[Antonius Training Grounds] You swing that way!!

by **Kreig Messer** on March 6th, 2013, 6:29 pm

21st of Spring, 8th bell

It had been several days already since his first official day of training, by this time Kreig found himself adapting to the city if only slight. He has at least progressed enough to feel comfortable with the vast differences he keeps noting. He was back at the training grounds, a wooden sword with a metal core in hand and wearing padded armor and helmet. He never realized how socially inept he was once he left Sunberth, while it perhaps could have saved him a lot of trouble if he actually knew how to talk to people, he only knew how to treat people from his own city and predictably half of that coupled by his ‘blood lust’ meant it was mostly fighting. Surprisingly he arrived earlier than intended, much earlier in that Natasha, his patron, and Fellow Squire, Fallon Skylar, have yet to arrive to the grounds themselves. This could be attributed to the fact that Kreig himself slept early the previous day after being ‘dragged along’ with Fallon to a few places and once they finished Kreig had returned to the dorm feeling surprisingly exhausted and fell asleep immediately once he reached his bed at a time still early.

As he stood alone in the training grounds, he held the grip of the blade tightly with both hands and took the basic stance he knew, the only one for that matter. It was so basic that it was perhaps applicable to any other weapon or style of combat he chooses to partake in. He didn’t quite understand why Kreig had to bring a metal core one while Fallon need only bring a normal wooden one, though perhaps it’s because that while Kreig only knows little of his chosen style, Fallon knew nothing at all about it. Also Kreig never did learn the absolute basics about the weapon, not even knowing the basic anatomy that had been often used as terms whenever a part of a blade is referred. At most he had a proper grip and a basic stance, nothing more and nothing less.

As he held the heavy practice blade he began to swing it around, first a horizontal swing from left to right and the reverse. Then vertically from up to down then raised it up with a backhanded swing and repeated the same action with diagonal strikes. He repeated these motions for a bit, trying to warm himself up for the inevitable training. It was all he did till Fallon and their patron arrived, which by his count was thirty chimes away, perhaps more.

by **Fallon** on March 6th, 2013, 8:23 pm

I’m late!
Fallon was not a natural runner, if anything she was bad at it. Sure when in danger she could shift pretty quickly, self preservation and survival took over. But ask her to get somewhere quickly because she was late? There was no hope for that. Her feet pounded down the corridor, slipping quickly past the groups that lingered there.
I’m dead! I am so dead! Her chest heaved as she tried to pull the sleeve of her coat on, her hand fumbling through the gap. She kept telling herself to go faster, to urge herself on regardless of her already aching legs. It was hard work to say the least, and it alerted her that if she was like this already then what hope did she have at fighting?

She staggered into the training grounds, already red in the face, her breathing short and snappy. She placed her hands on her knees, sucking up the air before she set herself off again. She spotted Kreig in the distance, and made her way towards him, dragging her heavy feet forward. He was already training with the practice blade, a variety of swings cutting the air. It was clear he had little practice at using a sword, but he at least had more practice than her. For a while she watched, studying the stance he took and the way he gripped it tightly with both hands. She frowned, her mind trying to work out not only how it would be possible to use a shield with a long sword, but also for any familiarity between fighting with a Kukri and a sword she could use. Other than simply swinging it wildly, nothing had yet to surface, leaving her stumped on how she could possibly use the weapon she was about to be introduced to.

With her face still aglow, Fallon approached, giving a small wave before speaking, “Sorry I’m late.”
Or at least she thought she was late, she was not sure anymore, their Patron did not seem to be around. The only thing she was sure of was the horrible metallic taste that had formed in her mouth from the untrained outburst of running, and that perhaps skipping the first meal of the day was not the best idea in the world.
Oh well, too late now.

by **Kreig Messer** on March 10th, 2013, 10:39 pm

Kreig suddenly stopped swinging his blade once he heard Fallon's voice, wiping the sweat off his forehead with his left he looked at her; she looked a bit of a mess "Good morning to you Fallon, I don't your late though. Too be honest I think you still have about fifteen chimes before the time agreed upon" Kreig said as he rested his hands on the pommel giving a slightly exhausted grin. Swinging the wooden blade with a iron core was nearly like swinging an actual sword, and while it was a bit heavy it was manageable for Kreig to use. He was starting to get accustomed to it, though in hindsight perhaps it would be best to get accustomed to the weight and feel of an actual metal blade rather than a wooden one with a metal core.

“Not a bad estimate, Kreig. But I would say she had ten chimes” Spoke Natasha as she made her presence known. She had a stern look on her face, coupled with her motherly eyes meant that a look of dis-approval from her was akin to angering and saddening one’s mother “ Though I did hope you would bring your own padded armor and a wooden longsword like I asked, still, you were on time” Stepping aside she revealed a padded vest and wooden longsword beside her, apparently she expected as much to happen “ wear the vest somewhere private and do return quickly, Kreig will learn something different rather than what I will teach you, so don’t worry about missing anything” She then turned to Kreig with, that stern look on her face “ Kreig, I think it time I showed you the basic stances that is part of the sword style I was taught in ”

Kreig nodded, but raised an eyebrow “but why not teach Fallon those stances as well?”

“ Simply put, I have yet to determine if a longsword is a proper weapon for her to learn. If not I may have to regulate her weapons training to another knight, or one of the weapon masters here at the training grounds. Its quite possible she would learn the use of a short sword instead” She said as she then stepped away from Kreig “In any case, I assume you know the anatomy of the blade?” Kreig nodded, He knew somewhat what they were called “ Then please tell me their names along with pointing out their corresponding parts” Kreig cringed at that, but nodded.

As he brought the longsword up he rested his left on the blade “Well, first there is the blade itself. The blade is composed of the tip” He pointed to the end where the blade ended in a point “The edge” He pointed to the side of the blade, its cutting sides to be precise “The flat” The wide surfaces of the blade” Then there is the taper” He then ran his hand over where the blade began to narrow to eventually form the tip “The Forte” He then ran his hand down the part of the blade closest to the hilt “And the foible” Then he ran his hand in the opposite direction, indicating the part closest to the tip.

“That is the blade, can you tell me what a false edge in a double edged weapon would refer to?”

“Er…in a double edged weapon it would refer to the edge that is facing upwards? And the part facing the downwards would be call the true edge, I think”

Natasha gave him an approving nod “ very good, if the blade had only one edge the false edge would refer to the blunt, or perhaps mostly blunt, edge of the sword, such as a scimitar. Now continue on please. That was only the blade, you have a few more parts to name”

Kreig nodded and sighed “Well, all that remains is the hilt, composed of several parts itself. There is the grip itself” He tightened his hold around it “Then there is the crossbar” He placed his hand on the protrusion that served to protect the hand, although if there was a guard it would be a bit more useful one would think “There’s the pommel, I must admit is my favorite part” He said as he placed his free hand on the bottom of the blade “And finally is the Ricasso” He then placed his hand the portion of the blade closest to the hilt, which in a real longsword would be completely blunt, to be used as a grip in certain situations “I think that’s it unless I’m mistaken?”

“somewhat, You have named most but forgot two parts that need mentioning” She unsheathed her own blade and then pointed to the flat of the blade “The groove, a part of the blade that allows the sword to pulled out with less effort after stabbing an opponent and…” she proceed to point to the grip “The Tang, granted it’s a bit obscure for you to notice and most don’t know it is there save for blacksmiths and those who care for their own weapons. The Tang is the peace of metal encased by the hilt and connected to the base of the blade, allowing for the blade to be held effectively. I must admit Kreig I didn’t quite expect you to know most of the parts, I’m quite impressed you.” Kreig smiled, after his conversation with the mercenaries he had met at the fighter’s bit he thought he would take their advice to heart. So he tried learning the names of the parts and train when no one was paying attention.

“I tried to make use of the days you allowed me to adjust, so I learned on the side” He admitted as he looked bashful all of a sudden.

“Well then it was time well used” She complimented as she placed a hand on his shoulder “Fallon should have returned by now, So I’d like you to continue swinging your blade while I explain the basics to her. After that I will show you stances I need you to learn and practice”

by **Fallon** on March 18th, 2013, 5:44 pm

Fallon looked at Natasha with a bemused expression, her chest still heaving as she received instruction. Her head sunk for a moment, before she gave a nod.
“Okay then,” she turned herself round and took a glance at the padded vest before claiming it. It looked a bit big for her, but she did not really have any right to complain “I’ll be right back. I’ll go get the Tulwar too…”
She watched Natasha’s expression change for a moment “So you have chosen a weapon?”
“Uh… possibly, for now. Especially when I made myself look like a prat when using a long sword a few days ago,” Fallon sighed before shaking her head and walking away. She quickened her pace once more doing Natasha’s bidding. She returned quickly to the dormitories, if anything to pick up the wooded Tulwar and the steel one to show to Natasha.
Damn, all that rushing wasted She sighed as she threw off her coat and looked down upon her gloved hands and arms Bah, don’t have time to worry about them!
She threw off her gloves and pulled on the padded vest, letting it snag at her shirt as she shrugged it on. Her sleeves were rolled up; the gloves reclaimed the wooden Tulwar in her hand. She couldn’t bring herself to put back on the coat; it would no doubt make her too hot in the midst of her training as well as restrict her.

She made herself pick up speed as she returned herself to the training grounds, a thin layer of sweat having already covered her. She caught the tail end of their conversation.
“Back,” she managed to say as she pulled on the gloves and covered her hands once more. She perched herself down for a moment as she waited for her patron to finish. The patron’s attention turned now to Fallon.
“Now, the Tulwar,” she watched Natasha frown for a moment “Scimitar like it shape, curved an-“
“It’s outer edge is sharp whilst it’s inner edge is blunt,” Fallon cut her off before realising what she had done “Uh… sorry, I had a lot of time a lone to practice.”
“No, no,” the Knight shook her head “I’m more surprised that you went and… never mind. What can you tell me about the blade?”
“Well… you can use it for slashing, as well as thrusting and cutting,” Fallon frowned as she tried to remember her previous mishaps whilst training with it “The end is weighted too.”
She watched Natasha raise an eyebrow, before nodding. It was obvious that she was pleased with the little that Fallon knew about the blade, but she did not waste any time in teaching her other things and asking questions.

Firstly she pointed to the hilt “Now, what do you notice is the difference between this blade and the long sword?”
“Well firstly, you use it with one hand,” she begun “and the pommel is different too. I mean, there’s a disk there that surrounds it and makes it push your wrist into a certain angle. If you try to go against it though, it’s a bit uncomfortable.”
Along with if you swing it wrong it hurts too.
“What else can you tell me?” Natasha asked, before looking upon the blank face of Fallon. Fallon blinked but said nothing, after all there was little she knew about weapons short of swinging them about and getting use to the weight.
“Well then… Why the Tulwar?” Natasha sighed.
And there came a question Fallon could answer “Because it’s lighter and more wieldy than a long sword. And it just…” she gave a shrug at that point “I don’t know, it’s a bit like when I use the Kukri, just feels right.”

by **Radiant** on July 4th, 2013, 7:19 pm

Kreig :

Fallon :

Notes :

My radiance is not bright enough?

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, beam me a PM and we can work it out.

Skill	XP Earned
Weapon: Sword	+1 XP
Socialization	+1 XP

Skill	XP Earned
Running	+1 XP
Socialization	+1 XP

Completed [Antonius Training Grounds] You swing that way!!