Solo By The Blade

[Ari'Ellin]

5th Fall, 520AV

It hadn’t been long since Ari’Ellin had finished her shift at the Healing Hands, and now she still had most of the daylight hours free. She’d checked her bag and found her dagger there and a sigh had escaped from her. She’d never bothered learning how to use it, or even trying to teach herself how to use it.

Sighing more she decided that she’d try to see if she could sell it, and frowning to herself she made her way to the Azure Market and started to browse the stalls, looking for one that would buy her dagger from her.

It wasn’t long until she found a more permanent shop. It looked as though it was fairly small, and the sign had a few letters crossed out, leaving behind just ‘Wullis Weapons’. Nodding to herself, Ari’Ellin exhaled a few times before deciding to enter the shop and try her luck.

Walking inside, the shop was definitely small and in need of some care, but the various weapons lining the walls told her that it was exactly the place she needed, and looking towards the counter she saw an older man sat there, checking over various things.

“Sorry...” she said quietly as she approached him. “Are you Wullis? I have dagger. You buy?” she asked and the man looked up at her. A few moments of silence passed before he opened his mouth to speak.

“Why do you want to sell it?” he asked and Ari frowned slightly as she gathered her words.

“I no know how use.” she managed to explain before the man looked her up and down. Again moments of silence passed and Ari waited awkwardly before taking off her backpack and producing the dagger from it to show the man. “See, never use. No point keep when can’t use.” she explained and the man sighed slightly.

“I have lots of daggers to sell already.” Wullis said and Ari’s face dropped, a slight frown passing across her features as she nodded her head getting ready to leave and find someone else that might have been willing to buy the dagger. “I can teach you to use it though. Four kina for a chime. I can show you all the basics that you need to be able to practice using it on your own in the future.” the man said and Ari’Ellin blinked again.

“Lesson? Four kina for a chime? Where teach? And when?” she asked, glancing around the shop to remind herself of how small the shop was. It definitely wasn’t big enough to learn to use a weapon.

“Outside, and now if you don’t have any other commitments to go to.” the latter part of his response went over Ari’s head as she reached into her backpack to find her kina, handing over the four kina to the man. “Thank you, and yes, I am Wullis. Can I have your name?” he asked, watching her and retrieving his own dagger from behind the counter.

“Ari’Ellin, just Ari okay.” she said calmly, watching the man as he lead the way out of his shop and into the street where it was fairly quiet despite the Azure Market being mere yards away from the shop.

“Okay Ari. Show me how you would hold a dagger?” the man asked and Ari’Ellin blinked dumbfounded for a few moments before she nodded and held the dagger out, wrapping her hand around the hilt of the dagger, her little finger closest to the blade and her thumb resting over the bottom of the hilt.

She watched Wullis as his face displayed a look of concern.

“That can work for a stabbing motion but it could be dangerous. Try holding it like this.” the older man said, holding out his own dagger, his hand wrapped around the hilt in a similar way, but with the dagger reversed. In his hand, his thumb was closest to where the hilt met the blade at the center of the dagger, with his little finger to the bottom of the hilt.

Nodding, Ari’Ellin looked at her own hand, moving the dagger so that her hand was mirroring Wullis’s hand and clutching the dagger.

Word Count696 Words
LedgerDagger Lessons - 4ki

[Ari'Ellin]

The older man nodded at Ari as she presented her new grip on the dagger. “Holding it like this gives you more control in defensive situations and for slashing. Slashing is usually the easiest way to ward attackers off and inflict wounds over a larger area, especially if you don’t know where to stab, or if you don’t want to risk missing with your stab.” the man explained and Ari’Ellin watched him, nodding at his words before he stepped out, demonstrating how he would slash at something.

To her it looked just like someone flailing their arm around, though watching the dagger she noticed that the blade was always aimed towards an imaginary foe. It made some sort of sense that slashing would be the best way to keep people at a decent distance from you, or at least enough of a distance to stop them from harming you.

“Why don’t you have a go? Make sure that you keep the sharp of the blade pointed towards your enemy?” Wullis suggested and Ari nodded in silence as she readied herself, moving her arm as though she was slashing at something, her feet not moving as she kept them planted next to each other.

“Your posture isn’t good, you won’t have good balance. Watch.” the man said, stepping closer and holding her wrist, using it to push her backwards and knocking her off balance, a sound of surprise coming from her.

“How should stand?” she asked, regaining her balance as the man let go of her wrist, eyes watching the man as he demonstrated his idea of good posture.

“First, your feet should be in line with your shoulders, so widen your stance for me.” Wullis said, and Ari nodded, following his instructions and taking a step to the side, and leaving a gap between her feet. “Wider.” came through advice from Wullis and she nodded slightly, adjusting her foot little by little until Wullis stopped her. “There, thays where you’re feet need to be.” he said and Ari’Ellin looked down at her feet, trying to make herself aware of how it felt, trying to commit it to memory.

“So, feet like this?” she asked, watching Wullis as he nodded.

“Your centre of gravity is more stable now, at least from the side. If anyone tries to knock you off balance from the side, it’ll be easy for you to resist.” he explained and Ari’Ellin nodded. “Now, when you want to strike at someone, you take one foot, whichever feels strongest to you, and step forwards with it.

Ari’Ellin took a moment to think, shifting her weight between her legs trying to work out which one she should move, before deciding to move her right leg, moving it forwards about one foot, feeling slightly uncertain in how much to move.

“Much better. Now watch, give me your wrist.” Wullis said and Ari’Ellin held her wrist out to him, watching as he gripped her wrist and used it to try to push her backwards. Ari’Ellin was more able to fight against the force this time, still losing her balance but much less easily this time.

Word Count523 Words

[Ari'Ellin]

“See how it’s harder to knock you off balance now? If you keep practicing it’ll get harder and harder to knock you over.” the man said and Ari’Ellin nodded. “Try slashing now?” the man suggested, taking a few steps back.

Ari’Ellin nodded, taking a moment to breathe before reaching her arm out and attempting to slash with the blade. She found that she was better able to move her arm with more force, and she didn’t feel as unsteady on her feet as she did so. She hadn’t realised just how much her stance could change how she was able to wield a weapon.

“Good, do you understand now?” Wullis said, and Ari’Ellin nodded enthusiastically, able to see why he had told her to change how she was standing in order to get the best possible results.

“Easier swing more, no fall. More... control?” she spoke, unsure of her words as she tried to work out the best way to translate what she was trying to say. “How use now? Can stand, how defend? Or attack?” she asked calmly, tilting her head as she looked at the man.

“To defend? Daggers can be harder to defend with. I’d say your best off just swinging at them and using that to keep them at bay. If they have swords of knives, try to stop them with the blade, okay?” the man suggested before he noticed Ari’Ellin’s blank face. “I’ll show you. Slash your dagger at me, downwards.” Wullis said.

Briefly Ari’Ellin blinked, comprehending what she’d just been told before nodding at him despite feeling as though she shouldn’t do what he said. Exhaling a few times, she slashed the dagger downwards at him, only for the sound of metal on metal to cause her to freeze, not that the dagger could move any further.

Looking at her dagger, she find it caught against Wullis’s, the blades having contacted with each other. Carefully she kept watching as the man tilting his blade downwards, her own blade sliding off it to the side and causing her to frown as she watched.

“How about you try to block me?” the man said and Ari’Ellin completely froze for a moment, concerned about her own ability. “I won’t hit you. I’ll stop myself before it’s too close. Just try to stop me before that, okay?” Wullis reassured her and Ari’Ellin swallowed a lump in her throat before nodding.

She was certain that her fear of the situation was still visible as she tried to prepare herself. She kept her eyes trained on the older man, watching and waiting, her hand gripping the dagger so tight that her knuckles were beginning to turn white. Then when the man rushed forwards to strike, Ari’Ellin felt something. It was either fighting or fleeing and it was far too little time to make a rational decision.

It wasn’t long before a slight shriek escaped the Konti and she practically jumped backwards, her dagger falling from her hand and clattering to the floor unceremoniously, before the sense of disappointment and embarrassment ran over her.

Wullis stopped in his tracks as Ari’Ellin cast her eyes to the floor, not even looking to dagger as she felt ashamed in her actions.

“Sorry...” she mumbled softly, unsure of how the man would view her. Was this irritating him? She’d paid him money to teach her, though she was certain that a student behaving in such an irrational manner must an annoyance to have to deal with. Then again, was it easier to teach such a thing? With her lack of ability and knowledge, surely it must have been easier for him to realise that he didn’t have to impart any really knowledge and skill onto her.

Word Count622 Words