Two years ago.
“Can I ask you something?”
“Of course,” I replied. Arueshalae and I sat beneath Mendev’s stars in the courtyard of the Queen’s castle. It was my shift to guard Galfrey’s partner.
“Your sword… you seem attached to it. I’ve never seen you without it, in fact. Does it have some kind of sentimental value?”
I sat in silence for a moment. “It’s from someone I cared about very much. It’s a long story.”
“I’ve got all night,” she smiled at me.
I couldn’t resist that smile. “Very well. I had almost completed my crusader training…”
______________________________________________________________________________
Fifty-five years ago.
“And here we are,” announced Thais as we approached the warcamp.
There were four of us including Thais, our trainer up until that point. The middle-aged human woman was a friend of my mother’s; we got along well, and she had taken on a bit of a secondary mother role for me. The other three in our little group were teenaged crusader trainees finally ready for our first field assignment. There was Harriett, a halfling cleric of
Sarenrae, more jolly and playful than most clergyfolk; Ramazi, a young human wizard, serious and studious; and myself, a tiefling who had ambitiously chosen the path of the paladin. We’d all proved ourselves worthy of trying to become full-fledged crusaders; just one more test lay ahead of us.
Thais gestured for the three of us to enter the camp. We marched in slowly, feeling a mixture of excitement and dread. The crusaders inside, at least the ones who were outside their tents, were of a mix of ages, but all looked haggard and battle-worn. They stopped what they were doing to watch us - or more accurately, me. Their eyes seemed to burn holes in my face. Thais put her hand on my shoulder as we stepped forward.
“Now then, crusaders,” Thais said. “These three are here for their first field assignments as full members of Mendev’s sacred army. Please, show them the ropes and treat them with respect - I’m sure you all remember when you stood in their shoes.” She turned to me then and said softly, “Good luck. I have to get back to Nerosyan within two days, so I can’t stay to help you integrate. Just stick with each other and you’ll all be fine.” She kissed me on the cheek, then turned and left.
The three of us trainees stood at the entrance to the warcamp. I took a deep breath. “Don’t worry, Casimir!” exclaimed bubbly Harriett; she was always able to read me like a book. “These crusaders are the best people. Just wait and see, I’m sure they’ll all welcome us like family!”
A tall, muscular elf approached us, wearing leather armor and a greataxe on his back. He stood uncomfortably close as he spoke. “Fresh meat, I see.” He sneered at Ramazi and Harriett in turn. “What does the Queen think she’s sending us now? A scrawny mage and a little girl… oh look, and you brought us a demon to practice on!” He grabbed me by the front of my shirt and leaned in close to my face. Some of the other crusaders laughed; none of them did anything to intervene. “What do you think you’re doing here, demon boy? Didn’t you know we eat your kind for breakfast around here?”
“Hey, you let go of him!” shouted Harriett, and started pounding her little fists on the side of the elf’s leg. The elf paid her no mind.
“That’s enough, Onesimus,” said a voice from behind the elf. Onesimus dropped me onto the ground and stepped back. “This isn’t over, demon boy,” he sneered, then walked away further into the camp.
I turned towards where the voice came from, ready to thank our rescuer. Walking towards us out of a nearby tent was a surprisingly young man in paladin armor marked with the holy symbol of Iomedae, wearing a distinctive cold iron greatsword on his back. He had long golden hair and bright blue eyes. He stopped in front of me and extended a hand to help me up, which I gladly took. “The name’s Leocadio; I’m the commander of this camp.” He turned toward the crusaders, who were all staring at us. “What are you all looking at? Back to work!” They obliged; it seemed Leocadio was respected.
“Th-thank you, sir,” I stuttered.
“Oh, dispense with the formalities,” he grinned. “Call me Leo. And you all are?”
“I’m Casimir Barristan,” I said. “These are my friends Harriett and Ramazi.”
“Pleasure to make your acquaintance,” he said, and shook each of our hands in turn.
Ramazi spoke up. “You’re the commander here? You look awfully young for it.”
Leo smiled again. “Looks can be deceiving.” He brushed his hair away from the side of his head, revealing subtly pointed ears. “I’m half-elven. We age slowly; I look in my early 20s, but in truth I just turned 38. Still, I am one of the most junior commanders in Mendev’s army.”
“We… tieflings… are the same way. I’m 35 myself, but I just finished my training. It took a bit longer because of the long adolescence.”
“I know how that goes. You said your name was… Barristan, correct?”
“Yes, si- Leo.”
“I do believe I know your mother. She’s the one who trained me, in fact. We’ll have to talk sometime, I’d like to know how she’s doing. In the meantime, though, let me show you all around.” He started leading us down the dirt road through the middle of the camp. “Oh, and don’t let Onesimus get to you; he’s got a chip on his shoulder, but he’s more bark than bite. Most of us are much nicer than him; he’s here for the glory and the fun, not for the righteousness of the cause. Just stay out of his way and you’ll be fine.”
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