Solo Chill and change

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This shining population center is considered the jewel of The Sylira Region. Home of the vast majority of Mizahar's population, Syliras is nestled in a quiet, sprawling valley on the shores of the Suvan Sea. [Lore]

Chill and change

Postby Reed on March 1st, 2020, 4:39 am

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11th of Winter, 519 AV


Reed spent the start of his day raking up shite with a few other squires. They were tasked to clean out the stables that morning in leu of their usual morning run, and Reed found himself regretting his initial enthusiasm for getting out of the run. Even with all the shite cleaned out now, the ripe smell still lingered, coming through the full plate harness he now wore. For reasons unknown to him, they had been instructed to don their armor and begin setting up ladders to the loft, four of them, one for each of the squires. The instructor, a young man whom Reed didn’t recognize hadn’t said anything beyond that, and instead sat on a crate, sawing at a loaf of bread with his dagger. Some of the squires crinkled their nose at that, to which Reed just grinned. He was not stranger to eating with foul smells lingering in the air and knew well enough that hunger comes when it does. Maybe this was all a part of the demonstration, but what the goal was for this activity, Reed had yet to figure out.

When they had all set up their ladders, the man stood up. “Alright, now climb up to the top of those ladders will ya, and I’ll tell you what to do next.” He said around a mouthful of bread. Turning towards the ladder, Reed did as he was asked, and climbed up the rungs. Of course, in armor it was significantly more difficult to angle himself how he would naturally climb, and the added weight made him feel off balance, so the going was slow. By the time he reached the top, he was panting, and his underclothes were more than a little damp.

He was trying to crane his neck to look down, but only could turn enough to look at the other squires when the man spoke again. “Now back down. Repeat till I say otherwise.” Reed hesitated, then felt his way down the ladder, one questing foot after another. Once his foot reached the ground, he worked his way back up, making sure each step and handhold was secure before heaving himself up. While he climbed, he wondered about how this was tactically important, or if it was just to get them acquainted with the weight of the plate. Were there a lot of opportunities to employ ladders on the Kabrin road? He didn’t think so, but maybe this was just a part of things to prepare them for any situation they would encounter. Before he could continue to speculate though, their instructor spoke again.

“Now mucking the stables, that was a lesson.” He started as if he was continuing a conversation from before, and a squire beside Reed hesitated on his ladder. Reed almost did, but his experiences in the pit told him to keep going while the man talked. “If you can tell me what that lesson was, you can stop climbing the ladder, alright?”

“To teach us humility?” The squire that had hesitated piped up, still not moving on his ladder. Their instructor laughed, a harsh barking thing. “No, keep climbing.” Further down, another one spoke up, “To broaden our experiences?” “No, and if y’all keep answering me with questions, I’m going to say petch to the rest of your training today and make you climb ladders the whole time.” The next one didn’t speak up for a while after that, but when she finally did Reed was panting hard at the top of his ladder, raking his brain for his own answer. His panting loud in the helmet, he didn’t hear what she asked as she was the furthest away form him, but he did hear the instructor though. “No again, how about you Reed, you got any of that urban wisdom on you?”


Grimacing, Reed spoke up coming down the ladder. “Just because.” Surprisingly, the instructor patted him on the back as he reached the bottom. “Right, but for the wrong reasons. You did it because it needed to be done, and those were your orders. Your ability to follow orders, and the degree with which you obey them was what has been judged here. Now with you guys being new and all, I don’t expect you to snap to attention like trained soldiers, but rather getting you acquainted with responding to commands appropriately. Reed nodded and started climbing back up the ladder when he felt the instructor grip the collar of his cuirass.

“Whoa not so fast. You guys are done with ladders for now, you got close enough. Now comes the fun part.”
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Chill and change

Postby Reed on March 2nd, 2020, 11:30 pm

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Inwardly, Reed groaned but he got off the ladder with the rest of the squires. Together they formed a semi-circle around their instructor whom was fusing with a bundle of pitch forks. Dropping them in a pile before him, he grinned at the gathering. Outside you’ll see a few wagons loaded with hay, and bundles of feed. I want you to start with the hay, and then haul the feed in. Alright, not dallying, we’ve still got plenty to do after this” He cackled, resuming his seat on the crate. Collectively they turned and exited the stable, and Reed grabbed a pitchfork on the way out. Not the worst work he’s ever done, but part of him was rankled at regressing back to such menial labor. Quietly, he reminded himself of the essence of the task, though inwardly it felt like a thinly veiled punishment. What had he petched up to deserve this that other voice picked at him, trying to stir him up. Discomfited, he tried emptying his mind and focused on the task at hand.

He was about halfway to the wagon when he realized a wheel barrow would probably make this task easier so he headed back and grabbed one. The other squires followed suit, and soon they where all back at the wagon loading hay. Once again, the full plate made this problematic, but not in a physically taxing way like the ladders had. He just had to do a lot more shuffling than he would have had to out of the harness. Not for the first time, and certainly not for the last, he had a distinct feeling of being hobbled. It wasn’t like the blatantly humiliating way it was done in the pits, but it still made him feel vulnerable which was something that filled him with a strong sense of self-loathing. He knew he’d get used to it eventually, but it was hard to think he ever would when he was taking five steps for every one he would out of armor. Maybe that was an exaggeration, but he had to vent.

His wheelbarrow filled tall with hay, he set down his pitchfork and guided it into the stable. With all of them working together, they made quick work of spreading the hay around especially after they agreed to take one of the boys off fetching duty and had him spread what hay they had brought already while they fetched more. After that was done, they left their pitchforks in the stable and went out the wagons to fetch the feed bags. Heavier than he expected, he grunted as he shouldered his first pack and loaded it into the wheelbarrow. Already his back was starting to ache from the harness, but it was a steadying pain that made it easier to keep his mind clear and focused on the task at hand. After a dozen or so bags, they finally stood before the instructor again, all of them having worked up a good sweat. Reed leaned back on his heels as he waited on the instructor.
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Chill and change

Postby Reed on March 2nd, 2020, 11:30 pm

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“You know what I’m feeling like after a good warm up like that?” When nobody answered, the man grinned and nodded to himself, leaning against a support beam. “Well never mind that then, how about we do some sprints? One at time, from this end of the barn to the other and back again as fast as you can. I’ll be counting. Reed you first”
“Petch” Reed muttered and turning, he took off at a jog. Immediately his back started acting up, and his shins tightened, a foreboding sense of what was to come. Remembering Kaer’s advice, he sucked in air into his nose before breathing out through his mouth. He didn’t have much more time to think of anything else before he was nearing the end of the barn and had to arrest his momentum, jogging slower as he worked in a turn back around. Picking up the pace, he tried just keeping up with the slow, rhythmic breathing. A stitch formed in his side causing him to alter his gait a bit, and going slower, he finally made it back to the others.

“Terrible Reed. You should have stretched. Do so now. Galina, you’re next.”

Reed just gritted his teeth and didn’t say anything. The man was obviously just trying to get a rise out of him. Must be something to do with this order philosophy he was busy expounding to them. Reed had seen this ‘order’ before or at least thought he had. He could keep his pride in check if he kept reminding himself this was a master he had chosen, and that there was no collar around his neck. The plate, for all its draw backs, made that easy. His masters would never have invested so much into him, and so long as he wore it, he found it easier to convince himself that he had value. That he had what it would take to make it through this training to become a knight. What was it that Kaer had said? Keep your ears open and take to heart what he was told. Maybe not quite that, but he was confident that was the soul of the advice. Something that he could easily follow at least.

Obediently, Reed twisted to the left, and tried to reach his calf which even out of plate was hard enough. This time he couldn’t even make it to his right hip, so instead reached as far as the middle of his back. Holding that for a chime, he then did the other side, and then worked on balancing on his right foot while holding his left foot up behind him. Gripping to toe of the boot, he pulled it back as far as he could, sighing with relief as he loosened some of the tension down along his thigh. After doing the same to the right, it was time for him to sprint again as the last boy tagging back in. Reed didn’t start so fast this time, instead building up his momentum and breathing slowly, considering the weight of the armor and the way it moved as he jogged down the stable. His heart hammered in his chest, and he worked on picking his legs up as he jogged and pushing off the balls of his feet. When he did it from the heel, he could feel the painful tension building up in his shins which he was trying to distinctly avoid today. Shin splints were petching awful.

Turning back towards the group, he got back up to a decent pace. His breathing was steady, and his side stitch was manageable. At the very least he didn’t feel like he was going to collapse, even though his legs were aching something fierce. However, he lost his grasp of his momentum towards the end and stumbled to a stop before the other squires. Before he got down to do some more stretching, he held his hands above his head and walking in a small circle for a bit till his blood settled a bit. Then he got on the ground and stretched out his hands to his feet, giving his lower back and hamstrings a good stretch while he watched the other squires. After doing both feet together, he did the right and left individually, then tried out a sitting twist that Galina was currently doing. With her right foot still tucked, she twisted around as far as she could and held it for a chime before switching sides. Reed did the same and felt his back pop in relief. Fortunately, they only did a few more of these sprints before they left the stables and went back to the training grounds.
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Chill and change

Postby Reed on March 2nd, 2020, 11:31 pm

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“Alright, now that we’re warm, pair up. Time to spar. Whomever has the fewest points gets to muck out the stables again next time.”

Reed groaned at that but grabbed his sword and shield. His partner this time was a younger, blond boy whom was favoring a long sword and buckler. Squaring up, he reaffirmed his grip on the shield and blade before stepping forwards. “Names Seth” the boy said, passing through a few practices slashes before stepping forwards. “Reed” He said as he came forwards with a sweep of his short sword. Seth blocked it with his shield and jabbed forward with an attack towards Reed’s midsection. Lurching backwards, he tried getting his shield into position while getting his sword under control but did neither very well before Seth’s next attack came. This next swipe came low, towards his ankles, and Reed hastily brought his shield down to block it. Seeing an opening, he tried slashing downwards at Seth’s shoulder, but the blade checked off his shield again. Seth went for another low swipe, this time getting a hit across Reeds knees after he was a bit sluggish bringing the shield down to block it. While he was still registering that hit, Seth jabbed forward and scored a hit to his midsection as Reed’s sword came down to block it too late.

Panting hard, Reed took several steps back, and adjusted his grip again. Seth took a step forwards, and Reed charged, trying to get inside the reach of his longer sword. Seth swiped low, causing Reed to slow and bring his shield down to block it. He didn’t block it effectively though as the sword just glanced off it and struck him on the shoulder, throwing of his next swipe that sailed harmlessly through the air. Seth reversed his blade and scored a hit on the back of his arm as he trapped the tip of Reed’s sword to the ground with his foot. Halfheartedly, Reed tried wrenching his blade from under Seth’s boot, and then released it to flip open his face place.

“Not bad” Reed grunted, while he tried catching his breath. “I guess I’m mucking out the stables”
“Oh, I don’t know about that, I think that boy Galina’s facing has at least as many hits on him as you if not more” Seth said with a grin, and bent over to pick up, and hand Reed back his sword. Taking the short sword back, Reed grinned, and flipped his faceplate down. “Don’t get my hopes up”

In the end, it ended up a tie between Reed the other boy for who gets to muck out the stables but fortunately that had been just a bit of fun the instructor was having with them. Though it looked like there were more ladders in their future, he reassured them that they would have some time before they’d have to clean out another stable which was a relief to all of them. Instead, Reed and the other boy were tasked with cleaning up the training grounds, a task that took them the rest of the day. By the time they were finished, all his desire to continue sparring had drained from him, and he was just eager to go back to his room and clean off the grime of the day. Bidding the other boy farewell, he left for his apartments.
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Chill and change

Postby Alric Lysane on March 20th, 2022, 8:04 pm

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Reed


Hi!

Should you return please update your CS and PM/DM me for your Grade! :)

~ Alric
~ Thanks to Gossamer/Shiress for post Boxcodes ~
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