• Solo • Make A Knight Out Of You

In time. No songs included.

The capital city of the of Rynmere, here is seated the only King in Idalos.
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Yanahalqah
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Make A Knight Out Of You

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Ymiden 80 Arc 716
Training Grounds

Not a lot of time had passed since Yana had been accepted as a squire in the Iron Hand’s Moseke Knights, and she hadn’t been able to gather a lot of information yet, but she’d been given a room in the barracks where the whole of the military resided, and that promised enough chances to observe and spy. Well, in her free time. She had discovered, not unlike her expectations, that the life of a squire was largely composed of training. Free time was scarce, but it mattered little. Yana’s memory was good, and the more important and interesting chunks of knowledge or information she could recall long enough to note them down when she had the chance.

But at the moment, this was not such an opportunity.

Instead, she and her fellow squires found themselves at the training grounds again, this trail, having had their meal and a small break for noon. It was once more time for drills, basic strength training, and of course, the basics of combat. Mock fights were part of the course as well. All squires had lined up in anticipation of the drillmaster’s arrival, having already come to the conclusion that discipline was important and slacking was hardly something that would be tolerated. Those not lined up received a form of punishment in the shape of more extra exhausting exercises. There had been plenty new squires who had been subjected to them on day one, despite the warnings of older, more learned squires. There hadn’t been anyone who’d been willing not to wait while lined up and standing straight. Of course, there were those who complained, and if those were heard by a tutor, they received punishment for that as well. Usually, whiners did not last long in a military organization.

So they waited, silently, for the drillmaster to show up, someone doing a quick count of the heads to ensure himself no-one was running late. If there was one thing that was even worse than lack of discipline, it was arriving late. One did not simply show up late on training sessions. Running late meant everyone living in the same room as the latecomer would go running later, with a backpack filled with stones, at night. Running late meant they would go running late. The knights did have a sense of humor, though no squire really appreciated it.

Bits passed, and finally approaching footsteps could be heard. Everyone quickly assumed the same posture, the sound of heels being brought together ringing through the area, while arms came up in a salute. The drillmaster slowly paced to his usual spot, taking a long look at the trainees before he nodded in satisfaction. “At ease.” The squires broke their salute, folded their arms behind their back and planted their feet on the ground, a shoulder length apart. “Alright! We will be continuing where we left off this morning,” he boomed, pausing a moment to spy for whining or complaint. He clapped his hands when he heard not even the lowest of whisper, or most silent of sighs. “Chop chop.”

All squires turned around as if they were one single being –only a couple either falling behind a little, or reacting a bit faster than the rest- and headed for the stash where the training weapons were kept. A few went in to pass the items to the rest of their colleagues, who patiently waited in line. This was both the quickest way and the most organized of the methods to distribute the gear. Rushing in to grab a wooden sword and a shield for yourself not only resulted in chaos and pushing and wasting time, but also in the displeasure of the drillmaster who was more than glad to dole out more punishment for that display of behavior unbecoming of a squire. Headless Chickens, he’d called the group, after which had followed tiring strength trainings exercises before they’d started the actual training. Needless to say that it had become much harder in turn, sore and tired muscles not lending themselves well for exhausting drills.
word count: 695
"Speaking" - Thinking - "Others speaking"
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Yanahalqah
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Make A Knight Out Of You

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Once having received a wooden training sword and a round shield, the squires made their way to a series of wooden poles rooted firmly in place by a large stone with a hole to put the thick pole in. The wooden object was padded with leather cushions, to both soften the ruckus it was bound to produce, and to prolong the lifespan of the training dummies. Having to replace all of them after a couple of arcs would be a waste of coin.

“Alright Ladies,” the drillmaster bellowed, using the term to address every recruit present, be they male or female. While mostly aimed at the males as an insult, it was demeaning to the few females present, who were not too happy with the undertone and meaning of the word. “Get in position! Left swipe!” The sound of wooden practice swords clashing against leather resounded almost in unison, the drillmaster following his initial command up with a whole string more. After the left swipe came a right, and Yana’s sword hit the target exactly where she wanted it, somewhere on the left, the sound being one of the many.

“Too stiff!” One of the drillmaster’s assistants growled in her ear while prodding her shoulders. Yana hadn’t even seen them come in, but she merely nodded, breathing a “Yes Ser!” while continuing to follow the drillmaster’s orders. More swipes followed, along with cuts from different angles. The order of the commands wasn’t random, even though it seemed that way. There were actually multiple series of drill exercises, all with their own set of attacks. When the string of commands had reached its end, the drillmaster just restarted, looping the orders he boomed. Every so often he would yell general advice, such as “Remember your footwork!” or “That’s a shield on your arm, not a random lump of wood and steel! Keep it steady!” The latter was something Yana always need to be reminded of. She hadn’t used a shield all that often before, as she’d been part of a Wing, mostly, and only in rare cases had she been assigned to a Block, her meager training with the sword not making that an excellent decision.

It took perhaps a loop or five before the drillmaster allowed a small break, most squires relaxing a bit, their chest heaving, their faces red. Yana’s wasn’t, as her skin was periwinkle, but she wasn’t as tired as most of the new recruits. The older squires, who had received a lot more training, looked a lot less exhausted, just like Yana. Because she, just like they were, was older than most new squires, and she had already spent some arcs in a military organization. She was already used to the military life and drills. Her endurance and strength, while not outstanding, had already been increased. As a result, she was able to deal with the drills a little better. However, due to her lack of training with a shield, her left arm was feeling heavy and tired. Keeping the shield up was draining, more so than expected, but it was not a problem. She had wrestled herself through drills before, and she would do it again.
word count: 542
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Yanahalqah
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Make A Knight Out Of You

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The short break was just that: over too soon, but no-one complained. Or rather, no one dared to. After all, they knew it would only have the opposite effect. With a word of the drillmaster, Yana and her peers heaved themselves back in a combat stance, swords readied, shields lifted. Feet not too far apart but also not too close together; a way to stay both mobile and steady if the need arose. One had to be ready to dodge on a moment’s notice, the drillmasters from both Etzos and Andaris had said, and who were squires to refute that? Yana certainly wasn’t going to, she did see the reason in it.

Once more the drillmaster spat a series of commands, a different one this time, and all squires set themselves in motion, bodies working to mimic his words. Left, right, left, left, block, block, thrust while shielded, back step, and restart.

Obviously, this set required more use of the shield, and so Yana noticed, was tiring her shield arm. Yes, even after days of training the thing was still heavy to her. A round set of boards reinforced with steel that clung to her arm. Was it useful? Yes. Did it drag her down? Also yes. But, she reckoned that one day she’d be glad to have been trained in using it, so she squared her jaw and raised the damned thing a little higher. “That’s it, Blueberry! That’s where that shield belongs! Protecting your chest, leaving you less open for counterattacks!” Yana wasn’t too sure if she was being praised for the action, or being reprimanded for having lowered her shield before. Either way, asking the assistant would only be a waste of time and in the end it didn’t really matter. The same could be said for the nickname she’d been saddled with. Usually, asking people to stop only resulted in them using it more frequently, but on the other side, not telling them anything wouldn’t make them stop either, unless they tired of it. However, Yana didn’t really mind all that much, knowing the name was born from the jealousy of others, and that trying to do anything about it would ultimately be a waste of time. Time she’d better spend writing notes.

Her wooden sword danced in a flurry of swipes, directed by the commands of her superior, striking its target without being very accurate. The balls of her feet upon which she stood, moved her around to aid her weapon in biting its prey. And the shield strapped to her arm was raised and lowered when the drillmaster willed it, blocking strikes from invisible, non-existing foes. It was more taxing than the set of commands that had come before it, and big pearls of sweat had started rolling down her face. For the umpteenth time, Yana was amazed by her own body, crafting deception even subconsciously. She did not know what she was exactly, but apparently inborn instincts were all that were needed to fool everyone. She’d even fooled herself for more than a decade, and back then she hadn’t even been aware of her true nature. Even now still, she had no clue what her real body looked like or if she even had one.

It took a while for her to register that everyone was taking a breather, and that she had been standing in a combat stance for a couple thrills or more, waiting for orders. She quickly took advantage of the break to rest a little too, glad her muscle memory wasn’t failing her. Trailing off in thought while doing dull drills was something of a habit; well, she’d expected it’d happen eventually. As soon as her mind registered something more fascinating it quickly moved on from a duller task to focus on the more interesting subject. Fortunately for her, she the combat drills from her service in Etzos had left her able to focus on the drill while drifting off, though it wouldn’t be much of a help during exercises she hadn’t done before. Or in actual combat. But that was that, and this was this. When her focus was needed, it’d be there, no problem, she was no fool.
word count: 722
"Speaking" - Thinking - "Others speaking"
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Yanahalqah
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Make A Knight Out Of You

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Once again, the short break was over too soon, and just like before, the squires hauled themselves back into position. The more experienced of the lot stood there steady and ready, a little red in the face, but other than that it looked as if they’d be able to continue on for a break or so longer. The newer bunch however, well, they weren’t trained that much yet, and most of them had trouble keeping their shield up. Yana was one of those, feeling her arm struggling with the weight of the wooden disk. It trembled and felt like lead. One glance around confirmed she wasn’t the only one, but the drillmaster and his assistants showed no mercy.

Instead, they started another drill, one that, as if to mock them, required extensive use of the left arm and the shield attached to it. Keeping the damn thing in position during the drill was one thing, but going back and forth between using it and not using it was another. It was far more exhausting than it sounded, especially so with a half-dead arm. Between slashes with the sword, there were moments where they had to put up their guard, bash with their shield, and return the thing back to their side. Yana’s movements were sluggish, her defense running behind, even though she did everything she could to keep up. It just wasn’t possible yet. She lacked the strength, the endurance.

The assistants yelled at her and the others who found their arm failing them, telling them to keep their shield in position, that they were weak and whiny pieces of filth. That they had to put more effort in keeping up, that such slow and inaccurate bashes were worth absolutely nothing, and so on, and so forth. It was their way to try and motivate the new recruits, but whether or not it worked was up for debate. What was certain is that it was frustrating at best, and Yana tried to put that frustration and annoyance to use by channeling it into her movements, but it didn’t really help all that much.

Eventually, the drill session came to an end, and surprisingly Yana had managed to pull through. How she had done it, she couldn’t remember, she guessed it was due to willpower, but she couldn’t be sure. In fact, she doubted it, as she wasn’t even interested in the combat training. Perhaps it had been her pride. Either way, it was over and her arm felt like it wasn’t even a part of her anymore. It felt foreign and weak, tired and heavy. Good thing they wouldn’t be doing strength training anymore today, though they would go running some time later. But first they had an afternoon break of ten bits. Enough time to rest up a bit and to mentally prepare for tiring the rest of her body out.

But in the few days she’d been training, there had already been progress, and a lot of it. Not only with her, but the rest of her peers had grown too. She had to think back to the day she stepped into squire-hood, when a couple of the tutors had given them an introduction and a quick tour of the grounds. She wasn’t too sure why her mind was recalling the speech right now, nor why she even remembered. After all, the reason she was there was not to serve the people, nor out of conviction to become one of the guards, despite all she might have said to be appointed as a squire. But the memory was there, and she couldn’t deny she remembered it somewhat fondly. Perhaps because it marked the first step on her path to gathering knowledge on the Iron Hand?

“You may start out as squires,” they had said, “and the road ahead won’t be easy -–in fact, it will be more difficult and trying than you can imagine-- but we promise you this; if you stick with us, and don’t give up, we will make a knight out of you!”
word count: 696
"Speaking" - Thinking - "Others speaking"
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Vluharqih
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Make A Knight Out Of You

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Rewards
Yana

Skills
Collaboration 0/5
Structure 5/5
Story 5/5
Basic Knowledge
Discipline: Knights expect it
Combat: Balanced Feet Stance
Longsword: Different Patterns of Combat
Specific Knowledge
Shield Combat: How to Bash
Shield Combat: Protect the Chest
Rewards/Injuries
Sore Left Arm, one Trial of rest before it’s back to normal (Though I doubt you’ll get a chance to rest it that much.)
Fame
N/A


Remarks
:

A good read. You outlined the rigidity of the army system well, I thought, and I chuckled at the “Headless Chickens” part.


A side note: I couldn’t tell what form Yana was in for most of this thread, so maybe make it obvious somehow. I had assumed she was in Human form, but later you make mention of her periwinkle skin, so I assume she’s Eídisi.
Additionally, you didn’t make mention of what kind of sword they were using, so I assumed it was a standard longsword.

A couple of places I noticed some awkward sentencing. For example, in the first post you say “There hadn’t been anyone who’d been willing not to wait while lined up and standing straight.”

I still can’t quite figure out what you are trying to get across here, so just keep an eye out for things like that in the future. There were a couple of other cases similar to this, but they were for the most part minor issues.
word count: 244
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