Open [Sakel City Event] Racial Unbias.

[Ball]

50th of Summer 517AV

Ball woke with a start, something was not normal from the get go and he was rather confused. Everything seemed... roughly his height? That didn't seem correct, the knighthood didn't just build a whole set of beds, the barracks, everything to his height... That just doesn't make sense. Especially not overnight. Something else was going on. Ball was no creative thinker but he knew that this just had to be something done by a Rhysol Agent. He sat up on the bed and looked down at the ground, his eyes staring at the wood and ignoring the fact that he was seeing two blue massive legs with hands resting on the thighs – his thighs... That means it was his hands...

“I'm blue!” The knight called out in shock. “I am petching blue.” He stood quickly like he normally would and almost toppled himself over, he stumbled as he regained balanced and the Pycon – no no, not pycon... Anymore? – The knight huffed out in shock. He was trying hard to wrap his mind (Nexus...) around what was going on, but nothing made sense. There was no logical explanation as to what was going on. Something had to be done to fix this. There was little thought to what he was doing, much like normal for the knight during his squire years, and he pushed himself away from the bed and out the door of the barracks.

Ser Ball quickly found himself in the bright sun of the yard and it was here that Ball noticed something was amiss beyond his large blue form... He was stark naked. Not a stitch of clothing... There was a brisk breeze that came in off the sea that the city of blue men banked. Normally this would be skirted by Ball as his appearance showed clothing, but not now... This was a whole different situation. The knights and their squires if they had any, were found to be stopped in their training or chores to turn and stare at the unknown naked blue Akalak in their presence. There was a call for the man to state his name and rank.

It took Ball a tick to realize that the question was directed at him and Ball spoke, “Ser Ball... “ There was a bit of silence and then laughter that quickly broke out. This was not what Ball suspected and a few of the larger Akalak knights came forth and ushered the naked Ball away from the barracks pausing to hand him a tunic and pants before pointing to the city. “You are not Ser Ball. He is a man of clay. A small fellow and you.... Well you are far from small.” Ball tried to prove he was who he stated he was but it was of no use and he got directed to head into the city of Riverfall and seek what he wanted or needed there.

Ball didn't know what he should do so he made his way to the City of Riverfall, it wasn't a long walk but one he was not use to and when he did reach the city he asked the guards to direct him to a training center. They gave him a perplexed look before showing him to the Sasarans. One was apparently for unarmed and one for weaponry.

Let see if I still can fight... Ball stepped into the unarmed Sasaran and found himself lost to a sea of large colorful men fighting in a variety of styles... None though were familiar to him in nature and Ball instantly realized he was not going to be able to fight with his hands like he knew how to... Ball turned and sat down on the ground beside the Sasaran, struggling back tears of fear.

[Orin Fenix]

Orin was already covered in bruises and the day was still young. Then again, that was an occupational hazard when it came to training with individuals who were bigger, stronger and faster than you. His morning had begun as it typically did. He’d gotten up, gotten dressed, and taken care of his needs and his morning rituals. After all that, he’d found that he was surprisingly high energy for once. On the days when he felt up to it, Orin did attempt some sort of physical training, but it was rare that he was able to muster up the energy.

Today, though, seemed to be the exception to the rule. As he always did on his training days, Orin decided to start with a run. He was, frankly, a terrible runner, unable to go for long distances or for sprints, but he was trying to fix that. At this point, at least, he could make a round trip or two from his apartments around his block, even if it took him a while and his body protested vehemently all the while. He attempted to modulate his breathing as he’d seen and heard more experienced runners do, but the coordination was beyond him, and he only managed it for a few moments at a time. Still, despite that, Orin managed to go from his apartments, all the way around again, and then continuing on, finally coming to a stop before the Kendoka Sasaran. If he was gasping for air like a fish out of water, and the residents of the city were giving him funny looks and no doubt laughing at the silly human behind his backs, well, everyone had to start somewhere and Orin tried not to let it bother him.

Entering the Sasaran proper, Orin was unsurprised to see it was almost full. Akalaks took the maintenance of their bodies seriously, although there were a few individuals of some other races and even some women. The building was made of stones, with glass windows lining the walls. The sounds of shouts and cries from the sparring echoed out, along with the distinct sound of wood hitting wood. It smelled of sweat and unwashed bodies, but not in an unpleasant way. Orin had only recently discovered the Sasaran existed, and hadn’t managed to work up the courage yet. He couldn’t believe that there was a place in the city that would actually train complete newcomers in the arts of war. Besides, having trained with Akalaks before, Orin knew how brutal and unrelenting they could be in battle, and he was, to be honest, intimidated. There were two Akalaks circling the room, watching everything with a very keen eye. One of them stopped by Orin and surveyed him from top to bottom, and Orin could feel himself shrink under the scrutiny. The Akalak simply quirked an eyebrow and asked, ”Name, intended weapons, and skill level with those weapons.”

Orin hesitated, expecting there to be more than that involved, but nothing more was forthcoming. Maybe it really was that simple. But if this was an instructor of some kind, Orin didn’t want to waste his time, so he responded to the Akalak’s questions as quickly and succinctly as the chef knew how. ”M’name’s Orin Fenix, I’d like to train with daggers and with a quarterstaff if at all possible. I’ve got a little bit of skill with daggers, although I’m far from being an expert, and I’m a complete newcomer when it comes to the staff.” Orin held his breath, hoping that there wasn’t some sort of skill requirement necessary to train here. From what he’d heard, it was free and open to all but he didn’t like to rely on word of mouth.

The instructor merely nodded, then pointed at the rack of practice weapons lining the walls. ”Go. Pick up daggers, then wait. I’ll send another student to assess your skill. After, we’ll have you move on to the staff.” Orin inclined his head in thanks and respect, before making his way carefully around the edges of the room. He picked up too practices daggers, moving to one of the few empty spaces in the room. Before too long, another Akalak, with daggers of his own, appeared before Orin.

They bowed to each other, then raised their daggers in their ready position. Orin wasn’t quite good enough to be using two blades at once, but he was trying to improve. He raised his left arm to the level of his stomach, blade held outward in a defensive position. Then, he attempted to lunge with his right hand. His partner deftly moved away, then the Akalak performed an attack of his own, smacking Orin hard in the stomach. ”Good attempt, but you telegraphed, and when you attacked you dropped you left elbow. Let’s practice blocking, first.” The smack stung, but Orin was grateful for the feedback, and he settled back into his ready position.

The two of them traded back and forth a few more times, with Orin gaining new bruises by each time, while his opponent remained untouched. Finally, Orin signalled that he was ready to move on, and they disengaged. They bowed again, and Orin moved to put his wooden daggers away, replacing them with a staff. He was a little upset with his performance. Normally, he was just fine with daggers, but something about trying to use two at once always threw him off. Still, practice made perfect, and no one seemed to mind. Orin wasn’t able to dwell on it for long, as yet another Akalak materialized in front of him, with another staff. They raised their weapons into a ready position, although the Akalak’s looked much smoother than Orin’s did. Examining his stance, the Akalak frowned. ”Keep your hands wider apart on the staff. Spread your feet farther, and make sure your toes are pointed forward.” When Orin made the required adjustments, the Akalak nodded. [b]”Good. I’m going to go slowly in a high attack, middle attack, low attack pattern. Block me.”

While it may have been slower than normal, that didn’t actually mean it was slow. Orin tried to keep up with the pattern but wasn’t always successful, and collected another series of bruises. Still, his partner seemed pleased with his progress and that was really all that mattered. Taking a step back, Orin thanked his trainer, before placing his weapon back on the rack. He was bruised and tired, but happy that he’d finally decided to check out the Sasaran. But his work wasn’t done quite yet.

That’s because there was another Sasaran that required Orin’s attention right now. The Tuvya Sasaran was supposedly a kindred space to the Kendoka Sasaran, focusing on unarmed rather than armed combat. It was close by, and before Orin knew it, he was outside. This Sasaran was made of wooden, with screen windows. Still, the sounds of battle and the scents were familiar. Before he could enter, Orin actually tripped over a seated Akalak. ”Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t see you there” Upon closer inspection, something didn’t seem right. This Akalak seemed quite morose, but was being quiet about it. In Orin’s experience, Akalaks tended to be larger than life, especially in Riverfall, the city they called home. Not really know what to do in this situation, Orin inquired, [color=#839b4e]”Is there anything I can do to help?”[color]

apologiesSorry for the long lead up!