[ The Bronze Woods ] An Avid Thinker ( Daniel )

by **Holland Rolandus** on March 8th, 2015, 8:24 pm

31st of Spring, 515 A.V

Today was a rather incredibly glorious day; Warm and rather breezy. The winds blew about causing the very blades of grass and Trees to dance about hypnotically. Holland thought of the winds to have been melodic in nature; As they'd blown past practically singing to his ears. Holland figured that this would be a perfect day to begin training. Although he had been battling quite often as of recent. He decided that physical training probably wouldn't be the best option. For now he needs to rest himself physically, and be careful not to over-work himself. What good is a body when you are incapable of properly using it? Therefore he began to pace about for a mere moment, attempting to figure out exactly what he needed to do. Mental training was the best method of training for the day; After all how is combat won without strategy? When a man is filled with rage; He cannot fight properly without being absolutely reckless; which can very easily cause one to lose.

Therefore he simply takes a seat in the center of a large field of woods. Although surrounded by Trees, he would have to attempt concentrating incredibly hard. Regardless of the fact that he was sitting amidst the center of the unknown. He simply wished to learn to clear his mind before entering any combat situation what-so-ever. Therefore what he does next is incredibly odd of him; Holland, rather then being diligent and incredibly hard working attempts to relax. Taking a seat upon the grass, and allowing his rump to come in contact with such grass and soil. He'd taken a seat upon a spot where sun-light made direct contact with. So that he may enjoy the warmth, perhaps it would help him concentrate and focus. Holland proceeds to fold both his legs inward simultaneously. Sitting in a criss-crossed position and leaving his elbows to come in contact with both his knees simultaneously. Hollands fingers interlock with one another, and they too; Come to rest at a center focal point. In the middle of both his thighs, mere inches away from his pelvic region.

Holland begins to think this set of simplistic actions is odd; Yet, he went with it anyway. Simply attempting to concentrate was his ultimate goal for now; Learning to learn himself. Now, Holland inhales rather deeply; Filling his lungs with a breath of air. Before releasing it off into the atmosphere, by allowing it to roll off of his lips. He could feel how drastically his heart rate changed, as it begun to thump away slowly. An observation was very clearly made; A lesson learned. He continues to repeat that action several times over, and it slows his heart rate. Allowing him to eventually concentrate for only a mere moment. Feeling the warmth of the sun washing over his embodiment. Holland closes both his eyes simultaneously, and notices how much different it feels. The outside world feels so peaceful; For now that is. Things were going great in his eyes. This was his first attempt at learning to clear his mind and concentrate on meditating.

Clouds slowly but steadily began to fill the skies in the heavens above. A gentle rain begins to pour. Several droplets of water could be felt descending atop of Hollands cranium. Although he tried his best to ignore them to the fullest extent that he possibly could. He tried to concentrate on not breaking his concentration. Yet, the harder he tried the more he began to notice things that were occurring outside of his mind. He could hear the winds growing incredibly violent; The shaking in the Bushes and Trees. He could hear what sounded like a combination of rain striking Trees, and elderly branches falling to the ground. All of the sounds hit him all at once, and just like that his concentration was broken. His eye-lids snapped themselves open immediately, and he begins to notice just how sopping wet he is. He immediately takes off his royal-blue shirt. As per usual he wore no more then that same attire; He didn't enjoy looking the same all the time, but that meant nothing in terms of learning to focus.

The droplets of water felt warm against his skin, and he completely removed his shirt now. Placing it down within his lap, and returning to attempting to meditate. A warm breath exits his lips once more, and he returns to closing his eyes. Regaining his aforementioned posture, sitting criss-crossed with his elbows both touching his thighs. Interlocking his fingers once more, and feeling inspired by the lovely sound of rain hitting the ground. He learned to enjoy the sound more and more as time went on. Practically feeling infatuated with the sounds of nature. He wished to feel as if he were one with the nature around him. Yet, the more he thought about it he came to realize something simplistic. That all life forms are essentially a part of what nature is; Despite the fact that some weren't quite that way. Hopefully, and just hopefully no one would see him like this. They would probably think that it is incredibly unusual for something like that to happen. After all, who wouldn't think it was strange to see a man sitting in the middle of rain?

by **Daniel Druva** on March 10th, 2015, 7:46 pm

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A deep scattering of rain came to the Bronze Woods. Such a thing was far from abnormal, but the speed it came and went forced at least a couple of animals to raise their heads to the sky in muted surprise. One such animal was a squirrel, who sat atop a tree branch near the summit of a grand oak.

Its grey hair ruffled and damp, it raised its beady eyes up to the heavens, the same empty gaze often in the eyes of philosophers as if it was just one breathe away from... figuring it all out.

One foot in front of the other... Daniel crept closer, his bare feet scrambling to try and get an even grip onto the branch. Were it his choice, he would be on all fours by now, cub claws instead of clumsy boy toes... but he had promised Sylfrey that he'd only change his shape at night... when there was nobody around to see.

Biting his lip, Daniel's hand strayed to the end of his trousers, where a pair of leather shoes dangled precariously. Wearing the shoes had also been part of the promise, but Daniel wasn't quite prepared to give up all of his freedoms just let. Shoes were loud and they smelled like a dog peed in them... and they pinched!

He had been following the squirrel for the last twenty minutes or so, its grey back catching his interest while he walked beneath the underbrush. He hadn't quite decided what he was going to do once he caught the creature, but he had every confidence that it would be very obvious once he got to that point... maybe.

Calmly, Daniel crept even closer to the chattering squirrel, who Daniel could only imagine was thinking some very intense things for something with the brain the size of a walnut, perhaps it had lost its winter stash... Slyfrey had told him... distracted for a moment, Daniel's heel skimmed a particularly slippy branch and he tumbled, flipping the world upside down as he tried in vain to catch the branch. He saw for a moment the astonished gaze of the squirrel before it decided it had places to go, people to see and darted to the underbrush. Tree branches thwacked his sides as Daniel tried to grab them in vain, to stop himself or at the very least slow his momentum all why yelping the first common word he ever learnt.

'Petch!'
Thwack!
'Petch!'

A thin branch, no thicker than a pencil skimmed his view and with a zeal that would put a priest to shame, Daniel grabbed at it, his face paling as the branch bent immediately under his weight, the strain whitening the bend of the branch. Blood thumping, Daniel peeked down at the two or so metres of distance below and despite starting to get used to the idea
that he might just be spending the rest of his life suspended above Mizahar with a tree branch between his thumbs, a loud crack brought the world to him with frightening speed.

Daniel landed on the mossy ground with a soft thump and yelped. More out of bruised pride than in injury. Of course that is when another rain storm began, a long drizzling which seemed down from the leaves and pattered his long blond hair. Satisfied that he had a) almost caught the squirrel and b) nobody saw him fail to catch the squirrel.
Daniel picked himself up and brought his hands to his trousers to put on his...

'Oh Gods.' Daniel muttered.

Jumping up hurriedly, the rain smashing down on him, Daniel tried to look up to where he was to see if the shoes were hanging somewhere. Rain slapped at his eyes and the darkness of the trees clouded his sight. Well that wasn't a big deal... obviously the shoes were around here somewhere he just needed to... retrieve them.

Like a quest!

Like what Syliran Knights do. Nodding wisely to himself, Daniel pushed forward. They couldn't have gotten that far and Sylfrey would understand. In fact he might even be impressed! Smiling to himself, Daniel began to walk quickly, ignoring the way his wet clothes were beginning to drag on him and the squelching sound of his toes between soggy mud.

Something caught his eye as he walked, not his shoes but a man. Rain battered his body but he didn't seem to mind it. Very odd... Was this normal behavior? Daniel liked to think that either Sylfrey or his father would have told him, but they did make a lot of assumptions with him... Maybe this stranger didn't like baths? That was something Daniel could understand. He crept closer, trying to stay quiet in between the trees but the squelching of his feet against the ground was beginning to get embarrassing. He wanted to say hello, but before she died, his mother had instilled into her son a hard practicality. He could have a weapon, he could have claws. Granted he didn't see any but it wasn't strictly within in the realms of possibility. He considering throwing a ball of mud at him, but considered the man's larger size. He probably wouldn't appreciate that sort of behavior.

Daniel got as close as he could bear, about 3 metres, before hanging before a tree. Completely concealed save for the fact that he still poked his head out in full view. Not even his mother's advice could stand in the way of his curiosity.

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by **Holland Rolandus** on March 12th, 2015, 10:03 pm

A rustle from one of the bushes? No, no it couldn't have been; Thought Holland. Although the more he continued to hear it he'd brushed it off and thought nothing of it. Due to the fact that it wasn't unusual for bushes to rustle about; it was raining for gods sake. Therefore he simply shook his cranium from left to right. Attempting to concentrate on clearing his mind and thinking of absolutely nothing at all. Perhaps he was just being paranoid about a creature lurking in the woods that wanted him dead. Perhaps he was in no danger at all, and hopefully no one would notice where he was. For now what he was doing was incredibly odd; Simply meditating and feeling the warmth of the water against his skin. Inhaling, and exhaling in an attempt to keep his focus.

Thinking, and contemplating further and further he continued to go deeper in his memory. As he continually attempts and tries his best to maintain focus; another memory comes to him. He remembers yet another lesson taught to him by his father. With his fathers firm and disciplining hands; Holland recalls having been shown several stances. Stances with the Rapier, and he'd been taught that in order to maintain balance "Proper footwork" was always a factor. His father taught him to properly grip and swing a rapier; Strength wasn't all that important with a rapier. As of late he'd been learning to be incredibly complex and diverse. He'd began throwing punches with the rapier, and attempting to grapple with it. Learning more and more things as he'd gone along and learned about himself; Discovering more about his weapon as well.

Learning more about his past was very revitalizing, and felt absolutely amazing. Having memories of his past was incredibly good; now he could understand more about it. Now he would attempt to discover what molded him; what made him the person he is today. Holland wanted knowledge, and he would seek it out no matter what the cost. For now he wanted to learn more and make sure that he knew himself better. After all; who would Holland be guarding if his mind wasn't clear. Holland couldn't maintain focus in majority of situations he got into. He wanted to better his mind; Holland learned slowly but steadily that the mind is a powerful tool. The better usage someone makes of the mind the more "powerful" they can become.

In order to attempt bettering the world around you; firstly he should better himself. Holland continues to allow his thoughts to flourish through his mind as he'd continued to meditate. Although his mind roamed in multiple places he remained focused. He missed Claudia dearly, but he didn't want to think too much about her for now. That could become quite the incredibly distracting thought and could thwart his training. He wished to practice making use of his magic while it rained. Although he wasn't quite yet too sure if anyone was watching just yet; Though he began to simply not care. Yet, he knew that for now it was a bit too dangerous to use. Especially being that quite a large amount of rain is falling still, and he didn't want to lose control. He continues to memorize, and re-absorb multitudes of memories from the past.

Yet, in the back of his mind he still couldn't get the thought of hearing rustling bushes out of his head. That noise troubled him to no end, and he couldn't stop thinking about it. What was it, and how come he heard it more then once? It sounded much more distinct; Even in comparison to the rustling bushes he could hear now as it rained. Eventually he would lose his ability to resist the infamous curiosity. Although the question was; Just how long could Holland resist his urge to find out what it was?

by **Daniel Druva** on March 17th, 2015, 6:30 pm

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Daniel wasn't sure how long he waited there, in the shadows behind the tree. His knees began to ache, a cold chill started to build up in the mud between his toes. The water pooled in his hair and flowed down his forehead. A shiver took him and Daniel hunched over despite himself.
A part of Daniel longed to shift his skin, it was always warmer on four legs he found. The human body was never quite equipped to deal with the climate outdoors.
He often wondered what humans did back when... well, surely there was a time when people did not live in homes or castles? Surely there was a time before clothing and fire, honey and bread? Daniel paused for a moment to think about what may have been. But then brought his attention to the man. He analysed the curve of his face, the jet black hair now even blacker and flattened by torrent of rain. There was something odd there... oddly serene and it didn't make sense.

Obviously this was a joke of some kind.

Humour had never been one of Daniel's strong points, growing up in a forest would be enough to stunt one's comedic growth. He understood looking foolish, the wheezy chuckle that accompanies seeing a stranger slip on a piece of ice and land on their bottom... but there were many jokes and things to laugh about in Syliras and Daniel found it hard to do anything else apart from obliviously laugh along.

A Kelvic and a half naked human are hanging out in the rain... it certainly did sound odd, but it was no more odd than that joke his father had told him about the horse, the priest and the knight that walk into a brothel... which also didn't make a lick of sense, how does a priest know what a brothel is? Well if it was that kind of joke, Daniel knew that he wasn't going to be the punchline... because that was bad, his father had told him. Daniel still wasn't sure why, but getting laughed at really raised his hackles.

That's probably what that strange man was doing... laughing at him, in his own... quiet way. Well Daniel wasn't going to tolerate that. He wasn't going to tolerate that at all...

Raising his feet, Daniel took a squelchy step forward and with a grimace another step. As the mud slurped at his feet he was starting to see the virtue of shoes. Well that was going to be the next thing he would have to do. Closer and closer Daniel crept, the blasting of the rain in the leaves above being more than enough to mask his sound. He got as close as he dared, and lunged. Landing in the great puddle in front of the strange man. Not realizing that in his enthusiasm, he left his clothing behind, golden fur sinking out from damp skin, hands curving into tiny paws.

The lion cub barked a loud laugh at the man, the laugh turning into a sharp growl, Daniel landed in the puddle, a great wall of water jumped up and splashed onto the human.

'HA!'

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by **Holland Rolandus** on March 19th, 2015, 2:00 am

Splashing, drizzling and rain drops impacting the surface of the ground around himself were heard. Although one particular sound grew to become more and more distinct.The more distinct the sound grew the more Hollands suspicions raised. Splash, Splash, Splash Holland wouldn't have any more of that sound. His eyelids snapped themselves open practically immediately, and what he could see was something monstrous that he'd never encountered before. What in the world was this wild beast; why was it here more importantly? The moment his eyes opened a large amount of water shot upward from near the paw area of the beast. With his concentration broken, and his focus lost; Holland practically began to panic. Scooting himself away from the animal at a rather rapid pace. Before his bare back came in contact with a tree and he was practically pinned to it. Holland raises both his hands simultaneously, and he thought that he would be attacked.

Holland began to think and his thoughts ran incredibly rampantly. For now he went on assuming the animal would attack him and harm him. Holland began to attempt calming himself down; hopefully that would cause the Animal to leave him be. Although that isn't quite what he wanted; Holland wanted to come in contact with it, and be closer to it. He was always quire curious about animals, and surely this was perfect. Although large and probably capable of tearing off his arm; Holland reaches out. Touching the Animals snout, and his hand continues to tremble as he does so. Holland instinctively turns his visage away from the Animal. For he knew he was risking being bitten presently he didn't want to have his face torn off. He'd much rather lose an arm or a few fingers or a hand then his face.

Whilst touching the snout of the animal he somehow found comfort. For some reason; Holland didn't feel afraid or threatened. Perhaps the Animal was simply curious as to why he was present. Hopefully it didn't want to harm him; as he'd just exposed himself to it. Knowing just how easily he could be torn asunder by the Animal. Holland attempted to be strong in the face of danger and show no fear, although that became very difficult to do. Yet, for some reason he found comfort in it's presence. Every once in a while it felt enjoyable not to be alone; even if what accompanied you could chew you up and swallow you.

Holland tries his best not to curl up and submit to the Animal. Showing dominance and a lack of fear for now was the best option. At least that is what Holland thought, and surely he wouldn't be able to go back on the decision now. Hopefully, just hopefully it would be friendly toward him, and decide not to eat him alive. Holland speaks, and although he doubted it would understand him he does it anyway.

"H-Hello.. I'm Holland.. Please don't hurt me.. Please..?" He speaks as his eyes widen setting sight upon the animals visage.

by **Daniel Druva** on March 21st, 2015, 9:29 pm

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For small animals there is always a moment where they assume the visage of a greater figure. You can see it often in the yappy terriers often held in the arms of dotty noblewomen. You and I might see a ratty little dog but deep inside its own heart, dwells the spirit of a great wild thing.

For a moment, this was the lion cub. The stranger seemed... afraid, he pushed back and cub followed its pursuit, forgetting for a brief moment, its size and location. He didn't want to maul the man, and truth be told his tiny jaws probably wouldn't do much more than break skin. But for that brief moment it didn't matter. Within seconds the cub was Krysus and Myri, he was the salt of the ocean and the smoke of a forest fire. His breath was thunder and his blood glowed redder than the hottest Isuran forge. For a moment, the cub felt pure, like wildness distilled into its greatest form. It was triumph.

With blood pumping and breath rushing, the man did something truly unexpected. He placed his hand on the lion cubs nose. And in that the moment the world around him shuddered and collapsed and the lion boy remembered who he was again, where he was as he looked into the strangers widened eyes.

"H-Hello.. I'm Holland.. Please don't hurt me.. Please..?"
There was something in that quaver that made the cub swell with pride and it yowled in response. Looking at the man patiently before again.. remembering his time and place and shape. Within seconds the cub was replaced by a young man in the rain. Who turned back to his abandoned clothes that sat pensively in the rain.

'Hi' Daniel said, immediately feeling the chill in the air as he snatched his shirt and jerkin from the muddy ground. Muddy. Ground. Oh yes, Sylfrey wasn't going to be happy with him at all.

It took an awkward second to re cloth himself, his clothes were only on the ground for a blink, but that was all it took. The cold dampness of it clawed his back. It took another second for him to look at the strange man.. really look at him and frown.

'Why are you out in the rain?' he asked while another question pricked his mind, perhaps voicing his own concerns.

'Won't your father be mad with you?'

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by **Holland Rolandus** on April 3rd, 2015, 11:10 pm

"Won't your father be mad at you?" Says the kelvic.

For now all Holland could do was look baffled at what just went on. Did this damn child just ask him about rather or not his father would be angry? The last time Hollands father even bothered to care about anything Holland ever did; was when Holland was a young boy. From that point on once Holland became capable of being independent and doing things at his own accord; his father didn't care about a damn thing he did. Holland felt quite offended at first and was tempted to flee immediately. Still not being quite used to socializing; not to mention still frightened by the fact that he'd just seen an animal. Then Holland came to a rather swift realization that this was of course a child. Therefore being rude probably wasn't even intentional; perhaps Holland was over-reacting. So he simply takes a deep breath and exhales, allowing it to exit his lungs for a moment. Calming himself down and attempting to speak in a much more easy tone.

"Look, Kid.. My father hasn't cared about anything I've done in multiple years. After he taught me what I needed to know about the world.. He sent me off on my own and allowed me to learn on my own. He doesn't care about what I do as long as I succeed and do what is best for my own sake at all times. I was kind of angered when you said that just because of the fact that I think I miss him to death. Hopefully, just hopefully I can see him soon and he and I can actually have a nice conversation again."

Holland hoped that the rather odd looking child could understand the logic behind the offensiveness. Although for now he wasn't sure rather or not that would even be logical in itself. Why rely on a child to understand something that they likely don't understand. Holland immediately proceeds to stand up upon his feet, and look about only to observe further and admire the sheer beauty of the woods. Looking upon the wet bark; having found a rather simplistic location which was somewhat protected by the rain. With the wide array of leaves over-head he could somewhat keep himself from getting more wet; preventing himself from getting sick. Despite the fact that the rain was warm today and he enjoyed the rain more then anything else at the moment.

He wasn't quite happy that the child acutally went as far as to break his first attempt at meditation either. Yet, that didn't quite matter too much either; for the simple fact that he wanted to be alone. Yet, the child disturbed him; he might as well have been in contact with the kid. For now they were the only two present as far as he was concerned. Therefore; Holland decides upon asking a few simple questions to begin with because of the fact that they didn't know one another.

"Well since you are here and have been here long enough to bother me.. What is your name my friend?"

by **Daniel Druva** on May 22nd, 2015, 9:51 pm

Secret :

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Daniel knew he said the wrong thing the moment the words left his lips. The look in the stranger's eyes darkened, the shadow of his lip curving into the hint of a scowl.
The look reminded him of the wild stare held by animals that were under a sharp, constant pain. Some wounds never heal and Daniel had just jabbed one without even realizing it. His stare shivered to the side as he considered a potential escape. The man looked fast, but Daniel could probably keep a lead for a while. He looked strong though... he might catch up.

Daniel considered the possiblility of climbing a tree, picking a God and shrieking its name to the sky as the silence deepened and Daniel's heart thundered in his chest.

This is going to hurt. The thought was unexpected, but it made him gulp all the same.

But then something unexpected happened. Instead of the man springing at him, as what would be expected, the eyes of the stranger calmed, the silence broken with the sound of his calm, patient breaths. Looking at him, Daniel had to marvel at how strange humans were. Obviously they were animals, driven to eat, sleep, mate and kill. But these... rules they restrained themselves to was fascinating, their desire to be more than what they really were.

"Look, Kid.. My father hasn't cared about anything I've done in multiple years. After he taught me what I needed to know about the world.. He sent me off on my own and allowed me to learn on my own. He doesn't care about what I do as long as I succeed and do what is best for my own sake at all times. I was kind of angered when you said that just because of the fact that I think I miss him to death. Hopefully, just hopefully I can see him soon and he and I can actually have a nice conversation again."

The strangers voice came out steady... almost restrained.
As he spoke, the words built up like a cold stone in Daniel's stomach. It seemed strange that his father didn't... care about the stranger. It didn't make sense either, of course his father had to care, that's what father's did.

He thought for a moment as the man stood up and admired the woods around them. Another odd human thing, a tree was a way of getting up higher, a river a place to drink, a bush somewhere to hide in when bad men came looking around. He could never understand that need to... appreciate things.

Daniel wanted to ask him more about the man's father, but he was also painfully aware that he was also no longer the only person standing up. It also didn't help that the man was directly in front of the path that would have been his escape route.

The stranger's words brought him back to the present.

"Well since you are here and have been here long enough to bother me.. What is your name my friend?"

Daniel relaxed a bit at that, it was one of the first things his father had thought him, in those long rainy days in between his mother's death and him coming to this cold place.

'I'm Daniel, son of Christoph of the house Druva' He said, flinging his arm forward in some crude imitation of a handshake.

Ignoring the little snarling voice at the back of his mind, Daniel crept a little closer to the man, at the same time pretending to be looking at and appreciating... whatever it was the stranger was appreciating. Humans... sometimes you just had to let them have their fun.

"My dad left me too" He said quietly.

"But once I become a knight, he's going to come back and be proud."
What he had actually said though, was for him to 'Kill the beast and save the man.' But Daniel wasn't 100% clear on what his father had meant by that, which is why he hadn't really done that yet.

Daniel looked up.

"Who knows, maybe they'll both come back together..."
A strange question prickled at him.

"I haven't seen you around the woods before, do you live in the city?"

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Closed [ The Bronze Woods ] An Avid Thinker ( Daniel )