Solo The World Is Full Of Angles III

Kelski takes more lessons in dagger from Darvin.

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A lawless town of anarchists, built on the ruins of an ancient mining city. [Lore]

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The World Is Full Of Angles III

Postby Kelski on March 1st, 2018, 3:17 am

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Timestamp: 40th of Winter, 517 AV

Continued From: The World Is Full Of Angles II

They finished their breather and Darvin launched back into his training lecture. He had one more important move to teach Kelski and then he was going to move on to throwing daggers. “The final move I want to teach you today, Kelski, is the Scissors Hold. If you can get this one down when you are fighting with daggers, it can save your life, even if you find yourself in a situation where you are not armed. I’ll teach you what to do when you are armed, but you can extrapolate when you are unarmed. You’re a smart girl.” He snickered, moving back a step and drawing his dagger.

“Now this one is easiest to pull off if an attacker stabs with an overhead strike from a forward stance. You can parry with your empty hand and guide his or her wrist in a right-hand twist into the dagger’s rising ‘hook’. Grab your daggers blade with your empty hand and lock in the triangle. Pull and circle to take him off balance and deeply cut his tendons by the wrist and then follow up with a strike.” He added, gesturing for her to attack him with an overhead strike.

Kelski stepped forward and just like that, Darvin was deflecting her dagger stab with a movement that twisted to the right. He locked his wrists around her, grabbed his blade, and dug it into her wrist deeply controlling her every motion. She saw how the move worked and how it would saw into her arm if his dagger had been remotely sharp. He might have even taken her entire hand off. He didn’t stop there though… during his demonstration, he dragged her cleanly to the floor by the momentum he got with the hold and lock.

He released her and she stepped back. “Again.” He said, and they moved through it only faster this time. This time he ‘jolted’ her in the scissor hold after he got the triangle lock in place and then released and quickly ‘stabbed’ her in the ribs. He made her do it again and this time he gave a quick pull once he had his blade locked around her wrist and it added a sort of whiplash effect which allowed him to use the huge opening it created to hit her directly over the heart with his blade.

Kelski was frozen.

Darvin called a halt and they switched places to practice it again. This time she was using it and he was taking the hold. They repeated the motions, moving through the steps, until she had it down and then he smiled. It was one of those strange knowing smiles he often had when he was going to tell her a secret. “Now, the Scissor Hold isn’t something you can rely on to take your opponent down or to always disable your opponent. Do you know why?” He asked carefully, pinning her with a hard gaze.

The Kelvic thought it through and shook her head, baffled. “No. I have no idea why. It looks brilliant, Darvin.” The Kelvic said, a little confidence in her voice now that she knew the move.
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They laugh at me because I am different.
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Kelski
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The World Is Full Of Angles III

Postby Kelski on March 1st, 2018, 4:23 am

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“That’s because, little bird, it has a counter. The Scissors Hold Counter is absolutely one of the simplest counters there is, Kelski. But most people don’t know about it because most people here on the streets of Sunberth aren’t formally trained in dagger. They are street trained, and while I’ve been giving you a mixture of both training, the most important parts of formal training are the counters… and the street rats mostly don’t have these.” He said with a smile, and continued on with the explanation.

“You simply hand-switch. It’s a move that is seem throughout formal dagger fighters as a counter to a number of more sophisticated and different holds. Though it appears obvious to do this, many people panic and cling to the dagger under stress. By training the response in combat like we do here, you will be able to build the reaction and timing to counter the instinct and thus be a far better fighter. A fighter who is fixated on holding his weapon will not let go of it, and they are often called “Monkey Trapped”. Have you heard of that Kelski?” Darvin asked and then walked over to one of his counters and picked up a large glass jar with a narrow mouth.

He looked around further and then dug into his pocket and pulled out some coins. He tossed them into the bottom of the jar and reached in. He made a fist after he grabbed all the coins and found that his closed fist couldn’t pull through the jar like his open palm had… and he was effectively stuck with his hand in the jar so long as he refused to let go of the food. “Pretend the coins are food – like a handful of nuts or something. And I am the very hungry monkey. I won’t let go of the food… and now I can’t get my hand out of the jar. A smart person, a human, might know they can release the fist and get free, but a monkey won’t.” Darvin said, laughing slightly as he set the example aside.

“So a fighter who won’t release his dagger while in a scissor hold is Monkey Trapped. So if you get caught with this move…. Come at me with it again, little bird… “ Darvin gestured… and she did, grabbing his weaponed hand in a scissor hold… and Darvin snaked his other hand around, dumped his dagger into his free hand, and had his fist slipped out of her hold instantly.

Kelski blinked in surprise then laughed. “I see!” She said and then trapped his other hand in another opposite scissor hold and he got out of that as well. Tilting her head, she grasped her dagger and came at him. Knowing she wanted to try it, Darvin grabbed her in a scissor hold. Knowing she wasn’t smooth enough to transfer her dagger to her other hand yet, she simply dropped it, saving her wrist from being sawed on by a non-sharp blade which in reality would have severed her wrist tendons at the very least or cut off her hand completely at the worst.

Pleased, the Kelvic beamed. “This is so clever. I will practice switching hands, but my left feels so awkward. I don’t think I’m ready for dueling them both yet.” She added. Darvin nodded. “After this session, you will be. Then I will have you practice everything you know with both…and sometimes use both at the same time.” He added, letting her step back, retrieve her dagger, and reset.
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They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
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Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
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Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
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The World Is Full Of Angles III

Postby Kelski on March 7th, 2018, 4:29 am

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Rest time was soon enough over and Kelski could tell Darvin was going to change teaching tactics. She thought maybe he was going to talk about throwing daggers, but she was wrong. Remaining quiet and listening, the Kelvic soon realized Darvin was going into deep teaching mode again and going over dagger techniques he’d taught her in a vicious street way only now in a more formal way.

“Kelski, there’s so much to learn and I have this nagging feeling we don’t have much time… at least not with you. I think Jaren is planning something and if I can’t get access to continue teaching you, then I need to cram as much of this training into your bird brain as I can while I can. Honestly, I don’t know why it matters so much, but it does. Every student is a reflection of the teacher. I am your teacher. And I want you to go forward from here, knowing that every time you pick up a blade to defend yourself a piece of me is with you, guiding you… controlling your life. Every warrior makes their weapon of choice and their style of fighting with it their own eventually, but you are still taking baby steps with your dagger and so you are mimicking me. I want that mimicry to be beautiful… so I’m going to give you more lessons, ones you can expand on as you get better.” He said, pacing now in front of her, a hand worked dagger loose in his grip, its blade caressed by his thumb.

“When you attack with your dagger, its basically the same thing you’d do with a longer blade be it a sword, rapier, or even a cutlass. Before you attack though, there is that point where you are facing an opponent and circling them perhaps, sizing them up, looking for weakness, or even staring down their soul or whatever of it is leaking through their eyes. When you aren’t attacking and you aren’t defending, you are on guard. Kelski, in this business… this dirty dirty business of fighting in Sunberth, you don’t want to spend any time on guard… but I’m going to teach you the three main positions anyhow. Formality has its place. Sometimes there’s duals… sometimes just ugly street fights. You want in and out fast, you want death before the dead know they are gone… but just in case… I’m teaching this.” He said, moving towards her and settling her into position.

“Now, there are three guard positions. The first one is High Guard. Hold your dagger forward and high, left hand back and at middle height. Position your feet at a ready stance, leading leg slightly forward.” He said, showing her by dropping into the guard position. Kelski mimicked his movements, watching closely, shifting to stand beside him rather than in front of him for a moment so she could see how his body framed itself in the guard.

“Very good. Now… your shielded guard is when you drop your dagger to the middle of your body, slightly forward of center, and place your left hand against the dagger, knuckles outermost, so you are gripping the weapon with both hands.” He said, shifting his stance and gracefully moving into the shielded guard position. Kelski tried to copy his motions, but she was not nearly as graceful in her human form and mostly fell out of high guard and into shield guard.
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They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
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Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
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Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
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The World Is Full Of Angles III

Postby Kelski on March 7th, 2018, 4:30 am

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“Now, finally, we have wide guard. This is where you spread your wings, little bird, and grip your dagger with your blade forward or reversed, it doesn’t matter, and your left hand is open and ready to grapple.” He said, shifting again, delicately, like a dancer would shift stances into the new one.

Kelski observed closely, shifted her feet as he did and changed the line of her body to open herself up. She didn’t like this guard. It left her midsection vulnerable. But she also knew that Darvin had a reason for teaching her each and every one of these guards, so she’d keep her mouth shut and listen.

“Now….” He said, shifting back into his pacing instructor stance, and circling her carefully as he talked, adjusting her wide guard just slightly so her body was aligned to drop her center of gravity lower. “I told you that dagger attacks are basically the same as sword attacks other than one exception, which is that thrusting is allowed. A thrust is just a fast spear of your weapon forward.” He demonstrated and Kelski watched, nodding.

She’d done hundreds of thrusts so far, but now Darvin was giving her vocabulary to name motions she hadn’t been aware of before. It was easier for her to keep track of things when they were named. Kelski related words to motions better than she could related anticipating a human action unless she was carefully observing.

Darvin continued. “I’ve been teaching you street fighting, but there’s an art to dagger fighting. Its heartbeat lies in the feinting of the attacker to confuse the opponent.” He said, running through a series of half pulled moves.

Kelski stopped, tilted her head, and said… “I don’t understand what a feint is. I’ve never heard the term.”

Darvin nodded. “A feint is a half delivered attack that is stopped short and withdrawn. It can also be associated when a target goes missing and an attack is stopped and withdrawn because someone isn’t there. You can use an attack, a grapple or anything like that. A grapple consists of grabbing or somehow securing the opponents hand or wrist with your hand. A successful grapple prevents your opponent from attacking properly and allows you to move their arm about to manipulate them into leaving you an opening to strike them through. Its even possible, when properly trained, Kelski, to grapple and bat aside thrusts with the back of your hand if you don’t have a weapon. Sometimes we drop them when they get bloody and are too slick to hold onto. Sometimes we get disarmed or our hand is too wounded to grip a blade. All these things are important to consider because you don’t want a fight to be over just because you are without your blade for a moment.” He said, then lined her up.

They practiced feinting for a considerable amount of time. He showed her how to dodge right and dodge left, to fool opponents by leading or leaning with triggers that were fake with her body motions. He taught her to look at the place she was going to fake a hit to in order to lead credibility to her feint even though she had a completely different attack planned.

He drove her hard and they panted, circling each other as the afternoon waned. And by the end of it, Kelski was starting to pick up on feints.
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They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
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Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
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The World Is Full Of Angles III

Postby Kelski on March 7th, 2018, 4:31 am

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From there, he ran through formal attacks and how to do them. They were far more sophisticated than the angles of attacks she’d learned before. There weren’t just angles involved, but there was footwork and true sinuous motion with one’s body. “Now… attacks. Let’s start with high guard. From high guard, I want you to cut down the opponents left shoulder.” He demonstrated and Kelski copied his move. They repeated the attacks on each other several times until Darvin showed her the counter. “You can grapple the attacking hand or dodge.” He demonstrated how she could reach out with her shield hand and grab or bat his wrist aside. Then he demonstrated how she could dodge out of the way of the arc of the blade, making it impossible for the attacker to change his motion after he was committed. Kelski worked on the moves herself then, switching places from attacker and playing the role of defender so she could get a feel for the grapple and dodge.

“The next attack is a cut down the opponent’s right shoulder. You counter by parrying with your dagger, by stepping forward with the left foot and grappling the attacking hand, or by dodging.” He said, running through this lesson more rapidly. After all, everything form here on out would be a variation of the same theme.

Kelski nodded, understanding and picking up on the rhythm of the lesson. She knew what he was building to and that was the feints. In the next move, he did indeed add one in.

“Now… feint cut down to your opponents left and then at the last moment cut across their stomach.” Darvin demonstrated, lunging towards a downward cut and then swung across her stomach to demonstrate. Kelski automatically countered by reaching out with her shield hand to grapple his attacking hand. He nodded, approvingly, and then questioned her further. “What other counters?” He asked.

Panting Kelski noted he’d dropped his shoulder when he cut across her stomach. “Dodge and attack your right shoulder. It’s in my way and an easy target.” She said, bowing her back in a U shape as she jumped backwards while she was already bringing up her dagger to drive into his shoulder.

Darvin laughed. “Very good…. And you picked up on the last lesson. Whenever an opponent cuts down towards the legs or draws back, they are opening their shoulders, head and most importantly his neck to your blades. Take the opportunity. lunge in and cut.” He added demonstrating how vulnerable someone was bending over to slice someone’s legs.

“That’s why, if you ever want to cut someone’s hamstrings or remove their ability to be mobile, you need to get low and stay low by sliding or diving, not by bending over.” He added, noting that Kelski looked tired.

“We’ll get back to the rest of it later. It’s a big lesson. For now… you owe me a testing and I think we’ll talk about drawbacks and moves from shielded guard and wide guard positions later…” He said to the Kelvic who did indeed look tired.
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They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
User avatar
Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (2)
Mizahar Grader (1) Trailblazer (1)
Overlored (1) Donor (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
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The World Is Full Of Angles III

Postby Kelski on March 7th, 2018, 4:34 am

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The Kelvic nodded, a knot growing in her stomach. She was getting used to the testing, but it didn’t always go well. Usually it made her feel really good and she often woke up from being passed out in Darvin’s lab or in his chambers with a thick tongue and a muddy head. It took her bells to feel good enough to use her workshop or do simple things. And she simply never could eat.

But she stood quietly as Darvin fetched his latest dose and handed it to her to take. This time it was a vial and the Kelvic took it without fuss. She uncorked it, tipped it back and drank it deeply.

The taste was foreign... something she'd not had before.

At first, she felt nothing. She was neither floating like she should be or mindless and passed out. Instead her gut started cramping, her stomach churned, and before she could even say something to Darvin who barely watched her – confident that the batch was fine – she was hurling her guts up all over the floor.

Embarrassed she covered her mouth in horror. But she couldn't hold that position. Shortly she was doubled over, gasping, as pain coursed through her middle.

At the sound of her getting sick, Darvin swiveled his head just in time to see her vomit again. Kelski felt dizzy, the room swam, and before she knew it she collapsed. The Kelvic tried to rise, managed to crawl a few paces, and vomited again.

It just got worse from there.

For two days afterwards she was sick, so sick Darvin ended up forcing liquids into her because she was losing so much water and he thought this time for sure he’d killed Jaren’s jeweler. She recovered though, slowly, this time coming back weaker than she’d been before. Jaren laid off the drugs for a while and halted her training at dagger until she felt better and finally put on a bit more weight.
Image
They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
User avatar
Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (2)
Mizahar Grader (1) Trailblazer (1)
Overlored (1) Donor (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Sunberth Seasonal Challenge (1) Power Fork (1)

The World Is Full Of Angles III

Postby Kelski on March 7th, 2018, 4:56 am

Kelski


Experience: Dagger +5, Observation +5

Lores: Dagger: Scissor Hold, Dagger: Scissor Hold Counter, Dagger: Monkey Trapped, Dagger: Three Guard Positions of High Guard, Shield Guard, and Wide Guard, Dagger: Thrust, Dagger: The Art Of Feinting, Dagger: Common Attacks, Darvin: iIs Drugs Aren't Always Safe

Notes: Sick two days, unable to eat or move from drug poisoning.
Image
They laugh at me because I am different.
I laugh at them because they are all the same.


Painted Sky Jewelry (The Wildlands) | Crossroads Jewelry (The Outpost)
User avatar
Kelski
Freedom is earned. Fight for it.
 
Posts: 1598
Words: 2015452
Joined roleplay: July 3rd, 2014, 11:08 pm
Location: The Wildlands of Sylira & The Empyreal Demesne
Race: Kelvic
Character sheet
Storyteller secrets
Plotnotes
Medals: 11
Featured Character (1) Featured Thread (2)
Mizahar Grader (1) Trailblazer (1)
Overlored (1) Donor (1)
One Thousand Posts! (1) One Million Words! (1)
Sunberth Seasonal Challenge (1) Power Fork (1)


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