Misguided Faith
An Arina (Her Lady Furriness) Story
When I first set out, this was not the road I had planned to take. I left the tundra with little more than my name and the briefest glimpse of what the world could be, but I was not prepared for what awaited me on the other side. When my sister died, I thought I knew what true faith and sacrifice were. The old dwarf had shown me what it had meant to be a paladin the past winter, just another attempt to save what was slowly crumbling away from me. No, when I set out away from the tundra, I had notions of what the world would be, what I would be, but I could not have guessed the path I would be on and the people that I would call my family.
When Shura became sick, her death was inevitable. We drew out her time with magic, faith, and sheer luck. The tundra takes what it wants, as with our parents, as with her. Once she was gone, there was no reason to stay there, no reason to waste what little life I had been given. The old dwarf had been of a similar mindset, telling me it was better to live and fulfill a purpose instead of wasting away in the landscape. I still don't know how he ended up in the tundra or how he came to us, but for his teachings, I will be forever grateful.
So I set out, following a path south to the Elves and whatever money being a paladin of Crommel could bring me. I had no direction other than to leave, so I wandered, just far enough to be sucked into an adventuring party that would become the found family that I had deep down been hoping for.
First came the halfling and the human, two people that I would have never seen in the tundra. At first they were distrustful, something I understood quite well, but in some ways it was still odd when they decided that I was needed for their survival, like a mother to her cubs. Then came the other bear, for which I was quite grateful, someone who understood my struggles but was willing to offer kinship in a way that others could not.
Slowly I gathered more in my little family. Another human, a greater golem that soon left, and more came and left as they saw fit. I was fine with that, but I was not truly willing to allow more into the group, which may question why a bear walked among them. But then, the road took another path that I was not prepared for, another person entering this found family that made me begin to question why I was traveling this road in the first place.
With the many gods and beliefs in the world, I was bound to find someone who did not share the same beliefs that I did, but I wasn't truly ready to find someone who was both misguided and correct. Entering the Elven Kingdom and the largest city I had ever been in brought a bit of anxiety but being forced into a party with what could only be described as a plague doctor was something that made me question why I had decided to protect this little family.
Crommel and the dwarves teach purpose, that everyone, no matter their lot in life, has something to give to the world and those around them. Paladins are people of good hearts and stalwart morals, ready to lay down their own lives in protection of those who cannot save themselves. Everything I am used to be could not be ok with someone that professed themself as a necromancer. Something about such a profession made my skin crawl, and yet here I was, stuck with one in the group.
I honestly cannot tell you at what point I went from believing that Gehrman was an affront to my beliefs to believing that he was misguided with a true heart. Yes, he was searching for the answer to death, but he never once was cruel or uncaring about the sanctity of life. In the oddest of ways, we understood each other, even when it seemed our beliefs were so against each other.
As friends that have become family choose to walk a different path, I can only reflect on the moments that I know solidified the friendship between a paladin and a necromancer. When faced with the choice of delivering death as is his duty or following the thoughts of another of our friends, the choice was made to give last rites, to be humane in the face of cruelty. Being little more than an animal myself, I don't expect the others to have the heart for nature that I do, but even death can be delivered in a way that honors.
For months we have traveled this road, the one I never expected, yet it has given me friends and the family that I had never had. Belief builds ties between people, no matter how different, and I found a kindred spirit in the one that I never believed would take the moral high ground. If nothing else, I hope that I made the right choice in staying this path, choosing to nurture the next ones that join me, while a small bit of my ideals stay with those that left.
Sit down, my friend, and let me tell you of Aran'sha . A world where the sands shift and the stars sing, where the wind carries secrets and the twin moons keep silent vigil over it all.