[Training] Practice Ranges(Open)

[Gregory Braklin]

Gregory Braklin, Syliran knight, put his crossbow to his shoulder. He squinted, aiming at the center one of three targets placed 10 paces apart and 50 paces away from him. He judged that he was aiming a bit too high and lowered the crossbow slightly. His fingers pulled the lock and a steel bolt shot out of the weapon with blinding speed. Hitting in the second ring, slightly below the target. Greg reloaded the crossbow and placed another bolt into the weapon. He switched to the target one to the right of his previous one. Aiming, he shot another bolt. This one hit slightly to the right and above the target in the second ring. Reloading again and then taking a step to the right, he switched to the first target again. He fired and hit 5 figerlengths below the center.

The knight stepped back, marveling at his work. He was showing definite signs of improvement since yesterday. He started over to the targets to pry the bolts out of the soft wood and reset the exercise. What he really needed was a sparring partner to help him along with his shield training. He shrugged and continued towards the targets.

[Gregory Braklin]

Greg had just started over to the practice rance to collect his crossbow bolts for the fourteenth time from the practice range. He pulled the pieces of steel from the practice range. He examined the tips, frowning. After repeated hitting into the wood, the bolts had grown dull. They now wouldn't cause much damage to a humanoid, only mild bruising. Sighing, he turned around to go back to his firing spot. He had 20 bolts total, and even though three of them were useless, he could still keep practicing and restock later at the armory. As he walked back, he saw am happy sight. It was a 7 foot tall Syliran Knight wearing full plate armor, including a full faced jousting helmet that obscured his face from view. His knight's crest showed him to be a sergeant knight. Greg walked up to him and saluted.

Hail Ser Knight. I am Ser Gregory Braklin of 1st Wing, Red Company, 1st Regiment, Silver Quadron. I would be honored if you would help me with my training.

The knight took off his helmet, revealing the dark blue skin of an Akalak. He smiled saying

At ease, Ser Greg. No need to introduce yourself so formally. I am not the Grandmaster. I am Ser Mikail, same as you but Blue company. Now what can I help you with today?

Greg smiled, relieved that he didn't have to completely hold up to formality. Some of the more experienced knights could be sticklers for the rules and he was glad to train in a little friendlier of an environment.

I'm having some trouble with my shield. The trouble is, I can't block anything at all. Do you mind swinging at me with that practice sword of few times?

said Greg, pointing to the practice sword that the Akalak had in his hands. Ser Mikail didn't answer but swung the sword right away. Greg, with reflexes and instinct born of training his body since youth, deflected the blow with the butt of his crossbow and drew the practice sword that he had got from the Knight's armory in case there was an opportunity to practice.

See, the problem is you don't even think of your shield as important. You didn't even ready it when I attacked you. If you think of the shield as part of you, then you'll be able to use it well.

Greg nodded and picked up his shield. The Ser Mikail swung again at the knight and he braced himself for the impact. The sword hit Greg in the center of the shield. Greg drew up the breath to yell in triumph, but he got the wind knocked out of him by a blow to the stomach. Greg took a step back, winded and clutched his stomach. Greg perceived another blow going towards his right side. He swung his shield to the side and caught the blow.

Greg swung his own practice sword at the knight's right side, then switched to the left side at the last second. Mikail didn't fall for the feint and knocked Greg's sword out of the way. The Akalak's blow was so strong that the sword was almost knocked from Greg's hands. Greg had to do a full 360-spin to right himself. He avoided another blow from the practice blade by ducking under it and slashed again at Mikail's right side. This time, Mikails shield jerked to the left for a split second before it went to the right again. Mikail still made it in time to block the blow, but Greg saw a way to victory.

He blocked another two strikes from Mikail and took the last one to the stomach. He then went for the right side again. This time, the shield made the same slight jerk to the left before swinging to the right. However, this time it was much less pronounced and Greg wouldn't have seen it unless he was looking for it. Greg blocked three strikes, one almost hitting him in the head. This time, Greg didn't receive any hits as he eased into the rythm of the fight, but he didn't notice. Greg cut once more to the right. Greg saw that there was no jerk this time.

Mikail had gotten into a pattern without realizing it. He now unconsciously precluded the possibility that Greg would hit from any side other than the right. It was time to make his real move. Greg blocked the three strikes that Mikail made and then went in for his attack but instead of attacking the right side, Greg made a cross-slash towards the left. Amazingly, the Akalak dodge rolled under the blade so that it only hit a lock of his hair and counter attacked with one, two, three, four strikes.

Having been used to only 3 strikes every time he attacked through out the battle, when he varied his moves to use four strikes, Greg had been completely fooled. Mikail had used his slightly flicking shield to create a two fold diversion. First of all, Greg had been so focused on getting Mikail for his flicking shield that he never noticed that he was slipping into the same kind of pattern that he was trying to exploit. Also, since Mikail knew that Greg was going to exploit his weakness, he was always ready to dodge the blow and Greg's follow-through would give him the advantage that he needed to create a situation in which Greg would totally rely on instinct and muscle memory.

Greg was smart enough to not be embarrassed at his utter defeat. After all, the man in front of him was an accomplished knight and commander of an entire company of 50 knights. Instead Greg learned from the experience. Shields, it seemed, didn't have to only be a kind of secondary defensive measure. It could be used strategically to give himself a winning advantage. Greg smiled and saluted again.

Thank-you Ser Mikail. You've given me a lot to think about.

[Gregory Braklin]

You talk as if we're done here

said Ser Mikail.

We've barely practiced at all. If you want to become a real Syliran knight, you have to practice rigorously and daily.

Greg looked downward, ashamed. He knew that his skills needed improvement and he was a fool to think that they were done so soon. He looked in Ser Mikail's direction expectantly, waiting for further instructions.

Good. Now drop you shield. We're going to practice swordplay for a while.

Greg nodded and bent over to place his shield on the ground and fell to the floor as the large knight hit him in the back with the practice sword. Greg groaned as he got off the ground and looked reproachfully at the older knight.

Why did you do that, sir?

he asked, although he wanted to say something much ruder.

Because, my young knight, you just made two mistakes. Number one, you put your shield on the ground. You should never ever put your shield on the ground. Doing that is like telling a potential enemy to attack you. Number two, and more importantly, you should never show your back to an armed person. No matter how much you trust them, you should always take precautions. A better thing to have done would be to sling the shield on your back. That way, you wouldn't have to turn your back to me and you would be protected from any surprise attacks from behind. Understand?

Greg nodded and rubbed his back.Careful not to turn completely, Greg retrieved his shield. He strapped it to his back. And picked up his sword. He saw that Miklain had done the same with his shield. They both bent their knees and got into a fighting stance and the pair of knights started to duel.

They weaved in and out, hacking and slashing. Neither of them giving ground, although Greg could tell that Miklain was going easy on him. Suddenly, Greg saw that Miklain was about to slash to his right flank. It seemed like an easy parry, but by the time he had gotten to the side, there was nothing to block. Something large hit Greg on the left side. Greg stepped back dazed, not understanding what happened.

After a couple of seconds, when Greg had a renewed grip on reality, he saw that he had just witnessed an expert piece of swordplay. The other man's sword had been going to the right up to less than a nailsbreath before contact, then switched at the very last possible second and with lightning speed to the other side. Greg's eyes widened with shock and Miklain nodded approvingly, pleased that Greg had grasped what he had just witnessed so quickly. Miklain gestured towards a practice dummy to the right of them and they walked quickly over to it.

I think you understand the basics of the move, but seeing it and doing it are two completely different things. You won't be able to master this after just one or two repetitions. I have to get to my watch now, but you should stay here and practice the move that I just showed you. Don't be discouraged if you don't get it at first. You've already progressed a lot since the beginning and this is a very hard move to master. Just keep trying and good luck to you. Greg bowed once as Miklain turned and walked away. Greg went back up to a fighting stance. He would have a long way to go before he could do that move in battle, and he knew that he had better start now.

[Dusk]

XP Award! Gregory Braklin XP Award: Crossbow: 1 XP, Shield: 1 XP, Longsword: 1 XP Lore Award: Defense tactics Ledger: