“Mayaheine, how fares your quest?”
“Slowly my lord, but I have faith in its inevitable triumph.”
Mayaheine turned from the image before her to see Pelor approach.
“I see you have only chosen one champion for the task. Do you truly feel it will be sufficient? The destruction of Tharizdun will require your servants reaching his prime altar, shouldn’t you send more forces, or at least a mightier champion?”
“Conlin is a special case my lord. While it is true he is not the mightiest of my followers, it is also true that I am new to the realm of godhood, and only here through your magnificence. My band of followers is yet small and I have not gathered to me any champion so mighty as to be able to tackle Tharizdun’s forces alone.”
“All the more reason to summon many of your followers to the cause.”
“I love my followers dearly milord, and I have faith in their virtue and courage but two things concern me: The first, by sending too large a concentration of my worship into his lair I make myself vulnerable to having them destroyed all at once and allowing Tharizdun to move from the defensive to the offence and possibly destroy me. Secondly, my followers are true to my ideals and beliefs and as such are comprised entirely of clerics and paladins. I am certain there will be challenges within requiring a range of skills my followers don’t possess.”
“So why this young man then? Why not your greatest paladin and a troop of fellows from like minded religions?”
“Respectfully my lord, the quest is mine to take up and to request of others help from their faithful does not feel true to what I have been commanded.”
“Yet Conlin travels with others. Others who do not choose your worship. Are you not violating your own beliefs?”
“I do not believe so my lord. Conlin draws the friends to him, it is a part of why I chose him. Something about the young man inspires others, binds them to him with a fierce loyalty. They volunteer not to aid his goddess in a mission but to simply stand by him through all kinds of horror. Such is their love for him and each other that never do they turn away from him no matter what the horrors they face. It is his ability to inspire and continue to inspire loyalty that gave me first reason to consider him.”
“What then served as further reason?”
“In truth, a selfish one my lord. I spent my life answering the call of the paladin. No greater love have I than for one who can stay true to the path of paladin hood. My fear though, was that the challenges of Tharizdun would prove more than a paladin could overcome alone. More than a priest could handle. Only by serving me both as a priest and still remaining true to his paladinhood can Conlin hope to overcome the forces of Tharizdun.”
“I leave you to your work then. You have my blessing. I hope your faith in your champion is well placed, it is not every day a goddess gets to increase her standing among her peers. If you fail to topple Tharizdun, your day will not come.”
Mayaheine bowed low as Pelor left her hall. Once more she turned to the image before her, that of her champion probing ever deeper into Tharizdun’s lair. If only he could learn to have faith in himself, there would be no end to what he would achieve. Surrounded as he was by such true and able friends, he was poised to change the world.
“Slowly my lord, but I have faith in its inevitable triumph.”
Mayaheine turned from the image before her to see Pelor approach.
“I see you have only chosen one champion for the task. Do you truly feel it will be sufficient? The destruction of Tharizdun will require your servants reaching his prime altar, shouldn’t you send more forces, or at least a mightier champion?”
“Conlin is a special case my lord. While it is true he is not the mightiest of my followers, it is also true that I am new to the realm of godhood, and only here through your magnificence. My band of followers is yet small and I have not gathered to me any champion so mighty as to be able to tackle Tharizdun’s forces alone.”
“All the more reason to summon many of your followers to the cause.”
“I love my followers dearly milord, and I have faith in their virtue and courage but two things concern me: The first, by sending too large a concentration of my worship into his lair I make myself vulnerable to having them destroyed all at once and allowing Tharizdun to move from the defensive to the offence and possibly destroy me. Secondly, my followers are true to my ideals and beliefs and as such are comprised entirely of clerics and paladins. I am certain there will be challenges within requiring a range of skills my followers don’t possess.”
“So why this young man then? Why not your greatest paladin and a troop of fellows from like minded religions?”
“Respectfully my lord, the quest is mine to take up and to request of others help from their faithful does not feel true to what I have been commanded.”
“Yet Conlin travels with others. Others who do not choose your worship. Are you not violating your own beliefs?”
“I do not believe so my lord. Conlin draws the friends to him, it is a part of why I chose him. Something about the young man inspires others, binds them to him with a fierce loyalty. They volunteer not to aid his goddess in a mission but to simply stand by him through all kinds of horror. Such is their love for him and each other that never do they turn away from him no matter what the horrors they face. It is his ability to inspire and continue to inspire loyalty that gave me first reason to consider him.”
“What then served as further reason?”
“In truth, a selfish one my lord. I spent my life answering the call of the paladin. No greater love have I than for one who can stay true to the path of paladin hood. My fear though, was that the challenges of Tharizdun would prove more than a paladin could overcome alone. More than a priest could handle. Only by serving me both as a priest and still remaining true to his paladinhood can Conlin hope to overcome the forces of Tharizdun.”
“I leave you to your work then. You have my blessing. I hope your faith in your champion is well placed, it is not every day a goddess gets to increase her standing among her peers. If you fail to topple Tharizdun, your day will not come.”
Mayaheine bowed low as Pelor left her hall. Once more she turned to the image before her, that of her champion probing ever deeper into Tharizdun’s lair. If only he could learn to have faith in himself, there would be no end to what he would achieve. Surrounded as he was by such true and able friends, he was poised to change the world.
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Really good update, by the way.
