Marachius Ainsley

It was another sunny day in Stormwind. The summer heat was starting to build within the city, but that didn’t stop the citizens from going around from shop to shop, looking for the various items on their lists.

Outside the Cathedral Square, Marachius sat on the side of the canal with his fishing rod in hand and a small cup, bucket, and an extra rod sitting on the ground beside him. The water in the canal slapped against the side as the day’s breeze moved the surface around. Marc had already cast his line a couple of times when he heard footsteps coming up behind him. Looking back over his shoulder, he saw a familiar teenager walking towards him with a fishing rod in his hand.

“Nice fishing pole,” Marachius offered as the...

“Get this to the keep right away, Ainsley,” the lieutenant said as he handed a brown folder to the young paladin.

“Right away, sir,” Marachius answered. Tucking the folder under one arm, he straightened up and saluted his superior before turning and heading through the door. With a quick step, Marachius moved through the Cathedral and made his way through the front doors. Standing at the top of the stairs, he took a moment to let his eyes adjust to the sunshine. 

“Nice day,” he said to himself with a smile as he descended the steps and walked past the fountain. A few moments later, Marachius found himself walking along the canal outside the Cathedral Square. As he walked, something caught his attention.

Sitting on the...

Marachius had been sitting on the edge of the canal for the better part of an hour. The bucket beside him held three fish. They were decently sized, not terribly big but not too small either. With his line in the water, the young man would twitch his fishing rod a little bit every now and then as he tried to entice more fish to his bait. 

After a few more minutes, he felt a tug on his line. Marachius reeled the line in and lifted up his fishing rod. Another decently sized fish hung above the water and started to swing back. Marc reached out with one hand to grab the line and pulled the fish closer. Setting the rod beside him, the paladin pulled the hook out of the fish’s mouth and put it in the bucket with the others. Then he...

Marachius sat on the edge of the canal, his bucket to one side of him and his shoes to the other. With a flick of his wrist, his fishing pole whipped forward and launched his line out into the water. Calmly, he tapped on his line a couple of times and waited. The sun was setting behind him, causing the water to reflect a deep orange as the currents pushed past.

Behind him, three teenaged boys were walking past when one of them noticed the paladin and stopped. Tapping the nearest boy on the shoulder with the back of his hand, he pointed towards Marachius as the other two stopped walking and looked at him. They quietly muttered to each other, snickering because of their hushed comments.

Still chuckling, they started to walk away just as...

The water in the canal slapped lightly against the stonework on the sides, every now and then sending droplets into the air along the edge. As the sun shone down onto the water, light reflected and bounced around as if little faeries were dancing upon the currents. 

Marachius sat on the edge of the canal and laid his fishing pole and bucket next to him. Taking a moment to remove his shoes and set them on the wall beside him, the paladin flexed his toes and dipped them into the water below. After the moment passed, Marachius reached into his bucket and took out a small piece of bait. Taking his fishing pole and fixing the bait onto the hook, he then held the pole to the side and flicked his hook into the water.

Around him, the paladin...

Marachius sat in a plush chair near the front door of Madame Eva’s tavern, holding a book in one hand and a drink in the other. Taking a sip, he would then hold the book closer and read another page before moving his thumb to turn to the next.

“You seem quite focused tonight.”

Marachius glanced up to see Madame Eva looking over his shoulder at the book. “Yes, ma’am,” he replied, tilting the book slightly to give Madame Eva an easier time to see what was on the page. “Commander Larethian loaned it to me.”

“Paladin histories?”

“Yes, ma’am. He thought…” but the young paladin didn’t get to finish his thought.

From the other side of the inn, a series of thuds rolled down the stairs until something finally...

Marachius stopped at the door leading to the trainers’ office and took a deep breath. Steadying his nerves, the young man let out the deep breath and then knocked on the door. It was a moment before there was a response from within.

“Enter.”

Marachius opened the door and stepped in. Then he stopped short. Inside the room were several people wearing different tabards and armor. At the main desk sat Lord Shadowbreaker, flanked on either side by Arthur the Faithful and Katherine the Pure. Around the sides of the room sat several other men and women, some were the trainers that Marachius had been working with, others he had only seen in passing.

“We’ve had a complaint lodged about you, Ainsley,” Katherine the Pure said...

“Hey, Marachius!”

Marc looked up from the book he was reading as he lay on his bunk. At the door to the room stood one of his fellow trainees. 

“Yeah?”

“The trainers are looking for you.”

“What for?” Marachius asked as he sat up on his bunk and put his book to the side.

“Don’t know. All they said was to find you and send you to their office.”

“Office? Not one of the classrooms or outside?”

“Nope. And given the looks on their faces, I wouldn’t keep them waiting.”

“Oh boy,” Marachius muttered to himself as he pushed up off his bed and walked out of the room.  “Thanks,” he added as he stepped past the other paladin.

It was morning in Stormwind and Marachius was standing outside of the Cathedral with two of his fellow trainees, their armor gleaming in the early sunlight. They had finished their breakfast and were discussing their assignments for the morning. Realizing that they had all been assigned to different tasks, the three were making plans to meet later that evening.

“There he is, dad.” A voice called out across the courtyard.

The three paladins turned to look at the call. Next to the fountain stood an older man with a teenager beside him, a teenager that Marachius quickly recognized.

“He’s the one,” the teenager said, pointing at Marachius. The older man looked to the teenager, then strode over to stand in front of the...

Marachius crossed over the canal on his way back to the Cathedral, his tabard with the symbol of the Cathedral flapping in the wind. He’d been sent to have one of his pauldrons repaired as one of the buckles had broken during the morning’s practice. As he stepped off the bridge, Marc heard voices coming from the path to his right. When he heard someone cry out to stop, the paladin started moving towards the noise.

As he rounded the corner, Marachius found three teenaged boys standing around a much younger one. One of the teenagers held a rocket-car toy up in the air while the younger boy fruitlessly jumped in the air after it.

“What’s going on here?” Marachius said, startling the three teenagers who stopped what they were...

Marachius rode next to Katherine the Pure as they traveled through Elwynn Forest on their way to Darkshire. As they rode, the elder paladin talked about experiences she’d had growing up, sharing the lessons she had learned as a recruit and young paladin. From time to time, Marachius would ask questions but for the most part he listened or responded when a question was asked of him. 

They had not travelled for too long before they came to the turn into Duskwood. The trees closed in around the road and the shadows deepened as they moved further into the shire. The conversation lagged as they paid more attention to their surroundings. Marachius was on edge, looking for every howl that echoed amongst the trees. Finally, they came to the...

Marachius re-read the letter, he’d received from Reggy, as he walked through the halls of the Cathedral. Shaking his head, he quickened his pace until he finally found one of his trainers.

“Sir,” Marachius said, standing at attention in front of the trainer.

“Ainsley. Aren’t you supposed to be out at the training yard?”

“Sir, they sent Regynn to Northrend.”

“That’s your friend, right?” the trainer asked.

“Yes, sir.  She’s never been there. And they sent her by herself.”

“And?” the trainer asked with a shrug, obviously unmoved by this information.

“She shouldn’t be there by herself. They should’ve sent someone else with her to help out.”

“What do you want me to do, Ainsley? Send you?” Read more