Brushing up

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Praetorum
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Posts: 1335
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 11:08 am
Race: Frog Person
Profession: Mercenary
Renown: 880
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Brushing up


Date: 64th of Ymiden
Status:Pondering

Weapons: None
Armor: None

No Current Magical Effects
Prae ran his hands over Sivan’s saddle one last time, double checking straps and buckles, just in case. She huffed at him, and he laughed, gently petting her shoulder and scratching behind her head plate. “Easy, girl. We’ll be up in the air soon enough.”

Satisfied now that her saddle was on right, Prae climbed onto his mount, his tail curling around to pick up her reins.

It had been a while since he’d gone out riding with Sivan, just for them to acclimatize to each other, just for him to learn to ride a little better.

It had been a while since he’d trained in anything other than combat and magic.

Why, he wondered, his hand smoothing over green scales. Had it been the sparks driving him into a frenzy of use and training? Or had it been his own anxious mind, wanting to master in a matter of seasons anything that would tip the balance in a fight?

He wanted to blame his sparks. If that was it, then... it had all been simply inevitable, hadn’t it? He was always going to change, the only limitations being the endurance of his own body, and his own dicipline in training and perfecting his skills.

Except... that wasn’t true, was it? Both Marken and Edyn had room to improve in their magics, despite their copious ability. And yet neither tried—fates, Edyn actively tried not to push herself in defiance for fear of revealing—to push their own boundaries, to push their spark to grow.

So it wasn’t his sparks pushing to grow, and changing him in the process. It was him.

How bitterly ironic, that he was the one most reluctant to change, and yet he was the one among his friends who pushed most heavily for the growth that would lead to it.

Prae sighed heavily, and lifted his hand from Sivan’s back, raising it to his eye level. Curling one finger, he watched somberly as it ignited, a small flame burning merrily at the tip of his claw.

Fire was his kin now, too. He’d discovered that, or decided it, back in Bastards Grove. Same place he’d cemented his kinship with wind, and yet under such different circumstances.

Even then, he hadn’t been strong enough, fast enough. Near a dozen of his fellow mercenaries were dead, and Selyin would never use her sword arm again. The Hand was dissolved, his compatriots scattered.

And Praetorum was leaving. Not for some time, not until he set all his affairs back I order. But at some point soon.

The Hand has mattered to him. But Yaralon wasn’t a city he knew he could live in forever, and now with nothing holding him back, there was no reason for him not to go.

Well, he still hadn’t decided where to, but chances were, he was going to have to ride or fly there. Time he brushed up on his skills.

Last edited by Praetorum on Tue Oct 08, 2019 3:16 am, edited 1 time in total. word count: 516
Let's play 'What's Weird About Prae'

Head

  • A fiery rune shines under his right eye
  • A firey glow in the back of his mouth

Arms

  • A ring of blue runes floats over each of Prae's wrists
  • A silver shield marks the back of his right hand
  • A ring of light around his left forearm

Misc

  • His tail is about eight feet long, usually knotted around his waist
  • His body temperature is uncomfortably high

Surroundings

  • Wind gusts with every step he takes
  • The area around him is slightly more static-y than normal
User avatar
Praetorum
Approved Character
Posts: 1335
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 11:08 am
Race: Frog Person
Profession: Mercenary
Renown: 880
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Wealth Tier: Tier 5

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Re: Brushing up


Date: 64th of Ymiden, Arc 719
Status: Experimenting

Weapons: None
Armor: None

No Current Magical Effects
Wrapping his tail more securely around Sivan’s reins, he gently squeezed his knees into her side. She tossed her head slightly at the silent command, but began to walk out into the plains.

Well, at least he knew that she knew at least some non-verbal commands other than the tugging of her reins.

The problem with inheriting a well trained animal from someone was that, without any instructions, Prae had had to figure out on his own what that training had entailed. He squeezed her again with his knees, and she picked up the pace, settling into a trot, and then a canter.

How was he supposed to stop her, without either reins or a command? Intuitively, he thought he might need to replicate with his body the motions of his reins. So he leaned backwards in his saddle, and found no response.

Hmm. He tried to nudge her again with one knee, and Sivan turned in that direction, walking in a circle until he let the pressure up.

Good to know, but it didnt answer the question of how to get her to slow or stop.

He tried standing in the saddle (which did nothing accept make her huff), raising a knee to nudge it against her wing (no response), and pushing his heels backwards towards her tail (which made her take flight, an action Prae quickly aborted).

Finally, Prae tugged on her reigns to bring her to a stop, trying to think.

The stable hands at Evonshire had already confirmed that the way she’d been trained was different than most, at least in Yaralon, and Eva had suggested that that her last owner had raised and trained her himself, rather than buying her already trained from a stable. Which meant that he was going to have to think like Serinus to figure out what he’d taught her.

A pang of sadness rose in his chest, and Praetorum quickly packed it away in his mind to deal with later. He was learning to compartmentalize even that greatest of griefs away, now.

Ri had always been a defter mounted fighter than Prae, and had been almost as good on horseback as he was on foot. He’d always had a knack for keeping a horse on track even while turning to strike... how?

Compartmentalizing.

He’d always controlled the horse with his knees and legs, so it never mattered how his upper body moved, so long as his feet were giving orders. It had given him a versatility that Prae hadn’t had while mounted.

If he were riding and fighting, and he wanted to stop... Prae nudged for Sivan to start off at a trot, then raised himself up to his full height, and mime-ed holding a trident, trying to figure out what would come most intuitively to him.

He needed her to slow... Praetorum tapped his heels against her ribs, and the Kheledzan dropped from a trot into a walk. Again, and she came to a stop, tossing her head with a huff

Prae smiles despite himself, gently scratching behind her head plate. “Good girl.” He told her fondly.

word count: 542
Let's play 'What's Weird About Prae'

Head

  • A fiery rune shines under his right eye
  • A firey glow in the back of his mouth

Arms

  • A ring of blue runes floats over each of Prae's wrists
  • A silver shield marks the back of his right hand
  • A ring of light around his left forearm

Misc

  • His tail is about eight feet long, usually knotted around his waist
  • His body temperature is uncomfortably high

Surroundings

  • Wind gusts with every step he takes
  • The area around him is slightly more static-y than normal
User avatar
Praetorum
Approved Character
Posts: 1335
Joined: Sun Jan 20, 2019 11:08 am
Race: Frog Person
Profession: Mercenary
Renown: 880
Character Sheet
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Point Bank Thread
Storybook
Wealth Tier: Tier 5

Featured

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Events

Re: Brushing up


Date: 64th of Ymiden, Arc 719
Status: Enjoying the flight

Weapons: None
Armor: None

No Current Magical Effects
One last thing he needed to know. Prae patted Sivan gently, soothing her in preparation. Then his tail unwound from around his waist, and drew a low powered rune of speed on each of Sivan's legs.

Once more, he squeezed her knees into her side, nudging her into a walk. Then into a trot, and then into a canter.

One last thing he needed to know. Prae patted Sivan gently, soothing her in preparation. Then his tail unwound from around his waist, and drew a low powered rune of speed on each of Sivan's legs, and a rune of resistance over her back.

Once more, he squeezed her knees into her side, nudging her into a walk. Then, into a trot, and then into a canter. And the whole time, he kept a soothing hand on her shoulder, patting his mount to let her know it was okay.

The walk and the trot had been more or less the same as before, but there was a noticeable difference when she broke into a canter. He could see it in how the ground sped away below them, and he could feel it in her gait, in the way he was bounced uncomfortably fast in the saddle. Prae shifted his weight with a wince, and nudged her to a stop, thinking.

This rune was at quite a low power, only increasing her speed by about a third again, and she seemed to take well to it. But he wasn't sure if it was wise to try and increase her speed too far. As clever as his kheledzan was, she was still only an animal, and he was afraid if he pushed it too far, she might hurt herself, even with the rune of resistance. Hmm. But perhaps he could acclimate her slowly, getting her used to higher and higher powered runes. That sounded like it might work. Something for him to try while he traveled, he supposed.

For now though, he had another experiment he wanted to try out.

"Sivan, up!"

Kheledzans, in Prae's opinion, were quite well suited to wearing hone runes. Unlike some other flying mounts, who wore their wings as a separate pair of limbs, the wings of a kheledzan were in fact, extensions of their legs. And evidently, that meant that the same rune that increased their ground speed could also increase their flying speed.

Prae let out a laugh of exhilaration as Sivan swooped, seeming just as excited by her new speed in the air as he was. There was just something special about flying through the air on Sivan's back, rather than by his own magical power. The wind licked affectionately at his face as Sivan wove and dove through the air, wings beating rapidly.

Praetorum bent forwards to drape himself over his mount, then leaned heavily to the side, and Sivan obliged, bringing them into a tight barrel roll, once, twice, thrice, before leveling out, leaving Prae gasping.

His control of Sivan wasn't great in the air, and she more or less did as she pleased unless he told her otherwise, so he'd been surprised by her barrel rolls before. But she'd never managed three before...

Was it that they'd had more forward speed that let her do such a trick? Or had her enhanced speed improved her already impressive ability to maneuver through the air? He'd need to experiment more.

At a later date. For now, it was time for the two of them to play.

word count: 610
Let's play 'What's Weird About Prae'

Head

  • A fiery rune shines under his right eye
  • A firey glow in the back of his mouth

Arms

  • A ring of blue runes floats over each of Prae's wrists
  • A silver shield marks the back of his right hand
  • A ring of light around his left forearm

Misc

  • His tail is about eight feet long, usually knotted around his waist
  • His body temperature is uncomfortably high

Surroundings

  • Wind gusts with every step he takes
  • The area around him is slightly more static-y than normal
User avatar
Yrmellyn Cole
Posts: 850
Joined: Sat Oct 01, 2016 9:09 pm
Race: Mer
Profession: Attuned to the Art
Renown: 106
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Re: Brushing up

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Prae

Overview

A nice read. I appreicate the way you combined magic with animal training and riding. It's interesting to see magic be used in new ways. The parts about Prae's toughts and feelings and his relationship with the mount was aslo a good read.

Points

10, can be used for magic, hone

Loot

Wealth

Renown

Injuries

Knowledge

Animal Training: Slowly acclimating a mount to hone runes
Hone: Enhancing a mount's speed
Hone: Rune of Speed helps with maneuverability
Hone: Affects individual limbs regardless of use
Meditation: Compartmentalizing grief away
Mount (Kheledzan): Using lower body commands


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