[Flashback] The Life Before: Learning Your Weapons

[Seyp]

23rd day of Spring 498 A.V.

Seyp’s eyes moved around as several sounds from the jungles surrounding the city caught his attention. Animals and creatures of countless difference gained his attention over the everyday chattering of the Myrians who walked to and from their homes to do their various day to day activities. It was the sound of the creatures outside that caught his attention more, however, as his mind began to contemplate what weapons could be made from their bones. The possibilities seemed endless as he listened to their calls, trying to glean what stories they had behind them. “Seyp?” a woman’s voice called out to him, breaking his concentration.

Seyp looked to his right, spotting his mother, Fel of the Bone Shaman Clan. “Yes, mother?” Seyp responded, smiling to his mother.

“What distracts you?” Fel asked as they walked beside each other, moving through Taloba.

“The calls of the jungle,” Seyp said, looking towards the direction of Taloba’s city gates, “and the story of their creatures.”

Fel smiled, knowing exactly what Seyp was talking about as she gazed over towards Cian, Seyp’s father. They were a family of Malediction users, and though Fel would have preferred a daughter, discovering Seyp’s talent for the practice caused a satisfaction all the same. Cian let his hand drop to Seyp’s shoulder, snapping his attention back to the present. “Focus on the calls later, Seyp, we’ve practice to do today.” Cian said before a subtle pat was given to his son’s back.

“Indeed, if you’re to collect the parts from these creatures, you must learn to wield weapons.” Fel added, looking forward in the direction they walked. “Hiring others to do so becomes expensive. As well, you’ll have to spend some time in Myri’s army before you can devote your full attentions to the practice as well. Another important reason for our training today.”

“Yes Mother, Father.” Seyp replied as he brought his full attention back, looking around as they stepped into the Training Yards. It had been heavily occupied, as it usually had. Even more so, as the Goddess-Queen, Myri, was present today, teaching and training herself as she sparred with several Myrians at once.

Seyp paused, looking on with awe as Myri’s arms wielded two wooden practice swords, swinging them faster than Seyp’s eyes could even begin to follow. Motions deflected strikes coming in to attack her while simultaneously striking back. It was as if she were an army unto herself. “Fel, Cian,” a voice called out, drawing Seyp’s attention away from Myri. “So, his real training begins today?”

Approaching Seyp and his parents was T’Wala and her daughter, Mukali. T’Wala had a smile upon her face in greeting of her oldest friend, while Mukali simply looked down upon Seyp with a disrespectful glance. “Yes indeed,” Fel replied to T’Wala, the pair of them extending their hands and gripping each other’s wrists in a firm shake, “he’ll have to join Myri’s army when he comes of age, and we want him to be prepared.”

“Ah, so the little man comes to pretend like he knows how to fight?” Mukali said in a haughty tone.

Mukali‘s eyes suddenly went wide as she felt T‘Wala‘s hand slap her along the back of the head hard, causing her to take a step forward. “You do not disrespect the child of one of my oldest friends, one who is practically a sister by blood in my eyes, even if he is a male.” T‘Wala said to her daughter sternly before returning a smile to Fel. “Wise, as always. He has at least eight years before he’ll take his trial, and have to serve. The training he can gain in that time should make him more than ready.”

“Well, we can only hope. He is a male, after all.” Fel said as they both laughed for a moment before Fel looked to her mate. “Cian, take Seyp with you and start him off. I wish to catch up a little, perhaps have a spar with T’Wala.”

Cian nodded with a smile, slipping his hand to Seyp’s back as they began to move along. “Of course.” Cian said.

T’Wala kept her gaze focused on Fel, a smile spreading across her lips when she heard Fel mention a spar. “Mukali, back to your bow training. I’ll be along shortly as this shouldn’t take long.” T’Wala said, boastfully.

Seyp looked back, only to see his mother and T’Wala suddenly pulling out their weapons and suddenly start their spar. Casual conversation never lasted long within the Training Yards. Point of fact: It would sometimes become a punishable offense as the Training Yards weren’t for conversation. It was for preparation of inevitable battle that all Myrians would face more than once in their lives. “Seyp,” Cian suddenly said as Seyp’s attention was moved back to his father.

As he turned his head to look at his father, Seyp suddenly saw a shimmer of reflected light dancing in his vision, the sound of metal clinking against metal lightly chimed in his ears. A large metal wait pulled down several links of chain before it reached it’s full length and bounced back up slightly, coming to a dangle before Seyp’s eyes. “This will be the first weapon you’ll learn Seyp,” Cian explained, holding the weapon in front of Seyp, “the preferred weapon of your mother and I when we hunt for Malediction parts. It’s called the Weighted Chain.”

[Seyp]

Seyp observed the weight of the chain as it dangled in his hand, his small muscles already going slightly taught. The large, cylinder shaped end slowly began to swing back and forth as his hand began to move from side to side. He slowly looked up to his father, patient for the first lesson. “Overall,” Cian s began to explain, crouched off to the side as he watched his son, “the purpose of the weighted chain is to entangle someone. This is especially important to those who practice Malediction like your mother and I, because the less damage to something that your weapon will do when bringing them down, the more parts you will have to harvest from them in the use of Malediction.”

Seyp then began to swing the chain around at his side in a circular motion, the weight swinging forward as it came up, and backward as it came down. “It’s a weapon that relies on motion and timing more than a strait forward attack that one would find with a sword or spear.” Cian then continued, his eyes following the chain as his son continued to spin the weighted end through the air. “This tends to take a little more practice to get down than other weapons, but the pay off is that an attack from this weapon will be both unfamiliar and unpredictable to your foe. The weights at the ends of the chain gain momentum as you swing them, all the energy and force traveling down towards the end your swinging. The end result when striking someone with the weight, as opposed to entangling them with it, will equal many times greater the force your arm swings at. This attack can come in the form of the weight being swung down from above or the side like one would do with a flail, or flung strait out in a tossing motion, making the weapon ideal for both melee and medium ranged fighting. Again, though, it’s main use is for entangling opponents or their weapons.”

“How do I send it flying forward, like with the tossing motion you said?” Seyp asked, curious to learn such.

“Later,” Cian replied as he smiled slightly, looking over to Fel as her spar with T’Wala continued. It appeared as though she was giving her old friend a run for her money this day. “For now, just concentrate on how the chain moves in your hand while swinging it around. You have to become familiar with how the chain moves before you can even begin to practice attacking with it. A wrong move or motion, and you’re just as likely to hit yourself with this weapon as you would your foe.”

Seyp then nodded as he began bringing the chain swinging in front of him as the weight swung from one side of him to the other. His shoulder and forearm was already beginning to burn slightly, the weight at the end of the chain wanting to stretch further out from his hand with each swing it made. “How do you defend with the weapon?” Seyp then asked curiously.

“There are two basic ways, and one unorthodox method.” Cian answered, coming to a crouch as he watched his son practice, seeing his body memorizing the motion of swinging the chain. “The first is the obvious way, by entangling your opponents weapon or arm, preventing them from even swinging their weapon offensively at you. You then have the other weighted end to attack them with. The second way is by pulling the chain taught with both of your hands and blocking a strike with the chain itself. Though due to the chain not being one long solid piece of metal, it will arch backwards. So if you block a weapon with the chain, ensure that you have your arm’s extended, so the edge of your foe’s weapon will not use the pliability of the chain links to their advantage in injuring you. The unorthodox way is by swatting aside your opponents weapon as they’re attakc. This is something, however, you should only practice in sparring until you apply it to real world conflict.”

The chain then slipped from Seyp’s swinging hand, the energy in it draining quickly as it fell to the ground. Seyp took in heavier breaths, his arm burning with fatigue as he looked down to the chain, almost as if he had been challenged. “Begin again, this time with the other arm.” Cian then suddenly said to Seyp, causing a surprised reaction to appear in Sep’s expression to his father. Obviously training would be more than he had originally thought it to be.

[Seyp]

Seyp switched hands this time, once again swinging the chain as he began becoming accustomed to how it moved, how his hand seemed to circle ahead in the rotation of the chain itself, as it was tugged along rather than just spun. He soon realized how important that momentum was. When it’s momentum slowed, it would be less effective in it’s strikes and, looking up to the solid weight at the chain’s end, Seyp could realize that if something were to suddenly stop that momentum, whether it was a weapon being thrown in it’s path or it suddenly grazing the ground or an overhead branch, that the weight could very well swing around and hit Seyp. This possibility allowed Seyp to realize how the timing was important in the weapon.

“You seem to be getting used to how the chain moves right now,” Cian then said to Seyp, idly chewing on a piece of dried human jerky as he continued to observe his son’s movements, “try moving around while swinging the chain.”

A slow frown crossed Seyp’s features then as he looked down to his feet. His gaze then moved back up to the chain, feeling it’s tug as he swung it around. The thought of that tug seemed to keep his feet anchored in place for the longest time, a slow grumble escaping his lips as it almost seemed to him that his feet wouldn’t listen to him to begin moving. Finally a slow step was taken forward, and Seyp froze, as the weighted end seemed to flail off in a direction he didn’t swing as he made forward motion.

Once again, Seyp began swinging the chain, getting it’s momentum up. Again he looked down to his feet, feeling his toes curling along the ground to anchor him once again. Looking up, he again tried to take a step forward as his motion threw the weight of the swinging chain off it’s intended path, this time striking the ground with a dull thud inches from his foot. “Why?” Seyp questioned silently.

“Again,” Cian suddenly said, “it is about the timing. The motion of the chain swinging around will be affected by the motion of your body moving in any direction. You have to learn how to move with the chain, or make it move with you.”

Seyp looked over to his father for a moment after hearing his words. He had suspected that his father would have been standing beside him, moving his legs or body into a better position, showing him a proper way to wield the weapon, but he did none of that. Instead, he simply observed him, and spoke of the certain pointers while explaining the properties of the weighted chain itself. Seyp’s gaze then slowly traveled over the yard, seeing much of the same thing among those who also trained there. Parents observing their children, trainers their students. The only time physical contact between anyone happened, was during a spar. It had dawned on Seyp, at that moment, that his training over the course of the next several years would be difficult, but he would become the better for it. For the training that Myrian’s went through wasn’t coddled. No one exactly showed you how to use a weapon, it was something for the one wielding the weapon to learn themselves. Learn the weight, learn the balance, the way it swung, how their body moved with each motion. Your body would be beat into learning such to the point where it would become instinct alone. After all, if one walked the path of the warrior, especially in Falyndar, and didn’t learn such, they wouldn’t last long.

So once again, Seyp gripped the chain, looking down to his feet once as his toes wriggled around in the earth, loosening up slightly. He took a couple of hops along the ground to further relieve any stress his feet and legs may have been feeling over the task of moving with the chain as it swung. A slow exhale was then released as he began swinging the chain once again. He closed his eyes as he simply began feeling how the links of the chain felt when it tugged along his hand with each rotation. His feet began to motion upwards, almost bringing him to the tips of his toes as he moved against the motion of the chain, then with it, noting the difference. The chain gained momentum when he moved against the motion of the chain and lost it while moving with it. It was odd to him at first, noticing this happening, but it soon made sense, the way the inertia of the chain worked as the corners of his mouth threatened to sharpen with the thought of revelation.

A step was taken forward, though done awkwardly as his foot lifted quickly, stepping forward an inch before practically slamming into the ground. His moves were still hesitant, hesitation over the chain hitting him while he moved or his whole body being thrown off balance whenever he took a step. Another step was taken, his eyes still closed as he moved forward a little more easily now. He could still feel his body begin tugged by the swinging force of the chain’s weight itself. Soon, Seyp took a step to the side, stepping when the chain was passing overhead and crossing in front of him from the side. He found the side step to be much easier as he made another step forward. A quick step back was then taken as his body locked at the end of it, almost losing the momentum the chain had again, discovering his misstep.

Eventually, Seyp’s eyes opened, as the glimmer of the chain’s reflected light danced in his eyes each time it passed a certain area with the swing. At first, he considered timing his steps with it, but eventually knew this would become a hindrance, as that same glimmer wouldn’t always be present to go by. No, feeling the chain, and becoming familiar with it’s movements would be the best method for learning. Slowly, time passed, his father remaining silent that whole time as he observed Seyp. A hint of satisfaction could be found on his face as Seyp slowly started to become comfortable with the weapon. It started out with half steps, the full steps in all directions. Then two steps were taken before finally Seyp began moving constantly while swinging the chain around. “Now you are getting the hang of it.” Cian said with a slow nod, his eyes brightening slightly when he saw Seyp turn on a foot, not losing the momentum of the chain as it swung. “When you fully become comfortable with how the chain moves, and how to move with the chain, you will be able to better understand how to attack with it.”

“Take a moment and grab a drink of water.” Cian then said, slowly standing up as he held out a water skin to Seyp. “We’ll begin discussing attacks next.”

[Seyp]

Seyp stood in front of a simple wooden post, buried into the ground, the weighted chain hanging idly in his hands as his father once again stood off to the side, watching over him. Seyp turned his head, looking over to his father. “Shouldn’t I be sparring with someone?” Seyp questioned, curiosity in his eyes as several in the yard did so.

“You’ll get your beatings in a spar eventually.” Cian answered, a smile crossing his features. “You need to learn the basic attacks first though, otherwise, all you’ll be doing is swinging a chain around while your getting your ass handed to you.”

Seyp looked at his father for a long moment before simply giving a nod and looking back to the post. He soon began swinging the chain at his side, eyeing the post ahead of him. “We’ll start with an attack to entangle someone. Keep it simple for your first attempts and go with a swing of the chain from the side.” Cian explained as Seyp began to raise the chain above his head and swing it around. “As you finally swing it for the attack, loosen your grip on the chain slightly, allowing a little more length of the chain to slide free.”

Seyp gave a slow nod as he began swinging the chain more quickly, his eyes remaining focused on the post as the chain made a few more rotations before he finally swung his arm forward, the weighted and length of his chain following his arm’s motion. As the chain began to round towards the, Seyp loosened his grip along the chain. A sudden surprise expression crossed his features as he discovered how quickly the chain slid through his fingers. The surprise itself put the thought into Seyp’s head that his weapon was slipping out of his hand, and he suddenly retightened his grip. The chain then made it’s full rotation, the weight at the end slapping against the side of the post as it bounced back. “Not quite, though that is an attack, a swinging one, but not the one we were looking for.” Cian said as he gave a slow rub to his chin, his arms half folded. “Try again.”

Seyp gave a quick nod, pulling the excess length of chain in before swinging it around over his head once again. This time around, he began letting out a little slack as he swung it over his head, the weight slowly moving out, bit by bit with each rotation. It was then that Seyp discovered that the speed with he was able to spin it decreased, the chain itself feeling heavier with each swing as it tugged at his hand a little more with each rotation. He could feel his father smiling over it, seeing the struggle on Seyp’s face, and likely knew the end result. When Seyp finally swung the chain around to wrap around the post, this time he found it had enough length, but not nearly enough speed as he weight began sliding along the ground before it reached the post itself. Seyp gave a slow exhale of frustration, rolling his shoulder slightly as a burning ache swelled up for a moment. “Even if it had reached the post,” Cian’s father then said, “the swing of the chain was so slow, it could have easily been avoided. You have to let the length extend on the last swing, it’s the only way to make sure the chain doesn’t lose enough of it’s velocity so that the attack will be evaded. You will especially need that speed if a foe is fleeing from you. Again.”

Seyp took his time reeling his chain once again, giving his shoulder a moment to rest that retrieving the chain would provide. Another rub of his shoulder was then given as he once again began swinging his chain. One after another, an attempt was made, and one time after another the attempted failed as the chain fell to short either missing or hitting the post, or fell to long, hitting the before it could wrap around the tree. A frustrated sigh was released finding the task to be a little more difficult than he had originally thought. It was at that moment that Seyp was thankful he hadn’t been sparring with someone as he thought he would be doing. His father was right, he would have gotten his ass handed to him without even being able to make an attack, much less connect with an attack. “Take your time,” Cian then said, his hand suddenly resting along Seyp‘s shoulder. “Nothing is ever learned on the first try, if it was, it wouldn’t be called learning, you would just simply know. Try again.”

Seyp took a couple of breaths, looking up to his father for a moment, seeing the patience in his eyes. He gave a slow nod as, giving his father a moment to back away again before he raised the chain and began swinging it over his head. His eyes focused as he continued swinging the chain faster and faster, hearing the links of the chain rub against one another as it was spun around, heard the whisper it left in it’s wake as it cut through the air. Finally, his teeth gritted as his upper lip curled back, a hiss heard as he took a quick inhale of air. His fingers loosened along the chain slightly as it began to swing around behind him, the weight at the end moving out further. He let the chain continue to slide between his fingers as his motions with his hand and arm continued to swing the chain around. Finally, the links of the chain connected with the side of the post, the continued inertia causing the weight to continue swinging around before it hit the post and bounced back slightly, falling along the chain. It had wrapped fully around the post once until the force of it’s swing had been expended and the chain itself began to fall along the post. Seyp quickly tugged back, trying to keep it in place, only to find it sliding back off the post.

Seyp looked up to his father, questioningly as he was given a encouraging nod in return. “It didn’t lock around the post?” Seyp then questioned.

“No, and it generally won’t.” Cian then said as he began to step back towards his son. “However, it doesn’t need to a majority of the time. Most often, the weight and the force of the chain itself will be enough to pull a foe’s weapon arm down, their weapon free, or to trip them up. Entangling a foe is more about keeping them from attacking you or preventing them from immediately fleeing, and less about binding or tying them up. It’s a means of creating an opening for a more direct attack.”

Cian then leaned down, slipping his hand to Seyp’s shoulder again. “Though here’s a tip for you to practice. If a foe is running away, you can often swing the chain around their neck.” Cian offered, smiling to Seyp. “The force of their run suddenly being stopped by the force of the chain around their neck is often enough for their neck to actually break.”

Seyp pondered the attack for a moment, imagining how it might look in reality. It would be definitely something he would see himself practicing at later hours of idle days. Seyp’s father then gave his son another not before moving away again. “Okay then, practice that attack a few more times, getting more accustomed to the timing of when you’re letting the chain slip out between your fingers for reach.” Cian then said to Seyp, taking on an observer’s role once again. “After, we’ll go on to more direct attacks using the weighted chain.”

[Seyp]

Seyp began to circle step by step, his gaze stretching across a short distance as he spied his father staring back at him. The chain was swung slowly as his gaze flowed up and down, looking to see how his father moved, whether he would be attacking or defending, or just continue to stand there as he did. About another half bell had been taken practicing the strikes with the weighted chain, and now his father finally suggested that he spar, stepping forward himself as his opponent. His anticipation was running high for the spar itself, and it made him realize why his mother had been absent for so long, having her own spar with T’Wala.

“Anytime now son.” Cian said with a smirk, raising the end of a wooden staff towards Seyp. “You won’t win by swinging the chain and circling someone.”

Seyp gave a quick exhale before his chain made one more rotation before his arm lunged it forward, flinging the weighted end towards his father. Cian leaned to the side, swinging his staff in front of him as it rattled along the chain’s surface, knocking the attack aside. Seyp quickly pulled the chain back, his body turning as it was suddenly the chain was suddenly swung over his head in a following attack. Cian ducked below the attack, a smile appearing on his face as he began to chuckle lightly. Seyp kept the motion of the chain going as the chain crossed in front of him in, shifting from side to side. His arm suddenly swung forward, bringing the weight swinging down towards his father from above. Cian stepped back slightly, his eyes brightening slightly as the spar got quicker paced. The chain bounced along the ground as Seyp began to quickly real it in.

Finally, his father went on the offensive as he began moving towards Seyp, the staff lowered for an attack. Seyp‘s eyes went wide as the tip of Cian‘s staff was thrust at his head. He quickly jerked his head to the side as it grazed the tip of his ear. He paused for a moment, thinking what to do next, but such was answered for him when the other end of Cian‘s staff came swinging around, knocking his feet out from under him. Seyp landed hard along the ground, wincing slightly with the impact as his chain fell along his chest. His eyes opened, his gaze shooting up to his father as he stared back down to him, a smile on his face. “Get up, son.” Cian said with amusement in his voice. “It‘s improbable anyone will ever find victory laying along the ground.”

Seyp suddenly swung the weight at the end of his chain towards his father‘s legs, causing him to jump back, letting out a chuckle. Seyp rose to his knees and then, over and over again, he began to swing then chain trying to slam the weight along the shins or knees, inching forward towards Cian. Cian suddenly jumped back, creating some distance as his staff was thrust forward, sliding in his hand. Seyp rolled to the side, finally coming forward along his feet. He swung the chain quickly a couple of times over his head before the weight was once again swung at his father‘s head. His father ducked below again, but this time raised the staff up, catching the chain as it tangled around the staff. A quick jerk back from Seyp found his father‘s weapon being lowered. Seyp then suddenly leapt forward, beginning to swing the other end of the chain towards his father. His heart raced, thinking this was his moment, that he was finally about to get a strike in. Such hopes were laid to rest, however, when Cian moved forward, his staff held in front of him. The middle of the staff suddenly caught Seyp by his legs, as Seyp found himself being lifted over his father, and tossed to the ground. Another thud was heard then, as Seyp landed along the ground, his face wincing once again. He quickly felt the tip of Cian‘s staff slamming into his stomach, further knocking the wind out of him as his body curled, as if trying to angle away from the staff. “You‘re doing good, all considering,” Cian then said, looking down to his son, “but still lying in the dirt.”

Seyp let out a few coughs, letting the air rush back to his lungs as he felt a sting rise up were the staff still rested. He muttered a few curses, feeling disappointed before hearing his father laugh a little. “Don‘t be hard on yourself, son.” Cian said, finally lifting the staff off of Seyp. “This is your first time using the weapon, as well, your first time sparring. Considering that, you‘re doing quite well.”

“Indeed he has been.” Fel, suddenly said, her voice carrying over to them as she approached from their right. “He‘s already displaying a talent for the weapon, though he does need to work on defensively blocking another weapon with it.”

“How was your spar, Fel?” Cian said, taking a lean along his staff. “You seemed to be scrapped up a little bit.”

Fel slowly raised her hand, trailing fingertips over small scraps, cuts and bruises that now lined her arms, stomach and face. A slow lick was given to a bloodied lip, already showing signs of swelling. “It was spirited, T‘Wala never holds back when we spar.” Fel said, still seeming to glow with the excitement from the spar itself. “Still, I gave as good as I got. She‘ll be walking with a limp for most of the day.”

Cian smiled, looking as if he were about to say something, but instead found his eyes going wide as the support of the staff he leaned along was suddenly pulled out from under him. He landed along the ground, letting out a quick exhale as Seyp was suddenly standing in front of his mother, arms extended as he still pulled along the chain. Fel smiled, amused by what had just happened. “Sloppy, Cian my dear. Sloppy indeed.” Fel said, fighting back a chuckle.

“Yes, I deserved that.” Cian said, slowly pushing himself up into seated position. “I did not technically state that the spar was over, after all. Care to have a go with training him now?”

“Absolutely.” Fel said before looked down at Seyp, suddenly holding out her hand. “The chain, Seyp. We are done with that, for right now, anyhow.”

Seyp gave a slow nod as he began to wind the chain up in his hand, the metal links clinking against each other as he did so. Finally, a silent look of anticipation was given to his mother, handing the chain over to her. “Your second weapon, will be something you will rely heavily on while serving our great Goddess-Queen Myri in the army. It will be your weapon to rely on when you head out into the jungle with your war party, your weapon for killing your foes, rather than capturing them or leaving their parts relatively unharmed.” Fel began to explain, holding out the chain over Seyp‘s head as he heard it taken by Cian and replaced by something else in Fel‘s hand. Finally, fell lowered the weapon before Seyp‘s eyes, as the reflection of a long iron blade danced across Seyp‘s vision. The Blade moved strait for the most part, stretching a length of close to two feet before it curved forward at the top, ending in a sharp point. The blade itself was mounted to a two foot long wooden shaft, plated with bone. The bone itself looked to be human, likely the femur bone Seyp guessed, though he wasn‘t quite sure.

Seyp the slowly raised his gaze to his mother‘s eyes once again, intrigue on his face as she smiled in return. “The weapon is called the Falx, Seyp.” Fel then finally answered.

[Seyp]

Seyp gripped the wooden hilt in his hands tightly, looking over the wooden practice weapon shaped like the Falx his mother had shown him earlier. It was heavy, heavier than he would have thought simple wood to be. “It must be weighted on the inside.” Seyp thought to himself as he took a couple of practice swings, holding the bottom of the long hilt.

“Not like that,” Fel suddenly said stepping up to Seyp. “That’s for a power swing, when you wish to cleave off someone’s head or cut half way through their body. Such should only come to someone you’re going to finish off, and only if any remaining strength to properly fight back has left them. Otherwise the force exerted could cause the weapon to fly from your hands if they block it just right.”

Fel then reached down to Seyp’s right hand, sliding it up to the top of the long hilt. “When using this weapon, it’s better to hold it like so.” Fel said to her son as her hand came to rest along his shoulder. “It allows you more control and accuracy in your swings, as well when it comes to the hook like end of your weapon, such a grip will allow you to pull or drag that curved point along a foes body.”

Seyp gave a slow nod as he began taking a few slashes, stepping forward as he began making a cross pattern with his swings. They came from above, from side to side, and from below. He then began slashing the weapon up and down diagonally, finding his arms twisting in an almost dance like movement as he did so while gripping the weapon as he did. It was almost similar to how he saw other warriors movements of the arm as they practiced with a staff or spear. It was then he realized that when he observed them, he concentrated more on the movements of the arms, than he did the weapon itself. Such could be of great distraction in the middle of a fight. A sudden thrust forward with the weapon was given as he stepped forward with it. “No,” Fel then said as she stepped up to Seyp once again, slapping him along the back of the head., “thrusts are wasted with the blade of this weapon. Due to the curved tip, even if both edges where sharpened, you would only get a shallow cut with the blade, and have too much time for a follow it up. It is a wasted attack.”

Fel then grabbed Seyp’s arms, turning his body slightly so the butt of the hilt was facing forward now. “If you are thrusting, use this end, especially when you get close.” Fel began to explain as Seyp’s body stood sideways, his left side facing where his foe would be. Fel then grabbed the center area of the long hilt, moving it forward in the thrusting motion. “Striking with the blunt in will be more centered, causing more of a pushing force that is found with a staff. Such a strike will more easily force an opponent back, as well as giving you opportunity for a follow up attack right away with your blade.” Fel then grasped both of Seyp’s hands as she stood behind him, pulling the Falx back before she slowly turned Seyp’s body, and turning the hand in his weapon forward for an attack with the blade.

“Understand?” Fel then asked, looking down to Seyp as he looked up to her in return, his head leaning along the flat of her stomach.

Seyp gave a small smile of enthusiasm, giving a quick nod in response. Fel then released her grip along his hands, stepping back again as he began to practice the move. He stepped forward, thrusting the hilt end of the falx forward before quickly drawing it back and stepping forward with his other foot, swinging the wooden blade next. His mother had been completely correct in her explanation. Had Seyp thrust with the blade first, he would have had to step back when withdrawing back before he could attack again with the blade itself. Slashing after attacking with the hilt however practiced continuously stepping forward, and allowed two attacks in half the time.

Seyp went on to practice his swings for close to a half of a bell before his mother stepped back up to him. “So, are you getting used to the weight of the weapon and how it moves when you swing it?” Fel then asked, standing nearby as she folded her arms.

Seyp gave a nod, looking down to the practice Falx for a moment he switched holding it between his hands, opening and closing his fingers to relieve the stress gripping it for so long had left. The weapon was relatively easy to work with, easier to learn than the weighted chain. However, at the same time, it didn’t have the reach or unpredictable factor that came with attacking someone with a weighted chain. In the end, Seyp felt he would be using this weapon less, only for killing as his mother pointed out. Considering Malediction and the fact that he wanted as little damage to happen to something he was hunting as possible, the weighted chain would be his more preferred weapon of choice.

Seyp’s gaze then suddenly raised as he saw the curved tip of another falx hit the ground before him. His gaze soon locked on his mothers, who stared down into his eyes, a smile spreading across her lips. “Very well then, son.” Fel said with a hint of excitement in her voice. “Let us work on your defense then.”

[Seyp]

Seyp stood a short distance from his mother as they both stared at each other silently, their practice falx’s held at the ready. There was almost a silent electricity that seemed to pass between the two of them as the a tension of excitement began to rise. Finally, Fel rushed forward swinging her practice falx at Seyp, coming in with a sidelong swing from the right. Seyp immediately backed away, moving out distancing the attack out of surprise at how fast it came initially. Fel didn’t let up, however, as she kept moving forward, letting out a yell as she swung in from the left side this time. Seyp quickly ducked down only to find the bottom of his mother’s foot suddenly slamming into his face and knocking him to the ground. Seyp fell to his back, immediately slipping his hand up to his face as he let out a slow groan of pain. He slowly pulled his hand back, looking to see that blood was now covering his palm before it began to pour out from his nose. “That hurt.” Seyp grumbled slightly to his mother.

“It wasn’t meant to tickle.” Fel replied, looking down to Seyp. “You’re working too much on avoiding. Save that more for using the weighted chain. You have a Falx in your hand, block and parry.”

Seyp slowly began to stand, dragging his arm along the underside of his nose as he wiped some blood away, causing a small streak of red to coat his left arm. He soon wiped the blood along his palm clean before once again gripping his weapon and standing at the ready. He didn’t say a word, but he realized his mother would be a much more difficult taskmaster in the training than his father had. Fel rushed forward again, this time bringing her practice falx up above her head before quickly swinging it down toward’s Seyp’s shoulder, letting out a loud yell as she did. Seyp quickly raised his own falx quickly in the path of his mother’s attack and a loud clacking noise echoed out as the two wooden practice weapons collided. Seyp saw the look his mother had in her eyes as she kept their weapons locked, and it was the look she gave him when he was about to learn a lesson the hard way. She still applied pressure as she began to force Seyp to his knees, only to kick him in the chest and knock him down to the ground once again. Seyp coughed loudly, taking a moment to remember how to breath after his mother’s second kick knocked the air right from his lungs. “Don’t block or parry with the edge of your weapon. Never defend edge to edge ever.” Fel then said sternly as she looked to Seyp. “It damages the sharp edge of your own blade that much quicker and makes it susceptible to breaking. Always block and parry with the flat of your blade.”

“What about the hilt?” Seyp then asked as he slow stood back up, looking to the space between his hands as he gripped the weapon once again.

“It will work in a desperate moment,” Fel’s mother answered then, “but such could cause gouges in the hilt of your weapon, and your hands could become damaged from such when handling your weapon mid-battle. Nothing life threatening, except for the fact that injured hands don’t wield weapons well, if at all.”

Seyp spent a silent moment reflecting on the answers his mother had given her. While deed down he always knew her to be a trained warrior, the skill, knowledge and strength she was giving Seyp a mere glimpse of in their training currently still surprised him. He had spent his first initial years with her seeing disappointment in her eyes for not having been born a female, garnering her attention and love as a mother only after she had discovered his talent in the art of Malediction. After that, he had spent countless bells with her and hs father learning the finer points of Meldiction itself. A family in study. He was, technically, seeing a whole new side of her on this day, and something within him stared in awe of that, as much as his first sight of Myri as she practiced. More than anything at that point, Seyp did not wish to disappoint his mother again, so even before the sting of her last kick faded from his sternum, Seyp was standing at the ready once more.

Fel noticed the determination in her son’s eyes, and it only made a smile appear on her face. She slowly began to move to the right, circling around Seyp who only turned in place, keeping his eyes fixed on his mother’s movements. With another battle cry, Fel shot forward towards Seyp once more, swinging her practice Falx towards him again from the right. Seyp quickly raised his own in defense as Fel’s practice weapon struck solidly along the flat of Seyp’s wooden blade. Fel then spun on her heels, and it came so fast that Seyp had to lean back as the ends of her long brown hair, decorated with the finger bones of those she had slain over the years, nearly struck him in the face. Seyp quickly moved his practice Falx into the path of the strike that now came from the left as another loud clack of wood echoed out, this one coming with so much strength behind it that it caused Seyp to stumble to the side slightly. “Watch your footing.” Fell shouted as her arms spun in an almost poetic display, spinning before Seyp as she maneuvered her practice Falx around from her previous attack into an overhead one coming down towards Seyp’s head. “Keep your center of balance so you aren’t thrown by the strength of an attack.”

Seyp barely managed to raise his own practice weapon head of time to avoid the full strength of his mother’s attack racing down towards him, but it was delayed enough that he felt the sting raise along his head as the edge of the wooden blade tapped the top of his head. “Don’t try to follow both arms either.” Fel then yelled, still keeping the pressure on her soon as she began to attack him faster now, “if you have to follow them at all, keep an eye on the lead hand of the weapon for staff and falx wielders, it will let you know were the attack is coming from if you’re eyes can follow the movements.”

Seyp began to step back then, continuously moving his practice weapon to defend against his mother’s own. His arms began to burn from the strain of blocking her powerful attacks and his hands began to grow numb from the vibrations that their colliding weapons caused when striking each other. The whole while, however, Seyp could still tell that his mother was taking it easy on him. Finally, when another downward attack was racing towards Seyp’s head, he had finally decided to change from a block to a parry. He waiting for the timing, his eyes starting to get more use to the speed at which his mother swung her own weapon. He quickly swung his own practice falx through the air in front of him, twisting his body as he stepped the side and redirected the strength of her strike. With a dull thud, the tip of Fel’s practice weapon pierced into the ground, Seyp’s own weapon resting on top of it, trying to keep it anchored there as he looked to see what his mother would do next. “Good!” Fel suddenly yelled as a simple pull on her hilt freed her weapon from Seyp’s anchor hold of it. “You get better with each passing bell Seyp.”

“You seem to have a pretty good grasp of the basic defense.” Fel then said, that smile still crossing her lips. “Let’s see you both defend and attack now.”

[Seyp]

Their shouts echoed, their practice weapons clashed, their feet kicking up dirt as they shifted and moved quickly. Seyp remained mainly on the defensive as his mother moved with the speed and strength that Seyp found simply overwhelming. Constantly he raised his practice Falx in defense of one of her strikes, or ducked down below an attack. “Faster, move faster.” Fel yelled, adding the element of distraction with the volume of her voice.

Seyp parried one of her attacks to the left before suddenly slashing forward with an attack of his own. It was not to be however as Fel leaned over to the side, narrowly avoiding the swing as it grazed her shoulder by a hair’s width. Seyp suddenly felt a sting entering his leg as he felt Fel’s practice Falx slam against his leg. He began hobbling to the side as he echoed out shouts of pain for a moment. “Step forward with your swing next time, son.” Fel said with a smile. “Half of combat is about how you move your weapon, the other half is about how you move the rest of your body. Don’t stand in one place all the time.”

Seyp finally brought his leg to the ground, still rubbing the welt that was forming there. He slowly looked up to his mother as she waited patiently, resting it along her shoulder. “So, you need a break or something whelp?” Fel then said in a taunting tone to Seyp.

Seyp’s response was given as he suddenly yelled out, charging forward at his mother before leaping forward bringing his practice falx in a overhand swing. Fel laughed with excitement over how he was getting into the spar now. She quickly raised her weapon, blocking the strike before her foot swept out as he fell, kicking his feet out from him before he landed to the ground with a thud. She gave a warm smile to him as he looked back up to her with a wince and disappointment on his face. “Cheer up, kiddo.” Fel then said at his look of disappointment. “This is only your first day, after all. Your father and I have been doing this for years.”

Seyp slowly sat up, his head drooping slightly for a moment as he gave a frustrated exhale, rubbing the back of his neck. He then slowly pushed himself back up to his feet, brushing himself off for a moment. “So, let’s continue then.” Fel then said as she began spinning her falx around slowly.

Seyp suddenly swung his practice falx from above again as it collided with Fel’s as she blocked. Seyp’s body spun as it soon came swinging in from the left, only to be blocked again. His body spun in a reverse direction this time, coming around from the right, just hoping to keep his mother on the defensive for three attacks this time. His hopes were dashed, however, as he felt the end of the hilt to Fel’s practice falx slamming into his side, knocking him back a couple of steps before the wooden blade was suddenly slammed into his shoulder hard in a fallow-up attack.

Seyp fell to the ground once again with a grunt, quickly reaching up to his shoulder as a burning pain began rising there. At first, he thought a bone may have been broken, but as the pain slowly began to fade, he slowly began to push himself up off the ground again, rolling his injured shoulder as he grunted slightly in pain. He looked up to Fel once again, breathing heavily. “Still want more?” Fel asked her son, an amused smirk on her lips.

“I still have something left.” Seyp then declared, rushing towards his mother again.

“That’s the Myrian spirit.” Fel then praised to Seyp, raising her weapon again.

[Seyp]

Heavy breaths escaped Seyp’s lips as he stood, his form hunched slightly, his legs spread out a little wide. He held his practice falx in his hands, his grip remaining as tight as he could keep it, but he had been sparring with his mother for the past bell, and defending against her attacks, even though she was holding back, were becoming exhausting. Several welts and bruises covered his body, the result of a failed defense or ill conceived way to attack. He had done better this flurry however, fending off Fel’s attacks for close to three chimes so far and getting in a few attacks himself. His attacks didn’t connect, of course, and point in fact he had not connected with one attack during his whole training spar with his mother, but in the end it wasn’t about landing the attack, it was merely about getting an actual attack in rather than being on the defensive the whole time.

Seyp, instead of moving in for an attack on the momentary breather his mother suddenly gave him, simply stood his ground, taking in slow deep breaths as his heart beat in his chest rapidly. His whole body ached from the strikes he had taken from his mother, and he felt she was a lot harsher taskmaster than her father was. Such was expected in the end as well, and Seyp was just thankful for the slight respite his mother had given him, her face showing a hint of calculation behind it, as though wondering why Seyp hadn’t attacked yet. Eventually, she grew tired of waiting, and once again yelled out as she moved forward to attack. Her practice falx moved swiftly upward through the air in a rising slash before it collided with Seyp’s own as he began to back away. Her hands and arms twirled, still gripping the falx as she spun it around for another attack, this time coming down. Seyp suddenly side stepped, spinning around as he began to swing his own falx around at Fel’s leg.

A loud clack as his flax collided with something other than his mother’s flesh echoed out his failure. His gaze soon shifted down, noticing his mother’s practice falx blocking his attack. She had continued to step forward and followed through with her swing, bringing it down and blocking without even turning around to face her son again. Seyp slowly looked up to see his mother smiling down at him. “A fancy move.” Seyp’s mother said with amusement in her eyes. “Had I been competent or novice skill level, it likely would have connected.”

Seyp then suddenly found his practice falx being forced upward, as the momentum along with his strength drained, found it suddenly being forced out of his hands as it flew to the ground. Fel then spun around, swinging her falx through the air before it hooked under Seyp’s left foot, kicking it out from under him. The force of the sweeping strike sent both of his feet up into the air by momentum alone, before he inevitably landed to the ground with a heavy thud that forced the air from his lungs. He let out a few coughing exhales, trying to remember how to breath quickly as he rolled to his side. When his breathing was beginning to finally return to normal, he found the hilt of his mother’s practice falx impact with the ground before him. He slowly looked up seeing his mother looking down at him with an approving smile. “I think that is enough practice with the falx for today.” Fel said before tossing the practice weapon to Cian. “Let’s move on to your final weapon.”

Seyp slowly sat himself up, taking another moment to catch his breath as his legs spread apart and his hands dropped in between then. Fel began moving off to the side as she began to rustle through the bag nearby. Seyp’s eyes then just fixated along the ground then, as he wondered what he would have to swing for his final practice, and if he would have the energy left to swing it. He eventually found out as three throwing daggers suddenly imbedded into the ground between his legs almost simultaneously, causing him to jump in his skin as he quickly slid himself back from them. “Good, if you can move your body like that, then you have enough energy for your last weapon.” Fel said, sounding as though she were fighting back an amused laughter. “You’ll be learning the throwing dagger.”

[Seyp]

Seyp and his parents had moved over towards the throwing range as they stood in front of a practice target, which consisted of a flat wooden board about four foot wide and five foot tall. Several gouges lined it’s surface, evidence of others practicing before them. Fel stood in front of Seyp as his father took position in front of the target for a moment. “Now, the throwing dagger isn’t a weapon that will kill your opponent most of the time, unless you hit them in the neck as cut an artery with one of your throws.” Fel explained, as she directed Seyp’s attention towards Cian, who proceeded to throw the daggers at the wooden board, sinking the tip into it deeply, landing with a sharp “thunk” sound. “Their range, speed and penetration power won’t be as great as that of a bow or crossbow, so they will mainly be for injuring your foe as they are moving towards you. Their benefit, is that they’re small, concealable and easy to transport.”

Seyp gave a slow nod as he watched his father throw the blade. He watch how he gripped them, how he released them, the fact that he stepped forward with his foot that was opposite of his throwing hand. He then felt Fel’s hand rest along his shoulder as Cian moved forward to retrieve the throwing daggers from the board. “Throwing daggers are fairly simple in the long run. It’s a matter of how you grip the blade, the distance and how you throw.” Fel explained as Seyp looked up at her. “We’ll begin for now, with the hammer grip, and a distance of three meters, before moving on to the pinch grip and increasing the distance.”

She then began nudging Seyp forward as his father knelt before him, holding the dagger in his hand. The hilt of the throwing dagger was gripped in the palm of his hand with his fingers alone, while his thumb rested along the edge of the upper part of the hilt itself, just before the blade. “This is the hammer grip son,” Cian then began, giving Seyp a moment to observe it before handing the blade over to him. “It’s the most common and stable grip for a throwing weapon, and will often offer you the best spin for your dagger when it’s finally released. Holding it otherwise will either make it spin more, or less depending on the grip, and will force you to relearn your distancing.”

Cian then stepped aside as Fel began walking Seyp in front of the target. “In your throw, you want to keep your arm strait and keep it overhand.” Fel then explained, taking over for her mate. “Keep it overhand. You’ll see others around here tossing a throwing weapon all sorts of fancy ways. Don’t try that out until you’ve gotten use to one or two grips and the distance you need to make sure they stick into what you are throwing them at. The distance and how you grip and throw a dagger should be instinctive before you move on to another method of throwing.”

Fel then raised Seyp’s hand with the dagger gripped. “We’re about three meters away now, bring your arm back, bending at the elbow for the first part of your throw.” Fel continued, maneuvering Seyp’s arm as she instructed before giving his left leg a little tap with her foot.. “Step into your throw with the leg opposite of your throwing as you begin your throw.”

She then began moving his arm forward, stopping it just as it was pointing strait up above his head. “This is the important part. Always release the dagger for your throw when it’s up above your head here.” Fel said, shaking his arm in place a little to reinforce what she had just said. “Let it go any earlier and you likely won’t even reach the target or it won‘t spin enough to see the tip hitting first. Let it go later, and the blade will drop towards the ground from where you intended to aim it, and carry more spin, rotating more as the tip of the blade passes before it reaches the target. Understand?”

Seyp then gave a slow nod, looking up to his mother. “Should I throw it as hard as I can?” Seyp then simply asked.

“That’s what you’ll have to discover and adjust, you won’t necessarily need to throw it with all your strength,” Fel answered, patting Seyp along the head as she ruffled his hair a little, “but if it doesn’t reach the target or stick in it, you’re obviously not throwing it hard enough. In the end though, the tip is very fine, so it won’t take much to break flesh.”

Seyp then gave another nod before looking towards the target. Fel soon stepped back as both her and Cian created more distance between the practice area and themselves. While they trusted their son, they both saw enough odd bounces a dagger took off a wooden target to caution towards such.

Seyp slowly drew back his arm, bending his elbow slightly as he draw in a slow breath. Then, with a quick exhale and snap of the arm, he stepped forward, releasing the throwing dagger as it flung through their air, spinning around rapidly before a light “clack” echoed out as the hilt hit the board first. The impact caused the dagger to bounce back rapidly, causing Seyp to take a small hop back in reaction as it appeared as though the weapon would nearly clear the distance back and reach him.

He then heard both Fel and Cian snickering, noticing for the first time the distance they had put between him and the practice area. He grumbled slightly at this, thinking they were somehow teasing him. “Your throw was too hard.” Fel then said.

“And you released a little too late.” Cian added.

“Just keep trying, learn your throw.” Fel finally said.