aionlogs | Kenoma Team Training

WHO: The Kenoma
WHAT: Training Activities
WHERE: Starts at the Citadel, varies per activity
WHEN: Starting on 6/4
WARNINGS: None yet...?

After a period of relative quiet, the Kenoma will receive a Communion post of utmost importance:

"Good day, everyone. This is Ciel. We may have received a passing grade from the Regent following the events in Venera, but they have sorely underlined how ill-prepared we were for a proper mission on Horos. Emet-Selch, Eustace, and I are in agreement, thus we have organized a series of training and teambuilding exercises. We ask that you all please attend, there will be... prizes."

OVERVIEW

When trainees arrive in the Courtyard after the Communion, a plethora of training activities await them.

The courtyard itself is sectioned off into areas, one for each training activity for the day. The activities vary from one subject to another, and still manage to be related to their tasks as a Kenoma while still leaving room for "fun". Weapons training, tag, survival training, and strength training are all provided. Kenoma is also welcome to spar on their own if they so choose. (This is not included as a specific prompt to avoid too much PVP, but you can add it in a TL if you like.)

Instructions on each activity will be provided to the participant before they begin. For those who can’t participate or choose to show up for moral support or to dodge the activities, water will be provided so that you may gossip around the proverbial "water cooler".

Each of the three trainers are on hand in some capacity or another to provide instructions on that activity or training on a specific skill.

These exercises can be done at any point and do not necessarily have to be done on a training day with the group. Characters can return after the crowd has dispersed to train on their own or with a chosen individual. The equipment will still be there and trainers (or fellow Kenoma) can be brought here at their leisure.

I. WEAPONS TRAINING

Racks of weapons are lined up on the far side of the courtyard. These range from swords to polearms and rather sizable knives to swords and tonfas. Feel free to grab a weapon of your choosing and have a trainer engage you to show you how to use it. Or, if they have experience, other students may also advise you!

The intent is to train on the proper use of several types of weapons and how to wield them effectively. It may also delve into how to most efficiently disable/neutralize/injure someone in a fight, depending on which teacher you wind up with.

II. AGILITY

There is an open part of the field that has been roped off specifically for...tag! Rope bridges, mud pits, chest-high walls of rock, and even a large wall of ice (?!) dot the field to give people plenty of places to hide and run. (If you would like your own obstacle, feel free to comment to ask so we can make sure it’s within reason of what our characters could do.)

Participants will be provided with a waxy paint to put on their hands which will stain whatever person it comes in contact with with a very luminescent purple glitter. (It washes out, of course!) The last person standing will get a prize of…dubious worth.

Now get running!

III. SURVIVAL

There’s two locations for this: the outdoor courtyard closest to the main citadel kitchen, and the kitchen itself.

For the outdoor location, bundles of tree branches and firewood are provided if needed, students are expected to start their own fire and cook wild game with what they foraged.

A - Foraging
Time for a field trip to the mountains and woods outside Achamoth! Students will be taught basic survival skills including: first aid without the use of magic, how to find and create shelter from natural terrain, how to identify and forage for food that is safe to eat, and how to create traps to catch wild game. Yes, you too can experience the joy of floor meat!

All foraged supplies can subsequently be used for Home Ec cooking lessons.

B - Home Ec
For the kitchen, there's a dedicated area where several Aions at once could attempt cooking with utensils and more elaborate ingredients. There are some servants keeping an eye out just in case and could be flagged down for help or assistance if requested/needed, but otherwise, Aions are free to make use of everything available to their own ends. Is this really useful for "training"? Cooking is a science that shapes and nourishes both body and soul, of course, it's important enough to have a part in the curriculum!

IV. STRENGTH

Step up to the starting line with one partner. One person will carry the other across a small section of the course to the finish line at the opposite end. There are a few minor obstacles such as walls and puddles. Nothing that you have to put too much effort into getting around. The person who can see will guide the person carrying them to the finish line using only their voice. Try not to bump into anything.

If you feel *really* ambitious, extra weights will be provided. Or you can forgo the rules and carry two people (or more?). Your choice, really.

V. REFRESHMENTS

For those who are not athletically inclined - or claim not to be athletically inclined - a large chunk of ice with refreshments dotted throughout awaits you on the sidelines. They will take a little effort to free them. Most will be freed with a little pull while others are completely encased in ice and may not be worth the effort.

Feel free to hand out refreshments, gossip about the participants, or scheme to your hearts' content.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I served the church of Abadar—Judge of the Gods, and Master of the First Vault.

[His voice takes on a wistful quality as he thinks about the faith he’s left behind. As far as he knows, he’s the only survivor of his entire world, which means that Abadar’s faith now lives exclusively in his own memories. Although his memories of many things about his life have soured since his exposure to the Kenoma, the ideals of his god remain steadfast and untarnished in his heart.]

He was the patron of cities, law, and commerce, so his clergy’s duties involved assisting the orderly development of cities and the flow of wealth.

Ah, we had an Archon similar to your god. He was more referred to as the God of Contracts, but he was still seen as the patron of commerce and all that.

[ something tells him that this is a delicate subject. at least one that doesn't surprise him entirely, since they all have something in common — losing what they once knew and loved, and everyone deals with it differently. kaeya speaks about the archon of liyue in a more matter-of-fact manner, but he knows if he'd been asked about barbatos instead, then it likely would have been a different scenario. ]

Do you intend to hold onto your god's ideals here?

[Liem listens, comforted in some small way to hear that Kaeya's land has its own similar kind of god. He's met people here from a number of different worlds, with a variety of different religions—most of which seemed to bear no resemblance to his own. The ease with which Kaeya seems to grasp Abadar's role puts him just slightly more at ease.]

I do. I spent weeks thinking about it after I was brought here, but ultimately, I think I have to.

[That question had preoccupied him for most of the time leading up to the plague of the Innocent, but after travelling to Venera and facing its troubles, he'd come to a realization.]

If I wasn't meant to carry Abadar's light with me even here, I wouldn't have been the one to be reborn in that shrine. The Regent would have summoned someone else. So I have to believe that what I dedicated my life to on Golarion is in some way what the Kenoma needs.

[ something about the way liem talks about his perspective gives kaeya pause, making him stop half-way into another step forward. it's just as well. there's a tricky obstacle up ahead so he has to take his time anyway, even more so that he's trying to digest something that he hadn't even considered before. ]

When you put it that way... it makes sense. We all have our part to play.

[ kaeya isn't a believer of the gods himself, having come from the one nation that never had a god to worship to begin with. despite that, he understands the importance of them and their teachings. ]

There's no doubt your unique experiences will be valuable to the Kenoma's overall goal.

I hope so.

[Liem does believe that there's a reason he in particular ended up here, in this time and place. He has to believe it in order to outrun the grief of his world's death and retain some semblance of functionality. But he can't know whether he'll actually be able to fulfill his purpose—especially since much about his role here still remains unclear to him.

For a while, he focuses on directing Kaeya through the last leg of the course's obstacles. The slight increase in difficulty as they near the finish line is a welcome distraction, but eventually he asks a question of his own:]

What would you say your part is?

[ all without missing a beat: ]

To be the charming and handsome moral support?

[ it comes with a laugh, so he isn't entirely serious about that answer, but it's all he has to offer for now. this is something he's been thinking about ever since he understood what it is they're meant to do here. it's a question that has also become more loaded and weighted thanks to what the regent has told him about what's waiting for them after the war is over.

he lets the silence sink in while he is guided through the obstacles by liem's instructions. if asked, he can always say that he was concentrating and that he didn't want to lose focus now when they were so close. in the end, when he reaches the finish line, this is all he has to say: ]

To be honest with you, I have no idea. I'm still thinking about it.

[ all he is and ever will be is a traitor. a liar. if the kenoma can make use of that, then... he's right at home, isn't he?

he moves on quickly. ]

What's next? Did we make it?

[Kaeya's flippant answer persuades a wry smile onto Liem's lips—not that the other man is currently in any position to see it. The question of what someone is meant to do, what their life is best suited to be used for, is a difficult one to tackle. He can't blame Kaeya if he still hasn't figured it out.

He isn't even expecting another answer, and when it comes after they've navigated the rest of the course, he pauses for a moment to absorb it. But it only takes a brief reminder to bring him back to his present situation: clinging to the other man's back while he stands, blindfolded, at the end of the obstacle course.]

We have indeed reached the end, [he answers briskly.] So next, you can let me down. And if you would like, I suppose we can repeat the exercise with our positions reversed.

[ when he's told that he can finally let liem down, he does so carefully, allowing the man to do it at his pace. he keeps their balance steady until the blindfold can finally come off, and once it does, his fingers smooth over where the act had almost unravelled his eyepatch. it's only when it's secured that he turns to face liem properly. ]

Sure, I wouldn't mind that.

[ he passes the same strip of cloth. it's already cool to the touch. ]

Will you be giving me a piggyback ride or...?

[Once Liem has slid down from Kaeya's back and the other man is occupied with his blindfold, he looks out over the course they just traversed, idly stretching the slight stiffness from his joints. Traversing it hasn't seemed especially difficult for Kaeya, though given the difference in their heights, Liem expects he might find it a little more awkward. Still, he doesn't seem concerned as he looks back at his companion.]

I think that would be best.

[He takes the blindfold, allowing himself one last look at the track before he ties it over his eyes.]

It will afford you a good view. And if I happen to stumble, you'll be in less danger of getting dropped.

[ kaeya doesn't look all that worried either. it wouldn't be fair to underestimate an ally's capabilities until they have the chance to prove themselves, so he's patiently waiting for liem to study the course before the blindfold comes on. he moves to stand behind the other aion, one hand settling on a shoulder to let him know he's ready. ]

Alright. I won't lead us astray— not to worry.

[ it's all he has to say before he gets into position. he has absolute faith that liem isn't going to drop him so don't let him down...! ]

Kenoma Team Training

OVERVIEW

I. WEAPONS TRAINING

II. AGILITY

III. SURVIVAL

IV. STRENGTH

V. REFRESHMENTS

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