Arcaea/Dining Hall Late 08-09/Crusade

(OOC For the Aenilic references used, Magni Patres Aenilia has details)

Jenred knelt before the circular altar, inscribed with complex designs to symbolize the multiplicity of the Aenil, Armour scratching against the floor, hair dragging on the cold stone, and his hands grasping the pommel of the sword his old friend had given him, almost grinding the tip of the scabbard into the stone with shaking hands.

Aerywyn was dead, and the funeral had hurt him more than he cared to admit...He had watched the corpse of his friend burn, the flames strangely coloured with the preserving salts, and he had wept as he had not since his mother coughed her lifeblood onto his lap all those years ago...It finally seemed that Tony would be removed, that the nobles of Mosesadelphia had put up with the madness long enough, but Conan still would fight to the end to see the madman back on his throne...That vileness was something that all nobles ought to oppose, without question. The insanity had to be removed before the rot set even deeper...

But how? The forces he could call upon would not suffice to take the fight that far south, not through Cathay and Zonasa...Even if Mosesadelphia were willing to oppose Soliferum, they would have little hope of holding out unless aid from the North arrived, and he just couldn't spare the men to do it...They were so close to ending the madness, save for Conan, and he did not have the strength to stop Soliferum...

He looked up, eyes straining at the altar...And fell back, startled, as the patterns began to swirl...Revealing six figures: Blue, red, green, orange, silver, and purple. Each were simple, just a few curved lines, except for their eyes...Each blazing with inner light, calling to his own...

What followed he could never truly recall. Part conversation, part communion, as if part of them had flown into him through his eyes...And he knew. Conan had not put aside his politics to destroy the emissary of Kadai...Because he had not put aside his to devote himself to the problem. He must convince his allies to give over the war with Cathay…Even if he had to sacrifice from his own to convince them to do so.

And once that was accomplished...A holy war would need to be declared. The Servant of Kadai must be removed...And the Aenil had granted him a gift to assist in this. He drew his sword, and could feel nothing different...But when the sword was lifted into the light, the reflections...The metal reflected a rainbow. No matter what angle, or how the light shone, it always reflected a rainbow.

Jenred stood, and quickly tied his hair into a warrior queue. He had work to do, and a Paladin of the Aenil had no business looking as anything other than a warrior.

Sir Jenred Bedwyr King of Arcaea