Completed [Anthonius Fighter's Pit] Siblings (Kreig)

[Rachel Messer]

"I see." Well, Kreig did offer to train her in the arts of the fists, he was clearly not deceiving, not after those solid strikes that could possibly break her bones if he wanted to. It might be an exaggeration, but Rachel didn't want to find out without preparation. Now that she recalled, Rachel swore she saw Kreig once or twice before, sparring in the Pits. The both of them just never approached each other, the instructor wondered why, it must be the always fickle hands of fate. The future was truly unpredictable, the woman didn't know she would meet Priskil herself in the city of Sunberth. To think the Goddess of Hope would appear in a despair-filled city.

When she asked for his heritage, the man froze. Rachel assumed he was shocked to learn that someone with 'Messer' as her last name was also from Sunberth. The Instructor decided to put down her sword, this would be a long conversation, one she determined to get out as much information as she could. She never knew her parents, or any other siblings for that matter, if this man turned out to be her cousin or brother or just a stranger with the same last name, it wouldn't bother her. In truth, she wanted this man to be her brother, that meant she wouldn't be alone anymore. Priskil was her friend, but having a flesh-and-blood sibling was very welcomed.

"I see, I arrived here a couple of years ago." So in terms of living in Syliras, he was her junior. That explained why his accent was thicker than hers. He had a better circumstances than her though, he still had a mother while Rachel had no one... until Priskil. "Like I said, the only thing I knew about my parents was the locket left by my mother, I don't know anything else. I lived by my own, along with the other orphans in the Sunset Quarters." Rachel gave Kreig a sad smile then she showed him her right palm. "Until Priskil, the Goddess of Hope, made me her friend." Her palm the glowed with a mild yellow glow, filling both Rachel and Kreig with courage.

"I'm sorry to hear that." In the end, both she and Kreig was left alone, Kreig's mom succumbed to illness and he had to fend for himself. Sunberth was a truly brutal city where might meant right, it didn't care if one was a young girl or a frail old lady, it would weed out all. The woman shuddered as she remembered the horrifying experience where she was almost violated by two drunkards if not for... N-no, no! She shook her head, she didn't want to remember that, not when she had a potential sibling in front of her. "I'm afraid I don't know anything about my parents, not even their name, Kreig. " This Schneider and Lilandra, they might be her father and mother. "Did your mother or father ever told you about having a sister, Kreig?" If they did, Rachel was curious on why they would leave her in the orphanage.

She sighed and slowly walked to the man. "Maybe... just maybe, you are indeed my brother. We never know, but... I feel a kinship, just this feeling in my heart. Do you feel it too, Kreig?" It might look ridiculous, they had just met for a bell, but she didn't care, she wanted for a brother. Even if he was not her blood-related sibling, they still could be adoptive brother and sister, fellow Sunberthian with the same last name who escaped the clutches of Sunberth and ended up in the Fortress City.

[Kreig Messer]

Kreig grinned humorlessly at the idea of his mother not telling him, He was quite certain that even as a child at the age of four or five, he'd remember his mother being pregnant "I know nothing of our father save for what precious few my mother devulged to me years before her passing, like you his precense was near nonexistent in my life" Kreig told her "plus I'd think my mother would have an extraordinary time trying to think up excuses for me as to why her belly kept growing bigger and bigger"

He looked at his sister intently her hand glowing with priskills light briefly, its light filling him with a confidence that tempered his worried mind. He shook his head at the absurdity of it all, two children of Sunberth , both with morals, both with the last name of Messer and who may or may not be siblings.... Part of him wondered if she knew of Cristiine, their cousin, but quickly dismissed it as the fact Rachel and no knowledge of their father's name before this would have made it very unlikely Doesn't make it impossible though.... .


It was odd how fate seemed to do the oddest of things, ever since that accursed day in Sunberth where he accidentally killed a child fate had thrown him an ensemble of wonderful, sad and simply bizarre situations. "Perhaps we truly are siblings, indeed we might never know for sure.... but I do feel kinship, for what else could bring us here but the hand of fate...and perhaps Priskill herself?" Kreig nodded to his sister's hand "There is no denying that we may indeed be related, Rachel" He looked her in the eyes as she approached "I look forward to the next few days if this is so " He grinned widely as he stuck the sword in the earth, leaning against it with a grin "It isn't everyday someone finds out they have a sibling after all"
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[Rachel Messer]

"I see..." Rachel found herself at a loss on what to say, Kreig had no knowledge about his or their father either. He was like a mystery figure, but at least, Kreig was in a better situation than she was, he still had a mother. Apparently, they weren't related by their mothers as Kreig explained it, there was no way a woman could hide her pregnancy and Rachel couldn't think of a reason her mother would intentionally abandon her while taking care of Kreig. The only conclusion she could think of, other than coincidence regarding their last name, was they were siblings, same father but different mother. Rachel could see some of her feature in Kreig's own and the feeling of attachment just wouldn't go away.

"I agree, whether we are truly related or not, I can think of you as my older brother, Kreig. Let's hope that one day," She paused, as much as she wanted to forget that blighted hole of a city, Sunberth was still her hometown, in there where she was born and raised, among starving children, criminals, and blatant disrespect for basic human rights. She wanted to go back someday, in a better position to trace back her roots, find out who her father truly was, "We can return to Sunberth, see if we can find anything about our father". With Kreig here, the desire flared stronger. The instructor smiled softly when her brother mentioned Priskil's name, her Goddess and most beloved friend, the one who kept her going and gave her a reason to live. "Yes, perhaps it's by Priskil's influence our encounter took place, I thank Her for it. Are you her friend as well, Kreig?" She couldn't detect Kreig being marked by Priskil, but marked or not, nothing was stopping one to think of Priskil as one's friend.

They tarried long enough, Rachel still owed him a training session. With a huff, the blond lifted her longsword and moved into a ready position, "Enough dilly-dally, brother! We can talk later. For now, training!" She mocked the booming voice of a harsh drill instructor. The woman moved to a training dummy and gestured for Kreig to take his place beside another dummy. "Since you have some basic skills, I want to teach about strikes, especially these three, the side strike, stab, and overhead strike. These will go a long way on the route of being a master swordsman. First, let me show you about side strikes". The instructor then put her sword at her right side, gripping it with both hands, and swung it to the left, hitting the wooden dummy with the blunted blade. As always, she braced for the shock and vibrations flowing through her arms, shoulders and torso. "Now you try, Kreig, place the sword's hilt at the level of your belly, swing it to the left or right, and finally, swing it back at the opposite direction to attack the target, feel free to give it a few tries and make adjustments. After you are satisfied, we will move on, you won't master it right away of course, even I still have a lot to learn". With a confident smile, Rachel's green eyes observed her brother's performance.

[Kreig Messer]

Kreig didn’t quite know what to think of his father now, what he knew could very well be a lie concotted by his mother ‘ But she was always so sincere when she said it’ Kreig thought as he remembered those days from memories past. He looked into Rachel’s face, he could see what bits of similarity they shared and the kin ship was simply there…. They both hand the last name Messer and perhaps a resemblance from their mysterious father, so it was perhaps near certainty they were siblings. Kreig couldn’t deny that, he said to her as much. But it only raised so many questions as to who their father was? Did he want to find out?

He shook those thoughts from his head and smiled at his supposed sibling, he didn’t doubt it but fate was a cruel thing with an outlandish sense of humor. He might as well discover if she were indeed a sibling in bond rather than just blood, blood may be thicker than water….but it hardly produced a valid relationship to family “I am no friend of Priskill, Rachel. I’d like to be to be honest, if she took care of you than what better friend I could ask for? ” he told her as he gave a simple shrug and followed behind her, sword in tow. He listened to her as she explained about the three sword strikes, he could already perform somewhat…just not in the manner expected of him and indeed they lacked precision and discipline ‘Not that Discipline usually helped me’ Came the thought as his sister demonstrated a side strike for him, it wasn’t a perfect strike but it was practiced… his sister was a better swordsman than he, that was a certainty.

He nodded to her and took position in front of the dummy, holding the sword in a similar manner to his sister and attempted to mimic the stance she used as well. The hilt was near the level of his belly and as per her words…. Swung it right to left, unfortunately he hit the wood too hard with the blunt blade and it flew from his hands in the opposite direction “EEEP”


Kreig turned to his sister and gave a weak chuckle at her “If you have a lot, I may have an infinite amount to get done” He said to her before approaching his longsword and picked it up as he returned to the dummy and attempted to repeat the motion as he brought up the grip to his belly and with a swing from right to left, struck the wooden dummy as the impact sent vibrations through his form. Then as per his sister’s words, repeated the process from the opposite direction. The third time went well as well, the fourth not so much as after the strike it dropped from his hand. The fifth time was so –so and the sixth nearly sent someone into a coma as the blade slipped from his grip and struck the wall above someone taking a rest. After apologizing he attempted the seventh which went well enough, the eighth felt like he was hitting a stone wall and, lastly, the tenth was okay….just okay.

“Yes, I think an infinite amount is an apt one”
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[Rachel Messer]

Rachel didn't mind about Kreig not being Priskil's friend, not everyone knew about the Goddess of Hope, but everyone willing to devote themselves to the cause of good may do so. Children, adults, senior citizens, all may befriended by her. "You should! She's the best friend you can ever have!" The instructor's words were from the bottom of her heart, Priskil was the one who kept her sane and unbroken through her time in Sunberth.

It seemed self-disarming was a common problem among novices, they couldn't keep a firm grip over the blade once the pressure and force set in. She could understand by experience, Rachel used to falter as well, the body's natural reaction was to get away from whatever was hurting it and in this particular case, it registered the longsword as source of pain, prompting one's hands to release it. That wouldn't do, a swordsman must understand that the sword was his comrade, an extension of his arm, and not some kind of metal menace.

She chuckled a bit at Kreig's humor, also impressed by her brother's spirit, keeping himself going. "Then infinity it is! You are right, we should not stop learning, pushing ourselves further each day!" She encouraged her sibling. Kreig's second blunder nearly struck a man, it was only by luck that he was lying down, taking a rest, otherwise... they both would get a whole new problem, possibly with the knights. Rachel shuddered at the thought, her relationship with Gerard, the pit's reputation, and her job could be in jeopardy, "Please be more careful, Kreig, truly," She couldn't say it enough, her green eyes begged him to understand. The instructor shook her head to clear her thoughts, they needed to continue.

She cleared her throat, switching back to her instructor tone, "Alright, next is the 'stab', it's a technique that uses the sword's sharp tip to pierce your opponent, making use of the longsword's length to reach distance targets, also very effective against armor, let me show you," She quickly picked up her sword and switched to a ready stance, standing in front of a wooden dummy. The instructor gripped her sword and her form hunched down as she brought the sword's grip near her waist, the tip facing its target, then with a firm push, she performed the technique, the blunt tip clashing with wood. The instructor heaved as her body absorbed the reactive force, she repeated it for a couple of times so Kreig could observe her carefully, "Alright, now you try, remember, don't rush and try not to... lose grip on your sword again, please".

[Kreig Messer]

"Forgive me Rachel, I'll try to be more wary..." Kreig said apolligeticly, he meant no trouble as he practiced. He held his hand firmly in his right as he stepped to the side and watched his sister perform the next blow. The Stab seemed to be a straightforward technique, literally and figuratively speaking, as she hunched herself and lunged forward to strike the wooden dummy, the blunt tip connecting with it created a loud 'Thunk' sound and it would be heard again as Kreig watched his sister repeat the deed. He watched intently, trying to absorb what he saw.

When his turn came, he simply nodded and held his sword form as he copied her stance. His form hunched and his grip firm, but not too firm. He pushed forward and the blunt tip of his blade struck the dummy, the force of the blow reverberated back through his form and he nearly dropped his blade. He sighed with reliefe and tried again as he pushed the tip into the dummy, however this time he missed and his lips met the wooden face of the post, kissing it deeply but thankfully it was not returned. He stepped back and spit out the taste of wood from his mouth, making no eye contact with his sister as he stared back at the wood.

Mumbling some incoherrent curse he gripped the blade and performed a third stab, his anger serving as a focusing tool in aiding against his wooden foe ' Steal a kiss from me, ya? I'll show ya!!' The third, like the first and unlike the second, was successful. Of course the fourth, fifth and every other attempt that came met varying degrees of success and failure. When Kreig was satisfied, he looked at his sister and felt the urge to ask "So sister, what made you decide to become an instructor? Surely you could become a squire like me?"

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[Rachel Messer]

Kreig began as soon as she was done, the instructor relaxed her form as she watched him practicing the 'stab' technique, the move should be simple enough if got a good grasp of it, it was basically pushing the sword's sharp tip to one's target, hardly difficult to perform, but of course, overconfidence would be one's downfall, every technique, even the most basic, must be treated with equal respect. Kreig's first attempt was quite good for a beginner, he faltered in his grip, but thankfully this time, he didn't let it go.

"Very good, Kreig! Keep it u-" Her sentence was cut off when something utterly unexpected happened, sure self-disarming and losing balance were common mistakes, but accidentally kissing a wooden dummy was definitely not a common mistake, "Pfft..." Rachel was polite woman, she truly was, but the sight of Kreig's lips meeting the hard wooden surface was ludicrously funny, "Haha... ha..." She tried very hard to stifle her laugh, clutching at her stomach with left hand. By Priskil! Please help me! I don't want to embarass my brother! Her stifled laugh would continue for about fifteen ticks before she swallowed and sighed, "Be careful, haha, Kreig, pfft..." Some semblance of laughter still made its way out though.

After the hilarious blunder, Kreig continued his practice, Rachel observed him as she pondered his question, her reason to be an instructor instead of joining the Order, she knew exactly how to answer, "It's because my skills are not yet worthy to join the Order, brother. Some may disagree, but in my opinion, a squire should at least be proficient in weapon, except if said squire joined since childhood, of course," She didn't want to embarrass her patron knight by incompetence, "I became an instructor because this is what I'm good at, teaching and fighting, kinda have to since I lived in Sunberth, I think you'd understand," Kreig was a Sunberthian, he would know what she was talking about, "So that's it actually, I will join, but not now, sometime in the future".

It was time to continue the lesson, "Alright, this will be the last part of our particular session today, brother. I will show the powerful 'Overhead' strike," The instructor readied herself, faced the wooden dummy, then slowly raised the sword above her head, the tip facing diagonally backwards, "It's a rather slow technique, but holds enough power to cleave someone's skull or pound helmets, you raise your sword like this.... then prepare your arm, shoulder, and torso, after that, you strike!" With it, she brought down her sword to the wooden dummy, the impact was harder than previous techniques, causing Rachel to shudder, a new chipped mark appeared on the dummy, courtesy of her blunted blade, "Now you try, take your time, this one will take its toll on you".

[Kreig Messer]

Kreig knew exactly what she meant, though he did mentally disagree about the part that she wasn’t good enough to join the order yet. One doesn’t become a squire because they are good enough to possibly become a knight, one becomes a squire to BECOME good to earn a chance at being a knight. Still, he wouldn’t mention that now…no point in doing so at the present. Instead he nodded and step back to watch her perform the overhead strike. He was quite familiar with it, but he always performed it in a …free form style he supposed, rather then the disciplined manner his sister showed him.


“Welp, lets hope a I don’t kill someone accidentally with this. Eh, sister?” Kreig joked half heartedly as he took his place. He raised his sword over his head with both hands on the grip, the tip facing backwards like his sister had shown him and with a step forward, brought the blade down like a hammer upon a nail. The blunt blade struck the dummy, the force caused it to shook and send vibrations through Kreig…. The force was so overt that he dropped the blade and flexed his fingers as he felt the pain. He looked at his sister and sighed “..Welp, I killed no one” He said as he picked up the sword and attempted once more. The series of blows, like all the former ones, were quite varied in their degrees of success or failure, he could at least attest to his sister that his blade did not fly and impale someone….that was a certainty.
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[Rachel Messer]

"Haha, let's hope so..." She tried to jest in return, but her tone betrayed her worrywart nature. Rachel wiped the sweats trickling down her forehead as her bright green eyes watched her brother preparing for the overhead strike, by all the light and Hope in Mizahar, she wished this one would go smoothly, or at least, smooth enough to not get them in trouble. Rachel couldn't hide the slight wince on her features as Kreig struck down, the longsword escaping his grip, clanking on the Pit's ground, thankfully not taking any poor fellow with it, "Be careful..." She whispered out of reflex.

This time, the instructor scowled at Kreig's attempted humor, she was not amused, "That wouldn't do, Kreig, you shouldn't jest like that," jokes regarding lives had a sensitive spot in her heart, since she grew up in a city where blatant murder was common. The instructor would continue watching her brother's performance, the scowl gradually shifting into her calm teacher-like smile. After a series of tries, Rachel held her hand up, "Alright, I think that's enough for today, brother, not sure about you but, I need some rest," She didn't exactly know the extend of Kreig's stamina, but him being in the Order, Rachel assumed he had more experience.

The instructor returned the blunt longsword to the weapon rack then walked to her backpack, picking up a towel to wipe herself, "You did good, Kreig, keep training and I'm sure you will wield the longsword like it's an extension of your limbs, though... be more firm in your grips, okay?" Rachel smiled at her brother, packing up her belongings, she walked up him, "So, do you want to go somewhere, if you are not busy that is, I want to take a bath in the Sacred Arch Hotsprings, the Winter air combined with the warmth should relax the muscles," She walked pass him, glancing back to give him a playful wink, "Remember, you owe me a lesson about unarmed combat".

OOCAlright! This should be my last post for the thread, Kreig. Feel free to make a last post or just immediately post it for grading. Looking forward for our next one!

[Kreig Messer]

Kreig breathed a sigh of relief, for a moment he was worried that he would accidentally let go of the blade and unleash it upon a hapless victim. Thankfully no such thing occurred as he lowered the blade slowly and calmly, approached the weapons rack and gently placed the blade. He wiped off his sweat with the sleeve of his shirt, though it did little to remove it all. He looked at his sister thoughtfully, unsure if he had such time at the moment....however she was his sister and Sera Natasha would understand "Ay sister, I'll go on with ye" Kreig responded with a soft smile.

He wasn't quite sure why fate offered him such a blessing this day, at least he hoped it was a blessing. He was quite eager to learn of this sister he knew so little about, plus he could dreadfully use a bath "I suppose dinner is in store as well, sister. I'm sure the rearing stallion would have something to suit both our tastes, eh?" He smiled to her as he walked besides her, a childish grin on his face as he thought of the prospect of food....and conversing with his sister of course, but food mainly....or perhaps his sister.

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