, Joran,” she said, looking at him and placing her finger at her chin as if thinking deeply. “Your father was Sylas, and you are, of course, his son Cedric. I’ve heard so much about you. We’re all very proud of you.”
“We?”
“All paladins come to me in the Abyss,” she said, “into the Holy Fen.”
Cedric became overcome with emotion. “You speak to my dad?”
“I speak with all of my subjects,” she said. “I listen to them. I know their fears, their hopes and dreams. Your father had big plans for you. He wanted you to lead the Council. I too have big plans for you.”
Cedric nodded but was overwhelmed that the Holy One might know who he was. He looked to the other initiates, to Allison, and they too nodded emphatically.
&
nbsp; “Before I can bless these weapons,” the Holy One said, “I need your oath of fealty to me. My enemies cannot touch these weapons for they will perish, but they can touch and twist your souls to their bidding. You must resist their temptations and promises. You must defend your lives and your very souls from their or anyone else’s tainted ambitions. You must only fight for me. Not King. Not country. Me. I alone know what’s best for Nirendia. Will you pledge to follow me and do whatever I ask of you, whenever I ask it of you?”
Cedric stood and approached the altar. The other initiates stood also.
“The Eldenwalds have shunned my family for over a century,” he said. “I owe them no loyalty. I am ready to swear my life to your cause—to the defense of Nirendia and the extermination of all demons.”
The Holy One smiled warmly, glowing with Light and radiance.
“Then you shall be first,” the Holy One said, “Repeat after me. I, Cedric Arrington, pledge my soul to the eternal service of the Holy One. Should she ask for my aid, even if it cost me my life, I will answer her call.”
He repeated everything she said, each word more strongly than the last. The other initiates repeated the same oath but with their own names inserted.
She continued the next section of the promise.
“I will smite the naurun who swarm this land or any others, for all eternity. I will not do harm to any of hers or Cronos’ creatures. I promise my future sons to her cause. I will never reveal the secrets of the Holy One. I will never share my blessed weapon. I will defend her, her people, her honor and her temples and possessions at all costs, even if it cost me my life.”
He repeated this stoically and in turn with the other three initiates.
“Now,” she said, “before we proceed, I want to make sure you understand exactly what you have promised, so that you may never break this pact. You promise me your eternal soul in this conflict with the demon lords. You promise to bring your sons to me, in the same way you have been brought to me, and you will never try to dissuade them from taking this path to me. You must tell them none of our secrets before they have made their own agreement with me. And soon, when our enemies have broken free, you will bring me others from the common people who cry out to join me in the aftermath and desolation of the undead and the naurun. Do you understand and agree to these binding rules? This will be your contract. Should you break it, your soul will be forfeit.”
“Yes, Holy One,” Cedric said. “I understand and agree to these rules.”
He thought of his own unborn children and of the oath his father must have made to the Holy One. He thought of how proud his father must be to see him here.
“Yes, Holy One,” Allison said. “I understand and agree to these rules.”
Fred and Allen also agreed.
“The deal is done,” she said. “Your weapons…”
She reached down and picked up Cedric’s hammer. She ran her hand along its shaft and then touched the hammerhead once. A light even more brilliant than her infused the entire artifact, and she held it high above her head.
“Your father’s war hammer is now yours,” she proclaimed. “May it see thousands of demons vanquished in his storied name!”
She handed it to Cedric, and he cried openly.
“And this, Cedric,” she said, lifting the spear next and infusing it similarly. “This spear, you will wield from your horse and pierce the wicked and the cruel with purifying Light!”
He dropped his large, dangerous hammerhead with the spike gently to the floor and accepted her second blessing.
The Holy One looked at Allison for a long time.
“You volunteer?” she asked to Allison. She looked back at Jonas Shelby, who did not return the stare. He wiped at his eyes upon the pedestal. “Your father and brothers have not tried to discourage you?”
“My father told me to make babies,” Allison said, sneering through her barbute helmet.
“Did he now?” the Holy One asked. She turned back to Jonas, who now looked at her.
“My oath was only for my sons,” Jonas said. “I advised her as a father to seek out a life without such sacrifice. I asked her to find her own way amidst the darkness of these days.”
“I will not hide from the darkness,” Allison vowed. “I will fight it! And you, if I have to!”
The Holy One laughed richly and deeply.
“Oh, my child,” she said. “Oh, you will fight. Of that, you can be certain!”
She looked at the finely-honed, many-times-folded steel sword. She did not touch it with her finger as she had done to Cedric before.
“This will not do,” the Holy One said.
“You will release her from her oath?” Jonas asked hopefully from behind her. “You will allow her to fight the demons without being a paladin?”
“No,” the Holy One said, “the deal is struck. The pact is made. It cannot be undone. Her soul is mine, and she has vowed to fight for me. This sword, however, is not enough. I have just bestowed two weapons on the son of Sylas, who will undoubtedly lead this order soon. His two weapons deserve mates, as he deserves a mate as strong and deadly as him.”
She waved her hands and a second, identical sword materialized in the air. It hovered there, over the altar. The paladins in the room let out a gasp.
“I name these blades the Twin Sisters,” the Holy One said. She touched the tip of each with a finger, and bright light filled the weapons along their entirety.
“Thank you,” Allison said, reaching for them.
“And I give you my blessing,” the Holy One said.
“Thank you!” Allison said exultantly. “The blades are beautiful, Holy One. Truly, I have witnessed a miracle!”
The Holy One laughed. She held her elbow with one hand and her chin with the other, watching Allison like a trainer might watch a monkey at a market.
“My blessing is not just for your weapons,” the Holy One said. “I give my blessing on your marriage to the son of Sylas.”
“Excuse me?” Jonas asked from her.
“Holy One,” Allison said. “I’m sorry, but you must be mistaken. We’re not getting married.”
“Your father told you to make babies,” the Holy One said, smiling only too pleasantly, as if she was enjoying a game that only she was aware of, “and your oath promises me sons. I look into your heart, and I see the burgeoning love within it. For the man beside you, Cedric Arrington.”
“I—”, Allison stumbled.
Henry and Francis caught Jonas from falling from the podium.
“Please, no,” Jonas said, reaching for his chest.
“You will have children,” the Holy One said, “and they will serve me too. You two will create the finest demon-fighting clan the universe has ever seen. You will be married, and you will both serve me well.”
Cedric gulped hard. He was stunned. Completely astounded and speechless. He reached for Allison’s hand, and she pushed it away.
“I am here to fight!” Allison said. “I did not come here to marry! Please, Holy One, I’m begging you. Do not ask me to serve a man on hand and foot, even this man. It is not my place. I have no taste for it.”
The Holy One’s smile became extraordinarily mischievous. Her blue eyes tinted to brown, and her lips curled.
“I do not tell you how to serve your husband,” the Holy One said. “I too have married. I too have bent my knee in matrimony, but do you think I demurred to my mate? Do I look like a creature who cows and serves no purpose but to spawn children and serve a man?”
“No,” Allison said. “I did not mean to—”
“I have looked into your heart,” the Holy One said, “and I have looked into his. Your coming here is not the thing of chance. It is the thing of prophecy. One man. One woman. Four weapons. A hundred children—”
“A hundred children?” Allison exclaimed, slamming a foot to the ground.
The Holy One looked at her as defiantly as Allison glared back.
“You have pledged your suppo
rt to me,” The Holy One said.
“Yes, but—”
“And I have told you that your children will be important to me.”
“But I am a fighter not a mother!”
“You will be both,” the Holy One answered patiently. “Your children will hold the same fire within them. Their path too will be hard, but you and your husband will be there by their side through sickness, loss, fire and flame. When the world goes dark, you will be a light. I have seen this.”
Cedric reached again for Allison’s hand, but she slapped it away.
“May I continue?” the Holy One asked.
Allison nodded but fumed.
The Holy One held Fred’s spear aloft and anointed it. Allen’s hammer too was passed on without incident. The initiates stood there, gawking at their blessings. Cedric looked only at Allison, who refused to look at him.
“Now,” the Holy One said, “you have been open and honest with me. Our pact is sealed, and now I will return the candor. I will tell you the truth that lies at the heart of our struggle. You must not speak until I’m finished.”
She ran her hands through her hair, and the strands turned from blonde to black. Her face changed as her hands ran down her jawline and neck. Her white dress grew tighter and shinier and black down to the floor. Cleavage appeared and her dress split around her waist. She cracked her neck bones as the clasps formed near her bosom, and a dark cloak formed around her shoulders. Her lips grew darker, and she put her hands at her hips.
“You will call me the Holy One,” she said, “but my creatures, the durun, call me Queen of Chaos. The demon lords call me Mekadesh, which in some tongues means one who sanctifies or the Holy One. I am an ancient creature, and I am a champion of nature. You should not fear me, but you will never understand me. I seek not planes of existence, domination or fire, as the other demon lords do, and whom I had no small part in creating. I seek weapons to fight them with. I seek people, and if you ever defy me, know that I will throw you into the Abyss without the slightest hesitation. I will make sure that every day of your miserable existence is torment and that all of your children, and all of their children, suffer for your betrayal. Never doubt me. Never defy me. Fight the fire demons. Fight the undead. And you and your families will be rewarded eternal life in my Fen.”