Silvertree Chronicles Bk. 02 Pt. 02

A pale hand reached down and helped her to her feet. She stares into the eyes of the pale lady as she was enveloped in white. "You are a child of two worlds. Like Eldar but different worlds in your case. Your loyalty is to Tyr, your husband was Corellon Larethian. You have reached a decision point in your life.

You will not live to see your children become adults. Your destiny is in your hands. As is the destiny of the three children who are awake in your home. One will take ownership of the blade this night. As the sword has fallen from its place on the wall."

She looked at the Lady of Dreams, "Why do you do this?"

The lady sighed, "The world has had a major change. The destiny of the elven race hangs in the balance. Your time in this world is less than 50 years. You ask why do we do these things. We do things for our people to help them in times of chaos. Instead of making this choice, we are giving the choice to you. Your daughter is manifesting powers like her father.

Another great Battle Mage gestalt. Your eldest son has magical blood and will have great skill with the sword. A Blade Singer. The third and youngest is destined to be a Paladin. Any one of them will make a fine champion of the people. Here is the problem for you. If you choose your son the Paladin, he will not be lawful. Like you, he will follow the whims of my husband as his second Paladin.

You would have to renounce Tyr and commit yourself to be my husband's first Paladin. The Mother of Paladins. Else leave this place and take your son to the monastery for training. You would be destined not to return as you are assigned work while your son stays behind at the monastery for training. If you choose the Blade Singer or the Battle Mage you will have to leave them both behind to train.

You have seen how well a Battle Mage can handle a sword, not very well compared to the other two. The Blade Singer would seem like the obvious choice. Again, you would have to leave them behind to take your other son to train as you did yourself before you die. Or you can watch them all grow up together for a time and renounce who you have followed your whole life.

You could try and choose one option and then take them all away from here but the other children's powers would greatly hinder you from getting to the monastery. There is one other wrinkle you have to know about. If you choose to make your son a paladin of Tyr, he will never bear children. This is not our wish. The church of Tyr is making all the clergy and paladins take an oath of celibacy.

In short, you get to choose for your children but it also affects where your soul or your spirit will go when you die. Also, that of your youngest son. Take your time and ask your questions."

Silver was still in shock by this turn of events, "Is time stopped in here?"

The Lady of Dream looks to her. "To a point. There is no way for you to take the blade from them before a new wielder is chosen."

She looked at the Goddess, "If I choose Tyr will I ever see Brannar in the afterlife?"

The Lady of Dreams looked at her, "I cannot say what the future holds for the different spheres but I can tell you. You would likely never see him again. You have already lost him in his worldly form. His spirit has moved on into the elven pantheon. You must choose to accept it or reject it. If you choose Corellon Larethian, you would be with him in the afterlife."

The goddess looks at Silver, "You have been here for almost 18 years. Why? Do you feel at home here? Does Silent Falls call to you? While you pray every day, you have not used a paladin ability in almost a decade. Why have you not started instilling a strong belief of Tyr into any of your children?

As had been done to you in the monastery at a far younger age? Your beliefs have been wavering for years, ever since you started reading the journals. Almost every night falling asleep in the pages. Tyr would say you are facing your greatest temptation to turn from him.

It is not from the temptation of evil, but the other part of your heritage. We have tolerance but if your son is destined then you must lead him there. Returning to your monastery. Returning to your life as a Paladin is destined. The question is to whom?"

Silver asked, "What would happen if I simply stopped being a paladin?"

The Lady of Dreams looked at her, "That would be like asking you to stop breathing. The choice of the future champion would belong to us to make as you turned your back on all faiths. In all fairness, your son would never become a paladin to Corellon Larethian as he would have no trainer. He would desire it. To be more than just a fighter.

Your spirit would have no home when you die. As you would have turned your back on the human and elven gods with that decision. Your youngest son would be destined for a life in mediocrity and jealousy of his sibling's abilities. Wondering why the gods abandoned him.

Else you take him to the monastery and abandon him to its training, much as it was done to you. He would be confused about why you think that life would be right for him while you abandoned the order. He would likely go rogue as a paladin as he would lose his role model from which to aspire too."

Silver fell to the ground again as she thought about this decision. She finally stood. It felt like hours as she wrestled with these issues. She steeled herself and looked the Goddess in the eyes, "I choose to stay and become the first Paladin of Corellon Larethian from this until my dying day."

The Goddess looked at her, "That is the first step. Now you must learn what that means. You must have your children watched by family. You must ride to the City without leaving the saddle or making a mess of yourself in full armor with the journals in hand.

The Queen will call you forth. She will ask you to make known the secrets of the Knight Champion, His son's role in history, and your own contributions. Especially after Commodore Silver Moon fell. She will be ready to Knight you to your service as a Paladin.

Then you will rest at House Silvertree under the Silvertree with your horse. Make the same ride home. You will eat nothing once dawn breaks today. It will take you two days riding at normal speed and an evening at House Silvertree with nothing to sustain you until you get to the falls two days later.

You can arrive sooner or later depending on how hard you push your horse. Too hard and you could kill her and end up walking back. You will clean yourself and sustain yourself only with water from the falls for another three days. Only leaving the water to sleep or to ensure you do now foul it. While in the water you will practice your sword and shield.

You will do this until you cannot lift your arms. Then sleep in your armor on the shore. You may only relieve yourself in the Palace after you are knighted. Before you leave House Silvertree Estates and any point after you have cleansed yourself in your armor at Silver Falls. You will feed and water your horse only when you are allowed to be off of it.

Once your ride is over, remove your horse's saddle, and brush her down. Tell her to graze. You will know your atonement is over when a cleric of Corellon Larethian comes to you and addresses you by your full title. You will have regained your paladin status at the level you had it before.

Some of your spell access will change. After thirty years of training, the ruler will declare your son a Knight Paladin candidate and assign him to the duchy security forces to train with the Gray Blade trainers until he is an adult. At which point he will be appointed a Knight Paladin. He should pray every day and he will start getting access to divine spells after being declared a candidate. Then you will leave and go in service to Corellon Larethian until your dying day.

Juna 27th 7033

Silver arrived at the Palace sore and tired from the ride and walked into the throne room. The Queen called an immediate halt to the day's activities and she wanted everyone in attendance to bear witness as she directed Silver to reveal the biggest secret accomplishments of the Knight Champion, his son, and her own role in these events. Silver cleared her throat.

She turned to the crowd and read from the journals those entries that were not encrypted. The events of the Silvertree Blade holders since the Champions departure from the Academy until his death. How he became a Duke. His son's destiny. That it led to helping not just the elven people but all of the allies as well, with the recovery of the Eternal Forge. The creation of the weapons to save them all during the ongoing Dragon War.

Finally, she went into her role in his life until his death. Noting since then she had been raising her children and asked to choose their fate. To choose her own fate as well. Her choice to undergo this atonement in order to become the first Paladin of Corellon Larethian. The Queen knighted her Knight Paladin Silver Silvertree, First Paladin of Corellon Larethian. Mother of Paladins.

The Queen also commented on the Champion's goal of bringing in outside skills and talents into the elven community and now paladin could be added to that list. Silver used the chamber pot she has desperately wanted for the last whole day. She again steeled her resolve and went to House Silvertree Estates. She fed and watered her horse.

Rested the sleep of the dead. Feeling her lover and husband holding her close for the first time in years. She woke several hours later. It was still dark but she headed into the house and uses the chamber pot to clear what little waste she had in her body. She mounted up and rode for Silent Falls.

Juna 29th 7017

Barely hanging onto her horse, she arrived at Silent Falls in the early hours. She dropped into the water and drank deeply for the first time in days. She went to the Falls and let the water wash over her in her armor. She left the water and removed the saddle and tack from her horse and brushed her down. She told her to graze and returned to the water with her sword and shield in hand.

Juna 32nd 7017

She was tired, sore, rubbed raw in places, and she was soaked to the bone.

A cleric from the local church whom she had seen with Doc came to her, "Knight Paladin Silver Silvertree, First Paladin of Corellon Larethian, Mother of Paladins and trainer to the next Champion of Corellon Larethian. Your atonement is over. You are required to tithe twenty percent of your current account and ten percent of all future earnings to the church."

He gave her a book. "Your code of conduct and what is expected of a Knight Paladin of Corellon Larethian. For you to learn and teach starting tomorrow."

She saddled up her horse and rode home. She stripped out of her armor and dried off. She grabbing just her sword and her husband's bracers, she dresses in normal clothes.

She took the book and rode to the inn to get a meal. While she waited, she started looking over an extensive code of conduct for a Paladin. Unlike any code that she had ever seen or heard of before. Covering his wife or wives as well. Forty items in the code.

She sighed, "I will have to sharpen my mind as well as my combat skills. The execution of prisoners is something I will have to come to terms with."

1. Obedience to Corellon Larethian and his wife the messenger The Lady of Dreams Sehanine Moonbow.

2. Must be reverent and pray to Corellon Larethian and The Lady of Dreams and study both religions.

3. Obedience to Elven Law (Including the ruler), Grand Cleric of Corellon Larethian, and Grand Cleric of Sehanine Moonbow. In that order.

4. May only be males except for the Mother of Paladins who is the teacher of the Knight Champion of the New Age. Each Knight Paladin must train two candidates at the same time. Like the others, she must remain celibate during this training period.

5. All students have to be elven due to the years of training required. Except for the Mother of Paladins.

6. May only marry elven or elf-blooded wives who are fertile, in love, and devout to the elven way of life. At least one of the wives must be devoted to raising all of the offspring in an elven community within the Elven Kingdom. All wives have to agree to raise the children in the Elven Kingdom.

7. May only live in a heterosexual relationship. Must remain faithful to your wife or wives if more than one. No sex outside of marriage for any in the marriage.

8. Must remain celibate until all students are finished with their 30 years of training.

9. Must be skilled in acrobatics and tumbling.

10. Must wear only elven full plate armor After becoming full Knight Paladins (initially provided by the Church if the teacher could not provide).

11. Must use elven made longswords, longbows, and shields (initially provided by the Church if the teacher cannot afford).

12. Must specialize in elven long swords.

13. Must specialize in elven longbows.

14. May not fight dual handed. Single weapon and sword and shield styles only.

15. Must know how to ride and be trained as an expert in mounted combat.

16. Must only ride an Elven War Horses One stallion and one mare. Needed when traveling great distances in service to the Elven People.

17. Must be well versed in elven law, treaties, court etiquette, trade negotiations, and history.

18. Must know the heraldry of all elven nobles, know allies and enemies of the elven empire.

19. Must spend the first thirty years after being made a paladin training two new students.

20. Must have little to no aptitude for casting arcane magic.

21. May find at least a first bride during this thirty-year time. Must find her and marry her on the night of a double crescent moon before the age of a hundred and six.

22. Must begin training between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.

23. May not start counting any training until both students have been found.

24. May locate but not train the students within the last year of their Blade Training with the approval of the General of Training.

25. After completing the initial thirty years of training be appointed a paladin-candidate and taken to a designated elven training facility.

26. When they reach the age of seventy-five and with the approval of the General of the Elven training facility confirming that they have mastered these skills. They report to the Ruler to be Knighted as Paladins of Corellon Larethian, a position higher than a standard Court Knight. The start of their tithing begins.

27. May never hold a title above Knight Paladin or Knight Paladin Champion of Corellon Larethian if selected by the gods to hold this title. (Knight Paladin Champion of Corellon Larethian is a step higher than Knight Paladin.)

28. May never accept a title from a non-elven ruler.

29. May never be conscripted into military service. Will volunteer for elven military service during times of war when not on assignment from Corellon Larethian or the Ruler of the Elven Empire. May never hold a military rank.

30. Must strive to be the leader of any group you start or work with. Unless another senior Elven Paladin is leading the group.

31.Must keep armor and weapons in good repair.

32. Must tithe ten percent of their earnings.

33. May never use poisons of any type.

34. Must aid the elven people in times of crisis. With money and manpower if needed.

35. Must never negotiate with or team with enemies of Corellon Larethian. This includes undead, evil dragons, orc, ogres, drow, evil giants, and slavers.

36. They must work to bring down evil around the world and keep it as far away from the elven people as possible.

37. When an elf or elf-blooded is encountered they should be encouraged to rejoin the elven people. To return or travel to the Elven Kingdom where they will be welcomed.

38. Any enemy of Corellon Larethian captured will be interrogated by any means necessary to extract information before being executed.

39. Must respect treaties and trade negotiations with allies.

40. Must be capable and willing to serve as a diplomat when required.

---

She went across the street and found Doc. "I need a huge favor; I need the holy texts for Corellon Larethian and the Lady of Dreams."

Doc looked at her, "I thought you were a Paladin of Tyr?"

The cleric who spoke with her at the falls interjected, "Corellon Larethian has made her the Mother of Paladins. She is going to teach our new Paladins, starting with two. Each of them will train two when they become adults. One has been selected as the next Knight Champion. Her youngest son and holder of the Family blade."

Doc looked at him, "Why was I not informed?!"

The cleric looked at him, "My instructions were to wait for her to arrive after her atonement became complete. The Lady of Dreams is her messenger. Meaning she will receive instructions through dreams. They can study those documents here; we will aid you and your students."

Silver nodded, "We will be by for morning prayer and instruction in the texts."

He shook his head, "First you need to find your second. Mixed elf child in the poorer section of the city. You should go soon and let your faith guide you to him. You should be dressed before you go."

He placed his hand on her hand. The sores and aches from the past few days were gone.

She sighed and nodded.

She went to the Keep to speak with the Duchess, "I request that all three children begin training in Elven War Horse riding. I also need a caster to take me to the city and back again. I will be bringing another who needs training as well. I would like to begin work with someone who knows about acrobatics and tumbling to teach me those things."

The Duchess looked at her, "What is going on? You leave me your children in the middle of the night and you have been gone for a week!"

Silver nodded, "It is known as atonement and it may differ for anyone else. Mine was painful. I was starved, soaked to the bone, worn down, broken, cleansed, and made whole again. Corellon Larethian has made me the Mother of Paladins.

I have to train two to do these actions in full plate armor. Starting tomorrow. They will not be finished with training until they are seventy-five at which point, they must train two new ones for thirty years."

She looked at Silver, "You are not joking, are you?"

She held out the book with the tenants to the new order. The Duchess looked it over. While the book was open, she slid a tube into the open pages showing she was Knighted by the Queen as the First Knight Paladin, Mother of Paladins.

She looked at Silver, "What is listed is extremely difficult, but it is doable with a lot of practice."

She nodded. "I figured as much. I need to meet these new skills head-on and you are the right one to train me so I can begin to train them."

The Duchess nodded, "I have someone or I can do it myself for a couple of these. I cannot do this in heavy armor. But that is your issue."

Silver looked at her, "When do you start training another Blade Singer?"

The Duchess looked at her, "Why?"

She smiled at her, "Brenner is next to learn and I will have to put my daughter in the Academy soon, as she will begin manifesting powers as her father did."

She nodded, "I have my three students staggered, there should be an opening at the right time for him. I will evaluate him."

She looked at Zaria, "If anything happens to me before they are adults, I am appointing you the guardian of my children."

She looked shocked, "Why?"

She smiled, "You are at the center of it all, where they will train. Skills they will use. The place they will send Travious here with you to continue his training. I am only allowed to do so for 30 years. All of the paladins will be like that. They won't have sex until they are 105 when they have to marry within a year. I will be 80 years old before I can even consider another man. Not that I want too."