Solo Rhavu

Devi makes a trip to the stables to acquaint herself with a Nightwalker.

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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]

Rhavu

Postby Devi on November 5th, 2015, 12:01 am


Fall 15th, 515AV - Windmount Stables

Devi ambled slowly past enclosure after enclosure, her fingers lightly trailing the grain of the wood as she did so. She’d had no idea before today just how many horses were housed in the Windmount Stables. They held a staggering number of different breeds, different ages, colours, sizes, shapes… For all the choice however, she couldn’t seem to find just what she was looking for. It would help of course if Devi actually knew what she was looking for herself.

The stablehand, to his credit, was being exceptionally patient with her. He had long since given up asking her questions about the type of horse she wanted and instead seemed intent on simply showing her something different based on the severity of her dismissals. The most recent of these was a female horse, a mare, she reminded herself. It was a beautiful rich golden colour, with hair like pale cream. It was exactly the right height for her, it would be able to carry her weight, it looked beautiful… and she didn’t want it in the slightest.

Her face screwed up a little, showing her distaste and she caught the slightest hint of a sigh escaping the stablehand’s lips. He flicked through the pages of the list he had in his hands, shaking his head slightly. It seems the patience she had credited him with just a moment ago was running low. Devi rolled her eyes at him and waited. He gestured her to follow and they wandered away to another enclosure. She eyed him as they stopped. He was already scanning through his list for the next one to show her and she wondered if they had stopped at this enclosure just to give him more time to look.

Devi sighed deeply and turned towards the enclosure, all but ready to dismiss this one too. A single dark eye glittered out at her from amidst a coat the colour of ebony. It was a pigment so dark in fact that it almost seemed to sully the shade around it to a middling grey. The creature stepped out of the shadows slowly, the eye facing her never seeming to leave her face. She let her eyes rove across its shiny coat, across the powerful muscles shifting beneath the skin, all the way across its body, up its neck to rest on its face. It was strange. Looking into the eyes of the creature she wondered at that moment just who was inspecting whom.

“This one.” She said with a slight nod.

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Rhavu

Postby Devi on November 5th, 2015, 12:03 am


The stablehand looked up at her in surprise, blinking once or twice before responding as though sure he had misheard her.

“This… one? The Nightwalker?”

“Mmhmm…” She said absently. “Nightwalker, is that its name or its breed?”

She turned to him, gesturing with her hands, “And is it a male or a female? It feels somewhat wrong to keep calling it ‘it’.”

The groom scanned through his list once more, clearly a little flustered, before responding.

His name is Rhavu. Nightwalker is his breed. The Knighthood often favour them for their Mage-Knights but even after being gelded this one was apparently a little uh… Spirited.”

He eyed the horse sideways as though afraid of being overheard. She searched her memories for mention of Nightwalker horses or mage-knight steeds. She came up with very little – she had in fact rarely come across mage-knights that she could recall. One fact did resurface however, which would fit with what she saw in front of her.

“They’re supposed to be quite intelligent aren’t they? Nightwalkers?”

Devi looked into the creature’s eye, the one she could see with the side of its head facing her. It certainly seemed to exude intelligence. From the way it stood, from the way it moved she would almost say he exuded pride, defiance even.

“Yes, it’s a prominent reason they are favoured for some riders but… Forgive me my lady but you are a novice rider, are you not?”

She knew what he was getting at. She was a beginner. She should be looking for horses with steady, calm temperaments. Ones that wouldn’t spook easily, that would allow her to learn how to ride better without throwing her off half the time. That was all logical. Still, sometimes logic didn’t favour into Devi’s decision-making process. Occasionally she had learned to just go with her gut.

“Yes I am. I assume there’s an area where I can walk him around a little?”

She schooled her face into one she had seen higher-borns use from time to time. It was an expression that wasn’t to be argued with, that was used to getting things the way they were asked for without question. She had no idea if she was expressing exactly what she had intended but whether it was down to her body language or the fact that this was about the thirtieth horse that had examined that morning, the stablehand finally relented. As he moved to saddle the creature with his accoutrements the stablehand addressed her in a rather weary voice.

“I hope you’ve a strong way about you…”

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Rhavu

Postby Devi on November 5th, 2015, 12:12 am


Rhavu, complete with saddle and all the other appendages she was starting to learn about, was standing ready for her in one of the wider enclosures. It had been cleared for her use and there were now two stablehands standing close by and ready to help her, should she need it. After her forays to the Mithryn Outpost and back she had acquired some small modicum of riding skill. She could at least mount and dismount without too much trouble and had gotten used to the basic commands required to move around. He was standing almost deadly still, waiting for her. She circled him slowly, stroking his coat and looking him over as she did so, familiarising herself. She used the opportunity to talk to him a little.

“So, Rhavu. The stablehands told me that you’re quite spirited. I think that’s their way of saying they’re a little afraid of you.”

She circled his back side, taking note of the strong muscles supporting the legs there.

“From the looks of you I would think you could teach anyone a sharp lesson if you were so inclined.”

Devi arrived back where she started, in a position ready to mount him.

“So I’ll make you a deal. If you decide you’d rather sit in your enclosure to brood for the rest of eternity then you can buck me about, throw me off, do whatever you’d like to express the word ‘no’. If you’d rather do something a little more interesting with your days then do as I ask for a little while. I’m not above bribing you with apples if it comes to it.”

Feeling more nervous that she cared to admit, she breathed a deep, steadying breath. Horses were live creatures, animals just like humans were. People said that normal horses could sense your emotions, sense if you were afraid. If that was true then this intelligent creature would certainly be able to tell how she was feeling. This was as much a test for her as it was for him.

As her heartrate slowed a little she stepped forward and pulled herself up, swinging her right leg over the saddle as she did so. It still took her a little while to get her balance right but after some minimal shifting Devi settled herself in the saddle. As she stopped she took a moment to look around, realising as she did so how high up she was. This horse, Rhavu she reminded herself, was a little bigger than the others she had been used to.

A sudden movement from beneath her snapped her from her idle thoughts. She gripped the reins a little tighter in surprise.

“Right, sorry.” She muttered.

Ever so gently, as though she were afraid that the slightest nudge would send this so-called ‘spirited’ horse flying she nudged him with her legs in the way she had been taught meant ‘go’.
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Rhavu

Postby Devi on November 7th, 2015, 7:13 pm

As though trying to lull her into a false sense of security, Rhavu moved forwards in a very sedate manner. Devi felt her muscles slowly relaxing from their previous tense state and her breathing started to slow. It allowed her to stop concentrating so much on remembering how to ride and instead on how this particular horse felt carrying her. Devi was absolutely not a horse expert. She had no idea what the breeders or stablehands of the Windmount would look for or why this horse’s previous owner didn’t take to him. In fact all things considered her needs for a mount were relatively simple.

All she needed was a way to get from the city to Mithryn or perhaps to other Syliran outposts in the future. For that purpose she could have gotten a much more common-bred horse. Today wasn’t about fulfilling needs however, it was about fresh starts. After all that had happened in the previous season and the friends she had lost, Devi was determined not to allow herself to brood. She needed a mount but what she wanted was an intelligent companion, even if that companion was equine in nature.

Rhavu made a noise beneath her, drawing her attention back to the present. She decided to try turning a little and nudged with her left leg whilst pulling gently on the reins. The Nightwalker’s reaction was instant, curving his path around to the left of the enclosure they were in. She raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

“Well you certainly don’t like the wildcat everyone around here claims. Did you just not like your previous owner or are you simply lulling me into relaxing before taking the opportunity to throw me?”

She watched him a moment as though expecting him to respond. Though he may not have a voice, she took the fact that he hadn’t thrown her off for that comment as a good sign. She let her eyes wander across the silky black expanse of Rhavu’s coat, admiring the good condition it was in and watching his muscles shift the shine of it as he walked.
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Rhavu

Postby Devi on November 7th, 2015, 7:35 pm

Devi felt Rhavu slowing and for a moment wondered why. As she ran through her mental checks one by one she realised that her grip on the reins was pulling back with a slight pressure. That was a cue to stop for a horse, she remembered. Her instinct was to release the tension on the reins as it hadn’t been her intention to stop Rhavu. She heard a voice whilst instructed her differently however.

“Don’t gentle them, he’ll get confused as to what you want him to do. This young man needs solid commands so pull back on the reins and stop him. We can get him going again in a moment.”

She belatedly realised that one of the stablehands was walking close beside her. She had been so concentrated on the horse that she hadn’t noticed his presence before he spoke. She wondered how long he had been there. His face was showing an equal amount of concentration as it shifted his gaze from her position to how Rhavu was responding. Devi did as he said and exerted some pressure on the reins. Rhavu stopped in response to her.

“Hmm, that’s good. You’re using your legs more than your reins when you move him, did you know that?”

Devi felt herself blush slightly as she responded. “I’d read somewhere that you could use either method. It seems more natural for me this way...”

To her surprise however, the man wasn’t admonishing her. “You’re right, you can use methods other than the reins. The very first riders did so without any of our equipment after all. Your technique is still fairly raw but to be honest it seems like using body-cues rather than reins suits Rhavu quite well.”

Devi let out a small laugh, “Well maybe he doesn’t like his mouth being yanked here, there and everywhere.”

She certainly wouldn’t enjoy it. She couldn’t see why a proud creature such as this would encourage it either. If Rhavu was labelled as a particularly energetic horse, she pondered, perhaps he had been pulled around a little too much for his liking. She made a mental note to redouble her efforts to learn more about using her legs and the rest of her body to guide her horse.
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Rhavu

Postby Devi on November 7th, 2015, 8:01 pm

“Ok,” her impromptu instructor began, “This time when you squeeze your legs and tell him to start walking, speak to him. Keep it to a simple command. You also want to sit straighter when you’re mounted, relax into the saddle once he starts moving and whenever he does what you ask him to, praise him for it.”

Devi nodded her head at him and he stepped back. She ran through what he had said in her head and thought about what vocal cues she could use. A slight smile met her lips as she decided. She straightened her posture as the stablehand had advised and then, ever so gently, squeezed her calves together against Rhavu’s side. As she did so she spoke, though she switched from the Common Tongue to Tukant for the cue.

Walk.

Devi sat, straight backed and poised ready to move but nothing happened. She frowned a little and tried again, increasing the pressure exerted by her calves, making it into a stronger request. She also leant her weight forward a little.

Walk

She said again. This time Rhavu slipped into motion, slowly walking forwards as he had done before. Belatedly she remembered what her instructor had said about relaxing into the saddle and she did so, maintaining her slightly forward lean and straight back. She sighed in relief. It was a lot to remember when you really got down to it. Still, it must have been just as confusing for a horse to have a new and inexperienced rider atop them. It was like they were slowly learning how to talk to each other.

Devi reached with her hand and scratched Rhavu’s neck a little, uttering again in Tukant as she did so.

“Well done Rhavu, well done.”
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Rhavu

Postby Devi on November 7th, 2015, 8:21 pm

Devi couldn’t really say why she was using Tukant phrases for her vocal cues. The language of the Akalak people was harsher than Common Tongue and tended to be far more verbose. Still she had always enjoyed speaking it and learning its intricacies. That said, any excuse she could use to spend time with a well muscled, blue skinned warrior was a favourable one in her mind.

Regardless, it seemed to suit Rhavu. She saw him as powerful and strong but there was also an intricacy to him that she was only just beginning to sense. Devi knew at that point that she was going to pay the Windmount the five hundred gold mizas needed to secure Rhavu as hers, expensive as he was. Still, there was no point in calling a stop to the lesson that had begun. She may as well absorb all she could whilst she was in the presence of someone far more experienced than her.

The stablehand in question was still watching her, muttering to himself or nodding slightly every now and then. When Devi came to the side of the enclosure she started to turn slightly and it was then that the man spoke up.

“Move your right leg backwards slightly. You want to turn, not lean.”

Devi frowned and stopped herself from leaning. It was difficult not to – it felt natural to try and pull the horse in the direction she wanted to go. Nonetheless she moved her leg as instructed and swivelled instead of leaning. Gradually Rhavu began turning in the direction she wanted and she smiled at him. She reached for his neck and gave him another quick scratch as a reward.
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Rhavu

Postby Devi on November 7th, 2015, 9:40 pm

“That’s better.” Her instructor remarked and Devi smiled at the small compliment. She had always gotten a sense of satisfaction when learning new things. On the other mounts she had ridden, borrowed creatures, she had never quite seemed to meld as she did with Rhavu. He was really quite unusual, which suited her perfectly. As soon as she could learn better how to communicate with him she imagined he would teach her as much about riding as any of the instructors at the Windmount stables could.

She came around the enclosure in a full circle, taking the time to practice turning with her seat and her legs rather than pulling too much on the reins. She was finding it difficult not to lean and tug at him even so and made a note to practice turning in this way more often. Finally she was satisfied that it was time to stop for the day and so she manoeuvred Rhavu back to their starting point. Her instructor noted her intentions and gave her another pointer.

“When you stop, use another command. Make it simple, as the first one was. Lean your hips forwards in the seat, let the motion shift your weight backwards a little. He probably won’t stop just from that until you’re a little more practiced so pull gently on the reins to let him know what you want.”

Devi nodded at him and concentrated. She leant her hips forward and felt her weight shift. She wasn’t certain that she was doing it correctly, it was a strange feeling.

Stop.” She said in a firm voice.

As Rhavu kept walking she pulled a little on the reins, repeating the command. This time it worked and they came to a stop. Devi took a steadying breath and then dismounted with a bit of a wobble. She took the time to stroke the side of Rhavu’s neck once she had done so, smiling at him.

“Well done. You just needed a lighter touch didn’t you hmm? There will be plenty of apples in your future, I can sense it. Carrots too if you play your cards right.”

The man who had been giving her instructions was shaking her head, disbelief apparent on his face. He took Rhavu’s reins and began leading him back towards his own enclosure. As they spoke he offered her one final piece of advice.

“Just don’t squeeze your legs too hard. One of the riders here was a bit too firm with his and ended up galloping across the enclosure and leaping the fence. I suspect Rhavu doesn’t much care for the stages between walking and running full speed.”

She chuckled at that and made a mental note to learn how to dismount, should that happen. One thing making her jump could have her new companion galloping away before she had time to think about it.

“Let’s go and settle up the paperwork. I can see it in your eyes that your mind is settled. Just promise me that you’ll come in for more lessons!”


ReceiptPurchases:
-500GM for Nightwalker horse
-10GM for Riding Saddle
-1GM for Saddle Pad
-2GM for Bit & Bridle
-8GM for Large Saddlebags
-4GM for Medium Size Blanket & Hood

Total = -525GM
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Rhavu

Postby Elias Caldera on January 15th, 2016, 1:25 am


Behold, Your Just Reward!


Deviana Helena Blackwood


Experience and Lore :
Skills
  • Observation +4
  • Persuasion +2
  • Horse Riding +5
  • Horsemanship +2
  • Socialization +2
  • Negotiation +1

Lores
  • Location: Windmount Stables
  • Rhavu the Nightwalker
  • Nightwalker Horses
  • Rhavu: Not the Wild Beast They Say He Is
  • Nightwalkers: Breed of Choice for the Mage-Knights
  • Riding: Mounting Your Horse
  • Riding: Handling the Reigns
  • Riding: Using Your Legs
  • Riding: Voice Commands
  • Horsemanship: Bribing Your Ride


Miscellaneous :
Injuries
  • None

Loot and Expenses
  • Nightwalker Horse -500gm
    Riding Saddle -10gm
    Saddle Pad -1gm
    Bit & Bridle -2gm
    Large Saddlebags -8gm
    Medium Size Blanket & Hood -4gm


Comments :
    A pretty solid introduction into horse riding for Deviana. No complaints here. Well done.


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