Spring 5, 515 AV
It was a bright spring morning and if nothing else, Sayana was pumped. It had been a long winter holed up in the city of Syliras and even though she enjoyed the company it brought she was anxious to get outside the city walls. She unconsciously brought a hand to her stomach at the thought of the company and smiled. The Eypharian had wanted to go exploring the previous day, but her legs had been stiff and cramped after learning the basics at the track. Today they were still a little stiff, but she was too excited not to go.
Before leaving, she considered how long she might be out. A bell or two? Maybe long enough to get hungry for lunch? She didn’t really want to take chances and promptly took the time to gather some necessities. There was her waterskin (which she hadn’t used since her travel to Syliras), some pieces of bread, some raisins to nibble on, her two throwing daggers and the backpack to carry it all. Of course, she would carry her main dagger at her hip, even if it made things a little awkward for riding. Oh, and she wanted something to protect the insides of her legs. Yesterday she had to use her coat to protect her legs from the rubbing of the saddle. There were disadvantages to wearing a skirt, even one that had a big enough slit so she could still ride with one leg on either side of the horse. This time, she wanted to be able to wear her coat should it get cold. Sayana frowned as she glanced around her home filled with draped cloth. But then she noticed the blanket on her bed and decided that would be much better. After stuffing it into the backpack she was ready to go and donned her coat as she headed out.
As she arrived at the Windmount Stables the strong scent of manure and hay reached her and she wrinkled her nose at the odor. When she asked one of the stable hands that she wanted to rent a horse for the day, it didn’t take long for him to get her saddled up. He said it would be 10 gm for the horse and the all the standard gear for the day. The Eypharian produced the coin required and took the reins of the mare. Lilian he said her name was. With a smile Sayana gave the mare a gentle pat on her neck.
Despite her practice the previous day, Sayana didn’t particularly want to make a fool of herself going down the streets. So instead she gave a quick thanks to the stable hand and lead the mare towards the main gates. For the most part Lilian was complacent, though a couple times Sayana had to be a little more firm with the reins. As she neared the gates she gave a brief explanation for her departure. She was simply going out for a ride and she’d be back before sundown. In truth she’d be back much earlier, but the knights on duty probably only cared whether she’d be back by sundown. Again she didn’t really want to make a fool of herself trying to mount the mare in front of the guards so she continued down the road till there was enough of a bend that she was more or less out of sight.
The Eypharian gave one more glance back before bringing the mare to a stop. It was actually warmer than she had expected. Some of the snow seemed to be melting and although the air was crisp, she wasn’t sure if she even needed her coat. With a smile she removed her coat and was about to roll it up when the mare became suddenly nervous and agitated. Sayana instinctively looked around but saw nothing but the road, trees, plants, and more trees. Then it dawned on her that the northern horse might not have seen many of her kind. “It’s alright, there’s nothing to fear,” she spoke in a calming manner hoping that it would no longer be so spooked. The Eypharian even gave it a few soothing strokes with two of her left hands.
Sayana bundled up the coat into one of the saddle bags and then pulled out her blanket to drape over the saddle. “That should help…” she murmured to herself and then stowed the backpack in the other saddle bag. It was brisk, that’s for sure, but her long red sleeves helped take away the chill. “Alright, up we go.” The Eypharian placed one foot on the stirrup and gripped the horn of the saddle with one hand. She cautiously tugged at it to make sure the saddle was secure. The pony had been much smaller, while this horse seemed massive. Taking a deep breath she kicked off hard from the ground and straightened her leg that was on the stirrup. For a moment she stood precariously on the stirrup before she quickly swung her other leg over and got herself seated. She let out a sigh and thanked the gods that Lilian had kept relatively still throughout the procedure.
After thanking the gods she gave Lilian a quick thanks with a pat on her neck and got herself comfortable in the saddle. The blanket was a good idea. It was quite soft and comfortable and even though she didn’t have quite the same grip on the saddle with her legs, it definitely would protect her inner thighs. After all that, Sayana took the reins in her high hands and gripped the horn firmly with her mid hands. She absently wondered how anyone could learn to ride with only a single pair of arms and then nudged the mare into a walk with her knees. “That-a girl,” she said with an encouraging pat on the horse’s rear.
And so it began. Her first real ride since leaving Ahnatep. At first she simply kept to a walk and followed the road. Lilian seemed quite content to follow the obvious path but occasionally wanted to nibble at the greenery along the sides. With the careful redirection of the reins Sayana managed to keep the mare on track and gave gentle nudges with her knees to keep Lilian moving. There were so many trees and it was fascinating to see them interspersed within the snow. Even at merely a walk Sayana was quite proud of her accomplishments with the horse. She was planning to only stick to the road so she wouldn’t get lost and also because it was likely safer. Some parts were straight and some curved a bit, but it was always wide enough to get a cart or caravan through even if it was a little muddy at points.
Sayana was riding for perhaps half a bell when she was suddenly quite curious at the thought of going faster. Walking was good and all, but it wasn’t really much faster than walking on foot. Perhaps she could try going into a trot. She gave the mare a much stronger nudge of her knees and reached back with a low hand to give it a sharp slap on the rump. Lilian seemed to walk a little quicker, and feeling elated by this Sayana tried it again. Aha! They made it into a trot. The Eypharian stood a little in the stirrups to compensate for the bouncing of the trot and eagerly rode on. It was not even half a chime that Lilian seemed to want to go back to a walk but Sayana was having too much fun to stop. She gave the horse another nudge hoping to keep the pace up, however the mare seemed to take it as a cue to go into a much faster trot. Suddenly Sayana found herself going far faster than she intended and she stood even higher in the saddles to compensate. A half covered rock caused the mare to quickly side-step it, but the Eypharian was hardly prepared for the sudden jolt to the right.
Both Sayana and the blanket she had been sitting on tumbled from the saddle onto the grassy and somewhat muddy side of the road. As she attempted to catch herself with her high and mid hands, she instinctively brought her low arms protectively around her stomach. She landed mostly on her bum with her hands somewhat cushioning her fall and was dazed for a moment or two. That wasn’t supposed to happen. She checked herself over to make sure she wasn’t scraped or bleeding and for the most part she seemed alright except for the mud that had ruined her skirt. With disgust she slowly got to her feet and realized that one of her ankles was rather painful. Well at least she could ride her horse back to Syliras…. Petch! Where did that petching horse get to?
She remembered falling and she probably let go of everything including the reins in attempt to catch herself. With a grimace she picked up the half muddy blanket and began walking, or hobbling in the direction that she had been going initially. That’s when her face fell. In front of her, not too far off, was a fork in the road. The road split into three separate paths.
It was a bright spring morning and if nothing else, Sayana was pumped. It had been a long winter holed up in the city of Syliras and even though she enjoyed the company it brought she was anxious to get outside the city walls. She unconsciously brought a hand to her stomach at the thought of the company and smiled. The Eypharian had wanted to go exploring the previous day, but her legs had been stiff and cramped after learning the basics at the track. Today they were still a little stiff, but she was too excited not to go.
Before leaving, she considered how long she might be out. A bell or two? Maybe long enough to get hungry for lunch? She didn’t really want to take chances and promptly took the time to gather some necessities. There was her waterskin (which she hadn’t used since her travel to Syliras), some pieces of bread, some raisins to nibble on, her two throwing daggers and the backpack to carry it all. Of course, she would carry her main dagger at her hip, even if it made things a little awkward for riding. Oh, and she wanted something to protect the insides of her legs. Yesterday she had to use her coat to protect her legs from the rubbing of the saddle. There were disadvantages to wearing a skirt, even one that had a big enough slit so she could still ride with one leg on either side of the horse. This time, she wanted to be able to wear her coat should it get cold. Sayana frowned as she glanced around her home filled with draped cloth. But then she noticed the blanket on her bed and decided that would be much better. After stuffing it into the backpack she was ready to go and donned her coat as she headed out.
As she arrived at the Windmount Stables the strong scent of manure and hay reached her and she wrinkled her nose at the odor. When she asked one of the stable hands that she wanted to rent a horse for the day, it didn’t take long for him to get her saddled up. He said it would be 10 gm for the horse and the all the standard gear for the day. The Eypharian produced the coin required and took the reins of the mare. Lilian he said her name was. With a smile Sayana gave the mare a gentle pat on her neck.
Despite her practice the previous day, Sayana didn’t particularly want to make a fool of herself going down the streets. So instead she gave a quick thanks to the stable hand and lead the mare towards the main gates. For the most part Lilian was complacent, though a couple times Sayana had to be a little more firm with the reins. As she neared the gates she gave a brief explanation for her departure. She was simply going out for a ride and she’d be back before sundown. In truth she’d be back much earlier, but the knights on duty probably only cared whether she’d be back by sundown. Again she didn’t really want to make a fool of herself trying to mount the mare in front of the guards so she continued down the road till there was enough of a bend that she was more or less out of sight.
The Eypharian gave one more glance back before bringing the mare to a stop. It was actually warmer than she had expected. Some of the snow seemed to be melting and although the air was crisp, she wasn’t sure if she even needed her coat. With a smile she removed her coat and was about to roll it up when the mare became suddenly nervous and agitated. Sayana instinctively looked around but saw nothing but the road, trees, plants, and more trees. Then it dawned on her that the northern horse might not have seen many of her kind. “It’s alright, there’s nothing to fear,” she spoke in a calming manner hoping that it would no longer be so spooked. The Eypharian even gave it a few soothing strokes with two of her left hands.
Sayana bundled up the coat into one of the saddle bags and then pulled out her blanket to drape over the saddle. “That should help…” she murmured to herself and then stowed the backpack in the other saddle bag. It was brisk, that’s for sure, but her long red sleeves helped take away the chill. “Alright, up we go.” The Eypharian placed one foot on the stirrup and gripped the horn of the saddle with one hand. She cautiously tugged at it to make sure the saddle was secure. The pony had been much smaller, while this horse seemed massive. Taking a deep breath she kicked off hard from the ground and straightened her leg that was on the stirrup. For a moment she stood precariously on the stirrup before she quickly swung her other leg over and got herself seated. She let out a sigh and thanked the gods that Lilian had kept relatively still throughout the procedure.
After thanking the gods she gave Lilian a quick thanks with a pat on her neck and got herself comfortable in the saddle. The blanket was a good idea. It was quite soft and comfortable and even though she didn’t have quite the same grip on the saddle with her legs, it definitely would protect her inner thighs. After all that, Sayana took the reins in her high hands and gripped the horn firmly with her mid hands. She absently wondered how anyone could learn to ride with only a single pair of arms and then nudged the mare into a walk with her knees. “That-a girl,” she said with an encouraging pat on the horse’s rear.
And so it began. Her first real ride since leaving Ahnatep. At first she simply kept to a walk and followed the road. Lilian seemed quite content to follow the obvious path but occasionally wanted to nibble at the greenery along the sides. With the careful redirection of the reins Sayana managed to keep the mare on track and gave gentle nudges with her knees to keep Lilian moving. There were so many trees and it was fascinating to see them interspersed within the snow. Even at merely a walk Sayana was quite proud of her accomplishments with the horse. She was planning to only stick to the road so she wouldn’t get lost and also because it was likely safer. Some parts were straight and some curved a bit, but it was always wide enough to get a cart or caravan through even if it was a little muddy at points.
Sayana was riding for perhaps half a bell when she was suddenly quite curious at the thought of going faster. Walking was good and all, but it wasn’t really much faster than walking on foot. Perhaps she could try going into a trot. She gave the mare a much stronger nudge of her knees and reached back with a low hand to give it a sharp slap on the rump. Lilian seemed to walk a little quicker, and feeling elated by this Sayana tried it again. Aha! They made it into a trot. The Eypharian stood a little in the stirrups to compensate for the bouncing of the trot and eagerly rode on. It was not even half a chime that Lilian seemed to want to go back to a walk but Sayana was having too much fun to stop. She gave the horse another nudge hoping to keep the pace up, however the mare seemed to take it as a cue to go into a much faster trot. Suddenly Sayana found herself going far faster than she intended and she stood even higher in the saddles to compensate. A half covered rock caused the mare to quickly side-step it, but the Eypharian was hardly prepared for the sudden jolt to the right.
Both Sayana and the blanket she had been sitting on tumbled from the saddle onto the grassy and somewhat muddy side of the road. As she attempted to catch herself with her high and mid hands, she instinctively brought her low arms protectively around her stomach. She landed mostly on her bum with her hands somewhat cushioning her fall and was dazed for a moment or two. That wasn’t supposed to happen. She checked herself over to make sure she wasn’t scraped or bleeding and for the most part she seemed alright except for the mud that had ruined her skirt. With disgust she slowly got to her feet and realized that one of her ankles was rather painful. Well at least she could ride her horse back to Syliras…. Petch! Where did that petching horse get to?
She remembered falling and she probably let go of everything including the reins in attempt to catch herself. With a grimace she picked up the half muddy blanket and began walking, or hobbling in the direction that she had been going initially. That’s when her face fell. In front of her, not too far off, was a fork in the road. The road split into three separate paths.
