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[h1][color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b][u]Rites[/u][/b][/color][/h1]
[url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYf-QgpZXaA&ab_channel=SoulCandle](Mood Music)[/url]
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Auriel looked over the aftermath of their skirmish. She had seen violence before, and on a far worse scale when the hordes attacked. She was rather desensitized to it now, especially after having her own close brush with death. She heard Fer ask if she was alright, which made her golden eyes turn from the bodies that lay at her feet to the shield hero. She smiled faintly and nodded once, [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Yes. Are you?"[/b][/color] Her words were soft, perhaps even a bit pained that things had gone this way. She did warn the bandits, yet still...

When Fer patted himself down and appeared healthy, Auriel let out a breath of relief. She looked over to her other charge, the sword hero, and saw that he was having troubles coming to terms with the death he had dealt. Auriel walked over to Cole and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. As Fer had felt earlier, her touch was energizing. Any scrapes and cuts that Cole might have unknowingly endured began healing slowly. Auriel's hand wasn't meant to heal, though it sure was a handy addition, rather it was to calm him. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"They made their choice, Cole. And, as cruel as it is, better them than you. Your fate is for a higher calling, theirs on the other hand..."[/b][/color] She looked sadly at the dead bandits. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"I will give them their last rites... To prevent their souls from suffering more torment after death."[/b][/color]

Auriel's hand left Cole's shoulder, along with that energizing sensation. She stepped in a rough middle-point between the staggered dead and held her hands together softly. She closed her eyes and tilted her head forward, while her wings spread out wide. Despite the sun being gone beyond the horizon, Auriel was as radiant as ever. The only thing marring the angelic sight was the spatters of blood spread across her white wings. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Heroes of Olde, forgive the souls I send to you this night... Their path turned to darkness, but now they see only light. With my battle ended, there is no more reason for hatred. Only sadness and regret that more life was lost... I beg you, Heroes... Watch over them as they find their new paths at your sides."[/b][/color]

A golden radiance similar to the light she emanated when summoning the Bright Lance enveloped her hands, and quickly spread out to the dead bodies. They glowed for only a few seconds, before everything went dark again. Auriel let out a long breath and folded her wings back. She opened her eyes and looked back to Cole and Fer. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"We can rest assured now that no one will be tormented by their spirits."[/b][/color]

Auriel could feel a frog in her throat. The last time she had delivered the Rites of Passing was after a particularly violent skirmish with the Hordes. The troops she was with that day were almost entirely consumed by the Horde's rage. She remembered one particular soldier, a boy just barely past his seventeenth nameday who had gotten his parent's permission to become a soldier. She didn't know the young warrior very well, but his death was particularly hard on Auriel. She had seen so many orphans grow too old to remain under the Church's care, and march off with a sword in hand to far off battles, only to never be seen again. Auriel cleared her throat to force the hard feeling back, and found her steely resolve again. [color=lightgoldenrodyellow][b]"Our hunt has only just begun. Rayla Winters is still at large. We can't stop here, not yet."[/b][/color]
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