User blog:Redknight910/WWYD Centaur Spazerz

I give her a look over, then ask what happened to her people. She goes into a description of pain and violence the likes I haven't heard of in some time. I ask her if the ones responsible bore a plate on their shoulders, with a horned skull bearing a red drop on it's head. She thinks for a moment, then nods.

I give her one warning, that if I take her on as my apprentice, she must do as I say, when I say it, no matter what the order may be. She nods, so I as if she'll remove her clothing. Her eyes widen and her face flushes.

"Excuse me?!" That was an order. She stands there, enraged for several moments, before sighing and begining to disrobe. I tell her to stop, and to follow me. We walk passed my home, gathering my bow and cloak before embarking on a trek. I take her deep into the woods, making a few dozen turns to ensure she is completely disoriented.

Now, if she wishes to be my apprentice, she will need to prove she can keep up with my pace. She smiles confidently and stomps a hoof.

"No human can match my speed." With a smile I warn her that this is more than just a test of speed. Without another word I leap up into the trees, using climbing claws and shoe spikes to ascend into the branches, before leaping across from one to the other. Looking down I spot the centaur, trying to keep up with my sharp turns and concealing position.

After a few minutes she's lost me, and I double back. I jump down and land on her back, my knife's tip resting on her collar. Dead, failed. She bucks me off with little effort, then turns to me.

"How was that fair?! I had no way of following you up there!" And that is the first lesson. Battle is almost never fair. I have both the advantage of location and of skill. I ask if she wants to continue, to which I recieve an angry yes.

We follow this procedure for the rest of the day, she slowly learns to follow my movements, and when she's followed me for half an hour, I climb higher, to branches that shouldn't be able to hold a man, and move again, she loses me nearly instantly.

"How did you do that?" She asks as we sit down to an evening meal. Knowing what she means I still ask her to be more precise. "How did you move all the way up there? Those branches should have snapped under the weight of a man half your size." Indeed, they should have. I say no more on the matter, much to her frustration.

"Where did you learn to climb and jump like that, then? Where are you even from?" With a sigh I ask if she needs to know the answer to those questions.

"I would like to know." But does she need to? "I... suppose not?" Then I won't tell her. All she needs to know of me is that I am skilled, and I am willing to teach her. She takes that with a sulking silence.

While I have no where for her to sleep, she is welcome to make herself comfortable with some hay lying around the house. After a few minutes of building a pile and making it comfortable for herself, she goes to sleep.

I wake her early the next morning, handing her a bow and telling her we're going hunting. My quarry is mostly small animals, but she feels the need to prove herself by chasing down deer and other beasts. Here I teach her her next lesson.

Only take what you need, and don't leave a large carcass that can be found. The two deer she shot will feed a few people for some time, but the ammount of blood and waste left over would leave a trail for others to follow. I tell her since they are her kills, she can return them to the cottage. Almost an hour later she returns with the two deer, tired and more than a little angry with me. She drops the carcass' on the ground and glares at me, as I'm halfway through gutting my kills, the hides and feathers already neatly set aside.

I hand her a skinning knife and tell her to clean her kills. She looks down at the two, then back at me.

"You're not going to help?" I shake my head. Her kills, her duty. "You were the one who said we were going hunting." And she was the one who killed two large beasts on said hunt. She gives up on arguing and gets to work. Her skill at cleaning a kill at least is commendable.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">By the time she's done I've started putting arrows together with the feathers and sinew from the kills.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"What next, then?" Normally I'd sit here and enjoy the forest. She looks at me blankly. With a chuckle I explain that today she'll be learning about patience. "I am patient." She says. I've seen, the way she charged those deer simply because she could keep pace spoke volumes of her infinite patience.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"You don't need to insult me." She growls. I'm not insulting her, I'm speaking of what I witnessed. Again we walk out into the forest. Once in place I tell her to stay where she is, and wait for me to bring her prey. She nods and kneels down, getting ready.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">I climb back into the trees and simply watch her for several minutes. Before long she's wandering, moving from where I told her to stay, and that's when I begin. I herd a small rabbit towards where she was, and by the time it reaches her, she's already wandered to a point where she can't get a clear shot on it. I jump down from the trees, looking at her.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"What?" She asks, crossing her arms grumpily. I ask why she wandered from the ambush point. "I wanted to see if I could find a better position." She says. And how'd that work out for her? She just starts muttering grumpily. We repeat the situation, and again she wanders after ten minutes. Then twelve, then six.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">When I decide to call it a day on her patience training she's beyond frustrated.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Why don't I just chase the rabbit down?" She asks as I lead us back to the cottage. Because that would use up valuable energy, a resource she should try harder to conserve. "I've never had a problem before with energy." I stop at that, a smirk coming across my lips.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">If she's so confident in her energy, then why don't we test that next. I tell her to start running, grabbing a handful of padded arrows from my quiver. "What?" Start running. I'm going to chase her today, and if she can outlast me, then I'll admit that her way works better.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Fine." She says, before storming off into the forest. I give chase, using arrows to harry her the whole way, making sure to keep her turing closer to me. After almost fourty five minutes, she's breathless, and I'm barely even winded.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Th- that... wasn't... fair. You kept... shooting arrows." She pants, and I nod, I did indeed shoot arrows at her, did I ever say she couldn't shoot at me during yesterdays training? She glares at me for a moment, before sighing.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"It's not worth it to be angry at you." I laugh at that. She is learning. It's nearing dusk when I prepare for her final test of the day. I set up twelve targets around the house, at various heights and distances. I then tell her to shoot all twelve of them.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">She shoots down the closer targets with ease, and even the further out targets are simple for her. But she struggles with the higher ones, her arrows falling short or sailing over top of the target.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">After half an hour and three dozen arrows she finally strikes the last target. I'm watching from the fire, happily eating some of the rabbit from earlier in the day. She walks over, pride on her face at hitting every target.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Good right?" She asks, looking for approval. It took her almost two dozen arrows to shoot four targets. Hardly something to be impressed with. Her proud look shatters, then turns to one of anger again. "Well then you do it!" She yells. Without a word I put the rabbit haunch down, grab my bow, and a dozen of her arrows. The targets are struck faster and more accurately than she did, even with the lower targets. I give her another lesson to remember. Knock, aim, then fire. Don't waste shots on unsure shots, it'll just leave her out of arrows, and open for attack.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">We continue this training for a week, before something changes. The number of rabbit's and fowl in the area has started dwindling. Normally not something I'd be concerned about, except for the fact that it's late spring, and creatures should be even more plentiful, not less.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">I find my reason a few days later. While running another chase drill with Alyssa, I spot a flash of white in the trees. It wasn't a bird, and there aren't any white tree-dwelling animals. I rush a very confused Alyssa back to the cottage, before grabbing some supplies.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"What's going on?" She asks from the door as I start throwing things around. I grab my running cloak and step outside, quiver and bow with me. Something I need to handle. She should stay here, and not come after me. When she starts to question I tell her it's an order.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"But..." NO! I turn to look and notice she's frozen on the spot. That was the first time I'd raised my voice at her. After taking a moment to compose myself I calmly tell her to wait here, if she doesn't want to get killed.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">I then take off, climbing into the very tops of the tree's and running in search of my intruder. It doesn't take long before I once again catch sight of the white fluttering robe. I give careful chase, and when I see my foe properly, I'm glad I left my apprentice at the house. A mask, made to look like a skull obscures the face, two red lines painted down from the eyes. A Scarlet Rebel.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">I take careful aim, keeping them in my sights as I knock the arrow and continue to follow. I let loose, dropping them in a single shot. With a focused spell I muffle the body hitting the ground and wait. After an hour another Scarlet appears, looking around carefully. My cloak conceals me perfectly amongst the trees.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Then my blood chills as I hear a voice. A feminine voice I've become all too familiar with. "Mentor?" She whispers, but the sound still carries, and the Scarlet hears her. They vanish before I can stop them, and I curse my impatient charge.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">I appear before her within moments, ordering her back to the house.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"But mentor, I..." Now. I keep my voice low, but the growl is clear. When we return I hold nothing back. I curse Alyssa for her impatience, and if the situation were any worse I'd just leave her here for the Scarlets.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Who... who are the Scarlets?" I then proceed to curse my own temper. I explain to her where I'm from, since she's now stumbled into an old war. I'm a former member of the Red Order, where I was trained in my craft. Formerly the spymaster of the Order, I left to live in peace out in the woods. The Scarlet Rebels are a group of elite soldiers who were turned by the Order of the Chief God.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Now they know someone with great skill is here, and they're going to be combing the woods with magic sensors and the like to find me. Alyssa's face has gotten paler and paler as I've told my dark story, and now she bows her head.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Mentor, I..." No. I'm not her mentor. If I was, she'd have listened and we'd have more time to prepare for the journey ahead. But now I'm simply her protector until we get to Redcliff. Her eyes widen until I fear they'll fall from her head. Then I hear the sobbing.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I... I'm so... I'll go. I promise, you'll never see me again." Before I can say anything she charges off into the woods, tears trailing behind her. I should leave her, let her run and get killed. But something stops me, an old wound of the last mamono I saw killed. I curse myself for the second time today and take off after her, my shoes lightening my steps and my cloak keeping me concealed.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">I land on one tree to find the girl caught in a net, two scarlet's asking questions and poking her with a spear. I mouth the words to a spell, and fire an arrow, a second green arrow following it. The two men drop to the ground. Then I hear a laugh.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Now you've given yourself away." Another man holds a spear to Alyssa's lower ribs. "Come down, or I'll skewer your dear young one here." I sit for a moment, until the spear presses in, peircing the skin and bringing a shriek of pain to the girls lips. I make my way down quietly, showing myself when I hit the ground.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Good to see you, old spymaster." The man's mouth is curled into an evil grin. I'm flanked by six soldiers on either side of me, and the leader twists the spear a little, forcing another cry from Alyssa.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I wonder, how much will tell us to keep her alive?" I keep my gaze level as I tell him he won't learn anything from me, no matter what he does to me or her. He just shrugs, then pushes the spear deeper.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I feel something soft in there." He says with slight cheer. All I can do is stand there, trying not to shake in rage. With one deep breath I ask him what he wants to know.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Everything. The Orders operations, intelligence, guard patrol's. Anything and everything you know of value old man." I don't know anything current, only the information from my time. The man looks at me for a few more moments, before sighing.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I believe you." And he thrusts the spear into the trapped centaur. I scream out as I watch, only to realise the spear hasn't moved. It seems to be frozen in place.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Commander Istmus. How long has it been?" A flat, calm toned voice rings out. It can't be...

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"What? No... why would you be here?!" The commander shouts, looking around for the lich in question. Syrah, the magical advisor on the crimson council appeared out of thin air. She flicked her wrist and the spear vanished, as did the girl it was inside.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I have been watching people of value to the Order to ensure their saftey. You overstepped yourself seeking out our former spymaster." Suddenly a roar of mighty power ripped through the woods, followed by a half dozen dragons. I was then sitting in a room, surrounded by trolls and kikimora.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"Sir, the centaur is in the next room, are you well?" I nod slowly, still getting over the sudden teleportation. I make my way over to Alyssa's room, opening the door carefully, she's sitting there, staring into the distance.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">When I try to speak, she talks over me. "I'm so sorry." She muttered. So she should be, without her antics, she'd never have been put in danger like this. She starts to sob again, and I sigh. But, without all this drama Lady Syrah wouldn't have found the Scarlet Rebel's leader so easily, or wiped out a squad of their men.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">Alyssa turns to me, and I smile softly at her. So, if she's still willing, once her side heals, she should come back to the cottage. I already miss showing her how much she can improve. She chuckles at that, giving me a warm smile.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">"I think I'd like that." With a nod I leave her to rest, catching up on what's happened around the city since my absence.

<p style="font-weight:normal;">A few weeks later, while hunting for food, I'm surprised to find a skewered phesant on the ground. With a smile and a wave I leap into the tree's, the sound of hooves below me followed by the laughter of a woman. My apprentice