Whatever poor saps that had put stock in the romantic tales of knights in gleaming armor stopped doing such this morning.  No story ever revealed the mud, the sweat, and the bruises that were endured to simply earn the opportunity to learn.  Andel rubbed his knee, on which had appeared a large blotch of grisly purple.  He poked at it and winced.  Failing to dodge the low strike from the staff had been a rather amateur mistake, in retrospect.  For someone whose strengths lie in his agility, failure to recognize such an attack and promptly respond in time could be fatal in a true fight.  Moving further down his leg, Andel examined the multitude of scratches and scrapes that had accumulated as the result of his previous injury.  All minor inconveniences -- just a smart from them here and again -- but it was a pity that they could have been avoided had he possessed the ability to jump and maneuver.

He sighed and unrolled the legs of his trousers.  All things considered, the first test was not so difficult.  Of course a knight would require endurance and, more importantly, perseverance.  A long morning run through arrows and staves was practically pleasant compared to a real battle, where blood and death reigned.  Still, Andel was somewhat disappointed at the lack of achievement he felt.  Maybe he thought he would make it through much better off than he did -- more like that blonde recruit had.  Maybe Andel's lack of swelling pride was a result of his exhaustion, and he'd find it tomorrow, along with the inevitable aches of strenuous exercise.  His thoughts paused for a moment as he noticed the Lord Commander appear before all the recruits and begin to speak.

Weapons and armor, eh?  That was something to get excited about.  Andel wasn't unfamiliar with weaponry; his family traded in them occasionally.  Back when he was a child, Andel would oft pester the sailors to explain what each one was called and how it was used.  Not that he gained any real insight into their techniques at the time.  More often than not, they'd said to him something along the lines of "Yer too young a lad to know about men cutting each other down."  And send him along.  He lightly snorted at the memory.  It would have been better to lose his innocence then than by finding out what his family was doing.  Andel limped into the queue for outfitting.  He had some idea as to the type of weapon he wanted.  Swords suited his physique and ability.  Axes and maces and clubs all required more strength than he had to wield efficiently, and spears or halberds, well, he didn't find them interesting.  A rather petty reason not to look into them, but if you're going to be holding a tool for killing, it might as well be one that strikes your fancy and your enemies at the same time, no?

He reached the front of the line and took a look at the man in front of him.  Andel hadn't spoken to Xan all that much, nor did he know much about him other than the usual tidbits of info that floated around the recruits.  But Andel was holding up the line; getting friendly could wait.

[color=f26522]"Well met, Xan.  I was considering a sword."[/color]