if you go down to the woods today.

[thorn aldsmith]

(Closed to Thorn and AdventWings (playing Elzir))

During their lunch the old man had asked Thorn lots of questions. “What is it you’re looking to be able to do? What skills do you already have? Is there anything you don’t want to be doing?” Thorn had asked his fair share too. “What can you do? How does magic work? Can it literally do anything?

Thorn had answered Elzir’s questions, as best he could. Elzir hadn’t answered any of Thorn’s questions but had cleverly worded them so that Thorn didn’t realise he hadn’t answered them! Elzir suggested going to Brokenthorn Forest, as a good place to start. Thorn agreed, he could picture it now.

Every tree has its own personality, and to get by you have to please them all. Beasts so magical that words cannot describe the power they possess. Even the mushrooms are very powerful magic ingredients, if they let you pick them! Rain never falls but it is always lush there. Rainbows reflect off the rivers, as they bounce and roll down the valley. It’s always bright no matter what time of day, or night, it is. Everyone that enters will always leave happy.

When they arrived at the entrance to the forest he was very disappointed, it was just a bunch of trees, nothing special about them. He couldn’t see them having any magical property, and wondered why he’d been brought here. Surely everything we could do out here we could have done back at his shop. He thought following Elzir as he crossed the threshold of the trees. It had been late afternoon when they had left the tavern. The sun had been low in the sky, but it was still very light. Passing the first few trees things started getting darker, ominous, foreboding and mysterious. He could still see the light for outside but he wasn’t out there anymore he was in here, with this strange old man.

Thorn was starting to get nervous. Thing no longer seamed in control any more. These trees might not let him out. He didn’t know what manner of beasties there were in here, or how powerful they were. As if he was preparing to fight the entire forest he got his staff out and stared around waiting for something to happen.

[AdventWings]

((OOC Note: Role-playing temporarily as Elzir from Elzir's Keep.))

Such a young and naive child...

The old mage slowly made his way through the lush green forest, feeling the cool shade of the Brokenthorn Forest falling quietly upon his shoulders. Glancing cooly from the corner of his eyes, Elzir watched every move his young apprentice took. The magi himself was not too overly concerned with his own being, as neither an errant shadow nor an oddly-blowing breeze within the shady canopy.

To quest for such a power... is he ready?

But it did not take long for the question to remain unanswered. After all, they were in the Brokenthorn Forest.

"Right, young Thorn." Elzir grunted as he pushed through a small clump of leaves, the dark-lit undergrowth making way to a small clearing. "This is where we rest."

The old man strode across the small circle of light shining through the treetops, his shadow a mere disk underneath his sandal-clad feet. Taking a seat upon an ancient fallen oak, he stared back at the young adventurer as if a judge addressing the premise of his judgment.

"I do not know enough of why you need magic to be able to adventure." The magi began, a cough shaking his frame underneath the enormous robe. "Therefore, I would need to test your skills with what you have."

For a moment, Elzir fell silent and closed his eyes. If one had ears with the abilities of the felines, quiet whispers could be heard coming from the rapidly-moving lips of the ancient man.

Opening his eyes once more after the silence, the magi stared back at the lizard boy with grim determination.

"Your first task of the training." He said, followed by dull but audible thuds coming from the woods to his left. "Is handle this creature called a Drave."

((OOC Note: You can look up the information of the Draves in the Codex of the Thayne Lore under the heading Beastiary in the Role-Player's Corner forum. If you have any questions, send me a PM and we can work out the details there.))

[thorn aldsmith]

Following Elzir further into Brokenthorn he said. “Right, young Thorn. This is where we rest." He made his way to a log to rest on. Thorn looked around the clearing whilst the old man mumbled something about adventure and skills. The clearing seamed like a nice resting place. You would be able to hear anything coming towards you, and prepare to fight, or run! Just then Thorn heard Elzir say. “Your first task of the training is handle this creature called a Drave.”

As he was saying this Thorn could hear steps coming toward the clearing. Elzir sat there as a brown snout appeared, walking out of the shadow, followed by the monsters wolf like body. Thorn had heard of these beasts as being quite ferocious and dangerous. Thorn looked at Elzir; he was watching Thorn calmly, waiting to find out what happens next.

The Drave went past Elzir and it didn’t even look at him. It was just headed straight for Thorn. Thorn readied himself and waited for the Drave to get in his range. The Drave obviously sensed the imminent attack and dived at Thorn with his claws extended and pointed directly at Thorns heart. Thorn saw it coming and takes a step backwards as he brings his staff down, aiming for the Draves head. It connects and sends the Drave onto the woodland floor. Almost like noting happened the Drave continues on all fours as it tackles Thorn to the ground. Using its momentum, Thorn roles with the takedown and they role twice before Thorn ends on top. Using his staff Thorn starts to apply pressure to the throat, and the Drave is swinging its claws into Thorns side. It was a battle for survival neither could desist for the other would surely kill the other. Thorn could feel the blood running down his side, and was worried, but he could also feel the blows coming slower. The Drave was running out of steam. Giving one last push he saw the Draves paw fall to the ground. Relaxing his grip on the staff he collapsed onto the body of the Drave.

[AdventWings]

And in the midst of it all, the old mage saw the entire ordeal play out with his own eyes.

But instead of a grin, or even a small smile of satisfaction, across his face was a disdainful frown that further creased his wrinkly face. This was, after all, a test to see what the young adventurer was about. And in his eyes, he came short of expectations.

...No, but rather, was what he expected to come from a cocky, sure-fire young kid.

So much...

"There's so much you need to learn, young child."

Elzir did not rise from his makeshift throne, nor offered any words of congratulations to the "slaying" of the beast. Lifting up his tired left and and soundly snapping his fingers together, the gigantic brown paws twitched just slightly before its entire body turned onto its legs. Shaking off the tired reptilian as if he was merely a mite, the creature lifted onto its legs and casually strode up to the mage's side. Rounding the back of the old man, the brown Drave eased onto the ground with a loud whump as its belly impacted the grass. Letting out a loud snort, the gigantic wolf-like creature yawned as the old magician stroke its furry mane like an obedient little puppy.

"I have said, have I not, young Thorn." Heaving a sigh at the young apprentice, be shook his head in dismay, "That I wanted you to handle the Drave. I have no wish for you to simply slay, as I could have told you so in my instruction. But rest assure, the Drave is not dead yet. On the contrary, thankfully alive and well."

The beast let out another big yawn before closing its eyes, taking in the warm afternoon sun as his Master began one of his lectures.

"There are much you need to learn, young adventurer. And one that I find most urgent is... Honor Life."

[thorn aldsmith]

“Honour life...” Thorn repeated, “You asked me to handle the beast but not to slay it?” Thorn was confused. Crawling along the ground to a rock and leaning his head against it, Thorn said. “My father always taught me, when your fighting a beast it’s your dinner, or its! Beasts don’t know how to yield.” Thorn paused for a moment, thinking. “How am I to know when a fight ends if the fight is not to the death? Is that beast,” he looks at the Drave, “going to tell me?”

He stopped for a second, and starts hugging him-self, putting pressure on each of his sides where the creature had attacked him. Looking at Elzir sat there, calmly stroking the beast and wondered if this beast was known to the aged wizard. “Am I to apologise to er..? He asked looking at the Drave waiting to see if Elzir inputted a name.

[AdventWings]

Elzir listened to the whining of his young apprentice, but he was not in that much of a foul mood after hearing the kid's words. At the least, someone taught him right. It was just a matter of interpretation.

"Aye... Then your father was right." The old mage grinned, easing off the stump and walked up to the young fighter. "When you're fighting a beast, it's either your dinner or it's."

Knelting down on the grass, the old man placed a hand on Thorn's side and began chanting, the palm of his hand glowing dimly in the bright afternoon sun. The injuries sustained by the mock attack earlier began to subside, cuts closing on their own and bruises returning to the natural colors. With the minor healing done, Elzir stood back up and walked to the center of the clearing, his brown Drave pet lifting his head up as if expecting something to happen.

"But has he told you that you must kill only if you are going to eat it?" The old sage grinned, summoning up a storm of leaves and grass with a mere flick of his wrist. Moments later, the rush of leaves condensed in form and shape, a figure appearing in the eye of tempest as if it was there the entire time. The matter happened in merely a minute, but the spell was complete.

"Now, as the old saying goes." Elzir spoke as he edged around the ring of bright light, eyes trained at the humanoid figure which seemed to mimick his movement. "There's more than one way to skin a cat. But if you're not going to eat it, don't go for the kill."

As if on queue, the golem of leaves jumped forward in a mock attack on the old mage. Elzir stepped to the side nimbly, as if he had practiced many times before, and struck the figure with his staff. The blow connected with the small of the neck and the figure dispersed into a thousand pieces, leaves and grass scattered about in place of where it used to be.

"Now, young Thorn." Elzir planted the end of his staff against the ground, the swirling of leaves resumed behind him as he addressed his apprentice. "I would like you to practice against this golem for a moment. The blows from this animata will not be harmful, but your goal is to make it disperse. Find the right spot to strike and it will disappear for a moment. Strike at the wrong places and only that portion will disappear."

Stepping back to his resting spot just as the golem reappeared, the old magi resumed his stern gaze at the young fighter resting across the clearing.

"Now, it's your turn."

[Taskmienster]

This thread has been sitting for a full year. Since no response has been made to create activity I am going to be moving this. If you would like it to be reopened please feel free to PM myself or another staff member and they will be able to move it for you back to Scara Brae.