Post by Minuit on Jun 26, 2010 22:02:39 GMT 10
The King's Own vs Queen's Riders: Who would you rather be saved by?
by PeroxidePirate and Rowena
You probably know by now that Tortall can be a dangerous place: inside our borders, you'll find violent immortals, wild animals, angry royal relatives, matchmaking noble mothers, scatter-brained or downright evil mages, and plenty of regular citizens with access to a lot of weaponry. It's easy to run into trouble here.
Fortunately, Tortall also has a variety of military and paramilitary forces to protect you when things go awry. Leaving aside the long-forgotten palace guard and various, questionably educated, militia, there are two main forces you can count on in a crisis: the King's Own and the Queen's Riders. They frequently disagree and take it out on each other in pranks, but work together well when they need to defend Tortall (similar to the King and Queen themselves).
Suppose you're minding your own business, one day, and you find yourself captured by some of Tortall's nasties. Which of our crack military operations would you call on first? Would you rather be rescued by the Queen's Riders or by the King's Own?
Totally unbiased person A:
If I happened to need rescuing in Tortall, I would rather be saved by the King’s Own. When you’re first captured, the men in the Own are going to be very excited to see a girl (since they’ve probably been on the road for a while) and will try extra hard to help you out, make you feel comfortable and attend to your every whim – especially good if you’re a noble lady who’s used to that kind of treatment. The Own travel with spare horses, so they’ll have a mount for you, and will take that extra step of holding your horse’s reigns so you don’t have to guide it – after all, they wouldn’t want anything to happen to you. In addition to horses, they have lots of supplies they can share in case you end up being on the road for a while. (And why wouldn’t you want to stick around, just to spend more time with Raoul and Dom?)
When it comes to protecting you, the Own have a set command structure and are more focused because they’re older. They will have enough men to protect you and keep you safe from whomever (or whatever) you need rescuing from in the first place, be it a knight, boss, or angry professor. Their larger horses and pole arms give them a longer reach when fighting (so they can keep the bad guys away from you) and they are also skilled with swords if they have to fight on foot. The Own are more recognizable and are well known, so they will be respected in any villages they need to stop at, and you’ll be respected too – at least, you’ll be respected by the people who aren’t wondering why a girl is traveling with 100 men. But if anyone tries to give you trouble, the Own will be there to stop them.
Overall the men in the Own will be very helpful and accommodating to you, lending you supplies (they have plenty) and protecting you well with their various battle skills. No matter how extended your stay is with them, they will make you feel welcome and take care of you. If you’re worried about getting home and or being attacked again, it will be a comfort to be rescued by the Own.
Totally unbiased person B:
I would rather be rescued by the Queen's Riders. First of all, there are more Rider groups than there are companies of the Own, so you'll find Riders in more places at any given time. This means you are more likely to be near a group of Riders when you run into trouble. Because they ride small, nimble ponies, the Queen's Riders will also be able to access any place your captor may take you – be it spidren's cave, bandits' hideout, or giant's lair. And, with their ponies, they'll be able to get you away from trouble, fast.
The Riders have a number of minor, but important, characteristics that are sure to make them better rescuers: they start training at a young age, which means they are apt to have a lot of energy and won't get tired easily. They're used to dealing with new recruits, so when you realize what's happened to you and suddenly freak out, they'll be prepared. They're a diverse force, including both men and women, so if you are in fact a damsel, they won't be inclined to get over-excited and make cracknobbed mistakes. And they meditate daily, which means they've learned not to be distracted by anything (even shiny objects) as they go about their work.
Finally, the informal nature of the Queen's Riders makes them obviously better for rescue operations and similar work. They are able to blend in anywhere, so they won't draw extra attention to your (possibly embarrassing) situation. Their informal command structure means all good ideas will be heard – essential, if you've been captured by something or someone truly unusual, where a conventional rescue approach won't work (and let's face it, who hasn't been there?). Because Rider groups are numerous, small, and informal, the odds are good that after you're rescued, your group will be able escort you to the palace or another safe location, thus ensuring that you won't immediately end up in another bad situation and need to be rescued again.
There you have it, fellow Tortallans: expert opinions on which force makes a better rescue operation. We hope these arguments will help you choose who you will call when you need to be rescued – the King's Own or the Queen's Riders – no matter why you need saving. (It’s okay, we won’t ask.) We’d like to think we can be objective and consider ourselves better suited to tell you about the Own and the Riders than, say, Raoul and Buri. Choose carefully. The success of your rescue may depend on it.
I'm glad you both liked it! ;D
And what about escaping from the Giantkiller's lair?
