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<blockquote data-quote="Halivar" data-source="post: 1246451" data-attributes="member: 9327">Sebastian sits. &quot;So you know my name,&quot; he says, not altogether surprised, &quot;and you know that I have... had children.&quot; Sebastian thinks to himself, she already knows something, but how much? Does she perhaps have information that will lead me to another Brother? If so, Orshallan may find himself without help. I will not give any of my former Brothers get a head start on me. Sebastian decides that he'd best go along with the priestess, and play the conversation to her full satisfaction. Still, the subject matter is hard and uncomfortable. Nevertheless, the thought of having another fallen Brother of the Olive in his clutches staves off the usual feelings of grief and sadness.&nbsp; &nbsp;&quot;Five years ago, Miranda was, maybe, aged twenty harvests. Beautiful as the rainbow after the spring shower, she was, and more vibrant by far. She was five harvests my junior, and still full of youthful innocence. Our three yearling, Eloise, was a bright sparkle of sunshine. Estefan, our newborn, was remarked by the clerics to have the paladin's call.&quot; All of this Sebastian recalls with a faint smile, as if, by mentioning them, he can breathe life into them anew.&nbsp; &nbsp;&quot;Miranda was raised in the Order of the Rose. It was her favorite plant, and everyday, she would place a great white rose on my coat, right here.&quot; Sebastian, still looking down, absentmindedly fingers the black rose in his left lapel. &quot;Even when she left her order to marry me, she couldn't leave her roses behind. They were... they were... her magic, you see.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp;Sebastian's smile fades, and a look of pallor replaces it. &quot;Things changed when Druvei fell. One day, the whole temple the Order of the Olive worked out of... it disappeared. The building, the grounds, the dirt... all of it, taking Brother Eraithon with it. The other brothers... they changed. They fell with Druvei, I suppose you could say. I tried to save them. I tried to use the Way of the Olive to sway them as I had countless others. They gave me an ultimatum: join them or lose my family.&quot;&nbsp; &nbsp;Sebastian's pallor is replaced by a dark, brooding expression. &quot;I refused. The next time I saw Miranda... she...&quot; Sebastian stops for a moment. &quot;She wasn't the same; they... they did something to her. They changed her. She... she... our children, you see... she...&quot; Sebastian's voice trails off into emptiness. He cannot bring himself to say it. But the images are there, in his mind. Burned into his memory like a brand. Openning the door to his famrhouse, expecting dinner. Instead, he found blood, chaos, and a wife who was dead, but still walked. Sebastian had seen, in his Brothers' handiwork, the true face of real evil, and it was the pitchest-black darkness. His eyes water once more.&nbsp; &nbsp;&quot;No, I am afraid your goddess does not... cannot... watch over my family. They are surely beyond her, for they are damned.&quot; The last word he speaks comes out more as a hoarse whisper.&nbsp; &nbsp; Orshallan be damned, Sebastian thinks darkly, I just want to find another &quot;brother.&quot; I just want a reckoning for what they did. There must be a reckoning!&nbsp;&nbsp;Sebastian, oblivious to his company, trembles with silent rage.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Halivar, post: 1246451, member: 9327"] Sebastian sits. "So you know my name," he says, not altogether surprised, "and you know that I have... had children." Sebastian thinks to himself, [i]she already knows something, but how much? Does she perhaps have information that will lead me to another Brother? If so, Orshallan may find himself without help. I will not give any of my former Brothers get a head start on me.[/i] Sebastian decides that he'd best go along with the priestess, and play the conversation to her full satisfaction. Still, the subject matter is hard and uncomfortable. Nevertheless, the thought of having another fallen Brother of the Olive in his clutches staves off the usual feelings of grief and sadness. "Five years ago, Miranda was, maybe, aged twenty harvests. Beautiful as the rainbow after the spring shower, she was, and more vibrant by far. She was five harvests my junior, and still full of youthful innocence. Our three yearling, Eloise, was a bright sparkle of sunshine. Estefan, our newborn, was remarked by the clerics to have the paladin's call." All of this Sebastian recalls with a faint smile, as if, by mentioning them, he can breathe life into them anew. "Miranda was raised in the Order of the Rose. It was her favorite plant, and everyday, she would place a great white rose on my coat, right here." Sebastian, still looking down, absentmindedly fingers the black rose in his left lapel. "Even when she left her order to marry me, she couldn't leave her roses behind. They were... they were... her magic, you see." Sebastian's smile fades, and a look of pallor replaces it. "Things changed when Druvei fell. One day, the whole temple the Order of the Olive worked out of... it disappeared. The building, the grounds, the dirt... all of it, taking Brother Eraithon with it. The other brothers... they changed. They fell with Druvei, I suppose you could say. I tried to save them. I tried to use the Way of the Olive to sway them as I had countless others. They gave me an ultimatum: join them or lose my family." Sebastian's pallor is replaced by a dark, brooding expression. "I refused. The next time I saw Miranda... she..." Sebastian stops for a moment. "She wasn't the same; they... they did something to her. They changed her. She... she... our children, you see... she..." Sebastian's voice trails off into emptiness. He cannot bring himself to say it. But the images are there, in his mind. Burned into his memory like a brand. Openning the door to his famrhouse, expecting dinner. Instead, he found blood, chaos, and a wife who was dead, but still walked. Sebastian had seen, in his Brothers' handiwork, the true face of real evil, and it was the pitchest-black darkness. His eyes water once more. "No, I am afraid your goddess does not... cannot... watch over my family. They are surely beyond her, for they are damned." The last word he speaks comes out more as a hoarse whisper. [i]Orshallan be damned[/i], Sebastian thinks darkly, [i]I just want to find another "brother." I just want a reckoning for what they did. There [b]must[/b] be a reckoning![/i] Sebastian, oblivious to his company, trembles with silent rage. [/QUOTE]

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