The peace that formerly reigned in Terra Nova has eroded, now little more than a memory. War ravages the continent. Disputes divide kingdoms; ideals divide families. The quest for power consumes absolutely and indiscriminately. None are immune to its allure.
Who will rise and who will fall? Only time—and ambition—will tell.
UPDATES
05.26.2023
2 month character creation hold for all existing members begins 6/5/2023. Ended 8/5/2023.
10.29.2023
Change in how times flows. Was 4 IC seasons, now only 2 IC seasons per 1 OOC year.
5 whole years of Heir Apparent goodness! When I started the site, I knew I was hunkering down for the long haul, but I never could have predicted the numerous twists and turns this roleplay site has seen. Hundreds of plots, characters, and members have come and gone, all leaving marks on the site. I am so very thankful for those who have invested. Because you keep coming back, keep getting on, and keep writing, Heir Apparent has the legacy it does today. Three cheers to us!
Post by Aldrich Abbott on May 31, 2023 8:01:51 GMT -5
[OPEN - this thread takes place before shipping out]
Aldrich had spread the word about a training session that he would be leading. He had asked @raff to assist him, if the other Lieutenant had time. The two of them had quite some experience, and Aldrich felt like it would benefit the training to have Terach there to help him, and to possibly demonstrate moves. If he wasn't able to make it, he would lead the session by himself.
He had also asked @katerina to be present. It would be good to get her leading more trainings too, now a lot of officers were shipping out.
This session would be with steel swords. Aldrich wanted the soldiers to get the hang of a real sword, instead of always using the training swords. Real swords were somewhat heavier, and if the soldiers ever ended up on the battlefield, they should be able to swing a real sword without losing balance or tipping over.
The training wasn't mandatory, but the soldiers would surely benefit from attending.
And lastly he had asked Koralia Barkirtis to be present for the session, in case anyone would get injured. The soldiers would be wearing armor, but he preferred to be safe rather than sorry.
We won't call it quits. We'll call it the start.
Last Edit: May 31, 2023 9:10:05 GMT -5 by Aldrich Abbott
They'd talked about the idea for a bit and Terach was in full agreement with Lieutenant Aldrich Abbott that it was time to put away the baby toys and join the grown ups. Wooden sparring swords were ridiculously light, gave you bad habits and never let you follow through on a motion. Raff respected Aldrich for having the balls to get things done fearlessly with no excuses. Sparring was fine to a point, but when reality smacked you in the face, it was already too late because you weren't prepared.
Raff arrived a few minutes early and stood by the other Lieutenant, relaxed and ready to go. For too long, they'd been training for points or technique, a child's game. But to move in heavy obstructive armor with real sharp swords required strength, balance and above all--stamina. That's why he'd agreed so strongly with Aldrich on this. The man had the highest reputation as a DI who made sure his cadets knew stamina. A one hour sparring with wooden props still didn't match a four minute match wearing armor and using normal swords. This was exactly the kind of practicality that he liked most in training and that way of thinking was necessary.
He wore his own armor and his sword rested comfortably in its sheath right now, the hilt of it had seen years of use but that was just the kind of experience that soldiers needed work on most- especially right now. It was good that he'd thought of having the medic nearby and bringing in Officer @katerina was perfect to add that strength wildcard because she wasn't afraid of getting hurt.
Post by Zarha Sliva on May 31, 2023 9:51:27 GMT -5
Knowing this will be her last training session before she sets off to Coheed she thought she should try and get one in before sailing off. She kind of snuck in behind a friend of hers knowing that Abbot wouldn't be surprised however, if they be training with swords she will need to learn how they feel in her hands ready for what might go ahead. If she was to train the women of coheed how can she give her best advice if she doesn't know herself how a real sword feels in her hand.
So standing to attention she waited for her order.
Post by Vesper Delvaux on May 31, 2023 9:57:42 GMT -5
Vesper had heard about the training would take place and had several reasons for wanting to observe this one and it had little to do with how well the soldiers who participated performed and more to do with the observation of how well the training was handled. She'd once been less than impressed by how prepared Aldrich Abbott had been for a training and wanted to see if he'd improved.
She approached like a heavy shadow as she always did, an oppressive aura around her, though considerably less quiet than an actual shadow with the heaviness of her false leg. At least the sound was slightly muffled on the dirt ground compared to cobblestone.
Last Edit: May 31, 2023 10:28:14 GMT -5 by Vesper Delvaux
Torsten did NOT wanna be there at all. Especially with not one, but two of his least favorite people in Terra Nova. One of them was bad enough but working as a team had him very reluctant. But what excuse did he have not to be there? None. It had taken a while to don the aketon and all the armor which made him even larger. Now Tor's normal six foot three became six and half--without a helmet.
The soldier clanked heavily and slowly in all that metal and the sword sheath clanked against his leg at every stolid step. He'd never felt so slow and ridiculous in his life. Taking a deep breath, he walked self-consciously past team Jerk and the officer that got drunk at the Skia party, taking a spot as far from the Lieutenants and superiors as possible. Mosse could usually exist near anyone and be okay but Aldrich Abbott and Raff were impossible for him to like. Mosse watched in silence, his gaze suddenly finding and resting on Vesper Delvaux with a shudder.
Last Edit: May 31, 2023 10:18:53 GMT -5 by Deleted
Kat strode in early, getting quite used to it, much to her own annoyance. You apparently couldn’t wander in late when you had to help instruct for some reason. It was almost like you had to be more responsible? Ridiculous. But she was there all the same and nodded her respects to Aldrich Abbott and @raff . Seeing as they both outranked her she assumed was mostly just along for the ride. Seeing the metal swords she smiled.
It wasn’t unusual to train with real swords, Nevermere military prepared them well. So unless there was a new recruit in their midsts surely they’d all held a real sword. Either that or mandatory training had gotten soft since she left. She still remembered her first time sparing metal on metal with fond memories. It made since they had extra eyes of course now, needed to more closely monitor all the fights.
Watching all the privates file in she also noticed some other familiar faces like Stompy Vesper Delvaux and that medic chick. They were all stompy today with the armor which was honestly going to be hard not to laugh at. She’d do her best though, and really try not to trip any of them up.
Post by Koralia Barkirtis on May 31, 2023 12:38:05 GMT -5
When Abbott asked her to surpervise the training session. she almost asked one of her other healers to go in her place. Like she have several patients to look over, paperwork to fill out and staff to oversee. Which is just as important if not more so than standing around making sure none of these lot get any bobos.
However, after a bit she decided to get some supplies just in case any of these soldiers are stupid enough to get stabbed and stand on the side line making sure she is armed and ready to get into action. Her expression flat and focus.
Was training these days ever really optional? Given the way that the military wing had changed over the course of the past season, Ber had his doubts. He had never directly interacted with her, but Vesper Delvaux ’s constant, creepy presence was indication enough that the people in charge were watching far more closely - and would surely note who would show up and who would not. There would be consequences for absence.
Optional his ass.
With a sigh, Ber looked around as he joined the group. Aldrich Abbott and, of course, the ever-present Delvaux were no surprise. The sight of @raff , @katerina , and @nadinemachenet were unwelcome, even if, upon reflection, their presence shouldn’t have been as unexpected as it was. He recognized the medic, Koralia Barkirtis , there, too, which was a wonderful vote of confidence.
Even in the colder temperatures of early Ver, the heavy armor he wore had already started becoming uncomfortably warm. Between that discomfort and his general dislike of literally every officer who had assembled, Ber was ready to get this over with.
Last Edit: May 31, 2023 12:39:13 GMT -5 by Deleted
Nadine walked among her squad, tightening up straps of their armor and demonstrating proper standing stances that would reduce the perceived weight and fatigue of the gear.
"You don't need to choke the life from the sword, Summers," Nadine moved to help the girl with her grip. "Unlock your arms...there you go. Don't wear yourself out before we start."
The officer cautioned a casual glance to @raff and Aldrich Abbott , pushing down the spikes of indignation at their recent conversations. If either met her gaze, she would salute with a false smile as if to say 'look at what a good officer I am!'
It was with special interest Officer Machenet noted the presence of Vesper Delvaux : perhaps the lieutenants were being monitored and micromanaged by their superiors as much as they were with her. The thought brought no small amount of satisfaction to the woman. Perhaps Nadine's efforts and skill would even be duly noted by the Inquisitor General herself, a woman who would certainly understand the fragile pride of the army men.
"Remember, don't overextend yourself, and no flourishes," Nadine said, turning back to her privates. "Stick with what I taught you, and you should be fine. And," she added a bit more quietly with a devious smile. "If any of you are paired against @berengar and kick his ass...first round's on me."
Nadine stood back, waiting for the Lieutenants to start the training drill.
Last Edit: May 31, 2023 19:35:37 GMT -5 by Deleted
Post by Aldrich Abbott on Jun 1, 2023 9:16:40 GMT -5
@katerina , @raff and he arrived at about the same time. They all greeted each other casually and the Lieutenant got the feeling that the others were just as ready as he was. With the changes in the military and the chaos from the ball, they had gone longer than usual without a training with steel swords.
He waited in silence while soldiers arrived. Of course Vesper Delvaux decided to show up as well. He didn't pay much attention to her, but he did nod in her direction when he saw her.
A relatively small group of soldiers had showed up, which made it easier to oversee all the action. He recognised most of the faces, but of course @torsten , @berengar and Zarha Sliva stood out.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that @nadinemachenet was also present. He wasn't sure if she was going to make her squad join the training, but he hoped for her sake that she wasn't. She trained young children. He didn't think it was a good idea to let those thirteen year olds spar with a steel sword against the older soldiers. Another good thing was that he didn't catch the remark she made about Stormcrest. He had told her to act more like an officer, and voicing your personal opinions about a soldier like that against your squad was not what he had in mind when he told her to behave properly.
Eventually, Aldrich turned towards @katerina and @raff . "I would like to make pairs, but I counted quickly and the soldiers are an odd number. Do either of you want to participate, or do you prefer supervising?" Aldrich was willing to demonstrate attacks, but wasn't too keen on actually participating. If the others didn't want to participate, he would do it himself, but he'd rather just stand to the side and yell instructions. He could order Kat to do it if necessary but he didn't have the energy to deal with catty looks today, and Terach was his equal. He would never order an equal around.
"Sounds like a good starter plan. With odd numbers of people, I suggest getting creative to get these soldiers thinking. Whoever they first pick-break it up coz it needs to be random." Raff answered, nodding at Lieutenant Aldrich Abbott and a quick smile for Officer @katerina .
"I'd like to hop in and help out too. This exercise is not for cadets. This is only adult soldiers, eighteen and up. Armor is heavy and so are the swords so teaching balance is good. Some groups will be magic heavy so they'll need to work on physical, not magical basics. Other soldiers like @berengar are smart but lazy so they need to be pushed harder to think about situations and scenarios. Zarha Sliva is a good soldier so I recommend her helping with the lower skilled groups coz she's a good example. Mosse is a mountain of stupid so I'll let you deal with him because I can't stay impartial with him."
His eyes watched as more people joined and the numbers grew further. He and Aldrich had gone over a lot the other day to plan this so Raff thought they should use all the options.
"First off let's get them sweating." He started tossing some of the swords, helmets, sheathes and other parts around the training ground as he spoke loud enough to be heard but not shouting. "Each person has to grab a piece of equipment and bring it back to their groups. You have about thirty seconds to decide what group you're in, each one grab one piece of equipment and go to an area you agree on. This will start and end on either Lieutenant Abbot's mark or mine so open yer ears soldiers!"
When he finished his circuit, he returned to Aldrich's side and grinned.
"Make them learn how to move fast in all that armor while coordinating spontaneously on both a group and a meeting spot. That's three things to manage at once while maneuvering in unknown equipment so let's test for organization first. The ones left standing stupid and alone not finishing their tasks, Sliva can help them most. What do you think?" Terach leaned back to ask Aldrich respectfully,
"I got no problem jumping in and playing demo brat with ya, joining a group or ya could use Officer Winters. I'll leave that up to you my friend."
Post by Zarha Sliva on Jun 1, 2023 11:10:21 GMT -5
Sliva stood waiting for orders, however, her eyes started to dart around the training field as she noticed Terach throwing equipment around her ears peaked trying to keep attention well she noticed where he was walking trying to keep focus. She knows this was a time-challenged however, she knows that she has to also prepare herself for the main challenge, she can't afford to lose all her energy on this trying to prove herself.
Going over her head all the pieces in her head of a suit of armour, so she knows what they need and how many people are needed to form a group. So they need a group that is as equal to the number of pieces to form a suit. She looked at the people near her and she thought that some people might need to collect two pieces because cause not every group will have the same amount of people. As she did this she noticed that some people have already trying to turn their feet towards a piece of equipment.
Zarha keeping her hand behind her back signalled to the girl next to her who was a bit worried that she won't get a piece in time to stay until orders were given. She quickly turned her feet forward again as they waited. She eyed an area of the wing where they can meet. It normally where the dummies go but today they was put away, however, they are marks on the ground where they would be by how many times they were placed there.
Keeping her ears out ready for Abbott or Terach to tell them to go.
Post by Aldrich Abbott on Jun 1, 2023 11:41:47 GMT -5
"Sounds good", he said to @raff when the man proposed his idea. "The only thing I'd like to change is to have @katerina assign people to a pair. That way they still can't pick who they fight against, and she can get started on showing everyone she's an officer now." He lifted a finger and tapped it against his temple. "But I like the way you think. Don't let them get too comfortable and familiar with others."
He looked at the soldiers as they were running around to grab equipment. Whether it was a sword or a piece of armor, they would get a few minutes to assemble whatever they needed for the fight. The running would get their blood flowing and their muscles ready for exercise.
Once the soldiers were gathered in the big group again, meaning everyone was back to standing still and together, he would look at @katerina before looking at the soldiers.
"Officer Winters will now assign you to a pair."
- for this round, your character will be running to gather equipment. Posts can be however long or short you want them to be. - once every soldier has posted, @katerina will post with the pairing, and assign one character to a pair with either herself, Aldrich or Raff. - characters that are present but don't participate in the training can either post to show they're watching or can skip.
We won't call it quits. We'll call it the start.
Last Edit: Jun 1, 2023 11:41:57 GMT -5 by Aldrich Abbott
While Ber stood there, quietly suffering, and waited for Abbott and all the rest to make them suffer more loudly, a hand slapped his shoulder from behind, and he turned with a grunt to see Duncan Bayle grinning at him from within his own suit of armor. The corners of his lips quirking upward, he greeted the other soldier with relief - a friendly face in a sea of unpleasant ones - and they struck up an easy, quiet conversation while everyone else assembled. Safely hidden in the middle of the decent-sized crowd of soldiers, their idle chatter turned quickly to banter. Ber had just slapped the visor on Duncan’s helmet down when the group of officers in front of them finally did something—
Eyes narrowed at Terach as he scattered bits of equipment everywhere, and after a few quick words to Duncan, Ber burst into motion. Running in full plate armor was not particularly fun. Even as he clanked toward the spare sword closest to him, the sound of his own breathing filled his helmet, and by the time he met Duncan and a handful of others off to the side of the courtyard, he had started idly imagining the outcome of Shannon cursing Terach instead of Abbott.
Duncan was worse. Never above teasing when the opportunity arose, Ber raised his eyebrows. and asked, “How’re you planning on beating me if you can’t even go grab a gauntlet without huffing and puffing?” He was exaggerating, of course; they were all in decent shape. Mostly hidden behind his own helmet despite the raised visor, the expression was naturally lost on his friend, but the tone of his voice was not.
“Like this,” Duncan said - and he returned Ber’s earlier favor by slapping down the visor of the other soldier’s helmet with the gauntlet he held in his hands.
The noise echoed throughout Ber’s helmet again, but before he could retaliate, the order came for all of them to assemble into one large group again. Spare sword still in hand - what were they supposed to do with these? - he fell in line beside Duncan, looking first at Abbott, then at Winters. She would apparently be making pairs, as if they were children too young to find their own partners.
Tor sighed deeply, seeing the two Lieutenants in one place. Together. He did as he was told and made for the nearest sword as it looked to be the longest but someone shorter started to move in for it.
"I think it'll fit me a lot better, don't you?" he pointed out to the barely over five foot soldier. The other guy looked up. And up farther and moved off to the next place. Torsten hadn't threatened anyone or sounded mean, he was just tall. He bent and grabbed up the sword, not comfortable with such a sharp and dangerous weapon in his hand.
But he remembered the Captain's words to him and his good advice so he applied it now. Now that things were deadly serious, Tor needed to do more than follow orders, he needed to make sure he got in and got things done. Looking at a group of people who had already grabbed different parts and pieces, Mosse clunked heavily toward them and inserted himself in the group. He didn't look at who they were because they'd be paired up with who was randomly chosen. Either way, he'd made his decision and followed orders. Despite the resentment of .. those two.