Open [Sakel City Event][Wolf Creek] Dark Rider

[Kavala]

Timestamp: 58th of Summer

Setting: The Wolf Creek Cross Country Equestrian Training Course

Kavala was out with a very young two year old stallion that had shown a lot of promise in his yearling training days. The Denusk was uncut, which was unusual, and being trained advanced of his peers because he had a sharp mind and an excellent conformation that Kavala was interested in adding to her breeding program. Most of the Denusk Horses went to the Kuvay’Nas and were gelded at an early age if they were deemed average in their weanling groups. Copper wasn’t one of those. He was more full bodied, taller, and his coat was a deep chocolate that shimmered a metallic copper that was incredibly striking. He already knew some of her advanced training such as ‘guard’ and could lengthen and shorten his stride at her wish. Lead changes hadn’t been a problem for him, though he had gone through an awkward growth state that had made him clumsy as a yearling.

So today, with the weather lovely and a bit more free time than most days, Kavala wanted to ride the youngster at least through the novice portion of the Wolf Creek Cross Training Course and see how he did. She introduced her young mounts to water crossings and tree obstacles early so they’d already been to the course in a herd. She often rode a slightly older horse and took the rest off tack and just walked the course with them letting them try each obstacle on their own. But with Copper she wanted to just warm up on the Novice trail and see how he did moving higher.

Training the youngsters was something Kavala really enjoyed. Riding them wasn’t always enjoyable. She picked just a simple Yvas and back blanket. They wore no headstalls and had no bits or reins. Completely free in the head, her work was all training and less force so she felt the youngsters turned out better. She turned them over to the Kuvay’Nas as three year olds and the men there finished them how they saw fit in the cavalry. It was a good job and Kavala was proud to have been the one to develop the breed the Akalak utilized. She could say their warhorses were some of the most beautiful and intelligent on Mizahar. Most of that was due to the Djed Storm of 512. Had not some of her breeding stock been positively effected, the development of the Denusk Stock would have been a lot more complex and taken far more time. Five years, however, and she was getting a crop of somewhere in the neighborhood of twenty a year. It was more than one woman could train, and so she took on several grooms and trainers that assisted her in her work and got all the young horses progressing as fast as they could to have them ready by age three.

Copper was going to be the exception. Kavala shifted on his back and paused at the start of the trail. “Okay, you’ve been here before. Remember?” The stallion dipped his head, snorted to clear his nose of the scents, and bent his big head back to study her. “I remember. I wanted to go on the harder trail. You wouldn’t let me. You said the others weren’t ready. Is that why we are here now? To try some of the bigger jumps and deeper crossings?” He sounded excited, very much like a young horse should, as his muscles rippled and he shifted in place.

Kavala automatically shifted her seat, ran a hand down his neck, and quieted him with a firming of her tailbone into his spine through the thin blanket.

“Of course. Shall we?” She lightened her seat, shifted forward placing some of her weight on her lower thighs and knees, and lifted lightly off the saddle to urge him forward. Copper really needed no urging. He set off with a spring in his trot as they headed for the first very shallow water crossing.

Behind them quite a ways, another horseman lurked. Its shadowy form obscured its features and indeed any details that gave the horseman any form or identity. It looked like a three dimensional ink blot poured from the sky to form an upright horseman. Stepping out of the shadows of the fringe forest but still staying off the trail, the mounted man followed the Konti and her Warhorse into the Course completely silent. They paralleled the groomed horse trail, passing through the sometimes dense woods as if the trees had no substance at all.

[Balian Martell]

Balian crept silently through the trees, bow in hand and arrow in place. He was on the hunt.

He had been sent that morning into the forest to fetch some meat for the station. Normally it would have been purchased within the city of riverfall, but today the task had fallen to the young squire. His Patron, Ser Borr had pointed out at dinner the previous night that Balian had some aptitude for this sort of work, and thus, over a few tankards of ale and a rather bland stew, it was decided. In truth Balian suspected that this was more of Borr’s training. Likely, his goal was for Balian to learn the surrounding area; this would undoubtedly be incorporated into some larger lesson or exercise. Not that Balian minded, he enjoyed the outdoors. Riverfall was far less suffocating than Syliras had been, and the city felt much more natural, however there was a tranquility that could not be found anywhere but the wilderness.

This forest was small compared to the bronze wood and the great wilderness that spread beyond that in Syliras, however it was still teaming with life. Already he had found traces of small creatures on the edge, and what looked like a deer trail or two. There also seemed to be a lack of predators, other than himself, in the area. The cheerful singing of the birds on this warm summer day was always a telltale sign. ’ Listen to the sounds of the forest’ his father had taught him as a child, and it was lesson he remembered well. He had no single objective for the day’s hunt, not focusing one sort of animal or another. As a result his quiver held a combination of both game arrows and the more general broad head arrows, 10 of each.

Movement. A quick flash of something had caught his eye some distance away near the edge of the tree line. He crouched and stood still. Hunting was an act of patience. He observed the area where he thought he had seen some movement. Some hedges had grown along the area between the tree trunks, obscuring some of the area, however he was sure he seen something. Half a chime had passed before anything happened, but his patience was rewarded. From under a bush a wild hare appeared, its pelt a light mix of brown and grey. It was fairly sized too, not the biggest the young hunter had seen, but neither was it the smallest.

Still crouched, Balian inched his way forward, one foot soflty landing infront of the other, attempting to stealth into range of his recurve long bow. It had greater range and power than more common bows, and, Balian suspected, it was more accurate as well. He reached down to his side where his quiver hung and swapped out the broad head he had knocked for one of the smaller game arrows. Whereas the broadhead had a broad sharpened steel tip, hence its name, that could take down larger animals such as deer, game arrows had much smaller and blunter tips, usually of iron or even of the same wood of the arrow. Its purpose was not primarily penetration, but to kill its prey using shock and blunt force. It was this arrow that would be needed for hunting hares.

Once he was in position, Balian raised his bow in position, careful not to draw back on the string until he was ready. He would only have one shot at his target. If he missed the rabbit would bolt off, being too quick for him to chase. He took a deep breath. The rabbit nibbled at the grass infront of it, unaware of his presence. A second breath, his eyes locking on to his target, gloved hand reaching up the string. The small mammal had moved only a few inches forward, ears swiveling to hear of any danger. A third breath. His gloved hand pulled back at the string, resting his thumb against his cheek, eyes focused on his prey. Within ticks he released, loosing the wooden projectile toward the rabbit. For its part, the sharp ears of the rabbit had heard the twang of his bow string, its flight or fight instincts kicking in. For a brief instant the world slowed, a race between the arrow flying towards its target and the rabbit already in motion to leap out of its way.

Due to either luck or skill, the arrow found its mark. A soft thud could be heard as it embedded itself on the side of the wild animal. Balian lowered his bow, a small smile appearing on his lips. Although he was satisfied with the shot, he nonetheless reached for a second arrow and knocked it, just incase. Slowly he, although less worried on stealth, he approached the kill. The arrow had lodged itself just under the animals front legs, penetrating its rib cage. Kneeling, he placed a hand against the dead rabbit, and firmly pulled the arrow out. He cleaned off some of the tufts of hair and blood that had coated it and replaced it back into his quiver. should I skin in now? he thought. He had his hunting knife, which was sharp and angled just right for the job. It hung next to his sword on hisleft hip, it now becoming a familiar weight. Eh… I probably could, but I might also ruin the pelt. Instead, he decided to bring it back as it was to the station. They could properly process it there. Trying one of the feet up with a piece of string he had grabbed before he left, he hung the hare from his belt, making sure to loop the string around a few times before securing it with a simple knot.

Satisfied with his first kill, Balian prepared to move deeper into the forest. He was hoping to find a young deer, something small enough that he could carry back, but one that still had some meat on it. He also woulnd’t mind finding another hare or two. A load snap broke him out of his musings. He was so focused on his own thoughts that he had failed to notice that the birds had stopped singing. Hairs at the back of his kneck began to prickle. Something was off, he could feel it. Was it another hunter? A predator? A second snap, loader and closer than the first. This one sounded like branch breaking, not twigs. Quickly he replaced a game arrow for a broad head and stood still, bow at the ready. He heard….something, coming up from his right within the woods.

[Kavala]

Copper successfully navigated the stream crossing with Kavala's encouragement. Unlike most horses, he liked the water and had more experience with it than most. Kavala liked to run her long yearlings and weanlings up and down the beach to help build their stamina and teach them the fun of playing in the salt water surf. The waters were always good for their growing muscles so by the time they got to the age she could comfortably ride them, they were more than willing to not let streams get in their way.

They came out on the other side and Copper shook himself like a big dog causing Kavala to laugh. He was only wet up to the bottom of his belly, but the horse still acted like it was a major river. He bounced excitedly and then started back into the deep woods, following the narrow horse trail that was little more than a non-obtrusive track through the Fringe Forest. The next jump would be bigger, a triple stack of logs they'd hauled out of the creek and put up in a triangle formation where another big log had already lain. Kavala leaned forward and asked him for a trot, bringing up his speed just a bit and lengthening his stride.

"It's easiest to jump things if you size up the jump then look to the landing so that when your going over the obstacle you aren't looking at the obstacle any longer, your eyes are only on the landing, Copper. Now come on..." She urged, drumming her boot heels lightly into his flanks pushing his speed a bit more.

The young horse obeyed her request, sped up, sized up the jump, then spotted his landing and when his stride took him right up to the trio of logs, he took his last stride bunched his hind quarters under him and threw himself up and over the obstacle. He tucked his forelegs under him, stretched upwards and leapt the logs perfectly. His back legs gathered under him he came down neatly and didn't toss his rider as he cantered out of the landing and then came to a stop. Both him and Kavala turned towards the barrier and the young stallion pawed at the ground a moment and seemed to chuckle.

"That was a huge jump!" It wasn't, not really, but it was the biggest one Kavala had let Copper over so far. The horse seemed to dance in place and then buckled slightly.

Kavala laid a hand on his neck, soothing him slightly, as she laughed at his antics. "It certainly was respectable." She said, not agreeing with him but not curbing his enthusiasm. "You'll take even bigger ones at times. Just remember, don't think about the size of the jump, thing about the pathway over it. Even if it seems larger than life, Copper, you need to just let your brain do the complex calculations on speed, height, thrust... all of it. You won't always be right, but the more practice you in your body will know what to do." The Konti said, turning back towards the direction they were traveling. There were more obstacles in front of them. And she looked forward to a successful trip with the young horse. This was about confidence building and nothing more. Copper had enthusiasm abound. He just needed experience to hone it.

They started off at a slow trot. Copper trotted with a lengthy smooth gait that wasn't jarring or noisy. He moved, oddly enough, almost like a cat in the forest. Kavala wanted to keep him warmed up, but she also didn't want him burning out in the first few minutes because Wolf Creek was a long course and she wanted to enjoy their day out together. Kavala was half minded to keep Copper out from his peer group and instead of sending him to the Kuvay'Nas with the rest of them, retain him to breed and to act as her personal mount. She liked his attitude, his enthusiasm, and the fact that she'd witnessed him more than once being not only kind but wise around The Sanctuary. That was evident the one time she'd found her son Tasival curled up between his two big front hooves, sound asleep in the sun, while the Stallion guarded him and kept him shaded so he didn't burn.

Her mind was on other things for sure as the young stallion lifted his head and scented the wind. He breathed in and almost snorted, his smooth gait faltering as he drew to a halt. "Kavala." He said low in his throat, his voice almost a rumble. "I smell a human and blood." The Konti snapped out of her daydreaming and pulled the crossbow from her back. She loaded it quickly from the quiver that was hanging off of Copper's Yvas.

"Which way?" She said softly, almost under her breath.

Copper immediately turned off the trail. A branch under his hooves immediately snapped as they deviated from the groomed trail. Then he wove in and out of the trees, up a small rise and onto a level area of thick woods. The stallion could still walk between the trees, since the Fringe Forest was an old place, but his going wasn't as easy due to the thick duff on the ground and his hooves sinking into the pine needles and forbes growing in the dim shaded light.

The pair moved forward, weaving between the trees until Kavala spotted the man. He was to the left of them, bow in hands, a dead rabbit hanging from his belt. Kavala trusted humans about as much as she trusted venomous snakes, but she left her crossbow loaded and laying along her leg so all she had to do is lift and fire. She didn't want to escalate the situation further. He looked like he was innocently hunting and he looked alone.

"Just one of them...?" She asked the stallion quietly, almost below her breath. One of the stallions ears rotated back listening to her, the other remained on the armed hunter. "Yes... just one. Rabbit blood. I couldn't tell until I got closer." The stallion muttered, then covered his words with a dipped head and a snort to get the man's full attention.

Kavala rose up in her seat, clearly Konti, clearly dressed in cream colored leathers that accented iridescence of her scales as the sun glimmered off of them.

"You are on private land." She said clearly. "I let people hunt here, but only with permission." She added, halting Copper's approach and leaving him standing just a few feet to what would have been the hunter's right. The stallion snorted, pawed at the ground, and looked like he might want to eat the man for breakfast.

With her attention focused on the hunter, Kavala never saw the dark rider move up behind her. The shadow if a horse and rider weren't as close as Kavala was to the hunter, but they were clearly visible to him. The rider had a pike, a long one, and lowered it challengingly. It clearly looked like it was going to attack, not just the mounted Konti but the Hunter as well.