Turning Wooden Blades to Steel: Pt 2

[Pine]

Another figure approach and Catherine began to move away.

"Very well then, I believe your next instructor will be able to help you better than me, for now...if you really have so little practical experience."

She offered a coy smile at that and wandered off without further words.
Keldon bowed to the women out of respect, she had preformed well and made one hell of an entry. Turning to face the new instructor Keldon waited to see who the person was and what they had planned.

And it was an odd fellow who approached. His legs were bent and gangly, his face was tired and droopy and in his hands, he held what appeared to be a fishing rod. Rheumy eyes peered confusedly at Keldon, before smacking his lips against his gums.
"Eh? You're the new student? Big hulking thing you are. What are you, an orc-blood? Come on then. We have work for you to do. Got some cleansing onboard. See if you make the cut."
And with that, the old man loped off and a not inconsiderable pace, his legs crossing the landscape without any sign of tiredness, fatigue or stumbling.
"Heading to the training area. Been doing this for years. You may want to get yourself your horse. It's a bit of a ride."

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon looked to the man as he spoke and nodded his head then made his way, away from the man to get his horse nearby. Although as he left he started to wonder about the fishing pole, maybe he would get some trout this brightening and get something a little better then what he had been eating.

He finished the though with a brief smirk as he thought about the food, and by that time he was at his horse, mounting it and giving it a nudge in the direction of the old man who he could barely see off in the distance. The animal would take off like a bolt from hell in the direction of the man, he would slow when he got closer. "Serale good sir, names Keldon." he would say with a smile.

[Pine]

"Names Url. That's what they call me anyway. After the Url Shenk I defeated when I was younger. Not as fast now though. Could still put most of the soldiers I meet out on their feet. But not as fast. Know the url shenk at all? I suppose not. But they used to be a menace."
The old man with the rod gave a shrug.
"Anyhow, that's not why we're here. You're here because I took a special interest in you. Shooting up in the ranks like that, getting involved in everywhich fight. Bursting with enthusiasm to get into every fight you want. Which is good. But you can only get so far relying on the instruction of mediocre drill sergeants. At some point, ye have to push yourself further. And I want to see if you can push yourself further."
Url gave a smirk, exposing several toothless gums. The pair had come to a circle of stones, arranged upright to form something like an arena boundary. Inside the arena was what appeared to be a practise dummy. With deft hands, he drew his fishing rod out again, and gave it a tap. Slowly, the dummy started to move, dodge and weave.
"Alright. I want to see what tricks you have on this dummy. It's just something we use; it won't hit back but it moves about like a living creature. Not just asking for normal attacks mind you. Inventive things. Things that show you know how to fight. You're out of bootcamp now. Time to become a real fighter."

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon raised his brow and smirked alittle. "Stalking me are we?" he said sarcastically and then nodded his head dismounting his horse and moving towards the dummy. So it was mobile well that definitely made things a little more interesting to say the least. "Don't think I have ever heard of a Url Shenk before though." he said with a brief shrug and entered the circle leaving his sword in his scabbard.

He would move with the dummy briefly moving in the direction it was going until it appeared to stay still for a brief moment. He would then step forward and side turn to his right and bring the end of his scabbard into the wooden frame of the dummy, once complete he would start to turn in the direction he had come but this time his arm would pull his blade out half way so it would nick the edges of the dummy, and after that he would take several steps to the side and unsheeth the blade completely and turn to bring the sword down to a downward slash into the dummys neck.

If the dummy moved, he would change his footing accordingly to attempt to bring his attacks on target with how the formed in his mind. The dummy was not real but he would treat it as a real threat.

[Pine]

"Good lord, Imperials have short memories. It killed sixty-three people in a rampage." Url shook his head, muttering to himself as Keldon entered the circle.
The dummy itself was an interesting contraption. While it seemed to be built to move like a living creature, it in fact moved far faster. It was less like hitting a human and more like hitting a sprite in terms of difficulty. But Keldon's tactic of watching a waiting paid off, as his novel scabbard-motion struck the dummy, followed by a rapid nicking and a downward slash which, while not quite hitting the neck, would have at very least severed the arm of a normal opponent. The elf's feet touched the ground lightly as the blade stuck home.
A THWAP as a stick caught Keldon by suprise, sweeping his feet from underneath him as his left foot touched the ground after the downwards slash onto the dummy's neck. He found himself flat on his back with the old man looking down at him.
"Nice attack. Dummy will approve. But you forgot to look out for other threats. And you need to focus more on your footwork. You have a lot of power, but your balance isn't as good as it could be. I want you to have perfect balance by the time we're done. Here. Technique I want you to learn."
The old man knelt down, and untied a piece of rope from his belt, wrapping it loosely around Keldon's feet and making a knot.
"I want you to try do a bit of sparring with those around your feet. It'll remind you never to let your feet get too far out from under you. No large strides. Shot steps, keeping the balance. Now, I want you to hit the dummy again. Half a dozen light strikes, then a hard. Light, then hard. We're practising finesse for the moment. Don't let the light blows tire you, they're just setup strikes."

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon looked up to the man from the ground with an emotionless face as the man spoke, he spoke the truth and something Keldon had normally always done in any combat situation. However the man was forgetting a key detail that seemed to be lacking in many people in these times.

"Your forgetting something sir, a soldier of honor does not question the loyalty of there allies and place's there life in them... in trust they do not strike them in the back." he said curling his lips into a brief grin as he pushed himself upwards with bound legs. "Well this should be interesting to say the least. Perhaps ill inspect the stone work closely.." he said sarcastically and then suddenly burst into movement bringing his sword over the mans head, moving his feet rapidly yet keeping them in balance he spaced them out so he brought it down to the right side of the dummy and just before he strikes he was hoping the dummy would change directions, as if it did he would stop his striking power and arch it into a feint and bring the blade into a motion int he path the dummy started to move in.

Quickly afterwards he would shift his feet in order to keep balance and move him in the direction the dummy was moving, he would follow it and during the while make strikes. Two, his sword moved in from the left side upwards to the dummy. Quickly it was pulled back after the strike, Three the move was repeated on the other side, Four it was and attack from the upper right this time coming downwards however it was with the blunt side of the blade to cause a temporary loss of breath on a real target if it hit the side of a man, or women. Five, he turned slightly using his feet to move his body and would trust forward but also move the blade to strike near where the mans knee would be in reality, Six was a pull from the after trust outwards lightly to collide with the dummies other knee, and it was at that moment he shifted himself forward bringing his free hand outwards rapidly.

He would punch the dummy in the chest, and quickly afterwards take several steps backwards and curve the sword into a powerful strike from his right elbow upto the neck area, and after the strike he would curve the sword down wards to perform a lighter attack in the area were the lands would be, this would primarily be used to make the target move away or adjust there attention to that area.

Should that work he would then place his free hand on the handle of the sword and pull backwards with force in the direction the blade and originally came from that would result in a rather powerful strike.