Marinias knelt in the main hall of the Cathedral of Light, his eyes closed as he muttered a fervent prayer to the god that he had chosen to serve, since he had no memory of anything of his life before three weeks ago when he had awoken here on Imythess, Gregory Faust.

I know you probably don’t know who I am, Shining One, but I know who you are. I need your help. I can’t remember… anything, before three weeks ago. I know that… according to what I have heard around the land, that if anyone can help me, you can, because you are the patron god of my kind. I beg your pardon for bothering you with such a trivial matter, but I have to remember. I fear that it is the lack of my memory that is causing my nightmares. I cannot take too many more of these nightmares, Shining One, and I desparately need your guidance in getting my memory back.

He sighed, and shook his head, standing to his feet. He seriously doubted that Faust would have the time to help him, but if he did, then hopefully his prayer was enough to get a response. He started to head to the door…

Gregory had felt the man's presence, and knew that he was the target of this man's search. The man was sun elf, of close kin to his own moon-elf heritage, and this one appeared to be troubled. The character practically emanated good and frankly, the god would need all the paladins he could get his hands on. He had taken on a large and long set of robes, billowing out around his Sandaled feet as he walk. His hands were resting at his sides, and the sleeves flowed down half a foot past his hands. His robes were open at the front, revealing a pendulum holding his own symbol and a thin silk under-shirt.

As he peer into his cathedral from his room's window, he watched as the man took pair, and the words filled his mind. He had never been much of a mind reader, but when one was praying to him and he acknowledged it, he could hear it very clearly. The man apparently had lost memory of who he was, and he had come to his deity for aid, unfortunately it was not so easy when dealing with the brain. The brain was a marvellous device, and Gregory believed it was not to be trifled with, even by the gods. Quickly and smoothly, the god turned on his heels and made his way down the hall, through the gate, and down the other hall to the cathedral's main chamber, just in time to catch the follower as he was about to leave.

"Memory is a fragile thing, often distorted by time eventually to wear away. Memories are formed by the spirit of a person, and I am no firm believer in bringing them back, myself. I will help you get them back, over time, but it will be by a natural process. Many memories, you will find, will not be good ones, those are the first to return. My name is Gregory Faust, how shall I call you?"

He stopped stock still on hearing that voice. Turning, he bowed deeply. "Shining One. Thank you for giving of your time to appear to me personally." He smiled, and came back upright. The shining one resembled his race's cousins, the moon elves. Apparently he had been informed correctly. He nodded. "You say that it will have to be a natural process? But..." He sighed, and sat back down, thinking. "That will take so long, and if these nightmares continue, I will lose my mind." He shook his head, looking up at him.

"If this is the way it must be, then so be it. I will wait, and pray that my memory returns in time." He sighed, and looked back at the floor. His mind was racing. How can I repay him? He's offered to help me through these difficult times, and yet I have nothing to offer him in return? Unless...

He looked back up. "As thanks, Shining One, would you accept my service? I know not how much I can do, but I will do what I can. Such strength as in my body, I offer it to your following," he said, answering a mental prompt that crashed through his brain.

Gregory studied the elf before him. A bow adorned the man's back, and he had the look of a traveller, perhaps even a ranger. Gregory had never really been one to mix with their types, but as an elf such were always present, and as the leader of a powerful force with a powerful enemy, the god was sure to need combatants practised in all forms of combat. The man had the look of someone practise with his form of combat, which alone would be fine; But Gregory needed more than just a fighter. Gregory needed leaders.

"My services require no reward, as I do only what I can for my people, to which extends all mortals. However, your offer is much appreciated and I accept quite graciously. All those who follow me and combat evil in my name serve me and my cause, but to truly be one of my chosen is a task afforded to few." Gregory scratched the side of his neck as he thought up some form of a test. He needed to see that this person had what it takes to fight the sea of evil and not drown.

"Perhaps we shall find out soon enough the length to which you will stride for the cause. As you know, it is a cause of good, but not to the extent in which good overwhelms evil completely. The balance must be kept, for fear that if one side tips the scales, the definitions of good and evil are shifted." Gregory grinned as he came to a solid decision.

"There is a vampire by the name of Stallion Thunder. He is strong enough to hold his own in combat, but not swift or aware enough for the likes of a skilled ranger. Find him and bring me one of his wooden stakes from his backpack. I will know if it is his or not. Try not to engage him in combat for very long, and try to avoid close-range combat all-together. You will not be able to put an arrow through his head before he knows it, so I advise that you pick your battles if you must battle at all." Gregory smiled slightly. "If you feel it necessary, call for me, but I expect that as a ranger of elven blood, you shall not need me. Treat his sense of smell and sight as a deer and falcon, but with claws and a hunger for blood."

Gregory reached for the pendant on his neck and handed it to the man. "The pendant can release any amount of light you wish, and all you have to do is hold it to call upon me. The light may even suit as a reasonable distraction. Now go forth, ranger. I trust that you shall serve me well." Gregory stepped back from the man and stood perfectly still, arms crossed and a small smile on his face. Little did this man know, the pendant also allowed the god to keep track of the man and watch his progress?

Marinias took the pendant willingly. But his face fell. "A vampire. You think I am a match for a vampire? I have nothing that would keep him from killing me. I don't even know anything ABOUT vampires. How am I supposed to know how to sneak up on him? And for that matter, aren't they supposed to be able to sense the living? No matter how careful I am, I'd NEVER be able to sneak up on someone that can do that." He sighed, then what the Shining One had said about the pendant clicked.

"Wait. ANY amount of light? Even... comparable to sunlight?" He sighed, and shook his head. His morals were kicking in. "I'm sorry, Shining One. I follow the laws, and for my people, stealing is against the law, punishable by the loss of a hand. It does not matter if it was commanded by a god, or if it was from a creature of evil. Stealing is stealing. Doesn't matter the reason or the victim. I cannot complete this task. If that is sufficient for you to withdraw your blessing and your help in recovering my memory, then so be it. I am sorry."

Gregory studied the man intently, soaking in the man's denial of his ability. "Do not overestimate the vampires. They cannot sense the living beyond smell. I have already informed you of how to sneak up on him, by staying out of range of sight and smell. Noise as well would be something to avoid. There is no fight involved with this plan, if you strategize it right." The god took to silence again as the man spoke up on the pendant. He was not very confident in his abilities, which could either mean that he was truthful about them, or he was cursed a low self-esteem; either of which were not good traits for Gregory's warriors to have, but fixable.

"The pendant can indeed glow as bright as the sun, but not for long, and it has none of the properties of the sun that weaken vampires." Gregory's eyebrow cocked as the ranger turned him down, and the reasons for which were a slight miscalculation of character. "The vampire you seek is guilty of many things. He has killed countless people in order to feast on their blood, and children are not excluded from his list of delicacies. To steal a weapon of his is to help our cause. Through his weapon I may be able to pick up on his magical traits and see what must be done to combat him, if these stakes are infused with magic as I had suspected. Were I to order his death you would follow through, but to order the stealing of one item of which he has many to aid in either helping him if he wants help, or smiting him if he wishes to remain the creature he is."

"Do you truly believe your morals are placed right? Do you truly believe that stealing is so wrong you would sacrifice the lives of those future victims who could be helped through research? If so, than I respect your moral standing, but know now that the lawful thing under the morals of a god would be to place your morals below the lives of innocents."

Marin raised an eyebrow. "I say not that I would not kill him. But I did not have all the information. You merely said that you wished me to acquire one of his stakes. You said not that it would be to research it to find a way to bring him down." He smiled. "Very well. I will do what I can. But I have one more question for you. What do you know of said vampire's habits? Does he sleep? When? Do you know where? I must have as much information as I can get before setting out, and then I will do what I can to get more information as I hunt."

He leaned against the wall, shifting the bow slightly so that it wouldn't press into his back. He didn't like going on a hunt with incomplete information. He remembered one hunt in particular where it had almost been hi...

His thoughts stopped dead. HE REMEMBERED A HUNT FROM WHEN HE WAS BARELY AT THE AGE OF ACCOUNTABILITY! Shock set in, and he dropped to a sitting position on the floor.

Gregory squinted and eyed the man before him over. Why was it that he always ran into the peculiar types? It was no matter, as he himself was quite peculiar. As suspected, the god was asked for information, information which Gregory could not give. "Unfortunately I have no information on him other than the fact that he is a vampire with keen senses of sight, smell and hearing. I suspect that he would sleep for very few hours, perhaps in the daylight, if he sleeps at all. All I have is a description for you, and I leave finding him up to you. Ask around for his location with the description I give. The symbol on the pendulum is widely recognized, and surely many will aid you as a bastion of good. But as it is a blessing of trust, it may also make you a target of many nasty types."

"The vampire stands roughly over six feet tall. He's quite skinny with pale, almost grey skin, and he has long black hair. He often wears a wide-brimmed hat and many layers of clothes throughout the day to protect from the sun. You will never find anyone who has personally enraged him or combated him, as most are surely dead, but you will find many who have seen him walking through a town. Such a huge man with such strange clothing often attracts attention." Gregory nodded to the man, and placed his right hand on the man's left shoulder. Light flowed forth from his hand and reached the man, flowing into the ranger and leaving behind a pale circle in the man's flesh.

The man dropped to a heap as Gregory removed his hand, and Gregory was quick to react. The healing spell flared from his lips as he slammed his hand on the man's right shoulder. he had so daringly filled the man with holy magic without wondering if perhaps a dormant bit of evil blood was in the man's veins, and as he healed he wondered just how much internal bleeding and corrosion he may have caused. As his magic poked around, to Gregory's horror it had found only minor scratches and sores from the man's travel that it was quick to heal. Taking his hand off the man's chest, he stepped back and studied the man, waiting to see what this was about, as waiting was all he could do.

Marin nodded, as he stood slowly. "I am sorry if I startled you, Shining One. I just remembered something from fifty or so years ago. My memories are even now starting to return." He smiled. "Very well. If this is the service you wish of me, I will do this. But know this. If I find that I am incapable of acquiring it without a fight, I will be prepared. I was planning on paying a visit to the Academy of Magic as it was, and this gives me ample cause to do so. I will return, with or without the stake. And do not worry. I am an honest person. If I cannot acquire his stake, I will not think to attempt to pawn a fake off on you." With a smile, and a bow, he turned to head out the main doors of the temple.

Gah. This is not going to be easy. He obviously thinks I am older than I am. I am not as skilled as some of my cousins at stalking prey. My skills lie in bringing the prey down quickly. He sighed, and shook his head, rubbing his shoulder where the circle had appeared. Apparently he had been marked by the god as a follower. That was good, and would help him along the way.