Chapter 5:
A heavy knocking brings an end to my sleep. "Come on, get up new guy, will you?"
What a strange dream, nothing depressing but just strange... I dreamed I was a murloc, for heaven's sake! "Hurry up dammit! If you want something to eat this morning you should get up and open the door, you're the last one missing!"
Now I realize what the voice from outside is trying to tell me and that it's not only inside my own head. I hurry to get out of bed. I even slept with my robes on, oh my, didn't quite manage to change yesterday it seems. Quickly I unlock the door and open it.
"So you are the Fipps guy?"
My eyes are blinded by the light of the rising sun. I can only see a dark shadow for the first moments, my eyes not adjusted to the sunlight yet.
"Wha...what?", I stutter.
"I said: So you are the Fipps guy?" The person asking me is a bit smaller than myself, not much though. He has short brown curly hair and is wearing a robe just like the one that has been given to me only yesterday. "You should hurry up or you will get us both in trouble I tell you." his tone is pressing, yet remaining calm.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..." Yet he bluntly interrupts me.
"What? You didn't mean to sleep this long? Oh my, oh my. Got a different story for me?" He clearly tries to stress his authority. "I know you had a long journey yesterday, but you should know that being the son of a hero won't count as an excuse in the future as long as you're here. So you should know the way everything goes around here and more importantly, comply with it." There the story goes again. The same thing over and over. The only thing they all are seeing is my father, not me. No-one ever thinks about me possibly not wanting to be treated like this. I will never be able to surpass him, let alone catch up to him, no matter how hard I'd tried. The person in front of me then suddenly shrugs, "Why do I tell you anyway? Next time if you won't wake up, I'll just leave you here. It'll be better for all of us... As an advice: first there, first served, so if you want something to eat, be sure to make it to the common room in time."
I nod quietly as he leaves the room. "Come on, now change and off we go. No matter how I feel about it I'll still have to get you there today and it's already a quarter past five."
I hurry up changing my robe and follow.
"May I..., may I ask you something, s-sir?" I look to the floor while following.
"What is it, new apprentice?"
"You didn't tell me your name. So.., I'd kindly ask you if..." He casually looks over his shoulder whilst walking on.
"It's Worth, Charles Worth. I used to be a tailor before I enlisted in the Scarlet Crusade. The robes you are wearing were made by me."
We reach the common room after a short while. "Seems we are lucky, there is still something left for us."
Basically the people here stand in line and wait till they get something to eat. What that is depends on what their giving out each day. Charles gets his meal first, I go second. They guy behind the counter gives me two buns and a bowl of oatmeal gruel. This food smells like nothing and looks simply put disgusting.
With the small tray in my hands I start searching for a place to sit down and eat.
"Hey, you're Fipps, aren't you?" The guy behind the counter asks me before I manage to turn away. How did he know?
"Ye-yes I am, but how did you...?"
"You're the only person I've never seen around here." He cuts me off. "Therefore it was quite easy to find out. I have a letter for you. I don't know from whom it is, but the Inquisitor who brought it by told me not to open it. Here ya go." He hands me the envelope without any words too much. Wow, the first one in here who was at least a bit friendly except for the High Inquisitor.
I now can finally turn away from the counter and make my way through the rows of benches. Almost all of them are filled with students, clerics, monks, warriors. Most of them are staring at me, though I guess that's normal if you're the new guy.
There is a small table at the end of the room that is still completely empty. I know no one here so I prefer to sit down back there, I don't want to bother anybody else around here. It's no good making enemies on the first few days.
I sit down and put my plate on the table. My eyes coming to rest on the envelope I decide to open it later, maybe after eating. It takes me a while to get the gruel down my throat. This breakfast does not only look disgusting, it definitely is!
Again hardly anybody is talking around here. They all eat in silence. I'm not sure whether this is the general fashion here or if it's only because of me. The bell of the monastery then signalizes that it's a quarter to six and everybody stands up in unity. They move along to the counter returning their wooden plates and head out of the hall. I take my time queuing last. The guy who gave me the letter now tells me that I should head to the cathedral for the morning prayers, after that we have a bit of free time to study on our own or - if we've already finished our training - to prepare for assignments.
I follow his directions and move along with crowd over to the morning prayers.
I am a bit surprised how all these people are fitting in this cathedral, it seems a lot smaller from the outside. After our little crowd entered the building, the guards stationed here started moving us around a bit so everybody would find a place. As soon as everybody is tucked away nicely people start kneeling down in front of the altar. A guard assigned me a place right in the middle. I take a guess that they mainly sort people due to their heights.
The door behind the altar then opens and out comes a man with long orange hair. He is tall grown and wears a full set of crimson armor with white ornaments. A two-handed sword is tied to his back. This... this might be him! The sword glowing golden from behind strengthens me. Yes, it must be him!
Alexandros Mograine!
The Ashbringer tied to his back, he stands there up high. My heart is beating fast, so it really had been him yesterday.
I can't believe it, the Ashbringer himself will be preaching to us. I will learn my first prayers of the Scarlet Crusade directly from him! I'm so excited.
As he begins to speak I still hope that he would teach me prayers, but I soon notice that the things he is saying were more of a warning..., more of a call to arms.
As I listen to the words time starts flying by.
My brothers! I am glad to see you gathered here.
We all have to stand together.
These times are difficult, the dangers are numerous, and faith can grow thin even within the strongest of us.
YET, I CALL UPON YOU, MY BROTHERS!
Strengthen your mind! Strengthen your heart! Strengthen your souls!
HAVE FAITH! The Holy Light will protect us if we believe! Do not doubt the holy judgments! The Holy Light will lead us on a righteous way!
Our enemy in these days is treacherous! It kills without hesitation, not only rendering and abusing the bodies of our friends and loved ones.
NO!
The Scourge uses them to fool us, to fool our judgments!
To lead us to a point where we doubt! It tries to deceive us with the sight of our beloved!
Thus I call upon you, my brothers! Don't be misled by the appearance! Stand against it!
SEE THE ENEMY, NOT THE DISGUISE!
The Scourge has made them to mindless objects!
Do not doubt and clear your view, this is the key to redeem salvation for the poor souls of our beloved.
The Scourge is offering our greatest trial by taking them!
DO NOT HESITATE! Strike if you have the chance, for they will not halt! They will not pause, they will use any opening you leave them!
Be careful, my brothers! The Scourge will use the innocent! The people who are not involved!
THEY WILL ATTACK WITHOUT WARNING!
Watch out who you trust, my brothers! Everybody who is not wearing a scarlet robe might already be taken by the enemy! Friends! Even family!
You can't tell by age! Children! The elder! They don't make a difference when choosing their next victims!
My brothers, do not be misled by the sweet appearance of a child!
DO NOT DOUBT THE LIGHT, but doubt the appearance of others than the Scarlet Crusade!
I was present as one of my most loyal companions was almost claimed by the Scourge as he did not trust my judgment!
The foul beast disguised itself as a close friend of him, my brothers! In the moment of relaxation, it tried to strike!
STRIKE WHEN HE WAS UNAWARE!
He was lucky, lucky that I was even closer to him in this moment. My blade fell the creature, offering the oppressed soul redemption as it burned away the unholy flesh!
This is a difficult time, my brothers.
It is hard to trust, but do not have doubt in any of the Scarlet Crusade!
DO NOT HAVE DOUBT IN THE HOLY LIGHT!
I myself, THE ASHBRINGER, will attend to clear greater parts of the plagued lands in the next weeks!
With the end of the week I will travel to the ruins of Stratholme with my trusted companions, to the Scarlet Bastion inside the rotten heart of Stratholme, where our troops under the command of the Grand Crusader, Saidan Dathrohan rest, are defending the holy walls from the Scourge!
MY BROTHERS! From this bastion we will spread the lights judgment and journey deep into the city of Stratholme, cleaning every house, destroying everything the Scourge used to fortify themselves there!
After the cleaning Stratholme I will venture to the former village of Northdale, from there we will travel to Corin's Crossing and Darrowshire, before heading further west to Andorhal, Brill and finally the ruins of the former Capital City of Lordaeron!
THIS WILL BE MY VENTURE!
We will cleanse the Scourge from this area and reclaim the land that is rightfully ours! The land of our ancestors and children!
Once the City of Lordaeron will be again under our command, we will address to the necromancer school in Caer Darrow! No minion of the Scourge shall be left within these lands!
MY BROTHERS! The light shines on the way we will venture along, and this way will be full of success. A prosperous future lies ahead of us as the undeath around us will be burned to ashes!
Now head on, my brothers, another day awaits us, a small step on a long way into a glorious future!
Do not doubt, but do not trust lightly, these are my words for you!
May the Holy Light bless us all!
His voice is as clear as fresh water, it is strong as steel and most important of all: it gives faith. The sound of it fills the whole room with ease, it travels into every heart. His charisma is astonishing, maybe even frightening.
Mograines stands in front of us all, his arms crossed for a moment. From my point of view it looks as if he is smiling. He shortly waves with one hand and says "Farewell, my brothers" not as loud as the words before. Then he turns around and heads back into the chamber behind the altar. When he is not visible anymore and the door is closing the first few of the listeners stand up and make their way out of the cathedral. Mostly the heavy armed guards who were listening too.
I again take my time. After all my first lesson starts in the afternoon and it's not even seven o'clock yet.
I think I'll use the time to get to know the monastery grounds a bit better.
The cathedral is a beautiful place, especially the architecture of the building itself, and of the surrounding ones. If you leave through the front door you come into a wide open space. I love it when nature is taken into account when constructing such buildings. The grass and trees that are standing here are mostly untouched. And even if they were arranged later on it still has an authentic looks to it. A giant fountain was implemented in the middle of it all with a little waterfall and the meadow is framed by two long hallways with twenty columns each.
To the west of the cathedral there is a cemetery. I want to have a look at the graves whether there are some of important members of the crusade, but I'm not allowed to enter. Two guards stand at the entrance and block my way. They say this area is off limits for new guys like me. I'm a bit astonished, but there is nothing I can do about that for the moment so I'll just have to have a look around in the eastern areas of the monastery for now.
Adjacent to the cathedral there is the armory. At least it is called that way. In reality it is more of a training ground for the warriors of the Crusade. Some of them give me a strange look as I walk pass them, but that is not of my concern. I guess somebody will tell me if I'm not allowed to trespass here.
I follow the staircase down at the end of the hallway, well now this starts to look more like an armory. Except for all the weapons each room down here seems heavily guarded. I just walk a bit further.
"What are you doing down here, cleric? Want to borrow yourself a two-handed sword?" the guard asking this is sniggering.
"N-no, I'm just having a look around here, Sir. I arrived here last evening.", I answer.
"It's... unusual... to see a priest down here, but well, go on. Be sure not to disturb Herod if you find him in the Hall of Champions." I nod and pass them. As I walk on, I think I hear something from the guards that sounded like 'strange guy'.
This armory seems to be huge, it takes me about fifteen minutes to get to the other end of it, from there another staircase leads back up and into another hallway. I see a giant door at the end of it.
I come closer and ask the guards directly at the door if it would be possible for me to enter.
"I'm sorry, mate, but Herod is training inside at the moment. You have to stay out, my lad."
Well, I guess I'll have the chance to have a look at it sometimes later.
I return to the center of the monastery, it takes me another fifteen minutes back through the armory, but at least the guards and trainees there don't offer me the same strange looks the second time I come through.
As I head on to the most eastern part of the monastery, for the first time it occurs to me that the armory is the area where I would most likely bump into Captain Theran. Realizing it this late comes a bit shocking, though luckily I did not meet her. Maybe she is on another assignment today.
The only area I haven't been to till now is the library in the eastern wing. To get there I have to pass through another open space, considerably smaller than the other. The library itself on the other hand is gigantic. Even only the first hallway of it is incredibly long and the most interesting things, magic and history, are located at the far end of the library, it is said to be a circular room, the place where the famous arcanist Doan is studying most of the time. Maybe he is there today, I'm so excited.
Quite different to the armory, nobody in here offers me strange looks, so everybody seems to be expecting of me to come here, oh well. I walk past shelves full of books containing mythology, common knowledge and earliest history. All the librams are written in various languages. I just hope I don't have to learn all of them.
There is still a lot time left till the afternoon, so I decide to have a look at some of the books. I choose the myth section for a first look. But before I start looking on my own, I go up to some of the other clerics who are sitting or standing close to me to ask them a few things.
"Well, just take the books you want to read. You're of the Crusade so it's fine. But if you want to take some of the books to your quarters you'll have to tell the secretary and ask for permission, she'll make a note and you'll have a week's time to return it." That's all I want to hear from him. I thank him for telling me and head back to the shelves to have a closer look. There are a lot of books about the various elven gods. Those are the ones I noticed first. I take one of them out of the shelf. Yet I put it back just as I opened it up for a first time.
It's not translated and I can't read Thalassian or Darnassian or whatever that language was called. I try another book, yet it's just the same. The third book was also in its native language. After searching for a few minutes I give up all hope to find a book about elven gods and mythology that isn't written in their language.
I go to another bookshelf.
Oh my! The title of the book reads 'Neltharion, the Earth Warden, Delegate of Khaz'goroth'. That's exactly what I was looking for. The sudden smile on my lips widens even more as I see some more of them. 'Malygos, the Spell-Weaver, Delegate of Norgannon', 'Ysera, Mistress of Dreams, Delegate of Eonar', 'Nozdormu, the Lord of Time, Delegate of Aman'Thul' and finally 'Alexstrasza, the Life-Binder, Delegate of Eonar', all five of them directly next to each other. I definitely have to read those! I take one of the five books out and have a first glance at the text. Thank goodness, the books all seem to be written in common language. As I look around I see some more books about the dragon aspects and something that looks like an awkward creation myth, 'The Titans and the Construction of Azeroth'. Maybe I'll have a look at those later on too.
Skipping through more and more pages time starts flying by and I soon find myself spending most of the day in the library, I even skip lunch so I have more time to stay here. I only get to read in one book more in depth though, something showing general aspects of the dragon flights. But soon I figure I should probably change my main topic for now, in only a few hours my first lesson will begin so I should forget about Alexstrasza for a moment and focus on other things, just as Corren told me to.
I discover a large amount of books about prayers and the Holy Light a bit further down the hall. I don't really want to read those..., but I have to at some point... I promised Corren in a sort of way. I take one of the books from the shelf and sit down at a table nearby.
I lose every little bit track of time as I am standing here in front of this huge mass of books. I've spent about four hours just looking until now. Just in time I realize that I am almost missing out on my first lesson and head straight out of the library into the central hall of the monastery in a hurry.
Goddamn, I've got no idea where I have to go! Where are we taught? Oh no! I panic. Trying to calm down, I can only think of asking a guard for the way. They would tell me for sure.
I run to the armory, there should be a lot of them, hopefully. I stop in front of the first one I meet. He asks me if everything is alright, I nod. I tell him I only have a question, a very urgent question from my point of view. My breath is short, I pant.
"I'm sorry..." I want to apologize for holding him up.
"WHAT are YOU doing here, you blundering idiot?", somebody shouts just in the moment I want to ask. "You shouldn't wander around uselessly, but be studying, fool!" I know this voice, Captain Theran. Of all people on earth, why? Why is it her?
I slowly turn around. "S-s-sorry, nobody told me where the lesso..."
"Well, shut up and get going, I'll take you there. You're nothing but a burden!" she looks at me angrily. "It's nothing but trouble with you, you no-good."
If it wouldn't be for her voice, I wouldn't have recognized her at first glance. She is wearing a long white robe with a crimson badge of the Scarlet Crusade on it. This outfit suits her well, highlighting her as a fair woman. Her green eyes show a beautiful glow in the sunlight too. Her skin seems so soft and clean. The long black hair is smoothly hanging down her back. Yet her loud and angry voice pushes all these facts aside in an instant.
She leads the way fast paced. "You're lucky again... you still got ten minutes, if it weren't for Fairbanks, I'd have just left you standing back there." I keep quiet, being sure that any word of myself would only provoke her. We hurry across the meadow in front of the cathedral. "Your lessons are held inside, right at the end of the left hallway in one of the larger rooms." Her tone is pressing and her eyes narrowed as usual. She stops shortly after entering the building pointing with one arm to the hallway I have to take.
I head on without a word.
There are few minutes left and I hardly make it on time. I enter the room wheezing, the bell of the cathedral signalizing that the time is up.
The others in the room are all not much older than myself. I recognize somebody who lived in Brill before the assassination of King Menethil. His family had then fled to Tyr's Hand, knowing that the heavily fortified city would offer safety even in case of a long-term siege. I don't know any of the others.
I take an empty seat at the side of the room. As there is nobody here in the room to teach us yet, I guess I am not the last one to arrive here.
About five minutes pass. We are all listening whether we can hear if somebody is coming.
Then we finally hear steps. The shoes of him or her approaching are making loud noises on the floor of the almost empty cathedral, backed up by a loud echo.
We turn around to the door, impatiently awaiting the producer of the sounds. To my surprise it's a young woman that enters, probably still in her mid-twenties. She is rather tall and has hair as white as snow - the light through the window lets it almost seem silver. Her eyes are surrounded by a red lining. The top she is wearing looks a bit like a tabard. It is made of crimson colored leather with black strokes and a golden pattern on the front side. Her boots also seem to be made of the same leather and reach up to her thighs, they have high heels. She wears an old fashioned chapeau on her head also out of the same materials again with golden strokes covering it. The whole outfit is rather tight, stressing her seductive beauty.
As she walks to the end of the room, all eyes lie on her and everybody has fallen quiet. She then slowly turns around to face us, presenting her body in every angle for as long as possible.
"From now on, you are apprentices of the Scarlet Crusade." she starts of without any sort of introduction to herself. Her voice reminds me somewhat of Captain Theran in its rather dark toned nature. She speaks without hesitation in a calm and slow way, the intonation of a few words strangely off. "Here you will be learning about the Holy Light and how you can use it as a means to your own ends."
The words of her brand themselves directly into my memory. Something very strange is up with the way how she talks.
"I will teach you personally every now and then, apart from that, High Inquisitor Fairbanks will be your teacher for most of the time. Our clerics..."
"AND I BELIEVE...", the words are said loudly and clearly by a strong, yet gentle voice, "I will start interfering with your teaching right away." the old man in the door smiles. Nobody of us has noticed how he had arrived.
"High Inquisitor? What is it? I was just about to start the first lesson. Would you mind?" her tone shifts to something more annoyed.
"Well my dearest, all I wanted to do is to wish good luck to all of our students and to introduce myself. High Inquisitor Fairbanks would be my name and title." He sounds outmost friendly, a waging contrast to her as her face now shows an angry look. In reaction he turns around and wants to leave already.
"As I was saying. Our cle...", her monologue comes to another sudden stop.
"Ah, yes, I forgot." he says quietly, but loud enough to be heard by everyone, while looking over his shoulder.
"WHAT?", she almost shouts.
"I'd like to see you in my office at the end of the other hallway, master Fipps." What? Why me? I offer an astonished look. "NOW!" He raises his voice in an instant. I jump to my feet and leave the room as ordered. Most of the people are looking at me right now. "Go forth, young Fipps, I will follow you in a moment." the High Inquisitor whispers to me before he turns back to the rest of the people. "And Sally?"
"You still have something to say, old man?" she surely is mocking him. "Don't go too hard on them, please. I wouldn't want to lose any of them so early." he smiles at her again. She only makes a disapproving sound. "Have a nice day." he speaks to everybody in the room, after making them weary of their new teacher, then he turns around and leaves.
I am already in midst of the great hall next to the altar. This is the place where Alexandros Mograine stands every morning. Wow.
I didn't notice how I had come to a stop until a hand reaches for my shoulder. "I-I'm sorry." I look to the ground so I wouldn't have to face the sight of whoever reached out for me so suddenly.
"Silly boy. No need for excuses. Thanking me should be more appropriate."
"Thanking y-you?", I stutter like a fool without thinking too much about it.
"Well, I saved you from Whitemane's clutches the second time now, you know?" This is the moment when I first realize that the woman back there had been this mystic Whitemane the High Inquisitor has mentioned before.
"Tha-that is Whitemane?" I again ask without thinking of my words.
"Sometimes Captain Theran seems to be a bit right, doesn't she?" he is smiling at me nevertheless these words are hard to swallow. He opens the door to his office. "Please, enter." his hand is pointing inside. I do as he wishes. He closes the door behind him. "Now have a seat, Marc." this is the first time he calls me that way. "I hope it's okay if I address to you like this." He sits down and I nod quickly in response to his question. A cozy fire is burning in the fire place next to the desk of Fairbanks.
"Fine. Now, before we start, are there any things you want to ask me?"
"S-start? Start with what?" This would basically be my first question.
"With your lesson of course. You need somebody who teaches you. And I've told you already that I won't let Whitemane get anywhere near you." he talks quickly, stressing the importance of this fact.
"Why are you doing this?" this question again came out of my mouth without giving it too much thought.
"Well, you have seen her yourself and should be able to tell that she is a scary young girl. Sally Whitemane may be talented, but I assure you, she will try to take you down the same way she went. AND I tell you, that is the WRONG way!" I flinch as he says that.
"But..." I want to respond. For a moment I want to tell him that all of this is not worth the effort. That I will never be as great as my father.
"You fool! Stop complaining already!" he sounds angry, "There is great potential in you, you just don't know it yet! You have a strong soul. Much stronger than many people in this monastery! I won't let her claim it in the name of the shadows. Your destiny is to serve the Holy Light! Why don't you have faith for once?" A shiver runs down my spine as his words come to an end.
"Now, have you received any note during the course of the day?" The letter! I totally forgot about that during the time in the library!
"Ye-yes, I was given an envelope this morning."
"Did you open it?" he asks rapidly.
"No, no I did not."
"Then give it to me!" This clearly was an order.
I hand him the unopened letter. He unseals it the moment he has it in his hands and starts to read it. His only reaction is silence as he raises an eyebrow.
"This clearly is Whitemane's doing." Without taking another look he throws the letter into the fire besides him. I jump to my feet. "No boy. No! Just sit down again. It's better this way. She wanted to seduce you into following her blindly. Even IF she would be trustworthy, you should never trust someone blind folded, not in these times. And most of all not to people who pretend to be this close to you; this is my first advice for you, young Fipps.."
He stands up again and walks to the window. "I assume you have no further questions?" he asks me. I have a lot more of them, but none of them would be doing any good at this moment.
"Following the Holy Light is a difficult path. You need to know this." He gazes out of the window into the sky. "This is not because of demanding spells, an enormous amount of willpower or the dangers of using this type of magic. No. This is because of its counterpart." He turns around facing me. "You see every type of magic as we know it has some sort of counterpart which you will get afflicted to if you use your magic. This kind of affliction can be of great benefit, yet it can be of great harm." His looks darken. "As fire magic aspires towards ice and water, just like this the holy arts strive for the shadows. Sally knows this and she is by far closer to darkness than any of us in the monastery would openly admit." This is far more complex than I had imagined.
"You see, being able to use the holy arts is a straining thing to do. You will always be close to the darkness. If you will not be able to keep your righteous heart, you will fall for the temptation." I start having second thoughts about me becoming a cleric. "But do not be in doubt! Doubting is the first step in the wrong direction. It will seem like the easier path to travel, but if you trust yourself, if you have faith in the Holy Light, you will ALWAYS be able to overcome the shadows residing in your heart."
The fire behind him crackles viciously. I imagined this all being easier, but now after he tells me all this I'm starting to fear what might happen.
"Let me tell you a story." I listen up as he stands up. "Some years ago, directly after the end of the second great war, we discovered something at the foot of Blackrock Mountain. Alexandros Mograine kept this a secret until the first whispers about the Scourge had reached Lordaeron. It was an artefact of pure darkness. A crystal, small but endlessly dangerous!" The High Inquisitor tries to show an approximate size with his hands. "Upon touching the orb, Alexandros' flesh was rendered. This item had carved wounds into his arm we were not able to heal. The scars remain even until today." He looks to the ground and turns around again. "The day he had shown this to us in Southshore, we knew that even something like this, darkness incarnated existed, there had to be a counterpart to it. So we quickly decided on searching for its opposite, we swore to uncover a manifestation of light itself. But we had to dispose of the unholy crystal first. It would have been of incredible danger had we not." He makes a short pause. "I was one of the first ones to strike at the damned thing. I used one of the spells I learned from Isillien. He called it smite, it is one of the very few attack spells using holy magic. You will be taught to use it yourself soon enough." He walks slowly across the room.
"To our amazement the crystal took no damage upon being attacked. On the contrary, it absorbed all our efforts. Everything was in vain. Despair was already creeping up on us. Then it happened." Fairbanks lowers his voice. "The orb emitted in a light glow. Every further attack made it glow stronger. Suddenly with a flash of blinding light the crystal changed to its complete opposite! The manifestation of light we had pledged to find!" The High Inquisitor returns to the table, taking his seat again.
"Mograine touched it with his still wounded hand and he was healed completely within an instance. From this crystal a mighty weapon, the Ashbringer was forged. It remains to be the strongest weapon against the hordes of the Scourge that we have." Fairbanks takes a deep breath.
"The thing I wanted to show you by telling this little anecdote is that light can always overcome darkness. The darkness may be reckless and strong, yet it is also frail and volatile, in other words vulnerable to something as pure and resolved as light. If you stay on a righteous way, not driven by selfishness, you will be able to control the light by your hearts content without having to fear to ever lose your soul to the shadows. And I believe you are capable of doing so, young master Fipps. Maybe not yet, but the time will come."
This is all? This is the reason for him being my 'private tutor'? I try to understand but I still don't get why all of them are making such efforts with me. I know I'm not that good!
"So now I have a question for you, Marc. And I will be honest with you, if you answer in a way I am displeased with, you shall leave the monastery and the Scarlet Crusade now and without a minute's delay.", he smiles at me. Saying such words and still keeping his friendly face. I can only swallow hard." After having told you all this today, do you still want to become a cleric of the Scarlet Crusade?"
Is that a trick question? I only have this one opportunity to prove to myself and everybody else that I'm not completely worthless. Yet again he is right somehow. But, no, I have to, Corren and Keira would not want me to have doubt in this.
"Ye-yes..."
"I'm sorry, young master Fipps, I did not hear you, what were you saying?" The tone of him is demanding.
"Yes, I want to become a cleric." I hope this will end up the way I wish for.
"Good boy, with this your first lesson is at its end."
"What?" I almost call out.
"Yes, you heard what I said, we are done for today. I will send Captain Theran to pick you up tomorrow. I assume she will find you in the library in the afternoon hours. Am I correct?"
"Ye-yes, Sir." I respond. "Fine then, off you go. Head to the library for an hour or two then go to bed. You seem the type of guy who likes to read a lot." he still smiles at me. Likes to read a lot, how comes? I've never had many books at home and I've hardly ever read anything except for sometimes when my parents were teaching me.
The High Inquisitor opens the door and sends me out, "Good night, boy." I just hate it being addressed to as a child, though it's far more appropriate when he does it compared to the young Fordring.
I head directly to the library, but I do not plan on staying there for too long. I get two books, one about the dragon flights and one about the Holy Light, as a kind of alibi. Then I'm on my way to my quarters. I had no problems with the secretary. She only told me that she needed them back by the end of next week. Sundown approaches quickly as my thoughts wander off to Keira and Corren for a few minutes. I miss the two of them.
Well now we finally are on our own paths, everybody for him or herself.
I hope the next lesson with the High Inquisitor will teach me more things about making use of the light. I hope I will be able to control it someday, just as he said. Right now I'm only afraid of failing. I want to be like my father, but I hate being only compared to him. I hate it how people see him when looking at me and nothing else. Corren and Keira were different. They accepted me as the person I was, as my true self.
I reach my room and enter, locking the door behind me. Without doing anything else I lay down on my bed with the two books in front of me. I open the book about the Holy Light first, hoping anything in there will help me to understand everything a bit better.
I fall asleep after reading about twenty pages.