Private Tales Lost Seekers

[Elijah Khalo Celasaer]

Alliria... It felt like years since he was here last and it probably was.
The Templar order had sent him to hunt down heretics in the Spine... And what he found instead were starving nomads that lacked the strength to fight or run... But the order was absolute and not for the first time he doubted the order.
They may have been monsters for ordering the deaths of innocent people, but he was a greater monster for carrying it out.

But... This was the will of the gods, wasn't it? The elders and high priests, they spoke for the gods and he carried out their will, didn't he?

He rode the streets of Alliria on the back of his horse and loyal companion, Redemption.
Not really paying attention to where he was going, it was enough to be back in civilization after five years of back to back missions... Sure, cities were dangerous, but mortal men posed less of a threat to him than a literal devil prince risen from the Thirteen Hells of Armageddon.
His armor, weapons and sheer size of himself and his mount made even the common man and woman make way for him, especially so for those who might mean him harm.

His holy sword was a claymore which he wielded in one hand and belted to his hip, his shield a modified tower shield the size of a normal man that he kept strapped to his saddle.
And Redemption, a massive horse and the only one of it's kind that could bear a rider such as Elijah Khalo Celasaer.
His armor gleamed in the setting sun, his white cloak and tabard marked with the sigil of his order seemed to make him glow in the fading light.
His helmet was strapped to his saddle and his pure white hair was free in the gentle sea breeze of the nearby harbor.
His face, recently shaven, was clean and he was finally groomed Afters years of hard living... But his youthful face already held the history of his struggles.

Elijah had wandered far into the city, deep in thought and conflicted as he struggled with his heart and his head.
He had entered the slums hours ago and even the rats were silent around him.
Redemption seemed to sense his struggle and remained silent as well, Elijah heard no telepathic message from his mount.

All my life I have served the gods, I've been devoted since birth and they made me a paladin Templar... But these things they make me do, the more I learn about the gods... How is any of this holy?
Have my comrades died for nothing? Why am I the one doomed to survive and bear their memories on my shoulders?

He went around in circles on those thoughts until Redemption stopped of his own accord at the steps of a temple.
Elijah looked up at the building, it was slightly run down but it wasn't abandoned. The slums generally weren't kind places for people of the cloth.
He gave Redemption's massive neck an affectionate pat as he dismounted in a clatter of steel armor.
"Thank you my friend... Point taken."

He walked up the steps of the temple and knocked on the door.
As the door opened those inside would see the massive form of Elijah, his silhouette filling the doorway.
He would present his pendent as a Templar Paladin to the one who answered the door.
"I am brother Elijah... I come seeking spiritual guidance."

Eilerias

 

[Eilerias]

Slow days in the Church of Light were often the most miserable from Eilerias' view. Without the revolving door of men and women requiring physical or spiritual healing, she was left to stew in her own thoughts. Since her return to Alliria, they had been nothing short of horrible, though they were not much better before she left.

There was a loneliness in her life that only seemed to grow with each new year. Her fiance was killed. Her daughter was taken by her sister and some stranger. A second love, too, was taken from her too soon. She could no longer recall the days or places of each sad occasion. The tragedies she experienced now seemed to blur together in some never-ending bad dream.

She could tell her family that she was okay. She didn't care anymore. She was immune to the sadness that she was drowning in. Whether or not they believed her, she didn't know. That was their problem, not hers.

For now, she would spend her days in the church. How ironic. A priestess who abandoned her own faith running a brothel in the church she once preached Sol'Nityr in. She hadn't lost her ability to heal since declaring the gods weren't real, though she hadn't made progress since that day. Her own pupil now surpassed her. Eilerias didn't mind though. She much preferred to fill the holes in her life with the people she once considered the absolute scum of Alliria.

She still thought of them that way, but now they paid her. Stealing from the poor to sleep with a priestess while their wives and children are at home. Disgusting creatures, really.

A knock on the door drew her from her thoughts. Her pointed ear twitched towards the door as one of her priestesses opened it and called out. Finally. She sighed, pushing herself out of her chair and making her way to the front door where she was greeted by an absolutely massive human.

"Hello brother Elijah," She would extend a hand towards the man. "You've come to the right place if you're looking for spiritual healing."

Despite the overwhelming sadness, her face never lost the cheerful innocence she was known for. "Follow me sir." She led him away from the entry way and towards the less holy parts of the church. "What is troubling you?" She made conversation as they walked.

 

[Elijah Khalo Celasaer]

The acolyte who answered the door called for another priestess, an elfish looking woman with blond waves of hair.

"Hello brother Elijah," She would extend a hand towards the man. "You've come to the right place if you're looking for spiritual healing."

He sheepishly accepted her hand in greeting, her hand disappeared in his as he shook it and crossed the threshold of the temple.

Despite the overwhelming sadness, her face never lost the cheerful innocence she was known for. "Follow me sir." She led him away from the entry way and towards the less holy parts of the church. "What is troubling you?" She made conversation as they walked.

He sighed.
It was easier to quantify what wasn't troubling him. He ran a hand through his white hair as he followed the priestess deeper into the temple.

Something seemed slightly off about her but he just chalked it up to nerves and being on edge for so long.
The temple of Sol'Nityr, as he identified the various symbols of worship, were avidly against the taint of shadows and certainly wouldn't tolerate it amongst its priesthood.

"I've traveled a long and hard road, sister. My faith has been tried and tested time and time again. The gods haven't seen fit to answer my prayers of anguish, and I fear it is because they sense my doubt that they ignore my pleas."
His footsteps thumped against the floor behind her and the gentle shifting of armor added all the more weight to each step.
"I've been all over Arethil... Faced such horrors and always the gods have preserved me... But such has not always been so for any comrades who followed me, one by one each of them has fallen until inevitably I alone remain... I seek guidance, what is it that the gods will of me?"
He stopped talking before he got ahead of himself. There will be time enough for more questions later.

"Apologies, sister. But I haven't learned your name."

 

[Eilerias]

"I've traveled a long and hard road, sister. My faith has been tried and tested time and time again. The gods haven't seen fit to answer my prayers of anguish, and I fear it is because they sense my doubt that they ignore my pleas."
His footsteps thumped against the floor behind her and the gentle shifting of armor added all the more weight to each step.

For the most part, she remained quiet, letting the man speak as she led him through a maze of hallways and rooms, headed towards the other half of the church. "Your faith?" She asked, raising a brow he would be unable to see from his point of view. "Well if you doubt the gods, then what reason do they have to bless you?"

Her question was not meant to offend, but she was unsure of how the stranger would take it. It was a question she, too, asked herself quite often.

She didn't question her god. She was good. She prayed, she preached, she practiced and all for nothing.

It was the God of Light who betrayed her first. He abandoned her. She devoted her life to serving him and he was the one who let the darkness take her into its tight grip where she could be used as the puppet for whatever pulled the strings.

"I've been all over Arethil... Faced such horrors and always the gods have preserved me... But such has not always been so for any comrades who followed me, one by one each of them has fallen until inevitably I alone remain... I seek guidance, what is it that the gods will of me?"
He stopped talking before he got ahead of himself. There will be time enough for more questions later.

"Apologies, sister. But I haven't learned your name."

If he was truly seeking guidance regarding his faith, she wondered why they sent for Eilerias instead of Lidia. Lidia was the priestess who still saw the light while Eilerias was left to mope in the shadows of the building she was once so excited to own.

"Eilerias." She still hadn't turned to look at him as she stopped in the hallway. "You may call me Eilerias." She turned to look at him, studying the man before speaking again. "Why is it you have come here for spiritual guidance? Furthermore, why have you come to me?" She had a curious look on her face as she waited for his answer. "No one comes to me for advice about their gods anymore."

 

[Elijah Khalo Celasaer]

"Your faith?" She asked, raising a brow he would be unable to see from his point of view. "Well if you doubt the gods, then what reason do they have to bless you?"

He shook his head.
"I do not dare to presume, sister. The blessings of the gods are theirs alone to give to those they deem worthy, and if I am not worthy then I shall continue to strive to be worthy... But I merely pray, sister. I pray to the gods for guidance and answers, not for blessings... Do you think it is because I have doubts that they do not answer me?"

He continued to try to wrap his head around even his own words as he attempted to articulate his struggles to her.
"If this is another test of my faith, when will it end? And why must it be at the cost of so many lives? I've served faithfully in spite of my doubts, I've battled shadows and demons for years using the blessings and gifts which they have given me. I could not overcome the darkness without their light, and their light is still with me... But why have they not answered my prayers?"

"Eilerias." She still hadn't turned to look at him as she stopped in the hallway. "You may call me Eilerias."

"Well met, sister Eilerias. And thank you again for speaking with me. I've been lost in my own thoughts for so long, I've been alone, I've had nobody who could hear my anguish."
He was genuinely grateful to her.

She turned to look at him, studying the man before speaking again. "Why is it you have come here for spiritual guidance? Furthermore, why have you come to me?"

This took him aback slightly.
What did he tell her? That his horse led him here? That he believed that the gods might have guided his unconscious wanderings around Alliria to this place in order to find answers to his burning questions?
"Uh... I um..."
Why lie? Surely she'd understand that the gods work in mysterious ways.
"You see..."
He began slowly.
"My uh... I was wandering Alliria, contemplating these very questions when... uh... my... horse... stopped here...

"As for why I came to you, sister... Well, I didn't ask for anyone in particular. I have passed through Alliria from time to time but this is the first time I've ever actually had the chance to visit. I don't know anyone here but those in my order. The sister who let me in sent for you."

She had a curious look on her face as she waited for his answer. "No one comes to me for advice about their gods anymore."

He was surprised at this.
"Why is that? Are you not the head priestess here?"
He also regarded her with curiosity. Surely the gods led him to her for a reason... But what if it wasn't the gods that led him here?
No, stop it!
That was the doubt talking.

Sister Eilerias may not have the answers he was looking for, but she might be able to enlighten him in ways he never expected, the gods often worked like that, didn't they?