[center][h1][color=ff5000][b]Renar Hagen[/b][/color][/h1][/center]

[hider=Symbolism is For Cowards]

Rend. Sever. Kill. Rend. Sever. Kill. 

He didn't know how long it had been going. The first few hadn't been much. But he knew the woman in the sky had been testing him. Prodding him. He hadn't given her the satisfaction of seeing his tricks. That was, until a knight in the panoply of House Brias approached, the family sigil on his shield. After that, Renar saw nothing but red. Fine. She wanted to provoke him? She succeeded. From then on, he fought without reserve, making full use of his arsenal of dirty fighting and inspired manuevers. 

Whatever man of Brias this was didn't get to make a single move before a hurled dagger jammed itself into his eye. Half a dozen soldiers charged him only to trip on caltrops he'd scattered across the ground and be killed while prone and trying to recover. Just for his own satisfaction, Renar killed an orc warchief in the exact same manner he'd slew his first: sand in the eyes, poleaxe thrust to the thigh, and a dagger to the throat. 

A giant of a man with a flail and kiteshield gave Renar his first death, his face concealed by a flat-topped helmet. From there, the challenges grew greater. Famed heroes, knights, and wizards. It gratified Renar to know that he was at least giving as good as he got in this dream, slaughtering several who came against him before one would eventually strike a killing blow. And then, after an archmage crushed him with a magically-hurled boulder, [i]he[/i] appeared.

Edwin the Traitor. Wielder of Steelfang. The man approached Renar with an easy smile, actually having the audacity to clap.

[b]"Oh, bravo. Bravo. You're really doing pretty well so far, you know. Not quite up to our standards yet, but you'll get there one day."[/b]

The fact that this one actually bothered to talk first had Renar pause, his poleaxe leveled at the most reviled traitor in all of Thaln's history. 

[color=ff5000][b]"Is there a point to this?"[/b][/color] He snarled in disbelief, trying to figure out what game both Edwin and the witch up above were playing. [color=ff5000][b]"Why you?"[/b][/color] Renar charged, and they clashed. His gambits were seen through, and his counters reversed time and again. 

[b]"Maybe."[/b] Edwin replied easily as a smash from the flat of Steelfang sent Renar reeling back. [b]"Let me hazard a guess. Some in the order don't quite trust you. Think you might be my second coming, for some reason or another."[/b] 

The thought of taking Edwin's path had crimson returning to the edges of Renar's vision, sheer resentment allowing him to fight through the pain and take up his weapon once more. 

[color=ff5000][b]"Then they understand nothing. I've read the histories. You disgust me. And not for the usual protests that you would hear. I care nothing of [i]chivalry[/i] or [i]valor[/i]."[/b][/color]

[b]"Oh? Let's hear it, then."[/b] Edwin quirked a brow, sounding genuinely interested in what Renar had to say. 

[color=ff5000][b]"You threw away everything you had for some mad dream of peace. I remain loyal to the Iron Rose because as they rise, so do I. To cast all that aside for an [i]ideal[/i] is the mindset of a child. There is no such thing as a just or kind world. Only what you can wrench from it for yourself."[/b][/color] Renar spat, surging forward with a whirl of his poleaxe to clash against Steelfang again.

[b]"Is fighting for an ideal really so bad? It isn't worth laying all on the line for?"[/b] Edwin sounded genuinely saddened by Renar's outburst, even as they traded blows once more. 

[color=ff5000][b]"Never."[/b][/color] Renar hissed, even as Edwin finally got the better of him, an improper parry on his part allowing Steelfang to wrench Renar's poleaxe out of his hands. [color=ff5000][b]"I fight for myself, and nothing else. If you had done the same, perhaps Parvan and Cyrus might have lived long, happy lives. But I suppose your false peace mattered more."[/b][/color] He uttered in one last act of spite before the Traitor took his head from his shoulders.
[/hider]

They'd decided on drinks after training, as usual. Renar sat across from Gerard at the table, taking a sip of his wine as he observed his friend staring straight down into his mug of cider. Were it anyone else, he would have assumed that his fellow knight was simply tired out from an afternoon of constant attrition and combat. But this was Segremors. The poor fool had a tendency to obsess over what others would find trivial. 

[color=ff5000][b]"You're going to be like this all evening if I don't say something, so let's hear it."[/b][/color] Renar sighed, giving in and making the first move. [color=ff5000][b]"What's on your mind this time? Worrying your head off that Fionn broke routine once and didn't train with us today?"[/b][/color] The thought had crossed Renar's mind a few times, but it was doubtful that one instance meant anything. If it continued to happen, it would be cause for concern. But a single absence could have been due to anything: a letter to send off, supplies to purchase in town, or even a case of the runs. 

[color=ff5000][b]"Or is this about the Demonbreaker still? Had I an inkling that he was down there, I would have joined the lot of you. Still almost jealous, really."[/b][/color]

[@HereComesTheSnow]