[i]"Our Lord is Justice himself. Do not fear you who live a life of righteousness and uphold the law for the Evarraelm of Heaven opens before you. You shall gaze upon its perfection and light. But woe to you oh sinners, for your judgement comes on swift wings. And there shall be no mercy."[/i]
[b]-Radiant Codex[/b]

[b]Tronven, Althorra[/b]

The great city of Tronven, capital of a nation, capital of a faith, guarded by angels on high, site of Evarast's first descent to give the holy laws, was a great city. But alas even a great city was still a city, and even in the heart of the land that most firmly followed the teachings of the Radiant Arbiter who paid homage to He Who Judges alone there were those who paid only lip service to their lord. 

Death had come swiftly to Rolf the carpet merchant. One moment he had been discussing the days earnings with his son whom he had groomed to take his place in the future. The next moment he had simply keeled over and passed on as a sharp pain filled his chest and the world faded away. Or at least it was supposed to fade away. The man was shocked when he awakened again and did not behold the heaven that had always been promised. 

Instead he saw his shop swim back into focus. Tall candles of mourning, made from the purest white wax were lit and the sight of grieving family members greeted his spectral gaze. There was his wife weeping. There was his son. They stared at him but it was if they could not see him and he looked down at himself. It was as if there was only a faded echo of himself there. His body was vaguely transparent and spectral. Was it all a lie? Was there no heaven? Was he simply doomed to float here watching his family grieve?

Surely he was due more than that. After all he had made offerings at the churches and he had prayed to the lord from time to time. There had been that incident years ag... no it was best not to think of such things now. He had almost resigned himself to the fact that the afterlife would simply be watching his family when a sound washed over him. A pure and musical note as if from a great chime echoed in his ears. His grieving family did not seem to notice and a moment later he heard the sound again and felt himself begin to rise.

His spectral form passed through the roof and he floated upwards. As he ascended other sounds could be heard, angelic voices singing in a chorus so beautiful that if he had been alive he would have wept overwhelmed with emotion. Still he rose and then the light took him. He could see nothing, he could hear nothing. There was only an endless expanse of white before his eyes for a brief moment. But then the light changed.

A vast hall unfolded before him, gold and silver adored the many columns that reached up into the sky and the light, the light came from all around him. Beings that he could only describe as angels looked on from the sides of the great hall and as he took in the awe inspiring sight before him one thing above all ended up drawing his attention. At the end of the hall sat a great throne, a lesser one sat slightly to the right of it though that throne was currently unoccupied. Upon the great throne sat his god. Evarast himself sat enthroned before his very eyes. The man was speechless as he beheld the lord of light.

"Rolf." A heavenly voice sounded from Evarast upon his throne. "Have you upheld the laws? Have you obeyed my codes? Are you sinless?"

The man could only stammer out a reply. "My lord, I have been faithful." That much was mostly true, he had prayed to his lord, he had donated to the church, he had attended services and listened to the priests. But there was that thing, no the lord would not need to know of such things, it had been so minor. 

[b]"Are you sinless?"[/b] The voice was louder and slightly less heavenly, slightly less pleased.There was a heaviness to it a weight that spoke of irritation. Though he still saw a smile upon the face of god and that strengthened his resolve slightly.

"My lord I have always been faithful to you." He tried again hoping that such would be enough but knowing in his heart that it would not be.

[b]"HAVE YOU SINNED?!!"[/b] This time the voice crashed over him like thunder as the light in the room flashed in pulses of nearly blinding radiance that threatened to scorch and burn him. And from the corner of his eyes the angelic beings who stood to the sides of the halls took on a new light. Had their gazes always seemed so harsh, had there always been a trace of scorn upon their divinely beautiful or handsome faces, had there always been the hunger that he now saw etched upon them? 

"Yes" He finally admitted. "Yes I have sinned." And his heart was heavy now. 

But Evarast's voice softened then. "Am I not just? Speak of your deeds in my name. Speak of what you have done to balance the scales." Once again the benevolent lord of light was all that was visible again, the hunger in the gaze of angels had gone and they exuded only light and warmth.

"I have paid the tithes to your church. I have kept you in my mind. My family has been raised in your faith." The desperate offerings of a man who saw a chance that his fate might not be so dire as he had thought moments ago, poured forth.

"You have upheld many of the laws. But you gave what was required and no more. You kept me in your mind as was required and no more. You made sure your family followed me and no more. What have you done to balance your sin?"

Rolf wracked his mind, searching for something that he had done, something that he could offer up to the Radiant Arbiter to balance his sins. But he could not find anything. It was true that he had been a minimalist, and now he saw that he was doomed. "I have nothing to balance my sin." He confessed finally. "But you protect us from ruin, you show mercy. I am your servant and I beg your mercy."

"There is no mercy. There is only justice." And the chime that had sounded before sounded again in the wake of Evarast's words. Rolf felt his body contort in agony and he tried to scream but could not for his mouth was already gone. His soul was brutalized, ripped apart and sewn back together in a new form in seconds, though the pain never faded. With no eyes he stared out at heaven in horror, with no mouth he tried to scream his pain but could not. He saw the Evarraelm but only as a blade of grass within it.