El Viatre

”El Viatre is about agility and skill first and foremost. After that, it’s all about showmanship and flair… Brute force never really enters into it.” – Master-at-arms Giuseppe Londoro, Kaldiran garrison.

El Viatre; a lightning fast style of sword fighting that emphasizes speed and precision as a means of attack and defense. It is a combat style of cunning above all else, and those who practice it tend to have a self assurance of their skill that can border on arrogance. For the most part, the technique is designed to fight one on one with an opponent.

El Viatre is a combat style concerned primarily with light swords, but also integrates the use of an off-hand weapon, feats of agility and occasional outbursts of flamboyance. Generally, it is fighting smarter rather than fighting stronger, utilizing misdirection and guile to circumvent an opponent’s defenses and then deliver a precise and deliberate final strike. It relies almost exclusively on stabbing and piercing weapons; while several weapons covered by the skill are edged, light swords are not capable of hacking off limbs or slicing through thick hide or leather armor as a long sword would.

History

El Viatre first emerged from the Eunesian federation around era 10159, seventy five eras or so before the Aetherfracture, growing out of a number of nautical and ‘ocean going’ fighting styles. Given the heavy dependence on ocean travel to the region, it is not surprising that a fighting technique that emphasized skill and agility as a means of defense rather than heavy armour would arise. Anecdotal evidence of encounters between these marines and land based forces sporting heavier armours such as linked mail and full plate armours quickly saw a preference for narrow, piercing weapons to maximize the marine’s ability to overcome an armoured opponent while still keeping the weapon lightweight, thus maintaining a consistent speed advantage over heavier armed and armoured opponents.

By 10173, El Viatre had a growing number of followers along the coastline of the mainland around Eunesia, particularly in Carmelyn, as retired sea-captains and master marines brought the skill ashore and began teaching it to others, setting up schools for the art as a means of income. It was also during this time that many of the Charismean based words and terms were assimilated into the lexicon of the art, mingling with terms that had their origin in an archaic variant of the Aelyrian tongue; old Hastalian, a language sharing similar roots to Charismean.

El Viatre has been gradually spreading south since then, finding favour with nobles for whom the finesse and grace of the skill is an appeal, as well as the fact that they need not wear unsightly suits of armour plating and can in fact, wear the most flamboyant of garments with practical purpose.

The art has also caught on with those who wish an alternative to fighting toe to toe in heavy, expensive suits of full plate armour.

The Practitioner of El Viatre

Those skilled in El Viatre often sport a flamboyant wardrobe and a repertoire of witty jibes; many mistake this for bluff and bluster, however, it is seldom the case, as the more skilled the El Viatre practitioner, then the more effort they tend to put into looking like they are nothing but a clownish fop. After all, underestimating your opponent has been the downfall of many.

Practitioners will make heavy use of taunts and witticism to draw and bait an opponent; in this manner, they will seek to lead the battle where they want it to go – getting an opponent to chase them to locations they know to be able to use to their advantage.

For a practitioner of El Viatre, displaying their skill is just as important as a victory, and defeat of an opponent is considered much more noteworthy if it is accomplished without death or bloodshed. Above all, El Viatre practitioners see sword fighting as a performance of sorts, and always seek to further their reputation; after all, a reputation is a powerful psychological tool, and just one more means of distraction to use to bluff opponents.

Although not strictly honor bound, those who practise El Viatre often have a sporting streak, and prefer to let a beaten opponent retreat with their lives. This is not to say one who uses El Viatre will not fight dirty; on the contrary, they will take every underhanded opportunity that may arise to get an edge on their opponent – if the opponent did not think or was not able to do it first, then that is the fault of their lack of skill or cunning, and should be exploited to show them up for their failing in this regard.

A final point of note is the fancy head-wear of the El Viatre practitioner – this item, for reasons unknown, is practically a sacred object to one versed in El Viatre. The surest way to insult an El Viatre master is knock their headpiece from their head, or worse, take it and wear it yourself without permission.

The El Viatre practitioner will of course, remove their head-wear if asked, and has no compunction to cast it aside if they will it, but usually go to lengths to recover such a covering that has been lost accidentally or removed by the actions of an opponent.

Duels between two practitioners of El Viatre are generally bloodless; they are primarily a display of skill and the winner is whoever can first remove and retain the other’s headpiece. In such cases, the loser of the duel will provide a small feather matching in colour to their own plumage to the victor, who will then wear it along side their own. If you happen across a swordsman with a wide-brimmed hat beset with one grand plume and many smaller feathers, know that such a person has bested a great number of other swordsmen in one on one combat.

Limitations

Generally speaking, El Viatre requires a weapon that is held in one hand and can be easily moved about with movements of the wrist and forearm – for this reason; light-swords are the most effective choice of weapon, and the only weapons capable of being used in double time movements. Long bladed swords could be used to some degree, and have the advantage of weight, but would be too slow for anything but single-time movements.
Greatswords and any two handed weapons are totally unsuitable for use with El Viatre.
Giants and dwarves in particular do not possess the build or body shape to take full advantage of the El Viatre skill.
Humans, elves and katta are the most proficient candidates for the art.
Practitioners of El Viatre are limited in terms of what armour they can wear, and although they may wear a metal skull cap, they never wear any kind of helm that would cover their face or ears.

Strengths

Swift, flexible style usable in both a lethal and a non-lethal capacity (or at least, less-lethal). The technique emphasizes speed and precision over strength and power.
Highly effective in one on one match ups.

Weaknesses

Requires open space and freedom of movement; a practitioner cannot be burdened down by too much armour, or fight in a packed melee, and has difficulty fighting in confined quarters.
El Viatre is generally ineffective when it comes to fighting opponents that have no vital points, such as a heart or central brain. A practitioner of El Viatre will generally struggle to kill golems, elementals and some types of undead through swordsmanship alone (this is not to say they cannot repel them, only that they would have difficulty killing them with a coup-de-grace).
El Viatre requires an awareness of environment that prevents anything but the most minimal head protection.
Less effective against multiple opponents, but the higher the skill of the practitioner, the more opponents they will be able to deal with at once without penalty.

Armour Penalties

The footwork and agility required for El Viatre practitioners ultimately limits the amount of weight they can bear and still remain effective at their art. As their skill improves, these armour restrictions will loosen slightly, but will always limit the practitioners of El Viatre to the lightweight armours, and only in a limited number of places where protection is most vital.

The first armours available are plates of hardened leather. With time, El Viatre masters learn to move wearing sections of metal armour, although only elven steel or lighter metals are ever light weight enough to be used in this manner.

Styles (Estilo) and Techniques (Método) of El Viatre

El Viatre is a relatively free-form fighting style, with a number of core stances and moves that individual practitioners customize to their own preferences and physical abilities.

There is one primary division within the art, that is Main-gauche closed and Main-gauche open.

To fight with a closed Main-gauche is to utilize a weapon in that hand, usable offensively, defensively or both. Main-gauche open on the other hand, is to fight without a weapon in the Main-gauche, leaving it free to grasp a cloak, throw objects for the purpose of distraction, swing from things and make rude gestures at the opponent as needed.

There is of course, nothing to stop a practitioner switching between the core estilo as they see fit.

There are then a number of método, individual moves or stances which can be utilized and modified depending on the tastes of the practitioner.

The basic método are:

Lado Favorecido Forward: The most basic posture. The weapon is held extended directly towards the opponent with the wrist rotated so the thumb is on the downward side of the hand. From this position the practitioner can quickly twist, lift and dip the blade to intercept a thrusting or slashing strike coming from the fore. The Lado Favorecido leg is kept bent with the ball of the heel off the ground. The foot of the back leg is turned at right angles to the foot of the Lado Favorecido. Body weight is held on center, allowing for both a quick forward Estocada, or a speedy parry and back step by straightening the favoured leg. With this Método, the Main-gauche is generally held low and close to the body.

Weapon High: An unusual looking posture, similar to the forward pose. The Lado Favorecido is held high above the head, with the blade angled downward towards the opponent. The main gauche is held low and inverted to protect against sweeping attacks from a low angle. This posture is generally used as it is easier to drop the Lado Favorecido to deal with an attack coming up than it is to raise it to defend against an attack coming down.

Main-gauche forward: The body is positioned into a forward leaning crouch, with the Main-gauche arm held crooked ahead of the Lado Favorecido. Typically, this método is used when holding a cape or cloak over the Main-gauche arm to obscure the position of the Lado Favorecido weapon. This combination makes a parry with the Lado Favorecido more difficult, but in turn, leaves an opponent guessing as to the direction of the next attack until the last moment, making a parry on their part harder as well. Defense from this posture is best accomplished with footwork to avoid the opponent’s attacks.

Weapon across the body: In this stance, the Lado Favorecido blade is held horizontally across the body with the thumb facing back towards the wielder; from this position it can only be used defensively, so the Main-gauche is held blade forward, ready to thrust at the opponent. This posture is often used as a prelude to a feint, as the Main-gauche weapon can be quickly repositioned to parry an opponent’s attack down and under the Lado Favorecido arm and the Lado Favorecido weapon quickly rotated tip forward and thrust into the opponent with a forward leaning strike that positions the opponent’s blade under the armpit. Due to the sudden and close proximity this attack places one with the opponent, it is not recommended for use against an opponent with a closed Main-gauche.

Tools of the trade

Dueling swords

Lightswords are stiff, narrow blades – making them ideal for thrusting attacks that can pierce armour, but at the same time, making them brittle in comparison to broader, more flexible edged weapons intended for slicing attacks. Larger edged weapons generally have much more momentum than can be stopped outright with a light blade, and the light blades are prone to snap if they intercept a heavier weapon straight on. As a result, light blades are generally pushed forwards and down an opponent’s blade with a twisting motion, deflecting the incoming attack somewhat and hopefully giving the wielder of the light blade room enough to move aside from the blow.1

Espada Ropera: Midway between a rapier and a long sword, the Espada Ropera can be likened as the founder of the light-blade lineage. It features a cross-guard as opposed to a basket hilt, and although the blade is narrowed, it still retains an effective cutting edge.

Rapier: The next evolution from the Espada Ropera, the rapier is narrower in width but thicker in cross section, creating a slightly heavier weapon. Usually around 2 and a half cm in width and often as much as 100cm in length. Rapiers are often straight through most of their length, tapering rapidly to a point towards the tip and are characterized by a large basket hilt to protect the wielder’s hand.

Epée: Around 90cm in length, the epée is one of the lightest of the combat effective light-swords owing mostly to its V shaped cross section. Because of its light weight, an epée is generally insufficient to parry anything but another light sword, so the role of parrying heavier weapons would fall to the Main-gauche. The epée has no edge and is used exclusively for thrusting.

Smallsword: 60-80cm in length, tapering throughout its length to a sharp point. Lighter than the rapier but heavier than the epée, the smallsword features a D shaped hand guard rather than a basket hilt.

Estoc: A highly derived sword, triangular in cross section and foregoing any cutting edge in favour of a tough weapon capable of piercing thicker amour without buckling, yet still keeping weight low. Its performance in terms of speed is somewhere between an epée and a rapier. Like the rapier, it often features an elaborate basket hilt and could be as much as 120cm in length.

Main-gauche or Side Arm

Practitioners of El Viatre often wield a second weapon in the ‘off hand’. The Main-gauche needn’t always be a blade; bucklers, cloaks and candle-sticks could all be used as a functional Main-gauche. The most commonly seen Main-gauche is a blade, 20-30cm in length with sturdy quillons for catching an opponent’s weapon. The Main-gauche is often much more suitable for blocking an incoming attack from a heavy blunt weapon or a large sword than the primary light blade would be.

Stiletto: A narrow weapon, like an ice pick, around 30cm from tip to hilt. The weapon is intended only for thrusting and has a circular cross section and a pair of sturdy quillions. The stiletto is a very quick weapon, primarily suited for piercing armour and stabbing at vital locations such as the neck or chest.

Parrying dagger: The design of the parrying dagger is focused mainly around a tough blade and a upwardly angled quillions; allowing a wielder to use the dagger to catch, deflect and parry much heavier weapons than they could with a light sword.

Swordbreaker dagger: This dagger features a wide cross section and a saw-toothed back, giving it the ability to catch and hold a sword, and then snap it with a twist if has been caught in the right place.

Throwing knives: An effective off hand weapon, used for attack and distraction but ineffective in defense.

Flintlocks: A favorite of El Viatre masters, although, very hard to come by. While unreliable and inaccurate, they make superb tools to bluff and distract, especially when they go off and produce an ear shattering report and a cloud of smoke. Plus, sometimes you get lucky and drop your opponent like a sack of potatoes, but generally it is a device to encourage a target to stay their ground or duck behind something in a fight.

Other items

Mail gloves: Worn instead of a Main-gauche, ring mail gloves can be used by a deft practitioner to catch an opponent’s weapon if the timing is right. While a thrust would easily pierce the mail and a larger blade could slice through it, an edged light sword could be caught mid way down the blade and pushed sideways without cutting through the mail. A practitioner would require superb reactions to make good of such a tool on a regular basis.

Cloak: a versatile tool in the arsenal of El Viatre. The cloak serves many purposes; first, as a means of distraction and deception – held across the body in the off hand, obscuring the stance and position of the practitioner’s weapon and body (thus making it more difficult to predict an attack, as well as making it harder to execute a precise coup-de-grace), and as a combative device in its own right; thrown over an opponent’s hand-guard to ensnare the weapon. Finally, a well used cloak can also be used to parry, especially against weapons that lack a good cutting edge. When held correctly in a loose manner, the cloak can quickly be pulled taut, and used to flick an opponent’s weapon to the side or deflect it from its path.

"Feh! You people and your ridiculous hats!" – Captain ‘Black Tom’ Crookshanks, shortly before his demise.

Fancy hat: This seemingly frivolous addition to the wardrobe of El Viatre is, like the cloak, surprisingly useful. Most often, the hats of El Viatre practitioners are wide-brimmed, and adorned with a brightly colored feather, plume or tuft. Not just for decoration, the purpose of this is to provide yet another distraction, catching the eye of the opponent as the El Viatre practitioner bobs and weaves about. After all, an opponent who is paying attention to how a fighter is dressed isn’t paying attention to what really matters; what they’re trying to do next. A hat can also be used as a thrown implement; hence the wide brim they often sport. Turning the hat into a tool, the practitioner can use their hat like a scoop, catching small falling objects beyond arms reach, knocking small items around at a distance, and putting it to maximum effect is a means to befuddle and distract one’s opponents; thrown into the face of an attacker as a distraction. The hat of an El Viatre practitioner is a highly treasured item and an individual identifier; they are unique items, made in a shape and colour particular to the one who wears it.

"Will you keep that damnable hat out of my face? So help me I’ll ACK " - Last attributed words of Captain ‘Black Tom’ Crookshanks.

Number of opponents

El Viatre is most effective when it can be brought to bear on a single opponent. Only those with the highest mastery of the skill can engage more than one opponent with any effectiveness, and even then they are significantly limited in the number of opponents they can face at once.

At each level, practitioners of El Viatre will be able to combat a number of opponents and resist a number more. Those opponents they repel are merely kept at a distance and cannot be fought until the other opponents are first incapacitated.

Beyond the listed number of opponents, practitioners of El Viatre will have their ability to defend themselves and attack significantly reduced for each additional opponent they are forced to take on.

"How is someone going to see how skilled I am if I sneak up on them and lop their head off from behind? No, I’d rather they realize just how outclassed they were when I take their weapon from their grasp and cut my initials into their front." – Reginald Burgoise, Jaedaxian noble.