• Solo • Choosing A Side.

[Nir'wei]

11th of Vhalar 718.

The last time he'd arrived in full force at Skywatch Keep like this, in full force and surrounded by his companions had been during his first sign-up, as a simple civilian Animal Trainer... honestly, it already felt like an age ago. "Just over a season," Greyhide chimed in unhelpfully.

"Yes, thank you. I do remember." It'd still been a fair time. But he was glad to have taken it. If all else failed, he could always return to the Keep's animal training program... but now, he needed more. Action, real action - adventure and thrill. The kind of recognition that only came from one place in this city, in most cities if he was brutally honest. Even as he tried to buy into the lie, he could feel Archailist weighing on him. "Could you just let me have this?"

"You don't have this, you don't even believe it," the squirrel replied, cool but with an edge to his voice. Greyhide sniffed the air and pretended to look at something in the distance, trying to look like he wasn't listening. "You're not a soldier and you never have been, you're not a fighter and you never have been, you're not brave, you're not strong--"

Archailist truly did have a way with words. "If there's a point to this, I'd suggest you get to it," he said sharply, bringing his string of insults to a shuddering halt.

"Stop pretending to be something you're not," the squirrel snapped back with the sting of a whip, before the spirit's voice suddenly softened. "Your reasons are the right ones. Don't lose sight of them." Greyhide. Faith. Rharne. "Lose yourself now in the fake smiles of gratitude and plated gold of glory, and your grand gesture intended to save all of them will leave them struggling to save you." The spirit always spoke of things as if he'd experienced them before, but now it sounded all too real - like those blank grey eyes held another age behind them, other lives locked away in all but the little scenes that played out between them, snippets of advice and caution. One day, would he just become another one of those lives, a little anecdote to be passed on to the next life in their time of hardship? "All these knights in shining armour," Archailist continued, as if entirely oblivious to Nir's lamenting, "are men who have never had their metal tested."

The four knights arranged around the Skywatch Keep gates shared glances, but he'd become somewhat of a common face... and with three wolves spread out ahead to clear his path, he was a difficult one to forget. Normally he wouldn't have looked their way at all, but now he scanned them from the corners of his eyes, taking in their cleanly-polished breastplates and the fresh-picked coloured plumes dangling from the tops of their helmets, spotless and shining in the midday sun. Knights in shining armour indeed.

Sebastian smiled from behind his desk and quickly waved him through with a casual gesture, but his pleased expression soon turned confused as Nir'wei approached the desk instead, Greyhide, Cold and Myrth fanning out to sniff at the desk corners and chairs. Vabina walked just far enough into the entrance to avoid obstructing the regular traffic before sitting on her haunches and grooming a forepaw; Traveller stood just outside, refusing to enter the building but more than happy to peek inside every now and again, occasionally making the guards nervous when he leaned in to sniff at their plumes or casually brush a dangerous claw against the blades of their halberds. Jasper, being an impatient little shit, crawled forward from his shoulder and forced Nir'wei to extend a hand to steady him - which the otter immediately climbed down and use to hop straight onto the young squire's desk, scattering his notes and crumpling papers. "Sorry," he apologised sheepishly. Unfortunately, apologising was becoming a bit of a daily occurrence.

Sebastian hurriedly collected the fallen papers, with a bit of Nir'weis help, and filed them away on one of the shelves behind him. "It's no problem, don't worry about it. Uhh, you need something Nir'wei?" he asked, still facing the shelves as he tried to fit all the rolled-up papers onto it without sending all the other knick-knacks and scrolls rolling over the edge.

Nir'wei cleared his throat. "I want to become a Lightning Knight."

[Nir'wei]

You'd have thought he'd seen a ghost, the boy spun so fast on his heels. "Wait, what?!" Honestly, he'd played the expected reactions through his head quite a few times but incredulity hadn't been on the list. Surprise, yes, of course - a smile, maybe even a little jump, a clap on the shoulders and congratulations, perhaps a knowing grin and an 'it's about time' sarcastic jest. There was none of that here. Just disbelief. Sebastian must have seen something in Nir'weis face because he quickly looked away and wiped the look away. "I just, err. Well. Never really expected that from you."

"Really? I hadn't noticed." Alright, the squire probably hadn't earned that, especially from the hurt look he gave in return, but he was on the warpath now. "What makes it so unexpected, huh? What, am I not tall enough or something?"

Sebastian shook his head quickly, glancing down to Cold who regarded him with bright grey eyes before turning back with both hands raised defensively. "No, no no no. Honestly I thought you were coming to sign up the first day you arrived. Ha, I was actually a little disappointed, I wanted to see what all of these guys could do on the battlefield one day," he exclaimed, shock slowly giving way for that bubbly attitude once more, "but then you didn't, and every day you came by and you never said a word about it, and I guess I just got used to the fact that it wasn't your thing. You never came in wearing any armour, or carrying a weapon... never talked about it, I mean, it's not for everyone." He gave a little half-shrug. "You just never gave off that feeling of a soldier before, honestly - and I see a lot of them, always walking through. Sorry, but you just didn't."

It was an answer he'd honestly dreaded. Said in the politest way possible, filled with good intentions. 'You're not a soldier'. The words that had practically been drilled into his skull over and over. Words he'd come to accept as a reality, that he'd never be a good fighter the same way as those around him. "That's about to change," he replied, but even he didn't believe those words. Sebastian just nodded, clearly regretting ever opening his mouth.

"Well," the squire spoke up again after an uncomfortably long silence, "I can get the forms together - you'll be signed on as an Initiate, the rank of a fresh recruit... but you're going to need a ranking Lightning Knight to authorize it. Wait here please." There were no lighthearted jests this time as he turned smartly and vanished into an atrium at a brisk walk. Another long wait, this one broken as men and women poured in and out of the keep. Some dressed in plain clothes like him, though unlike his, theirs was more often clean and pressed, with various badges stitched over the breasts and shoulders. Messengers danced between the crowds shouldering canvas bags overstuffed with rolls of parchment, tool kits, bolts of fabric and fresh-forged arms. A small crowd of five walked in near-perfect unison, clad in light leather with wings emblazoned on their breasts. Each carried a bizarre halberd-like weapon with long hafts and wickedly-curved half-moon blades.

He was so engrossed in the passing soldiers that he didn't hear Sebastian's return until the squire coughed politely. "Xithyria--"

"Actually," a deep voice said as a creature stepped from the corridor, nearly forced to duck by the low lip of the stone frame, "That's Corporal Xithyria Manthanra Remnate Videx." The thing looked like a dragon crossed with a human - a huge flat muzzle filled with small sharp teeth, which turned to one side so that it could stare at him intensely with a slitted yellow eye. From the neck down there was nothing but polished steel, obviously custom-built and without flair or adornments. Strapped to one arm, a kite shield with sharpened points, painted in blue with a black lightning bolt slashing the middle. At the other side, a sword hung from its belt, long enough to almost drag along the floor, long and thick enough to be classed as a great-sword by any normal-sized human. "Come. Leave the beasts."

Just like that, it turned on the spot and started marching smartly out again, as if taking his obedience as expected. To its credit, Nir'wei actually took a step forward, almost following, before he caught himself and pulled back. "I can't," he blurted. The beast stopped. "I can't leave them. Where I go, they go." The lizard-man growled something under his breath, but it didn't seem to be aimed at him.

"Fine," it muttered at last in a voice that sounded like it was anything but. "I will assume, this once, that they do not exist, but give me a single reason to suggest anything otherwise and they are gone, and you with them." It strode off. Nir'wei paused again, just long enough to shoot an incredulous look at Sebastian.

"Sorry, he was the only ranking Knight I could find off-duty right now. Xithyria... is known for being a little strict." With that, the squire hurried back to his desk, plucked Jasper from the little nest of papers he'd made himself in the squire's absence, and plopped him on Nir'weis shoulder. "You'd better hurry before he sees you slacking."

[Nir'wei]

He caught up before Xithyria noticed he'd lagged behind, but it sounded like he'd already missed a great deal of the creature's rambling. "-- our core, we are the bastions not only of this city and its people, but of this nation and all that rely on us, that stand alongside us and behind us. This means dedication, it means vigilance. You need to be ready at all times, you need to be working hard to improve yourself, because when the time comes for you to draw your sword and raise your shield, it's not just your life that you're defending, it's that of your family, it's that of your comrades, and it's that of this nation and all those who rely on her." It spoke with every fiber of its being, it truly believed every word as an absolute truth. He had to admit, he was in awe. He'd never met someone with such power in their voice alone. "So, do you think you're ready to commit to becoming a guardian of this city?"

It stopped again, so sharply that Nir'wei nearly walked into him, and stared down with those great yellow eyes. He couldn't lie. Mostly because he felt like he'd be beaten to a pulp if he tried. "I... don't know." He'd expected responsibility, of course, but not like this - it was like suddenly being thrown onto a podium without a speech to give. What did they expect him to say, to do? Why hadn't anyone prepared him for this?

The reptile nodded. "Good." Good? "No delusions of grandeur here, is there?" it asked, poking the side of his head with a menacing claw and making him flinch. "And honesty. That'll take you far. Further than you think." Nir'wei took time to breathe a sigh of relief. "But you need to strengthen your resolve and find that courage in you before you progress. You need to know, with your soul, that this is your place in the world. Then you'll be ready. And not a moment before." It seemed like a decision had been reached, whether or not Nir'wei still wanted to go through with it, since the creature nodded to itself and suddenly turned his attention to the rest of him.

"You'll arrive tomorrow, in clean clothes at the least, patched if you don't have ones with holes. Bring weapons and armour if you have them. You'll be provided with training gear regardless, but I want to get a feel for what you already know. I'd suggest shaving... and getting a haircut too. You look ridiculous." He'd been called worse, in all fairness. However, it was far from done. "Clean and trim your nails, both hands and feet, try a bar of soap for once, get those teeth checked..." The list went on and on, soon he just zoned out, until something brought him back with a snap. "Those wolves. I'm assuming they're all fully-trained, combat and domestic."

"Uhh, yes."

"What commands do you use." This was starting to pry into some uncomfortable territory. Exposing his mark so openly never ended well. It clearly hadn't noticed his very unnatural eye colour though, or the fangs... so, perhaps he didn't know. "Or are they your bond-companions." Oh crap. "Bond-companions, then. Karem worshiper. Bold. What, thought I wasn't familiar? You can't expect to hide it with those eyes." There was no malice in its tone, so that had to be a good sign, right? In fact, he'd almost say there was a hint of intrigue, heavily suppressed.

Since it was out in the open, he might as well come clean. "Just the one. I give my orders to Greyhide through our mental bond, and he relays them to Cold and Myrth as needed." He placed his hands on the heads of each wolf as he named them. The lizard's eyes watched them all carefully.

"Not good enough. If one is incapacitated, you lose control of the others. In dire circumstances, you could find yourself utterly reliant on any one of these dogs for survival... and if you can't control them in the heat of the battle, then you might find yourself dead, and them too. The easiest are whistle commands... and mix them with hand gestures if you really need to. My advice would be to stick to three pitches, and alternate between short and long bursts to give a decent range." Nir'wei found himself nodding. It wasn't bad advice, after all. "I bet it won't take you long, either. Go on, do it. Tell them to surround me." It wasn't hard at all, of course. Three short whistles and a point at the lizard. Greyhide barked the interpreted commands at Cold and Myrth and they scrambled to respond, circling him until they stood to his left, right and behind him. "Good. Now tell them to return to you." Two short whistles and they did, packed around his legs almost to the point that he couldn't step without tripping over one.

Xithyria was thorough. He drilled each wolf like any other soldier, pointing at a place he wanted a specific wolf to go, arranging formations, attack, fall back, flank left, stay here. Greyhide was exempt, since their mental bond removed the need for any physical cue, but Cold and Myrth didn't get off so lightly. He gave the order, Greyhide interpreted, they rushed to comply, then they'd repeat it again without the interpretation to guide them, until they'd learned it themselves. The list was so long that even Nir'wei struggled to remember them all. One short and one long whistle and a hand gesture to show where Cold should go, two long whistles and a hand gesture to show where Myrth should go, a lilting whistle from down to up to incite Cold to attack, a lilting whistle from down to up to down to incite Myrth to attack... it seemed to go on and on, until the lizard finally raised a hand and a collective sigh of relief wobbled through the four of them.

"Good. If you insist that you cannot be separated from any of them, they don't just need to be combat ready, they need to be battle ready," Xithyria explained at last. "And those other ones too. I don't know where you managed to get a Zephyrus... and whatever the other one is... but they all need the exact same. You hear?" Lacking the will to put up any protest, Nir'wei nodded. "Good. That's all for now. I expect to see you here promptly at sunrise tomorrow, Initiate Nir'wei. You're dismissed. I'll cover the rest of the paperwork." Just like that it was done. Soon he was back outside the keep's gates, Vabina and Traveller in tow. How was he supposed to teach them whistle commands too? How the hell was he supposed to coordinate all five of them at once? Karem above, what had he just signed up for?

[Cervantez]

Choosing A Side

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Points awarded: 10

Knowledge:
Animal Training (Wolf): Using whistle commands and hand gestures.
Animal Training (Wolf): Creating a mental diary of commands tailored to each animal.
Animal Training (Wolf): Using Velduris abilities to speed up conventional training.
Animal Training (Wolf): Repetitive drilling strengthens response times.
Tactics: Acknowledging and addressing weaknesses in your chain of command.
Tactics: Over-reliance on one source can become crippling in emergencies.

Fame: +5

Notes: This is the first Nir'wei thread I've read and I love how you write him, it's and free and easy going as the pc himself and I enjoyed that. I felt bad for him having to deal with that scary lizard man tho. It was also good to see how he used his mark, as everyone does it differently, but I like the way he does it, it felt natural. I also liked at the end, Nir realizing that maybe he bit off more than he could chew, it was a humbling realization in my eyes. I'm anxious to see what he does as a Lightning Knight now.


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