Fantasy Chivalry: Academy for Future Knights

[Sgt Grunt]

"Hidden ways? I beg your pardon miss, but I don't believe we've hidden anything from you. Anything you might wish to know or see has been laid bare, you need but ask. I admit, I came to ask if the clergy have been kind to you, I know some of my brethren have a severe dislike for your kind."

 

[Nozzivix]

"I noticed..." Noz'Onn said quietly.

 

[Killigrew]

"Subtle, perhaps that's the word. Knowing what to say -- I find that simple. But knowing what not to say, I fear I'm still learning the art." She clarified. "As for your brethren, it was nothing we did not expect, nor were we unprepared for such behavior." Slowly, she smiled. "But I am grateful for your concern, and I am glad to know that there are those among you so welcoming towards us."

 

[Sgt Grunt]

Jakob looked down at his plate after she spoke, quelling the bitterness swelling in his throat at her words. He had tried so hard to dispel the hatred he'd held for dragons since he was a boy, but it appeared proximity made old wounds resurface. Managing a smile, he looked back up.


"Of course, Milady. I do hope your stay here remains enjoyable, but it's been a while since I've eaten and there are things I must tend to for my order. Please, excuse me." He picked up his plate and bowed towards them, before picking his way across the dining hall and towards his own quarters.

 

[Original Hylion]

Interesting reply. They wanted to know where the game was. Perhaps a very warrior like culture, hunt for your own food. Doubtful, especially if they were blue bloods. Law was admittedly not in a mood to oblige them with a reply, but he thought it would be interesting to humor their possible jokes. It was somewhat curious, the way they sought raw food. What man or woman prefers raw food over cooked.


Jakob, a fully knighted Templar decided to greet the three in a very submissive manner. Laurence knew little of Templar etiquette, but nonetheless he was surprised that a fully fledged knight would treat people younger than himself with such respect. It seemed quite backwards, not the age part, but more the teacher bowing to the student.


Being as the conversation between them seemed to shoot up with much more interest than Laurence could stimulate, he went back more to eating, giving no mind to the conversation but letting his ears pick up on what they were saying. Mostly everything was completely confusing, but what garnered his attention indefinitely was the remark about "human customs" being foreign. What odd phrasing. Spoken as if the girl was not human herself. It made Laurence make an audible snicker, loud enough to be noticed. He took it that they were making some sort of joke about the instructor, or whomever they were talking to before Laurence took much bother of them.


"The barrier of language can simply be bothersome at times. Would you like it much if we spoke about you in a language you did not understand?" Law interjected. "Understand it's not the denotation, it's the connotation. Whether you're speaking of ill things or not, it's the fear that is brought on by the mystery of the unknown. Forgive the rant, but I would like to clarify any ill thoughts of our school. As well, please, good sir Jakob, it would be much kinder if you did not pry and annoy them with your coddlement. We would not like to come off as too kind would we?" He said the last bit the largest amount of kindness and respect he could conjure, he was speaking to a superior after all. "May I suggest we all sit and have much more casual conversation, away from morbid subjects such as disliking of kin."


"Prithee, I would humbly request," he directed at the girl, "that you clear away from such mannerisms within conditions like these, as in casual conversation. We are all mature here, aren't we? Please henceforth speak your mind fully." He peaked an eye to Jakob expecting an objection.


To Law, maturity was the strength to keep from passion. To understand not to be completely absorbed in anything, in ideals, bad or good. He noticed the girl wanted to realize how to be polite, how to be professional. Laurence wanted to give an atmosphere of friendliness, not lawfulness, so asking them to be professional amongst every situation was counterproductive. Then what was the point of personalities?


"So leaving those subjects," Law began as Jakob started his leave, "where, may I ask, are you two from?"

 

[Nozzivix]

Noz'Onn laughed heartily at the man's interjection. He looked around for a southern facing window, and pointed though it at the mountain that dominated the Gallacian skyline. "See that mountain over there?" he smiled, revealing teeth that were slightly too sharp to be human...

 

[LonesomeWizard]

John raised an eyebrow at Jakob's behavior. He got up and sighed before looking at the two dragons he nodded slowly and coldly at the dragons before he walked back to the templar tower and went up to his room, where he picked up his helmet and shield and walking back down to the training fields. Where he would train till midnight unless interrupted with student "problems".

 

[Killigrew]

What the Loride said made sense to her; indeed, even amongst her own kind, a fear of the unknown was prevalent. Of course, that fear was greatly surpassed by a desperation to survive.


Nonetheless, even in situations of survival, words contained a strange kind of power. They could give you value where otherwise you would have none. And, in some cases, words could spell your demise, as they did for the Fire Dragon who so arrogantly grasped at greatness where there was none to give. Mal felt his taste run through her mouth once more, and her stomach churned.


Nozz spoke up, and Mal nodded as he gestured at their mountain.


"Were you not told, Loride?" She asked. "Or do you play the buffoon, that when we treat you kindly, we become the fools?"

 

[Original Hylion]

What is a Loride? Oh foreigners, language truly was a prevalent barrier.


They pointed to the mountains in the distant view through the fine windows of the hall. Laurence peered into the distance and at the general vicinity of where the male pointed out. He had no idea the mountains had much population amongst them, and of such odd appearance. It was nothing to complain about really. The man was handsome enough, and the girl had her icy and cold stare, the thought causes shivers. A wonder would be how to melt such an icicle.


"What was I not told?" he plucked an elbow on the table and propped his chin on his hand as he spoke with the two. "Now now now, they wouldn't call me Law if I broke the rules of welcoming strangers." Silly little thing. Laurence poked his free hand near her nose in a joking manner. "Honestly, I know little of your culture, I don't believe I've ever found myself in need to visit those lands. By the way you're speaking now, it would seem like no has ever treated you with descent kindness. I assure you, sweet miss, you'll be given a sure amount of respect as long as it is given back. Law will make that fact truth" He peeked back over to the more talkative male. "Tell me more of your home."

 

[Nozzivix]

Nozz couldn't help but burst out laughing at how oblivious the creature before him was being. "We're dragons. You know, you're the first one not to immediately jump to that conclusion. I could sort of understand Mal or Arr, but I'm pretty obvious. Not many humans have crimson hair and eyes." He calmed himself down before he spoke again. "I hail from Eldest Mountain, over there, where the dragons staged our defence of Gallace from the Foresworn about one hundred and twenty something years ago. No mortal man could ever climb it. That is why He picked it. I'll let Mahl'Iss talk about the Dead Lands, if she wants to talk about such a terrible place." He finished, taking another drink from his mug of ale. Judging from the empties around him, this was his seventh since entering, yet his dragon metabolism hadn't allowed him to get much more than a little buzzed.


The perks of being a creature over five times their size. He mused.

 

[Killigrew]

Mal pulled back when the human put his hand forward, uncomfortable with her ignorance of the gesture. She took in his words in further confusion. If he did not know them to be dragons, what did he think they were? It would be a rare creature with eyes like theirs. Perhaps this man had spent all his life confined in this walled fortress, and the world kept from him.


"One hundred and twenty years exactly." Mahl'Iss put in. "That's when the Eldest saw fit to throw us into that debacle, for the sake of both Dragons and Men."


When Nozz made mention of the Dead Lands again, Mal closed her eyes in a barely-restrained rage. Beneath the table and the human's sight, she took hold of his spare forearm, letting the chill of her rage seep into his skin. "It is not fair to volunteer me so." She hissed under her breath.

 

[Nozzivix]

"Fine, fine." He responded, the heat of his skin feeling remarkably cool under her touch. "It's.... a touchy subject." He offered Laurence. "But yeah, we don't normally look like this. I'm about 25 feet tall on my hind legs, with these beautiful leathery wings. She's a little bit smaller, and blue, of course, but being younger'll do that. Say, to change the subject a little. How old do you think I am?" he asked, his face the picture of innocence.

 

[Original Hylion]

This man had to be joking. Why would a dragon be attending the academy? Crimson hair and eyes, obviously he's not seen many of the distant Templish folk to the north. Those folk had plenty red headed men and women running about, some very bright and some quite dark, but all quite oddly colored. They were quite far north, Laurence believed, so it was rare to catch the sight of one. Then with the Templish religious overhaul of all other religions, any state that was forced into control are more or less unwilling to join in on alliance of the Gallace Republic. Understandable that this "dragon" would not see his own redheaded kin very often.


As for the girl, he had no idea about seeing people of such bright silvery and white hair. It was dazzling really. He had seem some extremely bright blond Templish women, but none as bright as hers.


"I try not to 'jump to conclusions'," He smiled to the fellow, giving a hint of a amusement at this running joke they were trying to pull on him. "If the mountains is unscalable by any mortal man," Law sent a glance to the window, "then why would the Foresworn attempt an assault, I wonder." He let a chuckle escape. "Curious hm, sometimes I wonder how this little war has spanned a length of two hundred years."


They continued with this joke. Dragons were huge, how did they fit into such tiny bodies? And when were leathery wings beautiful? And so colorful? Laurence had not seen many dragons, honestly, just the old paintings and whatever there was in books.


"Old enough to be considered mature," he hoped, "well, since you two are dragons then it's honestly no wonder people have bee steering clear of you two. Have you never heard the saying?" Law wiggled a finger in front of his face. "'Do not mess with the affairs of dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with spice.' Then gain, it could just be this aura of hate radiating off miss frosty here." He glanced to the girl with a smirk. "Did no one ever teach you to smile? You know, with those sweet thin lips, a smile would make all the ice in the world melt."

 

[Killigrew]

He must have felt so safe in this castle, a world apart from the death that flooded in all around Noz'Onn and Mahl'Iss in the battleground below. The ForeSworn had broken far into this very territory, and at the gates of the city the dragons pushed back, their magic and the humans' swords all that stood between comfort and agony for the civilians within. So at ease this human was with that fact. The ForeSworn were no simple enemy; they knew what was needed in the slaying of a dragon. Yet he seemed to understand none of it.


Mal's face must have given her thoughts away; he turned to her and made mention of the 'hate radiating off' of.. she assumed the 'miss frosty' referred to her. She took the comment in stride, and adopted, or attempted to, a calmer demeanor. But his next words shook this attempt, and sent her into another swirl of confusion.


"Why would my smile make the ice melt?" She glanced briefly at Noz'Onn as she spoke, wondering if he knew the answer, and whether her question made her appear foolish. "And why do you say it as though it should be some agreeable thing?"

 

[Nozzivix]

Nozz forced down a chuckle at the exchange, but still stayed stoic, reaching for what was now his twelfth tankard of mead. If he had to go through this awkward stage of humanity when he was younger, there was no reason Mahl shouldn't.

 

[ninbinz]

Ma'Arr watched as his elders left, Mal gestured for him to follow but Ma'Arr had other ideas. For the moment he was content to take in the scenery one scent at a time. For the most part the Loride had stopped eating their food to stare and whisper to one another, he laughed: even for a youngling he was still many years more intelligent than the adolescent Loride of his relative age group. He looked over the hall, his eyes picking out piggish faces, muscled bodies, primitive brows that jutted out to shadow their eyes. He smelled a myriad of scents wafting in the air and his stomach grumbled all the more for it. Moments passed and the dragons' presence was old news, people still whispered about them but they had seen enough to weave their webs of rumour and mock intrigue.


In the distance he could make out a small group gravitating towards his kin, he smiled happy that they were already creating bonds with the humans. He considered joining them but his stomach cried out and he couldn't help it, instead he went searching for food. He found it not 5 minutes later, he joined a dwindling cue by mistake and in no time he stood in front of a woman clad in a leather apron. He held out the plate in his hand and she slopped on a bit of everything, Ma'Arr couldn't help but admire her sense of duty, she was the only woman serving, the rest had rushed away in fear or disgust, something Ma'Arr was slowly accustoming himself to. He left the counter with a plate filled with food and surveyed the room once again, this time he looked for a spare seat, anywhere would suffice.


Ma'Arr found his seat among 13 year old students, he smiled a little at the unlikelihood of that instance. The people at the table stared at him, most of them did not know what to do. The first students to decide their opinion left muttering to one another under bated breath, unfortunately Ma'Arr was possessed of keen hearing winced at the hurtful comments the leveled at him. "Don't worry 'bout them, they're nobles used to be they'd leave jus' 'cause we were here." The dragonling looked up in surprise, he hadn't expected anyone to console him. "Over here. Yo' the name's Tony, Tony the Titan Slayer." Ma'Arr smiled at a tawny headed boy with hazel eyes. "Thanks, my names Ma'Arr Zo'Un but you don't have to bother with all that, just call me Mason, Mason The Dragon." Ma'Ar stood and reached over the table to shake Tony's hand, Tony reciprocated with a frown. "That's a boring name, you 'are' a dragon. Hmmm, I've got a better name; Mason The Mauler." Ma'Arr didn't like the violent connotation but nodded to the name as it was far more imaginative that his own nom de guerre.


Over the course of his meal Ma'Arr was introduced to a number of Low Born boys, most of them were the sons of low born knights or ward of the church, in other words: orphans. For a time their conversation was easy, Ma'Arr shared stories of ancient dragon heroes while Tony and his friends talked about ancient human heroes even despite the means of their rise to glory. Their conversation was cut short by a loud proclamation by some older man, Ma'Arr heard his words clear as day but didn't understand their import so he looked questioningly at Tony and his cohorts. "That's Narathzul, he was the one who stopped the Forsworn War. He just challenged that Teutonic Knight to a duel but was refused, he just made a mockery of that Knight." Ma'Arr nodded understanding the importance of such an action, dragons were also prone to such posturing.


As if on cue he could hear raised voices he looked towards the conflagration and sighed, he could see Nozz in the center and knew that he was likely the reason for the conflagration. Ma'Arr turned back to his table somewhat embarrassed. "Are they your brother and sister?" Ma'Arr looked up, he smiled and shook his head "More like distant cousins, but still." Tony returned the smile and nodded his understanding.

 

[Original Hylion]

How amusing. It made him raise a brow at the least.


"Because it is, in the fullest form, the truth, miss." He waved her off and began to his feet.


"I do hope you find your stays quite comfortable and homely. Again, feel free to seek me out and discuss with me any requests or questions. Best of luck to you, good Draco folk, may the gods bless your existence."


He had more studying to do.

 

[Nozzivix]

Torath watched with keen eyes as the Dragons mingled with the guests. The Eldest had told him of them, described their personalities and quirks down to a T. Even had he not learned long ago how to identify dragons, he had little doubt he could mistake them. The passionate fire dragon, the detached ice dragon, and the shy young air dragon. He had been watching them since their arrival, and had been impressed so far. There were tensions, sure, but at least nobody had pulled a blade yet, something that would never have happened a scant five years before.


I hope you know what you're doing, old friend. He thought to himself.

 

[Nozzivix]

Growing bored, Nozz stood from the table and bid farewell to Mahl. Wandering around, he eventually found himself in the training field, where a three humans were practicing on training dummies. The Dragon considered practicing himself, but reconsidered, instead laying down on the Grass and watching the sky roll by, wishing he was up there at that moment, wheeling through the sky, wind on his skin. Occasionally he looked over at the human with the rapier to gauge her technique. It was impressive, but she obviously wasn't a master.

 

[Sgt Grunt]

Heinrich felt the sweat coming down his flanks, the cool air of the evening forcing him to suppress a shiver while he took a brief pause in his pell work. He was shirtless, allowing for quicker strikes to work on his endurance, showing muscles built during nearly two decades of hard work and physical training.


Looking around at the others present, he had to repress a snort of derision at seeing the idiot who had tried to call him out in the dining hall, but arched a brow at the female and dragon who'd arrived without him noticing. His eyes lingered on the woman as she practiced on dummies, but he eventually tore his eyes away to make for the dragon.


"You here to take me up on my offer, Dragon? Or you just admiring the view?" Heinrich smiled wide as he gestured towards the woman across the yard with a nod.

 

[Nozzivix]

With a bored sounding yawn, Noz rose from the ground with a roll, then lazily drew Hurricane from her scabbard on his back, the cerulean blade glinting in the sunlight. "I'd be down for a little sparring practice. And maybe I was, maybe I wasn't." he said with a playful shrug. He twirled the blade, which sounded eerily like wings flapping as the air moved around it. "What rules are we using, ser knight?"

 

[Sgt Grunt]

Heinrich smiled at the dragons enthusiasm, but had to correct him first.


"Not a knight... Yet. But soon I'm sure. And practice blades or the real deal? If practice blades we wont need to restrain ourselves, but if real then we'll play dead on contact." He idly twirled his own blade while the creature thought, casting a look at the blacksmith's swords and wondering just how much trouble he'd be in for taking one to spar with.

 

[Nozzivix]

"It's up to you, Loride." He laughed, "Though I doubt you could really do too much damage to me, no offense."

 

[Sgt Grunt]

"Maybe, maybe not. We shall find out." Heinrich kept his smile on as he grabbed the nearest real sword from a barrel, dropping his practice blade and testing the weapons weight. Nodding to himself that it would do, he waved for the dragon to follow him to the center of the field. "We shall play dead to contact then, Dragon. Limbs hit shall be considered gone. Fair enough?" Without waiting for his agreement, he settled into an aggressive stance, ready to begin.

 

[Nozzivix]

The Dragon followed Heinrich into the ring and adopted his usual relaxed stance, taking into account every slight movement the human made. He dared not resort to his magic in such a friendly duel, and the fact that he could likely very easily kill the young man before him with his draconic strength. "Alright Heinrich, I'll let you have the first move." He said, readying his guard.