“Fine” Jan reluctantly said, almost spitting the word out in disgust. She was a devoted agent of SI:7. It was her everything, and she would do anything to protect and uphold it, even if it meant destroying a powerful artifact weapon. So long as nobody found out, so long as the web of lies and deceit held, she would be fine. After all, she was SI:7; lies and deceit is what they did best.
“Then the deal has been made. Let’s get to work,” Kesi replied, a golden glow encasing one of her hands as she flicked it up. A helmet drifted up and out of the hatch, an elegantly forged masterpiece of gold and silver. Ridged grooves and engravings, pulsating with holy light ran along the length of the helmet, flowing up into the ornate metal wings affixed to the side of the helmet. The helm floated lazily over to Kesi, hovering above her as she slowly motioned downwards with her free hand, the helmet lowering onto her. Jan looked on, a mix of admiration and insipid, perhaps unfounded fear, as Kesi’s face vanished beneath the golden carapace of the master crafted plate.
The T shaped visor slot in the helmet remained dark for a moment, as Kesi finished donning the final piece of her armor. She manually hefted the hatch up, slamming it shut with a metallic roar, before running her hand along the top of the hidden door. With a flash of golden light, the floor returned to normal, shining blue crystal reflecting the magenta light of the room.
The paladin stood back up, rising to her full height, and taking the holy weapon thought lost for so long in both hands. Jan stood before the one and only Final Dawn, a creeping aura of intimidation setting in as the giant shifted, rattling the plates of it’s armor slightly as it spoke.
“One last task for the Final Dawn,” Kesi said, her grip tightening on the Sunsoul Warmaul, “One last fight” she was done repressing her past; she was going to face it, here and now “One last huzzah for this old paladin.”
Her final words echoed through the room, reverberating off the walls with a presence that pierced Jan’s mental defenses. She reeled from the echoing statement in her mind as a light burst to life from beneath the darkened helmet to further intimidate her.
Twin orbs of fiery red and gold peered out at Jan, and it was all she could to keep her composure. There she stood before a legend.
Paladins could instill fear or hope with their very presence, and right now, Jan was very afraid. Perhaps this wasn’t such a prudent decision after all.
Redemption Of A Fallen Paladin 