Warm steel shifts against the stonework of Torm's Temple, nestled in the corner of the temple district within the city of Baldur's Gate. Metal gauntlets collide as the leather gloves interlace into each other in reverence and prayer. The hall is quiet, save for the whispered mutterings of the man kneeled in front of the altar. His face is pulled together in fierce determination, eyes shut tightly as his words linger in the air for but a moment before vanishing into the ether. He hoped his Lord heard him. To guide him where he needed to go. The last week here at the Gate has been extraordinary in both learning and error and he was convinced, no, certain that he was pulled to this city and this region by His will.
If only he could grasp as to why.
If only he could understand what he was to do.
If only he could see the path forged ahead.
He needed answers, but rarely are the answers given quickly the correct ones.
Vaston Reynolt collected himself from the floor and placed a hand upon the altar in silent benediction. After a moment, he turned walking back down the hall to take his seat in one of the pews where a book rested. It was an old tomb. One that had seen many years and many hands pass over it. It was a treatise on the Triad, written well before Torm's fall and inevitable rise, but the tenants it espoused stood the test of time. He had just begun to read it, though at first he did not understand why he was compelled to. He needed answers, of course, but to what questions? He hoped, perhaps, in time, he would be able to ask.
Heavy-plated footfalls descended the stair, followed by the sound of a door easing open as Gaven stepped into the main hall of worship, a place open to any who sought solace. His storm-gray gaze settled upon the man seated within. He glanced to the tome in use, then to the pew and the space where it had once rested, quietly noting its placement.
"I had wondered if that might find use. I'm glad to see it has. Vastan, a pleasure to see you again. Welcome to the Temple of the True and Loyal Fury. Do pardon the intrusion, if I am interrupting prayer or meditation."
He stepped toward the altar, lowered to a knee, and offered a quiet prayer before rising with a bowed head. His gaze turned to Ria, and a silent nod of greeting was offered. Then he moved to his customary place beside the pillar, eyes returning to Vastan in quiet regard.
Vastan was reading through several of the passages as he heard the footfalls. The words spoke of service and duty and how justice must be metted out but tempered with understanding and mercy. He surmised that the book offered a more broad vision at first before delving into specifics, but even a tome as large as this would be hard pressed to cover everything in fine detail.
His eyes left the pages as Ser Gaven entered the prayer hall, meeting his gaze and offering a warm smile in return. Vastan placed a silk ribbon in between the pages and closed the book, rising to meet Gaven as he came back from the Altar.
"Not interrupting at all, Ser. It is good to see you again." He offered with a bow of his head. "As for this, yes. Lady Ria provided it to me. Do you have a favorite passage?"
Vastan came to join him near the pillar so that they may speak in whispered voices to not disturb any others who would seek solace in the halls.
"I've been doing a bit of thinking recently, actually. Especially since our talk outside of the Friendly Arms. The way you speak of the Triad, and how your conviction to these tenants is beyond doubt is something I've not seen even at the temple of my home, save for the most devout." He sighed lightly, glancing back toward the altar and the large book beyond it, the Penance of Duty. "It's warming to the heart to see the Faith represented as such. I've dedicated my life to the sword, shirking my responsibilities of study and... it somehow feels like im a glass half empty."
He whispers the last bit with an even softer voice, as if ashamed of himself and bringing his discomfort to voice somehow made it more true. He turned back toward Gaven. "I suppose im trying to look for answers in this old, dusty tome."
"Favorite passage. ." He pondered quietly for some moments, his weight shifted from one foot to the other. "In truth the Threefold Oath of the Triadic Knight, that I spoke to you before. Justice, tempered by Mercy. Alleviate Suffering through Courage. Deliver duty, so long as it is Righteous." He rubbed the back of his head as he listened to Vastan. "Ye honor me Ser with your words. My only aim is to do right by my Oath and path."
He followed his gaze towards the Penance. "I can understand that I will say, my path was not wrapped in book or page as much as others perhaps. But I have found my steps and had some aid in more recent times than I did long before it. But I have only ever learned in practice. We all differ in how we learn, that does nay make any lesser as all are learning."
He nodded a few times. "In times of uncertainty, I too have looked to the pages as you do, to the Penance. To others. We are Brothers and Sisters upon this path."
Vastan's gaze rested on the Penance for a little while longer, letting Gaven's words linger in the air. "I have heard you speak these words before, when we spoke outside of the Friendly Arms. They. . ." He paused a moment, searching his soul for the words to do it justice. "They seemed to encompass that which I had been feeling but unable to put into words."
He placed the book in the crook of his neck, turning his head back toward Gaven, the soft shimmer of light behind his eyes sparkling in the dimmed hall, torch flames dancing shadows across the wall. He studied Gaven a moment, both him and his words. "It is not that my path is wrapped in the books, but rather a supplement to. When I had volunteered at the Temple of Ilmater, it pained me that I could not bring at least a semblance of comfort to those ailing. I have known only the blade and rending those that would do harm. Little use did I have for diplomacy or a gentle hand." He brings a hand up to chest level, palm facing him. His thumb rubbed lightly across the pads of the others. "In such a simple phrase there is much to unpack. I do not know where my final destination lies, but what I do know, now, is that I will meet it with mercy, justice, temperance, and courage."
He walks back to Ria and hands her the book, murmuring quietly about returning to finish it. Returning to Gaven he offers him a small smile, the edge of his lip curling upward. "Have you eaten?"
"Aye I know that well, it was the same for me. Could nay find the words til it was said to mel." Weight was shifted from one foot to the other, armored hands settled to his sides, right resting on the Lion Pommel of his blade on his right hip as he regarded Vastan still, listening to his words.
"It is a humbling time I have seen when one has enforced the blade and that is all, not taking into account the weight that it carries when it claims another. Then in time that weight increases, some recognize it others do nay. Nay that it is a fault by any measure but we as Brothers and our Sisters should aid those who do nay see it themselves."
The lopsided smile formed on his lips upon his words. "Eaten? Erm. . ." He thought a moment trying to recall. "I uh. . do nay think I have that I can recall."
As if having an omniscient moment regarding the feasting habits of Gaven, Vastan was already pulling out a cylindrical wrapped item, handing it over toward him. It smelled heavenly, a mixture of rich vegetables, the starch from potatoes, butter, and steak. The wrapping did well to mask the majority of it as he handed it over to Gaven. He also pulled out one extra and strode across the sacred hall and handed one to Ria, inclining his head and a murmer of 'he will not accept no as an answer' and a smile. With that, he returned to Gaven's side, a small smile pulling the corner of his mouth up.
"Joy from the Lyre is a wonderful cook and I know how we tend to. . . overwork at times and forget to eat. I've spent long in prayer only to be interrupted by the song of hunger." He offers a quiet chuckle, turning his head toward the side doors. "I have yet to eat mine. I believe we can heat this up over the fire upstairs."
