((sorry about the sizes of the paragraphs. I forgot how it translates from notebook to computer. Theyll be longer for the next one i swear.))
Chapter 1: Humble Beginnings
An early morning fog snaked through the forest. Pre-dawn light glinted off of the dewing grass. The reviving vineyard lay silhouetted against the mountains which encircled the Abbey protectively. Aredis sprawled on a hill opposite the vineyard. This time of day had a sort of serenity to it that he enjoyed. Few others, if any, would be awake at this time. Critters stirred lightly about the branches. Saturation seeped into his small clothes, producing a shiver.
Eyes closed, Aredis grasped and splayed his figers across the wet grass, sighing. He would open his eyes and sluggishly regard the swaying leaves above him. A particularly harsh winter season had left a fair share of the Abbey's trees half dead and sparsely decorated with shriveled foliage. He followed one curiously as it fell and came to rest on his chest. It brought a shiver with it as well while it pressed against and melded to his front.
Sun light filtered through the canopy of well trees and down around Aredis. Dawn had come, gone, and the others would be rising soon. Father Ghilliam would lecture about the value of punctuality and responsibility if he was late to his duties once more. That wasn't how Aredis wished to spend his morning. Not at all. With a push and a grunt, Aredis climbed to his feet and rubbed at his sore joints. His parents, whomever they were, had bequeathed to him his rather large stature. He was not a hulking brute, but he did stand taller and broader than most of his age. The few years so far as a blacksmith's apprentice surely contributed to the nice toning of his arms.
There was a slight scuffing behind him across the grass. Mid turn, something was thrown over his head, completely obscuring the light. Small hands shoved his lower bicep roughly and he was sent to the ground. Unable to break his fall, a shoulder smashed into the soft ground, his head snapping against it roughly as well. Laying there dazed a moment, Aredis fumed when he made out a small giggle.
Recovering, he shoved himself up with a planted hand. Finishing the turn towards his assailant, ripping off what turned out to be a cloth robe, he came face to face with Sarah. She only smirked at him with folded arms beneath her bust. At least, where he assumed her bust was, as the acolyte robes were shapeless cloth things meant to humble. Her chestnut hair was pulled back into a simple ponytail, revealing her unadorned, almost pale face. Thin, delicate eyebrows rested over a pair of aquamarine orbs, which were currently narrowed in wry pleasure.
Aredis just shook his head before pulling the robe in hand over himself. He reflected gratefully on it, with the entire back of his small clothes being soaked through. "You come out here every morning, then." She observed as more of a statement than a question. Sarah tugged at the neckline of her robe. Sounds were coming from the not too distant building now. The Abbey was rising and their duties were beginning shortly.
"Yes. I do enjoy being -alone- before I have to engage in our uninteresting life. As much as I do -love- spending time with you, I need some to myself." He rubbed at his sore skull. After a moment of adjusting the robe to a comfortable fit, Aredis strode forward and beyond Sarah.
"The priesthood isn't that horrible. All of the members had to do what we are at one point." Sarah chirped happily while following him. In truth, he didn't despise it as much as he might have let on then. It just had monotony to it that he did not like. The two grabbed their filled buckets and rags and made their way to one of the statues. Their earliest duties had to do with cleaning the various tributes to paladins and priests of the order. Other, younger acolytes made their way up to the bell tower with rags in hand. As they shuffled past, Sarah and Aredis scrubbed at dirt and dust along the feet of a paladin whose name Aredis couldn't remember.
"You have lived here just as long as I have, and you still hate everything? It's really easy here once you get past the 'constant preaching.'" Sarah chattered away idly. Working his way up the Nameless Paladin he would merely shrug.
"I don't -hate- it. Father Ghilliam just needs to stop trying to force me into the priesthood."
"The order is fun though. We get to help people through the Light."
"I've not shown any ability to be able to -use- the Light Sarah. It's hard to be a priest that can't call the Light."
She rolled her eyes and started cleaning one of the outstretched arms. Priests began passing by frequently so the rest of their cleaning was in silence. Next were the windows. While the two weren't expected to clean all of the glass by themselves, their sections still took the better part of a few hours. Some men of faith lazed around, making records, as the two were cleaning the panes of glass, so the last few hours of this duty went by in silence. As the mid-day meal approached, Aredis began to greatly regret skipping his first meal. The final duty before their meal was taking an account of the various hymns and prayer books. Again, only in their perspective section. Aredis actually didn't mind this sort of service. Take a book from the stack, check it on the list, and place it in the new stack. He made note of some older books which needed new bindings.
The large church bell began to toll as the acolytes were called to the meal. Several books remained to be looked over but Aredis didn't plan on missing another meal. Hastily shoving them back onto the shelf he would follow Sarah into the sparse dining area. Various platters of bread, cheese, and fruits were arrayed along the long table. About fifteen other acolytes were conversing quietly around it. The two took their seats at the end, breaking off cheese and bread in small chunks.
Each band of acolytes had a sort of social group that they stuck to. All were friendly to one another in instances where they could not avoid interactions. Those that were lumped together for duties usually became close. Few opportunities put the other groups together with each other. So it was easy for Aredis to avoid them. The acolyte liked other people, just not socializing with them. Most others felt the same of acolytes outside of their duty group.
Sarah was indeed the exception to this rule. She was incredibly outgoing and sociable almost to the point of being obnoxious. Even after working with her for ten years, Aredis was prone to being fed up with her. Between bites she spoke softly about something he didn't particularly care about. He caught a word here and there, giving the girl a "Hmm.." or thoughtful nod to keep her speaking.
He reflected on his arms training. Sir Harikeem had told him that he was not extraordinary by any leap, but he had some potential. In contrast, Joran praised his smith work. It might have been the only part of the Abbey life that he enjoyed explicitly. Metal working felt almost like a part of him. Hearing the ringing of hammer on metal from the open windows made him smile
Having stopped responding or even making any note of participation in the conversation, Sarah had picked up on it and now frowned deeply at him.
"…pretend to pay attention." Was all Aredis comprehended as he came back to the moment. The other acolytes had already left and cleared the table almost completely. Sarah remained across form him with stark disappointment written across her features. She picked up the plate and left without another word. Aredis sighed and made his way to their shared quarters. She was moving behind the changing screen to his left when he entered.
"There's no reason to stay mad at me." He called to her, gathering his leather vest and pants. Once the bottoms were pulled up, he threw off the robe and pulled on the vest, lacing it up. Acolytes weren't allowed to keep weapons so his training attire was in the yard. Sara came out from behind the screen in similar garb, ignoring Aredis and heading outside. The Faith believed in at least training females for a few years to try and awaken any skills they might possess. She couldn't fight much beyond stopping the blade entering her throat most times, but had some ability.
The day was overcast with a slight chill on the breeze. The arms master Sir Harikeem, a grandfatherly, aged man, waited in the training yard beside the Abbey. It didn't take the elderly knight long at all to note Sarah's dour expression with a gesture to Aredis.
"With a look like that, I'm surprised you still have your throat boy." Harikeem mused. "If that glare were any sharper, I'd be able to shave with it." Touching a hand to his scruff chin, he finally finished. "What have you done this time?"
"Something has come over her, I've not idea." Aredis ducked around to retrieve the shield and sword he practiced with and remained on the side of Harikeem opposite Sarah. She furrowed her brow further and grabbed her preferred mace and shield.
"Well," The old man clapped his mailed hands together as the two donned training mail. "It would seem there are some very strong feelings between the two of you at this time." Harikeem let out a yawn. "We can use that. You both know well enough that you should be able to spar one another."
Sarah nodded, flashing Aredis a cold glance as she set herself into a fighting stance. Aredis sighed, hefting his longsword and shield, setting it in front of his chest and holding the sword out to his right side in an outstretched arm. The blade was parallel to the ground and Aredis shifted in his chainmail uncomfortably. Aredis's sword was blunted well, but Sarah's mace would hurt like hell with all its weight. She knew this and smirked while lunging at him. This strike caught him off guard. Clashing with the shield and turning it in Aredis's grip so that the mace slammed against his shoulder.
A grunt passed through gritted teeth. Gathering himself again, he steadied the grip on his shield to strike out with it, knocking Sarah's mace out of the way. He stepped with his right foot inside her stance and brought the blade up in an arc towards Sarah's left armpit. Her shield was tight against her body and caught the blade close to the hilt. The last six inches of it had still managed to hit beneath her arm and induce some staggering to the side.
Aredis retreated back two steps and made a slash for Sarah's hip as she recovered. Her body twisted back and the blade screeched against her raised shield, while she lashed out at his left shoulder and connected completely. He hissed in pain as the mail did little to dull the impact of her mace, his shield arm going slack. Sarah gave no respite before charging with her shield raised. Aredis's size proved to help little as she bulled over the disoriented and pained man.
Harikeem stepped up with his hands raised. "All right all right Sarah, that's good enough. I think he understands your point." A slow chuckle came from the instructor while he helped Aredis up. Sarah had already gotten the training mail off and set down her weapon. She stalked off to her next lesson. "You've ruffled her skirts then, yes? You really haven't the faintest idea of how women work, do you?" He laughed again.
"What do you expect me to do? I can't -always- listen to everything she says. And don't you patronize me, damnit." Aredis groaned as he dropped the shield and began removing the mail.
"There's still much for you to learn. Joran tells me you're progressing well. This was your work right?" He hefted up one of the two handed training swords. Aredis was indeed proud of it, although he doubted the blade could stand up to the rigors of true combat.
"It is," Aredis was now rolling his sore shoulder. "Are we finished for today?" The old knight nodded with a small smile, giving a dismissive wave. Joran worked at the forge behind the Abbey. He was currently hammering out dents in armor and straightening some blades. Aredis smiled as the heat struck his face and he slipped the apron over his head, pulling on the workman gloves as well.
"A bit early aren't we? No matter, we've still got the order from Goldshire for new swords." Joran jerked his head towards the pile of rusting, chipped blades. "I can handle the new hilts. Just make them sharp, get rid of the rust, and smooth over the notches. It wasn't particularly good steel to begin with, but it's what we've got to work with." Aredis nodded and made his way to grab a sword, picking up his hammer as well, and went over to the smaller forge Joran had set up for the apprentice. After a few moments of stoking and airing the small fire, it began to burn hot. He set the blade deep into the fire and picked up a helmet to hammer while he waited. After fixing three helmets, the blade appeared hot enough to work with. Pumping the bellows once for good measure, he moved the sword to an anvil and struck along its length gradually. Its fuller was offset from the bend of the steel, and it proved painful to fix.
The notches and rust were fixed as much as they were going to be, after significant heating and reheating Aredis feared that the metal was going to become brittle. So far it had held up, so he just repeated the process with about seven more swords. Aredis cursed himself after doubling over in pain and almost pressing his face against the burning hot sword. In his argument with Sarah earlier, he had not eaten. Now he had nothing in his stomach and still had a few hours until their final meal. The church bell tolled again denoting the daily sermon, calling all the acolytes. Aredis hated this and looked to Joran for help. The blacksmith just shook his head. "They'll have my head if I aid in your delinquency from their preachings." Looking over the swords the apprentice had finished, he nodded. "That will do for now. Go on."
Aredis frowned but obeyed, putting away his apron, gloves, and hammer before heading off to the front of the Abbey. Everyone else was gathered quietly in the main chamber as Aredis stepped in, finding his place by Sarah. She promptly ignored him and just stood silently. The sermon carried on for the next few hours with Aredis fading in and out, thinking only of food. He was the first one at the table and hardly noticed Sarah's absence as he shoveled food to sate his hunger. He did, however, frown and wonder when she wasn't in their quarters. All lessons were finished, and they had only an hour of free time left that she usually spent reading hymns and such from their quarters. Tomorrow was their day off and he has plans to sleep in a bit before visiting Goldshire and Stormwind. It wasn't long before he had fallen asleep.