Noone was panting violently on the edge of a shelf, sitting with his legs hanging casually over the side. He had decided to climb past the area with loose stone before the sun set, however he severely underestimated just how high the cracks had spread.
Sweat dripped from his body, pooling onto the stone underneath. His breaths came out course, but consistent. As Noone watched the last corner of the sun peak down past the ocean, a noticeable smile was drawn on his lips. Despite his mad dash he couldn't deny his exhilaration. He felt alive.
Soon the world passed on into darkness. Noone laid back leaving his legs dangling. For the first time in a long time he felt like things were looking up. He wasn't sure why he felt this. It was just a feeling deep inside him. His eyes closed, and he quickly fell asleep. The wind between the sea and the clouds brushed across his body, but he didn't feel it. The night had already taken him.
…
A book was shoved into the chest of an average sized male with tan skin and brown hair, he stumbled back nearly tripping against his dresser. Walking past him into his quarters, Sarah strolled in glaring like a disappointed spouse.
"Sarah don't you know its immodest to enter a male's quarters like this." Despite having her over the night before, Feylin gave a weak excuse to attempt at saving face against the stronger-minded young woman.
"Just look at the book Feylin." She bit. She sat on the chair in front of his desk and leaned back balancing precariously on the two back legs. Initially when coming to the temple she was shy, and people may confuse her for still being rather timid at times, but the truth was far simpler. She just enjoyed keeping to herself, unbothered.
Feylin could see that Sarah was serious. He looked down at the leather-bound book that was shoved into him. It was heavy despite being comparatively small inside, barely bigger than his palm. But it was thick and dense with information.
Specifically, it seemed to be a travel resource with references to church and temple locations. There was a bookmark set to a page towards the very front of the book. Feylin flipped the cover open and began to thumb through the pages. Each page was incredibly thin and dense with information, the writing was so small that it was barely legible.
"Grand Temple for the Order of Life." Feylin mumbled, reading the heading at the top of the page. His eyes tracked across the words written.
"Burian…" after a moment of mouthing the words he read, his eyes suddenly widened, and he looked back towards Sarah who was staring straight at him. He was struck dumb and speechless, a rarity for him.
"Burian is one of the departments at the Headquarters for our order, Feylin." The way she said his name – Feylin - made it sound biting and accusatory. Feylin was still dumb to what she was saying.
"Sarah… What do you mean?" His emotions were in turmoil as his mind refused to put the pieces together. Such a prestigious chapter was too far removed to their little edge-of-the-world temple.
"Feylin. When Jakobso- the bishop asked you if you had anything to do with this, you said no. He believed you, and I was inclined to believe him. Did you? I swear Feylin, if you did something that got the attention of such a high branch of the church, I'll… I'll…" Sarah stumbled over her words and just looked frustrated, crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"Sarah…" Feylin was beginning to understand why she was so flustered, he himself could barely believe it.
"Sarah, I swear to you I never contacted the church. I had nothing to do with this." He looked back at her and spoke the truth, he really didn't have anything to do with it. He looked down quickly and skimmed through the rest of the information on the Burian.
Basically, it existed as a task force assignment for the upper echelons of the church. It consisted of student paladins and student clerics, grand-paladins, and grand-clerics. Fifth to Tenth level elites among elites.
"Wow." Feylin couldn't help but express his admiration. There were countless clerics and paladins on the continent, but probably only a few handfuls in the Burian.
"Yeah… Wow." Sarah's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Sarah. What are you so upset about, so they come from an upper chapter of the church, so what? Plus… this will be a good opportunity, the letter Jak- bishop received said we would have the opportunity to return with them." Feylin shrugged, setting the book down on his dresser. He thought about the opportunities that would come if he impressed a member of the Burian. Sarah just looked at him like he was an idiot.
"Feylin. Did you notice what wasn't in the list of members of the Burian?" Before he could respond. "Acolytes."
"And do you remember what the letter said?" before he could answer, "Two of them have already died." Sarah watched Feylin to see if her point was clicking through his immeasurably dense skull.
"Feylin. Two members of an upper level task force located at the grand-temple died while on whatever mission they are presently on." She took a deep breath before continuing. "Two people much more capable and experienced than both of us combined. "Finally, Feylin put together all the pieces. His normally tanned complexion paled. Not only were they merely acolytes, but any mission assigned to the Burian was surely dangerous. Extremely dangerous.
"Sarah…" His lips made a smacking sound and he suddenly felt extremely thirsty. However, just as quickly as it came it left and soon resolve took its place. "It will be okay." He reassured her. "We are tools in the hands of our gods after all, and they hold our interests in mind as well. Maybe this is just part of a bigger plan." He walked over and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Soothing magic worked its way through his palm.
"Yeah… You're right." Sarah's strong demeanor from earlier began to fade. She had become extremely anxious and her front was her way of covering that up. She hated that part of herself, so she did everything she could to hide it.
"I'm sorry Feylin."
"It's fine. I understand." He flashed a cheerful smile at her as though nothing was wrong. "We should go talk to Jakobson and ask whether or not he has received any new information."
She nodded her head and took a deep breath, recomposing herself in the process.
They left the book on Feylin's dresser and made their way through the halls of the temple. The sun was blaring through the eastern windows lighting the entire corridor. There was no stained glass in this portion of the temple to add any colors, so the halls were awash in white light.
Other members of the clergy were moving about, going about their days. When not coming in or going out on minor assignments - or praying and studying - there were many chores to be done around the temple. Someone was always cleaning or tending to the gardens or cooking or hosting discussions. It was actually rather a bustling place considering how few people lived there.
The entire grounds were home to around 50 people. There were 10 or so Acolytes and the rest were all clerics or retired paladins. Rumors around the temple were that the bishop – Jakobson – was actually a retired grand-cleric. However, he never really talked about it and only rarely would he open up when the acolytes bugged.
The small number of people in the temple created a very familial atmosphere. They all worshipped the same gods and worked together to study and grow within their light. For Feylin, it was the only life he knew. For Sarah, it was the only life she wished she had known.
Living day by day next to the same fifty people let them all get to know each other on sight. They could recognize any person in the temple and easily tell you their name and a few things about them. They were one big happy family.
Feylin and Sarah simultaneously turned the corner to the hall which held Jakobson's office. It was a quiet morning all around, and they knew Jakobson basically slept in that office, so they weren't worried about him not being there.
Down the hall, they saw his office door open from the inside and suddenly a woman whom they had never seen before stepped out. Behind her was another woman in the same clothes and outfitted with the same accessories. Sarah and Feylin looked at each other and their heart skipped a collective beat.
Their eyes held the same question. Could they be…?
Suddenly both of the strangers stepped out of the way of the door, and a tall male stepped out between them, ducking a little to not hit his head.
Feylin and Sarah both felt their jaw drop at the sight of the man.
Intimidating.
He stood at 6'6'' and was extremely robust with a large but neatly-groomed gray beard. This was helped by his dense red armor which he wore with dignity and comfort, as though it didn't even weigh the ton that it probably did. There was no clang of metal with his movements.
On his back was a comfortably strapped battle-axe that was as large as the man himself, its two blades were the width of his shoulders and it covered the back of his head and neck. As he turned around the metal glinted a white hue in the sunlit hallway.
All of this was wildly intimidating to the two acolytes, but the weirdest thing about the man was that on his shoulders sat Yisanet who looked like she was having a time of it. She sat quietly but it was obvious she was appreciating her newfound height. It created a dissonance in the minds of Sarah and Feylin, striking them speechless on the spot.
Jakobson walked out behind the large man, noticing Feylin and Sarah straight away. When he looked over, the strangers turned to look at them too.
"Ah. Feylin, Sarah, good timing. Come meet the team from Burian."