I wasn’t expecting to do a followup to this story, but then one of the other writers I follow put out a post on their own blog about their own dissatisfaction with the Paladin job quest, and how a character from a crafting job’s questline exemplified the traits you’d expect of a Paladin better than the actual characters from the Paladin story do. It got me thinking that they were absolutely correct, and thus my desire to write this second chapter was born.
Hope you all like it!
“Milady! Milady, you have received a summons from the Lord Speaker himself!”
Baroness Laurisse de Jervaint looked up, continuing to run the polishing cloth over her armor. She had performed the task so many times by this point she suspected she could do it while sleeping. She wouldn’t, of course, she hadn’t managed to distinguish herself from her fellow squires (her superior’s words, not hers!) by not maintaining diligence. She would be a temple knight one day and redeem her family’s honor, and nothing would stand in the way of that!
Still, she supposed a message from Aymeric de Borel warranted a pause.
She stood and addressed the man who’d called to her. “Well, Fremondain? What does the message say?”
The older Elezen smiled as handed her an envelope, sealed with Ishgard’s crest stamped in the wax. “I dare not open it, milady. The messenger instructed that it was solely for your eyes! But surely this can be nothing but good news, yes? The Lord Speaker, even when he was Lord Commander only, has only ever praised your deeds!”
“‘Praise’ might be a slightly strong word, Fremondain. He has only commended me as he would any squire who has done their duties.” returned Laurisse as she unsealed the letter and removed its contents. “Hmmm…”
“Milady? Good news?”
“It is a request that I present myself, in full battle readiness, to the Congregation, as soon as possible. I am to speak with Ser Firmalbert, who shall direct me to my final destination.”
“Very mysterious, if I may say so, milady.”
“Indeed, but it will avail us naught to speculate as to what this might concern. The Lord Speaker has commanded me and I shall not fail. Retrieve Integrity and my shield, if you would. I shall complete the final polishing.”
“Right away, milady!”
Some time later, the Baroness, now wearing her full armor, with her family’s sword at her side, approached the doorman of the Congregation. She had met the legendary Ser Firmalbert before, and had even briefly served under him during the early weeks of her squireship. She briefly smiled when she saw his eyes meet hers before she schooled her expression into that of a seriously-minded squire addressing a senior officer and saluted. “Squire Laurisse de Jervaint reporting as ordered, Ser!”
Ser Firmalbert regarded her, up and down, evaluating her. No doubt checking to see if she’d let her usual high standards on the upkeep of her armor slip. She suppressed a grin. He’d find no fault with that. Since gaining her position (and the regular pay that came with it), she’d been able to devote far more time and effort to the care of her armor than she had when she’d needed to work as a sellsword to make ends meet. She made a mental note to try and track down Franks, that master smith who’d brought her armor out of its shameful state and reforged her family’s sword now worn at her side, and thank him. She imagined that showing him how well she’d cared for the gifts he’d given her would certainly go a long way.
“Hrm. Excellent. You are here earlier than expected, squire. This is well. Come with me”. He turned and opened the doors to the Congregation. Stepping inside, he began walking to the office of the Lord Commander. Laurisse gulped. She had expected to be taken before the Lord Speaker, given that the missive had originated from him, but she was no less nervous for it. She briefly glanced around. Curiously, she noted that neither Ser Lucia nor Ser Handeloup were present. The two could normally be found at the war table in the congregation’s foyer, but both were currently absent. Had there been some new emergency at the Ghimlyt Dark? She’d heard nothing of renewed hostilities with the Empire…
She shook her head. It was not her concern. She instead focused on the looming door in front of her. “This the one the Lord Speaker’s expecting?” she heard the door guard say.
“Aye, this is her.” Firmalbert responded.
“Very well, Ser. I’ll show her in”
“A moment, if you would.” Ser Firmalbert turned, lifting the visor plate of his helm as he did. He was…smiling? He placed a hand on her shoulder, and for a moment he was not one of the most respected Temple Knights alive, instead he looked upon Laurisse as a doting grandsire would. She was very confused.
“Very proud of you, squire. Yes, very proud. If only your parents…well. Ahem, sorry. Good luck in there,” he said. With those words, he began walking back to the Congregation’s door. Laurisse watched him, confused. He’d always been kind to her, but he’d never displayed such open affection.
“Squire?” The voice of the guard interrupted her thoughts. She turned back to regard him. “The Lord Speaker is waiting”
“Yes, of course. I am sorry. Ready to go,” she replied, saluting him.
He nodded and turned, opening the door to the office. “Squire Laurisse de Jervaint to see you, milord!”
“Ah, yes, come in!” came the rep1y.
The Knight gestured for her to enter. Head held high and expression carefully neutral, she confidently strode in.
Aymeric de Borel stood from his desk and smiled at her. Her stomach fluttered. Sweet Halone, I forgot just how handsome that man is. Like many Ishgardians her age, she’d seen his rise to prominence as leader of the Temple Knights and had a very strong crush on him. Careful not to let her thoughts show, she quickly took in the rest of the room. Ser Handeloup and Ser Lucia were both present. That explains where those two went. There was a fourth in the room as well, a hyur wearing dark armor and a coat over it. A sword made of what appeared to be a strange red crystal rested at his side. His hair was white and well-styled, just like his beard…wait. Was that, was that Master Franks, the very smith she’d just been reminiscing about? What in Halone’s name was he doing here? What was he wearing?
Franks smiled at her staring. A set of shaded spectacles covered his eyes, but he raised a single brow.
This snapped Laurisse out of her confusion. She immediately turned back to Aymeric and went into a rigid attention stance. She saluted again. “Lord Speaker, reporting as ordered, Ser!”
“At ease, squire. Present your weapon for inspection.”
Laurisse was confused, but did not hesitate. She drew Integrity from her side and laid the blade in her palm. She twisted her other hand around the pommel until it too reseted on her palm, and presented it forward to Aymeric.
The Lord Speaker regarded it for a mere moment, then looked to his side. The sound of armored footsteps came from behind her as Franks soon came into her field of vision. He stood before her and grasped Integrity’s pommel. He raised it and cast a trained eye over every ilm of the sword.
“Hrmm…definitely seen some use, but you’re keeping it in exquisite shape, all told!”
She raised her eyes to meet his own. “Of course. I would never squander the precious gift you gave me.”
He smiled at her reply, handing her back the sword.
“If I may, Master Franks….what are you doing here? And why are you wearing the armor of a knight? Wait…is that Allagan design?”
“Squire….who exactly do you think this man is?” Lucia chimed in, restrained mirth in her voice.
“He is…a master blacksmith? He helped repair my armor and reforged my family sword.” Laurisse tentatively responded.
Handeloup looked over to Franks, amusement and confusion evident in his own expression. “Is that true, Franks? Wait, is THAT why you asked us to let you inspect her sword?”
Franks chuckled. “It’s true, I did. Actually, there’s a number of other people in Ishgard I’ve helped with various crafting disciplines. Do you happen to know a lancer named Barthovieu? Ask him about his spear sometime.”
Handeloup simply stared back. After a few moments, Lucia chimed in. “Squire…this man is not just…apparently…a blacksmith. He’s one of the Warriors of Light. The saviors of Ishgard, the people who finally ended the war.”
Laurisse covered her mouth, looking horrified. “I…I had one of the Warriors of Light working in a forge for me?? For FREE? Oh, Fury….Master Franks, please accept my sincerest…”
“None of that now, my dear. It was my pleasure to aid you. That’s why I got into this adventuring business: to help people, especially good people to whom fate has been unkind. Had you just been some glory-seeking noble who cared naught for her fellow man, I could have easily walked away and never bothered with you again. But you did not. You remained unwavering both in dedication and reason both. You wanted to help your fellow Ishgardians. What was it you told me your father said, ‘Noble blood grants privilege, but only to save the unprivileged’, was it?”
A small tear rolled down Laurisse’s face. “You remembered…”
Franks smiled. “‘Course I did. I wanted to see if you would live up to that ideal as a squire. I’ve been keeping an eye on your progress, or perhaps I should say I asked Ser Handeloup to keep me apprised of it. His reports have been nothing but glowing. And that leads me to why I’m here. I have something for you.”
Laurisse raised a hand. “Please, Master Franks, I owe you more than I can ever say already!”
“Oh, don’t misunderstand me, my dear. This is not a gift. It is a calling. It will no doubt be incredibly challenging, but I believe you are more than up to it.” He withdrew a hand from within his jacket, and held out a small crystal towards her. It was vaguely diamond shaped, the color of a bright blue sky on a clear morning. Etched onto its surface was the shape of a shield. “Do you know what this is?”
“I have…I have heard tales of crystals like this. Soul crystals, I believe they are called? They contain the memories of their previous bearers, do they not?”
Franks nodded. “In a sense, yes. To be specific, they contain the memories of their bearer’s martial techniques. When they are passed onto the next worthy bearer, the crystal imparts the previous wielder’s techniques into their mind, granting them a measure of the training and time spent perfecting the techniques. Each type of crystal has its own method of determining if its new bearer is ‘worthy’. Most simply look for a requisite level of skill, but this one, in particular, also looks at the heart of its would-be wielder. Allow me to tell you of its origin.”
Franks held the crystal up. “During the fifth Astral Era, there was a nation in Thanalan that had an order of Warrior-Priests known as the Paladin. These warriors wielded both light-aspected aether capable of healing and harming as well as sword and shield. Their oaths bound them to the protection and healing of the people above all, even their rulers. Unfortunately, despite their great skill, their numbers were too few, and they were destroyed in the war between Amdapoor and Mhach, along with their whole nation.”
“But, like many elite martial practitioners throughout the eras, they made use of soul crystals as teaching devices, and a number of them survived their nation’s destruction. They were recovered some six centuries ago by Ul’dah and given over to the Sultansworn, the elite order of knights dedicated to the defense of the reigning monarch, who took the name of that ancient order to describe themselves. And up until recently, that is where they remained.”
“I assume this is where you come in?” Aymeric asked. Laurisse jumped slightly. She’d almost forgotten the Lord Speaker was there. Aymeric had come out from behind his desk and now stood next to Franks, intently listening to the story.
Franks chuckled. “Aye, it is. General Aldynn, the commander of the Immortal Flames and the Sultana’s closest advisor, was concerned that the Sultansworn had a traitor in their ranks, one who might have aided the recent attempt on the Sultana’s life. He asked me to try and get myself recruited to their number and determine the truth. Well, it worked. I didn’t join them, per se, but they gave me the crystal and practically considered me one of them. I found no traitors. A fair amount of idiocy, yes, but that’s a story for another time.”
“But it’s what else I found that changed everything. After a certain point…the crystal began teaching me something that it had never taught the Sultansworn: the wielding of holy magicks. Well, the wielding of light-aspected aether, but that’s what it’s commonly known as. You get the point. Anyway, I brought this to the Sultana’s attention, and after some debate within her inner circle, she agreed that the Sultansworn needed to both reform its very foundation AND that it should no longer have exclusive control over the Paladin’s Soul Crystals. She gave me a not-insignificant number of them to give to individuals whom I believed would uphold the true ideals of those ancient warriors.”
He held the crystal out towards Laurisse. “Individuals such as you, Laurisse de Jervaint.”
She couldn’t believe her ears. There was no way, surely someone else was more worthy than her. She looked around the room, and then began pointing at the other Ishgardians. “No, no, them! What about the Lord Commander? Ser Lucia, Ser Handeloup, all of them are far more worthy than I, far stronger even! You should give it to one of them! Or there must be dozens of others!”
Franks did not withdraw his hand. “Others who possess both the skill with a blade AND the requisite dedication of spirit? Nay, Laurisse, I would be hard pressed indeed to find anyone who had both outside of this room. As for this room’s occupants, you’re absolutely correct. All three of them would be excellent Paladins. However, all three have refused it.”
Shock appeared on Laurisse’s face. “But…why?”
Lucia was the first to respond to her, a soft smile on her face. “Owed to my ancestry, I cannot channel aether. The crystal might judge me worthy to do so, but I would be unable. There would be little point to my having it.”
Handeloup chimed in “The thought of it appeals greatly to me, I will not deny it, but I do not believe it is where I belong. I have dedicated my days to the training and equipping of the Temple Knights, and while the Soul Crystal might judge me worthy of its secrets, it would best be in the hands of another, one able to fully dedicate herself to the crystal’s original purpose.”
Aymeric nodded to him and then turned to regard Laurisse. “And likewise, I am bound to my duty as Ishgard’s Lord Speaker. Until such a time as a new Lord Speaker is elected, I cannot dedicate myself to the path either.”
“But that day will come. And on that day I will accept Franks’ offer and take up my own soul crystal. When that day comes, Laurisse de Jervaint, it is my hope that you will teach me all that you have learned of the path, and that together, we will make Ishgard a better place for her people!”
Tears were pouring from Laurisse’s face now. “I…if you all believe me so worthy, I would be a fool to not trust you.” She wiped her face, then took the crystal. “I accept”. With those words, she held her new crystal to her breast. She felt the crystal reach out to her own aether, and she reached out herself. Though she could see nothing, she could feel them merging as one, warm and caring. The crystal, it seemed, had accepted her as worthy.
“Kneel, squire.” Aymeric intoned solemnly as he drew Naegling. Franks likewise drew his red blade, as did Handeloup and Lucia beside her.
She knelt, bowing her head as she did, tears continuing to stream down her face.
Franks lay the flat of his blade on her right shoulder. “By my right as inheritor of the-WAIT, wait, oh hells, I almost forgot something!” He raised the blade off of her shoulder as the others all groaned and lowered their own. All three Ishgardians looked at Franks with varying mixtures of fondness and exasperation.
Franks, for his part, looked abashed. “Sorry, I’m so sorry, but we forgot to tell her about the other thing, and it’ll work better if she knows about that too!”
“What other thing?” Laurisse asked, still kneeling. She looked afraid, as though everything she’d been given was about to be taken away.
Aymeric knelt before her to look in her eyes. “The Warriors of Light, among their many other incredible abilities, possess one that allows them to witness events of the past under certain circumstances. Someone who was there must be present, for example. When Franks told us what he wanted to give you, he made mention of your father’s crime and conviction, including some very pointed mentions of his opinion on it. What was the term you used again, Franks?”
“I believe it was ‘load of chocobo shite’” Franks replied, grinning.
“That was it. Anyway, at his insistence, we looked up the records, and through a bit of hunting, we found someone who had benefited from your father’s actions. Naturally, the Echo activated, and Franks witnessed the original event. He found that yes, your father had taken from the Knight’s stores to feed some hungry people in the Brume, and his fellow Knights and immediate superior were…not accepting of this fact. While it was technically against the law, we found that his superior and his cronies overstated the crime. We are posthumously overturning his conviction and restoring the name of your father to the rolls of the Temple Knights. And while nothing can give you back the time you spent in near-poverty, we can and will make this right. Your lands and family fortune will be returned to you as well”
Still clutching the Soul of the Paladin in her hand, Laurisse brought her hands to her face and began weeping “Thank you….thank you…” seemed to be all she could say.
“No, Laurisse, thank you. Any other in your place would have cursed the Knights and Ishgard itself long ago for the cruelties heaped upon you, but you never wavered in your love for your people. This is the least we can do. We cannot very well ask you to bring justice and succor to Ishgard’s people without giving it to you as well, long overdue though it is.” Aymeric responded.
She could make no reply, only continuing to weep. Her long fight was finally over.
Franks again laid the flat of the blade on her right shoulder. “By my right as inheritor of the legacy of the Paladins.”
Aymeric similarly laid the flat of Naegling on her left. “And by my will as Lord Speaker of Ishgard.”
Franks continued “We name thee, Baroness Laurisse de Jervaint, Paladin of Ishgard and of Eorzea.”
Both men raised their blades in salute. “Rise, sister, and may thy Light shine upon all the realm.” Franks finished.
Laurisse rose. Tears still fell from her eyes, creating great rivers on her face. She drew Integrity and mirrored their salute. After a few seconds, she replaced the sword at her side and immediately threw her arms around Franks, who returned it.
It was some hours later when the Baroness emerged from the Congregation. She threw a sidelong glance at Firmalbert, who took one look at the abject joy in her eyes and cheered. She smiled back at him and continued to walk down the steps, where her ever faithful Fremondain was waiting. Doubtless the man had been there the entire time she’d been within the doors, fretting and worrying. As she approached, he called out.
“Milady? Is aught amiss? What did the Lord Speaker-oh no, you’ve been crying! What happened?”
She smiled and wordlessly handed him the documents she carried. Fremondain took them and looked them over, more aghast with each sheaf of parchment he leafed through. “These…these order the restoration of your family’s lands, the fortune, even the possessions that remain! Milady…what happened in there?”
“A calling” she replied, holding the soul crystal aloft and staring at the symbol etched into it.
“What…what does that mean, milady?”
She smiled at him as she pocketed the crystal. “It means that everything we have worked for we have won, my dear Fremondain. And because of that, we now have even more to do. Come! The day is still young!”
She walked towards her future, with no less determination than she’d had any day before. For the first time, however, she could see the brightness that awaited.
Your Quest Log is Full 