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A horse, massive and black stampeded through the cacophony, is humongous hooves wreathed in fire. The soldiers in its path only had to see its gnashing teeth and rippling, unceasing muscles before they knew their deaths were inevitable, despite how they screamed as they turned and ran.
A hand pressed hard against her breastbone, so bruisingly unyielding as magic, raw, ruthless healing magic shoved its way into her dead heart and up her rough, hoarse throat.
The voice growled, "I saved your life. Don't dare tell me I do not care."
Before she could sputter, "I know you do, Lord Peregrin, I know..."
The dream came crashing down.
Lucy Lampwick awoke in a cold sweat, shivering although her boyfriend, Sheppard Evin's warm body was doing its best to spare her. In fact, the once soft and welcoming covers and his comforting arm were beginning to become stifling.
All Lucy wanted to do was to curl up and sob.
But that wouldn't do, she reminded herself, only allowing a few defiant tears escape down her cheeks, these ones angry. No, she was a Paladin, a member of an order so honorable, a title reserved only for the most brave and true of knights.
In fact, between these nightmares and her hasty flight to the Thanatos Kingdom, she wasn't sure she deserved that name any more.
A peek out the slotted window told her the sun wasn't even threatening to rise for the next few hours, but getting back to sleep now would be yet another losing battle and more than anything she needed to smack something around and feel as if she was doing a good job at it.
Lucy roughly grabbed her sword and scabbard and threw the belt around her slender waist, shoving the buckle together and settling it against her hips. She couldn't have cared less about her hair at that point, only pulling it into a haphazard ponytail because she would need to, the long blonde strands would be little more than a distraction otherwise.
Prepared at last, despite truly feeling like it would suit her mood, she took care to not slam the door and wake Shep before marching down to the training outbuilding.
There she had no qualms about slamming the door closed with a mighty, frustrated crash.
Lucy suspected this place used to be a barn, its high ceilings held up by the strong arms of the rafters, which held aloft a series of archery targets. The rest of the wide space was littered with man-shaped dummies with conspicuous bullseyes painted on their bellies, platforms and crates to simulate dangerous terrain and obstacles, and woven straw mats for practicing rolls and tumbles.
It was the dummies she went after first, turning on a heel and whipping out the shining silver greatsword dubbed "The Sunspire" in one swift turn. While she planned to swipe at the dummy in the same motion, her reach was far from it, the tip of the blade glancing off it with a desperate thrust at the last second.
This only served to infuriate Lucy more, she swung at the stupid thing furiously over and over again, pausing only when the edge got stuck in the stuffed canvas body, wrenching it free only to go after it again. At last, with one enraged cry, she struck, the mannequin's weighted base toppling over with a clatter.
"What are you doing up?" a voice called muzzily from behind.
It was no surprise that it was Daiman who found her, the head of Lord Theodore's guards tended to show up when she least expected it. A battle-mage of astounding power, he was the one who rallied his unit when his commanding officer fell. These days, he lent his bellowing voice to rallying the trainees and guardsmen, something Lucy found especially helpful when her small voice often gave out.
She sighed and set the dummy right on its end. "Practicing," she replied, "I didn't wake you up, did I?"
"I was on evening watch, remember?" Daiman replied, leaning on the doorway casually. "You still didn't answer my question."
"I couldn't sleep."
"Still?"
That comment stung. She tried to keep her recent problem to herself, but she was almost positive Shep knew, it was a rare night when she wasn't tossing or turning or mumbling frantic phrases in her sleep. She supposed it wasn't much of a shock that her boyfriend confided these issues in their friend, although she honestly hoped he hadn't.
"I guess."
"Alright then," Daiman shrugged, "C'mon, Lampwick, we have some trainees to shake up."
Every day for the past two and a half months had been much the same. In the mornings, Daiman and Lucy would work with the trainees, the newly-enlisted who had yet to see battle, to make up for those Thanatos soldiers who would never see the end of it. Lucy would spend her time with melee fighters, coaching their weapon techniques and fighting styles while Daiman helped the spell-casters and future battle-mages, teaching them proper aim and spell combinations with small bulbs of cloth filled with birdseed called "packets", until they were trusted enough with their own spells.
In the afternoons, they would assist the guards with more advanced techniques, setting up mock-battles and teaching different types of combat, such as when fighting groups, dueling or when fighting in urban streets.
However, on Wednesdays, like today, Lucy and Daimon had the day off, as it was the day of the week guardsmen would transition from their three days of training to active duty.
Then, Lucy would ride out with her mount, Sunsugar, for a while to clear her head, care for the local shrine to Pletic, write letters to her parents and brothers or even just hang out and relax in her room with Shep and Daimon.
Lucy never really did move in to her room at the Thanatos Kingdom, something that the boys teased her about whenever they were there. Her things were always in the crates or bags she moved them in, her books and notebooks still neatly organized in their boxes. The only things that seemed to have a definite place were her armor, tirelessly polished every night and her sword, which she tucked away in a drawer as it gleamed like an irritating beacon at night. The Paladin job- even for a failure like her- seemed to never end. Either way, her room was much neater than either of the boys', which made it a common spot to relax between drills and watches.
Usually, she was more than welcoming and enjoyed her friends' company, but today was different, today she needed some space.
As soon as the noon bell rang and she dismissed the trainees, Lucy ran back to her room, brushing off both Daimon and Shep's offers to go down to the river to cool off from the hot sun.
She shut the door, a bit more forcefully than she meant to, aggressively locking both the knob and extra deadbolt she had installed, and violently drew the curtains, only allowing the slightest crack of light to shine through, just enough to read.
From under the bed, she tugged out a crate that she was more than grateful Shep hadn't looked too hard to find. Tossing aside the lid revealed her hidden treasure, stacks upon stacks of books.
Covertly snuck out of the Thanatos libraries was a small collection of historical accounts on ancient heroes, some stories she recognized from her childhood like the tales of near-mythological knights who defended some of the greatest of kings, among many tales that were new to her. Alongside these were thick-bound academic accounts, On Paladins, The Book of the Holy Sword, Light of Pletic and many, many more.
Lucy spent hours poring over these tomes, barely noticing when the sun began to set, and she missed lunch then dinner with Daimon and the other guardsmen.
There had to be something in these books that would tell her what she was missing, what these brave people did that she wasn't, what would make these nightmares stop.
There had to.
Soon, she drifted to sleep, surrounded by the leather-bound pages.
...
"And we would welcome to you one who wishes to know the secrets and the mysteries of the Light and who wishes to honor our most holy Sun, the God Pletic. Seeker, by what name will you be known?"
She was eight.
The high priest stood above her, giving a small nod of indication that yes, she was allowed to reply to this, his aged eyes kind and understanding.
He reminded her of her grandfather, an old travelling wizard who seemed to have an infinite amount of stories about the Halfling friends he'd made or whole battles fought over something as silly as a golden ring.
But for some reason, she couldn't remember the line. She practiced over and over again with her father, the steps drilled into her mind until she could see the checkered tiles of the cathedral below her feet and hear her words echo high above into the vaulted ceilings, although they were far, far away from the city.
Now that the cathedral wrapped its granite arms around her and squeezed the breath from her tiny lungs, all that study failed her.
She opened her mouth to speak, but all that spilled forth was the distant, echoing scream of a desperate goblin mother, her tiny throat hoarse and shrill.
"The youngest to ever ever take the vows of a Paladin Seeker," a voice, deep and rumbling declared proudly.
"A shame your people must die!"
Now, even all that practice had failed her.
Frozen. She was utterly frozen in fear as the thunder of war roared out silently and the rain, unbearable, infuriating rain poured on and on running in wet, sticky rivulets between the plates of her armor, pouring through her soaked hair and into her eyes, rendering her more than a little blinded. The drops collapsed to the cobblestone battlements without so much as a clatter.
Lucy cried out soundlessly as a goblin knight charged towards her, lance leveled at the gray sun symbol painted on her chest, streaked with mud and wet, but she was still stuck to the spot, and could do little more than stare, eyes wide with fear.
Quicker than she could snap out of it, Lord Theodore shoved her out of the way, and before she knew it, his head rolled one way, his body another.
The sob that wracked her slender frame didn't make a sound.
She stared deep into her reflection the next morning, grateful that she managed to convince Shep to leave her be.
Eyes gaunt, haunted by dark shadows, lips that seemed perpetually carved in worry, brows knotted in frustration.
I am a Paladin. she reminded herself, glossing over the fact that at this point she couldn't be more than a silly girl with a sword, I have to be better than this.
Even so, she did not want deal with the trainees today.
So she didn't.
The sun was only beginning to glow ruby red on the horizon and Lucy quickly calculated she would only have an hour or two at best before the trainees began their day, if she wanted to leave, it would have to be now or never.
Quickly, she grabbed her spare set of leather riding armor, loaned from the local armory and raced to the stables. There, her unicorn mount instantly recognized her mistress's distress and anxiously pranced around her stall while Lucy snatched the saddle and tack from the racks.
"You know as well as I do that we could use a break," she grumbled, "Don't try and stop me."
Sunsugar snorted and tossed her head sarcastically, but she held still when Lucy moved to bridle her.
With a guilty glance, Lucy could just make out a few of the trainees stumbling out of the barracks into the morning sun as she trotted her way out of the stables. She sighed and galloped off into the forests.
The sun shone green as it began to rise, filtered through the canopy of leaves. Lucy stared up above, the crisscrossing arms of the trees reminding her of the vaulted arches of the High Temple of the Sun, and with a shudder, her dream.
Thankfully, her friends, including Theodore made it out of the Battle of Antinese alive, but according to reports that came in shortly in the aftermath, 1 in 5 didn't.
Too many people she was supposed to be protecting would never come home. More were broken and injured, the number of casualties unimaginable. Her city, her second home was broken and it might as well be her fault.
While lost in thought, Sunsugar stopped trotting along the trail and swung her head around to nip at the soft leather knee of Lucy's breeches, as if to chide her for feeling sorry for herself.
She snickered, "I'm okay, Suns," she reassured the unicorn, patting its silvery neck. "I just need some time to think, I suppose."
Sunsugar tossed her head disdainfully, her silver-gold mane shining in the new morning light.
That is, Lucy thought she was being disapproving of the paladin's moping, until the unicorn whinnied noisily and whipped around on the path with a start.
Before she knew it, a thick, rough rope was pulled around Lucy's waist and she was wrenched from her saddle and onto the ground.
She rolled to her feet and unsheathed her sword in one motion, just in time to catch an assault of five or so Goblins charge towards her, dull-looking shortswords clenched in their tiny fists.
Quickly, she sidestepped, letting one them barrel right past her before striking him forcefully on the back of the skull with the blunt pommel of her sword.
As much as she would never admit it, it would be a blessing of the sun to have a day without killing, and today she would try.
The other four seized this opportunity, their blades a clash of rough-hewn steel against her, a few parried and more slashing at the leather protecting her forearms.
With all of her might, Lucy attempted to fend them off without letting them taste her silvered, blessed blade, hilts waving and elbows flying in techniques her comrade Fidella coached her in. But it wasn't enough.
Finally, she took a wide step back and slashed out wide with her greatsword, her voice thundering.
"ENOUGH!"
Two goblins who seemed to be deprived of brains made one last attempt to come after her, and they were easily tripped over with a well-timed kick and knocked out cold with a swing of The Sunspire's hilt.
The last two hesitated, their small hands still grasping their weapons quivering in terror.
"I am Lucy Lampwick, paladin of Pletic!" she declared with a roar, "Submit now on the pain of your deaths!"
"P-Pity us, miss," one of the goblins stammered, "We was jus' released from tha' camps, miss! We 'ave nothin', nothin' to eats! We had to do something!"
Lucy softened as she dismounted, Sunsugar whinnying her displeasure. Although she wanted to help, more than anything, even she knew not to sheathe her sword.
"If you surrender to me now, I promise you, you will not be returned to the camps. I am good friends with the lord of these lands. If you give yourselves over, I can help you find work."
The goblin looked up at her, his wet eyes pleading like a puppy.
"D-Does y' really means that, miss?" he asked.
Lucy gave a warm smile and knelt to his level, "Of course."
The goblin's sweet, childlike smile soon darkened into a sneer.
"The Golden Goblin lives!" he cried, thrusting his sword deep into her shoulder.
Lucy stood, pulling the sword out with a single, quick jerk.
"That was stupid," she growled, "That was very, very stupid."
Without a second thought, she raised her sword and cut the goblin down.
Seeing this, the last goblin standing dropped his weapon, turned and ran as fast as he could.
Sheathing her blade, Lucy sighed. While she'd hoped for mercy and avoid any killing, it had to be done.
Picking through their meager belongings, she had to be sure they weren't secretly mercenaries or spies or otherwise working for someone who would harm either her or her friends, they didn't seem to be smart enough to act on their own. However, their loose rags and few wild mushrooms for food seemed to confirm their story.
Satisfied with this, she mounted Sunsugar and rode back to the Thanatos Kingdom.
...
As soon as she burst through the door to Shep's room, it was Daiman who noticed her cuts and bruises, jumping up from his seat so suddenly, the chair fell to a clatter behind him.
Shep didn't get up.
"Lucy! Are you alright?" Daiman cried, "What happened?"
But she ignored him, knowing full well she looked like she'd been dragged through a briar patch. Paladin healing, especially a Lay on Hands prayer had a strange habit of taking care of internal injuries first and foremost, often leaving the more external wounds to heal on their own.
Instead, she tumbled onto the bed beside where her boyfriend lounged, burying her face against his throat and her arms thrust around his shoulders.
"You guys won't believe what happened," she muttered softly.
"You were gone for hours! We went looking for you, or at least some of us did," Daiman replied, giving a seemingly pointed glance at Shep.
Lucy pulled away from her tight embrace, giving her boyfriend a trembling smile, "You came looking for me?"
"Lucy we uhh- we need to talk," was Shep's only reply.
Daiman gave a disgusted sigh, "I'll see you later, then," he grumbled, practically slamming the door shut.
Lucy stared down at the bed coverings which she now gripped, balled in her fist, "You didn't look for me, did you?"
"I was busy. But umm, when you were gone, I was thinking. About you and about me..." he trailed.
"What about us?" she demanded.
"Well, I have this confession to make. You see, my father- you've met him- he suggested a while back that I, uhh,take interest in you because you are a powerful figure and a good person to learn from. And, well, I never really liked the idea, I thought I'd try it. But then, suddenly, you seemed to really like me and well... I figure maybe now I should stop lying and tell the truth."
At this, Lucy jumped up from the bed, turning her back to him, not even wanting to see his stupid face.
"So you lied to me," she growled.
"Yes, but, I'm telling the truth now."
"That doesn't matter!" she cried, "You still lied to me for months! You pretended to like me when you didn't, you pretended everything was okay when it wasn't! You used me!"
"I'm sorry, Lucy, I don't know what to say."
She turned back to face him, her eyes blazing with fury. "Then don't say anything at all."
With that, she stomped out of the room and quietly shut the door behind her, sliding down against the wooden frame.
Lucy didn't cry or scream or throw things. It was okay. She didn't need him, nor did she need to lie to herself or validation from anyone. She was a Paladin, one of the most powerful in the world, even if Peregrin hated her, if Shep resented her, if Pletic not once spoke a single word to her.
Lucy stood, and brushed the dust from her leather breeches, still creased and a little torn from the goblins' attack.
She stared for a moment at one of the chairs across the hall and briefly considered thrusting it under the door knob of Shep's room, making it near-impossible for him get out. Lucy shook her head, no, that would be petty and immature, and she couldn't bring herself to his level.
Besides, she had a few Paladin duties to attend to.
Time to go home to Antinese.
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A new story about my paladin character, Lucy!
For those of you who don't know, Lucy is a fairly cheerful 17 (now 18) -year-old paladin of Pletic (this universe's version of Pelor). While originally, she was a huge fangirl of our other Pletic paladin and resident grumpy gills, she's sort of grown up into her own young woman who is getting better about learning how to take some time for herself and make her own decisions.
I also really wanted to play with the relationship with player and character by putting Lucy in a similar situation to one I was in and looking at the differences between how we handled things. Character studies can be so much fun~
Originally, this was going to be a Day One origin story like the ones for Captain Skip Slater and Viola Acobi about her initiation into the Paladin order at the age of 9. I even had an entire ceremony planned out that was a combination of a Wiccan/Pagan initiation rite and First Communion (which I painstakingly researched) before I scrapped it all because it seemed too "boring". What's left of it is in that one dream sequence.
---
(C) 2013 M PFEIFER
NO STEALING. OR I'LL ROLL INITIATIVE AND YO ASS GON' GET BEAT.
For those of you who don't know, Lucy is a fairly cheerful 17 (now 18) -year-old paladin of Pletic (this universe's version of Pelor). While originally, she was a huge fangirl of our other Pletic paladin and resident grumpy gills, she's sort of grown up into her own young woman who is getting better about learning how to take some time for herself and make her own decisions.
I also really wanted to play with the relationship with player and character by putting Lucy in a similar situation to one I was in and looking at the differences between how we handled things. Character studies can be so much fun~
Originally, this was going to be a Day One origin story like the ones for Captain Skip Slater and Viola Acobi about her initiation into the Paladin order at the age of 9. I even had an entire ceremony planned out that was a combination of a Wiccan/Pagan initiation rite and First Communion (which I painstakingly researched) before I scrapped it all because it seemed too "boring". What's left of it is in that one dream sequence.
---
(C) 2013 M PFEIFER
NO STEALING. OR I'LL ROLL INITIATIVE AND YO ASS GON' GET BEAT.
© 2013 - 2024 STRiPESandShades
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