Windrek's Longsword Training

Eriond · December 10, 2003, 02:20 AM

(OOC: Yay! *Does the 'First Thread Dance'*)

Era X Post Fractum (PF). Telath is in the First Era of the Celestine Mandate. It is the age of the Darkening, the Mageocracy of Julos The Mad. The Season is Winter

Windrek's footsteps echoed hollowly in the grey stone vault to which he had been directed for his longsword training. A great stone hearth at one end of the wide chamber provided both light and heat. A pair of candelabras placed upon tables on either side of the entrance also added to the flickering light.

A pair of overstuffed chairs sat near to the fire. In one a long-boned figure sprawled with one leg over the arm of the chair.

As Windrek entered the room the figure rose and faced him, drawing it's sword. "Serale," she said in a deep throaty voice. "My name is Rela'ta'Ather. I will teach you to use that sword you wear. Any questions before we begin?"

She held her sword negligently in one large hand as she calmly, even amusedly, looked him up and down.

Windrek · December 10, 2003, 09:30 AM

Windrek walked down the corridor with caution. His light footfalls barely heard as he approached the stone vault he was directed to report to. He calmed himself when he grew excited as he drew closer to the entrance to the vault. Windrek knew that he needed cool, calm, confidence during these training sessions. He wanted to show the Ancients that their trust in him was well founded. Hence the reason for him meditating and focusing for a good while before coming here.

Upon entering the vault his sharp eyes took in all of the surroundings. He noticed that the room contained sparse but comfortable furnishings.'What did you expect' he chided himself. This is a training room not a tea veranda!. He slightly chuckled in his own mind. Windrek also noticed a huge stone hearth in the vault which gave off light. He quickly looked at the way the light played in shadows on the wall, enjoying the beauty of the shapes and figures represented. He then gave his undivided attention to the figure as it rose to greet him.

As the female elf rose and revealed her name Windrek gave her an intense look over. He noticed a good measure of grace and fluidity in her movements. He then bowed slightly at the waist and replied " Vedui Rela'tha Ather, I am Windrek Dell'este, Arato Quessir of our people. I am honored to have you as a teacher. At this time I don't have any questions and I am ready to begin my lessons." With that being said Windrek drew Celeb Rakka from it's sheath. And as the sword came forth a light nimbus of light enveloped Windrek. Windrek with a neutral facial expression looked to his teacher for further instructions.

Eriond · December 10, 2003, 03:07 PM

Rela'ta frowned as her pupil mispronounced her name. Her frown deepened as he drew his sword.

"Pretty blade," she pronounced. "But you wont be using it."

She turned her blade so that it's edge caught the light. It was obviously dulled intentionally and the length of it was notched from repeated use against other dull blades. She then used it to indicate a sheathed blade of like kind resting against a corner of the room.

"I like not the chances of my own injury," she said calmly. "There'll be time enough for your own sword later boy."

A smile spread across her unussually blunt elven features. She awaited his re-arming patiently.

Windrek · December 22, 2003, 09:48 AM

Windrek walked over to the other side of the room. He unstrapped his blade placing it in the corner.He then took up the dull blade and walked over to the instructor.

" I am ready to begin he said"

Lunerith · December 28, 2003, 04:23 PM

"Good, first of all, be aware that even a blunt sword can hurt a lot. This is just to avoid cuts, the bruises will still be here"

Rela'ta'Ather then placed her right foot in front, about a step away from her left foot. Her right leg was bent and her left leg was mostly straight. Her feet were perpendicular to each other, with the right foot pointing straight ahead. She seemed to have a good footing, which in turn gave her good balance. Her blunt sword was held by her right hand, pointing upwards. She then began to explain the stance she had taken.

"This is an aggressive stance, one that you should take when you want to attack someone. Defense is still possible, but as the name tells you, it is focused on attacking, so try to push forward when using this stance. Try to copy it." While Rela'ta watched her pupil copy her technique, she continued explaining what it was they were going to do "I will start by teaching you the defensive and aggressive stances, then how to deflect a blow with your sword, before moving on to basic slashing techniques. There, we shall test what you have learnt, first by you taking an aggressive stance and slashing at me and then by you taking a defensive stance and deflecting my blow. I will then teach you how to dodge properly, followed by thrusting, a test of these techniques and finally, the big test incorporating all the techniques you have learnt... I will probably win if I put my best in it, so I won't, giving you a chance to beat me" By that time, Windrek could easily have taken an aggressive stance, without too much trouble. Halfway through her speech, Rela'ta went out of her stance though, so if Windrek had forgotten it, he was in some kind of trouble, that was for sure.

Windrek · December 28, 2003, 06:36 PM

Windrek became attentive as Rela'tAther began to explain the techniques she was going to teach him. Windrek soon became aware of a particular way in which she set herself. Knowing that she was deminstrating a stance of some sort he tried to remember it.

It certainly wasn't an easy task, for his instructor moved with such fluid grace it seemed it was all one movement.One second she was facing him in a normal position, the next she was in this stance. And it was hard to concentrate due to the beauty that her movements revealed.

Nevertheless, Windrek was determined to pay attention to every detail during this instruction. He put into practice the self-discipline he learned during his spiritual meditative practices. Focusing on the task at hand, Windrek began to attempt the aggressive stance.

Windrek set his left foot at a direction in line with the side of his body. And as best that he could placed his right leg in front of him with his foot pointing away from him. He then pointed his sword in front of him, in as close a parody as he remembered. Taking in a deep breath he relaxed his body a bit. Releasing his body from its tense, rigid stance. Hoping to appear more confident and at ease.

He then asked Rela'taAther " How is this stance, is this what you are looking for?"

Lunerith · January 5, 2004, 11:50 AM

"It's close, but it could be better. Of course, you lack the experience to do it quickly, which is of no concern, what matters is that you know the stance and there's just one thing that's missing here, one of the two things that seperates the defensive from the aggressive. Your feet are well positioned, that's the first thing, if I tell you that it has something to do with the lower part of your body, then what do you think it is?" Rela'ta resumed the aggressive stance. In a subtle way, she was showing Windrek what it was he was missing, something he had forgotten to take note of, even though it was quite important. To Windrek it probably didn't seem that vital to the stance, but this was due to the fact, that he probably hadn't ever put much thought into the stances, that soldiers were forced to take in order to fight more efficiently.

"While you ponder about what you're missing, what do you think is the difference between the aggresive and the defensive stance? Consider the following situation, you're wearing a leather armour, which is definetly not enough to stop a good strike from a sword, you're enemy wields a sword and shield, as do you, in fact, he has exactly the same equipment and skill such as you. Think of him, as the mirror of yourself. Now, when would you go into a defensive stance and why? What purpose does the stance serve?" It was indeed Rela'ta speaking to Windrek, both in a distracting manner, but also as a way to speed up training and give more wisdom and knowledge to wisdom as they did the basics. As Windrek would find out, a warrior's capabilities didn't solely lie on strength, speed, agility and toughness, but also on good awareness, strong intuition and exceptional intelligence.

Windrek · January 13, 2004, 11:12 AM

Windrek considered the questions of Rela'ta quite carefully. And he looked closely on the position of her body. After coming up with a conclusion he said" I would say that the way the knees bend giving a slight tilt to the body would matter. And also the angle of the sword would change between the attack and defense modes.

" I would certainly go into the defense stance if I saw him raise his sword high, like in a slashing motion at me. Or if it seemed he was going to use a thrusting move."

" It probably would also depend on the type of the sword. Sort of like Rapiers stab, Sabers slash."

" I would think that the defensive stance serves the purpose of deflecting the blow from me, while perhaps putting him in a position for me to retaliate effectively."

Lunerith · February 4, 2004, 01:18 PM

"Indeed, you understand the importance of the stances as well. Now, you shall learn how to stab, slash, deflect and dodge. This may seem very general to you, but it is only basic training afterall. Please, try to imitate my movements." Rela'ta prepared herself and as such went into an aggressive stance. This she did before moving in to attempt a slash at Windrek. It was obviously meant to be somewhat easy to block or deflect. It also clearly demonstrated how it should be done. It was still an attack though, which Windrek was supposed to dodge or deflect with as little effort as possible. This of course, wasn't something Windrek necessarily had to do, unless he wanted to be hit on the head with a blunt steel sword. Most people wouldn't, as it could do just about as much damage as a sharp one, with the difference that it worked more as a mace than anything else.

What Rela'ta did though, wasn't at first clear to Windrek, until after she had begun the descent of her blade. She had seemingly added momentum to her blow by giving it half a swing before the actual attack. This didn't seem to be necessary, but it wasn't the only thing being done either. She had taken a step forward, almost as if she had jumped. After having given the extra strength to the blade through momentum, she had stretched out her arm, though not completely, so as to reach as far out as possible. Along with all this, her knees had leaned as far forward as possible towards Windrek, with the aim of still keeping the feet firmly on the ground. It was a lousy attack for an expert such as her, but it could demotivate Windrek if she showed skill that he didn't think he would ever be able to match.

Windrek · February 5, 2004, 07:17 PM

The adrenaline began to flow in Windrek's body. Even though this was only the beginning of his training he was getting excited. His focus remained on the moves and stances that Rela'ta was showing him. He kept burning them into his mind going over and over again the moves Rela'ta was doing.

Keeping his eyes on the instructor, he somewhat anticipated the attack as Rela'ta came forward. To the best of his ability Windrek planted his feet as he was shown and brought his sword up in a defensive position. He was almost taken off guard when Rela'ta shot forward and her blade came in an ark to blungeon him.

Windrek knew that she was really just toying with him. Her skill with the longsword was excellent. Still he appreciated the fact that she wasn't going to beat him into the concrete floor just yet. Applying what he was taught just a few seconds ago, Windrek did his best to deflect the blow away from his body.

Lunerith · February 14, 2004, 06:02 AM

Rela'ta's blow was easily deflected by Windrek. A ringing of steel clashing could be heard echoing for a while and neither sword was damaged. Rela'ta began to speak "You may be able to stand defensively, but you really should pay more attention to your surroundings and until you get more experienced, try to make certain your feet and hands aren't somewhere where they aren't supposed to be. Now, I presume you saw that slash, you'll notice that although I did give it a half-swing before bringing it down upon you, I never actually took my hand out of the box. You may wonder what the box is, but I will teach you that now."

The trainer took a few steps back, keeping her eyes on Windrek. She straightened herself up, took a cleansing breath and then put herself into a defensive stance. Words escaped her mouth "The box is where you should have your hand at all times. It goes all the way down to the knees and up to your shoulders. You should always keep your hand at least half-an-arms length within your body. This box is to make it easier for you to defend yourself and attack others. If you remove your hand from the box, you risk leaving yourself open and the enemy will be able to slay you unless you are extremely lucky. Now, try to attack me, using the aggressive stance, the box and a slash." Rela'ta, still in her defensive stance with her left leg forward. She was obviously prepared to deflect a blow and Windrek would likely be allowed to put all his effort into the attack, although it wasn't really necessary.

Windrek · February 17, 2004, 09:39 AM

As Rela'ta was giving directions for the proper stance. Windrek envisioned the area of the box. And he could see what the instructor was talking about, by keeping his arms in the box it would be easy for him to defend himself or attack an enemy. That being the case he made a mental note to remember to always be aware of where his arms were in relation to the box.

Windrek put his body in an attack stance, being sure to keep his arms within the box area, and placing his feet correctly. He then concentrated on attacking Rela'ta with a slashing movement. Even though Rela'ta seemed not to be prepared, Windrek wasn't fooled. He knew could easily block his blow.Nevertheless he came at Rela'ta as if she really was an enemy. Slashing down with his sword trying to get past her defenses.

Lunerith · February 17, 2004, 11:25 AM

A downward slash by Windrek, followed by a good deflecting parry by Rela'ta caused a clash of blades, which created an echoing sound of iron striking iron that rung in Windrek's ears. His own blade was deflected down onto the ground and before he knew it, Rela'ta had the 'sharp' end of the blunt blade gently touching his leg. It had been somewhat complicated and confusing process, but some important points he could remember was him bringing his sword down and Rela'ta bringing her's perpendicularly upwards. Thereafter, Rela'ta took full advantage of the shock that Windrek recieved in his hands from the powerful clash, using it to push his blade away and downwards with her blade. Then, it had hit the stone floor and nothing more had happened, apart from Rela'ta quickly recovering from the attack and riposting.

While all this happened, Rela'ta had spoken, most of the time in a rather calm voice, though it had to be somewhat loud in order to actually get past the noise they both created in unison. "Focus Windrek, know what you're doing, anticipate my every move and ready yourself for the unexpected. Learn from your mistakes and don't let history repeat itself. Lastly, make sure to either move away from your enemy or to approach even nearer, after each failed attack. If you are too near, using the blades will be impossible and if you are too far, they won't be able to hit you." By the end, she had already gotten his sword down on the ground and had her own blade near his left leg.

"Well, you have potential. Remember what i've told you up till now and you might become better than me someday, we're not done yet though. Do try to put more effort into your swordsmanship though, it does seem kinda unmotivated when you fight. Now that you've learnt how to slash and parry, let us have a little duel with these blades and see how much of the theory you've picked up" Rela'ta placed herself into a defensive position and allowed Windrek all the time in the world to get ready.

Windrek · February 17, 2004, 03:07 PM

As Windrek's blade came flashing down at Rela'ta her blade came up to meet his. The sound of the clashing blades was deafening and was a lot louder than he expected. He didn't allow for the strength of her swordarm. And before he knew it his blade was near the ground and her's was at his leg. windrek knew that in a real battle he could have lost his leg.

After Rela'ta gave further instructions and showing him his mistakes, he spoke. " It is true I didn't allow for your strength or your prowess. But I did try to hit you. I will learn from my mistakes. And practice everyday until I become proficient with the sword."

A little bit of anger could be heard in the tone of Windrek's voice. But after a few seconds he caused the emotion to flow through him and he told himself to remain calm. Once again he placed his feet in an attacking stance taking special care to keep his arms in the box. Windrek then looked at Rela'ta's position that she had assumed.

Having made an evaluation of what he thought she was going to do, he finally made his move. As quickly as he could move Windrek came in after Rela'ta. Advancing to what he gauged as the proper distance Windrek swung once again at his instructor. Being careful not to let her slip her sword around his causing him to be pushed to the floor. He was aware of the shock from the clashing blades and he made an adjustment to help reduce the blunt of the shock.

After he attacked he quickly backed away from Rela'ta and took a defensive stance. He watched her attack and tried to use the stance she instructed him to use, trying hard to deflect her thrust from him.

Lunerith · February 24, 2004, 06:35 AM

Rela'ta smiled. Windrek could channel his anger effectively, suppressing it when it was inappropriate and enhancing it when highly necessary. This though, had nothing to do with the training itself. The training was about techniques, styles and everything related to that. This was what Rela'ta was trying to teach Windrek, but she had gone about doing it in a different manner, not the usual for someone who was merely learning the basics of the longsword. Indeed, she was already dueling with him, which would determine he his true natural talent and whether he had understood what she had told him and taught him up until that point.

Windrek's undetermined swinging was close to mark his defeat already so early in the duel. His quick move forward had succeeded, but he had not paid enough attention to his footwork and he had moved too close too fast. Rela'ta blocked Windrek's blade with the flat side of her own. This she did by leaning slightly backwards and then bringing her sword up perpendicular to Windrek's. This time, Windrek was prepared for the shock and managed to step away in proper time to avoid Rela'ta's riposte. "Note well how I attack and defend, you should try to do the same. Also, pay more attention as to where you're actually attacking from and to." She moved her right foot in front, stretching her left leg and bending her right. The right foot pointed straight forwards towards Windrek and the left assumed a perpendicular position to it. Rela'ta took a step forwards and slashed from the left towards Windrek's right.

Her arm was not entirely straight, but it couldn't really be considered bent either. It was somewhere in between, meaning that it avoided leaving the arm in a vulnerable position, which the complete stretching would have caused, and still allowing for some extra length, which too much bending usually resulted in. Windrek was already in his defensive position and needed to act fast in order to evade a nasty bruise and a blunt blade. It would perhaps also be wise to prepare himself for after his attack, which would leave him with two choices. He could either move further away and wait for Rela'ta to show a sign of weakness or he could move in closer. Both seemed to be good choices, but they were also the only one's he really had, there was no chance he could stay there.