Way of the Warrior Saints/Saint Laybeck
The story of Laybeck of the Sword, now Warrior Saint Laybeck, as told by Jirgen Ghrabi to Crip Grindle in Barad Falas. More background can be found on Crip's RP Page.
History
Laybeck was the most beautiful daughter of Sir, erm, Sir Oundem of Amriel. She should have been married to Lord Byrd, but she turned her back on that life for one of battle and adventure. She roamed the eastern lands of Atamara, fighting monsters and killing dozens. She made a name for herself as a fierce warrior.
She always carried the same sword - one with a ruby on the hilt, and a blade sharp enough to slice a tree in two.
Laybeck was a master with swords. Her sword was the sharpest and best-balanced, and it was she that helped to design it in a blacksmith's in Shanandoah. With that sword she killed a thousand beasts, so it was told.
Ten years she spent, roaming the east coast, ridding it of monster threats, and gaining swordsmanship at every turn. There was no match for her, and along the way she had companions, to whom she taught swordsmanship and for whom she helped create the finest blades. Those companions were truly loyal to her in their time spent together, and she to them.
After a decade, she heard word of a terrible situation. Her family in Amriel were under threat from evil beasts from the Elost mountains. They had come down from the heights and were ravaging Amriel. She had not been close to her family, but she knew she must return, for loyalty was strong within her. On arrival in Amriel and her family's estate, she found her family safe but terrified of the unknown beasts in the region. She stayed with them each night to protect them.
On the third night, the attack came. Giant evil beasts came forth from the mountains, and appeared on her family's estate. She saw them coming, and hurried to protect her family. Her sword slid gracefully through one of the beasts, then another, and soon there were a collection of dead hairy bodies surrounding her. But then a far more giant beast appeared. It put the other beasts in its shadow, such was its height and strength. Laybeck had two choices. She could run, save herself, or stay and fight the giant monster. If she fled, as she would surely have been right to do had she been on her own, she would been able to take cover in the trees and survive. But she knew that by doing so she would leave her family to the beasts, and that she could not do.
She took her sword and ran headlong into the prime beast. Her only option was to take it by surprise. Before it had noticed her, she had run into it, and her sword was slicing easily through its abdomen. But then, as she knew it must, it took her in its hands and crushed her. She kept consciousness just long enough to witness the beast falling dead onto its back - still clutching her broken ribs - and the other monsters then took flight. She eventually made a partial recoverly - living to tell the tale, but unable to walk again.
The sword was never recovered. Some say it was taken by the remaining beasts and acts as a reminder to them never to attack us again. Others say that her father retrieved it, but it was lost along the long stretch of time between then and now.
Whatever the outcome, know this: that Laybeck was the epitome of loyalty, and died for her family with her mighty sword still in her hand.
Notable Scriptures
"Fidelity to faith is the first of all things." (Injured But Still a Fighter, Saying 319)
"After faith, fidelity to family follows, then the trustworthiness of a given word." (Injured But Still a Fighter, Saying 320
