The Great Library of Palanthas

An Aesthetic shows you to a small reading room.

Stories of Ansalon from the view of Railen.

A little gully dwarf runs by and says 'Wordwrap is at 65. You change? Off 65 80.'
The gully continues 'Eyes hurt? Turn Color OFF!! (regular story dates)

Astinus says 'Enter the main library here to view only the author list.'
Astinus gently places a small leaflet on the table in front of you.
You note the spine bears the word 'Railen' scribed in glowing brown ink.


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Sat Oct 14 11:45:14 2006
Subject  My Background

The clash of steel on steel rings out through the hall, as a 17
year old
Railen practices his own style of swordsmanship. The other, a man
about 40
years old and a "supposed" Master Swordsmen, was "supposed" to be
training
Young Railen.

But Railen is a prodigy and quickly becomes a better swordsmen,
and on to form
his own style.

His specially made weapon, An almost Plain looking sword that was
easily as
long as Railen is tall, with a blade width of about a foot. It
had a plain
black wire bound leather hilt and a large ring on the pommel.

The Blade was forged from Mithril, extremely light and extremely
strong. So
even at his young age, he could use it to its full extent.
Feinting and
parrying, he soon disarms the man and kicks him square in the
chest sending
him to the floor.

Chuckling to himself, Railen slides the sword into its specially
made sheath
which right now hangs on a wall. "Be gone old man..and inform
my mother I'll
be leaving soon."

He was the bastard son of a rich noble woman, His Father unknown.
He was an
arrogant youth, but he was good enough to be arrogant. He walks
to his room,
and changes clothes and walks back to the training room.

He draws his sword and gently lays it on a table and grabs its
sheath. He
slings it over his left shoulder, and runs a belt around his
waist. Shrugging
a few times he gets the sheath situated and picks up his sword,
just as his
mother walks solemly into the room.

"You will leave me too?" She asks, tears in her eyes. Railen
reverses the
sword and slides it into the sheath, which is on his lower back
at an angle.
"Yes Mother I must. I have to find him..find out who he is."

She sighs and looks at him gravely. "His name is Saige..He's
a Lord Priest
in the Knights of Takhisis. Seek him there."  She turns and
leaves the room.
"Be well Mother."  he says walking to the stables.

Saddling his black horse, he climbs into the saddle and walks
from his mothers
estate. The Estate was in neraka, so he hadn't walked far before
he came
across some knights of Takhisis.

"You there, Sir Knight Have you the need for a good sword?"
The old
veteran chuckles at Railen. "You boy? Ye hardly but a babe,
Surely  you'd be
more suited fer knitting."

Railen dismounts and stands face to face with the old knight.
"What was that
old timer?" He says as he lays his hand on the hilt of his
massive sword.
"No need to get testy Boy, I'm only jesting."

"There's an Officer o'er there." The veteran points to a
building and glares
at Railen lightly. "Thanks." Railen says dryly, and walks
toward the
building. He knocks on the door, and vanishes inside.

Thus ends this story so far, An Aspiring Knight-to-be further
searches for
his Father.

(Yeah..sorry folks...it kinda sucks but....)


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Mon Nov 20 10:17:38 2006
Subject  Changing paths Part 2:The reason why.

Screams and the smell of blood and smoke floated through the
night. 
People ran, screaming in fear of the "Cleansing Fires".  What was
once a
peaceful village, was now a burning Hell.  The last Building, A
small wooden
temple was all that stood.  Railen chuckles as he strides toward
it.  A few
villagers are inside, trying to fend off the knight, but are no
match for
his skill and his massive sword.  Killing them easily, he spots
one last
person, wearing a white robe, with the hood up hiding her face. 
With an
evil Laugh he plunges the sword into the woman's chest.  Only to
gasp in
horror as the hood falls back, revealing his mother.  "Mo.. 
Mother!  What
are you doing here!?  You were in Neraka!"  She slides off the
blade, and
falls to the ground, Dead.  Falling to his knees, he drops the
sword, and
stares in horror at what he had just done.  "No..  What have I
done!?"  He
says balling his fists up.  "You!  You made me do this!"  He
growls and
grabs his sword, jumping to his feet.  "Dark Queen!  How could
you of!?"  He
shouts and wipes his face, and stumbles out of the temple, that
had caught
some embers from other fires and was catching on fire its self. 
"Rust.. 
Lets get out of here.."  He says as he climbers onto the dragons
back. 
"Take me to Palanthas..  We have new business to attend to."  The
dragon
nods and leaps into the air, its great wings carrying them both
to
Palanthas, and landing in some trees some ways away.  Railen
slides off the
dragons neck and walks along its long neck.  "I leave you Here
Rust.."  "Go
back to Neraka..  Tell them I've died."  His voice grim.  "Tell
them Also.. 
They've made a new enemy.  Go now Rust, Fly well."  The dragon
looks
quizzically at Railen then shrugs, and turns, leaping back into
the air,
flying off.  


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Mon Nov 20 10:18:56 2006
Subject  Changing Paths.



Railen watched as the Red dragon Rust flew away.  "Be Well
Rust."  He
mummers and turns, walking slowly through the trees, toward the
great city
of Palanthas.  He wore his usual silver plate armor, green under
clothing,
and his massive sword, but instead of a black poncho he wore a
grey one.  He
walks slowly, his head bowed as he enters the gates.  His blond
hair hung
down over his face, hiding the pained expression.  He was leaving
what he
was raised to believe in, for something Better.  He was leaving
the Evil
Knights of Takhisis, and joining the Noble Solamnic Knights
Sighing gently
he reaches under the poncho and pulls out a charmed necklace, and
yanks it
off his neck.  "I Banish thee from mine heart."  He says
looking at the five
headed dragon charm.  "I Follow Noble Kiri now."  He says as
he gives the
golden charm to a beggar.  Nodding, he continues on down the
street, before
stopping in front of a Large building.  He knocks on the door,
and steps
inside when it opens.  Here ends this Story..  A young Railen,
Seeking a
new, better life.  


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Mon Jan  8 10:37:47 2007
Subject     The Cursed Eye.

Lightning flashed outside, as a young knight stumbled down the
halls of the
Solamnic Keep in Palanthas. Tears stung at his eyes and his hand
was pressed
against a glowing Red eye. His left eye had been lost in a fight
against a
great red dragon.

The Dragon could have killed him..but he did not. Joining the
Evil Knights of
Takhisis, They decided to give him a magic eye so that he could
better serve.

It was a normal eye in all sense, was taken from a dead knight,
and implanted
into the empty socket.

Groaning inward in pain, he reaches his destination, The Chapel
of Paladine.
There, a young woman, who looked very much like an angel to him
at the time.
He staggered toward her then falls to his knees.

It feel as if his brain was going to explode.

The eye, which was slowly driving him mad, flared as he talked to
Aramynia. He
told her what was happening..and what would happen in the end.

Gently she laid her hand against his head and spoke words of
magic, and put
him into a deep, magical sleep.

When he awoke, he was in a room, with Aramynia and an old cleric
he never met.
As soon as his eyes opened, the madness came back.

Both Aramynia and the cleric try to sooth the madness..just push
it aside for
a moment, but even as they try, they fail.

The madnessslowly over powering him..but Then The Lady and the
cleric join
their powers, which overcome the madness and banish it..if only
for a few
moments.

Falling to his knees, Railen can hardly see..nor walk. The cleric
Faces him
with a number of choices.

One..was to remove the eye..and with it the madness. Another, To
banish Railen
completely..and the Third, to pray to the Truimverate, to see if
they would
bless him with a cure.

He prayed..mostly to calm him self then to seek a cure from the
gods.

For he had made up his mind already. Calming his mind and soul,
he stands, and
leaves the chapel, seeking Aramynia. He found her in her room.
Knocking
gently, he enters and tells her He is ready.

Grimly she leads him to the surgical room, and gives him a
potion.

"Drink this.." She says, and he takes the cork out and downs it.
He is knocked
out before the last of it even got into him. Aramynia begins to
surgically
remove his left eye. It took her some timebut soon she was done.

With the cursed eye out and destroyed, she waited.

Railen wakes  some time later, sitting bolt up right in the cot.
He had been
out for two days.

Shaking his head groggily He get down off the cot and falls to a
knee before
Aramynia as she enters the room. "My thanks to you Lady..I could
not have done
it without you."

She smiles, and hands him a black leather Eye patch, with his
family crest, A
Hawk with its wings flared with a s pear in its talons.

He stands, and puts the eye patch over his left eye socket, then
they both
walk from the Room and down the hall, where a Squire finds Railen
and Tells
him Lord Galadir wishes to speak to him.

To be continued...


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Tue Jan 16 11:23:10 2007
Subject     Searching for Information.

Walking slowly thru the streets of Palanthas, Railen wore plain
clothing, a
Chainmail shirt and a silver-hilted broadsword.  He Decided
against flaunting
his rank with his armor, Hoping he could get more information as
a normal
passerby.  He was out searching for corroboration for a rather
delicate
matter.  Lord Godric Supposedly healed two Knights of Takhisis,
Who had been
badly beaten by two sailors for unknown reasons.  Railen was sent
to
investigate.  From what little he had so far, He knew that the
fight had been
between Two men from the Orlouge, Two Knights of Takhisis, And
supposedly a
red robe mage that was aboard the Orlouge.  But then again.. He
couldnt be
sure yet.  Sighing wirily turns into the harbor, hopeing to shed
some more
light on what happened.  Shifting under his grey cloak, he starts
to ask
around, for the Orlouge.


"An' dats it right'n good sur."  A fisherman says pointing to
a ship.


"Thank you, Neighbor."   Railen says handing the fishermen a
few coins and
turns to look at the ship the fishermen pointed at.  Smiling
slightly to
himself he starts toward it.


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Wed Feb  7 14:11:28 2007
Subject     Nightmares.

That night, death flew on Red Wings.  It soared high above,
screeching
its sound of death.  The villagers fled for their lives, running
from the
fiery death from above.  The Death of course, was a Huge Red
Dragon, with a
rider who wields a great Zweihander Sword.  The Dragon bellows
its plume of
fiery death, killing any and everything.  Death.....  Nothing But
Death.... 
Waking suddenly, Railen sits bolt up right in his bed.  He was
sweating, and
his head was throbbing.  Taking a shuddering breath, he stands up
out of his
bed and pulls on his pants and a loose, white long sleeve shirt
and his
boots.  He Buckles his sword belt on, mostly out of habit and at
last slides
the soft leather eye patch over his left eye.  Sighing, he leaves
his room
and walks quietly down the corridors of the Solamnic keep, moving
toward the
Chapel.  He enters and walks down the isle, before dropping to
both knees
before the alter, his head bowed and he starts to pray silently. 
He spends
the rest of the night there, under the protection of the
Triumervate,
praying.  When morning comes, he sighs and walks back to his
room, so that
he can put his armor on and start the day.  He walks to his
office and jots
down an order.  "Squire, Take this to the Captains.  I want
Double the
patrols.  No more Knights of Takhisis are to get into Palanthas."
 The
Squire salutes and goes about his orders.  Shaking his head,
Railen goes
back into his office and starts to read the reports, sipping at a
cup of
tea.  

Author:    Railen         
Date:      Fri Feb  9 10:20:06 2007
Subject     Nightmares: Part two.

Torches light the dark, deserted streets of Palanthas.  A lone
man walks
slowly toward a torch lit square.  The figure, a man, a knight is
wearing a
pristine white tabard, over a chain-mail shirt.  There is a
spaulder on his
right shoulder and a pauldron on his left.  His tabard was belted
at the
waist, and a silver hilted broad sword hung off his left hip. 
Long blonde
hair caresses the broad shoulders of this knight, and an eye
patch covered
his left eye.  Blinking slowly, the knight looks around the dimly
lit square
that he now stood in, the hairs on the back of his neck standing
on end. 
The ground before hum suddenly explodes and he is hurled to the
ground. 
Rolling to his feet, he draws his sword and shakes his head
dizzily, trying
to look through the cloud of dust.  He could hear something,
something
familiar.  Suddenly, the night sky is lit with a plume of flame
and great
wings start to flap, pushing the dust away.  Revealing a Great
Red Dragon. 
The sound he had heard, was the sound of scale rubbing against
scale, and
the deep growl of the dragon.  Fighting the Dragon Fear, The
knight grips
his sword tighter in his hand, holding the blade in front of him.
 The
dragon looks down at the knight, mocking him by tapping a claw in
the broken
bricks of the street.  "Be gone foul Beast!"  The knight shouts. 
The
Dragon, tilting its head replies with its deadly breath of fire. 
The plume
of flames envelopes the knight, incinerating him, armor and all. 



Fire...  Death...  Nothing but Death...  


Railen wakes suddenly, rolling out of bed, his sword already in
hand, its
scabbard on the floor.  He kept it by the head of his bed.  His
head
throbbed painfully, his eye was wild and his skin burned.  It was
another
nightmare..  So real it was as if he could still feel the Dragons
Deadly
Fire.  He once again pulls on his pants, shirt and boots, and
goes seeking
sanctuary in the chapel.  He forgets his scabbard, but carries
his sword
gripped so tightly in his hand his knuckles were white.  He walks
in a daze,
his breath comes to him in shuddering gasps, and tears run freely
from his
right eye.  His left, being an empty hole, left open to all.  He
had
forgotten his eye patch too.  Entering the Sanctity of the
Chapel, he once
again falls to his knees before the three alters, laying his
sword gently on
the ground in front of him.  "Gods Protect Me."  He says Quietly,
Praying
not only to His God Kiri, but to all three gods of the
Triumverate.  To
Kiri-Jolith, Habbauk, and also Paladine.  The night drags on and
Railen
doesn't move from that spot.  Feeling safe in this Sanctuary. 
Tears stream
down his cheek most of the night, its not until early morning
when a brother
Knight comes to find him that they stop.  Assigning a captain in
charge, he
doesn't leave the Chapel that day.  He moves, only to get out of
the way of
the priests who were making their sermons.  His ears are deaf to
those
around him, His eye opens but it is blind to his brothers and
sister that
walk through the chapel.  He simply kneels there, silently,
praying the
Triumverate to protect his sleep.  One of the priests inform him
that it is
dark out, and he nods.  Finally standing.  "Thank you Brother." 
He says
quietly and goes to his room.  He goes not to sleep, but to get
his armor. 
Sighing, he dons his armor, putting on not his white tabard, but
a grey one
that he uses to train in.  Grabbing a torch off the wall, he
walks quietly
into the training field, and trains most of the night while his
brothers and
sisters sleep.  The next morning, he is found passed out from
exhaustion on
the training field.  Two of his Brothers carry him back to his
room, remove
his armor and lay him in bed, then stand guard at his door, not
letting
anyone disturb him.  Their reason being, "Lord Railen is
sleeping.  He
trained, all night so far as we can tell, until his body was
exhausted.  He
is one of our best Knights, and today he rests."  And with that
said, they
denied all entrance to the exhausted, sleeping man.  

His dreams, were not of dieing by dragon's fire, nor of killing.
They
were peaceful for once. He was sitting by a pond fishing. Smiling
in his
sleep, he rolls over and sleeps fitfully and happily...for now...



Author:    Railen         
Date:      Tue Feb 13 09:50:17 2007
Subject     Dreams(part1)

The Battle was fierce.  Swords clashed and dead bodies littered
the
ground.  Blood soaked through cracks of the tightly blocks that
made the
road, great puddles of the warm red substance steamed in the cool
night air.
The battle, one man, a single knight, against a nightmarish army
of
countless others.  The knight was covered in blood, the blood of
the many
that lay dead before him.  The bodies lay in heaps around him. 
He fought,
not for him self, not for his life, but for the lives of the many
people
that lived in Palanthas.  He fought to protect every woman, every
child,
every person he never met, and would probably never will meet. 
His sword
glows with a blue nimbus, and some would say that he too had a
nimbus.  Not
a blue one mind you, but a pale grey, almost white.  The pale
aura only
intensified his actions, making his movements blur together.  The
evil, a
vast sea of evil, was coming at this knight more and more, over
powering him
little by little.  He was forced to give ground and to fight
harder and
harder, becoming more and more tired.  Slipping in the blood, the
knight
falls to the ground, the look of death in his eyes.  He knew he
was going to
die, he could feel.  Hitting the ground, He lays on his back,
waiting to
feel the sharp bite of death sink into him.  Two new pair of feet
appear at
his shoulders, blocking the many weapons that were thrust at the
downed
knight with their swords.  Pushing the crowd of evil back, one of
the new
figures turn, Her eyes soft as she reaches down and grabs her
downed friend
by his shoulder.  Feeling a hand on his other shoulder, he turns
his head
and looks at the man.  "One man, one woman..  Could it be?"  He
thinks to
himself, before getting pulled to his feet.  "You don't think
we'd let you
have all the fun do you!"  The man shouts over the roar of the
evil,
gripping his sword in his hand.  "Come Railen, led us to battle!"
 The woman
says, lifting her beautiful face proudly.  "Lanfer...  Aramynia..
 Wha.." 
The knight shakes his head and regrips his sword.  "For the
People!"  He
shouts and charges into the evil, his two closest friends on
either side of
him.  

Life and Death...  Now there is both.  

Waking, Railen sits up in bed, his head doesn't hurt, his skin
doesn't burn,
and he doesn't feel as if the evil had won.  It feels as if the
good has won
inside him.  He smiles lightly and stands, looking out his
window.  It had
to be past midnight and most of his brothers and sisters slept. 
Only those
who were either on patrol or on guard was awake.  Donning his
armor, he
walks slowly to the stables and saddles his black warhorse, Skull
Bucket. 
Leaving the Keep, he mounts and rides slowly through the streets.
 He rides
through out the city, down each street, to each city gate.  A few
of the
knights that guard the gates had fallen asleep, and after a few
words, they
are sent back to the Keep to be further punished in the morning. 
That
night, the city slept peacefully, most likely not because of
Railen roaming
the streets, But he didn't care.  He couldn't sleep, so he wanted
to make
sure the citizens of Palanthas could sleep peacefully.  This was
his home
now, he thought to himself and he would protect both the city
walls and the
people who live within them.  He returns to the keep, just as the
sun rises
into the sky.  He leads his horse into the stables of the keep
and unsaddles
him.  Getting a handful of hay, Railen rubs the broad shoulders
and back of
his horse.  Skull Bucket looks back at Railen with tired yet
grateful eyes. 
"Thank you my friend."  Railen whispers scratching the horse's
ear.  He
smiles and starts to leave, but stops and pours some feed into
the feeder
for Skull Bucket.  Leaving the stables, he goes back into the
keep and up to
the battlements that surmount the walls.  Standing there, he
looks over the
sleepy city as the first ways of light from the sun start to hit
it. 
Yawning, he shakes his head and blinks, watching the once
peaceful city
streets become busy with merchants and workers.  

Nodding to himself, he walks back down the stairs toward his
office,
ready to get to work on the stacks of paper work that had piled
up the
past three days.

He loved being a knight, he was born to be one. But he hated the
paperwork.

Author:    Railen         
Date:      Wed Feb 21 10:10:31 2007
Subject     The fight withen.

Railen sits alone atop the moon-lit battle mends of the Keep. 
The gold mantle
that he had recently been given rests heavily on his shoulders. 
He sighs to
himself, looking up at the two moons, Solinari the white moon and
Lunitari the
red moon.  What had he done?  Why did he deserve the Gold Mantle
of the Lord
High Warrior?  He wears it, the shining gold over his armor.  He
had stayed
away from gold or silver when he ordered the armor, so the mantle
was in great
contrast with his plain steel armor.

He was the leader of the Knights of the Crown, Protector of
Palanthas. 
Protector of all Solamnia.  Could he do it?  Could he protect the
lands of
Solamnia?  The lives of many...

No countless people depend on his leadership.  How could he give
those
countless people his all when it felt like he was fighting a
losing battle
inside himself?  Most nights, his sleep was plagued with horrific
nightmares,
other nights, he couldn't even sleep.  He hid it of course. 
Covering the
sleeplessness with black larak and not telling anyone about the
nightmares. 
His mind reeled, he could hardly function.  He needed help..  But
didn't know
who he could go to.  He couldn't go to Aramynia, he had asked so
much of her
already and felt as if he couldn't ask for more. She was finally
somewhat
happy because Lanfer had returned and he didn't want to trouble
her with his
problems.  Lanfer was also out of the question for the same
reason as
Aramynia.

Who then?  He wondered to him self.  The gods maybe?  The
Triumvirate?  But
who was he to ask the Triumvirate to help him in this, His own
problem?  He
was nothing but a knight, at least in his own eyes.  Anyone who
looked at him
from the outside would say he is The Lord High Warrior.  He was,
but in his
heart he was but a mere knight.

A knight that could hardly wield his broadsword properly, because
of years of
wielding his massive Zweihander made it hard for him to learn the
new
technique.  He only recently acquired his broadsword.  Sometimes
he longed for
his old sword, the familiar weight of it that he had grown
accustomed to and
had build his muscles to wield.  The intimidating effect of it. 
Oh how he
longed to have it back.

"No!"  He says aloud, shaking his head.  That is not who he is
anymore.  That
is not his way.  Now more than ever he needed someone...  Anyone.
 The
darkness that had been suppressed by the kindness of Aramynia, he
now fought
with it daily.  He fought with all his might, with all his soul. 
But his soul
was torn.  In his heart, he knew this is where he belonged.  But
something,
something deep down inside him felt like it was pulling him back
into the
darkness.  He did not want that.  He did not want to go back to
the darkness,
but the darkness wanted him.  Sighing, he stands and looks out at
the night
covered city he calls home.

The knighthood of the Crown, his brother and sister knights
depended on him.
The people of Palanthas depended on him.  All of Solamnia
depended on him.
What was he to do?  There was a war coming, he felt it.  How
could he do what
everyone needed of him in the shape he is in?  He couldn't, plain
and simple. 
Leaning on the edge of the wall, he looks up at the sky.  The
moons were gone,
and the sun poked over the horizon.  Closing his eyes he thinks
to him self. 
Who could he seek?  Who would help him?  Shaking his head, he
opens his eyes
and starts toward the stone steps.

"Another sleepless night."  He mutters to himself, as he walks
down the steps
and toward his office.  He enters his office and opens a drawer
in his desk,
pulling out the last bit of the Black Larak.  Eating the sweet
root, he sits
down behind his desk and starts to write a note.  Well two notes,
One to Lord
Cormac and another to the order of the Crown.  He calls in a
page, and hands
the note that was for Cormac to him.  The page nods and leaves
the room.  He
holds the other one, until he hears back from Cormac.  Rubbing
the side of his
face, he goes about his day as normal, doing paper work,
overseeing the
training of Crown squires, the usual.  

Author:    Railen         
Date:      Wed Feb 28 16:28:13 2007
Subject     [FWD] A Quest:Leaving the Keep.

[FWD Note] - [112] Railen: A Quest:Leaving the Keep.
[FWD Date] - Wed Feb 28 14:09:25 2007
[FWD To  ] - all [Original to:] Solamnic
[FWD List] - story


With the cover of night, Railen rolls of his bead and quietly
dons his
armor.  Instead of his normal pristine white tabard, he pulls on
a plain
grey one instead, belting it at the waist with his sword-belt. 
He looks at
the golden mantle that rests on his armor rack and shakes his
head, thinking
it would only draw unwanted attention.  He pulls on his grey
cloak, wrapping
it tightly around him to muffle the sound of his armor and leaves
his room,
walking slowly down the hall.  Pulling the hood up on his cloak,
he enters
the stables and saddles his great roan of a horse.  "Sorry to
wake you my
friend..  But we must go."  He whispers in reply to the horses
look.  Railen
leads SkullBucket out of the keep and mounts him in the street. 
He rides
slowly toward the south gate, his hood hiding his face.  "This is
the Only
way."  He mutters to himself, as he passes the gates and nudges
Skull into a
gallop.  The run for a few hours, and then Railen slows, and
leaves the
road.  He rides slowly until he's well away from the road sets up
camp.  He
doesn't build a fire "Don't worry mine brothers and sisters, I
shall Return
as soon as the Truimvirate sees it fit for me."  He says to him
self, and as
a pledge to the Knighthood, they might not be able to hear it,
but a pledge
never the less.  He moves into his tent and removes his armor. 
Laying down,
he puts his sword close at hand and sighs, before drifting into
sleep.  A
breeze of wind blows into the tent, on rolling the map.  Upon its
surface, a
line had been drawn, marking the way he would take.  It started
at Palanthas
and ended at Neraka.  

Author:    Railen         
Date:      Sat Apr 14 06:56:34 2007
Subject     The Arrival

Days had passed since He had left Palanthas on that dark night. 
Six to
be exact.  Each night, the nightmares returned..  Each night they
grew
worse.  He decided to give up on sleep...  Atleast until he had
gotten what
he thought would help.  That morning, on the sixth day, it
started to rain. 
After he broke camp, what little camp he had, he mounts his big
roan horse
nudges him into a trot.  The day drags on, and he passes few, and
stops for
none.  As the sun sets, he dismounts and starts to lead his
horse.  He
trudges through the heavy rain and the mud in a trance like
state.  He was
close to the heart of Her power.  He could feel her power, and
the power she
once gave him.  He felt the wind on his cheeks and hear the
beating of
massive wings.  Skullbucket stomps his fore-hoof and jerks on the
reins,
pulling Railen back from the trance.  He stops and glances
around, before
sighing and pushing his hood off.  He lifts his face, closing his
eyes
against the falling rain, and quietly utters a prayer. 
"Triumverate guide
me, so that I may find what I seek.  Protect me, so that I may
return unto
our blessed lands and Protect them."  The words float off his
lips in the
night air and he opens his eyes, looking at Skullbucket. 
"Forgive me, my
friendI know this is hard on you.  Trust me, its hard on me too."
 He says
quietly to the horse, patting his neck.  Skullbucket flicks his
ears and
stomps his foot again.  "Okay..  Lets go" Railen says quietly,
before
leading the horse once again.  It was dark and muddy, so he
couldn't ride. 
The night drug on as did Railen trudge.  He was soaked to the
bone and his
armor, cloak and tabard grew heavier with each step.  He was
there, but at
the same time he wasn't, kind of half awake and half asleep.  He
rode like
that for hours, before a shout brings him back to reality.  His
eye shoots
open, and his hand goes to his sword.  He looks around, spotting
the one who
shouted at him standing in the road before him.  He blinks and
notices a
familiar uniform, and rubs his face with his left hand.  

"Well?" The person who was shouting before asks.

"Well what?" Railen replies, his right hand still gripped around
the hilt of
his sword under his cloak.

"What's your business in Neraka?" The guard replies, glaring at
Railen.

Railen shrugs and pulls the hood of his cloak up with his left
hand. "Visiting
Familythat's all you really need to know Neighbor." His voice had
a flinty
edge to it, and he glared at the guard from beneath the hood.

"Uh.." the guard glances around nervously. "Okay sir, sorry for
the delay,
Move along." He says finally, stepping out of the way.

"Good choice Neighbor." Railen says, tossing him a coin from a
pouch. He
finally looks up at the open gates of the City of Neraka that
stood before
him. He nudges Skullbucket into a walk and enters the City.

"Got to be careful now..someone might recognize me." He thinks to
himself as
he rides into the city, and toward the manor that he once called
home. It had
been years since he had been there...

Author:    Railen         
Date:      Wed May 23
16:56:27 2007
Subject     The Sword(part one)

He rides
slowly through the rain swept streets of Neraka, his face
hidden
under the shadow of his hood.  His lips moved, but no
words were spoken.  He
was mentally preparing himself for what
was ahead.  He prays slilently.. 
His lips continue to move
rapidly.  Finally he stops be an open black gate
and sits there
for a moment.  He looks at the manor he once called
home,
noticing how well it had been kept.  

Frowning gently, his
mind goes to his Little brother, who was seven when
Railen had
left home all those years ago.  

Shaking his head, he rides
through the gate and into the large court yard. 
The doors open
and an older man walks onto the covered porch, his
clothing
marking him as a butler.  "May I help you?"  The man
asks in a deep voice. 
Railen swings down off Skullbucket and
strides toward the steps, his cloak
flying out behind him,
showing his armor and sword.  "Out of my way Old
Man!"  
Railen says as his hood falls back off his head.  The butler
steps
back with a look of fear and a gasp.  "Milord Railen!" 
He exclaims as
Railen mounts the steps, taking them two at a
time.  Railen reaches the top
and draws his sword, leveling it at
the butler.  "I said move!"   The butler
stumbles out of the
way and Railen lifts his leg, launching a powerful kick
at the
closed door.  The door splinters inward, almost breaking off
the
hinges.  Startled cries of alarm sound from various servants
who scramble
out of the way as Railen strides into the Manor.  He
stops in a large
anteroom, glaring around his sword in hand.  The
room had a staircase on
either side of it that leads to a door
and a hallway that led deeper into
the house.  

There was
elegant furniture around the room, and a rug of crimson
covered
the floor.  "Milord Railen, Is it really you?"  The
butler says as he steps
through the pieces of the door.  Railen
spins and glares at the butler.  
"Of course it is, who else
would I be?"  He says, his voice angered.  "My
Grandfather's
sword, Where is it?"  He growls, a dangerous glint to his
eye.
The butler stares at Railen before glancing behind him and
at the door atop
the stairs.  Railen's eyes narrow and he tilts
his head, listening.  He
hears the faint patter of running feet. 
He could tell it was only one
person, but he didn't know who it
was.  Suddenly the door bursts open and a
war cry is shouted. 
Railen turns, and rolls to his right just as a broad
bladed spear
imbeds into the hardwood floor where he stood.  It was made
from
a dark wood and had the Revon family crest on it.  "Brother
mine. 
Welcome Home."  A quiet voice says from atop the stairs.
 As he stands,
Railen looks up at the one who spoke to him.  A
young man with long black
hair, dressed in elegant black clothing
stood there with a smirk on his
face.  "I am not home... 
Marcus."  Railen replies casually.  "You've grown
Brother." 
He says lowering his sword.  Marcus starts to walk down
the
stairs, his eyes full of hatred.  

"It's been ten years
Brother..  Ten long years."  Marcus says as he reaches
the
bottom of the stairs.  "You look well.."   Railen says,
continuing his
casualness but he watches his brother closely. 
"Marcus, I'm not here to
fight.  Its not worth it anyway, you
know what the outcome would be." 
Railen says gently,
regripping his sword and taking a step back.  Marcus
holds out
his arm, leveling the spear at Railen.  "You might not be, but
a
fight is what you have.  You left me brother!  You said you'd
always be
there and you left!"  Marcus says from between
clenched teeth.  "Then not
only do you kill our mother, you
insult her very memory by coming back
here!"   Railen says
nothing for there is nothing he can say.  He simply
stands there,
listening and formulating a plan.  

Author:    Railen 
       
Date:      Wed May 23 17:17:42 2007
Subject    
The Sword(part two)

"You will pay Brother mine!  I
shall avenge mother here and now!"   He
says before charging at
Railen, thrusting the spear at him.  Railen rather
casually
knocks the clumsy thrust away.  "You were taught better than
that
Marcus.  Fight at your best at all times, no matter who your
opponent is." 
Railen instructs his brother, trying to anger
him enough to make a mistake
so that he could get in close and
get the spear away.  Marcus glares at
Railen as he slides into a
stance, the spear held low.  "As you wish
Brother!"   He
growls before making another thrust, this one straight, fast,
and
powerful.  Railen nimbly dodges and takes his sword in both
hands. 
"You'll have to do better than that Brother mine!" 
Railen says as he raises
his sword and enters a fighting
stance.  

Railen blocks the thrust with the flat of his blade,
but the force knocks
him backward and off balance.  Taking
advantage of that, Marcus jabs at
Railen with his spear.  Railen
does his best to block it but Marcus lands a
blow to his right
shoulder, making him fall and lose grip on his sword. 
Marcus
stands over Railan brings his spear up over his head,
glaring
hatefully him.  "Die Brother!"  He says and brings
the spear down, aimed at
Railen's head.  Railen rolls out of the
way just fast enough to avoid harm,
but the spear lands in his
long blond hair cutting a chunk out of it. 
Without hesitation,
Railen grabs the spear and kicks Marcus soundly in the
stomach,
causing him to let go of the spear and stumble backward. 
Railen
comes to his feet and with the twist of his arm he snaps
the blade off the
spear, leaving it imbedded in the floor.  He
takes the shaft in his hands
and looks at his brother.  
"You've Failed Brother.  Sleep well."   He says
advancing on
Marcus who has a look of arrogance on his face could do
nothing
as his brother swings the shaft at him.  It hit him on
the side of his head
with such force the shaft shatters into
pieces and sends Marcus spinning to
the floor, bleeding from a
gash and unconscious.  

Railen stands there for a moment, before
dropping whats left of the shaft
and picking up his sword,
sheating it.  "Sigmund."   He says, looking around
for the
butler.  

"Yes Milord Railen?"  The butler replies as he
comes forward.  

"My Grandfather's sword..  Take me too it,
please."   Railen says, putting a
hand over his bleeding
shoulder.  "Of course Milord, if you'll follow me." 
He says
as he starts up the stairs.  Railen silently follows him up
the
stairs and through the door at the top.  The door led to a
hallway and
Sigmund lead the way to the end and opened a door. 
"After you Milord.."  
Railen nods and enters the room, his
eyes falling upon an ancient suit of
shining silver armor that
stood on a stand and a long dark wooden box that
lays on a stand
beside it.  There was no adornments in this room, it was
plain,
severe even.  He walks toward the box and gently runs his
fingers
over it.  It had a different Revon Family Crest, The
Solamnic Verson, carved
into it.  The crest was of a slightly
different hawk, but still had its
wings flared and a spear in its
wings.  The main difference was the crown
above the hawk. 
Sigmund enters the room also and shuts the door.   "You
don't
follow "Her" anymore do you?"  He asks quietly.  Railen spins
around,
a shocked expression on his face then narrows his eyes at
Sigmund.  "I left
"Her" when she tricked me into killing my
Mother."   Railen replies.  "I
know follow Kiri..  And am a
Knight of Solamnia."   

Author:    Railen        

Date:      Wed May 23 17:42:23 2007
Subject     The
Sword(part three)

Sigmund nods.  "I saw it in your
eye..  Be careful Railen..  You can do
great good.  I knew your
Grandfather, He was a great man.  A great Knight. 
He was the
ideal Knight, until "She" got to him.  He after that. 
Killed
himself."   Frowning softly Sigmund continues.  "He
took one innocent life."
With a sigh Sigmund shakes his head. 
"You've already tasted "Her" service
Railen.  It will be hard
to resist her now."  He says seriously.  "That is
why I am
here..  My Grandfathers sword, it's a holy sword is it not? 
Isnt
it said to be blessed by Kiri himself?  I came to get the
sword, hoping it
will help me fight her."  Railen replies,
looking at Sigmund.  "There is
said that There is also a
shield, but it has been lost for three
generations."  Sigmund
says looking closely at Railen.  "You look just like
him you
know?  Your Grandfather I mean."  Sigmund says with a smile. 


Railen smiles gently and bows his head.  "How did you know my
Grandfather?" 


"I was his squire..  And his friend.  Before
he died, I swore to him that I
would look after his daughter no
matter what."   He sighs sadly, and a look
of pain crosses his
face.  "Forgive me Sigmund..  I didn't mean to do what I
did.. 
It was an accident.  "She" played me."  Railen says, clenching
his
fist and looking down.  "Its not your fault Railen, I know
too well of what
"She" is capable of."  He shakes his head. 
"Sadly Marcus has fallen to
"Her" spell.  He is her loyal
subject..  And will be one of her knights
soon."   Railen sighs
and nods.  "Aye, I know.  I saw it in his eyes
downstairs." 
He slowly turns around and undoes the latches on the box.

Gently he opens the box and a look of awe crosses his face as he
looks at
what lays inside.  

A sheathed sword lays on a cushion
of the softest silk.  The sheath had
silver fittings on the top
and bottom, and the rest is covered in a soft
light brown suade
leather with a darker leather band criss crossing down it.
On the
top Silver fitting, The Crown Order's emblem is proudly displayed
and
there is a recess for something to fit into.  On the bottom
is the same
Revon family crest that was on the box.  "He was a
Crown Knight, as was all
of your ancestor's before him." 
Sigmund says from beside Railen.  He looks
up at Sigmund. 
"Why were none of them in the other orders?"   "Because
they
swore an oath to protect Solamnic lands.  It was a personal
Oath and had
nothing to do with the knighthood, but they would
refuse to leave the Crown
order."  He says, looking down at the
sword also.  "Sigmund, You do not
Follow "Her" either do you?" 
Railen asks quietly.  "Of course not!  I am
still loyal to
Paladine."  He says proudly.  
"I want you to go back to
Palanthas..Go to the Solamnic keep there and tell them that Lord
High Warrior Railen Revon sent you. Take this armor with you."
Railen says, suddenly in a business like manor.
He says looking
over at Sigmund whos eyes widen and he starts to say something
but Railen holds up his hand. "Hush, its not important now. We
will talk when both of us are home."

Author:   
Railen         
Date:      Wed May 23 20:34:35
2007
Subject     The Sword(part four)

Railen nods and
then looks back down at the sword box, and notices
something is
missing.  "Your mother has, well had it.  She wore
it
everyday."   Sigmund awnsers Railens unasked question. 
Railen frowns and
nods, before closing the box and latching it
back.  "I need some bandages
and a haircut.."  He says after
a moment.  Nodding, Sigmund starts to leave.
 "Come with me." 
 Railen nods and follows him.  About thirty minutes later,
they
come back to the room, Railen with his long hair all chopped off
and in
black traver's clothing.  He took his armor off because of
the hole in the
shoulder.  He wore a black long sleeved shirt,
pants, and a black hooded
cloak.  He still wore his brown gloves
and boots, and his sword was still
belted at his waist.  His
armor was in a bag now that was tied to his saddle
on
Skullbucket.  

"Im going to take the sword Sigmund."  Railen
says as he grabs a carrier
from the floor.  It was a simple
leather sheath that the box fit perfectly
into and has a strap to
wear it on ones back.  Railen slides the box into
the sheath and
ties the top of it shut.  "It is Rightfully yours Railen. 
I'll
not object."  Sigmund says with a smile.  "NO!"  A voice
shouts from
behind them and they both turn to find Marcus
standing at the door, dried
blood on the side of his face and his
eyes hold madness to them.  "It's
Mine!"  He says brandishing
the sword he held.  Railen draws his sword and
moves forward,
infront of Sigmund, who backs away.  " No Marcus!  This
isnt
the way!"   With a shout of rage and madness Marcus rushes
Railen.  The
brothers enter combat, steel clashes upon steel. 
But Railen was an
extreamly better swordsmen then His brother and
his head was clear of the
madness that drove Marcus.  

Marcus
hacks viciously and wildly, but Railen blocks and parries each
blow. 
One sword flys and the room falls slient.  Marcus gasps
loudly and looks
down at his stomach, where Railen's sword is
burried to the hilt.  Railen
grabs his brother by the shoulder
and looks into his face.  "Forgive me
Brother.  This is not
what I wanted.  Know that I do love thee, and tell
mother im
sorry."   He whispers with tears streaming down his face. 
Quickly
he slides his sword out and drops it, before gently
laying his dieing
brother down.  Marcus looks up into the face of
his brother, and his chest
falls for the last time.  Taking his
dead brother in his arms, Railen starts
to weep quietly.  After a
few long moments, Sigmund lays a hand on Railen's
shoulder. 
"You must leave.  I'll take care of this."  Sigmund
says
regretfully.  Railen nods and gently kisses his brothers
forehead before
laying him back down.  "You're right."  He
says as he stands and wipes his
eyes.  Sigmund had picked up
Railen's sword and cleaned it for him, and now
holds it out to
him.  With a nod Railen takes the sword and sheaths it.  
"I'll
see you in Palanthas."  "I'll go as soon as I burry him." 
Sigmund
says with a nod.  Railen slings the sword box across
his back and pulls up
his hood.  "Be carefull Railen."  Sigmund
says softly.  "You too Sigmund." 
Railen replies before
leaving the manor and mounting Skullbucket.  It was
still pouring
down as he rides into the street.   "Lets go home."  He
says
to Skullbucket and nudges him into a walk.  He is riding out
of the gates as
the sun sets.  With a sigh Railen lets himself
sink into his thoughts.  He
would ride out the night, thankful to
be out of that city, but he hated
where he must go now even more.
 


Now he must return to that ruined village.  To the Spot that
his mother lost
her life.  To where he took it.  He must go
back..  But he hated it more
than anything.  

Author: 
  Railen         
Date:      Fri Jun 29 17:29:30
2007
Subject     Words with the Dead.

Railen slides off
his horse and stares at the charred remains of what
once was a
small Temple of Kiri.  He stands there, bracing himself for
what
came next.  This place, inside this temple, it was here He
took his mothers
life.  Drawing in a deep breath he steels
himself and walks into what left
standing of the temple.  As he
enters, a sharp pain erupts in his head.  He
cries out and falls
to knees, his hands going to either side of his head. 
Images
flood his mind, images of that night.  He can feel the warmth of
the
fire that had been blazing in the temple.  He felt the warm
blood on his
face and hands.  With each image, each feeling
brought him more pain.  He
couldn't move, all he could is weep,
from sorrow and from the immense pain. 
After long moments pass,
He pushes the images away, uttering a prayer to
Kiri over and
over.  He fights to compose himself, and does so moderately.

Shaking his head, he falls forward onto his hands and tears fall
from his
face to the ground.  "Forgive me, Mother.  Forgive me,
Brother.  Forgive me,
mine ancestors.  I dishonored the Revon
name."  "Not true My son."  A soft
woman's voice says. 
Railen looks up and his eye widen.  His mother stands
before him,
glowing softly.  "Mother, It cant be."   Railen says in
a
hushed, stunned voice.  His mother kneels before him and puts a
soft hand on
Railen's cheek.  "My Boy, Look at you.  You are
not only a great Knight, You
are The Lord High Warrior of the
Knights of Solamnia.  You honor me and our
ancestors."  

"But
your life and that of my brother ended by my hands, how is
that
Honorable?"   Railen says, his voice shaky and tears
streaming down his face
again.  "Your Mind was clouded that
night, and look where it led you.  I was
but a part in your
destiny my son.  What you did that night changed you.  It
had to
be done, for the greater good.  If you had not killed me, your
mind,
and sword would still belong to "Her"."  Railen closes
his eye and sighs
shuddering.  "And Marcus?  Why must he of
died at my hand also?  Now, if I
die, The Revon name dies with
me."  Smiling softly, His mother looks up at
the Armored figure
that now stands beside her.  "Then you'd better not die
Boy." 
 A deep gruff voice says.  Railen's eyes snap open and he looks
at
the man who spoke to him.  He had short white hair and
matching beard.  Soft
blue eyes looked down at Railen proudly. 
He wore full plate armor, the same
plate that Railen had seen at
the Manor in Neraka.  Realizing immediately
who the old knight
was, Railen becomes speechless.  "Aye, you think right
boy.  I
am your Grandfather."  The man says before taking a knee
before
Railen.  "I'm awful proud of you Railen.  You've brought
great Honor to the
Revon name."   The older man puts a hand on
Railen's shoulder.  "Don't think
for a moment you have
dishonored us.  Your brother was mad and evil.  It had
to be you
who vanquished him also.  You had to do it to further your
cause
and your faith."  Railen closes his eye and takes a deep
trembling breath. 
"Thank you Grandfather."  He says quietly,
not trusting himself to say
anything else.  

"No thank you my
Grandson.  You have brought Great Honor to us.  Me and
your
mother must go now.  But remember, I am always here.  Maybe
not in body but
I am here never the less.  Call upon whenever you
need.  Be well Grandson, I
love you."  With that, both the Old
man and the woman vanish, leaving Railen
feeling strangely
unemotional.  "I love you too Grandfather."  He says
quietly,
before pushing himself to his feet.  

Author:   
Railen         
Date:      Tue Nov 27 00:32:35
2007
Subject     Ambushed. (Part 1)

The rain had done
nothing but worsen as a man is thrown from his horse as
it
tumbles head over hoof after an arrow sinks into its chest. As he
is
thrown, the horse head butts him, leaving him bleeding from a
cut about his
eye brow. As he hits the ground, there is a loud
pop as his left shoulder
slides out of socket. The man wore plate
armor over a suit of leather that
covered his entire body from
neck to toe. He has short blond hair and an eye
patch over his
left eye. Four men step out of the trees and onto the road.
Three
of them draw their weapons and a fourth nocks and arrow. They
taunt
and jeer at the man as he struggles to his feet and draws
his own blade. The
archer loosens his arrow and it sinks deep
into the man's left side. He
stumbles backward and falls to a
knee. Setting his teeth, he takes ahold of
the arrow and breaks
it in two, then staggers back to his feet. The fight
was brutal.
Four healthy, uninjured men against one man, who suffered from
a
arrow wound, a dislocated shoulder, a mild concussion, and
various cuts and
bruises. 

Blood blurred Railens vision and he
could feel the warm red liquid running
down his chest inside his
leather tunic. He wipes the blood from his eyes
with the back of
his hand and looks at his attackers. They are Knights
of
Takhisis. There are two Knights and two novices. One of the
knights he knew.
He had trained with him while he was a Knight of
Takhisis. Shaking his head,
he fights with the weight of his
armor and his sword. "Come then, Sir
Knights. Let us spell one
another's blood on this rain soaked ground."
Railen says in a
strong, arrogant voice, even though his body was weakening
by the
second. After a silent gesture from the familiar knight, the
two
novices charge forward, brandishing their weapons and
shouting battle cries.
Railen gave ground freely, blocking and
parrying the combined attacks of the
two novices. His reactions
were slowing. The blood loss, head injury, and
only being able to
use his right arm was draining his energy quick. -Have to
make
this quick.- He mutters and goes onto the offensive. 

Dodging
one of the novice's attacks, he quickly swings his sword
down
cutting through the novices forearm. The novice screams in
pain and waves
his arm around, blood gushing everywhere. Grunting
in pain, Railen kicks the
novice solidly in the chest, sending
him stumbling into the other novice.
With both novices off
balance and so close together Railen jumps forward,
thrusting his
sword at an upward angle. His blade slides cleanly through
the
first novice, killing him instantly, and then continues into
the second
novice, slicing into the young mans neck. He pulls his
sword out and lets
them fall, one dead the other dieing. He spins
his in time to block a sword
stroke from one of the knights. The
Knight chuckles and shakes his head. He
wore chain mail under
plain traveler's clothes and had tattoo's on his face
and neck.
"Look, another want-to-be knight. Haven't you learned yet?"
Railen
taunts the knight. With a smirk, he slices through the air
and winks at the
knight. "Come then." Railen moves forward,
striking at the knight who easily
defends himself. He feints an
attack to the right, then just as the knight
moves to block he
spins quickly and thrusts his sword deep into the knight's
side.
The knight gasps in pain as the blade slides into him, then again
as
Railen roughly jerks it out. The knight falls to his knees and
smirking,
Railen beheads him. "Three down, one to go." He
mutters as he turns to face
the last Knight. His body was
reaching its limit. He fought with everything
that he had to
stand and to keep his sword in hand. The weight of his
armor
almost drove him to his knees. His will to live was all
that kept him
standing. 

Author:    Railen        

Date:      Tue Nov 27 00:47:30 2007
Subject    
Ambushed. (part 2)

The familiar knight stood twenty yards
away, which seemed to Railen to be
much, much further. The knight
moves and its as if Railen was moving in slow
motion compared to
the knight. He blinks and as his eye opens, a sword
clashes
against his, sending it flying from his hand. He stares into
the
eyes of the Knight who is grinning evilly. "Your Time is
up, Railen." He
says before kneeing Railen in the gut, making
him fall to the ground. The
knight then kicks him repeatedly in
the chest and side. "Now is your time to
die, Sir Knight."
The knight laughs as he watches Railen writhe in pain.
"In
the Name of the Queen, Your life ends here." He says as
he jerks Railen up
to his knees. 

"Grandfather, help me!"
Railen says as loud as he can. The knight continues
to laugh,
his eyes wild.

"No one can help you now!" He says, gripping
his sword tight in both hands.

At first all Railen felt was a
slight presence, then suddenly an ancient
hymn bursts into his
head and he can feel a spirit enter his body. The pain
vanishes
and he is quite suddenly extremely alert. The Knight starts
to
swing his blade downward, but Railen dives out of the way at
the last second
and rolls to his feet, his sword in hand. He felt
like nothing was wrong,
his mind and vision was clear and his
body shook with energy. He swings his
sword through the air and
smirks, looking at the confused knight before him.
"This ends
here Sir Knight. Thy Queen has no power over me any longer!
My
sins have been forgiven." "My past has been washed clean. I am
Lord High
Warrior Railen Revon, Commander of the Order of the
Crown. I am faithful to
Kiri-Jolith and to the Knights of
Solamnia. As long as my faith is strong,
evil will perish."
Railen leaps forward, disarming the knight with a quick
stroke.
The knight stumbles backward, but Railen thrusts his sword into
the
knight's chest. The knight's eyes widen and he looks down at
the sword, and
then he falls backward, dead. "Where is your
Queen now?" Railen mutters as
he turns away from the bloody
battle scene. 

The spirit leaves him and suddenly the pain and
all that came with it is
back. He drops his sword and falls to
his knees. "Grandson." A voice calls
to Railen, and he looks
up at the shimmering form of his grandfather. "You
have made us
proud. Me, your mother, and your brother. We are all proud
of
you. Be strong Grandson, for help is on its way. Know that our
Love is with
thee." His grandfather puts a hand on Railen's
shoulder then disappears.
"Grandfather.." Railen says as he
falls backward into the mud and looks up
at the say. "I will be
strong." He says as he fights to stay conscious.


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Thu May
21 23:39:14 2009
Subject     Returning home

A single
rider moves slowly through the steady rain toward the
beautiful
city of Palanthas. He rode atop a Large roan war-horse
and he wore a grey
poncho-like hooded cloak. With an absent
shake, the horse shakes some of the
water out of its fur. The man
smiles gently and leans down, putting a hand
on the Horses neck.
"It always seems to be raining when we come home,
doesn't it old
friend?"

The horse knickers almost disgustedly and continues on
down the road. It had
been years since he left, on a self imposed
mission to find evidence of the
Old Gods. His search of course
was of course a failure. The horse knickers
almost disgustedly
and continues on down the road. It had been years since
he left,
on a self imposed mission to find evidence of the Old Gods.
His
search of course was of course a failure. 

Author:
   Railen         
Date:      Tue Jun  2 02:36:30
2009
Subject     Training has begun.

Railen was in the
practice field some time before first light, already
intensely
training. He didnt wear his armor, not even chain mail. He wore
a
loose sleeveless shirt and a pair of leather pants. He moved
gracefully, his
body and sword moving as one. At some point, just
after first light,
Segwarides wonders onto the field in his
leather armor. Railen stops and
wipes the sweat from his brow.
"Good Morning Segwarides, Are you ready to
begin?"

Segwarides
nods. "I am, Milord."

"Good then! Draw your weapons and attack."
Railen says, holding his sword in
both hands out in front of him.
"But Milord, you are unprotected."
Segwarides objects.

"As you
are my squire, you swore fealty to me and you must obey
without
question. Now Attack!" He says, his voice quiet. Nodding,
Segwarides jumps
forward. Thus begins his training. They pause
every so often for a bit of
instruction but other than that they
train until around noon. They might of
trained longer but a
knight walked up to Railen and after a few words Railen
turns to
Segwarides. "Segwarides, There is a matter that needs my
attention.
Well continue at first light tomarrow." He says as he
sheaths his sword.
"Oh, take that pouch over there on the ground
and get yourself some armor."
He says with a nod and turns on his
heel 

Author:    Railen         
Date:      Sat
Jun  6 22:41:58 2009
Subject     Dim Thoughts.

Railen
kneels beside the single rock in the grove that he had talked
to
Segwarides in. He bows his head and prays silently. Memories
of his past
flood his mind.

-Memories of an old man, laying in
his death his death bed, whos grip was
still like steel as he
held on to Railens arm. The man was Sir Leonard
Revon, Railens
Grandfather who had raised him after his parents were killed.
He
had grabbed Railen and pulled him close in his last moments.
"Protect the
Land, Railen, and if the land can not be protected,
Protect the people."
were his last words before he went to Humas
breast.-

Railen sighs gently and lifts his head toward the sky.
Segwarides was right,
the smell of war hung heavy in the air and
dim rumors had spread. He would
do his best to keep the promise
he made that night but he would need help.
He stands and
retrieves his helmet from the top of the rock and settles it
into
place on his head before striding to his massive roan war horse
and
pulls himself into the saddle. He returns to Palanthas, his
mind in turmoil.

Author:    Railen        

Date:      Wed Jun 17 05:05:19 2009
Subject     Tea atop
the walls.

Railen Stands atop the Keep walls, looking out
over the city of
Palanthas. He wore his plain, leather and cloth
cassock, with his long sword
belted under it, and held a cup of
steaming tea. He sighs gently and takes a
sip of his tea. Today
had been a good day. Segwarides had got knighted and
had joined
he Defenders of the Crown. Railen smiles gently and brushes
his
hair out of his face. He had seen Segwarides fight the ogre,
He fought
valiantly and the fight was won in short order. He had
potential and was
glad that he was knighted. Railen needs good
men, Good knights.

With a shake of his head, Railen sets his cup
on the top of the battlement
and leans against them. His thoughts
drifted back to that barbarian, Wulf
was his name. Though they
had spoke few words to each other, Railen thought
the boy was
swayed to join the Knighthood. He would be here anyday.
Dark
times were upon the world. He could feel it. War was coming
and it wouldnt
be pretty. He sighs and takes another sip of his
tea. He hears the scuff of
boot against stone and he turns
quickly, his blade half drawn. It was a
young looking knight,
holding a stack of papers and with chuckle Railen
slides the
sword back into its sheath. "Sorry." he half mutters. "Are
those
the reports I asked for?" He asks, motioning to the
papers.

"Uh Yes sir, it is." The knight says as he hands the
papers to Railen. "Do
you need anything else?" Railen glances to
his glass of tea that was now
broke on the stones below the wall.
"Yes, can you get me some more tea
please? Thank you." The knight
nods and turns, walking back down the stairs.
Railen walks over
to a torch and un rolls the papers and starts to read over
them.
They were reports from the area around Lemish. It seems
Segwarides
rumors were right. With a sigh he tucks the papers
away and leans again the
wall, waiting for his tea.


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Tue Jun
23 01:45:45 2009
Subject     To battle

Railen cinches
the strap on his saddle and shakes his head. Him and some
of the
other defenders had been ordered to ride south and stomp out a
goblin
up rising. There had been some small skirmishes a few
knights and some
others had been killed or injured. So it was
time for the Defenders to move
in and take control of the
situation. He glances around the yard where his
other knights
were making ready. A lot of them had families or were
just
knighted. He didnt want to take them but it was his, and
their duty to
defend Solamnia. He shook that thought out of his
head and looked around.
They were all ready. With a nod he pulls
himself up onto his horse.

The Gates to the Keep swing open and
Railen and his column of his knights
ride out onto the street,
their horses hooves hitting the ground in unison.
The crowd parts
for the majestic looking column and as they near the south
gate
there is a large crowd gathered. The crowd, The friends and
family of
those who were leaving cheered as the knights road by.
As Railen scanned the
crowds, his eyes fall on the face of a
beautiful elf he had met but days
before. She was smiling and
waving to him.

He was worried about the fight ahead of him, but
her smile made all of his
worries disappear. He nods gently to
her and glances over his shoulder at
his knights. He raises his
hand and digs his heels into his horses flanks.
The horse rears
up, pawing at the air and then leaps into a dead run out of
the
gates. His knights follow suit and gallop after him.


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Tue Jun
30 04:17:03 2009
Subject     The Ogre

Railen rides into
the camp, followed by his knights. They were all tired
and battle
worn from a hard day of skirmishes with the goblins. He
removes
his helmet and hangs it on his saddle. "Get some rest
men, tomarrow is going
to be another long day." He tells them and
watches as they walk off into the
camp. Looking down at his arm,
he shakes his head. A goblin got a lucky
arrow in right between
his armor. Damned little beasties. Hope they all rot
in the
Abyss. He hands his reins to a squire and pats his horses neck.
"Get
some rest my friend, tomorrow will be another long day." He
turns to the
squire.

"Give him a good brush down and get him
fed. Oh, watch it, he bites." he
nods to the squire and turns to
walk away. He walks slowly toward his large
tent, nodding at the
knights he passed He enters his tent and sighs warily.
He starts
to undo the straps on his armor, dropping them
unceremoniously
onto the ground. He should clean the blood off
it, but he was tired. He
sinks warily onto his bed and runs his
hand through his hair. Thank the Gods
the relief column would be
here in the morning. He needed more knights. He
leans back and
closes his eyes. Sleep sounded so good. But just then,
a
monstrous bellow jolted him back up to his feet. He grabs his
big single
bladed sword and runs out of the tent. 

A huge yellow
skinned ogre was running toward the camp. Railen mutters a
curse
and starts bellowing orders. The ogre scoops one young knight up
and
hurls him across the camp like a kid throwing a ball. Railen
growls and
charges the Ogre, his sword held low and in both
hands. A knight with a
crossbow gets the beasts attention just as
Railen swings his huge sword in
an upward motion, slashing the
9ft tall ogre soundly across his side. The
beast roars and hits
Railen with the back of his hand, making him tumble
across the
ground. Railen rolls to his feet and blinks rapidly to clear
his
head. "Puny Human!" It shouts at Railen and slams him onto
the ground with
bone crushing force.

He turns and kicks
Segwarides, and then turns back to Railen and Stops his
huge foot
on the downed knight. The Knights who have bows unleash a
volley
of arrows at the beast. It stumbles back, and Segwarides
moves quickly,
slicing the things hamstring, making it stumble
and fall. He Throws down his
axe and jumps up on the things
chest, and reverses his blade and takes it in
both hands, then
drives it down into the beasts chest. It roars and
convulses and
then dies. Segwarides yanks his sword free and then rushes to
the
side of the unconscious Railen. 

Author:    Railen    
    
Date:      Tue Jul  7 22:13:14 2009
Subject     News
from the south.

Railen wakes to someone knocking at his
door. He rolls out of bed and
pulls his Cassock on, walking
toward the door with it still unbuttoned. He
opens the door to
find a very tired, travel stained young knight. "Milord
Railen,
sorry to wake you so earily, but I bring news from the south."
The
Knight says with bow. Railen nods and steps aside so the
knight could enter.
He buttons his cassock as he walks toward his
armor stand. "Well speak on,
what is this news you bring?" He
says as he starts to strap on his armor.
"The goblins sir, they
uh..retreated away from Lemish." He says as he sinks
wearily into
a chair. Railen looks up quickly. "When did they do this?"
"Not
Long after the Ogre attacked the Camp. We saw less and less
of them, and now
it seems like theyre gone completely." Railen
sits back, his face
thoughtful. "Thank you. Go get another
messenger and send him back. Tell The
men there that I want them
to stay put, incase the goblins come back."
Railen says and the
knight nods and stands. "Aye sir." he says and then
leaves the
room. Railen sighs gently and stands, shifting under his
armor.
He belts on his sword, and settles the hardness for his
other sword onto his
back. He glances over at his grandfathers
sword and smiles fondly. He runs
his hand through his hair and
walks out of his room, and goes seeking
Segwarides.


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Thu Aug
27 02:05:13 2009
Subject     Murder of a friend

Murder
of a friend. Railen sits alone in the garden that Coria had
been
working on in his keep. He sips a glass of wine, waiting for
Her to arrive.
He sighs gently and runs a finger across the
beautiful elven longsword at
his side. A knight rides into the
court yard. He Slides down off his horse
and strides over to
Railen. "Milord, I need you to come with me." Railen
raises a
eyebrow and stands. "Whats wrong son?"

"Sir, We found a body. We
think its Lady Coria." The knight says quietly.
Railen studies
the man for a moment and then turns and goes to his stable.
A
moment later the doors burst open and Railen is on his big roan
horse, bare
back and with a fist full of mane. "Lets move!" He
says, galloping past the
stunned knight, who hauls ass behind
him. The distance between his keep and
the house where the scene
was passed almost un-noticed to him. When he
arrives he slides
down off his horse and grabs him by the ear. "Stay
here.
Understand?" The horse knickers and stomps his forepaw.
"Good horse." He
mutters and Strides toward the door. The knights
standing around part ways
just from the look on his face.

"Uh,
Lord Railen.." One of them starts but is silenced by another,
pulling
him out of Railen's Path. He walks through the open door
and into the room
that he was directed too. He stops at the door,
unable to walk any further.
On the ground before him was the
lithe body of the Elf maiden Coria Aelthar.
He takes in a deep
breath and walks into the room, kneeling beside her. He
gently
lifts her head into his lap and runs his fingers through her
hair.
With a shuddering sigh, he lays her head back down. He
stands, his face like
a thundercloud. "Find out who done this. As
soon as you do, come to me and
only me. Understand?" He said to a
few of his Loyal Defenders, who nod and
leave the room.

He walks
out into the main house and looks around at the knights. "Take
her
body to my keep. She'll lie in my Crypt until her family
takes her if they
wish." He says as he strides out of the house
He jumps back onto his horse
and thunders out of the city, but
doesn't go back into his keep, just out
into the wilderness.


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Sat Aug
29 20:15:08 2009
Subject     New mission.

Railen slides
down off his horse and hands the reins to a stable boy. He
and
Segwarides had just returned to the Keep inside Palanthas,
after
retrieving Railen's Armor and Saddle from his keep outside
the city. He
thanks the stable boy and pats his horse fondly on
the neck before walking
into the keep. He was going to go see how
the investigation was going. The
death of Coria hit him hard. He
sighed gently and runs his hand through his
hair. Segwarides was
right; the paths of Justice and vengeance do not merge,
but split
completely different ways.

He shakes his head and starts walking
down the hall again. "Railen." A voice
calls from a room and
Railen stops and looks into the door. "Yes Milord?" He
says,
stepping into the room. "I'm sorry for your loss, my friend."
The
older knight says, standing up from behind the Desk. Railen
nods gently and
smiles slightly. "So am I." He says softly,
taking the mans outstretched
hand. "Im afraid im going to have to
pull you out of Palanthas for a time.
There is a Retired Rose
knight that wants to come to Palanthas with His
daughter. I want
you to lead the escort."

The higher ranking Knight says quietly.
Railen starts to object but with a
sigh he nods. "Who is
it?"

"Sir Mandes Di Delgaard and his Daughter Etilyn. See them
both safely to
Palanthas." He says as he turns and walks back to
his desk. "Aye Milord.
I'll leave at first light." Railen says as
he turns on his heel and walks
out of the room.


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Mon Aug
31 05:08:11 2009
Subject     Leaving Delgaard.

Railen
stands in the courtyard, checking over his horse. His men
were
around, doing the same. They were waiting for Sir Mandes and
his daughter to
join them so they could leave. Railen sighs
gently as he looks out at the
open gate. Someone or something had
followed him here, But he couldnt find
any trace of it. Silently
he wondered who or what it was. Finally, Mandes
and Etilyn walk
out of the keep and down the stairs into the courtyard.
"Good
Morning, Sir Knight." Mandes says walking toward Railen. 

"Good
Morning Milord. Are we ready to set out?" Railen says quietly as
he
bows slightly. Mandes nods and starts to speak but Railen Cuts
him off.
"Forgive me for being rude Milord but I have some rules.
You will have my
knights with you at all times. If something is
to happen you stay back and
let us handle it. That goes double
for you" He says looking sternly at
Etilyn who blushs slightly
"And if things turn for the worse, My knights
will take you both
and Run, Ill stay back and give you time to get
away.
Understand?"

They nod, and Mandes pats Railen on the
shoulder. "YOu are a good man, Sir
Railen. Im sure you will get
us safely to Palanthas." He says before
climbing into the
carriage after Etilyn. He shouts in a tone of command and
his men
form up around the carriage."Move out!" He says as he rides out
of
the Keep into the crisp morning air. 

Author:   
Railen         
Date:      Wed Sep  9 01:50:10
2009
Subject     Damned Goblins.

Railen searches the
trail for Lanfer, but he was gone. Had he even been
there?
Shaking his head, he winces and looks down at his right arm. He
broke
something and it felt like his shoulder was dislocated from
the fall.
Suddenly he hears a shout from someone and his horse
rears up. The
unprepared Railen falls off the back of the horse
and straight on his back.
A rock crunches into the side of his
armor and he rolls, gasping for air. He
sees his men, Mandes and
Etilyn coming back through blurry eyes and he
groans. He takes a
short, painful breath. His armor was crushed into his
side,
making it hard to breath.

He comes to his knees, reaching for
his dagger. A goblin jumps out infront
of Railen and charges at
him. Railen stabs his dagger into the goblins eye
and pushes him
away. He reaches around and cuts the straps on his
breastplate
and it pops open. He winces as he pulls it off and then tosses
it
to the ground. He draws his sword with his left hand and staggers
to his
feet to join his comrades in battle. With an almost
inhuman battle cry, he
charges into the fray. Wounded but not
downed, he fights most valiantly.
Soon the goblins had either
been killed or fled. Railen wipes his blade
clean and sheaths it.
He puts his hand on his bleeding side and looks
around. A few of
his men were wounded, nothing serious. "Good fight men. Get
these
filthy things off the road. Those of you that are hurt, get
bandaged."
He says looking down at his bloody hand. With a grunt
he walks over to his
horse and leans against it. He glances at
Etilyn and Mandes as they walk
toward him, and silently curses
for being so careless. 

Author:    Railen        

Date:      Sun Sep 13 17:39:13 2009
Subject     The Lord
Marshal Rises.

Railen walks through the keep in
Palanthas, his new armor clanking
slightly. All in all, he thinks
he did a good job. Both Mandes and his
Daughter Etilyn were
safely in Palanthas and even Lanfer had been return to
the
knighthood. He still ached, but he would live. His smiles gently
and
shifts under his armor as he stops in the common room for a
moment. A Knight
with dark hair that was shot with grey walks
into Room. "Lord Railen, if you
would be so kind and follow me?
The council wishes to speak to you." Railen
turns to face the
knight who spoke to him and nods. "Of course Milord
Ederith." He
says as he Follows the older knight toward the Council room.
As
Railen enters, he bows to the Ranking Crown knights that were
there.
"Greetings Milords." He says quietly.

"Ah, Lord Railen,
Welcome back from Delgaard. Id like to first thank you for
your
excellent service on getting them both safely here. I heard there
was a
few attacks." A older knight with grey hair says. Railen
nods and brushes
his braids out of his face. "Aye. There were a
number of Goblin raiders that
wished to Stop us. We were able to
Repel their attacks, with not but a few
injuries." The men nod.
"Mandes says you were extraordinarily brave and
showed the utmost
Valor. You have done well in all the knighthood has asked
of you,
son. Kneel and receive your reward." Railen, surprised as he
is,
drops to his knee with his head bow

The knight stands from
his seat and walks over to Railen. "For
Unquestionable Service to
the knighthood and to All of Solamnia, I hereby
name you, Lord
Railen Revon, Lord Marshal of the Order of the Crown." The
words
burn deep into Railen, but he keeps his head bowed. "Rise
Lord
Marshal, You have work to do." He says and Railen nods,
standing. He Draws
his sword and Salutes the Knights in the room.
"My thanks can not be put
into words. I will not Let you down
Milords." He says as they Return the
salute. The older knight
smiles and nods at Railen. "Thats all son, Go now
and exterminate
the goblins that are causing so much fuss." Railen nods and
turns
on his heel, leaving the room. 

Author:    Railen     
   
Date:      Tue Sep 15 03:25:43 2009
Subject    
Morning call(part 1)

Railen walks through the keep in
Palanthas, his new armor clanking
slightly. All in all, he thinks
he did a good job. Both Mandes and his
Daughter Etilyn were
safely in Palanthas and even Lanfer had been return to
the
knighthood. He shifts under his armor as he walks into the common
room.
Mandes and Etilyn were both being greeted by most of the
Keep and were now
at a banquet with the others. Railen had
politely excused himself He was
tired and had a lot of work to do
still. With a slight sigh he turns and
walks down a hall way to a
small room that was kept for him. He enters the
small room and
closes the door behind him. He unwraps his sword belt and
lays it
on the table then starts to remove his armor, hanging it on
the
armor rack beside the door.

Once his armor is off he sighs a
wary sigh and rubs his still sore shoulder.
He unbuttons the
front of his cassock as he walks over to the decanter on
the side
table. Gently he pours himself a glass of wine and takes a sip
of
it before removing his cassock and laying it over a chair.
Just as he starts
to sit down, someone knocks on the door. With a
sigh he sets the cup down
and reaches for a loose linen shirt and
pulls it on as he opens the door. An
older knight with grey hair
is waiting for him on the other side. "Evening
Railen." The
knight says quietly and Railen salutes him. "Its too late
for
that son, May I come in?"

With a nod, Railen steps to the
side and then shuts the door behind him.
"May I offer you a
drink?" Railen says as he walks over to the decanter but
the
knight shakes his head. With nod, Railen turns and leans against
the
dresser looking at the old knight. "How may I help you,
Milord Lyndruss?" he
says as he takes a sip of his wine. "You
have been requested to join us at
the Ceremony in the morning."
He raises his hand before Railen can object.
"I know you are
eager to get back out there with your Defenders and make
safe the
country side, but you are needed else where. With a sigh
Railen
nods. "OF course Milord, Ill be there." Lyndruss
smiles and nods as he
stands. "Then I will leave you." He
salutes Railen and turns to leave the
room. "Oh, and Railen, Do
try to look nice." he says with a chuckle as he
leaves the
room.Railen frowns as he drains his glass of wine. He sets
the
glass down and looks over at his armor. With a disdainful
sigh he walks over
to his bed and lays down. 

Author: 
  Railen         
Date:      Tue Sep 15 17:26:25
2009
Subject     Morning call(part 2)

Railen wakes
before dawn so that he could bathe and polish his armor. His
hair
had been freshly braided and with the help of a page, he dons his
armor
and makes his last preparations. Soon he is striding toward
the Audience
Chamber, in all the glory he could muster. He enters
the chamber and salutes
the ranking Knights before taking his
place in his seat. The ranking knights
call the ceremony to
Session with a prayer in which everyone raises to their
feet and
joins in. After the prayer, The ranking knights start
business.
There are a few knightings and some few of the knights
raising in rank and
even an Advancement from Crown to Sword. The
ceremony goes on for an hour or
more before Lord Lyndruss looks
over to Railen. 

"Lord Railen Revon, will you be so kind as to
step forward so we may address
you." Railen is surprised, but
stands and steps into the center of the room.
"Lord Railen, You
have been through trial after trial and have not once
faltered.
Many times you have faced death and by the Grace of the Gods
you
still stand before us. You are a recognized swordsmen and
tactician who has
fought and won many times over against the
Darkness." Lyndruss says as he
looks at Railen and smiles.
"For your years of service to the Knighthood and
to all of
Solamnia, I would ask you to kneel and receive your
reward."
Lyndruss says and Railen nods, dropping to a
knee.

Lyndruss looks around the chamber. "Is there any here
who object to this
mans promotion?" He says as he looks around
and when none object he nods.
"Then so be it. I hereby declare
Lord Railen Revon, Lord Marshal of the
Order of the Crown."
Lyndruss says in a booming voice.. "Rise, Lord Marshal,
so
that we may salute thee." Railen rises to his feet and looks
around as
the men and women rise and salute him. Railen draws his
sword and salutes.
"My gratitude can not be expressed in
words." He says as he sheathes his
sword and turns to Lyndruss.
"You are dismissed Lord Marshal. Take your
Defenders and crush
the goblin raiders." Lyndruss says with a sly wink.
Railen nods
and looks around. "Defenders of the Crown, Fall in and get
ready
to move out!"He says as he watches his men rise from the
ranks of the other
knights and march from the room. With a
salute, Railen Turns on his heel and
strides from the chamber, a
new light in his eyes. 

Author:    Railen        

Date:      Fri Nov  6 22:12:30 2009
Subject     An
unwelcome home.

Railen rides slowly with his column of
battle worn men. They had been
searching the country side for any
goblins and ridding his glorious land of
their ugly little faces.
As he approaches his keep, a small mob can be seen
shouting and
carrying on outside. Most of them seemed to be shouting
"Coward.
in one form or another. Railen lifts his head defiantly and
rides
on. Word must of traveled that he had refused orders to go
to Tarsis with
the others. Of course, they only see it as
cowardice. What they didnt know
is that He is Oath bound to
remain in Solamnia whenever a there is a threat
to her
lands.

Thus he had to refuse, to destroy the goblins that ran
the country side and
prevent any further harm to the people that
lived here. With his face like
stone, Railen nudges his horse
into a Canter and pulls away from the column.
The crowd turns on
him, yelling obscenities at him. He sits there before a
moment
before raising up in his stirrups and looking across the
crowd.

"Silence! He shouts, above even the loudest voice in
the crowd. The crowd
dies down and Railen looks back at the
column of men getting closer. "Clear
a path, so that my men may
get through.." He says in a stern voice of
command. "Why
should we do what a coward says?" One man yells out and
Railen
calmly draws his sword and dismounts his horse. "Because
these men have
fought, bled, and died keeping your lands safe."
Railen replies as he
strides toward the man who spoke. The
crowd parts like tall grass for him
and his emotionless face. The
man who spoke out appears before Railen and he
brings his sword
up, pressing the tip of it against the mans throat. "And
I
would kill you all before I let you dishonor them." He says,
his voice
deathly quiet. He looks around at the now scared crowd.
"Now all of you,
clear out of here. I dont make idle threats."
Within minutes the crowd had
moved away and cleared a path into
the keep. He looks up at the knights
attending the gate and nods.
Slowly the gate descends down and Railen
remounts with a sigh,
before riding into the keep. 

Author:    Railen       
 
Date:      Wed Nov 18 02:15:15 2009
Subject     To
war!

Railen stands alone in his War Room looking over the
map in the floor. He
had just received orders for him and his men
to mobilize and prepare for
war. These so called Dragonarmies had
amassed troops and it looked as if
they were going to invade.
There is a gentle knock on the door and a young
knight enters.
"Milord, the men are ready and gathered in the courtyard."
Railen
looks up from the map and nods. "Thank you. Go wait for me with
the
others, Ill be along in a moment." With a slight bow, the
young knight turns
and leaves the room, shutting the door quietly
behind him. Railen sighs and
walks over to the glass case that
held his grandfathers sword. He opens the
case and reverently
lifts the sword. 

It felt almost weightless in his hand, and
like an old friend to boot. He
admires the etching in the blade,
The crown symbol of the Defenders of the
Crown. He takes the
sword in both hands and presses his forehead to the
blade.
"Grandfather, Help me protect this land and the people who live
on
it. Help me to lead my men and destroy the evil that runs
rampant." He prays
and then grabs the sheath and sheaths the
blade. Sliding the Sheathed sword
into the spot on his belt, he
turns and grabs his shield, and slings it
across his back and
then grabs his helmet, tucking it under his arm as he
strides
from the room. 

He walks out of the main doors and looks out at
the courtyard full of men.
The men who were talking among
themselves all fall silent and look up at
Railen. "My Brothers,
this night we leave to combat the forces of evil." He
says as he
walks slowly down the stairs. "Many times we have fought and
bled
together, and never have we failed. Together We will fight.
Together we will
win. I ask that you follow me once more. I ask
that you ride with me to
Solamnias defense. We will protect the
Land, and if the land can not be
protected, we must protect the
people. Are you with me?" A shout rises from
the knights. "Now
Mount up!" He shouts as he slides his helmet onto his head
and
almost leaps up into the saddle of his horse. "And lets ride!"
The
courtyard explodes into noise as the knights climb into the
saddle and then
together Railen and his Knights ride from the
keep and out into the plains. 

Author:    Railen      
  
Date:      Mon Dec 14 22:10:24 2009
Subject    
Regrouping.

Railen looks out at the Smoke rising from the
city of Palanthas. He stood
in just a bloodied tunic and hose.
His armor was stowed on his packhorse. He
winces as he shifts,
putting a hand to the bloody bandage on his torso. With
a sigh he
turns to the few battered and bloodied that were able to make
it
out with him. "Come on men, Stow your armor and let's men
blend in with
those refugees. Then let's find our brothers and
regroup so we can gather
our forces and stike back." He says as
he limps to his horse and hauls
himself painfully up onto his
horse. A murmur of agreement went Ride through
the few knights
that were there and they all followed suit and together they
down
to join the stream of refugees. Once there, they hear talk of A
Rose
knight leading a ship of fellow knights and were near the
coast. After
staying with the Refugees until they were well away
from Palanthas, Railen
and his knigts Struck north toward the
coast to find their brother knights. 

Author:   
Railen         
Date:      Mon Dec 21 05:13:29
2009
Subject     Reliving the battle.

Railen leans
against a wall in one of the many Alleys that his men
were
Waiting in to ambush the approaching Draconians. The street
was filled with
smoke from the many fires. "Hold!" Railen Shouts
to his men as he grips his
sword with both hands. He looks across
the street and and nods to a fellow
knight as the Draconians
start to march past the entrances. "NOW!" He shouts
again and his
regiment of Knights burst out from alleys all over the
street.
The knights fought with all of their might against the
evil that had invaded
their Home.

They loss few compared to the
losses of the Dragonarmy Garrison that they
had attacked. "For
Solamnia" and "For Palanthas!" they shouted with such
vehemence
it could be heard clear across the city. Soon the Draconians
fell
before the blades of Railen and his men. A cheer rose from
the bloodied
knights all but one. As the Knights won over the
Draconians, a massive Red
Dragon swoops down, breathing its fiery
death at the knights. Just in the
first swoop, over half of
Railens men lie dead, or screaming in agony as
they burned.
Without hesitating, Railen lifts a horn to his lips and blows
a
deep note. "RETREAT!" He shouts and the order is shouted again
by his
officers. As Railen and his men Retreated, the dragon was
able to kill half
of the knights that were left, leaving the rest
in hopes the draconians
would find and kill them.

They are able
to find horses and retreat from the city. They stopped on a
hill
and looked back at the burning city. Railen sighs and closes his
eyes.
"They will pay for this. We will get our city back and
exterminate these
foul beings." He says between clenched teeth.
Railen wakes up suddenly,
drenched in sweat. With a sigh he
swings his feet out onto the floor and
grabs his shirt and sword
belt. Since he couldnt sleep, he might as well
take a walk.


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Mon Dec
28 04:54:19 2009
Subject     Leaving the isle.

Railen
stands at the bow of the ship that was to carry him to the
place
he would start his search. He quickly and unannounced with
a small group, so
that no one would ask where he goes. He told
one person he was leaving. It
was better this way, he thought.
With no one knowing where he was going, no
one could get their
hopes up on the impossibility of his return. He would
return a
hero, or not at all. Sighing gently, he runs his hand through
his
hair and then looks down at the axe that had been given to
him just before
he left. A beautifully crafted double bladed axe,
the shaft was made from
vallenwood and wrapped in black
leather.

The blade had the name Lanfer etched into it and the
other had the name
Tillov. It was deemed, The Bond of Brothers,
and so long as that bond stays
strong, the axe shall never be
broken. Lanfer had given it to Railen with
the words: "There
have been times I thought death had been on my door Railen
but
with the strength of the steel in this axe I was able to overcome
and I
now wish you to carry it upon this journey. Have faith,
stay strong and by
the gods, good luck." With that, Lanfer
turned and strode back toward the
trees.


With a grim smirk,
Railen slides the axe into its holster on his back and
pulls up
the hood of his gray cloak. He felt lighter without his armor,
but
it was best to leave it behind too. Thus, it began. His quest
of quests.

He would come back a hero, or not at all.


Author:    Railen         
Date:      Thu Jan
28 21:17:52 2010
Subject     Squirely Training.

Railen
watches as Zanra clumsily moves through the beginners stances
he
had taught her. He nods gently and moves in front of her.
"Your Weapon is
not just a tool. You must think of it as an
extension of yourself. Lets go
through them again." He says as
he goes through each stance, with her
mocking his movements.
"Thats better. It will come to you in time." He says
softly
with a nod. "Est Solaras Oth Mithas. My honor is my Life. This
is our
Oath, Zanra. This is what we live by." She nods and he
steps back, smiling
as he can tell she is improving. "The
measure defines the Oath, But do not
get lost in the measure.
Live by the Oath. Die by the Oath." "Life will take
you through
many trials as a Knight. You face both honorable and
dishonorable
foes, but you must stick to the Oath. Understand?" Zanra
nods
as she finishes the last stance.

"Good. That is all for
today, I would rest while you can. Tomorrow is only
going to get
harder. Oh, and I hope you were listening, because I expect
you
to be able to recite to me what Ive told you today." He
smiles and returns
her bow, then watches as she disappears into
the trees. He sighs gently and
walks down the beach. Silently he
ponders what he will do about the
Nordmaarians that arrived the
day before. Their help, he could use. But he
didnt trust them.
This Tachande, he was once a follower of Takhisis, and
Railen
knew all too well how much power she has. He pauses and looks out
at
the sea. They had many good plans to retake Palanthas, but a
plan is just a
plan. Cursing softly he continues on down the
beach.

Perhaps he could have Tesnos take him to the Wildrunners
and ask for more of
their aid. But It was a long shot. Elves are
not known to care about others.
He shakes his head and continues
down the beach. What to do, what to do. 

Author:   
Railen         
Date:      Fri Feb 19 02:43:07
2010
Subject     The traitor and the dwarf.

(ooc: This
is the story for the Pk last night)

Railen and Sdresk sat
talking quietly by a fire, neither wearing their
armor, talking
quietly over the trip ahead when it happened. A strange
dwarf,
and Tellumaelnor, knight of the Sword, came charging out of
the
trees, weapons drawn. Both, Railen and Sdresk jump up, Railen
whipping his
sword from its sheath, and Sdresk brandishing his
axe. Sdresk jumps forward
to engages the dwarf, while Railen
parries a strike from Tellumaelnor.
"Tellumaelnor! What is this?"
Railen shouts as he jumps back from another
swing. He was giving
ground freely, until he was for sure Tellumaelnor was
dead set in
becoming a traitor.

Tellumaelnor smirks and swings his sword
again. "Just good business, old
boy." He says as Railen deftly
dodges the blow. Rolling across the ground,
Railen grabs his
shield and with shakes his head. "Youre a damned
Traitor
Tellumaelnor. As Lord High Warrior and Captain of the
Defenders, I must
disarm you and turn you over to the council."
He glances over at Sdresk and
the dwarf, both viciously hacking
at each other. He looks back to
Tellumaelnor and nods. "Ready
thyself, Tellumaelnor the Traitor. Judgment
will be upon thee
soon."

He says as he jumps forward. They fought valiantly, both
evenly matched
until Tellumaelnor started to ware out because of
the additional weight of
his armor. With a quick move, Railen
disarms Tellumaelnor, sending his
weapon flying, then bashes him
hard with his shield. Tellumaelnor falls
heavily to the ground
with a grunt of pain, and Railen lowers his sword at
him. "Do you
yield?" He asks, but his attention is diverted as Sdresk
calls
out. The dwarf had tripped him and was ready to sink his
weapon into Sdresk.
Railen grunts and hurls his shield at the
dwarf. It hits the dwarf square in
the chest, knocking him away
from Sdresk. Railen turns back to Tellumaelnor,
but the man had
vanished. He looks back over, and Sdresk is rising to his
feet,
cursing about chasing the Dwarf who had ran off too. "Sdresk,
Stop.
Weve beat them for now. The cowards can not go far. Well
get a troop of
Defenders to come look for them."

He says as he
sighs and shakes his head. He couldnt believe Tellumaelnor
had
betrayed the Knighthood. 

Author:    Railen       
 
Date:      Wed Sep 22 19:53:37 2010
Subject    
Preparing to Leave.

Railen stands in his office,
bare-chested, but with his plate leg armor
on, looking out at the
courtyard where his knights were preparing their
things to be
moved to the ships that would ferry them across to the
mainland.
With a soft sigh, he turns from the window and turns his
hand
through his braided hair. He walks across the Office to a
small basin of
water that sat under a mirror.

He looked at least
10 years older than he actually was, carrying the erosion
of
years not so much on his battered face but in half a dozen
minor
infirmities and discomforts and in the several wide purple
scars that always
ached in damp weather. He runs his hand across
the scars on his chest,
before leaning forward and splashing
water on his face. Patting his face dry
with a cloth he moves
toward the armor stand where the top half of his
armor
was.

Gently he runs his fingers across his breastplate,
before tugging his rust
splotched padded tunic on and slowly
strapping the rest of his armor on.
Grabbing his cloak, he hooks
it onto his pauldrons, then brings an end
around the left side of
his body and hooks it onto his right pauldron.
Lastly, he grabs
his helmet and shield, before leaving his office to join
his men
in the courtyard. By time he exits the keep and strides out into
the
courtyard, He has his helmet on and his shield slung across
his back.

One of his Knights approaches him. "Sir, the ships are
here and the men are
ready." Railen nods as he walks toward his
shaggy roan. "Then lets move.
Lanfer and the others will be
waiting for us." He says as he hauls himself
up onto his horses
back and adjusts the axe slung on his saddle bow. The
courtyard
bursts into a loud crash of metal as the knights pull
themselves
up onto their horses. 

Author:    Railen   
     
Date:      Sat Sep 25 04:04:57 2010
Subject    
Preparing to Leave

Railen stands in his office,
bare-chested, but with his plate leg armor
on, looking out at the
courtyard where his knights were preparing their
things to be
moved to the ships that would ferry them across to the
mainland.
With a soft sigh, he turns from the window and turns his
hand
through his braided hair. He walks across the Office to a
small basin of
water that sat under a mirror. He was at least ten
years older than he
looked, carrying the erosion of years not so
much on his battered face but
in half a dozen minor infirmities
and discomforts and in the several wide
purple scars that always
ached in damp weather. He runs his hand across the
scars on his
chest, before leaning forward and splashing water on his
face.
Patting his face dry with a cloth he moves toward the armor
stand where the
top half of his armor was.

Gently he runs his
fingers across his breastplate, before tugging his rust
splotched
padded tunic on and slowly strapping the rest of his armor
on.
Grabbing his cloak, he hooks it onto his pauldrons, then
brings an end
around the left side of his body and hooks it onto
his right pauldron.
Lastly, he grabs his helmet and shield,
before leaving his office to join
his men in the courtyard. By
time he exits the keep and strides out into the
courtyard, He has
his helmet on and his shield slung across his back.

One of his
Knights approaches him. "Sir, the ships are here and the men
are
ready." Railen nods as he walks toward his shaggy roan. "Then
lets move.
Lanfer and the others will be waiting for us." He says
as he hauls himself
up onto his horses back and adjusts the axe
slung on his saddle bow. The
courtyard bursts into a loud crash
of metal as the knights pull themselves
up onto their horses.
With a curt motion Railen leads the column of knights
from the
keep, their first steps toward War. 

Author:    Railen
        
Date:      Thu Oct  7 19:24:37 2010
Subject    
Landing at Kalaman

The three ships that held Railen and
His defenders slowly crept through
the dark waters, toward the
docks of Kalaman. Rain fell steadily from the
sky, further
obscuring their movements. The others came slowly behind
him,
their ships lined with archers. As Railen and his men neared
the docks, he
lifts a curved horn to his lips and bellows a long
hallow note signaling the
attack. Archers from the other ships
start to rake the docks and wall with
arrows as the attackers
slide gangplanks across to the docks and start to
quickly unload.
Sounds of alarm and cries of pain fill the air as Railen
blows
another blast from his horn, stopping the rain of
arrows.

"FORWARD!" He shouts as he draws his sword and leads his
knights down off
the docks. The bodies of a few patrolmen scatter
the ground between them and
the heavy gate. "Markus, Jac, Jelis,
Get that Gate down!" He says to the
three men next to him and
they start to murmer a prayer under their breath.
Within moments
bolts of lightning rain down from the skies, striking on
the
other side of the wall multiple times before strike after
strike hit the
gate, blowing it to bits. Before the dust had
settled, Railen was moving
forward. "Sound the horn. Tell the
others to start landing." He says to one
of his knights before
looking around.

"This is it men! Into the city and lets Show
these Dragonarmy Scum who their
dealing with!" He shouts and at
once all of his men reply with three
measured "Huroo"s. Railen
and his knights are met at the blown up gate by
the Dragonarmies.
Three hundred of the finest Crown knights pitted against a
force
of equal mass. As Lanfer and the others Disembark they rain
arrows on
the Dragonarmy defends on the inside of the walls.
"PUSH THEM BACK!" Railen
bellows, pointing his sword toward the
city. "I want to be in the City
before the sun comes up!" his
knights reply with another Huroo and surge
forward. Time seems to
pass slowly as they fight their initial battle for
Kalaman. But
soon enough, the Dragonarmy retreats further into the
city,
giving the knights a victory. Railen shouts orders to form
up inside the
city and prepare to march on Castle Kalaman, where
the remainder of the
Dragonarmy would most likely be. The sun had
crested the horizon, flooding
the streets with dawns earily
light. Railen wipes his sword on the hem of
his torn and bloodied
cloak, before sheating it and taking a quick head
count. Atleast
one third of his Defenders had fallen. He bows his head
and
offers a quick prayer to them before lifting his horn. The
Tone is a
Melancholy note and the remainder of his troops start
to March toward Castle
Kalaman. Lanfer would have to bring the
rest as soon as he could. With a
small sigh, He moves to the head
of the columns of knights. 

Author:    Railen        

Date:      Wed Nov 27 08:31:37 2013
Subject    
Escape

(Alright. cut me some slack im rusty and im forced to use a phone app. not too detailed because i didnt want to take too many liberties on the DA. so here goes.) Sighing softly, Railen pulls back his hair and ties it in a ponytal with a strip of cloth ripped from his blanket. He had lost track of time, didn't know if it was day or night right now. He didn't even know how long he had been there. He shakes his head and finds the iron bar that he had wiggled off of his prison bars and starts to rub it on the stone floor in an effort to make it a weapon. Time slowly ticks by for him, with only the sound of his scrapes to be heard. Between the torture and malnutrition he was a shadow of the man he once was, his features almost skeletal and his skin pale. He hears the gate open and quickly hides his makeshift weapon, his face growing hard. Defiance till death. The Dragonarmy would never break him. He watches the torchlight inch closer to his cell, strangely enough it was as if they were looking for someone, but he was the only one in the cell block. He waits for the light to reach his cell. When it did, the men on the other side wore the standard red army uniform, one baring the rank of captain, but they all four wore deep cowls over their heads and one held a bundle under his arm. "Lord High Warrior Railen Revon." An all to familar voice intones as the man in the captains uniform pushes his hood back, revealing a dark haired man with a nasty scar on his cheek, grinning like a fool. "We've finally found you." Railen stares at the man in shock. Riek von strankis. The captain of his Defenders of the Crown. "By the Triumvirate, what are you doing here?" He says still in disbelief. "We'll talk about that later" Riek says as he produces the key to unlock the cell. "Help him dress. We'll carry him out like hes drank too much. We need to be out of the city within the hour." Reik says as he swings the door open. The other men move into the cell and help Railen into the uniform and then with one on either side they pick him up and leave the cell. They sneak as best they can until they reach the street where they walk normally down the street, Railen hanging between tw of them as if he was passed out. Shortly after leaving the city they reach a small clearing where six men and horses await. The men saulte Railen, who can only smile. He cant believe he is free and that his men came all this way to rescue him. Silently he listens to Rieks well thought out plan, his mind already working to strike back at the Dragonarmy. The plan was simple, there was a boat waiting to take them to Palanthas where they would be safe. But when they reached the coast their ship was a half sunken flaming light out at sea. So they struck west, to travel to caergoth by land and find a ship there.

Author: Railen Date: Fri Nov 29 00:12:50 2013 Subject Healed

Waking up with Autumnstar asleep on the side of the bed, Railen somewhat laboriously pulls her into the bedand covers her up. On shakey knees he walks from the room and finds Riek asleep in a chair by the door. It brings a smile to his face, knowing the loyality he has inspired in these men to go to such lengths to see him safe. He grabs a cloak that was tossed across a chair and covers the man up with it. He turns and a sharp pain shoots through his head at the brightness of the fireplace, making him squeeze his eyes shut. He slowly opens his eyes and the realization that he could see out of his left eye sweeps over him. What power did this Kender have? How could she bring him from the brink of death and restore sight in his eye? He turns to make sure the kender is still asleep in the room. He studies her for a long moment, still amazed he could see again. Smirking he turns an slowly walks toward the innkeeper, His thoughts jumbled. On the side of a cold bath, Railen shaves his long blond hair, watching it fall in great locks to the floor. Once he finishes shaving and bathing, he takes a cold meal back to the room the kender slept in and sits in the chair next to the bed. He had questions to ask this Autumnstar, but they would wait until morning.

Author: Railen Date: Tue Dec 3 11:58:01 2013 Subject Solamnia.

It felt good to have a saddle under him, and his sword on his side. Far too long had he been without his blade, and he was amazed when Riek presented it to him, with the axe Lanfer had given him and his ring of office and family signet. All that were recovered when he was rescued. It felt good, the weight of the sword. A reassuring weight. Smiling grimly, he pulls his hood further over his head, his left eye was still sensitive to light. He had sent a messenger to Palanthas to the Grandmaster, but he rode with his most faithful men, and of course Autumnstar, north from garnet. He planned to gather up his Defenders of the Crown. Those vetern knights that swore an oath to the Order of the Crown, and to Railen. On their own accord, they swore to follow him into the Abyss itself if thats where he led them. Over the next weeks, the group snaked their way across Solamnia. Their group grew daily, with more promised to show at Palanthas. By the time they reach Revon Keep, he is healthy enough to put on armor, so he dusted off the unaddorned suit of armor he had before he found his grandfathers and put it on. The weight nearly buckled his knees, but he refused to give in. He took a couple days, to let his men rest for the few straglers to get there and to readdjust to the weight of his armor before he and the Fifty Defenders of the Crown that had heard his call, mount up and ride on to Palanthas, his banner men flying banners of the Triumvirate, the Solamnic Knighthood, the Order of the Crown and the Revon family banner.

Author: Railen Date: Wed Dec 11 14:08:14 2013 Subject [FWD] Return to Palanthas.

[FWD Note] - [179] Railen: Return to Palanthas. [FWD Date] - Wed Dec 11 13:21:07 2013 [FWD To ] - all [Original to:] alls [FWD List] - story The welcome in Palanthas was not a welcoming parade, quite the oposite with the streets deserted. A steady drizzle fell from the sky and Railen chuckles to himself. It always rained when he came home. Shaking his head, he pats his horses neck with his gloved hand. He hadnt expected hero's welcome, because he was not a hero. He had been gone for months, presumed dead and replaced by a young man, strict in the measure. The guardsmen watched as the passed, whispering amoung themselves. Railen paid them no mind. They knew his banner. Slowly, the men ride through the old city, to the Keep within. The new High Warrior would be waiting for him. The gates of the keep were open, with guards on either side. Young men, merely more than childern who tried their best look stern, though they were nervous to the point of shaking. His bannermen entered first, then he and the ten Knights he brought with him, the rest were left out side of the city. The courtyard was full of Knights and squires, with the new High Warrior standing front and center, the mantle of the Lord High Warrior draped about his shoulders, his face full of unhidden hatred. Railen dismounts, leaving both his sword and his axe slung on his saddle. He pushes his grey hood back, revealing his freshly shaved head. Walking toward the new High Warrior he scans the knights there looking for those who knew him. Grimly, he looks at the new High Warrior and tugs the glove off his left hand. "I am Lord High Warrior Railen Revon.." He starts but the new High Warrior steps forward and interupts. "You are not the High Warrior! You are a fake and a spy. The Railen i remember was blind in his left eye and had long blond hair." "Regan Shieldbreaker." Railen says shaking his head. "You were always overly ambitous." Ignoring Regan sputters, Railen looks around the courtyard. "Most of you have known me for years. I will let you decide. If each of you can look me in the eye and say i am not who i claim the i will give up any claim to the ring i wear, and to the mantle he wears." He says, bringing his left hand to his chest, showing the signet of the Lord High Warrior. Brushing past Regan, Railen moves to an older vetern Knight. After a few moments of looking into his eyes, the knight grins broadly and slaps Railen on his shoulder. "This is The High Warrior. I will vouch for him." One after one, the Knights in attendence say the same, leaving Regan sputtering madly and his eyes bulging. With a near inhuman scream of rage Regan yanks his sword out of its scabbard. "I AM THE HIGH WARRIOR! ME!" He screams and charges at Railen. Railen deftly dodges the rage driven assault before Riek and a number of his Defenders intervine and wrestle Regan to the ground. "Attacking an unarmed foe and assaulting a Lord Knight. Regan, those are not the qualities of a High Warrior or any Knight of Solamnia. Riek, restrain him. The Grandmaster should be here soon." Railen says with a sigh, before walking to his horse and retreaving his sword. Tucking it under his belt, he nods to the groom and then turns to walk into the keep, to await the Grandmaster.

Author: Railen Date: Mon Dec 16 10:17:56 2013 Subject Est Sularus Oth Mithas

Over the weeks, as he awaits news from both his Grandmaster and the Palanthian nobles, he has found a tattooist and had the Solamnic oath tattooed on his face, following the vertical line of the scar. It was a pretty unpleasent exprience, but the effect was all but worth it. 'Est Sularus Oth Mithas'. My honor is my life. That is all he had left, the remnants of his honor. He sat in one of he towers inside the keep in Palanthas, brooding over the condition of the Knighthood. The once mighty protectors...now little more than men and women shunned by the populace for failing. Sticking to the strict word of the Measure had been the biggest downfall. Stiff and uptight, rigid with the Measure do not make for 'perfect Knights'. There were no such thing. Upon his return, he and all that were there witnessed the 'perfect Knight' who knew the Measure better than most, fall to the grip of hatred and attack an unarmed man. The Knighhood needed to follow more to the Oath and let the Measure be more of a guide, than the strict law that it is now. The tattoo on his face was his testament that he would follow the code. They can hang the Measure for all he cared. Out dated laws can do nothing but harm the Knighthood in this time of need. The Knighthood would see itself change, or it will see itself destoyed from both the inside and outside.

Author: Railen Date: Thu Dec 26 10:39:27 2013 Subject The ends do not justify the Means.

Crumpling a letter bearing the seal of the Grandmaster, Railen tosses it into the burning fire place. Sighing softly he sits in a chair near the fireplace and looks over a Map of the continent. The GrandMaster would be no help. Not enough evidence to constitute an 'Invasion' as he put it. If that is how it was to be then so be it. The Dragonarmies were on the move, of that he was sure. He would not be caught unaware again. He stands, pulls on a knee length black tunic, belts on his sword, grabs a rolled stack of papers and leaves his room. He finds the man hes looking for in the training area outside, with a group of young men discussing the Oath and the Measure. "Riek, i need to speak to you." Railen says motioning him away. Riek follows him away. "Yes Milord?" he ask and Railen looks around. "I need you to gather every Crown Knight here. Then go to my keep and gather up the Defenders i sent there." Railen hands Riek the papers. "There are detailed instructions on what i want you to do and orders stating you are doing so under my Command." Riek stuffs the papers into a internal pocket of his jacket and briskly salutes Railen. "As you command milord. We will leave at once." Railen shakes his head. "Pace yourself my friend. We have a long road ahead of us. Leave the day after tomorrow. I will meet you where you will end up. And Riek, do not approach the Sword or Rose. Only our Brothers of the Crown, and if anyone asks what you are doing show them that letter and say nothing." Nodding Riek salutes again. "You are a good man Riek. Now go back to teaching those youngsters our oath." Walking from Riek, Railen sighs and walks out of the keep and into streets of Palanthas. He roams the streets, lost in thought. What he was doing, while not disobeying any direct orders but merely side steping around them, could be viewed as such. If or When the time comes for him to own up to what he is doing now, he would stand before the council and possibly be banished from the knighthood and thrown in jail. The ends does not always justify the means, but he will not sit around while the Dragonarmy runs rampant. When it came time to face the consequences, he would face them. But until then, he had a war to win.

Author: Railen Date: Tue Jan 7 16:04:01 2014 Subject Gather the Nobles.

Railen looks over the harbor, his icy blue eyes studing the great bay. He wore a well fitted black tunic that has a crown embriodered over the heart. He stood alone, his hand resting non chalantly on the pummel of his sword. He is joined by a bearded nobleman that walked with a crutch. "Milord." He says with a smile and an inclination of his head. Railen smiles and returns the bow. "My friend. Im glad you could make it. I am sorry to make you come out but i need your help." Railen says, turning to look at the man who shifts uncomfortably under his gaze. "Of course, High Warrior. I will do anything i can for you." He says all but snapping to attention. "You are a good man, Abel. I need to speak to the nobles of Palanthas. The DragonArmies are moving and we must be ready for them but the nobles will not speak to me. I need you to gather them in one place so i can convince them to join us." "Thatll be no easy task Milord. They are still quite put out with the knighthood." Abel says with a frown. "But if anyone can bring them back itll be you. Ill set it up and let you know the details." And with that he hobbles off hurriedly. Railen smiles a grim, determined smile. Abel was a good knight once until he took an arrow in the knee. But he was still loyal and had some pull with the nobles. Turning on his heel, he starts back to the keep already wording his speech to the nobles.

Author: Railen Date: Wed Jan 8 16:07:26 2014 Subject Gather the Nobles part 2

The noble houses of Palanthas sat around a large table, drinking chilled wine and conversing amoung themselves. The Mayor was there as well, a fat pompous man who had never worked an honest day in his life. Abel hobbles in on his crutches and. Hush falls over the table. "What do you want, Abel? Why did you call us all here?" The mayor says in a nasty tone while stuffing his facr with a roast pig. Abel clears his throat. "It is my honor to present Lord High Warrior Railen Revon." Railen steps around the corner and the room erputs into an angry chatter. Railen stands there in silence smoothing the front of his white tunic that bares the symbols of the knighthood. He studies the nobles, the ones shouting accusations and the ones that sit in silence. There were some few that responded to his massive. But denined him aid unless the others could be pursaded. Cowards, the lot of them. "Are you done?" Railen asks, he doesnt raise his voice but his tone hushes the angered nobles. He takes a deep breath and nods. "Good. Im glad we are done shouting. I am here to talk and you are here to listen." One of the noble starts to speak but Railen silences him with a look that could shatter rock. Resting his hand the pummel if his sword he starts speaking again. "I have no illusions of what happened. I failed you in the defense of this great city. The dragonarmy was allowed to loot and burn, and for that you are angry with the knighthood. Because your precious things were taken or burned." He pauses a moment to let the angry murmurs die. "But on that same day i made anothet promise. If the city were to fall, i promised to protect the people. Let me ask, who here lost a loved one that night?" He pauses for an awnser. "None of you? Thats right because you were under the protection of my men. My men who died protecting the things you covet and the people you love." Another deep breath. "Now you slander our name, make us out to be cowards. But i tell you this, not one Knight retreated before the evacuations were complete. We held the line so that the people could run. So in that, i kept one of my promises. We protected the people. You lost your homes and valubles, but the knighthood lost brave men and women. Hundreds of them. Those knights are gone, unlike your things which have already replaced. We took great losses and some how we are the ones that get cast away. Who will fight for you when the dragonarmy comes back?" He sighs. "And come back, they will. They are already on the move again. There is no telling when they will turn their claws toward Solamnia and eventually there will be back here. Again." He takes a drink of water that was offered by Abel. "I will not lie to you. I am a broken, beaten shell of the man i used to be. I was taken prisoner and tortured relentlessly. I prayed for my death because death would of been easier than living. Living with the failure of losing this city, with the weight of all the knights killed on my shoulders. But my men felt i should live. Risking everything, they rescued me. The loyalty and love that these men have for me renewed me, and from the ashes of that broken man a new one is born. A stronger man. One that will win this war at any cost." "What of your Measure?" The Mayor asks quietly. "Hang the Measure! I will not hold my men to an ancient rule book that does nothing but get them killed. We fight to win, not fight to fulfill the measure." He takes a deep breath to calm himself. "I have lost everything. I will not lose again." He turns and walks to the door where someone passes him a neatly folded square of white cloth. Walking back to the table he lays it down on it. "The Dragonarmy is on the move. How long before they are here? How long do wr have to mend our ties and support one another? Because without us your city will burn to the ground and without you i can not field the numbers i need to field. Support us, and we will protect you. Do not, and we will leave the city and you may ask for the Gods to protect it." He holds up his hand.

Author: Railen Date: Wed Jan 8 16:09:35 2014 Subject Gather the nobles part 2 cont

"I do not want to talk about it. You will support us or you will not. Raise this banner if you, return it to me if you do not. We can discuss details later but for now I do not wish to squabble over petty differences. Talk amoungst yourselves. Decide the fate of your city amd possibly all of Solamnia." With an elegant bow he smiles softly, the first time his face had changed the entire time. "I will await your awnser." He says before turning o his heel and leaving. As the door closes behind him the room erupts into talks. Grinning softly he nods to his men that waited close by and they return to the keep to await an awnser.

Author: Railen Date: Thu Jan 9 13:15:19 2014 Subject The awnser.

Railen sits alone in his office, sipping a small glass of still warm tea. It was still dark out, the sun had yet to rise and bathe the world in its warm embrace. He looks over one of the many maps he had across his desk, this one of the far eastern border of Solamnia around Throtyl. This was his third sleepless night in a row. His dreams were haunted by Lanfer, whom he had tried to save but couldnt. Now he was alone, wife and the one man he called family were both taken from him. The men had each other to rely on and find support but Railen had to be as immovable as the sun. He had to be the unbreakable beacon in the darkness for his men to rally to, That glimmer of hope against unsurpassable odds. He would be this for his men because that is what they need to fight the never ending war. Sighing to himself Railen sips his tea and leans back into his chair. It had been s number of days since he had talked to the nobles and he was still awaiting an awnser. He was sure they would come to their senses and support the Knighthood. He is awakened from his thoughts by a knock on the door. "Enter." He says just load enough to be heard. A young man nervously enters the room. "Milord, I think you should come see this." He says and with a nod Railen rises, buckles on his sword and follows the boy out of the room. "Lead the way lad." The boy, a squire by the name of Hector, leads Railen to the top of the keep walls and points out across the city. Shining in the first rays of sunlight is the War banner of the Solamnic Knighthood. Smiling Railen clasps the boy on his shoulder. "Go wake the others and have someone take word to all of Solamnia that Palanthas is open to all members of the Knighthood." The boy nods and hurries off leaving Railen alone on the battlements. He would leave one of his Lords in charge, with Abel to help deal with to nobles. He needed to meet with the Grand Master. Together they needed to come up with a plan. He whistles down to the courtyard to have his horse and those of his guard saddled and have them informed that they were to leave at first possible chance. He returns to his office and as quickly as he can he straps his armor on and meets his Defenders of the Crown in the courtyard before mounting up and trotting out of the city. He had left instructions with a Lord of the Crown on what to do while he was putting his armor on. Humming the Song of Huma as he rides, Railen looks toward the horizon hopeful of what comes next.

Author: Railen Date: Sat Jan 25 11:06:23 2014 Subject Messenger.

Railen stood alone in the darkness while his men slept. The fire had died down and he stood on the outskirts of the fire, looking out at the darkness. He had sent one of his men ahead to Solanthus with orders to send out messages to various people. Railen was taking him time getting there, he wanted to get to know this Minotaur better before he let him into the Keep. But the messages needed to be sent. They would going to Silvanost and Qualinost, to a known White Robe to be relayed to the Tower of High Sorcery, to Thorbardin and the various Hill Dwarf settlements. And to those mercenaries who held themselves in the light. All asking for aid. They needed to come together. Human, Elf, Dwarf, Mage, even Kender it all made no difference to him. The Dragonarmies would take the world if no one could set aside the past and fight for the Future. He could not let that happen. Sighing, he looks at the snoring Minotaur that slept near the fire. He seemed to wish to follow the path of Righteousness, the path of Honor. But he had a ways to go and Railen could not let him just waltz into the Keep without knowing for sure what his intentions were. A couple days time is all he had to make his decision. He would drill him some more in the Oath and the Measure. If he would follow the teachings of the Knighthood and of the Triumvirate, he would have a place by Railen's side. A Kaz to his Huma. Chuckling softly he turns his attention back to the darkness. Only time would tell.

Author: Railen Date: Sat Mar 1 00:27:53 2014 Subject Day to Day.

Railen stood watching his knights train in packed dirt just outside if the city Solanthus. They worked on moving together at both small Shield sized units and Squadron strength. He wanted them to work on what he called Overmatch. A smaller unit fighting one larger. He stared with a Shield verse a shield plus 1 and now its gotten up to a shield verse a Squadron which nearly double the size. He tought them what they should do on both sides of the Overmatch with decent results. Between what he was working on and what Evaan had started, the force of men infront of him are absolutely brutal. The Dragonarmy would meet a very different army when they meet next. Turning his horse he nods at the commanders who start to shout orders to haul it in before it gets dark. He nudges his big Roan into a trot and returns back to the city. With the new training he hoped to give his men the edge they would need to further protect Solamnia. Handing the reins to a stablehand he enters the keep and makes his way toward his office, where he had left the many dispatches he had to go over. Entering his office, he stokes the still hot coals of his fire and sets his tea kettle on them. "Gods im getting old." He murmurs to himself flopping into his chair and starting to read over a dispatch from Gaardlund. Apparently the daughter of of Solamnic lord in Starmort had run away and there is a rise in Goblin activity. Sighing as he stands, he pours himself a glass of the pungent smelling tea amd takes a sip, settling the kettle back in the coals. He would have to send men to check it out. A Shield would suffice to check out the goblins. The runaway girl was really none of his concern. Sitting back at his desk he starts to write up the orders, while sipping at his tea, with permission to draw from local Circles should the need arise. He hoped it was nothing more than rumor, but it was always better to be safe. Sealing the orders with his Signet, he calls for a page to gather the men he requested and to tell them they would be leaving with the dawn. With his tea gone, he kicks his feet up on his desk, pulls his hood over his eyes and smiles himself as he drifts off into a nap.

Author: Railen Date: Tue Apr 1 16:11:10 2014 Subject Abandoned.

Walking through the Keep, Railen hums an old Solamnic marching tune. He stops before the Grandmaster's door and knocks, but the door swings open at his touch. With one hand on his sword he pushes the door open wide. The room is empty, the desk clear save a single sheet of paper and the heavy signet of the Grandmaster. Walking somewhat cautiously Railen moves to the desk. Picking up the signet, he quickly reads the writing on the paper. Cursing under his breath he picks up the paper and crumples it into a ball. He knew better than to trust him, knew that he wasnt ready to take the respodsibility of the title. Shaking his head, he strides from the room, tossing the crumbled ball into the still hot coals where it bursts into flame. Stopping a page, he tells the boy to find the knights that were Warden or above in Rank and have them meet him in the War room as soon as possible. With the Signet ring of the GrandMaster clenched in his fist he goes to the war room and waits for the men and women he requested to arrive. Riek is one of the first to arrive and after a short discussion Railen tells him to guard the door after the others arrive. A short time passes before all of those he had called for arrived, but when they finally did he closed the door and walks to the middle of the big room, standing on the large floor map of Ansalon. "It saddens me deeply to announce that our Grandmaster has decided to leave us." A soft murmur moves across the knights. "It appears he was not ready to accept the responsibility of the title and could not bare the shame of stepping down, so under the cover of night, he gathered his things and left." Sighing as he scans the gathered Knights Railen walks to a long table and sets the signet right down on it. "Being a leader during peace time is one thing, but facing the times we face now..it can be hard to take on that. We all know the atrocities that war brings. We here, know what it is like to have the men and women who follow us slaughtered by the forces of evil. It is hard for us, but it's even harder for the Grandmaster. The knighthood can live or die on his orders, and it was too much for Evaan. But this could of come at a better time. I had hoped he would bring the much needed unity that this Knighthood needs to survive, for we are Fractured. But we will have to push on, fractured or not, we have a responsibility to the people of Solamnia. I will take over the day to day here in Solanthus and do anything in my power as High Warrior to better the knighthood. We have a duty to the people, and I mean to keep it, Grandmaster or not." Running a hand over his freshly shaved head. "I will leave it up to you to tell the men under you. We can not let this effect our morale and you know those who serve under you better than I. Keep Faith, brothers and sisters. The triumvirate will watch over us. You are all dismissed. Est Sularus Oth Mithas" he finishes with a traditional knights Salute. The Knights snap to their salute, before filing out of the room, leaving Railen alone, staring at the signet in his hand. He quietly whispers a prayer under his breath before leaving the war room himself, the signet clutched in his fist.

Author: Railen Date: Fri Sep 19 09:13:43 2014 Subject Ponderings of an Old Knight

Railen sighs deeply, flexing his stiff fingers in the cool night air. He would soon march east; with what Crown knights he could muster to investigate rumors of the Dragonarmy. Fifty knights in all would all that he will take, just in case it is a diversion to leave their keeps defenseless. Though he would have men staged in keeps closer to the Border. Hopefully it was just that, rumors. He doesn't think the Knighthood could stand to go to war. Too much internal squabbling, too much persecution defined by the Measure. He is vaguely aware of the Tattoo on his face. It seems whenever he thinks of this subject it almost burns in his skin. Est Sularus Oth Mithas, his lips mouth silently. My Honor is my Life. After the Cataclysm most of the knighthood had become too focused on the Measure, the tomes of books that define Honor, and less about the actual Honor. Oh, they were still honorable, but it made them uptight, elitist. Railen wished to change that. He wished to take the Knighthood back to how it was in the time of Huma. When they were a force of good, not a farce. It had come to him in a dream. The knighthood must change, or it will die. Running a hand over his shaved head, he looks out at the moon lit pastures around Keep Di Revon. His men, those loyal to him, those who he dubbed The Defenders of the Crown, had taken to his words to heart, many of them coping his tattoo on their faces, to show they hold the Oath above the measure. But he had to keep them under tight rein. Many of them were Radical in thinking and caused more than their fair share of fights with knights who thought differently than them. Which is why he was taking most of his Defenders with him. These were the men who tracked him for months, and broke him out of a prison in Neraka, the center of the Dragonarmy Power. These are the men who will help him bring change. Staring out into the distance, he sighs again. If they go to war, it would be him and his Defenders that led the first charge. Hopefully, the knighthood would see the threat and do what needs done before it was too late. Hopefully, when they led the first charge into the Ranks of the Dragonarmy, their sacrifice would not be wasted.

Author: Railen Date: Wed Oct 1 10:24:33 2014 Subject Burning Goblins

Standing downwind from large fire that his men had made to burn the bodies of the goblins and Ogres, Railen takes a moment to think back on what had happened. On their way to Gaarlus his scouts had spotted a small group of Goblins, in the middle of Gaardlund. Their presence there only set it more in Railens head that there was a vast, growing evil that would soon descend on Solamnia. They had chased the goblins clear back to their hole, a small cave hidden in a copse of trees, and he ordered the cave cleared. His knights descended on the goblins and their Ogre masters with a righteous fury, killing them all while only taking four wounded of their own. Inside they had found a number of prisoners, mostly young Solamnic girls, all of which were being fed and would be taken to Gaarlus with them. There was one woman though, who when they found her clubbed one of his men over the head with a large bone before she realized she was being rescued, she had intrigued Railen. Obvious that she held a fighting spirit and a strong will to live. He casts a look toward her, her face half shadowed, half lit by the orange flames of the fire, and she returns his look, head held high, proud to have survived her ordeal.

Author: Railen Date: Sat Oct 10 16:14:29 2015 Subject Teaching a Lesson

Moving through the practice field, Railen watches the squires in their various stages of training. Making suggestions to various training Knights. One squire in particular, a noble born son of Solamnia, was being hateful to a half-elf. "You there!" Railen shouts, interupting the boy in midswing. The boy turns, with a disgusted look on his face. "How dare you interrupt me. I am..." "You are such and such, son of Lord what's his name." Railen steps closer. "I. Do. Not. Care. Here, under that banner," Railen points at the banner of the knighthood flapping in the wind. "We are all brothers. It doesn't matter what or who you were before, but the moment you joined our ranks you became brother to all of these men and women." The boy sneers and moves the wooden waster he held from hand to hand. "Who are you to speak to me in such a way?" "I am the Lord High Warrior, Commander of the Order of the Crown, and Lord of this Keep." Railen responds, his voice just above a whisper. "And brother to every knight here." "You are a foolish old man who needs to be replaced." The boy nearly shouts. Railen chuckles as he turns on his heel, walks to one of the knights behind him and takes his sword. "If that is the case then by all means boy, if you think you can take the job it's all yours." He says as he sticks the sword into the ground in front of the boy. "If you can strike me down, the signet is all yours." paces and watched as the fear grips the boys eyes. "Well go on. You were brave enough to be hateful to him, be brave enough take what you want." The boy grabs the sword and launches a downward double handed slice. With deceptive speed, Railen sidesteps the blade, grabs the boys wrist and slams his fist his fist into the boys face once, twice, then jerks the boy off balance and slams his knee into the boys gut before throwing him unceremoniously tossing the boy into the dirt. Wiping the blood off of his fist, Railen looks around. "Look around you. These are the people that will be around in the heat of battle. The ones that will have your back or not. Who would you rather have beside you? Someone you trust? Or someone who hates you?" Railen offers his hand to the boy who was still on the ground. After pulling him up from the ground Railen pats him on the shoulder. "Remember that we are all brothers here. Social class or gender matters not when on the battlefield. Remember that. Now go get looked at." The boy mumbles somethjng before getting helped off the field. "The rest of you, back to work." Railen sighs as he walks away, "Triumvirate help us." He mutters under his breath.

Author: Railen Date: Fri Oct 16 16:12:43 2015 Subject Arras, Solamni.

"Arras, Solamni!" A voice booms from the blackness. "Arras, Kharas!" A blinding white light appears and in the middle of it a figure in ancient Solamnic Armor stand appears. The figuer raises its sword in the traditional Knights salute... ..Sitting atop a huge silver dragon, I reaffirm my grip on the long Dragonlance. All around me there is battle. Knights mounted on dragons of Copper, brass, bronze, gold and Silver fighting Black, Green, White, blue and red ones. Magic and dragon-breath fly across the sky. A massive red bellows a challenge. I urge the silver forward as we bellow our battle cry together... "Arras, Solamni. Arras, Kharas." Railen wakes with a start, the heavy pendent of Kiri-Jolith warm against his skin. "Arras, Solamni." He murmurs before swring his legs off. The side of the bed and sitting up. "Arise Solamnia.." Dressing himself in his armor, such was second nature at his age, he quietly leaves his room to get some fresh air. Outside, on the wall of the keep, a young knight keeps watch over the dimly lit city of Solanthus, snaps to attention when Railen appears. With a slight inclination of his head Railen tells the young man to go get some shut eye, atleast after he went to the cooks and asked someone to his morning tea up. He had heard reports of dragons, but nothing that made him believe. That dream though, it felt so real. He can still smell the air, feel the tingle of magic as it shot past him, feel the Dragonfear as it tried to take him. That was no normal dream. The pendant around his neck had grown cold. He could remember few times the pendant had done that, each time it made him believe that much more the Triumvirate was watching over them. "Arise, Solamnia. But how?" He asks, his eyes scanning the night sky for the bison constellation.

Author: Railen Date: Thu Oct 22 11:06:36 2015 Subject Another Vision

....So this is it. This is how the Lord High Warrior dies, amongst the mud, blood and filth of battle, drowning in my own blood? I could feel it, blood slowly filling up my lung. Each agonizing breath harder to take and giving less oxygen than the last. I start to laugh, blood forcing its way out of my lungs making me spew it everywhere. After everything I've gone through I am to die here in some unknown battlefield. The irony itself was almost too much to take. But it was a good death. I am with my brothers and will be greeted by the Triumvirate. The twang of multiple bows snaps me out of delirium and suddenly there is someone kneeling beside me. My vision so blurry i couldnt make out his face. He was speaking hurriedly, gripping something around his neck. He lays a hand on the wound in my chest and calls out to Kiri. I can feel the wound as it closes and the blood as it leaves my lung. Kiri had awnsered his prayer and saved my life. "On your feet Brother. We have to get out of here." I hear him say as he and another knight pull me up and help support my weight.... A knock on the door wakes Railen, who had fallen asleep at his desk. Putting his hand across his eyes for a moment, Railen sighs. "Enter." He says and a young squires opens the door. "My Lord, a messsge just came for you." The squire hands the sealed message to Railen, who breaks the seal and reads it. "Draw up a message, Tell Tachande to bring himself and all of his men here as fast as possible." The squire nods and leaves the room. Alone again Railen thinks on what he just saw. The Triumvirate was telling him the allies he needed by his side. A Nordmaarian warlord..and a paladin of Kiri. Chuckling to himself, Railen sips the cold tea that sat on hks desk and begins to look over the reports that have been coming in from the south.

Author: Railen Date: Thu Oct 29 11:49:42 2015 Subject Speaking with the Dead

......Standing before the Whitestone, I smile to myself. I can feel the warm sun through my armor. I have come to this Holy place many times to stand before the stone that Vinas had his vision at. I have prayed here, hoping the Triumvirate would awnser. It was always peaceful here. I turn around and there is a figure standing before me dressed in an ancient, yet beautiful suit of the Plate of Solamnus. He looks at me as if he was weighing my worth. "It was here, before this stone, that the Triumvirate first came to me with the Vision of Solamnia and the Knighthood." Vinas walks past me and fondly puts his hand on the Whitestone. "This is where it all started." He turns to me, chuckling at stunned expression. "Close your mouth boy, else a bug fly in." Recovering slightly, I run my hand through my hair. "Its an honor, Sir." I say, still in disbelief that Vinas Solamnus was standing in front of me. "But..how?" Vinas shrugs his shoulders slightly and beckons me to follow as he walks away from the Whitestone. "Come boy, walk with me. We havent much time." With a curt nod I turn to follow him, only to see him walking through a scorched, body filled field. I take a couple quick steps to catch up, scanning the bodies that litter the field. To my horror they were all Solamnic Knights. Every. Last. One. There were thousands. "My vision of the Knighthood, the vision that the Triumvirate gave me, is not what the Knighthood is now. If it stays on the path it is on, this is how we will end." Vinas motions across the field of dead. "Divided we will fall and Takhisis and her Dragonarmies will rule. You can not allow this to happen." Vinas stops and pulls out a heavy medallion that was tucked under his breastplate. "The road ahead of you not be easy. You must bring the Knighthood together, reunite the Orders. Bring it back to its former glory." Vinas stops walking and turns to Me. "It will be no easy task, but know you have the blessing of the Triumvirate." He removes the heavy medallion from his neck and places it in my hand. "And for what it matters, you have mine as well."..... Railen wakes slowly, not wanting to wake yet. His room was lit dimly by the soft glow of the coals in the fire place. He lays there for a long moment thinking about the dream, before he realizes there was something warm in his hand. Sitting up in his bed, he looks down at the Heavy Medallion of the Triumvirate that Vinas had given him. With a slow realization, he can feel their presence and with a smile he loops the leather cord over his head. Gripping the Medallion in both hands, he bows his head in a prayer of thanks and guidance.

Author: Railen Date: Tue Nov 3 12:57:19 2015 Subject Half-dead Half-Elf

Railen sits alone in the library, pouring over books in search of some clue as to what these "lizard men" he kept getting reports of actually were. So far none of his men had encountered them, but there were far too many reports to push off on just fear mongering. Suddenly the doors burst open and a young knight stands in the doorway. "Sir! We need you at the gates!" Without hesitation, Railen sprints after the young man, through the Keep. Once they hit the court yard He sees a crowd of people gathered around a exhausted horse. "Move aside!" Railen says, pushing his way through the crowd. On the ground next to the horse lay a near dead halfelf dressed in scale armor, a dagger buried into his back. The young man was barely breathing, but still conscious and rambling incoherently . Kneeling beside him Railen leans down, trying to make out what he was saying. "Come on lad. What did this?" Railen says putting a hand on the Half elfs back, he can feel the heat rising through his armor. The young man was rambling about Lizard-men and ambushes. Muttering a curse under his breath Railen stands, his steel blue eyes scanning the crowd. "You and you!" Pointing out two Defenders. "Hes been poisoned. Likely the blade. Take him to Maire, tell her to mind the blade and to keep it. Id like a look at it." The Knights nod curtly and go to pick up the young man. An older knight steps in their way, a smug look on his face. "This half elf needs be executed for impersonating Lord Audric who died without an Heir. Yet his arms are on this shield" Glancing at the shield that lay near the dieing youth, Railen nearly explodes at the knight. This half elf was the only one to see the lizardmen and Railen wouldnt let him die before he could tell his tale. He -needed- information. "This is his bastard son, who Audric named his heir before death." Gods, what was his name, Esil? No. Aecal? Blast that wasnt it. Gods..."His name is Aesil." Yes, thats what it is. "And he has come here under my command, to train under me as my squire. Now move aside! Thats an order Sir Knight." The knight gives Railen a disgusted stare before storming off. Nodding to his defenders to continue, Railen watches as they pick him up. "Stay with him until he wakes. He has information we need." With a curt nod the Knights carry Aesil away. Turning to another Defender. "Make preperations to travel. Every Defender in the keep. Its past time we investigate these so called Lizardmen." The knight salutes and starts to turn away. "And find Sir Tachande, send him to my study." With a curt nod the knight strides off. Railen walks away from the court yard, a determined look on his face. He will get to the bottom of this, one way or another.

Author: Railen Date: Tue Nov 10 09:30:29 2015 Subject Words with the Council.

The council stood before the Alter in the chapel of the Triumvirate. Their robes pristine white and marked with their respective Orders. Railen enters the chapel, his robe Marked with the Crown and the mantle of the Lord High Warrior drapped around his shoulders. "Lord Railen, as you know you have been nominated by your peers to become the Grandmaster. We would like to hear what you have to say." The Lord Rose Knight says with a nod of agreement from the other two. Railen is silent for a long moment. "I am humbled. Ive led th Order of the Crown for the past decade, poured my blood, sweat and soul into it." He smiles softly. "As you know, i am the bastard son of a war atrocity. My mother, the only child of my Grandfather who was Lord High Warrior before me, was taken by A Nerakan soldier while traveling and i was the result. Life in the Knighthood was not easy for me. I fought tooth and nail to prove myself worthy Grandfathers name and was honored beyond belief to be chosen as High Warrior." Railen pauses, letting his words sink in. "Now, the Knighthood, Solamnia, and all of the world faces destructive forces of the Dragonarmies. The Knighthood must stand in unity against this darkness, else we all die and the sacrifices of our forefathers will be for nothing. I refuse to let this happen. I will give my last breath defending the people of Solamnia, so rather I am Grandmaster or High Warrior, that is what i mean to do. Defend Solamnia and Her people." The council listens intently and nod as Railen finishes. "Well, you'll have your chance. Weve counted the Votes." The Crown lord speaks, a wolfish grin playing across his face. "Congratulations, Grandmaster Railen Revon." Now grinning openly, the Sword Lord speaks. "Tomorrow we will make it offical. Tonight, prepare yourself through prayer and fasting. Until the morrow." The Lords walk past Railen, each putting a hand on his shoulder and uttering a prayer as they walk by. Railen walks forward, almost drunkenly, swooning with the magnitude of what this ment, for him and for the Knighthood. He collapses to his knees before the Alter, gripping the heavy medallion around his neck. A new day for the Order has come and Railen would see their former glory restored.

Author: Railen Date: Wed Nov 11 09:25:58 2015 Subject A New Grandmaster

Standing alone just inside the Keep, Railen can hear them talk. The votes had been counted and he was to be named Grandmaster. He was nervous for the first time in many years. He had been Lord High Warrior for the past decade, but now he would lead the entire Knighthood, which was still very much in disarray. It was up to him to bring the Orders back together and Unite them against the Dragonarmies. Smoothing the front of the pristine white robe he wore, he gets ready to face the assembled knights. The door opens and a Defender of the Crown nods to Railen. "They are Ready." Railen takes a breath and walks out into the courtyard. There were knights everywhere, the courtyard was shoulder to shoulder and they even lined the walls. The three Lord Knights stood on a small raised platform before the crowd. Making his way to the platform, the knights touch his shoulders or arms with murmurs of congratulations and the ones closest to the platform were the Defenders, each with the Oath painted on their faces to match Railens tattoo. Stepping up on the platform, Railen bows his head to the Lords before him. "Lord Railen, please. Kneel." The Rose Lord asks and Railen drops to his knees. "You have served the Knighthood for some time as the High Warrior. Every Knight here has voted and every single one voted for you. These knights trust your leadership and would follow you into the Abyss. That speaks for your Measure." The Crown Lord steps forward, his hand out. "Lord Railen, the Signet ring of the High Warrior, please." Railen pulls the ring off his left hand and places it in the Crown lords hand. "You have served your order well." He says, returning to his place. The Sword Lord steps forward. "The mantle, please." Railen lifts the mantle off his shoulders and hands it over. Lastly the Rose Lord steps forward and hands the signet of the Grandmaster to Railen. "By the power invested in us by the Knighthood, Raise Lord Railen, Grandmaster of the Knights of Solamnia. As Railen rises, the assembled knights burst into cheers. Sliding the ring onto his finger he turns to face the Knights. "I will not fail you." He says as the knights cheer, partly to them, partly to the Triumvirate.

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