A Gift from Dead Gods, 5.

Finally, the day had come. Luno wore his ceremonial robes of the priesthood with pride as he marched into the temple. As he had expected, the Lord was waiting, as were the sisters. The god spoke first, “Ah, Luno.. How long has it been, when you stood here, amongst the masses, not knowing what you would become? Look at you now, a full warrior. Today, I pronounce you as my champion!”
Luno nodded, “As my Lord commands.” The sisters grinned and the one on the left, whom he had come to know as Ilane, nodded. “An obedient champion, my Lord. Do we honor him with the gifts?” The god nodded his armored head. The other sister, Irune, who had further decayed in the years that had passed, waved a skeletal hand and a group of guards carrying a heavy chest came into the hall.
Ilane opened the chest, pulling out a helmet. Luno noticed it looked a lot like the armor the Lord used to be present. Irune smiled at him, “This is our gift to you, Champion. Let no man, woman or beast doubt the power you wield!” He bowed his head as he accepted the helmet. “Thank you, sister.” The sisters bowed, turned and left the hall. He was alone with the Lord. “My champion, you have grown. No longer are you as young as you were when we met.”
“You have said you were at my command. Thus, I command you to go to the forest of Artok, to the north. There you will find a host of dryads. As the god of murder I bid you, destroy them all. A mage will accompany you.” The Lord of Blades turned and headed for his throne, where he sat down. “You will leave in two days. Finish your business here, then come to the plaza at dawn, wearing your new armor. She will find you.” Luno bowed, turned and left the hall.
In those two days, Luno went around the city, saying farewell to all those he had met in the last years. Finally, he came to the house of the man where he had lived, before moving into the temple proper. He still visited here often, the old man had turned into a reliable, if talkative friend. Before he had knocked on the door, the man opened. “Hello, good to see you! You’re quite the talk of the town, you know. Yes, everyone is talking about the new champion, and I wondered if it would be you. Well, do come in!”
When the two days had passed, Luno put on his new suit of armor. As a note in the chest had explained, the armor was enchanted. It could repair and clean itself, and the pieces locked together to form an almost impenatrable shell. As he began putting it on, the plates, joints and undersuit clicked together the way they were meant to do. He noticed several cleverly placed plates which he found he could open using a little magic burst. Finally, he wrapped a cloak around his armored shoulders, and headed for the plaza.
It was just before dawn, and the streets of Rasnach were quiet. Those few people he passed stared in awe as he walked by. Inside the suit, Luno grinned. He had certainly come far from where he started. The plaza was packed with priests, he noticed. They parted, bowing to him as he passed. Finally, he came to the entrance of the temple, and on the steps stood an elf girl. She smiled at him and jumped down to stand before him. “So.. you’re the champion. I hope you’re as strong as you look, we have a lot of killing to do.”
Luno took off his helmet, and held it under his arm. He looked her over, and grinned. “I hope you’re stronger then you look, because all I see is a small elf girl, without armor or weapons.” She anwsered by lifting into the air, fire streaming from her eyes and hands. In seconds, she was covered in flames. She tilted her head, “My name is Fyanha. I have no need for such things.” Luno nodded, “Agreed.”
As the flames went out and Fyanha landed gracefully, a priest threw himself on his knees before them. “Champion, we of the priesthood present you with a final gift!” Two priests came forwards, one bearing a longsword, the other a matching shortsword. “Please, accept our gifts, oh great champion!” Luno put his helmet back on, and accepted the swords. “Thank you, priest. I accept your gift.” He turned to Fyanha and smiled. “Shall we leave?”