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Tirlanolir/D'nemy's Tales of Turgos: The Heroes of Goldfire Glen (UPDATE 7/26)
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<blockquote data-quote="Canaan" data-source="post: 2823480" data-attributes="member: 40239"><p>Thanks Biscuit and Haven! It was a little touch and go there for a while. I had only rough drafts of my posts saved on my computer, because D'nemy and I are writing this together and editing in a very free form style. So I had very few of the final posts saved (I remedied that now). By following the suggestions posted by some Enworlders, I was able to recover everything from the Cache.</p><p></p><p>Thanks for your continued interest in this story hour! It's nice to be missed! Here is the next installment in the lives of our heroes! You may have questions after this post. They will be answered in the next post, which is a flashback/interlude.</p><p></p><p></p><p>***************</p><p></p><p><strong>Chapter 17: Gabriel's Return</strong></p><p></p><p> After many minutes of joyous laughter, embraces, and thanks to Almighty Canaan, Lilian and I finally calmed ourselves enough to have as lucid a conversation as we could, given the circumstances.</p><p> </p><p> “What do you remember?” I finally came around to asking her.</p><p></p><p> Her fair face twisted upwards, her eyes looked to the ceiling. She shook her head.</p><p></p><p> “Nothing at all.” She said, a mixture of worry and befuddlement. “I remember us stumbling into that room. I could see next to nothing beyond the door Gabriel was carrying. I felt something slice into my back, cold as death, and then nothing else. I awoke to chanting, and he…” She pointed to the Voice and Will of Canaan. “was smiling down at me. He told me I had died and by Canaan’s Will, been brought back. They fitted me with this robe and lead me to you.” </p><p></p><p> Talon had joined us in our reunion but said very little past “It is good to see you again, old friend.” At last he spoke.</p><p></p><p> “It was a blackguard that felled you.” He told her. “A sorceress and a dark faean priest were his only allies. In spite of our greater numbers we barely survived the battle. Shale and Aesendal also perished.”</p><p></p><p> Lilian staggered, and almost fainted at the news. I caught her by the shoulder and held her up. She gently pushed me off her, then straightened, looking at Talon, fear floating over her emerald eyes. </p><p></p><p> “What of Gabriel?” She said, very anxious. “Is he with you? </p><p></p><p> Talon and I looked to each other. I was trying to formulate an appropriately delicate response. </p><p></p><p> “Tell me!” Lilian insisted.</p><p></p><p> “He stayed behind.” Talon finally, emotionlessly said. </p><p></p><p> “We tried to stop him, but he would not listen.” I added.</p><p></p><p> “Tell me everything!” She said. “What happened to my brother?” </p><p></p><p> Before we could answer, the Voice and Will of Canaan tapped the floor with his staff. The sound reverberated through the hall. </p><p></p><p> We all turned to him. </p><p></p><p> “Perhaps,” He said in his soft whisper. “you should ask him yourself.” </p><p></p><p> I heard that obfuscated door open and close again, and a moment later, a white robed figure was lead into the chamber flanked by two equally robed nuns. The face of the figure was covered by a cowl. He was clutching a Canaan Cross in his right hand. The two nuns backed away and left the chamber. The figure grabbed hold of the cowl and slowly drew it back.</p><p></p><p> We all gasped when the face was revealed. </p><p></p><p> It was Gabriel. </p><p></p><p> Lilian ran up to him. </p><p></p><p> “I do not understand.” She said, stopping short of embracing him. “They told me you went back to fight the Black Guard.”</p><p></p><p> “They were right.” He said. </p><p></p><p> “Then you defeated him?” She asked, though the timbre of her voice betrayed her realization of the answer.</p><p></p><p> “No.” He said plainly. “I was slain.”</p><p></p><p> “Great Canaan!” I breathed. “What miracles we have witnessed this day!” </p><p></p><p> “His body was found by the nuns in the chapel not an hour before you arrived here.” The Voice and Will told us. “A celestial voice summoned them to the chamber and told them that this one had been chosen by Canaan to return to us, but there was a price to be paid.” </p><p></p><p> “What happened?” Lilian asked. </p><p></p><p> “Talon and Evora were right.” Gabriel began. “They tried to warn me, but I would not listen. I confronted the Black Guard consumed with anger and a thirst for vengeance. The evil knight proved too much of a match for me, and every set back in the melee only fueled my rage to the point where all I could see, all I could feel, all I experienced was raw, unhinged anger. In that state of total wrath and fury, I was felled by his blade.” </p><p></p><p> There was a long silence. Guilt flashed over Lilian’s face. </p><p></p><p> “When you died, where did you go?” I asked, knowing full well the answer. </p><p></p><p> Gabriel did not look at me when he told us. His grip on his Canaan Cross tightened. </p><p></p><p> “I did not reach Canaan’s Heaven.” He said almost inaudibly. Lilian reached out and took his hand. “I have been given a second chance to redeem my soul.” </p><p></p><p> “Glory be to Canaan!” I said. “Your family is doubly blessed!” </p><p></p><p> “From this day forward,” Gabriel told us, “I shall live my life as a Priest of Canaan. I shall endeavor to quench the fires of my rage and pursue a life of peace and penitence.” </p><p></p><p> Lilian broke down into a torrent of tears. Her usually strong demeanor completely evaporated and she fell into her brothers arms. </p><p></p><p> “Blessed be Canaan!” She said between fits of sobs. </p><p></p><p> “Yes, my sister.” Gabriel said, soothingly. “Yes.” </p><p></p><p> Talon, who had remained silent up to now, finally spoke. </p><p></p><p> “It is good that we are all reunited.” He began. “But Shale, who we brought with us, is still dead. What of him?”</p><p></p><p> I turned to the Voice and Will. </p><p></p><p> “We brought a disciple of the Green with us.” I told him. “Is it possible, Your Holiness, that Canaan’s Grace may be bestowed upon him as well?”</p><p></p><p> “I know of Shale’s nature.” He answered me. “And I know of his Master, Baern. It will not be by Canaan that Shale will be returned, but by the power and will of the Green.” Then after a short pause, “And Canaan approves.” </p><p> </p><p>“I know where to find Shale’s Master.” Said Talon. “I can lead us there.” </p><p></p><p> “We should go soon.” Said Lilian. “Shale is a good friend and if it be The Green’s will, I would have him back with us.” </p><p></p><p> “I agree.” I said. “But there is something I must do first. And I must do it alone.”</p><p></p><p> Before any of them could protest, I turned back to the Voice and Will. Tanner had taken his hand. </p><p></p><p> “Thank you.” I said to him, swallowing my growing emotion. “You have been most merciful, most kind, most loving. I cannot put into words how grateful we all are for what you have done.”</p><p></p><p> “Evora Faro.” The Voice and Will said, his voice tinged with sadness. “It is not I who has done these things. I am but a vassal for Canaan’s Will, and it is I who should be thanking you.” </p><p></p><p> He looked at Tanner.</p><p></p><p> “Your selflessness and sacrifice has ensured another generation will be blessed with the path to salvation and eternal life. I take my leave of you now and offer you this as my parting words. Do not let your fear or your thirst for knowledge and power delude you. The world is changing and each of you has been chosen to play a great role in ensuring that the change is for the better. May Canaan be with you.”</p><p></p><p> With that, he and Tanner stepped into the pillar of light in the center of the chamber. Something shimmered up the outer edge of the column and the two were gone. </p><p></p><p>*******************************</p><p> </p><p> I left the others at the Great Fane and made my way over to the Curia, to meet with Tagavarius and plead my case. </p><p></p><p> Gabriel wished to sequester himself in the libraries of Soliel. He did not say what he was looking for, but would only say he was curious about something called a Harmonic Concordance. </p><p></p><p> Lilian remained in the Great Fane to pray and meditate on all that had happened. Talon wished to leave the confines of the city for a time and meditate in a surrounding more becoming to his faith. </p><p></p><p> By the hospitality of the Voice and Will of Canaan, Shale’s body was to remain under the care of the temple’s nuns until such time that we left.</p><p></p><p> As I climbed the stairs of the Curia, I was greeted by six Justicars, who fell into position on either side of me. Thus flanked, I was presented to a great assemblage of Arch Bishops and Cardinals of Canaanism. The intellectual and political supreme among the ranks of Canaan’s priests. At their center stood Tagavarius who welcomed my entry with a deep, creased scowl.</p><p></p><p> “The heretic has arrived for trial.” He said.</p><p></p><p> I remained encircled by the Justicars. The proceedings remained eerily quiet. </p><p></p><p> “Evora Faro, you have been accused of heresy.” Tagavarius said with great aplomb. I could not help noticing he was staring just above my eyes. “Your punishment was exile, and yet you return. You brought with you the Exalted Child, and the Curia understands the sacrifices you made to save him. That act alone may have granted you full clemency if it weren’t for the fact that new charges have been brought against you. You have been accused of pursuing the arcane arts without taking the required sacraments and teachings by a sanctioned Urgic practitioner, a crime punishable by the annulment of your ordination. What say you to these charges?” </p><p></p><p> I did not allow a moment’s pause before I answered. </p><p></p><p> “I plead guilty.” I said plainly enough. I saw a look of complete surprise melt over Tagavarius’s face. The rest of the gathering continued their stoic stares. Tagavarius looked back at them, as if to seek support, then turned back toward me.</p><p></p><p> “You understand that in so doing,” Tagavarius said. “That you consent to the lawful and just sentence of your crime.”</p><p></p><p> “I do.” I said. “If the Curia agrees that such a sentence should be carried out, then I have no choice but to consent. I do this in order to protect that one commodity that is most precious to us mortals. Time. We have little to spare these days and a lengthy trial would only compound a growing threat. I believe that the attempt on Tanner’s life was no isolated incident. It is but the first of many horrors to come and I believe that Canaan has a plan for me, and an annulment would do nothing but deny Canaan’s Will.”</p><p></p><p> The silence was finally shattered. The room erupted into calls of blasphemy and my immediate annulment. Others, agreeing with me, called for my immediate acquittal and release. </p><p></p><p> Tagavarius held up a hand. The room fell silent. </p><p></p><p> “You are an arrogant, obstinate, wretch, Evora. Drowning in his own pride and delusions of greatness.” He hissed.</p><p></p><p> “He saved the Exalted Child!” One of the Arch Bishops bellowed. “He is amongst the Chosen of Canaan! Annulling his vows would be a sin against His Almighty!” </p><p></p><p> “Silence!” Tagavarius bellowed in reply. His eyes narrowed to tiny slits as they carved into me. “I see through your treachery, Evora. You seek to tear the Curia apart.”</p><p></p><p> With that I laid down prostrate before them all. </p><p></p><p> “You are right, Tagavarius!” I hollered, through my falling tears. “I am arrogant! I am obstinate! I am a wretch! But I have seen the error of my ways and I come before you humbled and seeking atonement! If it be Canaan’s Will that I be de-frocked for my sins, then there is nothing either myself, the Curia or even the Voice and Will himself can do to stop it! I have learned that I have not the moral, ethical or spiritual fortitude to stay true to the teachings of Canaan while recklessly attempting to be a peripatetic of the Arcane Path. I sought only power and that search corrupted me! I renounce my unchecked thirst for knowledge! Have mercy on me, a pitiful sinner! I do not wish to tear the great Curia asunder! I speak from my heart, flawed and inadequate as it may be!”</p><p></p><p> There was complete silence. It was broken by a soft footfall. I looked up to see Tagavarius staring down at me. His usual stony face mitigated but a breath. </p><p></p><p> “I am surprised at you, Evora.” He said, his voice echoing within the cavernous silence. “I did not expect this from you. I am beginning to believe that there may yet be hope for you, but how I judge you matters little. It is not by my hand that justice shall be dispensed. It is the summation of the whole of the Curia. Justicars!” </p><p></p><p> He waved his hand at the men who surrounded me. They lifted me to my feet. </p><p></p><p> “Take the accused to a holding cell.” Tagavarius continued. “There he shall wait while the Curia deliberates his fate.” </p><p></p><p> I sat alone in my cell for many hours. The others, Lilian, Talon and Gabriel did not know where I went. I chose not to tell them. I did not want them to worry, and if I was to be bereft of my vows and the grace of Canaan, then I wished to do it alone. Selfish, perhaps, but easier in the end. </p><p></p><p>Despite my actions in saving Tanner, a great seed of doubt had sprouted its thorny weeds within me. The dream I had just a few nights ago still haunted me. To see my Lord’s face crumble, and knowing, somehow, His destruction was due to some action or misdeed which I have either already, or someday shall, wittingly, or unwittingly, execute was almost more than I could bear. </p><p></p><p>I tried to meditate and clear my head, but the images of my dream persisted and I achieved no solace. </p><p></p><p>At last Tagavarius appeared before my cell. He was flanked by two Justicars. They parted to give the jailor ample room to open the cell door. </p><p></p><p>“The Curia has reached a verdict, Evora.” Tagavarius said, with a tinge of disappointment.</p><p></p><p>The jailor slid the key into the lock and turned it. The cell door slowly swung open. </p><p></p><p>“You have been acquitted.” </p><p></p><p>Joy leapt from the bottoms of my feet clear up through my head.</p><p></p><p>“On the condition…” Tagavarius continued, obviously sensing my happiness. “That you and your companions leave immediately. Take the body of the druid with you. Uncover the Adversarial plot against Canaan. May Canaan have mercy on your souls.”</p><p></p><p>And thus, I was released. I rendezvoused with Lilian, Talon and Gabriel and having secured Shale’s body to a horse and given the corpse a gentle repose, we left Soliel much as we came, to deafening cheers and joyous praise from an unquantifiable crowd.</p><p></p><p>We were off to the Northeast, toward a place called Wiltangle Forest. It was there, in the midst of its twisting, dense trees that we would find Baern, Shale’s Master. Talon assured us he could lead us to him. Only Baern had the power to return the fallen druid to us. </p><p></p><p>As we rode on, mostly in earnest silence, I could not help but ponder the possibility that the Voice and Will chose to intercede on my behalf in the Curia’s deliberations. It mattered little, but the thought of it gave me great comfort.</p><p></p><p>I realized in that moment the true value of friendship. I clutched my holy symbol. It was still warm. I had not noticed it until then, but as I looked down I saw that it was faintly glowing. </p><p></p><p>What is this boon Tanner had bequeathed to me? Was I deserving of such a gift? I could do no better than to try to prove my worth and find, once again, that I have a friend in Canaan. That He had not abandoned me and that I was, arrogant, obstinate and wretched as I may be, still worthy of His love.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Canaan, post: 2823480, member: 40239"] Thanks Biscuit and Haven! It was a little touch and go there for a while. I had only rough drafts of my posts saved on my computer, because D'nemy and I are writing this together and editing in a very free form style. So I had very few of the final posts saved (I remedied that now). By following the suggestions posted by some Enworlders, I was able to recover everything from the Cache. Thanks for your continued interest in this story hour! It's nice to be missed! Here is the next installment in the lives of our heroes! You may have questions after this post. They will be answered in the next post, which is a flashback/interlude. *************** [B]Chapter 17: Gabriel's Return[/B] After many minutes of joyous laughter, embraces, and thanks to Almighty Canaan, Lilian and I finally calmed ourselves enough to have as lucid a conversation as we could, given the circumstances. “What do you remember?” I finally came around to asking her. Her fair face twisted upwards, her eyes looked to the ceiling. She shook her head. “Nothing at all.” She said, a mixture of worry and befuddlement. “I remember us stumbling into that room. I could see next to nothing beyond the door Gabriel was carrying. I felt something slice into my back, cold as death, and then nothing else. I awoke to chanting, and he…” She pointed to the Voice and Will of Canaan. “was smiling down at me. He told me I had died and by Canaan’s Will, been brought back. They fitted me with this robe and lead me to you.” Talon had joined us in our reunion but said very little past “It is good to see you again, old friend.” At last he spoke. “It was a blackguard that felled you.” He told her. “A sorceress and a dark faean priest were his only allies. In spite of our greater numbers we barely survived the battle. Shale and Aesendal also perished.” Lilian staggered, and almost fainted at the news. I caught her by the shoulder and held her up. She gently pushed me off her, then straightened, looking at Talon, fear floating over her emerald eyes. “What of Gabriel?” She said, very anxious. “Is he with you? Talon and I looked to each other. I was trying to formulate an appropriately delicate response. “Tell me!” Lilian insisted. “He stayed behind.” Talon finally, emotionlessly said. “We tried to stop him, but he would not listen.” I added. “Tell me everything!” She said. “What happened to my brother?” Before we could answer, the Voice and Will of Canaan tapped the floor with his staff. The sound reverberated through the hall. We all turned to him. “Perhaps,” He said in his soft whisper. “you should ask him yourself.” I heard that obfuscated door open and close again, and a moment later, a white robed figure was lead into the chamber flanked by two equally robed nuns. The face of the figure was covered by a cowl. He was clutching a Canaan Cross in his right hand. The two nuns backed away and left the chamber. The figure grabbed hold of the cowl and slowly drew it back. We all gasped when the face was revealed. It was Gabriel. Lilian ran up to him. “I do not understand.” She said, stopping short of embracing him. “They told me you went back to fight the Black Guard.” “They were right.” He said. “Then you defeated him?” She asked, though the timbre of her voice betrayed her realization of the answer. “No.” He said plainly. “I was slain.” “Great Canaan!” I breathed. “What miracles we have witnessed this day!” “His body was found by the nuns in the chapel not an hour before you arrived here.” The Voice and Will told us. “A celestial voice summoned them to the chamber and told them that this one had been chosen by Canaan to return to us, but there was a price to be paid.” “What happened?” Lilian asked. “Talon and Evora were right.” Gabriel began. “They tried to warn me, but I would not listen. I confronted the Black Guard consumed with anger and a thirst for vengeance. The evil knight proved too much of a match for me, and every set back in the melee only fueled my rage to the point where all I could see, all I could feel, all I experienced was raw, unhinged anger. In that state of total wrath and fury, I was felled by his blade.” There was a long silence. Guilt flashed over Lilian’s face. “When you died, where did you go?” I asked, knowing full well the answer. Gabriel did not look at me when he told us. His grip on his Canaan Cross tightened. “I did not reach Canaan’s Heaven.” He said almost inaudibly. Lilian reached out and took his hand. “I have been given a second chance to redeem my soul.” “Glory be to Canaan!” I said. “Your family is doubly blessed!” “From this day forward,” Gabriel told us, “I shall live my life as a Priest of Canaan. I shall endeavor to quench the fires of my rage and pursue a life of peace and penitence.” Lilian broke down into a torrent of tears. Her usually strong demeanor completely evaporated and she fell into her brothers arms. “Blessed be Canaan!” She said between fits of sobs. “Yes, my sister.” Gabriel said, soothingly. “Yes.” Talon, who had remained silent up to now, finally spoke. “It is good that we are all reunited.” He began. “But Shale, who we brought with us, is still dead. What of him?” I turned to the Voice and Will. “We brought a disciple of the Green with us.” I told him. “Is it possible, Your Holiness, that Canaan’s Grace may be bestowed upon him as well?” “I know of Shale’s nature.” He answered me. “And I know of his Master, Baern. It will not be by Canaan that Shale will be returned, but by the power and will of the Green.” Then after a short pause, “And Canaan approves.” “I know where to find Shale’s Master.” Said Talon. “I can lead us there.” “We should go soon.” Said Lilian. “Shale is a good friend and if it be The Green’s will, I would have him back with us.” “I agree.” I said. “But there is something I must do first. And I must do it alone.” Before any of them could protest, I turned back to the Voice and Will. Tanner had taken his hand. “Thank you.” I said to him, swallowing my growing emotion. “You have been most merciful, most kind, most loving. I cannot put into words how grateful we all are for what you have done.” “Evora Faro.” The Voice and Will said, his voice tinged with sadness. “It is not I who has done these things. I am but a vassal for Canaan’s Will, and it is I who should be thanking you.” He looked at Tanner. “Your selflessness and sacrifice has ensured another generation will be blessed with the path to salvation and eternal life. I take my leave of you now and offer you this as my parting words. Do not let your fear or your thirst for knowledge and power delude you. The world is changing and each of you has been chosen to play a great role in ensuring that the change is for the better. May Canaan be with you.” With that, he and Tanner stepped into the pillar of light in the center of the chamber. Something shimmered up the outer edge of the column and the two were gone. ******************************* I left the others at the Great Fane and made my way over to the Curia, to meet with Tagavarius and plead my case. Gabriel wished to sequester himself in the libraries of Soliel. He did not say what he was looking for, but would only say he was curious about something called a Harmonic Concordance. Lilian remained in the Great Fane to pray and meditate on all that had happened. Talon wished to leave the confines of the city for a time and meditate in a surrounding more becoming to his faith. By the hospitality of the Voice and Will of Canaan, Shale’s body was to remain under the care of the temple’s nuns until such time that we left. As I climbed the stairs of the Curia, I was greeted by six Justicars, who fell into position on either side of me. Thus flanked, I was presented to a great assemblage of Arch Bishops and Cardinals of Canaanism. The intellectual and political supreme among the ranks of Canaan’s priests. At their center stood Tagavarius who welcomed my entry with a deep, creased scowl. “The heretic has arrived for trial.” He said. I remained encircled by the Justicars. The proceedings remained eerily quiet. “Evora Faro, you have been accused of heresy.” Tagavarius said with great aplomb. I could not help noticing he was staring just above my eyes. “Your punishment was exile, and yet you return. You brought with you the Exalted Child, and the Curia understands the sacrifices you made to save him. That act alone may have granted you full clemency if it weren’t for the fact that new charges have been brought against you. You have been accused of pursuing the arcane arts without taking the required sacraments and teachings by a sanctioned Urgic practitioner, a crime punishable by the annulment of your ordination. What say you to these charges?” I did not allow a moment’s pause before I answered. “I plead guilty.” I said plainly enough. I saw a look of complete surprise melt over Tagavarius’s face. The rest of the gathering continued their stoic stares. Tagavarius looked back at them, as if to seek support, then turned back toward me. “You understand that in so doing,” Tagavarius said. “That you consent to the lawful and just sentence of your crime.” “I do.” I said. “If the Curia agrees that such a sentence should be carried out, then I have no choice but to consent. I do this in order to protect that one commodity that is most precious to us mortals. Time. We have little to spare these days and a lengthy trial would only compound a growing threat. I believe that the attempt on Tanner’s life was no isolated incident. It is but the first of many horrors to come and I believe that Canaan has a plan for me, and an annulment would do nothing but deny Canaan’s Will.” The silence was finally shattered. The room erupted into calls of blasphemy and my immediate annulment. Others, agreeing with me, called for my immediate acquittal and release. Tagavarius held up a hand. The room fell silent. “You are an arrogant, obstinate, wretch, Evora. Drowning in his own pride and delusions of greatness.” He hissed. “He saved the Exalted Child!” One of the Arch Bishops bellowed. “He is amongst the Chosen of Canaan! Annulling his vows would be a sin against His Almighty!” “Silence!” Tagavarius bellowed in reply. His eyes narrowed to tiny slits as they carved into me. “I see through your treachery, Evora. You seek to tear the Curia apart.” With that I laid down prostrate before them all. “You are right, Tagavarius!” I hollered, through my falling tears. “I am arrogant! I am obstinate! I am a wretch! But I have seen the error of my ways and I come before you humbled and seeking atonement! If it be Canaan’s Will that I be de-frocked for my sins, then there is nothing either myself, the Curia or even the Voice and Will himself can do to stop it! I have learned that I have not the moral, ethical or spiritual fortitude to stay true to the teachings of Canaan while recklessly attempting to be a peripatetic of the Arcane Path. I sought only power and that search corrupted me! I renounce my unchecked thirst for knowledge! Have mercy on me, a pitiful sinner! I do not wish to tear the great Curia asunder! I speak from my heart, flawed and inadequate as it may be!” There was complete silence. It was broken by a soft footfall. I looked up to see Tagavarius staring down at me. His usual stony face mitigated but a breath. “I am surprised at you, Evora.” He said, his voice echoing within the cavernous silence. “I did not expect this from you. I am beginning to believe that there may yet be hope for you, but how I judge you matters little. It is not by my hand that justice shall be dispensed. It is the summation of the whole of the Curia. Justicars!” He waved his hand at the men who surrounded me. They lifted me to my feet. “Take the accused to a holding cell.” Tagavarius continued. “There he shall wait while the Curia deliberates his fate.” I sat alone in my cell for many hours. The others, Lilian, Talon and Gabriel did not know where I went. I chose not to tell them. I did not want them to worry, and if I was to be bereft of my vows and the grace of Canaan, then I wished to do it alone. Selfish, perhaps, but easier in the end. Despite my actions in saving Tanner, a great seed of doubt had sprouted its thorny weeds within me. The dream I had just a few nights ago still haunted me. To see my Lord’s face crumble, and knowing, somehow, His destruction was due to some action or misdeed which I have either already, or someday shall, wittingly, or unwittingly, execute was almost more than I could bear. I tried to meditate and clear my head, but the images of my dream persisted and I achieved no solace. At last Tagavarius appeared before my cell. He was flanked by two Justicars. They parted to give the jailor ample room to open the cell door. “The Curia has reached a verdict, Evora.” Tagavarius said, with a tinge of disappointment. The jailor slid the key into the lock and turned it. The cell door slowly swung open. “You have been acquitted.” Joy leapt from the bottoms of my feet clear up through my head. “On the condition…” Tagavarius continued, obviously sensing my happiness. “That you and your companions leave immediately. Take the body of the druid with you. Uncover the Adversarial plot against Canaan. May Canaan have mercy on your souls.” And thus, I was released. I rendezvoused with Lilian, Talon and Gabriel and having secured Shale’s body to a horse and given the corpse a gentle repose, we left Soliel much as we came, to deafening cheers and joyous praise from an unquantifiable crowd. We were off to the Northeast, toward a place called Wiltangle Forest. It was there, in the midst of its twisting, dense trees that we would find Baern, Shale’s Master. Talon assured us he could lead us to him. Only Baern had the power to return the fallen druid to us. As we rode on, mostly in earnest silence, I could not help but ponder the possibility that the Voice and Will chose to intercede on my behalf in the Curia’s deliberations. It mattered little, but the thought of it gave me great comfort. I realized in that moment the true value of friendship. I clutched my holy symbol. It was still warm. I had not noticed it until then, but as I looked down I saw that it was faintly glowing. What is this boon Tanner had bequeathed to me? Was I deserving of such a gift? I could do no better than to try to prove my worth and find, once again, that I have a friend in Canaan. That He had not abandoned me and that I was, arrogant, obstinate and wretched as I may be, still worthy of His love. [/QUOTE]
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