Open Chronicles Glory on four legs

[Ermengarde]

Iridiscent clouds lay over the highest layers of the firmament, while another set of puffs veiled Mount Kemuri as if it were some kind of a hat that graced the majestic presence of the volcano.

The rather flat and well organised village underneath was washed clean by a recent storm, with the clouds now long gone, giving way to the midday sun. Eastern styled wooden houses and walled villas were forming streets both tight and wide, paper lamps and strings of various colours would cover the alley skies, giving the otherwise white and dark brown architecture much needed colour and flair. The racetrack was fenced and laden in dry soil.

The town was buzzling with activity, crowds of elves; ceruleans and sheketians, humans; locals and foreign and mixes of all and any were lining the streets. Cheering and waving coloured ribbons.

At the start stood a snow white elf from hair to skin with her eyes dark as coal, she carried a flag and leaned against it. Its coloured were golden and lined with orange marigold flowers.


The horses behind the line were decorated with coloured bands and reins, anxious to begin the race, none however were permitted to be saddled. And these races were often nutorious for having horses finish without a rider.

One of them was Ermengarde, plenty were actually locals, but sometimes foreigners from far and even further away made their way to these races.

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OOC:

The race is mainly taking place through the village. From there leading to the pier, then crossing part of the volcano Kemuri before returning to the extensive streets. Two laps have to be completed and the race in duration is rather short. Outside the town, the track is marked with fencing wrapped in coloured strips and spectators.

Notable landmarks in order are:
Wide main street, marketplace plaza, narrow alleys, wooden piers, blossoming peach grove, a grassy mountain side(which may or may not be spitting lava), town entry gate which leads onto the main street again.

Try not to include more than 1-3 landmarks in a rp post (unless you're catching up to most recent ones) Decide who gets first on each lap via rolling or plain diplomacy ;p

 

[Kaelen Silverblood]

Back in the far east. Kaelen wasn't sure why he had decided on a whim to leave Alliria to go back east. His only experience this far out had been a shipwreck on the tundra that could have easily been his death if he hadn't been saved by some strangers. One of which it seemed had come from the land between where he found himself now and the tundra he had been.

Whatever the reason, Kaelen had ended up in this town for their famous horse race. Having heard about it while traveling, he procured himself a mount and made his way there. He had expected to be the only foreigner here, but wasn't. The word of how popular it was outside of the island was not an exaggeration it seemed. He stood wearing his blue and gray riding clothes with his sword strapped to his back. Wearing his armor would just make him weigh too much, not that he was that light to begin with, so it was left in his room at a local inn.

While he brushed down his horse and made sure they were ready for the hard ride ahead of them, Kaelen looked glanced around at the other competitors. Most of them seemed familiar with the event and far better prepared for it mentally than he was. Wouldn't be the first time he was going to start things off on the back foot. At least this time it wasn't a battle not planned out well enough by the ones who hired his company or was throwing him and his men at the worst of the fighting because they were hired out.

One of the competitors did catch Kaelen's eye. It was a woman that was hard to miss. She was missing an arm and had a scar across her left cheek. From the looks of them they appeared to be related to fighting. Interesting. The scar over his right eye was similar in that regard. He studied her for a bit noting she was still attractive even with the scar. If she looked his way and he caught her eye he planned to give her a flirty wink and smirk.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

Phillipa had heard of these races, and decided to join them on a whim. Stories of horses without riders had tickled her and would provide an interesting chance to experiment with her magic if the need arose. She had approached the organizer about procuring a mount for the race, and with a slight scalding remark about discrediting her for being able to ride, acquired one of the provided horses for the race.

She fussed over the beast for a minute, her hand running along the glorious and frightening animal before being helped onto its back. She took hold of the reins and examined the other two riders that stuck out in the crowd. A man that looked both young and old in the same moment. Had it not been for his hair, he would look quite young. With the hair color from the back, one expected an elderly man that was bent over and incapable. The sight of him was interesting to say the least.

The other was a woman, one armed and full of vigor it seemed as she prepared to ride in this contest. She didn't doubt the woman capable, but if she fell off of her horse, the professor certainly wouldn't feel good about watching. This was after all just an excuse to practice her own magic in a setting she would likely never find herself. She gave each of them a nod and prepared with a small smile.

 

[Ermengarde]

On a palanquin, down from the mountain fortress came the Rana lord. Dressed in silk black, indigo and scarlet. Robes embrodieried in gold and crested with baubels and gems. His proud presence held the masses quiet for a moment before he signalled at the competition host, who in turn relayed the mark further down the chain of command.

The dark elf lass that held the flag now began to elaborately wave it, on the last downward movemen hiwever, she moved aside and the ribbon that marked the starting point was dropped.

The crowd roared and some horces already darted down the main street.

 

[Kaelen Silverblood]

The one armed woman didn't seem to notice him. Kaelen was a little sad at that, but it was understandable. Everyone was honestly more focused on the race at hand than on their competitors. At least that was how it was for everyone except Phillipa Ebonheart who had set her eyes on Kaelen at the time he had set his eyes on her. He gave her a little wink and smirk like he had intended for Ermengarde earlier.

Kaelen's distraction of being playful with the other competitors around him came to an end as the local ruler was being brought down from the fortress. Many of the seasoned competitors had mounted at this event, so Kaelen decided to follow their example. He got himself up onto his horse. The beast threw back their ears in an irritated fashion but otherwise was fine. Most horses were like this. Who would want someone or something heavy on their backs after all? He knew he wouldn't.

It was hard for Kaelen to say what the two women who had caught his attention were up to now. His focus was on those around him. He didn't know the customs or the exact rules of this race. So he was planning to learn from watching the experienced ones. Because of this when the ribbon was dropped and the first of the crowd began to go so did Kaelen. The race had begun and now it was time to see if he could do well or fail miserably. Either way it should be fun and memorable.

 

[Phillipa Ebonheart]

The small wink and smirk that she received from the strange man elicited a small chuckle from the professor. She couldn't tell if he was confident, and giving her a sign that he felt confident in winning the race. Or if the man was silently flirting. When his attention fell away, she would shake her head and watch the procession before them.

Her horse stamped a few times, causing her attention to shift for a moment as the dark complected elf began waving a flag. "Easy you great big bugger." Phillipa cooed to her mount, still not quite easy with lacking a saddle. She had rode horses before a few times, and by no means was the woman an equestrian.

Her eyes came up in time to see the ribbon drop as riders moved forward. She blended with the crowd that moved, finding an easily kept pace that didn't have her completely lagging behind everyone.

 

[Ermengarde]

Ermengarde sneered as her horse darted forward among the crowd. »Hye-Hya!« Her horse would move only faster to find a decent place among the crown of other riders. In a few quick seconds, the riders scattered left and right from the previously congregated mass, the wide allay allowed for such dispersion easily, even though it still somehow felt claustrophobic with some gaining pace while others losing it.

It was the perfect time to scout for the position of the others. Taking a quick few glances at those that seemed most interesting to her, the silver fox and the raven lass. This might just become interesting.

 

[Maho 'Jerik' Sparhawk]

There were a few things Sparhawk had to get out of the way. He had a list of things he wanted to do, a list he'd written many years ago, during his days in the College of Elbion. Things he wished to do before he died. Things he wanted to see, people he wanted to meet. He knew once he'd left to fight for Gerra, he would never be able to turn back. He had a measly 2 months to get these things out of the way. Not enough time. Sparhawk would think to himself. And trickling down towards the bottom of that list read:

Compete in a race.
​

The Gods have mercy...

It hadn't been more than a week since he'd 'tamed' Nemesis, the horse that had been rumoured about for many decades. Horses that could fly. Now that was a spectacle. But to his dismay, the Steed had been little more than a pain in his backside. However, for all of his faults, Nemesis was fast, possibly one of the fastest creatures he'd ever ridden, and this was whilst ignoring the fact that it could spread wings and literally fly.

He'd heard rumours of a race taking place in a small village to the East. He'd drank with many mercenaries the week prior to this famed race, another item that took a place on his 'list of things to do'.

And - although he didn't like to admit it - getting to this village was a breeze when, quite literally, your horse rode on the breeze itself. Despite being hit by the odd bird or two, he had very little to complain about, when it would've taken him weeks to arrive there on a ferry, and months by carriage.

Nemesis and Sparhawk had landed not too far from the village, deciding to ride out the last few miles to the small town. Sparhawk had seen many villages in his day, from travelling from one to the next as he helped them with their small problems, but this was quite a beautiful one; littered with greenery, flowers blessing the surrounding area. It was a bustling town too, elves and humans alike. Many races not only perused the collections of the markets there, but also lived within the town itself.

He made his way down the street, to be introduced to a growing group of riders, of many creeds and - consequently - backgrounds.

He turned to the Elf with skin that seemed to pierce the sun, not quite pale, but almost glowing in the light.

"Is there where i might join in the Race? I'm not, uh- not familiar with the town!"

Well put Sparhawk, well put.

 

[Former and the Foal]

The steed of Hellet was still at odds with this new rider of his. The past week when Nemesis' feet were upon the holy floor, buckling and rearing were on the menu. Or at least for as long as as this bastard human had not set a burdenous spell on him.
Woe what life.


The dainty elf directed him »Down the main street where the road is cleared, but be quick so you can make it! It has started already« The gleaming elf giggled, her words still clear as ice through her thick accent.
Sometimes they had interesting occurrences, where riders came late, but all that made it all so more interesting for the bystanders.

Nemesis turned as if all was clear, trotting off to the main street, with crowds that lay before them parting ways as the clopping of this massive horse's feet crashed over the street.

 

[Kaelen Silverblood]

The race was off to a start and Kaelen already began to notice a difference in experience amongst his competitors when it came to riding skill. Those who understood the nature of long distance travel and how to keep a horse going were setting a steady pace while those who didn't were moving full speed ahead. It was inevitable that they would eventually exhaust their mounts. He hoped that when the poor animals did reach that point they bucked their riders off rather than collapse from it.

Kaelen's own horse was moving along with the other experienced riders on the steady pace. The beast was keeping its attention on the other horses around it as Kaelen was on their riders. He didn't notice where Ermengarde or Phillipa Ebonheart were at since the race began. It was a bit of a disappointment. He was hoping to see how the one armed woman rode. Given his life so far there was a good chance he could end up in the same state as her one day and need to know how to ride that way.

The pair pushed on as the followed the lead of those most experienced with the race. The thought of some reward for winning hadn't even crossed Kaelen's mind before the race began but now he wondered what it was all about. Was it for a title or treasure? Was it just for fun and bragging rights? Maybe a mixture of both. The tourneys back home were like that. Archery, dueling, wrestling, jousting, and horsemanship. People loved to test their skills. Competition was just a way to measure it and gaining something at the end just made it appear worth it to outsiders looking in he supposed.

Kaelen's idling thoughts returned to him however when his mount suddenly made a sharper turn nearly throwing him off. He scowled and cursed himself under his breath. A bad habit of letting his mind wander had developed of late. Between his father's passing and the ship wreck he was becoming introspective. Was this just another side of his family blessing/curse?

Kaelen refocused himself back onto the race and started to look for a chance to get ahead.

Maho Sparhawk

 

[Ermengarde]

And he-hoo the horses darted deeper into the wide alley. One of the riders stood up on his horse's back and stole one of the colourful ribbons that hung from above the main street. What a display. Here many broke limb, but many were still dareful enough to commit little stunts like these.

Oh how the crowds cheered for him, they looved such display of skill.

It was obviously intentful for such, yet not all came here to please the crowds, enjoy the competition or show off. And yet, the true nature of the event only came to view when from the wide alley all horses scattered in the marketplace. Groups of likewise riders formed, fiercly charging the horses onward. Despite that, so much this space allowed for, it was easy to observe in detail where the other riders were, and that those that clumped together were opposing houses, all decorated in rich banners and tassels.
fo them, these races were none of the previous, these races were for prestiage and to quench the competition among the most fabled houses of this town.

Ermengarde appeared to be ahead of most, but behind some of the other riders. The speed picked up here quite noticeably...
For a good reason even. But only those that were here often truly grasped why.