75th of Ashan 720
Having been impressed with what he saw of Element troopers such as Balthazar Black, yet more to the point, impressed with the respect and gravitas their presence commanded, Kalortah decided to join up with the Elements. It wasn't unheard of for Council Members to take up arms with the military, although it was not exactly common for them to join in at the bottom. The receptionist in Scalvoristown Hall, after grilling him for all manner of information and gossip fodder, felt it only right to tell him that being a Councilor wouldn't afford him any special treatment.
More likely his fellow troopers would never treat him honestly, bowing and scraping before his eyes yet snickering behind his back. And that was only if they liked him. Well, Kalortah didn't particularly care. He had a stake in the Island's safety now, with his family here and have put down roots. He would not let her dissuade him from what he'd already decided.
So the day after signing on with them, he began his first day of training. Apparently, all the Element Troopers were expected to be able to ride the mount. At least the Water and Air troopers, which were the divisions that most interested Kalortah. They started him out with the Water Elements, a young man named Toby, who was reputed for his skill for training aquatic animals.
Kalortah approached him and did a small bow of his neck to acknowledge the man's presence. There were other recruits there, none of them were troopers yet presumably, so they were all rather nervous about the prospect of training, Kalortah could only surmise. For his part, Kalortah felt sure he would do well. If the mount knocked him off, he could always fly off, and try again.
Toby started them off with some exercises and stretches, and then they got down to business. He brought out the Irrawaddle pod that he'd prepared for them to attempt to mount and ride.
Toby spoke to them all, "The irrawaddles are your entry-level mount for Water. Easy to ride and easier to get along with, they are the workhorses of Water." Toby smirked, and took in each of the troops' faces, watching as some of them gulped. Kalortah kept himself calm through the explanation, so as not to draw attention to himself. But it wasn't as if he could help it. Not many avriel joined the Elements, much less one on the Council. "They're good for carrying loads between here and there, we use them largely for just that purpose, but they're also equally good military mounts."
So saying, Toby paired the first detachment of troopers with their Irrawaddle. Kalortah was among them. He wasn't given much guidance there. Just stood in front of the irrawaddle, which gave him a sideways look as it poked its head out of the water.
"First thing, you'll want the beast's trust. The easiest way is through its stomach. It'll take a sardine from each of you..."
With this instruction heard, Kalortah reached into a nearby bucket, along with a handful of other troopers who went to fetch a snack for their mount. Kalortah held the sardine over the water, and then flipped it in the air, allowing it to land in the beast's mouth. Instead, it fell by the wayside, but the irrawaddle gathered it up out of the water, dipping below the surface and then coming back up, swimming back up toward Kalortah at the edge of the wharf.
Kalortah knelt by the waterside and reached out a hand for the irrawaddle. It seemed to inspect his hand, sniffing, feeling him out for the moment. It appeared most of the other troops had followed this process, going about acquainting themselves with the irrawaddle. So far none of them were brave enough to step into the water and try to mount their animal.
Kalortah looked to either side of him, at the other recruits and troopers. Since nobody else was brave or amazing enough to venture an attempt, Kalortah decided this was his opportunity to set himself apart from the pack! Rising to his feet, he gingerly moved a foot over the other side of the Irrawaddle's saddle. For a moment he thought he might drop down on the saddle, but at the last moment, the small dolphin-like creature darted forward, causing Kalortah to fall into the water!
He thrashed and coughed as the water soaked him through his armor, into his clothing. Thankfully he was light enough to make up for the weight of the armor, but still! He managed to grab onto the edge of the wharf before he sank to the ocean floor. The Irrawaddle, meanwhile, seemed extremely amused, or maybe it was the bard's imagination. He narrowed his eyes at the creature but said nothing.
Within moments, the trainer was pulling him out of the drink and back onto the wharf. Kalortah violently shook out the moisture from his wing valance and feathers. It made a clangor unlike much the other recruits had experienced, and they all covered their ears. Perhaps adamantite wing valance were overkill?
In any event, he had to grow accustomed to the armor if he was going to go around wearing it.
They tried several times more until Kalortah and the rest were able to mount an irrawaddle. At that point, the instructor brought them through some simple techniques for steering the creature. It took a combination of both foot pressure and gestures, and taking the reins and pointing the creature in the right direction. Speed was generally handled by the feet, while the hands worried about the control of the animal.
Kalortah was miserable through it all. Avriel wasn't meant to dip into the water, not their feet, not their arms, and certainly not their wings! Nevertheless, he endured the training for the water corps in good humor. Idly, he wondered if by some fluke of terrible luck he might be chosen for the Water Elements. Perish the thought, he shook it from his mind!
While astride the irrawaddle, Kalortah and the rest of his wing rode their irrawaddle far out toward a buoy in the depths of Scalvoris' bay. He could see Faldrass, Immortal's Tongue, and so many other places from where he rode. It would've made for breath-taking scenery if he wasn't half up to his hips in the damned cold sea water.
The instructor urged them to go faster on their mounts, and so they put the squeeze on the lower torsos with the legs, and began making range. While he went along, Kalortah took an opportunity to flex his wings a bit, and test their strength against the valance he was wearing. Once again he felt it might be foolhardy to attend this training session with so much metal armor and weaponry, yet who knew what dangers they might face? Kalortah couldn't help having a strong self-preservation instinct.
He kept his wings flush with the air flow, not allowing them to sail him right off the mount as it sped along the waterways. He and his fellow recruits swiftly mounted each wave on their Irrawaddle, and soon enough Kalortah felt as if the creature was practically steering itself. It wasn't all that bad. He could get used to riding, on second thought.
Soon enough, and mercifully so, Kalortah discovered it was the instructor's intent, having seen them riding their Irrawaddle with meager proficiency, to lead them back to the wharf. Kalortah nearly jumped for enthusiasm at the prospect of drying himself off at the hearth of his tower.
The Irrawaddle moved gracefully over the waves as they lapped out toward the sea, the lack of moons out affecting the tides so that the waters pulled outward. Once back at the wharf, Kalortah gingerly and carefully removed his feet from the stirrups of his irrawaddle and flapped his wings for traction against the air as he leaped onto the wharf. Unfortunately, he wasn't prepared for the bobbing of the irrawaddle with the displacement of weight and fell nearly flat on his chest and face as he landed on the stone cobbles of that wharf.
He landed with an oof. The sting to his pride was considerable as he lay there, dripping wet from the waist down and cold as a sardine. He shook off people who tried to help him up though and managed to shake it off once he was on his feet. "Hmrph..." He grunted, and then went to sign off for today's training. There would soon be combat training under the Earth Elements, and then he'd be tried against the last of the Element troops, the Air. Now that was something Kalortah could see himself aspiring to.
He swiftly discarded his tag into the jar that delineated who was returning for the next round of training. Then he was off to home.
