How could the Royal Paladins ever believe they know what bonds are? How could they ever hope to understand what friendship and companionship, what camaraderie and bravery are? It is easy to speak of such things when life goes well, when the battles are all won, when food is abundant and entertainment plentiful.
A friend in need is a friend indeed, and these men and women have been through thick and thin together. They have lived through the terrible injustices the Sanctuary did to them, when they looked to the nation's head and saw a boy-king with hollow ideals. They have lived through the phantom's reign of terror, when you could become the abyss dragon's next meal without any notice. They have lived through the War of Liberation, when they were scattered in a dozen factions, each fighting for its own goals. And they have lived through the most brutal of wars Cray has ever seen, where abominations from the depths of the cosmos tried to lay waste to their homes, their lives, their everything.
The holy knights lived through the same times, but they didn't live the same events. Their story consists of silly friendship speeches, "no one gets left behind" rubbish and fighting "for the greater good". How could they know anything about the greater good? How, when all they do is repeat whatever they were told in those over-glorified barracks of theirs? The only lessons worth the shadows' time are the lessons taught by life itself.
Slaying your own partner is a controversial subject. The Sanctuary's laws deem it an offense punishable by death, the dragons believe it is the duty of the strong to relieve the team of "the load", the southern nations shun it and the Dark Zone inhabitants simply don't care. And neither do the invaders, whose society is a crueler place than hell itself. But the invaders are one mind in a billion bodies; terminating one of them wouldn't harm them. A knight of the shadows learns to do everything with his partner; they help each other in their armor, fight back-to-back during a battle, break their fast side by side, do outside activities together, and, should one of them fall, it is the other's responsibility to inform his loved ones back home. It wasn't the soldiers who killed each other to gain power; that was Phantom Blaster who, out of spite for everyone and everything, cut down his subordinates and ate them. Now and then, if a man becomes unable to continue, and the medic can't do anything, he will be honored to have his life ended by his partner, and his partner will be honored to do so. The living will mourn and repent, and the dead will feel nothing in the darkness of death, but they both did their duty.
In the Shadow Paladins, a warrior does what he must, and gets what he earns. The blood of lordlings is just blood, the same red as everyone else's. Man or Elf, Angel or Demon, beast or moving castle, Sylph or Ghost, Giant or Dragon, male or female, of high or low birth, of bright, dark or plain past; in the ranks of the Shadow Paladins, it is not about who you were born, or what you did before joining. That was then, and now is now. All that matters is your determination to win, your ability to follow the orders of your officers and give orders to your subordinates, and your will to do what must be done, regardless of your personal desires.
The Royal Paladins believe they know friendship; real friendship is the friendship that survives when going to hell and back. They think they know of bonds; real bonds are those who surpass the limitations of the mortal plane. How ironic, that the warriors of darkness who are seen as lustful sinners with no remorse, form bonds that surpass death itself, while the holy knights' hollow ideals don't prevent them from forgetting their lost companion in a day, a month or a year. They think they know of courage; a person can only be truly brave if their determination to win in the sight of hopeless odds exceeds their will to give up. The Royal Paladins haven't faced truly hopeless odds. A Shadow Paladin will remember everything he did, he will be remorseful, but he will not wish it was any different. He will not dwell in the past, but carry on the will of the fallen until victory is grasped. Only then, will he grieve.
The Shadow Paladins have always fought for the Sanctuary. At first they fought for a better realm, even if Phantom Blaster had other thoughts. Then they fought for their leader, the only one could unite them after the dragon had fallen. Then they fought for their homeland and their planet, to protect everything they hold dear. They never asked for compensation, even if their losses were great. They never asked for gratitude, because they were sinners and were trying to atone. They never asked for glorification, because it is not for them to receive.
Glorification is only fitting for those in the light. Shadows shall proceed down the necessary path.