The Noble Girl

From Noble, to Bravery

I have been a Priest at this small church, built in the honour of Lux, for quite some time, but yet, have I met a girl quite as unique, and intriguing as my time with this young noble girl, Joan Dormé. As I sit here, my Chillpetal tea rests with not a single ripple, unlike my mind. My name is Jacque Pagel, and I was the man responsible for the noble orphan girl Joan. I write this today, as both an entry to my journal, and as an inspirational tale to those who believe they may be nothing but what they are labelled as.

I shall begin as to the day that she arrived to my humble church, and told me as to why she ended up in my care. Joan had been the daughter of the Mayor of Dormé, and his noble wife. She had been educated in her home, cared for in her home, entertained in her home, and only left to interact with the commoners of the village, when her mother went shopping. However, one day her mother was feeling ill, and had sent Joan out on her own. While Joan was absent from her home, everything she knew was to be engulfed in a horrible fire. This fire had been set by one of the servants of the home, who set it in revenge for being fired. This left young Joan with no home, no parents, no relatives, and no hope. Yes she still held her Noble title, but with her being too young, she could not inherit any form of wealth till she became of age. This resulted in her standing before my desk, with only her elegant silk dress of yellow and greys, her sky blue family scarf, and tears on her face as she explained her circumstance.

Joan's first few nights could only be described as pure agony and torture. She hid in closets, refused to talk to anyone, and cried till she would pass out. Even after coming out of her depressed state, she still refused to eat, go outdoors, or to play or talk to any of the other children. Joan would complain of the quality of the food, the lack of a full bed, and the smell of the old stone. This made her an early target of ridicule and insults of the other children, many of whom were of the commoners. They would tease Joan, call her Princess, spit in her food, and I even recall an account when a young boy stole her only dress, and cut it up into many small squares saying, "I made you some fine silk napkins m'lady, just so you may wipe your face when it's full of noble cake!". The children were harsh, and as believers of Lux, we could only remind them of his teachings, and to inspire Joan to become a better person, not torment her.

With such a closed in childhood in her noble home, and so much rejection from her fellow orphans in the church, Joan never developed proper social skills. When I would take her out once she became older, I would have her chat with the shop owners and merchants, however, if they talked of anything other than nobility or what we had been teaching her at the church, she would simply not understand or be able to relate. There was even a time when a boy of the same age as her, was trying to invite her to tea, the boy had said, "Joan! Over here, I want you to come over and have some tea, as to allow us to become more acquainted."

Joan store at the boy, "But we are already acquainted, and I already had tea with Priest Paqel."

"But I was hoping you could come and grace me with your presence! I wish to court you for you are as beautiful as the sky and snow!", the boy replied,

"But I am not holy, nor could I be beautiful like the sky and snow! I am a person, not not snow. As well, why would you court me? Did I commit a crime onto you?" Joan replied with more confusion than was acceptable.

The boy eventually gave up on his attempts, and walked off shaking his head. Joan would later spend the evening asking me question after question as the what he had meant. I explained as best as I could, but she simply did not understand. This led many to believe that she had the intellect of a goblin, but I knew better, and that was she was as smart as any, but just that the concepts of human interactions were almost foreign to her.

By the time Joan had turned 8, she had become fluent in the writings of Lux, and had asked if she could become a part of the church. Expressing her amazement of the strengths and heroism of Lux, she said she wished to become like him. She said that she wanted to inspire hope in people, and not hate. I felt a slight smile across my face, I agreed, and put forth for her acceptance as a priest of the church. Her new duties called for her to venture to the village and aid those in need, may it be enlightenment, medicinal, or labour.

At the age of 10, Joan showed one day while out helping repair a home, a strength that should of been too great for a girl of her size. She was still a frail, thin, noble girl, but she lifted timber twice her weight! When I asked her how she was so strong, she replied, "I prayed to Lux, to allow me to do the things needed to help and inspire. That is all brother Paqel."

This was awe inspiring, in all my lifetime, I had not seen till then, anyone ever receive a gift from Lux! To be bestowed with this strength, she must truly of been in touch with Lux. I inquired to the church to start training her to become a paladin of the order, and had a message sent to the Order of Lux itself. I quickly received a message back, asking if she had shown any aspect of the courage and bravery needed to become a paladin. I froze up… Yes Joan had the strength from Lux himself, but if she could not express any bravery or courage needed, then it could only mean that it was a one time intervention from Lux. I would have to wait to see Joan prove herself. This opportunity would show itself during the coming winter.

I had sent Joan on a task to deliver bread to a small home on the outskirts of the village, and had Priest Upton and Priest LaCroix accompany her. The story Brother Upton came back with was what would prove Joan's bravery. When the two arrived at the home, it was quiet and had a lifeless chill that blew out of the home. No lights were lit, and the door was wide open. The three of them entered the home, bread in hand, and found that the home looked ransacked, and faint blood trails led to a small cellar door under a table. Brother LaCroix expressed that they should leave the premise and return with the guard, or even a paladin. Brother Upton agreed, however, Joan, expressed that the owner of the home could simply be a butcher, and was in his basement working. She opened the door, and the stench of corpses and death filled all three priests nostrils. Brother LaCroix vomited and began to panic. Joan simply kept on her way, determined to deliver the bread, stepping down the stairs into the darkness. Brother Upton followed quickly while Brother LaCroix hesitated, but followed suite for fear of being alone. The basement they entered, would stretch into a long dirt hallway with torches lining the walls. They eventually came to a large room, illuminated by blue flamed fires. In the centre was a stone table with a dead body laid across it, and a man in black rope chanting above it. Dead bodies lined the walls, and a sense of pure darkness overcame the three. Joan immediately dropped her bread, and like an animistic instinct, she reached for the nearest body with a sword attached, and drew it, charging for the black robed man. The man turned around and smirked, waving his hand in the air as to brush Joan aside, shooting a fireball out of his hand. Joan quickly ducked and leapt forward, using both her hand upon the hilt of the sword to plunge it into his heart. Just before the sword pierced his skin, the sword shined into a sun like glow. They both stood still, Joan on one knee, pressing the sword into the man's heart, and a face of disbelief upon the black robed man. He eventually coughed up a single mouth of blood, and collapsed backwards, sliding off of Joan's sword. Joan then stood, and began to pray to Lux. Brother Upton and LaCroix stood in fear and disbelief. They watched Joan pray for the redemption of this man's soul to Lux and the light. As the smouldering remains of the fireball still smoked next to the priests at the doorway, the body on the stone table quietly rose, drawing no attention from anyone, and reached for Joan. It grabbed her by the hair and yanked her towards itself. Brother Upton and Brother LaCroix yelled in desperation to help and rushed to aid Joan. Joan however, did no scream or yelp, instead, she flung the sword in an upward ark, cutting the corpses army off, black goo oozing out of it's now stump limb. It wailed a horrible undead cry, and went to swipe with it's other arm, Joan blocked and grabbed the arm, twisting it at the elbow till it ripped off, and proceeded with a finishing blow to chop off the head.

When I had the chance, I approached Joan and asked how and why she rushed so hastily to defeat the necromancer, when it was normally meant for a priest to retreat and fetch a paladin. Joan responded with, "I could not let an agent of Tenebris bring the dead back to life, and a man who had began doing so was far too far along the path of Tenebris to be redeemed by myself, and only by Lux. If we were to run, he surely would of killed myself and my two brothers, and raise an army that would of overran the village."

This proved Joan's courage, and her destiny to become a paladin. She soon became the hero of Dormé, and began her training to become a paladin. The children that who use to bully Joan, quickly came to worship her as an agent of Lux.

Joan was but a young, sad, crying noble girl when she came to me that first day, buton the last day, when she left for Northwood to begin her quest as a paladin, she left as the brave hero of Dormé. That was the last time I saw, The Noble Girl.