He had been traveling for as long as he could remember, but never did Rothardan feel at home than he did at the village of Faust. It wasn't because it was a quaint little village with happy children and adults, nor was it because the sun seemed to always shine no matter what the weather. For it was because the God of Light had finally arisen from wherever he had been. Whilst Rothardan was away from the lands, uncovering ancient secrets of the Knights of the Holy Order, Gregory Faust had been discovered as the re-incarnated God of Light. Rothardan had fought beside Gregory before, whilst Seele had been attacking the both of them with his relentless insanity like normal. It had been two years since that day, and things had changed... for Gregory was not just the only re-incarnation that had made itself known.

...Seele, Rothardan's arch enemy, had become the new God of Darkness. Rothardan had now made a new and powerful enemy in the form of the Lord of Night and King of Darkness. Times would certainly change for the both Gregory and Rothardan.

But for now, the Paladin did not care for much of that. There would be a time when Rothardan would have to face the dark god in combat, but in between that time... Rothardan had something he had been planning to do ever since he heard the good news. Something that would make Rothardan feel better and show him that he was going to walk the path of light forever more and then some. The paladin stood outside the two grand doors of the cathedral and unbuckled his Holy Blade and Force Blade, leaving them outside the temple where he could pick them up later. There were no weapons needed in the temple of light, no-one would attack anyone here.

Rothardan walked inside the cathedral, his footsteps echoing inside and all around the building. Walking up to the altar of light, Rothardan knelt down in front of it and began to pray to his god. After he had prayed, he stood up and dipped his two fingers in the holy water before making the celestial holy symbol of light upon his forehead.

Then the paladin spoke:

"I, Rothardan, Paladin of the Holy Light, Knight of the Silver Dragon, do give my service to Gregory Faust: God of Light and Lord of Paladins. I shall devote my life to thee in the name of light, justice, life and holiness."

When he spoke his vow, Rothardan felt a relaxing warmth radiate from his heart and spread across his body. The warmth of Holiness... it felt amazing indeed!

((Greg: I'll reply to your reply on Saturday hopefully... take your time))

Had the scrolls of the once-famous Janelle Boot not been so interesting, Gregory surely would have been more prepared for a visit from a powerful friend and ally. He had taken up reading the book having accidentally discovered it left out on a desk by a student, and after only a couple hours of reading he was hooked and near the end. The book contained studies of politics and the mental frame of mind in which one must strive to attain political prowess, and despite the fact that it was merely a theory; Gregory could not doubt the Author's words.

Gregory had often seen himself as politically challenged, but many times he was told of his innocent prowess when dealing with other politicians, and the god was very willing to blame it completely on his intimidation as a god, rather than any form of skill in dealing with the politics. Yet, as he flipped through the pages of this theory, he began to see almost how he took form to a certain type of politician that had not yet been revealed, but alluded to, and Gregory intended on revealing the foreshadowed definition before the night fell. Thus, when the prayers entered his head, the powerful voice of Rotharden overwhelmed Gregory and confused him, if only for minutes.

Had he heard the man's prayers from a great distance? No, he used his connection with his cathedral to poke around, and was astounded to see that such a figure had snuck in under the radar and had taken to prayer at the altar. Gregory would have opted to dress ceremonially for the event, but as the day had at first appeared slack, he was wearing only the simple baggy white pants and baggy white tunic with the symbol of the Faust clan within a sun. He slammed the book shut, flinging off his newly tailored reading spectacles in his intense rush to make it there and greet his ally and perhaps one of his strongest soldiers.

As he arrives at the entrance to the altar room, he took pause to be sure he looked at least presentable before opening the door and calmly walking in, his aura subdued so as not to interrupt the paladin. He heard the man's pledge, and was glad for it, but he would not allow this to be too formal. Formalities made him terribly nervous. "Knight of the Silver Dragon, is it? I would prefer it if you would not devote your life to me, as I am merely a person, but instead devote it to my cause and the balance that the world craves," A small smile, barely noticeable, came to Gregory’s lips, "But of course, I will graciously except your offer to serve my cause, as I am sure you knew I would. Unfortunately fighters for good of your magnitude are few and far between." Lord of Paladins, Gregory thought, I do quite like that title.

As Rothardan finished his prayer, the doors opened and in came the God of Light himself, and though he was only wearing a pair of baggy pants and simple shirt that most people in the town woudlwear, Rothardan knew twhom it was. His detect alignment spell had immediatley kicked in, shooting to the farness of Lawful Good and beyond. No other being could do that to Rothardan's senses at all, not even other Paladins would affect his senses as Gregory did.

"Knight of the Silver Dragon, is it? I would prefer it if you would not devote your life to me, as I am merely a person, but instead devote it to my cause and the balance that the world craves,"

Rothardan understood what Gregory was saying, and knew that there was wisdom in those words. Now that light and dark had risen again, the world would need balance and cause to help those who did not know what to do. Rothardan knew he would have to train endlessley with Gregory in order to be able to spread the word of the God of Light. And so he would...

"But of course, I will graciously except your offer to serve my cause, as I am sure you knew I would. Unfortunately fighters for good of your magnitude are few and far between."

"I know... I have seen it in the lands, replied the Paladin. "And that is why I come here, to tell you what I am going to do. I will train with you, learn the skills I need... and then I will ressurect the Knights of the Holy Order, the warriors who served the God of Light and kept the balance and cause the world needs.

Gregory pondered the implications of set of warriors, of a guild dedicated to the god of light and preservation of order. He contemplated the group being led by one such as Rotharden, and he imagined the way such a system would be run. He had come to realize that at the time before his deity gift, Rotharden had been stronger than him, and much more famous, and he supposed it was better that the mortal legions of good be left to Rotharden rather than Gregory. The god of light was much more of a scholar or magister, though he thought himself satisfactory with his spear, but he was not one to lead warriors to battle.

"A truly honourable cause. I will surely help the cause, but as of now, before talk of plans for the future, you should be welcomed to my cathedral. Have you eaten a good meal for a while?" Gregory to the side and spread his arms out to invite him to take a seat on one of the pews in the room. "or perhaps we can sit down for a moment and you can tell me about this venturing to other lands and the holy order."

"A truly honourable cause. I will surely help the cause, but as of now, before talk of plans for the future, you should be welcomed to my cathedral. Have you eaten a good meal for a while?"
Upon Gregory's invitation of food, Rothardan's stomach began to grumble and turn like a growling animal. Rothardan looked down in embarrassment at his stomach, which was far more fierce than he was at times, and then looked at Gregory with a sheepish grin.
"I am most honored by your invitation sir,"

Rothardan followed the indicated direction of the god and sat down on one of the pews, and as if by a hidden signal, one of the many priests of the temple of light came forward and delivered a piping hot dish of chicken, vegetables, potatoes all covered in gravy. The food was set down on the pew along with a golden goblet that was full of sweet smelling elvish wine. Immediately, Rothardan remembered his ventures in the lands of Arda and the delicious tasting liquid he had tasted in Lothlomendil's temple of life, and secretly the Paladin wished that the wine was in fact the same liquid. Alas, it wasn't the same drink he had fallen in love with, though it was beautifully sweet and delicious all the same.

Rothardan began to eat the chicken and potatoes, his cutlery seemingly dancing across the plate as Rothardan began to eat as quickly as he could, yet not so quick that people would say he was scoffing his face. In truth, Rothardan didn't get to eat many hot meals due to his travels and relished them when he could. After a good meal, Rothardan placed his fork and knife down on his plate, and watched as they faded away as the plate and cutlery and goblet were transported to the kitchen.

Rothardan thanked the God for the meal and then got straight down the buisness about the Holy Knights.
"...the plans are all set and everything is ready m'lord," Rothardan began, "but there is one thing stopping it all from going into motion...

"...I am not ready yet."

Rothardan stood up and looked at Gregory, deep within the eye.

"To lead a group such as this would take strength and power I do not possess yet. There is wisdom I must learn and I can only learn it from the Cathedral of Light.
Please m'lord, may I study here and become one of your chosen? May I have the honour of being accepted of being apart of the Lux Lucis Censura?"

Gregory watched the man before him eat. He was a knight without doubt, a holy knight who had travelled far and seen many fights, yet as he sat before his deity he refrained himself from eating as he had learned how. Gregory knew that in the warrior's life when food came, you were to eat however much you could, as your next meal may not come so easy. He smiled slightly as the paladin finished the last of the food and resumed his conversational tone to thank Gregory. Surely he would be given more food immediately after this meeting; the god would not have it any other way.

As the man enjoyed the food and wine placed before him Gregory thought on the implications of this new guild. No guilds had publically identified themselves as of yet, though a few knew of a certain demonic grouping that remained low-profile for now. He pondered just how such a group would operate and decided that it was not his choosing on how they would work. He had his own "organization" in which he could maintain his people, and Rotharden`s would be within the will of Rotharden, so he would not interfere, but help.

"The plans are set already? So confident are you in my answer that you would plot out the course with an assumption. A confidence not misplaced, but surely you must practise more caution if you are to lead a gathering of fighters you must craft your plans so that they may bend where needed, and not be so quick to assure others that your plans are finished." Gregory stood eye level with the paladin before him, his eyes holding the cold seriousness of the topic, and betraying the mind's thoughts. Never had one asked him outright for the honour, and rarely would it be given so easily if not a special case such as this. "You will be a member of Lux Lucis Censura, but you should know that with the introduction of the guild, you will never attain as high a rank as you would without. I cannot have one man leading two very important operations. Also, you will be quite hard-tasked. I will surely have many important operations for one of your prowess. Are your prepared for the responsibilities that accompany your decisions?"

((OOC: Not the best of posts, sorry))

Rothardan understood what was being said and had taken the necessary precautions in case something like this would happen. He knew that realistically, he could not accomplish both tasks of leading the Holy Knights and being the right hand man of Gregory. However he had something already planned ahead.

"Though I shall be the guild master, I shall not lead the guild in that sense. I have already thought of someone who will lead the guild's normal operations within Imythess. I only seek permission from Veronna Darkblade as Taras is her city and therefore, her domain. The real strength of the guild however will be the elite nine of the guild who are the true Holy Knights. These nine will be the true Holy Knights, the ones who are in tune with the light.

"However, I do not know who the remaining eight shall be... for the light remains dormant for now. It is only a matter of time before the light awakens within the remaining eight, like it has done me. When that happens, then the Holy Knights will truly be awoken. But for now, too much darkness surrounds the lands of Imythess. The light can not shine and the lost Knights of the Divine can not hear the eternal call.

"I understand the responsibilities of being apart of the Lux Lucis Censura, and I will carry my duties out with all my faith and might. With this, I give you my solemn vow as a Paladin."

Gregory thought over the idea of a guild dedicated to good based in Taras, the god of Blade's city. He thought of just the kind of person Rotharden would pick to lead them, and he thought of the nine who would be the elite of the guild. Surely they would be sent to Gregory before selected for the nine, but that was a minor inconvenience for the god. "I suppose what you say could work, and you would choose to act merely as its creator than its leader? I so, you have my blessing to start up the guild, I only have a few more concerns and questions, as you seem to have organized your ideas quite efficiently." Gregory took a light sip of his wine and watched it lap lightly against the sides of his goblet.

"Taras is a good city. Surely there is crime, but the guards are efficient and the lady of blades watched over it like each citizen was her own kin. There are other places where the knights could act to level out the good and protect the citizen. Although it is not generally a place where bastions of good gather, but Balefire is easily the most in need of your guild's protection." Gregory polished off his plate and handed it to a young elf student, serving redemption for some misbehaviour by keeping the cathedral spic-and-span. The thought of the young student made the god take pause for only a moment.

"Also, I suppose you know my village will act as a haven for those of your guild who require it. We will take in those who can no longer serve, and those who simply require a home for some other reason. Also, although my warriors are a little lacking in comparison to some of the other races, our magisters and scholars are some of the most adept in the land, and we can act as a school for those who would wish to learn magic or combat, or simply even history."