Scriptures of the Paladins, chapter 4

# **The Fourth Scripture**

*1- Listen to the story leading to this mission. Indeed a slave I was, enslaved under the tyrannous ones. Those who had turned away from the laws of Avzaya, cursed they are for desecrating the ancestors and their sacrifices. Verily my master, a man of power who disregarding his tyranny had some light in his heart, was killed by his son out of fear of him favoring me over his son and letting me inherit his wealth. Then the son blamed me for the murder, and hunted was I for a crime I had not commited. And thus I hid in the mountains for twenty years. Then word had reached me of the ascension of a new Shah, and thus I descended from my place of hiding, and made my way to the enlightened settlement. And when I wandered on the banks of the Avestan, pondering about my journey, wondering if my decision to leave my hiding place would bring about my doom or not, I rested on the soil of the holy banks of the Avestan. And I fell asleep.*

*2- Indeed I found myself as a giant, my head touched the sky, my right foot stood on the mouth of the Avestan, and my left foot on its source. Indeed I was of such a size that I had to push the sky up with both of my hands, scattering it in the process. And thus I saw two beings descending from the sky, fighting each other viciously, and both held a tablet. They were huge in size, greater than my humble self. When I asked them who they were, one of them, a being of Darkness, replied: “I am Roh, king of the Underdark and the lord of all Evil, I can teach thee the secret to immortality and infinite power. I am of Darkness, the dominant element of the universe”. Then the other one, who was of pure light, answered: “I am Avzaya, king of Anum, I am he who has prescribed to your ancestors the laws of peace, and I am he who has sent them to spread goodness on the earth”.*

*3- Then he hit Roh with his tablet, and a piece of it broke. Roh bled black blood, It fell on the earth, and wherever it fell the earth turned black as if it rotted. Then truly he swung to hit Avzaya, and I grabbed a handful of water from the Avestan and threw it on his face, which led to him dropping the tablet, which in turn broke into many pieces. The river of goodness overpowered the king of evil.*

*4- And Roh cursed us and promised to sow havoc on earth and lead humanity astray, promising to return with his forces of evil. Yet Avzaya was not threatened by his profanity, then Roh cursed may he be, descended towards the underdark, with his eyes locked on me saying: “I do not fear you, rather I fear what you shall spread, the message you shall deliver, the people that will follow you, and the lack of influence I shall have over the earth”. Then when he had fully descended Avzaya came unto me and said: “Oh chosen one, you shall be enlightened, indeed the message of your ancestors is fading. It is time that I choose a renewer of my principles, and you, oh chosen one, shall be the one to deliver my message”.*

*5- Thus my humble soul obeyed the order. Then Avzaya taught me his principles, and enlightened me with his wisdom and knowledge. Indeed I learned the ways of the Paladins, and the ways of those before them. And he told me to stick out my tongue, and so I did, then he pointed at it and light enveloped it completely. It entered my mouth and travelled to my head, where it stayed. Then Avzaya told me: “Oh chosen one, From now on you shall only utter the truth, your soul has been enlightened, and your tongue and thoughts have been purified”. And thus I became Zaryarez, the bringer of peace.*

*6- Then I asked him what the tablets were, he answered: “My tablet is the book of wisdom and knowledge, the tablet that contains all the primeval laws, and many secrets of the world. Whilst the tablet of Roh is the book of Falsehood, it contains the secrets of evilness, and the principles one needs to spread it.” Then I asked him about the importance of the lost shard from his tablet and he said: “Oh Zaryarez, there are stories of the past that you do not know of. Your people have a rich past, mainly because they chose to follow my ways. Your history is like a beast who sleeps during the winter, only to awaken in the summer and assert his dominance. This has been the case with your people. In regards to the lost shard, it has engravings of magic from Anum”.*

*7- Indeed, he made me turn towards the source of the Avestan, and ordered me to close my eyes, and so I did. When I was ordered to open my eyes, I found myself in my original form. Then I looked up, and saw Avzaya pointing towards a place near the source of the Avestan, and so I walked until I reached a mountainous terrain, I was ordered to keep walking and I entered the woods. Mist was covering most of my sight, and the only guide I had was Avzaya whose light was still visible. Then the mists cleared and I saw a ridge of mountains, in front of which was a pond, Avzaya ordered me to drink from it, and I drank seven handfuls. Then a cave appeared in front of me, and Avzaya said: “Enter the birthplace of Earth, oh Zaryarez.”*

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