This city flourished with a civilian population. Astera was to Noel akin to Era and Crocus in terms of population. The key difference was between the amount of religious symbols - something he liked. He knew long by now that during certain doom, no god will show up to save the day. It had to be power that channeled within man itself. This made Noel somewhat more individualistic than others. Regardless, the 6'4" Advent Mage was seen wandering the marketplace of Astera. Unarmored, as he found the setting to be a bit casual to his tastes. Standing at the fruit stall, he inspected the various strawberries and apples that Astera had to offer him. Simple fruits like those were a test to Noel to see what kind if the ground around Astera was fertile. “That batch was recently picked sir. Those strawberries are a sub organic breed between others, giving them a big hearty shape when they're ready to be picked.” Noel pursed his lips approvingly, and filled a brown bag with them. The weather was starting to look up. Noel wore a simple blue shirt, black jeans underneath. A rich amulet was amply visible, mostly covered by his shirt. A peculiar ring sat on his left hand.

A panic had broken out in the marketplace in Astera. Noel overheard some of the shouting and became curious, he'd begin to move towards the source of civilians screaming, warning others to stay away. A wild horse had been set loose accidentally, the owner nowhere around to be seen. The wild stallion kicked over multiple market stalls, creating chaos wherever it went as civilians tried stopping it by moving in front of it, only to be nearly trampled by the wild horse. It certainly drew a large amount of attention. Including Noels. Who walked up to the scene as the wild stallion was being forced out of Astera. Weaving in between the watching crowd, Noel pressed his way to the front line.

Three villagers with hayforks had encircled the horse, forcing it to move towards a direction where there were no hayforks. Which was one of the exits of the urban city life, and into the plains. The loud galloping of the horse made it easy for nosey Noel to follow it out of town. Once out of the urban city, Noel kept on pursuing the horse. The wild horse began speeding up once the road was clear. Some of the civilians tried running after it - but were way too slow. Noel shadily followed it, the extent of his speed was unmatched to the horse, so he had a much easier time. A wide plains revealed itself to Noel as he chased the wild worse. There were loads of wild horses here. A harass of horses.

He stopped his pursuit to look at the beautiful sight of more than sixty different horses traveling in a pack. The wild horse from the marketplace had rejoined the rest of the group. From a bush a fair distance away from the pack, Noel sat down on one knee. Looking between the leaves to get a better picture, as he didn't want to scare them off immediately. He wanted to capture one.

The sun had reached its apex in that moment, it was in the middle of the afternoon, the hot sun had been cast upon Astera that day.

Noel had never caught a horse before, so he was anxious to try it out. Stepping out from the bush, a range of more than hundred meters were in between him and the wild horses. Left to him was a public road, minor wooden fences had been setup to keep the horses from the road. Noel began to philosophize ways of approaching this. Sometimes muttering things out as he was talking to himself. “Mhmm mhmmm... Mhmm .. a carrot... and maybe a fishing rod.. mhmm.. ” Unbeknownst of other people in his area, Noel scratched his chin as he was in deep thought.

Character

Equipment

[RARE] Raven Night Ring

[LEGENDARY] Amulet of Magical Resistance

Spells

MANA : 4150/4150

SPELLS USED :

None

Misc.

[UNCOMMON] Winged Lemur

[GUILD - ODIN] : S - ranked shield remaining

[TAROT - DEATH] : C - ranked phase remaining

Noels nostrils flared as he stood watch a pack of horses. Unbeknownst to him, a stranger had approached him from behind. Due to him being lost in thoughts, he payed little attention to his surroundings. Somewhat drifting mentally as a gentle tap pressed on his shoulder. It somewhat startled Noel, who'd immediately turn his face towards the right direction - noticing the scent of the lady who had crept up close to him. “Nani?” The sharp wind rustling the trees and bushes must have cloaked her footsteps, Noel thought. Before he could say anything more, the stranger begun talking. He'd look into her eyes as she did.

Several markings of paint gave her a somewhat feline appearance - perhaps she was from some kind of tribe? Her face vaguely was covered by make-up; deluding the idea that she stemmed from a small village where tribe cult like behavior could dominate. Noel couldn't tell whether it was war paint or something more innocent.

She asked if he was going to 'snatch a horse' - like they were some kind of object. He'd pout his lips slightly, as the young lady claimed her dibs on a mare with the flowing mane. “Yes. I suppose I am interested in taming and domesticating a horse.” Noel looked over his shoulder to see if the horses were still there. They were. Most of them were enjoying the thick grass. He'd turn his head back to face the young lady. “The raven mare with the flowing mane? I think that may be the leader of this pack. You sure do like a challenge don't you?” Noel chuckled condescendingly, like as if she was going to be successful in taming the most wild animal in the pack. “My name is Noel. What is yours?” He'd ask, extending his hand to the stranger in order to shake her hand. It wasn't like he was going to reinvent chivalry on a random roadside, so a normal gesture as per rules of introduction was going to be suffice. “Seems like these horses will be staying here for a bit. We can team up if you'd like. I figured I'd need some supplies from the town before being able to proceed. Like a saddle, and uhhh...” He'd lower his voice and mumble to himself, looking away as he continued to speak. “a carrot and a stick.” Raising his voice to the previous level, Noel continued talking albeit more clearly and more understandable. “Or like a lasso.”

If the young lady hadn't responded in a overly weird fashion, Noel felt like he could lower his guard somewhat. Not being on edge as he usually was. “Have you ever tamed a wild stallion before?” Perhaps she had some experience in the manner, Noel was to see if she could catch his double entendre. “Maybe we should go to a menagerie and ask for advice. Or just wing it and try using our knowledge and finesse for a few attempts?” If the young lady chose for the menagerie he'd follow her back to the city gates. Should they chose to attempt it by themselves a few times, then he'd instead study the layout of the land a bit more before forming a strategy. If the young lady was still at his side, they'd have time for innocuous small-talk.

Character

Equipment

[RARE] Raven Night Ring

[LEGENDARY] Amulet of Magical Resistance

Spells

MANA : 4150/4150

SPELLS USED :

None

Misc.

[UNCOMMON] Winged Lemur

[GUILD - ODIN] : S - ranked shield remaining

[TAROT - DEATH] : C - ranked phase remaining

The way the stranger smirked at Noel somewhat caused him to try to retain a straight face, despite him wanting to furrow his eyebrows a bit. It seemed she was serious about taming the main horse. As she turned her head sideways, she went on to explaining how she's already made several attempts before. That didn't surprise Noel that much, the horse she had in mind was quite exotic. Noel sniffed the air as she explained how she had brought treats. Like a dog wagging its tail, he was interested in what she had. He'd remember the strawberries he'd have bought from the markets. “Oooh, what kinda treats?” He could sort of tell by the scent that emanated around the young lady, but wasn't very sure. “I bought some strawberries earlier I was thinking of enjoying - but. You should use a couple of them, make some kind of exotic forest fruit mix?” He entertained the thought, pulling out the bag of strawberries and opening it up. He'd sneakily chuck one into his mouth, chewing on the strawberry as she returned the handshake. It was somewhat awkward. A thought formed in his mind. She was probably used to princess going on one knee and kissing the top of her hand. He could tell by how she somewhat passively aggressively squeezed his hand. Her name was Nuala, their names somewhat resembled, he'd think. Whenever someone shouted either one of their name from across the street, they'd most likely both turn their heads to it.

It wasn't a name he'd have heard of before. “It's nice to meet you, Nuala.” He'd say to her, gently releasing his hand from her grip and withdrawing his hand to himself. Noel became somewhat curious about her, and sniffed the air one final time to get a good imprint of her scent. She seemed like a nice person.

The proposition of going to a menagerie was denied by Nuala who shook her head and explained her reasons for not doing that. Her motifs were quite reasonable, he thought. “That's a fair point. It's why I'm here too, I guess.” Noel didn't really want to admit that he was stingy. She wanted to use some of her apples to lure them in. He shook his head at the thought, for now. “I think I may have a good idea.”

He'd bit his lip, keenly looking at the horses before turning his head to Nuala while raising his right fist into the air into the direction of the horses. “Wait here. Or don't I mean, ...” He'd burst off with great speed into the air, darting towards the herd of horses as he sped off into the air - flying at the cost of some mana.

From around eight meters into the air, Noel came to a stop once he was above the herd. They couldn't see him, due to him being in the air. He felt smug. Like he had ten million IQ. Next, he'd point his fist at one of the horses, slowly lowering himself from the air. It made it much easier for him to sit on top of the back of the horse using this method. The horse he attempted to sit on lowered its legs and kicked Noel off, making him fall into the mud as it ran off. Noel grunted, pointed his fist at the air again to fly back into the air and return to Nuala - half of him covered in mud. “Alright. That didn't work out. Let's combine some of our treats and get these kusoyaros to behave, aye?” Brute forcing this wasn't going to do it, he'd figure.

He tore open the bag of strawberries and place it on the ground, pooling the total amount of treats they had. He'd sneak one of her treats away and chuck them into his mouth when she wasn't paying attention. Noel kindly took one of her apples, splitting it in two with delicate strength. He needed no knife. He'd group a few strawberries, apples and some of her treats together

Cupping some of these fruits, the male carefully started headed towards the herd, making his presence known and moving slowly as to not startle them.

Character

Equipment

[RARE] Raven Night Ring

[LEGENDARY] Amulet of Magical Resistance

Spells

MANA : 3950/4150

SPELLS USED :

Flight or Fight -200

Misc.

[UNCOMMON] Winged Lemur

[GUILD - ODIN] : S - ranked shield remaining

[TAROT - DEATH] : C - ranked phase remaining

Halfway drenched in mud, Noel returned to Nuala with a response about why he'd want a horse if he could fly in the first place. He chuckled mildly to himself, as he made his descent to the ground near Nuala. He begun talking as soon as he was about to land. “A man flying? Nothing special. A man on a horse that starts flying? A story you tell your grandchildren.” The Advent World wizard smirked a little at his own profound reasoning for taming a horse. Lashing his left arm which was covered by the mud like a lasso at the ground to clear the mud, he'd continue to talk. “I just wanna look cool, okay.” Noel admitted. He didn't account on seeing this stranger again. Perhaps unbeknownst to her, he was living in his mid-life crisis.

Nuala made a comment about his scent. Maybe she was onto something. He was alright with getting dirty to find a horse that truly fitted him. “That makes sense.” Noel raised his thumb at Nuala “You're sugoi, Nuala!” Perhaps she was one of those people that saw the good in every bad situation. This pragmatic mind-set was certainly helpful in situations such as these. How she mentioned the treats earlier too aided this situation. Noel begun to realize that Nuala was quite capable on her own - that horse must have been a stubborn one. Noel wasn't about to meet her in the amount of effort she'd most likely have put in to catch a mare like that. He valued his time, this horse was to be used for rare occasions when he wasn't flying anyway. She was right on that aspect.

Once they were closer to the pack, Noel managed to gain the interest of a horse. It began eating an apple from the palm of his hand. Curiously sniffing around his palms and looking around Noel cautiously. Several horses came closer to Noel, they were hungry too and smelled the treats.

He'd share a handful of strawberries and a few grapes with a particular ashy black horse. It looked like a mighty stead, with ample of energy. Certainly entertaining high speed within her system.



Another horse came up behind Noel, gently pushing him in the back with its head. Obviously in request of his attention, he'd turn around to face the horse. He'd calmly turn around, knowing that if he showed panic they'd panic too. “Ooh, ooh, here you go boy.” He'd extend an apple to the horse. It wasn't the right one though. He wanted a different one.



A black steed ran past by Noel, it had cute white legs, and a white snout while the rest of its skin was a glowy dark. Certainly good camouflage for night missions, but alas Noel preferred something more visible as he wanted to be noticed on his horse. It wasn't the right one either. He begun talking to one of the horses, pretending he knew what he was talking about. Maybe Nuala overheard him during this exchange. “Ah, you're a young blood of the Teochyan kind. Your parents were of Neotalarian descent.” Noel eyed towards the general direction of Nuala as he spoke. Soon, his eyes met a young stallion wandering free in the many various flowers found across the farm side. His eyes lit up. Music began playing in his ears. It was the one, he was sure.



The horses head moved up as it was grazing some of the grass to face Noel. The two stared off for a moment. Noel carefully approached it, “Here boy..” He'd gently coo towards it, thinking it was a boy horse. He'd extend his hand towards it, a couple of grapes were in his palm. The horse gently approached Noel, reaching down with its head to enjoy the treats. He'd gently stroke its muzzle, moving his hand up its forehead to stroke its beautiful red hair. “Mmm, that's good isn't it?” He'd whisper to the horse, moving his hand up its head further around its neck. “Mustang. That's your new name.”

In a smooth motion, he'd connect both arms around his neck and swing himself around to get on top of the horse. It didn't react very aggressively. But began walking randomly. Noel panicked a little. “How do I stop you, Mustang?” Noel began pulling on its hair. The horse began to speed up. So he'd let go of its hair, and instead begun gently stroking the sides of its body with his shoes like a first time driver trying to find the clutch and gear shift. When the horse wouldn't stop slowing down, he instead full on hugged its neck. It eventually came to a full stop when Noel tapped the sides of his body with both of his shoes at the same time. It came to a quick halt.

It seemed like this horse was already trained, but just had been set loose at some point. He'd try to guide the horse into the direction of Nuala by putting his hands on the side of its head and trying to guide it to Nuala's whearabouts. It took some trial and error, but eventually he managed to learn how to properly guide the horse, he had to use his knees somewhat. He'd smugly drop by Nuala “How are things on your end?” He said, expecting to initiate a conversation - sadly though his horse wasn't stopping. The cheeky cunt pretty much kept on walking after passing by Nuala. Noel reverted the horse by using the back of his knees against it. Demonstrating a poor 8 point turn, Noel eventually made his horse come to a stop close to Nuala.

Character

Equipment

[RARE] Raven Night Ring

[LEGENDARY] Amulet of Magical Resistance

Spells

MANA : 3950/4150

SPELLS USED :

None

Misc.

[UNCOMMON] Winged Lemur

[GUILD - ODIN] : S - ranked shield remaining

[TAROT - DEATH] : C - ranked phase remaining

As Noel approached Nuala from horseback, it seemed she had succeeded in her task too. Very impressive, perhaps the change of strategy definitely helped her out. She replied with the name of her new horse. “Shadowmere. Shadōmāru. That's a nice name. This one is called Mustang.” The colors of her horse made him think of a certain guild he's visited in the past. It was most likely a coincidence, so Noel ignored the thought. Her steed was quite demonic in nature, he thought.

He'd put his hand atop Mustangs fine hair, and stroke it to the side by using his fingers as a comb. He was going to use this horse on his travels, it'd make it a bit easier for him to move around. But most importantly were cool entrances into ongoing situations. He'd need a cool poncho, and a sombrero. Maybe a nice leather saddle too. “It was nice meeting you Nuala,” Noel said as his horse managed to come to a stop near her vicinity. “I gotta get going, see you later.” The Advent World weakly waved his hand at Nuala as he began steering the head of his horse. He'd try to guide it to the road. As he departed from the scene, he'd whisper to himself. “Heh, can't wait till I show Venus this.” An innocent fluster appearing on his face as he continued guiding the horse to the road.

For his first long distance travel with Mustang, he'd try to focus on trying to learn horse riding. It was quite complicated.

The most challenging aspect of horse ownership to Noel was taking good care of his horse. Ensuring it stays fed, hydrated and whatnot. Curing infections and medicating them whenever necessary was also important. A former friend of his ran an animal clinic in Baska - he might go there next. For now his eyes were peeled on Mustang, not minding half of his body being covered in dirt. He'd occasionally extend his arm to its snout, giving Mustang some treats. The Advent World wizard had set alone off into the horizon, passing the plains of Astera and moving onto another place.

Character

Equipment

[RARE] Raven Night Ring

[LEGENDARY] Amulet of Magical Resistance

Spells

MANA : 3950/4150

SPELLS USED :

None

Misc.

[UNCOMMON] Winged Lemur

[GUILD - ODIN] : S - ranked shield remaining

[TAROT - DEATH] : C - ranked phase remaining