[center][h1][color=ff5000][b]Renar Hagen[/b][/color][/h1][/center]

Seemed someone else had succeeded in the overall goal, judging by the display of magic signaling the end of the test. Two down. One to go. Renar wasn't exactly pleased, with himself least of all, that he hadn't played more of a leading role in this matter, but fortunately, it wasn't as if this was an excursion that would win renown. In light of that, it stung less to be something of a bit part. And yet, against a dragon, they were all significantly lesser than the mage. Would that she wasn't smart enough to realize that and lord it over the rest. 

The tales didn't quite do Thrinax justice. The damned thing was a veritable of crimson scale, fang, and claw. Dealing a mere injury was less than Renar had been expecting of the trial...if the target weren't so damned mightly. Even Steelfang seemed as if it would have difficulty piercing a scale directly, to say nothing of reaching the behemoth to begin with. 

Their strategy for forcing it to ground revolved around the mage again, and Renar said nothing to contest that, as they lacked a better option. Instead, he'd have to formulate a plot to wound it. The eyes were the most obvious weak point, yes. But the wings were less armored than the rest of Thrinax's body as well. With that in mind, he spoke up. 

[color=ff5000][b]"Even with it grounded, we've not a prayer of dealing significant enough damage to be dubbed an injury by any reasonable metric lest we aim for weak points. The eyes and wings lack the natural armor the remainder of the dragon has. As for how to [i]reach[/i] said targets in melee..."[/b][/color] His gaze shifted across the area.

[color=ff5000][b]"The hill. Once Thrinax is grounded, we need to bait it close enough to the top that a contingent of knights can make the jump and mount the beast. Hide them behind the other side until a signal is given, so as not to alert the dragon. That will give those of us who specialize in melee the best chance of dealing a critical blow. Most likely, we'll need to split into a distraction team and an assault team."[/b][/color]

In truth, considering what the bulk of his training with the two brothers had consisted of, there was only one reasonable path Renar could take for himself to maximize their chances of victory. And besides, if he managed to stand against a dragon in a prolonged melee, that was worth near as much glory as actually striking the decisive blow. 

[color=ff5000][b]"The majority of my preparation revolved around this exact scenario of facing the dragon toe-to-toe. I volunteer as a distraction once it's grounded."[/b][/color]