45 Ash, Year 123
[Closed - Solo]
[Continued from Part I.]
On either side of her, long wings were outstretched, and he seemed to be listening to her instructions as she guided him out over the city towards the front gates. The Patrician had pulled up abreast of her so that they were roughly even. Neither of them was asking their respective mounts for speed, and where he had pulled down runeforged goggles over his eyes to protect his face from the wind, Hilana reached out to the elemental spirits up here, and used her Rune of Elementalism to Influence the air elements with her aether to form a wedge before her face and body to enhance the protections already offered by the runeforged tack. Without the wind tearing at her face and skin and hair, that made for a much smoother ride. Rhiend dipped his head, and Hilana corrected him before he had a chance to start a dive, not about to allow him to get away with that, tilting back her weight and pressing her heels against his sides, her touch light on the saddle horns all the same. With the silent warning, the wyvern's head straightened up again, and the girl relaxed her heels.
There was an incontrovertible truth, however, that she couldn't force this wyvern to do something if he got it into his head that he wasn't going to listen. She didn't think his training, especially with Mesmer, would allow for that, but the girl wasn't taking any chances. It was another challenge, and Hilana wasn't about to shy away from it or back down, because she felt Valerian's countdown as he used his Mesmer to communicate it to her despite the distance. They were nearly at the gates, and that meant that their race was about to begin. She gave him a nod, and turned her attention to Rhiend. She breathed with the wyvern, her chest rising and falling as his sides did, and she leaned forward, looking on. It was no longer about her and Valerian, it was about her and Rhiend, and the partnership, the dance, that was taking place. As they blew past the huts, something in her that was holding back let go.
One of her paternal cousins had said once about racing that if you felt like everything was under control, then you weren't going fast enough. On land and in air, the fact rang true. Her Wildness sang with the wind all around her, as Valerian let out a whoop, and Nagas stretched her neck out. "Protinus," the Vastiana urged Rhiend. She sank down in the saddle, her torso leaning forward as she lowered herself down some more. It was a familiar stance to her from racing on everything else, stretching her lean form along the wyvern's back, and normally, it was all about reducing one's wind resistance, and staying close with the mount to lessen the chances of being thrown off. "Protinus!" she called again, letting him have his head as she pressed forward on the saddle horns. The wyvern's wings began to beat faster, and he let out a roar of challenge in reply.
She wouldn't worry about Valerian and Nagas until they were in the home stretch. Her weight shifted slightly to the right, extending her leg and pressing her heel while the pressure was on the right horn of the saddle, encouraging him to alter his direction. She half-wondered if she could whip up a sandstorm enough to confuse Valerian, but that was playing dirty, and while any win was a win... the Vastiana wasn't so desperate that she had to cheat to secure her victory. Of course, if he pulled some stunt first, then it was open season, but until then, Hilana would play fair. She wasn't about to decrease his altitude, she was perfectly happy this high up, though it presented a slight challenge of using her waypoints to know where the hell she was going. Now she had to rely on an internal compass that was also working with a new speed. She had no need of her map, not where they were so close to the city: this was all territory that she had traversed regularly, on the ground and in the air, and she was confident in her navigational skills.
Angle adjusted, she shifted her weight back and eased up on the leg and the saddle horn, and checked to make sure that Rhiend eased up, eying his outstretched wings before adjusting the horn again, issuing another correction. The tip moved, and Hilana was satisfied as they straightened out now. Given the freedom to go, the wyvern's wings were moving quickly, and their speed was churning up the distance like it was nothing. What might have taken a leisurely two and and a half hours was now only going to half an hour at the most to get to where they needed to go, but it could be that much longer if her mount got them off course. This wasn't the racetrack at Tertium, this wasn't even her little stretches around the city that she raced with Hayima'el. A normal wyvern's speed was around 140 miles per hour, and they were going much faster now - at least thrice as fast. Every second in which they were not in the right direction was that much more distance that would require changing later, and this race was going to be tight.
Hilana checked around her, only taking brief glances to the sides without shifting herself much, just to try to keep track of Valerian. The Elementalist murmured to the winds, and got an answer - behind. The Patrician was following her for now, content to let her lead them to the Oasis, and then when they were on the way back, he could try to blast past her and Rhiend with Nagas. Well, she'd give her friend credit for that - he knew her navigational skills outstripped his by a considerable margin, and he was content to let her get them there and heading in the right direction for the way back. That was a sound strategy, too. Cunning like a fox, this one. Satisfied with a check of the ground and recognizing a copse of mastic trees , she issued another correction to the direction. This time, Rhiend listened - either they were far enough from Valerian that he was going to listen to her, or he had realized that the girl was not going to tolerate games. Her touch was light enough on him that firm correction would reinforce his training, and the wyvern's speed continued to pick up. The wind continued to help protect her beyond what the runeforged gear offered, and she could see clearly, though hearing beyond her air-Influenced space was a lot more difficult to comprehend. It was the rush of wind, and not much else.
Maybe she would get used to that in time, but Hilana wasn't about to dwell on it.
She could see the Galgia Oasis up ahead, and now she veered the wyvern to her right, knowing that a break-neck turn at these speeds was not possible. Her feet shifted, easing up on the right side and pushing on the left now, her heel down, the side of her foot tight against the draconid's side. Hilana gripped the left saddle horn and pulled tight on it, leaning her weight down on her left side. As plastered as she was to the saddle, Rhiend banked sharply directly over the helmet-shaped oasis while Hilana hung on tightly to the saddle with her hands and the grips with her long legs now that she had been turned sideways. Only once the U-turn was completed did Hilana ease up on the pressure, and the wyvern straightened back out, his wings levelling out on either side of her. They were getting up to the speed that had been lost on the turn to make sure that they didn't overshoot the oasis or cause a tumble when Hilana saw their pursuit, coming nearly level with them, from the opposite direction.
"Declivis!" she urged Rhiend, pushing forward on the horns, sending him into a dive in order to avoid Nagas and Valerian. "You cheater!" she shouted at him as he and Nagas flew overhead, making sure that the Air would carry it to his ears as Rhiend's wings flared once the danger was gone and they were on their way back up to the proper travelling. But Hilana was not pleased with that stunt from her friend, not at that speed. It was less about her own safety than that of their mounts - such a devastating accident, especially since it seemed deliberate to her on Valerian's part, perhaps to test her reflexes, but if it was a test or not, that didn't matter. What did matter was the fact that if they had had a collision, she like as not would have been blamed for having less experience and being of a lower caste. That would have been an awful Lex Agni to be in the middle of.
[Part III]
[Closed - Solo]
[Continued from Part I.]
On either side of her, long wings were outstretched, and he seemed to be listening to her instructions as she guided him out over the city towards the front gates. The Patrician had pulled up abreast of her so that they were roughly even. Neither of them was asking their respective mounts for speed, and where he had pulled down runeforged goggles over his eyes to protect his face from the wind, Hilana reached out to the elemental spirits up here, and used her Rune of Elementalism to Influence the air elements with her aether to form a wedge before her face and body to enhance the protections already offered by the runeforged tack. Without the wind tearing at her face and skin and hair, that made for a much smoother ride. Rhiend dipped his head, and Hilana corrected him before he had a chance to start a dive, not about to allow him to get away with that, tilting back her weight and pressing her heels against his sides, her touch light on the saddle horns all the same. With the silent warning, the wyvern's head straightened up again, and the girl relaxed her heels.
There was an incontrovertible truth, however, that she couldn't force this wyvern to do something if he got it into his head that he wasn't going to listen. She didn't think his training, especially with Mesmer, would allow for that, but the girl wasn't taking any chances. It was another challenge, and Hilana wasn't about to shy away from it or back down, because she felt Valerian's countdown as he used his Mesmer to communicate it to her despite the distance. They were nearly at the gates, and that meant that their race was about to begin. She gave him a nod, and turned her attention to Rhiend. She breathed with the wyvern, her chest rising and falling as his sides did, and she leaned forward, looking on. It was no longer about her and Valerian, it was about her and Rhiend, and the partnership, the dance, that was taking place. As they blew past the huts, something in her that was holding back let go.
One of her paternal cousins had said once about racing that if you felt like everything was under control, then you weren't going fast enough. On land and in air, the fact rang true. Her Wildness sang with the wind all around her, as Valerian let out a whoop, and Nagas stretched her neck out. "Protinus," the Vastiana urged Rhiend. She sank down in the saddle, her torso leaning forward as she lowered herself down some more. It was a familiar stance to her from racing on everything else, stretching her lean form along the wyvern's back, and normally, it was all about reducing one's wind resistance, and staying close with the mount to lessen the chances of being thrown off. "Protinus!" she called again, letting him have his head as she pressed forward on the saddle horns. The wyvern's wings began to beat faster, and he let out a roar of challenge in reply.
She wouldn't worry about Valerian and Nagas until they were in the home stretch. Her weight shifted slightly to the right, extending her leg and pressing her heel while the pressure was on the right horn of the saddle, encouraging him to alter his direction. She half-wondered if she could whip up a sandstorm enough to confuse Valerian, but that was playing dirty, and while any win was a win... the Vastiana wasn't so desperate that she had to cheat to secure her victory. Of course, if he pulled some stunt first, then it was open season, but until then, Hilana would play fair. She wasn't about to decrease his altitude, she was perfectly happy this high up, though it presented a slight challenge of using her waypoints to know where the hell she was going. Now she had to rely on an internal compass that was also working with a new speed. She had no need of her map, not where they were so close to the city: this was all territory that she had traversed regularly, on the ground and in the air, and she was confident in her navigational skills.
Angle adjusted, she shifted her weight back and eased up on the leg and the saddle horn, and checked to make sure that Rhiend eased up, eying his outstretched wings before adjusting the horn again, issuing another correction. The tip moved, and Hilana was satisfied as they straightened out now. Given the freedom to go, the wyvern's wings were moving quickly, and their speed was churning up the distance like it was nothing. What might have taken a leisurely two and and a half hours was now only going to half an hour at the most to get to where they needed to go, but it could be that much longer if her mount got them off course. This wasn't the racetrack at Tertium, this wasn't even her little stretches around the city that she raced with Hayima'el. A normal wyvern's speed was around 140 miles per hour, and they were going much faster now - at least thrice as fast. Every second in which they were not in the right direction was that much more distance that would require changing later, and this race was going to be tight.
Hilana checked around her, only taking brief glances to the sides without shifting herself much, just to try to keep track of Valerian. The Elementalist murmured to the winds, and got an answer - behind. The Patrician was following her for now, content to let her lead them to the Oasis, and then when they were on the way back, he could try to blast past her and Rhiend with Nagas. Well, she'd give her friend credit for that - he knew her navigational skills outstripped his by a considerable margin, and he was content to let her get them there and heading in the right direction for the way back. That was a sound strategy, too. Cunning like a fox, this one. Satisfied with a check of the ground and recognizing a copse of mastic trees , she issued another correction to the direction. This time, Rhiend listened - either they were far enough from Valerian that he was going to listen to her, or he had realized that the girl was not going to tolerate games. Her touch was light enough on him that firm correction would reinforce his training, and the wyvern's speed continued to pick up. The wind continued to help protect her beyond what the runeforged gear offered, and she could see clearly, though hearing beyond her air-Influenced space was a lot more difficult to comprehend. It was the rush of wind, and not much else.
Maybe she would get used to that in time, but Hilana wasn't about to dwell on it.
She could see the Galgia Oasis up ahead, and now she veered the wyvern to her right, knowing that a break-neck turn at these speeds was not possible. Her feet shifted, easing up on the right side and pushing on the left now, her heel down, the side of her foot tight against the draconid's side. Hilana gripped the left saddle horn and pulled tight on it, leaning her weight down on her left side. As plastered as she was to the saddle, Rhiend banked sharply directly over the helmet-shaped oasis while Hilana hung on tightly to the saddle with her hands and the grips with her long legs now that she had been turned sideways. Only once the U-turn was completed did Hilana ease up on the pressure, and the wyvern straightened back out, his wings levelling out on either side of her. They were getting up to the speed that had been lost on the turn to make sure that they didn't overshoot the oasis or cause a tumble when Hilana saw their pursuit, coming nearly level with them, from the opposite direction.
"Declivis!" she urged Rhiend, pushing forward on the horns, sending him into a dive in order to avoid Nagas and Valerian. "You cheater!" she shouted at him as he and Nagas flew overhead, making sure that the Air would carry it to his ears as Rhiend's wings flared once the danger was gone and they were on their way back up to the proper travelling. But Hilana was not pleased with that stunt from her friend, not at that speed. It was less about her own safety than that of their mounts - such a devastating accident, especially since it seemed deliberate to her on Valerian's part, perhaps to test her reflexes, but if it was a test or not, that didn't matter. What did matter was the fact that if they had had a collision, she like as not would have been blamed for having less experience and being of a lower caste. That would have been an awful Lex Agni to be in the middle of.
[Part III]
Off Topic
Permission for continuation obtained here.
