A Sword is Only as Sharp as the Mind (Sei Tendo)

by **Letixia Raigner** on March 7th, 2014, 1:58 am

She saw him step backwards from her assault, his sword thrusting toward her shoulder. Leti seized the opportunity he'd provided. She powered forward two steps leading with her shield. His sword bit into her shoulder, piercing partially though her chain mail. Thankfully his sword was withdrawn quickly to prevent too much damage. She charged through the pain, hoping to upset his balance by continuing his momentum backwards and over his own feet. Hiding behind her own shield, which was enough to cover most of her torso and head, she refused to back off.

It was all or nothing now. Her shield meeting his, she continued pushing, and started stabbing low, repeatedly, aiming for thighs. Cripple a warrior and he's no longer a warrior. His speed meant nothing to her if she was right up in his face. Her ears didn't hear his comment as she continued her assault. After her lower assault, she pulled back just a bit, to allow a little bit of room between them. She angled the bottom of her kite shield so the point was pointed out toward him. Her assault wasn't going to stop, as she made a jab for his thigh with the point of her shield. But it was a feint, for she stopped it just after she started, and punched the upper section of the shield at his face. She held her own sword at the ready, it, for the moment, being used for defense while her shield was the offense.

by **Sei Tendo** on March 7th, 2014, 2:21 am

Sei Tendo

Sei was regretting his decision to step back in the next few moments.

Letixia powered forward, slamming her shield against his and forcing him back. He had managed to cut her, but he'd withdrawn so quickly it wasn't enough to stop the other squire. She then started to stab at his lower thighs, which forced him to take more steps back. At some point she had stopped, but with him using his shield to deflect hers, the only weapon was his shortsword. She feigned a stab at his thigh once more, but bashed her shield to his forehead. Sei growled, sidestepped and made a harsh, unstable swing for Letixia's now exposed side with the blunt of the blade. He held the shield where he could hold his head and block any other attacks for his torso and upper body. He lowered his shield, and charged Letixia when his vision began to clear.

He waited until he was about a foot away before stopping and drawing the sword back before shoving forward to thrust at the other squire's sword arm. His head was spasming, but luckliy she hadn't hit him hard enough to cause a fracture or brain damage, but there would be a bump or bruise. Or possibly both.. He jumped back and took a quickstep to the left, and used his best footwork to cover the distance so he could get closer to Letixia. He then took his shield and bashed it into Letixia's side.

by **Letixia Raigner** on March 9th, 2014, 3:30 am

Leti felt the wild swing of her opponent bounce off the armor covering her ribs. It stunned her a little, more shock and surprise than actual damage. She knew Ser Ranqor would be disappointed in exposing herself in such a manner. She stepped backwards, keeping her shield leg forward still, when she saw her opponent charge her. She saw his sword shoulder pull back a little, and she realized that a thrust might be coming. But she hadn't expected it to be going for her sword arm, the same arm he'd cut previously. She was slow to react, barely managing to parry his attack, but doing so, she'd hit at the wrong angle, numbing her hand.

He'd quickly jumped around her, swinging his shield. It caught her in her sword side ribs, knocking the breath from her. Thankfully she'd managed to at least prevent her sword arm from being pinned, when she realized she had a small window of opportunity. She brought her sword arm down behind his shield, looking to drive the hilt into his wrist. Immediately following the attack, she pulled her arm in close, latching onto his shield. She moved her right foot in a semicircle behind her left, and twisted her body powerfully. She was attempting to throw him down using his shield arm as leverage. Keeping with the circular momentum, she used her shield arm to swing her kite toward his exposed back, hoping to drive him further and faster forward.

Her momentum would spin herself around to face him, her feet landing in slightly awkward footing, her breath ragged from all of the rib shots. She quickly righted her feet, staring at her opponent, forcibly breathing through her nose and out through her mouth. She needed to end this soon, if she took many more shots like that, her ribs would end up being cracked or broken. But he would need to make a big mistake she could capitalize on, until then, it was a battle of endurance. One she wasn't sure she could win.

by **Sei Tendo** on March 9th, 2014, 11:56 pm

Sei's shortsword bounced off of the breastplate of Letixia's armor, but he could tell she was still in pain. His breathing was heavy and uneven, but he kept going. After his mad shield bash, he hadn't expected his opponent to slam her hilt on top of his wrist. He jerked his hand back, looking up just in time to see the other squire swing him by his shield. She then drove her shield into his back, knocking the air from his lungs. His head was beating like a gong, but it was nothing he couldn't handle.

Sei hadn't realized he'd fallen on all fours, but he stood shakily anyway. He could feel little trickles of blood running down his forhead from Letixia's earlier move. He studied her as he readied his shortsword to attack. He charged Letixia, teeth bared, but before he could get close enough to strike his Patron called to him.

"That's enough. Both of you."

"But Ser, what about round two?!"

"Enough Sei, you and I will spar later. As for the results, I see you've improved quite a bit."

Sei nodded and sheathed his shortsword. He extended his free hand to Letixia to take, and gave her a warm smile. "Thanks for sparring with me! I'll give you a message when I need a tough opponent to face."

by **Letixia Raigner** on March 10th, 2014, 12:32 am

Leti watched as her opponent charged at her, blood trickling down his face like some sort of savage. She braced her shield, ready to go for broke, when their patrons ended the sparring. She was certainly ready to continue the fight, but she was not about to argue or question her patron. Especially in front of another Knight. Leti sheathed her sword, smiling, working on getting her breath back. Ser Ranqor approached her, "You did well, you're not nearly as reckless as you used to be. Glad to see you thinking while you fight now."

Her opponent extended his hand, which she shook after wiping her sweaty palm on her armor. As they were shaking, Ser Ranqor approached them, "You two fight well with each other. We should make this happen again. You two go get yourselves mended and cleaned up. After you eat Letixia, come find me to finish your studies tonight."

Leti smiled at her fellow squire, "Thank you for the sparring, I learned a lot." She then turned to the squire's patron, "Thank you Ser for giving me the opportunity to spar with your squire." Leti and Ser Ranqor gathered their things, and walked back to the city, him giving her more questions to answer, and her, though a bit more slowly and tiredly, answering them.

by **Radiant** on March 15th, 2014, 3:05 pm

Letixia :

Sei :

Notes :

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+3 XP
Body Building	+2 XP
Endurance	+2 XP
Organization	+2 XP
Tactics	+1 XP
Weapon: Longsword	+3 XP
Weapon: Kite Shield	+3 XP

Skill	XP Earned
Observation	+2 XP
Rhetoric	+1 XP
Endurance	+2 XP
Weapon: Shortsword	+3 XP
Weapon: Small Shield	+3 XP
Tactics	+2 XP

Completed A Sword is Only as Sharp as the Mind (Sei Tendo)