(Flashback) It is Not Mine Alone (Demlin)

by **Xalet** on April 2nd, 2012, 10:52 pm

The liquid shock of a blow flowing through Xalet's system was just the sensation he wished to feel. It meant the strike was clean, and the follow through was true. Often during his teaching, Xalet found that in practice those learning tended to approach to cautiously, holding back the majority of their power. Xalet wasn't a fine piece of glass, he wasn't about to break. The squire was glad the Page came at him appropriately. The crash of two shields was enough to ring an eardrum should it be too close to the epicenter. That type of combat, where to men met straight on with both their bulwarks of protection and their swords was where a majority of the noise of war could be found in.

"His ability with a blade vastly outshines his aptitude with a shield." Xalet though to himself. His thought seemed to be nearly choreographed with the incoming strike from Demlin's blade. One that Xalet was not prepared for. He felt his body shift from the strike upon his shield, quite a feat it was moving the large Akalak. Beyond having a distinct size advantage, Xalet also recieved years of muscular training. There was no doubt, the Page wielded a blade better than Xalet did those years ago. By the time Demlin would be ready to be called a man he could be especially deadly with a blade.

Xalet did lose some of his balance, there wasn't any way around it. His skill in martial arts such as the short sword and unarmed combat had taught him some footwork, but everyone eventually found themselves in an unadvantagous situation. His sword raised up to parry the sword above him, the heavier longsword pushing the short sword down in Xalet's hand. Rolling his wrist around, his short sword arced in a crescent style and both future Knights found their swords coming down upon each other's helm. When steel landed firmly upon one's helm, there was a very telling echo that resounded inside. It wasn't pleasant. After a moment of recovery, Xalet would have time to discuss a more advanced sword technique.

"Hold and recover. I like the aggression, I was caught off guard. You've got some real talent with that sword, so I decided I would take a moment from the shield training and explain a quick and simple sword techinque, useful for any weapon but especially valuable with a longer blade." he spoke, taking a moment to right his helm after that connection, "When two swords meet and a parry is established, it is a basic technique to recover your weapon back into a neutral stance and prepare for the next engagement. When you understand the basics of a weapon, such as it's weight and balance, you can do weapon transitions. A transition moves from a defensive posture to an offensive posture in one movement, instead of defending, recovering to a neutral position, and attacking. When I cushioned that blow with a parry and then rolled the wrist to attack, that was a transition."

Xalet took a moment to sheath his short sword so he could more appropriately position Demlin's blade tip into the correct arc during a faux transition, "Prepare the triangle stance, then imagine your blade tip moving from right to left as you effect a short parry." the Akalak's fingers nimbly seized Demlin's longsword in it's last three inches and began to move it, "Keep your elbows in, your wrist and forearm will be doing all the work, your elbow will only flex to absorb the weight of your opponents strike, and that absorption will become your forward power. Now, the tip moves, the parry is made, instead of resetting to neutral, your wrist will continue to twist counter clockwise until the tip rests just below level to the ground. Then the transition comes, the elbow is straightened, watch your wrist follow your elbow, and watch the tip of your blade follow your wrist. A parry immediately into a cut which occurs before an opponent can recover their blade, and thus the transition is complete. Now, prepare to recieve my blade and complete the transition." Xalet decided, releasing the end of the weapon and drawing his own. Leaving only a few moments for Demlin to digest that inforamation, the squire began his series of cuts, coming down upon the Page.

by **Demlin** on April 7th, 2012, 2:41 am

Much to Demlin's surprise, he was not struck back and had somehow managed to be quick enough to strike Xalet with his shield. Even more to this was the fact that he had managed to move the large Akalak, causing him to move back from the blow and this he was very much satisfied with he had done exactly as he wanted with the move. Yet his second movement that paralleled the shield, his long blade was parried by his opponent and in what seemed to be a flash to demlin, both blades fell in the air striking eachother on the head. Demlin felt dizzy, crouching on his left knee he placed his sword on the ground then moved his hand to his head to feel for any blood. His hand leaving his head still clean and dry was a relief to himself and Demlin put his focus back onto the teacher eager to hear something new. Hearing that they would work on a quick sword technique before moving back to the shield excited the young page, his passion was swordplay and any new threat he could add to his arsenal put him closer to his goal as a master swordsman.

”Yes sir!” Demlin let out, grabbing his blade and preparing for this next exchange. Forming a triangle stance, he saw the blade coming at him and had to prevent himself from his natural parry, instead just moving the blade up to the left in anticipation for where the opponents blade will come and then as the weapons caught on each other he noticed how the blades were positioned and the explanation given before began to make complete sense to him. He just turned his forearm as if to open a doorknob and the his blade was on the inside of the two allowed him to just straighten his arm for his weapon to fall onto the squires body. As this occurred he took the corner of his shield slapping the short sword away from his face, where it would have fallen to if he had managed to ignore it a moment sooner. Now time seemed to slow for Demlin, his blood was flowing fast and he was very focused to see what the squire would reply to this motion with.

by **Xalet** on April 8th, 2012, 2:05 am

During the course of instruction it wasn't always about striking or being struck. More important than speed or power was the technique. If the technique was good, the speed and the strength would follow in time. If it was sloppy or misrepresented, the pieces that formed a strong attack would never come, and in fact there was the potential for muscular failure or injury. Dealing with the wrists and the joints of the arms left a great deal of room for strains and sprains. Xalet had to observe carefully to ensure Demlin was practicing the transitions in an appropriate manner.

Of course the Squire did his best to parry or block when necessary, but he revealed a separate style of defense. The forearms of the Squire's uniform were the most guarded, as was typical for any would be Knight that wore the heavy armor of the Order. Though the upper arms were guarded only by chainmail and a gambeson beneath, the forearms had full greaves. Thick plates made of mild steel, quite simply behind a pick or awl-pike, there wasn't much that could penetrate them. It was then that with his greaves alone he folded his arm inward and deflected an incoming strike. It appeared to be a simple interposition of his greave, but there was more to it than that. By keeping his arm at the slightest of angle the edge of any bladed weapon could be swept off and away with minimal impact, gliding across the smooth fluted surface of the greave.

"Good good, practice that transition, and find others for yourself that work with your long blade. There is one last thing I wish to show you, and this is a transition with shield and blade together. This is a more advanced shield technique, but it will be useful for you to practice so that you can begin to understand shield transitions. We will do this slowly, and with little force as there is great potential for injury." Xalet paused their exchange momentarily, taking a moment to remove his helm and shake some sweat from his eyes. Small beads of perspiration rained downward and with a hand he swept his hair to the rear and replaced his helm.

"There are two main shield transition strikes. The gouge, and the edge. The gouge utilizes the twisting of the hips and upper body, the edge uses the shoulder and arm. When fighting an opponent, especially a right handed opponent as a right handed fighter yourself, it is advantageous to parry or deflect an attack to the inside, and step outside. This puts you closer to your opponents weapon side, and will force him to adjust his position and stance. That is basic knowledge. By understanding your armor and using simple grappling techniques you can injure an opponent beneath his own armor. Prepare a stance and I shall demonstrate..." Xalet drew his short sword and moved into position with Demlin. Instructing Demlin to throw a typical cut or stab, Xalet explained each movement as he did them in sequence. "Step in close, a blade or weapon has little lethality near it's hilt. Deflect with your bracer. Move your forearm up and around the attacking arm, and clinch the attacking arm securely within the crook of your elbow, using your sword to trap it. Then, swivel your hips and twist your upper body, bringing the right edge of your shield into the elbow, tricep, or armpit of your opponent." Xalet then did so, but not with pressure or speed. The maneuver was dangerous, and at full speed and power could result in breaking the elbow, hyper-extending the shoulder, or at the very least deeply bruising the muscle of the tricep. "That, Demlin, is the gouge."

Indeed the shield was as much a tool for causing damage as it was preventing it. There were very few Orders or groups that practiced the shield to the extent that the Knights did. It wasn't simply a suggestion, it was mandatory to become a proper Warrior. The difference between a man picking up a shield, and a trained shield fighter was immeasurable. "For the edge you will prepare to receive an arcing blow or stab aimed upon the head. Many opponents will attack the head, as even armored a strike to the head can disorient or stun. When this occurs, one must bend the knees and lower the body, preparing the leg joints to cushion the pressure that will come from above. The left elbow will raise, tilting the shield, and the shoulder will roll backward, bringing the shield upward to just above the head." Xalet spoke, giving Demlin a look at the stance. In the end Xalet was in a typical triangle stance, but his shield was above his head, as if he was shading his body from the sun. "Then step, and bring the shoulder and elbow forward, driving the bottom edge into the head or neck of your opponent. Defense into offense. Do not stop once you hit, press all of your weight in order to return your arm back into the standard triangle stance for a shield. This maneuver is absolutely devastating. It is damaging to the point that it is not typically practiced in any spar amongst Squires or Knights. In a true fight this will cause damage regardless of armor and should you time your step and movement of the shoulder, as well as exhibit proper strength in your upper body, you will hammer even stalwart fighters straight to the ground. Come, to the training post..." Xalet mentioned for the second technique he had shown Demlin. The training grounds were filled with such posts, tall wooden targets with padding to absorb heavy bludgeoning blows, "Demonstrate the edge, then strike the post with all your strength. Grip your shield straps tight, adjust them if you need to. You need minimal movement of the shield."

by **Emblem** on May 24th, 2012, 4:06 am

Congratulations!
You Get Glorious Experience!

Xalet
Skills

Lores

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