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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rhael" data-source="post: 259183" data-attributes="member: 5269">Player's Perspective (006)A Chance MeetingSince we had been staying at the inn for some time now many of the regulars knew us, and we them, however I had never seen this man before and decided to check it out.I slowly raised myself out of my chair and walked toward the man.  As I neared I could tell that he was a powerfully built man, probably only slightly shorter than my six feet, four inches when standing.  His face had a couple of scars on it and the fact that his hand had not once strayed to the sword at his hip in the time I had been regarding him told me he had worn it for some time.  As I walked toward him, I noticed his focus switch from the group to me.I walked to the bar and stood next to the man.  “Hail and well met, good sir.”“And the same to you, young warrior.”“I couldn’t help but notice you watching us.”“Yes, I was intrigued by the symbols of Hieroneous you and your young friend had on your armour when you walked in.”  He waved a hand in Terjon’s direction.  “One does not come across such blatant advertisements of faith very often these days.”I was surprised.  Few people still believe in the gods, fewer still would call themselves followers of a god, and fewer still would actually recognise the symbol of Hieroneous for what it is.“Y- Yes.”  I stammered, slightly.  “My name is Rhael Everard, Ranger and my friend over there is Terjon, Paladin of Hieroneous. ““Good to meet you, Rhael.  My name is Tremeslear, Knight of the Chalice.  It is heartening to see that two men as young as yourselves have the faith required.  I am a follower of Pelor myself.”I nodded, familiar with the deity from my study of the religions under mine and Terjon’s, Antoral, a Paladin of Hieroneous.“I too, am happy to meet a man of religion.  What did you say you are?  A Knight of the Chalice?  I am sorry to say this, but I have never heard of your order.”“Do not be sorry, Rhael.  There are not many in our order, and very few would have heard of us.  We do not keep permanent headquarters or seek to advertise our presence in this world.”“What is it that your Order seeks to achieve?”Tremeslear lowered his voice.  “Our primary purpose is to combat demons and drive them from this world.”  This statement hit me like a maul in the face.  I was stunned.  Since a very young age, I had been studying the history of this world and based on this learning as well as the teaching of Antoral, I had developed a distaste for demons.  This lead me to spend a great deal of time studying the other planes.  I was stunned, elated, excited and relieved all at the same time.  I had to take a moment to stop myself from gushing like a thirteen-year-old girl.“Demons.”  I repeated quietly.  Letting the excitement show on my face, but careful not to talk too loudly – the general populace do not like hearing the ‘D’ word.  “Tremeslear, I have devoted a great deal of my life to learning about demons and how to combat them!  Knowing there is a group of people devoted to the same cause warms my heart no end.”“Rhael, it is very possible that you would fit in well with our order,”  An image flashed across my mind of my kneeling before a white-clad knight, “but I fear that you are not ready yet.”  My face fell, just a little.  “The Knighthood requires a level of ability in combat I feel you have probably not reached.  Tell me, young Ranger, do you  have the ability to channel the divine power of Hieroneous?”“No.”“A demonstration of a least a rudimentary ability in this regard is another pre-requisite of any individual petitioning for entry to our order.  You will have to train as a cleric, perhaps your paladin friend will be able to instruct you in this regard.”“Oh.”“Furthermore, you must pass tests relating to knowledge of religion and the planes, you must have defeated a demon in combat, you must own a set of enchanted full plate armour and we have a strict moral code, similar to that of a paladin that includes a vow of chastity.”I pondered this for a moment.  I had no idea where I would find a demon or a set of magical plate armour.  The vow of chastity wasn’t an issue, because I didn’t get much tail anyway, and I was confident I could pass their tests of knowledge.  I steeled myself.“Tremeslear,” I began.  “I will devote as long as it takes to meet these requirements and then I will petition for entry to the Knights of the Chalice.”“That is heartening to hear, Rhael, and I look forward to the day you begin your training.”I had more questions.  So many more.“I know there are demons in the world, and they are fairly ubiquitous, but where does the Order fight most of it’s battles?”“There are two kingdoms, far to the west of hear which you may have heard of: Kadrendorst and Menria?”  I shook my head, indicating I had not heard of them.  Tremeslear continued.  “They are currently fighting over an area of land called the Norwald Egress.  Now, both of these kingdoms are self-serving in their purpose, and the Order holds no political alliance with either, but Kadrendorst regularly uses demons as troops in their battles.”  My eyes widened at this news.  “Yes.  I imagine this news would alarm most people.  Anyway, as a result of this, the Order finds itself nominally allied with Menria, but only by virtue of the fact that we oppose the demons and Kadrendorst’s use of them.”“If the battle is in the west, what are you doing in Taureth?”“I have been on campaign for a number of years.  I am travelling to the east to see my family.”We chatted for sometime regarding the political machinations of the area, the philosophical reasons behind the battles in the west as well as other smaller matters before Tremeslear, citing tiredness, announced he was heading to bed.“I am planning to be back in Taureth in about a year, but if you wish to attempt to get a message to me, there is a temple to the road god near the outskirts of town.  The priests there may know how to contact me.  Goodnight, Rhael.  And good luck.”“And to you, sir knight.”I shook Tremeslear’s hand before he headed up the stairs to where the rooms were.I sat at the bar, in silence for some time, pondering the conversation.  I now had a purpose in my life.  I would become a Knight of the Chalice and devote my life to combating demons.I stepped off the barstool and headed back to my companions.  I resumed my seat next to Terjon and tapped him on the shoulder.“Terjon.”“Yesth.”  It would appear that Terjon had had a couple more ales than he usually did, his condition was nothing compared to some of the others.  Entarsis appeared to be asleep and Chade was having difficulty keeping his neck straight.“I want you to teach me how to be a cleric.”“Sure.  No problems.”</blockquote>

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