Solo (Antinous Training Grounds) I've Made A Terrible Mistake

[Orion Michaels]

Orion, 2nd Day of Spring, 513 AV It was hard to believe that this had really happened. Orion Michaels, a doctor no more; instead, he was a squire. A petching squire. Of all the things in the world, he couldn’t have expected that he’d end up taking up the sword in defense of Syliras. Not that he could do anything right now anyways. He barely knew which end of a sword to hold. The path ahead was difficult, he knew that much. Why, he couldn’t even claim the most basic of skill in any of the knights weapons, and he’d scarcely even rode upon a mount. That he was required to reach a level of competency was a worry that made him wonder just how long he would be a squire for. Thankfully, there was someone who would be beside him each step of the way. Someone that would make sure he didn’t hurt himself too badly. Knight Captain Dinah Lorene. Orion was surprised when he found himself as her squire. The way they met, the way they interacted, the way he shamelessly flirted for bells upon bells, it just didn’t seem possible that she would take the doctor under her wing like this. Did she something in him? Why him? Was it his charm? Was he a natural with the blade and didn’t know it? Was he just lucky, or was it none of the above? He would have plenty of time to figure that out over the coming seasons. One thing he would learn quickly about Dinah, though, was this: She was a taskmaster. “Come on, Orion! Pick up your feet. It can’t be that heavy.” Her sweet, teasing voice mocked him at every step. Slow as they may have come. For the first time in his life, Orion was wearing the wonderful armor of the knights. Plates, mail, interlocked together to provide the absolute and utmost protection. And it was bulky as shyke. Each labored step required the new squire dig deeper and deeper into his resolve. The heavy clank of metal against a stone step echoed throughout the corridor as Orion slowly made his way up towards the training area. Only it had taken far too long for them to make the relatively short trek. See, Dinah had made a little game of things. Get a question right, ascend a step. Get it wrong, descend two. They would go all day until Orion made it to the top. Once he made it, they could be done. That had been bells ago, and the blue eyed man could barely move his legs. It was going to hurt. A lot.

[Orion Michaels]

Orion "Two part question, Orion. In order to advance, I need you to get both parts right." Dinah stood a few steps ahead of Orion, her arms cross and a bemused look upon her face. The doctor had shown some talent, yes, but he hadn't stopped talking and flirting with her for what seemed like a full day when they first met. She couldn't deny it gave her some pleasure to put him through the ropes like this. There was purpose behind this, though. He needed to get used to moving in plate. Having to move up and down stairs while wearing over fifty pounds of extra equipment would aid in that. The sick kicks she got out of it, well, that was another story all together. "What is my rank?" Thank goodness, an easy question. Nothing about history, dates, or anything that Orion hadn't a chance to learn yet. "Knight Captain," he replied with confidence. The second part of the question would be cake and closer he could be to going home. "That is correct. Now what is the symbol of my rank?" She, of course, had placed a hand over where it "......." Without word, Orion slowly shifted around on the step. The burning and pain in his legs, thighs, calves, it was almost too much to handle. No, it was too much to handle. But if he fell or sat down, he'd be sleeping wherever he lay, because there was no way the frail doctor was going to be able to get back to his feet. He could nearly feel all the blood being pumped to his legs, his body giving its all to keep him on his feet. "Oh, Orion," she said, shaking her head in slight disappointment. "We'll go over this again. The ranks are page, squire, Knight, Sergeant Knight, Stewart Knight, Captain Knight, Warden Knight, Lord Knight, and Grandmaster. That's from lowest to highest." The blue eyed made his way down two steps, wobbly as his stance may have been. It was the worst when someone else made their way by to go up and train. Humiliating, really. A Captain Knight had taken on a squire. A squire double the age of some in his rank. A weak, womanizing, doctor. The laughs were inevitable as he was watched struggling to simple go up stairs in the massive armor. "As far as the symbol? Look at my pin." She motioned to the silver pin attached to her tunic. "Pages and squires have no pin. Knights have a single silver sword. Sergeant Knights have two. Stewart Knights have three. Captain Knights," Dinah said, glancing to her own rank, "have four. Warden Knights have five. Those ones are simple enough. Where it changes up is with the Lord Knights and the Grandmaster. Lord Knights have a shield. The Grandmaster's is a tree. If you see a Knight with a pin other than a sword, well, don't mess around. Wouldn't want to look bad in front of them, would you?" "N-No, Dinah." "Sera Lorene, you mean?" Her beautiful features turned into a challenging stare. The doctor needed to learn his place now. He was her squire, she his patron knight. The flirting, the casual conversation, it was no longer appropriate. Really, it never was, but now any feelings he had. Any feelings she had, they had to be pushed away. They were student and teacher now, and both in employ of the Syliran Knights. "Ah..yes...Sera."

[Orion Michaels]

Orion The pain was nearly overwhelming. His muscles had to be on fire. The was no other explanation for the hate emanating from each and every bit of his flesh. The game Dinah was playing with Orion had changed. Hearing that he'd borrowed a flameberge from the armory, she had retrieved one for the former doctor, deciding it just had to be incorporated into his training. Instead of having to make his way up and down the endless steps in full plate mail, he had to make his way up and down endless steps in full plate mail while holding a flameberge. Or dragging it, in this case. Initially he'd been instructed to hold it over his head. Puny physican arms were no match for the power and weight of the wicked curved blade, so that quickly changed to holding it in front of him. Up and down did he ascend and descend, but his arms finally gave out. Sweat poured from everywhere, burning his eyes. If not for the armor over his hands, he'd have been unable to grip the powerful weapon. "Keep that blade up, Orion." "This has never happened before, I swear." Sigh. "Not the time for jokes. You're almost to the top. A few easy questions and we can call it a day." Orion nodded, his arms shaking intensely as he struggled with all his limited might to raise the flameberge. Chest and arm muscles contracted, and he could feel his face completely flush against the strain he put on his body. "Why do we train in full plate from the start?" "If...we...can..." Orion paused, taking a deep breath to try and gather enough to get out a reply. He didn't know if they'd been training for chimes, bells, days, or seasons at this point. He didn't care, either. It just needed to be over. "If we can..wear plate...use plate...lighter is..easier.." Dinah nodded in acknowledgement. "That's correct, Orion. Just think how agile and quick you'll be in a chain shirt if you get to the point where you can run up these stairs in this heavy armor. Now raise that blade and come up a step." It hurts. Gods does it hurt. Orion felt as though his leg was just going to fall off as he lifted first his left, then his right, hoping to simply make it the last two steps to freedom. I'm not going to be able to walk for the rest of this season. "Who is Lord Knight of the Syliran Knights?" She had asked him this question when they were almost a third of the way up the stairs. He'd gotten it incorrect, and Dinah had been so incensed by his lack of knowledge that she had made him walk all the way up and back down, forcing him to start from step one again. He wouldn't make that mistake again. Not a chance. "Lord Knight Petir Alvikal." "Correct. I knew you wouldn't get that one wrong again. And in case you don't remember who the Grandmaster is, it's Loren Dyres. I don't expect you to forget that one." Her smile was but a lie with the story her eyes told. Fury from last time lingered in her expression, as though it was a personal affront that he'd answered incorrectly. "Last step, Orion." The last step was right before him. Dinah had asked him every question in the world about the knights, so he believed. Some of them impossible for him to have known, others common knowledge, but the next question put each and every other to the shame. The depth, the importance, and the truth that lay behind it was the apex of their training. "Orion. Why did you join the knights?" A moment of silence, perverted only by his heavy breathing, hung over the air. What was with the philosophical questions? "Why?" Orion shook his head, looking up at Dinah. "For you, clearly." A stern look jumped on her face and she opened her mouth to protest. Before she could, Orion continued. "No, not like that. And not just for you. You're a Syliran. I'm a Syliran. You're a living being, and so am I." He felt his energy coming back in the form of the motivation which had caused him to put down his scalpel and raise sword and shield. "I've always had to help people after the fact, Dinah...er...Sera Lorene. If someone gets hurt, they come to me." He raised the heavy blade slowly over his head again, now speaking through gritted teeth. "As . . . Knight . . . I want to stop it before it happens. Why fix what you can..prevent." The Knight Captain's features softened at his explanation, a smile lighting her face. That's what I wanted to hear, Orion. She stepped past him on the corridor, patting him on his shoulder while walking by. "Have a good evening, Orion." Orion took the last step of the training, slowly, painfully, but in his heart he knew it was simply the beginning. "Goodnight, Dinah," he whispered, relief flooding over him. He would rest well tonight. After he managed to get out of all this plate, of course.

[Accolade]

Orion

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+ 3 XP
Bodybuilding	+ 4 XP
Rhetoric	+ 3 XP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	The Knight's Dress
•	Ranking Within the Knights
•	I'm a Sylirian You're a Sylirian
•	Oh miss Lorene

Skills :

Nice! haha, and to think..this is what you do with her?

The Sylir has spoken

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.