Solo Ways of the Sword

[Neras Frostfawn]

Time Stamp: 20th of Winter
Location: Proving Ground
Who: Neras Frostfawn

After looking for the murderer, Neras knew that he needed to get better with his short sword, so the best way to practice is head to the Proving Ground and pick a fight with one of the other Guardians. Obviously, he wasn't picking a fight, but the competitive nature of the gang members in the Sun Birth made their was no shortage of people to spar with and people outside the gang. Neras walked in the Proving Ground wearing his studded leather armor, small metal shield, and his short sword. Walking to the arena part of the Proving Grounds, Neras spotted a small crowd of raiders and handful of guardian gathered were pairing up for sparring partners. All the gangers in the crowd had their own weapon of preference. Neras was no exception because he chose the short sword. It had a longer blade than dagger, and it was less cumbersome than bastard, broad, or long sword. He wanted to spar someone with a different weapon than his weapon, so he eyed the crowd for a partner.

Walking to the wooden weapon rack, Neras picked out a short sword for the weapon rack. He noticed a man with wooden hand ax and Sun Birth emblem shield. The delinquent walked over to him and said with a nod, “Curious if you would like to spar?”

The unshaven man said with a hint confidence in his voice, “Sure if you think you can handle it...”

Neras said with a smirk, “Well there is only one way to find out...”

The unshaven man and Neras walked to a empty area of the training yard. He took his position on the opposite side of the older opponent. The guardian held the wooden sword blade pointed at the ground and held the shield out in front of his torso. As the man back stepped backwards, the thief stepped forward. Neras quickened his pace forward and moved his shield slightly to the side, and thrust the short sword towards the leg of his right leg away from his shield. The unshaven man responded and swung his hand ax down to parry his sword away. The thief saw the unshaven man's hand ax come down on his weapon and parried his wooden sword away for his undefended leg.

Pulling back his weapon, Neras was quite pleased that he found another competent warrior in the Sun Birth's to practice against because he wasn't going to improve sparing people who barely knew where the sharp end of a weapon. He got back into his original stance with the shield out in front of him and sword pointed aimed at the ground. The unshaven man charged forward and instead of using his hand axe. As he charged, he swung his shield straight towards his torso. Neras eyes widened for a moment as he realized that he needed to brace for the impact for the shield bash. He spread his legs apart, bent his knees, and stood his ground with his shield to absorb the man's blow. The veteran was probably a good fifty pounds on the teenager, so the impact of the shields meeting each other knocked the boy off his feet. When he hit the ground and landed on his back, he knew that he was in trouble because he saw that he lost his shield. Looking up at the man, he saw that he was raising his hand ax for another attack.

[Neras Frostfawn]

When the hand ax came down at him, Neras decided abandoned the shield and roll out of the way of the incoming wooden hand ax. He was lucky that he decided to roll away because the ax's impact created a small dust cloud in the dirt. He quickly got to his feet, but the man already pressing the attack. The ax was swung in a wide arc towards the side of his torso, so Neras jumped back and swung his wooden in a upward swing to parry the axe attack. Both weapons hit with a loud cluck. He stumbled backwards a bit from jumping back and parrying. He needed plant both feet on the ground to get his balance back. When he got back into position, he pointed the sword sword at the man's head. Suddenly, Neras lunged forward feinted a thrust to the head, but instead, he swung his short sword in a downward horizontal slash across the man's belly. The unshaven man moved his shield up with the faint to protect his face, but Neras' weapon went a different direction and hit the man in the leather covered stomach.

The man must have felt the impact and immediately stopped his attack. Neras was pleased the man had sparring etiquette. Neras relaxed and said with a nod, “Petch! You threw me like a rag doll...”

The unshaven man said with a nod, “You aren't built to take a charge head on, Kid. You are built for quick attacks and agility. If you go against another person like me, don't think you can match us with brawn alone. Use your wits and mobility to wear us down...”

Neras picked up his shield and asked, “Is it even worth using it if I should utilize my speed? Half the time, I wondered why they issued the shield in the first place.”

The unshaven man said with a nod, “It would be stupid to abandoned the shield completely, Kid. If you learn how to use it, you will have another trick in your pocket to kill your enemy.” Looking at Neras, the older man said with a nod, “You favor your right aim to much, so your left arm fatigues quickly when you hold shield up for long periods of time. I suggest you keep using it in spars to exercise your arm over time. It will get easier kid, but until you gain the strength. Don't use it in the streets. It will get you killed.”

Feeling the dull burning his left arm, Neras could tell his shield arm was already starting to fatigue. The young guardian decided to take the veterans advice to heart. He was right not to abandon the shield all together since it was a great defense, but using the shield definitely limited the amount of sword techniques that he could use against a opponent. Looking at the veteran, he said with a smile, “Shall we go again? I think that I might be able to get another lick in against you.”

The Veteren said with a shake of his head, “Don't get cocky kid. I want to see you hit me with your sword while you are using your shield. Your sword seemed to slow when you use both at the same time...”