Previously in Paladin: Origins…
Connor Sharpe is THE PALADIN, last of the Earthborn Angels, and his training is far from complete. On the anniversary of his parents death, the angel Gabriel has taken Connor to a mystical Crystal Temple, where he will learn of the Paladin who fought before him. However, as Connor faces a shocking truth about his own past, he finds himself without the time to contemplate it. The powerful demon, Eblis, has desecrated the temple, and now seeks to end the life of The Paladin…
I
As brimstone soaked claws squeezed tighter, Connor Sharpe found himself desperately clinging to life.
It had all happened so fast, and he wasn’t really sure what was going on. In the hall of the mythical Crystal Temple, he had been studying the history of the Paladin by traversing its long walls, reflecting mental images of past Paladins and psychically telling their stories.
But it was the final, most shocking story that hit closest to home for Connor: his parents. Finally witnessing the moment when his father changed, and discovering it was not that dastardly man, but his mother who was responsible.
But for now, none of that matters, for all that he can think of is how rotten his own burning flesh smells.
The demon (who, unbeknown to Connor at this time, was called Eblis), growled and fumed its hot breath at Connor, tightening its grip ever so slightly. Connor tried to turn away, reaching deep within himself and attempting to find his power, but it was impossible; between the demon’s breath and its powerful grip, Connor was unable to concentrate enough to even form his sword.
Eblis slammed Connor into the wall, where he fit perfectly over his childhood self in the reflection of his past. A fitting end, Connor whimsically thought, but much to his surprise, the demon Eblis faltered. Eblis began to stare at the image, his eyes soaking in every detail, before it pulled Connor away to momentarily stare at the boy in the image.
As the demon’s grip loosened, Connor seized his moment. Though he could not muster the strength yet to form his sword, he was able to charge his power up around his fist. With a glowing flash of power, he drew back and slammed his fist hard into the demons nose, unleashing a mighty punch that sent the demon reeling, and forced him to release Connor, who dropped to the ground and quickly rolled around to the opposite end of the hall.
The wreckage was unbelievable, the door in shreds and its pieces covered in blood. Connor stepped out to find the familiar form of Gabriel, beaten and bloodied, laying in a recess in the ground. He kneeled down and attempted to pull his friend up, but he was too far into the ground.
Eblis, in the meantime, had recovered and now stood in the shattered doorway to the crystal hall, arching its back and roaring into the night like a madman. He charged and swatted at Connor, who nimbly dodged the attack and countered with a kick of his own that had little effect on the monster. The demon knelt down and stared at Connor, and began to mumble, his voice low and distorted. He began to mumble…something, but he wasn’t sure yet. Run? Hun? Bun? What was…
“Sun!” Connor exclaimed. “You hate sunlight don’t you?”
Connor flew up high into the air, through the roof of the temple, and allowed the deep, orange glow of the late afternoon sun to pour in. Connor landed and breathed deep, his power growing and moving around him, forming his costume. He stepped forward, his eyes narrowed and his fists clenched. Furious, Connor launched forward, his cape fluttering behind him as he readed his attack…
II
Now fully charged, Connor zipped around the beast, striking hard and fast, trying his best to force the monster to step inside the beams of sunlight now streaming through the demolished roof of the crystal temple. Though the beast swatted and attempted to feign the blows, Connor kept moving, using his smaller frame and speed against the demon, which was somehow unable to keep his eyes focused on the white blur that kept striking him.
“Ok, enough of this already…” Connor muttered to himself as he formed his sword and lunged, jabbing it down into the monsters leg. Eblis let out a fierce roar and swung around, nailing Connor with a lucky shot and sending him flying across the room. Connor broke through several walls of the temple and found himself laying near the entrance, where Malachi’s body lay slumped against the doors.
“Malachi!” Connor screamed, shaking the older man’s body in an attempt to wake him up, but it was no good. He lay there, slumped over and barely breathing (though Connor wasn’t really sure he had ever noticed he breathed). He hefted the robed figure over his shoulder and slipped back inside the temple, securing him in a small room nearby. Slipping out, he turned his attention back towards the destroyed hole in the wall, where the demon had thrown him.
He slipped through and looked around, cautiously at first, to find Eblis had moved away. He moved quickly, forming his sword and shattering the ground around Gabriel’s body, lifting him out gently. He slipped back through the hole and placed Gabriel in the same room as Malachi, and sat for a moment in the corner, pulling back his mask and taking a deep breath as he tried to get a hold of what had just taken place. The sun was setting outside, the last rays shimmering through the walls of the crystal palace. If this monster’s weakness truly was the rays of the sun, he didn’t have much longer.
Connor pulled his mask back down over his face and pulled off his cape, wrapping it up and focusing on condensing its form, until the energy shifted and rearranged its design, forming a sleek, black sheath for his sword, which he strapped to his back. The trick to beating this monster would be the element of surprise: he would have to strike hard and fast, moving in before the beast had a chance to realize what was going on.
Pushing open the door to the small room and peeking his head out, he caught a glimpse of the sun slowly descending. Only a few more hours until its power was gone.
He would have to move fast…
III
The weight of his sword heavy on his back, Connor stalked through the halls of the crystal temple, hiding behind rubble and corners as he searched for the demon, Eblis.
Not that it was hard to find the putrid, grunting monster.
Connor finally found him in a deeper chamber, which appeared to be some sort of dining hall, complete with an elegant crystal table, and two crystal goblets, which had been tipped over at some point. The walls and floor were in shards, destroyed by a combination of Eblis’ pounding and just his sheer weight. Connor sunk into the shadows, slipping alone the edge of the room and watching intently as the demon kept pounding at the walls.
“What could be making it so mad?” Connor silently wondered to himself. “There’s nothing left to agitate it, is there?”
Too busy in his own thoughts, Connor misstepped, a small shard of crystal snapping under his boot. The demon whipped around, snarling and sniffing at the air, moving towards the sound. Connor dashed off to the corner, away from the powdered remains of the crystal shard, and lay in wait, one hand gripping the hilt of his sword. Eblis inched toward the shard, sniffing and groping along the wall…
In a flash, Connor launched forward, pulling the sword from its sheath on his back and slashing at the demon. The cold edge of his blade met with the hard flesh of Eblis, cutting deep and leaving the demon spewing blood. A powerful kick knocked the beast back against the wall, where he stood and roared at Connor, the wound on its arm already fully healed.
Seeing only one other option, Connor sheathed his sword and gathered his energy, forming a powerful ball of energy in his hands. He hurled it upwards, the beam blasting up and hitting the ceiling of the room, shattering it into a million crystal shards which rained upon the two.
Bright sunlight flowed in upon the demon Eblis, who simply stood there and stared at Connor, feeling no different under the golden rays.
“Well, sh-“ Connor muttered as the demon lunged forward and slammed him into the wall. Eblis struck hard, pummeling his body, as what was left of the temple shook and heaved. The blast from Connor had caused massive structural damage, and the entire temple was ready to fall in. As chunks of crystal fell, Connor saw a bright flash of light. The demon Eblis fell back, and before Connor could find the assailant, a large crystal block fell on his head, knocking him unconscious…
IV
The crystal temple is no more.
Where once stood an elegant temple in the middle of an isolated desert, now there is but rubble. The crystal walls no longer shine as they once did, its shards laying in the open sands with not so much as a flicker of life in them. Slowly, over time, these shards will sink into the sands from whence they came, disappearing from the world of mortals and fading into obscurity.
Deep beneath the rubble, buried in the sand, lie the bodies of the temple’s keeper, Malachi, his elegant robe now shredded and stained with his own blood, and of the angel Gabriel, his limbs twisted, his silvery hair tarnished. With time, they too will fade away into nothingness.
A world away, Connor awakens on a granite slab in the middle of a large room. Though still in his costume, he finds his mask thrown against the wall. His wounds have now healed, and his power is slowly returning to him.
Standing on the other side of the room is a man in a black cloak. His long, black hair is matted against his face, the cloak disguising a thin, muscular body. The man smiles at Connor, his paper thin lips stretching eerily across his pale face.
“How are you feeling, young sir?” the man asks in an odd, thick accent.
Connor sat up and looked at the man, eyeing his strange clothing. “I recognize you…you’re the damn street magician. Christ, you can be annoying.”
“The guise of Stefan Wonder is just that, my brother. A guise. An act. A show.”
“And who are you really?”
“I am like you, dear Paladin!” Stefan exclaimed, wildly gesturing his arms about. “My real name is Stefan Radu, and I am also an Earthborn Angel!”
END?
COMING SOON:
PALADIN ORIGINS: ACT V
“WONDROUS TEMPTATION”
