New to the Land of Snow and Ice

[Conner O'Brian]

70th of Spring 511

The snow crunched beneath the hooves of the large Avanthalian sleigh horse as it gracefully trotted along the barely visible path before it. The grand animal was as large and powerful as it was beautiful, it's pure white coat blended perfectly into the snow filled terrain. Upon it's back, a large black leather saddle with silver looking trim, a large sack on either side of the saddle, filled with camping gear, and lastly, a small young man sat atop the saddle. He wore a thick fur blanket wrapped firmly around him. Already small, the large horse, and huge fur blanket made him seem even smaller.

The young man glanced towards the sky, it was late spring in the frozen tundra, so the nip in the air was far more tolerable than if he had arrived in the heart of winter, still it required his bundling up. The horse, native to the climate, had little difficulty travelling which made things easier. A single snow flake fell from the sky, and with in moments a steady stream of snow was falling once again.

The boy sighed out load. His name was Conner, and he was travelling to Avanthal, why you might ask? He wanted to see the world, see everything he could, try new foods, and experience new cultures. That and the Vantha women are suppose to be quite the beauties.

Conner leaned down and gently patted the horse's main, "Hey Girl, you okay?" He asked in a whisper. The horse suddenly exhaled heavily, as if to reply.

Suddenly movement caught the corner of Conner's eye, he turned and their in the distance, an arctic white fox dashed across the snow covered plains. Conner pulled the horse to a stop and leapt down before he began to draw his bow. He had was to unskilled to take a mounted shot, unmounting was his best shot and he had to move fast, the fox could disappear into a hole at any moment.

He pulled an arrow from the quiver hooked to the saddle and drew it back on the bow. Conner inhaled, then exhaled slowly, as he followed the Fox with his eye. One final inhale, then Conner held his breath, and gently released the arrow from his bow, exactly as he was trained. One the arrow had left the bow he exhaled, and waited to see if the arrow found it's mark

[Conner O'Brian]

As the arrow ripped through the sky, aimed at its intended target, Conner already began preparing a second arrow. When the first missed, landing a foot in front of the animal, the Fox hissed and suddenly began running at full speed. Conner aimed and fired a second time, rapidly reloading and firing a third arrow, then a forth. The second landed a little behind the third narrowly missed it's head, but the forth and final one found it's home in the rear flank of the beast.

Conner climbed back onto the horse and cracked the whip. The horse went into a full sprint as it closed the gap between them and the fox. He pulled the horse to a stop and leapt down from the horse when only a few feet from the creature.

The fox was unable to move, the arrow had pierced through the lower part of his left rear flank and right into the right flank, effectively stopping it's hide legs. It growled and hissed as Conner approached the creature. Conner moved swiftly and leapt onto the fox, narrowly missing the snap of it's powerful jaws, the boy grabbed it by the neck and twisted in a swift motion, ending the fox's life, and taking away the pain. The body fell limp in Conner's hand, and he laid it out in front of him.

He kneeled before the arctic fox body and he prayed, "I thank the Spirit of the Fox, with the sacrifice of it's life, my life can continue. I promise your sacrifice will not be in vain, I shall use every part of your body to the best of my ability. I honour your strength, speed, and cunning. You were a worth pray. Rest now, where you go, there is no more pain."

Conner remained kneeling for a few moments in silence before he gently lifted the fox up and hooked it to the horse. He needed to find shelter to prepare the body, anything would do, trees to break the wind, a cave, or the city he was in search of, Avanthal. The boy pulled himself atop the grand horse and gently pulled on the reigns, continuing the trek.

He would have to find something fast before the fox's body froze and became difficult to manipulate.

[Conner O'Brian]

Conner finished retrieving the other arrows, thankfully the soft snow had cushioned their fall, and prevented them from being damage. He pulled out the crudely drawn map he had received from the man who sold him the horse. After a few minutes he confirmed his bearings and began to ride again.

The cloud cover nearly completely blocked out the sun, but Conner could still make out the faint glow through the clouds, it was near noon when he finally spotted the great Ice Gates in the distance...


(OOC: Everyone is in the city, so that's where I am headed.)

[Growl]

Appreciation Time! Name: Conner O'Brian Experience: +1 Shortbow, +1 Riding Lore: Killing an Arctic Fox Ledger: No changes Additional Notes: Thanks for changing the thread up! And I am sorry I could not award more. If you were more detailed in how you shot, how you got on and off the horse, and how you manipulated the reins, you would have gained more exp. PM with questions and concerns.