(Flashback) Friends are born through Antinous (Andresciel)

[Imass]

Summer 17, 511

Imass brandished a broad sword at his hip and wore a simple gray outfit. He was clean shaven and was fresh out of the bath. The Akalak's clothes were clean and new. His hair was tied neatly. Everything about Imass was perfect and symetrical. His boots were tied with precision. His belt was centered exactly and gleaming. The warrior even smelt good.

Training was about to begin.

The Akalak believed in the saying: if you are not a quarter of a bell early you are late. Thus, Imass found himself standing in the Antinous Training Grounds twenty minutes before dawn. The air was humid and damp. As the cock crowed, the first tiny beams of sunlight crept over the horizon. Judging by the feeling in the air and the dim clouds rolling in, it would be a smuggy day in Syliras. The weather would not deter the warrior's will and motivation though. He would ignore just trivalities and train as hard as possible. The warrior was ready to push his body to the limit today and he would do so without allowing any shred of his darkside entering the fray.

Slowly other men started to trickle in.

EDIT: Sorry I forgot about my mod intervention on my cs. Ignore this post for a minute while I wait for the intervention to go away sorry about posting this.

[Andresciel]

Among those Knights selected to go to the Grounds was a Mage Knight, Andresciel, and the small smoke ball familiar of his, Velenor. The two moved as a pair, together, yet apart. One to focus on the task at hand, the other to watch his back. The familiar would give away the mage, but it mattered little to the young Knight. Other Knights were there, some of the warrior style, some of the magical type. Still, Andre moved away from the others, focusing on his conversation in the ancient tongue with Velenor, who seemed to speak it as well as Andre did.

They would pass the Akalak without looking up at him, their conversation deep and engrossing as Andre began to laugh. He shook his head before turning to Imass, "What be you doing training by yourself, Knight?" The Mage asked in a soft voice, bowing his head slightly, "Or be you a squire waiting on your Patron?"

[Imass]

The Akalak stood as still as possible. His posture was straight and broad chested. He had pride in the Syliran Knights. Everything he did in life was for the order. It was what helped control his dark side. If he was able to narrow his life down to a list of tasks he had to do day to day, it would be possible to allow his light side to flourish. Living the stoic life of an honest knight was his remedy though. Daily meditation and long active days kept Imass's mind at bay.

Feet firmly planted in the floor, Imass watched as a tall, blue-eyed, blonde walked around the motley crew. This made Imass's eyebrow rise. The human male was talking in an unknown tongue. The words coming out of Andresciel's mouth were undischperable to the ignorant Akalak. Still as a rock, Imass watched every step the man took. He had been in the order as a squire for a while, but he had yet to see this man. Even more amazing was his conversation with what seemed to be an imaginary friend perched next to him.

The young man ambled by Imass suspiciously laughing. Imass could not comprehend why they would even be laughing. Suddenly, the strange man turned and questioned him.

The Akalak took a deep breath and questioned Andresciel's rank too, "I am but a squire, milord?" Imass waited a moment for a response then continued, "I was told my training, erm, was a human male by the name of Ser Andresciel." A word or two of that sentence vanished when the Akalak forcibly coughed.

[Andresciel]

The Knight would blink down at the Akalak, and spoke in his soft tones, "I am Ser Andresciel Magius. The Human you were sent to train under." The Mage Knight stated as he sighed, "Who is your Patron, Squire?" The Knight would ask, wondering which one he was going to return the favor to. He shook his head, "Do you know how to fight without weapons? If not, today you will learn the basics of unarmed combat." Andresciel's voice had taken on an edge of authority as he stepped back from the Akalak. "Spread your legs out more, I want you to center your weight, balance yourself. Lets go Squire!"

[Imass]

Imass responded swiftly to his superior's inquiry. He didn't even skip a beat, allowing Andresciel to be quick with his words, "My Patron is Ser Wilson Longhorn." The Human went on to the next question without pause, "I can fight," was the only thing that Imass could say before Ser Andresciel had him standing straight and tall.

The Akalak squire spread his feet out shoulder with apart. His hands were at his side and he looked directly at the Mage Knight's eyes. He bent his knees slightly and centered his gravity just as Andresciel had instructed. This was not his first time in this stance.

Imass awaited further instructions from Ser Andre.

[Andresciel]

Andre nods watching the male assume the first stance. All basic unarmed combat started with the centering of gravity as he stated softly, "Good Good. Straighten your back." The Knight snapped, his sapphire blue eyes weighing evalution. He always took a student through the paces, to see the weakness and strength of the individual student in unarmed combat. A Novice had to be taught well, or the training later on was worthless, and if was best if a novice learned more then one style of unarmed, to rely on more then just strength, or speed, but both. Andre was the speed, and apparently he needed to teach this new squire the skill of speed over strength at times.

[Imass]

Imass straightened his back as Andre commanded. The blue-man took deep breaths, however he did not breathe with his chest. No, the Knight breathed with his stomach. This was an old meditation technique from Riverfall that had stuck with the Akalak for life. He had been deep breathing for so many years that it just felt normal to take deep breathes from the pit of his gut. Instead of his lungs expanding outward, they expanded downwards. This pushed his stomach and insides down too. This lead directly lead to a stronger core and a tight torso.

Having a strong core was important for all aspects of martial arts. It was where to soul of the fighter remained. Power and strength came from the belly as well. Imass breathed deeply. He cleared his mind and got ready for Andre's next instructions.

OOC- at this point, Imass is just waiting for Andre to order him to do something. I will let you decide WHATEVER you want to do next in the plot. Really, I don't mind. Imass will follow your every command to the pin point!

[Andresciel]

Andre walked around the Akalak, before suddenly lashing out. His right fist would seek the Akalak's shoulder from behind, without the use of the wind drill, and yet as his fist struck, it still had the force of a trained monk. He wouldn't harm the squire, without a reason. "Straighten up." Andre barked, his dark eyes on the male as he continued to walk around. This was not the Mage who had just walked by talking to his familiar, this was the Knight who trained squires to become mages. "Relax your body. This is not the time to be tense." He snarled, continuing his movement around him, his dark eyes examining the Akalak. "Assume your fighting position. Show me what your patron left me to work with. Maybe I can salvage your training." He stated, hoping this squire could become a Zealot, "And whatever you do, don't take my training and become one of those Fanatics. It would be a waste of Magius secrets."

[Emblem]

Congratulations! You Get Glorious Experience! Imass Skills Nothing here Lores Balance in Combat Other Shenanigans: Nope Comments : Unfortunately there wasn't much I could do with this one as I didn't find anything that warranted skills. However I tried to get you a lore. Too bad this couldn't be completed as I always love me some knightly training. If you have questions or concerns, PM me!