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An Introduction to the Paladins

by Lady Shiari Dark-McCloud, Wind

You open a brass-hinged red leather tome entitled, "An Introduction to the Paladins" to the bookmark, on page 1, and begin reading.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE PALADINS
Page 2 ... Introduction
Page 3 ... The Paladin Motto
Page 4 ... Getting to Know Your Guildmates
Page 5 ... Ranks
Page 6 ... Combat
Page 7 ... Bashing
Page 8 ... Landmarking
You open a brass-hinged red leather tome entitled, "An Introduction to the Paladins" to the bookmark, on page 2, and begin reading.

Greetings, and welcome to the Paladins! You've joined one of the most prominent guilds in Sapience. If you have just joined, someone should be along shortly to title you Paladin Recruit and invite you into the Lyceum of Faith, the Paladin clan where a good deal of activities for novices such as yourself will be discussed and carried out.
The life of the Paladin is one of honor and pride, but it certainly isn't easy! You will face many hardships and make any number of difficult choices. The purpose of this book is to help you become aquainted with the Paladin lifestyle, and help you along the way to becoming a great knight yourself.
First you might ask, what is a Paladin? Many people in the lands bear the title of lady or sir, yet not all are Paladins. A Paladin is a knight of honor who has dedicated him or herself to making the world around them a better place. This is accomplished in many different ways.
Some Paladins are active landmarkers, some serve in political positions, some have talents best suited for teaching and guiding others. It's up to you to discover your particular talents and how they can be put to use.
You open a brass-hinged red leather tome entitled, "An Introduction to the Paladins" to the bookmark, on page 3, and begin reading.

The Paladin motto is three simple words: courage, honor, and loyalty. As you grow and develop in the guild, these words will become a mantra.
Meditate upon what they mean to you. Speak to your guildmates about them. For it is not only our motto, it is a way of life.
A Paladin is often called upon to show courage in the face of great danger. Whether entering a landmark knowing full well that your enemy awaits you there, or aiding a companion should they find trouble in hostile territory, one must over put aside one's own fear for the good of others. Courage is not the absense of fear, but rather the realization that something else is more important than fear. However, be cautious not to mistake recklessness for courage. Declining a fight that you know cannot be won, or asking for help when the odds are against you is not cowardice. In fact, it is often courage that's required to admit your own weaknesses, to yourself and to others.
Honor is a word you will hear often, as it carries great weight with most of the people of Sapience. However, each person must define honor for themselves, therefor it is treated not so much as a concept as a way of life. An honorable person puts others before himself. He takes responsibility for his actions. He admits when he is wrong, and seeks to better himself through self-questing. A man of honor does not steal, lie, or cheat to gain what he needs. He does not take advantage of others in their weakness. He is a man of his word who treats others with respect no matter what their station. For some of the guidelines we as Paladins follow to live an honorable life, please refer to HELP LAWS PALADINS.
Finally, loyalty. You will find as you get to know your fellow guildmates that the Paladins function very much like a family unit. We care for one another and look out for each other. If help is needed for whatever reason, your guildmates are always prepared to aid you. There will be times when members disagree and the argument will be brought before the guild. Even in times of discord, however, we respect and love one another above all else. The bonds of friendship forged here will hold fast throughout your life, supporting you in times of need. They will be the hands that reach out to you when you fall, and the arms to comfort you in times of sorrow. Your joy is ours, our pain is shared. At times there may be harsh words of criticism, but always born with the desire to help you be the best that you can be.
You open a brass-hinged red leather tome entitled, "An Introduction to the Paladins" to the bookmark, on page 4, and begin reading.

As was stated earlier, your guild becomes your family, and the bonds created here carry throughout your life. Therefor you want to get to know your guildmates.
The first step is simply to introduce yourself on the guild channel. You may want to check out HELP PALADINS and aquaint yourself with some of the prominent members listed there. Also, there will be other recruits and pages who are beginning their lives in the guild. Since your best attack until squirehood is kick, bashing and ratting can be exhausting both mentally and physically. Teaming up with a fellow novice is a great way to enjoy success, share profits, and most importantly, make new friends.
A very important part of your life in the guild is your mentor. To be paged, you are required to approach a knight and ask him or her to mentor you. (Please do NOT do this over the guild channel, but rather face to face or through tells.) You should give careful consideration to this before hand! Don't just ask the first knight you see.
One of the first things you'll need to look for in your knight is someone who is in the lands around the same time as you. They should also be someone you feel comfortable around and at ease asking questions of. Your knight will become a very important part of your life here. He or she will guide you along the way to squirehood, and be open and available to you for questions and council. Some knights work very closely with their proteges, and some choose to let their proteges learn on their own and come only when called for. Your knight may take you bashing and teach you quests, and may introduce you to others in the lands. Most of all your knight should be someone you look up to and admire. You should choose your knight as someone whom you would like to model yourself after. Even after a protege is knighted himself, there is still often a lingering bond between him and his mentor. Choose your knight wisely.
You open a brass-hinged red leather tome entitled, "An Introduction to the Paladins" to the bookmark, on page 5, and begin reading.

There are essentially four ranks in the Paladins guild: recruit, page, squire, and knight. HELP GUILDNOVICES PALADINS has all the requirements for each listed, and the following is a brief description of them.
Upon entering the guild, you will be named a Paladin Recruit, and placed on probation. Please note that probation is NOT a punishment, it's standard for all who enter the guild. You will find yourself holding an amber blade. You may do with this what you will, but please know that KICK will still be your best attack throughout novicehood. Your main goal as a recruit is to level up and get to know some of the people in your guild.
Once you've reached the tenth circle of experience, you may request that a knight become your mentor. At this point you will work with him or her to learn to live as an Aetolian, as well as some of the basics of Paladin life. You'll be required to learn about half of the landmarks.
You will be expected to be familiar with and abide by the HELP LAWS PALADINS scroll. You will be given the responsibility pf caring for a falcon, and will hopefully get to know some of the other members of your guild. This is a chance for you to be introduced to the Paladin lifestyle, to see if this is the path you would like to commit yourself to. There are some very specific goals for you to meet as you strive towards the next level, yet be conscious of all else that goes on around you.
If pagehood is about learning to live an Aetolian life, squirehood is about learning to live a Paladin life. As a squire the world will recognize you as the Paladin that you are, and you must behave as such.
This is a guild that allows for individuality, yet you must always put the guild before yourself, and in all things, act with honor. You'll need to learn the remainder of the landmarks and will be expected to assist with them on-season. This is also a good time to begin your combat training, as you will now be able to train to trans in all your guild skills. Squires are frequently called upon to assist with novice training. Some of the knights have become too old to recall the trials of novicehood, and of course as times change, so do the needs of novices. As a squire you are likely to be more sensative and understanding. You will also want to take time to meditate upon what it means to be a Paladin. The journey to knighthood is certainly not an easy one. Inner reflection can help you overcome tribulations and keep you on the right path. When preparing for your knighthood test, having your vials and herbs and spars is important, but the questions you will be asked will test the strength and conviction of your character, your dedication to the Paladin lifestyle and understanding of what that entails. You will have to demonstrate what it means to be a Paladin, as well as your willingness to walk this path.
Finally, as a Paladin knight, you will have access to a channel and newsboard that were formerly closed off to you. Knights play a wide variety of roles: some strive to become formidable combatants, some are extremely dedicated to landmarking, some are exceptional at working with younger guildmembers, and some serve in various political positions. It is up to you to find your place. As a full knight you will alo have opporitunities to effect change in ways you couldn't before. Every voice is important, and even if you disagree, you should feel free to state your thoughts and opinions (respectfully, mind you). All Paladins are part of a family together, but the bonds of brotherhood are especially strong amongst the knights.
You open a brass-hinged red leather tome entitled, "An Introduction to the Paladins" to the bookmark, on page 6, and begin reading.

Naturally as a knight, combat is a large part of your life. Chivalry, weaponry, and devotion are at your disposal when learning to fight. A knight tends to rely heavily on venoms in combat. HELP VENOMS will teach you about their various uses. You will also need to know how to heal yourself in combat. Read HELP CURES for more information.
As a novice you are strictly prohibited from fighting with others outside of the arena. As a squire and knight you are encouraged to learn combat skills. The Paladins run a clan called Guardians of the Tower, a group dedicated to combat training. CLANHELP GOT will give you a list of members. Contact any of them if you wish to be taught more. Furthermore, one of the secretarial positions in the guild is in place specifically for the purpose of overseeing combat, from training to sponsoring guild tournaments. You will be taught offensive as well as defensive fighting and with time and dedication, you can become a formidable fighter.
You open a brass-hinged red leather tome entitled, "An Introduction to the Paladins" to the bookmark, on page 7, and begin reading.

As a Paladin, one must show specific judgement and sometimes restraint when bashing. For example, you can often find Paladins slaying the goblins and the undead in Azdun, but you will never see them murdering the good people of Shastaan. There are two reasons for this. One is because of your alignment. Bashing some areas will cause your alignment to go up, while bashing other areas will cause it to go down. As a Paladin you are required to keep your alignment above Neutral. See HELP ALIGNMENT. Your alignment directly effects your devotional skills, and you will want to keep it as high as possible. The more important reason, however, is because as a Paladin, you are expected to destroy evil, and bring no harm to good. You will notice that the formal title of our guildmaster is Grand Champion of the Innocent. It is the innocent lives we must spare. There may be great rewards in it for you if you do so. A prime example is the island of Polyargos, where there is a small leper colony. They suffer greatly from the swarm of harpies that can be found roaming the land. The harpies may be slain and given to the old leper in the cave, and he will be grateful to you for ridding his people of the plague of the harpies. You must never attack these lepers, however.
Despite their illness they are happy to be alive, and have suffered enough as it is.
As a newcomer in the lands, you will have access to the areas of Minia, Lodi, and Kalebb. These are the best places for you to go to help gain experience. Here, too, you must be mindful of where you bash. The imps and pixies of Minia have long been at war with one another. The imps of the Ember Tower are creatures of selfishness, ignorance, and deceit and may be slain, but you must refrain from killing the goodly pixies. There are plentiful quests to be done in Lodi and Kalebb, but you must never bring harm to the people there. They are peaceful and should be left to live their simple lives.
If you are ever uncertain as to whether an area is appropriate to bash or not, don't hesitate to ask your guildmates.
You open a brass-hinged red leather tome entitled, "An Introduction to the Paladins" to the bookmark, on page 8, and begin reading.

As devotion users, Paladins have the privlege and obligation of landmarking. Throughout the lands there are a number of locations where a certain task must be performed to turn something from the evil aspect to the good aspect. For example, the Garden is worked by devotion users by catching the morning cloak butterflies flitting throughout the Aalen and releasing them into the Garden to bring out the Garden of Rapture.
Necromancy users do the same with funeral duskywing butterflies to turn it to the Garden of Midnight.
Landmarking begins on the first of Midsummer and goes for a full year until the following first of Midsummer. They can be worked for a year, but at midnight striking the first, they will freeze. The number of landmarks won directly effects the amount of devotion we regenerate.
Landmarking is arguably one of the most important things we as Paladins do in our war against evil. It's also very dangerours, as many Paladins risk their very lives in the fight for the landmarks. As a recruit and page you will not likely be asked to help with any landmarks except the cave, but squires and knights are expected to help. Even here, there are a variety of ways to serve. Some choose to deliver items while others simply hold onto the necromatic items to keep the evil ones from working the landmarks in their favors. Others stand in a safe area holding a pilgrimage or ready to deliver a fellow landmarker who is in danger.
Your knight can help you learn about the landmarks, but be sure to also look over books in the library, as well as HELP LANDMARKS.

     

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