A matter of Faith

[Ranokan]

- Who goes there!! - he shouts upon seeing an unusual silhouette at the distance.



- It is me... your father.

- My father??

The strange creature approaches him, somehow it was a familiar form, but certainly not someone he would think of a parent.

- Yes my son, I am your father the one you have searched for so long.

- But I have no memory of this, where am I?

Confused he was, before he knew he was in this place and for no reason, no reason at all.

- First things first...

Suddenly, once again he realizes he is in a new place.



A fresh breeze passes through him. It is quiet and only the singing of some birds could be heard. In front of him, a golden tomb. "Gralon Darkfall - Temple Spirit - Taken from us"

- Yes Sauros, it is me, your father. - he heard from the distance.

Slowly some memories started to come to him and he decides to move towards the Holy Temple. The path was abandoned, weeds were covering the buildings and the entrance that was once the great entrance of a gracious Temple was now almost blocked due to the density of vegetation.

- Luna, what a wonderful place we have build. I used to live here.

- We came here in hope to find a safe heaven, away from the troubles that we faced for to many times in Papua. Unfortunately things didn't come as we expected and the black alliance destroyed everything. The Order paid dearly.

While walking towards the sacred Altar, Sauros could feel the emotions rushing, his forgotten love that few would know, the battles fought to keep the final lines of the True Faith, the happiness of the great moments with his Brothers and Sisters.

- Where are they now?

Reaching the Altar, the wind echoed through the cold walls.



- Son... many things have changed since.

Suddenly he was back into the darkness and Sauros was again alone.

- And now?? Where am I??

He tried to get some answers but none came and he was all alone once again.

- For all the years I gave my life for Her, tell me this is not some sort of punishment for I have never let Her down!

- Sauros, this is not Her doing.

- Then tell me how can I get out of here!

[Arden Darkfall]

A few days have passed. His wounds have started to heal but his mind does not rest. Those two words - Find Sauros - haunt every minute of his days. How could he find someone that had died so long ago? And who had left him the scroll?
The importance of such message revealed to him that Sauros might not be dead after all, as it was thought. And so, the days spent resting gained greater weight.

In an attempt to quiet his anxiety, he sat on the porch alongside Esther - curious lady, he thought. She had worked as a healer most of her life in Delucia. When the people and the Order moved to Malas, she settled for a calmer, two story cottage lost in the forest that had belonged to her sister. Here, she continued to help travelers and adventurers in need, keeping her own home as a shrine to many that sought assistance. Such generosity and care for others were not so common these days, unfortunately.

Esther had helped him to get back on his feet without asking a question, which is why her enquiry came as a surprise, when he sat beside her.
"How did you end up here, child?"

He pondered for a moment, and then acceded. Breathing deeply, choosing his words as someone ready to give a long speech, he began:

"My name is Rohan, Vicar of the glorious Order and Her faithful. After we left Papua, we found a new place in Malas. She guided us there, and we prospered. For a while, all went well. But it quickly took a wrong turn. The wrong people stepped into power."

He stopped to regain his breath, and stared her. Esther smiled docilely, as a child being read a story. He then continued:

"Corrupted and greedy, they claimed the Order for their own Kingdom, looking to use Her power for their own bidding. Slowly, Her followers stepped away. Slowly, we felt Her weaker. We felt Her angrier, and we were powerless to counter. Tales of a weeping woman began surfacing all over Malas. A woman that couldn't be touched or spoken to. A woman that vanished into the air. And then..."

His eyes teared up. The events clearly pained him greatly.

"The earth shook. Again and again. We prayed, asked for help, for answers, for guidance. All in vain. Many lives were lost. Cities crumbled. The Kingdom's subjects left. The few of us that remained decided to evacuate the lands. It was at that point that panic crept in. And from all the threats that fell upon Malas and it's people - The Black Alliance, The Kingdom, the earthquakes - the bloodiest and the one that caused the most ruin, was the one inflicted by it's own people. Even Blackthorne refused aid."

"Blackthorne refused to help?" - she asked, caught with surprise.

"Corruption has a way to crumble even the most powerful of states. It destroyed Her hope, Her power, Her allegiances, Her Order. His forces grew weaker and there was no way to know who and what he would be helping this time. And then it happened..."

He shook his head and dried the tears still on his eyes.

"I arrived to the Temple one morning only to find a farewell message from Sauros."



"Sauros believed that the reunion of a pure follower with Her could restore Her faith in the Order, therefore saving Malas from it's eminent destruction. I decided to go after him. I quickly found his trail through the bridge and into the mountains. It lead me to Ford Gravewater, and then I saw it... Most of the city had collapsed into the lake, and I never understood what happened that day. Hundreds of tracks extended in every direction. By foot or horse, empty handed or deeper, heavier prints. It was impossible to find his tracks amidst all that chaos. I never saw him again. Eventually I accepted that he had drowned with that city. Until now... Something else must have happened in there!"