Closed A City Worth Saving (Irathia)

[Samuel Longwell]

A City Worth Saving Date: 17th Winter 516 AV Location: Streets of Syliras Samuel Thoughts Others Stepping out of his door, the knight cut a distinctive figure in his gleaming armour. Shield strapped to his arm and sword at his waist, Samuel looked every inch the perfect knight, strong and courageous. But the calm was only skin deep. In reality he was truly unsettled. The recent announcement by the Seasons had shaken him, it was worrying to see those who had so much power preying upon the weak. Samuel stopped in front of a poster, reading again the notice that the Seasons' priests had plastered around the city. He frowned, he couldn't understand how Morwen's followers deserved to die for the goddess' actions. It was not acceptable to shirk your duty, but there had to be a better way than what was being enacted. Samuel could not help but liken the act to killing children to make a parent surrender, the thought leaving him with a sour taste in his mouth. His eyes ran over the description of the Vantha, committing the details to memory. At that moment he made a decision and, once he had furtively checked around himself to make sure no one was looking, he ripped the poster down and shoved it into his pocket. He couldn't openly oppose the Seasons, but he could and would oppose their actions quietly and maybe he would be able to make a difference. “Most people in the city will have seen one of these posters already,” he said to himself, “but perhaps removing this one will give a follower of Morwen a chance.” Samuel turned away, heading down towards the squire's dormitories. It was a purposeful walk, punctuality was important to the knight so he rarely strolled. But though the pace did not seem overly fast to the knight, his naturally longer stride meant he passed many of the other people walking in the same direction. He'd arranged to go on an evening patrol with Irathia, the young squire he'd met in the summer. He had wanted to give her an idea of why he loved being a knight and perhaps help inspire her to control her anger. So a message had been sent to the young woman, informing her that he would be coming to collect her around a bell before dark. He arrived early, but that was not a problem. The tall knight settled himself against a wall to wait. In general he was a patient man, there was no rush and so he decided he would content himself with watching over the people nearby until the squire arrived. He could be a symbol of hope and safety even when he was worried. If Samuel was honest with himself he would say that he depended on it, serving others helped keep him sane.

[Irathia]

Irathia stood in her room, putting her armor on. She could feel the weight of each plate as she strapped them on to her small body. She twisted her arms, her elbow making large circle motions. She did something similar to her legs. She found doing that before fully moving in armor helped her legs and arms move around with more speed compared to when she doesn't do it. Though she still was sluggish and slow inside the armor compared to outside of the large metal shell. After the rituals were done she gave a long sigh, as she grabbed her cloak and swung it over her shoulders, securing it in place with a knot from the strings that were in the cloak. She grabs her hammers, her hands wrapping around the area where the head of the hammer meets with handle. She took some deep breaths as she opened her doors, looking around as she did so. She began to walk through the Dormitory and outside, where she looked for Ser Longwell for a moment, then she spotted him and a slight smile spread a cross her face as she walked towards him. She gave a small wave as the small woman stood in front of him "Hello again..." She said, trying to stand as tall as she can without seeming obvious. Compared to the last time he saw her, she looked much better. She no longer had the dark rings around her eyes, she didn't seem like she was forcing a smile anymore and most of all she didn't seem mad or anything of the sort. Only thing that can be seen about her in her armor is that she seemed to have much longer hair, which seemed to be getting in the way. Irathia wanted to get it cut, though she didn't know where or how to cut it, so it seemed like she was just satisfied with pushing all of it to the back of her head.

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others The familiar bustle of the city had a calming influence on Samuel, like a well worn, comfortable pair of shoes. The cacophony of different sounds, the press of the crowd, even the unpleasant odour of the masses were reassuring. This was his home, when he walked these streets he was in his element. An armoured squire stepped outside the dormitories then started towards him. Samuel realised it was Irathia, he had not immediately recognised her in her armour. Samuel smiled in greeting and nodded in reply to her wave. “Good evening Squire Irathia,” he said, “I hope you are well?” As he said those words he noticed that she looked significantly more lively than when he had last seen her. The smile that graced her face was more genuine and warm than those he had seen previously. Samuel realised that he himself had probably looked pretty bad the last time they had met, having slept very little due to recurring nightmares. But today he was well rested, and his smile came easily. The height difference between the two was distinct, the knight towered over a foot above the young woman even with her attempts to stand tall. Samuel was oblivious to the fact that Irathia wanted to appear taller, he knew plenty of people shorter than him that would defeat him in any fair fight. Indeed just his experience with Pycons would be enough to confirm that lack of height did not imply lack of ability. Gesturing for the squire to follow him he set off down the street. “It has been a while since we last spoke,” Samuel said, “has much happened since then?” Samuel didn't want to pry into her personal life, but the transformation from the sad, upset young woman that he had met seemed quite remarkable. He sincerely hoped that it was a change that went further than just appearances. As the pair passed through the crowds Samuel kept a relaxed smile on his face. Every time he patrolled the streets he did the same thing, he liked to try and inspire trust in the general populace. He believed that peace within the walls was most easily achieved when people trusted and liked the knighthood. So the knight felt like it was his duty to encourage such sentiments. He decided he would try and explain this to Irathia. “The reason why we patrol so often isn't just to stop wrongdoing and protect people,” the knight began, “but also to show that we are there to stop wrongdoing and protect people. Every time we put on our uniform we have an opportunity to make people feel safe. This is important as the more safe people feel the less likely they are to panic when something goes wrong. And panic in a city of this size is a dangerous thing.”

[Irathia]

Irathia shook her head, her days on her off were mainly comprised of just trying to make herself happy and less stress. And sleeping. Lots of sleeping and the such. She did her occasional run or training to keep herself from becoming rusty or loosing the progress she made. Everything else wasn't really of worth talking about, just generally sitting by and watching as events fold and blossom out. She twisted her should as she talked, it was a bit stiff still. "I haven't done much sense then, I recent got back into my full training. I do feel a lot better though, and I have been getting a lot more sleep compared to the last time we saw each other." Irathia said, she placed her shoulder pad back into place before looking back at the knight. Irathia thought about what Ser Longwell spoke, how the order's patrolling is to show the fact that they are there to stop anything bad from happening. It made sense in her mind, the fact that they were there could help with make people feel more secure. But a question floated around in her mind, one that she thought was important enough to talk about it to the knight, due to his experience. "Excuse me, I understand the fact that us patrolling can comfort people, due to the fact that we are always around to stop bad people... But... How do we know when it is to much?"

[Samuel Longwell]

Samuel Thoughts Others Samuel split his attention between the squire and the street, keeping an eye out for trouble while listening to Irathia talk. Such was his habit, and it meant that people who met Samuel while on patrol might think him aloof or uninterested. But such a conclusion would have been unfair to the knight, for he was simply taking his job seriously. The knight nodded as Irathia said that her situation had improved. “I'm glad to hear that lass.” he said, turning to grin cheerily at the young woman. “Perhaps we could do some training together at some point then?” Irathia seemed to absorb the knight's monologue about the importance of patrols, then turned and asked him a question in return. Samuel considered her query for a moment. “Too much patrolling?” he replied, “Well we wouldn't want to be out in such numbers that people feel intimidated. I think our patrols would make people more nervous if 30 armed knights were marching down the street several times a bell. I guess the balance is difficult to get right, but I think we manage well enough. It's important that we encourage calm rather than fear.” As Samuel and Irathia approached an intersection, a shout of shock rang out from the left. The knight turned, pushing through the crowd to see what the disturbance was. A wheelbarrow full of firewood had toppled over, spilling its load into the street. The old man who had been pushing the wheelbarrow was being berated by a younger man for his clumsiness. Samuel stepped forward, clearing his throat. “I don't think there's any need for that.” he said, frowning slightly at the angry young man. “There's no harm done so let's just all stay calm,” he continued, “no need for any hostility.” The knight's tone was calm and polite, yet he was firm enough that the younger man simply nodded curtly and moved away. The citizens of Syliras knew to respect the knights, so Samuel often needed to do very little to restore the peace within the walls. Once he was outside, in the dangerous wilds, it was not so simple. The old man had started to slowly collect all that he had dropped, but it seemed like his back was giving him trouble. The knight stepped in, motioning for him to stop. “Come Irathia, let us help the man with his load.” Samuel said, already stooping to pick up the firewood. A few other citizen's also stepped into help, following the knight's lead. Gathering a large armful, he walked over to the now righted wheelbarrow and dropped his bundle into it.

[Samuel Longwell]

Grading Complete Please edit your grade request thread so that it's obvious that it's been graded. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions/problems with your grade. Name: Samuel XP Award: Philosophy 1 Observation 1 Investigation 1 Leadership 2 Lore: Vantha: Physical Traits Vantha: Follows Morwen Morwen: What a Morwen mark looks like Irathia: Looks better Name: Irathia XP Award: Socialisation 2 Observation 1 Logic 1 Lore: Patrolling: Reassuring the citizens Patrols should not cause fear Notes: I did not give shield points as the thread was so short. Enjoy your grades if you come back Ira