His roommate turned out to be a lad even younger than he was. Brown-haired and brown-eyed, Squire Estemar had not yet been knighted, and was clearly rather envious of the slightly older brother who was to receive the honor. Of course, after seeing the silver eyes, he also understood why he was being knighted.

Heavenbound didn’t tend to have very long careers, after all. Those silver eyes simply attracted too many enemies.

Although he was supposed to be waiting upon Sir Zigfried, the knight obviously considered it a bit of a bother to be saddled with a squire, and was remarkably open to fobbing him off on Errant for training, especially after the rather private knighting carried out by the Grand Maester. Having to call such a young man a fellow knight was clearly off-putting to the grey-templed Zigfried, and getting out of his obligations was definitely to his liking. A quick request up the hierarchy, and the matter was taken care of.

-----

“So, do they know you’re a royal, and paladine?” Errant asked, as the pair of them hung up the practice swords they’d been using.

Errant had very quickly made his reputation as an obdurate, incredibly skilled, and very strong swordsman, with an incredible breadth of tactics and moves that could foil even the most experienced knights here. As a result, he was always being challenged by the other knights for bouts, especially since he Healed so quickly, and he didn’t hold grudges.

Nevertheless, he always made time for Estemar, whose swordsmanship had been improving quickly as a result. The two young men were virtually always together, and Estemar’s envy had rapidly faded away and grown into genuine respect and admiration over this short period of time.

Still, Estemar paused as he racked the practice sword. He was torn for a moment over admitting the truth and remaining silent, and then saw the amusement glinting in Errant’s silver eyes.

He sighed despite himself. “How long have you known?” he asked.

“Since I saw your boots. The Royal Cobblers in Ogredown don’t make riding boots for anyone but the royal family. As for being Called by Mithar... you do know that you radiate an Aura, do you not? If one is sensitive to Courage, it is like holding a torch in a dark room...”

“I have not advanced far in His service,” the young man admitted, as Errant helped him off with his mail. “It would quite surprise my family, were they to know of it...”

Errant chuckled as he set the heavy practice mail aside. Smiting pelts was such fun and all. “Not more than my own!” He caught Estemar’s look. “Ah, my full name is Errant Gilderalz, though I’ll thank you to not repeat that.”

“Gilderalz!” Estemar was thunderstruck, looking Errant up and down in disbelief.

“Aye, the white sheep of the family, truly an unworthy son of Gilderalz,” Errant laughed, without embarrassment. After a moment’s hesitation, Estemar joined in, reassured by the silver eyes.

“So, we are fellow white sheep.” Estemar’s eyes dimmed slightly. “Are your siblings trying to kill you, as well?”

“They probably would be if they knew I was Heavenbound,” Errant admitted cheerfully. “My case is somewhat different from your own. I was born unable to Cultivate or Cast, and so am naturally not a threat to them in terms of inheritance. You, on the other hand, have a rather improbable number of rivals...”

Estemar coughed to the side. “Yes, my father’s lustiness is as bad as the tales.” The two of them reclaimed their knives as they walked out, as swords were normally worn only on business outside the halls... not that Grace minded staying in Dagger form.

“Come, let me introduce you to a form of training you can do on your own time.”

--------

Errant set the matryoshka doll down on the table in front of Estemar, who stared at it in interest. It was a picture of an Aruan Saint, Clear-Eyed Insom, if he knew it correctly, and expensive, with proper holy signs, silver and gold script, and a feeling about it of being Blessed.

He looked at Errant inquiringly.

“An ability shared between the Heavenbound and the Paladine is the Eyes of Heaven. At its most basic level, this is the ability to sense Evil within a sixty-degree arc, at a range of up to twenty paces.”

Estemar nodded at Errant’s words. “It takes some concentration to use, but yes, I have this ability. It does not seem overly useful hereabouts,” he admitted, glancing around.

“It is one of the strongest of our abilities.” Estemar blinked. “It, like fighting skill, must be developed. It requires great mental discipline to perfect, and this doll will help you with that.”

Estemar was very interested. “What must I do?”

“First, you must learn how to sense the Good in people.” He gestured at the doll. “This radiates an Aura of Good. Finding the Evil allows you to identify potential enemies and rivals. Finding the Good allows you to find potential friends and allies.”

Errant turned the doll over its base, and the images changed, becoming more silvery. Estemar looked with interest on the image of Sir Kostovar the Dragon-Cleaver. Errant turned it another third, and there was Saint Ulianna the Feathered, a lover of birds and art acclaimed by the Church of Nuava.

“Like Evil, Good comes in flavors. You need to learn to sense those flavors and identify them quickly. Normally, doing so takes time, but if you train your Eyes of Heaven, the speed increases quickly.”

He popped off the top of the hand-sized doll, revealing an identical, smaller one within. “The Aura on this one is much fainter. It is equal to sensing the first one twice as far away.” He lifted off the second shell, to reveal the third, yet-smaller doll. “Three times as far away.” Again, lifted away. “Four times, and five times.”

Estemar’s brow furrowed. “Wait.” He concentrated on the doll, which suddenly seemed to waver and run before his eyes, the colors darkening.

Errant plucked off the last cover, and Estemar cried out as a stabbing pain hit his forehead. He kicked backwards, knocking over his chair, and kept his feet with a stumble. His hand was on his forehead, staring at the black lump revealed within the heart of the matryoshka.

“That is the heart of a Quasit that tried to Tempt my older sister some time ago. The Auras of Good confine and restrict its Presence, just like many folk try to conceal the Evil in their hearts.” He put the fifth doll back on it, and the dark, hostile feeling vanished instantly.

“You know it is here. Your job is to learn to sense it.”

Estemar stared at the doll, then at Errant. “Why do I feel there is more to this?”

“There is a great deal more,” Errant said. “You need to learn to sense this darkness in all directions, not merely straight ahead of you.” He scrunched up his face and turned on the doll, making it wholly obvious what he was doing, and Estemar blushed despite himself. “Exactly. Being obvious about this is foolish and an excuse for hostilities. You should idly be able to scan a whole area as easily as you breathe, and you can only do so with practice.

“If you do this, you will be able to sense Evil constantly about you at all times, and indeed, you will be able to fight without even opening your eyes, fixing on the souls of your opponents, instead of mere sight.”

Estemar was enlightened. “I had no idea such a thing was possible!” he admitted.

“You are not being taught by Paladins, but by knights. What would they know of such things?

“Each layer of the matryoshka equals a distance multiplier, and/or a Valence of Defense.” He put the first layer back on, and the sense of Evil vanished entirely. “Wards are stronger than Divinations by a level. Thus, to surpass even the most basic Aural defense, you must beat it by two Valence Levels.

“If you can sense the Evil through the first shell, it is like sensing it at twice the distance, and the same for the second. However, to sense it through the second, you must also overcome a Cantrip-level Ward, and your ability to sense Evil must be equivalent to the second Valence.

“Both distance to sense Evil and Valence required increase with each additional layer, until your Eyes of Heaven are active at the Fifth Valence, and five times the normal range.”

Estemar exhaled a long breath as the last of the dolls was placed over the Evil at its core. Naturally, he could sense nothing.

“So, I am first to learn how to sense Good?” he asked, eyes on the doll.

“In all three major Alignments. You can do so simply by leaving it in a location, and then wandering around it. Do not turn your head, and keep tracking it. Let your concentration lapse, and then bring it up again. You can then remove a layer to keep the distance the same, or simply widen the area you wander in.”

“Increasing the Valence level you can use by leaving it right in front of you, attempting to overcome the Ward locking it away. This is a matter of time, persistence, and spiritual strength. None of it will happen overnight, the same way becoming a great warrior will not happen overnight.”

Estemar nodded understanding. “And this can be practiced in passing, yes? Sensing it walking by my room. I could set it in my window, and see how far away it can be sensed. I can sit here and sense the changes as the Saints alter, how fast can I feel the changes...”

“Very good. You will know you have the Clarity Mastery down when you can fight without sight, based purely on Auras. You will have the Field Mastery down when you can sense everything for fifty paces around you, or a hundred paces in one direction. You will know you have Serenity down when you can maintain it all the time with little effort, taking it up or dropping it on a whim. You will know you have the All-Seeing Mastery down when you can look through the doll fully covered and see the Evil within.”

Estemar took a deep breath. “And you... can do all of this?”

Errant hesitated, and then nodded. “Yes.”

“You are monster of a white sheep, Sir Errant.”

“Baaaaaaaaah!” Errant replied with a light heart, and Estemar laughed despite himself, then again when he realized the pun.

“I see I have much work ahead of me. This is indeed not something that is done overnight,” he repeated calmly, eyes intent as he picked up the matryoshka.

“No, it isn’t. Nor is such focus common among many Paladins,” Errant told him. “But Mithar is a wise god, who knows the heart of his enemies. To think all the gifts He grants would only be usable to fight with is a fallacy for outsiders. Mithar is very cunning, or he would not be the General of the Gods.”

“Agreed!” Estemar sighed, holding the doll in his hands now. He thought of something, and looked up. “Are there more Paladinic Masteries I should be worried about?” he inquired.

“Naturally there are others. Your ability to Heal by using the White Hands, Channeling the Heartfire of Mithar, Smiting, Summoning a Sword Spirit, gaining a Mount, and naturally when you are able to Pray and be Answered. The things a Paladin can learn are many and deep, the same as Warlocks,” Errant informed him.

Estemar pursed his lips. “It would seem difficult to practice many of those things here... especially since I do not have many of those blessings yet.”

“Hence...” Errant indicated the doll. Estemar smiled, and ducked his head in acknowledgement again.

“Come... let’s go eat, and I’ll see if I can give you some guidance on how to sense the Good,” Errant said, and they headed out to the mess hall to see what was being served today.

==============

Author’s Note: 2p if you remembered the doll being mentioned before...