-The Beginning-

Darkness comes and the light is drowned
But in that darkness your power is found
Sit in the shadows and make not a sound
Wait for the sound of metal boots on the ground

Two elderly men walked through the sacred halls of the inner temple chanting this rhyme taught to all initiates and travelers alike, it was a blessing carved at the very heart of this holy place.
The walls were smooth and lovingly crafted by the ones who made the massive temple centuries ago, carved from and in to the very mountain. Marvelous paintings and portraits of former Templar, heroes, demons, poets and battles were on the walls as far as the eye could see. Exotic artifacts found from the ruins of demon touched or abandoned kingdoms sat for all to see, Knights bearing the standard of the temple emblazoned on their shields stood watch at every corner throughout the massive ancient structure.

Behind the two elderly men was a group of young initiates and children from the ages of 5 to 18, by whatever reasoning they had found it here to the holy place and soon to learn of the roles played by the trained fighters in the temple's army.
A young boy about the age of 7 pulled on the darker elders robes, interrupting the low chant. With a warm and kind smile the elders turned to the child and the others.
The young boy fumbled for words for a brief moment before asking, "Mister, how do we know what we can do? What if we become tainted by the scary monsters outside this place!" Trembling at the thought of such creatures, others shared the same worried face.

The darker elder reached out with his hand, whisps of black smoke seemed to roll off his cloak like steam from boiling water, and pat the boy gently on the head.
His voice was raspy and dry but held a powerful edge to it. "Children, put your fears to rest. Inside this temple you are protected by the grace of the very people who live in and around it. United in a common goal for peace."
Sweeping his hand slowly to the side, the dark robed elderly man pointed his finger to a portrait of a hunched figure wearing a similar cloak and concealing their face with a scarf. It's eyes showed malice but restraint that was too vivid to be a mere painting.
The elder spoke again, "A tainted one is brought by a weakness in ones heart and a demon tries to fill that weakness by changing your body and mind to serve its grim purposes, but a strong will and a determination forces the demon out before it can change you into one of its kind. You will not become one if you remain steady in the face of despair."

Walking a few paces down towards another painting he gestured for all to see.
The painting was of a single woman atop the corpse of a fallen Draugr, vicious zombie-like creatures that retain a portion of it's intelligence. Clad in silver armor with a fine chailmail below, thick armored boots with plated gauntlets. In her hand raised to the sky was a bloodied broadsword.
"The Knights of our order are gifted with powerful holy weapons and trained how to utilize attack and defense against even a horde of demons. Through the weapon these brave soldiers can channel holy energy from exorcists to unleash devastation amongst the hordes."
The children were in awe, the woman wore a somber look of resolution and courage.

Another portrait across the way showed a young man with a finely crafted silver bow, the string was aflame with beautiful white and gold fire that circled up the fingertips and arm to spread into golden angelic wings behind him. Fine leather armor and light clothing adorned his body, atop his head was a strange sight for everyone who saw. A creature resembling a fox sat atop his head with the same golden flame's yet it was faded, an angelic beast imbuing it's owner with sacred flame.
"Masters are one with spirits, the very things we draw energy from when our own has been sealed or exhausted. These brave soldiers can imbue themselves with aspects of the chosen spirit, causing great harm or leaping long distances with ease. The rarest spirit is the fox, it's powers are numerous and it's energy nearly inexhaustible. 3 men in all of history wielded the foxes cunning and speed. in times of great need."


The golden robed elder motioned all the children to a marble statue of a crouching figure, mask and hood concealing the face and chainmail beneath it's tunic. The figure held two blades, a shortsword and a dagger.
The gold robed figures voice was soft and youthful, almost lyrical as he spoke of the statues history.
"Crusaders are not uncommon in this world, great loss and sacrifice bring eve the strongest people to desperation. In these cases there are born agile and vicious attackers known for peculiar skill and precision with a blade, capable of no wasted energy in the heat of combat. Never slowing down until the battle is won. Many demons have been slain by a crusaders dagger in the dark of night, this man here was immortalized as a statue for killing 15 Draugr's and an eldar lich without ever coming to harm."
A warm smile crossed the elders face at the thought of one soldier wielding such skill in such conditions.

A young girl at the age of 15 had separated from the group to stare at another statue at the end of the hall. The man wore a special type of armored robe, steel hip plates and a thick leather iron belt on his waste, graves poked out the bottom of his robes. Beneath his sleeves were wristplates that reached to his knuckles, two thick shoulderpads stitched into the robes finished it off.
The dark robed elder saw the young girl and stood beside her, startling the young one for a moment.

"Paladins... Extremely rare men and women who wield the combined power of spirit essence and spirit beast energy, capable of curing any illness and banishing even the strongest of demons from existence. These brave souls give up their very bodies to the energies, unfortunately this causes them to be very frail and weak. It is the duty of all exorcists to herald these souls ass saviors, for the time a Paladin can walk this earth is short. The very power it wields harms them slowly.."
The young girl hugged the elders leg with tears in her eyes, all ages recognized such a noble sacrifice.


The elders began to shuffle slowly out of the hall, the children following them slowly and steadily yet there was an unease in the air. Behind the paladin was a picture of two young men in strange robes carrying a rock tablet between them. It hadn't been touched in years, one of the children spoke up loudly. "Mister, you forgot about that one! Who are they?"

Both elders stopped and turned to look over their shoulder, smiling at the same time calmly. In unison they answered the child. "The shrouded and Illuminated Templars, beings who know all the secrets of this temple." Off they went, ignoring the questions of the children until the group arrived at two massive sealed doors. Each elder took the opposite side of the door and pushed, with a creak and a groan of ancient wood it opened to a balcony.
Extending as far as the eye could see was an enormous kingdom, houses littered the horizon with busy bustling streets of busy citizens doing whatever they could to help. The two Elders took a moment to absorb the view and seemed to be revitalized by the sight. "Templars overlook everything in this country. Beings who have ascended above mortality by the grace of their craft. An illuminated Templar is a former Paladin," The gold robed man stood tall on the balcony next to the dark robed elder who spoke up a second later in a strong tone. "The Shrouded Templar is a Tainted one who achieved control over the darkness. Together they form the balance of good and evil."


Our story begins now, wherever you are in the town is up to you. Everything you could possibly want is somewhere in this vast city, be specific in where you are and what you are doing.

_________________

By the Blessed it reeks down here! Matthonius called out to the sewer worker.
Why would any sane demon come down here. I mean all that's down here is Crap, water and more crap. The worker standing two heads shorter than him looked back anxiousley at the fully armoured, red eyed Crusader. We dont know. All we know is that a few days ago the rats started dying and not in the usual ways. They where all just sucked dry husks and there is nothing normal down here that does that. and now we can hear movement near our working space. as if something big is stalking us. they got to a big rusted gate. The worker took out a key and twisted the lock. With a loud Creak the gate slowley opened. Ok from here on you are on your own. I hope you survive whatever it is that lurks down there. Matthonius walked through the door and immediatley had the gate locked behind him May the temple give me strength. He whispered as he waded through the knee deep water into the darkness ahead of him.

_________________
Dragonborn Dragonborn, by his honour is sworn, to keep evil forever at bay
and the fiercest foes rout, when they hear triumph's shout.

Dragonborn for your blessing we pray, and the scrolls have fortold, of black wings in the cold
that when brothers wage war come unfurled, Alduin bane of kings, ancient shadow unbound
with a hunger to swallow the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9eGtyqz4gY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50u0zUeCmU

Elsebelle trailed along behind the rest of the group of children humming quietly to herself and only partially paying attention to the stories the elders were telling. "I'm hungry," she spoke aloud to herself as she sometimes did, and when the elders weren't looking she drifted away from the group. Feet pattering on the stone floor she made her way to the kitchen waving at the cooks. She repeated herself from earlier as an explanation, "I'm hungry," before proceeding into the store room to find herself some bread. The cooks looked on only for a moment before returning to their work. Elsebelle appearing at random was a common enough occurrence. After eating she remembered that she was still supposed to be with the elders, so she began roaming the halls without a destination in mind humming again in hopes that she would run into the group, or perhaps something more interesting.

_________________
Zee Captain: "Better dig your heels in"
Mr. Snippy: "Why? What?"
Zee Captain: "..."

Naomi - Temple Halls

Just like Elsebelle she was watching the new recruits as well, with a mixed bag of emotions. Of course she was happy to see new blood run through the veins of the temple, their work was never truly done. But on the other hand, she felt a jealous rage inside of her. Jealousy towards their humanity, such a precious gift, but so easily forgotten by those carrying it.

She stood further towards the back, not wanting the children to see her. Which was probably a good thing, her appearance would've most likely made them think again about Tainted Ones. She also saw Elsebelle hanging around the group, before getting bored and wander off. Naomi smiled a little, she liked that girl, she had a fresh perspective on demons that most elders here might take note of.

But time was ticking away, and there was work to be done. With a rustle of her cloak she started to walk down the halls, quickly passing the group without making any eye contact. The cloak was luckily long enough to cover any open skin, so the children would never see who was behind it. Though they would eventually meet, this place was big, but not that big.

Naomi kept following the long hallways, until she finally arrived in the courtyard. A little piece of Eden itself, she had sometimes heard people say. It truly was a beautiful place where she had spent much time reading. It offered such fine places to simply get away from everybody. The sun was shining brightly as well, almost making it seem like the white walls surrounding the place were shining.

She removed her hood, letting her face bask in the sunlight for a while. But ever since that day the sun has never really felt the same, not like she remembered it at least. It felt colder, more dimmer to her now. She opened her eyes to momentarily stare at the sun for a bit, perhaps some god would strike her down right now, just from giving him or her a dirty look. Alas, such divine providence was not granted to the girl, instead all she got were watery eyes. She put the hood back on again and continued her march across the courtyard, towards the workshops.

Oh the forges, if only her mother was still alive to see this, it would surely have brought a tear to her eyes. There probably wasn't a forge more spectacular in the entire world, walls lined with furnaces, cauldrons to serve every metal you could possibly find, smelters to smelt anything could'd want. With a smile she pushed open the heavy metal doors, only to be greeted by the familiar smell of sulfur and a blast of hot air. The best part? She was the one in charge of this place. It was her little place where she was the one giving out the orders.

And the place was simply perfect for her to be, the dimmed lighting made it difficult to see all of her features, it was most likely the darkest place in the temple, and nobody would pay much attention to her, because of the danger in working with red hot metal. Some people who regularly came here probably didn't even know she was Tainted.

She had put a notice up, asking anybody who was interested to come help her with her weekly ammunition crafting. It was an easy job once you got the hang of it, though it required some finesse. She used to be able to do this easily on her own, and she still can, its just become much more tiresome to do. Hauling around all that raw metal was simply something her current body couldn't handle anymore.

She wondered what the turn up would be, as she put on some protective gear, consisting out of a simple hard leather apron and some heavy gloves. It would really suck if nobody came, she was sure the notice was aptly displayed. Then again, who could she blame? Why would anybody want to spent time with her? A Tainted One.

Sitting down in the overseer's chair, she put her feet up on the desk. "And if nobody shows up... Well, guess it'll be a long night for us." she spoke to herself as she played with the Ornate Slug, nowadays fashioned into a simply necklace.

_________________

Elsebelle ran into the bulletin board because she had been distractedly trying to retie her hair into its bun since most of the hair had fallen out. She rubbed her nose waiting for the pain to subside and her eyes to stop watering before looking at the the source of her pain. Upon realizing what it was, she inspected some of the posters and found the one that Naomi had posted half covered by other posters. She pulled it loose in interest; she enjoyed crafting arrows and had some curiosity towards gun ammunition creation. Putting it back on the board smack-dab in the middle on top of the other posters she drifted away from the board in no rush, but now with a purpose. Crossing the same courtyard Naomi had taken, Elsebelle paused to look around and check on the plants that she helped care for. Distracted by them, it took a while for her to remember what she had been doing and she continued on to the forges.

When she entered she was struck by a wave of heat, and she looked around curiously before wandering in. When someone finally noticed her, they waved her down, "Hey kid, I've never seen you around here. Are you looking for someone?"

Elsebelle stared past him as someone poured liquid metal into a mold and then she nodded still not looking, "The poster told me to come here. It was being shy, but I moved it to the front of the group.

The man blinked and stared at her like she was speaking a foreign language, "I'm not sure about that last part, but Naomi put up a poster for creating ammunition, she's over there.

Elsebelle thanked the man and made her way to were Naomi was. As she got closer she noticed Naomi's eyes; she always noticed when people had distinct eyes, a quirk she had picked up not long after she realized that her own eyes weren't what someone would call normal. She reached the desk, and forgetting all social etiquette along with her reason for being there for a moment she blurted out, "Oooh, you have gorgeous eyes! Especially in this light, the fire makes them look like they're burning." She clamped her mouth shut looking embarrassed then opened it again, I'm sorry I didn't even introduce myself; my dorm mother says I should try harder to think before I speak. I'm Elsebelle, she finished with an awkward curtsy due to wearing pants.

~Chuck Walton - A trip to the pub~

A low rumble of voices could be heard in the town comming from the usual spots at this time of the week, the tavern. Even as early as it was there was always a crowd, especially on this day. It was the day that Chuck often made his early visit. He sat at a table, a glass in one hand surrounded by more than a few people as he finished his last joke. "....and then he says, 'That's no dog, that's my mother-in-law' to which I reply, 'What's the difference?' he said as the crowd burst out laughing again. Chuck finished his last gulp of beer and tipped the glass upside down to make sure before shouting at the bartender. "Barkeep! Another round for all the patrons!" he shouted which was met with cheers yet again.

Chuck used the celebration to check the clock on the wall and notice he was late. "Looks like you'll have to finish that round without me gents. I have business to attend to." he said as he grabbed his shield and carefully strapped it onto his back. The comment was met with disappointment. "Don't go yet." "One more ain't gonna kill ya!" a few shouted before he quieted them down. "Now now, there's new recruits in today gents. I can't be late for that, and you all know that." he said as he grabbed a small sack of coins from in his armour and tossed it to the bartender. "That should cover ya. See you all next week, same time." He shouted as he was met with goodbyes and exited the bar.

Chuck took a deep breath and looked around. Everyone and eveything awas so peaceful he truely loved these times. 'Such a beautiful day. I hope the rest of this day goes as well as the others.' he thought as he gave a ackwoledgement to a passerby. "Well, better get a move on, I'm already behind." he said outloud before heading back towards the temple. On his way he caught a glimpse of a flyer for help on crafting ammunition. 'Naomi at it again? I wonder who'll show up this week. At least she knows I won't be showing up for that again.' he thought as he laughed out loud at the last attempt he had. 'No, no one could have done worse than me that day.' he thought as he continued his path to the temple.

_________________
Fenix13 : Cheesemore if you get any more awesome this thread is gonna explo- WHAT THE FFFUUUUUUUUUUU- *Everybody dies*
BeeAre : i'm just going to go ahead and say it: this thread is cheesemore's thread now. like. he's officially spam's last post crusader, always seeking the last post like a knight looking for the holy grail. poor bastard. godspeed you goofy motherfucker.
JesusChrist : 16. Cheesemore should always be addressed as "fucking Cheesemore" because he's so pathetic [see: Last one to post thread]
SoulScavenger : Cheesemore, your avatar is awesome. That is all.
Akaine : Cheesemore...if this was facebook, I'd approve of your comment with clicking 'like'.
sam4books : Cheesemore earns an awesome point.

|Temple - Courtyard|

It was a nice and sunny day out in the courtyard, one that Arelyn was taking full advantage of. It was still early, and the young woman had just finished her breakfast. Since she didn't have anything to do yet that day, she was lounging in the sunshine. She sat near the temple itself, enjoying the peace that surrounded the sacred building. It wasn't like Arelyn disliked the bustle of the city, but she looked forward to a few quiet moments while the city settled into it's daily routine. Plus, sitting by the temple meant it was easier for people who wanted her help to find her.

But, since it was still early, she had not received any requests, so she was simply enjoying the sunshine. Her curly strawberry blonde locks seemed to glow pink in the light, her bangs strewn haphazardly across her forehead as her grey eyes roved across the sky. Her dimples could be seen as a faint smile graced her round face, and her dress pooled around her feet like water. But still, she looked young enough to be one of the new children being shown the view of the land from the temple balcony above her. She was mistaken for being much younger quite often, and while it was annoying, she didn't let it irritate her much. From what she had been told, her mother had been like that too.

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

-Matt-

Sewers always had a foul stentch in general but a few paces into the caged area only multiplied it, the water felt thicker than it did before but with a slight tinge of color to it. Whatever the cause it was not a natural one.
The long tunnel Matt followed eventually cut off into a large circular room completely void of any light source save for a small manwhole just above, clearly locked extremely well from the strange marking carved into the steel. Whatever was down here wanted out through the fastest route but was settling for second.
A rustling noise echoed softly from every corner as whatever occupied this place found prey in Matthonius. Slowly it lumbered into view directly in the center of the room, it was easily 8 feet tall with arms like tree trunks. Smaller arms were sticking out of it's stomach, and it stood on hunched furry legs matted with sewer water. The creatures face was slack-jawed and it's eyes dead implying it was completely blind and thus hunted with very powerful hearing.
As it took it's spot in the middle of the room, the small amount of light bounced off it's golden skin to light up the walls. Shriveled corpses of animals and humans, even knights from the temple, were nailed to the walls in a grisly fashion. With a moaning noise that revealed a parasitic tongue with a seperate mouth, the creature shuffled toward the crusader on all 4's.

-Chuck / Arelyn-

Chuck was heading up the stairs of the outer temple at a brisk pace, as he neared the young girl Arelyn a voice at the top of the stairs called out to him, noticing the young girl with a rather lax stature he decided it worth the trouble to bring them both. "Chuck my boy so good to see you late again, hitting the pubs a little early?" The man chuckled, He was in his early 50's with silver hair but a lean physique and rather bland robes.
"Oi, lassy, sorry to bother you so rudely but I'm on a very strict schedule. Could you lend this old man your help for an hour or so with some of the alchemic equipment? I'll throw you a little more coin if you can put this slacker to shame." Another great fit of laughter as he waved for them to follow.
The time for pleasantries and greetings came when the two eventually caught up.

-Asmodai-


Despite the normal routine, more than a few younger males shuffled into the forge with leather gloves and aprons on. Strong stature and thick arms showed them as knights and crusaders but there was something unsettling about it. They walked with a determination uncanny for such a task and a face that showed great anger. One by one they lined up below the overseers balcony with hands behind their back and heads raised, one of the larger men stepped forward to speak.

"Naomi was it? I am Frederick Haus, these are my brothers in arms..." At a loss for words Frederick idly shuffled his feet before regaining his courage. "We wish to learn about your strange technology, word has it you deal uncanny damage at a great distance with small metal projectiles. We are ill suited for the front lines with our injuries at the moment and... well... We want to become your workers until we have earned our place once more!" Sweat dripped from the men's faces, they'd all heard of Naomi the tainted forge master but pride alone made them choose the greater good over superstition.

_________________

|Temple - Courtyard|

The smile on Arelyn's face widened to a grin as someone requested her help. She immediately sprang to her feet and hurried after the elderly gentleman, her soft leather sandals quietly shuffling against the pavement. Her dress rippled and swayed around her with every step, and even with her much shorter legs, she caught up quickly. "Extra payment isn't necessary. All I ask is the ability to be of assistance to anyone around me." She laughed a little, shuffling quickly in order to keep up. That was another reason why she loved sitting by the temple in the morning. Someone always came by needing help with something. And if she were there, that meant she had the possibility to help, which was what she had always been taught to do. Be it fighting demons, or even something as simple as lifting boxes, she would always give her all to helping out, even if there was nothing in it for her.

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

Matthonius stepped back nervously as the creature move towards him but immediatley braced himself for the upcoming battle. Anger flowed through him as he saw the corpses of his fellow temple knights making his eyes shine brightly and bathing the area in a red glow. The beast was blind so his symbols would have no effect but he didnt care. foul Creature. you have desecrated the bodies of my brothers and I will make you pay! Matthonius drew his Mace and charged headlong towards the beast ready to dodge any blow and aiming to hit the beast in the leg. Hopefully bringing it of balance.

_________________
Dragonborn Dragonborn, by his honour is sworn, to keep evil forever at bay
and the fiercest foes rout, when they hear triumph's shout.

Dragonborn for your blessing we pray, and the scrolls have fortold, of black wings in the cold
that when brothers wage war come unfurled, Alduin bane of kings, ancient shadow unbound
with a hunger to swallow the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9eGtyqz4gY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50u0zUeCmU

~Chuck Walton - Walking to the Temple~

Chuck continued his rushed pace up the stairs as he neared his fellow knight before a familiar voice stopped him for a moment. He looked up and noticed the man before responding to him. "You know me too well friend." he said as he quickly followed Arelyn up the stairs, and gave the man a friendly pat on the back. "My weekly visits are all some of them have to look forward to after all. So what's on the agenda today?" he asked but before he could respond and gave notice to his fellow knight. "Good day to you Arelyn. How are you today?" he asked politely. Many of their fellow templars didn't take Arelyn seriously, but Chuck had seen her in battle. He knew just what she was capable of and had a great deal of respect for her, and any company with this man was good company after all.

_________________
Fenix13 : Cheesemore if you get any more awesome this thread is gonna explo- WHAT THE FFFUUUUUUUUUUU- *Everybody dies*
BeeAre : i'm just going to go ahead and say it: this thread is cheesemore's thread now. like. he's officially spam's last post crusader, always seeking the last post like a knight looking for the holy grail. poor bastard. godspeed you goofy motherfucker.
JesusChrist : 16. Cheesemore should always be addressed as "fucking Cheesemore" because he's so pathetic [see: Last one to post thread]
SoulScavenger : Cheesemore, your avatar is awesome. That is all.
Akaine : Cheesemore...if this was facebook, I'd approve of your comment with clicking 'like'.
sam4books : Cheesemore earns an awesome point.

- Chuck / Arelyn -

As the trio strolled through the various hallways that made up the Temple, the older man seemed to spend more time looking at the shadowed corners than he did focus on the conversation. Eventually he began to speak up again in a stern voice, "I apologize for asking this but it isn't mere alchemic equipment that I need you to remove from the lab. Some nutjob from a neighboring country came into my lab a few days ago and has been giving my staff nothing but trouble."

Rounding a corner the trio stopped infront of massive archway, the oak doors wide open to give a clear view of the research laboratory inside. Broken glass littered the floor and one man was being tended to for a slight head injury, no doubt from being shoved a little too hard. The man at the helm of it all? William Ducaut was his name. Not of noble lineage or any great life achievments but was atleast known for being skilled with medicinal work.
Rumors say he'd been in the jungles and run a high fever that couldn't be shaked, thus his attitude, but upclose the trained excorcists knew better. He wasn't corrupted but it wouldn't take long for the demon that had picked him to finish the job.

Turning to stare at the new entries, William burst into laughter that bordered pure insanity. "The old man brings guards to do his work? I asked YOU to load the equipment into my carriage outside. You two worthless Knights are dismissed!" Spitting out the word knight like it was some sort of vulgar phrase. His eyes were bloodshot and body very tense, clearly on edge for whatever reason.


- Matthonius -

HISS

The toothed tongue parasite might be blind but in the sewer with all the echoes coupled with the water, it was hard NOT to hear it's enemies. The mace came in low straight and true but the creature displayed surprising skill by jumping above the attack to land a strong kick to the crusaders arm that sent him sprawling in the bloodied water.
The tongue began to slowly wind out of the creatures mouth, pushing the jaw to it's limits and more, eventually it looked like a massive intestine sticking out of the poor corrupted souls mouth, the sharp teeth on the tongue's second mouth was a grizzly sight. In a flash the creature whipped it's tongue-like appendage at the crusader hoping to deliver the same fate it's victims had succumb to.

_________________

Matthonius was Flung backwards by the creatures blow dropping his shield in the process. He immediatley regained his posture and looked around for anything to use at his advantage. He found it in the form of a rusted of gate bar which had a nasty point on the end. The creatures tongue lashed out to deliver a finishing blow but Matthonius quickly dodged to the side and in the same movement grabbed the bar and thrusted it down on the creatures tongue pinning it in place. He then charged for the creatures exposed jaw ready to end this creatures foul existence.

_________________
Dragonborn Dragonborn, by his honour is sworn, to keep evil forever at bay
and the fiercest foes rout, when they hear triumph's shout.

Dragonborn for your blessing we pray, and the scrolls have fortold, of black wings in the cold
that when brothers wage war come unfurled, Alduin bane of kings, ancient shadow unbound
with a hunger to swallow the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c9eGtyqz4gY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j50u0zUeCmU

Aduro Éadrom - The library.

The temple's library wasn't large, it wasn't huge, it was simply immeasurable. It's older books delved deep into the ground, the library that most students would visit only being the tip of the iceburg that hid under the earth where the specialists, scholars and students desperate for a unique mid-term study to copy ventured and only the bravest of the librarians visited the darker recesses where strange candles burned continuosly, unwatched and unattended for centuries but still burning without danger of spreading flame or suffocating smoke. The geometries and architecture was the type that would only normally be found by those insane designers who's minds had been cracked by too much contact with elder gods and who had been hired to build a labyrinth with an unlimited budget and free creative reign behind them. Only students and librarians with at least three years combat experience were allowed down there on their own due to some of the stranger creatures that had bred, evolved and climbed up into it. Aduro quite liked it down here.

Admittedly, it normally took him about half an hour to walk down to this current level, even with some of the short cuts he'd discovered but there was some good books down here. The spells cast over this place stopped dust accumulating and the books rotting and aging away so not only was there good literature, bright reading lights, no muck brought in by other people and no other people, it was clean as soap, soap apparently being self-cleaning. He had to bring his own cushion to sit on, and his own snacks and drinks in case he got peckish, but apart from that, it truly was a terrific place to bunk off classes and therapy from. Aduro was currently in the Angelology section, reading up a book on grigori when his wrist-watch started beeping. He pulled a plastic bottle out of pocket and popped a pill into his mouth, swallowing it with a grimace, he hated the damn things but they tested his urine to make sure he took them, damned shrinks and damned witch-doctors the lot of them. He used the word "damn" a lot. He huddled back up against the book-shelf, trying to get himself comfortable again and picked his book back up.

While he was leafing through the book, taking care to read each word and commit it perfect memory, his angels were flying throughout the temple, the angels in question being tiny glowing flying eyeballs, one plain eye with a light crystal blue iris with little flapping feathery wings keeping an eye out, so to speak. Most of them were located around the library, three in the level below him, four in his current and two above with just one other in all the others above. He had to make sure no creatures were roaming through the library and also just so he could any other people coming. There were also a number flying through the rest of the temple, one had been watching the new group of initiates, some others a few of the professors, a few floated around outside, to see the world around him and one was even speeding through the sewers, trying to find that splashing and hissing sound to see what it was. One of the eyes in the temple was in the forge, watching Naomi's little class beginning. He liked watching Naomi but made sure normally to only do it during her class, he didn't want to seem like a stalker. He didn't know if she had noticed the eye but he hadn't recognised any signs asking him to stop it. And those curious about the eyes could generally find out who was controlling them from the teachers who'd asked each-other when they'd noticed them too. He unconsciously slowed down his reading as he focused more on that particular eyeball, he hadn't seen her interact with many other people so this could be interesting.

_________________
“One day you wake up and realize the world can be conquered.”

Naomi - Temple Forge

"Eeuhm... W-we... Euhm, thank you." Naomi stuttered as she quickly turned her eyes away from Elsebelle. Was it really a compliment though? To tell someone their eyes looked like they were on fire? "We know who you are." Naomi said with a friendly voice, looking back towards the girl. She also noticed some confusion, which was something she was used to by now. "Yes, we are aware we speak in multiple, please don't pay attention to it."

She wasn't too sure if having Elsebelle here was a good thing, the girl was a bit young and she seemed to have a rather low attention span. A dangerous trait here in the forge, one mistake and you could easily loose a limb. But as long as it was just her, she should be able to keep an easy eye on her. Of course the doors opened just as Naomi was thinking that and a group of men entered, all putting on the protective gear.

Naomi blinked a few times, this was quite the turn up and at least these men looked a bit more competent than Elsebelle, no offense. She quickly regained her thoughts again and turned herself to the apparent leader of this little rabble of men. "Mister Haus, it appears you've been partially miss-informed. Allow us to clear this up." Once more she saw a wave of confusion wash over the people as she referred to herself in multiple. She sighed. "Yes, we are aware we speak in multiple. No, it's nothing to worry about." she fished something out of her pockets, before continuing. "We don't deal damage from great distance, in fact, we deal my share of damage from melee range." She held up two shells, each in one hand. They both looked identical, except that the one in her right hand had a red band across it. "Anybody know what there are?" Of course not. "These are shells, they're the ammunition we use and what we'll be creating today. They may seem the same, but appearance is deceiving."

She brought the one without a red band around it forward. "This here is what we call a solid slug. They're like the regular bullets from a gun, only around five times the size. This means they pack a considerable larger punch than ordinary bullets. To put this in perspective, we have yet to see any armor that could stop these babies." She felt energized, in her element. This was her field of expertise and she enjoyed sharing what she knew, just like her mother. "However, given their much larger size, they also travel less far than their smaller cousins."

She placed the solid slug shell on the table and brought the other forward. "And this is our main ammunition, buckshot. These shells are filled with tiny pellets, that are blast out of the gun at immense speeds and literally rip flesh and muscles from bones. However, this type of ammunition is only effective at near point blank range and the larger, more armored fiends tend to simply shrug these off."

She placed that slug on the table as well, next to the other one. "Now, before we even start with anything, we want to lay down some basic rules to prevent injury. Rule number one, when we are talking, you listen." She stood as tall a she could "Rule number two, WHEN WE ARE TALKING, YOU LISTEN." she said with heightened volume "This place is NOT a playground, the material we will be working with is highly dangerous and will burn through your skin before you could even scream. Rule number three, when we see you goofing around, we will kick you out of the forge. With force if necessary." She paused, letting those words sink in a little.

"Right, now that that's clear, we can finally begin. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask us." She said as she moved past the group, motioning them to follow her, towards the smelter. "What we'll be starting with is creating sheaths of metal out of a mold. Most of the work here is pretty simple and is nothing more than pouring the liquid metal into the molds. So before we continue, lets first all fill a few of the sheath molds, just turn the valve on the side of the cauldrons to let the liquid metal pour into them. But please, do be careful, we cannot emphasis how dangerous this work is, no matter how simple."

She allowed the group to disperse among the many smelters, it would be a bitch to keep an eye on everyone. Oh god, please don't let anything go wrong...

_________________

Elsebelle smiled brightly when Naomi accepted the compliment and donned some safety gear, not bothered by its size since her own similar gear was too big for her too. As Naomi explained the situation to the others Elsebelle made sure to listen carefully and was pleased that aside from working with larger portions of the materials, it wouldn't be much different from her own small setup she had in the garden shed where she made her arrow-heads.

When everything had been explained, Elsebelle grabbed a pair of tongs to hold the mold with since it would heat up quickly when the metal was added and passed a pair of tongs to someone who looked confused, "Don't forget these, hot metal radiates." Focused on the job, she walked over to the cauldron before gingerly opening the valve enough for an even flow to come out. She held the mold under it steady with the tongs and when she finished she closed the valve before moving to carefully placed the mold elsewhere to cool.

_________________
Zee Captain: "Better dig your heels in"
Mr. Snippy: "Why? What?"
Zee Captain: "..."

|Temple - Courtyard|

Arelyn smiled at Chuck as he finally caught up. She enjoyed talking to her fellow knight, he was always good for an amiable and entertaining conversation. "Good morning to you as well, Chuck. I am enjoying the day so far, so I'm as good as ever. How have you been lately?" She knew several knights who didn't seem to enjoy being seen with Chuck, she didn't mind what the others thought of her. And while she had twice the experience in the Temple, she never pulled rank on him, sharing any task they worked together in equally. She smiled and chatted with him until the gentleman they were helping began to speak again. She listened carefully, her smile rapidly disappearing as the situation was explained. She remained quiet as Ducaut spoke, her storm grey eyes locked on the man. From behind, she was still enough to look like she was going to begin twitching in anger. She almost felt sorry for the man, odds were good that he would be getting a personal visit from the Temple soon enough.

"It is interesting that you identified us both as Knights, good sir, considering that I am not in my armor nor carry my sword. It is also interesting to expect an elder of the temple to carry your things without help. But the most interesting by far is the fact that you believe that you have the right to dismiss Knights of the Temple in our own home. As I recall, you did not hire us for anything, so you have no authority to dismiss us from anything." Her normally light voice had taken a steely tone, and her small body seemed quite relaxed, although anyone who knew Arelyn would know she was ready to move into action at a moment's notice. She ignored the insulting tone with which the man had uttered the word knight, she had recevied far worse insults before. Her tone never changed, but she spoke with authority, something eighteen years of training within the Temple had given her.

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

~Chuck Walton - Unruly Guest~

"Oh you know me Arelyn. Enjoying every day to the fullest." he responded to her. It was good to see her in a talkative mood so he dilegently kept the conversation going. Chuck knew she had a tendicy to be rather quiet most of the time, so he tried to get her to talk as much as possible. They talked about this and that until finally their escort spoke up again. It wasn't overly surprising, it's not like everyone asked two knights to just lift heavy research equipment all the time. Chuck felt it was a mix of them not wanting the knights to touch their delicate equipment and a bit of pride as well. The man, William Ducaut, seemed rather displeased with the knights that were about to help him. Chuck used the moment to inspect the broken glass on the floor and walk over to the man with the injury to ask if he was alright. The man simply nodded and his attention was turned back to Arelyn who seemed rather offended by William, which wasn't surprising.

'I do believe the fact that we were knights was made obvious by me.' he thought as he looked at his armour and then back at William as he approached the man. "I'm afraid I have to agree with one point my friend made sir. You didn't honestly expect an elder to do all your heavy lifting, now did you?" he said with a slightly joking tone before continuing. "But as she also stated we are here to help, and do you have a problem with two eager Knights willing to help you? I wouldn't think so!" he said before laughing. "Now what do you need assistance with taking out my good sir?" he said as he gave a nudge to Arelyn. Chuck was around long enough to know that something was definately wrong with this man, and it wouldn't take long by the looks of it.

_________________
Fenix13 : Cheesemore if you get any more awesome this thread is gonna explo- WHAT THE FFFUUUUUUUUUUU- *Everybody dies*
BeeAre : i'm just going to go ahead and say it: this thread is cheesemore's thread now. like. he's officially spam's last post crusader, always seeking the last post like a knight looking for the holy grail. poor bastard. godspeed you goofy motherfucker.
JesusChrist : 16. Cheesemore should always be addressed as "fucking Cheesemore" because he's so pathetic [see: Last one to post thread]
SoulScavenger : Cheesemore, your avatar is awesome. That is all.
Akaine : Cheesemore...if this was facebook, I'd approve of your comment with clicking 'like'.
sam4books : Cheesemore earns an awesome point.

-Naomi/Elsebelle-


The other boys worked well despite lack of experience in a forge, yet the tasks were being accomplished steadily and without incident. About an hour into the labor the boy named Frederick approached Naomi again about an idea he'd been pondering, it was simple in it's own right and yet so difficult for someone like him to understand. All muscle and no brain usually being his reasoning for such things.
"Naomi?" He asked rather gruffly, "About my earlier statement. Would it not be capable to remodel your shells and weapon to suite a long range tactic? With the equipment here my brothers and I could very likely produce some good range weaponry based on your current model." A few of the brothers were looking up at their brother, but a dismissive wave of his hand was all that was needed to get them refocused on tasks at hand.


-Matthonius-

The parasite creature wailed in protest as the jagged bar was literally forced through it's appendage to pin the creature upon the floor, the body it occupied wasn't effected as much by the shock of such things thus leaving it open to defend while the appendage tore itself from the ground iron bar and all.
Another fowl hiss as it ducked under the mace but lost it's footing, stumbling to the floor with a splash. Little more than a blink of an eye and the foul creature seemed to have dissapeared, hiding below the shallow water waiting for a chance to strike the crusader.


-Chuck/Arelyn-

Frowning all the while, William burst into a rageful fit as he called for personal guards to remove the old man and his knights from the room. Though hesitant to comply they did infact advance on the trio somberly, both sharing doubting expressions.
William began to shout at the Alchemic workers, "GET UP. WE HAVE WORK TO DO!" while scratching at his neck and arms. A large vein was forming on Williams exposed neck, not ordinary in the slightest. The guards turned to face William when an audible thump was heard a moment later.
Frothing at the mouth, William Ducaut spasmed on the broken glass. Fresh blood oozed out of numerous wounds but it was not the red of human, but a horrible black ooze. The demon was beggining to take hold, unaware that it tried to invade a human body in the middle of Blessed Temple.

Some of the priests in the area urged the knights forward. In order to stop someone from becoming a tainted one they must either fight for themselves or have a strong ally fight for them. At this early stage there were other ways to prevent a demons access to the human body, but it was risky.
Holy weapons can be used to purge evil but may backfire; the Knights would need to find a way around the demon-possessed Alchemist that would soon return from his dementia as a hellbourne.

_________________

Naomi - Temple Forge

She couldn't help but smile, this turn up was so much better than she had hoped for. Everybody was working diligently, Elsebelle hardest of all. It appeared she had pegged that girl completely wrong. If this went on, she'd have enough ammunition to last for quite a while.

Stretching, she thought she noticed something from the corner of her eyes. It was like an ember, only bigger and stationary. But on inspection it was gone. She rubbed her eyes and sighed, how long had she gone without sleep now? Two days? Normally the hallucinations didn't start this early. As she had her eyes closed, the images of what she had seen that day flooded back like a rotten torrent. It was like those images were burned into her mind, a final joke from it?

When she opened her tired eyes again, that man that spoke before stood before her. What was his name again? He asked an interesting question. "Well, as we said before, the larger the slug, the more power it delivers, but it will travel less far." she got her weapon out and placed it on the table before the man. Even after all these years and all the use, the weapon still looked like it was new. Naomi took better care of the weapon that she did for herself. "As you can see, the barrels are quite short but wide. This makes it a very good weapon for close quarter combat, since there's less gun to move around. And since demons are generally predators who tend to sneak up on prey, we believe it's more useful to have close range firepower opposed to long range power. However, if you were to extend the length of the barrel, you'd make it more accurate and with a less wide barrel and smaller slug, you could also hit further but with less power." From jeweler to gunsmith, now there's a future she had never seen possible a few years ago.

"This weapon was designed by us and our mother..." she paused for a while as she thought back to her dear mother, as the years went on she noticed it became increasingly difficult to remember her face. "Hmm... Right. It was designed for close quarter combat, where long ranged weapons would fail. Tight, indoor corridors where the enemy wields melee weapons. Redesigning it for long range combat is possible, but would be very difficult."

"We suppose we could have a word with the armsmaster and ask if we could get some guns in the arsenal, because isn't it the temples duty to keep up to date on the latest technology?" That and she would love to get her hands on the more advanced guns, the ones that could strike true over long distances. And if she could figure out their trick to making them so accurate, she could maybe design whole new weapons with that.

_________________

`~Orion Threston~`
Location: Sewers

Orion finished counting, then heard a rather loud hiss. He sighed and dug a handful of coins from his bag. "Feh, Ma always told me not to gamble. Especially not on the long shot." He saluted the men and began his own descent into the sewers. He had bet that Matt would be able to handle this himself, but it seemed that stealth wasn't his strong suit. Orion hit the ground with a thud, skipping the last two rungs of the ladder and looking around. He took a rag and wrapped it around his mouth and nose. The smell was bad enough, he didn't want sewer water in his mouth to add to it. Orion unclipped his axe from his armor and trundled forward. He knew he wasn't sneaky in any sense of the word. He just hoped that Matt wasn't dead and was keeping the creature distracted.

Orion approached Matt and gave a quick wave before looking around. "Er... What seems to be giving you trouble down here? You just seem to be standin' around and wasting time. Did ye kill it, or were you just pullin' our legs? Ya know we don't have time for pranks." Orion's previously tense stature relaxed, but he still held his axe. There was a good chance that this was going to go downhill fast.

_________________
Fenix13: Remember this well Gareth: With great power... comes hot bitches.

Garethcool: I WILL BECOME YOUR MANSLAVE.
Sam4books: That's the plan ;D

Aduro rubbed at his eyes as he exited the library. It was a lot easy to exit than to enter the lower levels if you knew how, the design being made with a quick possible escape in mind. He'd taken the book out as well as a few others and stashed them in his satchel as well as his cushion and other accessories. He yawned again, playing with the little cross on his neck as he walked along and wondered what to do. He could see some guy spasming out near the research lab but it looked like it was under control, he didn't want to walk through the sewers and he sure as hell wasn't going to help out that guy in the bathroom, good luck to that poor bastard. He stopped in the courtyard and looked up at the sun, half squinting-half glaring at it and then looked at the walkway to the forge. Admittedly, I've got nothing else to do, but I've hardly got any real reason to be there either. he said to himself, his hand moving from the cross to the ring hanging below it, toying with one of the cones on it, smirking slightly at a child that was slowly beginning to run away from one of his eyes at the other end of the temple. Damn it all. he said happily as he walked in, his smile quickly fading away as he began to feel the heat of the forges. Oh yes, the heat. He began to unbutton his jacket and, although he was loath to do so, the top two buttons of his shirt. He felt like a punk but he didn't want to get all sweaty, the temperature was quite different from the cool calm of the library, he really should get out from there more. He entered the workshops and strode right through them to Naomi's group, he didn't need to ask directions and finally stopped at the smelters where they were located. He stood there for a mooment, and then cursed himself for forgetting there weren't any chairs here. Plus, he should probably have grabbed some protective gear, even if he was just going to watch. After he'd gotten back, he walked over to Elsebelle, having already decided to see what she was doing up close while his eye kept it's bird's eye view on the rest of the room. He had to admit, actually being here was a much more different experience than just watching. What are you making? he asked curiously, turning his gaze from the molded object to Elsebelle, initiating eye-contact was important in communication apparently.

_________________
“One day you wake up and realize the world can be conquered.”

Elsebelle was so intent on her work that she didn't even notice Aduro until he spoke directly to her, and even then it took a moment for it to sink in that she had been spoken to. She snapped her head up blinking her mismatched eyes owlishly as they slowly focused back in on reality. "Oh hello there boy-with-the-eye-birds," she said brightly despite her younger age. "It's nice to meet the real you finally," she stuck out her hand awkwardly as she had been instructed to do when meeting someone. She let it hang there forgetting she had extended it and would probably be startled if he shook it. "Mrs. Naomi, the one with the pretty eyes, has us making shells for her gun. I was just filing off the excess metal that always hangs on the edge when you use molds." She beamed, "It's a lot like when I make practice arrow-heads, but easier than when I make arrow-heads that people use in the field. Leaves me lots of time to think." She shook her head to clear it, reminding herself that the dorm mother told her not to prattle and to include others when she spoke so that they could converse, "So what brings you here?"

_________________
Zee Captain: "Better dig your heels in"
Mr. Snippy: "Why? What?"
Zee Captain: "..."

|Temple - Courtyard|

Arelyn held her ground as Ducaut's guards advanced, noting the twin expressions of doubt on their faces. They understood they had little chance removing the two knights, which was good. But that was when things went sideways. Ducaut began scratching at himself while screaming at his personal help. She watched him fall, apparently seizing, her frown increasing as black ichor began to pour from fresh wounds. Arelyn couldn't help but feel that the man was lucky for this to happen in the midst of so many people trained to combat demons, but she held out her hand when the priests tried to push the knights forward. "Hold. Awful as he may be, I will not see this man's life forfeited just to be rid of a single demon. The temple teaches better than that. We will work with whatever is available to us in order to save this man's life."

Arelyn stepped towards the fallen man, alone, her sandals crunching glass shards beneath each step. She knelt beneath the man's side, her earring jingling as she bent over the shaking form. "Ducaut. Can you hear me? My name is Arelyn Breslin, I am a knight. I will do everything in my power to assist you, but you need to fight the demon trying to take your place now." She placed her hand on the man's chest, focusing on the little spiritual power she could muster, to give Ducaut something positive to focus on in the sea of darkness he was most likely facing.

_________________
Zath: Behold, Karo: The only woman in existence who can make Fenix shut the fuck up.
Redsnow: That, and, frankly, if Karo doesn't like you that much, your character is probably going to die soon after his acceptance anyway.
Keiran: Bad RPs don't get picked, unmemberable RPs get ignored.
Zelosse: I don't usually laugh at blatant attitude, but when I do. It usually involves Karo.

Tyvail, The Returned.

A slow, metallic grating sound could be heard near the temple gates, even from on top the gates, those who were tasked with keeping an eye on the road could hear someone arriving before they could see him. At first it was only a background noise but after a few minutes they could see a cloaked figure walking making his way over to the gates. From where they stood they could see that the figure was weary, barely able to carry the weight of his own bastard sword, forced to drag the blade behind him thus creating the strange grating sound. A chill ran down the gate watchers' collective spines, some thing wasn't quiet right with this one.

Eventually the figure arrived and the watchers could get a better look at him, the chill intensified, his armour was worn, there were numerous dents and slash markings across it, sigils that seemed to have been burnt decorated the figure as well, attached to the figure's belt lay a book and a strange lantern and while he dragged a bastard sword, he too carried a long sword across his back. But for what reason?
The leader shook off his suspicions for now, there had been many strange sights on his watch and as a guest the figure had a chance to prove him or herself. "Hail stranger, who goes there? What is your cause to enter this holy sanctum?"

The figure lifted his sword to his forehead and the reversed the blade to drive it into the ground, the watchers noticed for the first time that the blade was also covered in strange markings, many of which they could actually recognize. But these markings did not bold well with them for they held a dark purpose. "Hail to thee, brothers, the wayward son has returned. I am Tyvail Cowl, Quester and Seeker, I have returned home with two relics of the past as befitting a Paladin. My journey for now has come to an end and I now seek sanctum within these walls for my burdens are heavy. " Tyvail's voice boomed from beneath his hood, while he was physically weary, the young man still held his tone with pride and respect. The eldest of the watchers recalled a questing paladin being sent out five years ago and was able to validate his claim but under the condition that he was to be escorted to the Illuminated Templar for a test of faith.