A New suit of Armour, A New Time to Train.

[Sparkie]

As Kris opened the door of the barracks, he saw three young men, who seemed to be polishing their armour as he walked in. The young men stopped, looking to the door as it swung open, seeming to get ready to stand in at attention of whoever walked in. Kris looked to them, giving each a nod, before continuing his way in. One of the men kept on starring, a tall, thin man with short blonde hair, not likely older than 23 years, and was probably trying to sum up the new blood. Kris knew that the first thing that they would notice, other than his build, would be his hair. In the journey from Thay to Sundren, along with all the other things that he got tangled up in, he hadn't had a chance to keep his hair in control. He had only started keeping his now finely kept facial hair since arriving in the Valley. But the length of his hair seemed to suit him. And now he regretted keeping it, for now he may as well be holding a sign saying "I'm a slave, throw your favoured tool of degradation at me and win prizes." The blonde boy went back to his armour, sitting on a bunk just to the left of the door. Across from the door sat another boy, perhaps around 20 years, with brown hair half as long as Kris's, who took only enough time to nod back, then went on with his polishing. The last boy, this one most likely farthest away Kris's age of 25, had shaven his hair down to the point where there was barely enough stubble to call it hair, but give the boy's scalp a bit of an orange-red tinge. Kris could already hear the immature snorting coming from the boy, who had turned away after a couple moments, probably to pretend that he was polishing his armour. Kris wandered to an empty bunk, far enough away from the other three in the room so that he could get enough peace to think. Kris put his pack and bag of new gear down on the floor, and began to remove his full-plate. As he took of his cloak and his bracers, he could hear the one of the others start to talk, and thought he could pick out the word "Rashemi" from the conversation. Kris conceded to that thought, that he was certainly broader than your usual Thayan, and the hair would probably lend into that. Kris dropped the bracers onto the bunk, and folded his cloak and put it away in his pack. He took the rest of his armour off, leaving his upper arms and neck guard for last. With each piece of armour that was removed, a series of scars was revealed, the worst of which being a large, jagged scar along his stomach. As he removed the plates from his upper arms, he revealed a tattoo that identified him as having once been a part of the Thayan Army, and then he proceeded to remove the neck guard, revealing his new tattoo, a set of chains which went around his neck, which to him represented his new bonding to the Red Wizards. As Kris rubbed his arms and back, wearing nothing but a pair of pants, he heard the red-stubbled boy let off a laugh. Kris looked up, to see the kid looking directly at him. "Ha ha, haa! So, that was you who yelled out earlier?! Ha ha! You must be a fucking whimp, slave!" Kris simply smirked, then walked calmly walked over to the other side of the bunk, so he could let the jester get a better look at him. Kris then decided to retort. "Would you like to test that theory of yours?" The soldier gave a bit of a flex, making sure that the kid could see his old tattoo. The joker stopped laughing for a moment, taking a measure of Kris, and then he began to get up. The blonde boy then sat back, apparently looking forward to the show, and the dark haired boy followed suit. It was then that Kris decided to test this joker. "Do you know the laws of our homeland, bottle brush?" The boy stopped in his tracks, and seemed to be thinking hard. Kris looked over to the other two, who had begun snickering at the red-head's new nick-name. The red head looked to Kris, and then began to speak when Kris cut him off. "There are laws against assault, boy. So, if we were to get into a fight in here, then things would go bad for both of us. So, I say we leave this until a later date, perhaps when we are far from here or any other city." The red head thought about this for a moment, before waving the words away. "Heh, you're just trying to get out of having your ass handed to you." Kris leveled his eyes with the red head, making sure that the boy would understand. "We'll see what's what when the time comes." The boy went to speak, when Kris gave him a stare telling him all he needed to know. The red head gave him a nod, and then went back to his bunk. The shirtless man looked to the other two in the room. "Have either of you got anything to add, or can we just go on with what we were doing?" A simple response of no came from the blonde, and the dark haired boy simple shook his head. "Good. Now then, is this all there is for initiate knights now?" Red head spoke up, "Not quite. We just joined yesterday, and the other initiates are training right now." Kris noded, and gave a quick smile. "Alright then. Well, if we're going to be training together, we may as well know each other's names. I'm Kris." At this point, Kris walked over to his pack, and pulled out his case of cigars, pulling one out, with a match as well. The match was struck, illuminating the area around Kris a bit, an soon found it's goal of lighting the cigar which now hung out of Kris's mouth. The blonde spoke up, offering a two finger wave. "I'm Jax, just got here about a week ago. Came with these two." Kris gave him a nod, and said "Didn't ask for your life story, but thank you." Dark hair spoke next, "I'm Mar." Kris gave Mar a curt nod, and then looked to the red head. He looked over, and said "Lirv, now can we stop with this already?" Kris nodded, "Sure thing, Bottle-Brush." Lirv looked over at Kris, eyes narrowing like a young child trying to intimidate someone. Jax and Mar snorted, and then went back to their polishing of their armour, every once in a while turning to ask Lirv something and then tail ending it with "Sure thing, Bottle-Brush." As they went on to do their thing, Kris took this chance to go recover his new gear. A hand reached into the sack with the gear in it, first taking out a silvered longsword, then a shield, and finally, the pieces to a suit of Thayan Half-Plate. Kris began to polish his armour, and within the next two hours, every piece of equipment was polished the point of shinning. The main body of the armour was set on the original sack of gear, with the helmet set atop it. Then the bracers and upper arm armour were placed in front of the armour, in a crossing formation, his new boots set to where he would step into them in the morning. He put his new sword into his spare scabbard, and hung both the scabbard and the shield from the post of his bunk. Kris then looked to the window on the south side. It was now about Nine O'clock. Kris stroked his chin, and then got into bed. He put his cigar out on his tongue, and tossed it toward a nearby garbage can. Falling into the trash, to the cigar made barely a noise, but a barely audible ba-thunk in the can. Kris closed one eye, but kept the one that faced the side that the other three were on slightly open, so he could track their movement. Currently, it seemed they were headed to the bar. Well, early to bed, early to rise. Kris thought, watching the three wander out of the room. And let the fools embarrass themselves tomorrow. And with that final thought, Kris drifted into a light, but restful sleep.

Day 1

Before the others had woken up, Kris was already up and in his gear. He had slept the whole night, only having to catch someone's hand trying to take his gear once. Before he donned his helmet, Kris lit a cigar and puffed it for a while. He sat back, watching the others sleep, watching to see who would rise first. About a half hour later, a Thayan Knight walked in, and barked the command to wakeup. "Come on now, you fucking pansies, on your feet, in your gear, and get the hell out to the training grounds. Lieutenant (Insert name here when I remember his name) doesn't have time to waste on the likes of whelps like you!" Kris got up from his bunk, finished his cigar, and donned his helmet. His first day of training had begun.

[Sparkie]

In the days that passed, Kris and the rest of the initiates worked every waking moment to prove themselves as being worthy of the title of Thayan Knight. Their trials were many, and included anything from swimming across a pound filled with blood and razor wire, to being taught to endure pain on both a mental and physical level. Throughout these trials, Kris was always among those that preformed the best. About a week after he had been made an initiate, Kris had come a mere breath away from becoming a Thayan Knight. On the third morning of his second week after the initiation, Kris awoke to someone saying "Come with me, initiate." Kris got out of his bunk, and grabbed a cigar and match from his pack, lighting the roll of tobacco as he followed the footsteps out of the room. The first thing Kris noticed was how dark the hallway was. The hallway was always well lit, but now it was as bark as the barracks he was leaving. Kris walked down the hallway, with only the footsteps in front of him and the ever slight glow coming from his cigar to guide him. The footsteps stopped at one section of the hall, and the voice that woke him spoke something at the wall. Kris's ears picked up on the sound of stone moving on stone, and the sound of the footsteps walking into where the wall was. Kris followed them. At that point, Kris heard a new voice say "Kneel." Kris did so, snuffing out his cigar on his tongue, the smell of flesh burning began to fill the room. The new voice spoke again. "Are you ready to become a Knight?" Kris answered, without a hint of doubt in his voice. "Yes." Another voice gave a grunt, this one sounding much like the Lieutenant, and lead Kris in the Thayan Knight's Oath. After taking the oath, Kris knew what came next wouldn't be pleasant. Kris heard the preparation of the tattooing tools, and then he felt it, the first puncture. It felt like his flesh was being torn and burned where in each area he was punctured. But Kris had learned much during his training, and kept his breathing steady, forcing himself to ignore the pain. After three hours, Kris felt something soft and cool placed on his forehead. "Go to your bunk and rest. You shall start a new training program later today." Kris answered with a quiet but hard "Yes sir." Making his way down the hall, and back to his bunk. As soon as Kris's head hit the pillow, Kris fell into a deep sleep, and did not awake until the light of the sun hit his face. Jumping slightly at the warmth and light in his eyes. From the doorway of the barracks, Kris heard the same voice that awoke him originally. "Ah, so you're awake. Come one then, get geared up and come on out. You've got quite the day ahead of you." Kris looked over and saw a man dressed in the robes of a Red Wizard. Kris gave a "Yes sir," and got geared up. Walking out into the hall, the wizard put a hand on his shoulder and lead him toward the front of the Enclave. "You're new training program involves you going about the Valley and getting more experienced with the Valley's denizens. I trust that you can handle this." Kris looked to the wizard and gave a nod, thinking Of course I can. The wizard nodded back to him, let go of his shoulder, and turned to leave before turning back around. "Remember Kris, no matter where you are in this Valley, we're watching you." Kris nodded once more, and simply said "understood sir." The wizard gave a final nod, and walked off. As Kris left the Enclave, he saw his reflection in a mirror. He could see the blood stained bandage still on his forehead, it presumably being what he felt on his forehead earlier. Kris reached up and removed the bandage, revealing the tattoo that now marked him forever more as a Thayan Knight. He couldn't help but smile at how he had achieved his goal.