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Claimed:Cyflwyno Thomas Crypl - The Introduction of Thomas Crypl [Reviewed]


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Thomas Crypl is a striking man in his mid-20s, with a small, well-kept goatee adorning a firm, sharp-angled jaw. The black hair on his chin is cut to a fine point, the bristles clean and tightly-angled. His ice-blue eyes project command and power. In another life, he could have been a fine actor, with his presence and physical appearance naturally drawing the eye and attention of any who were nearby. Instead, Thomas honed his body through sport and his mind through an extensive personal library, studying strategy and cause and effect by earning a world ranking in chess and through the analysis of battles past.

 

Crypl introduced himself to the hockey world recently through a serious of vignettes, recorded in his library, where he discussed his ancestry and heritage. As a descendant of the final Welshman to hold the tile of the Prince of Wales, Owain Glyndŵr, Crypl feels it is his obligation to honor his familial and national history by becoming a dominant force in anything he does. Having conquered the world of mental sport through the aforementioned chess competitions, Crypl sought a physical activity that could garner his nation further prestige. 

 

One day, he overheard several of the family servants discussing a ranking of which sports had the most skilled athletes, of which sports demanded the most out of their participants. Boxing was ranked as the most difficult sport, with ice hockey coming in a close second place. While he had trained extensively in Jui Jitsu, Krav Magra, and Capoeira, Crypl did not see himself as a violent person, and chose to focus his attention on one of the fastest sports in the world: ice hockey. 

 

His finely-toned body and natural musculature led to Crypl advancing his ice skating skills with an unbelievably rapid pace. Once he became confident in his skating abilities, he introduced the rest of the equipment that is required for ice hockey. Spending several months privately working on enhancing his stick skills, Crypl eventually registered with a local Welsh hockey league to ply his craft against human competition. Harnessing his knowledge of strategy and battle tactics, Crypl quickly developed a reputation as a local legend for his play-making abilities. Over the course of the 22 game season, Crypl registered four goals and 41 assists, leading the league in points. Second place in the league scoring race was one of his line-mates, who trailed by 17 points. 

 

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The opening night line for Crypl's first hockey team in Wales.

 

In a surprising move, Crypl seemingly abandoned the game, disappearing from the local hockey scene for over a year before re-emerging to play a second season. It is reported that he told his teammates that he was disappointed by his production and needed to re-evaluate his game, but that he would return. True to his word, Crypl re-registered for the league, though immediately, things were obviously different. For one, Thomas Crypl no longer seemed to exist; instead, a man named Essian Ravenwing entered the locker room, somehow looking more composed and confident than anyone had seen him before. 

 

As he put on his gear for the first game of the season, Ravenwing announced to the team at large that he had spent a large portion of his time away from the game meditating and studying battles from Welsh history, with a pointed interest in the Battle of Bryn Glas. He spoke to the men on his reunited line of strategy, of a hammer and anvil approach to attacking the opposition, of deception and strength of will over strength in numbers. Confused but trusting in their teammate, the squad stepped out onto the ice for the pre-game skate. Word had spread quickly that Thomas Crypl had returned, now sporting a Battle-Name, and the tiny arena was filled with local villagers. It was apparent from the moment his skate blades touched the ice that this man was in a different stratosphere than those around him. His skating was effortless, the stick in his hand a pure extension of his own body, and he moved with a grace and agility rare to gymnasts, let alone hockey players. 

 

Essian Ravenwing had 11 points in the first game of the season, on the strength of nine assists. Playing at center, he also won 13 of 14 faceoffs. The second game of the season, Ravenwing tallied 14 points, this time with 13 assists. With 25 points in two games, representatives of the other teams in the league quickly appealed the league offices to ban Ravenwing from the league. The league officials summoned Ravenwing to a hearing, but the sturdy young phenom surprised them all by announcing his intention to quit the league. His team was shocked and disappointed, but Ravenwing stood fast in his decision to step away, seeking to "challenge myself further," as he told the team's captain. 

 

Fast forward a mere two weeks, and a DVD arrived at the VHL's offices in New York City. Written in neat black marker on the label were the words "Ail-lunio'r Dyfodol". Underneath, the translation in English: "Reshaping the Future". 

 

When the Director of the VHLM received the DVD, he popped it into his laptop to see what this cryptic disc contained. The now-familiar scene of Essian Ravenwing, seated in his library in Wales, lecturing to the camera about his nation's history, played upon the screen. The Director was even more confused, not the least bit due to Ravenwing's accent. The Welshman opened the introduction with the following lines: 

 

"When Owain Glyndŵr led his people in the Battle of Bryn Glas, he relied on intelligence and cunning to bring him victory against Edmund Mortimer. Mortimer knew that Glyndŵr's forces were smaller than his own, but did not anticipate the hammer-and-anvil flank that Glyndŵr brought against him."

 

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Standing atop the mountain, Essian Ravenwing surveyed his nation with pride and determination.

 

Something about the man on his screen made the Director continue to watch the DVD, despite its apparent irrelevancy. After approximately eight minutes, the on-screen Ravenwing sat back in his chair and began to tell his hockey story. As he spoke, the words became a narration to muted clips of his on-ice play, the end to end rushes capped off with blind passes to his wingers for easy tap-in goals, the poise and strength he displayed on faceoffs. Some of the clips were of his off-ice training sessions, the dance-like quality of Capoeira somehow meshing with Ravenwing's recitation of his country's history and his own accomplishments. 

 

At the end of the 27 minute video, a phone number appeared on the screen. The Director of the VHLM did not hesitate to immediately pick up his desk phone and dial it, though he had no idea what time it was in Wales at that moment. The phone rang twice before a sturdy baritone voice answered. "Good day, Director."

 

Startled, the man in New York asked Ravenwing how he knew who was calling. 

 

Ravenwing allowed himself a brief laugh. "The disc was shipped to arrive today. Estimating the sorting and delivery process, I anticipated that the disc would come to your desk by 11:30 in the morning. After that, I speculated that it was unlikely that you would watch a random disc right before lunch, so I included a 90 minute gap. The disc was 27 minutes in length, which would take us to 1:27 in the afternoon, or 6:27 in the evening in Wales." A chime in the background signaled the half-hour mark, and Ravenwing smiled to himself. 

 

"Now, Mr. Director," Ravenwing said, after allowing the other man a moment to compose himself, "the reason you were calling me was to ask about my interest in participating in your league...."

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