...And Satan did boast at what man had done by their own will. The destruction wrought upon the earth echoed into the Heavens and shook His gates. A deep darkness engulfed the earth and the Lord wept at the destruction his creation had wrought.

  The Lord listened for the prayers and pleas of His creations and heard only anger and gnashing of teeth.

  Satan was emboldened by the breach made by mankind into his realms and said unto the Lord, “See Thy creation as it truly is. For Thine own creation has forsaken Thee! My legions shall destroy all who remain and I shall rise in spite of Thee. For man has spoken thusly.”

  From the darkness of the earth, a single man did speak toward the Heavens.

  “Thine grace has been denied by us, oh Lord,” the man said, “We have defied you in our ignorance. Thy truth was revealed and we laughed in the presence of Thine holy light. Thy love was given to us and we spurned it, oh Lord. How could we ever be forgiven for unleashing the Legions of Hell upon ourselves? How can we cast our enemy back into whence he came without Thine Holy Spirit? We are undeserving of mercy. And I shall not ask for it. We are undeserving of forgiveness. And I shall not look for it. For we have been judged by our own works and face the demons in their true forms, unleashed by our hubris. By Thy will, Lord of All, Holiest of Holy, I shall never sway in my faith. In Thine name alone I shall battle the enemy this day until my soul is torn from my flesh and I stand before Thy judgement.”

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  The Lord did see the man and said unto him, “Thy God has heard thy pleas and thine convictions. Ye submit to thy God’s Will and admit thine sins, and Jehovah thy God did listen. Ye may not ask for mercy, but it is given. Ye may not ask for forgiveness, but it is given. For thine prayer has been heard this day. As thou have cast away the worldly life that has destroyed much of what thy God made, so shall ye cast away thine name and call thyself Paladin. Speak thy name and gather thine arms, for ye shall be Jehovah thy God’s first of many to wash away the darkness wrought by man’s sins.”

  And the man did say his name, and took up his sword and shield, and the Lord Almighty parted the darkness and gave the Holy Spirit unto the man.

  “Go forth, Paladin,” thus sayeth the Lord, “Gather all who will rise to thy side with the light of thy God, witness the love bourn unto thee to those who will listen, heal those who plead for thy God’s mercy, and cleanse the realms of man of thine enemy’s legions. Wherefore ye shall go, live by the Word and thy God shall never abandon thee.”

  - I Paladinate 3:1-27.