Basic Swordplay [Lyria|Private]

Aesha · January 18, 2004, 09:50 AM

Timestamp: Mid-Immanis, Era I of the Celestine Mandate, Era X Post-Fractum.

Once again Janice had kindly led Lyria to the house of her teacher. This time the lesson was to be basic swordplay, and the Aedile had once again gone back to her office, which she had left unattended in order to escort Lyria. This time the building had been quite a way away, situation on the edge of Dan's Domicile, almost in the Market Square. The building was obviously not a place someone lived in. It looked like a small, flat, non descript public building, with no greenery or garden.

On closer inspection of the brick building, Lyria could see a brass plaque had been screwed into the wall on the left of the front door. Engraved into the flat, polished brass were the words:

Quote:

Jarden Colulieth's School Of Swordplay

Proprietor: Jarden P Colulieth

The door of the building had been left ajar for prospective students to wander in and enquire into lessons. From within the school emerged the sounds of practice battles, bereating teachers and the occasional 'arrgh!' as someone did something they shouldn't.

Lyria Foamswift · January 18, 2004, 12:20 PM

Lyria was beginning to feel awfully guilty for having Janice escort her from place to place. The woman obviously had work of her own, and didn’t have the time to play tour guide. She made note of the path they took, and glanced at the other roads that intersected the area, so she could come here on her own.

Unlike the jeweler’s house, this building was plain and boxy. She supposed it was so students wouldn’t get distracted by anything pretty and focus on fighting instead, but Lyria found it a little depressing. Also, it gave her little excuse to stand around, since there was nothing to look at.

She approached the door, grinning slightly at the noises that were coming out. Lyria had no doubt that she would be another student to give her instructors grief. Having no training in swordplay whatsoever, the closest she’d ever gotten was using sticks to mock-fight with her brothers. Still, she wasn’t too nervous, as she considered swordfighting something of a practiced skill, and not based on innate artistic ability.

Making her way into the building, she glanced around, wondering who she should approach first.

Aesha · January 19, 2004, 03:54 PM

The inside of the building looked a little less plain and sparse than the outside, but only marginally. Lyria appeared to be in some kind of reception area that looked rather like a hospital waiting room. The walls had been painted a boring plain cream colour, and the wooden floorboards had been polished once, but had lost their sheen under the wear of many feet. Three wooden and ultimately uncomfortable looking chairs were lined up against the left side of the room for those waiting to be served by the receptionist.

Sitting at an equally as boring wooden desk the girl behind it was plain-featured, mousy hair tied up into a tight bun. She was human, and young, probably about seventeen. Her green eyes slightly hidden behind long lashed followed Lyria as she entered the room. Currently the half-Theyri was the only other occupant of the reception area and the girl waved her over, looking pleased that she would have something to do.

Smiling a professional looking smile at Lyria, she quoted, "Serale. Welcome to Jarden Colulieth's school of swordplay. My name is Myana. How can I help you?"

Lyria Foamswift · January 19, 2004, 04:49 PM

Lyria smiled back at the girl as she walked up to the desk. She hadn’t had too much time to look around before she was beckoned over, but from what she saw, the interior was just as spartan as the exterior. Well, that was fine with her… it would have been hard to concentrate on fighting if the walls were papered with flowers and whatnot. She sighed slightly. Although, would it have killed them to put some artwork on the walls? Her eyes were smarting from the blandness.

Turning her attention to the girl, she offered another smile. “Serale, Myana… I signed up for some basic swordplay lessons at the Aedile’s office.” Lyria rummaged around in her bag until she found the relevant voucher. “And… here it is, I have a voucher for half off.” She paused, unsure of how to continue. “Uh… do I pay now, or later?”

Aesha · January 21, 2004, 12:58 PM

Myana smiled at Lyria as she took the voucher and studied it for proof of authenticity. Recognising the signature of Janice she nodded at Lyria to confirm the transaction. "Payment is required upfront. With the voucher from the Aedile you only need pay 75 crowns."

Whilst waiting for Lyria to hand over the fee, Myana checked a thin book for available teachers. Pushing a loose strand of hair out of her face she studied the book carefully, making sure the teacher she chose was not with a student. "Ah, here we are! Once paid please report to hall number 2. Your teacher will be my brother." Laughing she added, "He's not that bad, really."

Lyria Foamswift · January 21, 2004, 07:39 PM

Lyria grinned while she fumbled through her money pouch for the requisite amount of coins. “How reassuring,” she commented dryly, handing her payment over. “Well, as you don’t seem to have any body parts lopped off, I suppose I’m in good hands. Thank you for all your help!” She waved briefly with a smile before walking off to the designated hall.

She wasn’t half as nervous about this lesson. Perhaps she had no skill whatsoever, but Lyria was fairly certain she was physically fit; if anything, she’d always been the best swimmer of the family and enjoyed exercise. The fact that she didn’t mind a good sweat had earned her the label of a tomboy, but she took no offense. It was actually something that she took pride in, to the everlasting puzzlement of her father.

Lyria entered the hall and glanced around, looking for a man with Myana’s brown hair. Perhaps it’s a family business, she mused. Maybe they’re even the children of the proprietor. In that case, I’m even better off than I thought. With a slight grin, she scanned the room for a likely suspect.

Mizushin Junzo · January 25, 2004, 01:51 AM

"Serale...?" A voice called through the doorway. A moment passed before its owner stepped through to reveal himself. Junzo looked around at the small school, the place having a faint sense of familiarity, though the elven swordsman knew very well that he had not been here before. It was perhaps, the same in most martial academies all over the Empire.

He looked towards the desk, and moved over nearby. "Greetings, I would like to inquire, this is the..." He paused for a moment, as he gathered his memory, "...Coluieth School of Swordplay?"

Aesha · January 25, 2004, 05:58 AM

Mizushin

Myana looked up from the book she had been writing in. The girl had been noting down in the thin tome that her brother had aquired a new student and was unavailable for further lessons. She tucked a strand of brown hair behind her ear and smiled at Junzo.

"Yes, yes it is." As Junzo paused and tried to recollect the name of the school, Myana got the feeling he'd been there before. However, she didn't recall his face, but the school had taken in so many students it wasn't unusual. "Are you looking for lessons? We do have a few teachers free right now but it depends on what you want to learn..."

Lyria

The classroom consisted of a medium sized room was an unpolished wooden floor. Various bags stuff with hay and combat dummies had been pushed against the walls. Two large racks full of various different styles of swords had been affixed to the back wall, and two tables holding practice weapons were amidst all the dummies and such.

However, the room was empty. Whoever Myana's brother was, he clearing wasn't in the room. Assumedly he had just popped out for a second, unaware that another student was arriving so soon after his last class. Regardless, there was nothing Lyria could do but wait.

Lyria Foamswift · January 25, 2004, 04:46 PM

A brief scan of the room revealed that the room was indeed empty, save for dummies lined up against the walls and equipment arranged against the walls. Lyria sighed. She’d wanted to get started as soon as possible, but as the instructor was out at the moment… Well, there’s no harm in looking around a bit, she decided as she wandered over to the table of practice weapons.

She glanced over at the weapons arranged on the table. As they were practice weapons, Lyria assumed they wouldn’t be too sharp. She wondered if they’d start with wooden swords first, as it seemed safer to use them before moving on to metal ones. Glancing down, she imagined that it would be quite painful to take a tumble on the hard wooden floor, and hoped that she wouldn’t have to find out if she was right or not.

Next, she moved on to the combat dummies. The still forms reminded her of the hastily made, hay-stuffed dummies that her brothers had constructed for her when boys had started taking note of her. In one crash course before her first official “date”, they had taught her the basics of dirty fighting.

Tucking her fingers in, she made a fist with her right hand, knuckles pointing out. She pulled her hand back, feeling a muscle in her forearm stretch, and gave the dummy a right jab, in slow-motion. It was one of the things her brother had taught her to do in a dire situation. And as for another… Lyria dropped down in a crouch and shot her hand up, towards where the asexual dummy’s crotch would have been. In a quick motion, she twisted and pulled at the air, in a move that her brothers had fondly dubbed ‘the nutcracker’. She’d only had an occasion to use it once, and the results had been extremely vocal.

OOC: Hehe…hope you don’t mind that I decided to play around a little

Mizushin Junzo · January 26, 2004, 03:31 AM

Junzo chuckled and shook his head slowly. "No, not really. I'm the fair swordsman, I will say, and modesty aside, I'm probably not much worse then your instructors here. " He nodded at the people around, in a general manner. "For now, I would just like to ask if it would be all right if I could observe and all. Perhaps I might see something I do wish to learn here, and sign up. One never knows."

"As for that...you don't happen to have a class going on right now, do you? Something for a wandering fighter to watch and observe in?"

Aesha · January 27, 2004, 03:08 PM

Lyria

OOC: Hee, not at all

IC: Just as Lyria performed the aptly named 'nutcracker' the squeak of hinges echoed slightly around the room as the door opened. A very male chuckle bounced into the room from the doorway. Footsteps strangely soft on the wooden floor sounded as the mystery man took three or four steps into the room and looked at Lyria carefully.

"Well, I wouldn't want to get on your bad side." The rich, but quiet chuckle sounded again, and the footsteps started up as the man walked over to Lyria.

He didn't seem angry or annoyed; in fact an amused smile adorned his thin lips. His green eyes looked down on Lyria, he was at least 6 feet in height, and definitely something over that. His features were young, and spoke of roguish good-looks. Human, and probably mid-twenties. His hair, the exact same shade as Myana's was slicked back into a small pony tail that trailed down the nape of his neck.

In his hand was a wooden replica of a longsword. "Well, I wasn't expectly another student so soon. Myana does [/i]love[/i] to make me earn my keep." He rolled his eyes at the mention of his sister's name, but his tone suggested the only rivalry between them was mostly-good natured.

Pausing to plonk the wooden weapon on a nearby table with a dull 'thunk' noise, he held out a hand in an offer to help his new Thelyri student up. "I'm Gart Colulieth, and you'd be...?"

Mizushin

Myana blinked at the request. It wasn't something she'd heard often. Or... ever. It was quite an odd thing for the young secretary to hear, and she wasn't sure how some of the trainers would react to her dumping a strange observer in the middle of the class.

A slow smile formed on her lips however, as if she had just figured something out. "Well, actually..." she replied, "...there's a class just starting in hall 2. Go out the door and turn left. You can't miss it."

She made a note of Junzo's presence in the book, though she didn't bother to ask his name. She just noted the elf down as 'observer' next to her hall number 2. The classroom that happened to belong to her brother, of course.

"Well then, go right ahead." Myana said, with a slightly meschevious smile.

Lyria Foamswift · January 27, 2004, 04:24 PM

From her crouching position on the floor, Lyria had to crank her head all the way back to see her new instructor. The initial embarrassment she’d felt at being caught trying to maim a dummy had been replaced by curiosity, although she could still feel a faint blush burning in her cheeks, and even her ears. She offered a sheepish grin to him as she accepted his hand, pulling herself up. It wasn’t much better standing up[/i], Lyria realized. The man still had more than a good foot above her in height. She sighed, rather wistfully. What had Myana been thinking, sending her to this giant? She’d get cramps in her neck just by trying to look him in the eye.

And they were very nice eyes, Lyria couldn’t help noticing. She’d always been a sucker for green eyes, and the ponytail… She couldn’t help sighing again, this time for a different reason. There was something about a ponytail on a man, when it was done right, that just happened to appeal to her. A bad boy…

Lyria wouldn’t deny her weakness for bad boys, as she’d had her fair share of run-ins with them. Most of the time they’d ended badly, and many of them required the use of her right jab. She liked to think that she’d learned her lesson about bad boys. Lyria scowled at Gart briefly. But of course, he’d have to be good-looking. And he seemed to get along with his sister. A bad boy who has good family relations… BAH! She scowled, even more darkly this time. Was there no justice in the world?!

Be polite, Lyria,she told herself. After all, he hasn’t even done anything yet… innocent until proven guilty. Keeping it in mind, she managed to turn her scowl into a decent smile when she spoke to him.

“Serale, Gart… my name is Lyria.” She glanced at the wooden weapon he’d left on the table. It reminded her that the closest she’d ever gotten to a weapon like that was a pitchfork. “I hope that you don’t mind having another student so soon, Myana didn’t mention that… also, I have to warn you that I’ve never had any training whatsoever. Never even came near a sword, in fact. So if it would be too much for you to handle…” she trailed off, unsure of how to continue.

Mizushin Junzo · January 27, 2004, 07:19 PM

Junzo thanked the woman graciously, a polite smile on his lips. "Why thank you, miss. Much appreciated." He moved off into the central hallways, and moved towards the direction that Myana had told him to go to.

It wasn't hard to find the hallway and door that she had formerly indicated, and Junzo took a moment to compose himself before he knocked and entered the room. He pushed open the doorway, and looked inside, wondering at what he could find.

Aesha · January 29, 2004, 10:40 AM

Gart grinned, making his green eyes sparkle merrily. He was not put off a bit about Lyria's confession that she had no experience with a sword at all, and in fact, only seem keen to teach. Gently letting go of Lyria's hand he clasped both of his together behind his back and shook his head. "Oh no! It's no problem at all. Myana does like to... keep me on my toes. I'm sure she manages to make me work harder than all the other trainers put together." He laughed again, slightly amused at the rivalry between him and the rest of his siblings.

"And really, in most cases it's much easier to teach someone who's never held a sword before." He paused, wondering how to carefully word his next sentence. "Someone who's used one... well they sometimes, uh... get into bad habits, and insist that they're right all along." Gart wasn't to sure he'd explained it very well.

Shrugging, he opened his mouth to speak again, but before he could address Lyria, a knock at the door made him swivel around and talk to the stranger who had entered inside.

"Serale? Can I help you? If you're lost I can give you directions but I'm afraid I'm already with a student." He blinked at Junzo waiting for a quick reply, but he didn't seem to be hostile towards the elf. Gart was generally a very laid back and easy-going person, and wanted to help the person he'd mistaken for another student to his lesson before turning his attention back to Lyria.

Mizushin Junzo · January 29, 2004, 08:09 PM

"Oh, hello there...I was instructed by the lady back up front," He made a vague gesture towards where he'd come from, "...to come here as an observer." He gave the two in the room a look, studying them in a quick look, before he spoke again. "I'm no student, as should be apparent. If you don't mind of course...?" He asked of the man, who it seemed was the instructor here.