- Gregory -

I brushed the dust off my shining white armor and cleaned the centipede’s blood off my sword. Nasty creatures. They had venom potent enough to kill a man with a single bite, and they seemed to be all over the place lately. That’s what I was here for though, to protect the caravan from monsters like them.

It was dark already, but we were too close to our destination to set up camp. That’s when I sensed something was wrong. My gift, granted to me by the goddess of righteousness Chercella herself, the ability to sense evil was being set off. A tremendous evil presence lurked just beyond the trees.

“Wait here,” I told the caravan leader and signaled for him to stop. “There’s something dangerous ahead. I will investigate. Yell for me if there’s trouble.”

I proceeded with my sword at the ready, deviating from the path and treading softly so as to not make too much noise.

It’s true I was here to guard the caravan, but my true mission was something else. I was sent here by the church to investigate rumors of demon worship. The vile demon god Bazalsevun had defiled our land for far too long.

But the presence I was sensing now was not of the demon god. It smelled of blood. Haimorrha then? A vampire. And a rather powerful one at that.

I stalked closer and peered through the bushes. The vampire was sprawled over the body of a beautiful maiden, fangs sunk into her chest, draining the blood directly from her heart.

Anger. That emotion flooded my veins. I pressed a hand to my chest, and tried to control my breathing. Calm down, Gregory. Rage is not what drives a paladin of Chercella.

I focused my gift on the victim, and felt a faint wisp of life emanate from her. Relief washed over me. Good, she was still alive. I wasn’t too late, she could still be saved.

But I would have to act fast.

With a twist of my sword, I sent out of wave of light. This sword beam was infused with the holy might of Chercella. It would smite all evil beings, but would not harm those without sin. Still, I was careful and angled the attack so it would only strike the vampire.

The beam of light washed just above the maiden’s motionless body, but the vampire was swift. She had seen my attack coming, and leapt away into the trees.

I rushed to the maiden’s side, my sword still at the ready. I scanned the treeline, but the vampire was nowhere to be seen. But she was still nearby. I could sense it.

There was something more urgent than trying to finish off the vampire though. I knelt by the maiden’s side and inspected her. She was breathing, but it was uneven. Her face was flushed, so she must not have lost too much blood. There was a cut just over her heart. This would need to be treated immediately.

I placed a hand over her chest and chanted “Heal.” With that, the wound immediately stitched itself back together. Her breathing stabilized, and slowly her beautiful rose-colored eyes opened.

Now that I got a good look at her, and now that the suffocating essence of the vampire was distant, I recognized the overwhelming divine aura that emanated from the girl. Her divinity was almost as great as the princess of Lumedia herself. No, maybe even more so. Ah, I thought to myself, this person must truly be loved by the gods.

Despite the beautiful diving aura that surrounded her however, there was a stain on her soul. Deep within her stomach swirled an orb of blood. A curse, likely left there by the vampire I had driven off.

And then her eyes shot open, she jolted upright and recoiled back away from me, crossing her arms in front of herself.

“Wh- Who!?”

She made sounds like that of an owl. I assume she was asking my name.

“Fear not, dear maiden,” I told her, “For I have rescued you from the vile monster that assaulted you. My name is Gregory. I am a paladin of Chercella, and from this day forward I shall be your knight and protector.”