The Paladins

"May the Lady forgive your sins in the Beyond... As I do here on Rahamut."

Is likely the last thing you will hear before a Paladin plants his weapon in your heart, or bashes your head in with his mace.

And while this single sentence makes it look like the Holy Warriors of the Lady of Light are Heartless Chaotic murderers, it is far from the truth, as I will explain in this article.

its going to be a long read when its done, so sit tight.

Paladins are All male, and, mostly are, orphaned or abandoned at the steps of the Cathedral or any other church, and then brought to the Cathedral, at a young age. Where they are then adopted and trained. though Paladins with land holdings and family do exist, they are the minority.

They are rigurously trained in martial combat and Magic. If they cant keep up with training they would take up clergyship, becoming cardinals, bishops and clerics.

If they cant keep up with their martial training, or fail to graps the Path of Light, a Paladin insteads becomes a Seraheen, a Guardian of the Church, protectors of the grouds. Holy Guardians that protect the local Holy area and all of the Lady's followers upon it.

Ofcourse, lacking a male rolemodel tends to be unfavorable to human Males, this role is therefore filled by the Paladin General the oldest Paladin in service. who, together with the Priestess General, Oversees the training and day to day care of the Paladins and Seraphine to be. With the Priestess usually taking a more motherly role, as much as the Paladin General takes the Role of Father to the Warpriestesses.

Paladins are Extremly Martial, They have emotions, but they try not to show them, it is not necesarily frowned on when they do. Especially not by the other groups within the Church, most of all the WarPriestesses, who are treated, and in some cases even are, their sisters. Being that they are all Human, and humans have emotions, but they prefer to keep their heads clear and focussed on their tasks, be it the daily grind of training or meditating, the polishing of their weapons and armors or whatever the paladin has on his mind that day.

Paladins perform their duties on and outside of the churchgrounds. armored up in their Plated steel armors in times of turmoil, equipped with their favored weapons, from swords and Greatswords, to bastard swords and maces or hammers. They move around the land protecting and healing the innocent, or marching along armies where they serve as Confedants, Pastors, Brothers and Healers to the soldiers.

A Paladin tends to always carry a one handed sword and a blunt weapon of sorts on them, be he in armor or not.

Paladinic interests

Paladins take a liking and interest to most things healing, most Paladins, and Warpriestesses for that matter, take up herbology, herbalism and Alchemy, learing about healing plants and how to effective use them, for it is not always necesarry to heal through magic.

Most Paladins also are capable nurses, Able to set bone and apply first aid and triage, A boon to being a Soldier of her Majesty the Queen of Light is they are completly immune to all Illness, poison and disease, be it Magical, spiritual or mortal.

The shirts with the silver lining

Paladins wear specific off duty attire that helps them stand out in any situation, as if the two weapons on their belts is not enough.

The hems of their linnen shirts are lined with silver as well as a silver crest on the neck of the shirt, be it a longer sleeve or shorter sleeve. The color does usually not matter and is a personal preference

The Vowed.

Occasionally, Paladins are visited in their dreams by the Lady herself, and usually are bestowed a task. If a Paladin is to take this task, he is to take the Vow of the Lady.

it would be a celebration throughout the Cathedral! For to recieve word from her Majesty herself is to be celebrated, the Paladin however, gives up everything, land, title, and possesions. And they throw themselves even harder on their training, By far, a Vowed Paladins are the most dangerous and well established Paladins in the order. After the celebration, they tend to go travel.

Black Magicka

it is not uncommon for a Paladin to take an interest in Shadow, and Necrotic Magic. Not with the intend to use it, but with the intend to recognize it, a Paladin has an inherent thirst for knowledge of the Dark Arcana, aswell as its own Light Path. For they seek to better themselves to be able to serve her Majesty's wishes.

Armament and Armor

Paladins done extremely heavy armors, in which they tend to sleep, train and workout in aswell, To a Paladin, his armor is like a second skin and he can go for miles in it. These armors tend to be steel plated armor.

It is not uncommon for more established, well known or experienced Paladins, to have their armor enchanted. Since his armor is a gift from the Church he tends to take good care of it. And they are responsible for their own replacement parts if required.

Paladins have a preverence for swords and Maces. however a Paladin, while a soldier, is a holy man first and would rather not kill. But when forced, will do so without second thought. For this fact they tend to carry both a mace and a sword, a weapon for each concideration, a weapon for both eventualities.

Paladin Maces are usually of an interesting make, especially for a Paladin with a preverence for maces and hammers, a Paladin warmace tends to be designed as square or rectangel, with three sharp spikes, one on the top and one on each of two sides, leaving two sides open for blunt damage, in this way a paladin can decide wether to kill you for sure, or only take the risk you die.

Their weapons can be enchanted, though rarely, once more, the older the paladin the higher the chance, usually, their weapons and shields are enchanted with protective light magic, there are legends about Paladins being able to deflect Magical Arrow based attacks.

Composition

Equipment

Backpacks with the basics, pot, pan, canteen, bedroll. and what personal affects of interest the paladin may have.

Weaponry

Heavy armor Hammers, Maces big and small paladinic Maces, explained in the article Swords of all sizes, one hand, two hand and bastard.

Type

Special Forces

Overall training Level

Elite

Assumed Veterancy

Veteran

Used by

• The Church of the Lady