Paladin Academy: A Playground Inspired Story

[BladeofOblivion]

Thank you. I did this quickly before class and didn't have time to spell check myself.



What I hated about the star wars thing is that there was either the sith way or the jedi way. No middle ground. Well, why can't someone be good yet still be able to form attachments? And what about Luke? His care for his father brought him back from the dark side. Same for Vader, his father instincts lead to the death of the emperor.

Anyways, that's enough star wars from me. Onto the story.

Actually, there are Grey Jedi in the Expanded Universe. I can only think of Two though. Darth Traya, who was infiltrating the Sith, and Jolee Bindo, a neutral party member from Knights of the Old Republic.

[Silverraptor]

Ya... This was mainly my fault for derailing my own thread. Lets just get back to the story.

[BladeofOblivion]

Sorry 'bout that. Back to the story, you're right.

[Saint Nil]

Woot! Episode 35-The Paladin Strikes Back. Perhaps paladins unlock their crystals when those they have to protect those they care about the most? Random theory.

Either way, awesome update Silver.

[Blue Ghost]

Woot! Episode 35-The Paladin Strikes Back. Perhaps paladins unlock their crystals when those they have to protect those they care about the most? Random theory.

Either way, awesome update Silver.

I highly doubt that, with the whole "no bonds" philosophy that the paladins seem to have. I really hope that the paladins will discover the power of Love, though.
Oh yes, and Mordokai is back in the Playground. Should someone call him over?

[Saint Nil]

But wouldn't that explain the lack of crystals that have unlocked? Personally I think Grim loved himself the most.

[Blue Ghost]

But wouldn't that explain the lack of crystals that have unlocked? Personally I think Grim loved himself the most.

Ah, yes. You are right. In that case, I fully support your theory, and hope that it is true. I think it stands a decent chance.

[Silverraptor]

I highly doubt that, with the whole "no bonds" philosophy that the paladins seem to have. I really hope that the paladins will discover the power of Love, though.
Oh yes, and Mordokai is back in the Playground. Should someone call him over?

Yes please. Call him over. Also, keep an eye put for Penny.

[Lord Raziere]

For those of you who said they never liked how Jedi couldn't form attachments, I just want to say, so do I. Not forming attachments actually looks more like a weakness to me. Anyways, enjoy the latest part.

yea, and heres some more stuff why not forming attachments is actually bad:

-no friends to help you
-your not actually being social.
-if you have nothing to be attached to, there is nothing for you to value; having no attachments could actually lead to nihilism.
-no attachments mean your detached and have no connection to the world around you, what reason would you have to do good if you are isolated from the things that benefit from you doing good?
- I remember that a DnD book somewhere said along the lines of "respecting all life includes respecting your own life. someone who is truly good isn't
a self-sacrificing moron all time." and no attachments just seems to be a stupid self-sacrifice thing that isn't respecting yourself.
- human beings actually need attachments, its what makes us human. no attachments means we become robots- or worse.

[Viera Champion]

yea, and heres some more stuff why not forming attachments is actually bad:

-no friends to help you
-your not actually being social.
-if you have nothing to be attached to, there is nothing for you to value; having no attachments could actually lead to nihilism.
-no attachments mean your detached and have no connection to the world around you, what reason would you have to do good if you are isolated from the things that benefit from you doing good?
- I remember that a DnD book somewhere said along the lines of "respecting all life includes respecting your own life. someone who is truly good isn't
a self-sacrificing moron all time." and no attachments just seems to be a stupid self-sacrifice thing that isn't respecting yourself.
- human beings actually need attachments, its what makes us human. no attachments means we become robots- or worse.

I think we have already figured out that not forming attachments is bad. You are a little late.

[Recaiden]

I think we have already figured out that not forming attachments is bad. You are a little late.

But he spelled out all the reasons why.

[Lord Raziere]

But he spelled out all the reasons why.

its always good to know the reasons why something is bad, if you don't, what proof do you have that is in fact bad?

[RabbitHoleLost]

Clearly, the Jedi had certain attachments. Obviously, Anakin and Obiwan, and most Master/Padawan duos usually formed fondness between the two. If the target was to make sure there were no attachments EVER, they wouldn't pair Padawans up with a single Jedi Knight/Master.
The "no attachments" wasn't "don't make friends", it was "don't love other people so much that their deaths will grieve you". It was encouragement to understand that loving someone was letting yourself become vulnerable to all the darker possibilities that come with such a thing. Jealousy, grief, anger.
When you become a Jedi, you gave up a life possible for others. You gave up the hope of marrying and having 2.5 kids and a dog and a house with a little white fence.
You gave it all up...for a life of power, and the responsibilities therein.
Plus, you know, Jedi were permitted to leave the Order, if they so desired.

I believe this might extend to the Paladins at the Academy, as well. When you become a Paladin, you knowingly give up these "other possibilities". Its like taking an oath of chastity to Ordain.
So, in all honesty, I kinda have no sympathy for Kurama in this particular situation. Surely, he had to have KNOWN what was expected from him when he entered the Academy.

And that is Rabbit's ramble of the day.

[Lord Raziere]

repressing your emotions does not lead you to becoming a stoic superhero, it leads you to becoming psychologically ill because you keep everything bottled up from not expressing your emotions. A big part of psychology is about letting you release such things in a controlled manner, the Jedi Code of "Don't feel such things, form no attachments etc etc." is against human nature.

and you don't "become" a jedi, you are taken from your family at birth and trained and raised to be one, Anakin the 9 year old? an exception. now imagine children being raised not to form any attachments or being emotional at all and learning how to wield the force and wield a lightsaber- if they left the order what would they do with their life? all they KNOW how to do is be a jedi.
they can't really "choose" at all- you either be a jedi..... or you do what? go through your life purposeless?

[RabbitHoleLost]

Being a Jedi isn't about repressing emotions- its about controlling them in a healthy manner. The Order doesn't expect you not to get angry or sad or what have you, they expect you to deal with it in a healthy, controlled manner, and not show emotions. There is a vast difference between maintaining a calm face, and not having any emotions at all.

And PLENTY of Jedi in the EU left the Order, either to become Sith, or Force-Sensitive...people. Bardan Jusik about gave up even his Force powers when he became a Mandalorian.
It wouldn't be hard to leave and start up a new life, especially after you become a Knight, galloping across the galaxy to this or that planet, and seeing how life goes on without being a Saber Jocky. Especially if you fall in love, and have someone else to help you if/when you choose to leave. Besides the fact that there's the Jedi Sect lead by Djinn Altis which encourages romantic attachments.
There are a thousand different directions for a Jedi to take, if they disagree with the principles of the Order. If they stay, I can only assume it was because they liked the power that the Order gave them.

Still, though, Kurama, I assume, had a choice and was not yanked away as an infant from his parents to become a Paladin.

(Just a note: I am, unfortunately, a Fandalorian, so all of my views on the Jedi are skewed in a negative light by Traviss Dogma. Hence, I am a little harder on them than most people would be.
Second, I'm playing devil's advocate, and, in a recent thread in Media Discussion, I argued on the opposite side of where I am now >>)

[Silverraptor]

Still, though, Kurama, I assume, had a choice and was not yanked away as an infant from his parents to become a Paladin.

Kurama is an orphan. Every paladin there is an orphan. He was not yanked away from his parents because they were already dead.

[Silverraptor]

Paladin Academy: Part 36
-Cast-
Mangosta
Kurama

Spoiler

Show

Ice shards were scattered around the floor. The ground was broken up in several places from what looked like horrendous blows. Mangosta and Kurama were staring at each other with murderous glares. Kurama was panting slightly. Even with his new power, it just wasn't enough to hold down the Demon King. And judging by the size of the craters the Demon King punched out, all Mangosta needed was one clean blow and it was all over for him. There had to be a way to defeat him.

Mangosta flexed his wings angrily.
"This has certainly gone on long enough! I'm long since done with this game of ours! Now hold still and DIE!!!"
Mangosta quickly flapped into the air again, then dropped down with incredible speed. Kurama turned to run out of the way. As he did so, a layer of ice quickly appeared on the surface of the ground in front of him, allowing him to skate quickly away. The blow from Mangosta however was close enough that the shock wave caused Kurama to lose his balance and slide on the ground for a ways. He didn't have long to lay down when he felt the ground tremble from the Demon King's charge. He reacted by placing his hand flat on the ground. A pillar of ice shot up from the ground and rammed itself squarely into Mangosta's chest, stopping his advance. The Demon King roared with frustration as he swung his hand, shattering the ice pillar.
"You can't keep this up forever! Eventually your powers will fail you! I will kill you in the end!"

Kurama stood up, panting. Mangosta was right. Every time he called upon his power, he would get more and more tired each time. His eyes flickered over to the great stone chair where Viola's crystal lay.
"So far, you're not doing a good enough job. Is this really all that the Demon King has to offer? I guess my realm really has nothing to fear if you're supposedly the best."
Kurama didn't know what made him taunt the Demon King like that. Especially since the Demon King could kill him at any moment.

Mangosta's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"That's it! I'm in the mood for some deep fried paladin!! Horrahhh!..."
Mangosta open his mouth wide. A torrent of intense hot flames shot out of his mouth straight at Kurama. Panic struck Kurama as he instinctively called up an incredibly think layer of ice in front of the flames. Loud sizzling and cracks were heard from where the flames hit the ice. Steam quickly filled the room. He kept adding more and more layers to the ice, but the flames were melting through too fast. Mangosta then exhaled a greater burst of flames at the ice and then stopped.

Mangosta smiled slowly as the steam started to clear. The ice wall was quickly running water all over the floor. A great big hole in the middle was the most noticeable feature. Large amounts of steam was coming out of it, making Mangosta smile even more.
"Now do you see paladin? That's the end of you."
He slowly stepped around the wall of ice to see the charred remains of the pest that annoyed him for so long. He waited for the steam to clear first, as it was still obstructing his view.
"So, how does it feel to have lost? To have failed all that you were charged to defend and let down the one you cared about most?"
The steam quickly cleared.
"And now, you are nothing more than... huh?"
There was nothing but blacked rocks and pools of water on that side of the wall. Mangosta stood there puzzled.
"Where is the body? Surely the flames weren't hot enough to vaporize him completely. So where is..."
Mangosta froze. He whirled around to see Kurama running for his throne chair. He quickly let out a roar of anger and chased after him. How could he have forgotten about the crystal?!

Kurama was running as fast as he could. If he could only get there before the Demon King caught up, maybe he could still succeed. But as he got nearer, he realized the arm rest was a lot higher than he was. With everything he could muster, he jumped up for it. An ice step quickly raced up to his foot, allowing him to give himself one more push upwards towards the top of the arm rest.

It all played out in slow motion as he flew up towards Viola's sword. He could see her crystal glowing from the hilt, as if it was calling out to him encouragingly. With surprising amount of grace, he swept his hand through the air and managed the grasp the hilt of Viola's sword. Almost immediately however, something incredibly heavy crashed into him, breaking the stone chair as it did so. Kurama tumbled sideways before directly impacting a wall. He slid down to the ground, too dazed to prop himself back up. He could just barely register that the armor on his left side was broken in. He could see blood beginning to pour out of it. But what disappointed him the most, was that the blow caused him to let go of Viola's sword, having it to fly randomly through the air.

A great large hand grasped around him tightly, forcing him up the wall. He soon found himself at eye level with Mangosta. He could see his reflection in the eyes of the Demon King. He look exhausted and defeated, even to himself.
"No mistakes this time."
The Demon King raised his other hand. The claws were prominently facing outwards, ready to slice him apart.
"This has certainly gone on far too long. Now its time to die."
A bit of flame escaped the sides of his mouth as he breathed outwards.
"Good bye, paladin."

The hand swung around, there was a terrible yell of pain, and Kurama fell to the floor.

[mangosta71]

The thought that the sword is going to land next to Viola and that she will thus save Kurama makes me sad. It's also awfully short-sighted of the Demon King. He should have removed the real crystal and put it somewhere else, and shoved a fake crystal into the sword to fake out any would-be rescuers.

Remember, chaotic evil doesn't mean not thinking or planning ahead.

Also, story-Kurama raises a valid point - if a trainee can take on the Demon King and not get immediately splattered across the wall/floor, how are we supposed to believe that they're a threat to the Academy?

[Lix Lorn]

Oooh. Poor Mangosta.
Uh, I mean, go Kurama!

[licoot]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooo...


wait, I had a bet saying he would still die...


Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeessssssssssssssssssssssss sssss

[BisectedBrioche]

The thought that the sword is going to land next to Viola and that she will thus save Kurama makes me sad. It's also awfully short-sighted of the Demon King. He should have removed the real crystal and put it somewhere else, and shoved a fake crystal into the sword to fake out any would-be rescuers.

Remember, chaotic evil doesn't mean not thinking or planning ahead.

Also, story-Kurama raises a valid point - if a trainee can take on the Demon King and not get immediately splattered across the wall/floor, how are we supposed to believe that they're a threat to the Academy?

He's not at full power...or something.

[Fable Wright]

Die, Kurama! Die!

Seriously, though. I think he's almost gone. After he restores Viola's sword to her, he has no use to the plot aside from being a reason for Viola's revenge. After this, he might come back to life, or not really be dead, but he's going to be portrayed as dead or unconscious until the end of the battle.

It all played out in slow motion as he flew up towards Viola's sword. He could see her crystal glowing from the hilt, as if it was calling out to him encouragingly. With suprising amount of grace, he swept his hand through the air and managed the grasp the hilt of Viola's sword. Almost immediately however, something increadibly heavy crashed into him, breaking the stone chair as it did so. Kurama tumbled sideways before directly impacting a wall. He slid down to the ground, too dazed to prop himself back up. He could just barely register that the armor on his left side was broken in. He could see blood beginning to pour out of it. But what disappointed him the most, was that the blow caused him to let go of Viola's sword, having it to fly randomly through the air.

Typo there.

[Ranger Mattos]

Oh noez!

Is Kurama dead? *consults magic 8 ball* Results may vary.

Anyways, great work.

[Viera Champion]

The thought that the sword is going to land next to Viola and that she will thus save Kurama makes me sad. It's also awfully short-sighted of the Demon King. He should have removed the real crystal and put it somewhere else, and shoved a fake crystal into the sword to fake out any would-be rescuers.

Remember, chaotic evil doesn't mean not thinking or planning ahead.

Also, story-Kurama raises a valid point - if a trainee can take on the Demon King and not get immediately splattered across the wall/floor, how are we supposed to believe that they're a threat to the Academy?

Hey I am a pretty kick ass trainee that's how I beat him.

[BladeofOblivion]

Panic struck Kurama as he instinctively called up an increadbly think layer of ice in front of the flames.

Gotcha. Darned typos, Eh?

[Grimlock]

He might not be dead *closes eyes and crosses fingers*
As for the question of Kurama fighting Mangosta so well; surely his cold/ice based powers have a big influence there... but also remember he hasn't done any lasting damage to Mangosta, so the demons are still a real threat!

[Silverraptor]

Die, Kurama! Die!

Seriously, though. I think he's almost gone. After he restores Viola's sword to her, he has no use to the plot aside from being a reason for Viola's revenge. After this, he might come back to life, or not really be dead, but he's going to be portrayed as dead or unconscious until the end of the battle.


Typo there.

Thank you.

Gotcha. Darned typos, Eh?

And thank you.

The thought that the sword is going to land next to Viola and that she will thus save Kurama makes me sad. It's also awfully short-sighted of the Demon King. He should have removed the real crystal and put it somewhere else, and shoved a fake crystal into the sword to fake out any would-be rescuers.

Remember, chaotic evil doesn't mean not thinking or planning ahead.

Also, story-Kurama raises a valid point - if a trainee can take on the Demon King and not get immediately splattered across the wall/floor, how are we supposed to believe that they're a threat to the Academy?

Okay, fighting one or two demons at a time with moderate breaks in between with a health potion and the paladins are pretty well off. Now imagine thousands, if not tens of thousands of demons all marching onto the fortress at the same time. The paladins are the only real threat against the demons. Once they fall, the rest of the world quickly follows.

[Silverraptor]

Paladin Academy: Part 37
-Cast-
Viola
Mangosta
Kurama

Spoiler

Show

Viola lay there, still muttering about how something was gone. Her mind was an empty abyss of darkness, a void, with nothing but the feeling of loss.

Then, a tiny sparkle of light appeared in the darkness of her mind. It was barely within sight through the darkness, yet it seemed to be calling out to her. With nothing else to draw her attention, she focused on this speck of light. As she did so, the light grew brighter and stronger, compelling her towards it. She didn't remember telling herself to move, just that she was crawling towards the light. After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, her hand fell across something metal. As she felt down the object, she touched something smooth as glass that was pleasantly warm to her touch. In the instant she touched it, the void was being filled. The feeling of loss was expunged from her mind. The emotions were overpowering as she quickly forced the object into a tight embrace, holding it at her heart. Tears of joy began to form in her eyes as the last traces of loss disappeared.

In an instant, she quickly realized everything again. Who she was, where she was, and what she was doing. She opened her eyes with shock when she remembered about the demons. She quickly sat up to see across the room, the large shape of Mangosta raising something off the floor up the wall. Her heart skipped a beat when she realized what it was.
Kurama!
She jumped to her feet, and ran forward as fast as she could.

"No mistakes this time."
The Demon King raised his other hand. The claws were prominently facing outwards, ready to slice him apart.
"This has certainly gone on far too long. Now its time to die."
A bit of flame escaped the sides of his mouth as he breathed outwards.
"Good bye, paladin."

The hand swung around, there was a terrible yell of pain, and Kurama fell to the floor. Kurama looked up to see the Demon King roaring out from pain. What looked like a metal blade of a sword was sticking out through Mangosta's leg. The sword hummed loudly as the black blood poured out of the wound. Then with a heave, Kurama saw as Viola pulled the sword out of the Demon King and take a stance to do battle. She called out angrily to him.
"Don't you EVER touch Kurama again!"

Mangosta slowly turned around after his wound healed. His face didn't show anger, suprise, or disgust. Instead, it almost showed an exasperated boredom.
"So. You got your sword back I see. As well as your crystal, good for you."
He knelt down so his face was just above Viola's eye level, causing her to look up angrily into the Demon's face.
"A fat lot of good that will do you. I defeated you once before, doing so again will not be so difficult."

Viola then heard a tired, desperate plea from Kurama.
"Be careful... Viola..."
She glanced over to Kurama laying on the floor, before turning back to Mangosta.

The Demon King almost smiled.
"Yes Viola, be careful. You don't want to make all of Kurama's hard work for nothing do you?"
Mangosta suddenly struck at at Viola with his hand. However, she was ready for this and managed to roll with the blow to avoid the worst of it.

She got to her feet immediately afterwards and glared over at the approaching form of Mangosta.
"I'm not scared of you, and I won't lose this time."
She held her sword out, ready.
"Kurama and I are going to escape this place together. And there's nothing you can do to stop us!"

[Lix Lorn]

Two against one! Go you people!

[Silverraptor]

I must say, that was fast. Although, it was a short part so... *Shrug*