[Trade] Training - Stage 1, 2, 3 (Saturkeon and Monoceros)

TRAINING - RANK 1

♦ Tyrian Exclusive: Tyrians are born with wings, and one of the first things they need to learn is how to use them. Should they not develop their flying skills, a Tyrian will have troubles living a normal life. Draw your Tyrian practicing either on their own or with a companion.

It was an important day in the Order Clan, one that came every year with great excitement… Or anxiety. Young Haedians were lined up in the rocky courtyard of the Fortress, head high and straight spines. The youngsters were around six years old, and for the elders, that was old enough to start the official training to become soldiers.

Of course the training was not that terrible, or that was what the other adults always said… But the most observant pups could see a lie in their words, in their expressions.

That day there were around fifteen six year old Haedians, ready to receive their first orders.

There were also a lot of instructors: elder haedians, with rusty and darkened iron chains and decorations on their bodies. They were the veterans of the Beneath, seasoned hunters and fighters.

A big, black elder female stepped forward, calling the names of the two youngsters that were going to be trained by her.

“Saturkeon. Monoceros. With me.”

She said, with a hard and cold voice. The two little haedians sprung up from their sitting position, marching toward their new instructor.

The two didn’t know each other, but now they had to work together.

Order’s soldiers need to be coordinated and strong. Always.

“In the path of Oris.”

“In the path of Oris!” The two answered the call of their instructor, and the black haedian smirked.

“Very well. I like little soldiers who can use their voice. Whimpering pups have no place in the Order!”

Then she started walking away, followed by the two. Keon was ahead of Monoceros, her wings perfectly folded against her back. Monoceros… Well, she was nearly dragging hers. She was a little displeased with their new instructor, to be honest.

She liked the two battle scarred instructors more, the ones that always fought in the tournaments.

But for now, she had to obey and be a good soldier.

Keon slapped her with her tail, with a silent snarl on her face: they were there to become soldiers, not cleaning rags.

“Pull up your wings.” Saturkeon hissed, and Monoceros rolled her eyes, already annoyed… But did as she was told, in fear of the black haedian that walked before them.

The old lady could seem large and a bit frail and thin, but as an instructor she was not someone to mess with.

“Here, pups. Today, you’ll learn how to glide. Complete this course three times. Today. If you fail, you won’t eat. If tomorrow you fail too, you won’t eat either. I don’t have to explain what failures do, right?”

Monoceros looked at the stalagmites, stalactites and giant holes in the ground, who had suspicious darkened splatters near them.

Saturkeon in the meantime had nodded and readied herself, so the instructor's attention was all on Mono.

“Y-yes.”

“Yes what?”

“YES SIR!”

“Good. Go, you two. I’ll wait until dinner time on the other side of the course. You better not be late.”

Monoceros shivered a bit, and walked near Keon, who was studying the path ahead. The crystals barely illuminated the pits and the stalactites, it was not going to be easy to cross the whole course without crashing at least once… But that didn’t deter Saturkeon, who unfolded her wings and launched herself on the first stalagmites.

“W-wait!”

“Move! How can you serve the Order when you are a scared little mouse?!”

Hissed the young Keon, looking at Monoceros while perched on the first stalagmite. Mono pouted and growled. She was not a mouse, and she was going to show it to that one!

The floppy eared haedian stepped back, then started running with her wings unfolded towards the next stalagmite. She jumped, flying over the pit and over Keon… just to smack her snout on the hard rock.

“Oww…”

Mono spat some blood on the ground, and pulled herself up.

Yep… The course was going to be hellish.

…

It took around a full hour and a few smacks on the rocks, but Mono was starting to get how to make her wings work right.

Keon, having trained since younger, was already at her second lap of the course, and passed Mono without saying anything, gliding silently between the sharp crystals.

“Ugh… Can’t you spare me some tips at least?!”

“…Look where you are going, jump there. Do not think too much, you don’t need that many thoughts while working. Focus on your job.”

Mono looked at Saturkeon with wide eyes. Those… Were quite strong words for a pup. But, the advice was welcome.

As Keon glided away again, moving forward quickly, Mono tried to follow, focusing only on her “job”.

She mostly spied Keon foot and wing work, imitating it. The dragon-marked haedian slowed down, seeing the other struggle that much.

Had Mono trained like her, she wouldn’t have had that much trouble. She stopped with her claws deep in a stalactite, nearly upside-down.

“Wings open.”

“What?”

“Your wings” Keon said, pointing with her chin at the half folded flaps of Monoceros “need to be open. You can’t glide with those folded.”

“…I could tear them.”

“Well, if you are so afraid of some scars, perhaps you should leave the Order.”

“What!? I’m going to be a soldier too, just you wait!”

“Then do as I say. Wings OPEN.”

And without saying anything else, Saturkeon took off again. She glided and clawed at the rocks, moving more quickly than before, as she had more confidence since she had completed the course once already.

Mono huffed and forced herself to open the wings more, to grab harder on the rocks and to not let go unless she was gliding again.

She managed to complete her first course, and right then she was passed by Keon, who was starting her third, and she barely touched the ground as she turned around the rocks near their instructor.

Mono envied greatly the way the other flew, moving like a fish in the underground ponds. She gave chase, under the pleased eyes of the instructor.

In the end, Keon finished first and sat down near the instructor, who looked quite smug for some reason, and Mono arrived only half an hour later.

The instructor was kind enough to not point out more than three times that Saturkeon had done better than her.

***(1073 Words)***

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TRAINING STAGE 2
♦ Sometimes Reoseans find themselves in precarious circumstances and must be nimble to get out of it; depict your Reosean getting out of a tight bind, whether it’s attempting to cross a high up narrow path, sneak past watchful eyes, or something else.

It wasn't their first mission, and it wasn't certainly the first time they had to “control” the Keepers.
But, for Saturkeon and Monoceros, it was the first mission together in a dangerous environment.
Usually, they were accompanied by their instructor or a senior, but that time it was only them.

The Keepers were doing some questionable trading with the exiled, the Forgotten clan. It was not something they did usually, and that demanded an investigation.
After all, they weren't going to tell the Order everything by themselves.
So, Keon and Mono departed from the Fortress, with only a dagger each, gifted by their instructor.

“Use it when needed, and make sure no one can say how many time it was drawn.”

Keon had said nothing to that, taking the weapon and nodding, ready for the mission. Mono, on another hand, looked a bit too pensive, to the point that their instructor slapped her with her tail.

“S-sorry, I'm going, I'm going...”

Mumbled Mono, slipping behind Keon with half folded wings. Saturkeon didn't look pleased with the way the other behaved, and voiced it as soon as they were on the rocky path for the Keepers Clan.

“...Do not question orders.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“Doesn't seem so.” Keon huffed, annoyed. With all the Haedians in the Order, she had to work with the only one of her age who didn't take seriously their job.
If they didn't protect the Clan and the Matriarch, who was going to?

But Monoceros kept walking lazily behind the other, making some veins pop over Saturkeon's forehead.
After a bit of walking and gliding, they reached the Keepers tunnels. It was then time to keep their talons off the ground and keep their ears perked.

“We must reach the archives. Luckily for us, they write down everything.” Keon whispered, and Monoceros nodded. If they did something, dangerous or not, it was bound to be written somewhere, in rocks or scrolls.
The two Orders' Haedian then started walking toward the centre of the Keepers, moving quietly as if they were two little rats.
It was nighttime, so it meant less probability to be seen.

The two stopped at one corner, smelling the air. Keon grimaced: there was a guard standing right at the door of the archives.
It was a tall guy, dressed with some leathery armour and a bright green headband. His body was mostly black, with little white spots on his face.
Saturkeon rolled her eyes: if he had avoided dressing like that, he would have been more efficient in catching intruders, since nobody would have seen him in the shadow created by the stalactites.

Mono huffed behind her, and once she got the other's attention, she pointed at the guard with a raised brow. 'How do we deal with him?' was written on her face, and Saturkeon raised her weapon, looking at the oxidised blade. It was too dangerous to just attack him: even if they were to overpower that guard, something they surely were able to, they would also had to kill him.
And a body in the middle of a Keepers' territory was bad news for everyone.

The maroon Haedian scanned the area: there were some crystals glowing brightly on the left, and a open path on the right.
She picked up a rock, and Monoceros nodded, lowering herself to the ground to be less visible.
Keon launched the tiny pebble on the path behind them, making sure to throw it as far as possible.
The clattering sound alerted the guard, who rushed to the path, passing on their side without even noticing them.
They got lucky: had he looked over the few scattered stalagmites and bright crystals, their plan would have been ruined.

Quickly, the two ran to the archives, and looked around with awe and doom: it was filled to the rocky ceiling with scrolls, crystals and carved slates.

“...We'll never find it.” whispered Monoceros, looking a bit disgusted by sheer quantity of stuff in that room.
Saturkeon smacked her lightly in the chest with her tail, urging then the other haedian to pick up some scrolls and start reading.


It took a long time.
Countless scrolls were read, some contained interesting information, but most of that stuff was useless: stories and old tales of the surface were scattered around the place, with cooking recipes and gardening tips.
But, they managed to find what they were looking for.

“...Hm. I know this guy...” Saturkeon whispered, opening the scroll so that Monoceros could read too.
The loopy-eared haedian didn't seem to have a clue on who the haedian that wrote the report was, so with infinite patience, Keon explained.

“He is someone we usually work with in the Keepers. He trades mostly food and fabric... Seems like he is trying to strike some deals with the Forgottens, who like to steal and cause problems everywhere.” Saturkeon said with a snarl on her snout. Mono nodded, not quite understanding the anger of the other.

But right as they were getting ready to leave, voices came from the hallway. Both froze on the spot, before scrambling away to hide.
Saturkeon managed to squeeze between two bookcases, hiding well from the sight of any Keepers, while Monoceros was a bit less fortunate: she had to latch on a stalactite, with her claws deep in the rock and her fluffy tail draped around her body.

“There, this should go on the left...-”

Someone said, entering the room. They noticed nothing, as both the Orders' haedian had been attentive with how the scrolls were positioned and returned everything in the same spot.
Monoceros muscles were starting to scream, but the newcomer just started to talk happily with the guard.

“Oh, did you know that lady Ilwen is getting married tomorrow?”

“Yeah, I heard. I also heard that her daughter went to the caregivers... Probably she didn't like her new parent.”

“Pffffft, you are a very mean guard.”

Both laughed and kept talking, with the door wide open. The minutes with the two chatting felt like hours, and Monoceros was getting quite sweaty with the stress and the strain.
Saturkeon wasn't fairing any better: her chest couldn't expand all the way, as she was pressed between hard rock wall and bookcases, and the dust was starting to tickle her nostrils.

But right as they were getting prepared to just run over the two Keepers, they both heard a bell sounding in the distance.

“Oh, time for breakfast!”

“Not for me, I have to wait for the change-”

“Nah, come on. Nobody even comes here anyway.”

And luckily for Saturkeon and Mono, the guard was a bit of a idiot who didn't take his job very seriously.
Both the haedians bolted once out of the archives, gliding at every step to reach their territory as fast as possible.
When they did, they collapsed on the floor, trying to catch breath.

The mission was completed, and the information given to their superiors.


***(1162 Words)***

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TRAINING STAGE 3
Rank 3: ♦ Not all Reoseans hunt, and not all work to help their country; Depict your Reosean fighting alongside their companion against another Reosean, are they the ones doing wrong or are you?

Saturkeon was working as usual: guard duty, sometimes hunting duty and lately, spy work.
She hadn't seen Monoceros for weeks after their mission within the Keepers, but when she saw their Instructor appearing on the door of the Fortress, she knew that soon she would have to work with the other again.

“Saturkeon.”

“Good morning, sir.”

The Instructor looked pleased by the way Keon saluted, with perfectly folded wings and a straight spine, very different from the sloppy way Monoceros did it.
Still, whatever smile was on the instructor lips leaved as soon as it appeared.

“We discovered a traitor among our ranks. It will be your and Monoceros' job to apprehend and bring back the traitor before he can reach the safety of the Forgotten Clan. He must be punished.”

“Yes sir. It will be done.”

“Very well. You may depart.”

As the instructor left, Keon prepared herself for the task: dagger, ropes and... Well, Monoceros was still missing.
Keon waited with a tapping claw for nearly ten minutes before the other appeared, in a sorry state.
Her wings were, for once, properly folded, but her fur was dirty and smelt of dust. Her eyes, already red, were bloodshot.

“...Are you confident you are strong enough for this mission?” Asked Keon, with a raised brow.
Monoceros huffed, with a snarl on her snout.

“If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here. Lets go.” She grumbled, annoyed.


The two haedians marched toward the Watchers Clan, following the tracks left by their fugitive. Monoceros limped a bit as she walked, but Keon didn't comment on it: considering the not so great behaviour of her companion, it was easy to assume that she had been in a cell, probably after disrespecting some elder.

Their job was simple: capture the fugitive, alive or if so not possible, dead. And the fugitive was no other than their “helper” in the Keepers, the one who was trying to switch from the Order to the Forgotten clan for his trades, after all they did for him too! He didn't even had to pay the taxes for trading in the Order's territory, that alone was a great honor.
Now, if he was to reach the Forgottens, they would have to fight against the whole clan to drag their traitor away.
Which, was not possible. Especially with how Monoceros dragged herself on the path.

“Are you sure you are capable to work today?” questioned again Saturkeon, looking over her shoulder to the other Haedian.

Monoceros grumbled something, and just kept walking. That made one of the veins in Keon's head pop. Well, if her annoying companion decided to jump to her death, she wasn't going to put her life on the line for her.
She had a mission to complete, and she did not want to babysit a incapable soldier.

After a long walk, they finally reached the Watchers' territory. Saturkeon could see their guards moving like shadows on the side of the path, their eyes fixed on them.
Mono didn't seem to be bothered by that, while Keon did not appreciate all the looks.
But in the end, they couldn't just jump the Watchers, they were just doing their job. And before they could go any further on the path, a violet haedian glided before them, descending from a stalactite.

“What is that you seek here, Order's soldiers?”

“We seek a fugitive. By the authority of the Order Clan, you are to let us pass and capture the traitor.”

Saturkeon talked with a cold and imperative voice, but that only made the other sneer. Keon felt the ground under her talons, trying to keep a calm mind for the sake of the mission.
She could see Monoceros' ears go flat on her head, but luckily she didn't cause any trouble.

“Well, if the mighty Order says so... Sure, do pass.”

The violet haedian said, with a weird smile on her lips. Keon just walked away, toward the depths of the Watchers' territory, with Monoceros limping beside her.

“He shouldn't have gone too far. Let's search around here.” Saturkeon whispered to Mono, looking around in the vast underground cave they stumbled upon.
It was big, with water pools and crystals everywhere, that glowed with a blue light.
If they hadn't been on a mission, Monoceros would have enjoyed a bath in that crystalline water, but if she had abandoned their job for it, Saturkeon was probably going to drown her.

'Uff, what a pity.' She thought, and started searching for signs of their little traitor friend. At first, they both found nothing.
Just some cracked crystals, probably hit by some stalactites falling, and a couple of algae thrown on the path.
But those pieces of kelp made Saturkeon pause.

How does one move when they do not want to leave a trace of their passing? They avoid walking on solid ground, of course.
The haedian whipped her head back to look at the pools, where Monoceros was “investigating” with a bored expression.

Everything happened in an instant. A shadow surfaced from the crystalline polls, grabbed Mono by the neck and dragged her down.
Saturkeon cursed loudly, gliding and launching herself in the deep and cold water. She could see the traitor trying to strangle her companion, who was already slowing down because of the lack of oxygen.
She didn't waste time.

With the moves of a shark, Keon chomped right on the left wing of the traitor, until she could feel her own fangs touch.
The other haedian let out a gurgled scream, and surrounded by bubbles fought to resurface, releasing Monoceros from his grasp.

All three haedians escaped the cold water, shaking sightly, and looked at each other. The traitor had a crazed look in his eyes, and a hysterical half-grin on his maw.

“You... You do not understand a thing! Let me go!”

“The orders are-”

“I do not care! You are all so blinded by your own rules and religion that you fail to see anything else! You were forged since little to be soldiers, they took your freedom!”

Saturkeon had enough of the chit-chat. She wasn't so weak to fall for a traitor words, who only wanted to plant the seed of doubt in their minds.
She snarled and jumped the traitor, who let out a scream.

A fiery fight then started, with claws tearing through skin and fur. Keon was strong enough to fight a bigger haedian, she had a lot of sparring lessons.
But that one, was not only a big haedian, he was a desperate one.

The traitor bit and snarled like a mad dog, clawing at Saturkeon face. Keon roared and readied her stingers, whipping her tail in anger.
In all that, Monoceros was still only watching. At first Keon didn't mind, as she was stronger than the other... But if things continued that way, she was still going to win, but not unscathed.

“Monoceros! Get your butt here!”

Keon snarled, dodging a talon directed to her eyes.
And finally, after a good five minutes, Mono joined the fight. Her attacks lacked strength, but at least she helped with her own presence, making the traitor more frantic and dividing his attacks with two targets instead of one.

“You- You'll regret this!”

“I won't.”

Hissed back Saturkeon, reading her stingers. Monoceros ducked under her arm, striking the traitor with a open mouthed bite, that cut his left arm.
The haedian screeched, but before he could retaliate, Keon ended the fight with her stingers in the throat of the traitor.

The other haedian crumpled to the ground, leaving only the Order's soldiers standing.
They completed the mission, but... What was that feeling of guilt? That guy wasn't even one of theirs. He was just another haedian.
Saturkeon grabbed the ropes and started dragging the body away, back to the Order, while Monoceros watched, unsure and worried for her own future.

***(1317 words)****