[Siona] - Testing a Squire (KoAS; Kurth)

[Raliric Ered`Gard]

Timestamp:
Dianara, Brightening II of the Fifth Cycle of Kalendryas
Winter of the Third Era of the Pax Imperialis,
Second Era of the Celestine Mandate,
Fourteenth Era Post Fractum in the Regency of Milo L’Evienne.

The Knight Champion had arranged for a small bout between himself and his squire Kurth Tathasir, a bout that would be watched by many of the knights but most especially by those whom Kurth would be spending most of his time with, the First Squad. Some of the Knights had been informed of the changes that would occur and thus, with that in mind, they had shown up this brightening to see how their fellow would fare.

He sat on the steps of the Barracks waiting for the squire to arrive, attired in cloths that suited the practice nature of this bout; though even so Barthanes was on site to heal if any injuries were sustained. The dracon only wore his trousers, boots, belt, bracers and the braided leather cord that tied his hair together and kept it behind his head. The form he had assumed for this meeting was his original, his Dracon form; it did stand out, but no more than any of the other Diantar's that roamed the compound. He stood at the height of 7'3", bound, long black hair fell behind well built, black scaled shoulders. Its length, although curly, reached just below his shoulder blades and was held tightly in check by a braided leather cord. Icy, dark and cavernous orbs watch from the sockets of the black scaled, dragon like, rectangular face. Hard, rough, angular jaw set in a semi-permanent expression of emotionless, whilst also holding a frighteningly powerful visage. An aura of confidence and power surrounds this spawn of a cryaxian and dragon blood. His build; muscular, but not bulky, one might say ‘proportioned’.

[Kurth Tathasir]

Kurth Tathasir strode onto on the practice green in front of the barracks with a walk that spoke half of confidence, and half of apprehension. He had seen his liege, Raliric Ered`Gard in battle, and it was a fearsome sight. He knew he bore not a chance to defeat him, but he was going to try to put forth an effort worthy of the praise of the Argent Sword in the process. The human caught sight of the dracon sitting on the steps of the barracks, and walked towards him.

The young squire was clothed in his usual knight's uniform, minus the coat and cloak. He would need full range of movement for this match. Kurth wore an off-white thin cotton shirt, loosely tucked into his thicker, dark brown cotton trousers, kept up with a black leather belt. Over top the cotton blouse he wore a soft black leather jerkin for full range of movement; it was not too tight or too loose. His wrists were enclosed in black leather bracers, and a black leather scabbard hung diagonally on his back, home to the squire's black elven-steel broadsword - Redemption.

Black leather mid-shin boots, with soles that were a bit thicker than most, finished the ensemble. These soles, unknown to anyone but Kurth, housed an invention of engineering genius - two and one-half inch blades that spring out of the toes of the boots when a stud on the inside of the heel is depressed. This is so that Kurth can activate one boot or both depending on how he depresses the studs. A steel slide on the bottom allows the blades to be retracted, catching on a steel tooth inside the boot, awaiting to be reactivated.

"Serale, sir. I trust you are well?"

[Raliric Ered`Gard]

”I am indeed. You are the same?” Raliric said as he rose to his feet. Many thought the dracon crazy for what he was wearing that winter brightening with the training field covered in snow and chill breeze ruffling his hair; he was wearing no shirt and no cloak. But the dracon didn't seem bothered by that cold. Once upon his feet he threw a wooden practice broadsword toward Kurth and then picked up a wooden practice hammer. The reason Barthanes was there was because even though these weapons were not sharp or made of steel, they were still capable of breaking bones and splitting flesh with the force they would be wielded.

”Leave your steel broadsword here, don't want it getting in the way.” The Dracon's own steel hammer was sitting on the steps of the Barracks, no doubt an indication of where the human was to set his weapon. Once it had been done, he motioned for Kurth to follow him out onto the center of the training field and as they walked he spoke. ”Now, this bout is being observed by a great many knights. I don't want you to be easy, or think that you are not able to hit me. I will also give you advice on how you move and your techniques during this bout so that you might improve upon your skills. Another thing, this hammer, though it is made of wood, is just as deadly as one made of steel, I won't be doing any killing attacks during this match, however contact will hurt. I expect you to be nimble and smart.”

The had reached the center of the field by that stage and Raliric drew the hammer up one handed and rested the head on his shoulder. ”Did you have any questions before we begin?”

Kurth would find the wooden broadsword that Raliric had given him to be of the same weight, if not more so than the steel broadsword. It was so that soldiers who practiced with these weapons were strong enough to wield the less heavy real version. However in this bout, because Kurth was used to the weight of his steel broadsword it might be harder for him at first. The same was said for Raliric's hammer, though the Knight had been used to wielding a dwarven steel hammer before this normal steel one and thus the wooden hammer was an easy middle ground.

[Kurth Tathasir]

Kurth nodded to Raliric and unhooked the sheath's buckle and sliding it off his back, grasping the claymore firmly beneath the guard and setting it delicately on the steps next to the hammer. The human caught the wooden practice sword and held it in his right hand, by his side. He caught up to his liege and walked in stride, listening to the dracon as he spoke about the match. He needed to be careful not to make a fool of himself if others were watching. Yes, he did hope to improve his skills during this bout. He walked to the center of the training field and nodded when he was asked if he had any questions.

"Yes, sir. I have one question." He shifted the wooden claymore in his right hand so it didn't put so much pressure on his fingers. "How will the outcome of the match be determined? A knockout, tap out, or simply upon mutual resignition?"

It was an honest enough question, the human felt more comfortable knowing to what bounds he was allowed to fight. He didn't want to get in over his head.

The human took the wooden sword and took it in both of his hands, facing so that Raliric was on his left side, and pulled the sword up so that the blade was perpendicular to the ground and the guard was level with his face. He then swung it back over his head so that it was parallel with the ground, and swung it down in a diagonal motion to his right. He felt the sword's weight more clearly than he did his original. It must be slightly heavier, and he felt his muscles tensing to accommodate for the additional weight.

Kurth felt the swing move a bit faster than he had originally expected, which threw him slightly off balance, and he pulled back on the sword, landing the tip in the grass by his feet. He leaned his right arm on the guard and frowned, while pondering how he was going to pull this off.

"I meant to do that."

[Raliric Ered`Gard]

Raliric thought on the question and nodded slowly, a good one to ask to be sure. ”Tap out or mutual resignation, though obviously a knockout will constitute a match stop. Let’s not think of this as a match though, but rather an intensive training session. If you wish to stop, merely call out to do so and we shall.” The dracon looked down at the grass beneath him, giving it a kick, a stomp and a twist to see how firm it was and how much it moved depending on what he did. It was always good to test where your feet were to be set if the chance was available; after all if your feet weren’t properly placed then you had already lost the fight.

Once he had tested the ground he looked back at his opponent, his squire, and nodding in approval that the fellow was testing out the practice sword. It was more than likely that the fellow had never wielded one of those before and thus it would take a few matches for him to truly become used to it. ”Aye, these practice weapons are made of hardwood and are made to be the same shape and size as your normal steel weapon, but contain much more weight. Thus if you practice with these weapons you should have no problem whatsoever wielding your regular weapon. Builds up strength in your shoulders, neck and torso doing it this way, and you’re doing it in a way that suits your particular style of weapon.” A pause as he lifted his long hammer up from his shoulder, one handed, and allowed it to fall to his side before he used the momentum of its weight as it swung forward to bring it up in line with his chest, which is where he caught it with his other hand.

He positioned his feet shoulder length apart, his right foot back behind his left, then he bent his knees slightly and turned his body so that the left side of his body was protruding forward. This was the side that the head of the hammer was positioned on, his left hand holding firm just below the head itself whilst the right hand held the butt end, roughly a hands breath up from the end actual. Thus allowing a perfect defensive posture which could, in a moments notice, turn into an offensive posture. It was a neutral stance all considered.

”Test the sword if you would like, have a few attacks at me to get the feel, I’ll merely block and won’t counter, at least not for the first few tries. You can try different attacks as well to test how the weapon fares with its added weight.” Raliric then waited for the squire’s attack.