[The Anthonius Fighters' Pit] Knight & Dae

by **Daelyn Caliban** on June 12th, 2013, 7:15 am

11 Summer, 513AV

The Anthonius Fighters' Pit, where those Sylirans who didn't want to join the petchin' Knights came to train. Daelyn most certainly didn't want to join the Knights. He thought them heavy-handed and authoritarian. They made him itch. Plus, they'd been nowhere in petchin' sight when his sister was taken. He spat into the dust and ground it out with his boot. A pox on the petchin' Syliran Knights.

No one seemed to be at the Pit today. He'd never seen it look quite so empty. It was hot, but he didn't mind. Perhaps everyone else hadn't been able to stand the heat of the sun. He unbuttoned his shirt as he walked to the weapon racks. He pulled it off and let the sun beat down on his bare back, twinkling dully off of his mark.

He removed his scabbard from his belt and set it down next to the rack, under where his shirt was hanging. He searched the rack for a moment before retrieving an old, dinged, dull longsword. He examined the blade. Full of pits, covered in scratches, each one a story. He wandered how many hands had been wrapped around the hilt, how many of its wielders had gone on to their deaths in battle.

He wouldn't be one. Of that he was petchin' certain. At least not while there was a chance his sister was still out there. He couldn't afford to die. He took a step away from the rack and gave the blade a few experimental swings. It was balanced well enough, and it still whistled when swung through the air. Guess there wasn't any prudence in judging a book by its cover.

Now...to actually petchin' train with the thing.

by **Rodywyn** on June 12th, 2013, 7:36 am

Rodywyn didn’t like spending time in the city, it was stuffy, and it was full of people, always in a hurry, always rushing, always surging against each other. Cramped, smelly, hot. The city wasn’t built to be comfortable though, it was built to be functional, and it certainly was that. 50 thousand people wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t the greatest city in existence. Rodywyn still had already deposited his gear in his sparely used apartment, he still wore his long sword, and he kept his hunting knife on him- tucked away in the folds of his clothes. He had left his armor off, it was too hot for it, and he had no real reason to wear it, he was off duty. The only identifying mark he had was the Windoak stenciled on the scabbard of his long sword.

He wandered aimlessly in the heat, he had no where to go, no pressing matters like the people of the city, he could take his time, and let the wind guide him, as he did in the Bronze Woods. Surviving in the city was sometimes harder than living outside it, the real enemy was boredom and listlessness, those caused more problems for knights than anything… except maybe the heat. Rodywyn only kept a passing eye on the crowds, looking for trouble, it was still his job to do so, even off duty.

When the young knight came back to the world, he saw that he had wandered near the Anthonius Trainging Grounds, it was a fairly new addition to the city, created by the son of a former knight, if memory served. Rodywyn didn’t often find his way here, it wasn’t considered the best place for a knight to go. He didn’t think it would be a problem as he none of his usual identifying marks of a knight. He absentmindedly rubbed his mother’s brooch, and approached the grounds.

It seemed nearly deserted, the heat must have kept many of the people away, maybe it was for the best. He noted a man about his age, kicking around in the dirt, and spitting. The boredom must really be getting to him. Rodywyn approached the weapon stand near the man, and looked at the terrible weapons that were haphazardly placed on the racks. What a disgrace this place was. The knight, looked into the pit and watched the motley group of people who couldn’t make it into the knights.

“Some weather, huh?”

by **Daelyn Caliban** on June 12th, 2013, 7:51 am

"Aye. Hot enough to fry a petchin' egg," Daelyn said, not taking his eyes from the edge of his blade. He was holding it out in front of him, knees slightly bent, breathing deeply. He was giving the blade his concentration, running through the forms his father had taught him years ago. He'd done some tweaking, made the style more his own. He imagined, if he were to ever have a son, if he'd do the same.

He took his eyes from the blade and let them examine the man standing next to him. A little shorter than Daelyn, he looked well-built enough. He carried a longsword with him. Daelyn smiled. Perhaps he'd have a training partner after all. He took a step back from the rack, heading closer towards the center of the Pit.

"You carry that blade like it belongs to you. Let's see if you can use it," Daelyn called over his shoulder. He turned and faced the newcomer, cracking his neck and rolling his shoulders. He stretched the muscles in his arms, calves, sides, back, chest, and shoulders slowly. No sense pulling one of them, leaving him out of petchin' commission until he got better. That'd just slow his plans further.

"Well? What're you waiting for?"

by **Rodywyn** on June 12th, 2013, 8:09 am

Rodywyn concentrated on the man briefly, trying to discern the man’s intentions before hopping in the ring. The aura didn’t seem to tell of any ill will towards him, maybe that would change if he were to find out about his knighthood. The knight furrowed his brow, he hadn’t expected a fight, but he couldn’t turn one down now. He hopped over the low wall and drew his sword. He had been training for a long time, but he knew his abilities left a lot to be desired.

The sword he drew was sharp, the edge catching the sun, it was well oiled, and cared for, but it was certainly very old, the grip was a dull, and worn leather, the blade length was nearly 30 inches, with a fuller extending up 2/3rds of the length. It was light, and well balanced, and Rodywyn was used to how it felt in his hands.

“Well, I don’t have much else better to do.” Rodywyn squared off to the man, in a simple stance, right foot forward, left foot behind, about a shoulder width apart. The sword was held in a fool’s ward, in a passive bow. The sword was turned so the flat of the blade would hit the man, Rodywyn didn’t want to kill the man after all. He bowed his head in a courteous salute, and he allowed the challenger to make the first move.

by **Daelyn Caliban** on June 12th, 2013, 8:41 am

Disorient.

Daelyn's first rule of combat. If one could disorient his opponent, one could control the flow of the battle. His medical knowledge came in handy when it came to combat. He knew pressure points. He understood how to break bones at the joint, where to cut to cause the greatest loss of blood, and a million other little bits of knowledge. Like a slap to the ear, or a blow to the side of the head. Either would work well enough.

He'd ground the tip of his boot into the ground as he'd waited for his opponent. The weather had made it easy to move the dusty soil, and an evil smile had taken form on his lips. When his opponent bowed his head, Daelyn exploded into action. Petchin' fool. You never take your eyes of your opponent. Honor and formality would get you killed in a real battle.

He kicked his leg, sending a cloud of dirt into the air. He followed the kick, feet pounding the dry ground as his legs ate the distance between them. The dust had hopefully left his opponent blinded, but there was no sense in letting up the attack. Daelyn moved both hands simultaneously. His blade darted in from the right, and his left hand, balled into a tight fist, came crashing in from the left, aiming for the man's temple.

If either one were to connect the man could find himself already at a serious disadvantage. Gods but Daelyn loved a good fight.

OOCSince Rody and I have already decided the victor of this fight in chat, I don't believe we need mods. Especially since (even though it may get ugly), it's never going to be a life or death thread. Just some good ol' fashioned violence.

by **Rodywyn** on June 12th, 2013, 8:02 pm

The man didn’t even take a moment to bow, the riff raff who couldn’t make it into the knights were certainly the lowest of men. As if to add insult to injury, the man kicked up the dirt. It was wasted, as they were still at long distance, at least in a sword fight. At this distance, Rodywyn had many choices. His feet still in his stance, and his sword still in the fool’s guard, all he had to do was a simple retreating step to move out of the way of the lunge.

First Rodywyn moved his left foot back, nearly a foot, then the right foot followed. It was sloppy, he didn’t have much practice in a fight, but he was safely back at long range, their distance nearly the same as it was before the man had lunged.

Now that a little information had been gathered, Rodywyn focused on the man, trying to get more information from his aura. He could see something that many knights possessed, something he was familiar with, confidence. The man was certainly sure of his abilities, and Rodywyn would have to be wary of that. A fool’s guard might not be the safest now, with a quick transition he moved into the plough ward.

With a quick step in, Rodywyn struck, the blow would fall short of the man’s face, but it might give him an advantage if the man decided to retreat.

by **Daelyn Caliban** on June 13th, 2013, 9:14 pm

Sloppy and slow.

The man had avoided Daelyn's blows true, but his retreat had been telling. His footwork was muddled. His demeanor and actions? Much too cautious. In a real battle, the only sound defense was an unrelenting offense. Spend too much time guarding yourself, and eventually you'd slip up. The muscles of the body could only take so much movement, could only absorb so many ringing blows, before it gave out.

"Runnin' away eh?" Daelyn couldn't help but taunt his opponent. It made them angry, more likely to slip up. Another useful tidbit of human physiology. Let their emotions build, and they're more likely to lose focus. He paused, letting his sword hang, relaxed, by his leg. He watched the sword move in his opponent's hands. Something told him he wasn't facing a blademaster.

He saw him step in. Watched his muscles tense. He dodged the blow easily enough, and sprang once more into action. He needed to get inside the man's reach. He darted forward, past the blade, putting himself near his opponent's elbows. He swung the dull blade low and inside, thrice in quick succession, each aimed at his opponent's gut.

He stuck his right leg out, hooking it behind the man's extended leg. Leave him stuck in an awkward position. His left hand came around three or four times, quick jabs and slaps aimed at the man's head. Their purpose wasn't so much damage as it was keeping the victim off-balance and confused. He thought he was doing a good enough job of that.

by **Rodywyn** on June 14th, 2013, 3:20 am

Shyke, he could see the man’s aura surge with confidence, he was brash, but he was skilled. Rodywyn ignored the insult, he was to focused on the aura to even really notice just a taunt. They were close now, within an arms reach. Rodywyn tried to focus harder, trying to since the man’s moves. With the confidence, the man wanted to continue the assault, that much was clear. He seemed to enjoy doing more than one thing at a time, a clever tactic, if you can make your foe focus on one, then the other was sure to land. Or it was a matter of chasing two rabbits, and losing them both.

The man sliced at the knights gut, it was a clever strike, aimed at the center of mass, he had also guessed that the knight was cautious, and would retreat at the first sign of danger, but, any knight who retreated was only bidding his time, waiting for the assaulter to misstep, it was easy to do when you had that much confidence. The men were almost face to face, Rodywyn didn’t want to retreat from this range, it all but negated the advantages of a sword. No room to strike.

He could feel the mans foot behind him, it was meant to prevent retreat, Rodywyn imagined, it was devious, and clever. But it was also dangerous, and could be used against him. Rodywyn stepped in to the man’s right, he caught the man’s right arm on under the knight’s armpit, the sword was stalled, atleast for now.

The first blow from the man’s left hand however, landed squarely, stinging Rodywyn’s face. The second blow hit as well, leaving the right side of his face numb. He grimaced, and then leaned forward, trying to bring the top of the man’s body behind his center of mass.

OOCIf you feel Im playing too strongly, lemme know. You’re still going to win, but I don’t want to make it easy for you.

by **Daelyn Caliban** on June 18th, 2013, 11:41 pm

OOCSorry for the wait! Real life's been busy lately.

The man had managed to halt Daelyn's assault by trapping his right arm. Clever enough. The two were so close their noses almost touched. The smell of sweat and testosterone heavy in the air. He'd noted that a few of his blows had landed, and his opponent's eyes were slightly dazed. One of the hits must've had the desired effect.

The man's body shifted. He was trying to get Daelyn off balance. Flip him around, or leave him on his back, and the man had the advantage. Daelyn couldn't let that happen. His right hand was trapped behind his foe's back, but his left hand was still free. Seizing a hunk of his opponent's hair, he jerked hard, simultaneously swinging his own head forward. It was a self-sacrificing move. Headbutts petchin' hurt.

However, he had connected solidly with the man's face. With a quick knee propped on his attacker's chest, Daelyn pushed himself backwards and broke the man's hold. He rotated his right arm, checked the muscles in his wrist and shoulder, and twirled the blade in front of him.

Without a moment's hesitation, he darted back in, feinting in one direction before sending the blade moving in seemingly an opposite direction.

Let's see him block this one.

by **Radiant** on September 12th, 2013, 1:20 pm

Daelyn :

Rodywyn :

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
Observation	+1 XP
Rhetoric	+1 XP
Weapon: Longsword	+2 XP
Brawling	+2 XP
Tactics	+1 XP

Completed [The Anthonius Fighters' Pit] Knight & Dae