Flashback Where the training began

[Orkis Strongwind]

7th Winter 499 AV Orkis awoke suddenly, his eyes opening and almost immediately closing again in a harsh squint as bright light from a candle hurt his bleary, half awake eyes. "Rise Son, birthday or not you're training properly begins today. I've left some meat and cheese next to you're bed, eat and dress and meet me outside as quick as you can". His father smiled fondly at the boy as he left his sons section of the pavilion. Orkis let out a long groan as he pulled the furs he slept under over his head and yawned loudly, stretching his arms above his head letting the furs fall onto his face. The smell of the furs was a comfort to him, he had had them for his whole life and the smells symbolized warmth and safety for him and he was reluctant to rise. Begrudgingly he kicked the furs off and perched himself on the side of his bed, yawning again and stretching his arms in front of him. He pulled on his black cloth trousers and his white top that marked him as a child of the Diamond clan. The top fitted loosely over his frame, the cloth felt cool and itchy against his skin, he didn't like wearing it but he knew his mother would fuss if he didn't and after many arguments, all off which ended in extra cleaning duties for Orkis, he had decided it was best just to wear it. He slipped on his snug fitting boots laced them with much concentration then leaned down and scooped up his plate of food. There was a nice chunk of Zibri cheese which he wolfed down. The cheese was soft and had a slightly smokey taste to it which reminded Orkis of the evenings spent in front of the fire, listening to his mother telling stories of mighty warriors and love sick hero's. He finished the cheese and ate the less appealing rabbit, which had been cured in salt to make it last longer, something he felt did not help the taste. He sighed at the empty plate, still feeling slightly hungry, stood and walked out of his room and into the main living area of his families pavilion. The soft silvers in the main room always pleased Orkis, they brought some life into the mainly white canvas of the room. He could hear his father outside talking to someone, maybe Rorek his fathers friend, the voice was certainly deep enough but he couldn't be sure. He put his wooden plate down on the center table, after giving it a quick wipe with a cloth ridding the plate of crumbs, and crept outside. It was chilly outside, the cold bit at him and he wrapped his arms across his chest trying to protect himself from the chill. It was dark and quiet outside it was a while before sunrise. Orkis didn't like the dark it scared him and many a night he had crept into his parents room and slept on the floor seeking the comfort of their presence against the unknown horrors that lurked in the dark that his mind had conjured. He caught his father's eye with a childish grin and was beckoned over with a quick wave of a hand. "Right Rorek it's time for me to begin the boys training properly, we will discuss our hunting trip another time, farewell for now friend". With that Rorak bade Orkis' father farewell and left, his bow strung over his back, the smell of stale sweat trailed behind him, causing Orkis to wrinkle his nose. Orkis looked up at his father questioningly, and shifted uneasily from one foot to the other wondering what his father had install for him. His father usually spent some of the day teaching him very basic moves with stick swords, or simple stretches, but he had never been woken before dawn before, and was curious to find out what was install for him especially as he was carrying a mysterious looking bundle. His father turned to face him, an unreadable expression on his face, his arms crossed in front of him. He stood almost 2 foot taller than his young son, and looked down at him intently. "Today marks the first day of you're training scheme that will see you become a warrior that the diamond clan can count on in times of need. You will continue training everyday from now until you are a man, progressing to harder drills when i see fit. If this is what you want we shall start right away, if not i will go hunting, and we can talk about you're future later with your mother" . Even at his young age Orkis new he wanted to be a warrior, so there was no hesitation when he looked up at his father and replied in a small voice "Yes" Orkis was pleased when his father smiled in approval and beckoned for him to follow. They walked in silence, and Orkis fiddled with his fingers nervously as he followed his father to the center of the War Storm Pavilion, into an area that had been left clear for warriors to train. It was quiet, with only a few people outside of their tents, some stretching others putting on Armour presumably getting ready for training. The silence seemed to bring an air of tension to Orkis and he found himself holding his breath waiting for his father's instructions. "first you will run around the perimeter of the training area 5 times, then we will stretch" His tone was dismissive and Orkis knew there would be no further discussion until he had completed the run, so off he ran. His legs felt like they were on fire, each step got harder and harder, sweat dripped from his brow, his face was contorted agony, and to make matters worse he still had 1 lap to go. The area seemed to get bigger with each lap, the area could be no longer than 60 feet long and 30 wide, but to little Orkis it felt 10 times that. It was only the fact his father was watching him that he managed the last lap and stopped just before his father, panting and dripping with sweat. It had taken him the best part of 2 bells to complete, and he had walked some of it. "Good, now stretches, copy me", was all his father said, not waiting for the boy to catch his breath even. Orkis tried to copy his fathers positions as best he could. The first position was legs shoulder width apart, slightly bent knees and back straight. He then copied pushing his arms straight out in front of him whilst squatting down. This caused him to cry out in pain as his muscles in his legs cramped in agony. He fell down, but his father carried on holding the position so Orkis had no option but get up off the cold ground and resume the agonizing posture. Orkis did not squat anywhere near as far as his father, and was pleased when his father stood up, brought his legs together, then leaned over bent in the middle and put his hands flat on the floor. Orkis attempted the same but as soon as he started to lean towards the floor he toppled straight over. He whimpered as he got back up, but regained the position, having to spread his legs a little, but he could only get his hands to go to his knees not the floor. Then his father started to stretch his arms, at first swinging his right arm in forward circles, then his left. Orkis found this easier but was defeated when his father swung one arm forwards and the other backwards. After doing some other stretches, most of which Orkis could not accomplish his father stopped and walked over to the bag he had left at the edge of the area and withdrew 2 long wooden swords, turned and walked back to Orkis. Orkis was handed a wooden sword and instructed to hold it in his right hand. He had used stick swords before, but this one was different, it was as long as a real sword and heavier than it looked. "We have practiced before but now i will teach you drills, they will form the core of you're swordplay, we will start with 2 drills, adding one each time i feel you have gained appropriate proficiency in them, understood?" Orkis nodded, his emotions a mixture of excitement and fear causing him to shift uneasily on his feet. Orkis could hear his breath quick and rugged, whether this was still the effects of the exercise he had done or the anticipation he did not know. "Good let us begin"

[Orkis Strongwind]

The sun had rose in the sky and the the War Storm pavilion had begun to come to life. Warriors were sparring with one another, stretching, honing their skill with a bow and generally practicing the art of war. Of course all this action was accompanied with noise. Harsh shrill noises were emitted as iron blade struck iron blade, grunts accompanied warriors working on their physical strength through body building exercises and the dull thud of an arrow hitting a target could also be heard. However not by Orkis. He was totally focused on what he

was about to do, determined that he would put in a good showing and prove to his father he was worthy to train.

"Hold the blade out just in front of you, that's it little bit higher... there! Ok see how my elbow is slightly bent i want your's to do the same, good, but your arm is shaking too much". Orkis grimaced, his father was right his arm was shaking, the stick sword was much heavier than he was used to and it took a lot of effort to just hold the position his father had put him in, left leg slightly in front of the right, shoulder width apart, sword out in front of him at chest level, elbow slightly bent. "This is you're basic position Orkis, from this stance you can slap away attacks aimed at the chest, head or hips and retaliate with a thrust towards your opponent. The stab is you're most effective attack with a long sword, it is designed to slip through armor and the reach means you can stab and still have enough room to retreat from a counter" Orkis nodded trying to memorize what his father said. The ache in his arm was getting worse and the sword still shook pitifully. Under his fathers observation he twisted his wrist, and therefore the sword, to the right mimicking a parry. The movement was slow and shaky with little power. He brought the blade back to the middle and flicked to the left, resulting in much the same as the right. Then he thrust the sword forward, leaning over his left foot and extending his right army fully. His arm couldn't support the sword when it was fully extended and it dropped down towards the ground at the peak of the thrust. He hastily got himself into his starting position again and waited anxiously for

his fathers critique

"Not bad your arm needs to move with the wrist flick as well, not just a flick, and when you thrust instead of leaning over you're front leg, rise onto the ball of you're foot, it will give you range whilst retaining you're balance. Now i will offer you slow thrusts i want you to parry them". With that his father, with exaggerated slowness, thrust his wooden blade towards Orkis' chest. Orkis tried to hold his blade steady and just as his father's blade was passing past his, he flicked his wrist. His blade just bounced of, he hadn't committed enough power. He flicked his wrist again and this time moved his arm rightwards going with the flick of the wrist giving the move some more power. This time his father’s weapon was pushed away enough that if it was a real attack it

would have been just missed his skin.

Orkis beamed a huge smile as he successfully parried his father's attack, beads of sweat running down his face. He grinned at his dad, lowering his weapon waiting for some praise which, after all, he felt he had earnt. But praise wasn't what he got, instead he got a sharp blow straight into his stomach. His father delivered it with minimal strength but it was still enough to stagger the boy and take his breath away. As the boy doubled over gasping for air his father straightened himself, took a step away from his son still pointing his wooden sword at him and waited for him to recover. Orkis clutched his stomach, the blow had not permanently damaged anything but it was going to bruise and it hurt. Tears stained his eyes but he was determined that his father was not

going to see him cry, so before he stood up from his bent position he steeled his eyes, picked up his sword in a shaking hand, and stood to face his father questions clear on his face.

"I know you question what i did. I just did what any other opponent would do Orkis, just because you did a successful move does not mean the fight is over and you can relax, and no i am not going to stop and praise you every time you do something right, you will not learn if i do so. You are a warrior Orkis its in you're blood you should not be surprised when you are successful." Orkis nodded, very conscious of some other Drykas warriors watching him from a far, and determined to hold back the tears that tugged at his eyes. He ran the back of his dirt stained hand across

his eyes and nodded to his father showing he agreed with what he had said and he was ready to continue.

His father nodded in response and readied himself into the basic position he had shown Orkis. "Now it is always good to move after you have parried, a stationary target is a week one, so you need to think about what you're feet are doing. If you want to attack after you parry, launch yourself forwards off you're back foot, landing close to you're enemy, like this." His father parried an invisible blade and in the same movement pushed himself off his back foot, landing on the ball of his front foot and finishing the move leaning into a thrust. Then he showed Orkis what to do if you wanted to be defensive. This time as he parried he pushed himself off his front foot, moving backwards to land with his back foot flat on the ground ready to parry again. He showed Orkis

that if he kept his feet and body almost side on to his opponent he could move forwards and backwards quickly, skipping side to side as well.

It was Orkis' turn to try and at first it was to much for him. He had to first concentrate on moving side on. He frequently tripped over his own feet as he tried skipping forwards, he feel flat on his back several times trying to retreat backwards, but after a bell of just working on this position, he found that he was starting to get the hang of it. He was by no means good at it as he often found that after he had moved his feet were too close together that it would unbalance him, but he had shown good improvement and at this stage that was

all he could hope for.

His father worked him for another bell, critiquing his footwork, forcing him to parry, forcing him to parry and move and also getting him to strike back. Orkis was pleased with his progress but at the same time every muscle in his body ached and his stomach cried out for food so he was relieved when, just as the sun was showing midday, his father called a halt to the training and led him to his back were they sat down and ate some cured rabbit meat and cheese that his father had brought in his back. Orkis are the food hungrily his mind only on providing his tired body with fuel.

Father and son sat in silence for the next bell or so, sharing water from a skin. Finally the man and boy had rested enough and they went back out to the training area.

They practiced for a while longer, the man introducing slashing with the sword to the boy. The key he said was to only slash weak exposed areas like arms and legs, the slash was to incapacitate you're enemy by weakening the arms or legs and making them easier to kill. This led on tot he second drill Orkis had to learn. He started, left leg forwards, his body and legs almost side on to his opponent like his father showed, sword in his right arm. He would then skip forwards with a thrust, parry a blow from the right, retaliate with a backhanded slash and finish by parring and skipping backwards. The routine was far to complex for Orkis at the moment so his father had him break it down, doing one thing at a time, saying that after months he would be able to put it all

together.

Finally as the sun as beginning to sink in the sky Orkis could carry on no more. His sword arm could not support the weight anymore and he let it hang by his side, his legs starting to shake and ache as well. His father brought him to the edge of the area, by his bag and sat him down. Now Orkis we are going to do something that is just as important as the physical training. We are going to spend the next bell meditating and reflecting on what we have learnt today. I want you to clear you're mind and picture everything you did and analyse it. Only then will we go home and rest". Orkis was so tired he could only muster a nod t his father before he crossed his legs, put his hands on his knees and closed his eyes. He tried clearing his mind, but he wasn't really sure how to do that, and quickly with his eyes closed his head began to droop as sleep started to overtake him. He was jolted awake by a poke to tender ribs. "Orkis we are meditating on the day's

training not having a nap!".

Orkis tried again closing his eyes and trying to remember exactly what they had done. He remembered the running, his legs burning, lungs gasping for air as his body couldn't get the oxygen it needed. He thought he could feel the pain building again in his legs just thinking about it. And then the stretching, trying to visualize the stretches that they did and what muscles were used and how it felt. He visualized his father doing the stretches trying to figure out what muscles moved and how he stretched and how his body reacted. Then he visualized the fighting, how his wrist and arm moved in the parry, rising onto the ball of you're leading foot when you thrust. How you move sideways, keeping you're knees slightly meant ready for dynamic movement. They sat in silence for just under a bell, Orkis trying hard to spend the whole time focusing on what they had done, but his mind tended to wonder from time to time. " Ok Orkis that will be enough, i want you to do this every time you train or after a fight it gives the mind time to reflect upon what the body did and it helps the bond between mind and body and improves reflexes. Now lets

go home, you need food and sleep."

They walked in silence until they reached their tent and Orkis followed his father in. The tent smelt of roasting meat, what meat Orkis wasn't sure, but it smelt good. His mother was by the fire and she turned as the walked in and beamed at Orkis, "My men return! How was you're day Orkis?". She smiled at them both, kneeling down and holding her hands out wide as Orkis made his way over and embraced his mother. "I'm so tired mum, everywhere aches, and i'm really tired. It was great though, i really enjoyed it". She smiled at her sun and sat him down in front of the fire and asked him to tell her everything about his day whilst she dished him up a bowl of stew. Orkis ate the stew hungrily and sighed after he finished, his eyes drooping, sleep waiting to overtake him. His mother smiled fondly at him and took his bowl as his father swept him up in his arms, carried him to his room, and settled him in bed. He smiled, Orkis' eyes were already closed

and he was showing the first signs of being faster asleep. The boys father left, a proud smile on his face. The boy had done well, and given the time needed he would become a great warrior.

[Limey]

Skill and Lore Rewards Skills Lore Observation 2 Furs: Warmth, Safety And Fond Memories Running 1 Not Your Father Anymore, Your Instructor Acrobatics 1 Proper Stance And Grip For The Long Sword Sword 3 The Basics Of Thrust And Parry Meditation 1 After the Physical Comes The Spiritual Additional Notes : - This was a good little training thread. There were a few grammatical errors, mainly in your dialogue - you need to start including commas and the like - and you packed in an awful lot in just two posts. However, you expanded well enough on most it it. I would suggest that you try to make the descriptions a little less technical-sounding, but they were coming from your father/instructor, so it makes sense. Also, consider breaking up your paragraphs a little more: big fat blocks like that are harder to read and/or grade. I liked the balance between physical and mental, too, the meditation at the end. Very nice touch, that and Orkis' father's quiet pride and his mother welcoming the "two warriors". I hope to see more of you, since you have real potential. Any questions or queries, please PM me.