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James' sword plunged deep into the dragons neck and it roared in pain. It bucked once and threw James from it's back. The teenager flew down and smacked into a tree, falling to the floor.
He didn't revel in the kill like some would do, some darker people than himself. having to kill this dragon hurt him, deeply. It was painful to him, not physically but... He was a Vyrkin, a spiritual man who turns into a great wolf when he needs to.
He had to do this however, the dragon had been poisoned by dark magic. James still hadn't figured out how or why, but that's what had happened. James was the schools protector. One person every three years in the honours years becomes the protector, looking after the school from behind the scenes.

The dragon roared and planted its claws in the dirt, crushing a terrified rabbit as it attempted to flee.
Black blood seeped from its neck wound, baring its teeth and dribbling flaming liquids onto the floor the dragon began to step sideways in the clearing, always facing James as the protector lifted himself up and stepped around, making sure not to touch any flames as they circled each other.

James' sword came up and the black blood sizzled away with the magic. "Alec-a Marto Shan-dalla." James commanded and white energy wrapped itself around the vyrkin, coating him in a strange, thin white armor. A moment passed and then the armor vanished, exploding outwards, splattering the dragon and causing it to roar out in anger.
From that moment in the fight onwards it was a protected zone. None would venture near, compelled to walk away if they got too close, and none would see even if they looked.

James sighed and watched as the dragon's neck constricted. He leapt aside just in time as fire flooded into the forest. The protector spun and raised a hand toward the flaming forest "Shelam-Dec Ta!" he yelled and a mist of frost coated the flames, putting them out.

James cursed silently, he had heard the terrified scream of a student behind the flames. he only hoped that the frost had stopped the fire before it had reached her. James could tell that the dragon had heard as well and wanted to go for her. It's blood was boiling as it dripped to the floor, it was thirsty for the taste of human flesh. The dragon was corrupted. It could no longer understand human words, James doubted that the noble beast could even understand dragon tongue anymore.

"I will not let you go any further." James called out to the dragon, even knowing that it could not understand. "I am sorry for what has happened to you... however you are no longer a part of this world and must be destroyed." the beast roared and sent flames up into the air.

James darted forward, dodging to the side as some of the creatures burning blood spattered towards him. he rolled forward, and under the beast, standing up and swinging his sword, cutting its front leg off.
The beast screamed again and fell forwards, no longer supported. James turned to the dragon, trying to lift itself back up, but failing, fallign forwards over and over. It screamed and breathed fire, thankfully away from where James could sense the girl standing.

James muttered a silent spell known only to protectors, just like the spell to hide them it was powerful. he stroked the blade of his sword and it glowed white, new runes covered it.
James swung the sword down, cleaving its neck in two. he spun around and plunged his sword down into it's heart. He pulled the sword out and waited as the sword returned to normal, burning the blood away.
A white glow hovered slowly up from the beast and James bowed his head "I've cleansed your soul... you will pass to wherever you need to go."
a low, gentle growl passed by James ears and then the glow winked out of existence.

James sighed, raised a hand to the dragon and allowed a fire spell to pass through into the belly of the beast. If James was not used to what happens next the explosive ferocity of the dragon burning up and disintegrating would have made him leap back.
James stepped back and looked up into the sky. "You can come out now, whoever you are." he said. She shouldn't have been there. There was only one way anyone could have been there... He just hoped she wasn't from Andras house. He didn't expect he could stand spending every non working hour training an Andras student so take over for him in two years.

"You really hate me don't you." he asked the goddess, looking up at the sky as he noted the girl, vaguely recognising her as an Andras student that was part of a group he had to look after on an expedition to a nearby temple.
Why did it have to be an Andras... arrogant idiots, the lot of them. they spend a couple millenia putting out the strongest mages in the world and they think they are all the greatest... James knew that not a single one of the students crrently in Andras could have done what he just did.

"Dragons isn't the point." James sighed. "The dragon was corrupted by darkness. if it wasn't there would be no way I could have beaten it, they are too smart." James flicked his sword backwards and drew it up to his sheath before putting it away.
"Incase you don't remember me, My name is James Wardagen. What you did not know about me before is that I am this generations Paladin."

James turned to the girl and raised a hand, "Sev-seyanna." He muttered and a see-through silver dome appeared over and around the girl.
"Do not try to leave, you will not be able to. but do not worry, I have no intention of harming you. I simply need to explain your new purpose." James looked around and smiled. "Here," he moved his hand and watched the dome move with the girl inside it to consume a log, large enough for some one to use as a seat.
"Every three years there is a Paladin. from the beginning of their honours years to the end of them. During that time one person will come to them during a fight, while they have invoked battle precautions. Only one person will be able to, and that person will become their student, that person will be the next paladin, and then the cycle will continue."

James found a stump, recently created by the dragon and sat down. "Any questions so far?" he asked.

James noted the half fanged eye teeth that the girl was sporting. he hadn't realised that she was Manash Vayu before, and regretted being as harsh as he had been in the past. The Manash Vayu and Vyrkin had always had a bond, stretching back for many many millennia.
Both used and discarded by the vampire blood covens of old as their day time guardians, the Vyrkin and Manash Vayu had tied their destinies very close together. Now was not the time however, she had to understand what all this meant.
"Unfortunately, for us both," James added, stretching a little. "I cannot. That dome you are in, it is not a force field, it is not a protective barrier... its an initiation. If you were not the next paladin it would not hold you, yet it does."
James stepped forward, moving into a standing pose and eying the dome. "Unfortunately I cannot shut it down either. The dome compresses when you accept your duty, it will compress into you and become a ring." James raised his hand and showed the girl a silver, white, rune covered ring on his middle finger. "The ring is linked to mine, while I will have no direct control over you it will sense if you have refused and if it confirms in me that fact..." James rolled up his sleeve and showed the girl scars up his arm. "It's ancient magic, it creates a creature, one that you could defeat, to motivate. When I was given this honour I refused it... A Draknul was created in the middle of a Deck-Ball game. I managed to kill it, but it killed two of my team mates... trust me when I say you want to do this job because you want to protect, not because you want to avenge."

James returned to the log. "And as for the teachers they will never find you. all other than paladin are compelled to walk away from this area. the only staff member who will be able to come is the librarian... she was the Paladin twenty years ago, didn't care for it, very bookish. But she knows the score, and the importance."

James scratched his head. "This IS an honour you know... and I promise I will make the training as painless as possible if you keep the Andras arrogance to a minimum."

The Paladin sat forwards. "I haven't told you what we do... though you have probably guessed. A paladin is a guardian. The protector of the school. as you know there is only one full paladin at a time, This paladin uses the magic and the battle strengths taught to them by their teacher to defend the school against anything that comes. We are a secret order, should you speak of it to anyone the ring on your finger will cause a white hot fire to incinerate everything in the room... except you..." The sadness in James' eyes told of past mistakes that he would not go into with someone he had only just been put in charge of.

"Any more questions or would you like to move onto the arguing, cursing and damning portion of tonight's entertainment." James asked, looking up at the stars, it was a full moon out. He grinned, brilliant white teeth bared at the moon, his canines sharp as ever. He allowed a quick whistle to pass his lips in place of a howl. "As far as your detention goes you will not be serving it. As my houses Black magic expert I can commander students at will to help with research, if they have detention it fulfils it."

James nodded at the girls decision. he looked away as the dome constricted, he had not seen that before, and it shocked him how terrifying it looked.
The dome compressed and moved inside the girl. the ring appeared upon her finger, her right hand ring finger. James frowned. The finger a ring appeared on was crucial, it indicated the type of guardian she would be. It had the power to change if it sensed a difference within the paladin, but that was unusual, unless her Manash Vayu anger was skewing the results... perhaps if she calmed down...
James' finger was on his left hand, middle finger. His teachers was on his left hand thumb.
The further to the left a ring was the more inclined to the light that paladin was. James, for example was willing to kill. he would do it with as little pain as possible, and he would free the soul, cleanse it, and allow it to pass on. His teacher would cleanse the soul and let it pass on, but he enjoyed the kill, enjoyed the fight, let it last until he was bored.
The librarian still had a thin silver and white ring on her left little finger. James had been told stories of how she would use her kind magics to turn the creatures away, to cleanse their souls while they still lived, the reason she remained at the school was because her student had become a right hand little finger guardian, destroying the body, destroying the soul, loving every second. She did not want that to happen again, and so she helped the paladins teach their next.
James shook the fear of this girls darkness out of his mind and sstepped forward, grasping her arm and lifting her up, helping her to the log, he remembered how spent he was after being empowered with the cleansing ring. he remembered how all he anted was something sweet. he sighed and reached into the shoulder bag that hung around his neck and drew out a bar of chocolate.
"Here." he said, offering it to her. "It will quicken the speed at which you will regain your strength."
James released her and stood up, taking a few paces. "We will not begin your training until the weekend when we both have time, don't worry. But then we must at least start. I understand how it feels to be forced into this so i will make it as painless for you as possible."

James pulled a log closer with magic. "Now that you've calmed down, do you have any questions for me? about myself or the order... I do have one question for you... what is your name?"

"No." James admitted, smiling nostalgically up at the moon, remembering his day. "No, mine was worse." he said. "I tried to trick it, tried to run towards the weakest point when it began to retract. The ring punished me. Forced me to change, I don't like to-" James stopped himself, she was calm enough now. "I'm a Vyrkin." he explained. "you know how we lose ourselves the more we transform... My brother is already lost, I don't transform, I can't fully control myself. I'm stronger but... I'm not me. I don't want to become that thing eternally. It forced a transformation, pushing me one step closer."

James nodded at her name. "Yes I remember you... you almost caused the temple to implode... strange girl." he smiled. "The training is intensive, physical and mental training. Battle techniques, secret spells, hidden powers, the way of the paladin, some history... maybe a little morality, depending on how you react to things."

The paladin stood up and stretched. "Can you walk? We need to get back to the castle, Ms Caster will be wondering how the hunt went. She'll be wondering about the cursing as well."

James offered the girl a hand. "One last thing... dont ever try to take the ring off... it won't like that."

"It's easier to think of it as a duty." James explained. After your training is finished it feels less like a prison. the ring becomes idle, conserving its energy until it needs to induct a new Paladin.
Once you are in your training and willing to learn you will not even notice the ring is there. It only activates in extreme circumstances.

The paladin began to walk back through the forest towards the castle. there were plenty of creatures and beings in the forest that wanted to kill, to hunt, to eat... but they were all smart enough to recognise James, or at least the strength in his presence.
His hands moved behind his back and he grabbed his wrists, walking calmly like that through some trees.

"Have you never felt like you were destined for great things?" james asked out of the blue. "When I first joined up with the Paladin I had been rebelling, spent the first few years working against the teachers because I thought I was better than them... Then I stumbled upon my teacher fighting an avatar... a being of pure elemental energy. I tried to help him, I was strong, stronger than most, but the water elemental just swatted me away, I nearly died, but... my teacher... Daniel White... he saved me, used his ancient shield to defeat the beast and helped it to pass on."

James sighed, he didn't know why he was explaining all this. he never spoke about this stuff. Never. James only had two, maybe three friends in the castle, most disliked him because he was so smart, insulting him and enjoying that he didn't respond. He was not afraid of them of course... he was afraid he might accidentally kill them. In the world of mystics knowledge was literally power.

"Do you have a boyfriend or anything?" The question seemed out of the blue and while James had not intended it to sound like he was asking her out, he was aware that it might have sounded thus.
"I mean... is there anyone who I have to worry will get jealous of you spending time with me? or that will be concerned if you turn up with battle scars and bruises?" he tried to explain, walking a little slower to alow the girl to keep up.