<br/><strong>‘…from the scrolls of knowledge…’</strong><span class="bbc_font" style="font-family: verdana;">“They say love is stronger then steel and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. <br/>Hanali Celanil guides them and gifts them. Guardians of love, protectors, guides, defenders, but do not doubt their skill or dedication. The paladins of Hanali Celanil do not seek glory nor hunt evil. They may have a harder task. They guard our hearts.”</span><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Arainna Crystalwind<br/><br/>A great deal is known of the paladin Arainna Crystalwind. She has served Hanali Celanil for over one hundred years. Arainna had been a captain in the order, one of the best of all paladins. She has fought battles to protect lovers. She has faced hordes of creatures, possessive kings and powerful wizards. Many are those that owe their life and love to her, too many to recount here.<br/>This is a retelling of her fall and how even then she prevailed.<br/><br/>It was known simply as ‘The Lich’ but her name was Eliss`Zeld Everhate and for four years her force lay waste too outlaying villages and towns of Duchy Evermist. Killing, looting then vanishing leaving behind smoking ruin and soulless husks. Finally an additional force was sent from the capital to deal with the troubles. In a small township this force found a paladin conducting a wedding. Arainna had been following her visions. Visions that shown love itself under siege and so she had come here too aid. Well known and skilled, with a powerful holy sword and a strong mount she was a welcome addition to the Akh`Nai. She became the only paladin in the force.<br/>The Di`Aranthi was young and kin too nobility, head strong and too sure of himself he led the force deep into the forests of Evermist till finally they caught up too the Lich and her forces.<br/>Few survived too tell the tale of the battle but those that did spoke of the paladin’s courage holding back undead and whispered of the Di`Aranthi’s folly for charging blindly into what was a trap.<br/>The battle is recorded in the archives, barely three Akh`Lani made it back too a keep to report. All feared that the lich would soon overrun the eastern lands of Evermist, what none could know was just how strong a paladin of Hanali Celanil could be.<br/><br/>What follows was told by an ogre that claimed too have been in the lich’s army. A claim that was verified when it produced items from the very unit ambushed there.<br/>Arainna survived the battle wounded and captured. Her mount cut down trying to win their freedom. For several days she was tended and allowed to heal, kept naked and chained she was taunted and jeered but even the ogre was impressed at her courage and how she held still. Then she was dragged before the lich, forced to kneel she was collared as a slave as the lich’s red eyes almost lustfully watched her.  The lich then raped her draining her of a part of her very essence then tossed Arainna too her ogres and so it went on and on. In the mornings the lich would ravage her in some new and perverted way. None of which that was told to me I desire too put too parchment<br/>The lich would drain a little bit more of her then toss Arainna to her servants. There she was ravaged in all ways possible, orcs, ogres, beasts foul. Remade into something else. Half a fort-night she suffered then the lich had Arainna bound spread eagle before her, it had awaken in Arainna lusts and made Arainna’s body crave things. And so it marked Arainna, a dark ring piercing the clitoris one that it said could never be removed and would always show her what she was. Then the lich had her taken too its private chambers.<br/>But Arainna wasn’t as broken as it had thought for in its chambers she found her holy sword and when the lich came for her later it found instead that she was truly a paladin. All the ogre could tell was that there was an explosion of magic from the chamber and the undead in the army fell into dust and all the factions that had been held in awe of the lich now fought for the leftovers.<br/>Arainna was found a week later by a band of scouts, barely alive, barely able too speak, naked she asked for a priestess of Hanali Celanil and that was the last heard of her. Now almost six years.<br/>The priestess’s of Hanali would not deny she was in their care and gave us confirmation that the lich had been destroyed by Arainna when she drove her sword into its power. They have steadfastly refused any visitors to Arainna.<br/>Then just last month a report reached us of a paladin calling herself Arainna Crystalwind fighting a weak lord to allow his daughter to love her choice and barely winning.<br/>I do not know what too make of all this. That is for others to decide.<br/>