• Graded • Oath makers

[Finnegan O'Connor]

Oath makers

21st Cylus, 717

The earliest rays of light from the third moon barely touched the horizon by the time Finn had woken. The two other bright circular discs still high in the sky in their celestial orbit. Breakfast would not happen until after the ceremony, but he had subjected himself to his morning ablution and made an attempt to look presentable.

Still, his eyes were heavy with sleep as he hugged himself and crossed the field separating the tower from the barracks. Dew clung to the tall grass, raking at his ankles as he made his way to the highest point on the hill where a circle of the earth was scorched by fire. Some of the logs still smouldered from the night before when the company had roasted a large swine over the fire. He’d never tasted anything so good before. Nor had he ever had to wake so early. Life in the company, so far, came with perks and disadvantages.

With a yawn he stretched himself as he stepped up to a small, wooden stage that had been built before the fire. It was from here that thunderous, rousing speeches were delivered to any that cared to listen. It was here that the company thrived, near the warmth of a fire and in the company of fellow men. He still remembered the first time Zipper had told him of Turkey Company. He’d laughed then, thought she couldn’t possibly be serious with such a silly name, yet now he was about to become part of it.

Soon the men and women with whom he’d eaten the night before, would join him encircling the fire pit on foot. Then he’d have to say his vows in front of two, maybe three dozen faces. He still mulled the words over in his head. I do hereby solemnly swear…

As he gazed out into the horizon, his thoughts turned to his sister. She’d left all too suddenly and he feared that this time, truly, their bond was broken beyond repair. Their disagreement had been peaceful by their standards, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that Fiona was angrier with him than ever before and he hated it.

[Gangui]

The smouldering fire was a welcoming sight indeed. Not only did it serve as a light in the eternal darkness that was Cylus, but also warmth for the bone chilling cold that pierced them that day.

Brandon the Bard stood at the head of the circle, brandishing a naked sword in his hand. He would be presiding over the ceremony today. In fact, everyone in the circle was armed with weapons under winter clothing. It wouldn’t make sense for Gangui to do it, because he too would be saying a vow today. If he swore to himself, it would be an automatic conflict of interest. As per the warrior’s instructions, the ceremony was meant to be quick and brief. He didn’t want to get any foul ideas in the young man’s head.

Once everyone had settled into their places, the leader of the Son of Justice stepped forward and raised his hand to call a formal meeting in session. Everyone stopped the chit chat and looked towards Brandon the Bard, a trusted friend and one of the first members to join the faction.

“Today!” he announced in a clear and melodic voice, “Young Finnegan O’Connor approached all of you here present as witness on a contract he wishes to undergo!”

On cue, the boy stepped forward in front of everyone.

“What is this contract?” Someone from the crowd asked. Despite all the formalities it was a dialogue after all.

“Commander Gangui wishes to take Finnegan on as a squire of the Sons of Justice!” Brandon responded.

Everyone knew this already, but they cheered nonetheless. Someone even said they were proud of Finn.

Gangui nodded at the boy.

[Finnegan O'Connor]

Oath makers

21st Cylus, 717

The man with the sword stood just as tall as the others and was just as serious when he spoke his next words, “Is it your wish to become squire to the Commander Gangui at this time?”

It was so damn official. He knew the sensation of eyes burning into you all too well, but it had never been this many. From across the fire he saw men who called the landing their home, men who’d sailed the seas and survived many winters, but there were also brothers from more distant regions, farmers, shepherd, men who’d served in the black guard. The Company took from all walks of life, as long as the Oath was adhered.

But his oath was different. He would not swear the Justice Oath until he’d come of age. The loyalty he promised was, first and foremost, directed toward Gangui, the commander who inspired equal amounts of fear, hope, disgust, and pride in him. He’d prepared himself as best he could, patted down his clothes, combed his hair, and yet he could barely keep his legs from shaking as he opened his mouth to speak.

“It-” His voice was still raspy from sleep. Just his luck that his first impression on the company would be that of a scaredy cat with the voice of a frog. He swallowed. “Aye. It is.”

“Proceed then, so that all may witness.” He uttered in a rich, noble voice, contrasting the scene’s gloomy aura.

He’d rehearsed the next few steps a dozen times over in his head, and still he had to remind himself of what to do. First of all he turned to face Gangui, and fixed his gaze on the tall commander. But before he uttered the first phrase, he closed the distance between them and knelt before the towering commander, still maintaining his gaze. “I, Finn” he spoke loudly, his voice slowly growing in confidence, “do hereby solemnly swear that I will serve aid, obey and advise Commander Gangui of The Sons of Justice to the best of my ability, for as long as I am able, and for as long as the Commander desires my services. I shall take no new oaths or vows that contradict this oath. I shall not bring shame upon the Commander and his good name. I will apply myself diligently to the Commander's teachings and will serve him honorably. This is my oath to you, and may I be struck down should I break it.”

[Gangui]

Gangui nodded at Finn for a bit after he said his piece. Now it was the warrior’s turn. Once Brandon got the cue he continued, “Is it your wish to take on Finnegan O’Connor as your Squire at this time Commander Gangui?”

“Aye. It is”

“Proceed then, so that all may witness,” Brandon bellow once again in the empowered voice of his.

Taking a deep breath, Gangui looked at all those gather then back at Finn. “I, Gangui Munzorig, solemnly swear to take on Finn as my squire. Instruct him to the full measure of my ability and to ensure to his learning.” He quickly added, “And with minimum beatings.” Which prompted a bout of laughter from the crowd.

As soon as he was done, the warrior waved over one of the men at arms standing nearby. Grabbing a large, red, leather belt from the guy, he approached Finn and offered him the item. It was studded with iron, clasped with two hooks. A sturdy item, surely to help him in his upcoming duties. It even had a big turkey buckle.

“I give you this belt as a token of our new relationship. May you wear it proudly until such time it is to exchange it for a new one!”

Once Finn had received the belt, Brandon the Bard made the final announcement to all those present, “Let it be known! That from this day forth, Finnegan O’Connor, has exchanged oaths of fealty with Commander Gangui and will serve as his faithful squire until the contract is fulfilled. You all bare witness!”

All those present erupted into an applause. It could have been described as thunderous if there were more people present or if the air wasn’t so cold.

ooc

-7 GN Red Turkey Belt:
1GN(base) x 6(red dye) + 1GN (buckle) = 7GN

[Finnegan O'Connor]

Oath makers

21st Cylus, 717

The belt weighed heavily in his hands and it was a sturdy thing, made to last. He stood up and as he did so, the knot in his stomach untied. His eyes shone with the rarest light, a pride that had not shone for many, many arcs. Beaming, he looked to Gangui before hurriedly departing the stage, trophy in hand. There were more announcements to be made, though Finn hardly paid attention to any of them as he tried on the belt. The leather was still stiff from underuse, telling him that it had been tanned fresh. Yet it fit him will and left enough room when he’d inevitably grow both tall-wise and broad-wise.

After some time of standing around, Finn began to wonder what was in store for him next. Would they ever be done with the meeting? Finally they dispersed, leaving a direct path between Gangui and Finn. The steely commander lost no time approaching the lad.

“With me, Finn,” He barked and immediately turned towards the tower.

He skittered after the tall commander like a lost puppy, and struggled to keep up with the man’s long strides. Along the road, a sigh of relief escaped him. “That was easier than I thought,” he breathed. “Shorter too.” He almost started to whistle a little tune he’d learned a few seasons prior, but then quickly thought better of it and muttered the obligatory, “commander” more than a few trills too late.

Stopping at the edge of the stables, a simple structure that housed a couple dozen horses, the warrior approached the gaunt, grinning stable master. The warrior looked at Finn and spoke with a relaxed tone, “Finn, your first duty is to spend the remainder of the day helping the stable master out. You will do what he says and not talk back, alright?”

Finn hid his disappointment well and gave a vigorous nod in reply to which the stable master offered a bony hand and introduced himself as Rjorn.

“That’s: Yes Commander,” Gangui said in a deep cross tone. Finn jumped to attention and brightly repeated the phrase before Rjorn motioned for him to follow while rattling off a list of instructions. When Finn glanced over his shoulder, Gangui had left.

[Gangui]

“Come in,” Gangui said when there was a knock on the door. Finn probably. The paperwork involved as a commander never finished and was getting tedious to say the least. Regardless he pushed himself through the dribble.

In a just, fair, and perfect world it would indeed have been his proud squire who came through the door, stating that he’d completed his duties as commanded. Instead it was a very disgruntled looking Rjorn, his tunic stained with mud and his forehead gleaming with sweat. “Commander,” he puffed, “apologies commander but… the boy...Finn…” he leaned his hands on his kneecaps, catching his breath, leaving Gangui to fill in the blanks until he explained himself.

Gangui was surprised to see Rjorn so soon, but he wasn’t surprised Finn caused a problem. He shook his head and pushed away from the desk, “Aye and you didn’t drag him here to me? What’s wrong with you? Where is he?”

Rjorn coughed a few times before he finally mustered the energy to speak, albeit it between large breaths. “I told him to hold on tight… I said, hold the reigns… but you know how she is, Bertha. She’s a big mare--”

“Damnit Rjorn you gave the reigns of a young mare to Finn!?” A look a dread came over his eyes. He wondered what curse Zipper would cast upon him when she saw the boy’s skull shattered into a dozen pieces from a hoof to the head.

“Had I known…” Rjorn lamented. Indeed, had he known that the boy had the attention span of a dot, then he would never have entrusted any of the horses in his care to the reckless child. “She ran away and he’s chasing her.”

Gangui couldn’t allow for his honor to be tarnished so quickly after taking a vow to be Finn’s mentor. Slapping the man in the arm, he bolted towards the door, “Rjorn! On me!”

[Finnegan O'Connor]

Oath makers

21st Cylus, 717

Horses were large, that was the first thing he’d learned that day. The second thing was that they were strong, and the third was that they were fast. He ran after the whinnying mare, waving his arms about, shouting for it to please stop. The only thing he seemed to accomplish however was to chase the horse even further away, a tactic he quickly employed to avoid the horse from trampling any tents. “Come Finn!” he shouted, all too aware that horse didn’t speak common. It simply blinked at him, standing a little over two dozen feet away from him, calmly nipping at a patch of grass.

But when he approached, she moved again. Slowly at first, until she once again realized he wasn’t going to stop charging at her. At this point the horse turned, kicked up the dirt and galloped downhill for a bit, only to stop again and nibble at some more grass.

“You absolute worthless piece of shit,” Finn grumbled under his breath as he jogged further downhill, his heart beating in his throat. “The grass isn’t any different down there you braindead cuntin-”

“Finn!” Gangui bellowed from the top of the ridge that Finn had recently ran down from. Mounted up and accompanied by Rjorn. His new liege lord looked fierce and terrible indeed and even from that distance, his eyes burned into Finn’s Finn. He was mad, and furious, and fierce like some monstrous knight straight out of a nightmare. The rumble of hooves descending the slope, accompanied by the clanking metal of armored knights bouncing in the saddle was an entirely new sensation for the boy and for the first time ever felt a fraction of what it was like to be charged upon by a troop.

His gut reaction was to turn and freeze and for a trill, he wasn’t quite sure if Gangui was going to stop. “I almost got h-”

Rjorn and Gangui raced right past him and for a moment he was flanked by fury, close enough to smell the scent of horse and to feel a strand of manes whip at his head. For a few more trills he remained pinned to the spot and then he considered that perhaps they were not mad at him, but at poor Bertha.

“Wait!” he doubled down on his efforts as he sprinted after the trail of dust. “She didn’t do anything, it was my fault!” He doubted they heard him.

[Gangui]

The thunder of hooves under one’s feet was a feeling that totally remedied the boredom of long hours in the office. Immediately the life came back in his eyes as they barreled down the hill at tremendous speed. Gangui wasn’t born in the saddle, however he was adopted by it. Even with the twilight glow of the celestial heavens to light their pace in the dark night that was Cylus, the warrior still couldn’t see the details of the terrain that good. Luckily for him, the horse under him was in tune with it’s stride and picked the best paths through the landscape.

He couldn’t help but give hoot and a holler when roaring past his new squire. It was funny to give the kid a scare. Finn would have to get comfortable with taking action amidst chaos anyways. Looking over his shoulder, he was glad to see Finn chasing still. For one thing, cowardice would be something the kid would never be accused of.

Catching up to the mare was a difficult task indeed, soon leaving Finn behind the horizon of the sparsely wooded coastal valley they were now traversing. Beads formed on his brow by now and his legs were thoroughly warmed up compared to the chair work from earlier.

They needed to split up in order to actually get this done in a timely manner. Rjorn sensed it too. Like Gangui, the stable master was more at home doing missions on the field, than ‘playing’ leadership at the office. Without saying anything they split up.

Several Trills Later…

“Come out, come out, wherever you are…” Gangui whispered to himself as his horse trotted at an easy pace through the natural contours of the land.

Suddenly, Gangui heard the sounds of movement coming from the north. Running and huffing. Through the tree line exploded the ball of energy that was the O’Connor kid. Catching up to his liege lord in a furious sprint before skidding to a halt.

“Where’s she at?” Gangui said focused on the task, not acknowledging the fine athletic display from the boy.

[Finnegan O'Connor]

Oath makers

21st Cylus, 717

Again the commander was made to wait, though Finn caught his breath a great deal quicker than Rjorn, who hadn’t many more winters left in him. He’d been able to see clearly where the horse had ran off to from higher up the hill and pointed the direction out to Gangui. “There,” he breathed heavily, “behind that large oak.” The plan was exchanged in silence. Rjorn approached from one side, Gangui from another, and Finn from a third direction. One of them would inevitably stand in the mare’s path as they closed in on it, he just hoped she wouldn’t run him over.

Maybe it was because the other horses where there, but when Bertha inevitably noticed the three, she merely looked up, blinked, and resumed grazing. While Rjorn’s path was obstructed by leaves, root, and fallen branches, Finn wasn’t as broad as the horses. He was closer now than he’d managed in the last ten bits, just a few feet of forest ground separated him from the wild mare.

“Please don’t run,” he almost begged as he stretched out his arm and lowered his pace until he was barely edging forward. The horse replied with a snort before rearing its head toward him and sniffing the air between her large nostrils and his hand. “That’s it,” he cooed, as though he was talking to a toddler. “You don’t have to run…” Her wet snout pressed into his palm and stayed there for a few trills before turning away and mulling over some dirt with her hooves.

Rjorn spoke softly, but loud enough for Gangui and Finn to hear, “The boy’s got the gift!”

“Aye he does,” the liege lord dismounted and took his place beside Finn, “Tell me, did you sleep with goats? Or did you make dark deals with a Tunawa?” The look the commander gave him reminded him of some shady, superstitious types from the Etzos Underground, but those usually weren’t as bound by honor as Gangui was.

Finn shook his head and handed the reigns to the trusting hands of Rjorn who remained on horseback. “I only met one Tunawa,” he noted quietly.

[Gangui]

Gangui look the kid in the eyes with a skeptical glare. Concluding that the boy was telling the truth about not partaking in any spiritual or immortal rites, Gangui agreed with Rjorn: he had the affinity for horses.
Nodding slowly, he slowly uttered, “He does indeed have the gift…” Still looking at Finn. He wanted to see him replicate what he did today with Bertha, but did not make his intentions known. He could not afford to have the mischievous little brat gaining ego around him, “The gift to ruin my fucking day with this hooplah!”

Striding back to his horse, Gangui mounted and pointed at Finn, “Jog back our tower. If you’re not there in 10 bits, I will be mounting up again.” He didn’t saying else, he hoped that Finn could understand the implications without explicitly mentioning them in his threat. With that, the two gentlemen left the boy to his own devices and took big bertha back to the stables.

The day didn’t have to be a total lost with Finn’s training it seemed. He had ran a great deal and had learned how to soothe a horse. A valuable strength indeed to have around the fort. Gangui was sure the boy would make a fine Knight given a couple years. Until then though, he better learn some pragmatic ability.

Gangui mind suddenly wondered to when he first started raiding, what was it? 14? 15? Something like that. Back in the glory days of his childhood when he didn’t understand the truth of the war with the Immortals. Nor had taken a stand to rally the common people back together in order to defeat them. He smiled and laughed to himself.

Soon Finn would be banging steel and holding his first shield wall… and the boy had no clue how much fun was in store for him at all!

“Hahahahahaha!” The chortle of his joy, deep and rich, bringing much need warmth and love to the dark, cold Cylus.