A Soldiers Lament: Reflections on Order and Guardianship

[Sykogenic 1284]

Spoiler

The following is a short essay delivered only to Tarathiel. @Valannor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 To understand what Order and Guardianship mean to someone, you must first understand them as a person. No life, mortal or otherwise, is lived in the exact same way. People may find similarities that draw them toward each other, but it is ultimately our personal experiences and individual achievements that mold us as a person and influence our perspective on the world.  With that in mind, here is my story.

 

I spent the majority of my first half-century within the Forest Realm of Irrinor. It was an honor to call myself not only the Chieftain of the Tresery Seed, but after a while I was given the honor of ascending to the position of el’Annilir within the Forest Realms military. I defended those who were unable to, alongside many valiant kin of mine, from the treacherous grasps of my ‘Thill cousins and their Valah overlords for many years.  After the war was finished Irrinor enjoyed many years of peace and prosperity thanks to the valiant efforts of those willing to bleed and to die for their friends, family and city. After a time High Prince Lyemar Aureon found himself unable to lead any longer. Without a stalwart leader to guide the Irrinites through troubling times, the city eventually fell and became one with nature again.  

 

 From there I found myself lost for many moons, little more than a wanderer with no ambition, not finding myself fitting in amongst my kin in their new home. Hope can often come from the most unexpected places, and it was Farrador that gave me hope again, an outlet for my passion. An order devoted to the protection of the realm and the extermination of the twisted and corrupt. Yet my stay here was relatively short, the Order becoming more swept up in petty drama of the flesh than their duty to the descendant races. Yet one good thing, of sorts, did come from my time here: my introduction to the then Paladin Lefkos. While many unsavory things about him have come to light, he was the first to guide me down the path that I have now devoted my life to walking.

 

However when Lefkos was disconnected and I no longer spent my time in Farrador, I found myself lost yet again. I wandered for many years, enjoying my time spent by myself. Yet I did not find solace in this loneliness for long, as our realm was beset by horde after horde of Inferi. So I did the only thing I could do: fight. Fight for those who would not fight for themselves. Fight for the glory of the mortal races, so that they would once more see the sun rise on an age of peace. Yet it was not the glory that I hoped for that awaited me, only suffering and pain. Casualties of all types were sustained, many avoidable and some of my own negligence.  Becclain and Dresden, two names that will forever carry more weight than they should. For their fate will always rest upon my conscience. 

 

Order and Guardianship are not something that one can become a savant overnight in. They are not something that you can wake up one day and expect to come naturally. They are things that require a lifetime, in my case quite literally a Valah lifetime, of devotion and exemplary personification in order to master them and to act in their interests with every waking moment of the day. They must become the very motto that you live your life by, or else they are a meaningless facade used to garner attention and false praise.  Order is to not only believe in what is just in the eyes of Xan, but to act in his will and see actual change made in the world. But most importantly it is to do so with integrity, both when easy and when faced with difficulty. On the other hand, Guardianship is a far more simple concept in theory, yet equally if not more difficult to carry out. Guardianship is to defend all who are incapable against the darkness in the world. Be it Azdrazi, Inferi or Void Slinger wishing to cause harm, one who possesses the trait of Guardianship must be ready to fight and protect those who need it at a moment's notice.

 

"I do not love the sword for its sharpness, nor the arrow for its swiftness, nor the warrior for his glory. I love only what they defend.” 

 

Penned 14th Deeps Cold, Year 35 of the Second Age

Kalius Tresery

 

[Valannor 6345]

Upon mount most celestial, then, did some errant Elfess journey forth, an errant missive clutched in hand as her boot flattened the grass 'neath her heel, dirt and rock shifting underfoot as the sun crested the weary horizon and bade farewell to the moon's sullen glow. As she met that Tresery upon the sun-kissed speak, a small smile stretched across chapped lips, a cheshire grin unfurling now upon the sight of the 'Ame. Carried forth on a chorus most Aengulic then spake she, silken-clad hands folded upon the small of her back;

 

"I am proud of you, young one... It is time to go home."