Flashback [Antinous Training Grounds] Start of a Squire

[Danough Trema]

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Danough Trema 1st of Winter, 498 AV Syliras. The Legend doesn't begin Once he was done sparring with Rodistair, Danough thought back to his own time when he was a Squire. Unlike the lad he'd sparred with today, he himself had been a gangly mess at that age, not very good at anything at all . . . ~ ~ ~ 15 years earlier ~ ~ ~ A much younger Danough stood at some semblance of attention squeezed in between two other squires. And there were many more on each side of that. He wasn't sure of the exact number but it not one he could easily count at a glance. A female Knight he had never seen before marched back in forth in front of the assembled squires. "Ladies and gentlemen, Sers and Seras, thank you for joining us today. I'm not quite sure what events happened 13 years and 9 months ago, but it seems like we have an abundance of new First Wing squires ready to begin their training today." She pointed at Danough then at the boys on both side of him. "As pages, you have learned many of the rudimentary basics of our Order, and I expect chivalry, respect and deference from all of you no matter what transpires here. But from this point forth you will not just be trained in courtly duties but in how to handle yourselves on the battlefield." She kept her finger on Danough. "You there, boy. Can you tell me what it means when you have fellow members of the Syliran Knights on both sides of you?" Danough shook his head. "No, Sera." "No idea?" A few girls giggled at him, but Danough shrugged. It was not in him to make something up when he did not know an answer. The Knight point at the girl who was giggling. "What about you?" The girl curtseyed. "It means we are in a line, a formation where we can help each other by keeping an eye on the battles of each side of us." "Excellent! You have the makings of a fine leader, Squire Jennah. Remember this well, Squires! Someday you will be Knights. You are not a mercenary fighting solo battles: if a formation line is drawn, you must hold it, and you most help those on each side of you hold it. In turn, they will help you. That is our true strength, praise Yahal: that we have each other!" The Knight pointed at a man standing off to one side. "This is not just Wilf Brock, or even Ser Wilf Brock, this is Syliran Knight Wilf Brock, 1st Wing, Orange Company, 4th Regiment, Gold Quadron." She pointed at Danough again. "And that means his Sergeant Major is...?" Danough shrugged. "I have no idea." She turned to the girl. "Do you know?" A fast nod "Simber Pollis." "No, but very close. The correct answer was Trevelyan Mynder. Still, it's clear you are studying hard. Simber Pollis is the Sergeant Major for the 1st Wing Orange Company, 3rd Regiment not 4th. A very good try, though." The woman looked at Danough. A flicker of disappointment crossed her face but she tried to hide it with a smile. "At any rate, can someone tell me where we are and how this place came to be?" Danough actually knew this! He was very excited. He was a Trema, and his family was full of architects and builders. The female Knight gave Danough a look of compassion and pivoted, having decided to spare him any further humiliation. She picked the nephew of Wilf Brock. "What can you tell us, Squire Nedge?" "Uh... these are the Antonious Training Grounds--" "Antinous, lad. But go on--" "Um... uh... we are currently in the western part of the First Tier." "Eastern part of the Second Tier. But good try, keep going..." "Uh, um. Oh.. um, okay. The Eastern part of the, uh, West Tier. It was, um... built about 135 years ago when the city expanded. A fellow named, uh, Lucas Antonius built the training grounds to help the Syliran Squires train to become Knights." "Lucius Antinous, but yes that's the gist of it. Very good, Squire Nedge! Excellent!" Danough knew this. His grandfather had told him that when Lucius Antonious came up with the idea, it was a Yahalean effort to figure out how to design and construct everything. Many ares of the Dyres district needed to be re-done. It was a major undertaking and one many of the Tremas participated in. Maybe he should raise his hand and say something? Before he could, his cousin Franna raised her hand, and she amplified on what Nedge had said. She told the other squires how the Knights were capable of anything, and she gave as her anecdote the story of reinforcing the roof over the bazaar just below them. The female knight smiled at Franna. "Oh very good, Squire Franna. I didn't even know that last bit. Yes, I'm glad to see a Trema with us who knows Syliran history. Good show!" Danough stared dismally down at the ground. This day was already a disaster, and he feared it was only going to get worse.

[Danough Trema]

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Danough Trema 1st of Winter, 498 AV Syliras. The Thread continues. Perhaps Danough was psychic, or perhaps it was a self-fulfilling prophecy. The day did not get much better from there. They were given a tour of the grounds and shown the various terrains, and Danough was unable to explain the significance of anything asked of him. He hoped that things would be better once they were assigned their practice sword and little wooden bucklers, but he was neither strong nor athletic and he dropped his buckler the first time another squire smacked into it, and he dropped his sword the first time it rebounded off someone else's buckler. In fact he pretty much dropped his stuff the next four or five times after that. Truth be told, most of the squires had no idea what they were doing, and quite a few were doing as bad as Danough. But he felt like everyone was watching only him, and that everyone was doing better. His life as a Squire might have ended the first day it began but then his cousin Franna approached him. "Danough, can you do me a favor? I can't seem to figure out what I'm supposed to do with my shield at all. Would you mind taking a few swings?" "Can't figure it out? Aww, what do you mean by that? You're the smartest person I know!" "No, silly. I'm not smarter than you. I just watch and observe. I pay attention. You can do that, too. Just focus on someone else. Don't worry what they're thinking about you; you just look at them. Remember who they are and what they're wearing. Just pay attention to what you're smelling and seeing and hearing and whatever. You're always lost in your mind, but you can do this, too. Anyone can. Just really open your eyes and look around." Danough shrugged and glanced from side to side. It wasn't easy, but he tried to take in what was going on in the Training Grounds. He watched full-fledged knights whirl at each other at the other end of the field, he saw more advanced squires bashing each other with teenage abandon, and he saw his own peers, many of whom were fumbling and dropping their weapons just like he had been. It made him realize he was not alone. Not just alone in being clumsy. But it reminded him that this was what the order of Syliran Knights was all about: teamwork and togetherness. Bringing peace and prosperity to a world that had all but forgotten civilization. It did not matter that he was having a rough day, because they were all doing this for a good cause. "All right, Franna. I'll help you!" He waited for his cousin to get ready, then he started swinging at her. He had to aim for her buckler shield because the girl just held it limply out in front of her. Danough went for her other side and she did attempt to parry him with her blade, so he went back to attacking her left side and she once again did nothing to stop him. "Oh, I see the problem, Franna. I'm just not sure how to explain how to fix it." He bade her attack him instead. Franna sliced and slashed. At first he held the buckler tight and steady, as she had been holding hers, and he made sure not to move it when she pounded at him. But then she feinted-- perhaps accidentally, as it looked like she tripped-- and she made a move he could not parry, even if he knew how to do so, so he brought up his shield to block it. . . and it promptly feel from his hands onto the grass. Danough scratched his head with his now free hand. "Huh. Maybe your way is actually better. I don't know."

[Danough Trema]

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Danough Trema 1st of Winter, 498 AV Syliras. The Thread continues. A much older squire walked up to them. "Let's see that again!" Danough went at it against Franna, completely misunderstanding the point of stances or where his legs were supposed to be, and Franna continued to remain like a statue of a warrior. When they reversed, she would trip and he would drop his buckler and wooden sword. But they kept at it for several chimes, if only to get use to the weapons and equipment. The older squire frowned. "You're both doing it wrong, but that's all right. This is only your first day. I will share something with you two that helped me, if you want." Danough tried to observe the squire as his cousin had suggested. He saw in front of him a youth nearly a foot taller than him, a tall skinny boy with dirty blonde hair and bright green eyes, a pale freckled face with a hint of acne. All in all, the squire seemed sincere, far as Danough could tell. (Still, Danough was not yet very good at observation or listening, and the older squire's name was lost to time and memory.) Danough nodded. "Yes, that would be very helpful. Thank you!" The older squire nodded as well. "All right. You may or may not know this, but our parents or grandparents or someone decided that it would be best if we trained to fight in plate armor. Which is great for strong adults. But many squires find it difficult at first, because we don't have the muscles. But my dad is a firm believer in Yahal-- of course he prays to everyone, Eyris and Tyveth, too-- but he's really into being as strong as possible." Franna smile at him. "Really?" The older squire nodded. "Yes. I will teach you guys some very basic exercises called push-ups, and these will help you hold your swords and shields without dropping them." He described what they were supposed to do, and Danough tipped over and fell down when he went to do a push-up. He could not do it, could not move, and he needed both of them to help him up. It was very humiliating for the young squire and he made a little prayer to Yahal tha he would one day become strong enough to do it on his own. The older squire gave out a good natured laugh. "You don't start on the ground unless you're an adult male. Girls and children start off doing push-ups against a wall, and then you keep inclining down until you can do it on the floor, maybe in a season or so." Danough and Franna were marched over to a spot on the terrain meant to mimic the side of a barn, and both were given instructions in how to gradually push back and forth so that they were using their arms, and not 'cheating' by using their chest or legs. They were instructed to 'just do that 100 times or until you can't do it anymore.' The squire then led them on a run on the perimeter of the training grounds, figuring that if they did not know how to do basic exercises, they had probably never learned how to warm up or go on run. He tried to make it fun, by having them chase him and each other, and it was the only bright spot in Danough's day. The older squire showed not just physical strength, but strength of character, and Danough decided that he wanted to be like that, strong inside and out. He spoke a quick prayer to Yahal in honor of both the older squire and his father, for clearly they were on the right path. He would always remember that someone had been nice to him when he was at his most pathetic, and he promised himself that should he become a knight worthy of the name, he would go back and help out various pages and squires as well.

[Accolade]

Danough Trema

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Shield	+ 1 XP
Observation	+ 2 XP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Formation: strength in numbers
•	location: Antinous Training Grounds
•	Simber Pollis; Sergeant Knight, 1st Wing Orange Company 3rd Regiment
•	Wilf Brock, Syliran Knight 1st Wing, Orange Company, 4th Regiment
•	Trevelyan Mynder, Sergeant Knight 1st Wing, Orange Company, 4th Regiment

Notes :

Hail Squire! Nice thread, but in the future if you want to gain more skills you need to work harder and describe actions. Telling the reader what happened won't earn you any points, but if you show me how you did it I can award for you. Also the rank Sergeant Major is incorrect, it's only Sergeant Knight.

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.