[Thank you, gods, for the quick recovery ability, didn’t think I would need it but hell, at least they were both asleep now, I don’t think I would have survived without it]
Blake looked down at the two women resting against him, contently smiling as they slept. He carefully raised his left arm “Open rank” he whispered as the window popped open above them.
Name: Blake Winters. Class: Paladin. Race: human. Current power rank: 34. Energy points: 100/100
Health points: 100, Spell Points: 15/75, Spell Power: 26. Energy points: 100/100
Strength: 36, Dexterity: 22, Constitution: 25,
Intelligence: 25, Wisdom: 25, Charisma: 29,
Trust: 12, Faith: 2, Honor: 6.
Skills: Halberd proficiency(trained), longsword proficiency(trained), bow proficiency(trained), heavy armor proficiency(trained), shield combat proficiency(trained), basic light magic, Basic holy magic, magic proficiency(trained).
Abilities: Power strike, smite, rend, shield slam, heavy guard, heal, cure conditions, dispel curses, dispel magic, quick recovery, holy blessing, holy ward, holy shield, judge’s eye (passive).
Blessings: Language comprehension (4 hours), Blessing of the Long Breath, Blessing of Life tongue, Blessing of the Peerless, Blessing of the Indomitable (2%), Divine Emissary (Justice, Honor, Life), Blessing of farewells x 2.
Blake looked over and check to see what some of his new toys did, as he was curious.
Blessing of Life tongue: this blessing allows you to understand and be understood by any creature with a spoken language, you can also read and write all racial scripts of active races on this plane.
Divine Emissary: active religious members of the divine realm you have will recognize you and aid you as best they can without jeopardizing their congregation.
Blessing of the Indomitable: your resistance to damage is increased the closer you are to the completion of a goal, the goal must be one or more injustices you have witnessed or are aware of that need to be undone. Current bonus: 2% (Slavery).
Blessing of farewells: you are not slated to die before seeing the woman you had spent the night with, you have gained a 0.001% health, spell points, and stamina recovery rate every second.
Blessing of the Long Breath: your body's aging has been slowed to one year equaling a century, and you are only eligible for death by aging when your body reaches the age of three hundred, your body will not deteriorate after the age of thirty.
Holy blessing: you can coat your weapon in a divine aura that will inflict greater damage on an enemy. The effect can work on more people based on spell power. Spell point drain: 0.01 per second.
Holy ward: you can protect yourself or others from stats conditions and magic effects that are of lesser or equal to your holy magic skill, The effect can work more people based on spell power. Spell point drain: 0.01 per second.
Holy Shield: you can create a barrier of holy magic to protect from up to five sources of damage every five seconds, the strength of the barrier is equal to spell power, Spell point drain: 0.01 per second.
Heavy guard: you can draw the attention of non-friendly and neutral entities to you by force for five minutes if they can see you and will be forced to follow you for the duration, unable to leave a range of two hundred feet.
[hmm, that's cool, the farewell thing is sort of like divination, looks like I will get to see them again even after I leave, and looks like I don’t need the language thing now that I have Geie’s blessing. Why did they call her the goddess of lovers though, must have been a cultural shift or something…] Blake’s mind did some quick math. [300X100=30,000…, fuck me, I’ll be out living everyone i meet at that rate…]
Blake closed his eyes as he went to sleep. His mind wandered through his memories of old, recalling his past life, his school bus and the thousands or so kids that he drove, his friends and the times he had with them. He had lived a good life there, got to see the world, and met interesting people from many walks of life, and he didn’t regret any of it. But he wished he could have found love.
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As he woke up, the two are already up and getting dressed again, “Morning, Clarice and Juillet.” he groaned as he sat up and swung his feet off the bed.
“Morning, I have to run and check on Mother, see you later Juillet.” Clarice said as she headed out the door.
“Yeah, see you later,” Juillet called back then looked at Blake, and walked over pressing him back while mounting him, “And good morning to you, Blake Winters. I still don’t understand what this paladin is, but you are the first man to satisfy my appetite.” She said as she pulled him into a kiss. Then pulled away and stood back up. “I’ll go get your last provisions ready now, I feel like you would want to go sooner rather than later.” she gave him a wink as she walked out the door.
Blake was left sitting there and got a bit curious, so checked his stats once before he got dressed and left, after seeing no changes to his score, or blessings. After properly donning all his equipment he walked out the door and got down into the dining area. He was happy to see that no one paid him any mind as he collected his supplies from Juillet and walked out, thinking over his next action, he chose to find any shrine to the three gods that had blessed him, after a few questions he found his way to a cluster of large temples to the whole of the human pantheon, stepping inside to what he was told was a temple to Geie, and he saw her statue, a few men tried to stop him from walking in with his halberd but a high priest told them not to interfere.
As Blake reached the foot of the statue he kneeled and rested his halberd at his feet, “Dear goddess of life, mother of the first breath to all who call these lands home, I beseech you to give me guidance and protection in my journey and help me reach my goals. Almighty Geie, Mistress of Life grant me your protection as I watch over your flocks.” Blake said automatically, the words flowing from him instantly.
The was a dead silence before a light of a thousand colors bathed him, making those inside gasp at the display of true divine favor. Blake felt his tiredness that lingered from the morning vanish, and his hunger and thirst dissipate before the light dwindled away. He slowly stood back up using his halberd’s shaft as a handhold and turn to walk away. As different people came to their knees next to him, each asking and pleading for a blessing, taking him as some kind of favor by the goddess.
He walked right past them and across the square as a small group followed along as he walk up the steps to the war goddess’s temple, where again some of the younger men moved to stop him, and again he reached the statue of Jal, this time he stood tall and proud his halberd extended to her, “Great goddess of battle and mistress of honorable combat, I seek your guidance in my travels, gift me your peerless aim and strength so that I may wield my weapon to guard and protect your flocks from the honorless, oh mighty Jal hear my prayer.” he again said on auto, the words forming for him as he spoke, and again a dead silence as people watched him. Then came a boom of a drum and a second until the room was filled with an ethereal war chant and a light emanated from the halberd’s head. And then the chant and light stopped, Blake turned around and walked back out and to a disheveled temple next to the temple of the god of magic.
Here the statue of the god was defaced, and there was evidence of vandalism, but Blake didn’t stop, he walked up to a headless statue in a chair, put down his weapon again, and got on both knees bowing with his head down, and hands placed of the dust-covered floor, the crowd behind him whispering as they walk in following him.
“Oh mighty god of justice, lord judge of the heavens, great Jaud, I swear to carry out your will in this world, I swear to find those who have twisted your codes to fill their hands with greed. I will hunt down those who have stolen the rights you have given to all. I will right the pain and hate that your charges have caused. And know that each head that I make roll will be done so in your name,” Blake said out loud for the crowd to hear, “I will be the blade of the gods that wards the freedoms of the common man and know that if you're just, you have nothing to fear, for my blade, is for the foul and wicked.” he rose as the temple shook and light poured from the statue his silhouette leaves his form shadowed as his eyes glowed with a maelstrom of all the powers the gods had given him. “I am a Paladin of Jaud, Jal, and Geie, and I will not allow for slavery to live in this land, let this word be heard, in three years I will return, and with me comes death to the masters lest they relinquish their whips and free the children of the gods.” he roared, and his voice thundered out and over the mass. Each and every one ran away or fell to their knees begging to be forgiven. “Freedom of your slaves is your only salvation” His voice sounded more alike to Jaud than Blake’s now, but it was fine. Making the last few ran away in panic, his eyes landing on a pair, the man was on the floor begging and calling for the woman before him to stop Blake.
Blake’s eyes lingered on the woman, and he raised his right hand to her, “I, Blake Winters give you freedom, return to your lands and spread my message. Dispel magic, dispel curse.” he said as the woman breathed out in relief as the pain at her hesitation to attack vanished. Her eyes landed on him, a glint of gratitude in her eye before running out of the temple at full speed.
Blake shifted to the man, he was dressed in well-made clothes and was crawling away from him. “If you wish to see your grandchildren then free all slaves of your house, gift them the means to return to their home, and never seek new slaves, that is the only path to mercy I offer.” he said before taking up his halberd and walking out, the light of the statue and power of his voice washing away as he made distance with the statue and the temple.
As Blake walked over to the north gate, he saw that a few people were running around warning people of him and his declaration. Finally finding a pair of guards who rushed over to Blake, they own halberds at the ready, and one looked at him with malice while the other showed fear.
“Stop in the name of the king” The Angered guard commanded as his stance shifted a bit to point the pike of his weapon at Blake.
“Do you own a slave, guardsmen?” Blake asked back, his hands shifting his own halberd in back to be ready and grasping with both hands.
“Yeah, and I love it, but you have declared war on this nation, and I will defend it.” The angry one roared back.
“Do you have a wife?” Blake asked again his stance not shifting, “Does he know who she is?” he nodded to the fearful one.
The angry one glared with disdain while the other fearful one nodded, both are true in Blake’s eyes.
“And you guardsmen do you own a slave?” Blake shifted his eyes to watch the fearful guard.
He shook his head, and silently answer truthfully.
Blake smiled, “Then remember to inform her of the fate of her husband, for his sin was that of being a slave owner.” Blake hefted his weapon over his head, “holy blessing, holy ward, holy shield” he whispered as the angry guard rushed forward, only to find the point of his weapon stopped about two feet from Blake's abdomen. “Smite.” he bellowed as he brought the bladed side down.
As it came down the guard was skilled enough to bring his weapon up to block, however as Blake’s weapon connected, the blade cut past blocking metal, armor, and flesh with ease as a blinding light searing every mote of the man, his soul rendered in a flash from the world, and obliterating the guard's equipment, leaving a small and shallow crater where the guard once stood.
Blake shouldered his halberd and walked forward, past the now petrified guard, the crowd of lookers watching parting for him as he walked out the gate and onto the open road. His feet carried him north, the open breeze cutting under his auburn hair, his teal eyes scanning the horizon, this will be a good beginning to his journey and a wide grin formed at the idea that he may actually have fun again after the kingdom sees reason.