I feel so loved...except for all the dragging. That part was painful.

How did I get here?

I also wondered if you meant me or not lol. Feel free to grab me. That is as good a way as any other to bring me into the RP

Any ideas?

I wouldn't mind something different from drinking and fighting either. I like the idea of working with the wolfkin.

Most of the current RPs within the band are wrapping up. I know Cass is working on some  bigger level RPs for the band but are there any other RPs anyone wants to get into? Tay? Chaelca? BB? Cass? Training, drinking, fighting, etc

I'm still game to join. *Makes note not to pack red shirts*

What's the title of the thread?

There is no thread yet. The last thread was Bard joining the group. We were last in Cairhien. Is your character somewhere out east near there? Basically you'd write and submit your bio and once approved we can put together an intro thread to how you joined the menagerie. 

I've had the same experience with larger groups. If there is a need for another character like a tower trainee I can join in but if not that is okay too. It looks like you guys have kept things rolling pretty well so far. 

That sounds fine. We have a spot for you. You can perform however you want as long as it entertains the crowd. 

Its a good thing I don't channel then or things could get rough

I could bring along my tower trainee. He had a little bit of experience from training but not out in the field.

You are more than welcome to join the menagerie. I am the ringmaster and bard is the Illuminator. Key is our lion tamer but she is kept pretty busy. We don't have a gleeman to train under though. We were performing in Cairhien last. 

I'll give you another drink 

Grey Drinalt - Bio

WS 5

(Here is my intro thread to bring my WS to 3)

Grey's Beginning - 7 posts -  HERE

Yey!

 

Last left off she'd been in there for at least 1-2 weeks, and was in the middle of talking to Quibb's engineer char Pahl. There would've been guards outside around the clock.

 

Intervene however you want *grin*

 

Just needs to end with her being escorted to the Commander and eventually told she's free to resume her duties ... (which should go down well with Arinth eh?  )

Did you want to RP the scene with the commander or just have it done off screen?

Guys, congratulations are in order. Elynde and Fang have both been promoted to corporal! (Though I believe Elynde’s is a retro one so that presently she has been a corporal for awhile)

*Holds up glass*

“To more responsibility and less fun!”

Corik closed the book angrily and set it down next to him on the bench. He realized his hands were clenched in fists of rage but he could not relax them. He stood to his feet and began pacing back and forth. The death of Lothair Mantelar hit him like it was someone that he had known.

There had always been a sliver of doubt about the Aes Sedai. They wielded the one power but at least in the open they appeared to do good things. They healed people for example. Maybe the children had been wrong about the Aes Sedai he had thought. Now he knew. The Aes Sedai were no better. To deny shelter to the children was the same as murdering them themselves. Their vows were a joke. Nothing more than a publicity stunt to try and keep in the good graces of the people. They knew how to lie, they knew how to get around their vows. The death of Lothair Mantelar was proof of that.

The day began to get warmer as the morning sun rose higher in the sky. Corik stood in its light, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He had been ignorant and in the dark but now he was enlightened.

Arkin’s words hit something deep inside Arinth and shook him. Mothers. He honestly didn’t know if the Seanchan even had mothers. They might be raised by ravens for all he knew. They certainly were strange enough. But, if they did have mothers than they probably grieved as all mothers did. Arinth took another drink. He just hoped they didn’t start visiting his nightmares now that the idea had been planted in his head.

Arinth looked around the room. The younger, untested soldiers all seemed light hearted, laughing and arguing, dicing and singing. The older veterans though, they sat in smaller groups or often alone. They sat quietly, each in the middle of their own struggle.

Then, unexpectedly Arinth saw something funny. A cavalry soldier was sauntering through the room, the way they always did, when he tripped over his own feet and fell face first into a table.

Arinth, caught by surprise, laughed. The only problem with that was that he had been in the middle of taking another drink of his ale and so the laugh sent the drink spewing out of his mouth. He kept laughing. One of the cavalry man’s friends tried to help him up only to lose his balance and have them both fall back to the ground. Arinth laughed even harder.

Arinth realized how good it felt to laugh. He couldn’t remember the last time he actually had. A flood of thoughts and realizations washed over him. He realized he had made it out of Tanchico but he had been living like a dead man ever since. It was a startling realization.

Eyes wide, he grabbed Arkin’s shirt. “We are alive! We are still alive!” And with that he jumped from his chair and ran out into the growing darkness.

"I guess I'll have to keep on training," The woman said.

Arinth had to admit that he was impressed with her determination and toughness. She had been so focused that she had not even noticed as the other soldiers had all one by one dropped down. He was about to be one of them.

“Easy now.” He said holding up his hand. “You can’t get all of your training done in one day. You’ll just end up exhausting yourself and that won’t help you in the long run.”

Fang did not appear to agree.

She had done well in her training. She was quick and agile. He wasn’t sure the infantry was the best place for her. She could make it in the infantry of course. She had the required stuberness but that didn’t mean she couldn’t succeed just as well in other positions. He wasn’t about to say anything about that though. H’ed let her make her own decisions.

In their training he had meant shoulder or kick or trip. She had seemed determined to master the driving shoulder though. He made a note to work on making sure he gave clearer instructions. She had improved though. The next day he’d have the bruises to show it. He brought his attention back to the present. Somehow he had to convince her to take a break.

“You’ve done well.” He offered. Nope, that didn’t seem to do the trick either. She looked planted to her spot like she was a tree that had  grown roots. Arinth had only one idea left.

“How about we grab some food and have a drink?”

I think scouting is a good choice

Corik sat outside on a bench in the courtyard. The newly risen sun shown down on him from behind, casting his shadow out in front of himself. A gentle breeze stirred his red hair. He did not notice, his focus was on the book he held, unopened, in his hand.

Most mornings were spent in training. To know the sword had been something he had always thirsted for. It motivated him and his dedication had been rewarded. He was far from a blademaster but he knew how to fight. He was no easy opponent and he would only get better.

The philosophy of the Children of the Light was something that some spent more time on than others. In Corik’s eyes it was simple. Aes Sedai, dragonsworn, bandits, thieves, and those that opposed the children were all darkfriends. It was his job to find them and deal with them. It was unavoidable. The light could not live in harmony with the darkness. One or the other would prevail and the other would fail.

While his superiors did not necessarily disagree they desired Corik to have a deeper knowledge of the Children. It was because of this that he held a book in his hands instead of his sword. Lothair Mantelar, he had known the name of their founder but little about his life.

He opened the book and began reading about a time before the children when the world was torn with war and an order of priests emerged known as The Light.

I got the next post up Chaelca. Did you ever pick a division yet? 

BB-I replied to our RP where we get our battle tattoos.

Tay-planning on a return RP after you catch up on any retro ones?

Arinth signaled for two mugs as he pulled out his chair at their regular table. The air and the walk to the tavern had done some good. He had cooled off and more importantly gotten a chance to clear his head. It wasn’t always that way. Sometimes it felt like he lost whole days when those dark memories pulled him under.

He looked in Arkin’s eyes too see how his friend was doing. He’d seen the look pass through his friends eyes earlier at the mention of Tanchico and the slight twist of his back as he remembered the vicious wound he’d taken.

“You know for a long time when I woke up in a cold sweat to the flashbacks of battle I’d be angry at myself. I wanted to yell at the top of my lungs. I wanted to rip my tent apart. I was so angry at the friends they’d taken from me. I was so angry at what they had reduced me to. To comfort myself I say that they were having nightmares of me. That whole divisions of men that had survived would wake up terrified that I had come back for them.”

One of the serving girls set their drinks down and Arinth nodded his thanks to her. He took his mug and took a drink. They sat in silence a moment. Arkin waited, knowing that Arinth had more to say.

“But I was wrong. It doesn’t go like that does it? I mean, the only men I dream about are the ones I’ve killed. Nameless men. They didn’t look so different from my friends. Their blood was just as red.”

Arinth took another drink.  

“The bloody Seanchan sounded like idiots when they talked but some cavalry do too.” He looked down at his hands and shook his head. “I am sorry. I am rambling when I should be drinking.”

He downed the rest of his ale and called for another one.   

“How do you want me to hold my ground like you did? I am no match for a big man like you?" Fang asked.

It was a good question, and it should have been one he was prepared for. He took her words as an invitation to look her up and down. He pulled his eyes up to her face before they lingered too long. It was true. She wasn’t as big as he was.

He scratched his chin, “First we are going to need practice swords for this. When you are holding your ground you are fighting defensively. You want to use everything you can to your advantage. One of the first things you have control of is what ground you are going to hold. Look around, what do you think would the best place to try and hold your ground?”

The ground was mostly flat at the training grounds but there were a few hills. After a moment of looking around Fang pointed to one of the hills. Arinth nodded.

“Good, the person who controls the high ground has a decided advantage in a battle.”

They walked over to the hill and he let her pick her spot.

“Make sure your feet are on solid ground. A slip on treacherous ground has cost many good soldiers their lives.”

He gave her a moment to check her feet and adjust.

“Finally, it is not all about how tall or big you are. When holding your ground you want to have a lower center of gravity than your opponent. You want to be balanced, precise, and use your opponent’s momentum against them. A low center of gravity will help you from losing your balance. You want to be precise because in battle you don’t stand and duel with someone for an hour. It will be decided within three strikes. Most of the time if you are holding the line you’ll have a spear to keep out of your opponent’s reach but if you have to use your sword you want to be patient. Your opponent will not be as precise as you when they are charging. Let them take their first swing, and deflect it. At the speed they are going they won’t be able to adjust back into a defensive position before you have your chance to strike.”

He paused to make sure she was listening.

“This is when you make your attack count. Drive your shoulder into their chest, deliver a vicious kick down on their knee, look to the leg, side, or neck for an opening with your sword. Got it?”

She nodded.

Arinth backed up until he was a dozen paces away and downhill from her. He adjusted the practice sword in his hand and then began his charge, raising his sword high above his head with both hands. It was time to see what she had learned.