I Cling to Memories While Falling

Neriah Amberdawn sprinted up the path to Silvermoon City, her wavy platinum blonde hair bouncing on her shoulders as she ran. She had just begun her formal training as a priestess, and already she was making a bad impression by being late. It's not my fault! she thought as she crossed the bridge into the city, That mage needed a quick healing, I couldn't just leave him there in the Ruins alone! She paused before entering through the gates of the city, brushing a few errant hairs behind her ears as she tried to make herself look less frazzled. She took a deep, steadying breath before striding into the Walk of Elders, attempting to avoid the commotion of the city. She noticed that a small group had gathered in front of the inn, and as she passed by she glanced over and stopped dead in her tracks. An elf lay in the street, a pool of blood surrounding him. Before she could fully take in the scene, someone reached out and grabbed her, asking frantically, "You're a priestess right? You can heal him can't you?"

She nodded slowly, attempting to appear confident. "Yes, I am a Priestess of the Light. I can help you. Now, tell me exactly what happened."

The younger female motioned to his right arm, which Neriah finally noticed was hacked off at the wrist. "A troll ran in here and attacked us. Ken tried to protect our friend by blocking the blow, and the troll cut off his hand and ran with it. We have someone chasing him down to get it back, but I'm afraid he's going to die before they retrieve it. Please help? Our friend tried to heal him, and well…" She pointed to a young female paladin, passed out from the exertion. Neriah nodded, carefully rolling up her sleeves and going to the male's side. He was barely conscious, but still alive.

"I'll assume you are Ken," she said as she placed her hands over the wound, closing her eyes. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you." She prayed silently, calling on the Light to aid her. Light, use my body as a vessel to heal this wounded man. Allow me to use your soothing warmth to ease his pain and stop the blood flow. A warm glow began to emit from her hands, entering the wound and sealing it slowly. "Would someone get him some water? We need to start replacing his fluids," Neriah said as she continued to heal the gaping wound, careful not to overexert herself. Minutes passed, and the bleeding finally stopped, although the wound was slightly open so the hand could be reattached. Another paladin, a male this time, handed her a waterskin, and she put it to Ken's lips, forcing him to drink some. She wrapped the stump with some spare cloth she carried on her, making sure that it stayed clean. As he regained his strength, Neri sat back on her heels and wiped the bloody hands on her robes, not really caring that it would most likely permanently stain the white. Ken smiled at her warmly, and she was struck by how handsome he was, despite the scars across his face and neck, and the eyepatch that denoted a missing eye beneath.

"Thank you, kind Priestess," he said, sitting up and drinking from the waterskin. "Perhaps you would be kind enough to tell this poor wounded paladin your name?"

She nodded at him, smiling back. "I am Neriah Amberdawn. It is a pleasure to meet you, although I wish it were under better circumstances."

He chuckled, shrugging slightly. "Its only a hand. I suppose I'll just have to learn how to wield a sword with my other one! I'm Kendarious Sal'Avayn, but everyone calls me Ken, obviously." He pointed to the slumped over female. "That's Lirune, she's not very adept at healing if you couldn't tell. Rin, would you go revive her? I think Miss Neriah needs a break." The elf that had handed her the waterskin nodded, and went to wake Lirune. "That's Rinnard. He's a Captain of our order. And that," he pointed at the female elf who had grabbed Neri, "Is Alynithea. She is Rinnard's lover." He waggled his eyebrows mockingly at Aly, and she rolled her eyes back at him.

Neriah smiled, looking over the group of people. "Quite a group you've got, Ken. And I'm happy to see you must be feeling alright. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be getting back to the Temple…"

Ken nodded, standing slowly. "Before you go, will you check on Lirune?"

Neriah sighed, nodding in agreement. She glanced over, noticing that the young paladin was awake and recovering. "It looks like all she needed was a bit of water."

Ken chuckled, striding over to check on the girl. "Ah, Lirune, glad you're alright. You need to be more careful, my life isn't as important as your own!" He winked at her, and Lirune blushed a deep red, stuttering out a weak response. Ken laughed, before wavering slightly on his feet, closing his eyes and putting his hand to his forehead. Neriah appeared instantly by his side, steadying him with her hands, her body quite small and petite beside his larger, more muscular one. She sighed slightly as she held onto him as his dizzy spell passed. "You're in no state to be walking around. Please, come back to the Temple with me so I can keep an eye on you?"

Ken nodded slowly, wrapping his non-injured arm around her shoulder for support. "Fine, but you have to agree to join our Order. We're look for smart young priestesses to join us. We are the Ardent Light," he said, pointing the the blue and gold tabards they were all wearing. "We serve to help people through the Light in whatever way we can, be it healing, protection, retribution…"

Neriah looked down at her feet, a small blush creeping into her cheeks. "I would be honored to join you, but I've only just begun my training, I'm not sure if I'm fit." Ken waved her off with his stump, pausing a moment to stare at it before shaking his head to clear his mind.

"Nonsense!" he exclaimed. "You've already demonstrated your worthy healing abilities. And we'll always help you with your training, and you can still visit the Temple to train with them as well."

Neriah looked to the others in the group, the three of them nodding their approval of the idea. "Well, sure. It would be my honor." The four paladins beamed at her, Ken squeezing her shoulder tightly. "But I really must be going… I'm already dreadfully late and I need to at least go explain what happened. If you happen to find his hand, come bring it to the Temple so I can reattach it?"

Aly and Rinnard nodded, while Lirune looked off, seemingly jealous of the physical closeness between Neri and Ken. Neriah smiled at the young girl. "Lirune, you did a good job. He would have died if it hadn't been for your quick thinking." Lirune blushed, smiling at Neri quickly before looking away again. Neri grinned before tugging Ken off. "Come on, lets get you to the Temple so you can sit back down."

They walked off, waving to the group as they made their way to the Court of the Sun.