Filling in the Blanks (a Rayl and Roland Chat.)

[Rayl Torien]

(Continuing from my last post on A United Lycia? Rayl and Roland...and anyone else who feels to jump in, can hear Rayl recount the prior storyline of the Forum in his own special way.)

Patting his trusted steed and companion on the side, he turned back to face the mercenary while reaching for one of his lances: Not the one with the wicked red hooked tip, but one that seemed to have been in many battles and repaired many times when it would seem pointless to do so. removing it from the saddle, he held it firmly in his left hand for a time, running his right hand down the shaft as he remembered his time in training, and the battles he fought with it: both good and bad. Of the adventures he had prior to his rise in fame and power...of the freedom from politics.

"So tell me Sir Hawkthorne, what do you know of The Prophet's rise to power, hm? What do you know of the Bandit War fives years prior?" with this he also reached into one of the saddle bags on the massive horse with his free hand, pulling out a book entitled: Plague Across Elibe ( Rayl hadn't had time to publish this one.), and after strapping the lance back to where it had been, he opened the book and began scanning the pages: He just might want to make sure he hadn't forgotten any of the facts he'd written down some time ago...though what should he leave out...besides Athos, of course...

[Zerachiel]

"I know it is a time full of many questions. Many question and no information on the truth that hasn't been outrightly banned." Roland touched his chin as he pondered. "Not really something a common man like I would know much about, that is for sure. "The bandit war was a chaotic time that involved the fall of Bern and the coming of Illian occupation. It was this time that Kraft said he saw the apparition of Elmine, forming his basis as a prophet. But on the whole, very little. I was but an Etrurian soldier at the time, I fought battles, the reasons why were the general's."

"As for the Prophet's rise to power, it is said he was spoken to Elmine herself. Her will being passed unto him, making him her prophet. Her righteous will living on through his words, his actions inspired by her desires. He is to unite all of Elibe under one righteous rule, in which we will achieve a paradise, free of strife or pain." He spoke the textbook righteous nutjob answer. And afterwards he simply shrugged. "Atleast that's what they say. As for the real reason, behind all those pretty words that are custom designed to make one feel good and refrain from digging deeper? I have nothing."

[Rayl Torien]

Rayl smiled as he shook his head: That was the answer he just about expected. closing the think book shut after scanning some pages, he gave a nod of his head and stuffed the book back where he got it," Well then Roland, The first thing you need to know is about Hargus, The Bandit King...now, unfortunantly I only came into the picture of the events about halfway through, but apparently what Hargus did was, using black magic and aide from The King of Bern, resurrected the heroes of The Scouring to serve as his Generals, Twisted in their thoughts. I never had the misfortune of fighting any of these undead heroes, I doubt I'd have been capable of fighting them...nor would I be able to now. After gathering the sacred weapons of the heroes, Sir Matis and Sir Kenshin, and their allies, lead the attack against Hargus'. I myself wasn't largely involved until the end, where in a chance meeting I encountered Sir Matis... well you see..."

Rayl paused to catch his breath, as he did little of such a thing while reciting the summarized version of events...he tended to get anxious when telling stories. " I don't know if you have heard of the Great Mercenary, Crowley the Magnificent, but his group of followers, along with myself and Sir Richter, infiltrated the Capital of Delphia, but were spotted and attacked by his elite guard...only a few of us got out of the city alive, and fled to the docks...I can't remember what happened next, but..."

This of course was a lie, because then he'd have to talk about Athos,

"...after that course of events, I joined Sir Matis in the fight against Hargus and the last of the ressurected heroes, Hartmut, Champion of Bern...Well, considering I'm standing here right now and in the position I'm in: we did triumph. However...one of these corrupted heroes, St. Elimine, spoke twisted words to Kraft, and...well...I think you know where that went now don't you? So yes, words were passed to him: though not her's but Hargus'...naturally all evidence otherwise is banned or burned."

[Zerachiel]

"Of course I have heard of Crowley. The great heretic, and enemy to the prophet. I was there when he was struck down in full view. That's all I've heard though, what I've been told by the church." Roland was, by nature, a very cynical man. And a very very cynical Etrurian. "I have heard of Hargus, but only in hushed tones. The name is in my ears, but it has no body to attach itself to. I know not of the man, who he was, or what he'd done. There is a pattern here, in case you hadn't noticed." He chuckled. "The first thing a government does to take control is to keep it's people dumb."

"Resurrected heroes... Even Roland." He silently said, the fact that the one he received his name from was walking around as a corpse a scant five years ago felt impossible. But, still he believed it.

"I would only assume that Kraft took advantage of the faith of a pious nation in order to set his self up with the false words of a dead woman. But then again that's what I've always thought. It didn't take much for me to turn." He crossed his arms, but only sighed afterwards. "Then again, many just call me a cynic. If anyone heard my words, I'd be deemed a blasphemer and hanged." He thrust his arm in front of him as he spoke, signaling his own death sentence.

"My question is why." He said after a few moments of silence. "I know how it happened. But I do not know why. Why did Hargus do this, why did Elmine speak to Kraft, why did Kraft take advantage of Etruria, and why do you rebel when it would be much easier to submit?" He turned his head to Rayl, cocked a single eyebrow, but still had a wry grin. "Well I suppose the evil that dwells in the heart of all men could be held on some account, but I doubt that's all there is to this story. What do you think Rayl?" He dropped the 'Sir' nonsense. From hearing Rayl talk, he was no nobleman. He's heard nobles, they were much more flowery. Spoke a lot more with saying a lot less. He was probably only put in this spot because of his achievements, as such chances are he finds the constant 'sirs' tiring. That's the general case with me like him.

[Rayl Torien]

Taking note of Roland's...unique way of putting things, he frowned for a fleeting moment at the mercenary's casual remark on Crowley, but nevertheless stayed quiet without interrupting the man as he rose his hands in the air....and then he was also quiet for awhile, and the two men stood there, with the only sounds coming from the large horse standing attentively at the side of it's friend...

...oh and that Wyvern who stood on the barn room overlooking the red garbed swordsman, it's hot breath blowing against the man's neck as it contemplated learning what Etrurian's tasted like, but instead withdrew from the general area and took off over to a different part of the ranch.

And then the question came up: Why?

Why did Hargus do what he did?
Why did Elmine speak to Kraft, of all the people they could have manipulated?

All these questions floated out of the man's mouth, and Rayl, if it was even possible, got quieter still, and instead looked back to Elibe, patting the great horse on the side of the neck, before finally speaking:

" I don't know."

with this he was silent again, watching as the young man he'd met in Bern a few months ago mounted up and onto Fang ( The Wyvern) and took off to round up the rest of the men who were coming with them to Bern ( Not ALL of the Golden Lance was going, that would be silly.)

"I do not know why Hargus did what he did. I do not know why Elmine would speak to a simple pickpocket, nor why he would seek to take over the whole of our world, and..."

Another Pause, as a hand slowly went to his chin.

"All I can say is wouldn't you do the same in their place, Roland?" he too dropped the formalities, and with that you could hear his earthy accent clearer, an indicator of his origins as just a stablehand, " I know I would."

The fact that Rayl admitting he'd do the same as those two had was rather odd to hear, indeed," But, that's just the thing Roland, I can't answer such a question. I can hardly explain to you why I resist his words, as in the end you'd have to be me to fully know why, from my days of living on this...what used to be just that small ranch house and this barn...to my working in a bakery to pay for my tution to become a cavalier, to my meeting my hero Crowley, to the escape of Bern and the dragon who set it ablaze...to the fight out of Delphia and the meeting with Sir Matis...and all the way to my slaying Hargus, and beyond that: To speaking with Barigan, to aiding a group of rebelling Etrurians, to what we are doing now: To end the chaos in Bern...I do what I do because I am Rayl. Kraft does what he does because he is Kraft..."

He grabbed the iron lance again from the saddle, holding it with an odd, near indescribable mix of frustration and tenderness, gripping it tighter as he spoke about slaying Hargus ( with that very weapon in his hand.)," I'm sure that makes no sense at all, Roland...maybe you could say it's fate, maybe you could say it's destiny, maybe you could say I just have nothing better to do. But- I just can't describe it, I'm truly sorry...Tell me then, who is Roland Hawkthorne? Why does he do what he does?"

[Zerachiel]

Rayl's silence meant that Roland's question hit home, hard. Though he was expecting as much, that was not a question one answered lightly. "I hold no fantasies of moral high ground. If given the same chance, I would of taken such as well. I may not have done the same things, but I would be no better." Rayl's sudden dropping of his accent, showed more then a simple loss of formality. He couldn't help but feel that he pierced Rayl's defenses far more then any blade could have.

He recounted the short tale of his life. From his beginning to his end, or rather his present. There was more to this tale, but this was not the time to delve in the life of a baker made hero. A few bits of it confused him, partially because he was unfamiliar with the context. That was to be expected, he didn't go on this journey of life along with him. Things that were obvious to Rayl were lost on Roland. But the very life, the emotion the story carried, an energy that lied behind and beneath the words used, it was very clear.

"I think it is because you are you. It is easy for the common man to sit by idly, hearing news of wars far off and feeling unaffected. It is no closer to them then the clouds to the earth. However you did not. For whatever reason that can be summed up, you did not. I don't pretend I know the kind of man you are Rayl, but I do know that when things happened you chose not to sit back and allow fate or destiny or whatever you wish to call it wash over you. Instead you did what you wanted, what you thought you had to, for whatever reasons you had. You are Rayl, it's not confusing to me at all." His voice was even, calm.

"As for Roland Hawkthorne? Roland is just a cynical and vain old man in the body of a young man. A dashing one at that." He turned his head with a devilish grin as he chuckled lightly. After a deep breath he continued, a bit more seriously. "I do what I do because I'm told to, and I'm paid money. I'm no extraordinary human being, I let what happens happen. I sit back and let fate roll, not fighting back. It's just as attainable as turning into a bird and flying away... but as long as there's people out there. People like you, like Kraft, I suppose it's the least I can do is try."

Craning his head over, he looked at Rayl once more. "I'm just an Etrurian Soldier Rayl. I'm by no means a character in this play, simply an extra."

[Rayl Torien]

Rayl shook his head with a grin on his face, chuckling softly to himself: the way Roland acted, he was just like one of his father's, Elimine bless his soul, friends who'd come over on card night.

"Even in a play, the extras play an important role...besides, I feel that you aren't just lying to me, but you are lying to yourself as well." what did he mean by lying? Well, Rayl just kept grinning, and it was obvious he was going to let the swordsman think about that one for awhile," Believe me Roland, I don't know who Rayl is, and to be perfectly honest, I doubt I ever will. The person who knows you the most is not yourself. That is but one of the gifts Barigan gave me."

It was around this point that he realized that he was speaking to Roland without actually giving him the facts...and considering he'd kept some of them away from the man, he felt a tinge of guilt, which he suppressed for the time being...but since he'd already spoken of it before,

"Well...let's just say I had a divine vision as well...only it didn't lead me to taking over Pherae and seeking to enslave the whole of mankind...and the armor he gave me is pretty comfortable." this was one of Rayl's pathetic attempts to lighten the mood of an otherwise deep and thought provoking conversation, as he noticed the glimmer of golden hair from the corner of his eye," Look's like we have company..."

Not that he was complaining mind you, he'd been wanting to talk to Guinevere again. From here he spoke a bit louder and cherrier, bring back up the formalities:

"Now, if there's anything you need, Sir Hawkthorne, ask myself or one of your fellows, alright?"

-End of Support Conversation:

Roland to C on Rayl's Support Chart.

Rayl to C on Roland's Support Chart.