A gentleman's weapon

[Gile Askara]

Gile Askara

Summer 62 516 Av

It was simple. Gile frowned at himself in his mirror, It was simple, right? Gile didn't like to admit it but he was not the strongest, he was not one for a fight and that was an invitation for death. As such, it was something he would have to strive to work on. But how does one become strong? Work was probably the easiest answer but was physical strength all it took to win a fight? Surely Gile had avoided many a fight by simply fooling his opponents with his mind. But Could that be done with the sword, likely not. Stepping out of his apartment Gile strode to the beach where he stood and faced the sea. What would it take to become strong enough that he wouldn't have to fight. Gile was morose about it all, he'd failed to find a single companion outside of his family, was Kenash truly such a lonely place?

Drawing his rapier from his sheath he held it in his left hand admiring it's cold touch and dark sheen. This blade would serve him well, it was a sturdy and strong weapon, but it deserved an sturdy and strong master. Assuming the stance he'd been taught Gile Held the blade out from him, pointing at an invisible enemy letting the wight of the extended blade weigh on his arm. Like this He would stand until he could not bear the weight of the blade. As he did so He began to drill himself on the basics of the weapon he held. It was a rapier, it's primary purpose was to pierce armor and create puncture wounds. It could be used to cut and slice but would not do so as effectively as a broadsword might. Losing his train of thought Gile cursed himself as his blade began to wobble wear he held it out. Beads of sweat began to appear on his brow as he strained with effort to simply hold the blade aloft pointing it at his invisible foe.

Finally unable to take the ache in his wrist and bicep he let the swords point dip before he re-sheathed it. Shaking his left arm until the tingling subsided Gile frowned. was that really all he could do? It had been hardly a chime and the weight of hos sword had begun to make him ache. Rolling his shoulder Gile again pulled his sword from it's resting place at his hip and held it aloft thrusting his Sword out to prod the offending shadow. As he did so his shoulder cracked complaining about the motion that it was unused. Growling Gile ignored the unpleasant sensation and again focused on holding the sword out in attempt to truly appreciate the weight of his blade.

If anything the practice was giving him a respect for the men who wielded swords for a living, the way people swung swords twice the size of Gile's own without breaking a sweat was a testament to strength that Gile had previously not thought necessary to use such a weapon.

[Gile Askara]

Gile Askara

So then even assuming he built the muscle to hold the blade steady he still needed to know how to strike with it, a Rapier was a weapon for thrusting, it was quick and agile, that did not necessarily mean it was light as Gile was finding out. Tentatively stepping back Gile pulled his sword arm back and held the point of the sword up. The stepping forward Gile lashed out with the blade slashing out an invisible foe before him, his shoulder did not protest as much the second time but motion still felt uncomfortable. The motion had certainly been a thrust but he wasn't quite pleased with the range of the thrust. only using his arm and shoulder wasn't going to take him very far. So what would make his thrust more effective? He could step into a foe assuming he could keep them at a healthy range. That in itself was important the Rapier was not a weapon that seemed to favor close up and personal combat, any foe that could get inside of your arms was much to close.

Stepping Back Gile assumed his fighting position left shoulder forward and right shoulder back. Assuming the position Gile frowned, what good did turning his shoulders do? Turning his hips to match his shoulders Gile spread his stance so that now it was not just his shoulders that aligned to his opponent but his whole body. Leaning forward and back Gile let his body weave with the tides of the ocean he faced as the water lapped in He leaned back and as it receded he leaned forward his new footing in the sand was more comfortable and less rigid than his last stance. Leaning back putting all of his weight on his back leg Gile kicked off the back leg and sent all of his momentum thrusting forward. The point of the sword didn't sail forward as accurately as he would have liked dipping low when he moved forward.

The motion for the most part felt better, it did not however feel particularly ideal, it was something that felt like if he could get good at it, it would definitely benefit him. As Such Gile again leaned back putting all of his weight on his back leg the motion made his back leg tremble his body simply wasn't used to such motions and the strains they put on him. Ignoring the mild discomfort Gile again lunged forward with the same intent of skewering a foe before him. The sword fist his shoulders second his hips than his legs moving them all forward in turn Gile thrust with the blade only to have it go much further left than he would have liked. Controlling the blade mid thrust felt near impossible, was the weakness in his wrist or was it his whole body causing him to be so inaccurate?

Letting his body rest Gile sat on the beach and watched the sun rise. He wanted to prove that the Askara were just as strong as the Radacke, just as cunning as cunning as the Morealis, and yet here he was on a beach trying to find the pointy end of his sword.

[Gile Askara]

Gile Askara

So.. Weight has been covered, stance has been covered, what more was their to learn about the blade. if anything Gile felt he could stand in one place and stab people, that wasn't saying much but it was something. Though such a view was perhaps unrealistic, anyone who'd seen a fight knew that fights were mobile beasts, no real fight would simply allow you to stand in place. Furthermore with a weapon like a rapier it would be remiss of Gile to let an opponent get too close to him anyway. So Readying his stance once more Gile imagined the foe before himself no longer just standing before him, but moving. So if an opponent were to lung at you, Moving backwards wasn't useful unless you could react quickly, to counter, someone twice you size however, you could sidestep.

Practicing the motion Gile circled his invisible opponent Side stepping imaginary thrusts of an opposing blade, if he kept his stance while he was able to weave left and right easily, but at the cost of making larger scale mobility harder, to take a step he had to shift his balance back to his center so he could move easily, which in itself was hard. Circling towards his back while he watched his invisible foe Gile failed to account for the sandy ground on which he stood and tumbled onto his back. Frustrated with the slow progress he lay their in the sand irritated with himself for not putting more effort into his weapon previously, it felt silly having let something so important to his own survival elude his grasp so easily. Staring up at the sky as the last few stars gave way to dawn Gile wondered if he would ever be an opponent worth fearing, it felt like it would take him eons to ever understand how to truly fight.

Grimacing Gile forced himself to stand once more and face down his invisible foe. Perhaps it was time to try and apply what he'd worked on in the morning hours. Low stance, Circle left. Making the movements painfully slow as to not risk falling again Gile steeped around his opponent dodging a thrust before lowering himself leading with is sword point he moved his wrist then elbow, his shoulders followed then his hips letting his whole body put strength behind the blow. When his whole body was behind a strike it felt much more powerful than when his arms alone did the work. Now if only he could do what he;d just done at a realistic speed, something that he decided would take many boring hours of repetition. That said it was a start. shrugging of his irritation at how slow his progress might be he decided that at the very least progress was being made, which in and of itself was important. However even if he was happy with the progress he was making with the rapier this practice routine truly needed to become something more repetitious else he'd never become entirely comfortable with it. Shrugging and rolling his shoulders Gile frowned and assumed his stance once more, at least three more bouts with an invisible foe would do, but eventually he'd need to find someone to fight against.