Intermediate Mace Training

[Rhargn Etn]

First Cycle of Immanis
Fifteenth Candlemark in the Darkening of Srennia
The Winter of Era I of the Celestine Mandate
Thirteenth Era Post Fractum, the Second Era of the Reign of Arabella
Paradigm: The Eclipse of the Sun

With the weather showing no signs of letting up, Rhargn fought his way over towards where he'd be directed in the Temple Of Aslan. The quick excursion seemed to take forever as the rain continued its assault. It didn't seem it'd be too nice to train in, that was for sure. Would the instructor even want them to train outside, or would he take the ruffian indoors. It didn't matter, what mattered was beocming more proficient in his weapon of choice.

As the behemoth finally found himself at the designated area, he stood with his back to a tree, covered up in his huge fur coat and hat, with his mace pulled to his chest, underneath said apparel. Hopefully, the tutor wouldn't be too long.

[Viskyia Crow]

The priest did in fact take a while. He was at his morning tea, and that was definitely a ritual he was not willing to forego just to indulge a new student. The wizened old priest made his way quietly to the training yard and sat down beside Rhargn, ignoring the bad weather completely. As far as he was concerned the weather was irrelevant. Then he waited, quietly, for the student to notice him. While he did so, he studied the new pupil and considered how best he was going to start grooming this man into a better fighter.

After a time, the old man cleared his throat. He was dressed in a loose robe depicting his rank in the priesthood. He looked well into his seventies, though the shaven head and the pair of tiny glasses perched on the edge of his nose made him seem perhaps older.

“Stops staring and stands up and tell me your name, boy.” The priest said in a frail little voice. It was obvious he loved the sound ‘s’ because he added it to almost every extra word he could. “I’m Faulto Debrais, and I’m your new worst friend for the next cycle or so, if you’re the one wanting to brushs up on your mace skills a bit.” He added, after Rhargn had introduced himself.

“Now then.. lets me see your mace.” Faulto held out his hand for Rhargn’s weapon and inspected it. He shook his head and set it aside. “This won’t do. Not for this phase of your training.” The priest said. He turned, then seemingly from thin air produced a new mace, almost identical the one Rhargn used. He offered it out to Rhargn and said “That’ll do you a stead better than whats you’re swinging with now, in terms of training.” The new mace was enormous, and it was rather suspect how the wizened little man could heft such a thing to begin with.

The mace itself was constructed very similarly to Rhargen’s own, but it was inlaid with iron plates that at the very least doubled its weight. Even for the big man, it was a strain to heft. “You gonna learns everything I have to teach you with that there mace, son.” The priest said. “Then when you go back to your own, you will have much more finesse and ease in using it properly.”

The priest looked thoughtfully at Rhargn, and said “Now then, show’s me all the steps, stances, and swings you’ve already learned, so’s we can get started.”

[Rhargn Etn]

Rhargn waited tirelessly in the down pour, pondering on what heavily muscled race he'd be taught by today. He expected some sort of Giant, Dwarf even so far as to say an Orc, yet they weren't exactly smiled upon and with the ruffians history, there'd have been trouble. Suddenly, the titan was ripped from his ponderous stooper by the removal of flem from ones throat. Hazel eyes quickly shifted to the creator of said sound, only for Rhargn to be taken a back. What was a chuffing priest doing out on the training fields, in this weather especially? His brows knitted together in bamboozlement, unaware he was staring.

"Rhargn." He replied, still confused on what was actually going on as he unknowningly clambered his way to his feet. As the priest continued to speak, the look of bamboozlement warped into a face of astonishment. How was a frail old man like this, supposed to be teach a brute like Rhargn to fight with the weapon which needed more strength then any other?"You're my trainer? Eeeer, okay."

As the request/demand for his own mace to be shown was made, a look of pride erupted under the behemoths rugged beard. He quickly removed his Dwarven steel flanged mace from its harness and handed it over, expecting the priest to drop it in suprise of its great weight. Suprisingly, he managed to handle it with great ease, so much so as to easily discard it and produce one of even greater bulk. Rhargn grimaced slightly at the strain as he took over from his 'tutor'. It was indeed somehow heavier then his own mace, causing him to grip it with both hands. As Faulto began to continue his speech, the ruffian nodded in understanding, still slightly taken aback by the structure of the priest, before moving into his patterns.

First, Rhargn moved himself into his basic stance, bouncing about with strain from the new mace, switching front foot to back and so forth. He stood with his side facing forwards swapping the mace from front to back. He went through the clock face attacks he'd learnt as well as quite clearly showing he knew that an attack from the back hand would cause much greater damage but not be as great defensively or range wise and vise versa. As well as this, he showed his basic blocks, from horizontal top and bottom, to vertical side to side.

[Viskyia Crow]

The little priest studied Rhargn as he moved through his exercises and nodded quite a few times. His glasses slid further down his nose, and he frowned occasionally. It was obvious he was acutely studying Rhargn’s body language and attitude. He waited politely for Rhargn to finish before he stepped forward and cleared his throat.

“Learning mace isn’t about swinging a large deadly blunt object, Rhargn. Learning Mace is about learning you. Most men your size only live within their own heads and fail to acknowledge the rest of their body. I can tell by watching you that you are one of those men. All you are aware of is your head. Why is this? Part of it is your physical shape. Part of it is your attitude. You use your body as a tool. Advancing in mace involves learning to push your awareness out of your head and into your body. Why live in a small space when you can dwell in your whole form? Learning mace is also about connecting and teaching you how to move. Swinging a mace isn’t about all that brute force. Sure it can be helpful. But really it’s an extension of yourself.” Faulto paused to look Rhargn over. It gave Rhargn the distinctly uncomfortable feeling that the priest was looking right through him.

“For the next few brightenings, I will start teaching you how to expand your awareness through your body to make your mace skill improve. I will show you how to direct your entire energy into the force of your blows, doubling your impact and improving the fluidity of your motions. I will also present you with a number of your potential enemy so we can study their motions, their flaws, and discuss their advantages. We will be looking at the various types of armor and how you can use armor on an enemy to your advantage. Then, when you have some measure of skill in these things, we will move on to shields and how to eliminate them as an obstacle between you and your opponent.”

The priest paused so Rhargn could absorb the outline of the course he just presented, then moved forward, obviously ready to start.

“This will be the most difficult part of your teachings from me.” Faulto advised.

The little priest shuffled forward and laid his hand on Rhargn’s chest, just above the navel. He frowned at the extra bulk there. “I want your awareness here, where your center of gravity dwells. When you turn to look at something, look first with your body, then with your eyes. You need to start developing your instinct and intuition and depend less on your eyes and formal senses. There are enemies you will face, in places which you will not have all your traditional facilities. It could be dark. You could be in a confined lightless place where your hearing is also affected because of the closeness of walls.”

Faulto removed his sash and reached upwards, wrapping the cloth around Rhargn’s head, in effect blinding him. “Now, run through your exercises again. This time, do not lead with your mind. Lead with your body. Twist and bend and feel the air around you as you move your mace through your clock face moves. Start with horizontal then move into vertical. Feel the mace. It should have no ending and no beginning, but be rather an extension of yourself. Go slowly and feel your bodies energy coiling and uncoiling into the routine.”

Faulto paused to watch Rhargn’s next move.

[Rhargn Etn]

Rhargn listened carefully as the priest began to speak and critisize. From first apperances, the ruffian had thought it humorous for a man of such a frail frame to teach about a weapon like the mace. However, as the serious, realistic words fluttered from the old man's mouth, he nodded understandingly, gaining more respect for him with each sentence he spoke.

As Faulto laid his hand on Rhargn's chest, the behemoth knitted brows together in a look of slight bamboozlement. It didn't really make sense to him. How was he supposed to see from his chest first? The ruffian wasn't the most spiritual person alive and so he found it confusing, what his tutor was saying. However, as the sash was put about his vision, Rhargn began to concentrate on what he had been told. He stood for several seconds, trying to slip his way into the state that he'd had explained. It was complex and he didn't know if he was there, but he did begin to move more fluidly, using more body muscles then before.

His legs flowed into his basic stance while he came from above his head with his weapon, using his hips and back muscles as well as his arms. With this a few times, he moved from bottom to top. He swayed slightly as he went about it, the weight of the mace almost toppling him. After, the ruffian moved onto his horizontal attacks, using his hips and chest to get more control and fluidity. Finally, Rhargn unknowingly began to use the whole of his body from feet to shoulders in his diagonal attacks. He wasn't rightly sure if he'd done what he'd been asked, but it certainly felt different.

[Viskyia Crow]

Faulto watched as Rhargn moved through his exercises and nodded once more. “Better, young man. Much much better. You are still moving a bit like a puppet on a string, like you’re uncertain, but we fix that, no? Each morning you will be running through these patterns as a warm up, blindfolded, with your awareness in your belly like I showed you. You must change your entire way of moving. It’s not easy, not easy at all. But it must come in every aspect of your life so your mace will improve. Fluid smooth motions. Yes… Better.” The priest said, encouragingly. After Rhargn was done, Faulto removed his sash from around Rhargn’s eyes and replaced it around his waist. He studied the student and then stepped back.

“Now, before we begin this next phase, I need you to begin practicing something else. Some of this will be a discussion, but there’s no use for you standing like a log while we talk. I want you to also, along with changing the way your body moves, change the way your body breathes. Ever watched a singer pelt out a tune? The best ones take breath deep into their lungs, filling up the entire cavity. Most other people just breath from the top and don’t bother taking a full breath. Cause of that, most people are shallow breathers, and don’t have much wind. You have that great huge torso. You have the potential for a lot of wind. Wind means strength and force. It means endurance. If you can breathe, you can move. I want you to start breathing, deeply, from all of your lungs. Fill your torso with air, and use all of it. I want you to practice this while we work on your enemies.”

The priest watched him breath for a few brief moments, adding the odd ‘deeper’ or ‘let your ribs flex’. This was strange, and new. But it should have been evident to the big man that once he figured out how to breathe, much of his other physical issues in life would be more easily sorted out.

“As I have said, we will go through and examine the enemy one at a time, so we are not unawares when fighting a new foe.” The priest’s eyes lost their focus for a moment, and the air shimmered in front of Rhargn as the little old man stepped aside. In a matter of an instant, a snarling orc shimmered into being, the illusion incredibly detailed as the beast stood there, jaws agape, murder in its eyes. Faulto always started out with Orcs. It was the perverse little shock factor he always enjoyed seeing in his students eyes.

“Now… tell me what you see. Tell me this orc’s strengths and weaknesses. How does it move? How does it see? We start with these creatures because they are the most limited in their movements and their flaws are obvious.” Faulto said, somewhat pleased by his students immediate reaction.

[Rhargn Etn]

The words that came from the priest were lost on Rhargn as he put all his concentration into fludity, though it feeling like no concentration at all. While he was blind folded, his surroundings became void, he and it were nothing. However, as the final blow to the air came, the atmosphere began rushing back and the final words of the priest shuffled into the ruffian's ears. He nodded at the 'yes... better.' That was infact all he had heard and his arms dropped loose to his side, the mace hitting the ground as he gasped slowly for air.

The next passage to come from Faulto hit a button of realization within Rhargn's head. What he said made perfect sense, what he said was true and so before he'd even finished speaking, the titan began breathing deeply. He inhaled so deeply that he became slightly dizzy for a few seconds, before exhaling with a slight look of fatigue on his face. It was quite apparent that Rhargn was going to lose a fair few pounds before the cycle was over.

He kept his breathing pattern flowing, taking so much oxygen in that it began to burn. His face screwed up slightly as he continued, hoping that with time, the fairly painful sensation would be lost in memories. Next, before the ruffian knew it, there was an Orc before him. His mace instinctively swung from its hanging position and into both hands, as his eyes flared with fury and rage. With teeth bared, he immediately swung a vertical strike towards the putrid beast, growling as he did so. His history was one of which Orcs were the enemy. However, seeing his mace drive ungraceful through the illusion and hearing the words of Faulto, Rhargn sighed heavily, thoughts of his sister flooding back too him. A quick shake of the head and forceful resilience in his mind, he went on to answer his tutors question, an aggressive breathing pattern jolting his sentences.

"Eeerm, I guess there strengths would be there physical force, though if I had my hands on anyone of them, they'd be nothing." He fumed, before trying to calm himself down. "I guess there meant to be quite barbaric too, so they could take a few hits before giving in. Weakness wise, I'd say they're thick, slow, clumsy bastards.

Probably see in a constant red mist, wanting to kill anything and everything in their path, which could come as a disadvantage due to their inability to concentrate properly when raged?"

[Viskyia Crow]

The priest reached out and touched Rhargn’s shoulder. “Easy there, lad. The orc just an illusion for teaching that I use. Breathe. Think about your reaction. You went into an aggressive stance without thinking before even assessing the enemy. That could cost you your life in the future. Your head is big enough, use it.” The priest noted his students’ reaction and understood immediately that Rhargn probably had a less than favorable past with orcs.

“Now let’s discuss orcs. First and foremost their eyesight is an issue. They have very poor peripheral vision, meaning they see only what’s in front of them well. They also tend to track moving objects before anything else. So if you’re in a group and you are all trained in orc combat, one man should automatically split off and run either away or directly towards the orc so that the creature immediately tracks that man, leaving the other men free to move without being seen. They use other senses; smell first and foremost, to aid in their fighting and tracking.” The priest gestured at the orc, pointing out his eyes and then his flat odd nostrils. “Hit them in the face if you can, spray them with blood if you can’t. Confuse their sense of smell so they can’t track you so easily.” The orc he’d brought forth was armed fully, and decked in a full set of orc battle gear. “Now, their skull is well armored naturally, not to mention their headgear. It’s hard to kill one by a blow to the head. However, their jaw is vulnerable to fracture, so an upswing with your mace catching them on the top of the jaw could shatter it easily, driving bone fragments into their brain and killing them instantly. It’s the easiest and safest way for someone like you to dispatch someone like him.” The priest offered in a cheerful voice.

“What other moves and which other places are orcs vulnerable? What about their armor? And how, using your flanged mace, can you take advantage of their strengths and weaknesses to more easily dispatch one?” The priest asked.

[Rhargn Etn]

Rhargn was fuming with the appearance of the Orc, it was extremely clear and Faulto took note, once more his instructions being so true. In a battle, the ruffian would have easily been slain in his anger. He continued to breath, trying to completely evade the memories that kept washing back over him in waves. Deep inhales and heavy exhales. He listened carefully as the priest began to speak about weak points and such, making mental notes of the important parts for future reference.

"Right, apart from their head, I'd say there legs. I mean, they can't be that athletic with a body like mine." He chuckled aloud as he said this, a slight sinister touch finishing his sentence. "Would they be suseptable to dummies as well. Like, swinging a mace so there motion following sight senses that and then coming in with a kick to the groin, or a sweep or some sort?"

In reality, Rhargn really didn't know much about how to fight specific races. He was more a 'hit them in the chest and crush their rib cage' type of fighter.

[Viskyia Crow]

Faulto nodded appreciatively. His student was learning quickly. That was the problem with these bigger ones. They tended to think their bulk and might could get them out of scrapes and neglected their brains. At least this one was showing signs he was a capable thinker.

“Indeed, dummy moves are excellent. They follow motion first and foremost. But remember, this is mace training. Do the opposite to what your suggesting though. Dummy them with a kick, and follow with the deadly accuracy of your mace. Don’t dummy with the strongest weapon in your arsenal and think a kick will take them down. But regardless, that’s good thinking.” The little priest chuckled. He was indeed enjoying this student.

“Now… I see that your breathing is coming easier, and your taking more in. Lets couple that with the fluidity I urge you to start utilizing.” The priest reached over and picked up Rhargn’s own personal mace, using it as a demonstration. He rolled up his bulky sleeves, took a deep breath, and the image of the orc raised its hands, a battle axe appearing in it, and prepared to strike. “Now… watch.”

The priest raised the mace and stepped in front of the orc, his body moving like a dancer, and exhaled suddenly. He brought the mace forward in a way that reminded Rhargn of a group of soliders battering a gate down with a ram. Faulto struck the illusion square on with the tip of the mace, in a grunt of exhalation. The force of the blow looked to be tremendous. It was a two-handed move and it was easy for the big man to see how much more force the mace had behind it than if a man with basic mace knowledge had been weildling it.

The mace passed through the illusion, but the move was clearly demonstrated. Faulto brought the mace back up, rested it on his shoulder, and stepped aside turning to Rhargn. “See how the move looks put together with the fluidity and breathing? Your force doubles or triples. A single tap to most creatures with a move like that will be enough to stop their heart or shatter the hardest skullcap of almost any creature around. It is called ‘Sting of the Wasp’. You try it.”

The priest watched Rhargn work on the move for a time, then added one more comment. “Also for your consideration… if you couple a move much like that, only combining it with an upswing or downswing, two handed of course, you have the potential to rip off limbs or heads if you can get enough controlled force released at the point of impact. Its key that the most force be released at the point of impact, not before, not after. Show me how that would be done as well. ” Faulto added, only when he thought Rhargn had mastered the wasp sting move.

[Rhargn Etn]

ooc: didn't really understand description of the performed move. people using rams either hold a log over their shoulder, or at their waist don't they?

Rhargn nodded in agreement, it didn't make much sense kicking a poor bloke, when you could literally cause his head to implode. He chuckled to himself along with the priest. The more time the ruffian spent with Faulto, the more he came to like the old bugger. His hazel orbs followed the old man as he moved to retrieve the Dwarven steel mace, taking it up with more ease then any race should have had. Next, the titan's jaw dropped as he witnessed the elegant feat performed. Who'd have known that a mace wielder could have been 'elegant'.

The ruffian sort of understood what was expected of him, but not completely. However, that was the reason he was there, he was there to learn. With a nod of self assurement, Rhargn moved into his basic stance before positioning his mace infront of him and slightly above his chest line. Readied, the ruffian attempted to copy his tutors attack. He tried it several times, though with his manuver not seeming as correct as he'd have liked. However,when he would have made impact, he released his deep inhale as instructed, gaining more force behind his attack.

With a few patterns performed, Rhargn heard Faulto speak, causing a knitting of his brows to occur. "Could you please show me the 'Sting of the Wasp' again please? I'm not sure I completely understand it. Also, how do you mean add an up or down swing too it?"

[Viskyia Crow]

OOC: Hehehe. I drove all night so I was a bit rummy when I wrote that. Let me try and explain it better!


The Priest nodded to Rhargn’s question, set Rhargn’s mace aside, and stepped forward. He repositioned the big man’s hands on the borrowed mace to more correctly align his hands and body. Taking his primary hand, he wrapped Rhargn’s fingers around the end of the mace so the handle fit into the palm of his hand, fingers on the right side, thumb on the the top. The handle was aligned so his wrist was slightly broken, and the handle of the mace was like a continuation of his forearm. “Don’t break your wrist to sharply; you still need to be able to flex your hand without snapping your bones with the impact.” He added. Rhargn’s other hand was placed further up the mace handle, beneath it, fingers curled up and around the mace.

The priest kicked Rhargn’s feet apart, tapped the back of his knees so he’d bend them, and showed him how to thrust the mace forward, bringing it up slightly as he squatted in one swift motion so the forward thrust of the mace lashed out like a bees stinger and impacted the target perpendicular to the targets body with all the force concentrated on the point. “You need to bring the mace forward at your chest level, about the height of your heart to get the maximum force behind it. This is a tricky move. If you don’t hit correctly, or you’re interrupted in the middle by another enemy behind, you leave yourself vulnerable. So use it only when appropriate. Strike hard. Strike fast.” The priest demonstrated the thrust, moving Rhargn’s body through the motion slowly.

“I know its more like a sword thrust, but the impact with the appropriate fluidity and breathing behind it is absolutely lethal and unexpected. If you master this move, it makes shield breaking all the more easier when we get to that aspect.” Faulto added.

“Now… say you’ve connected with the target. You need to train yourself to have your hands repositioned instantly for an upsweep or a downsweep being able to modify to the left or right if necessary. So, as you connect, bring your left hand more firmly around the mace in whatever direction you need to do the two-handed movement: hand down for upswing, hand on the top of the mace for downswing and pull your palm off the end of the mace and cover the bottom of the handle again in whichever direction you need to move it.” Faulto covered Rhargn’s hands with his own, demonstrating how easy it was to first reposition his hands for the upswing, then the downswing respectively. Demonstrating, Faulto pointed out the upswing could slam into the creature’s lower jaw, or the downswing to possibly block a weapon being brought up belatedly to defend.

“Remember, ideally you won’t have to follow through. But you always want to be ready, even if your enemy is crumpling and you have to whirl to face another. Train your hands, train your mind. Be ready for whatever next so your not caught unaware.”

Faulto stepped back and let Rhargn wrap his brain and his fingers around what he’d said. The little priest knew it wasn’t the easiest in the world maneuvering the heavy mace in the manner he indicated, but he was satisfied at the way Rhargn was listening and attempting to duplicate his moves.

[Rhargn Etn]

It was lucky the ruffian had asked the question he did, because he'd now found out that the priest was an excellent teacher, one who'd explain every minute detail if asked. This fact made Rhargn more confident, as he smiled in satisfaction. Next, the titan allowed his body to be molded into position and gently guided through each phase of the attack. Upon completion, hazel orbs widened in excitement, it was truely a marvelously tactic. He nodded in understanding as Faulto began to explain the principles of the attack and how it was effective. Rhargn waited for his tutor to remove his frail hands from him, before going through the attack slowly himself. As he gradually became more confident, the speed and ferocity began to increase, making sure he followed each instruction carefully, and if not, restarting.

Once the 'Sting of the Wasp' was pretty much readied, Faulto began speaking of combination moves, something which was quite unusual to the ruffian. He'd only ever been the type of character to throw everything into a single attack, before recharging for the same, never one to use speed and combo's. However, the explanation given and the performance, combined to enlighten Rhargn into a way of fighting he'd never really understood. It was apparent to him that the same amount of force could be put into two quick attacks with just a mere flick of the wrist, pretty much. "This is amazing!" The ruffian chirped with excitement tweaking his voice. He continued to move through the different combinations, aiming for the Orc, slightly controlled aggression in his head. Being more content to attack rather then defend, the ruffian knew he'd use this joint attack a lot.

"Faulto, this is brilliant! Please, show me more!"