Rask’s prayers have become more fervent and more frequent since leaving Mount Llanos. They settle into a more familiar rhythm as the days pass. Prayers to Raiden upon waking. Quiet, muttered prayers when relieving himself, near a tree or bush or some sort whenever possible. Before eating. Before his excercises. While he exercises.

His exercises are precise, focused on powerful moves, and more and more deadly strikes as the group gets closer to the keep.

More prayers after his exercises. Prayers before sleeping. Prayers while cleaning his equipment.

Rask cleans himself and his equipment thoroughly when he can. Snow, ice cold water, warmed water, mosses and small boughs all get used to scrub the warrior, his arms, armor and clothing. He sharpens his blades and trims his hair and beard. His hair and nails he burns or buries with a prayer to Raiden to protect him and let those parts of him feed the trees and plats of the land. He mutters prayers over his waste water and preferentially pours it out near small trees and shrubs.

He prays with Ca’armine, Gustav and Alexis whenever possible and appropriate, always inviting Ethelred to join them.

With the group Rask talks a bit about tactics, staying focused on “Sassy” and “Bandy”, but needing to protect each other. His idle one-on-one conversations with Ethelred revolve around spell craft, rune and tattoo-magic, and the concentration required to cast spells during battles. With Alexis he prays to Raiden and explores the same ideas and gently hints at inquiries related to warrens and divine and arcane magic. With Ca’armine, it is prayer, Raiden, and the use of miracles in battle. Rask doesn’t really understand much of what they share about magic, but he tries.

Throughout it all, when Rask utters his own prayer, or leads prayers, he repeats:

Praise Raiden, The Great Protector,
Raiden Shields us from our Foes,
I stand before You, weak and vulnerable.
Raiden shield us all from the blows.
Praise Raiden, Raised by Anashar,
Blessed with Glory, Resolute and Strong
I wield my sword to help humanity
As we make our way along.
The Light of Raiden shine upon Us,
As it shines upon me and all of Aegir
Let it shine on me, and through me,
Let the Light purge the taint of my soul.

Some man the wall. We keep the watch behind it.
We find the rot before it shows.
We begin with ourselves.
What we find, we pull up by the root.
We remember what is worth saving.
We do not bend. We do not break. We hold.

Praise Raiden, The Great Protector,
Raiden Shields us from our Foes,
We stand before Him, made strong by Raiden.
None to save them from our blows.
Praise Raiden, Raised by Anashar,
Blessed with Glory Resolute and Strong
I wield my sword to help the Humanity
Blessed by Raiden, Resolute and Strong