Lord of the Rings Fanatics Plaza

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Leave of Absence:
Taethowen, Eldrith, Gwai, Allacan, Elarith


Welcome to the Cavalry HQ. This is a place for all Cavalry related questions, which will be fielded by the Marshals of the Mark. It is also a place to come if you wish to join the Cavalry.
Those wishing to join the Cavalry, please approach the Marshals IC (In-character) and request permission.
For former Cavalry members wishing to re-join, please approach the Marshals and request permission, including your former position/rank and Éored in your post.

Some basic Cavalry Guidelines:
~Each Cavalry Member is allowed a Main Character and a Secondary Character. No more than 2 characters are allowed.
~Members of other kingdoms are welcome to join the Cavalry but it is preferred their Cavalry character is Rohirric (or at least Human)
~Characters must be 16 or older IC in order to join the Cavalry.
~Ranking officers in the Cavalry (Aethelwigend and above) are expected to reply to Cavalry posts within 7 days, unless arranged otherwise with the Marshal team.
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Helpful Links:
Oath of the Cavalry
Command Tent (Cavalry OOC)
Cavalry Courtyard
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Thread Rules:
~Please keep your posts IC, and at least 200 characters long.
~Any OOC comments/questions please blank out at the bottom of your post Like this: OOC (change the text colour to white so you can’t see it)
~For those already in the Cavalry, please post in your Éored colours. BLUE (#000080)for Eastmark, GREEN (#008000) for Meduseld, RED (#BF0000) for Westmark.
~No Godmoding.
~Cavalry business only please.

The door-guards stared at his approach, and for just the barest of moments he had to pause and check that yes, he had definitely remembered to cloth himself and this was not the terrifying nightmare made real! After confirming the presence of his uniform, he glanced back at the figures who were eying him amusingly. "Humming?" One of them queried, and he blushed in a manner that was surprisingly endearing for a man of his years. He shrugged and replied "Why not?" before stepping through the broad doors. He hadn't even realised he'd been humming; how mortifying... what tune had it been? Oh please don't make say I was humming that infernal nursery rhyme about napkins and kittens that Leigh was always singing!

He endeavoured to push the thought from his mind as he marched up to the Marshal's chairs and saluted briskly. "Hail Marshal Shivased. I return from my leave of absence granted by Taethowen and Gwai to enable me to see to family business, and now report for duty" He didn't quite meet the Marshal's eye, his gaze instead falling on a point just a little over her left shoulder as he frowned and mouthed the word 'Medusled', before recalled to himself as he waited in desperate hope that she hadn't heard - or worse yet - recognised the tune he had been humming.

---

The last time she entered the Dragon Room, she’d been slow and full of trepidation. Tonight, there was no time to lose. Lailyn passed the guards outside, burst through the doors and half-panting from her race here, gasped, “someone--help. There was an attack and a man is dead. Allacan has been hurt.”

Given more time to think or if she had less difficulty with the bloodied body, she might have provided a better report more suitable for a soldier. Maybe with more poise. It surprised her that she didn’t care. She was not a soldier anymore and she did not have to act like one. It was her duty as a citizen to report the crime and she had done it. The manner in which she reported should not matter.

Once the flush of her exertion faded from her face, let them see her pallor and fear. She did not care anymore. In her haste and worry over Allacan, she had not noticed the blood that stained her dress where she knelt to lay her cloak over the body. Nor did it cross her mind that Allacan might be in some trouble with the Cavalry or that she herself could be cast in suspicion for being present at the scene of a second attack.

The First Marshal was on her feet rushing to attention the moment the words left Lailyn’s lips. On any other day, Lailyn would hate to draw her attention. Tonight, she was immensely grateful for the attentive and level-headed reaction. She took Shivased’s advice, pausing for a calming breath before swallowing the dryness in her throat to speak.

“It was in a dead-end alley just inside the city gates. I was on my way back from…riding,” she left out the specifics of her errand, “when I heard a woman scream so I followed the noise. I found a man beating someone. He threatened to kill them. There was another woman there, Nia, but before we could do anything to help...it was over.” Her voice strained on the grave meaning of the last three words and she cleared her throat. “Then I realized the man was drunk and that it was Allacan who was attacked...” She shook her head slowly and rubbed her forehead. “I don’t know what happened before or who he is...but I’m glad Nia was there. I sent her with Allacan on my horse to see a healer while I came here.”

Her attention was directed fully at Shivased while she spoke, doing her best to recall the important details without letting her emotions boil over. Only after she finished speaking did she notice Grimthain. A flash of recognition crossed her face. Despite the years that passed, she was certain he was the same Grimthain she’d known before in the Westmark éored, only now he was an Æthelwigend. Knowing well it was not the time for reacquaintances, she stood still, remaining silent and awaiting further instruction or questions while hoping to be on her way soon.

He was opening his mouth to respond to the Marshal Shivased's greeting, but any words he might have uttered were immediately forgotten as Lailyn burst into the room. Instinctively he reached for his sword but did not draw it, instead glancing about with the wariness of an experienced warrior.

He frowned at the woman's hurried explanations. A woman was attacked, and the man was drunk, but a man is now dead, and somehow Allacan was involved in it? Was the drunk man the same as the dead man? The explanation prompted more questions that it answered, and for a moment he found himself thinking back to his brief recollections of Allacan; they hadn't interacted directly, but he had certainly heard rumours about her antics at Campian and possibly also something about the Mx Meduseld competition.

He snapped to attention as Shivased's words pulled him from his musings, and he saluted in acknowledgment of her orders. He almost leapt immediately to interrogating the woman, but as she turned towards him for the first time a vague glimmer of recognition stirred and it was enough to recall him to his manners. He could see now on reflection that the other woman was flustered also and didn't want to push her. "Are you okay? If you are able to give Ama directions to the healer and me directions to the body you can wait here until the adrenaline has worn off a little? I'm happy for you to show me, of course, but if you'd rather not...?" he let his words fade off as he watched Lailyn carefully and allowed her a moment to compose herself.

---

Everything was still too raw to realize that her report was less than sensible. She had tried her best but it was all still a muddle in her own mind and underscored by her own lack of understanding of what happened. There was too much to process for her to be able to tell if Grimthain recognized her, too, but she felt one small string in a knot of tension release in his company and Amadhrill’s name unraveled another. The one person who would understand the depth of her reaction, the painful details of what plagued her, why everything that happened this night was like the first drop of rain in a storm that would lead to a flood, and she would be there. It was a reminder that gave her courage to do what she must.

“In truth, I’m far from alright.” There was no use in lying or pretending otherwise, it was plain to see, but she did not quite meet his eyes as she admitted it. It didn’t matter how weary her body felt and how much the thought of returning to the scene daunted her. Taking it on herself to do this while Nia helped Allacan meant she had no choice. Of course she would rather not but she would do what had to be done. “I will show you and Amadhrill the way if it will help. Please...give me a moment outside first and then I will be ready.”

Without waiting for permission from Shivased or Grimthain or anyone else, she retreated into the cool summer night and tried to wrap it around herself, to bring a sense of calm. It wasn’t wholly curative but it helped. By the time they followed her out, she would be as ready to return to the alley as she’d ever be.

Fuin had been shocked to be given a letter as she was just about to close her small shop for the night and figured perhaps it was something from Lailyn or one of the people that she had met at the Feast, or perhaps in market. Her brow had furrowed and she had reached out and steadied herself on the counter of her shop as she read it. The Wigend had been concerned seeing her reaction - indeed it was rare for her to feel nervous but she was at a loss, an unauthorized absence from the Cavalry? When had she joined the Cavalry? Why did she have no such memory? She swallowed thinking of the only time where she drew a blank on her memory.

Over a decade ago, and she'd laid in the House of Healing for a decade at least before she'd finally gained back enough strength to awaken from the blade that had nearly killed her and sent her to the void her memories from before then were...spotty at best. She had little memory of the fight that almost killed her, and the years before it too were a jumble. She looked up at the Wigend and let out a sharp breath. "I need to know where the Dragon Room is, now." She said as calmly as she could. If she had been a part of the Cavalry she had broken their oath but those that had tried to remind her of what had happened had very casually left out that she had been a part of the Cavalry and it made her blood boil. Aigronding should have known. Aigronding had to have known - he knew her thoughts on oaths, she'd have not readily broken the oath she swore she would not have been absent if she had known at least not longer than it had taken her to heal. She'd have returned as soon as she could make such a journey which had taken a while for her body had grown weak and unaccustomed to travel. Instead she had wandered Middle-earth and regained her strength of arms and her reputation as a warrior, she had adventured, she had found companions and lovers... She had broken an oath. Her hand shook as she folded the paper and slipped it into a pouch at her side partially from nerves and partially from rage she did not need to worry that paper with her feelings while she walked it was better out of her hands. Aigronding must have known - what all had he kept from her?

When she arrived the guard stopped her and she handed them the letter as it had instructed pulling it from the pouch, a glance over the letter and she was allowed in the letter handed back to her and a scowl upon the mans face - an elf and a deserter neither were overly kindly looked upon in the Mark and she knew that well though she felt the latter was the worse of the two in their eyes and compounded due to her nature. She stepped in and looked about and saw the only person she could guess was the First Marshal of the Cavalry. Fuin could not help but wonder if she would find sympathy or ally here to answer for her absence - indeed no matter how she answered she had abandoned her duties here, her oath, indeed death may be an excuse for the long absence - but she would have to admit why she had almost died. She waited patiently before there was a lull and she stepped forward her head bowed slightly the letter still in her hand from the guard.

"I've come to answer a summons for an... unauthorized absence." She said as calmly as she could she would take whatever punishment they deemed appropriate