To avoid being late, Neia power-walked through the capital of Roble Holy Kingdom at a brisk pace. Considering how short-tempered the Grandmaster of the Paladin Order Remedios was, she had every reason to hurry. The vision she had received and shared put her in an even more disadvantageous position, horribly so.
Many of her peers settled on avoiding her at all costs as if the heretical visions were contagious and refused to train with her, disrupting daily training. Paladins and instructors treated her like she was about to be dismissed from the order altogether, some even outright threatening her to leave. And all that for simply reporting what she saw.
There was another vision with the angel alone, without the presence of the supposed God. This angel advised her to stay silent about things she saw in her vision, as those stuck in their ways would deny the truth to preserve their old legacy. Confused and afraid of what was going on with her, she followed the advice and kept her mouth shut, she was already suffering enough.
She wanted to suspect that she was misguided, she wanted to fall back to the comfort of the established religion, but deep down she knew that this holy being was helping her when no one else had. As a dehydrated woman in a desert longing for water, she longed for kind words and reassurance, and the kind angel provided just that in the short interaction they had in her dreams.
Avoiding an incoming carriage, she quickened the pace, nimbly maneuvering between the people going about their business. Despite her mind being in turmoil, she was always keenly aware of her surroundings, a trait both her parents taught her from an early age. No matter what, one should always be mindful of the outside world in the case of a surprise attack.
The capital was as busy as ever. The cacophony of noises by humans and horses alike constantly assaulted her ears, different from the constant groaning of the training grounds. She wasn't particularly familiar with the city save for a few main streets, but it had always been like this: a beehive of action and excitement.
This was where the Holy Queen lived among the other legendary figures, like the high priestess and the head of the paladin order. Unlike them, she had always been a country girl, living in a small town near the Great Wall, while they lived in splendor amidst the greatest city in the world.
As much as she wanted to dwell on her simpler past and happy memories, there was no time for it. Neia had reached the entrance of the Paladin stronghold. The guards let her pass after she handed over the invitation letter.
The vast brightly lit halls were a sight to behold. Neia slowed down in reverence at the sight of the numerous statues of past heroes and martyrs, immortalized in pristine, pure white marble. The air itself felt like it was charged with holy energies. Every breath was like a short meditation that brought a temporary tranquility, and she definitely needed it.
This temporary peace ended when she entered her superior's office, where the Grandmaster of the Paladin Order, Remedios Custodio, awaited her standing in the middle of the sparsely decorated room. There were only a few small windows, a simple office table, and a bookshelf haphazardly filled with various scrolls and books.
"Grandmaster, you called for me?" Neia straightened out and saluted.
"Do you know why you are here, squire?" Remedios demanded with a stony expression, her eyes intensely staring into Neia's. She stood with her legs at shoulder width, arms behind her back clad in the full plate set she was rarely seen without.
"No, Grandmaster," Neia responded in a loud clear voice befitting a soldier.
"Some would call the visions you saw as blasphemous." Remedios continued, staring her down.
Neia held her composure as best as she could, standing silent and letting her superior speak unimpeded. Remedios has never liked her. Since the day she applied to become a paladin, she had been the woman's punching bag, and nothing she did was good enough. And how could it be if she was constantly compared to her mother, a legendary paladin, and Remedios' teacher? 'This is it. She found a reason to dismiss me from the order. I wonder if there is a nearby bridge where I can crawl under and die. Mother wouldn't permit me to fail like this.'
"Do you understand your situation? Do you believe you saw a God who isn't one of the four?"
"I am not a scholar to interpret what I saw. If it was a test from God, then I am unsure what I should do next," she replied. That was the truth. She could hope that as long as she didn't declare the being that she saw as a new God, there wasn't enough of a reason for her to be removed from training camp.
"A test indeed. You will get your one chance to prove your dedication to the four. You will travel to E-Rantel, visit the graveyard, and return as a devoted follower of one of the Four Gods. If you fail to understand your given test, you might as well save your mother the shame and not bother returning at all, just hang yourself in the town square. During this pilgrimage, your very limits will be tested, either proving you are a paladin, or revealing what I already suspect; that you are a blasphemer bent on destroying the legacy of your parents. Here is the money to reach Re-Estize. After that, you are on your own." Remedios grabbed a small pouch from the table and tossed it toward Neia.
She caught the pouch, feeling it was nearly empty and likely filled with only the lowest denominations of currency. 'She wants me to fail. This is unfair. I have done nothing wrong.'
Gathering the courage to speak up against the intimidating figure was as hard as arguing with her mother, but she had to do it. "With all due respect, Grandmaster, I have followed the protocol and reported what I saw without giving any opinion on the vision. I am not fully trained to be sent on a pilgrimage and to be sent alone on top of it."
"I didn't ask for your opinion, squire!" Remedios took a step forward and shouted in her face. "You will do as you're told or you can get out of my sight and stop trying to play a paladin when we both know you don't have the skill or dedication to be one. In your place, I would have spent every waking moment training in hopes of living up to your mother, but instead, you play around with that bow of yours, like a common soldier!"
'That bitch is insulting my father!' Neia almost lost composure and shouted back, but all it would achieve would be her being beaten into a pulp and tossed out of the Order. Through gritted teeth, she managed to get out what was expected of her. "Understood, Grandmaster. I will go on pilgrimage and make my parents and order proud."
"Good, now, get out of my office, and be on your way!" Remedios snarled, nearly spitting in her face as she pointed at the door.
Not wanting to spend another moment in her tormentor's company, she saluted and left the office in a hurry.
'I hate her so much. What did Mother do to her to make that bitch want to make me fail? I should have just joined the army and served under Dad as an archer.' Neia practically ran out of the stronghold, the bag's pitiful jingling along the way, prophesying her death.
She found a quieter side street and clutched her face, breathing rapidly as tears veiled up. 'Get a grip! You are a squire, act like one!' She reprimanded herself for being so weak.
'Get a grip.' She quietly sobbed. 'Get a grip. Don't…'
Why was life so unfair? Did the Four hate her so much? Why wasn't her best nearly enough? She wanted to curl up and just wait for death's embrace, to end it all. But there was another feeling, subtle hiding beneath the despair and anxiety: spite. Oh, how she wanted to prove Remedios wrong, that hated woman. How much she wanted to see Remedios announce her as a paladin with a strained smile on her face, or better yet, see Remedios brought down from her high pedestal and forced to repent for her own transgressions.
With each passing moment, this stubborn spite grew stronger. She would prove to be better than the Remedios thought her to be. She would prove herself better than her mother assumed she was.
'I can do this. I will go on a pilgrimage and come back stronger! Remedios won't be able to do anything if I succeed, even she has to follow the rules. Yes, I'll prove her wrong, and come back as a strong believer… But what if it was the new God that I saw…' The doubt filled her heart and head once again. What if she was marked by a new deity? What if she was meant to fail and lose everything? Would her father forgive her? No doubt he would, but Mother wouldn't, and she didn't want to drive a wedge in their relationship.
'Please Gods, guide me. I don't know what to do. Show me the way.' She pleaded. 'I don't want to disappoint everyone.'
There was no answer. There was no reason for it. She wasn't a saint to commune with Four Gods directly, she was just another squire aiming to be one of their blades, to cut down their enemies without hesitation.
Neia sighed, wiped the corners of her eyes, and walked back to the main street. There was no time to mope around and wallow in her misery. She had a journey ahead of her and a hard one at that. First came purchasing rations.
The one thing Neia learned about herself was that she hated to travel on a ship. At least half of her meals ended up over the board as the sea sickness was a constant companion, much like the constant sense of foreboding of what was to come. The whole pilgrimage seemed like some unjust divine punishment, and it had only just started.
The moment the ship dropped its anchor in the harbor of Re-Lobell, she abandoned the transportation that had made her miserable for a whole week and ran off the dock to feel the ground under her feet once again, much to the sadistic amusement of the ship's crew.
The first order of business was to find a semi-steady source of income, and the only decent option was to join the local Adventurer's Guild right away. She still had six silver and forty copper coins, which should be enough to get a bed and meal in a cheap inn for two months or so, and the guild could be used as supplementary income.
After questioning a few locals, she found out where the Adventurer's Guild building was located and made her way there. One thing she noted was that the city seemed neglected compared to the cities of her homeland. One saving grace was that the central streets were paved with uneven stone pieces, and she didn't need to walk through the mud.
As she entered the guild all eyes suddenly went on her. 'Why are they staring like this?' Neia internally panicked. However, the training let her keep her composure and walk forward with a stony expression, quickly noting that most stopped paying attention to her soon after, returning to their regular business.
'Oh, they simply were curious about a newcomer, that's all.' She mused to herself while walking towards the counter.
Then came the rather unpleasant surprise of finding out that the registration fee was five silver, depleting her already meager funds to near-nothingness. And for this expensive entrance fee, all she could do was copper plate jobs, like clearing the basement of rodents or getting rid of foxes or raccoons targeting smaller livestock, which paid a few copper coins at best or next to nothing at worst.
In short, until a promotion to iron, or maybe even silver plate was reached, she would be stuck in the Re-Lobell as an adventurer. Remedios didn't give her any sort of time limit on when she had to return, so at least there was no rush in that regard. Likely because the damned woman wanted her to die in the field, but she'd take her graces where she could.
The days went by fast doing odd jobs here and there, spending nights in common rooms of inns, and slowly getting noticed by the local populace. One day, as she returned to report killing a few goblins that had wandered too close to one of the farms near the city walls, a group of older adventurers approached her.
"Say, girlie, you look familiar. I was wondering if you have any relatives in Roble?" One of them, a man with graying hair and a trimmed mustache, asked while flashing her a friendly smile.
"I am from Roble, so yes," She replied, not wanting to give out any details.
"I see, I see. I once served under a man with eyes just like yours. Best commander I ever had. Too bad I got to leave the army for… unrelated reasons…" He awkwardly stopped.
"You got one too many drinks and fell off the wall, Captain Baraja wanted to drop you on the other side for that stunt!" One of his peers exclaimed with a burst of laughter.
"Oi, don't embarrass me in front of the girlie! And don't badmouth the Captain. He patched me up and sent me to rest." The man shouted back, "Anyhow, I just wanted to know if you are related to my old commander."
"You served under my father?" Neia blurted out without thinking. Admitting she was a daughter of one of the colors wasn't a smart idea and could potentially endanger her whole journey if she stumbled into disgruntled soldiers, and she hurriedly shut her mouth.
"Ooh, you're his daughter. Now I remember. I saw you when you were a wee little bugger visiting your old man!" The man let out a hearty laugh, "What brings you to this part of the world?"
"I am on a pilgrimage to prove I am suited to join the paladin order. You know, self-reliance and resolve, that sort of stuff." She politely answered the question, wondering how to get out of this interaction without sounding rude.
"I see, I see. Good luck then Miss Mad-Eye. We would offer you to join us, but old farts like us would just hold you back. But if you ever need a team for a job or two, we'll gladly help out. I owe old Baraja that much at least." The man offered, grinning.
"Thank you for the offer. I'll keep it in mind." Neia bowed and, using the opportunity, she slipped away from the group.
The consequence of this interaction was that the nickname stuck and every adventurer and even the guild clerk on occasion from then on called her the Mad-Eye. Some went even further and gave her the title of Archer with Cursed Eyes, but those, luckily, were few and far between.
Editing by aidan_lo.
Proofreading by x4x, Squid, Sluethen, LionLover, clagan, fvvck, aidan_lo, IAMTHEPLOKOKIOPO, and NuggetLover.
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