Chapter One:

There was always something significant about the rising sun over the Star of
New Celest. I especially enjoyed watching it within the garden in our
guildhall. It was a sanctuary, a bit like the Blue Cathedral; a place one could
escape to, to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, to sit and think
and ponder over things.

I grew up within New Celest; the streets were as familiar to me as my ability
to breathe. I grew up with the Supernal's teachings, and I decided at a young
age that the path of priesthood would be the best for me. There was never a
doubt in my mind about my faith to the Light. I studied hard, I wrote tomes, I
organized, I held sermons, and I fought the Tainted to prove that the Light was
stronger, that the Light would always come out on top, since that was the
rightful place for us, us of the Glorious and of the Honorable.

My life was never made difficult by anyone, not as a Mugwump priest, respected
and relatively well-liked. I was careful to stay hidden and underneath those
that sought attention, to do my duties to the Light and nothing less than that.
Attention from others was not a part of my plan. My entire life was dedicated to
nothing but my service to the Light. Marriage, women, children, those were
things I had never taken into consideration. It was nice to have friends, and I
was loyal and cherished the ones I made, but above them, always, were the
Supernals' teachings. After my ordainment, I found myself with not much to do.
Paperwork here and there, destroying the taint every so often, but everything
else was suddenly becoming routine and dulled.

Except the sunrise over the Star of New Celest. Every morning I would rise
while it was still dark and examine the garden. I would have to be quiet; the
garden is next to the dorm rooms, and as thick as the walls are, the guildhall
seems to have a bad echoing habit. The open terrain made breathing easy and
seemed to clear the light smog from the rest of the city. The fountain within
the center of the garden sprouted water gracefully, and it sounded cool and
pleasant as it lapped the side of the bowl, before drowning down again to be
recycled and reused in its beautiful display and genius engineering. It was
there, on the stone bench beside the fountain, that I would sit every morning.
Every morning on a different bench, before another Supernal, examining the
dark, unlit stained glass.

The sun would rise, and as the sun hit the glass, my eyes would water. Whether
it was from the sudden leap of light or the simply wonderful, prismatic,
gorgeous display of colors around the garden, I don't know, but every moment of
it filled me with such love for my life, such contentedness to be where I was,
that I would lose myself. I would watch as Lady Raziela's curls became golden
and seemed to bounce in the picture; the flowers within them always had dew
drops from the morning sun. Lady Shakiniel's shield would glint cobalt blue in
a dazzling array of colors, whereas Lord Methrenton's armor and swords burned
intensely. Lord Japhiel's book, placed open in his glass display, would
suddenly be filled with words, thoughts, ideas, and plans. And Lady Elohora,
the most graceful and elegant of ladies… her white purity nearly burned my
eyes.

I would sit there until someone would shake me from my reverie. They would
remind me of some menial task, which I would rise and rush to do, but not
without a last glance around the garden. I never prayed during these sessions.
Simply observed and admired.

Prayers were not until the afternoon, after the beds in the dorm rooms were
made, the floors swept, the garden trimmed and the mausoleum to Saint Tresalyne
examined and repaired in any way. Usually after those tasks I would check the
doors around the guildhall, speak to the Seraph of Elohora, and make sure the
observatory room was clean and dust free. The astrolabe needed nearly daily
cleaning with the dust it constantly collected, and there was no way I was
going to allow any rust buildup around such an expensive piece of equipment,
used to serve the Light.

I was usually left in peace to do these tasks. Occasionally an odd Child would
ask me what I was doing. Every time came a simple reply. "Cleaning."

Usually this was an invitation to ask, "Why?" and as everyone knows, children
are ever so curious.

With a sigh, I'd reply, "I'm cleaning the guildhall because it's important. If
no one cleans it, then who will, and how will we live?" These simple concepts
were usually too much for children. How could a priest who has been ordained
and spoken of be submitted to the tasks of a janitor? Shouldn't they be out,
making the world run? This is exactly what I was doing.

Occasionally there would be a Child who would come around and help me with my
tasks. This always brought a deep smile to my face which I knew I'd carry for
the rest of the day. "Humility is always best practiced silently," I'd tell
them in soft whispers as we'd do these tasks together. After a while I would
send them away; as important as the lesson is, there are many things a child
must do to get ordained, but one of them is not scrubbing floors.

Once my chores were finished, I'd step out of the guildhall and take the route
to the Blue Cathedral. I would tend to avoid the Pool, as in this time of day
people would be reckless and throwing things around. That was the sort of thing
I liked to avoid, anyway. Calmness seems to spread in the cathedral, with its
constant acoustics and its open spaces.

I would sit in a pew and pray until evening. Then I would drag myself out of my
meditative state and offer a helping hand. What things did I pray about? My life
was mostly content. There were no children; there was no family, and few
friends. I would always pray for the well being of those around me, and in my
layers of praying, deep down, that I would one day be granted with my wish for
the Basin to be encased in Light once again. A dream that one day shadows would
no longer spread.

Despite my hope and my faith, whenever I made my deep prayers, a little voice
in my head would be whispering, "How do you fall asleep when you know your
dreams are dead?"

This is the thought that kept me from my full potential. Kept me isolated,
afraid. Perhaps more like terrified. It was the thought that appeared before
every decision and made me hesitate. It was also my temptation.

I remember the day so vividly. After a raid on Nil I liked to enjoy a bath to
cleanse myself of the dust, blood, and sweat. Just as I was removing my robes,
a call came from an angel on our guild channel. Immediately I rushed to see the
problem. I sensed only one person there, a female Viscanti, one I had heard of,
but never faced in combat.

The Viscanti race has always been ugly to me, although I am no beholder of
beauty. Usually twisted and filled with taint, inky eyes that peered with
hatred upon the world. I didn't see that in this particular Viscanti. I fear
that it was then that I was struck with what some would call love. Her skin was
smooth and looked nearly alike to a smooth Dracnari. Her eyes were lovely, and
large, not slanted and ugly. Her lips were full and her body was luscious. It
was the first time I had ever looked upon any woman in such a way and felt the
urge to have her.

Needless to say, it was me who stumbled in the fight. I felt that I couldn't
lift my symbol to her, and while my angel looked at me in confusion and waited
somewhat impatiently for me to give the orders for her to attack, I never did.
I can imagine the stupefied look on my face!

I'm not sure of her reaction to seeing me at that moment in time, but she left
Celestia soon after that, and I returned to my bath. This was when my problems
began.

Chapter Two:

Needless to say, and to be rather abrupt, that's when my daily routine was
destroyed. At dawn, instead of sitting quietly in the garden to watch the
sunrise, I and my love would sneak out into the forests. Sometimes near
Serenwilde, other times near Glomdoring, but never in the same spot twice in a
row. There, we would picnic in privacy while the land still slumbered and the
animals couldn't watch us, often splashing about in the river or the sea. It
was nearly a year into our relationship when we had discussed the conversation
that would change me forever.

She was naked and I was admiring her splashing about in the water, washing her
beautiful hair in the moonlight. Her pointed Elfen ears twitched every now and
then and she pursed her lips, before saying in her rough, yet sweet, voice,
"What do you think of the Taint?"

To be honest, I had not thought anything of it in quite some time. I tried to
avoid the question in my own right, because I feared the thing that had haunted
me for so many years: I was living a dream I'd always had, ever since I was a
young priest.

Unable to really answer, I said, "I'm not sure. What do you think of the
Light?"

She laughed and looked at me, shaking her head, her teeth sparkling. "I'm
encased in true Taint. I live it, I breathe it. I am apart of it… yet I don't
see anyone within the Light being the light. Do you? How do you even know it
exists outside of those Supernals you worship?"

I weighed carefully upon these words. Then I replied, "The Light lives in
everything, it's just for those who choose to accept it."

She looked at me and sighed wistfully. "Oh, Martus, you poor, brainwashed,
blind fool." She stepped from the lake and came to lie beside me upon my robes.
She plucked at them as she leaned against me. "Do you see these, Martus? These
are so-called robes of the light… and yet…" She tugged a loose thread at
the edge of the sleeve, and the fabric began to untangle. "They aren't
reliable."

I looked at her, quite impressed.

"Go on," I said.

She nodded and grabbed my hand, placing it upon her body. I touched her waist,
her ears, her mouth, her nose, and other parts of her. "Can you unravel this?
Will this ever disobey you, or fail you? This body if mine is where I live. I
am naturally a being of the Taint, and my body has never failed me. This how
why I believe in the Taint. It's shown itself, and it will always continue to
show itself, so long as I need it. I can rely on it."

I looked at her, my hand pressed against her neck. I felt myself drawn in, and
before I could stop myself, the words tumbled from my mouth:

"I love you. Marry me, Orra."

The look upon Orra's face wasn't surprise. It looked like relief, underneath
the trees, as we lay naked, bathing in the moonlight that was so bright in the
middle of summer. She placed her hand over mine and moved it to her beating
heart, which did beat rather irregularly within her chest.

"I cannot marry one of the Light, just as you cannot marry one of the Taint."

That was truly all it took to get me to abandon everything I knew and become a
traitor to my own self.