The duty of the swords is to uphold the will of the Goddess, and most of all, to pursue the destruction of those things outside of her cycle. A sword will run towards any undead or demon with the hatred and fury of a storm, inspiring others around her to throw aside their natural fear of such creatures and focus themselves on its ending. They are so close to her, they feel her rage, become it, unable to stop even if they wanted to. Their tests must push them beyond imagining, in order to give them the fortitude for such a task.

Yet, they are so much more than just weapons. They lead the people in prayer. They know honour and courage and hold to truth. They reflect upon their compulsions and consider their own commitment to free will in contrast to this, and so they often become scholars. Never judge a sword solely by her shield.

And then, there is perhaps the most dangerous path of all. How can it be so more dangerous than the others you laugh? I will tell you, cousin, but heed my words carefully, for there is a great warning in them.

Well, there are some who hear The Hunter more than others. Sometimes it comes suddenly, like a clarion call from a great horn, and life is forever changed, and sometimes, it has always been there, a slow beating drum that one can no longer ignore. Either way, whether from your mewling birth-gasp or without warning, one day whilst out on a stroll, when it comes to you, you have been marked, and that is that.

Such a person increasingly comes to embody the Hunter, either obsessively focussing on one or two aspects to the point of perfection, or all parts of him in balance. These are what the tests are for. They must not let mercy cloud their judgement, or only blood lust drive their spear. A few struggle with these things: a provider can find himself vulnerable to mercy or a young and inexperienced killer overcome by the constant thumping of those drums and the thrill of the chase. It is not often that such hunters survive the path of the spear for long. Oh, not all are so rustic, cousin: a hunter is not defined by the grounds in which they stalk, but by the fact that they do. You can find spears within noble courts where the game of politics is a constant test of patience, wit and ambush, the price of failure just as deadly. Yes, I said deadly. It is a most dangerous path.

The path of the priest is to know all the Gods, as much as any mortal can. A priest is therefore a wealth of knowledge and wisdom, for they have not dedicated their learning to one over the other. A priest gives so much to the people, and they are not just sages. They are healers and ritualists, even fighters, for they are able to imbue weapons with her elemental and corporeal power, and his spirit. They are more than often found by the shield wall then, either themselves shining in holy light or blessing warriors around them. A priest even has the ability to quell a sword’s rage, but may choose not to do so. That is where their wisdom is greatest.

But in this wisdom is the danger, see, for you are foolhardy indeed to take the path of The Goddess or The Hunter, but to try to walk with the Gods surrounding you is sheer madness, and, it often ends that way. You see, when a spear or sword has almost reached their pinnacle, yet falls at the final hurdle, it is only death that waits. But should a priest suffer such failure, their soul-thought is shattered under the weight of it. Reborn they may be, but forever, in any guise or life they are given, broken in mind. In life, some try to shut themselves away, limiting the damage one whose word has so much weight can have, whilst others carry on going from place to place, perhaps even unaware they are mad, ensnaring unwary travellers on the road with a warm fire and kind invitation for who-knows-what purpose.