(Flashback) Shield, Staff and Stamina (solo)

[Brodon Windriver]

The glassbeak sped through the grass, hopping and whipping its neck and chest down exaggeratedly as it hit, spinning back and forth and rearing back, trying to throw me off. It didn't try to peck at me while it ran and I assumed it got disoriented when it did, as it nearly fell the one time it tried. Anytime it stopped running and tried to buck me off, I would make efforts to jab it in the eye. I found it easier to lock my legs at such times than I did while it ran.

It caught on to this tendency pretty quickly as well, and soon it was off and running again, shaking its neck and chest back and forth as it went. My grip slipped bit by bit from the pounding, and the beast soon got a sense of when I would try to pull myself in and reacquire my grip to spin around and begin running again. The centrifugal effect of its spin made it impossible to readjust my hold and I could feel my arms growing weaker.

The only thing giving me a desperate hope was that, with every spin I would see the end of the staff swing by, so I knew that it was still there lashed to the one leg. The beast had chewed on the staff when it was lodged in its throat, so I supposed the whip was wedged in some gap in the surface, holding the staff there.

There came a point where I knew that if I held on any longer, then when I DID drop off, my arms would be too weak to offer any sort of defense. The monster was also tired out from all the extra shaking and jumping and such, but not nearly so much as I was.

It started running again and I took several deep breaths and the first time the creature shook me to the side I let myself fly off with some semblance of control.

[Brodon Windriver]

I hit the ground hoping to roll to my feet, but only managed to obtain a crouch by the time I heard the monster's footsteps almost upon me. I put my right foot out as though I was going that way, but instead pushed off it to my left, spinning to avoid the deadly beak descending on me.

I called it success that I only took a slash to my back as I dove under the creature's chest and rolled for the staff still loosely caught up in the whip wrapped around the beast's right leg. One more gash was insignificant considering how many I already bore.

I managed to pull the staff free of one loop of the whip before the creature began to step with that leg. I drove the end into the ground, pulling back on the higher end with what little strength I still possessed as the buried end plowed a deep furrow in the topsoil, upsetting the creature's balance enough to make it stop and pivot on that foot.

I got the staff free of another loop as the monster took a moment to decide how to approach me, no doubt remembering how the staff had gotten lodged in its throat. There was enough slack in the coils of whip to lift the staff up and slam it into the beast's foot. The lighting grew subtly darker and I sensed the beak descending again and blindly drove the staff up.

There was hard contact and a nasty 'clack' sound, followed by a loud hissing squawk. The tip of the creature's tongue landed on the ground beside me and I got the staff free of all but one long loop as I ran out into the clear.

I stepped down on the whip and tried to free the staff, thinking it would come away easily, but saw that, as I had feared, the glassbeak had chewed the staff horribly and the whip was caught fast in a gap where the staff now had a hairline fracture.

I barely saw the foot in time as it struck at me, and managed to block it by crouching behind the staff, as I drove the broken end into the ground and crouched back, bracing the high end against my shoulder. The impact nearly broke my shoulder, but DID break the staff, leaving a sharp point where the hairline fracture began. I rolled with the impact and got my feet under me, swinging the sharp end up as the creature moved in and was rewarded by a harsh croak as it reared back, exposing a nasty laceration on its neck.

I tried to shout a challenge, but all that came out was an exhausted gasp as the creature stepped back to reassess its approach to its troublesome prey.

[Brodon Windriver]

I stayed in a crouch trying to recover even a small bit of energy as I held the staff point up, as a pikeman would, swinging it in the direction of whichever part of the beast came closest. The creature cautiously stepped towards me, as if testing the water, pulling back as I thrust the staff at its foot. Occasionally, it would feint with its foot and then strike at me with its beak. I had a new pair of slashes on my arms to show for it and the staff was becoming slippery with sweat, blood, dirt and grass stains.

Then it would switch tactics and also feint with its beak to draw my attention from the hovering foot, only to strike me with that. Only a frenzy of swings and thrusts kept the monster at bay as I would regain my feet. But I was exhausted and it knew it. My heartbeat pounded in my ears to the exclusion of all other sound, save the screeches of the glassbeak itself and my own heavy gasps. I could not go on.

Then the creature stepped back and twisted to look behind for a moment. I couldn't hear anything but dread seized me as I assumed it to be the three packmates returning. The creature turned back and fury was in its eyes. My vision reddened as I was sure the beast's mood was due to the predatory instinct to keep all the meat for itself and I went into a berserk rage.

I screamed and charged in madly, slamming and swinging and jabbing at the thing with spent clumsiness as the beast danced back waiting for the opening it knew was coming. It stuck a foot out and I slammed down for it, missing, as it reached in with its beak. I fell back on the maneuver that had worked before and thrust the staff towards its chin. But it evaded my aim to the side, turning its head to bite the staff where my right hand gripped it.

I barely pulled my hand away in time, only to realize that it had been its intent as it tore the staff from my one-handed grip and flung it over its back into the high grass. It was over.

I was about to drop to my knees, but the beast kicked me onto my back and held me down, its eyes gleaming with malicious satisfaction and anticipation as it stepped in and leaned down, finally, to tear out my throat and disembowel me once and for all.

Strangely, there was no fear. There was certainly apprehension about the pain, but I didn't expect it to last long. Pride in myself at how long I had delayed my certain death surged in me and I cried out, "CHOKE ON MY BONES THEN, MONSTER, I'LL KILL YOU YET!" and closed my eyes, spent beyond moving.

[Brodon Windriver]

Having never been in actual battle, I had never heard what arrows sounded like at the receiving end. I'd have recognized the sound of the thrum of the bowstring and the brief hiss of the departing arrow's fletching finding its alignment in the air. The sound of the impact is barely noticeable from the shooter's distance. What you DO hear is the impact with a tree or stretched leather over hay or some sort of pressed paper or unfired clay. It sounds different from the impact with hide-covered flesh.

There was a sound like a dozen wasps flinging rocks into soft mud. A moment later I realized I was not being torn to pieces. Strangely, I had a sense of indignation that wasps would come and sting me as I was about to die. Even the glassbeak sounded upset. I heard them again and I waved my arms weakly to keep them away. Again, there were several hard splats and the wasps stopped humming. I opened my eyes.

The glassbeak was stepping back, away from me. My eyes swam out focus and my head spun. Something didn't look right about the creature, like it was covered in spikes. Just abut the time I realized they were arrows, the wasps flew by and impaled it with a dozen more.

Then I heard voices. Human voices! My father's among them! I lay back down and started to laugh. All the stress and relief broke loose and I laughed as my father railed against my stupidity and dumb luck. 'Leaving alone with no word of destination...Only luck that we intercepted the other three glassbeaks...Lucky also that this one instinctively ran in the same direction they had gone. Five more seconds and you'd be dead, you idiot!'

On and on he went, occasionally letting me know how proud he was of me as he let me know what a complete and utter fool I was. A team went back later and got my pack and such after I regained my wits and related the whole ordeal to everyone. My mother also alternated between tearful hugs and red-faced brow beatings over the worry I had caused her.

But everyone was impressed, it was easy to tell. My father, as expected, wished me to focus on shielding even more now, but thought perhaps that the 'splash' approach had been counter-productive and caused me to develop a block to the basic theory of shield-craft. So we laid that approach aside for now. But I know it will be there for me in time.

[Lariat]

Brodon Windriver

Experience:

Staff: 3 experience
Whip: 1 experience
Acrobatics: 1 experience
Meditation: 1 experience

Lores:

Meditation Technique: Attaining singular thought through cold water and hot oil
Facing a Glassbeak

Comments

Hello, and welcome formally to Mizahar. I have a few things to note about your thread that will possibly help you through future role playing in the Sea of Grass and Endrykas, possibly even in other locations as well. The first thing to note is that usually people write from the third person view, the reason for this being is that it is easier to read, and it allows in my opinion, you more freedom to add more descriptiveness to your movements on the post, earning you more experience through that.

Also I did not award you shielding points because you never actually trained with it, and mostly worked on techniques to get you into the mindset for shielding. To earn experience I suggest you describing how you force the djed from your body, and 'paint' it over any object or part of your person that is in question. Also the moves you described are for expert level shielders, and you could not block an a physical attack until expert level as well, and while flashbacks allow for you to role-play at a higher skill base than normal, since you described yourself as basically an initiate, this would not be reasonably possible. I'd advise stepping through the basics as the lore on shielding suggests and working slowly through that to gain shielding experience.

Lastly, I noticed that you described your father as an expert shielder. While not a problem, if you plan on using him in future flashbacks I'd appreciate if you would send me a message detailing what you plan to do in said flashback so that I might approve it. For present purposes, I don't think it necessary for you to require a expert shielder to train you, and that being said, I would like to let you know you can apply at the help desk for a competent NPC that could train you in shielding till you reach the level of competent. That or you can always go to one of the locations provided in Endrykas that are of the Sapphire Clan and try to be trained more formally by one of them. Just remember without your Windmarks you aren't considered a drykas or held to as much esteem, and you can only receive your wind marks when a strider chooses you of it's own volition. When a strider chooses you is random and is up to you if or when you would like that to happen, though don't expect to get much respect until that happens. Once it does though, a formal ceremony usually happens in which you are forever marked in honor of the occasion.

With that said, I look forward to seeing you threading more in the Sea of Grass and Endrykas. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to send me a pm.

Sincerely,
Lariat.