Solo To Sharpen a Blade

[Ayatah]

34rd Spring, 515AV

"So. A Myrian."

Ayatah tried not to frown up at the huge Myrian before her. Was he asking about her heritage, or stating a fact? For good measure, she decided to clarify herself further: "Half-Myrian, actually. Half-Eypharian, as well."

Mizra Aqdas considered this for a tick. He lent back in his chair, touched his fingertips together with both hands and pursed his lips. Was he weighing up whether to allow Aya into his school of training, or not? "Two races that are known for their prowess in battle, though very different styles." Another half-question, half-statement. "But you were born up in Taloba, correct?" He paused to allow Aya to nod or shake her head. She did the former. "So I presume your style of fighting is more akin to the Myrian culture over the Eypharian?"

Ayatah shrugged. She had little knowledge of the Eypharian style of fighting. At the end of the day, wasn't everyone in a battlefield just trying not to die anyway? "Yes. I guess. Though I trained a little in Zeltiva, where I learnt the basics of dual-weild."

"And what weapon do you train with?"

For lack of a better description of her weapon of choice, Ayatah unsheathed one of the double-bladed daggers on her hip. The blade featured a central wooden hilt with two blades at either end, pointing in opposite directions. It was a relatively well-made weapon, and had been in Ayatah's possession since she had first arrived in Zeltiva some two years ago. And yet it still felt foreign to the Myrian, for she had given away her own double-bladed dagger long ago. The weapon's location played on her mind more frequently nowadays than the location of the man who now possessed it. Was that a bad thing?

She watched the Akalak briefly inspect the twin blades before returning it to Ayatah. "The double-bladed dagger. I used to call it the greedy man's weapon." A grin etched upon his dark face.

Again Ayatah shrugged, but she also found the fluttering of a smile on her lips, "twice the number of blades, twice the damage." A cocky statement, even for a Myrian.

"Is that so?" Mizra's smirk remained on his face as he asked his next question, "is that why you train with it?"

"My clan gives newborn girls a birth weapon, for her to hopefully master. My mother chose this for my dual heritage."

This seemed to please the Akalak. He gestured to the two Lakans that were strapped to his broad chest. "I can understand that logic." They shared another brief smile before Mizra returned back to business. "And what are you hoping to learn today."

Ayatah gave a cuttingly honest answer: "I feel like I'm losing my Myrian ways. I think training would be a good way to reawaken them."

He seemed mildly surprised by her reply. But Mizra regained his cool composure quickly. "I'm glad to hear it. So as a member of Myrian society, I presume you are far beyond a beginner is this weapon?"

Aya paused before giving a cautious nod. Her confidence and faith in her own battle prowess had waned as of late. She no longer felt like the cutthroat killer she had once been. And in truth, Aya didn't mind this. But in scenarios such as this, she felt almost misplaced. Just how skilled was she now? Were battle skills things that one never forgot, like reading or writing? She hoped so. "I would expect so, I hope."

Mizra gave another nod before standing and gesturing for Ayatah to follow him. "Jolly good. Your trainer today will be Sohryn, he's very good." The Akalak came to a stop outside a door, which he pointed to. Sounds of wood-on-wood clatterings and shouts erupted from beyond the door. "I hope you manage to re-familiarise yourself with your Myrian ways, Ayatah."

She thanked him and stepped inside.

[Ayatah]

Another Akalak greeted Aya on the other side of the door, who she presumed to be Sohryn. He was tall, and purple in hue. It still took the Myrian's breath away to see grown men strolling the streets of Riverfall with skin the colour of the rainbow. It was like something out of a fairy tale, and every so often Kuame had to remind her not to stare instead of the other way round.

Behind him, nearly twenty other students bustled about in a scene of utter chaos. Ayatah was trying to figure out how it resembled anything close to a lesson when the trainer patiently explained. "We try to imitate open field combat as much as possible. Students join in, and whoever they happen to bump into will become their next opponent. Bump into someone else: they're your opponent now. And so on. It's more realistic."

Now she understood the concept, Aya agreed whole-heartedly. No organised training could prepare someone for combat. A clean one-on-one fight almost never occurred in a real battlefield: it was too chaotic, too messy. But the class before her now did indeed resemble an open field fight. Apart from the wooden weapons, of course.

She traded her blades in for equivalent training blades, and then Ayatah dived in.

She found an opponent almost immediately. He was unsurprisingly another Aklak, wielding a short sword. The furiosity of his attacks surprised Ayatah; for a tick she was taken aback as he charged and swung at her head and chest. She'd expected at least some sort of brief greeting. A nod, a smile -- something to break the ice between these two strangers. But no: this guy was in no mood for such manners.

She dipped down to avoid another vicious swing of his sword, but as Ayatah stood up, he pushed the hilt of his face into her ribcage. She was shoved out of the way just as Ayatah bought her right-hand dagger up in an upper cutting stab. The blade touched nothing but air.

The Akalak attempted to shift away from her, but Aya kept close. Her weapon required a close proximity between herself and her foe, whereas his needed enough distance for him to swing and swipe. As long as she kept nearby, the Myrian would have the upperhand.

But she was slow and clumsy. He soon opened the gap between them and once again Ayatah found herself having to back up and step to the side in order to avoid the blade. He caught her once on the arm and again in the chest. Before she could retaliate, she bumped into someone else and was faced with a new foe.

This opponent was female, with more piercings than whole body parts. For a tick, Aya found herself yet again distracted: do you not leak when you drink water?

A swipe to the side of the head with the flat of a wooden axe startled her into action.

[Ayatah]

The woman gave Aya a snarling smile. She clearly thought she'd found easy prey - perhaps a beginner who'd stumbled into the wrong class. This set something unexpected alight in the Myrian. She too snarled, rushed forward with a hot pulsate of her gnosis at the back of her neck. She swiped her left hand horizontally towards the woman's waist, holding the dagger in a reverse grip.

That surprised her foe. The woman leapt backwards with impressive acrobatic ability before coming back towards Ayatah. Her axe was held in a defensive manner, horizontally along her chest. It would block most attacks, so Ayatah held back, waiting for a gap in her opponent's defences before striking.

They circled each other for a short time, eyes fixated on each other's faces. It was nothing like the battles Aya had faced against the Dhani or Yukmen, and yet she was energised in a way she hadn't been for a long time. A physical burning heated her muscles and already her hairline was damp with sweat. She wanted this win, she needed it.

Her Axewoman charged forwards, armed with a great swing of her axe that Ayatah simply couldn't avoid. All she could do was rush as close to her foe as possible in hopes of striking the woman with her blade before that axe made contact.

Unfortunately, Ayatah failed her task. The woman's swing of her axe was just too great. It knocked Ayatah sideways as if she were a rag doll. The Myrian saw stars, staggered, and caught herself just in time to see her opponent give a victorious smile before turning to face her next foe.

This left Ayatah with a minute chance to catch her breath. She readjusted her hair, ensuring the knot would not come undone, and readied herself for her next fight.

She didn't want to wait long.

It was another Akalak this time, armed with a Lakan. Though she hadn't faced a foe with such a weapon before - that curved blade looked particularly challenging to avoid - Aya had learnt by this stage that standing and staring at her opponent was not the way to go about winning.

She came forwards with a swipe of her right arm followed by a stab of her left. But the latter was clumsy and off target. Instead of stabbing the centre of his chest, Ayatah's blade tip touched the Akalak's pectoral muscle. He tensed and the blade practically bounced off. A feeble attack that was nothing more than a waste of Aya's energy.

His swing appeared to be not so poorly considered. The Akalak bought his Lakan diagonally downwards. Had it been a real weapon, Ayatah's innards would have become her outtards. She jumped backwards, almost stumbled. She caught herself in time to land another stab with her right dagger, holding the blade in a reverse-grip before twisting her wrist to stab him again with a forward-grip.

[Ayatah]

The Akalak brushed her hand away before Ayatah could stab again. He opened up the gap between them with a flourishing leap before closing it again with an equally dramatic jump and step. The Lakan came down at the same time, knocking one of Ayatah's daggers straight out of her hand.

Unfortunately, it was her right-handed dagger: her dominant hand was now empty.

He swung the curved dagger horizontally towards her. Ayatah tried to block the strike with her forearm, but he was too strong. She managed to slow down his swipe though, giving the Myrian enough time to bring her remaining dagger upwards to drag it down his chest. The green male flashed a smirk before snatching his free hand up, gripping Aya's dagger and rendering her even more helpless.

"I win." The words were barely audible, but he'd whispered them directly into Ayatah's ear. His breath was hot on her skin. She felt a cool shiver down her spine as he collected her dropped dagger and handed it over.

The two separated without further word. Muddled over her previous opponent and the strange ending to their battle, the Myrian didn't realise she'd found a new foe until she found herself dodging a blade. Another blue-skinned male faced her, taller than her last opponent and wielding two daggers, much like herself. But his were single-bladed. For once, Aya had the technical advantage.

She would not allow this opportunity to go to waste. She moved quickly, ducking downwards and bringing herself up to land a punching stab in the Akalak's gut. He retaliated with slicing his left dagger along Aya's back, his right pointed into her waist. She could do little to avoid his clutches.

So she dived down, throwing herself into a forwards roll to the left. But, like the rest of her combat skills, it had been quite some time since Ayatah had been so energetic. She dipped her head to her chest, but her roll was crooked, more on her right shoulder than on her back. As a result, when she stood up, Aya was not facing her opponent, but the rest of her classmates.

Thankfully, her current opponent seemed to be at least chivalrous enough to allow the Myrian to position herself rightly. She gave him an appreciative nod and the two restarted.

He came as before: fast and efficient. There were few flourishing movements to his strikes, and Aya couldn't help but admire how united his left and right hands were. She feebly attempted to block some strikes and dodge others, but this opponent was vastly beyond her ability.

[Ayatah]

A change in opponent came after two or three more chimes of Ayatah desperately defending herself. She was unable to land any more blows on her foe; he was too quick, too well aimed. He was simply far more skilled than she. But Aya hoped she gave him at least some mottle, didn't let him win too easily.

Her next opponent was not a new face: it was the pierced, harrow-cheeked axe wielder from before. But Aya had a new confidence now. She was exhausted, yes. But also enthralled in the fight. That Myrian fire that had been alighted within her as a girl had been reignited. Now it flickered and smoked with a strong flame.

Axewoman gave Ayatah a smrik.

Ayatah gave Axewoman a thrust with her left dagger.

The woman's hadn't expected Aya to be so quick. She knew this by the look of surprise and mild admiration in the other fighter's expression.

But she did not wait long. Soon the pommel of the axe was driving Aya away, and when the Myrian was far away enough, the woman swung her arm upwards, leading with the blade of her wooden axe. It sliced up Ayatah's stomach and clunked the bottom of her jaw. It didn't hurt, but was... uncomfortable.

She needed to get close to her opponent again. Both Aya and the Axewoman knew this. So the former did all she could to jump, dodge and dive forwards whilst the other trotted backwards constantly. This time round, unlike their previous meeting, the two women were well matched.

Eventually, Ayatah changed her method. Creeping forwards wasn't working. She'd need to close in on her foe in a new manner. So this time, it was Ayatah who backed off. She did so steadily, arms bent upwards ready to land a punching stab should the opportunity arise. Slowly Axewoman started to come forwards, tentatively at first but when she'd got a good measure of Ayatah's speed, the woman lurched forward.

Ayatah bent her knees, threw herself backwards and thankfully managed to just about catch herself. Axewoman's lunge was accompanied by a downwards swing of her weapon, one that would have crushed Aya's skull had she not been well out of the way. The Myrian landed a blow to her opponent's back, causing Axewoman to double over and proper herself up with her axe.

The Myrian readied herself to land that final, killing blow. But someone else knocked into her with such force that Aya ended up falling into her bent over foe. She straightened up immediately and muttered out a moody apology, frustrated that their fight had been cut short. Axewoman threw a smile -- a genuine one, before standing upright and searching for a next foe.

[Ayatah]

Ayatah turned to face her next opponent. A pock-faced male greeted her, armed with a wooden sword and shield. The latter of these in particular caused Aya some worry. Shields were notoriously hard to get around - it was their function to block attacks, after all. But for a woman armed with short-bladed weapons, a shield was Ayatah's greatest obstacle.

She'd need to keep to his right, close to the arm that swung his sword as opposed to his shielded arm. But this in itself was no easy task: it was damned harder to avoid a sword when you were pushed up against it.

Nevertheless, Ayatah pressed into her opponent, snaking holding herself close to his sword arm and waiting for an opportune moment.

She didn't need to wait long. The male raised his sword arm to swing his weapon, but Aya moved swiftly to jab the dagger point in the softness of his under arm. He retaliated with dropping his elbow down onto Aya's shoulder, knocking her off balance and sending her into a half-crouched, half-fallen position. From there though, she reached round to the back of his right knee, landing a blow to the tendons and causing her opponent to also stumble. He caught himself, steading his broad form and Aya sprang up, swiping her left dagger. She missed him by several inches.

A frustration growl rumbled in her throat. Oh, she was into this now. She was back in the jungle, facing a Dhani opponent and accompanied by her Myrian fang. After killing the snake men and women, they'd return to Taloba and have a feast, celebrate their victory of the serpent people. There'd be fires, dancing, food, and drink. She'd end the night drunkenly rolling aroundin her bed with some fellow comrade, kissing whilst he marvelled at her gilded skin, whispering “you’re not half bad, y’know For a half-breed."

Happier, simpler times. Before the djed storm wrecked her jungle home and the pureblooded Myrians were ripped from this world. Before a life was torn from her body before it had truly lived. Before she fought a tiger with the man she'd fallen in love with, before they separated and never reunited. Where were all those people now?

Where was she? In Riverfall, the place she would have to call her home despite the fact she could never imagine feeling at home. She'd be living here in a year's time, in five year's time. It was unthinkable, unimaginable. And yet it was fact. She couldn't wrap her head around it.

She flexed her muscles and dragged her thoughts back to her current situation. But now Aya was distracted with thought of the jungle and the past. Her stabs were lagged and slow. She found herself on the shield-side of her opponent, being constantly pushed back. The sword struck her ribcage and arm, pointed into her belly. Ayatah felt battered and bruised, and her enthusiasm had also waned.

When her current opponent found a new foe, the Myrian slipped out of the pretend battleground and exchanged her training weapons for her real daggers. She'd enjoyed the training, and the exhaustion that had come with it. But her mind was too distractible. It lingered on the past far too easily. Perhaps it was because the last time she'd been in Riverfall, she had just left the jungle and everything about her life was different. Her trip out to Zeltiva was to get an eduction of the barbarian races, nothing more. And yet nearly three years later, here she was: still outside the jungle.

A savage amongst citizens.

[Aoren]

Ayatah

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Storytelling	+1 EXP
Persuasion	+1 EXP
Tactics	+5 EXP
Dagger	+5 EXP
Endurance	+4 EXP
Bodybuilding	+2 EXP
Acrobatics	+3 EXP
Dual Wield	+3 EXP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Tactic: Train Like You Fight
•	Tactics: The Importance of Motion
•	Tatics: Assessing A Bigger Foe To Find Weaknesses
•	Acrobatics: Rolling Dive

Notes :

If you have comments, questions or concerns please approach me at your earliest convenience. Don't forget to edit/delete your request in the request thread!