[Demda]

Gryulk was tossing something up and down in one of her hands. On closer inspection, it appeared to be a sack of rice. Without warning, and quickly, she threw it to Demda. The half-elf managed to get her foot up to kick the thing, and managed to keep it in the air while she adjusted to the new but familiar activity. She hadn’t practiced in this exercise since she was in Orckon, and it was strange, since she’d always enjoyed it. She kept the bag in the air as the orc went on to speak, ”Keep that up for a few more moments. Then we’ll talk about other nerve points.”

And so Demda did. Sometimes she mixed things up by using only one foot. Eventually she stopped this exercise, and tucked the small bag between her feet. She then placed both hands on the ground, and stood herself up on her arms. Once that was accomplished, she began kicking the bag in midair with both legs almost simultaneously. She kept this exercise up as long as she could without passing out from the blood rushing to her head. Then the orc approached her.

”Enough.” She said, calling a halt to the exercise. ”Get on your feet, and listen”

Taking her time, Demda slowly lowered her legs to the ground until her feet were touching it, then she pushed herself up with her legs, and turned her gaze toward Gryulk. The orc nodded. ”Alright, get in guard.” She grinned a toothy smile, ”I’ll teach you first-hand about the points.”

Demda suppressed the murderous glare that was threatening to surface. She’d come to expect this from the orc. She only hoped that her strikes didn’t leave permanent damage. Her arms were still a bit numb from the earlier attack to her brachial plexus. Demda sank into her pose, completely unmodified from the time that she’d started the training. The orc’s was the same as it had been, with both arms raised almost above her head, leaving her stomach slightly open. Her legs, just like Demda’s were spread shoulder length apart and bent at the knees.

The orc moved quickly, she took an inside crossover step toward Demda. Once she was within leg’s reach, she lifted her left knee as if to perform a high kick toward Demda’s neck or head. The wretch rose her arms up and to the outside, in order to block the kick. But it never came. Instead, the orc grounded her left leg forward, and used the extra push to power a punch toward the area just above Demda’s abdomen. The resulting pain brought Demda to her knees.

The orc was merciless. Once the half-elf was on her knees, she sent a light straight punch toward Demda’s face, which landed on the cluster of nerves just below her forehead, unnecessarily reminding the wretch of that nerve point. The pain was blinding, and the onslaught seemingly relentless, prompting to Demda to crawl backward.

”That nerve point that I just attacked is called the solar plexus… As you can tell, it causes great pain when hit with a blow. Depending on the force behind the blow, it could cause temporary paralysis of the diaphragm, making it difficult to breathe.”

Demda grimaced as she curled up into a sitting position, still trying to catch her breath. The orc’s explanation was entirely unnecessary, given the demonstration she’d just received. It took a few minutes for the half-elf to recover from the blow.

When the minutes were up, it was the orc who prompted her to get up. ”On your feet.” And she resumed her stance.

Demda rose warily, not entirely anxious to accept another attack of the sort that she’d just received. After a moment of hesitation, Demda assumed her own stance.

The orc smiled grimly, ”Attack.”

The command came as something of a surprise to Demda, but a welcome one. She’d been itching for the chance to go on the offensive with her teacher since the training began. A smile came reluctantly to her lips, as she envisioned how she’d go about attacking. The orc’s abdomen was the most tempting target, and the one made most accessible by her stance. It was too tempting to pass up, and yet Demda couldn’t help but feel that it was a ruse. Doubtless, if this was the stance that the orc always employed, she was used to attacks that targeted the abdomen. But still, Demda couldn’t think of a better target, as her head and upper body were covered. So the abdomen it was.

She started her advance reluctantly, carefully, taking small steps toward the orc. The last few feet were covered the quickest, and Demda took one step, putting her entire body into a punch directed toward the orc’s solar plexus. The orc moved with a speed and grace that was unheard of for her kind, and grappled with Demda’s wrists with her shackles, pulling her along and off balance. Once she was to the side of Demda’s arm, she dug one of her elbows into the side of her upper arm, about two inches up from the elbow. A shriek of pain erupted from Demda’s lips as her knees nearly buckled beneath her. The point was made. ”Enough, stop!” Demda cried, but the orc wouldn’t listen.

She pulled Demda along, tripping her up and allowing the half-elf to fall on her face. Even so, it was more merciful than she had been in their previous round.

”Don’t ever tell me what to do, Lulgijak. You continue to draw breath by my leave. Be grateful that I’m here to train you, and not to kill you. I could easily do the latter, although the former is proving to be quite difficult.” Demda looked over her shoulder, pushing herself up onto her knees as she did so. The orc was standing with her hands on her hips, adopting a demeanor as if she were scolding a naughty whelp.

”Ashdautas vrasubatlat.” Demda had the nerve to say.

The orc just laughed, and shook her head, ”Nar udautas, Lulgijak. Nar udautas.”