The call

It was still raining outside. The riots in the streets had died done a while ago, mostly because people don't enjoy riots as much when they get wet. Elogyn was staring out the window without looking at anything in particular. She was still upset after her conversation with Eolar.
After all the things she saw since they traveled together, Elogyn questioned the views of her mentor more and more, but this was the strongest argument they had so far. As much as she respects him as mentor, she just can't share his view that good or evil are insignificant and only law and tradition should influence ones decisions. For her, the evil forces have to be destroyed to keep order in a society and ensure lawful behaviour.
With every bit of evil she encountered lately, the stronger became the wish to fight it. She was angry and restless. What could she do?

She was still staring out the window when a ghostly hand appeared in front of her. She almost fell of the chair, got up and looked at the transparent shape in front of her. It was beckoning her to follow it towards the door. She knew the spell but wasn't sure who had sent the hand. Putting on her cloak, she followed the hand into the corridor. After a few turns and one flight of stairs down, they entered the oldest part of the church's basement. She had never seen these parts before and was carefully looking around. The hand approached an old oak door and suddenly vanished into thin air. She tried to open the door, it wasn't locked. Carefully, she opened it and looked around. She was standing in a medium sized room with colourful tapestries at the walls, some racks with old weapons and armour and a small altar in the middle. Nobody was there.

She looked around. The items all had small plaques with names. She knew some of the names from her history lessons. They belonged to mighty paladins who gave their lives to defend the church. The tapestries showed battle scenes were paladins of St.Cuthbert were fighting evil armies. Why would the hand guide her here? She opened the scroll that was lying on the altar. It contained the oath of the paladins and Elogyn read it in awe:

I vow on my life, word, and sword, to uphold the laws of my church and the code of the paladin. I will defend those who are in need as well as those who have my protection; I will conduct myself with compassion, valor, and truth at all times. I do not seek gain nor glory for myself, for it is my alliance who will reward me when the battle is done. These duties I take up willingly, in my church's name, Amen.

If only she could be that strong. She admired their strength and willpower to give their live for the cause and their beliefs.
"In your heart you are a paladin. You are one of us! All you have to do is to believe in it!" She spun around from where the voice came from. A body in shiny armour appeared out of nowhere surrounded by a celestial glow. She had a feeling she knew the paladin but couldn't remember his name. "Who are you and why did you guide me here?"
"My name is Ozul of Alan-Gareth. The hand was guiding your body here, but your heart was already here. This is the room of the paladins of St.Cuthbert. And you are here because you belong here!"
"But I'm not a paladin! I'm not strong enough and I'm not trained to fight!"
"You can feel the path that was laid out for you, you are just too afraid to embark on it"
"But I don't know how!"
"Being a paladin is nothing one can learn. You already are a paladin, all you have to do is starting to act like one! I was following your actions a long time now and I'll be there to guide you on your way, but you have to decide to become what you were born to be!"
The shape of the old paladin vanished as he spoke the last words, leaving Elogyn alone in the room. "But how can I do that?......What do I have to do?"
No answer. She looked around again. She was no paladin. She'd learned what it meant to be a paladin, but all the great heroes were so much better than her.
'...become what you were born to be'. The words of the visitation still echoed in her head. She went to the scroll again and read the oath one more time, silently forming the words with her mouth. Deep down, she knewthere was only one decision. But where to start?
A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. One of the stable-lads was standing in the door, looking anxiously at her. "Mylady? I was sent here to lead you to the stables"
"Who sent you?"
"I don't know who he was, but he left something for you that you should look at!"

As they had left the room two voices appeared.
"You did what?? You left Hasufel for her?"
"I'm getting too old, Toalden. Soon I will stay in the celestial realm forever. She needed a push in the right direction and needs somebody to guide her"
"And you want to guide her?"
"Nothing happens without reason and we both knew she'll hear the call one day when we first met her. She became stronger since and I get weaker every day. Guiding her will be my last quest"
"Some kind of legacy? She couldn't wish for a better guide! Or a better horse for that matter"
"Hasufel will serve her well as she did for me all these years. The girl has what it takes to become a great paladin! What kind of paladin would she be without a great horse?"
"You are right! Come on old fool, let's go over to the pub, and drink on that! The first round is on me!"
And with that the room went quiet again.