The Scarred Priest

[Knight of Rhodes]

The wight sought me
He wished to drag me into hell
A claim that I upset the balance
He named my Angel as his victim
If only for knowing my name
The name that repelled him
He sentenced her to death
Yet it was he that was devoured
Turned into scattered
 ash.

She said it with a smile
Just as she said she was attacked
That eternal calm is inspiring
It's a trait I used to have
Now I feel so much emotion
So much fury and rage
So much love and care

A constant storm now
But is that better or worse?
I feel more alive and vibrant
Less focus and clarity
More zeal and determination
More passion and action

Our Father in his wisdom
In his strange humor
He sent a a phantom
The ghost of one that broke a shell
That led to my dear shadow

A calm in every storm
The darkness before the dawn
Peaceful waters.
I feel unworthy

[Knight of Rhodes]

I can't begin to explain the terror I feel

A burden I should not share

Blood and tears from a fear surreal

My solace is not a dream

Yet there is reason for all of this pain

I tremble with my heart ready to scream

Drowning beneath a storms wicked rain

They swear to strike true

A loss I can't manage again

I am terrified of life without you. 

[Knight of Rhodes]

"I won't endager them because of fear"

I understand this. Truly.
Bravery is not the absence of fear
Bravery is our response to it
I am terrified frequently
Fear of loss, of failure
It can't paralyze.

Much of this knowledge was to die
To fade and be forgotten
But I couldn't let this be the end
The Keepers struggle on
An example unfamiliar fortitude
Silent perseverance

It was long a crushing burden
A nightmare now shared
Shouldered with my angel
Monsters magic and surgery

I saw that in this pair
The desire to endure and protect
Fear, not of pain or monster
I saw them survive it
Fear of magic. Fear of me.
Smelled the iced liquid well up
Heard the growls of pain
Felt the worry and tension
That chilling smile.

That was bravery. That was courage.

[Knight of Rhodes]

"A lie is an intentional falsehood that violates someone’s right to know the truth"

There are cases in which people forfeit their right to know the truth
These monsters that wish to press us into servitude
Overwhelming armies of the walking dead and horrid beasts
Words given them, words pressed from our lips to save our lives
No pact made under duress is one held as true before the Lord

This is not to say that any God fearing man or woman should lie
We should never seek out or desire dishonesty or deceit
The inherent right to know the truth is lost to the vile
Spin the tale they wish, for in the end, the Lord shall reveal all

The righteous fire of truth will devour the oppressor
Burn free their wicked chains and their choking hate
Fresh earth to sprout life, love, and truth.
This oath means nothing, in the end, to or against him.
The Devil Strahd knows of me.
He knows of the last Red Knight, Roan Vance
He knows I will come. He waits, and watches, but he knows.
No oath will change that.

----------------------------------------------------------

"You two are truly partners."
"She certainly has you under her spell, Lacroix"

It's clear enough for the world to see
Heaven is missing an angel
He sent her here to me.

[Knight of Rhodes]

The veteran crusader kept his eyes leveled on the petite youth in front of him. He was nearly twice her size in height and width, yet never once did she regard him with fear. In determination and zeal, she cast a shadow farther than he ever could, and he couldn't help but show admiration for it and for her.

Audric placed his shield on his back, and settled the sword in it's scabbard, sighing with restrained frustration as the beauty spoke.

"I think.. you should wait outside, my love."

His eyes flashed in rebellious desire- the need, and desire to protect bucking against her own words to him. He recalled them too- in fact, details of her were among the few things he saw with pristine clarity.

"I..."

That pause- the momentary breath of self reflection and understanding- this is what she had meant. She could not share this, because it was not a connection to him. That connection was already more than assured, and would be a burden, a distraction, from what she needed to do.

"Audric, I need you to have faith in me. To trust me. "

He recalled the words all too well, when he'd moved and scattered the visage of the first shadow that'd reached out of its own Accord.

"I... Yes."

He obediently gathered his belongings, went to the other side of the door, and sealed it behind him.

Every individual had their great challenges in their lives- moments that they can only overcome by their own merit, their own will and determination, and by the great fire of their hearts and he knew very well that this was hers.

She had his support- but he knew she did not need it. It only made things that much easier for a soul that was already so driven to succeed.

It was, perhaps, that very zeal which led to his encouragement of this path- a path that she may well have found without him, but one he certainly helped cement with the unwilling gift of his blood to Diot's blade.

If he stopped and thought about it, he could still feel the moments where the razor sharp blade sheared through him- first when he extended his hand to her and asked her to pray for salvation with him, and she nearly removed his arm- and secondly when she screamed in genuine, pure rage when he refused to attack her.

He could still recall the emergence of the Black Duke- the swirling shadows of corruption, and nothing but pure deceptive villainy - and those violent red eyes. The acidic aura that accompanied his voice was impossible to forget.

"Your God is Weak! Small and insignificant, like you are!"

The echo of his shield and sword hitting the ground was etched permanently into the fabric of time- accompanied by the whistle of two divine arrows launched from the blessed bow "The Stones Truth," and the hiss of steel as Diot moved through the shadow and drove her blade through the back of his throat.

The arrows shattered the dukes host and scattered the image, but it left him staring down at the steel that had run him through. Memories of the pressured feeling of welling blood and the fresh taste of copper were pervasive. Audric knew it was a risk of their meeting, but he couldn't help feel dissappointment and sadness. Not sadness for his impending passing, but pity and remorse for the soul he'd failed to keep on the righteous side of twilight.

The spirit he failed, the one who sent him stumbling down the street towards the Blood of the Vine, bloodied, into the arms of his angel.

In and out of consciousness, he briefly recalled the sound of her panicked voice as she flipped through the great many pages of the veritable hunters library he'd given her.

"There has to be something here.. A-anything!"

There wasn't anything that those books could teach about proper communication and the application of wisdom and intelligent decisions. They were books about monsters that had little to none within them about the most cruel of them all-  people.

The elegant darling had elected then to apply herself where she could- to take their greatest weakness, befriend it and turn it against those that abused it.

A click pulled him from his memories- the sound of shambling sinew.

Audric slowly became aware of movement in his surroundings- one by one shadows began to rise, and twice-broken skeletons began to stand with renewed hunger, unintelligent, primitive, violent hunger for the interloping sparks of life in this den of utter darkness.

"No.. no distractions. " He muttered lowly to himself, keenly aware that more and more shadow fiends were streaming into the room, joined by a marching legion of bones.

His left hand stretched behind him and wtih the utterance of practiced latin, two prayers formed a glyph of warding that sealed the door shut and ushered along an unnatural calm, magical silence to the corridor.

Excalibur was drawn out and an angry red vial was shattered against the blade as more adamantine emerged, fire erupting and swirling as the weapon was held defiantly against the encroaching army of the night.

The shards of glass clattered silently.

The bones stepped forward.

His angel danced.

Shades lurched.

Sword slashed.

He held a vigil that no one would ever see or would ever know, and he did so gladly.

[Knight of Rhodes]

He wiped the sweat and blood from his brow.

The skeletons and shadows continued to come in a flood. 

The weary Priest held his vigil in the aura of silence

Flaming sword carved a path of continued destruction, returning undeath to death



Abruptly, shadows vanished.

Skeletons crumbled.

A rush of energy washed over the lonely bridge.

The door behind him open. 

He smiled.


She- 

No.

They..  emerged. 

His  watch had ended. 

[Knight of Rhodes]

I can still smell the burning flesh
Her screams echo in my dreams
I am thankful for the love I have found
Thankful for the friends I treasure so dearly
Watching them suffer is like having iced claws tear through my ribs

The difference between a good man and a villain
can be as simple as a single choice.
Hearing the pain in Janes voice,
the  agony in Marissa's scream,
The heckling idiot far from his ship,

I have been here before,
Seen crimes against people,
Helped gather all of the pieces,
Fix bones, restore tongues and eyes,

It never gets easier.  It never becomes acceptable.
Always a mere moment, one swing of the sword,
One righteous display of zeal and wrath,
To reduce an eternity of peacekeeping,
Of silent heroism to naught but ash.

Hearing her heart break

It was almost worth it.

.. but the Lord sayeth...

Vengeance is Mine. 

[Knight of Rhodes]

The black wind howls
Screams echo eternally
Dark beast growls
The knife settled internally

I am reminded of those that are gone from reach
I am reminded of loss.
I am reminded that he still rests comfortably
I am reminded that every incursion has failed
I am reminded that I do not care.

I'll tear his castle down brick by brick

I am sorry, Marissa. 

[Knight of Rhodes]

It was a fairytale

The love.  The perfection.

For a time, it was beautiful.

Like every dream, it comes to an end.

I will return to Janos.  The boy needs me.

God Bless those that walked the righteous path I set before them,

Yet let no villainy grow comfortable, here in Barovia

For while I mourn the death of happiness

The death of love

I am still His instrument- the flaming sword- and I will bring his vengeance back with me.

In time.

[Knight of Rhodes]

                                                                     The thunder of hoofbeats across cobbled stone

                                                                                 A scarlet cloak that flowed like a bloody tear in the sky

                                                                                                   Blinding white cross that sheared night from day


                                                                                            THE BLAZING BLADE OF HIS VENGANCE

                                                                                         LIT UP THE DARKNESS OF BAROVIA ONCE MORE
 

[Knight of Rhodes]

Lightning streaked across the sky, the vicious retort of thunder booming with such viciousness that even among the most battle hardened, the small hairs along their arms and necks would rise.

Hoofbeats sounded like the wrath of the almighty God himself had taken physical form and sheared through the silent beauty of the night.  The Crimson Bishop, the Knight of Rhodes, Audric Lacroix, rode again.  He raised the great blade, the façade of Excalibur, high and charged forward into the ranks of the misted horrors, the vile ranks of the wicked that bent their knee to Strahd.

It was with a great billowing of his cloak that he leapt from the horse, falling to a knee before the assembled legions, and with one simple gesture, one act of mighty defiance, that would cause the horizon to flare brightly again.

The blade, the bright blade of that represented a legend of chivalry, and strength before him was lifted, and with a shortly issued prayer to the Trinity it would ignite.  The one true sword of the Lord, the flaming sword of God was held in the hands of his Bishop

" I have always been a man of God-   but I have been a man of Sin. I have loved to love- I have loved to live, for I am not perfect.  That alone rests with his Son, and while I carry his might with me, I will always be fallible.  What will  never change is that I shall stand between you, and they, those without sword and shield.   You will open your great maw, lift your claws, and you will see me between you and they.  Go now- flee into the darkness- and know that I will follow. "

The hand and a half was raised again, the realm around them thrumming with the great request of God's might- a pulse that would embolden him, and strike fear into the Legion

" Run. Flee into your darkness. It will not stop me from finding you. It will not protect you... from me... "

[Knight of Rhodes]

Long had it been since the Rook was settled up on the lance board- yet the Lord worked in e'er mysterious ways.

A flash of light gleaned down the edge of a starlit blade, divine flames wreathing it, the sound of hoofbeats alone- and the falling split corpses of the nightly wolven predators- heralded the return of an enigma.

A ghostly figure, a distant memory for many, had been seen again.

Audric Lacroix