[Flashback]The Most Reliable Weapon(Solo)

[Volinir Orchid]

15th of Spring, 491AV “Oh no… No, no, no…” Volinir muttered as he skittered frantically down a silk road. He was late. Very late. He had somewhere to be, and the man he was meant to meet in that somewhere was not known for being the patient type. He snatched a strip of cloth from a passing basket, eliciting an angry curse from an exhausted courier that was soon drowned out by the wind in his ears as he slug the strip over the cable, grabbed one end in each hand, and let go with his feet. He raced down the makeshift zip line until he finally came to a stop in front of a medium sized house and dashed through the open door. He stopped in a rather large, empty room with a sole occupant leaning against the wall opposite the door. It was a rather grizzled looking Symenestra of about forty or so, with a number of small scars on his bare arms. He was to teach Volinir how to use his recently grown nails. “Volinir! Where have you been?” the irritable looking Symenestra demanded. “Sorry sir… I overslept.” “Well don’t do it again, y’hear?” “Yes, sir.” Volinir said diminutively. The older Sym smiled faintly, and then beckoned him to stand in front of him. “Right… You’re leaving Kalinor soon, aren’t you?” “Just for a couple hours!” the young Volinir squeaked. “Pop’s finally taking me hunting with him!” “At twelve?” he chuckled. “Well, I suppose you’ve had a couple years to get used to your claws… Let’s get straight to work then, shall we?” The young Volinir nodded excitedly. “Right then! First things first, I’ve got to teach you the basics. These will be the foundation for everything else you learn, so pay attention! You’ve got your three basic stances: your front,” he shifted his foot forward and let his weight rest on it, the knee half-bent and his feet shoulder width apart, “your middle,” he slid his back foot forward, then out to the side so he was standing like a Drykas riding a horse, his weight spread evenly, “and your back.” he brought his foot back and twisted it so it was perpendicular to his other foot, the two making an L shape, resting his weight on the back foot. As with the first two stances, his knees were bent. Volinir mimicked his motions with a bit of difficulty. “Front stance is for offense. It’s extremely difficult to push someone back when they’re in a front stance, but a good shove to the side ought to do it. The middle stance works the opposite way; making it nigh impossible to knock you down with a shove to the sides, but putting your front and back at risk. It also lets you move from side to side more easily. Back stance is best for mobility and defense; you can easily step back or shift stances when you’re in a back stance. Only experience will teach you which stance to use in what situation. All I can do is show you how to do them, and what they’re usually used for.” The little Symenestra nodded eagerly, “What next?” His instructor smiled. “Next comes blocking and attacking. There are three basic blocks, and three roots of attack. At least, that’s what I call them. There’s the high block,” he whipped his forearm up and above his face, “for deflecting downward blows. The middle block,” he flicked his other forearm up in a windshield wiper movement, stopping about a foot away from, and a few inches in front of his head, the arm above his head returning to his side with his fist touching his hip, “and the low block.” He brought his arm down parallel to his body, stopping with his fist in front of his crotch, “Are for everything else. I’d not rely on them too much, though. We’re not exactly Jamoura, and a strong enough blow is just as likely to break your arm as be stopped by it.” Volinir repeated the motions, his small body succeeding in replicating the form, but not the power. “Finally, there are the three roots, as I like to call them. Other races will punch, but we have something special…” the instructor flicked his fingers out, his obsidian claws gleaming in the soft light. “These. Sadly, it means punches are rather painful for us. So we have three roots of attack instead. I personally call them the slice,” he curved his fingers slightly, leaving them spread out. “The gouge,” he brought his fingers together to form a sort of scoop, “And the stab.” He straightened his hand out. “The slice is a little bit faster, and is good for drawing blood and causing pain. A slice across the ribs, face, or arms can often set someone back quite a bit, or buy you time to run. The gouge can take out a good chunk of flesh with some skill, and is good for doing real damage. Gouge to the gut can cause serious bleeding, and one to the shoulder can disable an entire arm. The stab is self-explanatory, but I’d not recommend it for some time; it takes a lot of practice to drive a crescent into someone without hurting yourself, and you’ll probably jar your hand against bone unless you get him or her in the gut. Understand?” “Of course, sir!” Volinir chirped. “But um… how do I use those in a fight?” The older Symenestra laughed. “You’re getting ahead of me, kid! Come here…” he motioned for him to step forward and squatted, tracing a cross in the floor, then adding two lines cutting through the intersection diagonally. “The way I see it, you can take the first two roots: the slice and the gouge, and use them in eight directional attacks, at least with your hands. Can slice at the crown of someone’s head or gouge at their shoulder, or try to cut them diagonally across the ribs, or rip their arm with a horizontal slash. Of course, stabs are a bit different. Once you have the technique down, just try for a lunge or jab. I’m not exactly a genius, but that should get you through a few fights out there…” “But what if I get knocked down?” “Just bite them. Simple enough.” he ruffled Volinir’s tarnished silver hair. “That’s about all I can teach you in one sitting. Come back some other time, and maybe I’ll let you practice on me, eh?” he winked playfully. “Good luck, and come back in one piece!” The little spiderling giggled and nodded emphatically, beaming up at him. “I will!”

[Poison]

THREAD AWARD!

Skills: Running 1, Acrobatics 1
Lores: the three basic stances, the three roots, if you get knocked down bite them

Comment: Since you only listened to your instructor and watched him, but didn't repeat what he did, I could only give you lores and no actual combat skills.