Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

Date: 9th of Ymiden, Arc 719
Weapons: Scythe, Tower
Buffs: N/A

This run should have been... well, not easy. Traversing the wild was never easy in a place like Yaralon. But the fractures had disappeared, so it should have been easier than normal. It had been easier than normal, right up until they came in sight of Fools Run. 



Beside him, Selyin pinched the bridge of her nose, careful not to let their clients in the caravan see. "Praetorum, tell me I'm not seeing this." She hissed, controlling her horse perfectly even with her eyes closed. Grimacing in sympathy, he nudged Sivan a little closer to her so they could confer in private.



"You don't have to see it if you leave me in command." Prae offered, only half joking, keeping one eye on the horizon. "It does look beautiful though."


It really did. Fools run was usually a flat, mostly featureless plain that stretched as far as the eye could see. Lovely in its own way, but it was a bit dull to look at. Now, though, great swirling columns of color cut through the horizon, twisting and wavering, painting the clouds above in heavy splotches of every color Prae could think of. It was a striking image, one Prae wished he could keep. 



"Right." Selyin said flatly. "Beautiful. In Yaralon, that's how you know it's damned deadly." She turned to look Prae in the eye, ignoring the caravan master hurrying up to them. "Can you hear the winds?" She demanded. His shoulders slumped slightly at that; he'd been expecting the question ever since he'd figured out those distant streaks of color were tornados, but he'd still held out some hope that she wouldn't ask. 



"I'm out of ether." He admitted reluctantly. Selyin's lips thinned, and she nodded her head sharply in the direction of the tornados in a wordless command, before turning to speak to their client. Deal with it, he understood.



Praetorum stared off at the tornados, considering his options. Then he called for a torch.

Date: 9th of Ymiden, Arc 719
Weapons: Scythe, Tower
Buffs: N/A

The brand under Praetorum's eye glowed as he flayed the flame that was passed to him. Not painful; just... there. He supposed he should be grateful it wasn't worse, that his spark hadn't responded badly to his flaying of fire. Still, it set him on edge, feeling the thirst in the back of his throat, the desperate desire for more. The amount of Ether he'd gotten was not large, perhaps enough for him to dance a single tornado a short way away from them. But it would be enough, for him just to hear the voice of the wind as they made their way through Fool's Run. Enough for him to guide their way, keep his company and their clients away from these strange tornadoes. 



"Green one ahead, heading towards us. Think we can skirt left around it." Prae reported, standing up in his saddle to get a better look. The singing of the wind was a discordant mess, a dozen tornados within his range all whistling in different pitches and colors. But only one of them was growing louder, was chirping its approach. Matching the voices he could feel in his spark to what he saw new, but not difficult, at least for now. 



"It's moving slow, but steady." Prae reported as Selyin gave the order for the Hand to change directions. "Some of the others... if a fast one starts comes towards us, I don't know how much notice I'll be able to give from down on the ground." Selyin frowned at that, then nodded. 



"Fine." She said. That was all Prae needed to hear. 



"Kyrina, with me." Prae called over to the biqaj. "Sivan—" Prae tapped his heels to Sivan's side—"up!"


Once the two of them were up in the air, and flying on ahead of the rest of the company, Prae turned to Kyrina, dropping his reins. "Keep an eye on the Hand and the area around them," he signed, not wanting to shout over the wind, "make sure nothing's attacking them while I chart a course."


Kyrina signed back an agreement, and leaned over to whisper a command to her Scalvwing Steed as Prae turned his attention back to the tornados. Furrowing his brows, he listened carefully to the whistling of the winds, mentally mapping trajectories. A path had opened up to the north, but with the caravan in tow, the company could only move so fast, and other, distant tornados seemed to be moving in to cut them off. 



What about heading southwards? It was a little out of their way, but the tornados weren't so thick in that direction, and that would let them spend the night in a village, if he recalled correctly. Nothing blocking their path that Prae could see, and their horses needed to be rested and watered anyways. 



He circled the hand another few times, looking for alternatives, but found nothing better. The caravan they were escorting was fairly large, as they went, and the lack of mobility was the biggest problem they faced in trying to outrun the weather. So with one final glance, Praetorum shifted his weight, and his mount folded her wings, diving back down towards the ground.

Date: 9th of Ymiden, Arc 719
Weapons: Scythe, Tower
Buffs: N/A

Selyin grimaced at Prae. It was an expression he was getting unfortunately used to. "It'll add another day to our journey, at least." She sighed, fingers tapping idly against the saddle of her horse.



"I know." He admitted. "But the tornados directly ahead are too close together, and they move too erratically. No use charting a path ahead either, not when they won't stay still. If these were normal—well, more normal—storms, I'd say to just weather it out. But since we don't know how long they'll be around..."


"Better safe than sorry." Selyin shook her head in annoyance. "Fine. You lead us to Folkestone, I'll smooth things over with our clients."


"They're not happy?" 



"People have been talking about how this is the prime time to move in and out of Yaralon safely." Selyin's slight sneer made it clear what she thought of such talk. "I expect they thought this trip would be a... well, a breeze." And with that, she wheeled her horse around, trotting back towards the anxious looking merchants. 



Praetorum went the other way, riding his way out of the formation, and then galloping up to the front lines. The traveling formation they were using totrial was four mounts wide, and Prae cut back into formation to insert himself in the middle. "New heading." He said, raising his voice to be clearly heard over the wind. "We ride north east, until we clear that black tornado over there. Then we head southeast to Folkestone."


A few of the front liners shared glances, and Prae tried not to let his nervousness show. Edyn always put her most experienced mercenaries in front, which meant that every one of the Yari surrounding him had been the Hand for arcs; Prae had joined only two cycles ago. 



"Edyn's orders were to head due east until dusk." Praetorum turned to the speaker, a heavily scarred ranger with a horsebow over her shoulder, already choosing his words carefully. He could invoke Edyn's orders, but that would weaken his own position in the Hand, mark him as one who had to rely on the strength of his betters. He could explain his reasoning, and he had no doubt they would agree with his decision, but it would be his reasoning and intel that they respected, not his authority. His position within the Company was already so tenuous, he couldn't back down. So instead, he settled on straightforward bluntness; it was what he was best at.


"I'm aware of her orders. Now I'm giving mine." The ranger's gaze bore into him, and Praetorum met it head on, keeping his expression even, but firm. He wasn't here to antagonize the other members of his company, but neither was he here to be pushed around. For a long moment, the only noise in the air was the whipping of the growing winds, and the muffled clip of hooves on grassy soil. Then the Ranger looked away, and nodded sharply to the others. 



"Well? You heard the man." She barked. And Praetorum bit back a smile of satisfaction.

Part 2