Legacies
“When I was a child, the role of scout was chosen for me. One problem with a small society was that roles had to be filled by assignment. We could not be free to choose our own role, or there would be the potential for some roles to be left unfilled. If we did not become what we were ordained to become, we would dishonor our family. I was to become a scout, and for the most part, I felt naught but love of the role.
However, I was one of the few growing children who had a close relationship with my father. Moon-Keepers are insular, but males have a benefit of wandering and learning by adventure and exploration. Because my father visited my Clan often, I was able to learn what he learned.
One sun, I felt too controlled by the role I was to fulfill. I was at a part of my life where I wanted to rebel - at least a little. When I spoke of this to my father, the one person who might understand my urge to explore and seek freedom, he told me he would teach me how to use the spear. He said that a scout’s weapons are bows and knives. I could rebel by a slight amount by being a scout with a spear. It was a simple way to appease me, but I accepted.
It was from that point on where I became a lancer – the one choice I made for myself. I wanted to be like my father. I wanted to be as skilled as he was. I wanted to be the hero he was.
Much from there is history. I learned how to use the bow and knives as was required of me, but I stood proud with my spear when I was tested, and when I was finally deemed a Jakkya Scout. I learned more about the battle art from a mentor and the Lancer’s Guild of Gridania.
It did not matter to me if I faced stronger foes, or if they had longer reach. I struggled, I fought, I got hurt but I overcame. They were stronger? I had to be more agile. I learned to use their strength against them. I learned to parry and deflect. They had longer reach? I had to be faster. I had to learn how to work my way past their reach, and make their advantage a disadvantage.
I do not oft tell others about how oft I lost, or how much I got beaten by those who harassed and ridiculed me. I was a small Keeper, a female Miqo’te, an ‘adorable savage’. But I struggled to the top. With the aid of my mentor, Yvelont, I began to make quick work of Elezen lancers in spars. Hyur and other Miqo’te fared no better. Highlanders were a challenge, but I could match even them in some bouts. I stubbornly fought every sun as an ‘underdog’ lancer.
My mother was proud, but did not show it well. She insisted that I was so busy trying to overcome my weaknesses that I was not building my strengths as a Moon-keeper. She lectured me on the reason Keepers took pride in our archery. Keepers fought with wit, guile, tenacity and tactics. It was true that some in my clan used spears, but those were the ones who did not do as well with the bow. It was considered a weapon for those huntresses that were too dense to be skilled archers and scouts. While my Clan’s lancers used their spears to great effect, they focused on beastkin and creatures. They were the living wall that protected our archers and healers from direct melee. My mother oft said that those who stand there with a sharp stick and wait for the enemy to come at them are brave, but foolish.
When I asked my father what he thought of that, he had little answers or arguments. He simply told me that he used a spear because spears do not run out of arrows, and female Keepers found him more impressive because of the use of the weapon. Unfortunately, this gave me more question than answers. How is it that the lance is seen as a weapon used by the brave, dense and foolish, yet it is also seen as impressive to be able to use one in battle? I suppose somehow a male who does foolish shite and survives to talk about is desirable. I always found that silly. Or mayhaps, lancers were not as foolish as my mother made them out to be.
However, one argument my mother made has always given me pause. It is an argument that I see becoming more valid. Both the bow and the spear are time-honored hunter’s weapons. But the bow, she insisted, would withstand the test of time, and never fully become obsolete.
Despite my mother’s wisdom, I let pride and the love of my father keep me on the path of the Lancer for many cycles. Looking back, I see that I was able to accomplish so much with a spear in hand. Though in the end, I found I was being a ‘Dense Little Miqo’te’. I became a warrior, but my true calling had always been that of a scout.â€
