The crunch of snow beneath his boots were drowned out by the howling wind of the snow storm he had unfortunately found his self in. His visibility had been reduced to a mere few feet in front of him through the grey clouds and the snow crystals that swirled around him. The journey to the mountains was easy enough. It even pleasured him to be moving around after healing his injuries. Though the climb up the mountain was much more treacherous. The physical effort he put in to scale the mountain steep slopes began to take a toll on his body and his pace slowed, allowing the chilling air to bite at his body. His usual attire was adjusted to fit the surrounding atmosphere. He wore a much thicker white and grey fabric over his body with a fur thrown over. His hood was shut tight, the rim of the hood wrapped in the same fur. His cape with Angela's signature flew wildly in the ever changing wind. He found his self in the middle of the clouds. The snow began to feel like sand on his face as it felt rough as it buffeted his exposed skin.

The snow began dwindle as he walked into the cloud bank. All sight had been blocked by the dark grey clouds as he put an arm over his eyes to shield his eyes from the sharp snow and ice. He walked blindly forward as the howling wind deafened his ears. The very mountain threw all of its power at Serci to make him turn around, but he did not yield. The wind picked up in strength as it blew towards his face. The force of the wind made progressing even harder as he fought the wind step by step. Pushing through the obstacle, the wind died down, noise slowly returning to his ears. The snow no longer had a life of its own as it drifted down calmly,  The dark grey had been replaced with a comfy grey, evolving to a bright white. No longer fighting the wind, it now it blew at his back, pushing him along at a comfortable space. He could feel moisture on his skin start freeze as he emerged from the cloud bank.

His arm remained over his eyes, not to cloud his eyes from blinding snow, but to shield them from the blinding light. A five minute journey from where he stood just above the clouds sat the Crystal Palace. The first checkpoint of many to come from his journey. A victorious smile drew across his lips as he started walking with grace along the snow, glad to hear the crunch of snow once again. Small rainbows danced off the snow as it bathed Serci's white and grey robes in array of shimmering colors. The freezing air knawed at his exposed face, his long blonde hair tucked into his robes. His breath rose from his mouth as he exhaled sharply. His breath was ragged from exhaustion but the adrenaline in his veins kept his pace steady as he walked through beautiful snow field, now under the massive shadow the temple cast. Standing at the door, he gave a polite knock with the back of his gloved fists as the doors swung open at a moderate speed. He escaped the snow covered moutain into the spacious calm abode of Naota.

The transparent crystal walls of the temple revealed the mountain landscape that he was just traversing. Soft metallic rainbows dotted the landscape, hopping from one snow capped moutain to the other. To his right, a number of guests had turned to notice his arrival. He gave a small smile, as he undressed his coat and gloves. To his left stood an irresistible kitchen, but thought it would be rude to rummage through supplies with out permission. He dusted the snow off his clothes, as he untucked his long blonde hair from the inside of his hood with a sigh of relief, as savored the warmth of the temple. Further down the spacious hallway led to a grand stair case but left it unexplored for now. He walked over to the pleasant area that was decorated in a deep blue crystal. A nearby blue flame blazed with in a fire place as he sat his self down warming his hands in front of the fire. He would take his time warming up before he would explore the temple. He knew this was a place of mediation and training, the reason he was here, but he would like introduce his self to the god before he made his self at home. He spent his time warming by the fire, enjoying the dazzling view of the mountains.

It was while walking down the steps from his throne room that he heard the great doors to his temple open. People coming and going weren’t a rarity here where so many were welcomed, but the gust of cold air whipping in did not go unnoticed. The chill was quickly smothered by the warmth that was always filling the temple, but now his attention was diverted. Further down the steps was a small group of people that had left the throne room just before he had, and they were spreading out into the common room to rest. A family they were, they had travelled there together to seek guidance and help in private, and he was glad to see that they were eased enough now to allow themselves some comfort amongst others.

But now that duty was temporarily done, his eyes followed the newcomer. Their hair was quite long as they fluffed it out from the collar of their cloak, and as golden as a sun ray. His eyebrows furrowed, watching them from afar as they looked to the surrounding areas until settling in on The Sapphire Room. Solitude. It wasn’t uncommon for people to start there, but there was a familiarity about him. Holiness followed him, but not like the presence that surrounded a cleric. No, this was something else. Muscle tone and stature lead his thoughts to…a soldier perhaps? A soldier embraced by holy power. He nodded slowly in realization: a paladin.

Now, he had his share of encounters with paladins, and for the most part they were pleasant, but he always felt a bit on edge when around them. Perhaps it was the formality that many of them held, even if they were not harsh. Despite his many years, even when conversing with the youngest recruit he felt incredibly…well he couldn’t rightly explain it. It wasn’t fear exactly, just a respectful straightening of the spine and attention to detail. For every solid paladin that truly followed the path of light and well-being of the people, there was another that was unable to handle such responsibility and power. Some even abused it.

Nonetheless, he walked the remaining steps down and walked along the way towards the entrance and turned the gentle corner to The Sapphire Room; a soft smile on his face as the emerald of his eyes glowed brighter. The other was looking through the crystal walls to the expanding mountain range. Quite a view it was, and for a moment he allowed himself to gaze silently with him before speaking, “Now, I’m not always the best at guessing, but if I had to make an educated assumption…” he paused briefly, “I’d say you were a paladin.”

He looked over at him, eyebrows raising as his smile grew, “Am I correct?” He walked over towards where the other was seated, keeping a respectful distance since he never knew how comfortable others were with physical closeness, “We haven’t crossed paths before, what brings you here today?” His voice was ever soft as was normal for him, and he took a seat nearby so as to maintain fair eye contact.

As Serci warmed his self by the dancing blue flame, he felt a presence, a certain pressure from his back. He turned his head slightly, the corner of his eye catching a figure standing behind him. He showed a warm smile, but said nothing, keeping the peace as the two gazed out at the snow covered mountains. It was mostly silent, other than hushed whispers and the quite sounds of the frigid wind from outside. The comfortable silence was briefly interrupted. The figure behind him spoke softly, noting Serci's profession. He turned around fully, facing who could only be Naota. He smiled gently, as he let Naota finish.

"Yes, you are correct. However, I serve no army nor a king. My blade, along with my life, belongs to someone you might be familiar with." Conversation came easy, the relaxing atmosphere the temple provided a sense of ease to him. He turned around, showing off the back of his cape, the embroider of Angela's domain onto his cape. "I am not sure how much she talks of me, or if she praises or curses me. But the rumors are true. Angela has named a Divine Artificer. I am Serci." He responded, with a respectful bow of his head. He looked back up and widened his smile. "Now it is my turn." A brief pause. "If I am correct, then you must be Lord Naota." He chuckled lightly, careful not to disturb the peace in the calming blue room. "Your demeanor gives you away. You're known for being quite polite." Warmly, he extended a hand out in an attempt to shake the god's hand.

"I have to say, I am quite impressed with your temple, Lord Naota. It is quite impressive, much different than Angela's gardens, and I if must say, quite colder as well." The sentence trailed off with a light laugh, as he brushed a bit of his long golden hair off to the side. "But I am very interested in Suisho No Kyuden. It is a beautiful palace." Serci played around with conversation before mentioning his true intentions on his visit. "If I must be truthful, Lord Naota. I am a very poor Paladin. And an even more poor Champion. While sword play came natural to me, unfortunately, the holy magiks are tougher to grasp for me." He admitted his guilt in falling short in the magical side of being a paladin with a tone of discomfort, but smiled as he continued.

"So I set it upon my self to visit the gods and take on their trials so I may grow as a champion. My failure in the Harena Desert is one of my deepest regrets and it is something I want to prevent with training and determination. I figured the god of perseverance and his temple of meditation would be the perfect starting point for my journey." He paused to rummage in his endless back as he pulled a rather tall and slender red wine. "If you would have, master of holy magiks. Of course, I don't come empty handed." He held out the bottle to the shimmering deity with a warm smile. "One of Angela's finest, strait from her winery, with home grown grapes."

"The bottle is yours, whether you have me or not." 

He listened quietly as the other spoke, and his eyes softened when they fell on the outstretched cloak; revealing Angela’s sigil. So, she had chosen a champion it seemed. He had yet to do so himself, and for reasons more personal than he’d easily let on, he wasn’t sure he ever would. For so long he’d had to share ownership of his body with another: going in and out of consciousness while Minasé controlled their shared body, that he wasn’t sure he’d ever feel safe enough to trust a piece of himself to another. A metaphysical bond like that always held risk of triggering some primal fear within him. Perhaps in a few decades…Who knew? Maybe someone would surprise him some day.

Today though, he smiled as the paladin continued to not only introduce himself, but explain his intentions as well. It was a noble thing to go out into the world to try and better oneself. He did that very thing on a regular basis to the point of irritation to his wife. Even after so many years of being a deity, he still hadn’t yet calmed his wanderlust. When one spent the greater part of their life living out of a backpack, it was hard to set roots, be stationary, for too long. Soon their eldest children would be able to accompany him, but that was still many years off.

He took his hand and shook, nodding as his smile grew, “Well I suppose it’s not such a horrible thing for being known for one’s politeness.” There were worst things he could be called, and he’d heard more than a few snapped towards the deities. Yes, polite was an easily handled description. His eyes softened as he spoke of his temple. Aside from his children, it was his greatest achievement, and one he took pride in, though always with humility. He dipped his head gently in thanks,

“Thank you for your kind words, it did take some time…” His eyes lifted, taking in the arches that led into vaulted ceilings, though those were of course not in the sapphire room itself, but in the great entrance hall outside of it. On the day that it had come into existence, the creation of it was both excruciatingly painful, and satisfying.

His eyes moved back to Serci, and his lips parted. It wasn’t often he came across a paladin that had yet to walk his path in the holy magicks. He so loved to teach, to help, and his eyes, as crystalline and emerald as the stones littered throughout the temple, glowed brighter in excitement, “I would be honored to train you.”

He smiled once more, gently taking the offered bottle with as much care as if it were a newborn. His fingers traced over the outline, feeling the power of Angela’s gardens pulsing through the wine within. This would have to be used for a special occasion, perhaps when this young man’s training was complete. He smiled to himself and sent the wine away: it disappearing from his fingers and tucking itself safely into his private chambers.

“Thank you for your offering, and for entrusting me to teach you.” It was one thing to be the deity of light, the highest master of holy magick in Revaliir, but those titles didn’t mean someone had to trust him. The deities, as powerful as they were, were not always trusted or confided in. So each day when someone came to him for anything, no matter how great or small, he took it all with humility and gratitude.

“We can start whenever you’re ready. You look as if you’ve taken the colder way to get here,” The snow had since melted through his clothing, and there was something to be said about someone who chose to traverse the harsh mountaintop rather than simply take a portal. He continued on, “Please, come with me and let’s get you something warm to drink, yes?”

The snow had long since metled from his clothes, but the water still clung to his hair, and dampened his clothes. Naota offered a warm drink, which he accepted with a shivering smile. They made their way from the blue resting room to the green emerald kitchen where he began to rummage through the many pantries and ornate cabinets and drawers until he had found a slew of many different teas and ingredients to add to the flavor. His hand glided to the heavily decorated mugs, dancing swirls racing around the rims. He grabbed two, dropping the several tea bags and spices before pouring some stored water. He grabbed one of the mugs and held it out for Naota to see. "Most magic is hard for me to wrap my head around. I always favored the blade before magic. But once I wrap my head around a simple action of magic, the rest comes easy to me." He explained, the water inside the cup starting to produce steam. The cup began to heat, stopping right before a boil. He added some honey and offered the cup to the diety. "Careful, it's quite warm." He said, with a tilt of his head and a smile.

Serci quickly added the tea leaves to his mug and heated the cup in a similar motion, keeping conversation as he the water heated. "With heat, it's easy to imagine. Are you a man of science, Naota?" He asked inquestively, "I'll spare you the boring parts, but heat is esstinaly energy. If you minuplate that energy, you can create heat. I understand that. That's something palapale. It's eaiser for me to picture in my mind and will it to happen. But with, light magik, or holy magik, it's more complicated." He explained, as he took a small sip of the tea. He placed the mug down and started putting away the indgriendits he had pulled out. "My healing magic is improving, as you can imagine from tutelage under Angela, but far below what my progression should be capable of." He let out small chortle, as held the cup out in a small effort of toast. "I'm afraid I am just a poor paladin. Too captivated by swords and shields to learn the intricacies of magic." He smiled, tilting his head slightly, "I do thank you for your time, Lord of Light."

He walked with him to the emerald room and leaned comfortably against the long counter as he watched him prepare their tea. As he did so, Serci explained his varying levels of the magick arts. He nodded to his question, in a way he was a man of science, but more he blended the two. Over the years of being a deity he’d watched as each one had their own way of wielding their power.

“How you describe it, is very similar to how I see it myself,” he said, taking a sip of his tea before continuing, “In fact, over the years I’ve noticed that just about everyone on Revaliir -deities and mortals alike- wield their own power in different ways. For instance,”

He kept his mug held and moved forward from his lean against the counter to be standing in front of him. He held out his mug, eyebrows raising, “You needed no incantation or enchantment to heat this, or your own. There are mortals that will work the rest of their lives and will never achieve that skill.” he took a sip from the mug now instead of holding it on display, enjoying the lingering warmth,

“Though what you said is true for us all, in my opinion: it is all about energy. Individuals like you and I can manipulate that energy naturally, other need to do so with their voices through incantation, or by borrowing power around them through spells or potions.”

He breathed into a smile and stepped back from him, realizing he was beginning to ramble, “Though I’m sure you already know that. Holy magick is a bit more tricky, as you’re borrowing said power from a different place entirely than the natural world around us.” That was a mystery even he was still trying to fully understand.

“As powerful as we are as deities, we still have our limitations, and there is still an even greater power above us. I personally believe that to be able to use holy power, you first have to reach some level of enlightenment,” his head tilted from side to side in thought, weighing things out internally, “Some prefer to use it like any other power and while that is possible, you’ll never reach your strongest potential that way. Not with this type of magick.”

He smiled, his eyes softening as well as his voice, “I don’t believe that will be a problem with you. Come,” he nodded his head back towards the entrance of the kitchen and began to walk from it, “We’ll start there, with enlightenment, I do hope you have a strong stomach.”