Pyrrhic strode out into the middle of the clearing beside the castle and then turned back to face it. His stand was wide, his expression determined, and he exuded the air of a man on a mission. He had big plans for the Empire. While his father’s mission to grow the Abraxas from within was all well and good, it wasn’t for him. Pyrrhic was determined to return to their roots. They would be feared in these lands. They would go forth and conquer until everything that had been stripped from Abraxas was returned to Him.

It was to that end that Pyrrhic had gotten his father’s blessing to gather together the fighters of the pack for some spars. They were all capable wolves; there was nothing he, a yearling, could give them training-wise. He could, however, get them together regularly and help ensure they stay sharp. The pups were an exception to this, but undoubtedly their parents had begun to teach them the basics as all Abraxas children were taught them at their age. They would benefit from play fighting against each other and watching the skilled adults in action.

Willing his voice not to crack, Pyrrhic tipped back his head and howled for Risen’s fighters. Much to his relief it didn’t even waver and after he finished his summons his voice rang richly off the castle in a dozen clear echos. Those who heard him would hopefully never know how much relief that brought him.

OOC: this is mandatory for everyone who has fighting as a skill. The only exceptions are Azazel (waiting on the outcome of Bright Eyes before he can participate) and Apollo. Deadline for round one is May 28th!

Rain was first to arrive, not as a fighter himself but to provide healing to those that would need it. No doubt Mephistopheles would be in attendance to the young prince’s call his tail flashed a brief wave at the thought that he quickly subdued before settling at the far reaches of the ring with a swift bow. “Good evening  lord Heir.” He greeted cordially and his golden companion complied with a parody bow of his own. He had great faith in Pyrrhic and the empire’s warriors but for now would simply be content to sit back and watch the carnage unfold. He had been working on something particularly useful for far more grievous wounds, his eerily silent companion had called it catgut but he had taught the slate wolf how to craft it from sheep intestines. If he was allowed, he would share his discoveries with whatever other healers were in attendance. He wanted to be more present in the pack, to make his place among them, or as integrated within their ranks as any mortal could be. "Talk"  "Thought"   "You"

He was itching to get out further then the walls of the castle. Still being young he wasn't allowed to go very far without an adult with him. He had plenty of time with his parents, but he needed to get out and get to meet the others. It wasn't that his mother didn't want him to get out, but it was much easier to keep track or him and his siblings when they were in more of an enclosed space. Today however was something new and different and with his desire to fight like his dad the call was something that immediately drew his attention. The bulky puppy wagged his scrawny tail and glanced back at his mother who gave him the nod of approval.

Of like a freight train did the bulky pup go, running as fast as he could manage and fallowing the howl from the castle. By now he knew his way out of the castle, but not much past that. Luckily the call wasn't far from the castle. It was much closer then he had expected and nearly ran past the two wolves before he abruptly hit the brakes, but being a bulky puppy this attempt led to a very unlucky trip, roll, and flop. Despite the mess of an entrance he pulled himself back together and turned to look at the two, dark blue eyes glittering with excitement.

Maybe his dad would even be here today and that made him even more excited!

Iroh was growing well, his height increasing with every day it seemed. He still looked a lot like a barrel on stilts however, and his long gangly legs helped nothing in this description. Eventually his proportions would even out, but for now he held onto his awkward puppy looks. Since his first encounter with his cousin Pyrrhic the boy started to take his training more seriously, he practiced on his own and he liked to drag his brother into things as well.

He was on his own today though, and enjoyed soaking up the rare bit of sunlight while he perfected his defensive stance. The sound of Pyrrhic’s voice was more than enough to pull him away though. The older boy promised to train with him, but he hadn’t expected to train with everyone else so soon.

He had hardly met the whole of the pack, but he recognized Dionysus and Pyrrhic. He grinned at both of them as he appeared in the clearing, his pale striped tail wagging behind him. Iroh swatted at Dion’s tail as he passed him to go sot near the Heir. ”Heya, Pyrrhic!” Iroh offered eagerly as he took his seat, and as though he had just remembered tried to emulate his General stance once more.

Aureus broke his head above the water and quickly stood. It ran in rivulets down his pelt, taking the mud with it from his gallant hunt. Shaking his coat out he climbed onto the shore and poked lightly at the goose he'd managed to seize from the lake. He found he could whittle away the hours hunting. Aureus settled down and began to pluck out feathers. Kali rested under the shade of a large tree, stretched out on the lowest branch. His left ear flicked at the sound of Aureus emerging from the water. One gold eye peered at him for a moment before closing. This was the life!

He was well into his meal when he heard his brothers call. Aureus didn't hesitate, he looked up to his brother and knew that Pyrrhic was always one to host a good time. Aureus grabbed what was left of his meal and headed toward the call. Kali, far more slowly, stretched and followed in pursuit.

When Aureus arrived he was pleased to see it was mostly the younger members that had show up first. He was a yearling now and he could feel the pressure hanging over the new generation to step up and become a fully functioning part of Abraxas society. The problem was Aureus didn't really know where he wanted to go. He knew he wanted to be a fighter. He was good at fighting. While many might expect him to be a rival for the position of heir, Aureus had no such desire to rule. He knew his brother was the best for the job and would chew the nose off anyone who said otherwise. Perhaps he should pray to Abraxas later for guidance. Something, any sort of hint would help. Though he never was the best at figuring out what that all meant. It was more the work of his mother and Ashiel. They could interpret the signs that he couldn't.

Aureus dropped his meal and grinned at his brother. "What do you have in store for us, brother?"

Ashiel had spent the morning nursing the young fire he'd recovered in the hearth. With care he'd managed to get it going into a brilliant blaze. It would need to be watched and tended to but he was glad to have it. Already his mind was whirling with the possibilities but for now it was just nice to have. He stared at it a bit longer. The hallways and rooms of the castle seemed quiet to him now without Maeva. Even quieter still now that Malleus' children were grown. When had time begun to move so quickly?

He sighed. He knew based on his vision that he'd done the right thing in taking Maeva back to his uncle. That didn't mean he was ok with the decision. But what else could he do? When the Lord Abraxas commanded something it was deadly to ignore.

A surprising call rang out across the castle grounds. Ashiel poked his head out of one of the windows to see Pyrrhic calling the fighters of the Abraxas family together. Though he now served mainly as an Oracle, his skills in battle were not to be under-estimated. Ashiel moved to put his things away and with a swift call to Griff he loped down the stairs and out onto the grounds where many of the family's young members were waiting. He smiled proudly at Pyrrhic, pleased to see him taking his role as Heir seriously. Ashiel dipped his head respectfully and moved to sit down.

Dreams of violent delight were dancing through Pyralis' head when the call floated sweetly into her ears. Golden eyes blinking, she rolled onto her back. Stretching and yawning she got to her feet and shook herself out. Well, well, so young Pyrrhic was calling the fighters together? She was getting on in years but she was still a fierce fighter and even if she could not compete physically with the younger members of the pack, she could more than make up for it with experience and dare she say a bit of wisdom? It was a strange thing growing old. In truth Pyralis had never expected to make it so close to the eve of her eighth birthday.

Ashiel's return from the homeland had brightened her spirits. Amon was alive and well, and whipping the remnants of the homeland into shape, into a fierce empire. She knew one day they'd meet again and the trinket he'd brought her was deeply cherished. She'd set it up on the mantle in her room. A dried up potoo, perfectly preserved to stand vigil on her mantle pieces, and of course the bladed leather bracers. She debating about wearing them but decided against it for now. She still needed to make a few adjustments and felt better doing some of her own training with them first before engaging the younger members of the pack.

Pyralis glanced out the window. She'd delayed long enough. Turning her focus back to the task at hand she went down to the courtyard to answer the call of her great-nephew. She strode into the gathering as Alkali soared through the sky above her. "You look more grown each day I see you Pyrrhic."

To say Aaliyah was embarrassed about her activity around the pack would be an understatement. While she had spent most of her time healing from multiple spider bites and the effects of them, she still felt as though she could have done more for her family and her god. While she recovered, she had spent her time wandering aimlessly and keeping herself to border patrol. It had become monotonous and she was ready for something worthwhile to do. She kept herself busy today, however, hunting and trailing around the castle that her family resided in. It was as she was about to pounce on a particularly fat rat that her ears pricked up and her head snapped in the direction of the call that rang through the halls. She recognized the voice of Phyrric as he called the fighters in the pack together, which garnered her attention and moved her into action. An odd excitement filtered into her blood as she felt the adrenaline flow into her veins, anticipating the need to guard her home from whatever threat would dare grace their doorstep. Though the call was only for the fighters to gather, Aaliyah assumed they would have to defend themselves, it was unnecessary.

Upon her arrival at the small gathering, Aaliyah took stock of who was in attendance. Noticing that no one seemed overly alarmed, she began to relax as she realized she was being silly. Of course, nothing could threaten the Abraxas, except maybe an Abraxas. The dark woman said nothing and stuck to the back of the gathering, waiting to see what was going on. She wasn't yet ready to be social and hear the possible reprimands that came with what could be perceived as laziness. She was here, however, and that should count for something. Finally free from the effects of the multitude of spider bites she had received at Spider Cove as she ventured around, Aaliyah was ready to take on any task she was given.

[OOC: Tsarvix' profile is not updated yet to show he's in Risen, but Lazuli told me it'd be fine to post here anyways. c:]

Tsarvix Tsarvix didn't know the territory well, and by the time he'd found his way out of the castle to heed Pyrrhic's call there were half a dozen others already in attendance. The chocolate male had not met many others since the Abraxas yearling had rescued him from the forest maze, and as he surveyed the others of the pack he recognized a few that shared the similar pallets as his God. These must be members of Pyrrhic's family, he assumed. "Hello." He greeted politely to no one in particular. The male found himself a spot to sit on the edge of the gathered wolves, closest to Pyrrhic where he'd be more comfortable. The atmosphere was not tense, and Tsarvix was glad for he was not sure he would be able to put up a formidable defense should they be presently under attack. This must simply be a meeting, though he couldn't help but wonder why it was only the fighters that were called. Pyrrhic told him he would be a commoner, for now, but Tsarvix still felt he should attend as he'd hoped to fight for the Empire one day. Pyrrhic seemed to be waiting on others to join, so Tsarvix sat quietly and raked lines in the dirt with his claws. "Speech" "You" "Think"

Shit, Typhon was running late. Both Dionysus and Thalia had wanted to participate the lesson called by Malleus, and both he and Zinnia had given them word of approval. They were growing up fast - they were still pups, but the sudden growth spurts they had gone through was simply mind-blowing. The three of their children were no longer small, helpless little creatures.. but wolves of their own, growing into their personalities and beginning to explore the world. Giving them space to do that was imperative, as much as he wanted to keep them safely inside their dens forever.. he knew he couldn't possibly do that. Space was one thing he himself had lacked in his youth, and he couldn't help but wonder if it had stunted his own personal growth - and he wasn't willing to risk that on his children. Letting Dionysus and Thalia head toward the meeting on his own, he hung pack and stole a few rare moments of solitude with Zinnia before heading there himself. Once he arrived, he was unsurprised by the group that had gathered, moving to find a spot near Dionysus and settling down to wait. Most of his attention had been focused on his children, on teaching them the sort of wolves they needed to be.. and he was truthfully grateful for a more formal lesson to help at least two of his children along the way.

Ooh, a pack gathering? To learn to fight, no less? How exciting! Not that Thalia was really the type to show her emotions outwardly. Instead, she simply cast her parents a wide-eyed look of pleading, not that they needed much encouragement to allow herself and Dionysus to go. She let him bound there ahead of her, keeping her own steady pace as she headed outside the castle on her own. Even if she didn't outwardly show it, she was excited to learn to fight. Like her brother, the thought of being strong like her father was an appealing one - and as she approached the gathered group, her eyes were bright and wide as she looked over the wolves there. Some were vaguely familiar, with scents she recognized, but others were not, and quietly she padded towards her brother, sitting down and turning to face Pyrrhic with obvious interest in her stare.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ She was running late. There was no doubt about that. The siamese pointed moved swiftly across the territories as she tried to heed the call before she was too late. She was surprised, however, that it hadn't been Malleus or Pyralis or one of the other older members of her family that had called, but Pyrrhic who had called. She wanted to be a better fighter, perhaps even a great one. She might not get to be the greatest fighter in the empire but she would try her best to get close. As she trotted into the meeting she noticed there was quite the gathering already. Her ears folded back in embarrassment when she realized how late she was, so she sat down as soon as she could and nodded to her cousin with an apologetic look. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Speech"

He was stalking a rabbit when a howl sounded, but he wanted to try and catch his prey first. He didn't have the hunting finesse of an adult yet, however, so when he gave chase he zig zagged across the garden trying to catch up and catch the rabbit but...to no avail. Frustrated, he abandoned the hunt and went to see what the call was about. His brother was likely there already. After all, Iroh was more punctual than he was. With a frustrated huff he made his way to the castle until he saw the gathered wolves, and after picking out his brothers familiar form, he walked over and lightly bumped his brothers shoulder before looking around at everyone else that was gathered. They were here for training, and he hoped this went better than his failed hunt.

Eli lifted his head at his littermates call, then tilted as curiosity struck him. Though he would have answered his brother's summons anyway, the call had a note of authority and command to it that spoke of something official. He made his way to where Pyrrhic had called from. Seeing so many of their packmates there game him a moment of pause. It wasnt so long ago that they had been just pups - to have so many adults obey Pyrrhic's summons was a little startling to Eligos, and made him thoughtful. He swept his gaze over the group again before making his way over to stand near Aureus, keeping silent watch over those gathered.

Her brothers voice sang out through the castle, and the gangly girl who was losing her thrill of games, and developing a thirst for something more, would pause in her step and cocked her head to listen. There was authority growing in her brothers voice, a tone that was developing more each day. It both wearied and thrilled her to consider what their lives might look like years down the track. One day, her brother would be Emperor, and she was just beginning to set her sights on what position she wanted beneath him. When she got her paws into motion and made her way towards him, she would see that others had arrived before her. There were a few faces she had never seen before in the crowd, she was surprised to realise. She made her way to Aureus, and sat beside her brother. She would be silent, and thoughtful, as she waited to see what Pyrrhic would say. "Speech"

Malleus was late by design. He'd purposely hung back and brought up the rear just in case some of the members didn't take his son's call seriously and needed to be prodded in that direction. He wouldn't have blamed them for it if any had. After all, Pyrrhic was only recently made heir and he was still just a yearling. He was eager, though, and Malleus was determined to foster that take charge attitude. If Pyrrhic wanted to make strides in getting to know the fighters and seeing to it that they weren't growing fat during this time of peace, Malleus was going to put all of that youthful energy to use by letting him. He had no intention of letting him run hog wild, but subtly supervised events like this one were okay. He followed on Felicity's heels but instead of forging into the group and settling with them Malleus hung back. This was Pyrrhic's show and he had no intention of forcing his way into the middle of things or letting those gathered mistake the purpose behind his presence. As far as they were concerned he was there to participate and nothing more.

With each arrival Pyrrhic's trepidation grew. He was unaccustomed to being the center of attention and wanted so desperately to impress those gathered. Someday they would look to him for guidance and the impression he made today, the first day he addressed them, would color later interactions. Even though he was nervous he kept his chin up and his head held high. The appearance of confidence could be as useful as the real thing. Benkos had taught him that.

Starting with the first arrival Pyrrhic gave each member a solemn nod as he'd seen his father do. Those that spoke to him got a spoken greeting too, but if they quietly took their seat then an acknowledging nod was all they got.

The first to arrive was Rain whose greeting caused Pyrrhic's chest to swell with pride. Lord Heir. He rather liked the sound of that. To Rain he said, "Evening, Rain. Glad you could join us." Next to speak to him was Iroh who earned a warm smile from Pyrrhic. "Heya future General Iroh." Aureus was after him and to him Pyrrhic answered cryptically, "Spars today. Some day great things."

"You look more grown each day I see you Pyrrhic." The young Heir brightened visibly at his great aunt's words but quickly tamed his expression into something more respectable. Pyralis was legendary and knowing he'd been worth her notice boosted his ego. "Thanks for coming, Pyralis."

Though he didn't address him directly, Tsarvix was the next to speak. To him Pyrrhic said, "Glad you could join us, Tsarvix. I hope you've had time to settle in."

After Risen's newest member came an assortment of siblings, cousins and older relatives. Though he would likely escape the notice of most because he had arrived last, Malleus caught Pyrrhic's eye and the two exchanged a look before Pyrrhic addressed the group. "Thank you all for coming. Fighters are the backbone of Risen. Without you we would be nothing and it's for that reason that you and I must be the best at what we do. I hope today is the first of many training days we share together."

Pyrrhic paused to consider his next words. It was funny, when he'd heard his father pause in a similar way he hadn't understood it but now, faced with all those eyes staring up at him, he got it. "Today we're going to be doing two things: we're going to spar and we're going to decide mentor pairings." To the pups, who he addressed as he looked between them, Pyrrhic said, "Pay attention to the adults around you. Watch how they attack and defend, and think about those things when it's your turn. If you have any questions your new mentor will be able to help you answer them."

"We'll start with the easy thing: mentor pairings. Mentors, it will be your responsibility to meet with your students regularly. If you are a yearling I'm not expecting you to be an expert, but you know enough to share. In a few seasons we'll pick new partners. The current pairings are as follows: Dionysus and Aureus, Zagan and Typhon, myself and Iroh, and Thalia and Proserpina."

He cast a quick glance around to see if there were any questions, then said, "Alright, let's get to the fun part. The spar pairings are: Iroh and Thalia, Dionysus and Zagan, Typhon and Ashiel, Tsarvix and Aureus, Aaliyah and Eligos, myself and Proserpina, Pyralis and Felicity. Rain, if you'll stand over there with my father just in case we need your help, please."

OOC: trying to run this through really fast so if there's any mistakes let me know and I'll fix it! For spars the first wolf mentioned in a pairing is the one who needs to make the thread. You have two weeks to do it (until 6/19) and if you fail to do it in time then your char forfeits. Same goes for the the second player's first turn - you have two weeks from the time your opponent creates the thread to respond or you forfeit for this 'event'. The reason for this is that Malleus will be deciding promotions and whatnot in this thread and I'd like to get to that fairly quickly. It's up to those involved if they want to continue a thread after the "default" time here, but for this thread's sake any posts after won't be used to form Malleus' opinion.