PM to join [Fighting Pits] Practice with a chance of Rain (Kreig)

[Ethan Ironhorse]

5th bell on 23th of Fall, 513 AV Anthonious Fighter Pits Ethan got up this morning and felt tried from all the training around his hands and feet. Lucas and Ser Titus had taught him a great deal, but it was time to learn his weapon and shield. Ethan went over to the armor stand in his room, the stand contained all his armor and weapons. The fur-hide leather armor still shone with polish, even though small wrinkles were developing at the joints from his training. Ethan touched the skin on his body, several areas had started to toughen up from the wearing, his skin no longer chafing red by wearing the armor for long periods. He hoped to never have to sleep in the armor, but at least now while he did his running it didn’t feel like a horrible burden. Slowly, he undid the straps and buckles. His helmet he placed on the table and after placing a worn shirt over his chest did he go through the motion of putting on the leather breast plate and back. Buckling the sides well he placed the shoulders on next and strapped them in. Taking too long straps Ethan tied the steel round shield to the back of his armor. Gerald provided the weapons, but the shield and armor had to come from the client. Ethan had slowly been adding pieces of armor throughout his training, even now he couldn’t wear all he had and put in a full work out. The only thing that Ethan could think of was to continue practicing with the armor and one day eventually he would be able to do it all. Ethan took out five gold mizas from his savings, the price of one of Gerald’s training sessions. In a way, Ethan was jealous of the Knighthood, for Ethan had to work to make sure that he was able to eat and cloth himself. The Knighthood was able to focus on their training, and that was it. Sure they had to patrol, but for the most part they could focus on training. Ethan on the other hand had to dip into his savings to train as hard as he did. He had gone by Ros at the Ironworks and explained to him what he was doing. As a favor, Ros allowed Ethan to work a night shift at the foundry when he wanted to. It meant that one of the foundry guys got to work a lot more at the forge and Ethan was be making significantly less money, but if he was to go looking into old alloys and foundries, he needed to train. So here was Ethan, running through the corridors until he got to the Pits. Ethan looked up at the sky, three days ago a major storm had passed Syliras and Ethan had been force to stop training for a couple of days. Instead, he went to the Ironworks and took a shift at the foundry. See that there was no rain, Ethan took off his shield and began running laps around the pits. His normal routine was about six miles which took him two bells to complete. What made up for the long amount of time that Ethan took was the fact that he would run a quarter mile and stop to perform pushups, situps, pullsup and so forth. It was different with a shield, at certain locations Ethan was forced to put it down and start doing pushups, when he was done he would pick up the shield and run to the next station in which he would perform exercises. As the 7th bell rang, Gerald came out and started loading the weapon racks. Ethan had become such and common sight at the pits in the morning that Gerald allowed him to help. As always it was a silent endeavor, even though Gerald saw that today Ethan was carrying a shield with him. Once the weapons, were out Gerald did his own morning routine to work out his muscles and start warming up. Ethan on the other hand started early on the punching post, toughen up his knuckles and shins to sustain blows. As Gerald completed his routine, Ethan went over to him and asked the question, “You ready to accept students?” Gerald raised an eyebrow and nodded. “Then I would like a lesson in the Spatha.” Gerald seemed surpised at the choose, the Alahea Empire’s early soldiers had used the Gladius and because some people kept family swords Gerald had kept blunted copies of them in his weapon racks. Yet, the Spatha was a longer and thinner blade then the Gladius and was used as a cavalry weapon. Eventually the Empire replaced the Gladius with the Spatha as it had a longer reach and later changed it to the Longsword, trying to accommodate the longer reach with the thicker frame. On the upside the thin blade and longer reach for a single hand weapon was better than a lot of the shorter weapons. Ethan would need to practice the weapon like a Longsword without the two hand exercises, and constantly practice with his shield. Gerald went back to the store room and grabbed a Spatha. It was going to be an unusual day if his first lesson was any indication. Gerald carried with him a Longsword, without a shield. Ethan was a first time student and would have to go through the very basics before he could even really duel. Though hopefully he would find someone to drill with that wouldn’t beat him every few seconds and then humiliate him. Handing the weapon to Ethan, he began to speak. “The first thing about sword fighting is the feet. Just like Ser Maximus taught you when you were through fists, the same thing goes for feet. In the yard and on hard pounded dirt you can expect perfect footing, but on the street or in a field your feet will be uneven and possible be able to trip on something. So first understand where you are standing and what are some of the things that could trip you. As you battle don’t ever forget where you are fighting, your world is should never be bigger than the apartment you fight in. If you find you need more room then you are losing, additionally if you and the other person is evenly matched the terrain could very well give you and edge in the fight. So unlike fighting you want to make sure your stance is tighter then shoulder width. You will need a smaller frame to move back and forth. The feet needed to be able to glide across the terrain in half circles. So first we will work on the footing for a back and forth fight, for example a hallway fight and then we will work on an open area fight. So watch my feet as we start off.” Ethan watched the man’s feet as he moved backwards and then forwards. There were several different steps that Ethan couldn’t understand, but he kept working on it for five or so chimes, when Gerald began to move to his left and right. The leg movements were very similar to some of the fighting stances, but Ethan’s upper body was more tucked in to prevent backward or forward slashes. Gerald also told him that it was more effective use of the shield, since showing a smaller target presented less risk. After, ten chimes Gerald stopped Ethan, his footwork was sloppy, but the more Ethan practice the more he would get better. At least he has the basic pattern’s, Gerald thought. “Next, since you have chosen a lighter sword then your main defense will be the shield. First, we will practice with the shield and then place it down to work on your sword work. To understand how to protect yourself with a shield, you should know its purpose. The shield is a large blunt object that is meant to deflect and open your opponent to your weapon. In order for it to deflect strikes it is very important how you angle your shield. First, hold it straight in front of your body.” Ethan held it straight like a wall in front of him. Gerald stepped for with thrust of his dulled Longsword and struck the shield. The strike hit the shield hard and Ethan felt it hit high. His arm temporary numbed from the blow allowed the shield to tilt upward and the point of the sword came over the top of the shield and close to Ethan’s head. “Now hold the shield diagonal to our body in a comfortable angle to your shoulder. Allow the top of the shield to be about your mouth level.” Gerald helped adjust Ethans form a little bit. “Now when you see my strike coming tense up your arm and after the hit start moving the shield upward.” Gerald took a slow step forward and thrusted towards Ethan’s eyes. Ethan lifted the shield to protect his eyes, and tensed up his arm. Though the strike didn’t have a great deal of power, the steady force from the blow moved the tip of the weapon upwards and then Ethan began moving the shield up. His natural shoulder movement forced the shield to the left and Ethan saw Gerald expose for a strike. Gerald taught Ethan all the guard positions with the shield for another fifteen to twenty chimes. “Ok, Ethan put the shield down. Now for the blade, first lets work on the grip.” Gerald gave Ethan instructions on how to hold the sword so that the hilt was always at a certain angle to his forearm and hand. Next, he showed Ethan how to make eight slashes and how to perform a thrust. “The basic slashes and thrusts are the key to most victories. Most fighters out there only know those steps and basic drills of those steps. The thrust is a great tool for weapon you have a shield. Quick and decisive, a good thrust can stop the forward movement of your opponent and make them defend. Now, we will start with your sword point at eye level and your hand placed near your hip. See how the angle of the blade provides coverage across your body. So in order to do the thrust take a step back to your other foot, lower your point and push forward with your back foot extending…. Good. Now since you have been training with shield you expect your hand to have something in it to protect you. Go ahead and place it on your other hip or hold it backwards for balance. Might seem strange to you but the last thing you want is your other hand getting in the way of a strike. Now slashing is about using the blade to chop through your opponent. When the blade comes down it will need to be somewhere in the middle of the blade to impact the body of the opponent and as you continue with the strike, the bladed will go down and slide out to the top.” Gerald and Ethan worked for thirty chimes on the thrusts. Gerald took a moment and saw they he didn’t have any additional clients so he decided to extend the lesson a little more. “Lastly, how to defend yourself with the blade… Remember, how we started with the grip.” Ethan nodded. “As a person strikes and you counter with your blade, it’s important to make sure that you first hit the angled flat of the blade and then slowly roll onto the edge till the blade comes to rest on your hilt.” Gerald slowly showed Ethan the moved he was talking about by having Ethan perform a diagonal downward slash. “Watch as my backward step, brings the blade upward in an arc to catch as much of the area around my body as possible. Next, see how I roll my wrist so that the flat hits first and then rolls to the edge. This protects your blade from nicks or cracks. Finally, as I take the last step back I thrust the hilt above and to the side of my head. That way no one can continue with the strike and split my head open. Now I have an additional four parries to show you, they all contain the rolling to the edge, but from different angles.” Gerald and Ethan went back and forth for additional thirty chimes practicing the techniques. Finally, Gerald had Ethan practice with his shield striking and blocking, then he asked Ethan to put it down and try without. Ethan was tired by the end of the bed, his muscles weren’t used to the movement but he still had strength in his arms. “And that is the final lesson. Keep working on those stances and movements perhaps in twenty or thirty days you we can have another lesson. Unless you want me to look you over in a few days to see how your form is?” Gerald raised an eyebrow and Ethan shook his head. If nothing else Lucas would help him. Ethan unbuckled a few straps and reached into his leather armor to hand Gerald his payment. Gerald laughed, Ethan had been listening to too many ex-mercenary stories, but was glad for the business and left Ethan to continue to practice his forms and softly drill for the rest of the day. == 11th bell== Business in the pits was picking up as the rain was only a soft precipitation and the fighters were working out. Ethan was off to the side practicing his movements with the sword and shield.

[Kreig Messer]

'Another day...well another day doing something I guess' Thought Kreig as he approached the Fighter's pit, after the heavy weather they had been experiancing, Kreig was anxious to leave the keep's grounds and spend a day at the pit. He was dressed in his usual attire, consisting of a black long sleeved shirt, white breeches, a wide brimmed hat and leather boots. On top of it he wore his breastplate armor, studded gauntlets and steel grieves. He didn't carry anything else with him, his sword left at the keep in his room alongside the remainder of his weapons.

If he needed a weapon, he could always have taken a blunt blade and a shield of the rack of the pit, its what Gerald left them out for after all. PArt of him wished the rain would stop entirely even thought it was only droplets, although he supposed that he should be thankful the rain was light enough to allow him to leave at all. It had been simply quite claustrophobic within the keep, only the most hardcore of squires and knights trained during those times while the remainder preferred to train indoors where there was a much less chance of catching a horrible cold.

He approached the weapons rack and grabbed a longsword and shield, he wanted to complain their feeling of oddness...but quite frankly couldn't as he allowed a small grin on his face. The longsword he had been training with for a while now, the shield he was just getting used to....it felt nice to not mention how odd they were for the upteenth time.

He took his distance away from the rack as he raised the shield, he gathered it was at least around 32 inches, only a little larger than the one's he was used to training with back in the order. The Longsword's blade was blunt from edge to point, more an iron slab than an actual blade. He gave it a few swings to test the feeling, to see if there was any imbalance... was it a balanced or was it blade or hilt heavy? All in all the blade seemed balanced enough, the shield seemed to be about the right size and all he needed was a sparring partner.....

That is when he saw a man who looked the same age and height as him 'woah...spooky' Kreig thought as the two similarities struck him...he was even using a longsword and shield, another eerie similarity. Still... there were enough differences in their facial feautures to differentiate the two clearly.... though Kreig was certain that if they were to switch clothes people would mistake them for the other quite easily from behind and if they were blind enough not to notice that Kreig didn't have any red hair.

Kreig chuckled as he shook his head, moving towards the man and taking a set distance before him, sword and shield ready " Excuse me dear gent, would you like a partner to this dance?"

x

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Ethan moved through the movements slowly but making sure his wrist and footwork were as best as he could make them. Ethan moved causing the Spatha to perform a diagonal cut upwards from left to right. The dull blade slicing misty air, as Ethan tried to make sure his movement was as fluid as possible. Originally, Ethan thought that learning to wield a sword would be easier; after all they created them by the dozens in the Ironworks. Yet even though the blade felt familiar in the sense that Ethan was use to holding one. He could tell that Gerald had bought a bad one, the weight of the pommel gave lessen the impact of Ethan’s force through the slashing movement. The reason why Ethan could tell wasn’t because of years of training, but for the simple reason that Ethan had forged pommels and knew how to weight a sword. Still, Ethan couldn’t complain it didn’t matter overly much about the weight of the weapon. After all, Ethan had just learned the most basic moves bells before. A poorly made sword could always be adjusted for with technique, but poor technique couldn’t be dealt with a master weapon. So Ethan worked at the movements themselves, going through the wrist roll and the slashes as well as the thrust. At times he cursed himself a fool for bad form, at other times he felt like a child waving a sword around as it if was a game. In the middle of a thrust, Ethan heard someone asked if he would like a partner to spar with. Granted, that person had actually said dance. Ethan pulled his body in the guard position and then relaxed as he turned around. “Well, usually I am drunk and my dancing partners are buxom and females before I start a twirl.” Ethan smiled, showing the person that it was a joke and that he really didn’t mean anything by it. “But if we are to a dance with steel, my name is Ethan Ironhorse and it would be very helpful to go through some drills and then try a sedated sparring match.” Ethan had been hanging out in the pit long enough to know that saying you were going to have a sparring match invited broken bones or worst, but Ethan needed to practice his techniques at real speed. Ethan notation for the man to take a place in front of him, wondering if he was about to be beaten in a friendly sparring match.

[Kreig Messer]

Kreig enjoyed the man's retort, allowing the grin on his face to grow wider and wider " A rehersal before we start the show then? very well, very well. It's always a good idea to warm up before the show begun" Kreig shrugged his shoulders as he took his position before the man, the man seemed to be awkward about how he held his own blade 'Can't blame him.... most of the blades are pretty shoddy' Which Kreig gathered is why Gerald was able to obtain them all easily enough, likely cheapily.

Kreig raised his shield forward, left leg forward, right leg back and the sword was raised at waist level "You and I shall attack, get a feel for each other....than we go at it harder and see who wins" Kreig said as he performed a mock bow to his dance partner and resumed his position, ready to begin the dance.

He moved forward quickly, but not fully as he swung his blade with less than the intended power, an over head strike and then he would push forward with his shield, attempting to bash into him. Again he wasn't putting full effort into this, again this was a rehersal, to find ground before they moved forward as if their lives depended on it.

"Oh yes, single strike with the blade issues victory, do you agree with this? We are holding slabs of iron after all"

x

[Ethan Ironhorse]

As the man with no name took his stance and then bow, Ethan brought his own sword upward to be in line with his nose. It was a salute of sorts to fighters about to spar in the pits. Afterall, they may have blunted weapons, but one didn’t present their necks out to others when holding any type of weapon. As the blunt edge of his sword came up to his vision, Ethan felt a little like Lucas before he squared off for a fight. Ethan stepped back with his right foot and held the Spatha at hip level just like Gerald had showed him. When the man stepped forward with an overhead chop Ethan raised his shield quickly trying to bring up the natural angle for deflection that Gerald had taught him. Ethan felt the blunted edge of strike the edge of his own shield, casing his arm to jerk down. Ethan cursed, the shield was supposed to be angled more so that it wouldn’t catch the edge, Ethan had to push slightly to angle the shield so that the blade would began falling off to his left and to the man’s right. Ethan quickly slash horizontally to try and get the man to open up the middle for a thrust. But even at half strength Ethan wasn’t going that fast as he felt the edge of his shield closest to the man hit. Ethan was lucky that he had made sure to angle the edge of his shield above his head, because no the shield was moving up and backward by the blow. What Ethan wasn’t lucky about was the battering his arm was taking. The first blow with the sword hadn’t been bad as he tensed up and felt the sword move off of it, but when the shield blast came his arm had loosened to try and recover the shield down. How his shield arm was moving backward for the jarring impact and Ethan used his shoulder strength to stop the movement. Ethan had still followed up with his sideward slash coming from the left of the man. Ethan had no idea about his footing since he had to brace with his right half way through the stroke of the swing to arrest the shield. He was off center and no matter how the swing ended Ethan needed to hop back, square his stance, and bring the shield back to help protect his body.

[Kreig Messer]

When using a shield, the warrior shouldn't simply block with it.... it was a fact that novices like Kreig and Ethan needed to remember, but as novices...it was so easy to forget. It was okay to block with the shield, it was inevetible. Another problem came because as novices.... they aren't used to what must do. With a shield one simply doesn't block, blocking meant transferring power from an attack to the shield then to shield bearers arms, it effective added strain to it and sapped some of its strength, no they had to deflect blows... they had to knock the attack with power of their own, to neutralize the attack or lessen its power.

Kreig was satisfied to know that they were both indeed going at half strength, the waters being tested, and that. Kreig noticed that his shield bash cause the man's shield arm to falter slightly. He attempted to slash at Kreig with the horizontal strike but thankfully Kreig's shield bash cut it short as the man was forced to raise his shield interrupted it breifly 'I love shield bashes' He thought with a light grin, Kreig had to raise his shield slightly, a horizontal slash from Kreig's left. It was quite easy to intercept as it came from the midsection, Kreig pushed his shield forward as the blade's edge connected with the shield. The timing wasn't perfect, some of the force still transferred to his arm but kreig thought himself stronger than the man but he still faltered slightly.

The man jumped back however, the oppening he could have made with the deflection was lost. Kreig grinned at that as he lowered his sword and shield and looked at the man square in the eyes "Now.... I believe we've tested the waters enough, shall we continue forward? Oh....and I've forgotten to introduce myself, haven't I? My name is Kreig Messer, lets have a joyous fight"

x

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Kreig Messer…. Seems like I should know that name, Ethan thought. “Testing the waters, mate?” Ethan began to circle slightly to his right, before he attacked he wanted to get Kreig’s back four or five footsteps behind the wall. If he played a good cat and mouse game maybe… just maybe he could back Kreig against the pit’s wall in four or five thrusts. It was an obvious trap, so Ethan let his mouth try to distract his opponent. “You know if you keep this kind of conversation up, I will began to feel like a lost maiden waiting for her shiny knight to rescue her from her…. VIRTUE!” Ethan thrusted quickly, but with half force towards Krieg shield, Ethan figured that the man would push out his shield at an angle and slightly up. So Ethan aimed for the upper torso, trying to angle his sword to hit the shield thrust and angle up and over the edge. It was a move that had a few outcomes, in Ethan’s eyes. The first move was that Kreig could miss seeing the sword point and it would strike his right shoulder. Scoring a win for Ethan. Of course, Kreig could block with the shield correctly and the point of Ethan’s sword would go high and he could recover it, and Ethan would look for Kreigs own sword thrust or move. Another was that that Krieg could use his shield or sword to move the thrust to Ethan’s left, and out of the way, but Ethan was ready to counter by side stepping more to his right to buy time in recovering his blade. Ethan knew that he was focusing on his steps, and as the lunge came down his foot was slightly too heavy forward. It was frustrating to feel so new at something, especially in the pits. Every movement that Ethan made felt like he was a teenager again, looking at a couple in Soothing Waters. He was all feet and arms, at least Ethan had a consistent grip on his sword, and he was thankful for that.

[Kreig Messer]

'Do come up with better retorts' Kreig thought but grinned, Kreig was a talker... he like to talk, he like to keep his opponents talking or aggrevate them if their the silent type. They were done testing, done going half arsed....only when it brought again would they do so, and it seemed the man thought he had a possible gain. The thrust, half arsed, a lie... a trap 'I can see alright, you know?' He spoke silently, as if his mind could convey the words with a silent mout, but there was another way he could convey. Kreig switched the grip of his blade to a back handed one, the tip facing downward while the man's blade slid against the flat of it. He redirected the blow as he moved his fist forward, a pommel strike aimed for his chest, it was practically a punch from Kreig's own steel clad fists.
"careful, I truly have trouble not wanting to break you"
If it were to strike, regardless whether the man blocked it or not, Kreig would swing his shield's edge as if throwing a hood punch. He'd likely block it as well, perhaps, he couldn't be sure but regardless precautions were needed to be taken as he would then jump back and with a diagonal slice coming from bottom right to upper left and again go for a shield bash. He'd try to lure the man into thinking that he was overly reliant on it, so that when he made an unexpected move it would certainly bring on the pressure.

If he how over avoided his pommel strike, then he'd simply have to lay on the pressure, intimidate him....cow him. He wanted to test his courage as well as have a good fight, to see if he can resist a seed of fear being implanted or can overcome it. Kreig believed himself to be quicker and stronger than the man before, if not physically than with experiance....but he'd be quite amused if the man before him won, and in fact quite satisfied.

x

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Ethan moved his shield to block the punch with the pommel of Kreigs blade. The sound of steel clashing on steel echoed throughout the pit. Ethan allowed the shield to take most of the force, as the raised circle in the center caught the pommel. The force of the blow was with all the man’s strength, and Ethan guess that it was slightly more than his own. Scraps and dents, that was what was going through Ethan’s mind about his new shield. Still, Lucas didn’t have new equipment, and the practice worn look of it showed too many that he knew how to use it. Ethan did his best to keep his eyes on his opponent, and then Ethan saw the man try for a punch with his shield. The shield started to turn as Kreig went back opening his stomach to try and use the shields edge as a punch. Ethan ducked and raised his own shield to counter. Quickly, he raised his right hand that held the Spatha and sloppy aimed for the Kreig’s stomach. It was out of reaction, more than insight or technique, and it was about half a moment too late, as the shield came back it hit the swords base and sent Ethan’s arm wide of Kreig’s hip by a hand. Since ducking Ethan was able to see that the Krieg was moving for a diagonal slice. After all his own sword, had tried to attack the man’s stomach and was coming back. Ethan stepped back and placed the edge of his shield and sword in a downward crossed fashion. The movement was sloppy and as Krieg’s sword came up with a slash Ethan, had to use more of his arm strength to hold the sword in place. Then long sound of bladed sword scrapping the against Ethan’s came up with a driving pressure in his forearm. Ethan had deflected the blow and a more experience swordsman would have capitalized on the slash. Ethan was merely proud that he caught the blade and felt the scraping metal as Kreig withdrew blade against the edge. As a blacksmith Ethan could only image what that would do to a blades edge, thankfully Gerald kept his weapons dulled. Ethan felt the shield bash before he could react to it. His arm still tense from catching the blade, Ethan fared better this time, as the jolt from the bash only moved his upper body. Ethan grunted, and then realized that perhaps part of the game was making the other believe he got him. Ethan gave out a roar as he prepared his counter strikes. Having the blade in a downward position to begin with, Ethan performed the same upward diagonal stroke on the Kriegs left to right. Ethan knew that his opponent would block the strikes but his plan wasn’t more than getting his opponent to give ground. So Ethan followed up with another quick thrust of the blade aimed at high on the chest, knowing that Kreig preferred to block with blade instead of shield. So Ethan decided to move more with haste, punching the blade forward but withdrawing before it got in range of the shield and sword. Ethan was counting on a reaction to the thrust as he moved the blade overhead and came down in a diagonal slash from Kriegs left to right aimed at his leg. Ethan prepared for the returned strikes from his opponent by tensing up the shoulder and shield arm.

[Ethan Ironhorse]

Ethan and Krieg went back and forth for several more chimes till, Krieg disarmed Ethan and laid the first hit. All in all, the three chimes the two men spent dueling each other Ethan was able to win once, compared to the thirteen times that Krieg was able to touch them man with his blunted weapon. Ethan’s new shield now held dents in it and his arms were swore from the battering that the practice had given him. The back and forth duel had helped Ethan practice the swinging of the blade and slowly he reminded himself to turn the hilt like so, or to hold the strike against the belly of the blade. After the long sparing match Ethan and Krieg parted not as friends, but as someone who respected each other. Ethan went home to use Krolar Poultice and Tea to rest, for his arm were on fire from training, and he had several knew purple like bruises from the long duel.