The journey back home was a march of defeat. Some paladins ducked their heads down when they walked the road, their armor still dirty and some even bloodied. Sylvestra guessed the ones with the clean armor hadn't slept at all, and instead done like her, maintaining her equippment the entire night. Tarfield had died of his injuries in the night, and Highwielder now wore two dogtags around his neck, and several others around his wrist. Sylvestra also wore a few extra around her neck. They had all been accounted for, but she still did this every battle. Even as cold and ruthless as she had the reputation to be, she could still not forget the men and women that died under her command.
She was now the highest ranking officer alive, and further back in the lines some paladins were carrying a small coffer with the Inquisitor's remains. Sylvestra bit her lip in anger. Damn mages. she thought. They'll pay for this.
Gradually as the week passed, Sylvestra was able to sleep easier. She didn't dream, or have nightmares of any kind, the sleep was just... Silent and still. Almost creepy.
She passed the first two days adressing her men and taking care of the Vanguard. She still handed out assignments as usual, but suddenly her superior came up to her. Duncan Redhammer, the General of the entire Vanguard. He began the conversation as he usually does. "At ease, commander." and Sylvestra lowered her salute and stood comfortably with her hands behind her back. He continued. "I heard as soon as you came back about what had happened. Terrible business, but I hadn't the time to come see you myself until now." Sylvestra's eyes widened somewhat. "Sir, you didn't have to come see me yourself. You could've just sent for me..." she replied but Duncan shook his head. "No, I had to come see you myself. Tell me, Commander, when was the last time you had time off to see your family?" he asked. A strange question, Sylvestra thought. It could imply so many things that she just decided to go with a confused "Sir..?" to which Duncan smiled. "I'm giving you leave for two days to see your family. After this ordeal I'm sure you would like some time off."
Sylvestra couldn't believe what she was hearing. The Vanguard was constantly busy, she barely have the time to see her family a few hours each week, and now the General gave her two days? It was... Much to process, for such a hardened battle commander. On the field, she knew exactly what to do, but when it came to her family... She couldn't process the thought properly. The other officers in the room stopped what they were doing to stare at Sylvestra. They had never seen her speachless before. "I... Thank you sir." she was able to get out. Though she said it quieter with each word.
So for the next two days, she spent time with her family. She lived atop a rock in a "small" mansion. It wasn't super-flashy but she had hired staff to do most of the work. Her husband was a diplomat, but not a Paladin. Her son was twelve and her daughter nine. The short reunion was sweet for all of them, and it seemed to Sylvestra she hadn't smiled for years. Those two days made the whole thing easier to bear. The loss of Tarfield...
When she came back, the other officers would greet her with the usual respect, only tempered with a bit of kindness. She returned a stern look at them, and things quickly went back to normal. She realized they had seen her at a vulnerable moment. Her family meant everything to her.
A runner came before noon, telling Sylvestra she was to meet with the other candidates at the Inquisitorial Palace, the Plateu. The runner said it was for training and promotion, and once again her fellow officers glanced over at her. She had been ascending the chain of command so rapidly, many were getting jealous. And while this seemed strange for Sylvestra to be promoted after such a failure of a mission, she could do with the training. She had just now been able to sleep properly again, so anything that could make her stronger she welcomed greatly.
The journey up to the plateu was extraordinary. The stairs went on the sides of the mountain, meaning one wrong step and you'd fall to your doom. She found it symbolic that the stairs to the very top of the rule of Grinnoc had no safetyrails. It reflected the reality of ascending the chain of command like she did. She glanced over at the other candidates. There was Conrad, the strange magi-Paladin specimen that nobody seemed to be very fond of, but Sylvestra saw some value in him. He was strong, just think what he could become if he did not feel the pain of his own mana burning. Then there was Varkasan, glancing off the side of the stairs, obviously a bit frightened. "Eyes ahead, Paladins. Always keep your eyes ahead." she said to them all but with her gaze affixed to Varkasan. He didn't respond, but she knew he had heard her. Finally she looked over at Alicia. Memories of watching her during the battle came back, and Sylvestra realized what a strange fighting technique she had. She was all about the offense, barely even parrying anything. She would be incredibly vulnerable when knocked down or rendered without her powers of the Light. Yet, she was the strongest recruit, and Sylvestra saw great value in her.
One up, the candidates were brought to the range. Strange, Sylvestra thought, seeing as most of them don't use ranged powers, but it soon became evident to her that they were going to be using real weapons. She grinned at the thought. After all, Sylvestra placed more value in the equippment and quality of her soldiers higher than their powers.
The Stinger, a new dwarven mechanical wonder, was introduced to them. A small wrist-mounted crossbow it would seem. It would be of great use to them, Sylvestra thought.
Equipping it with great interest, she flex her arm to try to get used to the feeling. Indeed, it would be of great use. Mages attacking from a distance was always her weakness when in single combat. She always had to spend large amounts of power into her shield before closing the gap. With this, however...
THUNK!
"WOAH!"
Sylvestra spun around. Alicia had almost shot Varkasan in the eye, and embedded another on the ground. To make matters worse, Varkasan almost shot a guardsman on patrol atop the wall. She frowned at them."Do you think this is some kind of cirkus?" she demanded of them, having turned around completely. "Do you two realize you could have shot and KILLED a fellow Paladin because of your own lack of discipline?" she said harshly. They might all be candidates but she was still the commanding officer of them all. "If you were under my DIRECT command I'd take you to the basement of the barracks and order disciplinary action IMMEDIATELY. Consider yourselves lucky." she finished, glanced at the instructor. He cleared his throat and began instructing them all in greater detail how to actually use the bloody thing without killing friendlies.
