Rangers: Training Grounds

[Romeran]

Ranger Trainee Romeran
Studying under Pelecconer Orla
The Hatchet – Lesson 1 – Post 1
@Rillewen

Just as Orla was about to move on to stances and guards she spotted Trastion as he wandered into their training area. Orla had heard of another new recruit, like most senior rangers she made a point of staying appraised of the ranger roster, but they had yet to meet. Orla watched Trastion curiously as he entered and looked around, wondering if he would speak with them. It was only at this point, as Orla has gone silent but Romeran was busy practicing with the different grips, that Romeran also noticed Trastion arrive. Romeran smiled warmly at Trastion. But before Orla could speak to Trastion the young man himself spoke up.

“Hullo” she replied with a warm smile. “Reserved?” She asked, rhetorically “no, no. There’s plenty of training grounds” she continued with a smile motioning to the area around them.

“You must be…” she paused for a moment “Trastion I assume?” She asked but quickly explained “besides Romeran here you are the other new recruit that I have yet to meet I assume by your presence here and my lack of familiarity with your face” she said, with a wide grin on the last part. “I am Pelecconer Orla.” She added by way of introduction.

Orla had not made a point of remaining appraised of each new recruit’s specific training regimen and was not exactly sure how far along he was or what further training he required. Nevertheless, in Orla’s mind at least, basic training with a hatchet as a weapon was a fundamental ranger skill. As she had just got done explaining to Trainee Romeran, few rangers would be caught in the woods without some sort of hatchet for cutting wood and general survivorship.

“Romeran’s lesson with the Hatchet has only just begun. If that sounds interesting to you then perhaps you could join us? What do you say?” She asked Trastion. “Of course as long as you don’t mind Trainee Romeran?” She asked quickly, having simply assumed he would not mind. Romeran shook his head, “I don’t mind at all” he said with a second warm smile towards Trastion.

[Rillewen]

@Romeran

Recruit Trastion Leithor
With Romeran and Orla

Trastion relaxed a bit when the ranger said it was not reserved. He smiled, then blinked in surprise when she guessed his name. "Yeah, that's me.. but I don't know.." He trailed off as she then introduced herself. "Ah, pleased to meet you.. Peleconner?" He was a little surprised, as he had not realized there was an ax specialist among the rangers, but then he hadn't done a lot of getting to know very many people. "That's.. ax specialist, right?" He was fairly sure, and judging from the fact they were apparently training with axes, then it would make sense.

Upon hearing the invitation to join them, he couldn't help his expression brightening slightly, but hesitated as he glanced toward Romeran to see if he had any objections. His smile returned, however, when Rome assured him he didn't mind. "Great, I'd love to," Trastion replied. "I didn't know there was anyone around to help me with learning to use the ax. I picked that for my third weapon, but I haven't had much chance to actually.. you know, learn anything." He shrugged. "I mean, I can chop wood and I.." He trailed off as he realized he had gotten a bit excited and nearly spoke about some stuff from his past which was best left unsaid. "I'd be glad for a chance to train. But I'll have to go get one from the shed," He motioned over to the shed where various gear was kept.

[Pele Alarion]

Captain Pele Alarion
Training Recruit Romeran
@Romeran

Had Romeran not lost his own balance and kept up the pressure to prevent her from executing her slight counterattack, Pele would have been forced to give in and jump off the beam; yet she said nothing of it at the moment. Lowering her arms, she simultaneously stepped back with her right foot to ease into a comfortable position with the hilt resting against the inside of her left thigh, the point aiming at Romeran’s torso.

She decided not to press her advantage and let him recover properly, while observing him prepare for the next movement. Seeing him step forward, Pele’s muscles tensed in readiness for action, and she adjusted the grip on her hilt.

“You would be more successful in retaining your advantage of strength, Rome,” she commented on their previous clash. “If your feints did not require that much of it and were less obvious. There are some moves which you can adjust by a slight rotation of your hips, waist, or even just wrists.”

“You will learn,” she stated confidently, sure of his eager intentions and thinking that he would be able to learn how to tame his great strength more for purposes of swordsmanship.

Pele made a shuffling step forward and thrust the tip of her sword forward to see if he would find a solution of how to counter this simple form of attack. She did not commit to it fully though, and her arms remained slightly bent at elbows and she did not transfer all her weight to her forward foot, prepared to retreat.

[Lantaelen]

@Pele Alarion @Rillewen

Abrazimir Dimaethor
Sparring with Trastion Leithor & Pele Alarion, Training Grounds

Abrazimir was upon the younger man, beating against Trastion’s defences with continued shoves and batters with his shield. And down he went, though not without struggle or surrender. Falling on one’s back in full armor and kit reminded Abrazimir of the shelled turtles he had once seen in the streets of Dol Amroth. The cruel kids used to overturn them, laughing as they struggled to roll over. A fallen knight could oft resemble such a struggle. And it was equally not a pretty sight. Especially when one might have orcs preying upon them in the next instance. Or in this case, a veteran knight. But luckily for the lad, before Abrazimir could deliver any sort of blow or movement that could count as a point or win, he was set upon by an even greater veteran Captain.

Pele’s lunge would connect with the back of his leg, nearly buckling his stance and staggering his balance. Abrazimir hissed and turned from the fallen recruit towards the Captain, where he in turn lunged at her to poke, or rather prod, with the top of his axe handle into her shoulder and arm to drive her off. Once he managed to make some room with another wild swing, he distanced himself and allowed the younger man to recover, while Abrazimir shook and wiggled his leg to ensure there was no damage or pain that might impede his movement.

”What is that, three strikes now? Well I did choose to go one against two, heh…” he relented about himself, talking to Pele first, before looking to Trastion next. ”How you doing, lad?” He asked with a measure of concern, hoping he didn’t hurt the recruit too badly with his shield batter.

[Romeran]

Ranger Trainee Romeran
Studying under Pelecconer Orla
The Hatchet – Lesson 1
@Rillewen

"Axe specialists yes, we're not the most popular specialization" Orla admitted in response. Many people thought of the sword or the bow or scouting when they thought of rangers and few gave much consideration to the axe. This never bothered Orla, of course, who felt that there was a great advantage when your foe was unfamiliar with your weapon.

"Well that settles it" Orla continued in confirmation that they would train together. When Trastion mentioned that he didn't have an axe and offered to go get one from the shed Orla raised a hand to stop him. "Here, why don't you use this one." she said and pulled a second hatchet which was tucked into her belt at her left hip. Just as she had done with Romeran, Orla tossed the axe, head up and vertical but with no rotation or spin so that it was lobbed towards Trastion so that he could catch it easily, assuming he was paying attention and had at least reasonable dexterity.

"Romeran, why don't you review what we just covered regarding grips on the axe and get Trastion up to speed." this would be a good test of how well Romeran had been paying attention and give Orla a chance to observe the two junior rangers. Romeran nodded in response "Yes, Pelecconer Orla" he said in response. "Again, just call me Orla" she said with only a mild hint of irritation that Romeran had chosen not to comply the first time, although she noted that he seemed to do it more from respect than from defiance, she wondered however whether he would consistently fail to follow orders.

"Let's see." Romeran began "There are two primary ways to grip the axe" he said, proceeding in reverse order than Orla had. "The hammer grip" he said, holding the axe with his fist perpendicular to the haft. "The same way you would hold it to chop wood." he explain by analogy holding the axe in demonstration "and there's the extended grip" he continued shifting his grip to create a v-shape with his thumb and index finger "it is better for making cutting motions with the edge of the axe". Romeran held his ax ad mid-choke in an extended grip and made a few slow slicing motions demonstrating to Tristan, more to show Orla that he understood than to explain to Tristan.

"Then there's where on the haft you hold the axe, or the 'choke', holding the axe close to the head is called 'full choke', around the middle is 'half choke' and at the bottom of the haft is called 'long'' Romeran demonstrated holding the axe in these three positions for Tristan and Orla's benefit. "That's as far as we had gotten" he then finished and turned towards Orla.

"Good" she said, with an approving nod, the trainee had indeed been paying some attention at least. "Now, stances and guards." Orla moved so that she was in front of both Romeran and Tristan.

"a fighting stance is purely a matter of personal preference and you should use the one that is most comfortable. In both single and multiple combat the stance is only a place from which to start an offensive or defensive action. It is not a static position but rather one that a ranger comes back to when there is a lull in the engagement." Orla had began to pace slightly as she talked, waving the remaining hatchet in her right arm as she spoke.

"There are preferable qualities of a good stance, for example, from any stance you must be able to move quickly laterally, forward, or to the rear to either attack or avoid an attack." Orla stood in a strong-side forward stance with her axe held in her right hand in front of her with her left foot behind. She shuffled forward and backwards not crossing her legs to do so. She then shuffled to move laterally both left and right.

"There are two standard positions: strong-side forward and weak-side forward" Orla switched between these three positions. "In a strong-side forward stance, the axe, held in the strong hand, is forward along with the leading foot. The rear foot is angled perpendicular to the body and the leading foot pointed forward at a quarter turn." she demonstrated holding her axe at mid level and her left hand at her stomach height, palm open and facing forward, ready to grab or block an attack.

Jumping and switching her feet, Orla continued "A weak side stance is the exact same thing except the other foot forward. Usually you would have a long knife in this hand, but for now we will continue with an open palm." she demonstrated briefly by pulling out a long 11-inch knife from a sheath at her back and held it in a reverse-grip in her left hand with her axe couched in her right hand close to her armpit in a hammer fist at half-choke.

"Why don't the both of you familiarize yourselves with the two main stances. Try each one out, swing your axe a few times and see how they feel. In all likelihood you may find yourself switching between these depending on the situation. I know that I said there is no universally best stance, and that's true, but there are some situations where one may be preferred over the other. When you're done trying the stances let me know what you think a weakness or strength of each one is." with that, Orla motioned with the head of her axe for the two junior rangers to proceed.

(Source material on the hatchet taken from The Fighting Tomahawk by Dwight C. McLemore)

[Romeran]

Ranger Trainee Romeran
Studying under Captain Pele
@Cubanopele

Surprisingly, to Romeran at least, he was beginning to feel somewhat more comfortable on the beam. At least he didn't feel like every single step he took was a possible step off the beam. He took one step forward towards the captain, approaching slowly and more cautiously. He was learning that sudden movements and especially throwing his weight laterally made it considerably harder to stay on the beam. It was obvious, in hindsight, but sometimes you have to touch the hot pan for it really to sink in.

The captain's attack came quickly, from Romeran's perspective, and he made an intentional decision not to overcommit. Captain Pele had said he would learn and he was determined to do so. The shortest path to deflect the blow, that Romeran could think of, was to rotate his wrists down and block the attack form his right sweeping to his left side. Romeran went to deflect the blow with some force, but considerably more reserved than his previous attack, remembering not to commit too much weight to a lateral swing on the balance beam.

Instead, Romeran tried to deflect the thrust by making a small circular motion, starting from his right and rotating his wrists pointing the sword down and at an angle to deflect the thrust. Then as his sword continued through the circle, Romeran brought the blade quickly around and starting now from his left side, blade pointing slightly up and away from Captain Pele, Romeran took a small step forward and turned the parry into his own thrust towards the Captain's midsection.

Unlike the previous attack, Romeran remained more cautious. He had copied the captain in making a straight thrust in riposte to the parry, hoping at least his own attack would not throw himself off balance, although unfortunately it would be unlikely to do the same to his opponent. He had taken only a small step forward, not wanting to commit too much to the attack, using it as counter to keep the captain from pressing the attack without having to parry or dodge for herself. Although it was Romeran's instinct to be defensive, or commit fully to an attack, he knew from observing the captain alone that tempering these two instincts would be necessary for him to grow as a swordsman and ranger. Even if this attack was unlikely to present much of a threat, Romeran felt, at least in comparison to his prior attack, that he would be in a better position to recover and respond to any threats from the Captain herself.

[Pele Alarion]

Captain Pele Alarion
Sparring with Abrazimir and Trastion
@Lantaelen , @Rillewen

Urged by the handle of Abrazimir’s axe digging into her shoulder, Pele hastened to retreat, and managed to get away into a safe distance without getting in the way of that wild swing that followed or having to counter it in some way.

“Perhaps three,” she said with a soft laugh. “But does it matter? It’s not an easy task to keep two opponents at bay.”

Lowering the point of her sword towards the ground, Pele looked at Trastion but did not offer him any assistance, expecting him to get back to his feet quickly enough.

“Should we switch up and go for another round, or is this enough battering and prodding each other, guys?” she questioned, prepared to jump into action any moment though she looked quite harmless having not taken a stance which would warn of an immediate attack.

---

Captain Pele Alarion
With Trainee Romeran
@Romeran

“Not bad, not bad at all, Romeran,” Pele commended his efforts, letting his sword move hers out of the way and eventually pushing off his blade to disengage. From the impact she could tell that he had not gone all for it this time though she could still feel his strength in the contact made.

The attack followed quite quickly, and Pele made haste to move back along the beam. However, instead of making any sort of parry against his thrust she simply stopped just outside his reach, the tip of Romeran’s sword mere inches from her. She took another half a step back, left foot still forward, her hands down almost at her sides, holding her sword only in her right hand.

“Whatcha gonna do about it, Romeran?” Pele challenged, her blue eyes glinting with a merry spark. She stood in a seemingly careless posture, presenting to Romeran a target within easy reach should he decide to press on and repeat the thrust. While this put her in a somewhat vulnerable spot, she wanted to see what his thinking would be and what he would do when seeing what appeared to be an easy victory within reach.

[Romeran]

Ranger Trainee Romeran
Studying under Captain Pele
@Cubanopele

The captain's words of encouragement were particularly meaningful to Romeran who was beginning to question whether he would ever learn or if he wasn't learning fast enough. Confidence in his own abilities had always been a weakness of Romeran's but he did not want to become dependent on the praise of others as that seemed to him a fragile form of confidence. For now, he was glad at least to be making some progress.

Instead of parrying, Captain Pele had simply back stepped Romeran's attack which came as a surprise to him who had expected her to react as he had done. He smiled at his own naïveté, it was an inexperienced fighter who expected his opponent to behave exactly as he did. The captain was now still only a few paces or so away from him as Romeran had intentionally not overcommitted on his attack. He wasn't rewarded with an easy to parry counter attack, instead he was rewarded with no attack at all.

At the Captain's taunting, Romeran couldn't help but let out a short laugh, but quickly his face turned immediately focused and the frown returned. While this was child's play to the captain, this was a real puzzle for Romeran. He seemed to have her already backed towards her end of the beam, another thrust could force her to back up further inching Romeran closer to a victory. But then why had the captain put herself in that position and then, more obviously, why toy with him about it? It was beginning to feel like a trap, one that, had the captain not decided to openly challenge Romeran with, he wasn't sure if he would have recognized.

But how would he respond to the trap? Surely a repeated thrust would trigger whatever the Captain had in mind, and Romeran had absolutely no idea what that would be, so that seemed out of the question. He could stand there in guard or even take a step back, but he was unwilling to so freely give away a possible advantage. That seemed to him to essentially forfeit his 'turn' and he did not see a good reason to do so, yet.

A feint thrust he settled on finally. Like a hunter carefully triggering a trap with a stick, he was going to cautiously take only a small step forward, initiate a thrust and then quickly retract his sword. Romeran hoped this might trigger the captain into action but that he would be able to move back with sufficient time to dodge whatever reprisal was certainly in store.

Taking a quick but small step forward with his right foot, Romeran made another thrusting attack at the captain's midsection. Before he had extended his sword past two thirds of the distance to a full thrust, he quickly retracted his sword in precisely the reverse motion and simultaneously took the same step back, aiming to return to his position before the thrust. If the captain simply stood there, it was likely that nothing would have changed, but Romeran hoped that she might respond thinking that he had committed to a thrust and Romeran would be able to better respond.

[Rillewen]

@Pele Alarion @Lantaelen

Recruit Trastion Leithor
(Sparring with Pele and Abrazimir - some point before Midsummer)

Despite his attempts at moving swiftly, Trastion still found he was not quite fast enough. He blamed the armor; he was not used to it. Well, he was used to armor like this once upon a time, but that was years ago and he hadn't donned any armor in all that time except for the lighter weight leather stuff. He felt somewhat bogged down by it, and while he didn't know what it might look like to anyone observing him, he felt clumsy and overburdened in it. Whatever his dexterity and nimbleness, they were hindered by the armor, and although he managed to roll himself out of the way of Abrazimir's attack, getting to his feet proved a little more difficult. Thankfully, the Captain came to his rescue.

While Trastion could ordinarily hop to his feet easily, the extra weight was tiring him out a little faster than if he wasn't wearing it. As he rose to his feet again, he could feel sweat running down his face, and soaking his clothes as the sun beat down on the metal. He'd always had mild concerns about being cooked alive in such armor and hoped that wasn't actually likely to happen, trying to dismiss such concerns. "Fine," He grinned back to the knight of Lond Col when asked how he was doing.

When Pele asked whether they should have another round, or if they'd had enough, Trastion shrugged. "I don't know. You're the captain," He mentioned with a small grin. "What do you think? Do we need more training for the day? Either way, I'm getting some water," He declared, figuring this seemed like a good enough opportunity to take a little break, while leaving it up to the captain whether they would have another round.

---

@Romeran

Recruit Trastion Leithor
With Romeran and PelecconerOrla

Trastion was a bit surprised when Orla suggested he use her ax, and tossed it at him. Though he hadn't expected it, he was quick enough in catching it by the handle. He raised an eyebrow slightly, but shrugged to himself as he took a look at the hatchet, feeling its weight for a moment in his hand before nodding. "Thank you, ma'am." He replied with a polite smile at the Pelecconer. "I'll be careful not to damage it." He assured her, though he didn't really expect there would be many opportunities to actually damage it. Still, he would be careful. Moments later, he made a little mental note of the way Orla had told Rome to just call her Orla, without the 'pelecconer' added in front.

Turning then to Rome, Trastion listened to his fellow ranger in training as he explained about the different ways to hold an ax. He tested out each handhold as Romeran went through them. And, as it turned out, that was as far as they had gone. Trastion nodded as Rome informed him of this. "So, I guess I had really good timing." He grinned and silently went through each of the grips again, just to make sure he remembered. This was definitely different from chopping down trees, he thought with a little amusement. He vaguely wondered whether Orla might be curious about his, or Rome's, reasons for choosing the ax. Or if they had any prior experience. She obviously knew who Trastion was, by the fact there were no other recruits at this time, but she had apparently not been aware that he'd picked the ax as one of the weapons he wished to learn to use.

Next, they were moving on to the stances. Trastion paid close attention as she went through these. He was familiar enough with fighting stances, so the concept wasn't new to him. He shifted into each as the pelecconer went through them, trying to make sure he had his feet placed just right. "Do you want us to swing at the dummy or just to the air?" Trastion asked after she'd suggested they test out a few swings. After getting an answer to that, he nodded and tried out a few swings with the ax, trying to picture these with a moving foe. "So, I'm guessing the 'weak stance' is called that because..uh." He paused, thinking. "It's not as strong." he finished with a little grin, then shook his head, taking a little more time to think. "Sorry.. my more serious guess, is.. your dominant side is behind, so you're less able to put your weight into it, or something like that, maybe?" He guessed, partly based on what he knew of swordplay. "And the reverse is true of the other, of course... but then you, um." He paused, trying to think of a weakness for the other one. "You might get ambushed by a bunch of angry trees..." He made a little joke to cover the fact that he couldn't think of anything at all.

[Romeran]

Ranger Trainee Romeran
Studying under Pelecconer Orla with Trastion
The Hatchet – Lesson 1
@Rillewen

Both recruits had successfully caught the hatchet, that was a good sign at least. They were paying attention and had a reasonable level of dexterity. Orla smiled, satisfied. As Romeran explained what they had covered so far, Orla nodded in approval. While they hadn't covered much yet, she was glad at least that he had no trouble with recalling the information. Hopefully this would remain true throughout the lesson. Romeran smiled weakly as Orla nodded during his explanation, silently glad that he had not accidentally misspoke and made himself look like a fool. Luckily, there had only been a small amount of information to convey.

"Uncanny timing" she said, in agreement to Trastion's assessment. They had practically just begun when the other ranger trainee arrived which made it considerably more convenient.

As the Pelecconer explained the fighting stances Romeran nodded trying to show that he was paying attention, although the motion was unnecessary. Shortly, Orla instructed that they try out the two stances.

"Feel free to use the dummy, if you'd like" Orla said, in response to Trastion's question.

Romeran decided not to use the dummy for now and took a strong-side forward stance with his axe held at half choke in front of him and his left hand held above his waist. The blade of the hatchet cut the air diagonally from right to left as Romeran executed a short chop as if to the neck of an imaginary opponent. Romeran then switched legs so that he was in a weak-side forward stance with his axe held in the same position but his left hand held up in a high guard by his face. The hatchet struck again from right down to the left at the same target as before. Finally, Romeran did the same thing but took a step forward with his right foot, ending in a weak-side forward stance and having traveled a further distance to the imaginary target.

As the two recruits swung their axes around trying different holds and stances, Orla watched them carefully, trying to assess their level of comfort and willingness to try different holds and stances. Orla hadn't bothered asking either of them why they had chosen the axe at all, in her perspective it was an obvious choice and she didn't question it. They both seemed comfortable enough with the weapon in hand, and having witnessed at least Romeran strike the dummy, she had assumed both had at least some experience chopping wood or otherwise using an axe as a tool, it was after all one of the more common tools.

Initially Orla simply raised an eyebrow at Trastion's joke before breaking down and smirking. "Joke's aside, Recruit Trastion, the name of the stances refer simply to whether your strong side, that is the same side that you would usually hold the axe, is in the front hand or the rear hand, the stances themselves are not necessarily strong or weak per-se, each have their own advantages and you will likely find yourself in both of them throughout a fight" she explained, "especially if you are ambushed by angry trees" she added with a smile. "Trainee Romeran, care to add any observations?"

"Uh" Romeran began slowly "well in a strong-side forward stance the axe is closer to the target that you're facing and so can strike quicker" he said, almost as if asking it like a question. Orla showed no signs of confirmation and instead motioned with her hand for the trainee to continue. "Well and in the weak-side forward stance the axe is further away but that also means that it will swing with greater force as it will travel a greater distance." Romeran reasoned. The larger the log you needed to split the wider the arc of the axe to break it. "So I guess the trade-off is speed versus power?" he asked in conclusion.

Orla nodded approvingly "Yes, very astute that is generally the most obvious difference" she said, tempering her approval by pointing out that it was obvious. "As you were swinging you also took a step forward with your right leg in order to deliver an attack with your axe. This is much easier from a weak-side forward stance than from a strong-side forward stance where you have to shuffle your right leg forward. So if you need to travel a greater distance to attack and retreat back to guard, a weak-side forward stance can also be favorable." She explained and demonstrated attacking with a step forward and then returning to guard. "Of course, if you do not return to guard you will find yourself in a strong-side forward guard, so it's best to be comfortable in both stances."

The information was not complicated nor was it esoteric but it was practical and important and practically defined Orla. Romeran paid close attention to Orla as she spoke and watched her demonstrations. It was exciting to finally see someone fighting with an axe and he was glad to have such an instructor.

"Okay, one more order of business in terms of nomenclature" Orla said, glad that they would be done with terminology "the position of your arms we will call your 'guard', although as I just noted, this is also often related to your stance when you are not actively attacking" she explained, eager to conclude the section "You can keep your axe at an extended position" she said, holding her axe with her arm out in front of her, elbow still slightly bend, "half chamber" she said, moving her axe closer to her body with her arm roughly half way extended "and full chamber" she said finally pulling the axe close to her body.

"And finally, the location vertically is referred to as a high guard" and as she spoke, Orla lifted her arm so that the axe shaft was parallel to the ground with her palm facing out and the axe head pointing up to the sky.

"A mid guard" Orla shifted the axe so that her fist was slightly above her waist, axe perpendicular to the ground with the head facing forward to an opponent. "and finally low guard" Orla rotated the axe head so that it was down, axe not quite perpendicular to the ground instead it pointed slightly towards her back left foot, the blade of the axe still facing forward. In each of these poses, Orla's knife hand, though it did not hold a knife, was held open with her palm facing down at chest height in a mid guard.

"You should feel free to try out the different guards and see how they feel" she motioned that they should do so, but did not ask them to provide any particular discussion of each of the guards, they would come to that later. After letting the two younger rangers practice for a minute or two she called them to a halt.

"Now, let's move on to some attacks. Since you're both familiar it seems with the chop, let's start instead with the cut. While most people think of chopping as the primary purpose of an axe, and surely that is it's primary function as a tool, it is still, after-all, a finely honed blade. Assuming, that is, that you have done your job in keeping it sharp" Orla eyed the two recruits as if checking that they had done their homework, although it was completely in jest.

"To practice the cut, from a high guard, start the hatchet forward with a slight push. Feeling the weight of the head, begin to shift forward. Straighten the wrist until the arm and hand make a straight line. At that point, with the wrist straight, pull the edge through the target." As Orla explained she slowly followed the pattern of the cut, first from the outside, strong-side forward, and then cutting inwards from right to left.

"Normally, the edge passes uninterrupted through the target without the hook's catching on the target; the attack should flow smoothly, almost immediately, into another cut or attack. The cut produces a wide, deep wound that is very effective in severing important parts of various limbs." Orla motioned with her axe head to the back of the legs behind the knees and the ankles pointing out places where a cut might be particularly devastating.

"The ability to judge the distance accurately and make a proper presentation of the edge is essential for delivering accurate cuts. Because the edge is forward of the axis line of the handle, it is easy to misjudge distance when delivering the cut along the arc of a swing and so practice is required to become familiar with this attack." Orla concluded.

"Try the cut a few times in the air. When you're ready, try it against the dummy and see how it feels. It should feel very different from a chop and the axe blade should not embed itself in the dummy but cut across it, more like a knife or a sword." Orla motioned with her axe for the ranger recruits to proceed as instructed.

(Source material and image on the hatchet taken from The Fighting Tomahawk by Dwight C. McLemore)

[Lantaelen]

@Pele Alarion @Rillewen

Abrazimir Dimaethor
Sparring with Trastion Leithor & Pele Alarion, Training Grounds

”No, not easy at all. But it’s a viable lesson that should be learned and endured.” Abrazimir said back to Pele, though when she lowered her weapon, he did not, though he wasn’t malicious enough to attack during an unspoken truce, and maintained his distance and readiness only when all were ready to fight again. She inquired if they would go another round and while he was committed, he gave a glance towards the younger man, Trastion. Poor kid, he must be exhausted learning to use that heavy armour-

Despite his exhausted look, he was still on his feet. Panting a little hard, and sweating up a rainfall, but he was standing. Impressive. After all that exertion and vigour? And he was just a trainee? ”Young man’s got some heart left in him.” He said to Pele, after Trastion voiced casually his own indifference to continuing or not. Just a water break? ”Go then, and try not to drink too fast, or you’ll cramp up. You’re doing well for moving about in that armour.” Abrazimir praised the younger man. He really was a trainee? Only now did Abrazimir lower his weapons though, moving a few paces closer to Pele.

”Perhaps we shall change up the competition? Perhaps me and Trastion against yourself, Captain. Show us why you got the rank.” He challenged her lightly, flashing a grin.

[Pele Alarion]

Captain Pele Alarion
Sparring with Abrazimir and Trastion
@Lantaelen , @Rillewen

Pele gave proper consideration to Trastion’s condition despite his seemingly indifferent words. He certainly looked weary but apparently not enough to request the end of the sparring. A small smile played on the Captain’s lips while she sheathed her sword and reached for the small flask of water she kept strapped to her belt.

“I suppose some more practice wouldn’t hurt then,” she said, having taken a couple small sips to refresh herself. “Until we fall flat on the ground all winded like.” She laughed at the mental image this created for her and shook her head.

“What? Do you think I got the rank because I can fight off a multitude, Abrazimir? Might need to recover my shield to ward off you two axe-wielders if only for a while…” Pele laughed softly again. A sword which was shorter than the one she usually used limited her options of successful battle against two axes, but she was willing to give it a go, with or without a shield, and see how long she could hold her ground.

---

Captain Pele Alarion
With Trainee Romeran
@Romeran

Pele watched Romeran intently trying to read from his body language how he would be responding to her seeming carelessness. When he made as if to thrust again, she moved back once more, and with her right foot felt around to locate the end of the beam. With a nod she acknowledged his carefulness and not throwing himself fully into attack.

For a few moments she stood there, at the very end, her chin lifted slightly as she looked straight into Romeran’s eyes. Letting him gain an easy victory would not be of much use for the learning, so eventually Pele decided to throw in an attack for him to respond to.

With two small successive shuffle steps she moved forward along the beam to bridge the distance, Pele slipped her left hand behind her right hand to regain a two-handed grip on her weapon and smoothly raised the sword over her shoulder as if to go for a slash from above.

Pele took another step, moving her right leg forward in front of the left; however, instead of slashing down for Rome’s head or shoulder, she loosened the grip of her right hand and let the sword point drop behind her in a downward arc, as she aimed a light cut for the Trainee’s leg near the knee. This would leave her upper body wide open for attack, so she intended to continue the movement and bring her hands up to raise the hilt and have the blade in a diagonal position to intercept any incoming.

[Romeran]

Ranger Trainee Romeran
Studying under Captain Pele
@Pele Alarion

Romeran hesitated, initially raising his sword to parry high as he saw Captain Pele appear to prepare for a slash from above. He was tense, keenly aware that he was a less experienced fighter, and the pressure of training with the skilled captain weighed on his mind. His eyes followed her every movement, attempting to anticipate her strategy and react accordingly.

As the captain stepped forward, Romeran realized that her true attack was aimed at his leg. In a split-second decision, he rotated his sword, pointing it downward to block the incoming strike. The clash of their practice swords was a close call, narrowly saving Romeran from a hit. His heart raced, knowing that he had just evaded a potentially painful blow.

Romeran immediately took a step back, expecting that the captain would continue her assault. He was on edge, his thoughts racing as he tried to keep up with her tactical prowess. Breathing heavily, he reminded himself to stay focused and not to let his nerves get the best of him.

Noticing that the captain appeared to leave her upper body open, Romeran seized the opportunity. He quickly rotated his blade upward and lunged for an attack on her upper arm. Rather than committing his full weight into the strike, he aimed for speed, hoping to make contact before she had a chance to defend herself.

However, as his sword moved through the air, Romeran couldn't shake the nagging feeling that this apparent opening might have been a trap set by the captain. He wondered if his own attack would leave him vulnerable to a devastating counterattack. The thought sent a shiver down his spine, but it was too late to change course. All he could do was follow through with his strike and brace himself for whatever came next.

[Rillewen]

@Pele Alarion @Lantaelen

Recruit Trastion Leithor
(Sparring with Pele and Abrazimir - some point before Midsummer)

"Uh, thanks." He replied to Abrazimir's compliment about how well he was doing at moving around in the armor. Mentally, he was chiding himself for that. He'd pretended like he didn't know how to put it on, and then forgot to account for the fact he had once been used to wearing this stuff. Granted, he had expected to need a while to get the hang of it again, but the fact was, there had been a time he used to train while wearing this stuff. Not as a beginner, of course, but later it had been added in. This whole thing was getting harder and harder to keep up. He was worrying a bit about that as he looked around for his pack, and half wished that he had just decided to pass on this second round. But it was too late now, so he would just have to be more careful in the future.

Finding where he had left his pack, Trastion took out his canteen to get a drink. He remembered Arnyn, and others before her, stressing how important it was to stay hydrated, especially on a hot day. He wasn't eager to end up passing out from dehydration or anything like that, so he made sure to get several small sips before putting the cork back in. He had made sure to keep the sips small enough so not to get too much at once, as Abrazimir had warned about. At least the water wasn't all that cold anymore, since he'd been carrying it with him since early morning and had spent who knows how long just wandering in the woods here in the training grounds. He'd heard that it wasn't good to drink water that was too cold, while you've gotten hot.

As he rejoined the other two, he was just in time to hear the suggestion that the two guys go up against the Captain. He blinked, hesitating slightly at that thought. His first thought was to protest that two guys against one woman was hardly fair, and furthermore, they shouldn't attack a lady... but he managed to bite his tongue before any such words spilled out. As Abrazimir implied with his comment, Pele was the captain. So she ought to be pretty good at fighting, right? He'd learned not to underestimate the female warriors, such as Arnyn, so he tried to remember to think of Pele the same. "Your shield, captain." He offered it back with a grin. "Thanks for the loan. So, is that what we're doing? Us against the captain?" He wondered.

---

@Romeran

Recruit Trastion Leithor
With Romeran and Pelecconer Orla

For a moment, he was worried that maybe his joking manner would be frowned upon, but then to his relief, Orla grinned and showed that she had caught on to the fact he was joking. He smiled, then nodded as he showed he was paying attention while she was explaining the stances and guards. He had some prior experience with sword stances and things, so it wasn't all that difficult to understand. He had to pay a little extra attention to be sure he didn't mix up sword stances and ax stances, but otherwise it was easy enough to shift from one to the other. Honestly, he had understood what she meant about the stances, but had purposely tried to sound like he didn't... so not to raise any unwanted questions.

Next they moved onto guards, which he couldn't deny was rather important. Trastion watched curiously and nodded as she demonstrated the high guard. It seemed pretty similar to the sword guard of the same sort. He tried that out, testing how it would feel with an ax in hand. Next he shifted to the mid guard, trying to make sure that he copied the move the same as Orla had shown it. And then low guard. That one felt slightly odd to him, and he had to make a couple of adjustments before he had it right. He tried to mentally find something that he could compare it to, and hoped he wouldn't have lingering difficulty with that one.

Finally, the pelecconer moved onto teaching them attacks. Trastion nodded as he first tried out a few swings in the air, just to get a basic feel for it, then he tried a few swings at the dummy, testing out how the slicing, cutting motion felt when hitting something solid. A few memories drifted to the front of his mind... memories of fighting enemies alongside several men with axes. He paused after a few swings with the ax, carefully trying to push those memories to the back of his mind so he wouldn't accidentally demonstrate any prior knowledge of ax wielding. Not that any of those lumber men had had any training with an ax, other than against trees, but they'd done well enough, all things considered. None had died, at least, while the opposite was true of their enemies.

Taking a thoughtful look at the ax in his hand, Trastion considered it carefully. "So, this ax is rather multi-purpose, isn't it?" He inquired curiously. "Could you use it to cut firewood? And fight, obviously.. and also throw it? Anything else?" He wondered, testing the weight of it in his hand. After a moment, he tried out a few diagonal slashes, which would have cleaved a foe at the collarbone/shoulder, down to the torso. The wooden dummy held up a bit better under the attack than a body of flesh and bone might have, but it gave him the idea of how the attacks would have landed, anyway. After a couple more, he paused. "Wait, am I doing my wrist right?" He wondered, frowning as he realized that his arm was used to swinging a sword, rather than an ax, so that was how he was swinging it.

[Lantaelen]

@Pele Alarion @Rillewen

Abrazimir Dimaethor
Sparring with Trastion Leithor & Pele Alarion, Training Grounds

”Heh.” Abrazimir had to agree with the suggested outcome, of them training and sparring until they were laid out like planks of wood on the sands. Then it would be a good day. Pele had some words about his reasoning for why she had the rank. Because she could fight off a multitude? ”Well…yes? And maybe a little to do with brain power on top of that.” Abrazimir shrugged innocently, spinning one of the axes he held in his hand, while they awaited Trastion’s return. ”You’re more than welcome to change it up. We could even trade, axes for your sword and shield. A good defense is a great offense, as some elf warrior probably said, way back when.”

The young man soon returned, looking refreshed, and seeming confused about the new order of things, about them two against the Captain. Abrazimir didn’t even think of it in terms of two men against a woman. That meant nothing. This was all skill and merit. ”You are correct, Recruit. She’s going to show us why she wears the title. And maybe we’ll learn a thing or two, impounded right into our skulls.” He grinned morbidly, moving to circle around and join up with Trastion. Like they did to him, he and the other man could plot out their tactics. Once all was set, they could begin.

[Pele Alarion]

Captain Pele Alarion
Sparring with Abrazimir and Trastion

“Thanks. Now…” Pele gratefully accepted the shield from Trastion and secured it on her arm intending to keep it with her as long as she could instead of giving it up easily. “I would definitely much rather keep to shield and sword instead of two axes,” she maintained, unwilling to give up her preferred weapons. “Besides, you two need more training with axes, no?”

Her blue eyes glinting with some laughter, she simply looked on as the two men huddled together to discuss the attack.

“We’ll see how things turn out, and if I can hold against the combined powers of you both,” she noted half jokingly and half seriously, and adjusted the grip on her sword in preparation to counter an unexpected attack.

---

Captain Pele Alarion
With Trainee Romeran

It seemed to Pele that Romeran was catching up with how the swordplay goes quite quickly: while she was not going full speed since it was not her aim to overcome the Trainee completely to make herself shine, neither was she purposefully being too slow. It was always good to keep adding a bit more challenge and pressure to see how well he would keep up and learn on the go.

He read her feint and managed to bring his sword down with minimal movement to meet hers just in time. Pele felt the impact go up the length of the sword and up her arm; at the same time the same impact caused her to halt in the execution of her planned movements for a while.

When Romeran stepped back and immediately after went for her arm, the Captain decided to step back rather than angle her sword up again since this seemed like a swifter and more efficient movement. And, just as she moved, she felt the tip of his blade scrape lightly at her arm.

“Excellent!” she assessed the counterattack just as she brought her sword up against Romeran’s to see if she could push it aside and unbalance the large Trainee. However, she half expected him to push back, and considered the options of how she’d escape from being overpowered by sheer strength.

[Rillewen]

@Pele Alarion @Lantaelen

Recruit Trastion Leithor
(Sparring with Pele and Abrazimir - some point before Midsummer)

Hmm, interesting new order of things. Trastion still wasn't entirely at ease with Abrazimir, being a little unsure whether the other recognized him or not. But he hadn't let on, and he wasn't acting strangely, so maybe he hadn't. Trastion hoped not. He would have to just try to remember not do anything that might draw his thoughts toward his former self. He took a deep breath as he moved to 'huddle' and plot out a tactic. He could think of some things that he might have suggested, if he were back home doing a drill like this with his brother and stepbrother. Especially if it was the two brothers against Tog. But, since he was supposed to be an untrained, inexperienced recruit with no prior coaching about battle tactics, he kept those thoughts in his head.

"What do you suggest, sir?" He asked, looking up at Abrazimir for ideas and suggestions. "I suppose she's more skilled than, well, me at least." He felt as if none of his attacks against Abrazimir, earlier, had done anything at all to him, and so it was hard to feel very confident about having any better success against Captain Pele. "So.. how do we defeat her?" He kept his voice low so that the questions were kept between him and Abrazimir. He had the ax in hand, but he no longer had the shield after relinquishing it to Pele. He wondered if he ought to have grabbed one, but he also had no idea how viciously the captain might attack him.

[Lantaelen]

@Pele Alarion @Rillewen

Abrazimir Dimaethor
Sparring with Trastion Leithor & Pele Alarion, Training Grounds

Abrazimir shrugged his assent to Pele rejecting an exchange of weapons, though he did slam one of the two axes he was holding into ground, choosing to wield the other two handed for this upcoming bout. The Captain and the younger recruit seemed ready. Abrazimir glanced the younger man over, still having that thought at the back of his mind that he had…seen this man somewhere before. He looked awfully similar to another knight he had known in his youth, before the War. Maybe they just looked alike, or were distantly related, or something.

So.. how do we defeat her? Trastion inquired. Abrazimir flickered his eyes over to the Captain, older than them both, and wearing the rank that proved both merit and skill. We take her together, from the left and right, and simply overwhelm her through a combined arms effort… But no, it wouldn’t capture the essence of what it meant to be training though. ”What do you propose, Trainee?” Abrazimir flipped the question about, wanting to hear the younger man’s thought processes in this. Engage in some trial-and-error, how else would he learn? Lead the way.

”I’m at your command, you tell me the strategy.” He grinned, readying his stance and weapon as he faced down the Captain and left the decision to Trastion.

[Rillewen]

@Pele Alarion @Lantaelen

Recruit Trastion Leithor
(Sparring with Pele and Abrazimir - some point before Midsummer)

Trastion hesitated. He had not expected to be asked to give his own strategy plan. "Uh.." He stalled slightly, mind racing. What should he say to this? He gazed back at Abrazimir, slightly blank-faced, but not because he had no ideas. Because he was trying to stifle the ideas that he did have, and come up with something that seemed plausible for an untrained recruit to think of. "It's..actually just recruit.." He corrected mildly, since technically 'trainee' was a step above 'recruit'. And he wasn't there yet.

Clearing his throat lightly, he looked down at the ax in his hand. "Um, I guess.. like we did with you, just.. split up and attack from different angles." He suggested, trying not to sound quite as nervous as he was feeling. Because of who this was. He definitely hadn't expected to stumble upon Abrazimir here, of all places, let alone end up training with him. "Also, well, I've not really learned to do any fighting with an ax," He mentioned, trying to explain. "I've only had a few sessions with a sword, so.. this is..different." He frowned at the weapon. "I'm more used to.." He paused, abruptly stopped himself from saying anything about chopping trees. "Well, pickaxes.." He shrugged slightly with a sort of awkward smile. "Like, cutting stones out of a cliff..." He amended. "Cause.. that was what I did before this.. I worked in a quarry."

[Romeran]

Ranger Trainee Romeran
Studying under Captain Pele
@Pele Alarion

Romeran's eyes widened in surprise when he felt the tip of his blade make contact with Captain Pele's arm. He couldn't believe he had managed to land a strike on the experienced swordsman. A glimmer of pride began to swell within him, but he quickly suppressed it, knowing that he couldn't afford to lose focus. As he heard the captain praise his counterattack, Romeran felt a surge of happiness and satisfaction. For a moment, he allowed himself to bask in the warmth of her approval. However, he quickly snapped back to reality when he saw Pele raise her sword to engage his own. His heart pounded in his chest as he braced himself for the upcoming struggle.

Romeran gripped his sword tightly. He tried to push back against Captain Pele's blade, but using only a fraction of his considerable strength. Sweat beaded on his forehead from the exertion of the combat thus far. Despite his best efforts, Romeran felt his balance begin to waver. His footing on the narrow beam faltered, and he stumbled backward, his heart lurching with panic. Desperately, he tried to regain his equilibrium, his feet shuffling and scraping against the wood.

With each step back, Romeran's anxiety grew. He could feel the edge of the balance beam beneath the soles of his boots, and he knew he was teetering dangerously close to falling. His breathing became shallow and rapid as his mind raced, searching for a way to regain control of the situation. Finally, after taking two or three precarious steps backward, Romeran managed to steady himself just in time to avoid plummeting off the beam. He let out a shaky breath, his relief palpable. He glanced up at Captain Pele, his eyes wide with a mix of embarrassment and fear.

"That was close...," Romeran stammered, the words tumbling out in a rush. He knew it was a far cry from the confident, skilled fighter he aspired to be, but he couldn't deny the truth of the situation. He let out a smile and a small chuckle at his own inexperience. Despite his anxiety, Romeran was feeling more confident being himself around the captain and being able to laugh at his own mistakes. Not wanting to drop his guard for too long, Romeran caught his breath and prepared to reengage with the captain

[Pele Alarion]

Captain Pele Alarion
Sparring with Abrazimir and Trastion
@Rillewen , @Lantaelen

Pele simply stood at some distance, and while she did not listen to the words the two men exchanged, she observed their body language both to make some initial guesses at their strategy and watch the nature of their interactions. If her assumptions were not wrong, it looked to her as if Trastion was somewhat unsure - perhaps due to his lack of experience.

She waited and watched for a while longer, and then decided that she might just as well make things more interesting for them. Even when nothing she did would come as a surprise for Abrazimir was facing her looking all battle-ready, Pele still took a few determined steps towards them as if about to attack - silently raising her sword for a strike. However, she stopped short and retreated again, hiding a small grin behind the shield as she looked above its rim.

---

Captain Pele Alarion
With Trainee Romeran
@Romeran

Pele was already considering the options for disengaging since pushing against Romeran's sword took considerable effort on her part, and she knew she would not be able to sustain this position for long. However, before she could implement any of her ideas, the Trainee suddenly lost his balance and stepped back fighting to keep his footing.

The Captain followed him slowly, though she lowered the tip of her sword again and did not press the advantage while she might have it. Watching Romeran struggle, Pele wondered if she had not thrown a challenge too big at him by having him learn the basics of swords work on the balance beam instead of level ground when he had shared his lack of friendship with heights and balancing. Even so, he somehow managed to steady himself again and even chuckled at his own awkwardness.

"Close it was," Pele agreed, a small smile touching her eyes and lips. "But you are still up here, are you not? What happened though? You seemed to be quite steady there and applied quite some pressure against me," she then asked so that they could analyse the process together and look for improvements.

[Lantaelen]

@Pele Alarion @Rillewen

Abrazimir Dimaethor
Sparring with Trastion Leithor & Pele Alarion, Training Grounds

Abrazimir quirked his eyebrows at the rank correction. ”Recruit, then.” He accepted it. So what was the strategy? Trastion considered, then decided on what they had done against Abrazimir. ”Different angles, very good, Recruit.” He said in a cheery, subordinate tone. ”Pickaxes? Miner, huh.” He remarked with some amazement. ”Well, with an axe, you got range, swing to keep an opponent at a distance but be careful not to over-extend yourself. The key is-“ he began to explain, but then Pele began to advance on them and caused Abrazimir to shift into a focused, defensive posture.

The explanation would have to wait. Besides, what was sparring for if not to learn the ins and outs of a weapon? What works and what does not. Without the usual fatalistic consequences of battle. Abrazimir moved to advance on Pele, leaving Trastion to fulfill the strategy of flanking. He went straight at Pele, intent on beginning this next round by a full on strike of his axe against the center of her shield, to stagger her off-balance. He had no shield, so he had to be weary of her assaults. He had already taken some hits today and those parts of his body were starting to ache.

[Romeran]

Ranger Trainee Romeran
Studying under Captain Pele
@Pele Alarion

Romeran took a deep breath, gathering his thoughts before he spoke. "Captain, I've been struggling with finding the right footing and being able to shift my weight forward without also shifting it laterally," he confessed, his expression earnest. "When I pushed back against your sword, I turned my hips to engage my core rather than relying solely on my arms, like how you would chop wood effectively. But in doing so, I found that it pushed my weight outwards, away from the beam. When you chop wood your feet are square with your target, but here my feet are in line with my target." he explained as his experience in exerting his strength in chopping wood was when his feet pointed towards the object and the rotation of the hips intentionally shifts weight towards the target.

As he spoke, Romeran's brows furrowed in frustration, clearly troubled by the challenge that lay before him. "Unfortunately, my feet weren't positioned well enough to offset the shift in my weight, and that's when I lost my footing," he continued, recalling the near fall that had left him embarrassed and shaken. Pausing for a moment, Romeran looked to Captain Pele with a mixture of hope and determination.

"I know that my strength is one of my greatest assets, and I want to be able to utilize it effectively in combat," he said, his voice firm. "But I need to find a way to do so without compromising my balance. Do you have any suggestions or advice on how I can achieve this?"

Romeran stood there, eagerly awaiting Captain Pele's response. He knew that her guidance would be invaluable in helping him develop his skills as a swordsman. Despite the challenges he faced, Romeran was determined to overcome them, driven by a desire to become the best ranger he could be.

[Pele Alarion]

Captain Pele Alarion
Sparring with Abrazimir and Trastion
@Lantaelen , @Rillewen

It seemed to Pele that she had interrupted the men’s consultation a bit early, but she did not regret it that much – there would always be a chance to continue during the course of the action.

Seeing that Abrazimir came at her full strength, the Captain braced for impact and switched from facing him squarely to a sideways stance. Her right foot back and at an angle, she prepared to use it as a support to push back against the incoming force when it would land against the shield.

She did not have to wait long, the impact of the axe reverberated through her whole body and while she managed to not be overly unbalanced, she was forced to take a step back.

Pele decided to maintain her position and not open herself up more with an attack of her own, and while on her guard against Abrazimir, she quickly looked around to ascertain the whereabouts of Trastion.

“What? You want to cut the poor shield into splinters?” she asked, adjusting her grip on the mentioned device.

---

Captain Pele Alarion
With Trainee Romeran
@Romeran

Pele took a relaxed stance, bringing her feet closer together and then tucked the sword behind her belt to have it out of the way as she listened to Romeran’s frustrations.

“I doubt that there would be many chances of you having to sword fight an opponent on some sort of a beam,” she said with a small smile. “Solid ground offers more room to manoeuvre effectively, and I doubt you would feel this much unbalanced. However, a beam is a good place to practice balance.”

“And a narrower stance,” she added after a short pause. “Even when you have a strength advantage over me, if you came swinging a large two-handed sword at me from a full-on stance you would with the same present me with a much larger target of your full body to attack. The beam does require a narrower stance than usually on the ground though.”

The Captain examined the Trainee’s stance as she continued: “Technically, you are right to engage your core. It is your powerhouse. However, it is also your centre – it might take practice to be always aware of where your centre is.”

She moved her right foot back again to lower herself into a readied stance. “And footwork. You must know where your feet are and how to move them effectively,” she said and tapped her back foot against the beam. “Make sure that your back foot always provides sufficient support, that is, keep it across the beam in this case, not in line with it. Leg muscles flexed but never rigid as if made of wood. Core, butt, upper body – all engaged.”

“It is possible to move from a sideways stance forward and back again if you make sure your centre, most of your weight is above the beam and not over to one side,” Pele spoke, and raised her hands up as if intending to box against Romeran. “Just as I turn through my core and turn my hips, but only slightly…” she did just that to face Rome more fully with her upper body. “I shift my weight more towards the front leg and make sure my shoulders, my upper body does not lean too much on my right, off the beam’s line. See?” At first Pele switched back and forth between facing Romeran and off to her right slowly to emphasise the movements required, and then repeated the same with more speed and force, adding in a punch or two while minding the distance to Romeran.

“Leaning sideways to avoid a hit is more tricky, especially backwards; it requires some skill in finding a way to provide a counterbalance. I think…” the Captain resumed the relaxed stance. “With effort and practice you’d master balance enough to be a decent swordsman – or an excellent one if you wish to invest in it.”

Pele then jumped off the beam to observe Rome’s movements from the side and motioned towards the provided space. “Go on, try a few moves!”

[Rillewen]

@Pele Alarion @Lantaelen

Recruit Trastion Leithor
(Sparring with Pele and Abrazimir - some point before Midsummer)

Trastion was hoping to pick up a few tips on this, before they were launched into another round. But before Abrazimir could finish his sentence, the Captain made a move that cut off their discussion a little prematurely. He held back a sigh of disappointment and hastened to move around to attempt a flanking maneuver on the 'enemy'.

While Abrazimir came at her straight on, keeping her focus on defending from the front, Trastion moved in from the back/right angle and aimed a slashing attack toward her with his ax, hoping he'd be able to stop it short in case she didn't block in time. Otherwise it might hit her on the back of the leg, and could hurt even though the weapon was blunted.

[Lantaelen]

@Pele Alarion @Rillewen

Abrazimir Dimaethor
Sparring with Trastion Leithor & Pele Alarion, Training Grounds

The Captain withstood the initial onslaught with discipline, her eyes darting and attempt to locate Trastion. But Abrazimir, having been on the other side, knew the great weakness was in not being able to focus on more than one thing at a time. He had to keep up the assault, even lingering close enough to risk a counter parry from Pele. What? You want to cut the poor shield into splinters? ”Would the shield prefer a more dull fate than what it was designed to do?” He queried back in a mock philosophical tone, grinning at the ludicrous nature of it, hoping to be distracting enough for Trastion to make his attack worthwhile.

However Pele defended or reacted, Abrazimir followed up by throwing an open palmed strike at what was left of Pele’s shield, hoping to rattle her off-balance or stagger her enough.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Recruit Trastion Leithor
Archery range
August 1

The last time he had come to the training grounds was just two days ago, with Duinion. Trastion felt like the whole thing was a bit of a blur, by now. Having been extremely sleep-deprived that day, yet full of false energy from the apparently strong coffee that Nal had given him, Trastion wondered how much of an idiot he'd made of himself when training with the Tirdinen. Hopefully not too much.

Today, his left arm still bore a bandage, but it was covered(carefully) with a leather bracer. The bandage didn't show, but he could feel the light pressure against the deep gash in his arm, reminding him the injury was still very present. He wasn't sure what exactly he'd be doing today, so he had come with all of his gear; bow, quiver, sword, armor, pack and all. Just a few days ago, the healers had told him to take it easy with his arm, and he figured Arnyn would make sure he followed those orders. Still, he didn't want to assume she wouldn't decide he should do some light training with the sword. He had learned not to assume things with the lieutenant when it came to training.

After having parted ways from Arnyn at the houses of healing the other day, it had been a little later when he remembered he hadn't had a chance to talk to her in private. And she'd been busy doing other things all of the next two days, and he'd also had plenty of things to keep him occupied. So, he hadn't had a chance to find her until now. Today he would make sure to find a chance to tell her what he needed to tell her. Because, while he didn't like to tell anyone about this, the healer did make a good point. Besides, he trusted Arnyn with his secrets, and this was probably important for people like the lieutenant to know about.

Nodding a greeting to the guards at the gates as he passed through, Trastion headed for the archery lanes to meet with Arnyn. He was a few minutes earlier than the planned time, yet he wondered if she might already be there, as it seemed like an Arnyn thing to do. Or, maybe he'd gotten here first, he thought with a small smile, glancing around curiously.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen

Arnyn basically hadn't had a break all week. The fight with Relic, the fire, the aftermath. It had been a lot. On top of all other duties that came with being Second in Command. There had been families to inform and offer what comfort Pele and Arnyn could offer them - which was, admittedly, little - given the size of their loss. The housing situation at the barracks and trying to maintain some semblance of order there was proving to be energy-guzzling. Checking for possible traps had consumed hours upon hours... with Pele, by herself and with Duinion. The debrief. Adapting her agreement with Duinion and attempting to repair at least some of the damage there. Checking on Mourgan. Trying to help Pele. Trevadir's report. Everything else.

Really, if someone were to ask Arnyn to list the things she'd been working on, she would be tempted to just hit them over the head with the flat of her blade.

She basically saw this training session as the closest thing to a break she could afford herself. Even though there were things she definitely need to cover and should not forget, at least there was... the more open feeling of the grounds. The sense of calm she always felt when she came here. The Lieutenant had come early - but not to shoot arrows. She'd come early to practice what tended to calm her the most. Balancing exercises. While she could do some in her room or on the roof of the barracks, it wasn't quite the same as doing it on the grass or on the beams the training grounds could offer. And no one batted an eye when she did them here. She wasn't about to use Brian's pelouse up on Sixth and make a spectacle of herself.

All in all, she headed for the archery range with a surprisingly relaxed smile and a healthy sheen of sweat on her face. "Morning, Trastion!" she called out to him as she saw him looking about just as she approached. A grin mastered her face when she reached him and noted his full equipment. She was only wearing leathers herself, visibly carrying only her longsword, bow and arrows. "I see you came prepared. Good man! How is your arm feeling?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Recruit Trastion Leithor
Archery range
August 1

Turning, Trastion smiled to see that as he'd expected, Arnyn was here before him. Either that, or she'd been running to get here and worked up a sweat from that. He assumed the former, and called back, "Morning lieutenant." He waved with his free hand, holding the bow in his left.

He grinned at her, and raised an eyebrow at the comment about his bringing all his gear. "After our first training session, you think I'd come unprepared?" He teased, once she got close enough to speak normally, then laughed lightly. "Except for that one time when I forgot it was the day I was supposed to meet you, that is." He cleared his throat a little awkwardly at that memory. But he figured a concussion was a pretty good excuse for forgetting. "I wasn't sure what you'd want to go through today, so I just brought everything."

Glancing down at his arm as she called his attention back to it, he shrugged. "My arm's alright." He replied. "Still hurts a little, but I think it's getting better. It doesn't start bleeding if I bump it, at least." He smiled slightly. It had been four days now since it got injured, so there had been some time for it to make progress, thankfully. "I have the bracer on a little looser than normal so it isn't putting painful pressure on it." He shrugged, then turned the question around on her. "So, um, how're you? How's your neck?"

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
August

"I should hope not," she laughed, "but you never know." Arnyn just gave him an amused smile when he recalled the session while he'd had his concussion. The smile grew into a grin when he said he'd simply brought everything because he hadn't been sure what she had planned. Excellent.

"No bleeding is good." She'd had half a mind to ask him to take it off so she could have a look for herself, but then decided against it. "I trust you would tell me if there was a problem. And that you will tell me when it starts to hurt more or you are getting the impression you are putting too much stress on it." The Lieutenant paused for a moment as she assessed the look in Trastion's eyes, as if to verify he was taking her words seriously.

A wave was her first answer to his questions. How was she? An irrelevant question, and one she habitually glossed over. "It's just a flesh wound," she replied to the question about her neck as she led the recruit to one of the archery lanes. "It is an annoyance." Just another thing on her to do list every morning and every evening. Additional wound care. "But that's all." Some humour sparked in her eyes as she took her own bow in hand and smiled at Trastion. "Haven't spotted any fur or claws yet." She turned her attention to the target. "So. You first. Show me whether you've learned your way around your latest bow, Taras."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Recruit Trastion Leithor
Archery range
August 1

"Yes, lieutenant," Trastion answered when she all but ordered him to tell her if it began to hurt or bother him. He might not have, if she hadn't said something, but he wasn't really sure what he would have done. But he realized it was probably serious. And the healers had insisted that he had to take it easy and not do things that might cause it to bleed again. He nodded with seriousness in addition to his verbal assurance that he would tell her if he felt it necessary.

He was more curious to hear how Arnyn's wounds were coming along, but she swiftly dismissed that as nothing to worry about. Just an 'annoyance'. "Aren't all wounds annoying?" He asked with a little laugh. His grin grew when she joked about not spotting fur or claws yet. "Well, that's a relief. Because if you suddenly changed into a wolf... I don't know what I'd do."

With his attention then brought back to the archery matter, Trastion paused and glanced briefly at Arnyn when she said his name a little different, but shrugged it off as maybe he misheard, or maybe it just came off the tongue a bit oddly. He nodded and set his pack aside, he found it easier to access his arrows without it. Then took an arrow and put it on his string. Drawing it back to his jaw, he took a couple of seconds to aim before releasing it. He watched the arrow land in the target, but a little closer to the edge than he would've liked. "Better than the last time you saw me shoot, at least." He couldn't resist a little grin as he drew a second arrow.

"So," He hesitated slightly while he focused on turning the arrow so that the feather lined up the correct way. "There was something I thought I should tell you, but I haven't really had a chance." He mentioned, unsure if she would remember him saying something about that, before. That day at the houses of healing had been rather hectic, so he really wouldn't blame her if she had forgotten a minor comment amid all the aftermath of the fire and the sorceress/wolf battle and all that.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
August

"Why, yes they are," she agreed when he asked if all wounds were not annoying. "So I am lucky that an annoyance is all it is."

His claim that he would not know what to do if she turned into a wolf, made her grin. "That's obvious. If I'm a nice wolfy, offer me a nice pat on the head," she said sweetly, tapping the top of her own head lightly. "If you're unsure, distract me with food. Or if I'm clearly the vicious sort, incapacitate or kill me before I can hurt you." This brought her thoughts back to the debrief at headquarters a few days ago, and to some of the concerns voiced there. In particular to the question whether the Rangers should receive specific training on dealing with wild animals or some such. What to do all seemed rather evident to her, and sometimes Arnyn forgot that it was not so for everyone. She looked away a bit awkwardly at that particular failure on her part.

When Trastion prepared to shoot his arrow, she watched his stance and his grip on the bow and arrow. "Yes, better," she agreed with him, although she was referring to his posture and not the result on the target. As he drew the second arrow and continued to speak, the Lieutenant walked from his side, behind him and over to his other side. "Your shoulders are hunching just a little," she noted quietly. "Straighten them out. You have room, Trastion. Use it. Chest open." He was only doing it just barely - but it could make a wild difference on the target, she knew. "Ah, yes," she then replied to what the recruit had just said. "I remember. Should tell me?" she asked with a crooked smile. "Or want to tell me?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Recruit Trastion Leithor
Archery range
August 1

He grinned slightly at the joke about offering a pat on the head, or distracting her with food. But then the 'incapacitate or kill' comment took the joke out of it, and he hesitated before deciding to drop that topic. Thankfully, she had turned away and it seemed mutual to drop that line of discussion.

After putting the arrow on the string, Trastion swiftly tried to correct the things that Arnyn had pointed out he was doing wrong. Straightening his shoulders. He had thought they were straight, but he did feel the difference when he corrected it. Pausing as Arnyn asked if he meant 'should' or 'want to', he managed a faint smile back. "Should." He answered, quietly. "I don't actually like to tell anyone about this. But.. well, I don't know. Healer Linaiwe said it was something that others ought to know about, just in case. So, I figure she's probably right."

He drew in a slow breath, and sighed, trying to relax before releasing the arrow. Once it was planted in the target, he turned back to Arnyn. "It sort of has to do with the other things I told you. But.. more just.." he paused, realizing he might be sort of talking all around it. Start over, he told himself. "You remember my shirt, the.. one that was stuffed in the bottom of the chest, that I forgot all about.. from the day of the Midsummer?" he asked, focusing his gaze on the next arrow, as if inspecting it. "There was something about that incident which I didn't tell you about."

He hesitated. "While I was in the houses of healing, Healer Linaiwe noticed a rash on me. I asked her not to tell anyone about it, because I knew what it was from and that it would heal before long, and I didn't want anyone finding out." He glanced at Arnyn. "The alcohol that was poured on me that day I got the concussion.. that's what caused the rash. And, the reason I asked for my pack that day in the houses of healing, is because I had a jar of salve in there that I knew would soothe it." Despite the fact that he didn't see anyone else around, he still kept his voice low. Just in case.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
August

She might have to thank Linaiwe again, later. Arnyn kept her peace as Trastion began to speak of what it was that he felt he should tell her. Content with his stance, she now watched the arrow go into the target. She nodded. Better. Turning to look at Trastion as he spoke of 'the shirt', she raised an eyebrow. The one reeking of alcohol? Obviously she remembered. She was surprised that he returned to the topic now, having figured she might never learn the details of that particular happenstance. Yet... here they came.

Listening quietly, she nodded every so often, until he seemed to be taking a break. "It gives you a rash?" she repeated quietly, questioning. "As in some kind of allergy? Then... what happens if you were to drink some?" She'd asked before she good and well realized it, and quickly stopped herself from asking anything else. Such as whether he had that reaction to all kinds of alcohol or only some, and whether he'd had this all his life or not. Cause if he had... "I can see why you wouldn't want that kind of thing out in the open," she reasoned. "It's a sure tell."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Recruit Trastion Leithor
Archery range
August 1

Trastion paused, her question catching him slightly off guard. "Well." He hesitated, then offered a faint smile. "I call the stuff 'liquid death', if that tells you anything." He shrugged and then decided to answer more properly. He cleared his throat. "If I drink it, it's like my throat gets all swollen and I can't breathe. I get a really awful stomachache, like.." he paused to remember. "Well, it isn't good. And.." he tilted his head thoughtfully.

"I don't quite remember what else. I was pretty young that one time..." he smiled a little awkwardly before explaining, "My brother and I once sneaked into the wine cellar and decided we were going to try some of the grown ups drinks... I took one drink and got so sick, so fast, my brother didn't even have any, and they just assumed the wine had gone bad or something and threw the rest of the bottle out. I think I was..maybe six, I don't remember. But, anyway. Different stuff over the years has confirmed that it's just me. I get this awful reaction to it, no matter what it is. Even weak stuff, like beer or ale, makes me horribly sick."

He quietly took aim and fired, watching that arrow join the others, fairly close to them. "The reason I wasn't with my brother, the day that he died," he said softly, "is because my stepbrother and I got into a fight right before we were going to leave... he ended up throwing a glassful of some sort of strong alcohol in my face. And I had just opened my mouth to yell at him, and..I inhaled some of it." He cringed slightly. "That was...miserable. I thought my face was going to burn off entirely. It got in my eyes, and I thought they were melting. I couldn't breathe. I was so scared. If my brother hadn't come in when he did... and rushed me to the healer.. and even then, they were worried I might die. " he sighed, looking down sadly. "He gave me his good luck medallion that he always used to wear." He swallowed with a little difficulty. "He said I needed it more than him.." he stopped as his voice caught a little, cleared his throat, and decided not to continue down that trail of thought.

"So. Anyway. Yes.. um, I've been worried that if people found out about this.. well, it's..a rather unusual thing, right? And I feared it might draw unwanted attention from the wrong people." She had already guessed as much, but he mostly just confirmed that yes, that was his main reason for wanting to keep quiet about it. "That was why I thought.. when I woke up covered in it, that someone had tried to kill me. But, I was confused, because.. it was only on my shirt, you know? And if he wanted to kill me, he'd know all he had to do was just pour it down my throat.. and, well I'm really, really glad she didn't." They both knew what she he was referring to, so he didn't specify that.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
August

By the time he released his third arrow, Arnyn had once more forsaken looking at the target. Instead, she was once more simply watching Trastion. The way he spoke about both his reaction to alcohol and the day his brother died, made her quiet. Not to mention the thought that if Relic had poured some of the alcohol down his throat, he wouldn't even be standing there.

The Lieutenant drew in a breath. Released it slowly. Breathed in again. "It is a wise thing to keep to yourself," she praised his decision not to tell people. "If your stepfather had even so much as an inkling you were here, and you were to tell people about this - it would be all too easy to pinpoint you." Her thoughts returned to his words about his brother. Aearonor. She remembered the name from their conversation, now almost a month past. "Trastion. Lack of luck had nothing to do with your brother's death. Your stepfather had everything to do with it. If you managed to take it with you... cherish that medallion." Without even thinking about it, she reached for the gem on the thin yet strong chain around her neck. "Good memories can guide you through the darkness, should it ever threaten to encroach."

She hesitated. They were already speaking quietly, but her voice dropped some more, even so. "He has no idea you are anywhere near Minas Tirith, correct? You did not used to rave about wanting to see the White City? As far as anyone back home knows, you might as well be dead? Assuming Abrazimir has kept his peace? And if no one else with roots in Belfalas might have recognized you?" She'd been thinking about that. She'd been thinking about his situation a great deal, in fact. And had learned more about who he was and who his family was, than she'd shared with him.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Recruit Trastion Leithor
Archery range
August 1

Trastion was relieved to hear that it had been a good decision to keep it to himself. He nodded faintly, glad to hear that confirmed. "Yeah, that was my thought, too." He agreed, when she mentioned how it would be far too easy to find him, if word about this got out. He went quiet then as she spoke about how the lack of 'luck' had nothing to do with Aearon's death. He managed a tiny shrug with one shoulder, but didn't protest. He knew she was right. Still, it was difficult. Everything about it was difficult to come to terms with. That he would have died along with Aearon, if not for that one stupid fight... he still didn't know quite what to think of that. So he tried not to.

"If you managed to take it with you... cherish that medallion."

The lieutenant's next words struck a particular chord in his heart. Lowering his bow as he let his hand hang by his side, Trastion's head dropped down, turning slightly to the side, away from her. As if trying to hide the look on his face; a mix between heartache and frustration, perhaps even a little shame mingled in. After swallowing hard to force down the lump in his throat, he took a shaky breath. "...I lost it." The admission came as little more than a whisper, but there was unmistakable sorrow audible in it.

As the following questions came, Trastion took a moment to think on them before slowly shaking his head. He lifted his head again, holding back a sigh. "No, I don't remember ever saying anything about wanting to come here." He frowned, thinking a moment. "Some men in his employ nearly found me, before, when I was working in the lumber camp in Lamedon. I left before they saw me, but I'm sure they'd have learned I had been there. After that, I got the job in the quarry. And then someone I didn't recognize came around the quarry, asking questions about me. That's when I set out for Minas Tirith, to join the rangers. I..think I was pretty careful about my tracks." Obviously, a person more skilled than himself would probably have little trouble following his trail, but having grown up in the woods playing intense games of hide and seek with Aearon, he felt that he was probably a little better than the average person at tracking and covering his tracks.

Her wording about 'anyone back home', made him hesitate a little. "I sent a coded letter to my sister under another false name that only she would recognize, because I promised her that I would write as soon as I was able to." He admitted, wondering if Arnyn would think that was a mistake. "It had been a long time since I made that promise." He hesitated, then added, "She promised she wouldn't tell anyone anything, and I trust her to keep her promise."

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
August

"I lost it."

She sighed. Oh no. "I'm sorry to hear that," she said quietly. Doubtlessly, he had searched for it as much as he could. Asking about that, might not help much. And yet... "How did you lose it?" she tried, gently.

That people had almost found him on two of his previous jobs, though, wasn't very encouraging. "How would they have found you in that quarry?" she asked, out loud. "I can understand your stepfather's people having business at a lumber camp, but the quarry? Then they would have had to have some suspicion you were there?" she asked, wondering if she was missing anything. She was also concerned that, if they had found him before, they could find him again.

Trastion's admission that he'd sent a coded letter to his sister, made Arnyn's eyes widen. He did what? "Coded? And under a false name?" she checked, holding her sudden concern in check and keeping herself from grabbing his arm. "Would your mother or stepfather be suspicious of someone they do not know writing to their daughter?" Perhaps it was a good thing, though, that he had waited 'a long time' to write the letter. "How long after you left home did you write this letter? Did you write it before you came to Minas Tirith?" She hid her nerves with a joke that wasn't really all that funny. "I mean, it wasn't like you were writing a coded letter to your sister the day I saw those ink stains on your shirt in the barracks, right?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Recruit Trastion Leithor
Archery range
August 1

Trastion sighed softly, then glanced up with a faint, rueful smile. "Remember that day you first met me? In the stable yard, wrestling a dog that had just robbed me.. rolling around in the mud?" He sighed, then shrugged slightly. "I should've been wearing it. I just.. I thought it would be safer stowed away in a pouch. I never expected a dog to get hold of that pouch and run away with my most valued possessions." He frowned and looked down again. "I've looked and looked, but I can't find any of the contents from that pouch." He paused. "Well, I did find the thing that my sister had given me, but.. not the medallion. Nor the ring.." he cringed slightly at that. His family crest was on that ring. An older version of it, anyway, passed down through several generations. He was rather worried about that being found by the wrong person.

Arnyn's question about the quarry was one he had thought about himself, a good deal. "The only thing I could figure was, they must have just started traveling around the area, trying to find me..." He answered with a shrug, then paused and glanced up at her. "Wait.." He blinked at her. She knew they had business with a lumber camp. He tried to remember if he had told her anything like that, but he couldn't quite remember. "Did I tell you anything about the lumber..?" He wondered, speaking a little slower with puzzlement. But he also decided it didn't make much difference. Moving on, he added what he recalled about that incident at the quarry. "The guy that came to the quarry... I'd never seen him before, but I overheard him talking to my boss, and he said something about searching for his 'nephew' and talked like he was all worried. But he described me.. perfectly. And he said that it'd been nearly a year since he last saw this 'nephew', and that was about the length of time since I'd left the lumber camp." He shrugged. "So, I don't know. I didn't travel very far, so they probably figured I must hiding around somewhere. And that I'd have to have some way of earning money, so they'd just try everywhere that a person could get a job. They had plenty of time to search around the area, I guess that guy probably just happened by luck onto the place where I was. There could be a few dozen other guys scouring the fiefdoms for me by now, for all I know."

Arnyn's reaction to his admission about the letter made him hesitate. He cleared his throat, fidgeting a little awkwardly as she asked whether he had written that before coming to Minas Tirith. A little uneasy, he questioned whether he had been very stupid in doing so, but it wasn't like he put the barracks address on there, and he'd written in in such a way that he'd even slightly worried Linn might not know it was him.

"I mean, it wasn't like you were writing a coded letter to your sister the day I saw those ink stains on your shirt in the barracks, right?"

"Umm.." He fidgeted even more, and absently ran a hand through his hair, looking away. "Among other things," He admitted hesitantly, awkward to admit what else he had been writing that day. "But," he hastened to add, anxious now that maybe he'd messed up, "I don't think there's any need to worry. I used a girl's name, and I wrote it like.. as if it was a young girl writing to a friend. And then Mourgan helped me with sending it so that it couldn't be traced back to me or anything. I even used my left hand to write it, so it'd be.. less neat. Anyway, Linn often writes back and forth with her friends; she gets letters all the time. So, I don't think they'd think anything about her getting a letter from a friend, even if they noticed." He hesitated. "Her father hardly ever pays attention to her, or cares what she's doing so long as it doesn't reflect on him in any way. And Mother mostly lets the governess handle day to day stuff. If they asked her who the letter was from, I think she could come up with something convincing." He shrugged, and glanced at Arnyn hesitantly. "Do you.. think it was a bad idea?"

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
August

"Hattie," she mumbled, letting out a held back sigh. Not the dog's finest moment, if that pouch had indeed carried Anurion's most prized possessions. His brother's medallion, and a ring. A ring that held meaning, clearly. "If you've found one of the items, perhaps you will still find the others," she tried to comfort him. "Don't give up hope." And then, she wondered - had he? There had been certain... things happening around the barracks in the past few months. Things with which the Barracks Master had been... Well. Let's say 'upset'. Her expression turned from thoughtful to one that seemed all sorts of things at once. Intrigued, curious, suspecting... "Have you been digging aroung for your posessions?" she asked all of a sudden, but before he could react she squeezed her eyes shut and raised her hand as if to stop him from offering a reply. "No, wait -" she said, resolutely. "Don't answer that." After giving Trastion a moment to hopefully wipe any telling expression from his face, she dropped her hand and opened her eyes again. "Let's not go there. It would be easier if I don't know for sure." She already knew way too much about certain things than sometimes made her comfortable. A frown touched her brows when she thought back to the scene with Trastion, Kaylin and the guards in the First Circle, some weeks before. She still was not sure what to do with that. But the more time passed, the likelier it became that she would not do anything with it at all.

When the recruit seemed to pick up on something, Arnyn flashed him a momentary, faint smile. It was gone in no more than a heartbeat - replaced by her usual, calm expression. She shook her head briefly at his question. No, he had not told her about the lumber. He moved on so quickly, though, there was not much opportunity for her to respond verbally. And Arnyn was very interested in what he had to say about the quarry.

What Trastion knew and assumed did not completely satisfy her. But it could have indeed been random. When Trastion said there could be dozens of people looking for him by now, sudden goosebumps appeared underneath her leather bracers. If that was true, it would only be a matter of time before they came to the White City. Right? Or am I being paranoid? While her logical mind was racing through the different options and scenarios - and not finding many if any certainties she could work with - Trastion cleared his throat and started fidgeting. Her full attention returned to him, and she frowned slightly as the realization already set in. He HAD sent it from Minas Tirith.

The Lieutenant was eying him thoughtfully when he admitted that he had in fact been writing that letter that time in the barracks (!!), and as he explained a bit more how he had gone about it and why he thought it would be safe enough to send to his sister.
It could be a problem. But it could also be done. A lot depended on his sister, in this regard. It would help if the parents were not keeping a close eye on her. Then again - Arnyn thought it would make good sense for the stepfather to watch his daughter like a hawk if she was his best bet of learning whether Anurion was still alive and kicking somewhere. The reality of the matter was - they did not know. Nor could they know, unless they asked dangerous questions or embarked on some ill-advised trip to Belfalas. Arnyn bit the inside of her bottom lip, revisiting a thought she'd had too many times to count. We need some kind of proof. But how to obtain it?

"Do you.. think it was a bad idea?"

She stared at him for a moment. The damage in his eyes. The hesitancy in his body language. He had only meant to do good, after having been remiss in fulfilling his promise to his sister. His sister, whom he cared about. His only living blood relative who felt like family to him.
"I think it was a risk - but I cannot judge to what extent. I do not know your sister, your mother, your stepfather... And neither you nor I know her current situation, for it might have changed since you left," she responded quietly. "I also think you showed your sister a kindness. And you proved yourself true to your word."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Recruit Trastion Leithor
Archery range
August 1

Trastion blinked as Arnyn suddenly asked him, flat out, whether he'd been digging around looking for his things. His mouth opened in surprise, though his voice seemed caught in his throat, for the moment. He had not expect that question, and was quite at a loss on how to answer. He didn't really want to admit to all of the nighttime digging he'd been since his arrival, but at the same time, he knew better than to lie to her about it, either. Fortunately, before he had a chance to recover from the surprise of being asked, the lieutenant almost immediately told him to not answer that.

Trying his best to not look guilty, he closed his mouth and by the time she had opened her eyes, he had focused his attention on smoothing the feathers on an arrow that he had in his hand. He was also thinking about what she'd said concerning the lumber, and the shake of head that she'd given in answer to his question. So, no. He didn't tell her, but she knew. So... she must know who his family was? He was thinking about that, but then decided it didn't really matter too much. It was Arnyn, and considering all that she'd figured out on her own without him telling her anything, he guessed she must have figured out the rest after what he did tell her. He'd given his brother's name, after all, and enough details that it would only take a few simple inquiries to find out the rest, he realized.

What he was most worried about now, was whether the lieutenant thought he'd made a big mistake in writing to his sister. He held his breath as he waited for the answer, undeniably nervous about the answer. When it came, it was reassuring, at least. Although, he detected, or at least suspected, she was merely being.. kind, with her answer. He nodded slowly however, as she spoke of how they didn't know how things stood now, with Linn. He hesitated. "Yes, I suppose I knew it was a risk." He admitted quietly. "I guess.. I mostly just missed her." He looked down at his arrow. "We.. helped each other through the grief, back when.. it happened. I don't know how I could've gotten through it without my little sister.. trying to be strong for her. Trying to be a big brother, you know." It had been hard, without his big brother there, but he had drawn from his example and did the best he could during a hard time. "I spent a lot of time with her during all that, and.. that helped me keep from getting lost in the sorrow."

"She wrote back to me," he mentioned, cautiously. "So, I do know a little about the way things are for her." He shrugged slightly and took his time putting the arrow on his string. "She wishes I would come home. I... haven't told her anything about why I left, or why I don't come home." He added. "I told her I had to go away on a quest or something, and it was a big secret, and she mustn't tell anyone.. things like that." He slowly drew back his bow, trying to aim a little closer to center, but when he released the arrow, it went a little too far to the left, though still in the target. "I was meaning to ask, by the way, before I got off on that.." He added, suddenly remembering, and turned to Arnyn. "Do you think I ought to tell the captain about the alcohol thing? Or is it fine, just telling you about it?"

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
August

The latest bit of information metaphorically made her jaw drop. In reality, Arnyn's facial expression remained the same as Trastion told her his sister had written back. He shot another arrow. That was convenient, as it allowed the Lieutenant to turn her attention to the target. She intentionally did not return her gaze to Trastion when he addressed her with a direct question about telling the Captain about his reaction to alcohol.

Silence fell between them as she pulled an arrow of her own from her quiver. A moment to herself would be good, right about now. Focusing on the target, she nocked, drew, aimed on instinct and released. She repeated the process one more time and then turned back to Trastion.

His question about telling Pele was ignored, for now.

"How did you sister manage to reply to you?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Recruit Trastion Leithor
Archery range
August 1

Trastion was a little unsure what was going on in the Lieutenant's head, as usual. He watched her shoot two arrows, without replying to his question. Perhaps she was thinking about that? He waited patiently until she turned back to him. But the words that came were not an answer to his question, but rather a question of her own.

Trastion blinked, and realized he had not really explained very well about that. He hastened to correct that, and suddenly hoped that it hadn't been a mistake. "Um, Mourgan helped with that.." He cleared his throat, slightly uncomfortable, and tried not to squirm. "He arranged it so that I could send it from another address, so if she replied, it would go to there, instead of to the barracks." He fidgeted, slightly unsure whether it had been a bad idea, now. "Mourgan...may have got the impression that it was some girl I wanted to court, but whose father didn't approve, which is why I was trying to contact her without the father knowing.." He added in a slightly awkward mumble.

"When she replied back, she put a different return address on the envlope, and told me to address any future letters to that address, and to use another name on the envelope." He added with a faint smile. He hoped Arnyn would believe that his sister was really taking the secrecy thing seriously. "That way, the letters wouldn't even be going to our house, where he might see them and wonder." He hesitated. "I know you don't know my sister, but she'd never betray me, I'm sure of that. Just as sure as I am about you, Arnyn." He said softly, trying to convince her.

[Pele Alarion]

Captain Pele Alarion
Sparring with Abrazimir and Trastion
@Lantaelen , @Rillewen

"Perhaps the shield would rather collect dust in a dark corner somewhere," Pele suggested while she assessed the situation without attempting any direct attacks of her own. She raised the shield to meet Abrazimir's next attack, and at the same time attempted to pivot on her left foot to bring her right foot back and out of range even as she brought the sword down with considerable strength to knock away Trastion's axe.

The attempts at trying to deal with both men at once made it difficult for Pele to execute perfect movements, and in the process of attempting to turn away from Trastion's attack she had moved the shield arm out and away from her body. The impact of Abrazimir's axe made the shield all but useless and sent the pain shooting up Pele's arm. She gritted her teeth and got rid of what used to be a perfectly good shield by tossing it at Abrazimir to distract him for a moment, and took a few steps left and backwards in an attempt to have both 'opponents' within view.

Left only with a shortsword, Pele knew she was at a great disadvantage, considering the fact that both guys had more reach with their axes. The only chances of surviving a bit longer was to make the best use of agility to sneak in some attacks if she did not want to keep running in circles just out of reach which would perhaps ensure no damage to either party.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
August

She let his words sink in, instead of replying straight away. Considering the implications. Weighing the risks. If only the thing he was risking wasn't his life.

"You're a grown man, Trastion," she said finally. "Your personal decisions are your own. That goes both for writing to your sister - or not, and telling your captain about your reaction to alcohol - or not." Arnyn took a step closer and put her right hand on Trastion's left shoulder. "Stop fidgeting." The Lieutenant looked into Trastion's eyes. "I'm not about to yell at you or send you to your room without dinner. This does not pertain to your training." Some hesitation was visible in her eyes. "I might offer my opinion or what little insight I may in these matters," she said quietly. "But the choices remain yours."

She removed her hand from his shoulder and reclaimed her earlier position, to shoot at the target. Her third arrow soon found its way there.

"The secrecy of where and who you are, unfortunately does not solely rest upon your sister's shoulders." A fourth arrow. "A lot can go wrong, every single time you write to her or that she writes back." A fifth arrow. "Was it not you, at headquarters, musing on everything that could have gone wrong with Relic? Have you gone over all the things that could go wrong with this?" A sixth arrow. "I am not doubting the trust you have in your sister nor am I doubting whether she will keep your trust - it's everything else, Trastion." A seventh.

"She is using a different address. She has to be involving others. Regardless of the story she is telling them - if Torthon were to hear anything about it, he might draw his own conclusions." An eighth. "From everything you have told me, at the very least it would remind him to send some people to the place where the letters came from." A ninth. "Minas Tirith. Every letter you send, is a risk. A permanent one, if your sister is saving them somewhere. Whatever you keep, can be found." A tenth. Soon, eleven of her arrows were jutting from the target. "She also does not know your life is on the line."

With a hint of exasperation, she turned around to face Trastion again, spreading her arms, her bow in her left hand. "Your life," she insisted, her voice still low.

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Recruit Trastion Leithor
Archery range
August 1

Listening as Arnyn pointed out all the variables he had not really considered, Trastion frowned and became more solemn and quiet. He hadn't really thought about this enough, he was realizing after talking to Arnyn about this. It wasn't that he felt like he was in trouble with her, but more like, he feared that he'd done a really stupid thing and she was disappointed in him and he wasn't sure how to fix this, now.

Hearing his stepfather's name drop into the conversation, he blinked in surprise as the lieutenant, perhaps inadvertently, confirmed that she did in fact know more now than what he had told her. He shouldn't be surprised though, he realized. And the mention about her possibly saving the letters reminded him that Linn did like to save her letters. He remembered she had a box stuffed full of letters. Of course, she would keep anything she got from him. And, while he didn't even know whether Torthon was still trying to find him, he also had no reason to believe he was not. And he wouldn't put it past him to search Linn's room. He would know they were on good terms. He had hoped, if he waited a long while before trying to contact her, that it would give plenty of time for the man to give up on that, but he really had no way of knowing what was going on, or what things were like back home.

He sighed silently, head dropping for a moment. This whole thing was getting to him, again. Perhaps, having been living in the walled city, in the ranger barracks, among other rangers, making friends.. it had all begun to give him a false sense of safety. For a while it had almost seemed like the danger had faded into the past, as if it were a bad dream. He realized he'd had a lapse of judgement that might very well have drawn the danger right back to him. Now, as Arnyn brought to his attention the various things that he had not thought about, he realized another thing. Mourgan's mother was another variable he hadn't considered. What if Torthon or his men did come here, tracing the letter back to that address... she wouldn't know that there was any danger to Trastion if she answered questions about him.

"I.. don't know what to do." He muttered, feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all. He ran a hand through his hair, thoughts racing now as he tried to stay calm and not give into panic. Taking a deep breath, he looked up at Arnyn. "I messed up, I realize that, but how can I fix it?"

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
August

Arnyn watched Trastion's demeanour as it seemed to spiral down toward the realization he had - in fact - put himself in danger. And the realization that, now, he had not know what to do, or how to 'fix' what he did wrong.

The Lieutenant was starting to develop an aversion to the word. Fix.

"Shoot the target," she ordered, quietly but firmly. "Find your center - your calm - and shoot the target." She waited for him to do so. "Again." A nod. "And again."

Using this time to order her own thoughts, Arnyn then let out a long breath and gestured for Trastion to follow. "Come on. We'll retrieve our arrows." There were... a lot of them, embedded into the target, by now.

She did not hurry on their way over. "What is done, is done," she told him. "Neither of us can change that. But perhaps we can try to minimize some of the risks. What address did you send the letter from, if not the barracks? Who can it be traced back to, if not you? Mourgan helped you, so would it trace back to him instead?"

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Recruit Trastion Leithor
Archery range
August 1

At first, Trastion felt slightly confused when she answered with 'shoot the target'. How would that help anything? But it took less than a second to realize she was just telling him to do so, not because it would fix anything. Right. They were here to practice. Rather, he was here to practice. Taking aim, he took a deep breath and released it before letting the arrow fly. Again, she said. He took another arrow from his quiver, firing that one as well. And another.

His thoughts were still racing, trying to think of how to correct the mistake he had made. Mistakes, he should say. He'd definitely made several, and could hardly believe he hadn't realized what a stupid thing it was, until now. Holding back a sigh, he nodded in answer to her suggestion they gather their arrows. Hanging his bow on a thing meant for that purpose, he set off down the lane with her. At last, the lieutenant spoke again, to answer the question he had asked. Trastion glanced at her as he listened, while quietly tugging an arrow out of the target.

And then she asked about the address. ".. his mother," He answered quietly, cringing slightly as he heard himself admit how stupid he'd been. Now realizing it, he hoped Arnyn wouldn't feel the need to tell him how stupid it was that he'd done this. Although he figured he probably deserved it, if she did. "I shouldn't have involved her or anyone else. I just.. couldn't think of any way she could write me back without putting the barracks address on it. And Mourgan came up with that idea...said his mother would help." He stared down at the ground. "He didn't know it was anything like this, of course." He frowned, feeling rather miserable about it all.

[Arnyn]

@Rillewen

Lieutenant Arnyn Dealedwen
August

"Mourgan's mother," she repeated, in a level tone. So if Trastion's stepfather sent people to investigate, they would find Mourgan's mother. A baker. That was innocent enough. Mother to one of the King's Rangers. Roommates with the person they would be providing a description of. And Nelladel knew Trastion. "If someone comes looking for you and describes you, she would be able to tell them, then. Though I don't think she would just tell anyone." It was still a risk. "Do you think you could talk to her?" she suggested. "And I do not mean that you tell her exactly what is going on, but... That there's a - not illegal - reason you wanted to send that letter from someone else's address. And whether she might pretend she's clueless about the letter and can't put a name or face to a description of you if someone were to come by and ask." Arnyn shrugged. "It will still be up to her, there is nothing we can do to change that. And she might not be willing to go along with this if you do not give her more of the story. But you can always ask. And see."

"As for your sister, if she's thrown away the letter and any evidence - that would be best. If she hasn't, it all depends on whether someone finds it or not. And if they do, whether they find your code suspicious enough to follow up on it. We cannot influence any of that. What we can influence is whether or not we increase the likelihood of all this happening." She reached out for Trastion's arm. "In my opinion... you should not send any more letters. Not even to ask your sister to destroy them."

"Tras," she added, turning him to face her. "I did not know your stepfather had men actively searching for you. If that was the case, it still could be the case. The more time passes without him picking up a trail, the less likely it is, but... we should assume the worst case scenario." It was his life on the line. "In a perfect world, we would be able to take this to the Prince in Belfalas or even to the King without further ado. However, at this point I'd assume it would be your word against Torthon's. Unless you have proof already, there are no guarantees." Arnyn was defaulting to reason. "I think that course of action would be premature. Worst case, they rule against you and you suffer the consequences of wrongful accusation or even libel. And Torthon knows exactly where you are and as whom you've been posing." She remembered Trastion saying his mother would not even believe him. That led her to believe he had no proof that would be strong enough to support his case.

Her expression was determined as she looked at him. "However. That does not mean we cannot prepare."

[Rillewen]

@Arnyn

Recruit Trastion Leithor
Archery range
August 1

He listened as Arnyn spoke about Ms Nell, and was relieved that she didn't seem upset, at least. He nodded as she suggested he might talk to her. "I did that when I spoke to her initially," he mentioned. "Well... Mourgan did a bit of the talking in that, I just..didn't correct him." he added a bit awkwardly. "Something to the nature of, I was infatuated with this girl, but her father hates me, and I want to keep in touch with her, but he won't let us be together, so this is the only way, or something like that." He cleared his throat, trying to remember everything he'd said that day, but he couldn't quite remember exactly what he had told her. "She seemed.. surprisingly understanding." He added, remembering how surprised he had been about it all.

He next thought about the rest of what Arnyn said, about his sister and the letters. "I haven't asked her to destroy them, so I doubt she would do that.. unfortunately. But, she does know to keep it secret from everyone." He paused. "I don't know if he still has anyone searching or not," he admitted. "It took a long time to walk from Lamedon to here, and I've been here in Minas Tirith for a while now. I.. sorta hoped maybe with so much distance between us, and with so much time passing, I'd be safe enough." He sighed. "And then I go and do something stupid that might tell him right where I am..." He covered his face with one hand, holding back a groan.

He lowered his hand and looked at her. "No, I have no proof. That's the whole problem, I can't prove anything. I just know what I heard, and it's not just his word against mine, it'd be his son's against mine, too." He sighed, and made a face. "Togg has always been able to convince people.. even my own mother.. to take his side against mine." He said bitterly. "I'm sure he'd do the same for his father." He figured she already knew his stepfather's name, so she must know his stepbrother's name, too. "How can we prepare?" he wondered, frowning slightly, but with a little hope appearing on his face.