Award Ceremony
The Chromus District, at the centre of Lughana, in the massive church of Lugus, The Radiant.
The hallowed halls of Lugus, the Sun God, was the stronghold of Lugus in the continent of Feimos, where Andreas resided. No man under the sun's grace would be harmed, and the church stayed nigh invincible. The Church, with its spires reaching high up in the sky as reaching out to it in embrace, made for an imposing sight, leaving even the most frequent visitors in awe from time to time, such was its beauty. It radiated a serene aura, which developed over hundreds of years.
In the main hall stood an old man, dressed in white and golden papal robes, his deep set azure eyes, held a gaze sharper than any sword known to man, but still radiated a silent majesty that only few could comprehend. He was the current Pope of Lugus' Church, Helos XIV, the voice of his God on Earth and one of the strongest men alive. Around The pope, sat an audience made up entirely of the clergy of the Sun, who sat in solemn reverence of this man, the representative of their God's will.
The pope swept his gaze across the audience, giving all them his best tidings before turning to the man who knelt in front of him, Andreas of the Sun, Lugus' most favoured Paladin.
"Rise Andreas, Rise my child." The pope said softly, his voice as smooth as oil, as he put his hand on the Paladin's shoulder. "You have shown your worth and stayed true to teachings of our lord." The pope smiled to him, then turning to the audience to continue his speech.
"Let it be known that Andreas has won in the most honourable fashion, in the truest sense has he followed the teachings of lord!" The Pope said as he then gazed towards Andreas' rival who sat in the audience, Herab, The Desert Star, "Herab, my child you fought honourably as well, the best that you could, but alas in the words of our lord; no schemes, no conspiracy and no trickery can hold on when faced with true and absolute strength!" The pope said aloud, and the clergy burst into a sonorous cheer, a hymn to the Sun God.
"Andreas you faced difficulty, the risk of defeat and the notoriety of shame, with piousness in your heart! And the lord rewarded your efforts with victory! Glory be to Lugus! Glory be to the Sun!" The pope exclaimed.
Glory to our Lord! Glory to Lugus! The audience cheered back with zealous fervour as the Pope continued.
"Andreas! Andreas of the Sun, you have and must keep on being true to your moniker, and further the glory of our lord! Today, on this auspicious day, I will award you for your efforts. I shall reward you for the pain and suffering you have endured, and for the concern you have taken to rearing and strengthening the soldiers of our lord! Today Andreas I present you with an opportunity, will you, Andreas, leave your post as a Paladin and join the ranks of The Cardinals? What say you O child of Lugus?" The pope asked Andreas, leaving the paladin dumbstruck, and his eyes wide open in shock!
The entire clergy roared in cheer! It had been too long since the appearance of a New Cardinal, it had been too long since a new star had arisen!
After a long silence, Andreas opened his mouth. Cough! Cough! Andreas cleared his throat before kneeling down again in front of the Pope, before speaking his mind, "Your Eminence, I am honoured by your offer, to be part of the select few to nestle in the bosom of our Lord's grace, but I must refuse, I am but a lowly paladin, a mere sword of our Lord, it is not up to me to guide our future, for my role is only to enact the will our God, and to serve those who voice it." He replied, leaving the entire hall in uproar! The clergy could not believe what they had heard! A man who was willingly denying power, wilfully denying a promotion, along with the benefits that came with it!
Much to everyone's surprise, Pope Helos XIV chuckled in response, not offended by the words of the Paladin, "Andreas, my child, the lord had a feeling that you would speak such words, as such in the eventuality he had instructed me to bestow upon you a spell, would you keep the face of our lord and accept his blessing?" The pope asked, Andreas quickly nodded in approval.
"This spell is unlike any other, it is a runic chant, from the spoils of war from the very vaults of Lugus, it is known as Bali's Embrace! The very rune, used by Bali, an old arcane God of strength that our Lord had vanquished many millennia ago due to his greed! May it serve you better than its creator!" The pope said as he raised his adamantine sceptre in the air, holy light carving a rune out of the very space they stood in itself!
Soon a rune in the shape of an inverted 'J' floated down and merged into Andreas, the paladin buckled and the floor beneath his feet formed a web of tiny cracks as he felt this newfound power surge within him, he felt incredible! This gift his God had bestowed upon him left him with boundless gratitude!
"Such strength!" Andreas thought to himself, he knew that this surge in strength meant only one thing, he was soon to reach the limits to his power as a mortal, ever inching closer to evolution!
Evolution was a mysterious phenomenon, which occurred only in the most powerful of men, who when reached their limits as exemplaries (Mortals with professions; Sword master, Paladin, Wizard etc.) transformed further, specializing and taking on additional forms which enhanced their Abilities better. In Andreas' case, Paladins usually evolved to become Valkyries, fierce fighters who were known to sweep entire battlefields. Evolved ones usually made up the Cardinal force of a Church, the stronger ones even went up to the stage of being Archbishops!
Andreas steeled his gaze, determined to go through the threshold of evolution, he vowed to himself to master his newly bestowed power and bring his battalion to further heights.
Just as the award ceremony was coming to a close, the door snapped open, and a messenger drenched in sweat ran into the main hall of the cathedral, "Your Eminence, apologies for the impudence of this cur, for interrupting this award ceremony, but I bring grave news." the messenger said as he knelt in front of the Pope. The audience grew tense at this development, who'd dare cause a ruckus on this day of their Lord?
Pope Helos XIV, motioned for the messenger to continue, as he gripped his sceptre, the messenger continued, "My Lord, the monarch of the Ankara Empire, has requested reinforcements. The Kingdom of Mages has declared war upon us!"
The entire hall erupted into chaos! The gall of these Wizards! Declaring war in such a manner was quite characteristic of these sly sorcerers! "Filthy Mongrels!" "Curs!" "May they burn for a thousand years!" insults flew across the hall as the clergy's uproar grew in response to the declaration of war.
The Ankara Empire, where Andreas resided, was founded by a fearsome swordmaster, who turned out to be an even more awe inspiring emperor, who swept the lands with his might and swallowed entire city states whole. Rumoured to be the bastard son of Battor himself, Ankara Empire became a veritable holy land for those who dream of sweeping battlefields with their bloodlust.
The Estudal Kingdom, The Kingdom of Mages, was the antithesis of the Ankara. Sorcerers with foresight knew they could not let the swordmaster Ankara control the entire continent, as he would soon set his sight on the world. Chaos would consume the peace gods had fought to attain. Spellcasters united to form this 'kingdom'.
The Ankara Empire, with its obvious lack of spellcasters turned to the Churches to support, who gladly accepted their offer as a way to spread the faith and increase the might of their lord, all they had to do in return was support the empire in times of war by sending reinforcements.
"Your Eminence." Andreas interrupted, "My men and I are ready to be deployed, it is unacceptable that these curs spit on the name of our God, by declaring war in these times of peace, only the destruction of the Estudali shall assuage my anger, only by bathing in the blood of these arcane spellcasters will I regain my calm!" Andreas thumped his chest, raring to go.
The Pope chuckled, "Of course my dear Andreas, our lord's swords are recently sharpened, it would be a shame to leave them sheathed." As his gaze turned to Herab in the audience before he resumed, "Andreas! Herab! I order you in the name of our Lord Lugus, assemble your battalions march on to the battlefield! Reinforcements shall be sent after you!" The pope commanded before dissolving the Award ceremony.