Solo [Kendoka Sasaran] An Exercise in Diligence

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Built into the cliffs overlooking the Suvan Sea, Riverfall resides on the edge of grasslands of Cyphrus where the Bluevein River plunges off the plain and cascades down to the inland sea below. Home of the Akalak, Riverfall is a self-supporting city populated by devoted warriors. [Riverfall Codex]

[Kendoka Sasaran] An Exercise in Diligence

Postby Timothy Mered on May 6th, 2015, 2:03 am

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27th of Spring 515AV


Nevar’s tower bathed in the morning sunlight as Timothy made his way up the city. The scent of freshly baked bread came wafting down the street and he considered buying some at Bastani’s Bakery. Their chocolate chip cookies were especially tasty. An elder Akalak in the docks had, at a snail’s pace, explained the exact route from the lower tier to the Kendoka Sasaran. Hirem’s untrained attempts at teaching him swordplay had sparked an undying interest in Timothy. He no longer desired to be a Knight, but to kill as many as he could. For that, he needed to become better. Much better.

Upon arriving at the stone-and-glass structure he was greeted by the largest Akalak he had ever seen, two twisted daggers strapped to the man's belt.

“Excuse me,” Timothy started politely, “is this were people come to train?” He hardly had to ask. The banging of wood smacking against wood accompanied by grunts and cries spokes volumes. Still, it was only polite.

“Huh?” The broad Akalak grumbled. “Oh, yes young one, this,” he gestured jovially into the training facility behind him, “is were all great warriors are born. Are you looking for someone?”

Timothy stopped trying to glance past the broad-shouldered Akalak and straightened his back. “No. I’ve come to train.”

The Akalak started to laugh. “You? You’ve come to train?” A blue hand the size of a shovel clasped around his arm and squeezed. “Who exactly do you plan to fight with these wires of yours? Your mom?”

“No,” Timothy snorted, “I’m going to fight bad people.”

“Forget it kid. You’re too flat, too thin, too small, you won’t be fighting anyone anytime soo-“

Slam! A small white-hot fist rammed into the Akalak’s abdomen. Searing pain coursed through Timothy’s veins, he hadn’t expected the Akalak’s skin to be hard as a brick. Biting back the pain he shot an angry stare up at his opponent. “I’m serious. I want to get better, I must.”

“Hmm.” Mizra Aqdas was entirely unfazed by the weak punch to his belly. Nevertheless, the boy showed spirit which was the minimum requirement for entry into the facility. “So you insist?”

“Yes,” Timothy said, rubbing his battered fist.

“Very well. What is it you wish to learn? There are many weapons: spears, staffs, maces, sw-“

“Sword,” Timothy interrupted.

Mizra raised an eyebrow. “You sound awfully sure.”

“I told you, I came to train.”

At once the eight foot Akalak stepped aside, allowing Timothy entrance into the sweaty training room. Mizra zig-zagged through pairs of Akalak boys and men as if he was taking a stroll outside. It wasn’t until they reached the very end of the room that he stopped to turn Timothy again.

“You’re lucky, I have no class to teach today and I could use a bit of practice myself. Fair warning though; once you start there’s no backing down. Is that understood?”

“Yes…”

“Mizra. The Name is Mizra Aqdas, but you will call me Master Aqdas.”

Timothy’s stomach tightened at being asked to call someone ‘master’ again. Jed Radacke had given that word a very foul taste.

“Yes…Master.”

Approving of his young student’s determination, Mizra picked two wooden longswords from a rack on the wall and tossed one at the boy.

“Get ready.”
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Last edited by Timothy Mered on May 10th, 2015, 3:27 am, edited 7 times in total.
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I, Ruv'na (part iii)

Postby Timothy Mered on May 6th, 2015, 2:04 am

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Mimicking the other students in the facility, Timothy took his place opposite Mizra. One hand clasped firmly around the hilt of his blade.

“Both hands!” Mizra barked with enough force to knock him over.

Timothy hardly had the time to obey as Mizra lunged forward and attacked. The first blow was parried, moreso by sheer luck than any actual skill. Timothy flinched and nearly tripped over his own feet as he stumbled backwards. A second blow knocked the wooden sword from his grasp and before he knew it a blunt, wooden tip pressed against his chin.

“Dead.” Mizra said simply. “Try again.”

It took him several ticks before he picked up his sword again, rendered breathless by the speed at which Mizra had overpowered him. Brows furrowing in concentration, he held on tightly to his sword.

“Don’t slouch. You’re squeezing it like it’s your wiener, hold it loosely. Relax.”

Before his cheeks could light up, Mizra struck again. Timothy slashed wildly at the air, hoping to parry the incoming blow. At that he succeeded, but the Akalak wasn’t so easily outwitted. In one swift motion Mizra grabbed his upper arm and used his momentum against him, tossing him aside like a ragdoll. Timothy hit the floor behind the Akalak with the grace of a brick. Already his frame was starting to protest Mizra’s hands-on approach.

“Come on, get up, your enemies won’t wait around.”

“I know,” Timothy grumbled under his breath as he scrambled back unto his feet. “But you’re too fast and you’re hitting too hard.”

He was barely standing when Mizra’s dull wooden blade slammed into his abdomen. “I never hit too hard. Bad people, as you call them, will not treat you any gentler because you’re too much of a pansy to handle a single blow.”

Gasping for air, Timothy shot a furious gaze up at his trainer. He’d come to practice, to become a better swordsman, not to be beaten up by a big blue man with too much free time. “I guess we’re even now, Master Aqdas” he muttered through gritted teeth as he limped back to his position.

“Determined. Good. Now, look at me. Don’t just stand there like a guard. When we fight you must be quick on your feet, spread them slightly apart, hold your blade out in front of you and at a slight angle. That’s your defense. Your goal,” Mizra pointed a fat finger at him, “is not to hit my blade as often as your can. Your goal is to hit me. Keep that in mind. Too many novices go about clanging their swords because they like the ring of it. That’s not how a fight is won. Now, try to hit me.”
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Last edited by Timothy Mered on May 7th, 2015, 1:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
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[Kendoka Sasaran] I, Ruv'na (part iii)

Postby Timothy Mered on May 6th, 2015, 2:50 am

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Try, Timothy repeated in his head. It sounded like Mizra wasn’t really giving him a chance. Already his limbs felt stiff and bruised, but he was nothing if not determined. One hit, he vowed, just one hit to wipe that grin off his face.

Frowning in concentration he began to circle Mizra, trying to find an opening. The Akalak was tall and broad and there was plenty of exposed skin to strike. Unfortunately he also happened to be a master of sword play and any attempt to jab his gut would likely be countered.

Timothy’s eyes dropped to the gruff Akalak’s feet. Maybe he could jump on the giant’s toes? It would be a surprising move at least, but probably not very effective.

“Well?” Mizra challenged. “Are you going to shuffle around all day?”

Right, now the big blue bastard was just taking the piss. Gritting his teeth, Timothy lunged forward, sword raised high above his head as he aimed to let some blood-hot rage descent upon Mizra shoulder. Instead of hearing his wooden sword connect with anything however, only a miserable whoosh sounded.
“You’re betraying all your moves,” Mizra said coolly. Bloody bastard had simply side-stepped his untrained blow. It wasn’t fair.

Betraying all my moves huh? With a flick of his wrist the make-believe sword boomeranged towards Mizra. The latter only just managed to swat the projectile out of the air before it could connect with his chest.

“Better,” Mizra smirked, “but now you are unarmed.”

With a single mighty stride he reached Timothy, seized his throat with one hand and gently poked the boy’s heart with his longsword. “And now you are dead. Again.”
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Last edited by Timothy Mered on May 9th, 2015, 9:01 am, edited 2 times in total.
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[Kendoka Sasaran] I, Ruv'na (part iii)

Postby Timothy Mered on May 6th, 2015, 2:56 am

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Timothy flared his nostrils. Mizra seemed to enjoy pointing out just how dead he was. When the Akalak finally let go, Timothy picked up his blade again. Circling and trying to find an open spot didn't seem to work very well.

So what did Mizra want him to do? Simply lash out blindly in the hopes of hitting something? Master Aqdas was obviously pretending to be an easy target, holding his blade low at his side, chiseled chest exposed. Instead of doing the obvious however, Timothy opted for a more advanced move. He feigned movement with his right hand-

-only to throw his sword into his left and striking from the opposite side. With a loud bang his sword collided with Mizra’s. The force of the collision rippled up his arm and forced his wrist to flick to the side. For a tick he feared it would break again. The master swordsman simply grinned.

“Nice try, but far too risky. No one is going to remember your flourishes if you’re dead. Try again.”

“You’ll just block me,” Timothy complained.

“You,” whack! “are” whack! “a” whack! “slow” whack! “learner.”

Cringing with pain, Timothy’s blade clattered to the ground. His shoulders hurt, his wrists hurt, his back hurt. A few more chimes of this and every inch of skin would be as blue as Mizra’s.

“Come on, get up!”

That was easy for him to say. Easily twice as tall, thrice as broad and four times as muscled. He wondered what sort of monster Mizra had trained under.

"You're hardly teaching me-"

"Wrong," Mizra interrupted, "I am instilling the desire not to get whacked again."

Enraged, Timothy stormed forward-

-only to have his belly fizzle out like a balloon. The tip of Mizra’s blade pressing firmly into his belly button. “Never charge an armed man without weapons. It should be obvious why.”

Face hotter than the sun, Timothy whirled around and picked up his weapon once more. No one had told him sword fighting meant picking up your weapon half the time and getting closely associated with the floor. He’d hardly done so when he noticed a flurry of motion in his peripheral vision. The next tick a loud buzz filled his ear. Through bleary eyes he could make out the ceiling and, several ticks later, Mizra’s drawling face hovering over him.
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Last edited by Timothy Mered on May 9th, 2015, 9:13 am, edited 2 times in total.
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[Kendoka Sasaran] An Exercise in Diligence

Postby Timothy Mered on May 7th, 2015, 3:20 am

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“WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?” Timothy said, or rather shouted. The buzz echoing in his skull made it sound as he was speaking at normal volume, albeit it somewhat angrily. Mizra’s mouth moved, but Timothy couldn’t discern the words.

“WHAT DID YOU SAY?”

Rolling his eyes, Mizra simply reached down, grabbed his shirt and lifted him back unto his pins. Too baffled and dazed to think much of it, Timothy let Mizra grab his chin and turn his face. Without another word he felt the large man’s hand in his neck and was being pushed forward.

“WHERE ARE WE GOING?”

The Akalak chuckled, a few heads turned. “WHAT’S SO FUNNY?”

The floor tilted underneath him as he stumbled forward. If it hadn’t been for Mizra’s firm hand, he would’ve tipped over three times before reaching the door. It wasn’t until they stepped outside that the dull buzz in his ears was being replaced by a painful sting. He tasted iron in his mouth. Mizra said him down on a bench outside the facility and turned away

“WHERE-Where are you g- who’s? Ow, my head…”

He didn’t know how long he sat there before Mizra returned, a smaller Akalak wearing square spectacles at his side.

“Hold him will you?” the stout one said to the giant. Timothy wondered why they were whispering and why the rest of the street had turned silent. When he blinked, there was a funny gap in Mizra’s face, a large gray speck floating over the gruff man’s features. Mizra didn’t seem bothered by it and simply grabbed his shoulders, pushing him down into the bench.

It didn’t take Timothy long to understand why. A sharp metal item probed into his left ear. He stomped furiously at the ground until his feet turned numb. A cold liquid dripped into his ear. With a pop, the sounds of the street returned, though his vision was still ruptured by specks of gray.

“Can you hear me now?” the stout man chewed on every word.

Clutching his ears with both hands, as if checking if they were still there, Timothy nodded.

“There’s blood on your lip,” the Akalak healer pointed out. Just like he had come, he disappeared.

Dumbfounded, Timothy wiped his mouth with his sleeve. “What now?” he croaked, realizing how much strain he’d put on his voice.

“Now, we continue.”

Timothy blinked. “I am not sure, I feel a bit…”

“Headache?”

“Uhuh.”

“It’ll be over soon. But perhaps you’re right. You’re quiet tough, little man.”

Mizra smiled. “And I am not as mean as you may think me, I was just joking. Will I see you tomorrow?”

Timothy’s lips spread into a smile. “Hell yes.”
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[Kendoka Sasaran] An Exercise in Diligence

Postby Aoren on May 19th, 2015, 3:34 pm

Timothy

Experience
Skill XP Earned
Investigation +1 EXP
Interrogation +1 EXP
Unarmed Combat +1 EXP
Endurance +4 EXP
Persuasion +2 EXP
Longsword +3 EXP
Tactics +3 EXP


Lores
Lore Earned
Longsword: How To Properly Grasp With Both Hands
Longsword: Basic Stance
Longsword: Basic Feint
Tactics: Determining Angle of Approach
Mizra Aqdas: Swordsmanship Teacher
Location: Kendoka Sasaran



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