That night before the funeral and the Rainman ritual, the Braves find themselves in the bachelor's tent, surrounded by the clan's unmarried men who question the braves about their patrol and revel in the tales of bravery.

Whilst the Kumiss flows and the boasts get wilder Kaonu stands, wobbling slightly from the drink, shushing everyone…

"Hey, hey!…Quiet!...We have some unsettled business to attend to…A matter of words and deeds and a certain set of armour!"

The other men present look bewildered at this, though the party realise immediately what he's talking about.

"A drinking contest was suggested…And then a head butting bout..."

 *Huge cheers*

"Though I have said that it would be better to face a trial of the Three Rivals….

What say you my brothers and sister?

A short contest.

A trial set by each Rival….The winner taking the armour….The loser accepting our jaunts."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 13:16, Tue 05 Nov 2013.

Kaonu goes to stand in front of Greeshar and Kobal, arms akimbo….

"So…Will you face our tests? Set by Rave, Sun Hawk and Thunder Bird?"

The brave points to Melock, Fireborn and Amara as he mentions the three rivals by name.

Amara rose from where she was seated. "Thunderbird, is the bird which watches over us all. Strong in battle, loud in boasts, wise in healing." Amara paused for a few moments. "Your challenge for Thunderbird is also threefold. Each of you shall fight to the first touch and no more with me. The first to do so wins the round. Each of you shall boast of your proudest accomplishment the winner to be decided to the rest of us. The last task is to make a healing mixture of your choice, the winner to be decided by the potency and by the clan shaman."

Foreborn steps forward with six blunted javelins. He hands three to each Kobal and Greeshar.

For the test of the Sunhawk rival, you will stand at 30 paces. Each of you have 3 javelins. You will cast them at each other, you may not move your body or feet. You will accept the incoming javelin guided by your rivals throwing arm as it flies. If you move, you lose. If neither of you move than the one with the most hit's wins, if there is a tie you continue throwing until that tie is broken.

Melock waits for the others to finish, then stands up, with a gleam in his eye and a smile on his face  Right, my challenge is for Greeshar to take something from outside Wahan Yellow Bulls tent and place it outside Wild Bucks tent and Kobal you have to do the opposite, but not the same item, without getting caught. If you both manage it the winner is who's ever swapped item is noticed missing first, if you both fail then its who ever got furthest along the challenge. Your not allowed to ask them for it and your not allowed to point out the swap. Clear?
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 17:24, Tue 05 Nov 2013.

Greeshar stands up, a big grin on his face, and clasps Kaonu's hand firmly.

“Of course, I accept the challenge! Have I not said so? Are you ready, Kobal?”

He puffs out his chest, and listens carefully to the suggested trials. He grins at his sister, and steps back a bit onto a clear area of ground.

“Come, Amara, you are first. Quick and slender you may be, but I can touch you sooner than Kobal! Come and see my triumph!”

Light on his feet, he waits for Amara to signal her readiness, and then he will lunge for her.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:35, Tue 05 Nov 2013.

Amara smiled as she rose to her feet. Dusting off her clothing and armour, she set herself in front of her brother. "May Thunderbird grant victory to the strongest." she smirked as she glanced at her brother. "Rest assured I will make it easy on you."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:02, Tue 05 Nov 2013.

Kaonu listens to each set of trials offered by the three Feathered Rivals and then turns to the gathered bachelors in the tent, looking to them for approval.

"Aye in true Thunder Bird style an unarmed fight to begin with, followed by windy boasts. The final test can use herbs I've gathered to make a poultice, but it should be judged by us I think. Let's keep the elders out of our business tonight."

The braves cheer and drum their shields, momentarily drowning out the noisy rain.

"Then three thrown javelins, not dodged for Sun Hawk's test of accuracy, before the two men must take to the shadows doing Raven's crafty work…."

"So Kobal are you game? It seems that Greeshar is up and ready…"

Amara?  She is his sister!  But when he thinks further, Kobal realises Well, Greeshar could argue that my brothers choose the other two trials.

As he listens to each brave's tests, though, Kobal starts to feel a bit worried.

Fight Amara?  But Greeshar knows her style!

Hurl javelins at each other?  Is this a duel to the death?!

Take something from the Wild Bucks' tent?  I'm so tall, how can they fail to notice me?

But it is too late:





"Ha!  I am not afraid.  I have been counting the times that Yelm rises and sets until we returned to clans so that I could beat you."

Kobal stretches out his arm and points at Greeshar, making sure to cast his voice loud enough for all in the tent to hear.  "Longhorn, you insulted my mother when last we were in this tent.  Now you will pay for your insult!  I, at least, know who my mother is!"  He grins broadly at the rhino rider.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:41, Wed 06 Nov 2013.

Kaonu nods at the two rhino riders indicating that they should begin, a space is made about the fire, surrounded by grinning, jostling braves. There's cat calls, whistles and the Kumiss is passed freely.

For the moment the coming funeral and Rain man ritual are put to one side as all present love a bit of competition….

"I say the Rhino Rider will win"

"Get stuffed you Llama lover, Kobal's our man…I bet you my second favourite spear"

"Yer on!"

And so forth…..

Smarting from Kobal's remark, but not showing it, Greeshar waits as Amara approaches. He watches her carefully in the firelight. 'She's not the little girl she was, giggling and squealing as we chased each other,' he thinks to himself with a touch of longing. 'Now she knows how to survive.' Without warning, he lunges at his sister's lithe form, and as she attempts to duck out of the way, he manages to tap her smartly on the shoulder. Both appear a bit surprised at the result, but Greeshar nods his head in acknowledgment, and while he wants to hug her, he gives her a warrior's respect instead. They return to the fire, and his eyes meet Kobal's.

When it is time for him to speak, he stands again. “I shall speak now of how I faced the dread Tripanandar, and won,” he says simply. “We arrived at his place, full of the spirit of Tada, runes crawling on our naked skin. Bearing my White Lance, I strode bravely in among the shadows and stone. The smell of death in the air, I knew the foe was within. Catching a glimpse of the foul spirit, I ran towards where I had seen him. In that time, he had leapt above, and now pounced down upon my comrades. I charged, and felt the Lance strike deep, a death-blow. The giant leaping bear sank to its knees, and expired, exhaling foul magics. I stood above the beaten foe, and knew I had struck down a great enemy. I was Tada, and I was Greeshar Longhorn.” He sits again, but notices with dismay that his words have not entranced his audience. 'I am no great speaker,' he admits, 'and perhaps I should've mentioned Hacha's part, he's their man. But I honestly didn't notice him!'

When Kaonu presents the herbs, Greeshar selects his with great care. He knows which should be freshest, which should be dried well; but in the light he has some trouble focusing, and isn't quite positive he has made the best choices. He mixes some fat in, and finally presents his poultice for inspection, but even he can see that something isn't right. He sighs, hoping only that Kobal does worse. 'At least I was able to heal him, when it counted,' he thinks to himself.

And when it is time, he takes his place opposite Kobal, javelins in hand. 'I think I drank more than I should've,' he thinks, 'And I am still unfamiliar with these bison-rider sticks.' Nonetheless, he takes the blunted javelins and throws them, one after another, trusting to luck, or gods. But alas, the gods are not his, and his javelins all go astray, especially the last one. His resolve firm, he stands as still as stone while Kobal throws, staring into the man's eyes as well as he can. Fortunately, the bison brave's throws miss him as well, and he nods quickly in a brief acknowledgment to his opponent.

And then it is time to become one with the shadows. He leaves the firelight and approaches his target, Yellow Bull's tent. Outside he see the warrior has left his moccasins. He creeps up, but scatters some gravel and he hears the man stirring within the tent! Grabbing the footwear, he makes a dash but hears his victim at the tent flap, so Greeshar dives behind an outcropping and freezes. 'One with the ground,' he thinks, and Yellow Bull returns to his rest. But as he arrives at Wild Buck's tent, he is caught setting his bundle down. “What's this?” asks the astonished warrior. “Foolishness and nonsense! These are not mine, they are for a small man!” With laughter, the man claps Greeshar upon the back, sending him off into the night. “Get some rest, or do rhinos skip sleep?” Greeshar returns to the bachelors' tent, hoping that his performance will turn out better than Kobal's.

Kobal watches as the first trial is held.  In particular, he watches how Amara moves, hoping to gain an advantage from the opportunity from going second.  Quick.  Maybe I can use that against her.  But Greeshar manages to touch her on the first attempt.  Hmm, this'll be hard.

He steps forward, assumes a slight crouch before Amara, keeping light on his feet, sizing her up, ready to spring forward, as the two start to circle.  As they circle, he slowly inches forward, hoping she won't notice him shortening the distance between them.  Then a leap straight at her centre - but suddenly she's not there, and skipping back and to the side.

Dammit!  He turns quickly to face her again.  Amara had been more relaxed then.  It was clear that Greeshar had won this trial.  But I'll get her yet.  Amara, realising that Kobal intends to continue, resumes her readiness, watching him intently.

A feint to the left, sudden reversal and attack from the right.  Amara, suddenly caught with her feet crossed, is like a startled deer, unable to evade.  Except, Kobal rolls his ankle, even his own body caught by the abrupt change in direction.  He tumbles to the dirt.  Red-faced, he gets up and dusts himself off, face grim, not looking at anyone in particular, but daring anyone to laugh.  "Enough of this!"

Then it is time for storytelling.  He too, tells of the battle with Tripanandar.  But first he sets the atmosphere - the shadows among the rocks, the terror lurking beyond the feeble light of flickering torches, the foul stench of decay, the menacing growls that seem to come from all directions echoing in the place, the braves' hairs on end sensing the powers called to this ancient place.  Then the fight begins in a whirlwind of fearsome swinging claws and snarling bared fangs.  A mighty hurl of his javelin and the leaping bear's mate is pinned to the ground by Kobal.  Immobile, he and Kaonu soon make short work of her.  Elsewhere, Hacha Lor is facing another himself, but suffers a great gash across his face.  Then climatic battle of all against Tripanandar.  The roars of defiance from both sides, the size of the beast, Hacha's fall, the lances sinking into the leaping bear, swords rise and flash down.  Victory!  Exhaustion...  Tragedy.

Kobal looks around.  He knows he has captured his audience.

Time for the poultices.  Kobal selects the herbs he needs, rolls and crushes them, adds honey, and mixes further.  Finished, he steps back to allow the judging.  Too late, he realises as he steps back I forgot to grate the betel leaf!  There's no helping it now.  He keeps his face cool, hoping the judges won't notice this detail, but they do...

Taking up three javelins, he walks to his mark, turns and faces Greeshar.  The rhino rider hurls his javelins.  Kobal stands tense, trying to be firm, yet ready to dodge aside if Greeshar throws true.  A javelin flying at you is always a serious thing.  But he smiles as they all go wide of the mark.  Now's my chance!  He feels the weight of his javelin and throws.  Too short!  He imagines catching the arrogant rhino rider in the thigh.  Heh heh.  Second javelin.  Off to the left!  Dammit!  We are looking like fools!  He tries not to think of the smiles on the faces of those watching.  Look only at the stupid Longhorn!  I had hoped Eight Sable and the others had been here to see me challenge Greeshar and beat him, but now it's probably best that the older braves are not here.  The third throw is even worse than the first two.  He stalks off, studiously avoiding the gaze of any brave, and definitely not looking at Greeshar.

I must win this final test!  He approaches the Wild Bucks' tent, and when he gets close enough, he takes more care to be light on his feet, making sure with each step to feel with his toes before planting each foot, to ensure no sound is made.  He spies a pot outside the tent and makes for it.  In his eagerness to reach his target, he hears the snap of a twig under the middle of his left foot.  Stepping quickly onto his right, he groans inside as he hears the stones shift underfoot.  He's about to reach down to pick up the pot, when he looks around and sees a brave near the tent, looking at him.  He gives a weak smile and pretends to walk off until the brave loses interest.  Collecting the pot shortly afterwards, he makes his way to the Yellow Bulls' tent.  Again, he's about to set down the pot, when a voice calls out behind him "What are you doing?  Whose is that?"  Dejected, Kobal makes his way back to the bachelors' tent to await judgement.  Stupid Raven trial!  How's a big guy like me supposed to sneak around?  I only hope Greeshar did worse.  Headbutting.  That is how real men do things!
This message was last edited by the player at 08:37, Fri 08 Nov 2013.

Despite the competitor's fears, the crowd of braves, which also include many older men, cheer happily and without much distaste at the two young men's failings.

Greeshar's first win it met with loud applause as is Kobal's well received tale of combat. They'd already heard it a dozen times from a half dozen different mouths but it was getting better with every telling.

Even Amara received her share of accolades, lacking their normal drunken ribaldry, now undoubtedly an equal amongst her peers.

Empty skins begun to get hurled about the tent and two separate fights broke out with Melock deftly tripping the brawlers and tipping them out into the rain.

Their poultices were examined minutely, judged not worthy of much and then smeared over one sleeping brave's face.

It was getting loud….

Next Javelins flew hither and thither, bouncing this way and that. Most present wouldn't have fared any better with the amount of piss they'd sunk.

The two men had kicked an ancient spirit where it hurt, who cared if they were too drunk to hit a Bison at five paces?

Then they vanished into the noisy rain, followed by a handful of faithful supporters, who probably helped their failure due to their noise and drunken antics.

The rest stayed behind firing the practice javelins at each other, until Kaono threatened to punch the next one in the face. Unused to the normally polite brave loosing his cool they settled down, until the announcement of Greeshar's win.

Kaonu presented the winners trophy of the ancient cuirass and it's matching vambraces, helping to tie them on the Rhino warrior's burly frame.

Then both men were paraded around on shoulders, the rest of the night becoming typically blurred and painful…...

Greeshar, his head buzzing, is quite surprised at the unexpected support of the bison riders. He clasps hands with the members of his band, and gives his sister Amara a hug. Picked up and paraded, his bemused expression remains until he finally reaches his sleeping mat. 'Well, maybe it was the drink,' he thinks as he drifts off to sleep, 'But then again, maybe I have become more accepted.'

Kobal's disappointment matches Greeshar's elation.  He hangs his head.  It had been a close trial, but he had to admit that the rhino rider had shaded him.  When he catches the brave's gaze, he nods to the youth in acknowledgment, perhaps not ready to do more at this stage, when the loss hurts.  Next time.  I'll beat him next time...

He looks on wistfully at they bestow the armour on Greeshar.

But he's surprised to be lifted and carried about, as if a champion too, instead of his back being slapped in commiseration.
This message was last edited by the player at 09:21, Sat 09 Nov 2013.

Fireborn lays q hand on each of the braves...to Greeshar..."Well fought brother! Youd eserve the armor for your performance. We will not discuss the javelins again with either of you though!"

He turns a sympathetic eye towards Kobal and says..."Sometiems you get the leaping bear and sometimes the leaping bear gets you. We all have our days."