Stronger Than A Hollar

[Imass]

Imass

Spring 70 516 AV

The day began as usual; the Knight and the Squire completed the routine exercise. The work was hard and tough, but both pushed forward without complaint. The Akalak spoke very little, except to rebuke Faircroft. Corporal punishment was swift and with little love. The only redeeming factor of Imass' brutish ways was that he fought alongside Alex through every trial.

Stocking up on water and trail rations, the Akalak began to venture into the wild lands without any explanations; he merely jogged out of the city gates with the Squire with him. Other than swords that hung on their backs, the pair wore simple linen. They went past the fields, further into the small forest, and soon the spine of the Cobalt loomed in front of them.

Ser Imass began to climb. The trial started off as an easy switch back and a low incline. He took great care on his form and his steps; he focused on taking big strides and breathing. Imass' pace was slow, because he wanted to conserve stamina as he was not in peak condition. After the initial switch backs, he was already sweating and breathing hard. Each step he took required full hip flexor use in a dynamic fashion. His legs went parallel for each step.

"We've got some miles ahead of us to climb to the top of this ridge," Imass declared to Alex, "The last league on this climb is very steep,"

The trail they climbed was not one that was clearly marked. Rather it was something that followed the natural flow of the topography. The ridge of the mountain was greatly covered with deciduous trees and fauna. Wild animals, monsters, and bandits were always a threat, but being within five miles of Syliras there was no mortal anxiety on the Knights mind.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"

There was something cathartic about the routine nowadays. The early morning start was easily enough gotten into but the strange thing about today was now Imass wanted to leave the city briefly with him. Annoyingly enough Alex wasn’t allowed to bring anything with him other than his sword. No bow, no other blades of any sort. Alex felt a little…Exposed. Usually he’d have a dagger or two tucked into his boot or belt but today he just had his bastard sword with him. And that was it. Boots, clothes, sword, rations, water. Done.

Imass’ training was hard and as usual brutal but Alex was accustomed to pain and abuse. The broken bones he’d suffered in his youth and hidden injuries long since healed. That wasn’t the worst of the issues though, what was showed itself to be the climb. Long and steep. And getting steeper with every mile covered. They’d left shortly after their morning meal and as such hadn’t really had time to let it sit and settle. So Alex was having difficulty keeping it down.

Bandits, wild animals, monsters, poisonous plants. Everything that wanted to kill them could. It’d been some time since Alex had ventured forth from the city sans his armour. And he was begging to feel it. His footfalls were lighter. His body flowing smoother, and without it he was even beginning to overtake Imass a little on the climbs. Still though he’d fall back just enough to let Imass show where they were headed. Right now he had no ideas till he just knew two things. It was high up and it was close to the city.

Eventually the tine was beginning to get to him the light of Syna broke over the mountains at a low range and caught Alex in the eyes lightly. Wincing away from it he lifted his hand to offer some shade. Soldiering on behind Imass. He’d kept up with him this far… And he wasn’t about to let some mountain climb break him either.

[Imass]

Onward and upward the two continued.

Imass' mind was not really focused on the trail. Instead he thought of his former battles and all the errors that occurred on his part. There was a burning inner desire to reconcile his faults through Glory. The Light Brother wished to redeem himself and erase the three years of being locked in a dungeon cell from his memory. Imass also wished to impart something onto the Squire other than the required hardness to be a Knight. He wanted the Squire to understand what he learned through the Campaign, so they he may avoid similar consequences.

Heavy breathing and sweat dripping off the blue man's face brought him back into the moment. They had traversed nearly two miles and already climbed a thousand feet up. Despite being weak from imprisonment, his use of proper technique kept him moving. The Akalak was visibly sweating more than Alexander, but he didn't care. In through his nose and out through his mouth; he felt his heart beat and tried to control it as best as he could. The pace he set was slower than what the squire would deem an impressive workout, but his conditioning was not completely back to par yet.

Suddenly they reached a dead halt. Before them loomed a path that was incredibly steep, "This is the spot,"

Only when they took a breather did the Akalak realize he had been pushing himself rather nicely. His head flooded white for a moment than back to normal. It felt good to be pushing himself.. He did not mention or show any signs of this to the squire though.

"Up we go," Imass announced after a breather, which quickly filled him with fortitude again.

The climb was not even close to an expert status feat, though balance and strength would be required to scale it.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Alex marched behind Imass. A slow march as it should have been but despite the silence of the circumstance Alex marched to a different sound. Alex was pondering on the last times he’d been left to such quiet and the negative conflicts they’d held. Each moment each time a passing memory of some tragedy or another. The silent walk as much as it was physically demanding to Alex the silence was much more mentally demanding. Fighting off revenants and ghosts of his past. Long distant spectres and fresher wraiths. Though as he thought he’d have to keep marching in sullen silence things came to an abrupt halt.

Apparently this was the spot. The spot for what? Alex glanced around and tried to make sense of the shifting leaves and the location they’d found themselves. A steep incline ahead and a gradual drop behind. Alex stood with a look of exertion but he still stood. His internal struggle having numbed him to the physical one. Imass however had paused and started drinking down deep breaths. Apparently their course lie further up. The steep incline ahead telling Alex he’d have to scale it with some care. In seasons passed he’d had a few instances where he’d had to scramble up tight and narrow alleys, and make it onto roofs. However climbing in nature was a very different beast.

Alex took off up the incline after Imass had started. Taking a moment to simply count out the possible hand holds that were there. He rubbed his hands together. Warming them further as he stepped up and crouched low and light. And with a planned route began to scale the pathway. Again a pace held with Imass. Despite the Akalak’s much greater strength Alex again showed he had one thing that held him up. Determination. He wasn’t going to fall behind. He wasn’t going to slow. No he’d keep pace as best he possibly could with the larger blue knight.

[Imass]

The next quarter mile was much more difficult and grueling for the Akalak. Each step required him to move his legs as high as he possibly could. Also he had to stop at each landing instead of continuously striding upwards, therefor he alternated legs so he could distribute the work load. The use of his hands to grab onto rocks was also needed. Several times he caught himself slipping, but easily recovered. As they ascended, the trees began to disappear and eventually only rocks could be seen. Despite the technical challenge involved, there was no danger of falling down more than a few feet.

"That's the top," Imass pointed at the highest point of the ridge, while stopping in an awkward position, half clinging onto a rock at angle.

"To get up looks like we will have to sprint up that slope to get enough speed to jump and pull ourselves over that lip, see what I mean?" Imass pointed at the land formations he was talking about.

Positioning himself, the Knight went first. He used all the proper technique for the most efficient running, but even then he felt the struggle of keeping balance on the side of the mountain. The move was also a risky one, because if momentum stopped, he would immediately slip down the slope. Reaching the top, the Akalak jumped and tried to slap his hands on the lip of the rock. Painfully his fingers grasped, but his grip failed him sending the Knight tumbling down. The bastard sword dug into his back causing him to grunt, but as he flipped around he stopped his sliding by spread his legs and planting his feet into the rock.

Growling in anger, Imass felt like a fool for such terrible performance in front of the squire, but he didn't say anything. Standing up very slowly, he inched back down the slope not to slide down for another try. Back down with Alex at the base of the incline, Imass observed the obstacle for a while.

"We will need assistance to get up... grab that squarish boulder over there and lug it up the slope so we can have an extra step for the jump,"

[Alexander Faircroft]

Alex kept up pace with Imass, though he lingered just behind. Not wanting to steam ahead for fear of both getting chastised and getting lost. The path got progressively worse, and Alex began taking small pauses between intermittent dashes of movement. As much as Alex was pausing here and there to take a second or two to see where to move next for the simplest path. Imass was just ploughing on ahead. The difference in training and raw power was something almost as wide as a canyon. Alex did things with his head thinking logically and tactically and strategically. Imass it appeared to Alex worked more on gut instinct and brute force.

An effective tactic but one that was slowly falling out of its use as he began to slow. Despite the few pauses Alex had taken which may have seemed like a varying degree of weakness, which in all fairness given the fact he wasn’t even close to the strength of the Akalak, he was having to compensate. Apparently they were headed to the top. Speed and jump? What was with everything having to be so difficult? Internally Alex groaned eventually pulling himself up to the same Point Imass was on. Shifting his footing a little he watched Imass take it first.

Seeing the larger blue man reach and then plummet was something that made Alex smirk. Even then only slightly because the moment Imass turned to see him he cut it off. Lug up a boulder? What on Mizahar was this man even thinking? If Alex didn’t possess the physical strength to compete with him in bull rush climbing then what made him think he could haul the boulder?! Giving Imass a slightly incredulous look he grunted and shifted his eight to pick up the boulder. Wrapping his arms around it he pulled it into his abdomen. Lifting with his legs he used it for ballast against the incline of the slope. Slow motions. Even then he ran the risk of tumbling back down and just smashing against a rick in a bad way.

Finally reaching the same point as Imass Alex slammed the boulder down. A loud pop coming from his back with the impact. It had to be roughly the same weight as his armour, easily. The slow ascension possibly would have earnt him a reprieve but better that than fall and risk smashing his head open. “Ser.” He managed to get out before moving to lean on the incline lightly not laying down but holding his weight in such a way that he could recover a little of the lost stamina. “After you.”

[Imass]

Squire Faircroft lugged up the boulder at an incredibly slow rate and plopped it down haphazardly. Ser Imass began to grow impatient at such a performance, because all he wanted to do was get to the top of the ridge already.

Without rebuking Alex immediately, he went up to the Squire with a disgruntled look on his face and slapped him on the side of the head with not much force, "Wake up! Where the hell has your mind gone? Don't you see what we are trying to do here?"

Bending over he picked up the boulder and moved it further back and flipped it over, "Get you mind off Lady Pretty-Pink-Panties-Skipping-Down-The-Beach and focus on the task at hand! I can't make a jump with the rock positioned so poorly as you have done! Am I going to have to dictate you passages from the Penita scrolls!?"

Without waiting for a response to his rhetorical question, the Akalak walked back down the slope carefully and prepared himself for the jump. Taking several deep breaths to calm his heart rate and clear his mind of all other thoughts, the Knight bent his knees to give himself the perfect start. Bounding up the slope to get some speed, he pushed off the boulder which gave him easily another three feet of air. Slamming against the side of the rock, he was able to get his arms over the lip just enough to grab onto some more rocks.

"Huaaah! Huaaah!"

While flailing his legs against the stone, the brute grunted as he hoisted himself up and over extremely slowly, . His upper body was not yet back in optimum strength so he could feel his muscles in full contraction as he got over the obstacle. If it wasn't for the combination of his grip and kicking the side of the mountain, he would not be successful.

Lighted headed and breathing hard as he was, the Knight looked down at Alexander and ordered him to ascend. If the Squire had trouble getting up, the Akalak would give him a helping hand.

Just because he was hard and tough, didn't mean he would leave a comrade hanging... literally.

[Alexander Faircroft]

As usual Physical abuse and then verbal berating for little to no reason. He’d done as he was asked, but considering the difference in sheer size and strength between them it was hardly surprising that Alex was having difficulty with moving things that big easily up an incline that steep. Yet Imass played it off like he was just lollygagging for no good reason. Alex simply stepped back and allowed Imass to continue with his farce of a mission to get up the incline with a run, a leap, and a grab. In the meantime Alex’s own eyes and mind were already working and his head was turning to see if he could find an alternative route.

Glancing around there was little else in the way of getting up there but there was something slightly off to the side. Whilst Imass dragged himself up the ledge of the rock face Alex stepped to the side, spotting a few stones that stuck out forming almost what seemed to be a ladder like path. Sometimes brute force was required. Sometimes a little bit of patience was. In this instance, Alex was more likely to ascend the small trail he’d found. However given the mood Imass appeared to be in he chose to follow his instructions. Rubbing his hands together he took a step back and then again almost at the edge of the small break in the incline.

He took off running, being slightly smaller he had more ground to cover to build up a little more speed. He pushed off of the boulder with a hard stamp and launched himself up the incline getting both arms over the lip he braced himself. Right one, two, three, and up we go! He rocked his lower body from side to side as he thought and then using the momentum swung his legs up and followed atop the outcropping Lying on his back for a half tick as he started to stand back up. It wasn’t particularly graceful nor pretty to look at but he’d gotten the job done and was now awaiting further orders from Imass.

[Imass]

Finally at the top of the ridge, the glory and awe of the land could be seen.

"Faircroft!" Imass rumbled with enthusiasm, "This is why we made the climb! Look at the splendor before thee!" Hands on his hips, the Akalak took deep breaths of the clean mountain air and gazed at the landscape.

The sun was shining brighter than usual and puffy white clouds drifted against azure blue skies. Around them loomed the green forested foothills of the Cobalt mountains. To the west the glittering deep blue ocean spanned as far as the eye could see. It smelled of pine woods as the fresh air blew in their face. Like a shining jewel, the fortress city of Sylira stood to the west. The Kabrin road visible as the life blood vein of the land.

A feeling of awe and glory filled the Knight's body. He was so happy to be seeing such a spectacular view, a tear almost trickled down his cheek, "This is a beautiful sight indeed, Faircroft! Take it in! Let your worries vanish as you look at this view!"

The rocky platform they stood on was roughly twenty square yards. Imass walked to the opposite side to take in the view of the Wildlands. As far as he could see the dangerous and deeply forested mountains. He shuddered silently at the thought of being so far away from civilization for such an extended period of time. Turning back to the side with the city, Imass took a deep breath and exhaled loughly.

"WHERE!!!" The Knight suddenly broke out with a hollar, his voice rang loud and clear, more melodic that ever before. Pausing for a moment he continued with an Knightly chant:

"... the rolling foothills of the Colbalt mountain,
Meet the Old Kabrin Road,
Golden dreams and hope surround thee,
To guide our way in the darkest night,
Sylir, today I hail thee,
For in thy memory: our city shall we keep!"

After repeating the old Syliran Knight chant, Imass remained quiet and contemplative staring at the city below.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Description "Alex Common" Alex thoughts "Myrian" "Fratava" "Others"

They reached a plateau, a flat and level break in the incline. Apparently they had reached their destination or at least part way too it. Alex instead of taking everything in took a moment to just breathe. The final sting in his muscles was beginning to set in and the clever stunt he’d pulled to haul himself up had taken more out of him than he’d intended. Taking a slow breath he finally glanced up at the rather stunning view. A spanning shot from the Suvan all the way through the bronze woods to the edge of the flat lands beyond them. They’d managed to complete the climb before the crack of noon and as such it was starting to get brighter.

Let his worries vanish as he looked at the view? As much as the sight was beautiful to behold, it wasn’t enough to break the dread in the back of his mind. But again he put on a brave face and spoke quietly before Imass fell into his chant. “It is a magnificent view Ser.” Within mere moments of saying it Imass just screamed out “Where”. Alex winced heavily the sheer volume still hurting his ears after the encounter with the wailer. After a few ticks he braced himself and shook it off.

Now as Imass chanted Alex himself just closed his eyes a moment and thought. Parsing the time he let the wind in the air sway against him. A deep breath held for a few seconds with a long slow exhale. As he exhaled he let the weight of his burdens lift from him for a brief moment. And possibly for the first time since he’d met Imass. If he’d look towards Alex he’d see a smile adorning his features. Light and genuine, more a smile of brief relaxation that ease but still one none the less. Breaking the silence after Imass has finished his chant for what amounted to the third time.
“Ser…If I may be so bold. Why exactly did you inquire as to bringing our swords with us? There seems to be no real need for them there’s hardly any wild beasts this high up.” Alex inquired with a light tone. As usual he held his light frame of voice.

CreditMassive thanks to Fire for this awesome template.