Light of Fontan/Member Stories

Jerix

As I sat in the Temple of Light’s library reading the titles of the Ten Books found in the pyramid I noticed that they were quite a few had the same names as virtues my godparents had instilled upon me since I was young, then I noticed the one titled The Path. Just seeing the titled caused the last 3 years of memories to flash before me.

I saw myself as a 17 year old sitting by the fire after receiving my commission into the Minas Ithil army. I was talking to who I thought was my father, Talof Beijar. It was during this discussion that I learned Talof was my godfather, and my parents were Alasdair and Elliana Verdis, My father was once the High Marshal of the Carelian Army, who had died in battle shortly after I was born. My mother died shortly afterwards and I was sent to the Beijar family. I was now torn as to which realm I should serve, the one I grew up in, or uphold my family heritage and travel to Carelian lands and join them?

I knew how the scene would play out. I remember trusting myself and choosing neither… I watched myself as I snuck out late that night and boarded a ship for the East Continent as my choice for my future….

Three years of battles, skirmishes, and promotions. Three years going from a young noble inexperienced in battle to being appointed the marshal of Krimml and a battle-hardened veteran of war. Slowly during those three years a feeling that darkness and evil was coming made its impression upon me. I noticed that all the battles, civil wars, and destruction of realms seemed to be an orchestrated distraction while a greater evil grew. I kept thinking there had to be a way to convince my fellow knights to realize that there was something amiss on this continent.

It was then that I heard Hannibal’s message to the knight’s of Fontan about the temple he had found. As I was making my way to gather more information, when Lycastus seceded the city of Fontan and founded the Light of Fountain. A theocracy whose goal was to defeat and protect against the darkness itself, it was then I knew I had made the right choice three years ago. Instead of choosing on what others thought, I trusted myself and followed my destiny….

As my memories faded I continued to read the titles of the books. I started reading the books in order. As I was reading the second book Trust, I came across passages dealing with Lunar. The passage stated:

“Lunar shifted the cycle of the moon to show us how the gods’ gift of choice can affect a man’s soul. A man can be fully in the light and yet, should he lose focus and give in to weakness will slowly slide into darkness. In the same way, a man who’s soul is completely given to darkness can be shown the path of light and slowly make his way to enlightenment.”

I set the book down and pondered why there was hidden passages about Lunar in the book of Trust. Could it be that Trust was a main virtue of those knights that followed Lunar most fervently? As I continued reading a passage seemed to jump out at me more than once.

“A knight must trust the gods. To doubt the gods is akin to being a servant of darkness. A knight must trust himself. To doubt oneself is to give in to weakness and allow darkness to take hold and taint the knight’s heart. A knight must trust his comrades. To doubt fellow knights is to allow the lies of darkness to color the knight’s vision.”

I now realized why I was able to read those two passages. I had conquered the weakness of self-doubt at a young age when I chose my path without doubt by coming to the East Continent. It became clear to me that in order for the Light of Fountain to protect the people from the impending darkness we would have to trust each other completely. Any doubt within the ranks would weaken us enough that would not be able to withstand the darkness.

I put the book down and decided to go down into the pyramid and take a look at the paintings that covered the walls to see them for myself…

Nnix

A knight appears at the gates of Fontan. His horse carries several wounded men on it's back. The knight himself is carrying a wounded man on his back.

"Who goes there!?" cries the gate guard.

"It is I Nnix! These men are badly hurt! Send for some help!!"

The guard opens the gates and sends for a healer.

"What happened out there?" the guard asks Nnix.

"We headed to An Najaf to help the civilians and got ambushed by some fontanese soldiers. It seems a few are not to happy with us leaving. We were slaughtered. Fortunatly reinforcments arrived soon after and we were able to head back to the city."

The guard nods as he helps carry the wounded to the temple.

Nnix makes sure his men are settled in and cared for before he heads to the prayer room.

Nnix prays:

"How dare you allow my men to get slaughtered! In the dream we were fighting monsters not men! This is not what was supposed to happen! IT IS NOT FAIR! those men died for the wrong reasons!"

A thunderous voice fills Nnix's head:

"FAIR? You want FAIR? Then I shall give you fair. From now on you shall feel the pain of those you killed. Not the pain of their wounds and broken bones, but the pain of the wives, children, fathers, mothers, brothers, and sisters of those you've killed! They're lives have been shattered!"

A bright light strikes Nnix in the chest and he doubles over in aggony.

Waking up, Nnix sees that he is now lying in a bed next to his men.

He thinks to himself : "He spared me. I felt wrath, contempt, and hatred for my god, yet he spared me. Why?"

A woman and child enter the room. Nnix recognizes them as the family of one of his men. They look at a covered body and begin to cry. Nnix is overwhelmed with grief and pain. As the child sheds tears he himself feels her pain. He sits up in his bed and tells the child, "Do not worry young one, your father did not die in vain. I will make sure of this... too long have wars ravaged this land. Too long has there been a cloud of darkness over our homes. We will bring peace back to the world. The Knights of The Light will make sure of this."

'Balance. It's all about balance. I have harmed so many. Now I shall give my whole to make it right. I'm sorry I cursed you my god. I shall be your servant from now on. This constant pain shall always remind me of my duties. I will never question your will.'

Amanda

Amanda walked through the temple with the utmost of amazement. She had heard that masons had been conscripted to build and work most of the temple and that several Lords themselves had been responsible for its design as they understood it from holy writ and that they had personally laid the floor.

She had read the accounts sent abroad by Hannible that described what lay beneath her feet and now she looked upon wonders that human hands alone could not have created. It was simple, yet vastly elegant. Mosaics, murals, and portraits of both celestial bodies and heavenly beings seemed to assault the senses in an orderly way that defied explanation.

The granite of the floor was, as she recognized, shipped from the quarries of Evora. Not the usual quarries, but had been hauled with great care from the location where the Magic Fountain was said to spring forth.

She knelt humbly in the center of the floor, where a large flagstone marked the entrance into the sacred pyramid below. There she began to weep until she found she had no more strength and lay helpless on the flagstone, unable to move.

Then, an extraordinary thing happened. A beam of light shot up from one of the along one of the edges of the flagstone. It spread across the others until Amanda lay in a ring of light the exact shape of the flagstone. She became aware of others in the room, but whether they were fellow knights or spirits of knights long past, she would probably never know.

"Follow the way," they spoke in unison.

"Follow the Light," they continued.

"Your sins are absolved, find peace in the Light," a vaguely familiar voice said directly above her.

She tried to focus on the face that had come into the light with her, but lost consciousness before she could. The Gods had spoken. The Light had come. She would never be the same.

Part 2:

Amanda awoke in some of the most opulent quarters she had ever seen. From the description, she knew she was in the Ducal Palace in Fontan City. Her brother Finius had commissioned the room as duke and had described it to her many times while they had been in exile.

The scarlet draperies and fine linens bespoke his Atamaran tastes. It had oft been used for honored guests. What Lycastus used it for, Amanda could only guess. Likely some of the same, or whatever use was most convenient at the time. She buckled on her sword, a practice that had often brought strange looks from peasants. Strange looks, but never comments. One of the wonders of being noble. That or her former assassin training showed through more than she thought.

Putting the matter out of her head, she rummaged through the pile of letters and missives handed her by her scribe. As she tossed the last one aside--barely seeing how deftly her scribe snatched it out of the air--she considered and then drafted a letter.

Nobles of the Light-

Recent events have led to the completion of my conversion to the Light and its ways. I know now that we must free the Akesh Temple and rededicate it to the gods of the heavens. I have considered what you all have said and believe that we should proceed with the most direct course of action. That being claiming it from Caligus through means of war.

I understand that many will likely suffer, but it is a price many must pay to come to the Light of Fountain. I hold no ill will toward Caligus, nor toward Fontan. I simply do not see aiding in the war against Yssaria in return for land as yielding as many meaningful gains toward the Temple as taking it on our own beginning with Tokat.

This is not a question of loyalty. It is a question of faith and devotion to our gods. If you feel that other means are more expeditious, then by all means, vote as you feel. However, I do not see other courses of actions yielding as quickly the liberation of the Temple. Fontan does not control it. Oligarch does not control it. Peace with them only insures that they will not attack us as we reach this noble goal.