Chapter 24: Flying High
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	Cecil looked to the sky as the sun was setting and a longing for
something he once knew crept through his body.  Had it really been that
long since he had been Captain of the Red Wings of Baron?  Sure,
thousands of years had passed, but to him, it had only been a few.  That
was before he had become a Paladin, before he had vowed to destroy evil
such as the undead that plagued Jidoor and displaced the poor farmers he
now commanded aboard this airship.
	He looked up at the clouds that covered the sun's brutal rays from
view, but instead he saw the fiery reds and oranges of a beautiful
sunset, only now begining to draw upon the purples and blues of dusk.
	He found it all so beautiful, so peaceful, so relaxing...and as he
stood there watching, Cecil failed to notice the the probing of his mind
by Elanya.
	                *       *       *       *
	"My, my, what an interesting idea he has just given me..." Elanya
smiled to herself as she developed a new plan for the white Knight.
"With control of his mind, I could give him what he wishes."
	With the last words barely out of her mouth, the goddess of apathy
dissappeared from her scrying room, only to reappear in front of the
Paladin himself...
	                *       *       *       *
	When Cecil awoke from his daydreams, he found a beautiful Maiden
with long, silvery-white hair, long, firm legs, and a well endowed set of
curves standing before him wearing little more than a semi-translucent
light blue flowing dress that accented her baby-blue eyes perfectly.  Had
he been in complete control of his facilities, Cecil may have wondered
how she had ended up there.  As it were, he could barely stutter an
acknowledgement.
	"um, uh, um...er, Mi..Milady, wh...what...How..how have I this
honor...I, er, mean,..." Elanya put a finger to Cecil's lips to silence
him.
	"The honor is all mine, Cecil, Captain of the Red Wings of Baron and
Great Dark Knight of the same land."
	"Dark Knight...Captain of the Red Wings, but I..."
	As he tried to shake his head to say no, the goddess of Apathy
pulled the Paladin into a swift embrace, kissing him full upon the lips.
Cecil's eyes glazed over, and it seemed that the goddess was sucking the
very soul from his body.  Minutes later, her lips left his, and she laid
his unconscous form in a comfortable position on the deck of the airship.
	"When you wake my dear Paladin, you will remember nothing of your
life as a Paladin, only the memories of being a dark knight.  But seeing
that I can't leave you defenseless, I shall fill your mind with memories
of your skills.  Now sleep well, my dear Captain..."
	                *       *       *       *
	It hadn't been but a few minutes later when Cecil regained
consciousness, but to him it felt as though he had slept for years.  His
mind seemed cloudy and the now darkened sky with only traces of the
firery sunset added to his confused state.  What had happened?  Where was
he?  He could have sworn that he had just seen the sunset in all its
brilliance, but it was suddenly dark.  What was wrong?
	"Uh, sir, are you OK?"  One of the Imperials had seen Cecil lying
prone and had come to help.
	"No, no, I'm quite alright, just a dizzy spell..." Cecil looked up
at the Lieutenent of the Red Wings, or so he thought.  Now, instead of
seeing farmers, he saw the contigent he had lead a few years before.
	"Lieutenent..." The Imperial looked around and decided that, yes,
the Captain was talking to him.  He straightened, figuring this was a
promotion.  "Where were we headed?"
	"Uh, sir, I'm not quite sure...the men and I had thought you knew..."
	"Oh," Cecil rubbed his forehead as if trying to remember, "I guess
King Baron wanted to keep it a secret.  Kain didn't come along, did he?"
	The Imperial really had no clue what Cecil was talking about, but
just shook his head no anyway.
	Cecil gazed down at his Black Armor.  Ah, what a priveledge it was
to be the chosen Dark Knight and even further, Captain of the Red
Wings.  He would not fail the King, and wherever Kain was, he'd find
him.  A mission of this importance would require the help of his
faithful friend and most acomplished Dragoon.
	"Lieutenent Grazier, where is the Ship's White Mage?"
	"Sir?  What white mage?"  The Imperial soldier was now utterly
confused, but he was loyal, as were the rest of his contingent, to this
man who had saved there lives.
	Cecil was confused himself, and decided he'd better go rest for
awhile.  "I'll be in my room, can you take the helm?"
	"Where should I, uh, take us?"
	For some reason, the name Narshe popped into his mind, though he
could have sworn he had never heard that word before.  "Narshe...
Narshe..."