The meeting - and all the subsequent drama that came from merging two disseparate groups - was finally concluded. As she'd stated she would, the viking waited where she was while those who would be leaving the pack, and those who were not interested in gaining a rank trickled away. Kassander remained behind, which was good because she would need him. Had he not chosen to on his own she would have been forced to interrupt his mourning and goodbyes to request his presence there anyway. Fewer remained than hoped for, but more than expected considering the less than ideal circumstances. "I will not hold you here long," she began as it became clear that this was the group that would remain to seek ranking among the warriors and healers. "But before you would test to swear these oaths I feel it necessary to be certain you fully understand what you will be swearing to. Any wolf of any rank may be able to hunt, or have the skill to defend themselves or even to administer first aid. But the ranks of the thegn and the eir are the elite, not simply for their skill but because of these oaths. "To be considered among the warriors and healers of Yfir you must swear to place your service to Yfir as a whole before your own self. Nursing mothers, the elderly, and pups must be fed before the warriors themselves eat. Warriors must gladly give their lives in battle to protect the pack - to hold back from protecting your pack for reasons of morality or cowardice is to be unworthy of the rank you will hold. Warriors and healers alike must swear to put the good of the pack even before their own individual families. Your mate, your pups, your parents and siblings are no more important than any other mate and pups or parents and siblings this pack may hold and if you are to be among the elite you will swear to uphold this. Your loyalty cannot be divided between your pack and your family; your loyalty must be with the pack, and the pack alone. "To that end you will be expected to maintain an emotional distance from those wolves not part of Yfir, even beyond the normal loyalties expected of pack members. I would not ask a warrior not to defend a stranger or a healer not to heal those in need but the elite will be expected to avoid developing an emotional attachment to those not of Yfir. Someday you may be expected to fight them, and holding back because you have feelings for a wolf may mean the difference between life and death for a packmate. The pack must always come first. "If you cannot swear to these oaths I do not care how talented you are - you should leave now." She stopped now, waiting, to see if any would leave, before she continued. "If you are certain this is what you want, I will be testing all of you. To become Thegn you will be tested in both hunting and in fighting, and to become Eir you must prove to me your knowledge of healing. If your skills are not at the level I would hope you may still gain a rank as dreng or skald, the junior warriors and healers, where you may gain more experience and seek to try again another time. Now..." her vocal patterns changed slightly from the cadence of a speech, to that of getting-down-to-business. "Those interested in being Thegn please step forth for testing." OOC: Anyone interested in their character being a warrior should post before Saturday. Healers can post here too if they really want but they'll be tested separately, in a different thread.

ooc: Hope I'm not too late! Finally decided Vereux is gonna give it a shot. Of course the meeting had been emotional, it sparked something within Vereux as well. The armada boy was sick and tired of feeling so useless. He had a kings blood flowing through his veins, he had been the rightful prince of Glaciem before all these other siblings things showed up. He let his mortality get the best of him, he fell in love with his sister, fathered children with her, and then let himself be taken away only for his wife and children to be then ripped from him. Vereux Armada, he would prove himself and make his name known. He knew none of the Ebony members, therefore his sadness non existence. As he listened to Katja, Vereux would step forward to her. The one eyed man narrowed his emerald orb at the lady. He was ready to stop thinking about his past and redeem himself. For the good of the pack, he would cleanse himself of whatever sins he felt he needed to be rid of. He was, the original son of Isardis Armada and Argent. He would be nothing like his mother, and have the strength his father taught him to have. He curled his lip up slightly and dipped his head to her. "Lady Katja, I make these vows in my own blood today. I am Vereux Armada and I wish to be a warrior for Yfir. To give my life and my spirit to this pack." he looked at her again. Taking in a deep breath of air. ?I speak?

Laufey stepped forward without hesitation. Others might have been taken aback by Katja's demands, but the brute found them to be reasonable. For him, family and order went hand in hand. He couldn't have Katja without it and if she wanted him to swear his loyalty to the pack, he'd do it. Of course that wasn't the only facet to it. Beyond how easy it was for him to accept, it made sense. Strength came from unity, from a united front.

Tail swaying and ears pricked forward, he stood at the ready. ”I'll swear it,” he rumbled, lips curling in an excited grin. This was a warrior meeting. He had a pretty good idea what kind of test he was in for.

She had few would be warriors step forth to make their oaths but perhaps that was for the best, for the time being. She inclined her head to the pair, pleased to see that Laufey had chosen to join her here, pleased to see his eagerness, but pleased also to see that a member of Ebony had chosen to remain and to take the oaths as well. It would go far toward integrating the groups together. "As I am certain you have already presumed, the two of you shall face each other in a spar. I do not want either of you dead or permanently disabled, but otherwise I do not wish to see you hold back. I cannot properly judge how you will fight in a battle if you pull your blows. Go - I will stop you when I have seen enough." Mercury eyes watched them closely as her words fell over the pair, as interested in how they handled her orders as she was with their skill. OOC: So it's going to end up being Vereux vs Laufey. Two rounds only please, and defaults will apply. I want this done quickly so I can move on. Whether you win or lose is somewhat irrelevant since she would be looking at more than just who wins, but do your best because these are elite warrior positions.

ooc: Since it's only two rounds is posting in this thread okay? If not I can move this post or whatever ^w^. The one eyed male would turn to face Laufey, oh boy, he was big. Bigger than his father who seemed to have height on Vereux, however it reminded him much of Quelt. This meant Vereux would have to use his smaller frame to his advantage, he was sick and tired of not being able to defend himself. He had been born a warrior by glorious standards. The male would separate his four legs to evenly distribute his weight and curl back his lips in a snarl. As his tail became level with his spine his eye narrowed at him making sure that he kept firm with toes splayed into the dirt. He had learned over time how to judge distance from his single eye. The man's scruff would roll forward and ears pin against his head, as he bent his knee's slightly for any impacts. His chin came to tuck closer to his chest and he rolled his shoulders inwards. Hoping that Laufey would take the first attack, his back legs stiffened and he felt adrenaline start pumping through his veins. Had the king in him truly brought this upon his brain, how betrayed his feelings felt at this point. Now he was fighting for a certain purpose that was himself and for this pack he had oathed himself to. Even if he lost, he wanted to understand Laufey as this pack would be his new family. 0/2 for spar ?I speak?

As Laufey had suspected, the two attendees would be facing off. The behemoth turned to look at his opponent and was unsurprised to find the other's one-eyed gaze already locked on him and sizing him up. Flashing a wickedly gleeful grin, the brute moved in the hopes of facing Vereux head on and at a distance of eight feet. Blind on the left side, eh? Well, he was going to have use that, now wasn't he?

Alrighty, apparently he was going first. The brute dipped his head to make it known that he understood, but offered no verbal confirmation. Instead he quickly set his defenses by widening his stance and bending his knees slightly as his toes splayed and his nails tipped down to dig into the dirt. Along his back, Laufey's hackles rose as his tail lifted to become level with his spine. His ears flattened and his eyes narrowed, lips curling to wrinkle the skin around his eyes. He rolled his shoulders forward and tipped his chin down modestly to make his throat an undesirable target. The brute carefully found his center and balanced his weight over it, muscles tensing as he waited to see if his opponent would make the first move.

Kicking forward, Laufey attempted to close the distance between himself and his opponent rapidly. He sought to build up as much momentum as the distance between the brutes would allow. A split second before his attack, Laufey dodged to his right in an attempt to line the front of his left shoulder up with the crease between Vereux's right shoulder and chest. Laufey jutted the front of his shoulder further forward in the hopes of driving the lower portion of it into the aforementioned crease. He intended to partially dislocate his opponent's shoulder and render it useless. Hoping to capitalize further on his momentum, Laufey also attempted to ram the lower portion of his chest (the length of it) into the upper portion of the middle of Vereux's chest. He was willing to bet he weighed a great deal more than his opponent and he was determined to use it to his advantage. The brute was hoping the impact would drive the breath from his opponent's lungs.

As his shoulder jutted forward, Laufey's left forepaw rose. He attempted to slam it down on the innermost toes of Vereux's right forepaw in the hopes of straining the fibers that held it together and temporarily rendering the paw useless. No one said anything about fighting fair. Hell, he was bent on using his opponent's useless eye against him anyway. May as well squash his toes or kick him in the balls if the opportunity presented itself. Winning was winning.

Finally, Laufey's head rotated to his left and his jaws flung wide as he attempted to lean forward and bite into the left side of Vereux's neck. He aimed for the point where Vereux's jaw met his neck. Laufey's crown tipped modestly to his right as he attempted to sink his lower teeth into the crook of Vereux's neck just below his jawbone and to the left of his windpipe. His upper teeth searched for a higher target, seeking to drive in behind the curve of Vereux's jawbone and directly beneath his left ear. Laufey sought a grip that would allow him to control his opponent's head. Katja had said not to permanent disable his opponent and Laufey had every intention of following that order, but that didn't mean he was going to go easy on him. Oh, no. He intended to make his opponent sweat every last second of this match.

LAUFEY versus VEREUX for SPAR
Round ONE of TWO

While it was true he was blind in one eye, it affected Vereux not that much. He could easily keep Laufey in his vision, and judge where he was seeing as he'd lived with one eye for most of his lifetime. Keeping his defenses set, his teeth exposed themselves and his ears pinned against his head. His single right eye narrowed on Laufey with his chin tucked into his chest and hackles raised. With his knee's slightly bent to the larger male, he was at a lower state. With his scruff rolled forward and hackles raised, toes splaying into the dirt. The violent chase began with Laufey aiming to ram his shoulder(left) into Vereux's own right. His eye focused on the huge male, his best bet would to be to use his small size to his advantage. In an attempt to avoid the massive brute, Vereux pivoted on his limbs to his left as Laufey hit his left shoulder near his jawline instead. Immense pain started up with the hit as he dug his toes into the dirt for traction, sending him back partly due to the difference in weight but his balance keeping him safe. Laufey's chest came in contact with the rest of his body as the rest of the attack followed through. His leg lifted Vereux using all his senses to aid him in the fight. He was unable to dodge the clam fully but luckily the male scooted his paw back previously to keep his balance and Laufey scraped the top of it painfully. Vereux's tail acted as a rudder flailing about to help him in his balance and his abdomen muscles tightened. The male's jaws opened and aimed for Vereux's tucked chin as well as his left ear since of the major size difference. Vereux attempted to tilt his head to the right lifting it slightly, trying to turn his body more to his right so that Laufey's jaws missed his left ear and jawline. Those teeth hit the right side of his shoulder sending pain shooting through his body, right near his neck where his scarring tissue was. Vereux began his counter attack, with as much force as he could muster. Attempting to wiggle his body backwards from Laufey's jaws Vereux would open his own and tilt his head to the right. Aiming his jaws to hit the exposed left side of Laufey's neck. Hoping to get a viscous bite in. Vereux used his body weight to attempt to slam his right shoulder into the front of Laufey's throat. Raising his body upwards in that manner. His left paw raised and aimed to kick Laufey's right forelimb in an attempt to kick the male off balance and make him tumble forward. 1/2 for spar ?I speak?

His attacks didn't quite land where he'd hoped, but nevertheless, they landed. Mild bruises would later blossom along the front of Laufey's left shoulder and lower chest where they'd made contact. The behemoth's teeth sank into the outside of Vereux's left shoulder. Since it wasn't where he'd been aiming, Laufey released it immediately. Overall his success was moderate and while not quite what he was hoping for, the brute was satisfied.

As Vereux began to step backwards, Laufey moved also. He aimed to position himself so that he was once again facing his opponent head on with his body held in a rigid, straight line. While he was at it he quickly reset some of his defenses. The brute widened his stance, bent his knees ever so slightly, splayed his toes and dug his nails into the dirt, his weight centering as he did so in the hopes of making himself unshakable. As he moved he felt his opponent's teeth sink into the top of the outer side of his left shoulder. The bite created moderate puncture wounds. Given the difference in height and Laufey's attempts to line the two wolves up once again, Vereux's right shoulder slammed into the lower left side of Laufey's neck instead of his throat and created modest bruising along the point of contact. Lastly, Vereux's left forepaw smacked the center of the front of Laufey's right foreleg. Given his hefty weight and firmly planted paws, the brute was unmoved by the attempt to off balance him. Instead a modest bruise would later form along the point of contact.

Laufey was quick to retaliate. He kicked off with his hind legs and rolled his right shoulder forward in the hopes of slamming the bony front of it into the middle of the left side of Vereux's neck. As he did so, the brute also hoped that the left side of his chest would make contact with the center of his opponent's throat. His aim wasn't to cause permanent harm; he only sought to choke. Instilling a little fear wouldn't hurt either.

Seeking to take advantage of Vereux's good eye being tipped away from him, Laufey aimed to place a lightning fast bite on Vereux's blind side. He tucked his chin and arched his neck to his left while simultaneously tipping his head down. Jaws parting, the brute sought to sink his upper teeth into the side of his opponent's neck just behind his right ear where his neck met his skull. Meanwhile his lower teeth sought to drive into the side of Vereux's neck just behind his left ear where his neck met his skull. The behemoth sought to encircle the back of his opponent's neck in the hopes of earning himself a solid grip that would allow him control over his opponent's head.

Through all of this many of his defenses remained the same (although the ones that changed were quickly righted among his attacks); eyes narrowed, ears flattened, hackles raised and tail lifted for balance. Tension ran the length of his body as he prepared for the counter attacks that were sure to come. He would win this.

LAUFEY versus VEREUX for SPAR
Round TWO of TWO

If it was one thing, the other male only had size on him. Vereux was guessing they had the same amount of experience, although he was blind in one eye his other senses were heightened. Pain flaring up inside of his body, he knew that he was not going to win this fight on the inside but he sure as hell would try to go out with a bang. Hopefully his show of strength, and perseverance would prove he could be a good fighter. Laufey was a hard opponent indeed, but somehow he felt himself understanding Laufey a bit through every bruise and bite bark that was made. Since of the massive difference in height, Vereux was upset that his attempt for the throat was missed. Though his teeth would sink in sending a growl out through his body, paw only leaving a bruise for the rather fat man if it excused him for thinking that. His paw would plant firmly on the ground again, toes splaying out for traction in the terrain. His ears planted firmly on the base of his head and his emerald eye keeping track of his neck as adrenaline helped him through flaring pain through his body. Laufey would suddenly charged forward as Vereux let go, tilting his head down to protect his neck the man’s large right shoulder came to hit his snout which was the same amount of pain as before and he snorted as he attempted to step backwards. With the left that came after Vereux would attempt to turn his body to the right so that it came to hit him on the right side of the snout causing immense bruising. Growling in pain he kept his paws firmly planted on the ground, tail level with his spine and his eye narrowed. Scrunching his neck upwards and keeping his hackles raised. Laufey’s jaw would grab only skin and scar tissue with fur though as his ears were pinned to his skull still pinching made Vereux flinch attempting to drop his body to the floor so that he was at elbow level with the beast. Vereux would make a final attempt, this time using his small size as much as he could. Hoping that his right side was facing Laufey from his drop and turn he would tilt his head to the his left and aim his jaws at the massive man’s left front leg. Tightening his abdomen muscles and attempting to vigorously pull back to either cause immense pain or perhaps this time take some of his balance away. Keeping his head low he rolled his shoulders inward to attempt to help with traction. 2/2 for spar ?I speak?

LAUFEY vs VEREUX for RANK ROUND ONE LAUFEY: 8/10 for clarity: ”Laufey jutted the front of his shoulder further forward in the hopes of…” it may seem obvious in context but you never said which shoulder you are actually using to strike with -2 10/10 for powerplaying. none seen 9/10 for defenses. ten defenses listed ”As his shoulder jutted forward, Laufey’s left forepaw rose” weight was not rebalanced -1 10/10 for attack. +3 shoulder attack (+1 severity for attempt to dislocate) +2 chest slam +2 paw slam (+1 for attempted severity) +3 bite (+1 grip attempt) 10 for injuries. First round. LAUFEY’S round one total: 47/50 VEREUX: 0/10 for clarity: ”Vereux pivoted on his limbs to his left” Which limbs? Hind? Front? This makes a big difference in a movement like this -1 ”as Laufey hit his left shoulder near his jawline” near his jawline… where? Front? Back? Left side? Right? -1 ”immense pain started up with the hit” but what damage was taken? Pain is relative, be more clear about the damage itself. -1 ”Laufey’s chest came into contact with the rest of his body as the rest of the attack followed through” Where on Vereux did the attack make contact? What damage was done? -1 ”luckily the male scooted his paw back previously” when did he do that? It was never stated. -1 hit the right side of his shoulder sending pain shooting through his body” again, state the damage! -1 ”attempting to wiggle his body backwards from Laufey’s jaws” … I’m not sure exactly what movement is being made here. Is he attempting to pull away? Walk backwards? -1 ”aiming his jaws to hit the exposed left side of Laufey’s neck” where on his neck? -1 ”Vereux used his body weight to attempt to slam his right shoulder into the front of Laufey’s throat” Where on the throat? This is a very large area. Be more specific. -1 ”his left paw raised and aimed to kick” which left paw? Though it seems obvious in context, he has two left paws and it must be stated which one. -1 7/10 for powerplaying. ”aiming his jaws to hit the exposed left side of Laufey’s neck” you are assuming that Laufey’s neck is in fact exposed and that Laufey is not protecting it -1 ”aimed to kick Laufey’s right forelimb in an attempt to kick the male off balance and make him tumble forward” these are extremely unrealistic expectations considering the size difference between the two characters and how weak a wolf’s forelegs are -2 9/10 for defenses. one point for each defence counted +10 ”raising his body upward in that manner” failed to adjust balance leaving him vulnerable -1 3/10 for attack. +1 bite to neck (clarity/PP issues) +2 shoulder to throat (clarity issues +0 kick to foreleg (pp issues, ineffectual attack) 10/10 for injuries. First round. VEREUX’S round one total: 29/50 ROUND TWO LAUFEY: 10/10 for clarity: No problems seen 10/10 for powerplaying. no problems seen 9/10 for defenses. +1 for all seen 7/10 for attack. +2 right shoulder to left side of neck +2 left shoulder to center of throat +3 bite to neck (+1 for grip attempt) 5/10 for injuries. -1 mild bruises to left shoulder -2 moderate puncture wounds to left shoulder -1 modest bruise to lower left side of neck -1 modest bruise to left foreleg LAUFEY’S round two total: 41/50 VEREUX: 6/10 for clarity: ”large right shoulder came to hit his snout” where on his snout? -1 ”which was the same amount of pain as before” there is no damage stated here -1 ”would grab only skin and scar tissue with fur” but what damage was done? There is still damage when a bite lands on skin and scar tissue -1 Where on Laufey’s leg is he aiming his bite? -1 6/10 for powerplaying. there is way too much movement between Laufey’s chest strike and his shoulder strike, since they would have happened at the same time. Vereux would not have had time to move like that. -2 ”and attempting to pull back vigorously” you are making an assumption here that his bite landed -1 blocking a chest slam with your muzzle is not very realistic; vereux should not have been able to take a chest slam to his muzzle and keep it from hitting his neck. Wolf necks are not that strong, nor flexible to take a direct hit like that to the muzzle at that angle and the damage would have likely been more than just bruising -1 9/10 for defenses. +1 for all seen 2/10 for attack. +2 bite to left front leg 3/10 for injuries. -3 shoulder to snout (no damage stated, severe bruising to muzzle and strained neck given by judge) -2 severe bruising to right side of muzzle -1 cut lip (added by judge because damage was not realistic) -1 minor puncture wounds (damage not stated, judge defined) VEREUX’S round two total: 26/50 Totals: LAUFEY: 88/100 VEREUX: 55/100 And the winner is... LAUFEY! VEREUX must give up by either submitting, fleeing, or passing out. Damage: LAUFEY: I’m going to be bad and not bother because it’s been like a year IC... VEREUX: ditto... Notes: Tips for writing and some suggestions. (no points are deducted here): For LAZULI: There wasn’t really anything to add that wasn’t already in the notes. For RIV: You need to work on clarity the most out of everything. Details, details, details! You need to specify where all the attacks are aimed, where you took damage, and how much damage. “The bite resulted in severe puncture wounds” is much more clear than “he was in severe pain” because pain is very, very subjective. Maybe Vereux doesn’t handle pain very well and they’re just minor bruises, or maybe he has ridiculous pain tolerance and there’s a gaping wound - you need to specify the actual damage. Also watch the efficiency of your attacks! Pay attention to the size differences and consider carefully whether an attack would actually do anything to a larger opponent - and catty remarks about whether the other player allowed the attack to land the way you’d wanted it to are not appreciated so be sure you aren’t adding any ooc commentary into the narrative. On a separate note, please make sure to proofread your fight posts before posting them. We don’t mark down your score for grammar, etc, but it can make it extremely hard to read when the post uses words incorrectly and there are sentence fragments everywhere - it is very confusing to follow as a judge and as a fellow fighter. For both: everything else should be outlined in the judging itself. Sorry it took so long to post it. - By Tealah