Ely edit Sep 12 2024:
1-6 qps, depending on length and quality.
Potential +1 qp: if part of a series: o
Total: 1 qps, bonus for rping as a mob
*****************************************
A young man trains in the Warder Yard of the White Tower and reflects on his failures the previous day.
His head filling with doubt as he questions himself, his choices, and his place in the world.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Garrick sighs while surveying the practice yard around him. He notices all the other Warder Students training with blades and frowns at the axe in his hands.
Garrick mutters quietly to himself, 'Do this they tell me'.
Garrick swings his axe at a practice dummy.
Garrick continues to mutter, 'Do that they say'.
Garrick parries an imaginary slash from the practice dummy with the haft of his axe.
Garrick says 'But how am I supposed to know HOW to do these things?'
Garrick stops to catch his breath, resting the head of his axe on the ground.
Garrick grumbles 'They say to go lead in battle...'
Garrick declares 'Go forth and defeat the Dark One's greatest generals, young man!' in a mocking tone.
Garrick sarcastically says 'Eyeless? Dreadlords? Surely not a problem for an inexperienced lad like you!'
Garrick grumbles quietly to himself as he lifts his axe from the ground.
Garrick takes a half hearted swing at a practice dummy.
Garrick says 'And an axe? Really? What am I thinking...'
Garrick parries an imaginary slash from the practice dummy on the haft of his axe.
Garrick says 'Or a club? They must think me a simpleton.'
Garrick says 'All the warders use blades and here I am bumbling along like the commoner I am'
Garrick frowns.
Garrick swings his axe in an overhead arch, bringing it down on the practice dummy's skull.
Garrick says 'Why should they trust me to do anything? Who am I to lead in battle?'
Garrick mutter in disgust.
Garrick says 'I am nobody. The son of a baker...'
Garrick says 'What was I even thinking coming here?'
Garrick strikes the practice dummy's shield with his axe.
Garrick says 'Of course they'd not want to waste their time on a simple baker's son'
Garrick says 'And why should they?'
Garrick says 'The first sight of battle and I freeze like a useless sack of flour'
Garrick grunts 'A useless sack of flour with a stupid axe', while swinging his axe down on the practice dummy's skull, the head of the axe getting stuck in the hard wood.
Garrick releases the haft of the axe, leaving it stuck in the dummy's head and pushes away from it with a look of digust on his face.
Garrick questions 'How am I to keep anyone safe if I can't even keep my head in battle?'
Coulin the Master of Arms turns his attention on Garrick, snapping 'You! Garrick is it? Do you intend to stand around all day sniveling?'
Garrick straightens up stifly before replying, 'No, Master Coulin!'.
Garrick pulls his axe from the practice dummy's head and takes up what he thinks might be the correct stance in front of it.
Coulin the Master of Arms bellows back 'Good! Get back to work! There's no place for that in my yard!'
Coulin the Master of Arms continues to yell 'And you look like a bloody fool holding that axe like that!'
Coulin the Master of Arms says 'A trolloc would take your head without thinking twice, if that's how you're going to go about it!'
Garrick reflects on Master Coulin's words and chuckles quietly to himself, wondering if his Master realizes just how true his words were.
Coulin the Master of Arms growls 'Is there something funny about what I said!? You'd likely soil yourself at the first sight of Shadowspawn.'
Coulin the Master of Arms moves over to the young man, kicking his feet into a different position and helping adjust his hands on the haft of the axe.
Coulin the Master of Arms speaks in a softer tone, 'And that day will come sooner than you think, lad, you must do everything you can to prepare now.'
Garrick says 'Yes, Master Coulin!'
Coulin the Master of Arms nods.
Coulin the Master of Arms says 'We all start somewhere, boy. You aren't the first to struggle and you won't be the last.'
Garrick watches the Master of Arms as he walks away to instruct another student, wondering if his Master had heard everything he'd said earlier.
Garrick looks down and examines the new placement of his hands and the positioning of his feet, attempting to commit them to memory.
Garrick whispers quietly to himself, a hint of determination returning to his voice 'I can be better and I will. I'll just need to find someone to show me the way.'.
Garrick returns to his training, hacking away at the practice dummy in front of him, his Master's words setting in and providing him with a renewed focus he'd been lacking.