PM to join [F&FF] Pompous and Circumstance

[Banickle]

The Forty-Fifth Day of Spring, Five Hundred and Thirteen Years After the Valterrian

[Banickle]

As the Master of Ceremonies, Champion Aerus Thre, concluded his opening remarks, standing before this season's Valterrian Tree, the densely packed crowd gathered all around him literally exploded with a resounding round of applause, coupled with deep-throated hoots and high-pitched hollers. As fists pumped the air and feet stomped the ground, a clear message was sent to anyone not at the event that the Form and Fitness Festival of 513 was now officially underway! "Alright! Settle down! Settle down!" Antogio, the coordinator of the event, barked at those standing around him as he made every effort to get the participants lined up for the March of Muscle. "Gentlemen! Come on! Settle down!" he barked again as he pushed his way toward the front of the raucous crowd. With several snaps of his whip, skillfully cracked overhead, he was able to garner their full attention in a matter of chimes. "Okay, this year we're doing things a little different. So pay attention," he began to explain as he paced before the veritable mountain of muscle. "This year we're not only going to allow competitors who are non-citizens to march in the parade, but, as a show of goodwill, the Akalaks of Riverfall will enter Gideon's Arena last." "What?" "Have you gone mad?" "This is petching ridiculous!" "Settle down!" Antogio barked yet again as he sent his whip soaring through the air once more. "This is how we're doing it or we're not doing it all! Understand? It was decided by the Festival's Council of Champions, so if you have a complaint, file it with them! Have I made myself clear?" "Yeah...yeah." "Shyke, let's just do this already." "Less talking and more walking!" "Okay, good. Let's line 'em up then!" Antogio shouted as he began to push a few of his Akalak brothers toward the back, making room for the other competitors in the front. "Right this way. That's it. All in a row," he directed. "Drykas?" he questioned one particularly confused looking young man. "Over there," he instructed as he pointed to a group of fine looking specimens with their trademark long-hair and ornate tattoos. "Come on, ladies, pull it together," a particularly large Akalak at the rear of the formation rudely remarked, which resulted in several snorts and whistles. "Settle down, Grakos," Antogio barked, "or you'll find yourself getting bounced." "Har, har, very funny," the competitor spat back as he folded his enormous arms over his equally impressive chest. "I'd love to see ya try that!" he barked before a big shyke grin took shape on his snarling lips. "Do as you're told," Champion Aerus Thre growled as he stepped in place next to Antogio at the front of the line, "or I'll remove you myself!" he added with a flash of teeth and a fist in the air, which shut the young Akalak up without another word spoken. "Now, shall we advance these proceedings or continue to stand around bickering until next year's festival? What say you, Antogio?" "March!" the coordinator shouted as he sent his own fist through the air in the general direction of Gideon's Arena, several levels above. "March!" he continued to shout, adding a series of playful cracks from his whip, until the crowd was worked up into a frenzy. "Citizens of Riverfall, I present to you...The March of Muscle!"

[Vanator]

Vanator stood among the knot of humans that had been separated from the milling Akalaks. Within that small group, Vanator had gathered the half dozen or so Drykas. It was only at the behest of a few of the young horseman that Vanator joined the events at all, but one young Sapphire clansman had plied the older Denusk with enough rhetoric on Drykas pride to motivate Vanator's participation.

The Denusk went about the cadre, slapping backs and assuring the colored strips of cloth representing individual clans were secured above the bicep on each man's right arm. The horselords were shirtless, of course, sporting the inked Windmarks that were such a source of pride for the men. Obviously smaller in statue than the hulking Akalaks around them, several of the Drykas men that joined the Festival were students of the Akalak fitness disciplines, the cut of their lean muscle as defined as the Riverians. Others, like Vanator, may not have had physiques as sharply contoured, but their physical prowess was no less evident, shaped by life in the Sea of Grass. Those familiar with the Riverian's style of fitness had given their brothers a few tips on exercises that would temporarily 'pump up' one's muscles.

Vanator was clad in his black leather pants and riding boots, a wide leather belt around his waist. An azure strip of cloth was tied around his muscular upper arm, identifying him as a Sapphire clansman. His light brown hair hung loose to his shoulders. Two thin braids, woven by Cadra, dangled on either side of his face. His torso was bare, the skin only lightly tanned by exposure to the Spring sun, adorned with numerous scars. Across his broad upper back stretched his Windmark, reaching from one shoulder to the other. Upon his chest, below his sternum, were three small Lacun marks, each different in design, memorializing three lost wives.

Paying little heed to the bawdy banter among the Akalak, partially because the taunts in Tukant were unintelligible to him, Vanator attempted to evoke Drykas pride amonst his fellows. Gathering them around, he spoke to them in Pavi.

"My brothers, our people have been devastated, by The Storm and by plague. But the men and women of the horseclans are survivors. Our city of Endrykas is rising from its tattered canvas and splintered wood. Our pavilions are coming together, joining in strength to become strong again, taking in the lost and making new from the old. Our herds are growing in number. The Web is being restored across the Sea," Van indicated by sign that he meant 'their' sea, the Sea of Grass. "Walk proud amongst the others, we may dwell within stone walls for a time, we may count ourselves among the Riverians, but we are, and will ever be... Drykas!"

By the end of his speech, Vanator's voice had risen over the din of the other humans around them. The Drykas men cheered as they took their place as indicated by Antogio. When the large Akalak cracked is whip, the parade began, and the Drykas contingent entered the arena walking tall and proud.

[Tia'aria]

"Look! It's beginning!" Corsin spoke from Tia'aria's back. They had been waiting for a while now, although it wasn't exactly at Tia's choice. Corsin had insisted she come, and Dyson as well, and here she was. Tired on her feet, wide awake, and almost too short to see over the heads of the younger people in front of her. She knew it could be worse in that regard, at least. It was a blessing she didn't stand behind somebody like Dyson, who towered over her and his older brother.

"Oh?" Dyson responded, interested as much as a bee finding something to sit on. He turned his head to look as well, pale gold eyes glittering as they caught the sunlight, and Tia'aria looked as well. Unlike both of her brothers, she was still not tall enough to see down the length of men and women avidly awaiting the arrival of their champions. She craned her neck to see but resigned herself to waiting.

"Here," Corsin grunted. Tia stiffened as she felt his large hands grasp her around her waist and lift, pulling her up so he could perch her on Dyson's back. She mumbled a thank you against Dyson's back. Corsin still frightened her, but it wasn't as frightening as the realisation his dark brother could emerge at the slightest provocation and really scare her. Dyson, who understood, patted her calf comfortingly as she clung to him awkwardly. At least Corsin really had provided her with a better vantage point.

Her interest piqued, she looked at the procession again and managed to make out the lines of humans and Akalaks as they made their way towards the arena in as neat a procession as riled up males could make.

She didn't recognise most of the contestants but as her eyes glanced off the faces of the Drykas (she really only knew them by their tattoos and length of hair, for they were some of the only human men to actually enjoy the hairstyle), she recognised Vanator at one of the first few rows. She waved, but then lowered her hand when she realised he probably wouldn't be able to see her in the see of faces, and maybe even if he did he would only think she was a woman waving to her man. It wouldn't have been a long shot, either. There were a lot of people doing just that.

"Know someone?" Corsin asked, too much interest in his tone for Tia to be comfortable with it.

"I work with one of them," she shrugged as a reply.

[Rosela]

The festival was proving to be quite an eye catching affair, and Rosela was more than happy to openly appreciate the well-built men strutting about the city. She silently pitied the occasional leaner fellow on the street, but assumed men like them made the bigger ones so much more handsome by comparison. She’d created a pair of outfits specifically for the festival, and had donned the simpler one, a black shift with a gold threaded cincher, for the first half. Her other dress, the cuter one, was to be saved for her big presentation the next day.

She weaved her way through the crowd at the opening March of Muscle, playing coy to sneak around men as she let them see her admiring them. It was a disappointment to get to the front and get stuck behind a row of giggling women, worse when a large falcon, clearly a Kelvic, landed on one woman’s shoulder to survey the action. Not about to spend the duration behind a Kelvic of all creatures, she sidled up the crowd a bit until she found a spot of fence between two blushing teenage Akalaks. There was a Konti on an Akalak’s back a few spots up and Rosela wondered if she could convince one of these two to put her up.

“So, uh, pretty exciting, huh?”

Rosela heard him, but did not take her eyes from the starting point, only tilting her head towards him as acknowledgement. ”What?” She called out over the din of the chattering crowd.

“Pretty exciting!” He called back, louder.

”Yea!” Inwardly, Rosela groaned, hoping he wasn’t going to try to pursue a conversation.

There was a moment of awkwardness as he clearly struggled to find something to say. “Do you, uh-“

”Oh look, it’s starting!” Hopping once in excitement, she drew his attention to the starting point where men had started to emerge. Indeed, men had started to strut out, though oddly none were Akalaks. Squinting, she thought she saw some blue towards the back, and suddenly noticed a familiar face among the paler participants. ”Mm mm mm…” Rosela hummed to herself, wishing she’d gotten a better look at Vanator when he’d been changing in her store. She waved enthusiastically as he passed, but among the crush of people, she doubted he’d see her.

[Vanator]

Vanator had felt a little self-conscious about the parade at first, the intent of the event simple entertainment in the form of physical exhibition. It was a concept strange to the Denusk man. But after delivering his speech to his fellow Drykas, he felt a pride in displaying the unity of the tattooed grasslanders among the Akalaks and others. As they marched out, his chest expanded, his spine straight, his broad shoulders squared, Vanator strutted among his fellows. His gaze leisurely scanned the crowd gathered at the arena, the audience a colorful patchwork of deep-hued Akalak dappled with the ivory of Konti and the patchwork of humans attending.

He did not expect to see anyone he knew, though his trained eye sought out familiar faces. He did spot Rosela, the elegant Eypharian seamstress, her beauty and cadre of limbs standing out at the front of the railing. Tia too, the young Konti's familiar, light features only catching his eye because he noticed her waving hand. Vanator raised a hand in response, perhaps vainly assuming Tia was waving at him.

The Drykas and humans moved uniformly around the arena floor, and a larger cheer lifted from the stands as the bulk of the Akalak participants entered the stadium. Van looked back at the contingent of Riverians, an impressive sight he admitted. Larger than the humans, their tinted flesh colorful and deep, the sight of them would be intimidating enough route an army. He flashed his fellow horselords a toothy grin. The presence of the hulking Akalaks did not diminish his pride in his fellow bronze-skinned, windmarked Drykas.

[Tia'aria]

Her excitement came out in a gasp when she thought she saw Vanator wave back at her from among the Drykas, glad that she might have been recognised among the faces of the Konti, Akalak, humans and assorted other people that had come to see the proceedings. She smiled, proud of herself, and watched his back fade away between the lines of men that followed after him.

"Of course she would appreciate a human" Tia could barely hear the rumble of Corsin's voice over the cheer that followed the backs of the humans, the cheer that erupted at the sight of the jewel-toned men native to the region.

She straightened again, ignoring the dark murmur of Corsin's voice, and beneath her Dyson did the same. A mutual interest expressed between them as they watched through eyes shaped identically the progression of the Akalak. Tia laughed when she felt Dyson humming with approval at what he saw and she imitated him, flushing at the idea that she was voicing her approval of the muscled men parading past showing off their bodies to the people eyeing them. Somebody whistled nearby and the Konti grinned before hiding her face behind a curtain of hair.

This was already a fun event, she decided.

[Rosela]

Rosela thought she saw Vanator catch her eye, but with so many people around, it was difficult to tell. After the collection of tattooed men, the Akalaks were coming up next. The gangly young man next to her completely forgotten, she didn’t bother to listen for his voice in the cheering of the crowd.

Leaning forward on the railing, she pushed her hair out of her face and tried to get a good look past the other people. Jewel tones speckled in between waving arms, and as they marched closer, she bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet. Imagine, an entire holiday dedicated to the appreciation of the muscle-bound, yummy specimens running around Riverfall. Rosela sighed deeply and bit her lip as the men started to file past her place against the railing. Such a wonderful city she was in.

She recognized the occasional face from the parade, having dressed more than a few of them, and received a couple waves. Wondering how long the parade would last, she leaned over and tried to see the end. She wondered if Antogio was in there somewhere, if he’d even have time to do the march between the numerous aspects of the festival that he’d had his hands in. He’d been invaluable in Rosela’s own little segment coming up the next day, but she didn’t doubt that he had his fingers in all the festival’s pies.

[Taylani]

Rosela

Skills :

+1 Observation

Lores :

Vanator

Skills :

+1 Leadership

Lores :

Pride of Drykas

Tia’aria

Skills :

+2 observation
+1 socialization

Lores :

Notes :

Not too much skills here but was fun thread. I really wanted to try and find a lore with the whole “Yummy Yummy” thought of Rosela but couldn’t..Sadness. Please PM me if you have any concerns about your grade and don’t forget to delete/edit your grade request