From the article archive
Paladin
On this day do I, Aelia, dedicate myself to the service of the god Arete as a paladin of the holy order. To this end, I will devote my whole heart and all my strength. To those in need, I will offer whatever aid I may. I will stand against all the forces of evil, in whatever shape I may encounter them. I will strive to be pure in thought, pure in word, and pure in deed. I will speak the truth, and I will deal justly with all whom I encounter.
"I will speak the truth," I say aloud as I sit alone in my room, letting the day's events replay in my mind. For the first time since I can remember, I've behaved dishonestly. I've been praying for the past three hours, and though I can feel the comforting warmth of my god's presence, I have no idea whether he approves or disapproves of what I've done. I suppose he's leaving me to figure this one out on my own.
The reason I came to the city of Brindenford in the first place was in the hopes that Kristia might be here. It's the closest city of any size to the place where we used to live, and it at least seemed like a place to start. Myrddin and Amin were kind enough to accompany me, and on our way here, we met a young man named Theodore, who was also headed to Brindenford. He explained to us that he came at the request of a friend of his, who had sent him a mysterious letter. The letter sounded as though it had been written by someone not in their right mind. He spoke of a speaker in dreams and a doorway to other worlds, and Theodore was on his way to make sure his friend was all right.
When we reached the city gates, we realized that it wasn't just him who had gone crazy. The whole town was in a state of heavy alert, though no one could say why or what the threat was. It took us perhaps an hour to enter the city, since guards at the gates were checking the huge crowd of people in one at a time, searching people seemingly at random. There was some fair in town, and I wondered if that was part of the reason for the extra precations. There were certainly more halflings about than normal, and everyone was watching their pockets.
The guards were requiring everyone to peace tie their weapons. That was understandable, although Myrddin grumbled about it.
"If you didn't carry every blade you ever owned on your person," I said, "it wouldn't be a problem," but he didn't appreciate the humor.
I only carry one sword, the one he gave me, but I also heard people around me saying that the guards were confiscating wizards' wands and spellbooks. Then, I read the notice tacked to the gates: "Because of the increase in violence in our fair city, all weapons must be peace-tied or deposited with the city guards. All artifacts of magic, including wands, components, spell books, and holy symbols, must be turned in to the guards. These items will be returned to you upon exiting Brindenford. No magic of any type may be performed within the city limits, nor will any violence be permitted."
"Holy symbols?" I whispered to Amin. "Why in the name of the gods would they be confiscating holy symbols?" My hand went instinctively to the small silver talisman that hung from a chain around my neck.
"I don't know," he replied, shaking his head. He gave me a little smile and put his hand on my shoulder.
"I would think," I muttered angrily, "that if the city is having problems, that handicapping clerics and paladins would be the *last* thing they would want to do."
As I wrapped my hand around my symbol, I could feel its power flow through me. Never in the three years I've been a paladin had I taken it off, even for a moment. If it were just a piece of jewelry, I could willingly part with it, but this had been blessed by devoted clerics of my order, and strengthened by my own prayers. How could I be asked to take it off?
We moved forward in line, and I stepped back behind Myrddin. While the guards were busily dealing with his large assortment of bladed objects, I slipped my symbol into an inside pocket of my cloak. A soft blue glow shimmered across its surface as I touched it, and I prayed that no one would notice.
We entered the city without incident and found a place to stay. Now, here we are.
I have too many questions tonight, and no answers. I have always believed that laws exist for a reason, that there has to be order, or all would suffer. But how can anyone ask me to give up the symbol that means so much to me? Not just remove it, but hand it to a stranger, with no real assurance that I'll ever get it back. And prohibiting all magic? If I see someone injured, should I not heal them? How can men presume to take away what the gods have given? And yet, I still believe in the value of law, of order.
While I was still in training as a paladin, another initiate asked one of our teachers what we should do if we found ourselves in a place where the laws were evil. Should we obey or should we break those laws in the name of good? He responded that it would depend on the situation, but that we should attempt to steer clear of such places if we could. That answer is no help to me now.
I want to speak with Myrddin and Amin, but I know what they'll say. Myrddin will laugh at the ide a that I would even concern myself with something so trivial. And Amin will tell me that I did the right thing.
I sit here for a long while, staring into the fire. Right or wrong, I suppose I've made my choice. Until I know if my sister is here, I'll stay, and that means violating their law if I must. It seems that my life can't ever be simple, but I guess that if I were destined for a simple life, I'd never have been called to be a paladin.
"I will speak the truth," I say aloud as I sit alone in my room, letting the day's events replay in my mind. For the first time since I can remember, I've behaved dishonestly. I've been praying for the past three hours, and though I can feel the comforting warmth of my god's presence, I have no idea whether he approves or disapproves of what I've done. I suppose he's leaving me to figure this one out on my own.
The reason I came to the city of Brindenford in the first place was in the hopes that Kristia might be here. It's the closest city of any size to the place where we used to live, and it at least seemed like a place to start. Myrddin and Amin were kind enough to accompany me, and on our way here, we met a young man named Theodore, who was also headed to Brindenford. He explained to us that he came at the request of a friend of his, who had sent him a mysterious letter. The letter sounded as though it had been written by someone not in their right mind. He spoke of a speaker in dreams and a doorway to other worlds, and Theodore was on his way to make sure his friend was all right.
When we reached the city gates, we realized that it wasn't just him who had gone crazy. The whole town was in a state of heavy alert, though no one could say why or what the threat was. It took us perhaps an hour to enter the city, since guards at the gates were checking the huge crowd of people in one at a time, searching people seemingly at random. There was some fair in town, and I wondered if that was part of the reason for the extra precations. There were certainly more halflings about than normal, and everyone was watching their pockets.
The guards were requiring everyone to peace tie their weapons. That was understandable, although Myrddin grumbled about it.
"If you didn't carry every blade you ever owned on your person," I said, "it wouldn't be a problem," but he didn't appreciate the humor.
I only carry one sword, the one he gave me, but I also heard people around me saying that the guards were confiscating wizards' wands and spellbooks. Then, I read the notice tacked to the gates: "Because of the increase in violence in our fair city, all weapons must be peace-tied or deposited with the city guards. All artifacts of magic, including wands, components, spell books, and holy symbols, must be turned in to the guards. These items will be returned to you upon exiting Brindenford. No magic of any type may be performed within the city limits, nor will any violence be permitted."
"Holy symbols?" I whispered to Amin. "Why in the name of the gods would they be confiscating holy symbols?" My hand went instinctively to the small silver talisman that hung from a chain around my neck.
"I don't know," he replied, shaking his head. He gave me a little smile and put his hand on my shoulder.
"I would think," I muttered angrily, "that if the city is having problems, that handicapping clerics and paladins would be the *last* thing they would want to do."
As I wrapped my hand around my symbol, I could feel its power flow through me. Never in the three years I've been a paladin had I taken it off, even for a moment. If it were just a piece of jewelry, I could willingly part with it, but this had been blessed by devoted clerics of my order, and strengthened by my own prayers. How could I be asked to take it off?
We moved forward in line, and I stepped back behind Myrddin. While the guards were busily dealing with his large assortment of bladed objects, I slipped my symbol into an inside pocket of my cloak. A soft blue glow shimmered across its surface as I touched it, and I prayed that no one would notice.
We entered the city without incident and found a place to stay. Now, here we are.
I have too many questions tonight, and no answers. I have always believed that laws exist for a reason, that there has to be order, or all would suffer. But how can anyone ask me to give up the symbol that means so much to me? Not just remove it, but hand it to a stranger, with no real assurance that I'll ever get it back. And prohibiting all magic? If I see someone injured, should I not heal them? How can men presume to take away what the gods have given? And yet, I still believe in the value of law, of order.
While I was still in training as a paladin, another initiate asked one of our teachers what we should do if we found ourselves in a place where the laws were evil. Should we obey or should we break those laws in the name of good? He responded that it would depend on the situation, but that we should attempt to steer clear of such places if we could. That answer is no help to me now.
I want to speak with Myrddin and Amin, but I know what they'll say. Myrddin will laugh at the ide a that I would even concern myself with something so trivial. And Amin will tell me that I did the right thing.
I sit here for a long while, staring into the fire. Right or wrong, I suppose I've made my choice. Until I know if my sister is here, I'll stay, and that means violating their law if I must. It seems that my life can't ever be simple, but I guess that if I were destined for a simple life, I'd never have been called to be a paladin.
Recovered from the Gaming Outpost database backup. Original wording is preserved; damaged punctuation and presentation markup have been repaired. Historical links without a local match point to the Internet Archive.