Chapter 1
In my dreams I see the same man. It's always the same man. Hair as dark as a cloudless night, robes of midnight and flame, and a crown of gold nestled upon his head. He takes me by the hand and tells me something. I try to listen but all I can focus on is how cold his hand is. Then his skin slowly peels away to reveal the bones beneath as I slowly look up into his face which becomes a grinning skull that lunges at me…
The scene changes then to one of carnage. My body is clad in armor so black that it seems to suck the life from the world around it. My soul swells with power and my very presence scatters the shades that surround me. In my hand is an axe which is etched with glowing green runes and shaped like the screaming maw of a demon. Strapped to my arm is a shield that resembles a flat disk. What it is made of is unknown to me. Beneath me a mighty beast with a mane of fire stands taller than any lesser warhorse as it whispers into my mind. Slowly I raise my axe to the sky and let forth a mighty bellow of hatred and rage as my horse thunders down into the abyss below me…
"Dude if you don't wake up right now I swear to the gods I will pour an entire bottle of alchemists fire down your pants." I bolted awake and , as always, smacked my head on the bottom of the bunk I shared with my sparring partner, an exchange student from the Elven lands by the name of Chrysyphus, at PIT( Paladins In Training) University, the most prestigious Paladins college in the world. Chrysyphus, or Crissy as he was known, was of average build for an elf. Not much strength to speak of but who am I to question what class goes best with what races. I mean there were Orc wizards in the world after all. His hair was green of all things and he looked distinctly elven. But he talked like a normal human and seemed to think that this made us like him. It didn't.
Blearily I rubbed my eyes and mumbled "What do you want Crissy?" not really caring if I got an answer. "Did you forget what today is dude?" He replied. My eyes widened as I remembered… "Oh… my… gods… IT'S SPRING BREAK!" I whooped and rolled back over into my bed, burying my head under my pillow "Fuck that. Imma chill." But Chrysyphus was having none of it. He whipped my covers off and pulled me out of my bunk. "Thinly veiled sarcastic outburst aside, didn't you say this was the day that you would ask that chick Lien to junior prom?" he chided in that annoying manner of his. He was right of course. It was the reason I didn't want to get out of bed. Lien, the foreign exchange student from Azure city. I could hardly go a moment without thinking about her. Besides being prime paladin material it was hard to stop thinking about what she would be like if I could only slide that plate mail of those sturdy shoulders and caress her soft skin with my… "FUCK!" I roared and hurled my pillow into Chrysyphus' face. "Ow!" he cried "Dude know thine own strength modifiers!" he said from the spot where I had knocked him too on the floor.
"Look dude," he said as he got up "you're the best paladin this school has seen in years and your charisma modifier is through the roof. She'd be a fool not to say yes to you." What he said was only half true. Another paladin, name of Dorian, had an annoying habit of edging me out by the slimmest of margins in literally everything. I wouldn't have minded so much if hadn't been so damned humble about it. Every time he kicked my ass he would smile softly and offer me words of encouragement or when he got a better test score he would point out my mistakes and tell me it was only a small mistake. In short I hated the bastard because he was so damn nice to me.
"I suppose you're right." I sighed and stood up. "Well whatever lets go downstairs for breakfast." As I slid a tunic on over my bare chest I stopped to briefly consider myself in a mirror. My shoulder length black hair, sharp cheekbones, and eyes the color of red wine combined to create a very regal effect. Some people said it made me look emaciated and skull like but I thought it made me look damn sexy. My mother had told me many times in my life that my features were perfectly matched to those of my father, an unnamed sorcerer, who had left her before I was born. He was part of the reason I became a paladin. My mother had said once that he destroyed everything he touched on a whim. I had become a paladin so that I could prove to her that I would never be like him. I had no idea however how wrong I was about that. I admired myself for a full minute before Chrysyphus reminded me that breakfast was waiting and I sped off downstairs after him.
AN: Hello again everyone. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. As always reviews are appreciated.
-Your ardent and eager slave Psychokinetic15