Chapter 39: My Paladin Friend
Under the dim, amber light of a candle, a young magician wrote feverishly across a sheet of parchment.
"Poor Allen has once again suffered cruel torment, yet even at death's door, he still prays steadfastly to the Lord of Dawn. I can't help but be moved by the strength of his faith, though I also wonder what, exactly, that faith has given him.
"We are both prisoners of the same lich, yet only he endures torture, while I, a mere apprentice, am allowed to write letters home…"
William Harvey filled page after page before finally submitting his essay, "My Paladin Friend Allen—A Brief Evaluation on the Influence of Faith on Young Minds," to Ambrose.
When Ambrose finished reading it, he nodded in approval. "Not bad at all. You're a decent author, young man. Ever considered switching careers and writing novels instead?"
Harvey forced a polite, nervous smile. "Master Megaman… will a story like this really get published in Legendary Spellcraft?"
It had been Ambrose's idea, of course. He'd told Harvey to write, from his own perspective, a tale about a devout young paladin named Allen who, driven by his faith, provoked a powerful lich and suffered for it after his capture.
The sprawling thirty-thousand-word essay subtly suggested that Allen's faith wasn't a result of genuine devotion but rather indoctrination forced upon him by an overbearing father and a fanatical upbringing.
In short, the editor-in-chief of Legendary Spellcraft, James Watson, was depicted as a religious zealot who had twisted both his son's life and the teachings of the Lord of Dawn.