Edith:


    I approached the gate of the castle, and the golems guarding it. Before they could speak, I spoke to them. "Edith Maxwell, the Bulwark. Let me pass."


    "Validating, please wait." A long moment passed as they did...whatever it was the security golems do. I wasn''t entirely sure what they were, outside of extensions of the Lady of Light''s power. "Welcome, Disciple. Please proceed to the audience interface."


    As the gate swung open and I stepped through, a streak of brilliant red came darting out of the courtyard and directly into me. That was curious, I hadn''t seen anyone approaching from the outside. A closer examination of the offending red found it to me a young girl, barely taller than my elbow.  "Are you alright, little girl?" I asked, concerned with what must have transpired for her to be in the castle.


    "I''m fine," she said, "I''m fine. I''m sorry, I should have been watching where I was going." She started trying to walk around me, and I turned to follow her.


    "Where are you going?" I asked, but I didn''t honestly wait for an answer. My mouth was moving faster than my brain was. "Are you lost? Did you come to the castle alone? How did you even get into the castle?"


    "I''m headed to the Engineer''s Guild on business," she said, "and I was in the castle legitimately, if that''s what you''re angling toward. I don''t think I could have gotten past those marble men." She looked like she was about to turn around and walk off, but stopped. "I don''t suppose you know where the Engineer''s Guild is, do you?"


    "I do," I said. "I can lead you to it once I''m done in the Castle. If the golems will let you in again, you''re free to join me at the audience interface." She nodded, and followed me into the courtyard, where two more men stood. One stood taller even than I was, with a muscular build. The number of us, and where we were, started making things fall into place. He would be The Armsmaster, I was sure. He bore a striking resemblance to the little girl, if you ignored the size disparity. Siblings, perhaps? It would track with the Gods'' general approach to Providence that siblings would be selected as fellow Disciples. The other man was slightly shorter, but not much.  He and the girl would be The Summoner and The Archmage, most likely. Interesting. I waved and approached them.


    The thought briefly crossed my mind that I could try to claim my birthright here, assert myself as the Paragon of Light... but, no, that wouldn''t be something that worked out for me. Not with these damnable golems screaming my proper title at every turn, and not when the real Paragon of Light showed up.


    "I''m Edith Maxwell," I introduced myself, "The Bulwark. I assume the three of your are the other Disciples?"


    The larger man nodded. "I''m Emett, The Summoner," he said. I hadn''t seen that one coming, honestly. Maybe I could give him a sword and he would be useful regardless. "I see you''ve met my sister, Lyn, as well."


    "I have," I said. "Full of energy, isn''t she?"


    "That''s an apt description," said the man whose name I didn''t know. "I''ve come to prefer to think of her as an agent of chaos, myself. I''m Aston, The Archmage."A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Wait, if you''re The Archmage," I said, pointing at Aston, "and Emett''s The Summoner, then..." I looked at Lyn. That would make her The Armsmaster. Or worse, she might be the Paragon of Light. Was my rightful place usurped by a child?


    "I''m The Armsmaster," the little girl, who was apparently Lyn, said. I found myself slightly relieved by the reassurance. "I assume you''re here to collect your Boon from the King of Light?"


    "That I am," I said. "Have you guys met with the Paragon of Light, yet?"


    "We haven''t," said Emett. "We were kind of hoping to find him, because we don''t have a lot of direction without him."


    "We''ll make do," Lyn said. "At least we''ve got these letters of introduction so we can actually learn a thing or two about fighting instead of flailing at things and barely surviving."


    "Hey," Emett said, "I thought that demon hand was a pretty slick move." Demon hand? That sounded quite...dangerous.


    "You couldn''t control it," said Lyn, "and it was clearly willing to destroy us as well as those Apostates, if the portal weren''t too small for it to get more than just a hand out."


    I broke into their conversation. "Well, if the Paragon of Light is a no-show so far, we''ve got some time to kill. Based on past Rounds, I assume the King of Light got you guys some letters of introduction to various relevant Guilds?"


    "It did," Aston nodded. "We were heading out to them just now, actually."


    "You guys go ahead, then," I said. I probably would be done before the rest of them, as it seemed I had more combat training under my belt than any of the rest. Not that a lot of it was applicable anymore, but at least I knew how magic worked. "I''ll collect my Boon, and we can meet at the Radiant Damsel at the end of the day and work out where we''ll need to go from here?"


    "That sounds like a solid plan to me," Emett said, starting to walk away. "Will we have any problems finding the Guilds?" he asked as he started walking, calling over his shoulder.


    "You shouldn''t," I called back. "Providence will provide, even if you do manage to get lost."


    He snorted but continued walking. I didn''t blame him for not trusting the Gods, especially not right now, with the way this Round was shaping up. Emett, The Summoner? While his tiny sister was supposed to be a master of weaponry? This was just all wrong.


    <hr>


    When I arrived at the audience interface, the orb floated out of the wall, shedding the same golden radiance as the rest of the Lady''s servants do. "Audience interface activated. Disciple verified. Please select a Boon to continue."


    A Notice popped up, a large list of possible Boons, but it didn''t take me long to choose. I had hashed this out with my mother and grandmother before I left home, which would work best for me. I quickly tapped my selection, and the Notice vanished.


    "Bulwark Edith recognized as an Exalted. Please accept this letter of introduction to the House Maxwell..." the voice continued, but I barely heard it. Was this thing kidding me? A letter of introduction to my own home? This must be a sick joke by the Lady of Light, but...


    I snatched the letter out of the drawer, crumpling it with a scream of rage. Again, the Gods have denied me an opportunity. There would be no more training for me that I did not have under my belt. I was not the Paragon of Light, as I should be. The Disciples I was to travel with seemed unreliable, at best. Whoever was actually the Paragon of Light wasn''t even here.


    After all of this, would striking down the King of Shadows even be enough?