Right of the Aluwenae(Private - Self Mod)

[Siltrin Aluwenae]

10th of Optia In the Season of Spring, Era XIII, Era I of the Celestine Mandate

There was no true measure of being an Aluwenae and that was one thing Siltrin sought to change and to do that he would have to bring himself up. To strengthen both his mind and physical prowess this is what the elf needed to become the lord that the Aluwenae’s so desperately needed. Ordain in his best silks the elf felt some sense of pride about him, he had come to the Cheb and made powerful allies. Now it was time to strengthen the bonds among his kin. Sliding an older dagger, that had the clan emblem on the hilt, into the sash that kept his silk breeches from falling. Then the elf reached out and grabbed two elvish longswords that lay next to the door. Securing them firmly on his back he then grabbed the cloak that hung near the door. Throwing it over his shoulder the elf stepped foot out into a world of light and beauty here among the Cheb.

He was enjoying his stay at the Cheb, but the lord knew his time here was coming to an end he would need to branch out on his own. Siltrin knew he was a ways away from buying his family estate and yet it was constantly on his mind. This brightening the elf would be reuniting himself with a cousin that he had not seen in some time. Not since the feud between fathers that left no room for others to interact. Siltrin first order of business was to end this feud and seek the assistance of a cousin that he used to play with era’s ago. There was still uncertainness in the elf he had no idea how Lolindir would react. He hoped that Lolanir had taken the feud to his grave; there was only one way to find out.

So the elf left the safety and beauty of the Cheb and ventured forth into the Tawnleaf a forest of renowned beauty. Siltrin wrapped himself in his blue leather studded cloak and began the hunt for his cousin. There was a small estate on the edge of the Silverwood Haunts that Siltrin vaguely remembered it was small with only a single cottage. This would be the first place the elf would search. He felt for sure that his cousin would still be living there; Lolindir was not the type to get out much and would die before he left his father’s cottage fall into the hands of another.

The journey took more then a few candlemarks on foot but the elf felt it to be refreshing to be out among the forest. Siltrin was at home here among the trees and he knew this place well. The trees parted for a moment to create a path into a small area etched in between the giants that enclosed this estate. It was well hidden in the forest but Siltrin knew where it was which made find the small cottage among the trees easy.

Siltrin could feel the excitement he could barely contain himself, he had not seen Lolindir for more eras then he would of wished for. How will he receive me he had little choice but to find out. Gathering what courage he had the elf reached the doorstep and locked his gaze upon the door of the old oak cottage. Letting out a few controlled breaths the elf reached out and pounded upon the door.

Moments later the door was cracked open and then ripped open wide. In the door way stood an elf only inches shorter then Siltrin, with blond hair and blue eyes he was stronger build then Siltrin. With blue silks the elf looked at Siltrin with wide eyes and then a puzzling look. The look turned into a glare and then a moment later the elf feigned a smile and stepped to the side.

“Vedui Siltrin, now that you are here you might as well come inside.” The elf wasn’t overjoyed to see Siltrin but he wasn’t the type to turn away kin knowing that there had to be some reason he was here this brightening. Siltrin nodded “Vedui Lolindir, please forgive me I have not been to see you lately, I really wish I could of but my father is stern about the matter as I’m sure you already know.”

Entering the cottage the elf found it to be rather drab these days as if his cousin had lost himself with the loss of his father. There was a table in the center of the cottage and upon the table was a half empty bottle of wine. Siltrin smiled at the sight of it and took a seat in one of the empty chairs. Lolindir sat in one of the others and grabbed the bottle and pour himself a mug. “So Siltrin what brings you to my neck of the woods? I haven’t seen you in what ten eras?”

Siltrin smiled and motioned for the bottle of wine “Well cousin I have come to bury the hatch this feud has gone on for too long and I just want you to know that I have always been fond of you and your father. My father has grown old and as much as I do love him he has never been a good example as the head of our family. I hope to do a better job.” the elf finished pouring some wine into a mug. Taking a sip he sat back a moment watching for his cousin’s reaction.

“That’s yet to be seen cousin, but you have much to prove but I will say you are doing better then your father ever did. Our fathers couldn’t be friends but that does not mean I am my father or you are yours. So we shall see how our relationship develops now that we have been reacquainted. Something tells me that this was not the only matter of business we have this brightening”

Siltrin smiled this was a good thing, now he would just need to convince his cousin to teach him skills with a blade. He knew that Lolanir had taught his son Lolindir how to wield an elvish long sword. So without hesitation Siltrin reached down his back and removed the two longswords and set them down upon the table. “You are right Lolindir I do have another matter of business I want to learn how to wield these and I thought you might be able to teach me and we could work on our relationship.”

OOC: Self mod Basic Elvish Longsword training with the permission of Ragman.

[Siltrin Aluwenae]

Lolindir let out a bellowing laugh it echoed through the cottage; he then picked up his mug and smiled in Siltrin’s directions. “I see, so this is why your knocking down my door, well perhaps we will get to know each other cousin. Seeing that you will be working for me every brightening for a cycle or two depending on how quick you are.” The elf then drank to the thought of having Siltrin as an indentured servant for the next few brightenings.

Lolindir chuckled at the thought of teaching his cousin how to use elvish longswords. He then turned to the bottle of wine that sat upon the table and emptied its contents into his mug. Lolindir like Siltrin thoroughly enjoyed drinking, yet since the lost of his father it had become more of an escape for Lolindir then enjoyment. With the mug in one hand Siltrin’s cousin grabbed one of the blades that Siltrin had brought with him. After a few minutes of expecting and getting a feel for the weight of the blade the elf took a swig of his wine.

“You have a well made blade here cousin, and I see you got the family crest on the hilt. Well no time like the present Siltrin grab me another bottle of wine from the cabinet and follow me outside” With that said Lolindir threw the blade towards Siltrin and walked outside.

Siltrin had no choice but to react quickly the elf reached out and grabbed the sword by the hilt stopping it short from crashing right into his chest. Siltrin then picked up the one that was still left on the table and found his way over to the cabinets and opened them until he found the one stocked with bottles of wine. To his amazement Siltrin’s cousin had quite a collection more wine then any one person could ever use. Lolindir was only a few eras Siltrin’s elder and they were both young elves. Siltrin began to wonder if his cousin was beginning to lose himself in these bottles of wine.

With everything in order the elf then turn for the door with the resolve to learn how to use these fancy swords and to strengthen the bonds between himself and his cousin. He could tell by the disorder that was Lolindir’s home that the elf was dealing with depression.

Siltrin stepped out from the cottage to find his cousin standing only a few feet away with an old elvish longsword pointed to the ground before his body. As Siltrin took a few steps forward Lolindir called out to him “Set the bottle of wine down on that chair to the right of you and get out here and show me what you got. I want you to attack me with those fancy blades of yours.” Doing as his cousin commanded the elf put down the bottle of wine and then unsheathed his two blades one black one silver. There was a faint chuckle that came from Lolindir as he watched Siltrin unsheathe the fancy blades. Siltrin had no real idea on how to wield these blades but he did know how to keep a firm grasp upon them.

With a solid grip one each blade the elf charged forth with great speed towards his cousin holding one blade in front of him and the other outstretched up and to the right ready to strike. With great force he swung the sword in a diagonal motion towards Lolindir, knowing all to well that he would fend it off and probably show Siltrin how he was poorly defended.

Lolindir then flicked up his blade and with clanging of metal he bounced Siltrin’s blade back into the air and then with swiftness thrusted his blade only a few inches away from Siltrin’s neck. “Well its good to know Siltrin that you don’t hold back but your form and stance need work. You can not leave yourself open like that or next time I will draw blood.” Lolindir then dropped his sword again point towards the ground before him.

“Ok now for your stance you should really keep you feet separate but not too far apart just enough so that you can have complete stability. Then hold one of your swords out infront of you like I am holding mine. Straight out and blade facing down, the other should be the straight out with the blade facing up and it should be placed to the side. You should be able to line up your blades on a continuous circle around you. This will allow you to defend any kind of attack as long as you have quick reflexes.”

Siltrin mimicked his cousin’s stance except the addition of the second blade. His right hand was stretched out directly in front of him and the left to his left on the arc that would lead exactly to his right hand. It was uncomfortable at first but he began to understand the defense of this position. The right hand could cover half the circle and the left the other. With a smile he looked over to Lolindir

“What next cousin?”

Without saying a word Lolindir launched at Siltrin with the very swing that Siltrin had tried before. Siltrin was quick to react bring up his left hand and sword and with a clang of metal Lolindir spun around and swung one more time at the opposite side of Siltrin. Siltrin knew what to do he brought up his right sword and fended off yet another attack.

Lolindir was impressed at the how quickly Siltrin caught on but of course he had been going easy on the elf didn’t want to hurt him yet. “Nicely done Siltrin, I call this an arch defense it allows you defend yourself on a 180 degree rotation for each sword so in your case you are well defended completely around you. Well I say we drink some wine and contemplate our next lesson.”

Lolindir picked up the bottle and sat in the chair, and began to drink straight from the bottle no longer needing a mug. He extended his hand with the bottle towards Siltrin “care for a drink cousin?” Siltrin nodded and took one large swig from the bottle. Lolindir smiled and took back the bottle “We can continue this tomorrow after you do some work around the cottage as you can probably see I haven’t been doing much but drinking around here so we will trade my knowledge of swords for your work around the cottage.”

[Siltrin Aluwenae]

Waking to the sound of his cousin knocking upon the door of the tiny room he was going to be staying in for the next cycle or two. Rubbing his eyes the elf looked around the small room it was more like a closet there would only be enough room to fit three of himself laying down. Siltrin shook his head wondering if he had actually agreed to this trade with his cousin swords for work and a less then comfortable living situation.

It was well worth the discomfort to learn how to use the new shinny blades that he had purchased a month ago. He had already made use of them somewhat getting an idea of one stance you could take with the swords that would allow for full rotational defense. Siltrin knew there were other stances but first he figured he would need to learn a solid defense so that he could even begin to learn how to strike.

Siltrin sighed as he furnished himself in his pearl silk breeches followed by a tunic in the same pearl coloring. He looked over at his cloak and decided that he would not need it this brightening, as he didn’t see himself going anywhere. There was most likely a long list of chores that needed to be done. So gathering his things the elf put the blades against the wall next to the door so they would be easy to grab after he was done working.

Exiting the small room he found his cousin sitting on the table eating an apple with a bottle of berry wine sitting on the table. Lolindir threw an apple at Siltrin and then moved his hand over the bottle. “So first you will be doing is to be cleaning the cottage out of all the dust and then you can collect the bottles and place them in the leather bag to send to my friend who refills them for me.” All Siltrin could do was nod and take a bite from the apple he caught earlier.

Finishing the apple Siltrin knew the tasks set about for him this brightening and he did them diligently taking a total of about seven candlemarks. The elf was somewhat perplexed after cleaning out the cottage and collecting the bottles, he could not believe how badly his cousin had left it. But still Lolindir was his cousin and from now it would only become easier to do this task. Moving to the table Siltrin reached out his hand and grabbed the bottle shooting a quick glance to his cousin. “So you ready to continue teaching me Lolindir?” Siltrin asked with a grin slapped on his mug as he poor wine into a mug.

Lolindir chuckled a bit as he took a drink from his goblet “I guess the place looks alright how about we go out and I teach ya a move or two and maybe then you can show me what you got. I’m sure you have been mulling ideas on how to wield those swords in your head just need to bring those out form your own style with my guidance on technique.” Lolindir eyed Siltrin a moment before he pushed his chair back and stood up from the table. With out a word he made his way outside.

Siltirn could feel a rejuvenating feeling through out his body he quickly returned to his small room and grabbed the swords that were set against the wall. Siltrin turned quickly and dashed out the door and into light of the forests. Siltrin may have not liked the cottage but it was placed in a beautiful spot enclosed in trees. Looking forward he could see his cousin again this time he was holding his sword straight out in front of him. Lolindir was waiting for him to attack and Siltrin knew it.

A thought popped into the elf’s head he knew what he would do so the elf launched at Lolindir with another swing from his right hand the sword came in contact with Lolindir’s sword and as it did he swung with his left sword in an upward motion and as soon as the sword made contact with Lolindir’s blade he spun around and swung again with the right sword. Siltrin had copied Lolindir’s move from the night before altering it to use both swords. What he hadn’t expect was that Lolindir had stepped to the side and spun around himself to meet the blade coming towards him with his own sword. Then Lolindir moved forward thrusting his sword towards Siltrin’s stomach. Siltrin himself twisted his own body to allow his right sword to interfere with the attack. Lolindir expected this and withdrew his blade and spun his blade towards his neck stopping short.

“Impressive cousin, I’m glad to see you were able to use what you learned earlier from our last encounter. The next thing I want to teach you is how to use fluid motions to not pause. What you must learn is to always be moving this will help you in your defense and in the future your ability to attack. We must also work on your speed cousin so after we are done this brightening you should start working on swing exercises to gain a better control and speed to your strikes”

Siltrin nodded and mulled over his words in the his cousin had said he was right as of now the elf was too slow and took too long between movements there were pauses. These pauses left him defenseless to his cousin’s strikes towards his very neck. Siltrin gulped at the thought and was happy that it was his cousin at his neck and not an enemy. He would get better he knew it and soon Lolindir would not get near his neck.

Siltrin spaced out his feet and took up an arch defense with this swords pointed to the ground with the right one directly in front of him and the other to the left. He then smiled and waited for his cousin to attack. Lolindir was quick to respond lunging forward with his sword pointed directly at Siltrin. Siltrin was quick to act and rounded his right sword on the ground to his right and brought up the left on to push off Lolindir’s blade and strike with the right spinning about. Lolindir was able to bring his sword up to meet Siltrin’s swing but Siltrin didn’t stop there he had jumped to the side and slashed at Lolindir’s legs with his left blade and then lunged forward with his right. Lolindir was able to jump back and parry the lunge and then with great speed he counterattacked with a downward slash that only came a few inches from Siltrin’s chest.

“You are getting the hang of those blades there Siltrin soon I wont be going easy on ya anymore. I am ready for a wine break while you practice your swings you need to able to wield those swords with ease and speed.”

Siltrin nodded and began to swing the sword in downward motions first one and then the next attempting to coordinate the slashes so they followed each other closely. Siltrin spent three candlemarks working on his grip and slashes. The brightening was coming to a close when he headed back into the cottage to find his cousin enjoying a bottle of wine. Siltrin sat himself at the table and poured himself a goblet.

[Siltrin Aluwenae]

It was dawn once more at his cousin’s cottage and Siltrin awoke once more to the rapping at his door. Lolindir often woke up at the crack of first light and began his drinking for the day, it wasn’t any surprise that he napped all through the mid-brightening while Siltrin was doing chores and taking care of the cottage.

Siltrin wasted no time from eating to working on the cottage all the while the elf’s mind was replaying the last brightening when he was sparing his cousin. It was definitely an interesting way to learn, slowly gaining experience in how to wield his blade. Yet the elf kept at his work cleaning out the cottage and taking care of the bottles. Siltrin also had gained a few tasks, which included: washing clothes, chopping the firewood, and collecting fallen lumber.

As the elf worked through the chores his thoughts still wandered attempting to make sense of his training so far. Originally he had been taught a stance that allowed for great defense with two swords, this taught him how to parry a blow that could come from any direction he just needed quicker reflexes. He also began learning how to flow with his strikes and parries, always moving. Siltrin so far knew that there four basic strikes the vertical, horizontal, and diagonal slashes along with the thrust. There were many different spots of the body you could focus the attack but each one would fall into one of the four.

A smile of satisfaction grew on the elf’s face as he finishes his chores. Siltrin swung the door open to his cramp living quarters and grabbed his blades. Then the elf walked over to the table where Lolindir sat sleeping off the morning binge. Siltrin shook his head and poked his cousin with hilt of one of his blades. “Arise cousin, I am going outside to practice some swings I hope to see you out there in candlemark at the latest. I have finished the chores.” Lolindir stirred awaked and pushed away the sword that was poking him. “Alright! Alright!” was all that he could manage to say as he tried to shake off the headache forming. There would only be one remedy for his stupor and that was to level his head with more wine.

Siltrin had already made it outside before the time his cousin had even lifted himself out of the chair. Knowing all to well that Lolindir would take his time before coming out to meet him Siltrin took that time to practice his strikes. First repeating a downward vertical slice and then moving onto some horizontal strikes as well as diagonals. Siltrin then began to mix them thrusting and spinning his body so that he could flow from a right handed thrust to a left handed diagonal slash after a 360 degree spin to the left. Siltrin was enjoying himself it was much easier to slice at the empty air where as an opponent was a smaller and more mobile target.

Lolindir took slightly over a candlemark to get outside and when he did so Siltrin was still practicing his swings while constantly moving. Lolindir had never seen someone catch on so quickly but he wasn’t surprised Siltrin was a quick study and had the will necessary to become a great sword wielder. It peaked the elf’s interest whether or not Siltrin would really do great things.

Lolindir chuckled and stepped down and stopped five feet short of Siltrin “Well cousin you are showing great promise. So far you have shown a quick understanding of how to parry blocking another’s sword with yours. You have learned one of my defensive stances that will keep you well defended. You have also been strengthening your grip and swings with the exercises. Now you just need to learn a few more stances and how to attack using both of those swords of yours as one and then we can move onto some real sparing.”

Siltrin nodded and beamed as his cousin gave him a few compliments and yet the elf knew he had a ways to go before he would free of his cousin’s tutelage and indentured servitude. Siltrin knew though with this time he could win over his cousin to his cause to bring the family back together. He would have to prove himself to Lolindir but once that had been accomplished he would make a very powerful key to bringing together some of the splintered families of clan Aluwenae.

Lolindir slammed his foot upon the ground “Hey day dreamer shall I teach you something this brightening or should I just go back inside.” Quickly Siltrin snapped out of his thoughts and nodded in the direction of his cousin “I’m ready Lolindir what have you to teach me to this brightening?”

Lolindir shook his head in disapproval but then stepped in close only a foot away from Siltrin. “Today I think we shall work on parrying alternating blades for each strike. It shall be your task to block my strike but to make it more difficult upon you I shall require that change blades each strike.” So it begun the elf struck forth with a thrust of his blade towards Siltrin’s stomach. Quick to act Siltrin brought up his left sword to push Lolindir’s away to the right of his body. Lolindir was quick to react with a sweep at Siltrin’s legs, which was blocked again this time with the right blade.

They continued this game for some time and through out the entire event Lolindir was able to land a few. Siltrin was getting better at stopping Lolindir’s attacks and soon he would be learning how to strike back. Siltrin liked having two swords they were better then one and yet they could be dangerous at the same time.

Time had passed and the two found themselves drinking a bottle of wine together on the porch of Lolindir’s cottage. Siltrin and Lolindir spent this time in the darkening regaling stories and times past when their fathers still enjoyed each other’s company.

[Siltrin Aluwenae]

Siltrin had gotten accustomed to the cramped room and chores he had to awake to each dawn. It was an enlightening experience to be his cousin’s indentured servant and he was nowhere near finished yet. Lolindir still had more to teach him about elvish longswords. There was grumpy reply that came forth from Siltrin as Lolindir rapped upon the door.

Flipping the cloth that covered his body the elf quickly dressed himself in his common clothes it was not as comfortable as the silks but they made for better work clothes. Running his fingers through his long platinum locks the elf let out a groan, which turned into a sigh. He was not looking forward to this brightening’s chores.

Siltrin exited the cozy room and stepped into the main room of the cottage, Lolindir was at his normal spot drinking up a storm. Siltrin sat next to him and locked stares with his cousin for a brief moment before grabbing the bottle of wine. The elf poured a goblet full and then slid it back over towards Lolindir. “Your ability to drink cousin puts mine to shame and that is quite a feat. I don’t remember you as being this much of the drinker.” The elf then began to eat his morning meal. Having finished the meal and his goblet of wine Siltrin quickly arose and took the dishes to the tub to be washed. He would then begin his arduous list of chores. Throughout the following candle marks the elf found himself sweeping the floor and washing the clothes as well as chopping more wood. Any and every task his cousin Lolindir could think of Siltrin quietly accepted it and added it to his list.

Having finished his daily chores the elf was quick to take his blades outside and begin again where he left off. He would practice his strikes over and over until there was no pause from into the next. It was all about the flow and swiftness of the strike, first with the lunge and then with the slash that led into a sweep. Siltrin knew that striking the air helped his hands and body get used to wielding the blades but yet there was still one factor missing and that was an opponent.

Not shortly after Siltrin had begun to break a sweat Lolindir appeared on the porch to the cottage just watching Siltrin as he danced with the air. This brought a smile to Lolindir it had been a long time since he had seen such dedication, not since he had trained with his father, which brought up painful memories. Lolindir drank straight from the bottle at this point of the brightening. Stumbling down the stairs he called to Siltrin “Hey cousin, ready to learn how to counter after you parry”

Siltrin ran up to his cousin and eyed him with careful look it was obvious that Lolindir was intoxicated almost to the point where he shouldn’t be wielding a blade. Siltrin had no choice though his cousin seemed to be in this state of inebriation. Siltrin shook his head and then preceded it with a few words “I am ready but I am not sure that you are cousin.” they were meant in friendly banter, Siltrin was trying to insure that Lolindir still had his wits about him.

Lolindir chuckled and threw the bottle at Siltrin who caught it without haste as one of his swords fell to the ground. “You ought to take a drink yourself Siltrin might loosen you up a bit. What I am going to say is important to drink up and listen well.” he said pausing a moment as he watched Siltrin drink straight from the bottle. “Now when you parry a strike you can use their moment to propel your next strike at them. Say if someone is going to strike you with a diagonal slash you can parry it and then use the momentum of it to slash downwards upon them. You can also use the friction of the blades to take control of where they blade will be pushed out to. Learning this will really hone your skill. Learn to master this and you will become better then some of the best swordsmen I have come across. But that is a distant future for now let us try to play a game of parry and attack.”

So with out any more exchanges of word Siltrin threw the bottle back at his uncle and picked up his fallen blade. Positioning himself in the arch defense Siltrin awaited for Lolindir’s first move. Lolindir was quick to react and flung himself at Siltrin with a vertical downward strike. Siltrin had not expected this and yet he was quick to react he brought his right sword to meet Lolindir’s as it was on its downward swing. Pushing Lolindirs blade up he then swung his right blade down towards Lolindir’s chest. Lolindir quickly reacted by meeting Siltrin’s blade and pushing it to the right. Siltrin smiled and quickly reacted by bring in his left sword to strike at Lolindir’s arm and yet Lolindir was able to block it pushing on Siltrin’s left blade. Siltrin spun around and with his right blade struck the point of Lolindir’s blade that had been holding his left blade before he spun.

This exchange lasted through out the last few candlemarks of light both able to get nowhere Siltrin hadn’t yet to land a blow but yet he had been able to stop Lolindir from landing one himself. Although Siltrin was sure that if he wanted to his cousin could of easily landed one. Siltrin felt some satisfaction that either his cousin’s skill was getting worse or he was getting better either way he would match Lolindir soon enough.