hey Gareth, if you want to teach a Dedicated level class I'll help out by teaching the Soldiers.

The first day of the competition Shawn woke early, anxious to get started and see what he and Blaize were capable of. He made his way over to the stable he'd found for Blaize and spent a few minutes talking to the colt. He let the soft soothing tones of his voice wash over the young horse, trying to settle the natural restlessness he usually faced with the spirited beast.

Shawn was glad he'd awoken early as it gave him the chance to groom his horse in relative peace before the other competitors came around. In fact, he was the first one to arrive saddled and ready at the starting point. On the other hand, by arriving so early Blaize would have that much more time for the energy of the crowd to affect him. Soon he'd be wanting to run, and when Shawn didn't let him go right away he'd get stubborn and irritable. If Shawn had his way they'd wait long enough for the both of them to feed off the crowd's excitement, but not so long to cause problems.

As one rider after another set out on the course Shawn began to worry about the timing, and Blaize's tempermental attitude. Then, just as he thought there might truly be a problem, his name was called as next in line and he made his way up to stand by the judge. When he saw the judge give the signal he kicked his heels and they were off. Blaize wanted to gallop but Shawn held him back somewhat, he knew they'd need the energy as the race went on.

Soon enough they made it to the end of the tree-lined lane and to the first of a series of fields. Across the first field Shawn let Blaize have his head and run. The young colt, so full of energy leaped the first hedge with room to spare. On the next field Shawn held back a little, once more fighting to conserve the strength they would need later in the race.

They alternated speed this way through the fields and Shawn leaned low in his saddle to pluck the marker from the judge at the end of the last field. Unfortunately his aim was a little off and he missed the marker. Blaize did not want to go back and they wasted several agonizing moments in the forest before Shawn got him turned around to go back and get the marker.

Shawn reluctantly held their pace back as they went through the forest. He wanted to run and try to make up some of the time they'd lost but he worried over the dangers the forest presented to his horse. One good thing was that Blaize being such a young colt meant they didn't have to duck as often as others he saw would have to. This was especially fortunate as he had to strain so hard to see in the shade of the forest where sunlight failed to reach.

The darkness of the forest turned to brilliant light so suddenly that it momentarily blinded Shawn as they came out on the edge of a cliff. Blaize though was too smart to go flying off the edge and in fact found the small goat trail and started on the way down before Shawn had even seen it. They navigated their way through the intricate twists and turns of the trail and Shawn grabbed the second marker as they turned to follow the stream through the valley.

Shawn was starting to think he might have gone the wrong way when he saw another rider up ahead. This spurred him on and he raced to catch up. Then the rider disappeared. He was glad he'd seen the other rider or he might not have even found the trail up the other side of the valley.

At the top of the bank Shawn threw caution to the wind and repeated the move he'd tried earlier at the first checkpoint, successfully this time. This last section was just a flat-out run and Shawn let Blaize go, urging him on to catch the rider in front of them. As they neared the finish they passed the other rider and Shawn knew they'd place higher than he'd expected.

Finishing the race Shawn walked Blaize around in circles for a few minutes to cool him down before leading him to a trough for a nice rewarding drink. While Blaize drank Shawn found the winner and congratulated her, surprised to see it was another trainee. He may not have won the race himself but he was proud of himself and Blaize. For such a young horse, and such an inexperienced rider he was surprised they'd placed as high as fifth.

Shawn took his time unsaddling and grooming the horse. He found the grooming process to be as relaxing for himself as for the horse. After leading the horse back to the stable he sought the advice of the stableboys and fed some grain to the beast.

The next morning Shawn went through his regular fitness routine and then went to breakfast at the mess hall. He had a quick and hearty breakfast before rushing back to his room to get his weapons. As soon as he could he ran to the stable.

He tried to request the same docile horse that he had ridden yesterday but was told that she had been taken out by someone else earlier that morning. Instead he was given a very spirited gelding named Thunder.

After grooming and saddling the Thunder Shawn waited for Kynwric and Mat to arrive so they could set out.

yeah, I already had decided on joining the rangers...I just need to finish the basics I guess. This makes me really excited about joining though. Th whole pack fighting concept I think fits the wolfkin better than anything else.

Name: Nakor Zorrander

Rank: Dedicated

Classes Needed: Weapons Training, Advanced Elemental Manipulation, Advanced Offence/Defence Weaves

Two hours before dawn found Shawn running laps around the Yard. It was sometime after the fifth lap that he actually gained conscious control of himself. After over eight months of training his muscles had developed a memory of their own. His body woke naturally hours before the sun to begin the workout that he'd been assigned after his first day with Corin. This workout included running, pushups, situps, and pullups. Shawn himself had added swimming as well. After all of that he would go through the sword forms with each hand and both together.

Today was to be different though. Yesterday he'd realized that even after increasing the laps he ran and swam and the repetitions of his exercises he was still finishing his workout in less than half the time it used to take. He was encouraged by this but knew he needed to push himself further. Today he planned to double everything he did in his workout.

When he finsihed his circuit of land exercises he was exhausted, and he still had the swimming and sword-work left to go.

Halfway through his laps in the lake, he was truly regretting the decision to double his workout. But he persevered, and in fact pushed himself harder to finish faster.

Dragging himself out of the water he found the practice lathes he'd brought and pushed his weary body through the sword forms he'd learned so far. After finsihing the forms with a single sword, first one hand and then the other, he knew he'd had enough. But, as he leaned over to pick up the second lathe and go on to breakfast, he saw Corin out of the corner of his eye.

Shawn tried to hide the realization that he was being watched and appear as though he'd merely been catching his breath as he grabbed the second sword and went through the forms a few more times with both hands.

He finished up facing Corin. Shawn feigned surprise at seeing him there, not hard since they didn't usually meet until after breakfast. "Good morning. Plan to join me for breakfast or was there something else you had planned for today?"

When Anwashawn finished his morning workout he returned to his room to change clothes before going to breakfast. He dressed simpy, belted on weapons and went to the dining hall. As he walked he contemplated what to do with the day. This was one of those rare occasions when he was free from training with Corin. These had come so infrequently he still wasn't sure what to do with these small blessings of free time.

He had finished breakfast and was walking back to his room when it occurred to him that he'd never ridden a horse, had no real idea what was required in doing so, and that any true Tower Guard or Warder would be at least passing familiar with the skill. As he was free he decided to remedy the situation and took himself over to the stables.

When he got there he saw a warder in color-shifting cloak rubbing down a horse in one of the stalls. "Excuse me Sir. My name is Anwashawn. I am a trainee here in the Yards and I was wondering if you could teach me what you know about horses and how to ride them?"

OOC:Any other trainees that want to join feel free to overhear and join in.

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Kynwric had arrived the night before and spent the remainder of that night secreted in the Tower with Loraine pouring over the clues they had picked up on this most recent trip. Fortunately for him and unfortunately for her the Captain-General had asked to see her and so Kyn hd escaped down to the stables. He had taken up a brush to see to their horses, knowing that the grooms had already done so, but it gave him a reason to stay.

"Excuse me Sir. My name is Anwashawn. I am a trainee here in the Yards and I was wondering if you could teach me what you know about horses and how to ride them?"

Kynwric turned and sized up the boy who was adressing him. "Teach you what I know? Boy that would take weeks, assuming you had ever sat a horse before. It isn't simply about knowledge, it is about developing skill just as you practice with a sword you have to practice with a horse. The difference being that a horse has a mind of its own and is liable to not want to jump over the fire to charge a dozen trollocs." Kynwric watched the reacton for a moment and then nodded. "If you have the time to learn and learn properly I'll teach you. Go ask the grooms to get you a horse, tack and saddle and grooming tools and bring it all out into the corral. We'll start there."

Kynwric reached out and grabbed Horse's bridle and led him out into the corral and waited there leaning against the fence while Anwashawn did as he was told.

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"Teach you what I know? Boy that would take weeks, assuming you had ever sat a horse before. It isn't simply about knowledge, it is about developing skill just as you practice with a sword you have to practice with a horse. The difference being that a horse has a mind of its own and is liable to not want to jump over the fire to charge a dozen trollocs."

"I see. Well it is important and I've never been one to turn away from a challenge so I would the lessons."

"If you have the time to learn and learn properly I'll teach you. Go ask the grooms to get you a horse, tack and saddle and grooming tools and bring it all out into the corral. We'll start there."

As the warder led his horse away Shawn turned back to the stable and spoke to the nearest groom, asking for the items he was told to get. A short while later the groom returned leading a gentle looking beast and asked, "Would you like me to saddle her for you?"

"No, that's quite alright, I believe that may be my first lesson. If you just bring me the neccessary items I'll carry them over."

While waiting for the groom Shawn took a moment to look the horse over. Not knowing much about horses he didn't really know what he was looking for but he wanted to be as familiar with the animal as he could in such a short time. So he held out his hand for the horse to sniff and then started petting its nose. When the groom returned Shawn placed the saddle onto the horse's back thinking it would be fine unsecured for such a short distance. He carried the blanket, bridle, and basket of grooming tools and led the horse to the corral where his instructor waited.

"I am ready sir. Before we begin, may I ask your name?"

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"I am ready sir. Before we begin, may I ask your name?"

"Aye you can ask..." And Kynwric smiled at the shocked look on his face. "I am Kynwric Gaidin." Kyn eyed the horse and the equipment that he brought with him and nodded. FIrst lesson, never, ever, ever put a saddle on a horse without a blanket. She'll be unhappy which will make you unhappy. and if I see it I'll be unhappy and that'll make you very unhappy. Understood?" Kyn had been holding his gaze on the boy and when Shawn nodded he gave a short nod. "Good."

"Now get that saddle off her and let's start with how to groom a horse." Kyn still held the brush he had been using on his hand and motioned for Shawn to get it out. "First you brush her down, you do this evertime you take a saddle off, while you are brushing her out aso look for burrs and stickers in her fur. Those can be driven in by brushing so you need to pick them out before you brush over the area. Now listen, this is ver important. Never stand directly behind a horse. Not for any reason. You'll find yourself dead." With that Kyn half turned and began to brush down Horse. "See how I am doing this? Do the same to her. Work front to back. Go on now, give your ole girl there a good brushing out."

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Shawn accepted the chastiment gracefully and vowed to never do it again. Then he listened to instructions Kynwric gave on grooming and got to work.

It seemed the stable boys had done their jobs well for there was little to do by way of brushing. The horse's hair was all laying flat and running the right direction before Shawn even started but he went through the process anyway to cement it into his head. He found no burrs and only one sticker during the process and was sure to remove it before brushing.

He took his time about the process, slowly moving from front to back and top to bottom then doing the same again on the other side. When he'd finished he looked expectantly toward the warder for further instruction.

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"Aye good. Next you need to check her hooves." He picked up the cleaning pick and moved over beside Shawn's horse, showing him ow to clean the hoof and check the shoe. He moved through all the other steps of caring for a horse and watched as Shawn completed them all satisfactorily. "Good, good. Now we're going to saddle her from the beginning.". He looped a rope over the mare's head and removed the bit and bridle. "Anytime you get a horse out of the stable you'll use a rope around her neck, then you put in the bit like so, once you get the bit in then you slide the rest of the bridle over the horse's head. Sometimes you'll have to force the jaw open and you do that just like you would a person." He moved through the rest of the steps of saddling a horse and showed shawn all of them, watching as he duplicated each one with instruction and then again without any help.

OOC: Just move through this last part and describe it out and then we'll move along.

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Shawn watched as Kynwric finsihed the grooming process and then instructed him in the steps to saddling and bridling the horse. Shawn repeated these steps, though the know for the cinch strap took a couple of tries to get right. Kynwric then had Shawn take everything off and repeat the entire process to ensure the lesson was learned.

When he was satisfied that Shawn could groom and saddle the horse without supervision Kynwric showed helped him to adjust the stirrups and made sure Shawn could do that as well.

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OOC: darnit, sorta late, but i'm here!

IC: Mark wandered down into the yard after lunch to see what was up for the day. Maybe he could catch some free time watching trainees get beaten into the ground, or even just......relax....no, not that. He left his greatsword in his room and made his way out into the open.

There was some horse riding lessons apparently going on, and not too many people had showed up to try out. Since Mark and horses had a natural "distaste"(yes, that word isn't even close, but still) for each other, it looked like a good idea to try out.

Mark wandered over to the sharpest looking one there and introduced himself.

"Hey, i'm Mark. I'm really bad with horses, and wanna try out here. Is that okay?"

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"It's fine, go and get a horse, tack and harness and grooming tools and we'll get you started." And pointed inside as he spoke to Mark. Then turning back to Shawn. "Alright m'boy, climb on up there. One hand on the wither and the other on the saddle, left foot in the stirrup and then up and over you go."

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Mark stared at the horse, wondering about the briliance of coming down here in the first place. His own two legs had lasted him long enough, why stop now? He turned to leave, only to be blocked by the form of Kynwric behind him. Not too well thought out, for an escape plan. Mark sighed and turned once more to the horse, working up his nerve to get on the bloody thing.

He tentatively placed his foot into the first stirrup, and was promptly bitten by the horse. Kynwric only smiled at the attempt, which angered Mark, and drove him to try again, with moderately more success. He managed to prop himself precariously in the saddle and waited to hear what to do next.

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OOC: hey Mark, go get your own horse this one's mine Wink

IC: Shawn grabbed hold of the pommel of the saddle with his left hand, placed his right on the withers and lifted his left foot into the stirrup. This was it, now he would see what the horse really thought of having someone climb on her back. With that thought he pressed off the gorund and swung his right leg over the saddle and into the other stirrup. The horse moved around a little, probably she was accustomed to more graceful riders, but Shawn held his seat until she settled down.

"Well, that wasn't too bad a mounting was it? What's next?"

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"Next we ride... pass me the reins and let's get you used to sitting on the bloody critter while it moves." Kynwric began to walk the horse around a bit, letting Shawn get used to the bouncing gait. He saw Mark returning astride a horse and narrowed his eyes. "Get down off that thing Mark, you'll be startin' from the beginning." He led the horse Shawn was sitting on a couple more rounds as he let Makr figure out how to get down on his own. Finally Kynwric stopped the horse and handed the reins back to Shawn. "Alright keep that pace up and keep control, it should only take a light hand to guide this anmial, so don't jerk her around. Just keep riding and getting used to it."

Kyn then turned his attention to Mark. "Alright, first things first, unsaddle her and find the grooming brush, it should have been in that bucket the grooms gave you."

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Kynwric was right, the animal was a placid beast that had a nice gentle gait. It seemed the stable boys could tell he was inexperienced and had shown pity on him with their choice. This really wasn't that bad. Actually Shawn found it to be rather enjoyable to sit up high and move about without much effort. He could see now what the draw was to it. Shawn decided he could definitely get used to this. In fact, it might be worth it to see how comfortable he could be going faster.

"Hey Kynwric Sir," Shawn called out. "How do I get her to go faster...Never mind, I think I figured it out." And indeed he had, for as he called out to the warder he accidentally kicked the horse's flanks and she started to trot. He held on to the horse with his knees and the reins with his hands and let the horse decide for herself where to go. He reveled in the feel of the air rushing by him until he saw that they were coming back around to where Kynwric and Mark were standing with the other horse. It was then that he realized he didn't know how to stop.

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"Pull back on the reins!" Kyn yelled out as he spotted the horse and riderbearnig down on them, grabbing the reins from Mark he turned the second horse to the side, putting her between themselves and Shawn's horse. Having pushed the other trainee against the rails of the fence he scrmbled up onto them as Shawn, well more like his mount, went around the obstruction of the other horse and continued on. "You pull back on the reins to stop her!" Waiting amoment to see if Shawn acknowledge him or not.

OOC: On LoA till next monday, see you all then. Shawn continue riding. Mark work on the grooming and then assuming it is all alright start the riding the Shawn has been doing.

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OOC:hehe, that took off on me....

IC: Mark got off as quick as he could, diving from the beast.

"Well, that was a disaster. I'll go get that tack instead." Mark turned to the stabled, and headed to the room for a saddle, bit, and brush.

OOC:More later. g2g

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OOC: NOW i continue Very Happy

IC: Mark walked slowly to the stables, thinking of all the experiences he had been through with horses over the years. Growing up in his northern sjienaran farm with abusive family, he had never had much confidence with animals, and they somehow took notice of this whenever they could. He had been bitten, stomped, kicked, and even sat on by the fanily plow horse many times. His vast hatred for the beasts was VERY called for, but he couldn't deny their usefullness in overland transportation. Sighing with great regret at having to go into the stables, Mark walked into them.

He was greeted with the stench of the hundreds of horses that had lived there over the centuries, every one of them leaving a familiar stench in his nose. Moving quickly, he found the saddle room, and grabbing a brush and saddle, moved back outside to see what he could learn today.

Kynwric was waiting for him outside, and Mark moved over to where he was standing. Placing the saddle down, he looked at the mount ready for him. It was a mangy thing, all placid and such, but the minute he rested the brush on its backside, it turned and attemped to bite him. He resisted the urge to pull his longknife out and take the things throat out, and went back to scrubbing the beast vigorously, getting it done as fast as possible.

Glowering with dark anger, Mark turned back to Kynwric and asked as politely as he could how to saddle the horse. All he wanted right now was to bite it, but a tightly sinched strap was all of the revenge that he was going to get for the moment.

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While Kynwric taught Mark the basics of grooming and saddling, Shawn used the time to practice riding. It seemed that the lithe and fluid musculature his body was developing through swimming was paying off here as well. He seemed to be having much less difficulty than mark, or indeed any of the others in the Yards. This was a new experience for him, something he took to almost as easily as he had to swimming.

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Mark stared at the other trainee, who took so easily to the horses, as if they were a part of him. No matter what the talent may be, Mark enjoyed to watch those who were good at something. He spent hours just watching warders pound trainees into the ground. This other guy had some talent.

"Hey, you there. You look like you're taking well to this horse riding thing. Could you show me how you did it?" he asked just before falling from his own horse.

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"Yeah, sure. It's really not that hard. Get on and then grip with your knees. Kick lightly with your heels and the horse will start moving. If you decide to go faster just kick him again, not too hard, just enough to give him the message. Don't hold too hard on the reins , grip with your knees instead. I've found that holding pulling on the reins for gripping just tells the horse to stop, so doing that and kicking at the same time just confuses the poor horse and makes him irritable."

I'm here!

Burrich gripped the shaft of the practice axe, surprised that the weight was only slightly less than his actual weapon. It seemed that the two wooden blades were weighted. This made sense as the weight was one of the hardest parts to get used to with a new weapon, or so he'd been told.

He closed his eyes and focused on the weapon before him. he let his fingers feel even the grains in the wood as he sought to become one with the axe he held. He held the shaft in just his right hand and took a few swings left and right, then a few more on the diagonal. Switching to his left he repeated the moves before gripping with both hands and going through the same basic moves one more time.

Opening his eyes he looked to where John was sitting, watching him intently. "I know that the axe is mainly a chopping weapon. These few moves are all I know right now."

This could change as i write more but for now:

Quiet, Reserved, Leader, Loyal, Determined, Empathic. He is very focused--likes to train, study, swim, and help his teammates train. So focused on those he rarely does anything else. This will probably change as the character grows but for now that's all he'll allow himself to do.

Shawn was so excited he had hardly slept the night before. Waking hours before dawn he went through his morning exercise routine, ate breakfast and then went back to his room. This was the day they'd be leaving. Since they announced the horse-riding competition and the subsequent announcement that trainees would be allowed to enter, Shawn had thought of nothing else. He'd even convinced his mentor, Corin, to loan him the money to buy his own horse and he'd been practicing daily so that he and Blaize could get accustomed to each other.

Returning to his room, Shawn dressed in the uniform the blue team had designed for themselves. He was quite proud of his team and more than pleased that Ginae had found him ready for leadership. The uniform consisted of a dark blue tunic and trousers with a kimono-styed overcoat that they were on more formal occasions, such as the parade of sorts that would be formed by all the denizens of the Yards that would be going on the trip. He fastened a set of throwing knives to each of his biceps, fastened his two swords to his belt, grabbed his bow, and walked to the stables. He didn't think he'd need weapons where they were going but he did know that Corin wouldn't accept being away from the Tower as reason to stop training. He'd be working hard any time he wasn't competing.

Blaize was a young white colt with a black blaze between his eyes. He'd been spending so much time at the stables since Kynwric taught him to ride that the stablemaster had offered to help him pick one out and give him a good price. Shawn didn't know much yet about choosing horses, but the stablemaster assured him that the animal was quick and strong, but even more important to Shawn, very intelligent.

Shawn took his time grooming and saddling Blaize, and by the time he was done Corin had arrived as well. As a trainee he had to be accompanied to the competition and he was glad Corin had agreed to come. Shawn led Blaize over to stand next to his mentor and waited in aniticipation for everyone to ready themselves for the trip.

I'm here.

Anwashawn Ellasser

Tower Trainee

Blue Team Captain