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Post by Rayl Torien on Dec 30, 2010 16:27:30 GMT -6
The rode out of Pherae was quick...as usual. Rayl always had a hard time leaving it before a mission: Always worried that he might never return again. But could you blame him? It was his home, they were his people, and it was something he couldn't bare to be apart from...it was the thoughts; The Nightmares of Kraft taking over, and seeing in flames, that made him so willing to take on dangerous missions in the past, and would be the reason he'd keep on taking such missions.
Looking up to the Rider in the skies above him, he held up a hand and began waving for her to come down, before shouting," I pray you are feeling better, Lady Karina." of course he didn't know her last name, but he was still concerned. He didn't what she was ailed with, but was glad she was feeling better...
The mountains that separated Bern from The whole of Lycia were coming up ahead, a pathway having been carved through the mountain some time ago to ease trade...which had ceased since the Ilian Occupation and subsequent rebellions. But they were on political business, that should be enough to let them throu-
Oh there he was again, going through tactics and what all else in his mind while he was trying to talk to a recovering soldier...
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Karina
The "Before" years
[M:1000]
Submit to the short skirt!!!
Posts: 132
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Post by Karina on Dec 30, 2010 17:23:19 GMT -6
Sacha flew as low as she could, then Karina bid her to trot alongside Elibe. Sascha folded her wings in, but snorted with discomfort. the pegasus had been born to fly, and, as much as she loved her mistress, she did not like staying to the ground like a common mule. Not that the fine stallion next to her was anything like a mule. Sascha noted the way his armor did not hide his strong muscles, as well as his magnificent mane. If only he had wings; we would have lovely foals, Sascha thought.
Karina listened to Sir Rayl say he was happy to see her well, and was glad to hear it. "I am, very much, my lord. I think I was sick from the amount of both traveling and people I was surrounded by. It was taxing," she told him.
She noticed that he had addressed her formally, and, since she didn't even know who her parents were, she had no way of knowing if she had any ties to one of the Ilian lords. "Please, do not see this as rude, but I am no Lady. I am Karina. Just Karina." she smiled as she talked, making sure to sound pleasant and polite. "I am not sure if I will be much help with the Ilian emissary. Most of my life in Ilia was at a sage's house. I was kept inside most of my childhood, he did not want to reveal me until I had completely recovered from my condition..."
Karina thought back to her first days back in society, when she was more animal like than human. The kindly sage had taught her in secret, not wanting her to be studied by less virtuous magicians. "Once I had, I spent two short years in a pegasus training camp, then left Ilia all together..." she finished, blushing a bit as she told the abridged version of her childhood. She left out the part where she had lived alone in the wilderness for four years, hoping that Rayl would just think she had been very ill as a child.
OoC: is giving animals thoughts acceptable?
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Post by Rayl Torien on Dec 30, 2010 18:51:17 GMT -6
OOC: There's nothing in the rules against it. If anything it gives more personallity to the mount, and by affiliation the rider...The interactions between mount and blade help reinforce the character's personality...This is coming from the guy who defined animal behavior with the aforementioned stallion. ;P'
IC:
The large horse looked over to the petite Pegasi for a moment, staring at it for a moment with it's large almond eyes. It had encountered such horses before, and was still confounded by how they could stay in their air the way they could...of course, that didn't mean that the male wasn't interested mind you, they were a magnificent sight to behold but...Well...Their offspring would probably look pretty odd...
As Karina and Sascha landed The Paladin and Steed, and as Karina began telling her story, Rayl listened with his usual smile, he couldn't help but feel something was left out...but that was alright: she had her secrets to keep, and he had his...whether or not she told him more later was up to her to decide,"...I'm not too sure what you mean, Karina, you are as beautiful and polite as any Lady I have met in my travels and in the courts." She was a pretty young girl, probably seven or so years younger than him he wasn't sure...not that he was thinking about her as such mind you.
"Pray tell then, La- Karina," He managed to catch himself from the formalities, as per her request," How did you come to Lycia then? Just wandering?" That was how most of The Golden Lance was formed: wandering mercenaries, soldiers, or hopeful trainees seemed to drift to him in the past five years, seeking shelter, seeking training...it was astonishing really.
During the whole time of this conversation, however, Rayl kept looking over the armor Karina wore and her pegasus: to those who knew him enough, it was obvious he was thinking about Persephone, but- it was something he couldn't seem to let go, and that certainly caused him proble-
No no, the focus is on Karina, not yourself. he shook his head slowly, closing his eyes for a moment, before speaking again," Sorry...I have a lot of things on my mind: please continue."
EDIT in OOC: Also, how old is Karina? Her profile was deleted some time ago I think. <A<;
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Karina
The "Before" years
[M:1000]
Submit to the short skirt!!!
Posts: 132
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Post by Karina on Dec 30, 2010 19:02:17 GMT -6
Sascha noticed the stallion looking at her and tossed her mane. Karina blushed at the paladin's compliments, though she noticed his eyes had a far-off look to them, as if he was thinking about his past. "Yes, I started out wandering. I met up with an archer, and then joined Gabriel's group. I was following them ever since, even through my illness. I started out not having any direction, but now... Now I just want to live through this. Helping people would only be a bonus." she said, looking ahead of herself the whole time.
Karina wondered who Rayl was thinking about. She hardly knew him, for all she knew, he had charmed half of Lycia! She didn't doubt it... He was rather dashing, especially with his regal armor and smooth way of speaking. Was this infatuation? Karina could not remember the sage telling her about such feelings. Perhaps it was just fondness, like she had once known for Chelsea...
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Post by Rayl Torien on Dec 30, 2010 19:19:56 GMT -6
"I remember when you and Chelsea joined us past Santaruz...of course, my exit was shortly afterwords...from what I hear my cousin Kelvin and Lady Chelsea are quite the item..." It was odd talking about the romance of a relative, so he instead changed the subject, and reached out to put a comforting hand on her shoulder," Well Karina, just know that you always have a place to stay with The Golden Lance, and in Pherae." with his usual and well known smile on his face, he removed his hand from her shoulder and turned back in the saddle to face forward:
They were reaching the Bernese-Pheraen Outpost that guarded the way to the mountain pass...of course, the outpost on this side of the path was under the control of Pherae, and as such Rayl had command over the men there...Riding up, the two guards, both mounted on horses, lances tipped with the Pheraen Flag, saluted from their saddles before turning around and signaling to some of the men inside.
The gates, made of thick wooden boards and reinforced with metal hinges and bolts, slowly opened up to invite the four riders ( Rayl, Karina, and the two Cavaliers with them.) through for the mountain pass...of course, as of this point it was getting dark. Turning back to Karina and then to the two others with them, he began looking around absent-mindedly before speaking," So what do you think Karina: shall we keep going and make some progress before setting camp, or shall we stay at the outpost for the night?"
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Karina
The "Before" years
[M:1000]
Submit to the short skirt!!!
Posts: 132
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Post by Karina on Dec 30, 2010 19:55:26 GMT -6
Karina thanked the darkness that was falling for hiding her reddening cheeks. Sir Rayl was asking for her ideas on the situation? "I think it would be best to camp out here for the night. We are close to our allies in case we are attacked, and we could easily retreat if we needed to. I will keep the first watch, if you wouldn't mind me doing so, my lord." she gave her opinion.
She shifted in her saddle, itching to take off. She could feel Sascha's want to fly, and she shared the feelings. Just a quick flight around the area to make sure there were no assassin hiding in the shadows. They both needed that.
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Post by Rayl Torien on Dec 30, 2010 20:16:43 GMT -6
Rayl didn't need to look to the two other accompanying them to know that they agreed, but it was when Karina asked permission to take the first watch that he hesitated, before ruluctantly nodding," Alright then, but remember: there are enough soldiers at this outpost for us to get some sleep, so don't be out too long. You two, get your horses to the stables and off to the barracks with you." Thus the two soldiers were off like two arrows from the bow of an expert hunter, but Rayl stayed where he was, dismounting slowly from the saddle of Elibe as he looked to the fading sky: he already knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep...Pegasi Knights had that affect on him.
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Karina
The "Before" years
[M:1000]
Submit to the short skirt!!!
Posts: 132
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Post by Karina on Dec 30, 2010 20:58:22 GMT -6
Karina smiled at Rayl and waved as Sascha took off. The two flew low and fast, searching the area for any unwelcome soldiers. Sascha playfully flitted on an updraft, taking the pair up a bit higher than Karina would have though safe. They found no enemies. Karina didn't think that they would, but it didn't hurt to check. The bright-eyed pegasus and her rider flew gracefully on as they scouted for any signs of disruption in the area. They spied a few foxes stirring from their sleep, ready to prowl the night in search of food. other than that, there was not much else. After about an hour of flight, Sascha landed. Karina nuzzled her pegasus and lead to to the stable, where she found some feed for her steed. "There girl. Now you rest up. This is the last night we will be in safe territory." she stroked Sascha's mane and left the stables. Karina couldn't sleep, so she decided to patrol the perimeter a bit. She Saluted whenever a soldier went by, making sure to look down. She breathed in the night air deeply, feeling better than she had in a long time. She practiced her lance thrusts a bit, as well as pretending to block enemy swords strikes. When she had finished, she leaned on her lance and stared off into the night sky. She thought about her life so far, and how she had missed out on a lot of things that had happened. She also thought about all the things she could still take part in, now that she was healthy again.
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Post by Rayl Torien on Dec 30, 2010 21:18:45 GMT -6
...He hated it when he was right...
having been admitted to the Officer's Quarter's for the night, he found himself laying on top of the covers, not even attempting to sleep, or even to get some shut eye. He couldn't help but think about what was going to happen up ahead: They had no set mission, no set objectives, and all the risks...the risks! He needed something to get his mind off everything. Thus he climbed off the bed and stuck his head out the window in some vain hope that the fresh air would cure his brain.
He did however watch Karina practice her lance work, which instead spurred him to exit the quarters with iron lance in hand. descending down a small set of stairs, he made his way to the green haired maiden's side,"...I couldn't help but notice your practicing...if I might say, if you moved your right leg back a bit more than you had been, you'd be in a better position to dodge backwards from an axe swing should you be forced to fight on foot...like so."
With this, Rayl readied his weapon, then moved into the aforementioned stance," You'd also be in a better position for a lunge, either for an attack or counter attacking an axe wielder...though your stance was superb for fighting a swordsman."
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Karina
The "Before" years
[M:1000]
Submit to the short skirt!!!
Posts: 132
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Post by Karina on Dec 30, 2010 21:40:28 GMT -6
Karina smiled when Rayl come out and helped her. "I hadn't even thought of that. I should have, what with the advantage axe users would have over me... Thank you." She mimed Rayl's movements and held her lance across her body. "If you'd like to practice, shouldn't we use wooden staffs? We would kill each other with these sharp lances," she suggested, pointing to a barrel of staffs.
Being that this was where the soldiers stationed at the border practiced, there were all kinds of practice weapons around them. She walked over to the barrel and grabbed two staffs. She tossed one to Rayl and readied herself. "You can wield a axe as well as a sword, can't you? What is that like?" she asked.
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Post by Rayl Torien on Dec 30, 2010 23:05:02 GMT -6
Wait- they were practicing on each other? Rayl hadn't been expecting that but...
Catching the staff, he laid his weapon against a barrel with an odd tenderness, before moving over to where the practice weapons were, drawing a wooden sword from the bunch along with a wooden axe...basically he returned with his hands full," It's a mixed blessing really."
he begun as he looked between the sword in his left hand, and the axe in his right," I can be prepared for any close range encounter, but at the same time I also have to carry the extra equipment if I wish to...it's a slight hinderence, but it's there nonetheless." tossing the wooden sword with the staff, he held the axe at the ready: not fully competent with the weapon himself, but he'd been training nonetheless," Now get into the stance, alright? I'll be attacking in three...two...One."
With this he rushed forward and went with the type of swing he saw his soldiers go for: instead of the sluggish hammer arming that brigands would do, it was instead akin to chopping down a tree.
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Karina
The "Before" years
[M:1000]
Submit to the short skirt!!!
Posts: 132
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Post by Karina on Dec 31, 2010 23:26:04 GMT -6
Karina sized up Rayl's movement as she rushed at her. Instead of trying to block the swipe, she jumped backwards, barely avoiding it. She then jabbed towards him, aiming at his chest. She knew that he had much more experience that her, and would not go easy on her just because she was a girl. She very much expected to leave this sparring match with a large collection of bruises.
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Post by Rayl Torien on Jan 1, 2011 0:19:22 GMT -6
Rayl contemplated smacking the weapon aside before charging forward, but given his years of experience over her in battle, he kind of felt he needed to give her some confidence an-
Due to over thinking, he found a staff jutted into his chest. With a grunt he stumbled backwards, a hand half moving to his stomach before he re-obtained his composure," Good...very good...good enough for me to stop telling you when I'm attacking!" he forced a chuckle from his slightly sour chest, before tossing the weapon to the ground before him and bending down to grab his own staff, spinning it while moving backwards until he had a firm grip on the weapon, before charging forward in what looked like a clumsy assault, before he tossed this weapon aside as well and made a jump in the opposite direction, reaching again for the axe, he made to strike at her side with the flat of the weapon.
You know...fighting in armor wasn't that bad...more mobility...
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Karina
The "Before" years
[M:1000]
Submit to the short skirt!!!
Posts: 132
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Post by Karina on Jan 1, 2011 13:10:32 GMT -6
Karina was astounded by Rayl's flurry of movement. So much that she failed to block his strike. The wooden axe made a thump as it collided with her waist. The force of the blow sent her back a few steps. She took the blow in stride, and steadied herself. Soon as she retrained her composure, she feinted to the left and swung the butt of her staff low, hoping to knock Rayl off of his feet.
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Post by Rayl Torien on Jan 1, 2011 17:45:00 GMT -6
"Nice try Karina, your best bet for fighting an axeman is to usually jump back, their range and poor movement makes it harder to strike at you-" again, he was playing tutor too much, as he looked down in time to see the staff strike his right legs and found himself tumbling over, though managed to grab the end of her weapon as he hit the ground, and gave it a hard yank, either to disarm her or make her fall over, it didn't really matter.
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