[Krome] Let the journey begin

[Xander Andaris]

9th Cylus, Arc 717

It was early in the morning but the two lords were already up and ready to go, they had left the Northern Krome house behind them and were now going to the mount Alistair had informed Xander they would be taking. He had been told about it just this morning, informed that they would be taking a Drexion to get there. Xander had never heard of the beast and nor had he expected them to take any method besides horse back. Yet here they were finishing up the last few steps of the walk through the forest to find the beast.

When they reached the beast Xander felt something that rarely came over him, fear. The beast was absolutely terrifying, he had never seen anything like it. The first thing that had caught his attention was its incessant clicking sound, he had heard that before he had seen the creature hidden in the forest. When his eyes did, however, come over the bird like creature he was in shock.

He looked at the creature, bigger than any horse and it stood on two legs with talons at the ends. It looked much like some form of flightless bird, one that could rip a person to shreds. Its head looked ferocious, like it could tear through flesh and break bones with ease. This "Drexion" was truly a sight to behold, some creature not of Rynmere and definitely not something he would have never expected to see.

Yet they were to ride the creature to Andaris, Xander wasn't sure how to ride it exactly. He had next to no experience with a horse never mind one of these creatures. "How on earth do we ride it Alistair. I have never seen such a beast before, is it...safe for us?" He looked at the man, not trembling with fear but he certainly had butterflies in his stomach. "I must warn you have barely even ridden a horse in my life, I think only once and that was long ago when I was a small child. I have been meaning to learn but not had chance yet."

He planned now to learn to ride come Ashan, he was sure it would be a useful skill. He could not rely on wagons and coaches to take him everywhere if he wished to achieve his goals. He also could not drive a wagon into battle, well he could take a chariot, but he found it an unappealing prospect. So he would learn, he just wished he wasn't have his first experience of riding with such a creature as was before him.

He searched himself and found the courage to step forward. "Okay, Lord Alistair, lets go. Help me onto this thing, we do not have the time to waste." The snow crunched under foot as he would follow Alistair to the side of the Drexion and ready himself to be boosted onto its high back. He took in a few deep breathes to calm himself in silent preparation.

[Alistair]

Xander's reaction to the Drexion was priceless, and it was largely the same reaction that he'd gotten from every other Ryn. "Terrifying," they all called it. It had no eyes, no nose . . . only an exceptional sense of echolocation, and of course, a wondrous sense of taste. Its bite was unbelievably powerful, capable of ripping a horse in two with a good tug of the jaw. By all means, a Drexion was a vastly superior mount to a horse, faster, more maneuverable and certainly more powerful. Not only that, but they didn't scare - they instead protected their flock.

Thing was, Alistair barely knew any of that aforementioned information, and he didn't trust their ability not to snap at him either. Luckily, it wasn't like this Drexion was . . . completely animal, if one could interpret the meaning of that. Xander would find out later, maybe - depending on the mood of their... "chauffeur".

"It is safe for us," he said, nodding his head. Looking to Xander, the nobleman nearly laughed. He seemed so skittish about the whole thing. Alistair poked him on the side of his chest, trying to get him to laugh. "Don't be so timid, my friend. If you want a free Krome, you're going to have to deal with beasts a lot more scary than a Drexion. The time will come, eventually, where we have to fight Volareons, Jacadons..." He nearly cringed at the thought. Hopefully they'd have Jacadons of their own on their side, depending on whether or not they managed to gain the alliance of Endor and Warrick, though he couldn't be too sure.

Either way, a Drexion was the least of their worries. He could reassure Xander of that fact.

As for the man's ignorance in riding mounts, well - that was something they shared, mutually. Alistair barely knew how to ride a creature either. He'd always depended on escorts for transportation, or himself. He wasn't taught how to ride like many other noble Lords. This was a challenge for him, too, though luckily they could just go straight down the road. The only issue was, Drexion didn't have a sense of sight, so they'd have to direct it along the road - consistently - through every turn. That was going to be tiring, considering their mutual inexperience.

The man, saddle in hand, set the leather riding seat onto the back of the Drexion, locking it around its chest tightly to ensure it didn't slide off.

Regardless of how amateur they were in riding, they had to get on the move. Alistair placed his hands on Xander's sides, using his strength to lift him up a notch so that he could climb onto the back of the Drexion, directly onto the first half of the saddle. Then, stepping onto the saddle to raise himself half way and gripping onto the other man to pull him up further, Alistair seated himself behind the Krome, wrapping his arms around his chest so that he didn't fall off. "I recommend you hold onto the shoulders or the neck of the Drexion," he said, as a word of caution. "It runs quite fast, from my estimation, so I imagine you'll need some sort of leverage to ensure you don't fall." And if Xander fell, Alistair would fall too. Not a great outcome for their first venture together.

The man pondered on how to get the Drexion going. "I'm pretty sure you pull your legs in and hit on its sides to get it moving. Always followed by a Hyaaa! sound," he said, laughing lightly. "Let me try," he whispered, pulling his legs in and hitting on the sides of the Drexion with the soft part of his boots. "Hya!"

The creature began to move, slowly, clicking furiously. The clicking noise sounded... loud, from so close. Loud enough to potentially lead to a headache, on the road. They'd have to keep themselves occupied in conversation.

The Drexion moved faster, and faster. Alistair gestured for Xander to steer it onto the road. "Pull on its neck in the direction you want it to go... I'm assuming?" he questioned, not quite sure himself. "That, or we could try kicking one side with varying levels of extremity depending on how far we want it to turn on the opposite side. Maybe both. Hell if I know."

He couldn't help but find the humor in this situation - two profoundly ambitious noble Lords riding to the capital together, yet completely amateur in one of the most common functions of transportation. One couldn't have it all, that was for certain.

(-25 GN for the Saddle)

[Xander Andaris]

"Of course I know we would have to face beasts far worse than this, however, those are things I have heard of and seen pictures of. Those creatures come from our lands and have been here for many arcs. This is not the same, that creature is something foreign, something different and it makes me feel nervous." He looked at Alistair forcing a nervous smile, he knew he looked timid and it was very unlike him to feel this way. Then again he rarely stood so near to creatures like the Drexion.

Xander accepted Alistair's help with getting onto the mount once the saddle had been secured. Once up he assisted Alistair, using his bicep muscles to help hoist the man up onto the mount while holding onto the Drexion with his legs. He squuezed his thighs together tightly to stop himself being pulled off by the force as he pulled Alistair up. They were quickly in position, and Xander took Alistair's advice.

While the lord held his chest he held the Drexion's neck, gripping tightly as to make sure he would not fall. Alistair's funny comment was amusing and he couldn't help but laugh along with the lord. Yet, he had no better idea on how to get the beast moving and so he was okay with this being tried. He felt Alistair's legs move out then in and finally the Hyaa as it left his lips, it was very stereotypical but it appeared to work as the Drexion lurched forward.

Xander had been ready and yet he still found himself almost falling, his body slipping one side. Xander managed to stay on by keeping a tight hold of the neck and squeezing his thighs to remain on board. He pulled, feeling the strain in his shoulders and arms muscles as he righted himself. Struggling but just managing at pulling his body back up fully into the saddle. "That was close, at least we know how to make it move now." Xander let out a little laugh as he concentrated on remaining centered in the saddle. He did not want to fall as the creature made its way along the path they had come onto.

Pulling its neck to turned seemed as reasonable to Xander as it must have to Alistair and so he attempted it, putting force into his hands as he steered the beast to the left. Its head was stubborn but eventually in complied and he managed to turn it to follow the curvature of the path. "It looks like pulling the neck works." He smiled as he sat up a little attempting to get comfortable in the awkward saddle and remain balanced.

A question came to his mind, it would probably seem odd and out of context to Alistair but for Xander it was not so. It had only been a few trials before when he had discovered he would be meeting the Venora that he had thought about when he met Zvezdana. She was Alistair's sister and he realised that he had not heard much of her for some times. "Whatever happened to your sister, Zvezdana? I met her once but since I have heard little of her, some rumours about the rebellion but nothing conclusive. I am very out of the loop in that regard." Xander turned his head slightly to look at the Venora, he smiled casually.

[Alistair]

He had to admit, it was funny watching Xander try to steer the thing - more funny than annoying him with his obnoxious hyaa's, of which he'd sounded multiple times since the first. As the man began to nearly fall off onto the sides, Alistair held his chest more tightly to keep him from falling off, his legs nearly digging into the side of the Drexion to maintain his upright position on its back. The man faltered, wobbling, but eventually the two managed to straighten themselves as the Lord of Krome pulled on the creature's neck and steered it forward. Alistair kept note of everything they did, determining what was successful, and what wasn't.

He had to admit, as weird as Xander might have thought it was that the two of them would essentially be hugging each other for the next four days to Andaris, it would help a lot in dealing with the severity of the cold. Xander's body heat was practically the only thing keeping him from shivering -- that and the enthusiasm he'd generated from trying to get this thing to move properly. "Pulling the neck works indeed," he said, grinning. The creature straightened itself out and began to increase its pace down the road. Alistair, in the back, bumped up and down as the Drexion made its stride, nervously holding onto the other Lord's chest as his heart's pace picked up.

When the topic of Zvezdana came up, he tried to calm himself, straightening out his body and relaxing into the movements of the Drexion. He exhaled.

"Zvezdana, uh..." he paused. Alistair wasn't quite sure how to answer that. He'd been honest with Xander on everything else, even including his most dangerous secret - the fact that he was a mage. And the other man wasn't exactly loyal to the King, so... it was unlikely that he'd inform Cassander of her being alive. Biting his lip, the man decided he'd tell the other the truth. "She... she rebelled against the crown, you know that, correct?" he asked. "She was married to Veljorn Burhan, the Rebel King. And she nearly died for her loyalties -- though I, and someone I'm not all too fond of," he paused, referencing Syroa, though Xander wouldn't know that, "saved her. I killed the flames seeking to consume her, and the other... gave her the chance to live." In squalor.

He was... nervous. He knew that Xander had known Zvezdana at one point, but he wasn't sure how much. Was his sister okay with him giving the man this information, or would it come back to bite him in the ass?

"She's not in Rynmere anymore, because she's legally a traitor. She would likely be beheaded if she returned, or at least hideously deformed, shamed and excommunicated from the nobility. I'd likely do the same to someone who attempted to usurp my crown, realistically, so I can't blame Cassander in that regard. Still, she's not allowed. There's not much else I can say." He sighed. 'Rharne' probably meant little as a location to Xander, so he imagined there was little point in saying exactly where she'd ended up, unless the other Lord was curious enough.

"You know," he began, half changing the subject, "Zvezdana's disloyalty to the crown caused a great deal of stress and heartache for me and my family. It's ironic now, after all that, that I'd be the one to pursue a rebellion much like Veljorn had. I suppose, after everything, I'm quite the hypocrite," he said, with an archaic, false smile across the corners of his lips. "Still, I'm glad we're pursuing this. I suppose Veljorn was right after all - this Kingdom does need a change of hands. It just wasn't his hands that deserved it."

[Xander Andaris]

He had heard the rumours of her part in the civil war but he had known known if they were true or not. It appeared that she had, indeed, taken a position on her husband, the rebel king's, side. He couldn't blame her and in all truth he admires how loyal she had remained to the man. He knew little of how the rebel king had been killed but he knows he had failed where Alistair seemed to believe the two of them could succeed. He had also not heard of her, falsely believed, death. “So she lives, that is good to hear although I am saddened to see that she must remain outside of the Kingdom.”

Xander new little of Rharne or what was there for the woman but he doubted there was anywhere better for her to really be. “I agree that as a king I can not blame Cassander for his actions. Yet, at the same time, sometimes showing compassion can be a better option than burning a woman alive. I understand that those who are traitors should be punished like traitors and I am confident that I could do it. However, I have seen how just a small but of kindness can make one look a better man than just killing mindlessly.” Xander kept guiding the Drexion as he spoke, making sure to try and stay balanced in the middle.

“It is an awful shame though, your sister is a remarkable woman.” Xander smiled as he thought of his encounter with her. She had been pleasant in action and speech and stunning in appearance. “I would have liked to see her in these lands, she was a lovely lady when I meet her. Strange what time can change, then again we too might one day be in her position.” Xander looked at Alistair, a gleam in his eye as he thought but only if Zvezdana but also his dreams. The more important idea of a free Krome surpassed any woman, it was his dream and it always would be.

“I would have hoped to see her again, maybe one day I shall visit Rharne and meet her. I have to say, she could be of use to you and me.” He knew what he meant by that, a wedding to secretly formalise the bind between them. Still, he would not say it, he would rather Alastair come to the conclusion himself. It was not his place to force the lord to offer up his sister.

He pulled harder on the neck of the beast as they went through a short but sharp chicane. He was careful to keep his balance. “Maybe she could be of use to us for other reasons too.” He continued whether the man caught on before or not. “She lead rebels yes?” He queried the lord to find out some more. “Maybe she could help us with what we pursue. Could she not maybe regain the support of her late husband's army?” he was sort of following Alistair's lead off the subject while trying to keep it in mind.

“I think you will make a good king Alistair, and even if Krome does become independent you will have my support for many years to come.” He smiled and nudged the lord gently with his elbow. “We are alike you and I, I'm sure that our two future nations can be good friends. I hope so at least.” He let out a warm laugh as the ride continued, his body wobbling now and then but the grip from his hands and thighs just about keeping him on the mount. The last thing he wanted to do was fall.

[Alistair]

Xander's question regarding Zvezdana and the Qe'Dreki was an important one. Could his sister somehow gain their loyalty, or were they merely beneath the thumb of Yoreth Blackwood at this point? Did Alistair want to involve her in Rynmere wars, yet again? He wasn't quite sure. Xander spoke true, however -- all of this was a shame. The fact that she'd been exiled from her home to live among the drunken rabble in Rharne was a shame indeed. Yet, it was also necessary humility, was it not? She had launched a rebellion without all of the preparation necessary to emerge victorious. Zvezdana and Veljorn had plunged this Kingdom into the pits of terror.

Did she deserve forgiveness? He said she did, when he spoke to her. He said that as her brother. But as a human? A moral creature? Did she deserve forgiveness, whilst so many thousands had died for her ambitious dream?

Perhaps this posed the question, too, if Alistair was in a position worthy of judging Cassander. Cassander had mercilessly railed against his foes, but at least they had been his foes. In the past, Alistair had fought and killed individuals merely because of their proximity. It was never anything more than that; they were conveniently present, and the Coven wanted bodies. He'd robbed graves, he'd experimented on innocents...

Morally, Zvezdana was far kinder than he was, yet she'd been exiled while he was near to inheriting a Dukedom. What a twisted world this was.

He supposed - and realized - that opposing Cassander was not a moral stance, it was a logical one. He could never claim, with honesty in his heart, to be a better man than that King. Instead, he would be a better leader. Particularly with the wisdom of allies such as this one Lord of Krome.

"You will have my support as well, my brother." He felt strongly about keeping Rynmere together as a Kingdom, but if Krome ultimately wanted to be released, then he would stand behind Xander in the endeavor. But these were many, complicated things to imagine. He did not know where either of them would be in a day, or a week, or a season, a cycle or an arc. Would Alistair not reign until grey had overtaken his scalp? He did not know.

But the journey was on, and as he helped to steer the Drexion forward, Alistair slapped its sides with his boots and forced it to gallop down the path.

[Basilisk]

Alistair

Story: 4/5
Collab: 5/5
Structure: 5/5

Mount: Setting a Drexion in motion
Mount: Sharing a mount between two people
Mount: Keeping your fellow rider on the mount
Mount: Helping another person onto a Drexion

Xander

Story: 4/5
Collab: 5/5
Structure: 5/5

Mount: Turning a Drexion
Mount: Sharing a mount between two people
Mount: Mounting a Drexion with help
Mount: Staying on a Drexion with aid

Notes
Sorry for the sparse knowledges, but the thread was short and mostly focused on Alistair and Xander talking to each other than it was anything I can give knowledges for. Good bit of character development on both characters though. =]

However, you'll both notice the docked story point. That is due to the fact that, despite enjoying the story, I have no idea why the story was happening IC. From what I gathered, they're in a hurry to get to Andaris, and it probably has something to do with planned rebellion. However, I have no idea why they were in a hurry to get to Andaris or what, if anything, it had to do with a planned rebellion. That level of confusion, coming from the fact that the reason for the story happening IC isn't properly established, meant that I could not, in all fairness, give this story a perfect score. Outside of that, it was fine. If you've any questions or comments, PM me.