Completed White Faith

[Theo Popcampio]

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Sixty-fifth of Winter, 515 AV

Theo had spent a good deal of time in meditation since he met the ghost children Trevor and Yana. When Theo had first rekindled his relationship with Walden the memories, or perhaps the feelings of memories, had come surging back. Old and lost remembrances and apparitions were in his mind when he outset on a journey with his pudgy brother, but now Theo didn’t even have the feeling of such images in his head.

Perhaps the answer scared him, there was some impending doom about the past for Theo. Who was this Lumin character, Uncle Lumin as Walden had called him? Uncle felt like a title when he searched the words, it inferred some kind of superiority. The worst of it was Theo thought he could just be overthinking the entirety of the situation, but his heart new better.

There was consul to be sought amongst the gods in such moments of despair, and although Theo didn’t dwell in prayer often, he felt his heart was pure enough to seek guidance in such dire times. It was on his knees in The Temple of All Gods that Theo found his answer: The representation of Yahal shined brilliantly as soon as he stepped in.

The god of faith and purity stood there with his angel-winged statue, his devotees placing white flowers, evenly spaced crosses, and other signs of purity at his feet. Theo looked down and thought deeply on what the knew of he god, which was little, but he did know Yahal rewarded belief in oneself and the god. Now Theo had faith in his own gut instincts, but now he needed to believe that the god would reward his faith. Theo tried and tried to let the god in, and such efforts felt futile, but then there was a moment of sincere ease brought on by that futility that washed over. Theo looked up, and the light snowflakes glimmered beyond the glass. As Theo looked beyond the illustration on the glass, the trees illustrated into it caught his eye as they were seeming to shine more brightly than the rest of the picture.

[Theo Popcampio]

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Theo had bundled himself up snuggly for the ride, over his armor were thick, crude furs he had on loan from the knights this season. Being broke as he was, it was nice to know that he wouldn’t be unclothed this season, even though the furs were not his. His armor was also on loan, but that was more or less a necessity, and being that he was under the impression he was on some godly quest it seemed mandatory.

The horse under him wasn’t new, he was a trusty old steed, who had earned the name Lucky after all the mishaps he had guided hopeful squires through. Theo couldn’t of picked a better horse for his venture. Now the big horse had his saddle on, and was wobbling the frozen wastes as he had many times before. Theo felt bad that the horse didn’t have any skins to keep him warm, but he had never seen a horse in clothing, perhaps they had other ways to keep the blood flowing.

Lester was actually anxious at the notion of Theo getting out on the track of his brother again, and had volunteered to come along. Theo knew he wouldn’t be able to get the best of Walden, whoever he was, with his mentor present. For one, Walden made obvious his disdain for authority; secondly, Lester was so true of heart that at times he had trouble silencing his own conscious. Theo could relate to Lester in that regard, but this occassion was going to require a bit of discretion. Lester assured his younger that all he must do was send word and he would have his support in a moment.

Theo didn’t know exactly where Walden was, only his general location. The path Trevor had shown Theo a season ago was still relatively fresh in his head, and after some searching, he spotted the same hollow stump that had acted as a marker prior. Theo beat the horse up the path, and the horses trot slowed as they entered more dense snow. Still it was better to ride in such conditions, to save the chance of frostbite. Besides, Theo could never keep up with old Lucky on his feet normally, what would make him think he could outpace him in the snow?

[Theo Popcampio]

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The snow got thicker as they went on, but old Lucky wasn’t going to teeter one bit. It was nice having such a good horse under him for once: The squires always competed over the more tame mains, and so Theo never really had gotten around to riding one, but the Winter had made all a little more hesitant to go out riding; instead, the squires all had taken to books and fires. This worked against Theo, in a way, as he might actually garner some curiosity about his private life for once.

Besides Lester no one knew of Theo’s supposed amnesia; the population's understanding of Theo’s past was more succinct than his own most likely, and it functioned as a point of embarrassment for him. Theo simply knew others wouldn’t understand, not now, being the lowly squire he was he didn’t get the same passes everyone else had. It was only his nurturing mentor that had earned Theo’s trust enough to talk so deeply about his life, and even then Theo held back what Walden had told him.

Walden laughed at death when he first met Theo. He asked Theo how long it had been since he had killed, and it took a while for Walden to realize Theo did not share his same regard for the loss of life. It felt as though Walden knew something about Theo he didn’t know. But as Walden peppered Theo with memories, so did those jokes stop. Fond memories of games from their childhood, but each time Theo regained a memory, one slipped away. They were not lasting, even the most emotional tidbits seemed to drift from thought as soon as they were said. What memories he should've cared for seemed like an absent attempt to establish some saneness in life.

A gust of wind blew through, and it was strong enough that Theo had to grab the reins. Theo must of pulled too harshly as Lucky bucked with the grip. Theo was ejected from his slick saddle, landing with a hampered thud. Theo looked up at Lucky: The horse shared no ill feeling about the incident like a human would, all he wanted was not to be abused. Theo could sympathize with that, unfortunately people rarely had it so easy. Thinking of this, Theo’s mind drifted to the ills of society, the pain that people pass to one another so easily and without regret, and the constant wallowing that came about with it.

Maybe the pessimistic philosopher was drifting from him, or he had reached a new conclusion. Either way, Theo burst from his snowy resting place. He had to be faithful, despite what grievances he had: There was little room for doubt among those seeking to prove their worth before the god of faith; there was no room to waver for those sought answers to great questions.

[Theo Popcampio]

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The air was still cold, but the sense of wayward souls was still not there. Theo felt to see if he could feel the ghost of Walden throughout the forest as he made his way, and still nothing. Perhaps Trevor was a liar, but Theo had better judgment than to doubt his initial perceptions of people. Trevor was oddly like Theo, it had occurred to the living one in recollection, a wise guy with a good heart and little care for pleasantries, only facts.

The winds were picking up and the blur was growing thicker and thicker. As Theo looked behind him, his tracks dissipated almost instantly; lucky for him, Theo had walked a straight path the whole way, finding his way back wouldn’t be an issue. Still, the sublime weather was beginning to place seeds of doubt in the worth of the trip. Theo was laughing into the winds as strong they were because he knew he had truly picked an awful day to choose this venture, but Fate chooses when, it was Theo’s decision to choose if.

The path was right, Theo was sure. But Lucky was beginning to wither a little bit with the cold. His trots were getting softer and softer, which Theo did not mind as it made for a smoother ride, but it was beginning to place some doubts in his head as to whether or not the horse could last. Truth be told, someone should have warned him old Lucky wasn’t built for a snowy truck anymore.

It was in these moments that Theo began to notice that the snow was picking up, the flakes growing more dense. Despite his purpose out in the wilderness, it wouldn’t be right to let old Lucky hobble the track any longer. Theo turned his horse around, maybe the god and his future self would understand, maybe not, but he wasn’t going to let an innocent’s life rest on his conscious. If purity was what Theo thought it was, Yahal would understand.

[Theo Popcampio]

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Theo and Lucky were finding that their journey back was turning out to be more tumultuous than they ever could have expected. Perhaps Theo had left at an odd point in the day, but the snow he could swear was twice as bad as when he left. The laughter in the wind could no longer be heard over the long, deep gusts, and the wind seemed to mock him with each passing blow. Looking at the complete loss of tracks, for Theo it was not a question of whether or not Lucky would make it back, but whether or not he would make it back now.

Perhaps Theo’s thoughts were selfish, but his actions dictated otherwise. For a while he treaded the path, leading the horse dismounted, but it was only futile he realized. Theo could feel it in the horse’s energy, it was not the loss of energy but rather the cold stilling Lucky’s very movements. Theo mounted the horse, and tried to get some life into Lucky’s legs. He was happy to be off the ground, and the horse seemed to have some renewed vigor. There was even a break in the snow, and Theo thought to turn back around, but he knew such was wishful thinking.

It was in this new state of glee that Theo made a crucial error: He store the two down a break in the wood that wasn’t the one from which they came. It wasn’t until the trees encircled him that Theo realized that his mistake, and by then they had wandered down the path for a quarter of an hour. Luckily, with the snow and wind dying for a brief moment, Theo was able to make out the tracks back. Still, it was a half hour they could of ill afford to lose, and Theo and Lucky lost their renewed vigor with the detour.

Theo could remember when he and Walden got lost on their truck to the great city of Syliras, how Walden had shown his first signs of weakness then. The man who laughed at death worried for his life out in the wilderness. Faithless he was. He hadn’t the courage to go foraging for food out of fear for his selfish life. Theo had all but forgotten his revelation of persistence: He foraged some berries and found a rabbit hole for them to eat from. Difficult as it was, they managed to avoid the mania of hunger in those moments because Theo kept walking the straight path for the both of them.

When they finally rejoined the path, Theo patted Lucky for a job well done, perhaps they were going to make it out after all.

[Theo Popcampio]

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The path grew thinner and less promising as the truck wore on. Despite the now light snowfall, Theo felt the horse under him was wearing down. The vigor was lost in the beast. The trots got more and more spaced, until Theo could tell that the horse no longer could carry him. He dismounted and decided to lead Lucky by the reins. It was fortunate that he did, as the horse slowed even further, its very legs gave out under it, and Lucky collapsed in diagonal fall forward.

“No, no, no!” Theo rushed to his knees beside the horse, trying to gently pull Lucky back to his feet. “Comeon, Luck’, we’re almost there, you just have to go a little more,” Theo lied. But it was of no use, horses were ordinarily stubborn to Theo, the fact that Lucky was dying would be of no help. Theo began taking off the saddle in a desperate hope that maybe removing some of the weight would make the horse free again. As he tried to get the leather out from under the horse, he saw that Lucky had pinned his leg underneath himself.

“Damn horse, why’d they have to send you out here with me?” The leg was twisted in an ugly way, he couldn’t see it but Theo assumed the bone had broken the skin. What surprised Theo is the horse was awake and hadn’t complained one bit. Maybe it was too tired to cry, or ready for death. Regardless, Theo did feel some responsibility for the horses suffering. Now he he had no idea what to do, he could let the horse die naturally, but wolves might catch Lucky before he was fortunate enough to pass.

Theo knew what he had to do. Killing men was easy, they, for the most part, could have their deaths justified, but Lucky never had the chance to be corrupted. There was a tear brewing in ol’ Luck’s eye now, and Popcampio couldn’t stand it any more, this wasn’t right for him to have this moral crisis while the beast lie there, actively withering. He drew the cold iron blade from his back, and lined the blade up with the horse’s upper neck. There was a few trial runs done, Theo wanted to be absolutely sure he would cut clean through. When he did the act it was done without even a sound from the horse.

The young knight stepped on the blade to ensure it went all the way through, and pulled it back. Lucky was two now, and blood began to pool in the bright snow. Theo said a silent prayer for the horse. He felt he had done a good thing. Yahal was first in his mind among the gods. It felt odd knowing that giving death could be so righteous, but Theo had belief in his own moral compass.

[Theo Popcampio]

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He had come out to the snowy wonder of Syliras to learn more of his past, but Theo felt he had only learned of himself here. Whatever secrets about his life Walden held were taken to the grave, and Theo was beginning to doubt if he knew enough about ghosts to even tackle Walden’s apparition the way he would wish. So he thought as he stepped his lonely self on the track home. Perhaps why Theo had been given such a sign, he thought, to learn that he must be stronger before he tackled his pass.

It was in these moments that Theo, very much unlike himself, was looking at the ground as he walked, watching every little snowflake join the infinite. He would of been totally caught off guard by the wolf, but his peripheral vision was loyal to him this faithful day. Without thought he drew and raised his blade. The wolf stood its ground, and Theo knew he had just entered a savage stare down. The wolf held its head down, he was ready to move the instant Theo made his. Theo was wary, while he was sure he could strike the beast down, Popcampio wondered if he would get the chance. Wolves were quick, keen creatures that required skill to be defeated. What was worse is that they were never alone, more were sure to follow in this one’s wake.

Then, in what seemed like a touch of divinity, realized he didn’t have to draw blood again that day. He pooled up some rez and let a great ball of it swirl in his hand and smeared it all over his sword. Theo then cast the sword aflame and began waving it at the wolf, just incase he was going to get bold. The creature, obviously fearful of the magic, ran quickly off into the distance, Theo watched the whole thing with a sense of joy and relief.

When Theo got back in town he immediately headed to Lester’s, expecting to tell his tale. But Theo got told one instead: Apparently a locket had been dropped off at Lester’s that same time Theo had left the walls. It was odd, but what was odder was when he fiddled with the locket enough it clicked and revealed a false compartment, inscribed in which were the words, “To ..., follow your heart always. - J.M.” The name had been shaved clean off the bronze, the one part of the locket that still shined.

The locket seemed old or like it had been lost or uncared for. Theo rubbed the lettering, perhaps trying to make the meaning clearer as he cleared the bronze of old grime. Flipping the makeshift compartment closed, Theo looked at the true side of the locket. Inscribed in this side there was the profile of an eagle, a symbol of freedom for Theo.

"What do you think it means?" Theo asked Lester.

"I haven't the slightest idea, but it was meant for you, the courier said so. Mind if I take a look?" Lester took it, inspecting the locket. "Say, look behind the eagle, do you see that?"

Theo took it again, he twisted the locket so the brightness of the candlelight allowed him to see it clearly. Behind the eagle seemed to be a drawing, "Do you think it's a map?" Looking closer, Theo noted that the eagle's eye seemed to correlate with a marking on the map, made even more obvious by the fact that the eye itself was an x. "I think this would better be looked at by an expert. Thank you, Ser Vey."

"Anytime, Theo."

Theo closed the door, leaving his mentor's place, nothing but confused. "Why me? I go out searching for more answers, and all I get is more questions. Perhaps that's the nature of the gods." That night, Theo struggled to sleep, and what sleep he did get plagued him with horrid dreams that were perhaps visions of an awful past.

[Konrad Venger]

Nice job! Your work has pleased The Sloth! Theo XP: Observation - 3 Philossophy - 1 Riding - 2 Planning - 1 Endurance - 2 Reimancy - 1 Logic - 1 Lore: Yahal: Rewards Belief in Yourself Ser Lester: An Anxious Patron Walden: A Living Enigma Lucky: Good Horse (Past Tense) Reimancy: As Good for Show as Application Logic: Purpose of The Locket Additional: +1 Engraved Locket Click Me! : Meh, not bad at all, mate! I thought you rushed a few places here and there, but now I'm intrigued as to the path Theo is taking, his journey and determination to find out about his path. Had to admit, I winced when you had to put down Ol' Lucky. Gotta love the irony, though... Oh, and please make sure you go back and edit your post in the Request Thread to reflect the fact this one is now done and dusted. PM me with any questions and later 'tater!