19th of Fall 513 AV 12th bell The handaxe Kreig hold was a memento of sorts, it once belonged to a benshira bandit he had killed during the time he, Fallon and their patron were captured on their way to Syliras, obviously enough they survived and with little trouble as they are now in Syliras safe and sound and two seasons and a half seasons had passed. The handaxe had a 5.50" axe head and a 4" edge, the wooden shaft was 21" in length. Its weight being of course lying mostly in the axe head, made it heavy in that end, however it was surprisingly easy to hold the axe by the grip 'Another odd terminology to learn' Kreig had politely asked one of the knights in the order who specialized in Axe combat , he told Kreig that axes while mostly shared names for their parts, depending on their design and purpose they would have had differences in and lack certain terms.
The grip of the axe referred to the part of the shaft near the bottom, the bottom of his axe was called the pommel. The haft, also known as the handle, was actually axe shaft itself. The central part was called the belly, the upper part just beneath the axe head was called the shoulder and the part of the haft that just stuck out slightly through the axe head was called the eye.
The Axe Head was comprised of the bit, the edge of the blade, the upper tip of the bit was called the tow and conversely the lower tip was called the heel. A small part above the heel was called the beard, it created a funny image in his mind 'Well, now I know how funny facial hair would be on feet' He shrugged as he stood up and examined the axe head from behind, the final part was the rear of the head, called the poll.
Yes, it was a small and simple thing, yet it had so many names for so many parts. He found it rather annoying really, just many things he'd need to remember. In his other hand was a round 30" diameter wooden shield.... To help him train was another squire, one who was ten years younger than he. He was a strong looking lad however, in his right hand was a wooden broadsword and in the other a circular shield nearly identical to Kreig's in diameter.
The youth however was wearing the heavy armor of the order, well a hand me down version actually , he clearly had no trouble wearing the armor while Kreig wore his breastplate, grieves and his studded guantlets and was feeling the weigh.
He placed the hand axe to the side on the ground and picked up a wooden variant whose eye was a few inches taller as it extended through the axe, otherwise they were identical in feel if slightly lighter in weight. Kreig swung the axe down and vertically, trying to shake the oddness of the weapon he held... he didn't need to learn how to use it, but having it stay in the chest in front of his bed felt wrong. Also Kreig was no fool, he knew that he needed something to cover the distance that would be too tight for his long sword to swing about and when the opponent had a weapon that could still keep his fists at bay, the hand axe would fill a niche that would be very welcoming.
The wooden weapons they had iron cores, there purpose was to simulate the weight of a real one till they could get use to it and then moved to using blunt edged weaponry to train with. Kreig looked at the youth, he was a dark haired lad and looked like a mix of courageous and nervousness, it was an odd mix to say the least.
He knew how to hold his sword and shield while Kreig barely knew how to hold his own shield and the hand axe. He held the weapon by the grip, yet he wasn't quite sure if he was holding it firmly or loosely, its oval shaft could easily fly from his hand if he swung too hard. He curtly nodded to the lad as he took a battle position, his shield raised while the axe was axe arm hanged back as he approached slowly.
The youth also moved cautiously, his stance similar to Kreig's, approaching with more confidante than brawler felt however. Soon he moved forward, slamming his shield into Kreig's with surprising force as the Brawler was almost pushed off balance, but pushed back with equal force. The young knight attempted to stab his feet, but the movement of his shoulder alerted Kreig to that fact as Kreig Moved to the youth's left side, forcing the stab to miss while Kreig raised his axe and brought it down in a swing. The youth quickly reacted as he followed Kreig's movements and raised his shield to block the blow, brining in his sword to slice Kreig's head off, The brawler raised his shield to block it and jump back.
'Well, this obviously isn't going to be easy' The rules of this engagement was not to get hit even once, else it's a loss. The purpose behind it was to make sure each attack was deadly and precise; with the purpose of wearing their armor is to get used to the weight, the young squire was obviously used to his full plate, while Kreig was still getting used to his simple Breastplate and Grieves 'I must admit... I am envious' Squires born into the order or joined young had the privelage of learning how to wear armor at a young age.... being young they also had years to train the skills the knights require of them while gents like Kreig who joined later in life had a harder time. Fallon, who was a few years younger than he, seemed to be learning quick as well.
The young squire struck again with an overhead strike, Kreig raised shield and as the sword crept closer and touched it, he deflected it away. Undeterred, the youth immediately pushed forward with the shield and Kreig had to bring his down to block, however the youth's shield connected with the rim and Kreig's shield arm was pushed up and the brawler was off balance. The youth nearly had him as he swung his blade from right to left , aimed for Kreig's waist, but narrowly missed as the brawler clumsily stepped back lacking his balance and tripped on his back.
The youth silently cursed himself but without wasting a second he lunged his blade forward aiming to stab the brawler's legs. Kreig pulled his legs back and rolled to the side, quickly standing up and sighed a breath of relief, but he couldn't let up... he had to keep moving, raising the axe for an over head strike as he approached and swung it down, the young squire raised his shield ready to deflect, only for the blow to miss completely.
Kreig's eyes rose in shock as he forgot the weapon he held in his hand was not a long sword, he had mistake the distance. Quickly he raised the shield in order to block, but the young squire was quicker as he thrusted the blade, which more than covered the distance as its wooden tip connected with Kreig's armor with the sound of wood against metal.
"Well....shyke" Kreig though as he let a soft but sad smile touch upon his face "Looks like I've lost..." Kreig nodded as he lowered his axe and shield. He thanked the lad as he shook his hands and simply walked away.
'it's not as easy as I thought it would be...well, at least your not difficult to use. Just have to get the distance right....' Kreig thought, the problem of using a different weapon than the one he was used to apparent. It was a different animal in its own way, its weight, length and all other matters made it very unlike the longsword and the only other thought that struck him was 'Practice makes perfect, I suppose...'
x
The grip of the axe referred to the part of the shaft near the bottom, the bottom of his axe was called the pommel. The haft, also known as the handle, was actually axe shaft itself. The central part was called the belly, the upper part just beneath the axe head was called the shoulder and the part of the haft that just stuck out slightly through the axe head was called the eye.
The Axe Head was comprised of the bit, the edge of the blade, the upper tip of the bit was called the tow and conversely the lower tip was called the heel. A small part above the heel was called the beard, it created a funny image in his mind 'Well, now I know how funny facial hair would be on feet' He shrugged as he stood up and examined the axe head from behind, the final part was the rear of the head, called the poll.
Yes, it was a small and simple thing, yet it had so many names for so many parts. He found it rather annoying really, just many things he'd need to remember. In his other hand was a round 30" diameter wooden shield.... To help him train was another squire, one who was ten years younger than he. He was a strong looking lad however, in his right hand was a wooden broadsword and in the other a circular shield nearly identical to Kreig's in diameter.
The youth however was wearing the heavy armor of the order, well a hand me down version actually , he clearly had no trouble wearing the armor while Kreig wore his breastplate, grieves and his studded guantlets and was feeling the weigh.
He placed the hand axe to the side on the ground and picked up a wooden variant whose eye was a few inches taller as it extended through the axe, otherwise they were identical in feel if slightly lighter in weight. Kreig swung the axe down and vertically, trying to shake the oddness of the weapon he held... he didn't need to learn how to use it, but having it stay in the chest in front of his bed felt wrong. Also Kreig was no fool, he knew that he needed something to cover the distance that would be too tight for his long sword to swing about and when the opponent had a weapon that could still keep his fists at bay, the hand axe would fill a niche that would be very welcoming.
The wooden weapons they had iron cores, there purpose was to simulate the weight of a real one till they could get use to it and then moved to using blunt edged weaponry to train with. Kreig looked at the youth, he was a dark haired lad and looked like a mix of courageous and nervousness, it was an odd mix to say the least.
He knew how to hold his sword and shield while Kreig barely knew how to hold his own shield and the hand axe. He held the weapon by the grip, yet he wasn't quite sure if he was holding it firmly or loosely, its oval shaft could easily fly from his hand if he swung too hard. He curtly nodded to the lad as he took a battle position, his shield raised while the axe was axe arm hanged back as he approached slowly.
The youth also moved cautiously, his stance similar to Kreig's, approaching with more confidante than brawler felt however. Soon he moved forward, slamming his shield into Kreig's with surprising force as the Brawler was almost pushed off balance, but pushed back with equal force. The young knight attempted to stab his feet, but the movement of his shoulder alerted Kreig to that fact as Kreig Moved to the youth's left side, forcing the stab to miss while Kreig raised his axe and brought it down in a swing. The youth quickly reacted as he followed Kreig's movements and raised his shield to block the blow, brining in his sword to slice Kreig's head off, The brawler raised his shield to block it and jump back.
'Well, this obviously isn't going to be easy' The rules of this engagement was not to get hit even once, else it's a loss. The purpose behind it was to make sure each attack was deadly and precise; with the purpose of wearing their armor is to get used to the weight, the young squire was obviously used to his full plate, while Kreig was still getting used to his simple Breastplate and Grieves 'I must admit... I am envious' Squires born into the order or joined young had the privelage of learning how to wear armor at a young age.... being young they also had years to train the skills the knights require of them while gents like Kreig who joined later in life had a harder time. Fallon, who was a few years younger than he, seemed to be learning quick as well.
The young squire struck again with an overhead strike, Kreig raised shield and as the sword crept closer and touched it, he deflected it away. Undeterred, the youth immediately pushed forward with the shield and Kreig had to bring his down to block, however the youth's shield connected with the rim and Kreig's shield arm was pushed up and the brawler was off balance. The youth nearly had him as he swung his blade from right to left , aimed for Kreig's waist, but narrowly missed as the brawler clumsily stepped back lacking his balance and tripped on his back.
The youth silently cursed himself but without wasting a second he lunged his blade forward aiming to stab the brawler's legs. Kreig pulled his legs back and rolled to the side, quickly standing up and sighed a breath of relief, but he couldn't let up... he had to keep moving, raising the axe for an over head strike as he approached and swung it down, the young squire raised his shield ready to deflect, only for the blow to miss completely.
Kreig's eyes rose in shock as he forgot the weapon he held in his hand was not a long sword, he had mistake the distance. Quickly he raised the shield in order to block, but the young squire was quicker as he thrusted the blade, which more than covered the distance as its wooden tip connected with Kreig's armor with the sound of wood against metal.
"Well....shyke" Kreig though as he let a soft but sad smile touch upon his face "Looks like I've lost..." Kreig nodded as he lowered his axe and shield. He thanked the lad as he shook his hands and simply walked away.
'it's not as easy as I thought it would be...well, at least your not difficult to use. Just have to get the distance right....' Kreig thought, the problem of using a different weapon than the one he was used to apparent. It was a different animal in its own way, its weight, length and all other matters made it very unlike the longsword and the only other thought that struck him was 'Practice makes perfect, I suppose...'
x
