Erudition gesture elden ring
19M [friendship] looking for a gaming buddy
2023.06.01 20:04 Burden_Zero 19M [friendship] looking for a gaming buddy
Hi I’m Kai I’ve been trying to find gamer buddies for days now and I mean holy shit is it hard xD
Im into anime, marvel, DC elden ring, Star Wars and a lot of other games and media
Im down to play anything because it’s the company that matters to me
Feel free to DM
submitted by Burden_Zero to MeetPeople [link] [comments]
Im into anime, marvel, DC elden ring, Star Wars and a lot of other games and media
Im down to play anything because it’s the company that matters to me
Feel free to DM
2023.06.01 20:04 Ok_Tumbleweed_7417 [Multiple Games] Ten years ago I stopped trophy hunting. Here are my first 10 2023 platinums celebrating my return! Help me choose the next 10! (Mosaic included) - First post
![[Multiple Games] Ten years ago I stopped trophy hunting. Here are my first 10 2023 platinums celebrating my return! Help me choose the next 10! (Mosaic included) - First post](https://b.thumbs.redditmedia.com/-2mNZzB3sp1cqJoHWnQZgKDsFNfxmK5pLALdMfs9iLA.jpg "[Multiple Games] Ten years ago I stopped trophy hunting. Here are my first 10 2023 platinums celebrating my return! Help me choose the next 10! (Mosaic included) - First post") | submitted by Ok_Tumbleweed_7417 to Trophies [link] [comments] |
2023.06.01 20:02 william_323 [VENDO] Amd Radeon RX 5500 XT Rog Strix 8 GB y Amd Ryzen 3 3100
Buenas, vendo juntos o por separado este combo CPU+GPU. Los compre en 2020 cuando me arme la PC y los use siempre para gaming (Elden Ring, The Witcher 3, Dota2, CS:GO). Excelente funcionamiento, los cambio por actualizacion.
Links de ML:
https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.aMLA-1371730083-procesador-amd-ryzen-3-3100-4-nucleos-39ghz-_JM
https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.aMLA-1427520184-placa-de-video-amd-asus-rog-strix-radeon-rx-5500-xt-oc-8gb-_JM
Si estan en cba capital podemos arreglar entrega en mano.
submitted by william_323 to MercadoCordoba [link] [comments]
Links de ML:
https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.aMLA-1371730083-procesador-amd-ryzen-3-3100-4-nucleos-39ghz-_JM
https://articulo.mercadolibre.com.aMLA-1427520184-placa-de-video-amd-asus-rog-strix-radeon-rx-5500-xt-oc-8gb-_JM
Si estan en cba capital podemos arreglar entrega en mano.
2023.06.01 20:01 greetthemoth Radagon is Mortal: Elaborating on TAs recent theories.
 | In Tarnished Archeologists new video, he reveals the idea that Maliketh was the one that Impaled Marika with the spear of destined death after Marika asked him to. submitted by greetthemoth to EldenRingLoreTalk [link] [comments] This made me think a lot about his timeline video and how that event would fit into it. If you haven't watched his Golden Order video, he suggests a very unique timeline of events. The biggest deviation being that Marikas shattering of the Elden ring and Radagon's repair of the Elden ring where separate events. In fact, in his timeline, Radagon only emerged after the initial shattering of the Elden ring. While this timeline is very different to how most of the community looks at the game, nothing in the game overtly contradicts it, so I've been seriously considering it since the video released. So a thought dawned on me yesterday, what if the spear of destined death impaled into Marika is what created Radagon. Radagon is a character that i believe i have a solid conceptual understanding of, so I was surprised to find that this idea not only worked with my understanding of Radagon, but elaborated on it, like it was the missing piece all along. So without further ado here's my elaboration on TA's timeline, starting from the point of Marika being impaled by the spear, all the way to Radagon repairing the Elden Ring. *I recommend watching the 2 videos linked above before reading this as i will proabbaly skip most of the details in them. The Impaling of MarikaAs TA concludes, Marika asks maliketh to impale her with destined death. I believe this did 2 things. Shatter the Elden Ring, and give Marika mortality.This event also causes the "first burning" of the Erdtree. Meaning the erdtree no longer exists.This causes the end of the age of plenty. From TA's timeline video. In the "incantation timeline" above ,all the incantations shown belonged to the age of plenty. It starts with the Elden Stars incantation, and Mysteriously ends with Maliketh's Black Blade. This would make sense if Malikeths DD spear was what ended the age of plenty. But why did Marika do this? There are a couple possibilities. ○ She wanted to end her age, or at least bring the potential for an end to her age. ○ She wanted to become a mortal Radagon, with the purpose of perfecting the golden order. ○ Or maybe she didn’t want it to happen, and someone else tricked Maliketh into doing it under the guise of Marika. Id like to add that there is already precedence for Marika ordering people to kill her, as she asks Hewg to make a weapon that can kill a god. New Era As TA elaborates, the shattering of the elden ring leads to the Era of Erdtree worship. (timestamp). We know this because spells and items associated with this era specifically remark on the shattering of the Elden ring. Wrath of Gold "This incantation was discovered when the Elden Ring was shattered*, and it was feared as a sign of the Erdtree's wrath.*" - Wrath of Gold Erdtree Seal " A formless sacred seal decorated with an Erdtree crest, once the focus of religion in the Lands Between.Even though the Elden Ring is shattered, and the Erdtree has dulled from its former radiance, earnest faith continues to hold the answers." - Erdtree seal Illusory Tree The physical Erdtree has long been gone since the shattering of the Elden ring, but due to the faith of those who study belive the Erdtree, an illusiory tree manifests in its place. " It was once thought that the blessed sap of the Erdtree would drip from its boughs forever -- but that age of plenty swiftly came to a close*, and with time, the Erdtree became more an* object of faith*." - Blessed Dew Talisman*See TA's the Erdtree is an illusion video for more on this subject. *Its also possible the illusory tree only comes about later in the timeline, perhaps after Radagon marries Rennala, or after establishing golden order fundamentalism. Radagon EmergesDue to being imbued with destined death, Marika reemerges as a mortal man, a mere champion, Radagon."This incantation was used by the champions of the Erdtree in the First and the Second Liurnian Wars, during which the red-haired Radagon joined the heroes' ranks " - Barrier of GoldHere is some evidence for Radagon being mortal.
Radagon is tied to the red spear, and the clue has staring at us right in the face: Before our fight with Radagon we see Marika with the red spear impaled into her. But when she falls and reemerges as Radagon, the spear is gone. But Why? The only way to interpret this is by concluding that Radagon himself is somehow tied to the spear. In hindsight, the conclusion is obvious, Radagons red hair, is the mark of the spear. https://preview.redd.it/p0n79ynl5g3b1.png?width=913&format=png&auto=webp&s=79a1a30c2277937834a8f9e057ea99ed58a773e0 Radagon's Purpose Radagon hates his red hair because its the mark the spear that impaled marika, and the mortality it gave him. Its also a symbol for the shattered state the world is in. At this point the Golden order is in shambles, shattered and in dire need of repair, and Radagon's whole purpose is to reverse the damage, and find a way to make the himself, and the Golden Order whole again. Radagon external yearning to repair the world, manifested as an internal yearning to become complete. This would lead him on a quest to study the depths of the Golden Order. u/IStarScream said it first. At the Minor Erdtree Church its Radagon, not Marika that declares his purpose, "I declare mine intent, to search the depths of the Golden Order.In order to understand the golden order he calls for an end to the days of "blind belief", or faith, alone. The Golden Order had to expand its horizons. If you're confused about Radagon's motivations you have to remember that Radagon is the personification of the Golden Order. Thus while it may seem like he has multiple goals and motivations:Curing his mortality, becoming a god, Hating his hair, Repairing the Elden Ring, Understanding the Golden Order, becoming Complete, and to repair the Elden Ring. All his internal motivations and external motivations are linked together: In completing himself he is competing the Golden Order, in curing his mortality, he would become a god and make an Eternal Age. In a sense of his goals are all synonymous, because they lead him down the path of self-completion. Radagon's JourneyIn alchemy the way you reach the magnum opus (the key to immortality) is by separating and recombining opposites. *This is a simplified understanding for the purposes of this theory.If Marika's shattering of the Elden ring was the Separation Step. Radagon's purpose is the Unification step. *This may offer insight into why Marika decided to shatter in the first place. Unitication is one of Radagon's most important theme. The first thing Radagon did is make amends with the Rennala, the queen of the full moon and end the Lurinian war, eventually Marrying her and uniting the Erdtree with the Moon. As Miriel tells us: "Radagon once cleansed himself with celestial dew, repented his territorial aggressions, and swore his love to Rennala. The Order of the Erdtree and the fate of the moon were conjoined, and all the wounds of war forgiven. -Miriel, Pastor of Vows"It was Radagon that made the Vows and bathed himself in celestial dew. In his path for completion he learns both sorcery and incantations. "As the husband of Rennala of Caria, the red-haired Radagon studied sorcery, and as the husband of Queen Marika, he studied incantations. Thus did the hero aspire to be complete." - Radagons IconJust as he makes himself more complete by learning sorceries and incantations, he makes the understanding of the Golden Order, more complete by uniting the Erdtree with the Moon. Skipping forward in the timeline, Radagon leaves Rennala and returns to Lleyndel. And this leads us to Fundamentalism. FundamentalismWith his newfound knowledge Radagon utilizes both faith and Intelligence to reach a deeper understading of the Golden order, by establishing GO fundamentalism. There's several clues for this.
Its also possible Radagon's hatred of his mortality, is the sentimental origin of the fundamentalist rabid hatred for Those Who Live in Death. Although this idea is admittedly loose at the moment. A short note on Regression The Law of Regression One of the 2 laws the fundamentalists use to study the GO is The Law of Regression. Its the spell used to prove Radagon is Marika. Doing so advances Goldmasks questline and leads to you unlocking the Totality gesture, Radagon's signature pose. This also leads Goldmask to create a rune of perfect order. Which serves as conceptual evidence that Radagons goal was the same as Goldmasks, a Perfect Order. Complete and Eternal. The Law of Regression has a lot of conceptual ties to Radagon. "All things yearn to converge". And as we've been talking about, Radagon's unification of the Erdtree and the Moon, and utilization of both intelligence and faith, are both examples of "convergence". His eventual act of repairing elden ring is also an example of "convergence". The list goes on, but I want to elaborate on Radagon and his 'Reggressionary nature', in a separate post that will delve deep into the game's allegory. Radagon's FailureFor reasons i only have conceptual answers for, his plan to become complete ultimately didn’t work. And Marika spurns him."O Radagon, leal hound of the Golden Order.And so the Elden ring is Shattered... again??? While a "second shattering" may sound like an absurdity at first, I think there is compelling proof for it. Seeds https://preview.redd.it/nsbyz0bqsb3b1.png?width=200&format=png&auto=webp&s=fb975927ca638637de297e67c545b4209b79a073 " A golden seed, found at the base of an illusory tree*.*Assuming Erdtree seeds only spread when the Elden ring is shattered. Its peculiar that we have 2 distinct generation of Erdtree offspring in the game: The minor erd trees which are well grown, and the young translucent trees that grow from the golden seeds we find in the game. This would make perfect sense if they are results of 2 separate shatterings, one when a physical erdtree existed, in the age of plenty, and one when an illusory, faith powered, erdtree existed. Peculiarly the tree in the aforementioned, Minor Erd Tree Church, seems like a more mature version of the illusory trees we find. This detail is one of the things that makes me think that the illusiory trees are tied specifically to Radagon's rise in influence, and his attempts at reinvigorating the golden order. After all, this church is the location where Radagon first declared his purpose. There's also already a subtle motif of historical events happening in pairs. There are 2 Lurinian wars, 2 defenses of Lleyndels, which gives some precdence fro their being 2 Shatterings. The Shattering Wars This second shattering is the one that leads to the Shattering Wars we know of. Divine Laws This part of the essay is when I indulge in allegorical and conceptual analysis, so fair warning. The Law of Causality / Radagon's Rings of Light (or \"Divine Laws Punishment\" in 1.00) Radagon's Rings of Light in the 1.00 version is called "Divine Law's Punishment", I believe this spell is invoking the events of the "second shattering". Its a GO incantation that uses radagons iconic Totality gesture and depicts a huge ring explosively expanding outward from the caster. While the name is eventually changed, to Radagons Ring's of Light, I believe the original name is far too evocative to be mere accident. I believe it originally represented Radagon's attempt at repairing the elden ring, ultimately failing. Let's me elaborate. Firstly, what is the "Divine Law" in question. Well, another GO incantation that depicts a ring expanding, or more specifically, shattering out, is the Law of Causality(credit to u/Dryadversity), the second fundamental law. The spell creates manifests a ring on your body, and after taking 5 hits, the ring shatters. In short the Law of Causality is the counter force to the Law of Regression. It responds to regression's inward force by "retaliating" with an outward force. Things come together, and upon impact, they come apart. TA arrives at the same idea by comparing these Laws to Newton's Laws of Motion. Lore YTber Crunchy was the first I've heard elaborate on this idea. If Radagon is Regression, the force of unification and repair, then Marika is causality, the force that pushes things apart and seeks to shatter -- Two sides of the same coin. Hense the "Divine Law's Punishment" is Marika's Punishment to Radagon. Or more allegorically put, Casuality's punishment to Regression. This is why Radagon couldn't become Complete, and why he failed to repair the Elden Ring. He had not become complete, "yet to become a god", and he is shattered my Marika. For the same reason his attempt at repairing the elden ring ended in it simply shattering. In both cases, his attempt at Regression results in Causality. This is the tragedy, the joke, at the core of Radagon's character: If you hit a ring made of glass with a hammer, it doesn't matter if your intention is to repair it, you will simply break it more. Why? In our world we'd blame Newton's third law of motion. In Elden ring we'd blame the Law of Casuality. Marika shattering the Elden Ring the second time around, and Radagon repairing it were the same event, the same person, at the same moment. Radagon just failed so miserably at repairing it, that he, as Marika, was simply shattering it more. The laws of nature were not on his side. Conclusion/ TLDR This is an Elaboration of TAs recent theories.Marika shattered the Elden ring by getting Maliketh to impale her with Destined Death, this is Marika's betrayal to Maliketh. Marika , now imbued with DD, reemerges as Radagon a mortal, the red hair being a symbol for the red spear and the mortality it cursed him with. Radagon attempts to become immortal by becoming complete, understanding the golden order, and repairing the elden ring. He learns sorceries and Incantations and starts fundamnetalism, this however ultimately fails as Marika shatters them both, and the Elden ring, once more. There are 2 shatterings of the elden ring, which is why there are 2 generation of Erdtree Offspring. -------------- At first TA's timeline seemed pretty crazy to me, but the more ive thought about it, the more its starting to grow on me. As the full picture starts to come together, a lot of things just seem to work. So what are your thought on this version of events? Please let me know if there are any holes in this theory or in my reasoning. |
2023.06.01 20:00 BloodyBurners Should I play the original DS2 or Scholar of the first sin?
So I’m wrapping up elden ring & im looking to play the other souls games. I already heard that I should play the original DS1 so I’ll be doing that, & apparently the original DS2 is pretty different from the “remaster”. Just wanted to get your guys’ opinion.
submitted by BloodyBurners to DarkSouls2 [link] [comments]
2023.06.01 19:58 Suncityv 23m looking for someone to talk with
Hello, I’m looking for someone I can talk to anytime. I’m usually craving some form of social stop to throughout the day
Here’s a bit about me: I like to play video games. I’m good at valorant csgo league. But beside competitive games I like to play chill games like portal and elden ring. I like to go outside and do things like long/skateboarding. That also includes going fishing, hiking, camping and hanging out with friends. I enjoy to smoke thc, it always brings me up. My favorite music is hiphop and I enjoy juice wrld. My favorite movie is Donnie Darko.
Overall I’m pretty laidback and chill, just looking for a fun time. Have a good day/night
submitted by Suncityv to MakeNewFriendsHere [link] [comments]
Here’s a bit about me: I like to play video games. I’m good at valorant csgo league. But beside competitive games I like to play chill games like portal and elden ring. I like to go outside and do things like long/skateboarding. That also includes going fishing, hiking, camping and hanging out with friends. I enjoy to smoke thc, it always brings me up. My favorite music is hiphop and I enjoy juice wrld. My favorite movie is Donnie Darko.
Overall I’m pretty laidback and chill, just looking for a fun time. Have a good day/night
2023.06.01 19:57 NamelessNanashi [The Gods of Dragons: Beginning] Ch 12 - Starting at the Bottom
--- Table of Contents ---
Spring 4985, 20 Buromoth
The armor Smith Nangran gave them fit much better than the pieces lent to them for the trip. Shon still hated it, but he hated it a lot less. Practice, he told himself, trying to picture Master Veon-Zih's face as he did so, you can accomplish anything with practice... Except Master Veon-Zih didn't wear armor.
"I thought we were going to learn plate, or at least half-plate..." Rerves whispered to his fellows as they adjusted their new armor, working the straps so they weren't too tight or too loose.
His whisper wasn't quiet enough, however, because Master Daunas laughed from where he stood beside Nangran, and the smith huffed. "So you want to try plate, do you, boy?" The Weapon Master asked a little too innocently.
Rerves looked up hopefully, "Is that an option, ser?" Shon swallowed nervously.
"Sure! Let's give it a try..." Master Daunas grinned, the look definitely sinister in Shon's opinion. "Got some plate for the big one, Nan?" He asked Nangran, who rolled his eyes before moving deeper into the forge to retrieve a set of battered but sparkling platemail.
Rerves rushed to remove his new, specially fitted, leather armor, while Thom looked on in envy. Shon half expected Thom to request his own set of the fully encasing metal, but the shy boy stayed quiet and instead settled with helping his friend strip off the leather and strap on the clanking plate. Rerves beamed but could barely lift his arms to don the helm.
"There you go, boy! Halfway to a Paladin already." Master Daunas called out as he turned Rerves by the shoulders and marched him, waddling under the metal's weight, out of the smithy. Shon followed silently, taking note of the guards looking down from the wall and some Squires elbowing each other and snickering in the courtyard.
The four weeks of watch rotation had started, giving the new boys time to catch up before the oldest Squires 'graduated' on the spring equinox. It was four weeks in which they trained from before dawn to after dusk in the basics and foundations, while the others had mostly free time outside of their six-hour watch. Which meant the new boys had an audience of off-duty seniors.
"Now all you need is a sword!" Master Daunas was saying to Rerves as he left the over-encumbered Squire in one of the sparring rings. He strode to the weapons rack and grabbed a sword and shield before returning and presenting them to the boy. Rerves grabbed the sword, but as he took the shield, his arm collapsed, the metal of his vambrace clanging loudly against his chausses. He was still trying to heft the shield into position when Master Daunas drew his own sword, "Now let's test it out, shall we?"
Rerves dropped the shield, gaping at the Weapon Master, "But... but," he scrambled for an excuse and settled on the live steel in his hand, "You don't have any armor, ser, what if..."
Master Daunas never stopped smiling, but his voice was finally serious, "Boy, if you can land a hit on me in that, then you deserve to graduate with the others this year." and he swung.
Rerves didn't really dodge; he pulled back and fell on his backside, scrambling on his butt and trying to roll over to push himself back up but barely able to move. Master Daunas hit him with the flat of the blade in the side with a resounding gong-like ring hard enough to help push Rerves over so he could struggle to his hands and knees. "Get up boy, if you're on the ground in a fight this early, you've already lost."
Shon watched in horror as the Weapon Master continued to hammer down on Rerves with the flat of his blade. The Squire did manage to get to his feet and retrieve his sword and shield eventually but he still couldn't lift them, flailing them weakly at the Weaponmaster's legs. Master Daunas dodged easily, even yawning lazily before he flicked his sword and disarmed the poor Squire again.
"Call match!" one of the Squires shouted from the sidelines, the small crowd of them all shaking their heads at the display.
Master Daunas laughed, but Rerves took the advice and called "Match, match!" as loud as he could before dropping to his knees, heaving in heavy breaths from just a few minutes of trying to move in the full armor.
"Match it is then," Master Daunas conceded, saluting the Squire with his sword before gesturing for the others, "Help your brother out of that boys. He did his best."
Shon and Thom rushed forward to help Rerves, but they weren't alone. The other Squires came forward, one with a water skin he presented to Rerves after the helm was removed, "You did better than Zihler did last year," another of them said with a comforting pat on the shoulder after Shon removed the breastplate.
"Huh?" Rerves let out a tired questioning grunt, and another Squire pulled him to his feet so they could get the legs off.
"There's one every year," one of the eldest said sagely, picking up the discarded armor and slinging it easily over his shoulder.
"Yeah, it was Jawsh in our year," another explained.
Master Daunas strode forward and clapped Rerves on the shoulder, giving him a little shake, "You'll be ready for plate eventually, boy, but not until your third or even final year. Grow stronger in leather, then banded mail, then half-plate. Everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up."
Rerves smiled weakly but had regained some of his confidence apparently because he managed to say, "You could have just told me that, ser..." which made Master Daunas laugh out loud again.
He didn't even bother to answer the Squire, just turned around and went back into the smithy, shouting at Nangran, "I told you it would be the big one this year! You owe me ten copper Nan!"
***
For the entire first week, the new Squires were instructed in the basic drills of their assigned sword types. It meant they couldn't truly work together -each sword having different techniques- but it also gave them a chance to get to know some of the older Squires who helped them early on. The year ahead of them had five Squires, one of the largest years in recent history. Kefir and Baradin both used one-handed longswords and shields and worked with Rerves. Uther and Rehlien both used large two-handed greatswords and helped Thom. Zihler was the only one who specialized in the bastard sword and worked with Shon. He wasn't left-handed, but Shon did all the exercises with both hands anyway, letting Zihler help him with the right first, then switching to using his left after he was confident he had them down.
During their second week, they were given their first sword forms. Like the kata Shon had been studying under Master Veon-Zih, the sword forms were meant to represent actual maneuvers to be performed in combat, and he took to them with even greater gusto than he had the simple drills.
"He's like a dancer..." Kefir whispered to Zihler as they watched Shon work through the form, without complaining, for what must have been the twentieth time that day.
Zihler nodded but also huffed, "I bet he flinches the first time we spar, though."
"I don't know..." Kefir muttered, then louder explained, "He's the one who bloodied Selv on the raid. Rerves said he trained under some old man fighter before he came here."
"We'll see," Baradin interjected, joining his fellows, "Master Daunas is on his way. He wants us to get out the sparring swords."
Zihler gave his brother Squire a lazy salute. Baradin was the unofficial leader of their year. It had chafed at first, and Zihler was still the most prone to defy him on occasion -usually when it didn't matter much- but over the course of their first year even he had stepped in line to Baradin's passive ability to take command. The three waved down Uther and Rehlien, who jogged over.
As Baradin had said, Master Daunas arrived a moment later with the resident Cleric close behind. "Fall in, Squires!" he bellowed to the practicing three, and Shon, Thom, and Rerves all quickly obeyed, standing side by side at stiff attention. "It's officially week three and time to start sparring," he informed them, gesturing for the senior Squires to move forward and exchange the real swords for wooden ones. He looked each of the three over carefully, then nodded to himself and said, "Thom and Rerves, face off."
Zihler noticed Shon's shoulders slump ever so slightly as he stepped away from the other two, who turned towards each other. They were obviously nervous. "Those are wooden swords, but this is a real fight. They will still hurt like a bit-" the Cleric cleared his throat, interrupting the Weaponmasters' use of profanity. Master Daunas coughed but continued, "Despite that, I don't want you to hold back, you fight like you train, and if you go easy on each other, you will go easy on a real opponent. You are not civilians, and neither is your opponent. This isn't a game. The fight won't end until one of you takes a killing or disabling blow. Every adult here, minus myself and Smith Nangran, is capable of healing any wounds you might give or receive. So again, no holding back. If I call 'hold,' that means to freeze, stop moving, hold your position. Now lay on!"
Rerves and Thom both swallowed down their fear and moved slowly, unsure what their first strike should be. As expected, the two did hold back, both from nervousness at not knowing what to do and honestly not wanting to hurt each other. Daunas sighed, but Zihler understood. It had taken him months before he could really hit his friends. And he was one of the faster ones to manage it. And even then, only really when they were in armor.
The two newbies eventually sped up but were still pulling their hits. They both flinched with each strike, many of which were going to leave decent bruises, but Master Daunas wouldn't call an end until one of them landed a killing or disabling blow hard enough to count. On the other side of the sparring ring, Zihler saw Shon narrow his eyes as he tapped his boot with his sword.
"Match!" Master Daunas called after a loud smack pulled Zihler's attention back to the sparring pair.
Thom dropped his sword, cradling his hand. Rerves rushed forward, "I'm sorry, are you okay?" he had apparently caught Thom on the knuckles unintentionally.
"Both of you are aiming for your opponent's weapon instead of his body. You only hit their sword to parry or deflect. Hitting their weapon won't end a fight." Master Daunas instructed, "Practice boys, it's the only real way to learn, I can talk until my face turns blue, but you won't know until you make and take a few hits. Shon, you're up, Rerves, get ready."
Shon stepped into the ring, and something changed. Zihler couldn't describe it, but Rerves obviously felt something because he met his friend's blue eyes and swallowed. "Lay on!" Master Daunas shouted, and Rerves immediately raised his shield.
Just in time too, because Shon came in like a hurricane. He held his sword one-handed, but it still rang off Rerves' shield like a hammer. Rerves tried to counter as his form dictated, but Shon twisted his sword, taking it in both hands and sliding it along Rerves' blade before pivoting it up and swinging hard with a sickening 'thwak' against Rerves' shoulder. The larger boy immediately dropped his sword and reached for the wound with his shield arm while Master Daunas shouted, "Match!" and Shon stepped back.
He didn't apologize or rush forward as Rerves had done for Thom. The five senior Squires all stared at him, but Shon just bowed to Rerves while the Cleric came forward to check his arm.
"Well, I'll be damned," Master Daunas said with a wide smile, "It's about time someone listens to reason, but can you take as good as you give, boy?" Shon just arched a silent black eyebrow at the Weaponmaster, who laughed and took Thom's two-handed sword from him, handing it to Zihler, "Don't hold back, because this one certainly won't." he instructed the senior.
Zihler saluted the Weaponmaster and stepped into the sparring ring as Shon brought his sword to the ready position. As Zihler met Shon's eyes, his throat turned dry, forcing him to swallow as Rerves had done. His full year of more experience wasn't enough to prepare him for Shon's stare. The boy's icy eyes seemed to bore right through him. He wasn't at all nervous or scared. He didn't even seem determined or angry. Just cold. Like he could take Zihler's head and not lose a wink of sleep over it.
"Lay on!"
Zihler braced himself for an attack, but Shon didn't rush in as he had for Rerves. He maintained his guard and his stare until the senior Squire advanced. Inching forward, Zihler looked for the opening he knew had to be there. Shon didn't have enough experience yet to truly compete with the older Squire and when he swung, he swung hard. Master Daunas would accept nothing less.
Shon managed a parry, but both swords shook with the force of the hit. He didn't flinch and countered just as hard, telegraphing his attack and taking a breath too long, giving Zihler an opening. Shon was going to take the senior in the neck just as Zihler had imagined, and what was worse, he still hadn't blinked or changed his expression.
Zihler aimed for Shon's ribs, expecting the boy to redirect his sword and block the same way he had for Rerves. He didn't, and Zihlers wooden blade smacked him at full force in the side. If his ribs didn't crack, they were at least bruised, and Zihler felt himself flinch on Shon's behalf as the younger boy couldn't help but fold over the attack. Shon's swing lost some of its momentum, but he didn't stop, continuing to follow through, towards Zihlers neck, until "Match!"
Shon's sword stopped after barely tapping Zihler, showing that he hadn't lost control of the weapon and still had enough sense to pull the strike once the match was over. Would he really have hit the Squire full force if Master Daunas hadn't stopped them? Zihler felt himself sweating and had to swallow again. Shon finally blinked and stepped back, reaching for his ribs and flinching in pain as he gripped them.
The Cleric rushed forward, already speaking a prayer, and Zihler muttered a quiet, "Sorry..." as Shon flinched again at the healer's touch.
Shon furrowed his brow, then asked, "Why?" making Zihler blink in confusion, "We weren't supposed to hold back." Shon explained.
"Yeah, but..." Zihler started,
"You could've blocked that. It's the same technique you used in your first match," Master Daunas instructed Shon sternly.
Shon looked down at his sword, then back up at the Weapon Master. His eyes darted momentarily to Zihler before he muttered, "If I'd been faster, I could have ended it before he put too much force behind it..."
"You took the hit on purpose?!" Zihler shouted in disbelief.
Shon just shrugged, his ribs healed enough that it would only hurt a little to move, "I wasn't fast enough."
"Next time, block," Master Daunas chastised the younger boy, "Even if the blow had lost half its strength, you would've been injured." Shon hesitated, and Zihler noticed him clenching his fist at his side before he nodded in answer.
The bell for lunch sounded its twelve long rings, filling the courtyard as Master Daunas waved the boys towards the weapons rack, signaling an end to the practice. Zihler’s fellows joined him as he handed the practice weapon back to Thom. He didn't speak until the three newbies moved far enough away not to hear, "That was scary..."
"He really went all out, didn't he?" Kefir asked. Zihler could only nod.
"Cold-blooded," Rehlien commented.
"You have no idea," Zihler confirmed, "Even the seniors hold back more than he did."
The five turned toward the fortress and lunch, Baradin saying, "He could've though, did you see how easily he stopped his swing?"
"I felt it," Zihler mumbled, rubbing his neck. But he'd also seen clearly that Shon wouldn't have had the match not been called.
"I couldn't do that..." Uther mumbled, more to himself than the others, his shoulders slumping.
The other four immediately shifted their attention to their fellow. The poor boy had struggled through every stage of their combat training. Baradin patted him on the back, trying to sound soothing, "It’s only been a year. You have plenty of time."
Uther sighed heavily, "That was his first match, and he's already better than I am..." none of the others had an answer for that.
***
"I can't do this..."
Shon looked up from his book to furrow his brow at the older Squire. Uther looked as dejected as ever, staring unseeing at his own books spread out on the table in front of him. They showed drawings of fighting forms being performed step by step with explanations detailing each one's use.
"Uther..." Kefir whispered, reaching out to rub his friend's back, "You can..."
"I can't!" Uther slammed his book shut, and every Squire at the table jumped in surprise, "I don't want to. I hate this. I hate all of this." he crossed his arms over the table and dropped his head into them.
Shon tried to go back to his book. It was none of his business. He hardly knew the boy, and even if he did, what would he say? What could any of them say? And yet he listened as the others tried to comfort the frustrated Squire. "You're the best at our theology and law lessons, though, Uther. We can help you with the rest. We still have time."
"I don't want to fight..." Uther spoke into his arms, "I never did... I just thought... I thought that if I tried hard enough, I would learn..."
"You will."
"I don't want to." he was barely audible now, even in the absolute silence of the library.
At the end of the table, two boys a year older than Uther exchanged looks and silent nods before they stood and came to kneel beside him, "You don't have to." one of them said. Shon looked up again.
The other rubbed the Uther's back gently, "There was a boy a year older than us, his name was Karlin, he had a hard time too..."
Uther turned his head just enough to look through his arms at the Squire, "He gave up?"
"He went to train as a Cleric instead." the first said, "We got a letter from him last year, he's really happy, Uther. Maybe..." he hesitated, and his friend picked up for him,
"We would never encourage you to quit. If you want to stay, we'll help you. Everyone here will." he gestured to the table at large and then to the rest of the fortress beyond the library door. Uther lifted his head, and Shon nodded when he met the older boy's eyes. Though what he could do, he still didn't know.
The senior Squire continued, "But if you really don't want to, we will support you in that too."
Uther looked around at all of them, then whispered, "It's not too late?"
"It's never too late," the Paladin on duty chimed in without looking up. Perhaps not wanting to interject too much into the Squires' group effort to comfort their own.
"You've only been here a year, and Karlin already showed it's possible to transfer. If that's really what you want."
"I... I think I'll go pray..." Uther finally managed to choke out. The two boys stood and helped him to his feet but let him walk to the door on his own. Shon went back to his book.
He'd wanted this so badly it had hurt. He couldn't imagine being in Uther's position... But he also felt a strange sort of pride in his fellow Squires. They had stood up to help their fellow without hesitation, even now that he left, they weren't judging him for his voiced doubts. And even Uther himself. Shon had to imagine that it took a lot of strength to admit to the others that he might give up, that this path wasn't for him.
The next day Uther left Hamerfoss.
***
Along with the fundamentals of their swords, the new Squires were caught up in lessons on kingdom law. As Paladins, it would be their responsibility to enforce the law in each of the ten provinces, each with their own nuances. However, kingdom-wide laws always superseded province laws, so the new Squires were expected to know as much of that as possible before they started with the others.
Today they were learning about magic regulation...
"You should've all learned the basic theory of arcane magic before reaching maturity..." the Paladin giving their lecture began, waiting for their nods before continuing, "So you know that, theoretically, anyone can practice arcane magic. With enough study and funding. The kingdom has granted the Mages Guild a leading voice in the laws surrounding the use of arcane magic, and the power to enforce them with the assistance of the local Temple representatives."
The classroom was made to hold twenty five Squires and so felt particularly large and empty with only the three of them seated in the front row taking silent notes as the instructor spoke. He explained how the teleport system of gates worked within the Guild. That transport could be purchased to instantly travel between Guild towers, but that permission had to be granted from the destination if crossing province lines; otherwise, travelers would be trapped in the Guild and heavily fined, even imprisoned in some cases. He touched briefly on the cost cap of certain magical items, such as bags of holding and weather-resistant cloaks, to prevent price gouging. And handed out a list of outlawed magic items they would be required to memorize in their own time for a test at the end of this training period. It mostly consisted of anything that could cause outright harm, rare and valuable spell components for powerful spells, or items that aided in stealth that could be used for thievery. Though with the proper licensure, some experienced allies of the Temples were permitted to use many of them.
"Arcane magic has the potential to be very dangerous, and as such, all practicing Mages are required to be trained and registered as members of the Guild. Only Archmages, the highest Mage rank, are permitted to conduct research outside the Guild and take apprentices at their leisure. Which brings us to Sorcerers..."
Shon looked up from his notes. Their teacher was writing on the board again. At the top, he scrawled 'Sorcerers' then drew two lines down from the word to 'Clearance' and 'Sealing.' "When a Sorcerer awakens, they are required to..." he started, but Thom and Rerves both quickly raised their hands.
"What's a Sorcerer?" Rerves asked after the instructor nodded his way. Thom put down his hand, having had the same question.
The instructor looked at Shon and asked, "Do you know what a Sorcerer is?" when Shon shook his head, the man looked disapproving, "Then why didn't you ask?"
"They did..." Shon muttered down to his notebook. The teacher sighed and Shon glared at his notes. He would've asked if Thom and Rerves hadn't... assuming the answer wasn't made clear as the lesson continued.
Rather than further chastise him, the teacher moved on to answer the question, "A Sorcerer is someone who possesses natural arcane magic. They are born with power over one of the five elements. The power usually manifests around puberty, and when it does, the Sorcerer in question is taken to the Mages Guild. There they are either trained to control it -taking many years of study- or the power is sealed." He turned his back on the boys to continue writing on the board. Under 'Clearance', he wrote 'training' and 'testing', and under 'Sealing', he wrote 'tattoo' and 'item.'
"A Sorcerer with a clearance is the same in practice as a Mage who is registered with the Guild. Most Sorcerers, however, have their power sealed, preventing its use,"
"Why?" Thom asked, then quickly clapped his hand over his mouth, embarrassed for interrupting.
The instructor didn't seem to mind the interruption so much as the question itself. His eyes went wide in his disbelief as he looked down at the boys, "It is incredibly dangerous. Earth Sorcerers have been known to cause small earthquakes; Water and Air Sorcerers can drown or steal the air right from the lungs; Ice Sorcerers can freeze an entire room; and Fire Sorcerers... well, they are the most destructive. And all of that can be unintentional. Their magic is driven by their emotions, and if they can't control it, they are a danger to themselves and everyone around them. This is also why they are usually sealed with a tattoo..." he tapped the word on the board, "The sealing tattoo blocks their ability to use any kind of magic. It locks their energy, and thus their magic, in their body, preventing its manipulation. It is also given to any Mages, Druids, Clerics, and even Paladins that break the law and endanger the kingdom."
Rerves opened his mouth but then remembered to raise his hand, waiting for permission before he asked, "But don't Clerics and Paladins lose their God's blessing and their magic if they use it for evil?"
The teacher sighed again, though sadly this time, "Only Saint Giorgos reveres law itself as holy, and not every God holds the same standards for evil."
"Horsa..." Rerves growled under his breath, and the instructor nodded solemnly in agreement, his eyes flashing angrily at the mention of Hengist's brother and nemesis.
"Spells that are acceptable in Horsa-controlled provinces are not always permitted in Hengist's lands and vis versa. The Temples prefer to transfer those caught performing illegal acts with magic to a province where it is permitted, but occasionally, even a Cleric or Paladin can be tattooed to prevent further spell use. In some provinces, and you will learn more about this later, they even tattoo non-magic users who commit violent crimes. To prevent them from ever learning dangerous magic in the future."
Shon stared at the word scrawled in his notebook. Sealing tattoos worked by sealing the person's energy in their body, their ki... would it prevent Monk abilities too? The bell ending the lesson interrupted his thoughts, and Shon looked up to the teacher with the others, waiting for official dismissal before they would close their notebooks, "You should have that list of contraband memorized by the end of the week," the instructor reminded them as he began to erase the board, "Dismissed."
***
A rabbit made of fire hopped its way around the open cage. She sat on the floor, focusing on it, forcing it to keep the shape she willed while she stroked the cat's crimson-scaled head. The cat rested its entire front half in her lap, its lower legs splayed out on the ground, limp, too weak to move. She fought back tears as it tried to lift one great paw to bat at the bunny. She let the cat hit it, even made the flame rabbit fall down, pinned under the red claws. Not all of her treasures could touch her fire, but this one could, so she would do this for it at least. It purred in triumph at catching the flaming bunny but closed its eyes a moment later, letting out a ragged breath.
It was dying. They all died eventually, but it didn't stop the pain. She sniffed, trying to keep the tears from falling as she let the fire go. Snuffed out like her treasure.
"Come on, Red... it’s time to go..." Ran whispered into the cage.
She shook her head, stroking the large cat's side. Its breathing had slowed even further, "Not yet," she choked, then sniffed again.
Brom rested a hand on Ran's shoulder, "Give her a little longer."
"The Archmage..."
"He can wait," Brom whispered.
Her tears finally started to fall, streaming silently down her cheeks and over her scales, the same shade as this treasure, the first treasure she'd ever pet. It had lived longer than the others, somehow, and was one of the few she was capable of touching for more than a few moments. "Why?" she asked the journeymen, not really expecting an answer she could accept.
They squatted down outside the cage together, and Ran answered, "Their bodies can't handle the magic. They're animals with dragon power. We're trying Red, but we haven't figured out how to stop it yet..."
"Am I going to die too?" she asked. The cat's breathing slowed further, her tears dripping onto its head and sizzling as they landed.
"No, Goldy, no... You're different... you're..." Brom struggled to find an explanation.
"A Sorcerer Red," Ran provided, "And a really powerful one."
Her treasure breathed its last, letting the air out slowly until it was unmoving in her lap. She cried silently. Curling around the large cat that was too heavy for her to lift, she cried into its neck, holding it close.
Brom crawled into the cage, but he didn't touch her, "Come on, Goldy, maybe the next generation..." he braved grabbing her arm, flinching at the heat of her skin and pulling her out of the cage as silent tears continued to fall. She tried to control herself but couldn't and fell to her knees as soon as she was out. Brom pulled quickly away, shaking his burned fingers. "Oh, Goldy... please don't..."
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop crying while also keeping her power pulled in, so she wouldn't catch any of the scattered straw or her caretakers' robes on fire. Her eyes flew open when a thick heavy blanket wrapped around her, and strong arms held it tight to her.
"I've got you, Red... It's okay to cry..." she could feel the antifire spell on the blanket press into her skin, but past that was Ran's arms, and a moment later, a second set, Brom's, wrapped her in a tight embrace. It was the only way they could hug her, and she was grateful enough that she let herself go, her shoulders bobbing as she sobbed and wailed for the loss of her treasure... and for herself.
--- Table of Contents ---
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Spring 4985, 20 Buromoth
The armor Smith Nangran gave them fit much better than the pieces lent to them for the trip. Shon still hated it, but he hated it a lot less. Practice, he told himself, trying to picture Master Veon-Zih's face as he did so, you can accomplish anything with practice... Except Master Veon-Zih didn't wear armor.
"I thought we were going to learn plate, or at least half-plate..." Rerves whispered to his fellows as they adjusted their new armor, working the straps so they weren't too tight or too loose.
His whisper wasn't quiet enough, however, because Master Daunas laughed from where he stood beside Nangran, and the smith huffed. "So you want to try plate, do you, boy?" The Weapon Master asked a little too innocently.
Rerves looked up hopefully, "Is that an option, ser?" Shon swallowed nervously.
"Sure! Let's give it a try..." Master Daunas grinned, the look definitely sinister in Shon's opinion. "Got some plate for the big one, Nan?" He asked Nangran, who rolled his eyes before moving deeper into the forge to retrieve a set of battered but sparkling platemail.
Rerves rushed to remove his new, specially fitted, leather armor, while Thom looked on in envy. Shon half expected Thom to request his own set of the fully encasing metal, but the shy boy stayed quiet and instead settled with helping his friend strip off the leather and strap on the clanking plate. Rerves beamed but could barely lift his arms to don the helm.
"There you go, boy! Halfway to a Paladin already." Master Daunas called out as he turned Rerves by the shoulders and marched him, waddling under the metal's weight, out of the smithy. Shon followed silently, taking note of the guards looking down from the wall and some Squires elbowing each other and snickering in the courtyard.
The four weeks of watch rotation had started, giving the new boys time to catch up before the oldest Squires 'graduated' on the spring equinox. It was four weeks in which they trained from before dawn to after dusk in the basics and foundations, while the others had mostly free time outside of their six-hour watch. Which meant the new boys had an audience of off-duty seniors.
"Now all you need is a sword!" Master Daunas was saying to Rerves as he left the over-encumbered Squire in one of the sparring rings. He strode to the weapons rack and grabbed a sword and shield before returning and presenting them to the boy. Rerves grabbed the sword, but as he took the shield, his arm collapsed, the metal of his vambrace clanging loudly against his chausses. He was still trying to heft the shield into position when Master Daunas drew his own sword, "Now let's test it out, shall we?"
Rerves dropped the shield, gaping at the Weapon Master, "But... but," he scrambled for an excuse and settled on the live steel in his hand, "You don't have any armor, ser, what if..."
Master Daunas never stopped smiling, but his voice was finally serious, "Boy, if you can land a hit on me in that, then you deserve to graduate with the others this year." and he swung.
Rerves didn't really dodge; he pulled back and fell on his backside, scrambling on his butt and trying to roll over to push himself back up but barely able to move. Master Daunas hit him with the flat of the blade in the side with a resounding gong-like ring hard enough to help push Rerves over so he could struggle to his hands and knees. "Get up boy, if you're on the ground in a fight this early, you've already lost."
Shon watched in horror as the Weapon Master continued to hammer down on Rerves with the flat of his blade. The Squire did manage to get to his feet and retrieve his sword and shield eventually but he still couldn't lift them, flailing them weakly at the Weaponmaster's legs. Master Daunas dodged easily, even yawning lazily before he flicked his sword and disarmed the poor Squire again.
"Call match!" one of the Squires shouted from the sidelines, the small crowd of them all shaking their heads at the display.
Master Daunas laughed, but Rerves took the advice and called "Match, match!" as loud as he could before dropping to his knees, heaving in heavy breaths from just a few minutes of trying to move in the full armor.
"Match it is then," Master Daunas conceded, saluting the Squire with his sword before gesturing for the others, "Help your brother out of that boys. He did his best."
Shon and Thom rushed forward to help Rerves, but they weren't alone. The other Squires came forward, one with a water skin he presented to Rerves after the helm was removed, "You did better than Zihler did last year," another of them said with a comforting pat on the shoulder after Shon removed the breastplate.
"Huh?" Rerves let out a tired questioning grunt, and another Squire pulled him to his feet so they could get the legs off.
"There's one every year," one of the eldest said sagely, picking up the discarded armor and slinging it easily over his shoulder.
"Yeah, it was Jawsh in our year," another explained.
Master Daunas strode forward and clapped Rerves on the shoulder, giving him a little shake, "You'll be ready for plate eventually, boy, but not until your third or even final year. Grow stronger in leather, then banded mail, then half-plate. Everyone starts at the bottom and works their way up."
Rerves smiled weakly but had regained some of his confidence apparently because he managed to say, "You could have just told me that, ser..." which made Master Daunas laugh out loud again.
He didn't even bother to answer the Squire, just turned around and went back into the smithy, shouting at Nangran, "I told you it would be the big one this year! You owe me ten copper Nan!"
***
For the entire first week, the new Squires were instructed in the basic drills of their assigned sword types. It meant they couldn't truly work together -each sword having different techniques- but it also gave them a chance to get to know some of the older Squires who helped them early on. The year ahead of them had five Squires, one of the largest years in recent history. Kefir and Baradin both used one-handed longswords and shields and worked with Rerves. Uther and Rehlien both used large two-handed greatswords and helped Thom. Zihler was the only one who specialized in the bastard sword and worked with Shon. He wasn't left-handed, but Shon did all the exercises with both hands anyway, letting Zihler help him with the right first, then switching to using his left after he was confident he had them down.
During their second week, they were given their first sword forms. Like the kata Shon had been studying under Master Veon-Zih, the sword forms were meant to represent actual maneuvers to be performed in combat, and he took to them with even greater gusto than he had the simple drills.
"He's like a dancer..." Kefir whispered to Zihler as they watched Shon work through the form, without complaining, for what must have been the twentieth time that day.
Zihler nodded but also huffed, "I bet he flinches the first time we spar, though."
"I don't know..." Kefir muttered, then louder explained, "He's the one who bloodied Selv on the raid. Rerves said he trained under some old man fighter before he came here."
"We'll see," Baradin interjected, joining his fellows, "Master Daunas is on his way. He wants us to get out the sparring swords."
Zihler gave his brother Squire a lazy salute. Baradin was the unofficial leader of their year. It had chafed at first, and Zihler was still the most prone to defy him on occasion -usually when it didn't matter much- but over the course of their first year even he had stepped in line to Baradin's passive ability to take command. The three waved down Uther and Rehlien, who jogged over.
As Baradin had said, Master Daunas arrived a moment later with the resident Cleric close behind. "Fall in, Squires!" he bellowed to the practicing three, and Shon, Thom, and Rerves all quickly obeyed, standing side by side at stiff attention. "It's officially week three and time to start sparring," he informed them, gesturing for the senior Squires to move forward and exchange the real swords for wooden ones. He looked each of the three over carefully, then nodded to himself and said, "Thom and Rerves, face off."
Zihler noticed Shon's shoulders slump ever so slightly as he stepped away from the other two, who turned towards each other. They were obviously nervous. "Those are wooden swords, but this is a real fight. They will still hurt like a bit-" the Cleric cleared his throat, interrupting the Weaponmasters' use of profanity. Master Daunas coughed but continued, "Despite that, I don't want you to hold back, you fight like you train, and if you go easy on each other, you will go easy on a real opponent. You are not civilians, and neither is your opponent. This isn't a game. The fight won't end until one of you takes a killing or disabling blow. Every adult here, minus myself and Smith Nangran, is capable of healing any wounds you might give or receive. So again, no holding back. If I call 'hold,' that means to freeze, stop moving, hold your position. Now lay on!"
Rerves and Thom both swallowed down their fear and moved slowly, unsure what their first strike should be. As expected, the two did hold back, both from nervousness at not knowing what to do and honestly not wanting to hurt each other. Daunas sighed, but Zihler understood. It had taken him months before he could really hit his friends. And he was one of the faster ones to manage it. And even then, only really when they were in armor.
The two newbies eventually sped up but were still pulling their hits. They both flinched with each strike, many of which were going to leave decent bruises, but Master Daunas wouldn't call an end until one of them landed a killing or disabling blow hard enough to count. On the other side of the sparring ring, Zihler saw Shon narrow his eyes as he tapped his boot with his sword.
"Match!" Master Daunas called after a loud smack pulled Zihler's attention back to the sparring pair.
Thom dropped his sword, cradling his hand. Rerves rushed forward, "I'm sorry, are you okay?" he had apparently caught Thom on the knuckles unintentionally.
"Both of you are aiming for your opponent's weapon instead of his body. You only hit their sword to parry or deflect. Hitting their weapon won't end a fight." Master Daunas instructed, "Practice boys, it's the only real way to learn, I can talk until my face turns blue, but you won't know until you make and take a few hits. Shon, you're up, Rerves, get ready."
Shon stepped into the ring, and something changed. Zihler couldn't describe it, but Rerves obviously felt something because he met his friend's blue eyes and swallowed. "Lay on!" Master Daunas shouted, and Rerves immediately raised his shield.
Just in time too, because Shon came in like a hurricane. He held his sword one-handed, but it still rang off Rerves' shield like a hammer. Rerves tried to counter as his form dictated, but Shon twisted his sword, taking it in both hands and sliding it along Rerves' blade before pivoting it up and swinging hard with a sickening 'thwak' against Rerves' shoulder. The larger boy immediately dropped his sword and reached for the wound with his shield arm while Master Daunas shouted, "Match!" and Shon stepped back.
He didn't apologize or rush forward as Rerves had done for Thom. The five senior Squires all stared at him, but Shon just bowed to Rerves while the Cleric came forward to check his arm.
"Well, I'll be damned," Master Daunas said with a wide smile, "It's about time someone listens to reason, but can you take as good as you give, boy?" Shon just arched a silent black eyebrow at the Weaponmaster, who laughed and took Thom's two-handed sword from him, handing it to Zihler, "Don't hold back, because this one certainly won't." he instructed the senior.
Zihler saluted the Weaponmaster and stepped into the sparring ring as Shon brought his sword to the ready position. As Zihler met Shon's eyes, his throat turned dry, forcing him to swallow as Rerves had done. His full year of more experience wasn't enough to prepare him for Shon's stare. The boy's icy eyes seemed to bore right through him. He wasn't at all nervous or scared. He didn't even seem determined or angry. Just cold. Like he could take Zihler's head and not lose a wink of sleep over it.
"Lay on!"
Zihler braced himself for an attack, but Shon didn't rush in as he had for Rerves. He maintained his guard and his stare until the senior Squire advanced. Inching forward, Zihler looked for the opening he knew had to be there. Shon didn't have enough experience yet to truly compete with the older Squire and when he swung, he swung hard. Master Daunas would accept nothing less.
Shon managed a parry, but both swords shook with the force of the hit. He didn't flinch and countered just as hard, telegraphing his attack and taking a breath too long, giving Zihler an opening. Shon was going to take the senior in the neck just as Zihler had imagined, and what was worse, he still hadn't blinked or changed his expression.
Zihler aimed for Shon's ribs, expecting the boy to redirect his sword and block the same way he had for Rerves. He didn't, and Zihlers wooden blade smacked him at full force in the side. If his ribs didn't crack, they were at least bruised, and Zihler felt himself flinch on Shon's behalf as the younger boy couldn't help but fold over the attack. Shon's swing lost some of its momentum, but he didn't stop, continuing to follow through, towards Zihlers neck, until "Match!"
Shon's sword stopped after barely tapping Zihler, showing that he hadn't lost control of the weapon and still had enough sense to pull the strike once the match was over. Would he really have hit the Squire full force if Master Daunas hadn't stopped them? Zihler felt himself sweating and had to swallow again. Shon finally blinked and stepped back, reaching for his ribs and flinching in pain as he gripped them.
The Cleric rushed forward, already speaking a prayer, and Zihler muttered a quiet, "Sorry..." as Shon flinched again at the healer's touch.
Shon furrowed his brow, then asked, "Why?" making Zihler blink in confusion, "We weren't supposed to hold back." Shon explained.
"Yeah, but..." Zihler started,
"You could've blocked that. It's the same technique you used in your first match," Master Daunas instructed Shon sternly.
Shon looked down at his sword, then back up at the Weapon Master. His eyes darted momentarily to Zihler before he muttered, "If I'd been faster, I could have ended it before he put too much force behind it..."
"You took the hit on purpose?!" Zihler shouted in disbelief.
Shon just shrugged, his ribs healed enough that it would only hurt a little to move, "I wasn't fast enough."
"Next time, block," Master Daunas chastised the younger boy, "Even if the blow had lost half its strength, you would've been injured." Shon hesitated, and Zihler noticed him clenching his fist at his side before he nodded in answer.
The bell for lunch sounded its twelve long rings, filling the courtyard as Master Daunas waved the boys towards the weapons rack, signaling an end to the practice. Zihler’s fellows joined him as he handed the practice weapon back to Thom. He didn't speak until the three newbies moved far enough away not to hear, "That was scary..."
"He really went all out, didn't he?" Kefir asked. Zihler could only nod.
"Cold-blooded," Rehlien commented.
"You have no idea," Zihler confirmed, "Even the seniors hold back more than he did."
The five turned toward the fortress and lunch, Baradin saying, "He could've though, did you see how easily he stopped his swing?"
"I felt it," Zihler mumbled, rubbing his neck. But he'd also seen clearly that Shon wouldn't have had the match not been called.
"I couldn't do that..." Uther mumbled, more to himself than the others, his shoulders slumping.
The other four immediately shifted their attention to their fellow. The poor boy had struggled through every stage of their combat training. Baradin patted him on the back, trying to sound soothing, "It’s only been a year. You have plenty of time."
Uther sighed heavily, "That was his first match, and he's already better than I am..." none of the others had an answer for that.
***
"I can't do this..."
Shon looked up from his book to furrow his brow at the older Squire. Uther looked as dejected as ever, staring unseeing at his own books spread out on the table in front of him. They showed drawings of fighting forms being performed step by step with explanations detailing each one's use.
"Uther..." Kefir whispered, reaching out to rub his friend's back, "You can..."
"I can't!" Uther slammed his book shut, and every Squire at the table jumped in surprise, "I don't want to. I hate this. I hate all of this." he crossed his arms over the table and dropped his head into them.
Shon tried to go back to his book. It was none of his business. He hardly knew the boy, and even if he did, what would he say? What could any of them say? And yet he listened as the others tried to comfort the frustrated Squire. "You're the best at our theology and law lessons, though, Uther. We can help you with the rest. We still have time."
"I don't want to fight..." Uther spoke into his arms, "I never did... I just thought... I thought that if I tried hard enough, I would learn..."
"You will."
"I don't want to." he was barely audible now, even in the absolute silence of the library.
At the end of the table, two boys a year older than Uther exchanged looks and silent nods before they stood and came to kneel beside him, "You don't have to." one of them said. Shon looked up again.
The other rubbed the Uther's back gently, "There was a boy a year older than us, his name was Karlin, he had a hard time too..."
Uther turned his head just enough to look through his arms at the Squire, "He gave up?"
"He went to train as a Cleric instead." the first said, "We got a letter from him last year, he's really happy, Uther. Maybe..." he hesitated, and his friend picked up for him,
"We would never encourage you to quit. If you want to stay, we'll help you. Everyone here will." he gestured to the table at large and then to the rest of the fortress beyond the library door. Uther lifted his head, and Shon nodded when he met the older boy's eyes. Though what he could do, he still didn't know.
The senior Squire continued, "But if you really don't want to, we will support you in that too."
Uther looked around at all of them, then whispered, "It's not too late?"
"It's never too late," the Paladin on duty chimed in without looking up. Perhaps not wanting to interject too much into the Squires' group effort to comfort their own.
"You've only been here a year, and Karlin already showed it's possible to transfer. If that's really what you want."
"I... I think I'll go pray..." Uther finally managed to choke out. The two boys stood and helped him to his feet but let him walk to the door on his own. Shon went back to his book.
He'd wanted this so badly it had hurt. He couldn't imagine being in Uther's position... But he also felt a strange sort of pride in his fellow Squires. They had stood up to help their fellow without hesitation, even now that he left, they weren't judging him for his voiced doubts. And even Uther himself. Shon had to imagine that it took a lot of strength to admit to the others that he might give up, that this path wasn't for him.
The next day Uther left Hamerfoss.
***
Along with the fundamentals of their swords, the new Squires were caught up in lessons on kingdom law. As Paladins, it would be their responsibility to enforce the law in each of the ten provinces, each with their own nuances. However, kingdom-wide laws always superseded province laws, so the new Squires were expected to know as much of that as possible before they started with the others.
Today they were learning about magic regulation...
"You should've all learned the basic theory of arcane magic before reaching maturity..." the Paladin giving their lecture began, waiting for their nods before continuing, "So you know that, theoretically, anyone can practice arcane magic. With enough study and funding. The kingdom has granted the Mages Guild a leading voice in the laws surrounding the use of arcane magic, and the power to enforce them with the assistance of the local Temple representatives."
The classroom was made to hold twenty five Squires and so felt particularly large and empty with only the three of them seated in the front row taking silent notes as the instructor spoke. He explained how the teleport system of gates worked within the Guild. That transport could be purchased to instantly travel between Guild towers, but that permission had to be granted from the destination if crossing province lines; otherwise, travelers would be trapped in the Guild and heavily fined, even imprisoned in some cases. He touched briefly on the cost cap of certain magical items, such as bags of holding and weather-resistant cloaks, to prevent price gouging. And handed out a list of outlawed magic items they would be required to memorize in their own time for a test at the end of this training period. It mostly consisted of anything that could cause outright harm, rare and valuable spell components for powerful spells, or items that aided in stealth that could be used for thievery. Though with the proper licensure, some experienced allies of the Temples were permitted to use many of them.
"Arcane magic has the potential to be very dangerous, and as such, all practicing Mages are required to be trained and registered as members of the Guild. Only Archmages, the highest Mage rank, are permitted to conduct research outside the Guild and take apprentices at their leisure. Which brings us to Sorcerers..."
Shon looked up from his notes. Their teacher was writing on the board again. At the top, he scrawled 'Sorcerers' then drew two lines down from the word to 'Clearance' and 'Sealing.' "When a Sorcerer awakens, they are required to..." he started, but Thom and Rerves both quickly raised their hands.
"What's a Sorcerer?" Rerves asked after the instructor nodded his way. Thom put down his hand, having had the same question.
The instructor looked at Shon and asked, "Do you know what a Sorcerer is?" when Shon shook his head, the man looked disapproving, "Then why didn't you ask?"
"They did..." Shon muttered down to his notebook. The teacher sighed and Shon glared at his notes. He would've asked if Thom and Rerves hadn't... assuming the answer wasn't made clear as the lesson continued.
Rather than further chastise him, the teacher moved on to answer the question, "A Sorcerer is someone who possesses natural arcane magic. They are born with power over one of the five elements. The power usually manifests around puberty, and when it does, the Sorcerer in question is taken to the Mages Guild. There they are either trained to control it -taking many years of study- or the power is sealed." He turned his back on the boys to continue writing on the board. Under 'Clearance', he wrote 'training' and 'testing', and under 'Sealing', he wrote 'tattoo' and 'item.'
"A Sorcerer with a clearance is the same in practice as a Mage who is registered with the Guild. Most Sorcerers, however, have their power sealed, preventing its use,"
"Why?" Thom asked, then quickly clapped his hand over his mouth, embarrassed for interrupting.
The instructor didn't seem to mind the interruption so much as the question itself. His eyes went wide in his disbelief as he looked down at the boys, "It is incredibly dangerous. Earth Sorcerers have been known to cause small earthquakes; Water and Air Sorcerers can drown or steal the air right from the lungs; Ice Sorcerers can freeze an entire room; and Fire Sorcerers... well, they are the most destructive. And all of that can be unintentional. Their magic is driven by their emotions, and if they can't control it, they are a danger to themselves and everyone around them. This is also why they are usually sealed with a tattoo..." he tapped the word on the board, "The sealing tattoo blocks their ability to use any kind of magic. It locks their energy, and thus their magic, in their body, preventing its manipulation. It is also given to any Mages, Druids, Clerics, and even Paladins that break the law and endanger the kingdom."
Rerves opened his mouth but then remembered to raise his hand, waiting for permission before he asked, "But don't Clerics and Paladins lose their God's blessing and their magic if they use it for evil?"
The teacher sighed again, though sadly this time, "Only Saint Giorgos reveres law itself as holy, and not every God holds the same standards for evil."
"Horsa..." Rerves growled under his breath, and the instructor nodded solemnly in agreement, his eyes flashing angrily at the mention of Hengist's brother and nemesis.
"Spells that are acceptable in Horsa-controlled provinces are not always permitted in Hengist's lands and vis versa. The Temples prefer to transfer those caught performing illegal acts with magic to a province where it is permitted, but occasionally, even a Cleric or Paladin can be tattooed to prevent further spell use. In some provinces, and you will learn more about this later, they even tattoo non-magic users who commit violent crimes. To prevent them from ever learning dangerous magic in the future."
Shon stared at the word scrawled in his notebook. Sealing tattoos worked by sealing the person's energy in their body, their ki... would it prevent Monk abilities too? The bell ending the lesson interrupted his thoughts, and Shon looked up to the teacher with the others, waiting for official dismissal before they would close their notebooks, "You should have that list of contraband memorized by the end of the week," the instructor reminded them as he began to erase the board, "Dismissed."
***
A rabbit made of fire hopped its way around the open cage. She sat on the floor, focusing on it, forcing it to keep the shape she willed while she stroked the cat's crimson-scaled head. The cat rested its entire front half in her lap, its lower legs splayed out on the ground, limp, too weak to move. She fought back tears as it tried to lift one great paw to bat at the bunny. She let the cat hit it, even made the flame rabbit fall down, pinned under the red claws. Not all of her treasures could touch her fire, but this one could, so she would do this for it at least. It purred in triumph at catching the flaming bunny but closed its eyes a moment later, letting out a ragged breath.
It was dying. They all died eventually, but it didn't stop the pain. She sniffed, trying to keep the tears from falling as she let the fire go. Snuffed out like her treasure.
"Come on, Red... it’s time to go..." Ran whispered into the cage.
She shook her head, stroking the large cat's side. Its breathing had slowed even further, "Not yet," she choked, then sniffed again.
Brom rested a hand on Ran's shoulder, "Give her a little longer."
"The Archmage..."
"He can wait," Brom whispered.
Her tears finally started to fall, streaming silently down her cheeks and over her scales, the same shade as this treasure, the first treasure she'd ever pet. It had lived longer than the others, somehow, and was one of the few she was capable of touching for more than a few moments. "Why?" she asked the journeymen, not really expecting an answer she could accept.
They squatted down outside the cage together, and Ran answered, "Their bodies can't handle the magic. They're animals with dragon power. We're trying Red, but we haven't figured out how to stop it yet..."
"Am I going to die too?" she asked. The cat's breathing slowed further, her tears dripping onto its head and sizzling as they landed.
"No, Goldy, no... You're different... you're..." Brom struggled to find an explanation.
"A Sorcerer Red," Ran provided, "And a really powerful one."
Her treasure breathed its last, letting the air out slowly until it was unmoving in her lap. She cried silently. Curling around the large cat that was too heavy for her to lift, she cried into its neck, holding it close.
Brom crawled into the cage, but he didn't touch her, "Come on, Goldy, maybe the next generation..." he braved grabbing her arm, flinching at the heat of her skin and pulling her out of the cage as silent tears continued to fall. She tried to control herself but couldn't and fell to her knees as soon as she was out. Brom pulled quickly away, shaking his burned fingers. "Oh, Goldy... please don't..."
She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop crying while also keeping her power pulled in, so she wouldn't catch any of the scattered straw or her caretakers' robes on fire. Her eyes flew open when a thick heavy blanket wrapped around her, and strong arms held it tight to her.
"I've got you, Red... It's okay to cry..." she could feel the antifire spell on the blanket press into her skin, but past that was Ran's arms, and a moment later, a second set, Brom's, wrapped her in a tight embrace. It was the only way they could hug her, and she was grateful enough that she let herself go, her shoulders bobbing as she sobbed and wailed for the loss of her treasure... and for herself.
--- Table of Contents ---
Thanks for making it this far, you are the real MVP
2023.06.01 19:53 BlackIroh Skill issue
I don't understand why anyone says this because it seems like there's very little actual skill involved in the game. It's mostly knowledge of the dinos stats, such as combat weight, stamina etc.
But fights all basically look the same. If you are a smaller faster dino fighting something bigger you run around and try to get behind it to tail ride. If you're the bigger dino fighting something small you can crouch and tail attack until you can stand in deeper water or get your back to a cliff/wall to force a face tank. Bigger dino will generally always win a face tank. At this point the fight is over. The smaller dino basically has no shot at getting a kill and the bigger dino is stuck in that defensive position.
The only exceptions to this are the herbivores that rely on using their tail (stego, kentro, ano). Instead of running around to get behind it you try to hit it from the front or side. If you're a Rex you try to get a bone break. But most fights look the same and are fought the same.
The only aspect that i guess takes a little bit of skill is timing your bites correctly and if you are small, managing your stamina. I'm sure there's a big gap between a brand new player and one who's played for a few months. But it's not exactly elden ring. That's why (usually) if two dinos are somewhat even with each other they will rarely fight in a 1v1. And why some dinos attack anything in sight. It's simply not about skill, it's about the matchups and the numbers.
submitted by BlackIroh to pathoftitans [link] [comments]
But fights all basically look the same. If you are a smaller faster dino fighting something bigger you run around and try to get behind it to tail ride. If you're the bigger dino fighting something small you can crouch and tail attack until you can stand in deeper water or get your back to a cliff/wall to force a face tank. Bigger dino will generally always win a face tank. At this point the fight is over. The smaller dino basically has no shot at getting a kill and the bigger dino is stuck in that defensive position.
The only exceptions to this are the herbivores that rely on using their tail (stego, kentro, ano). Instead of running around to get behind it you try to hit it from the front or side. If you're a Rex you try to get a bone break. But most fights look the same and are fought the same.
The only aspect that i guess takes a little bit of skill is timing your bites correctly and if you are small, managing your stamina. I'm sure there's a big gap between a brand new player and one who's played for a few months. But it's not exactly elden ring. That's why (usually) if two dinos are somewhat even with each other they will rarely fight in a 1v1. And why some dinos attack anything in sight. It's simply not about skill, it's about the matchups and the numbers.
2023.06.01 19:50 Private_Idaho_6759 I'm finally playing Bloodborne for the first time ever! I've fallen in love with other From Software titles, including the Dark Souls series, Sekiro, and Elden Ring. Will this adventure live up to the hype?! Our blind first playthrough of Bloodborne on the PS5 begins! #bloodborne #bloodborneps5
 | submitted by Private_Idaho_6759 to u/Private_Idaho_6759 [link] [comments] |
2023.06.01 19:47 Luigi_DiGiorno lmao
 | submitted by Luigi_DiGiorno to SonicTheHedgejerk [link] [comments] |
2023.06.01 19:46 Targarian67 Elden ring randomizer run and can't get to rold lift [pc]
Hi I'm currently doing an elden ring randomizer on pc and I cant get to the rold lift because of a seal saying sealed by morgott the grace given. I have killed morgotts replacement in the randomizer but it hasn't unlocked the seal. Do I need to track down morgott and kill him or is there a way around this
submitted by Targarian67 to EldenRingHelp [link] [comments]
2023.06.01 19:40 bleachisback Elden Ring - The Vinyl COllection
 | submitted by bleachisback to VinylReleases [link] [comments] |
2023.06.01 19:40 DietrichVanMeier 23 M Europe - History and Literature Enthusiast
Hi. I'm looking to talk to new people, maybe make a friend
They are:
History, especially the 19th-20th century but with more broad and general knowedge in other time periods. I'm not an expert or anything but I am pretty passionate about it and tend to read/listen about one event or the other on a pretty regular basis.
Literature, especially old novels. I recently read Demian (my all time favourite book), Day of the Oprichnik, Heart of Darkness, the Perfume and Little Prince. Currently started reading Blood Meridian. Some of my other favourite works would include: "The Picture of Dorian Gray", "Faust part I" (need to get to part II) and "No Longer Human". I also like to write short stories and book reviews. I'd also really like to read the same book with someone and discuss it. For reference my next book will probably be Oliver Twist
Languages. I know three, with one being a bit rusty. I'm currently working to scrape off the rust and then when I'm finished with that will begin to learn a fourth language. It's fun to go through different works in multiple languages. For example, I read the aforementioned Faust part I in all three.
Games. I recently played Cyberpunk 2077. Now that the dust has settled and the bugs mostly removed...It's not that bad! The main questline at least, Fallout 76 (Very average, I'm dissapointed with what they made the "RPG" system) and will try out Deus Ex Manking Divided again ( Got inspired since it's somewhat similar to Cyberpunk). I was waiting to play Elden Ring but it ended being too stressful for me. Go here and get beaten up go there and get beaten up, repeat...Besides that I'm a big fan of Paradox strategy games...like EU IV and HoI IV (also thinking of making my own project for HoI IV). I am definitely looking forward to try out Victoria III, after they add more content to it. I also got Modern Warfare 2, since the first MW had great multiplayer gameplay.
Anime and Manga. In recent times my interest has waned but I still watch the occasional series here and there. Like Cyberpunk Edgerunners (Which I found to be rather mediocre) and the very good new season of Bleach. Some other favourites include: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Death Note, Fate;Zero, Psycho Pass , Higurashi (season 2 is a bit weak but the first one is a masterpiece of horror), Code Geass, Attack on Titan and others. My favourite Manga is Berserk...I hope it gets a good ending..the first couple of new chapters were...a bit rough but the new author seems to have got his footing.
Anyway, that should be enough information to give you a good picture... Before I go, I would like to ask for you to include the title of the last book you read in your reply. A small request, I feel. I'll be ignoring those that don't.
submitted by DietrichVanMeier to MakeNewFriendsHere [link] [comments]
They are:
History, especially the 19th-20th century but with more broad and general knowedge in other time periods. I'm not an expert or anything but I am pretty passionate about it and tend to read/listen about one event or the other on a pretty regular basis.
Literature, especially old novels. I recently read Demian (my all time favourite book), Day of the Oprichnik, Heart of Darkness, the Perfume and Little Prince. Currently started reading Blood Meridian. Some of my other favourite works would include: "The Picture of Dorian Gray", "Faust part I" (need to get to part II) and "No Longer Human". I also like to write short stories and book reviews. I'd also really like to read the same book with someone and discuss it. For reference my next book will probably be Oliver Twist
Languages. I know three, with one being a bit rusty. I'm currently working to scrape off the rust and then when I'm finished with that will begin to learn a fourth language. It's fun to go through different works in multiple languages. For example, I read the aforementioned Faust part I in all three.
Games. I recently played Cyberpunk 2077. Now that the dust has settled and the bugs mostly removed...It's not that bad! The main questline at least, Fallout 76 (Very average, I'm dissapointed with what they made the "RPG" system) and will try out Deus Ex Manking Divided again ( Got inspired since it's somewhat similar to Cyberpunk). I was waiting to play Elden Ring but it ended being too stressful for me. Go here and get beaten up go there and get beaten up, repeat...Besides that I'm a big fan of Paradox strategy games...like EU IV and HoI IV (also thinking of making my own project for HoI IV). I am definitely looking forward to try out Victoria III, after they add more content to it. I also got Modern Warfare 2, since the first MW had great multiplayer gameplay.
Anime and Manga. In recent times my interest has waned but I still watch the occasional series here and there. Like Cyberpunk Edgerunners (Which I found to be rather mediocre) and the very good new season of Bleach. Some other favourites include: Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood, Death Note, Fate;Zero, Psycho Pass , Higurashi (season 2 is a bit weak but the first one is a masterpiece of horror), Code Geass, Attack on Titan and others. My favourite Manga is Berserk...I hope it gets a good ending..the first couple of new chapters were...a bit rough but the new author seems to have got his footing.
Anyway, that should be enough information to give you a good picture... Before I go, I would like to ask for you to include the title of the last book you read in your reply. A small request, I feel. I'll be ignoring those that don't.
2023.06.01 19:30 MDiggy_ Elden Ring Vinyl Collection back in stock in NA
https://store.bandainamcoent.com/elden-ring-the-vinyl-collection/
Edit: seems like it sold out almost immediately. For the record when I first clicked the link in the email it said OOS, I refreshed a couple of times and then it let me order it. Either the site is glitchy or there were extremely low quantities.
submitted by MDiggy_ to VGMvinyl [link] [comments]
Edit: seems like it sold out almost immediately. For the record when I first clicked the link in the email it said OOS, I refreshed a couple of times and then it let me order it. Either the site is glitchy or there were extremely low quantities.
2023.06.01 19:30 Axent_Gray I got tired of waiting for the Excalibur mod to appear in Elden Ring, so I had to make it myself.
 | submitted by Axent_Gray to grandorder [link] [comments] |
2023.06.01 19:29 Teamskywalker14 What do I need to know before I play?
Elden ring will be my first souls game so i just want to know the basics of these types of games. What are runes? What do I do with them? Use of flasks, and what do sights of grace mean. Things like that.
submitted by Teamskywalker14 to Eldenring [link] [comments]
2023.06.01 19:28 milo6464 Game that feels like Zelda, but with deeper lore
So I have been playing TOTK recently and it has been great fun! But I sometimes wish the lore was a bit more developed. The story is quite simple, but I like the atmosphere a lot. So are there any games that feel like Zelda (they can be both classic Zeldas and the new ones), but have some more lore put into them?
Games I played that you might want to suggest:
submitted by milo6464 to gamingsuggestions [link] [comments]
Games I played that you might want to suggest:
- Elden Ring: I mean, duh.
- Outer Wilds
- Darksiders (I didn't like it too much)
2023.06.01 19:22 MisterG1415 $5k First Build - Monitor Already Selected
What will you be doing with this PC? Be as specific as possible, and include specific games or programs you will be using.Gaming: CSGO & CS2; MW2; Elden Ring; Squad; Battlefield; Apex; Planetside 2; Insurgency Sandstorm; etc...
What is your maximum budget before rebates/shipping/taxes?$5,000
When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Note: beyond a week or two from today means any build you receive will be out of date when you want to buy.ASAP
What, exactly, do you need included in the budget? (ToweOS/monitokeyboard/mouse/etc)I have already picked out the monitor that I need included in the budget, it is $1,050: https://pcpartpicker.com/product/MC3gXL/asus-rog-swift-360hz-pg27aqn-270-2560-x-1440-360-hz-monitor-90lm0820-b01370
Which country (and state/province) will you be purchasing the parts in? If you're in US, do you have access to a Microcenter location?Atx, I have the Dallas & Houston Microcenters both 3 hours away.
If reusing any parts (including monitor(s)/keyboard/mouse/etc), what parts will you be reusing? Brands and models are appreciated.I have a Bluetooth headset and mouse, a wired mic and keyboard, and a second monitor I'll be using.
Will you be overclocking? If yes, are you interested in overclocking right away, or down the line? CPU and/or GPU?Interested in doing it down the line but would appreciate a build that doesn't need it for most games.
Are there any specific features or items you want/need in the build? (ex: SSD, large amount of storage or a RAID setup, CUDA or OpenCL support, etc)Just a 4090 and the 7900X3D or 7800X3D if it will help save money that can be used on other components.
What type of network connectivity do you need? (Wired and/or WiFi) If WiFi is needed and you would like to find the fastest match for your wireless router, please list any specifics.Wired, WiFi, and Bluetooth.
Do you have any specific case preferences (Size like ITX/microATX/mid-towefull-tower, styles, colors, window or not, LED lighting, etc), or a particular color theme preference for the components?Nothing huge but nothing too small. I hate seeing cramped PCs, especially with the 4090. So probably mid-tower to full-tower. Big fan of minimalist, clean, themed looks and I dislike a ton of RGB.
Do you need a copy of Windows included in the budget? If you do need one included, do you have a preference?Yes Windows 11 Home (64-bit) via USB is the best and easiest I think.
Extra info or particulars:Thank you guys so much, I can't wait to build it and post pics! :)
2023.06.01 19:15 duwapkain [PS5] H:re4, re2, spider-man remaster, W:Elden ring, The last of us part 1, The last of us Part 2
If you have any of them I'm down :)
submitted by duwapkain to PS4GameShare [link] [comments]
2023.06.01 18:49 No_Entertainer_3145 22m with various interests looking for someone to talk with
Heyo, I'm going to try posting a longer post (again).
So, I'm a 22 year old guy living in Italy and I was looking forward to meet and talk with people from this sub.
What could I tell you about myself?
I like gaming, I do play multiple kinds of games (both off and online). I have played games like League of Legends, Elden Ring, Red Dead Redemption 2, a bunch of other RPGs and idk, feel free to ask.
I enjoy watching series/movies (even though not really frequently). I have absolutely loved Breaking Bad, I also have watched Peaky Blinders and some other series, I don't watch that many movies but I've been watching the Harry Potter saga lately (finished it, too).
I enjoy learning different stuff or skills that may or may not be helpful to me
I enjoy music a lot, I listen to a lot of music during my day, mostly in the background while I'm studying/working on something and I enjoy rap/hip hop a lot, also like pop but I do enjoy a lot of different genres. I like listening to instrumentals too at times and I absolutely love pianos (was even looking forward to learning how to play it one day, who knows)
I like water.
That's pretty much it, thank you for reading all of this.
submitted by No_Entertainer_3145 to MakeNewFriendsHere [link] [comments]
So, I'm a 22 year old guy living in Italy and I was looking forward to meet and talk with people from this sub.
What could I tell you about myself?
I like gaming, I do play multiple kinds of games (both off and online). I have played games like League of Legends, Elden Ring, Red Dead Redemption 2, a bunch of other RPGs and idk, feel free to ask.
I enjoy watching series/movies (even though not really frequently). I have absolutely loved Breaking Bad, I also have watched Peaky Blinders and some other series, I don't watch that many movies but I've been watching the Harry Potter saga lately (finished it, too).
I enjoy learning different stuff or skills that may or may not be helpful to me
I enjoy music a lot, I listen to a lot of music during my day, mostly in the background while I'm studying/working on something and I enjoy rap/hip hop a lot, also like pop but I do enjoy a lot of different genres. I like listening to instrumentals too at times and I absolutely love pianos (was even looking forward to learning how to play it one day, who knows)
I like water.
That's pretty much it, thank you for reading all of this.
2023.06.01 18:45 harrienak4 SIB Fallout 76
Hey there, My fallout 4 playthrough has almost hit 100% achievements and i enjoyed it. Now i've heard the dumpsterfire release on Fallout 76 but i've also heard they fixed alot of things. I've already played new vegas and 3. i really love the exploration, games like elden ring and zelda are amazing as well. my main question is: is the game actually fun, is there enough to do. the whole "make your own adventure" does not appeal to me at all. i like to have some talk with NPCS, companions and do quests. Im also not planning on playing with friends, so am i going to enjoy a more multiplayer fallout?
if the verdict is no, feel free to recommend other games, i've played a lot already though.
submitted by harrienak4 to ShouldIbuythisgame [link] [comments]
if the verdict is no, feel free to recommend other games, i've played a lot already though.
2023.06.01 18:43 SER96DON I'm looking for nerdy gaming buddies. (M27)
No, seriously, you read that correctly.
(The age restriction tag was selected automatically. Just ignore it.)
I am looking for people to nerd out with. Oh, I'm not looking for gaming partners. I don't really play online. Just people who like RPGs and like to dive into the backstory and lore of each world. People who spend an unhealthy amount of time to form fan theories that are ultimately batshit crazy and are easily debunked one game later. I'm not being sarcastic or anything, I do that too lol. I'm looking for people who may want to talk about, I don't know, Elder Scrolls or Dragon's Dogma and stuff. Also, I got DA:Inquisition installed and just never really got into it. Convince me to play it! And, I once tried Elden Ring but didn't really get into it for various reasons. Convince me to try it again!
Age and gender does not matter, seriously (as long as you're like over 20 or something). I have, however, mentioned mine in case it matters to you:)
Also, while I'm totally a nerd, I'm also a working adult, so please be patient as I work everyday day. No, really, every single day. Yes, Sundays too. Yes, 7 days a week. Yes, 56 hours a week minimum. I live in a third world country.😅 It sucks but it is what it is. Though, the job itself is quite fun sometimes, since I work the night shift as a waiter at a sushi bar!
But if you aren't a nerd and are still looking for a friend, you can shoot a message as well:) I'm a musician and write/sing/play my own music. I also love psychology and sociology, and like examining human behaviour in general (warning: I'm fairly "cynical".. though I prefer the term "realist" instead). I also-also love animals. My little canine sister, Emily, is the reason I'm holding on right now.🙃 I also-also-also love astronomy. But you know, I'm a musician, so it's not like I understand much about the laws of the universe lol.
..
And, since we're here.. If you are a female vocalist, preferably soprano ranged, who speaks either Portuguese, English or Japanese, and are interested in Gothic Metal music, let's collaborate. I'm looking to experiment with languages other than English and I found out that I really love the way Portuguese and Japanese sound. I also kinda like French, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here haha.
Also, if you are suffering from deρression and need someone to talk to, hit me up.
..
You- You seriously read this far!? Thank you, but come on, you're clearly at the very least mildly interested, so what're you waiting for?
submitted by SER96DON to MakeNewFriendsHere [link] [comments]
(The age restriction tag was selected automatically. Just ignore it.)
I am looking for people to nerd out with. Oh, I'm not looking for gaming partners. I don't really play online. Just people who like RPGs and like to dive into the backstory and lore of each world. People who spend an unhealthy amount of time to form fan theories that are ultimately batshit crazy and are easily debunked one game later. I'm not being sarcastic or anything, I do that too lol. I'm looking for people who may want to talk about, I don't know, Elder Scrolls or Dragon's Dogma and stuff. Also, I got DA:Inquisition installed and just never really got into it. Convince me to play it! And, I once tried Elden Ring but didn't really get into it for various reasons. Convince me to try it again!
Age and gender does not matter, seriously (as long as you're like over 20 or something). I have, however, mentioned mine in case it matters to you:)
Also, while I'm totally a nerd, I'm also a working adult, so please be patient as I work everyday day. No, really, every single day. Yes, Sundays too. Yes, 7 days a week. Yes, 56 hours a week minimum. I live in a third world country.😅 It sucks but it is what it is. Though, the job itself is quite fun sometimes, since I work the night shift as a waiter at a sushi bar!
***happy modern slavery noises***..
But if you aren't a nerd and are still looking for a friend, you can shoot a message as well:) I'm a musician and write/sing/play my own music. I also love psychology and sociology, and like examining human behaviour in general (warning: I'm fairly "cynical".. though I prefer the term "realist" instead). I also-also love animals. My little canine sister, Emily, is the reason I'm holding on right now.🙃 I also-also-also love astronomy. But you know, I'm a musician, so it's not like I understand much about the laws of the universe lol.
..
And, since we're here.. If you are a female vocalist, preferably soprano ranged, who speaks either Portuguese, English or Japanese, and are interested in Gothic Metal music, let's collaborate. I'm looking to experiment with languages other than English and I found out that I really love the way Portuguese and Japanese sound. I also kinda like French, but let's not get ahead of ourselves here haha.
Also, if you are suffering from deρression and need someone to talk to, hit me up.
..
You- You seriously read this far!? Thank you, but come on, you're clearly at the very least mildly interested, so what're you waiting for?