Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

As the dawn of the first light of Ashan came over the horizon, Faith looked up and prayed to the Immortals that the trial which was dawning would see more and more people coming out of the rubble alive. Last night had been long and hectic and the immediate few breaks after the disaster had been vital, she knew. There were a lot of people still trapped, either dead or dying. It would take a massive effort, she knew, and so this was still very much the beginning of the whole thing. She took a moment to breathe and to simply look at the dawn. "Please, let it be the trial I hope it is. Bring me a miracle, if you could. To these people, bring me a miracle." Smiling as she looked at the dawn light, Faith felt a renewed sense of energy and purpose, she could do this. She could.

As the light of the dawn shone over Scalvoris, Faith considered what she needed to do now. She needed to get volunteers, donations, that sort of thing. And for that she would have to ask some people here to go about fundraising. That would be necessary, to raise awareness of the relief effort. If people knew, if they were asked, then they would be more likely to help. So, that would be needed. Looking over to where the community from Beacon, the staff from Cally's (which had closed for these trials), those who could be spared from the orphanage and the staff from the Soup Kitchen, they were here and getting set up. That meant that there would be food and the aid workers would need food, so too the survivors. Those who were well enough would be taken to the Order of the Adunih, but still. There was so much still to do.

Somehow, it seemed more possible in the light of the day.

So, as she caught sight of the familiar faces, Faith moved. Trudi, the waitress at Cally's was the perfect choice here. She was outgoing, gregarious, flirtatious and no one could resist her. Faith walked up to her and smiled. "Before you start," Trudi said and she seemed almost stern. "We are your employees, I understand that. But we're here because we're your friends. Are you taking care of yourself?" Faith resisted the urge to roll her eyes. They were worried, she knew, but that was what it was. And so, she answered. "More than enough to take care of my basic needs. Probably not as much as you'd like me to. I need people to be raising funds." Trudi looked at her in some surprise and so, Faith continued. "This place will need to be rebuilt, but that isn't what I'm focusing on right now. I'm focusing on saving these lives. I need volunteers, workers, helpers. I need people to commit and you're good at that," which was interesting considering what a flirt she was.

Trudi nodded. "We're on it. Don't overdo it Faith. Those babies need their mother, and I'd hate to have to step in as Padraig's bed warmer," Faith's expression shifted in that moment and Trudi laughed. "I mean it. Be well."
532 words
Logistics: Think about long, short and medium terms
Logistics: Ensuring that you plan for the future.

As the dawn had crept over the horizon, Faith had prayed for a miracle and as she stood there, she realised that, in a way, that was exactly what she'd got. With some time to spare, she'd been able to go and do some actual relief work and here, she was.

A miracle.

When she was less than three breaks old, she had been handed to the slaver. Faith could still see him, the man who had taken her away. Her mother had sobbed and whispered her name into her ear, her father had watched impassively and she had been handed to the man. The man from Athart. He had spent more time with her than her parents had, because she had been his responsibility on the journey. From Andaris to Athart was not a short trip and he had brought with him five newborns. Three hundred golden nel was what he had paid for her. She remembered him as clearly as her mother, her father. Thanks to the blessing of Vri, her memory was perfect, as much as sometimes it would be easier if it wasn't.

That man had taken her to Athart and there, they had trained her. No, she thought, as she looked down in disbelief. That wasn't what they'd done. They had tortured her, systematically and without remorse with the aim of making her believe the lies they told. For a long time, most of her life, she had believed them yet, there had always been a part of her which had remained free. There must have been, she supposed, no matter how deeply buried it was. Because when Tristan had asked her, did she want to be free, her response was immediate and without thought. So maybe there had always been a part of her which knew that it was....

No.

Faith was fundamentally too honest to allow that train of thought. It was not true. She had believed her place, absolutely. It had been Padraig who had challenged her, made her question. It had been him, and her love of him, which had caused her to seek freedom. To question. There had been a time when she would have said that he set her free, in the truest sense of the word but now she knew that to not be true. He'd say she freed herself and that wasn't true either. Together they had both become free. But still, she could see that man from the trial of her birth.

What was he doing here?

Trapped beneath a heavy beam, rocks and rubble, the man's legs were mangled and he was cut and bruised all over. He would die if she left him there.
No, she couldn't allow herself to think that way. He was here, he was injured and she had to help him. "Hello, I'm here to help you. It's alright." He started to sob at the sight of her, coughing and spluttering. He was terrified and he tried to pull himself towards her. "Please! Help me, don't leave me!" He sobbed and Faith realised that she recognised his voice.
"I've got you safe, I'm not going to let you go. Don't worry. My name is Faith, I'm going to help you." He clung to her and she had to prize herself off him, to get the beam safely moved. Then, she worked to splint his legs and she spoke with him as she did. "What's your name? Do you live on Scalvoris?" It seemed like a reasonable thing to ask; they would need to make lists to link people up one to the other, after all. "Palhin Mert. I've lived here two arcs now."

That was how long she'd been here. That was ironic, Faith thought as she worked. "Where did you come from?" He sighed and shook his head, but then he answered. "Athart. I did bad things, I was a slaver." Faith raised her eyes to him and said nothing before returning her gaze to her job. He took it as a sign. "So I wanted to get away. Away to somewhere where no one knows me. No one judges me. I can hear them all, all the time. How many of them?" Tears rolled down his cheeks and Faith looked, and felt, utterly surprised. "You don't know what it's like, I just... this has happened because of me and the bad things I've done."

Faith shook her head. "Nonsense. It happened because some people were infiltrating the Elements in a cult, trying to destabalise us. Wiggle your toes, please. Excellent, thank you. That's why this happened. You can't blame yourself for that." He was in a lot of pain, Faith understood, but his sobbing was more about his guilt than anything else, she knew. "You don't understand what it's like! I carry them all with me, what did I do to them?" Faith looked at him and sighed.

"I'm going to carry you out of here. But first. Do you remember a man called Gregory Fleet?" His eyes widened at that name. Her father's name. "Yes. He was.. a daughter, she was my first. Tiny little thing, one of twins. Beautiful...." Faith smiled at him as his gaze moved to her eyes and his mouth stopped moving. "I was the one on the left. You bought me for three hundred gold nel, you took me to Athart with the others and there, they abused me and tortured me for seventeen arcs. You did that." Looking at him, she put her hand out and placed it over his. "It's alright. You're here now, and you're sorry. It's forgiven." Faith could almost hear Padraig's snort, almost feel the complete fury he'd feel towards this man.

"Come on, lets get you out of here, shall we?" She said, and proceeded to do that.
989 words.
Strength: Lifting a beam in a wrecked building

It had shaken her, somewhat, to find that the man who had first bought her, her first owner had been here, trapped under a beam. She would tell Padraig about it, he would try not to show his feelings about it and fail, and they would discuss it. But no matter what, she would feel what she felt. The past wasn't something she could change and so, she had only the now to live in. In the here and now, he regretted what he had done and so there was no point harboring hatred in her heart. It would change nothing he did and it would simply eat away at her. So, she chose to forgive him and that meant that the future was a more positive place for them both. It made perfect sense to Faith, and so, once he had been taken to the medical tent, she breathed in and then got on with the next bit. There were still people here who were injured and trapped and she couldn't afford to give the time to be self absorbed about something which she could not change. So she did not.

Instead, she made her way to the field kitchen and started the job of setting it up. The soup kitchen staff were here and they were used to getting food out to a lot of people. They'd brought everything they needed and so, all that they needed to do was to check the setup and get them ready to go. "What I want to do," Faith said to Alissa, "Is make sure that there are places for the volunteers to rest which are quiet. I want them to be fed and rested, as much as is possible. I'd also like there to be lots of bread baking, tomato bread, basil in there too. It will help their energy levels and immune system. Also, if we're using slow release energy foods, that will help them go on longer." Faith glanced at Alissa who was seething. She'd seen the man, heard the words after all. "You wonder why?" Alissa looked at her and tried, really tried not to say anything and then.

"No. No I don't wonder why you pulled him out. I wonder why you didn't kill him in there?!" Faith smiled at the young woman. "Would it have changed anything from my past?" Aissa glared. "That's not the point!" Faith raised an eyebrow at the biqaj's exclamation and she spoke as calmly as she could. "It's exactly the point. I can't change my past, neither can he. If I had left him there to die, I'd have taken away any chance at redemption he has and who knows what good he might do in the name of doing what's right?"

Alissa frowned deeply and considered it. "But he hurt you!" Faith couldn't argue, not at all, and yet she had an answer which she completely meant. "He's no more to blame now that he's stopped than the whip was responsible for my scars. A tool, used by a system. It's the system with which we have to be merciless. That's where things need to change and we must be indefatigable." Alissa sighed and shook her head. "You happy with all this then?" Faith nodded. "I think so, yes. We have a rest area, an area where they can eat. That's good. Lets get back to the office and see how things are going, shall we?" With a despairing shake of her head, Alissa agreed. "Yes," she said, somewhat sarcastically, "let's do that." 579 words.
Baking: Bread is a good energy food
Baking: Add slow release foods for a great boost.