Lightstar Family/Xarnelf/Roleplay 45

Metamorphosis (Part 1: Realization)

Xarutek appeared before Orphaea.

"My lord Aenil, greeting,
Brief shall be this meeting.
The task is completed as we speak;
Though his heart beats strong, his mind stands weak.
Easily influenced is he;
Xarnelf will do what done must be.
His command, your will,
Forever, until."

`~`

He slowly opened his eyes as the last vestiges of the departed Aenil's mental blast faded away from an acute headache to a dull nuisance. Xarnelf wondered, and then pondered; he suddenly realized that he remembered now! The knight could recall everything as far back as the first time he took a step on his own, to the delight of his parents.

He remembered when his father taught him the art of war, instructed him in the use of bow, sword, and lance. He remembered when his mother taught him the religious faith of the Aenil, instructed him in the ideals and teachings of the old times. He remembered the first instance he saw and heard the Arcangela Arella in person after joining the ranks of the active nobility. He remembered the downfall of the Highland Empire, the subsequent riots and unrest within the realm, and the later outbreaks of war across the entire continent. He remembered the leavetaking of the Arcangela after the ceremony of her announcement of the formation of two war groups.

He did indeed remember all those things and more, but what he did not know, what he could not know, was that his memories had been tainted, had been altered ever so slightly. He once favored the bow above all other weapons; now he believed that he had always trusted in the lance and sword. He once favored tradition above change; now he believed that he had always trusted in reform as being more productive than burdensomely following customs of old. He once thought the Arcangela was a supremely holy being, one of unshakable faith and moral who spoke for the angels themselves; now he believed that her fall from grace had already become irreversible around the time of the unveiling of the Book of Promises.

Xarnelf saw virtually every aspect of his life in a different light now, perhaps a darker light, clouded by half truths. He could not help but trust in what he currently thought, though, for a man's memories, his past deeds and experiences, define who he is and who he will become. A switch had been turned within his head, and, for an indeterminate length of time, that switch would remain turned, for he could not fix what he did not know needed to be fixed.

Though he had believed otherwise in the past, his heart had always followed his mind, and so it was now. Although his heart led him to follow the path of honor and justice, it was his mind which defined his principles of honor and justice. Mayhaps destined by fate, his path had come to a fork, and he had blindly, unknowingly, stumbled down a new road, the darker road....