Solo [Greco Hut] Bo before the Master

[Lavira]

Timestamp: Fall 30, 513

It was the third market of the season and Vira woke with a very peculiar urge. Nine days ago, Kovac had made the decision to move in with her formal and left his lodging in the Darniva common rooms. He did not have much, so getting him settled was not that difficult. So it was that she woke, bathed, and dressed, leaving him be to do as he pleased that day. As for herself? That funny little urge told her to mount up and go to the bottom of the mountain where the Pass started, specifically the Greco Hut. For whatever reason, Vira wanted to see if she could rangle up some lessons from the man, wondering if perhaps he could teach her something about weapon-fighting: specifically, staff-fighting.

Once Mohya had been harnessed, the teen headed out and down the mountain on the back of the raptor, landing just outside the hut and leaving the giant bird to her own devices once she had been de-harnessed again afterwards. The bird was given a loving scratch before hand, though, Vira laughing when she nibbled at her hair and chirruped a sweet parting before taking to wing and heading to the other hunting grounds in the area.

Massaging her right side some, the teen approached the hut, her boots leaving shallow prints in the mud as she neared it. In the back of the building, the young woman could hear others working hard on the various training fields that Archeron had set up for training. Hearing such, Vira could only assume that the man was out back and so headed in that direction. He must've been working with some students already, she assumed, stepping around the left side of the hunt and running right into another, the figure nearly twice her size. The run in caused the ginger to fall backwards onto the ground with a loud oof.

"Hey!" She cried, rolling onto her left side and getting back to her feet. "Watch where you're walking!" her head turned towards the right side and scowled at first at the offensive party. Before seeing that it was, in fact, Greco himself. "Ah-hah, er...Master Greco, good morning, sir." She tried to apologize then before the man cut her off, his words sharp in counter as he crossed his arms over his chest and stared down his hard features at the young woman.

"I heard and saw an Eagle land; thought an Endal had come by. I was expecting Lukirn-"

"Lukirn? I know her." But Greco didn't look to be buying it, one eyebrow raised at the scarred woman, waiting for her to break down and walk away. "What? I do. I met her a few days off my fifteenth during a Bendi; her and her two brothers and their birds. Heh, a whole family of Endal, that doesn't happen very often, eh?"

"I suggest you turn around and get back to your job, Dek. I have nothing here that you can afford."

Wait, Dek? Vira stood there appalled by the mans words. "Sir, I am not a Dek." The youth countered, crossing her own arms beneath her chest and standing fast, mind reaching out to Mohya as she did so.

What she received in return was not what she'd expected. ~Vira, you need to learn to deal with this on your own still. I am always here to help and protect you, as you do in return, but you are still the strong and independent young woman that I chose. Be that now, hm?~

And if he doesn't believe me?

She received a mental laugh and then silence from the beautiful bird.

"My name is Endal Lavira, bonded of Mohya, once Chiet. I am not a Dek, Master Greco. I came down here to see if you could teach me how to staff-fight." The look she received in return made her neck redden in annoyance. "You know, staring doesn't change what I look like so could you stop it please? I didn't come here for that or to be harassed by one of the masters or judged because I'm not some perfect piece riding on a perfect bird. Sometimes there's exceptions, you know." That seemed to wipe the look off his face.

"I see." The man replied then turned and headed back around to the rear of the hut, nodding her to follow.

[Lavira]

At the back of the hut, there were numerous training areas from stone to grass to a sand pit even. She noticed that there were also ledge-training and balance poles, Vira considering these in particular very closely. She used to work in the Aeries and climbing had been important so good balance had been key. With her lessened sight, however, Vira had had to acclimate to a different form of balance, her body naturally compensating to the left in an attempt to make up for what she couldn't see on the right. It didn't help, honestly, since it left her unbalanced on the right side.

"So you want to learn staff-fighting, huh?"

"And blind fighting, sir."

"Right." His gaze moved to her blank right eye and then over to her left. "Well, to be honest, I have no idea how to teach that, but I can certainly assist you with your staff fighting desire. Were you looking for just the one lesson or something for the season? When winter comes, we will need to move to the Fighting Pit in the city."

"The season would be desirable, sir. Working in the wilds now, knowing something about defense and what have you would help immensely so I thought staff fighting would be more beneficial than anything else." Greco nodded in understanding and then waved her to go get one of the staffs on the wall beside the hut.

"Meet me on the rocks." He replied and headed that way himself, leaving Vira to fetch the weapon herself. The young woman headed to the side of the hut and grabbed a simple straight-staff, just over her own height with a stretch of leather in the middle three feet, just right for gripping. Vira studied the weapon appreciatively, running her fingers over it and admiring the balanced feel of the slender stick. But the Master was waiting. Taking a breath, she balanced the staff against her left shoulder and headed for the stones he had spoken of.

Greco had just directed a pair that had been sparring on it to another training cove and now stood waiting for the teen. "The biggest thing to know with staff fighting is geometry. To fight with a staff, it's all about circles." He took the weapon from her temporarily, gripping it in both hands (one over, one under), and stepped well out of range. He began to move, Vira's single eye fighting to keep up with the speed and power at which he moved and displayed. "Circles to strike! Kiyah!" The slender weapon was struck first one end, then the other at a non-existent opponent before he turned smoothly to strike behind, swinging the staff in one hand to strike in a circle in the air before her. Vira felt the rush of wind against her face and stepped back, surprised by the power. "Circles to counter! Hah!" The staff slid back in his hands, rising to strike another invisible enemy from the rear. "Circles to defend!" He then began to twirl the weapon with such speed that her eye could not even track the weapon.

When he finished he had stopped in front of her, the point directed at her face and making her flinch back in response. "Circles. A well placed strike can break your opponents neck and even crush their skull. There is power enough in a blow from this weapon to even deflect arrows from the bow. In Syliras, many of the knights train in it as an alternative to sword fighting or alongside it as its techniques are very similar to spear-fighting. It lets you get lethal hits in without taking lethal its in return. Unfortunately, the flimsy nature of the staff can cause it to break if you do not strike properly."

He returned to the Endal and handed the weapon back. "For the start, we will just learn the main grips and stances." he directed her to the center of the stone-pit and moved in front of her once more, taking her hands and placing them accordingly. When he finished, her right hand would be placed about three feet from the top and her left one foot from the bottom with the weapon slightly raised. The upper point would be about head level to her while the back end was nearer the ground, allowing for whatever strikes he intended her to make.

"The second grip is called the overhand grip. With this one, just place your hands a little past shoulder width apart with the bow horizontal in front of you." Once more, Vira obeyed, positioning as instructed. "With this grip-" he went on to explain. "You can strike from a palm-out position, shoulder to head with the back (left) hand kept near the waist. This is also ideal for using what you will learn as flower-techniques."

"The next style of grip is for striking low. It's commonly called a ducks head. Keep your hands in the same way but slide your left hand back to a few inches off the end and direct the right end downwards so that your right hand is nearer your hip. Your left hand will bend so that it will look like a ducks." He positioned everything for her, the right near hip, the left directly in front of her chest, above her solar plexus. "Make sure you keep your elbow down in this grip, close to your ribs."

"Those are the basic grips which we'll be working with. Now, go through them again." Greco was as much a perfectionist as the other teachers and stood patiently nearby as Vira showed him what he'd just shown her.

The first grip, one hand near the top, three feet back, the other two feet from the bottom with the right point directed upwards. She moved into the second one, mouthing what he'd called it. "Overhand..." Hands shoulder width. "Used for flowers, palm-out strikes...hand should be kept near waist for this." And finally, her hands sliding into position once more, "Duck. Because the left hand looks like a duck."

"Excellent. Now, we'll learn some simple strikes."

[Lavira]

Archeron now took the staff from her and stepped away. He placed his hands in what he had called the yin-yang grip with his left hand about three fist widths from the base and palm down on the staff itself. The right-hand end was pointed slightly upwards. "This is a common beginners maneuver called the staff poke." With his hands in placed, he positioned himself balanced over his feet and stepped out with the right foot, angling the staff upwards at an angle in a single jab. "Make sure you keep your balance throughout and that your rear hand is tightly at the hip." The demonstrated again, standing straight, and then stepping forward a few inches and jabbing the staff out and then immediately slightly up.

"It's a basic offensive that will often be used in conjunction with other techniques. Staff pokes will encourage your enemy to back away." He handed the staff back to her and nodded her into position. Vira obeyed, placing her hands in the appropriate positions and then angling the weapon upwards as he had said. Immediately, the man stepped in, pushing her rear hand in closer to her hip and then angling the point of the staff down just a little. "Keep the attack point about head-level. Too high and your strike will usually miss, too low and it can be deflected." Again, the Syliran stepped back and crossed his arms, observing.

Vira drew her face down in concentration. She jabbed the staff forwards and then up but again the man stepped in and corrected her. "Keep your hand in, flush to your hip. Draw it slightly back before you step forwards." using a mock demonstration, the human drew his hands back a little bit, stepped forward, and jabbed forward and up. "Once more." He repeated the whole scene, standing even, pulling the staff back a little, then stepping forward and poking forward and up. Vira watched him closely then nodded. She closed her eyes to keep herself focused and steadied herself over right/front leg with the weapon directed forwards.

Pulling the staff back with her left hand close to hip, Vira then stepped forth and struck forth and up with a grunt. She could feel the tremble in the weapon in her hands as it pulsed against the air in reply to the action. "Good. Don't let your hands twist, though." Archeron instructed. "And keep your right elbow locked. You want your arm straight for the strike." He whistled at one of the Dek off the training area, calling for them to fetch a staff for him as well. "As with any weapon, balance is important. If you do not do the stance correctly, you can easily be countered."

When the Dek returned, the weapons master took it and took up the position once more, showing her again how to stand. His feet were pointed in the direction of attack, left hand at the hip, right arm pointed straight so that the head of the staff pointed upwards. "Hit the staff with yours." He next instructed her to do. Vira stepped forward and raised the weapon overhead, bringing it down with a loud SMACK upon his. She thought it might give, but Vira was quickly proven wrong when the weapon held fast.

"How long did it take you to train the control in your muscles and body, sir?" She asked, stepping back and lowering the staff.

"Many years of hard work and patience. You have a good eye for stability, though, no pun intended. Most Inarta do, though, so I'm not surprised. What does is how attuned you are even with your missing eye." He nodded to her face though did not rudely stare this time. Instead, he brought attention to it to remind her of what simply made her stand out. "Let's focus back on your grip and stance some. Head over to the balance beams. I want to see you walk the length with and without the staff."

Not one to argue over such, Vira went as directed, using the staff first as she climbed up onto the beams. Once up, she took careful stock of how the beam sat, how much it may sway, if there were any noticable weaknesses. It looked well cared for, though, and Vira guessed it would easily hold her slight weight. So, without fanfare, the young woman stepped forwards, keeping her feet directed towards the opposite end as she walked easily the lip. This sort of thing came naturally to the teen and it took only a handful of ticks to successfully cross. Once there, she turned and prepared to come back.

But before she got more than a few feet across, the weapons master was speaking up. "You're a natural on the beam; did you work the cliffs before your bird bonded you?" He asked, Vira continuing to walk along the edge with little fanfare.

"Yes sir, in a sense. I used to be a nesting attendant. I took care of the eggs and mother birds in spring and then helped teach the new birds about Wind Reach and other things the mothers might not be able to do otherwise. It was relatively easy work, but...well, it exposed me to the birds often, and for that I was grateful."

The master nodded and waved her down. It was time to move on to the next basic she would learn.

[Taylani]

XP Award!

Lavira:

XP Award:

• +1 Rhetoric
• +2 weapon: Straight Staff
• +2 observation
  

Lore:

• Rhetoric: Explaining that she is not a dek
• Weapon Straight Staff: Staff fighting is all about circles
• . Weapon Straight Staff: Overhand Grip
• Weapon Straight Staff : Ducks head
• Weapon Straight Staff : Staff Poke is good for beginners

Notes: I gave you a leadership for demanding to see the challenge first. It didn’t fit smoothly but I felt it the demand was a skill building moment.

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TAYLANI