Baldur's Gate : The Sword Coast Chronicles : NWN2 Persistent World

background flashback, not a journal entry, for flavor :

Champion Throm looks stern and says " Solarina it is our judgement that you be sent away from this temple, you have become to close to one of the new priests in training and he errs in his ways around you. Simply put young thadius cannot learn of duty when his mind does wander to things. . . well you get the idea pack your stuff, we are sending you to Baulders gate "

* Solarina looks down red faced at this *

Champion Throm looks soften and says " Child, I do not reproach ye, understand this. These times we are in are troubling, and we need to train Thadius well, and this will not go well with your influence around him. His talent with magic will suit us well, but he must learn first the core beliefs. You may seek him again child, when his training is done"

Solarina looks up and says " You are right, I had no right to accept his advances, not with what he must partake, in these times. I was Foolish and forgot what I hold most dear Champion Throm, the code."

Champion Throm says " do you still know the code by heart Solarina? Tell me it "

Solarina Looks at Champion Throm and repeats the code:

Be the champion of the weak and the defenseless.
Be stern, unyielding and unswerving in your battles with evil.
Obey your masters with alert judgment and anticipation.
Serve the common good and the rule law established by honorable rulers.
Seek prowess and skill in all endeavors.
Stand ever alert against corruption.
Every failure of duty diminishes Torm and every success adds to his luster.
Be ever mindful of the code, and use them in your actions to swiftly enact justice.

Champion Throm Looks at her " And how did ye break the code child? "

Solarina says " Corruption. I let my own desires and that of our young novices desires to corrupt my ability to serve, to fulfill all of my duty's, and in so diminished Torm, but mostly myself. "

Champion Throm says " Child, you followed your heart, I cannot fault ye in this completely child, let this be a lesson to you, that following your heart is not always the way, the heart can lead to losing ones way if we follow it blindly. We do not serve Torms will with just our hearts, sometimes duty will my child tax thy heart heavily. Sometimes your duty's my child will carry a great weight. This my child is but a taste of that weight. Do you think I enjoy all of my duty's? No child, I would by lying to say such. But we do what we must, it is a long hard road at times, but if ye open your heart to will of Torm, he will lighten your burden child. Go now child and seek out others of the faith, this region can use you. The place I am sending you to will also strengthen you with what you endure. "

Solarina leaves without a word, her meager possessions she packs, including a stone etching of Thadius into a beaten rough pack. She thinks of the Champions words and knows he is right. Yet still as she turns facing the temple and the grounds, several tears flow down her face, leaving the temple she spent so much of her life at, leaving behind the first man she grew to have the beginnings of feelings for, no more then beginning, tore at her heart strings.

She then gives herself a look of disgust upon seeing a tear hit her hand, and vows to cease and lets her heart harden, pushing pushing away thoughts of home, of love, and instead starts to focus on the long hard road ahead, the unknown before her.

She boards the ship and it sets sail to Baulders Gate. The journey sickens her at first then she grows accustomed to the seas. One night while on deck she fingers the stone etching of young Thadius, then flings it into the sea. She fights one lone tear, and a pain in her chest, and also fights a pain of a different type, that of her conscious when she says to herself "this is the right thing".

That one lone tear never comes down her face, never leaves her eye. Her demeanor tightens. Her heart hardens, and part of the girl who dreamed died on that deck. With the death of dreams, comes the birth of something else. The birth of duty, alert judgment, obedience and of penance..... but at what cost to this young lady who can say. She now believes in something else, and fills the void of what she killed inside herself with church dogma.

It was the loneliest night for her in her life. The twinkle her eyes one held turned into a piercing stare, one the weighs those she meets, devoid of affection or warmth. Those things she knows to be the precursor to failure, internal weakness, that which clouds the minds eye to the light and the way.

Leaving behind a part of herself, she sets foot in Baulders Gate and looks sternly around herself, and sets down her path.

Solarina heads to meet the champion of Torm on a hillside. " I am ready to become a war priestess and I am ready for my challenge and test , my new home may have need of me". The champion looks at her for a few moments then tells her " repeat the code and the way "


Be the champion of the weak and the defenseless.
Be stern, unyielding and unswerving in your battles with evil.
Obey your masters with alert judgment and anticipation.
Serve the common good and the rule law established by honorable rulers.
Seek prowess and skill in all endeavors.
Stand ever alert against corruption.
Every failure of duty diminishes Torm and every success adds to his luster.
Be ever mindful of the code, and use them in your actions to swiftly enact justice.


Precepts of the Code:

Be the champion of the weak and the defenseless. Your duty is to those who lack the power you wield. Care for the sick and aid the distressed. Be an example to the young. Protect your friends. Be generous in so far as your resources allow. There are two things that will blemish the faithful, and these are riches and pride. If one but remains in strained circumstances, he will not be marred.

Be stern, unyielding and unswerving in your battles with evil. Make war upon evil and injustice without cessation. Do not recoil before the enemy, but let your wrath undo the wicked. Seek not only courage, but also wisdom to see that stupidity and courage are cousins. Courage also means taking the side of truth in all matters, rather than seeking the expedient lie.

Obey your masters with alert judgment and anticipation. Trust in your master, for his duty to you is given by Torm, serve him as though your own body were already dead, and you will be one man in a thousand. There are many places where compromise is expected; loyalty is not amongst them. If your path is without mortal master, let Torm and his code guide your steps.

Serve the common good and the rule law established by honorable rulers. Your fourfold duties are to faith, family, masters, and all good being of Faerun. Strive to maintain law and order. Question unjust laws by suggesting improvement or alternatives, not additional laws.

Seek prowess and skill in all endeavors. Throughout your life, advance daily, becoming more skillful than yesterday, more skillful than today so that your strength may be used in the service of the Triad, rather than in personal aggrandizement. This is never ending.

Stand ever alert against corruption. Strike quickly and forcefully against the rot in the hearts of mortals. Avoid all excesses and seek to defeat hubris, gullibility and ignorance within yourself. Purpose and discipline clear the mind. Your breath should only bring truth, always be faithful to your word. Bring painful, quick death to traitors.

Every failure of duty diminishes Torm and every success adds to his luster. Stand firm in your beliefs, for this faith roots you and gives hope against despair. In the midst of a single breath, where only goodness is held, is the way of Torm. But there is no one who can understand this clarity at first. Purity is something that cannot be attained except by piling effort upon effort.

Be ever mindful of the code, and use them in your actions to swiftly enact justice. The church of Tyr and Ilmater are the mind and heart of the Triad, bringing judgment and compassion to men. The church of Torm is the mighty hand of the Triad, swiftly enacting their wisdom. Hold to the virtues and duties of the code, realizing that though the ideals cannot be reached, the quality of striving towards them ennobles the spirit. In confronting difficult matters, if at first you leave it alone, fix the code in your heart, exclude self-interest, and make an effort, you will not go far from your mark.

The champion looks at her and tells her " very good, and i see the fire in your eyes young one, your task for the rites are to obtain the heart of a powerful creature, one that will test your skills and your mind to defeat "

Solarina asks " what creature ? "

The champion looks at her and says " that is up to you to figure out a suitable one , pick wisely , failure is not an option "

With that she packs away her things at the campsite and heads back to Baulders gate. Along the way she runs into Thalandon. "Thalandon how goes your evening sir ?" He would look at her and exchange some small talk. Solarina would then tell him of her task at hand and explain her absence from the region. " I know of just such a creature, come " with that they trekked to Durlags tower, meeting kaltrya along the way. They fought a savage battle against the Black Dragon, in the end solarina and the party slew the beast and she took its heart.

" i will need to take this to the priest at the temple , then my rites and initiation will begin, or i will be turned away due to lack of a proper heart to be a war priestess of torm. I've the book learning and the will, but the test much be compleate to weigh my worth "

With that she heads to the temple in baulders gate, bidding thalandon thanks and a farewell.