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[Kaylor]

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"If you can learn anything from this it's that there are people who care. You may not think so and ultimately it may not be enough, but before you make that final decision try to believe yet one more time. Don't rationalize anything away because, King Kaylor McKairin, you are and ever shall be loved."

The gypsy's words penetrate my melancholy as he intends they should, still I turn away from his plea. Circumstances leave me with desire for little else. I see no beauty in the sun's warmth, the green of my lands, the cliffs rising to the west. I am alone and bitterly so. The ways of virtue have been corrupted. Men who believe themselves responsible for the light of integrity are the very ones who have managed to extinguish it. I find myself no less guilty for I, too, have traversed the shadows and allowed my soul to be swayed in ways I would never have imagined possible. Doomed to pay the consequences of the choices I have made, I am uncertain as to whether or not I possess the capability of triumph amidst the instability that has enshrouded me. The lines of good and evil have become blurred in the presence of my flaws, weakening my insight as well as my judgement. Nevertheless, I am determined to find my way back. What is life without honour?

My journey has taken me from the emergence of life through the death of another to the sacrifice of my soul by willful submission. A kingdom's heir once set out to save his realm from a vile threat of destruction now stands upon the precipice of self-actualized demise. Indeed it would be easy to blame the situation on the jealousy from which it was born, however to do so would accomplish nothing more than perpetuation of the lies I have become entangled within since taking that first step.

Hephaistion's missive gives me pause . . .

Sire,

I recently journeyed to an alternate facet of the Sosarian world where I happened upon a clan with whom it seems you share similarities - from having once resided in the dark lands of Umbra to being outcast for holding steadfast to their truths. Since you now quest to rediscover yourself, perhaps you may find what you seek through acquaintance here.

Perhaps.
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*Even if you be otherwise perfect, you fail without humility. ~ The Talmud*

[Kaylor]

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The anonymity afforded me here is at once both blessing and curse in equal measure. The heritage behind my name, the agonizing hatred coiled so tightly within my gut, the rapacious predatory darkness that malingers within my soul ever at the ready to reclaim it - unknown, unseen in this facet. Aye, truly an ascendancy toward my unwavering determination to end the chaos that has led me away from myself overlong. Yet here I am quite alone. No counsel to turn to for advice, no friends to look to for support. The fight to retrieve my lost virtue has become one of solitude, but by all that is righteous I vow to do whatever I must to extricate myself from evil's vile talons.
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*Even if you be otherwise perfect, you fail without humility. ~ The Talmud*

[Kaylor]

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The frigid mountain gales enshrouded Kaylor, their penetrating chill a loathsome harbinger of what he faced upon the morrow. Twenty-four hours in a glacial clime to prepare for unimaginable loss, the vow of a woman he barely knew his only link between that loss and its future recoup. Myrddin had referred to her as The Oracle. Her kiss of blessing still burned upon his cheek . . . or was it his soul she had set aflame? Was her intention honourable . . . or did she intend to destroy him? Dare he trust yet once more? He'd requested Stonegate's assistance and sworn fealty to them in return.

Wondering at the remanants of his sanity, he pressed his steed onward through the snow. Fear was a weakness he'd long since put down.
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*Even if you be otherwise perfect, you fail without humility. ~ The Talmud*

[Merci d'Rue]

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Cold..Yes it was a blanket around him he couldnt see. He could accept the coldness in him now. She stared with bright blue eyes at the man before her the man who was entrusting her, a complete stranger, with a change.

Change, it was wise, it was always wise to flow with change. Never stand stuck in normalcy and routine. Move like a fighter, adapting to your opponents parrys and thrusts. Part of her felt like a connection had immediately abounded rising up fast between them. Unexpected...perhaps to him even a bit unwelcomed.

Trust.. she could see hidden there his fear of it, what it would do to him, how it would devour him. Yet the fear is really what devoured him. Betrayal was a part of life, it happened all the time.

Loyalty... it was a precious commodity found in very few places, possibly the most valuable item in all the world. Thru loyalty you could achieve so much you could finally reckon with Strength.

Strength it was there inside him, whether he became a glutton of wanton murder, or a fellow that walked the virtuous line, he would become part of this clan. He would become more than he had ever been. He will know his true self...
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May destiny guide you...

[Kaylor]

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Suddenly I discover myself in unfamiliar surroundings without the slightest notion as to how I came to be here. The last vestiges of memory I am able to conjure up take me back to my sixteenth year when, knighted upon the field of battle, I was commissioned to command my father's army. Although I cannot find certainty, instinct whispers my current age at twenty five. Nine years have been lost to me. How is that possible? As well, a gelid chill now emanates persistently from the depths of my essence frequently causing me need to seek warmth . Strangely, the best possible relief I have found for this thus far is not standing before a raging hearth, but rather dueling such as that which I engaged in last eve at the meadhall.

Fragmented consciousness provides me with indistinct awareness. I somehow knew the one called Myrddin was royalty without having to be told. And the woman he called Oracle . . . her limpid blue gaze penetrates my soul to its very core. There is something between us. Something.
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*Even if you be otherwise perfect, you fail without humility. ~ The Talmud*

[Ancyous]

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He vuelto a Sosaria para estar con mi hermano. Hephaistion described Kaylor's amnesia as a self beseeched "treatment"granted him by an oracle. Tratamiento? He was extremely upset last night and would not tell me why. My concern demands an explanation. I shall seek out this oracle of his. Si ella no me puede convencer a esto se hizo en su mejor interés que lo volvió a iluminar con su pasado.

[Merci d'Rue]

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She stared at him, for he was Kaylors brother and she could see a bit of the family between them. Yet, he came with questions. Some she could not answer. Others she easily gave.

Out of thin air he had appeared this gypsy like fellow. She smiled coldly to herself. She needed to stop getting sidetracked. She had things to do and skills to train. How odd that she should feel stronger and more powerful now then she ever had in her life. Perhaps it was indeed the mother wolf in her , making her viciously protective.

She paused thinking of the *sacrifice* she had made for Kaylor and prayed that those who cared for him. Would let him see it thru. He would know in his own way at his own leisure. She hoped..
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May destiny guide you...

[Kaylor]

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The unseemly, relentless chill that has taken hold of me begets a discomforting separation between destiny and desire. Without possession of memory I cannot know where love has previously taken my heart. Fiona informed me that Ancyous told her I have been with many women. I bear no cognizance with which to determine whether that be true or merely the gypsy's attempt at humour. Passions and pains I may have experienced as a result of former relationships, lessons learned, scars left behind, all now but shadows in some distant recess far from my reach. I clearly see the dangerous precipice upon which I stand, the well defined timelessness of duty and devotion versus rapture and seduction. No matter, for love's eternity forever promises tomorrow's possibilities. In the meanwhile, however, heaven and hell merge static.
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*Even if you be otherwise perfect, you fail without humility. ~ The Talmud*

[Kaylor]

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I am as unknown to this place, these people, as I am to myself; a wretched torment that brutally waxes and wanes upon my consciousness. Certain discussions at the tavern last eve gave rise to an abundance of emotions for which I was unable to substantiate foundation. Sparks flew from shadowed embers seemingly ignited by a heretofore unrecognized rage. Were it not for an uncommon strength of will I am certain to have allowed my fury to flame.

Who . . . what . . . have I been that such darkness claims harbour within me? Where does my destiny lie? Ancyous refuses my queries. I will speak with The Oracle. She appears to possess knowledge of truths presently eluding me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xscsuuKF6ZE

[Merci d'Rue]

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She dreamt and she watched all the scenes replay in her head. Yet this time she was standing behind Kaylor her voice low, urging him to kill, urging him to take the life before him. Then he turned on her advancing his fury great and swooped at her with his blade yelling.

She grasped her own blade and they met in the center her eyes blazing into his the two fighters locked staring at each other.

She awoke with a start.... What was going on?
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May destiny guide you...

[Kaylor]

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Don't ask. Not yet.

Are you jealous because I was his Lady and he my Champion?

"Women!" Kaylor slammed the heavy pewter tankard down on the table in front of him, ale sloshing over its rim as the worn wooden table gave way beneath it. Kicking the splintered slats out of his path, he lowered his head in apology to the tavern's owner and reached into his pocket, tossing a handful of gold coins to the man before hastily taking his leave.

If not yet, then when? How long would it be before the situation spiraled out of control for them both?

And jealous? What need he do in order to prove it was care rather than jealousy? That she once had feelings for a man who hardly deserved the air he breathed, let alone the love of such a gentle woman . . .

Night settled over the warrior's shoulders like a welcome cloak against a chilling gale. There was comfort in the darkness as he led his steed back to Stonegate, haven in the shadows silhouetted upon the road beside him as he walked.

[Kaylor]

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Kaylor knelt at the ankh preparing to pray before the nearest acceptable equivalent to his Savior's sacred symbol available in this world of pagan gods and daemonic deities. The white linen mantle he wore weighed far more heavily over his robe for its exemplification of purity than he cared to admit. Bound by vows of poverty, obedience and chastity a Knight Templar's soul was commended to the attainment of grace through supplication and holy combat.

Holy combat. Wherein did the definition of such battles lie, he wondered. Within what source could the conquering strength be found? Was virtue's light as blessed as its promise or should he give greater allowance to the rancorous brimstone smoldering just beneath the surface of his spirit?

"Godsteeth!" he swore. Crossing himself he lowered his head and closed his eyes. There was but one answer to his many questions, eternal damnation its troth.
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*Even if you be otherwise perfect, you fail without humility. ~ The Talmud*

[Kaylor]

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"My heart is weighted down by such jealousy that there exists no words capable of its description!" Ancyous lowered to one knee, his serious expression the perfect facade for masking his mirth. "This world serves Your Majesty most well, for what more could any man ask than the favor, friendship and love such as these women here afford you?"

"Cállate crazy Spaniard!" Kaylor growled, tossing off his cloak and laying it haphazardly across the back of the nearest chair. "And by the Saints get up off the floor! What brings you back so soon? Did I not charge you with overseeing my affairs?"

Kaylor's words sending concealment beyond his control, the gypsy's laughter danced over his lips in a ceaseless cascade of unbound amusement. "But, Sire, I am doing exactly that!"

"You are impossible!" Kaylor smirked. "Know you well that I remain devoutly chaste. Truly I should condemn you to the darkest depths of Faerwhynne's dungeon, there to spend your remaining days in repentance for the loathsome disrespect you ever rain upon her king!"

Ancyous came to his feet holding his hand over his heart as he did so. "You deeply wound me with such heinous threats, dear brother," he moaned feigning distress.

"Alas, I beg your forgiveness dear brother," Kaylor hissed playfully in reply. "I shall spare your suffering and see you beheaded instead."

Their fun was short-lived, however, as Kaylor pulled off his gauntlets staring hard at the inverted chalice branded upon the back of his right hand. "What crime earned me this dishonour, Ancyous? What secrets have been frozen so far from my reach?"

"Don't think on it now, Kay. You have a new life, a new dream. Leave the past where it is - cold and forgotten."

Kaylor shook his head adamantly. "No. That would be equal in measure to cowardice. Shadows of yesterday have already begun creeping back to mind, but that's all they are at present - shadows - with very little emotional attachment. I must have it all, Ancy. I must be whole once more . . . and the only way back is straight through.
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*Even if you be otherwise perfect, you fail without humility. ~ The Talmud*