Still love this. Commissioned this a couple of months back at the end of the campaign. I always told myself that I would share the story, so here it is.
Joined late with Lorna Stormborn, a mercenary sorceress with the powers of the primordial storm, with her friend and contracted person of interest, Lexius Leye. They joined Borhan Thearervier, a Paladin of Tyr and the leader of a severely broken team, on his quest to stop a newly arisen god of chaos, Ouldnear.
They met Borhan at his lowest; many friends and comrades dead, having died himself and been brought back to life to continue the fight, and just generally losing all hope for victory. The newcomers helped bring hope back to Borhan; and between him and Lorna, sparks began to fly.
Amongst all the tragedy and the weight of duty that he carried, Borhan could be human with Lorna, a person with fears and desires, and not the unflinching symbol of hope that the town needed him to be. He found someone who cared for him, not his position or reputation, and with whom he could imagine a life with, after his task was done. She became his reason to survive the battles.
Long used to being the needless sacrifice, Lorna was valued by Borhan, beyond what she brought to the battlefield. Despite expecting rejection and abandonment, she found someone who respected and accepted her, and she dared to believe that she could be with him. He became her reason to stay.
After a siege that the town was beginning to lose, a parley was offered and taken. A tournament was offered, a final combat, the deciding trial, and an end to the bloodshed. It was agreed upon, with time for recouperation, though the party was uneasy and expected a trick. The day before the tournament was to begin, Lorna asked for a private audience with Ouldnear. Borhan doubted any success would come from the meeting, but knew he couldn’t stop her.
Lorna met with the god, and they spoke for a while. She showed compassion for his plight and that of his followers, sympathy for his pains and the difficult journey he had taken over centuries to where he was now, and asked him of goals. For he longed to travel back to the beginning of time and forge the universe anew and better than it was now, where good people suffered less. She did not brand him mad, but asked him questions, what plans he had were he to fail, and whether he truly wanted to risk the good people in universe, whether they were his followers or not. In the end, she persuaded him to give up his grand scheme and to help the people build this better, gentler world, letting the people change by choice not force.
And so Ouldnear was judged by the established gods and entered into their number, though under a new, unsullied name.
The battles over, the quest complete, Lorna and Borhan retired from the adventuring life and settled down together. They had two children and lived a quiet and peaceful life in the town they had defended. But, every so often, they would use Lorna’s magic to go out onto the water and dance, like they had the night after everything ended and the world had been saved.
2087
tangentwithtanner
gummygunk
areudirty
izzy806
annaxmalina
discoholicmusic
janainaart
