The family had a cheerful meal together before heading over to the Cathedral at noon. The noon service was the one intended for the general public and all the pews were filled. The Sun’s rays through the stained-glass skylight bathed the room in a wash of beautiful color. The service was charged with an uplifting feel that bolstered the people’s spirits. As the crowd filed out of the building to go about their day, Eona approached the Priestess. “Venerable Cleric, it is a pleasure to meet you. I am Eona Windreach and I wish to thank you for your wise judgement in the case of my son’s attacker.”

The woman turned to her and smiled, “It was my pleasure to handle this matter. I am also grateful that you put this matter into my hands. While Rhys is a bit of a fool at times, he is not a bad man, just overzealous in his desire to advance the causes of the Church.

“Sadly, he has been convinced by his Chapter Master that undermining the Academy’s influence is one such cause. When coupled with the prejudice many more radical members of the faith have towards your late husband’s Clan, it is easy to see what his motives were. It is a shame though. I have been very disappointed in the recent behavior and lack of discipline demonstrated by the members of the local Chapter of the Order of the Ardent Dawn.”

Granny Penny snorted, “That fool Ordino is so interested in corporeal power that he forgets his order’s tenets. He should be wary lest he loses the goddess’s favor one day with his fixation on power politics.”

The Priestess let out an exasperated sigh, “I know, but that is for his Order to figure out, not me. I have already done everything I can to mitigate the disturbances they were causing.”

Penny patted her hand gently, “It’s fine, girl, I am sure the Grand Master of the Order will step in before things get too out of hand. Send my love to your cheeky daughter will you, I will be taking my family around the Temple District to visit the other Temples.”

The Priestess smiled, “Thank you, I will. May the Sun guide your way.”

Saying goodbye to the Priestess they strolled out of the Cathedral grounds and turned to go deeper into the Temple district.The family didn’t get far before they were stopped by a group barring their way. These newcomers were glowering quite rudely at the party as they spread to surround them. Reginald glanced at his sister and spoke before she could erupt at these people. “What is the meaning of this? Today is a holy day and you are disturbing the peace. Do you want the guards to come down on you?”

Two men stepped forward from the group blocking them. Derek recognized them both. The first was Giancarlo, the disgraced Weapon Master, and the second was Rhys, the Paladin who had assaulted him. Giancarlo spoke for the two of them, “Oh but the guards won’t be coming down on us. My friend and I are here to demand a duel and these others are here to witness it.”

Derek looked at him and asked incredulously, “So you really want to challenge me here, in the Temple District, during a holy day? Don’t you have more important things to be doing?”

Giancarlo snarled and strode forward to slap him, “You have dishonored my good name. There is nothing more important for me to do. As a Weapons Master I demand a duel at this moment.”

It was then that Ovid stepped forward, “I do not know you, but since a tier six is bold enough to request a duel with my tier two student, I have the right to accept this duel in his stead. I will warn you though, threatening my student in front of me on a normal day would quite likely be the last mistake you ever made. This being a Holy Day, I am willing to be lenient. I, Tier Five Weapons Master Ovid Balder of Windreach, accept your duel and I promise I will not kill you.”

The man’s confidence dropped instantly. He stammered, “O-Ovid Balder. When did you return to the city? Master Fiore has been looking for you for a rematch all these years.”

“If Giovanni wishes to face me again, he can come find me. I would welcome the competition. But as of right now, you have a much more immediate concern than your master’s desire to fight me. Now that you have gotten the duel you requested you should draw your weapon. Or were you only interested in dueling if you knew you would win?”

The man’s face paled, and he shakely drew his blade. The crowd that had gathered formed a circle around them. Both duelists were using the longsword. Derek watched with great interest as he had never seen his Master fight. His Master was clearly the better swordsman, as he moved smoothly from attack to defense and back again. The difference in their tiers seemed to have little effect on the overall fight as Ovid’s skills were sufficient to bridge the gap in attributes.

As Derek watched he heard a bemused voice from beside him. “Ah, it is good to see Ovid back in the city. I was afraid I would never again meet someone who could truly challenge me.”

Derek turned to see Grand Master Giovanni standing there. Derek was confused, “Aren’t you concerned for your student?”

Fiore shook his head, “That man is no longer a student of mine. His vindictive behavior and his willingness to take coin to deliberately sabotage one of his students were too much to overlook. I cast him out of my school after I had discovered it. Truly a pity. When he was young he had been such a promising student but poor integrity is too important to overlook.”

Derek turned back to watch the duel. Giancarlo was already bloodied and winded. He could not find an opening and was instead constantly having his guard broken by his clearly superior opponent. The cuts upon his body had added up, and not a single piece of his clothing was unbloodied. Finally, with an abrupt flick of Ovid’s blade, the tendons of Giancarlo’s wrists were cut and the man’s weapon fell from his hands.

Several people gasped in shock at the way the fight ended. Ovid himself waved the other man away to be healed by his second and cleaned his blade before returning to the group. Fiore applauded loudly, “Bravo, Ovid! Your dueling style is as sinister as it once was. I look forward to an opportunity to compare notes in the near future.”

Ovid smiled at the other man. There was something predatory in the way they looked at each other, a barely concealed aggression reserved for opponents they truly respected. He nodded to his old rival, “I would be honored.”

After Giancarlo’s wounds were tended, Rhys stepped forward, “Abomination, I underestimated you last time. I will not do so again. Do you dare to fight me?”

Derek stepped forward, “I am no Abomination, Paladin. I do not desire to harm you. Do you really feel the need to do this on a Holy Day?”

Rhys merely glowered, “What better Day to defeat a filthy Abomination like yourself? I, Tier Four Paladin Rhys Wallace, challenge you to a duel. Do you dare accept my challenge.”

Derek felt his irritation spiking before he heard his granny whisper to him, “Go ahead boy. Fight to your heart’s content. I will make sure neither of you die.”

“Thanks granny,” he whispered before turning to the man, “Fine then, I, Tier Two Demon Warrior Derek Thorne, accept your duel.”

The crowd was slightly taken aback by this. It was not unheard of for a tier two to be able to fight a tier four but it was incredibly rare. The Paladin’s insistence on a duel was seen as quite dishonorable, as nothing would be proved by defeating someone of such a lower tier than him.

They both drew their weapons. Unlike the earlier duel between Weapons Masters, this one was not limited to sword skills. They both readied their longswords before Rhys charged forward, a Holy Aegis in place and flame being channelled through his weapon. Derek’s brought his own Holy attribute defensive spell up as he moved to meet his opponent.

He dodged the first swing, feeling the heat from the fire attribute spell as it barely missed his scalp, then parried the second, third, and fourth. The paladin was stronger than him, but not by a large margin and Derek could keep up with his motions. He settled into a defensive stance, relying on his superior weapon skill and spell casting, intending to allow the Paladin to burn through his mana pool first.

The fight continued for several minutes until finally the Paladin’s mana had run out, Derek blasted the Paladin with a Wind Buffet from the side, catching him off guard and knocking him off balance. He lunged forward, using Wind attribute mana to accelerate forward. Before the Paladin could regain his balance, Derek had landed three hard blows with the flat of his blade to the ribs, right collarbone, and wrists. Each connection was accompanied by a cracking sound as the affected bones were broken. As if to mimic the previous duel, Rhys’s weapon also fell to the ground.

The crowd erupted in excitement. Grand Master Fiore turned to Ovid, “Your student’s skill is reminiscent of your own at that age. Only he seems less blood thirsty than you were at the time.”

Ovid shrugged his shoulders, “The boy doesn’t consider humans his enemies. Only Demons. Why would he be as bloodthirsty as me? I had human enemies to spare at his age. We both did.”

The Grand Master snorted, “Demons? They exist? I’ll believe that when I see it. Just tales told by the Church to keep people in line.”

Ovid looked sharply at Fiore, “They do. I have seen them. They can be terrifying and a true nightmare to defeat for normal folks.”

The other man’s incredulity hadn’t abated. He just looked at Ovid and shook his head. Finally he responded, “Sure. If you say so.”

Derek sheathed his sword and returned to his family but when Rhys was healed he pushed forward again to demand another duel.

Derek looked at him incredulously, “I have already beaten you, twice. Why should I fight you again? For what reason do you demand another duel?”

Another voice spoke up, this time from the Paladin that had healed Rhys and Giancarlo, “Because you are an Abomination and it is only right to challenge you. It is a Paladin’s duty to stand up to the tainted and corrupt! If you will not accept a duel from him, then accept one from me. I am ...”

Before he could finish granny Penny stepped forward and shook her walking stick at them. “That’s enough. It seems you fools have been sorely mislead. You believe this boy is an Abomination? Then how has he been casting Holy spells this entire time? Holy magic is just as anathema to Abominations as it is to Demons and neither Demons nor Abominations can cast it yet this boy has cast at least two dozen holy spells in front of you today.

“Even if you didn’t know that, look at his Amulet. It has been fully displayed this entire time. Do you not see your own goddess’s symbol on it? It may well be a Paladin’s duty to stand up to the tainted and corrupt, but is it your duty to attack someone bearing the blessing of your very own goddess? Are you not afraid of our goddess’s retribution should you harm one of her own unjustly? How stupid can you be?”

The Paladin’s mouth was left open in a surprised expression as the old lady shook her stick at him. As she lectured his face went from surprised to angry to embarrassed. When he saw the holy symbol on Derek’s neck and turned to look at the crowd that had begun gossiping around him his embarrassment only grew. With the granny’s final insulting question, he finally had enough and left with his people.

Granny Penny turned to the crowd then, “What are you people all doing here? Don’t you have better things to be doing on a Holy Day?”

Rhys Wallace-

Previous Classes-

Noble, Magic Warrior, Magic Warrior, Magic Warrior

Permanent Enhancements-

Magic Warrior, Tier One: +1 Strength, +1 Body, +1 Agility, +1 Mind

Magic Warrior, Tier Two: +1 Strength, +1 Body, +1 Agility, +1 Mind

Magic Warrior, Tier Three: +1 Strength, +2 Body, +1 Agility, +2 Mind

Paladin, Tier Four: +2 Strength, +2 Body, +2 Agility, +2 Mind

Rhino Horn: +2 to Strength, +4 to Body

Blessing of the Sun Goddess: +2 Agility, +5 Order, +5 Light, +5 Fire

Equipment-

Runic Armor: basic protection low t5, maximum defensive spell level 7

Runic Weapon: basic offensive low t5, maximum offensive spell level 7

Talisman of the Sun Goddess: +5 to Order, Light, and Fire Attributes

Derek Thorne-

Previous Classes-

Magic Warrior, Rune Smith

Permanent Enhancements-

Rune Smith, Tier One: +2 Strength, +2 Body, +2 Agility, +2 Mind

Demon Warrior, Tier Two: +2 Strength, +2 Body, +2 Agility, +2 Mind, +2 Dark, +2 Chaos, +2 Light, +2 Order, Demon

Sense

Disciple of the God of the Forge: +2 Strength, +2 Body, +5 Fire, +5 Earth

Blessed Child of the Hearth Goddess: +2 Body, +2 Mind, +5 Order, +5 Light

Greater Demon Heart: +3 Strength, +2 Body, +2 Agility, +3 Mind, +5 Dark, +5 Chaos, Expanded Essentia Pool,

Masking

Blessing of the Sun Goddess: +2 Agility, +5 Order, +5 Light, +5 Fire

Equipment-

Forge God’s Armor: basic protection low t2, maximum defensive spell level 6

Forge God’s Warsword: basic offensive mid t2, maximum offensive spell level 6

Forge God’s Glaive: basic offensive mid t2, maximum offensive spell level 6

Forge God’s Bow: basic offensive low t2, maximum offensive spell level 6

Talisman of the Sun, Forge and Hearth: eight mature sprites +8 to all elemental attributes, other assorted benefits