[Windmount Track and Field] Smashmouth

by **Orion Michaels** on February 9th, 2014, 2:45 am

52nd Day of Winter, 513 AV
Windmount Track and Field
11th Bell

Orion didn't know what he'd been thinking. If he'd actually taken a moment to stop, consider what was said, and let it sink in, the blue eyed squire wouldn't never have agreed and he wouldn't be on the back of a horse, fully clad in plate with a sword and shield in his hands. Dinah, his patron knight, had asked him he wanted 'to try something new.' Half paying attention, Orion stupidly replied with 'sure', and before it he could think to take it back, Dinah had dragged him to the track and field to have a little fun.

About twenty feet away from him sat another squire, armed and equipped similar to Orion. It seemed they would be facing one another in mounted combat. Horse. Dulled blade. Shield. It was hardly what Orion wanted to do that day, but his opinion didn't matter in the least. While it had become easier to ride, it was far from second nature. Besides, Orion hadn't found a horse he could get along with.

"Squires," Dinah began, speaking loudly from her place atop her own mount, off to the side of the two combatants. "While this is training, I need you to take it seriously. That said, we are allies, so we aren't trying to kill one another. While the blades are dulled, they are still swords. Try not to run one another through, and do not attack the mounts. This is a test of your ability to fight each other from horseback. Additionally, if one of you is dismounted, that does not end the training. Fighting a foot solider from mount or visa versa is an important talent to develop. Most of all, you're going to make mistakes, ones that would kill you in real battle. Take those errors to heart and learn from them. Errors in training will make you better, more powerful, and a better future knight. Now go! Fight!"

The other squire seemed considerably more eager to fight, and he moved almost immediately on Dinah’s command. Hesitating for a few moments, Orion glanced to his patron and then to the charging squire. Taking a deep breath, the squire reached up and lowered the visor on his helm before kicking his mount into action. Though he had a shield strapped to his left arm, he still had the capability to hold onto the reins as he moved, at least until he entered combat. Gently did he squeeze the leather straps, squeezing his thighs together to spur the beast into motion. He was forceful, but not so much as to cause pain. Instead, he was trying to encourage it to burst into a gallop immediately. It took a bit more effort than he wanted, as the horse resisted initially, only going into a trot. Another swift poke to its side with the back of his boot, however, got the message across, and before long the two knights-in-training were on a collision course.

Thundering hooves crashed against the snowy ground beneath them, kicking up bits of white powder and brown mud as the two beasts of war grew closer. Orion bounced up and down in his saddle with each impact, silently cursing the freezing weather, worst he’d ever seen. His dissatisfaction with the weather would be short-lived as his foe came crashing down.

Orion released the rein in time to raise his shield in preparation for the other squire’s blow. It was rather awkward to control a mount without his hands, relying on his legs to do all the work, including keeping him in the saddle. His muscles twisted and strained as he brought his arm over in front of his body, canting the guard at an angle to ensure it didn’t smack his horse. All the while his legs remained constantly engaged to keep the horse moving forward and stop him from falling. His feet remained deep in his stirrups. When the other squire’s sword came down on him, Orion was able to shift his own shield in place to allow it to intercept the blow.

At the same time, he raised his own sword, meeting his opponents strike with one of his own. The slash was sloppy, as Orion wasn’t accustomed to fighting while moving full speed. He’d practiced with a lance earlier in the season, but it was much more straightforward to point a stick at someone than to score a sweeping blow with a blade.

His arm arched back, fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt of his broadsword. He lashed out with a horizontal strike, aiming for his foe’s midsection. The bounding of the horse coincided with his swing, and the jarring force of the beast meeting the ground send his attack awry. The dulled steel weapon collided with the steel pauldron of the other squire’s plate armor. As he absorbed the impact of his foe’s swing, Orion’s arm was forced aside as the glancing blow passed without success.

The two squires rode past one another, both circling their mounts to prepare for another clash. Orion lowered his shield to grasp the reins once more, applying pressure with his left leg while squeezing the left rein to turn the animal so that it was facing the other squire. As his foe did the same, Orion nodded in acknowledgement of their clash. When his motion was returned, they both set off to meet in a dance of steel and hooves once again.

by **Orion Michaels** on February 15th, 2014, 11:56 pm

The two combatants wasted no time in charging one another, powerful steeds loping across the ground towards one another. Blades waved wildly in their grasps as the distance between the squires rapidly closed. Again and again would they meet in a fierce test of mettle and skill, but neither of them could claim much of the latter. The former, however, would truly be assessed in full view of their patrons.

Dinah knew her squire was uncomfortable on the back of a horse. While he had finally figured out how to control the creatures enough to actually ride with some amount of skill, he was still unnerved by them. She intended to keep him riding as much as she could until he was able to overcome whatever barrier seemed to be impeding his progress.

As the distance between them disappeared, the two men slowed their horses. Orion’s legs relaxed their clench, releasing the pressure he’d been applying to push his mount faster and faster. At the same time his shield arm dropped down, his hand grasping the rein tightly, and pulling back to bring the horse to a much slower pace. When the horse reared back, Orion knew he’d pulled too hard. He’d learned quite early on in his training that they didn’t react well to training. Countless trips to the hard ground had finally taught Orion a thing or two about proper reaction to these events.

First, he released the rein. Too many times had the squire pulled harder and found himself and the mount on the ground in a way they didn’t belong. As he felt the horse start to rear back, he shifted his body forward, aiming to keep his weight centered as far as left and right, and as far up on the saddle as he could manage as far as front to back. Teeth gritted together as he clenched all his muscles in an attempt to stay mounted. Though he could feel himself start to slip back, relief washed over his face when he felt the horse go back to all fours.

Before Orion could celebrate his first successfully navigated rearing, the flash of a blade interrupted his glee.

The first slash glanced harmlessly off his breastplate, the uneven strike sliding against the steel armor. Orion grunted as the force pushed him back in his saddle. The heavy steel shield came back to its proper place as another swipe was unleashed by the other squire. His foe had taken advantage of Orion’s struggles with control, and was now riding around him offering thrusts and slashes that he could barely manage to withstand.

By shifting ever so slightly to the left and pushing down with his left seatbone, he forced the horse to turn in its place, following the aggressive rider as he tried to get a clear shot at Orion. Again and again the probing strikes came, but Orion’s shield was there to turn them away. It proved to be more difficult to use a shield effectively from horseback than he’d expected. While on the ground he’d gained some amount of proficiency using the shield to redirect blows. While mounted, it was an entirely different story.

The squire managed to take blow after blow into the steel frame, each solid hit reverberating throughout his body. The other squire was unrelenting, and before he knew what was happening, Orion could feel himself starting to slip.

From behind the safety of his shield came the broadsword. His hand grasped the basket hilt tightly, weak, desperate thrusts jutting out as he tried to repel his opponent. The straight blade did give him a fair bit of range on his attack, but because of his lack of balance on the back of his mount, they were mostly ineffectual attempts that left him flailing wildly the other rider.

Another solid blow to his shield and Orion could do nothing to prevent himself from being unseated. He was too far over to one side, and in the matter of a tick, he was looking up to the winter sky, cold, dirty snow filling in the area around him. Momentarily did he lay, trying to figure out just what had happened, when Dinah’s voice called out.

”Orion! Get up! This fight isn’t over!”

by **Orion Michaels** on February 16th, 2014, 9:33 pm

Orion scrambled to his feet just in time to be returned from whence he came.

Another powerful blow landed square in the center of his chest, sending Orion toppling over backwards as the mounted squire took advantage of his position. Orion’s breath was knocked from him as he impacted flush with the ground, a grunt forcing itself from the blue eyed man’s depths.

He tried to take deep breaths to regain himself, but his body wouldn’t cooperate. Only shallow, laborious gasps would come forth as his system came to terms with the rough impact. He could hear the pounding of hooves, both right around him and ones growing softer, further way.

That bastard horse, abandoned me!

Orion placed one hand firmly against the ground and flipped over to his knees, where he used both hands and feet to help pull himself to standing, standing shakily as he prepared himself for another attack from his foe. Orion’s vision began to clear as the pounding of hooves came down upon him. With a split second to decide, Orion elected to use his shield in defense against a slash only made more powerful by speed and weight of the horse. His shield rose into place just in time to absorb the crushing blow. Since his foe was higher than him, Orion angled the shield so the top of the guard was leaning in towards him, causing the bottom of it to raise higher than it would normally be. With a steel wall between him and the dulled blade, Orion braced for the impact.

He could feel himself sink down further into the snow as steel met steel. It hurt quite a bit to take such a hit, even if the shield had done its part. Nearly losing his balance once more, Orion slid back in the snow, struggling to not wither under the pain that shot through his arm. The other squire’s attack drove Orion’s shield back down, into his body, and the strain it put on his shoulder was nearly unbearable. If there was one thing he learned from the entirety of this experience, is was that he wasn’t going to let himself get dismounted in combat again. The disadvantage he was at was insurmountable. Maybe if he’d had a spear like what Miriam Antinous had taught him to use, he could do something. Being restricted to a broadsword, a light, basket-hilted weapon intended to be used from horseback had him simply seeing how long he could survive.

Orion’s feet pattered about on the ground and he nervously moved about to keep the rider from overrunning him. His stance shifted back and forth as he almost danced left and right to try and keep enough distance between he and the other squire. All the while he continued to shake out his shield arm, trying to recover from the last hit, though it was hardly getting him anywhere. The other squire was upon him, and another slash sliced down at Orion.

He tossed the shield up, deflecting the blow, but this time it was too much. His feet slipped in the unforgiving snow, and his shield wrenched from his grasp as the elder squire dropped his blade and cradled his arm. Orion went to the ground, defeated.

”Stop, stop1” Dinah’s calls came as she rode over to end the brief training. ”Orion, are you okay?”

He grunted in reply.

”Looks like we’ve got quite a bit of work to do,” she remarked, turning her focus to the other squire. ”Good job, keep working on your riding. By the way Orion here is cradling his arm, I think he might be in for a trip to the Soothing Waters.”

Orion wasn’t going to argue with that possibility. If his choice was being out in the cold with horses, or being within the Soothing Waters getting pampered, well, it wasn’t even a choice.

by **Radiant** on March 1st, 2014, 8:25 pm

Orion :

Notes :

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.

Skill	XP Earned
Riding: Horse	+3 XP
Weapon: Broadsword	+3 XP
Weapon: Heavy Shield	+3 XP
Endurance	+2 XP

Completed [Windmount Track and Field] Smashmouth