Rising The Blade Above The Rest (Private|Self-Mod)

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Eighth Brightening of the First Cycle in the Month of Junctior in the Season of Fall; Era I of the Celestine Mandate, Era XIII
Post Fractum. The First Era of the Regency of Milo L'Evienne.

Keldon entered the Armory of the Jade Legion, the room was line with swords, axes, maces, shields, plates of amour, shields and much more. Keldon walked towards a man sitting in the corner fastening a shield together. He was a medium sized human, in his late twenties from the looks of him. His hair short and a sandy red.

The man looked up from his work and noticed Keldon standing there in his uniform. He arose and looked around the Armory quickly then back to Keldon. "What's cin I be doin for you tiw this afternoon sir?" He said with a small lisp. Keldon paid little attention to the defect in the mans voice. "Good day sir. I am to be sparring with one of the Legions Sergeants to further my swordsmanship." Keldon said with a soft yet humorous tone. "Ahs! So be looking to advance in yer skillz?. Well I can get someone for you sir.. Yep!"
Keldon slowly walked down a small path that was between the stands of weaponry. A mass of swords were laid out in front of him, and many various axes were he picked up a sword and moved it in his hand, he slashed it several times and noticed it swung ever so slightly to the left, which he did not want. The weight was off ever so slightly. He wanted to try and find a sword that fitted his hand perfectly, or damn well close to it. He picked up a Imperial Longsword and moved it in his hands and it felt right, that and he did not feel like trying anymore swords. So he simply picked it up along with the scabbard and tied it to his waste.


He exited the building and took the corner before the main gate, proceeding towards the training square he could see a good number of people already gathering there to train... or more likely to watch him training.. and even more likely to watch him lose, badly.

Keldon moved past the group of legion recruits and various members. He had thought he saw the Legions Commander standing at the far back with a smirk on his face. But before he could look again whoever was there, was gone.

He entered the small training area that the Sergeant had established. A pair of great claymore leaning up against the wall and the women standing there. In full armor... she was rather intimidating in her armor. But none the less Keldon moved forward. "You have proven yourself to be a capable fighter your sir. It is now time to improve your skills... to give you more of an... advantage over your opponents. You need to learn to spot their weaknesses and use their strengths against them. Otherwise you will be nothing more then a simple foot shoulders... like the ones you command." she said as if trying to poke fun at Keldon.

"Well then Sergeant, since you are very well aware of the empire's chain of command I am pleased you think I have proven myself. I have a great amount of confidence in the fact that you are sure to be testing those skills today." Keldon said with a smirk. If everyone around him was here to see a show he knew the Sergeant would give them one... so why not give her a little hand and be a good sport.

She let out a small laugh. "Well then sir, let us work our arms and legs before we begin... I do not want to overwork you to much." She said with a smugish smile. Keldon was ready to reply but she kept going. "After all, you do not have much military experience. So I will go easy on you... for now." With that said Keldon knew what was coming... a damn good beating. But none the less Keldon decided to fight it out. He wanted to have the respect of the military.

So Keldon did just that, along with the women. They moved their blades side to side, and in the various stances and attacks he had learned from his previous training.

"Now, let us begin the next phase of your training. We will work on some special disarming maneuvers. Now hold your sword out like so." She held her sword out before her, tip pointing at Keldons head in a slight upwards angle. Keldon matched her stance, making sure his blade was matched to hers and his feet were in the correct position.

She nodded with a smile as she saw Keldon was ready. She held her sword against Keldons blade. Keldon looked at her expecting her to strike, but she didn't. Instead she twisted her sword around quickly causing the hilt of Keldon's sword to jab painfully into his palm forcing him to let go of his sword. It fell a short distance from Keldon and some of the onlookers had smiles on their faces as if they were ready to laugh. But they all kept their mouth's shut.

"Now, sir. I want you to try that on me. The trick to superseding is to twist your opponents hand so that they are forced to let go of their weapon. It is one of the easier disarming tactics that isn't used enough. So most do not expect it when you do use it." She said with a large smile on her face as she saw the dumb founded look on Keldons face.

Keldon nodded, he knew he would not be able to pull it off. But he decided to try anyways. He took the same stance as her and placed the blade the same way, his first attempt had failed to remove the sword from her hand. Keldon did not want to use the full surmount of his strength as he felt he may need to surprise her. However after two or three more attempts he had almost released the sword from her grip. She seemed sufficiently satisfied because she started to move up lowering her sword.

"You learn quickly your grace. If only some of the others who enter these fields do aswel." She said as she casted a quick glance towards a group of fresh recruits. "Now, I want you work on a combination. You have the art of disarming down, but how fast can you react once you have your opponent at this weakness. A skilled officer, even when disarmed, can usually stay out of harms way long of enough to keep from getting severely injured while at the same time regaining possession of his weapon. The technique is to twist the weapon as you have done, and then thrust in the same motion. You should catch your opponent unawares and the injury you cause will allow you to follow it up with a more deadly attack. Try it out on me. Don't worry, I know I can dodge out of the way as I am expecting it." She laughed as she took her stance waiting for Keldon to make his move.

Keldon did what he was supposed to do, although he doubted himself he knew he would try atleast. The sword fell from her hand and she dodged the attack that came quickly afterwards. She smiled at him while picking up her sword "If you can, mix it up at times sir. Thrust up or down. Then to the side. Those who are trained to defend such moves will recognize the move and dodge as I have done. By mixing up the direction of your thrust, you keep your opponent off balance."

Keldon was done trying to talk during this session. He was here to learn and train, not have a conversation with the Sergeant. Atleast not until this was over, he nodded his head and did the attack again, this time bringing his sword around from the left and hitting the blades together, turning his sword caused her's to drop to the ground. Keldon quickly moved his blade for her, she dodged the attack, this time Keldon decided to randomly attack, first a thrust, slash, then slash thrust and side strike. She dodged all of them as she knew how he would move, atleast a general idea of how he moved.

"Now, another attack you should be comfortable with is hitting with the side of your sword. There may be times when you want to keep your opponent alive. Hitting them with the flat of your sword wears them down, and if placed correctly, will knock them out. So, instead of slashing, you want to turn your sword so that the flat portion connects with your opponent." she said firmly. Her tone now that of a instructor and not as if she was trying taunt him any longer. Keldon did not know if this meant he had earned her respect or not. But none the less it was progress, progress that appeared to be for the better. "Now, because you are swinging in this manner, you also lose some power in your strike. The flat section acts as a barrier that the wind or air presses against. Therefore, you need to use more force if you can. That means control of your sword is key for it is easy to turn your blade suddenly and cut your opponent, or worse." He moved as if she was ready to brace herself for the attack. Keldon just put the tip of his sword onto the ground.

"Sergeant, you maybe a strong person. But the full force of a grown man hitting a sword into anyone's side is going to cause some rather ill damage. I will not hit you in that way, so do not even bother trying to ask." he said with a serious look on his face.

[Keldon Elsdragon]

She shrugged slightly. "Verywell, however keep in mind the brute force at certain times can become a very effective tool." She said coming around to the rear of him. "Attempt to use combos, if you combine assortments of blows instead of using a single attack form. Along with your foot work you will be able to over come an obstacle much easier." She sighed once more. "You become predictable, when I struck you struck back with the same strikes. Establish reactions in a fight that become natural. If someone attacks you like I did, nudge there sword away... try the top of the blade as it has the least amount of control. Then when there guard is open go in for a death blow. You do not always need to kill then person with a strike... but making one bleed to death and loose there strength during an attack is just as effective as pushing the blade through there heart." She said with a meninicing grin.

Next thing Keldon knew is the women was moving to the side, putting some distance between him and her. It left her open to be attacked. Or atleast that is what Keldon saw and he acted on it. So Keldon moved forward to strike her in the shoulder blade with his sword, both his hands pulling down on the blade. However she moved aside faster then Keldon perdected and at that moment he knew he had left himself open and in a real fight he would of gave his enemy a chance to deal a fatal blow. Moving herself forward she brought her sword against Keldons armor just at his hip. Although it was nothing more then a gentle tap. But her hand smacked the side of Keldons head abruptly Keldon's strike would of never landed, infect he fell into her trap. Something he would try not to do in the future.

Letting out a sigh of defeat she patted him on the back and he glanced to her face. A wide smile on it. "The art of wielding a sword is not always about the sword. There are many things that a swordsmen will do that will require use of other things, not just the blade. Unarmed combat for instance is a particular skill. Knowing when the strike with your blade, hand, or even food depending on the situation will mean victory or defeat. Keep doing that and perhaps you will become less predictable. Now strike..."

Her words met Keldon ears and he turned rapidly raising his blade upwards to where he heard her voice. However when he expected to feel the clash of blades infront of him he kept going until he did a full turn and stopped. "Perhaps the best way to defend thyself is to just not be in the way of the attacker, if you can not be hit and wait long enough then you will be presented with the opening to strike in your opponents most vulnerable locations..." As she moved in to make an attack.

However this time Keldon realized that he needed to predict his enemy's moves just as he was instructed when he first learned the blade. There body work and movement can give a clue to where the direction of the blade was going. So quickly pulling up his blade to meet hers the metal clashed together and he stepped forward instead of staying on the defense. Moving his blade around after the first clash upwards and over swiftly to her left. Her blade met his once more. Although this time a grin was on her face. Keldon kept advancing this time. She opened her right side to defend from his attack although he wondered if she had done it intentionally or not. Regardless Keldon shifted the weight on his feet and moved into strike. When she started to advance instead of staying on the offense he switched to defending. Blocking her strikes, although only barely, sweat rippling down his forehead.

Then Keldon did something unexpected. when she advanced forward he locked there blades together with a parry and made a rapid advance and forced her backwards by pulling his blade rapidly down taking hers with it. It forced her to step back to give the steel a space to move downwards.

She nodded and then wiped the sweat from her own forehead. "Assure your body is the same height, your movements should be more a slide then steps and you do not move your shoulders enough. Turn your body with your shoulders aswel. You have enough strength in your arms to use it effectively... just do not over do it. Use the weapons agility to your advantage... your lineage if elven who are known better for speed then strength... but you have both so use it wisely. Advancing forward needs to be used with both speed and strength." She said as she moved into strike once more. Keldon's head hurt slightly from her hit however he raised his sword rapidly once more to catch hers, the surprise to him is that she moved is blade sideways rapidly causing him to turn in a circle. He knew his back was about to be exposed and it was not going to be a good thing.

So he kept turning, this time keeping his blade moving with hers until it met the tip of hers. Turning rapidly facing away from her then to her again he stepped forward and turned his left foot right, catching the back of her leg. The look on her face would of made Keldon laugh if he was paying attention however he wasn't. The force of the turn caused her to lose her balance and being to fall backwards. A feint, something it had learned back in Natura with one of the Paladins... something the women was not aware of that he knew yet. She crashed into the ground hard, making a thud some dust coming upwards. She remained on the ground for a brief moment Keldon moved over and looked down at her with raised eye brows.

Looking up to him with the breath knocked out of her she made a brief laugh. "Fething well done... wish I did that to my instructor patterns ago..." she leaned forward still sitting on her ass taking some fresh breaths of air.

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Resting the blade on the ground Keldon leaned on it slightly, he was violently sore, and his arm was killing him from the previous blow. He did not expect to have that much strength in the assault, and was lucky he did not break her leg like he had done to the young legionnaire in Taralon. But Keldon assumed that the women before him was much tougher then the young lad previously... although Keldon sure felt the practice thus far.

The look on the womens face stated she obvious did aswel, he hand going down to the ground pushing herself upwards with a grunt walking over to her blade on the ground a short distance away she mumbled. "Apparently someone has schooled you in the ability of a feint.. which I regret how asking previously.." he said with another brief grunt leaning down picking up the sword. Keldon gasped for air expending his lungs rapidly as he nodded trying to hide the fact that he was tired and sore.

The women moved towards Keldon and smirked. "No need to hide it Sir, we are both tired. I believe we will call it a brightening for now. However I expect you here on the morrow. Just ask someone around here for Rhia and they will direct you to my location if I am not here sir." she said putting her sword away, but she turned around and thought briefly. "Pardon me sir... however with this type of instruction we would go over how clean one's blade. It is not something we normally teach those in basic training as they are provided the sword and thrown into combat." she said ending with a sigh and a firm tone aswel.

Rhia moved her hand over the pommel of her blade. "A sword is bound to become bloody... even more so for those who follow the path we do." she said moving towards the wall where several rags where hanging off a rack drifting in the wind a little. "Cloth is obviously the best. Even better when it is your opponent's. After all I highly doubt they will require there tunic to be clean any longer should your sword become bloody. Rust is dangerous, especially to a life-saving implement like a sword. As I said cloth works, or grass in a pinch when you've got nothing better, but there's another trick you can use too..." she said with a grin.

"You start by bringing the blade up above your head and then almost as if you were going to try and crack a whip, bring it down again in a flicking motion. It takes time and practice to get it to work properly. Be careful not to look like an utter fool. Still, it's worth knowing." With a nod Keldon watched as she demonstrated once, and then a second time. Something perhaps would not be useful all the time, but it could have it's uses. Or so Keldon thought.

"Is there anything else I should know before I go? I should likely go read something in regards to military command." Keldon said briefly waiting for a reply, which came instantly from Rhia. "No sir, I will see you sharp on the morrow." she said with a nod and left towards the building. Keldon turned and made his way for the officers school to get some books he required.

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon was in the training yard away from where he was supposed to meet Rhia as he wanted to spar with some people. Sweat was already on his brow as he was moving his feet rapidly with the motion of his opponent, gaining a better sense of the movement of the mans strikes. He was starting to get better at parrying then he was before turning his blade in the correct and more efficient direction to deflect the blade under more control. At the end of the parry he would bring his blade up in the way to send the blood that would perhaps be on the blade after a strike or combat off so the blade would remain clean. One problem Keldon had in the past was turning his information and knowledge into automatic reaction, skill, and a normal trait that would cause him to naturally react to a threat and the fluid moves of himself and his opponent.

Moving his blade around he turned to strike when a hand grasped his blade, well in truth it was his wrist but it caught Keldon off guard and he turned to see who it was. It was Rhia who was looking at him with a grin. "Ready to continue sir?" she said almost as if not a request more of an order but she said it well that it still sounded like she knew her status and his. So Keldon turned to face her but to his surprise a blade was moving up rapidly in front of his. It was far from a natural reaction but his hand moved upwards to block the blow, the metal clashed together and Keldon looked to her with a quirked brow but then turned into a smile. "Reflexes... turning yourself into a natural warrior is something that will be required sir, both as a commander and as a swordsmen." she said moving backwards. "So for the time being we will fight one another and attempt to turn what you learn previously into a second nature." she said as she moved into strike Keldon.

Moving to his side Keldon brought his blade up to block the attack which he did, however she advanced forward and rapidly started attacking. Where Keldon only managed to block one or two blows the rest hit his armor hard sending a pain through his body. But he kept stepping sideways and backwards which was only partially suscessful. Rhia stopped and stepped back and smirked. "You need to know there are more steps and ways to move around on the field then just the basic side and back step. Although effective there are two principal types of steps, the Cross Step and the Slide or Shuffle Step. The Cross Step is simply the normal method of stepping, where one's leading foot interchanges with every step like in walking. The Shuffle Step on the other hand is a generally smaller motion, wherein one's leading foot remains the same. When giving way or advancing slowly, the Shuffle Step is usually the best to use, as it maintains balance. When you need speed over balance, use the Cross Step. The danger though is that it increases the liklihood of making a mistake, like tripping. Also, there are three levels of strokes that you can use depending on your condition and how much you want to give away. First there's the Full Stroke or the Heavy Stroke. This type means that there is a full body motion, wherein one uses either torso movement, full-body movement and footwork to deliver power into the attack. Most attacks done are of this type." she said knowing full well these were the things she was going to need to focus on for the next short time. She was planning to beat it into the young commander if she was required to do so.

"However, there are two others, one of which you used yesterbrightening on me in your feint. The second type is the Half Stroke. This type of stroke utilizes only the arms or elbows to deliver an attack. Not as damaging as the Full Stroke, but can be done more offhandedly and quicker, as well as making the blade's momentum easier to shift. This was the type you used in your feint.

Lastly, there's the Light Stroke. This stroke utilizes only the strength of the hands and wrists to deliver an attack. These are usually only done for harassment strikes." she smirked then demonstrated how each were to be used, and had Keldon practice once or twice, which he did without effort although she would harass him about something once in awhile..

"Alright, good. One last thing. The transition between Offense and Defense. This is one of the most difficult parts of swordplay, as knowing when to strike and when to guard are very difficult. There are different styles of fighting that are used in contrast for these." As she went through them one by one, he demonstrated and had Keldon mimic them, getting used to them.

"First is the High Guard. This is a stance where the sword is raised up high, usually over one's head. It is effective at delivering attacks. Second is the Center Guard, also known as the Classic Guard. It's what we've been working with for the most part. It's a stance where the sword point is held with the point of the blade aimed at the opponent's upper body, usually the throat or face. The most versatile and common stance. Last is the Low Guard. This is a stance where the sword point is aimed towards the opponent's lower torso. It is effective for protecting the legs and lower body." she smiled and nodded, giving a last tip.

"Using these different ideas in your combat today will get you used to them, and figuring out what works when will help with your Offense and Defense switching. Now...let's begin."


OOC: Credit for the feint and stepping descriptions goto tito as I really couldn't think of a better way to explain them. Will post more later, off to bed for now.

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Moving a short distance away from Rhia he took up the classic guard as he waited for her to make the first move. Watching her to see if he could predict her next movement, and she indeed did make the first move. When Rhia made her advance forward with a lower clash Keldon side stepped while stepping forward into her defense, with a quick strike to the right that was met with her sword he made another attack to her left, and back and forth keeping Rhia's defense up and little time to attack Keldon. Rhia back up slowly but then started to keep up her pace, Keldon had a smirk on his face as he advanced, although hardly noticeable.

Turning his blade more Keldon turned the strikes into harder hits the blades clashing for larger amounts of force. Bringing his blade up high he turned it to perform a feint while bringing down the blade in a high stance. Clinging and the sound of the metal hitting one another kept ringing as he pushed Rhia back, although it was something that was only going to last a brief more time. Keldon was about to learn that, although he was enjoying himself a rather fair amount.

Rhia moved back however her blade started to block Keldons rapidly, faster, the strikes almost lighter. Something that made Keldon think 'oh no..' as he kept advancing he also wondered how long it would progress and that answer was coming sooner then he had expected. Quickly releasing his grip on his Keldon came into a back step and then took a defensive position as his blade was ready to meet Rhia's.

As Rhia advanced like he had predicted Keldon brought his sword up to meet hers, first a high guard, then another side step and he moved. Sliding his blade up he met hers with his cross guard, turning it in an attempt to disarm her however she jerked her sword on his and to his surprise his own blade was the one that flew away. But unlike before Keldon did not stop in his advance. Instead he brought his fist forward into her shoulder hard. He would go for the face should it of been real combat but it wasn't. Luckly for him the strike caught Rhia off guard and Keldon quickly moved for his blade. Picking it up he turned around and raised the sword upwards as Rhia brought hers down.

But this time when her blade came crashing down Keldon moved his sword to block then turned so her blade simply moved past him and smashed into the stone paver's. Keldon turned around and brought his own blade down onto Rhia's arm something that had to hurt given the force he was using, as the blade hit her arm he rose upwards. By this time Rhia realized what had happened and was turning to greet Keldon. But instead Keldon advanced forward another punch to her side was dealt.

Rhia brought her sword in a right to left slash rapidly but Keldon attempted to turn, the blade passed by his armor almost by a milameter, Keldon was starting to realize the best tactic indeed was just to not being there. The result threw her attack high and close, and left her back undefended. Keldon pivoted on one foot, spinning into a forward stance with a classic guard and pushed forward, advancing on Rhia. Coming in a more angled this time, which was harder and more awkward for Rhia to deflect...but not impossible.

Rhia countered the strokes evenly, then intentionally left an opening in her low right guard. Keldon, seeing the hole, fell for the feint. He brandished the blade high in a last attack before swinging it counterclockwise to come up in a sharp diagonal attack from Rhia's low right to top left guard. Rhia grinned and stepped into the attack, twisting his blade to spiral around Keldon, then with a flick the training sword went flying.

Rhia was not feeling merciful, because her ribs still felt tender from the previous brightening, and instead of letting him retrieve his blade like the moment before, she pressed yet more. Keldon stepped backwards rapidly attempting to stay out of her reach using the speed in his legs and the footwork explained to him previously to aid him he made his way around Rhia or atleast attempt to. Keeping her striking while he slowly made his way towards his sword.

Keldon was a brief distance away from his training sword when he saw Rhia stepping forward his mind snapped back to Paxia when the orc was advancing on him and his blade was a short distance away. So he suddenly went into the mindset. He faked like he was about to dive left however he moved right instead and Rhia clued in. But it was not until Keldon was airborne and already rolling towards his sword, his hand extended out to grasp the guard and then the handle.

The blade was firmly in his hand and he rolled sideways, although when he rolled he was not stopped by the body of a fallen warrior like had been the case in Paxia his free hand pushed forward as he propped himself up and his feet kicked brining him upright. Moving towards Rhia Keldon raised his blade, a wide grin was on Rhia's face as she moved after him. "Excellent sir..." she said as her blade raised upwards and was brought down on Keldon's head. Quickly he raised his own blade to deflect the strike.

When the blades met Keldon started to push forward instead of backing down, hie blade ripping into Rhia's as there strength clashed. It only took afew steps from Keldon for Rhia to back off and then come forward in a succession of attacks. Keldon parried strike after strike, even though her advances were becoming much stronger and faster. Keldons eyes upto this point were following her sword and her body. However he made the mistake of looking to her footwork to find the next strike for the last several seconds.

In the corner of the Provost's eye he noticed the sword coming down towards him, and he raised his blade upwards rapidly to block it. Although he did not expect to be able to, so he stepped forward his eyes closed, sword still going up. Turning his shoulder outwards towards Rhia he moved. His shoulder hit her with a fair amount of force into her gut which let out a large umph

[Kisa]

She stumbled at the force, surprised he hit her. She quickly regained posture and held her weapon before her, staring at the man hoping to intimidate him. However it was of little use as they both knew it was a spar, nothing more. Yet she wanted to teach him to fear too. A silence followed. Rhia was motionless, breathing heavier than usual. The spar was going well and she knew she had to beat him. In the silence, the weapons that lined the room's walls were gleaming; they reflected the small droplets of sweat on her forehead and neck. Her eyes were widened. It seemed like she was building up some inner rage, to make her become invincible, but all that came out was a long sigh.

A sharp breath inwards and she continued. A step to the left, swining her hips as far as possible to swing straight back to the right, bringing her weapon striking down at his chest. Her lips let out a screech as she dug deep to find strength to beat him. Perhaps it was in her nature or blood that she wanted to win, always. But there was a driving force behind her every move. Another step forward and she brought the sword round and pushed the hilt into his side, hoping to spin round to his back and finish the spar. However she missed, he dodged her attack and also looked at the open back; every man's weakness. He saw her slither like a snake, her shoulders turning with her body and he knew full well she meant to try to hurt him with a heavy blow to the stomach. Her moves were graceful, sliding then tip toe steps, ducking her head, twisting her body and leaping from danger.

"I set a challenge," she said as she broke free for a moment. "Hit this." She pointed to a star embroided on her jacket. It was truly tiny and if she hadn't pointed it out, he wouldn't have seen it. It was on the front of the jacket, to the left. "Focus your energy but always be alert."

She darted through the room, passing through the air effortlessly. Her attacked became more defensive as she saw Keldon trying hard to hit that star. If he managed, he could win this spar. With one blow to that spot, he could have killed an opponent. Her arms slithered again, turning into liquid then coming down forcefully like iron. She stepped back, guarding her front but leaving her back wide open. Her blade would parry most attacks although some jabs could come close to the star.

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon nodded in acceptance of the challenge and grinned as he took a step back to assess the situation and then one step forward with an attack to her front. Rapidly he pressed with side to side slashes to the front, that were in truth not his original plan. He knew to well she would protect the front of her body far greater then anything and as he struck her he was right. Opening after opening presented itself in her rear guard and Keldon made note of such a thing but did not adjust his tactics to strike there atleast not yet.

Moving forward raising the blade high above his head he would strike downwards rapidly, turning the blade to the right to curve it towards her right foot although he expected the blade to be deflected never the less he wanted to keep her attention forward, always on him, always on the defense and apparently that is what she was going to be doing. Defending while his goal was the star, a small target, but such a large goal. Keldon kept stepping forward driven by his own need to win, the need to control the situation. The power and energy that surged through him was a definite rush for the young officer the blades smashing together only got him worked up more. Each time steel met steel was a battle of whits, and a battle to win. Life in danger or not, one must win to survive. Perhaps this was a spar but the next time he encounters trouble it may just not be a spar.

As he started to slash from the right he turned his blade downward and then pulled back with his arms, his goal was to pull the blade upwards rapidly and catch her blade to disarm her again his feet firmly planted on the ground moving the blade through the motionless air upwards, the beeds of salty sweat rolling down his forehead and beading up along the line of his hair. Gentle moisture building up on the steel of the blade.

[Kisa]

Rhia tried hard to defend the star, knowing all to well he'll be focussing all his attentions on attacking. Perhaps his defence was finally down. She tested it by slashing at his right side, arms slicing through the air repeatedly but every thrust was deflected by him. He obviously hadn't forgotten about defending himself whilst still attacking and this pleased her. Her mouth, open with heavy breathing, turned to smile a second before starting again on the other side. Everyone had a stronger side and a weaker side. If he was able to defend his right side, what about his left? But yet again she was pleasantly surprised at his ability to change his footwork to deflect the strikes. She was even more pleased as, even though she was attacking on test, he still tried to hit that star.

The combination of attacks, parries, footwork and defense could send anyone in a soaking puddle of sweat and as for the two sparring, this was certainly the case for Rhia. Her mind thought of nothing in particular. It raced as the blood pumped round her body, thrashed through the veins as rapidly as her strikes against her opponent. The pace slowed on her behalf, switching her tests to his footwork. She spun through the air, side stepping yet not making an advancing strike to his side. Instead she was waiting for a way to trip him up! Foul play or not, it could one day save his life, to avoid such mistakes, trips, or other. She wanted to teach him to focus not only on the sword but the feet, the body, the mind. No opportunity presented itself for her to trip his feet so she returned to defending herself.

The room was blistering, every move felt like swimming in hot lava. Her sweat fell to the floor and seemed to hiss at the drop. If this kept up, they'd have to spar another time; the floor would be too slippy. Yet another good lesson without meaning to, to fight on all kinds of surfaces. Shame it wasn't planned, she wasn't ready for it and slipped. Keldon began to disarm her and her sweaty grip and stumble forced her to lose the weapon to the air. She looked on with wide eyes, unable to do anything but hold her hand infront of the star. Time seemed to slow as she fell, the blade still spinning in the air, sweat drifting through the air.

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon kept to attacking, but his attacks where a ploy, or atleast that was his plan until the attacks became successful which was a gentle but welcomed surprised to him as he moved rapidly to deflect her own attacks. He kept the view around his eyes clear ready to see any incoming strike from her and ready to deflect it or atleast try. Which worked as he managed to deflect several of her strikes.

His feet moved as he sidestepped himself the echoed of the metal going airborne ringing in the elfs ears as he moved to her side as his feet moved rapidly, although they were turned inwards at different angles to keep himself balanced, something he did awhile ago as the floor started to become harder to move on its ever growing slippery surface. Something that Rhia had forgotten which was another surprise to the young commander. His face twitched slightly as the heat of the room caused him to reach for yet another breath as his eye's watched her move downwards and her sword that had left her hand.

Keldon watched as she shielded the star with her hand, and he was not about to hit her hand. In combat he would of just pushed he blade through the hand and kill his opponent but this was still a spar. He would turn his feet inwards and move his waist, turning his body in 360 degrees he would push the air out of his lungs rapidly as he moved around in a circle quickly bringing his blade behind Rhia. He would turn the sword sideways bringing the blunt side of the blade into contact with her back, forcefully at that to knock the air out of her lungs and obviously cause her to gasp for air. Or atleast that was the plan.

Should it work he would feint the blade over her head rapidly, turning the blade as he stepped forward and would use his foot to kick her on her back as she gasped for air. If that was done he would take one more step forward and bring his sword down rapidly, the tip of the training blade lined up perfectly with the star. He would keep himself silent through the whole thing with only breaths escaping him. Many people made a loud noise of some sort when they went in for the final move, but Keldon kept silent. He preferred to not give a hint to his enemy that he was about to strike.

If it all went as planned he would stop the blade a mear inch from the center of the star and look down to Rhia. He himself gasping for hair as his eyes locked with hers, a sense of pride and victory would gleam in his eyes. Or would it?

[Kisa]

Rhia fell and fell hard. Her knees thrashed to the ground, her weapon whirrling across the room. Her eyes were blank, wide and full of shock. She couldn't believe she had lost. She saw his weapon point at the challenged place. Her breathing was finally reaching a normal rhythm in the silence of the pause that took hold. the room was hot, sticky and felt disgusting to be in. Sweat drops stained the ground, the swords and their clothes. The clang of the weapon hitting the ground finally came; like a crash bolt of lightning throwing death to a tree. It rattled after the big metallic crash before finally settling in to defeat. Her reflection in her own weapon showed her face, distraught, upset, annoyed with her failure but pleased also that the student was such a good learner. He understood what was needed, how important all the factors of the training were. She could have asked for no more.

She smiled, looking up to Keldon, into his eyes.
"You have done well. Seein's you have done what I asked, I applaude you greatly. I am very impressed with your talents. You have a natural flair I haven't seen in a long time. Well done."
Her voice was calming now, the husky, heavy sounds gone from fighting. It had been a while since she had a spar like this, remembering how she did first time; failing. She was happy to see someone bettering themselves.
"I admit defeat and congratulate you." She rose from her knelt form and stood, stumbling to the side slightly. "You are a worthy opponent." She extended her hand to shake his. He had done well and definitely deserved merit.

----

OOC:

Keldon, your Professional Longsword Training thread has now been approved for the two exp needed.
*Takes out newly designed Kisa stamp and stamps thread all over*

~Kisa

[Keldon Elsdragon]

Keldon panted with the loss of breath from the fight but was filled with pride, a smile on his face as he extended his hand outwards and grasped her. "A worthy opponent you are yourself Milady, and I appreciate you teaching me to further myself in the blade." He said with a small in hail gasp of air. "I accept your surrender... but I must report to the barrack as I have some recruits I must make there lives living hell." He said with a wide smirk and attempt to straighten his back, in truth he was about goto his quarters and lay down and rest his body for a brief time then head to the barracks to beat up some recruits.


OOC: Cheers, and thanks. Wish I got this thread done ages ago. Self-mods get dull quickly.