Flashback Stinging Strike

[Aidus]

23rd of Summer, 506 AV Combat. What was the life of a Drykas, if not one marked by combat. The struggle of life. Not enough sons, not enough births. The struggle against the elements. The dangerous Sea of Grass and her inhabitants. Glassbeaks. Grass Tigers. Snarlwings. Even the land itself with sink holes or worse. The struggle of ones self. This was the battle that Aidus struggled with the most. No other battle could be waged if one was unprepared in one's own soul. Worry about being able to do a sufficient job as not only a Drykas, but as an Ankal in the future put more burden on the teenage Drykas than he'd be want to admit. So he would train and become that which was worthy of leading, of being depended upon, and of fighting. Today, he would spend time learning his weapon of choice, the spear. Aidus would never remember the name of the man he worked with. A member of the Diamond Clan who ran the less intense training sessions for members of other clans. It was good for all to learn a manner of self defense, so they offered the chance for any to come and learn. He and his father were in agreement that it was vital for him to learn. The bow wouldn't always be enough. The instructor's skin was weathered, looking more of leather than the actual works of many in Endrykas. He'd lived a hard and tough life, Aidus assumed, regarding the man with a quiet respect. With experience came wisdom, he had always been told. The dark haired boy hoped to drink of both. "The snake's spear, hmm? A fine choice boy. Now why did you select it?" Aidus paused for a moment at the inquiry. The trainer would surely laugh. "I..it's..It looks good." The man chuckled at the boy's reasoning. How simple. "Aye, it is a good weapon. But a good weapon is of no use in a fool's hand. So we learn, yes?" He patted Aidus on the back before walking several paces across from him. "The spear has a couple advantages over your swords and axes. One is their range. You're going to have several feet of reach over someone with an axe." To show his point, he took a handaxe from his belt. "So, Aidus. Let's illustrate this. Grasp the spear. One hand, your dominant hand, down near the butt, with an overhand grip. The other hand will be about halfway down the shaft, with an underhand. Good. Now angle the spear down slightly, it'll make you waste less energy." Aidus complied with the instructions, placing his left hand towards the bottom, his right grasping mid way. "Like this?" The man nodded and continued his lesson. "Yes. Good. Now thrust at me," he said, advancing on him, bringing the handaxe back to strike. Aidus' eyes widened and he took a step back, wildly driving his left arm forward. The strike was wobbly, and would have been easy for anyone with skill to defend or avoid, and avoid it the man did, dodging backwards quickly. Still, his point was made. "We'll keep working on your form, but you get it, right? At no point during that was I in range of striking at you with my weapon." Aidus nodded, taking the lesson to heart. Spears have reach.

[Aidus]

"Again!" The instructor yelled. He had been less than pleased with Aidus' attacks, so it seemed he was going to drill it into him. "Keep your head up, Aidus. Eyes on the target." Aidus had been matched up against a target full of stuffed grass. It was humiliating. There were children many years his junior doing the same thing, but better. Left arm burned as he worked the same muscle over and over. "Keep your head up!" He repeated that command many times. Aidus' gaze kept falling down to his hands to make sure he had the correct grip. Stabbing forward, driving with his body, his strikes would be inaccurate and imprecise each time his vision would stray from his imagined foe. "Tell me, Aidus, are you getting tired?" The heir to the Moondirge pavilion couldn't answer. He reared back and struck again with the spear, this time driving the head into the ground in front of the target. He couldn't support the weight of the weapon anymore. "Hahaha! I guess that's a yes! Well, you'd best get used to that, boy. That's going to be your basic stance for that weapon. You'll do hundreds, thousands, even tens of thousands of repetitions to refine your form." Aidus reached up and wiped the sweat from his brow. Syna was particularly bright today, and the dozens and dozens of repetitions had warn him down. "It's going to be particularly tiring if you only ever do the one type of thrust, though." Aidus looked up at the older Drykas. His intention was to be inquisitive, but exhaustion was all he could display. He'd never worked this hard in his life. At least not physically. "Don't follow through every time." He took the spear from the boy, and stabbed it into the grass man, though his technique differed slightly. Where as Aidus had used his dominant hand only, this man kept a strong hold with both. "You let the spear slide when you attack. It's a plenty good way to go about it, but it uses a lot of energy and leaves you exposed." He handed the spear back to the weary teen before continuing. "So I think you understand about the reach of a spear now. A lot of Drykas favor the spear because of one other thing, though. They are cheap and easy to make. You don't actually need any metal to make one if you don't desire, though the wooden points are less durable." Tossing the Aidus a water skin, the instructor motioned for him to drink. "Refresh yourself. We aren't done." Aidus frowned but obeyed the command. How could they not be done? He could barely move his arm. "Let's get back to the spear you selected. The snake's spear. Besides looking good in combat, it makes it easier to cause serious damage to your mark. The curves allow it to slip past bones and get into the vitals of whatever you're fighting or hunting. It's a bit more unwieldy, more difficult to learn to use and balance correctly, but in the right hands it can be extremely effective." Aidus drank deeply of the water skin, his breathing returning to a normal rate. So the weapon would be an excellent tool once he gained some skill in it. How long that would take, he couldn't be sure.

[Aidus]

"Alright, Aidus. Get up off your rear. There's more work to be done." Aidus swallowed dryly, the full water skin he'd chugged down doing little at this point to relieve the dehydration. "Yes," the teen managed, using the spear to aid in getting to his feet. What more could this man's lesson entail? These were the light lessons. Aidus wondered how poorly he'd have fared at anything more intense. "Come on, boy! Hurry up. A Zith would have eaten you alive five times over! Move!" With Aidus standing, the Drykas man continued his lesson. "So now that we have a few basics advantages down, we'll talk about some disadvantages. A shield is a your toughest challenge." Now armed with a wooden shield and his handaxe, the older man stood ready to fight. "Now, Aidus, go ahead and strike at me. Try and run me through." Arms unsteady, the Drykas teen readied his weapon, once again preparing to battle. Every muscle in his arm twinged with pain, but this was how one learned, right? Nodding to signify he was prepared, Aidus stepped forward to deliver a shaky strike. His trainer reacted swiftly. The teen's weapon was knocked aside with the shield and a hand axe was raised into the air as he stepped into Aidus' body. "Oh wow," he managed, looking at the grinning man. "See, m'boy! With the spear having only one real way to attack, a shield user can focus easier on it and deflect your attacks. So what do you think the key to defeating a shielded foe is?" "Movement?" Aidus replied, bringing his spear back up to the ready. His hands were tight and sore from the constant gripping, and the burning of a blister forming on his right hand was a severe annoyance. "Yes! Movement. Not just of yourself though. You have to keep the tip of the spear constantly changing level and side. If you only ever strike center mass it will be a cinch for them. You're almost doing that now, but I think it's due to fatigue more than skill." He had the right of it, though a bit of praise wouldn't have killed him. Aidus simply nodded, his shoulder weary under the wear of many attacks. "But give it a try. Change where you're aiming if you can, from low to high, side to side. What makes this even more effective is if you feint." Aidus raised an eyebrow. Faint? "I kinda feel like fainting." The weathered man let out a boisterous laugh, shaking his head vigorously. "No no, boy. Feint. It's a fake strike. Mislead your opponent. So act like you're going to hit. Go maybe half way, and then withdraw, coming back at a different spot." He brought his axe as though he was going to strike Aidus in the head causing the boy to instinctively raise his spear to protect, but before he knew it the flat of the axe was resting against his ribs. "See? It'll come with practice, but it's a necessity in combat." Aidus nodded in acknowledgement. This man had much to teach. "It looks like you're about spent though, hmm? I think we can finish up here with one final thing. Drink up some more water, recover a little, and then we'll conclude with one final thing to watch for if someone slips past your spear, as well as ways you can deal with it. Take a breather."

[Aidus]

The lesson just wouldn't end. The man had Aidus standing back up well before he felt like he had his legs underneath him again, but there was no rest for the weary. Train, train, and train some more. There was no other way to go about it. If he was to even become passable with this weapon, Aidus needed to soak up every ounce of knowledge the trainer was willing to pass. "If you ever find yourself up against someone using a polearm as well, the same principles apply. Knock the weapon aside, and strike. This time, I want you to try." Standing before him with a simple spear was his trainer for this lesson. Aidus swallowed nervously. Though he was confident he wouldn't suffer any serious injury from this, there was still concern with a sharp weapon like the ones they wielded. Taking up his correct stance, feet slightly spread, his dominant foot stabilizing him in the back, Aidus waited for the strike. He foe began to circle slowly, punching forward with half hearted jabs and thrusts, causing Aidus to jerk in reaction, trying to parry the attack. None of the attacks were committed, but the circling was doing nightmares to his footwork and his form. Several times the young Drykas nearly tripped over his own toes trying to stay with his sparring partner, but the man's skill was far beyond his. It was bothersome, because Aidus was sure he was holding back. The dark haired teen's heart nearly skipped a beat when a sudden thrust wasn't aborted, instead coming straight as his abdomen. Out of pure reflex more than anything, Aidus swung his weapon to the side, the clank of wood on wood echoing as the thrust was put aside. "Perfect, Aidus! But you can't stop there!" Aidus' spear dropped from his hands as the older Drykas struck him in the gut with the bottom of the weapon. "When you have your foe's weapon aside, you've got to quickly go on the offensive. Or that will happen." Aidus wrapped his arms around his gut and doubled over. What a powerful blow. Coughing loudly, he fought off the tears he wanted to have fall. Gods that hurt... "Get up, Aidus. You'd be dead if this were a real fight. Treat every event like it's a life or death situation and you're more likely to come out of it with your head still attached." He poked Aidus with the butt of his spear, grinning. "Get up, boy. Get up." Moaning slightly, he would obey. "Are...are we done yet?" "Almost. Be patient. It'll all be worth it."

[Aidus]

"Our final lesson is one for what to do in the event someone is able to slip inside your weapon's reach. If they can get past that you'd lost the primary advantage of your weapon. It's range. If you don't react quickly, your foe will bring their weapon down on you, and that's that. Back to the webbing with you." Aidus was slightly unnerved at that thought. For as much as he dealt with death, to potentially face it himself was quite the sobering thought. "What would I do then? Push him back?" It seemed as thought it could work. Open up the distance again to reestablish advantage. "Yes, that's an option. You can use your spear much like a staff. You felt it once, right? The bottom half is sturdy enough to drive into the body of your opponent. You can use the butt of the weapon, but the handle will suffice if you're able to hit them. You can even kick if you have a good enough one of those." Aidus pondered this idea for a moment. It had been quite effective on him when he'd broken the man's attack. His stomach still hurt just thinking about it. The staff could be a versatile offensive and defensive weapon if used correctly. There was quite a bit to take in here, and he figured it would take a lot of experience practicing and sparring to really get it down. "But there's another option, and it's one of my favorites. Time for another demonstration. I'm going to strike at you again. Here's my handaxe and shield. It's going to be a light attack, so you'll be able to deflect it easily enough. Break my attack and defenses and try and land a blow on me." The shield was odd. Sure, he'd played around with things to used them as one, but he'd never truly practiced with one. Strapping it onto his arm, Aidus stood ready with the axe in his left hand. "Alright. Ready." Aidus raised the shield as the instructor gave a halfhearted thrust. It felt bulky on his arm, but thanks to the slow attack Niro was able to intercept the strike, pushing it aside and bringing the axe down as he was directed. Much to Aidus' surprise, the older Drykas was closing the gap on him. The glint of a dagger was in his off hand and Aidus knew he was had. He paused his attack, letting out a quiet chuckle. "I see how that works." "I bet you do, Aidus!" The man gave another hearty laugh. "When you are disadvantaged, take back the advantage! A dagger with someone coming into you is an extremely effective weapon. Keep that in mind. Practice it. Really, practice everything we learned today. You'll need it to stay alive. For now, go rest. Recover. You're going to be sore. But it'll be worth it, Aidus."

[Limey]

Skill and Lore Rewards Skills Lore Spear 4 Never Rely On Just On Weapon Observation 2 Spears Have Reach Endurance 1 Learning Proper Spear Form The Snake: Stiletto of Spears The Use Of Feints A Spear As Staff Additional Notes : Like you said, pretty straightforward, but very well-done. Did you research spearcraft? Some of it seemed like research, and either way, you pulled it off nicely. Enjoy yo' XP and lessons from Sneaky Ol' Sensei... Any questions or queries, please PM me.