Solo [Kuvan Test] Making His Mark

Orin goes through the Kuvan test

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Built into the cliffs overlooking the Suvan Sea, Riverfall resides on the edge of grasslands of Cyphrus where the Bluevein River plunges off the plain and cascades down to the inland sea below. Home of the Akalak, Riverfall is a self-supporting city populated by devoted warriors. [Riverfall Codex]

[Kuvan Test] Making His Mark

Postby Orin Fenix on July 6th, 2017, 9:41 pm

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1st of Summer, 517AV


Despite the amount of time Orin had spent in the city of Riverfall, he hadn't ever applied to be a citizen. At first it was because he didn't think he was ready for it. After all, it was a trial by combat and Orin wasn't exactly a trained fighter. Later, however, after spending some time honing his skills, he'd still held off although he wasn't quite certain why. While he didn't want to admit it, even to himself, truth was he was scared. Not necessarily of the combat itself, although that was daunting enough. No, Orin was scared to try and put down roots, to make ties to the community. After all, he'd been abandoned so many times in the past that now he was afraid that any attempt to make a home for himself here would fail, and he'd be cast adrift once more, friendless and alone. Orin didn't know how much more heartbreak he could take.

Still though, trying anything had to be better than the aimless half-existence he'd been reduced to here. He'd fallen into a funk, simply going through the motions, for several seasons now, and finally he'd had enough of wallowing in self-pity. Sure, maybe his attempts here would fail, but if they succeeded Orin might finally have found a place to belong. That was certainly worth the risk.

He'd been broughto the second floor of the labor office, which he'd never been to before but which appeared to be a gym of some sort, and asked to wait until they were ready for him. That was just fine by Orin. He'd brought his blades, one strapped to each hip, although he didn't know if he'd be using them or practice weapons. Still, their weight was comforting at his hips. While he waited, Orin ran through his advantages in combat, which were few and far between. ”I'll probably be fighting an Alalak, he thought miserably. Akalaks were taller, stronger and tougher than Orin was which meant that if his opponent got a grip on him, Orin was finished. While an Akalak might not be as fast as Orin, they had longer reaches which was a distinct advantage. Gonna have to dodge, evade the blows, and don't get caught locking blades. Slide them away instead.

The door opening interrupted Orin’s strategy session, as the Akalak who would be administering the test entered the room entered and beckoned the chef forward. The blue-skinned man indicated that Orin should stand in the middle of the room, but didn't tell Orin to pick up any of the practice weapons that were lining the wall. Orin could see a blade belted to the other man’s hip, and a shiver of dread went down his spine. Apparently they'd be using real blades today. While Orin didn't really think that the Akalak would kill him, there was always a risk involved in any fight.

The Akalak made no move to draw his own weapon, though, instead peering down at a sheet of paper. ”So, a human. Orin Fenix, that's you right?”
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Last edited by Orin Fenix on July 7th, 2017, 1:17 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Orin Fenix
Almost Iron But Actually Master Chef
 
Posts: 938
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Joined roleplay: January 24th, 2015, 12:06 am
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[Kuvan Test] Making His Mark

Postby Orin Fenix on July 6th, 2017, 9:42 pm

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There was such condescension dripping from the Akalak’s every word that Orin couldn't help but grind his teeth. ”That’s me,” the cook replied, managing somehow to keep his voice level. If the Akalak was hoping to throw Orin off his game, it was failing miserably. All it was doing was piss Orin off. After living in Riverfall as long as he had, he was used to the casual disdain Akalaks held towards the males of other races, though that didn’t mean it was any less annoying.

The Akalak continued speaking, as if Orin’s presence here was totally unnecessary. ”Been in Riverfall since last summer, but only applying for Kuvan status now?” Looking up and actually at Orin, his tester stared at him, shocked. ”What? Couldn’t handle the pressure before?”

Orin was getting sick of this man’s attitude, but he figured keeping a cool head was part of this process, and so he kept a tight rein on his temper. ”I wasn’t ready before. Now I am. Simple as that.” Feeling restless, needing to do something with the anger that was now coursing through his veins, Orin started drumming his fingers restlessly on his legs.

The Akalak didn’t seem to notice the chef’s discomfort, and kept reading from the scroll. ”Let’s see, says here you’re a cook, and you’re employed at…” and then, without another warning, flung the piece of paper directly into Orin’s face.

Shocked at this development, Orin’s instincts reacted more quickly than his conscious thought. Realizing that this must be the beginning of the actual test, or perhaps sensing the upcoming attack, his body threw itself backwards as far as possible, causing him to stumble a few steps when he landed, but he caught his balance relatively quickly. Have to deal with the follow up, he thought frantically, his mind racing. His right hand darted to his left hip, pulling his own blade free, as the Akalak quickly closed the distance Orin had opened up. Orin took an instant to debate whether he should pull his other blade, but decided against it. He was too unskilled working both hands at once to risk it.

His opponent slashed at his face, and Orin ducked under it to avoid the blow, take the time to kick at his opponent's leg, which predictably missed. Have to keep moving. Using the momentum from the kick, Orin turned it into a few running steps, which carried him past the Akalak.

His opponent whirled before the chef could strike, though, and Orin decided against engaging, dancing backwards. I might be slightly more agile, but he’s fast. Dread started building in Orin’s chest, but he firmly pushed it aside. Emotions had no place in a fight, except as fuel. It was a lesson Orin had learned long ago, from an Akalak even. Still, Orin didn’t think he could win that fight, and it was hard to keep that doubt from creeping in, making him perhaps a bit too cautious with his movements. If he couldn’t win, Orin didn’t know what that meant for his future here in Riverfall.
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Orin Fenix
Almost Iron But Actually Master Chef
 
Posts: 938
Words: 1186489
Joined roleplay: January 24th, 2015, 12:06 am
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Medals: 3
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[Kuvan Test] Making His Mark

Postby Orin Fenix on July 6th, 2017, 9:44 pm

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If Orin couldn’t fight harder than this Akalak, then he’d have to do his best to fight smarter. The blue-skinned man feinted left, but Orin saw through it, and managed to parry it with his left arm, though it hurt and would definitely bruise tomorrow. Still, it left Orin’s right hand free to slash at his opponent’s chest. The other man deftly twisted to avoid it, pushing against Orin’s left arm as he did, forcing Orin to turn and his attack to go wide as he did. Both of them broke away, wary of the other. Hopefully, by almost scoring, Orin had managed to instill at least a healthy respect in his current opponent.

The two of them circled each other, now, though Orin wasn’t sure what the Akalak was waiting for. Probably the Akalak wanted to see if he could goad Orin into going on the offensive. While Orin preferred to fight defensively, seeing as it was usually less tiring and wearing an opponent out was always a viable strategy, he wasn’t opposed to getting in a few hits of his own as necessary. Taking a step back with his left foot, as if to wind up for a kick, Orin instead lunged forward, thrusting his dagger ahead as he did so, hoping to stab quickly and then disengage. Unfortunately, the cook’s ploy was foiled as his opponent slammed down on Orin’s wrist hard enough to drive his entire arm down. It was some much force that Orin’s hand reflexively opened and his dagger went flying into the ground.

Orin had just enough time to think ”oh shyke” before the Akalak, in one fluid movement, stepped to kick the blade away, and then brought his left knee up hard into Orin’s side. Pain exploded in Orin’s ribs, though thankfully Orin didn’t have his wind knocked out of hi, and the cook didn't lose focus for a tick. Instead, as the Akalak brought his left leg back down, Orin swept his left leg forward in a vicious low kick that managed to connect right above his opponent’s right knee.

Roaring in pain, the Akalak slammed a fist into Orin’s back, which was currently exposed as a result of the chef’s earlier maneuver. No doubt the Akalak was hoping the blow would drive Orin into the ground. But Orin's pulse was rushing and, while the injuries were starting to add up, he wasn't out of the fight quite yet. Using the force from the blow, Orin let himself be propelled forward, aiming to land on his left arm, as his right arm was still feeling the aftermath of the Akalak’s hit there. He succeeded, and managed to roll forward. Unfortunately, rolling to his feet wasn't as graceful as Orin could have managed under other circumstances, and he had to take a few steps out of it to get find his center of balance. The move was enough to get him out of immediate danger, though, and that was all Orin needed.
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Orin Fenix
Almost Iron But Actually Master Chef
 
Posts: 938
Words: 1186489
Joined roleplay: January 24th, 2015, 12:06 am
Location: Riverfall
Race: Human
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Medals: 3
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[Kuvan Test] Making His Mark

Postby Orin Fenix on July 6th, 2017, 9:48 pm

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Breaking into a few running steps away from the Akalak, Orin drew his other blade, holding it in his left hand, turning to face the blue skinned giant as he did. While his left hand wasn't quite as good as his right hand, Orin had trained with it to a degree. Besides, Orin wasn’t sure his right wrist and hand were up to the challenge of gripping and wielding a dagger properly right now. Having bought himself a few precious ticks, Orin took stock of himself and his opponent. His ribs were bruised, restricting his movements slightly, and his wrist was basically useless for now. While he could power through the pain, Orin guessed that even slight pressure on his wrist would be agony. The pain wasn’t unbearable at the moment, though, and Orin’s legs and left arm were working perfectly. All in all, Orin wasn’t in great shape but it could be worse.

His opponent, Orin was pleased to see, was heavily favoring his left leg, which meant that his kick to the right leg had done its job. Time to cause some pain, Orin thought gleefully, starting to enjoy this match of muscle and wits. Orin started circling in a clockwise direction, as quickly as he could safely manage, forcing the Akalak to put weight down on his injured leg as often as possible. Of course this was a relatively predictable strategy, and the Akalak immediately charged at Orin, slashing towards Orin’s face from above, probably hoping to at least put the chef off balance. Fortunately, this tactic failed, as Orin danced backwards as nimbly as he could, then bashed the Akalak’s knife hand with the pommel of his own dagger.

Predictably, the Akalak lost control of his knife, and it went tumbling across the floor. Both of them glanced at it, but it was safely out of reach. Finally, an advantage. Orin had never been so thankful for his backup blades as he was in that moment. Now Orin just had to wear the Akalak down a bit. Orin felt that, considering their positions at the moment, it was almost inevitable that the human would win this bout. Orin started slashing at his opponent, right, left, right, not really wanting or expecting any of the blows to land, but hoping to put the Akalak on the defensive and force his to dodge away from Orin’s blade. Without a weapon of his own to defend himself, the Akalak had to be much more cautious in both attacking and defending.

Starting to feel weary, and wanting this ordeal to be over, Orin started stalking closer to his opponent. He felt fairly confident, but mostly Orin was just ready to end this. He did make sure to watch for any signs of resistance, noot wanting to be caught off guard by his opponent’s fists, which still worked fine. Orin feinted to the left, forcing the Akalak to place his weight on the his bad leg, then stabbed directly towards his opponents heart, planning to pull the blow at the last second, had everything gone according to plan.
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Last edited by Orin Fenix on July 7th, 2017, 12:13 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Orin Fenix
Almost Iron But Actually Master Chef
 
Posts: 938
Words: 1186489
Joined roleplay: January 24th, 2015, 12:06 am
Location: Riverfall
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[Kuvan Test] Making His Mark

Postby Orin Fenix on July 6th, 2017, 9:48 pm

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Of course, the unexpected happened. Suddenly showing no signs of strain at all, all hint of an injury one, the Akalak pivoted on his right leg, meaning that Orin stumbled past, completely off balance and shocked at this turn of events. In the few ticks it took for him to realize what had happened, the Akalak captured Orin’s left wrist, pushed it across the chef’s chest, and trapped it there, while at the same time the Akalak’s other arm snaked around Orin’s neck in a choke hold. Struggling wildly Orin threw his head back towards his opponents, hoping to disorient the Akalak with a head-butt, but the tester simply moved out of the way, before barking out ”Enough!” When Orin finally stopped moving, the Akalak released him.

Breathing heavily, Orin sheathed his dagger and started rubbing his wrist, wincing over every bruise he’d picked up. As Orin walked towards his other dagger, anxiety bubbled up in his chest. He’d failed to defeat his opponent, which surely was the point of this test. Moreover, Orin had fallen for one of the oldest tricks in the book, the wounded gambit, and fallen hard. He’d completely bought his opponent’s act, and he was mentally kicking himself. Still, Orin had been at the end of his reserves, and there wasn’t much more he could’ve done. Stooping down to retrieve his lost weapon, Orin took some solace in the fact that he’d given a good show at least.

This entire time, the Akalak had been writing notes on the scroll, which he’d retrieved along with the dagger. Now, he put it down by his side, and looked at Orin. ”Tell me. What did you do wrong?”

At least this question had an easy answer. ”I let my opponent control the battle by letting myself get tricked.” Orin knew that he’d be regretting his hasty actions for a long time. He’d gotten cocky at the end, thinking that a blade meant a win, and look how wrong he’d been.

The Akalak nodded at this answer, but still seemed to want more. ”That was part of the problem. What else?”

Orin was stumped, and wracked his brain trying to come up with something, anything that might be the correct answer. The Akalak was looking for something specific but Orin didn’t have a clue. Unless… An idea started forming an Orin’s head as he remembered the thoughts that had passed through his mind in the middle of the test. ”I doubted myself and my abilities. I didn’t think I could beat you and I let that make me more hesitant and cautious than I might otherwise have been.” Holding his breath, Orin hoped that he’d given the answer the Akalak was looking for.

The blue-skinned man grinned, the first sign of emotion other than pain that Orin had seen from him in their entire time together. ”Exactly right. Never doubt yourself and your abilities, or you have already lost.” Taking another piece of paper out of his belt pouch, the Akalak handed it to Orin. ”Here. Take this to Riverfall Ink to get your tattoo. It’s your proof of citizenship.”

Orin must not have heard correctly. ”I…passed?” he asked incredulously.

The Akalak nodded. ”You passed. But this is what I mean about doubt. Give yourself more credit. You fought well.” The tester started making his way back through the door he’d entered from. Pausing slightly, the Akalak apparently had to have the last word. ”For a human who works as a chef.”

Orin didn’t care. Somehow, despite losing in battle, he’d still won the war, and now he would be a full-fledged citizen. A feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time started welling up from deep within, and Orin blinked back tears. He was happy. He’d finally taken the first step into making Riverfall into a new home.
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Orin Fenix
Almost Iron But Actually Master Chef
 
Posts: 938
Words: 1186489
Joined roleplay: January 24th, 2015, 12:06 am
Location: Riverfall
Race: Human
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Medals: 3
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[Kuvan Test] Making His Mark

Postby Orin Fenix on July 7th, 2017, 12:20 am

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Character Name

Skills
    3 Unarmed Combat
    2 Acrobatics
    4 Tactics
    2 Weapon: Dagger
    2 Endurance
Lores
    Acrobatics: Combat Roll
    Acrobatics: Dodging Dagger Strikes
    Tactics: Always Bring a Backup Weapon
    Tactics: Never Trust Your Opponent to Play Fair
    Tactics: Fake Wounded Gambit
    Unarmed Combat: Head-Butt
    Location: The Citizenship, Housing, and Labor Aid Office
    Obtained Kuvan Status
Rewards/Consequences
    Orin will be noticeably bruised in his ribs and wrist for 12 days. He will be unable to use his wrist properly for 7 days.
Notes :
Good job me! Don't forget to update CS with Kuvan tattoo

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User avatar
Orin Fenix
Almost Iron But Actually Master Chef
 
Posts: 938
Words: 1186489
Joined roleplay: January 24th, 2015, 12:06 am
Location: Riverfall
Race: Human
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Scrapbook
Journal
Plotnotes
Medals: 3
Featured Character (1) Trailblazer (1)
Overlored (1)


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