Flashback [Training] Rough Rider

[Elias Caldera]

7th Day of Summer, 507 AV

Rhsyol preserve me, here we go again.

Elias didn't want to be up at this bell at all, but as always, Caiden rarely agreed with what he desired. The mercenary claimed he had new lessons for him when it came to horses, and that left Elias so very overjoyed that he had a hard time showing it through anything other than angry grunts and groans.

He'd been instructed to make his way over to the stables early in the morning though, so he did as he was bid. He was to find Bessy there -the bitch- and begin checking the creature’s health and make sure that nothing was out of place, just like last time. He was no veterinarian or doctor in a past life, let alone this one, so he was still woefully unaware when someone was physical ailing, but when it came to animals he had even more to learn. Still, if he could learn to take care of his horse like a proper soldier, it would look better upon him when he stood before the lords of the stryfe who would await his coming trials. Or at least that's what he told himself in order to keep him from losing his mind.

"Horse." He said wearily as muddy brown orbs met the animal’s hazy green ones. "Let's try and get along today, okay? I won't yell at you, you won't buck me off. We'll have a grand old time, just me and you. Deal?"

The horse stared through the petitioner and merely flicked its tail nonchalantly. The silence he received was expected. It wasn’t as if the young Caldera had some magical mage power to speak with animals. No, unfortunately Elias was just some idiot who was unreasonably unlucky when it came to these four legged beasts and in desperate need of an olive branch. Despite his best attempts, pretending to be insane and talking to them did little to help his cause, so instead Elias began by tying the horse to the a bar inside its stall. Nothing crazy, just the simple slip knot as Caiden had showed him during their last lesson. Just something to show the horse that it was to be contained to the one spot for the time being. From there Elias began his examination of the horse.

He almost had to admit, though never out loud, that it was a beautiful creature in a way. It seemed to be in quite good health at least, and It's muscles were powerful and lean with obvious injuries marring its slick brown coat. He checked each hoof for any abnormalities aswell, but found no issues with any of them.

"Well Bessy, in my expert opinion I can say with quite some confidence that you are at least not dead.” he stated cheerily as he took up a brush in his hand. Light brown hair covered its body and a long, gorgeous dark brown mane ran down its head and neck. The stable hands at the lakeshore took extremely good care of the horses who were placed under their watch it seemed. Elias placed a hand against the creature's neck as he softly ran the brush through its mane again and again. Caiden had stressed to him the importance of a healthy, well-groomed horse. 'If one doesn't care for their mount,' he had said, 'then it might not be around when you need it the most.' Or some wise and noble shyke like that.

"You can thank me later for this."

The particular mount he was working with wouldn't be his if and when he actually became a soldier, but it was still important to grasp the concepts behind caring for them regardless. Perhaps he'd come to like being around the beasts if he actually got comfortable with how they worked during these lessons. One could always hope.

[Elias Caldera]

Elias finished with Bessy’s preparation and set about tacking it up. Saddle blanket, saddle, bit and bridle, and that was it. Caiden had explained to him about the differences between bits some time earlier and had suggested a pelham bit for him. The three basic she'd covered were aforementioned, as well as the snaffle and the gag. Each of them had their own purposes, and offered varying amounts of control. The snaffle required the most pressure to get results, the gag the least, with the pelham being somewhere in between. A gag was risky because putting too much pressure could result in the horse rearing back and not just throwing the rider off, but falling all the way back and landing on its rider. Elias hadn’t taken much convincing to avoid using that one.

He'd done this enough times by now that it was almost second nature to him. Almost. It was about the only horse related task which was truth be told. Otherwise it was a battle of wills, one he was embarrassingly losing to each they warred upon the open fields of the peaceful riding grounds.

With everything secure, fitted, and ready to go, Elias untied the horse and led it out of its stall so that he could mount it and head out to the training arena. Caiden wanted him fully prepared and had even warned him it would be a rough day. He'd heard that before on only a few disastrously dangerous occasions when the two trained, but he felt like he was more that equipped enough to deal with whatever challenges the old man had in mind today.

Elias placed one foot in a stirrup and pulled himself up over and onto the mount. With a soft squeeze of his legs, he set the horse in motion, sending it trotting out of the stables and towards the practice arena attached to the stables. Bouncing in his saddle, Elias wondered if Caiden was going to set up obstacles for him again. The petitioner was confident he'd be able to navigate her course with ease now, even despite how laughable his initial debacle had been. In any case, he'd take advantage of the time before his uncle arrived to practice a little.

"Easy now, Bessy. Let's practice some turns. I'll get you an apple later, I promise." Elias grasped his reins and squeezed evenly on the left while adding some pressure with his right leg, leading the horse to turn left in place. That was simple enough. Just a few days ago he'd been sent flying through the air when he tried that very thing, so this was a massive improvement over all. He felt a lot more confident, truth be told, and his improved strength these days seemed to give him much more power with which to control his mount. If he kept at it, maybe, just maybe he'd actually find himself able to cooperate with the wicked monster.

Maybe… But probably not. He was quite doomed.

Anyone who knew Elias Caldera knew that much was certain.

[Elias Caldera]

Satisfied with his ability to turn the horse to the left, Elias then went about the tricky task of getting it to go the other direction. The thing he’d had to learn quickly was that he could get what he needed done with a horse by learning how to do things one direction and then simply mirroring it to go the other. So Elias slowly squeezed the right rein and applied pressure with his left leg. Easy enough. The horse snorted in annoyance at the game Elias was playing, but after stomping its front foot a few times, he cooperated with the petitioner’s command and began to shift back the other direction.

In combat, the ability to turn a horse as you needed would be a vital skill to have. Beyond riding swiftly, control was the most important thing Caiden stressed. Being mounted gave a serious advantage in combat, as long if you knew how to situate yourself in your elevated position of course. He’d instructed his student to spend a lot of time maneuvering the horse in place, and that Elias had done obediently over the last two days. Comfortable now with that task, Elias was ready to continue on with his ‘warm up’ with the creature.

After using his legs and the reins to get his horse facing the right direction –yes, he should probably have been working on doing that with more fluidity- he gave his thighs a squeeze and set the horse off on a nice trot. Elias bounced along in the saddle as the horse moved lazily across the arena. “See how wondrous this is for both of us when we’re not fighting, Bessy?” For a beautiful moment, Elias and beast were coexisting in magnificent harmony.

The petitioner held the reins loosely looking down at the back of its head while it walked. The horse simply bobbed its head and seemed content in cooperating with the petitioner, despite the Caldera’s wary eyes scrutinizing every minute detail he could pick up for the beast’s movements.

Elias tried to remain centered in his seat as the moved, remembering another one of Caiden’s lessons. This one was simple genetics. Women were generally better built for riding. Their center of gravity was located in their hips. Conversely, men were generally not as suited, especially those with a broad upper build like Elias’s. His center was much higher and it led to control and comfort issues for all involved. How that helped hadn’t been clear at the time, and the young Ebonstryfe prospect was fairly certain he wasn’t ever going to find any helpfulness in it either. He surmised this because it was obvious Caiden had only used that little tidbit to springboard himself into another one of his wildly inappropriate and raunchy adventure stories, this latest one involving a kelvic he knew back in Zeltiva with ‘hips like you wouldn’t bloody believe, lad.’

As Bessy and rider moved along slowly, Elias made sure to keep testing those slight turns to get more accustomed to the changes in direction. It was just like the more stationary ones in practice, though he had to be more accurate with when and where he wanted direct his travels.

“When is your master going to get here?” Elias rode along listlessly until they arrived at the other end of the arena. Once there, the petitioner prepared himself for the next step. He’d just keep practicing until his old teacher eventually showed up. He wondered if this was somehow one of his stupid tests.

It wouldn’t matter if it was; Elias would master this riding thing with or without his judgmental company.

[Elias Caldera]

With a seemingly endless amount of time on his hands, Elias set about running through the practice routine which Caiden had taught him. Turns, then trots, then cantering, then full on galloping. Surprisingly, Elias actually found the canter a bit more difficult to control than any of the others, and he wasn’t sure if that was usually the case for everyone or just him. Somewhere between a brisk walk and a full run, it felt unnatural to him while mounted, but not many things made him comfortable while on the back of an animal that could kill him in an instant if it grew too annoyed. At least he had a training area all to himself. No one could watch him fail miserably that way. It also meant no one would likely see Bessy disposing of his body either…

Positioned on the far side of the training arena, Elias added pressure with his left leg while lifting and squeezing the left rein to turn the horse in place once again. It complied with a snort, picking its feet and kicking up little clouds of dust as the dun colored beast rotated to face away from the wall. With the full area of the arena available, the petitioner could continue his training uninterrupted. He gave the horse a gentle squeeze with his thighs to set it in motion, holding the reins loosely in his hands as he did so. It picked up its feet and again set off on a light simple trot. After it had gone through a few strides, Elias made his adjustments to speed up the creature.

He started by sitting back in his seat and sliding his right leg behind the horse's girth. This was the cue that he was taught to give the horse in order to let it know what he wanted it to do. Elias couldn't imagine the struggle it must have been to teach the horses to obey these commands in the first place. How did the first man ever imagine he could, let alone manage, to tame one of these things? Even with Bessy taught how to do what and when rather well, he still struggled from time to time -or rather frequently- to get her to cooperate. In this particular instant, the horse didn't pick up its pace at all, leaving a rather frustrated petitioner atop a mount which was happy to simply trot across the grounds. Elias responded by pulling more on the reins and he could immediately feel the horse start to rear back. Dark eyes widening at his own stupidity, he released the reins while voicing his protest.

"Whoa! Alright, fine! I’m sorry." He squeezed his legs together trying to stay on the creature, and just like that, the horse was off, and so was Elias.

Off into the air, of course.

Elias grunted as he fell, not on his back, but on his feet, Rhysol be praised. He’d learned his lesson more times than he cared to reflect on, but reflect on them he had none the less. The result was thus; he didn’t fall flat on his back anymore. Saved from humiliation however, did not mean he was at all happy. How many times was this going to happen before he figured it out!

"Ata a girl, Bessy. You show him whose boss."

[Elias Caldera]

Groaning as he swiveled around, Elias was less than surprised to see Caiden standing over by the stables, a grin on his lips as he entered the courtyard. He always showed up at the prospect’s most embarrassing moments, and what was worst of all, it wasn’t the first time this had happened. The stupid petitioner had gotten himself thrown off the back of a horse several times due to impatience and just not listening to the lessons he’d been taught. The basic maneuvers he was trying to do weren’t that difficult. He just needed to do them.

“Get up you worthless cur. Go track down the horse you’ve lost. We’ve got work to do and by Rhysol, we’ll get you riding properly even if it kills you.”

Elias rolled his eyes as he dusted himself off and scanned the area for Bessy after he escape. He’s going to put me through an obstacle course again, isn’t he? Last time he tried to navigate it he’d landed flat on his rear. It appeared that not much had changed. He continued to look across the arena until he discovered where the dun colored beast run off to. Staring off into the distance absentmindedly, it didn’t care about Elias, Caiden, or anyone else in the world. The boy imagined that dumb stare just meant it simply wished to be left to its own business, whatever manner of horse business that entailed. He couldn’t really blame it truth be told, but he had work to do, so it was just going to have to deal with it.

Elias walked over to the creature, leather boots striking against the dirt as he slowly went about recapturing the beast. The petitioner reached his hands over his head, stretching out his back as he did so. “You’re lucky I didn’t break anything, you ass.” He muttered as he approached the horse. It didn’t so much as glance over at him, of course, but that was probably for the better. Disinterest was far better than it giving him a hard time.

Placing a foot in the stirrup, Elias reached his hand across and pulled himself back onto the saddle. After sliding his other foot into the far side stirrup, he was ready to go again. “No matter how many times you try and take me down, I’ll get back up. Remember that.” A nicker in reply was all that was received. Shaking his head, he picked up the reins and set about getting the creature moving. He pressured and squeezed the rein once more, rotating the animal in place until he was facing the open area he could get.

With another gentle squeeze he got the horse moving at a gentle trot, preparing himself mentally to give the canter another go. Despite his promise to his mount, there were still some sore nerves associated with being thrown as many times as he had been. I got this, right? He shifted back and forth in the saddle as the horse’s natural gait took them slowly across the arena.

Sucking in a deep breath, Elias shifted back in the saddle again, sliding his right leg back behind the horse’s girth. Pulling gently back on the leather reins, Elias patiently guided it into its next movement. Relieved, the creature picked up into a canter as he had hoped. The Caldera heir remained seated this time, trying to keep his upper body as immobile as possible while his hips swayed back and forth with the movement of the animal. Nearly forgetting to breathe, all he could do was try and enjoy the ride and hope he didn’t get another lesson reminding him that people couldn’t fly and the ground was mercilessly hard.

[Elias Caldera]

Elias continued to ride as Caiden made his way around the arena, setting up various boxes and poles all over. He must have figured his nephew was ready for this now, but only if he had paid attention to the training he'd received, then Elias should have been able to control his mount well enough to begin more precise movements. Time and time alone was the answer to getting him completely comfortable on the back of a steed, so he would keep him practicing as much as he was able. Elias had to get over his distaste for them sooner or later, and he wasn’t doing himself any favors by shouting obscenities at horses in the future when it was just him and his Vitrax instructors, that was for sure.

Elias stayed back on his saddle as the breeze caused by the brisk movement streamed across his face. He actually felt in control for one of the first times ever and it was exhilarating. The three beat canter still felt odd beneath him however, but the horse seemed comfortable enough. He gently held the reins, making sure that he didn't add any pressure beyond what was needed until he neared the other side. Even then, he was careful, the soreness in his back a constant reminder of what happened if he was too rough with his rein work. Slightly pulling the leather straps back, the young stryfer to be slightly guided the horse to a slower speed. As he got to more of a trot, Elias squeezed the right rein and pressed his right thigh into the horse's side, leading it in a rather wide turn back to face the other side.

He looked down the arena at where Caiden waited, having set up a half dozen obstacles for his petitioner to tackle. Obviously, It would be a good learning experience to get used to different hindrances on the battlefield. While it wasn't perfect training, once he was more confident in a controlled environment, his uncle would likely take him outside the lakeshore limits and really test his ability.

"Get on over here!" Caiden called out, waved his arm. Elias nodded and set off, giving the horse a firm squeeze of his thighs to set it in motion. It was something he'd grown a bit more used to, getting the creature in motion, but he still wasn't enjoying it. The saddle was uncomfortable, and he suspected no human body was flexible enough to be stretched out the way he was for long periods of time. He simply wasn't built to ride, but he didn't have a choice in the matter.

The petitioner took a hand off his rein and greeted his uncle cordially, bringing the horse to a stop at the man’s side. Caiden was going to keep putting him through the ringer, so he may as well be polite today. Maybe he would find it in her heart to be kind during their lesson.

Maybe… But probably not. He was quite doomed.

Anyone who knew Caiden Caldera knew that much.

[Dove Brown]

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Name: Elias Caldera
XP Award:

• Grooming 1
• Rhetoric 1
• Horsemanship 2
• Riding (horse) 5
• Persuation 2
• Acrobatics 1

Lore:

• Horsemanship: different types of bit
• Riding: turning left and right
• Riding: women's lower centre of balance makes them better riders
• Riding: canter is the hardest gait
• Acrobatics: how to fall safely

Notes: Nice writing. Enjoy your grades.