Basic Forms (open to all who want it)

[Talavin]

It was the sunlight that was hardest to capture. The trees were easy to sketch, despite their hundreds of leaves, although the dew made it more complicated. The light, however, cast shadows, making shading the picture a royal pain, but Arath enjoyed the challenge. He bit his lip slightly as he drew the lines just so in order to create the effect of the sunlight streaming through the trees. He sat back and glanced at the finished picture, satisfied with his work. It was by no means a masterpiece, but it was definitely impressive for someone who only drew as a hobby on off-days.

 

Unfortunately, now that he was finished, Arath was reminded of why he was drawing the early-morning forest instead of guarding the walls. A friend of his was supposed to teach a class on basic forms, but he was sent out of Tar Valon last minute to escort an Aes Sedai. Naturally the man had asked him to fill in. It wasn’t too bad; Arath got a little bit of enjoyment out of teaching. However, the only problem was that with trainees you never knew what you were going to get. Sometimes they were respectful, and other times they thought that they were a legend in the making.

 

Arath was currently sitting on the edge of the training grounds- close enough that the forest was visible yet still clearly in the area designated for training. Usually when teaching trainees forms for the first time, Arath preferred to be closer to the Tower in case a foolish child needed to be rushed to the infirmary, but it had been his friend, not he, who had chosen the location. He supposed that it would be rather difficult for the trainees to injure themselves with the wooden training lathes that he had acquired for the day, but with trainees one could never be certain.

 

Arath sighed before tucking the drawing in a folder that he kept with him for that very purpose. Pretty soon the first of the trainees would be arriving and he wanted to appear prepared. Briefly Arath gave a small prayer to the Light that nothing would go wrong.

 

[JainFarstrider]

It was early, but Elyan had always been up with the dawn. He still wore the clothes that were given to him, still unable to appropriately fill them, and even with several nights of adequate sleep the look of fatigue and starvation had not completely left him. He had tried to run his fingers through his hair to rid himself of the disheveled look, but had been unsuccessful. Living on the streets had ingrained in him the habit of going to sleep after the streets were clear, and being awake before the first merchants were setting up their wares. The adjustment to the trainee life had been little different. The bruises he acquired during the day kept him up late into the night, while lessons demanded that he be up with the sun. His lesson would be starting in under half an hour, but he had already been up for several hours.

 

He had not yet become familiar with any of the other trainees, but they had all been friendly, for the most  part, there had been a few exceptions, nothing he wasn’t used to enduring. He had taken breakfast alone on the edge of the training ground, where he could be alone and still watch the formation of lessons. Glancing up at the sun, estimating that his class started in under an hour, he rose to his feet and wandered over to where he was supposed to meet. He walked along the outside of the training grounds, keeping to himself, and avoiding others where he could.

 

He walked up to find his instructor already present, he was looking out over the grounds at the forest, then placed something in a folder. Elyan walked up behind him and towards the south, as the man looked up towards the sky, mouth moving in silent prayer. Elyan was still unsure what was appropriate when reporting to a superior, but he took a shoulder wide stance, arms clasped behind his back, and stared straight ahead, waiting for instruction.

 

[U4ea]

Edana was awake when Elyan left the room, but had to admit to a little stubborn refusal to face the morning. Memories seemed to chase each other around in her head, none of them terribly pleasant. She'd pass him in the corridor if she got up this early. Light knew she wasn't ready for that.

 

She sighed and slid off her bunk, grabbing a change of clothes and going to the one place she knew he wouldn't be. The bath house was usually pretty empty this early in the morning, since most trainees slid through here after their lessons. While she usually did the same, it was a tried and true method of waking herself up on mornings when she wished for nothing more than to return to her pillows.

 

After leaving the bath house, she ducked in to grab a quick breakfast and was adjusting the belt on her hips as she crossed the training yard, easily finding Elyan standing on the far side. She made her way across the Yard, taking up a place next to him and shooting him a sideways smile. Perhaps today wouldn't be a bad day, after all. The sun was up, her belly was full, and she hadn't crossed paths with Sandre a single time. Now, if only the instructor would take her smile as eagerness and not read anything more into it...

 

~Edana

[DhaiMon]

Every so slowly, Ibram got used to the pain.

 

It had been a few days since he'd come to the tower, and so far he had been pressed into, mostly, hard, tiring session that did not seem to make too much sense. Running around with boulders hadn't been the least of it.

 

At least he started to flesh out somewhat, he noticed, the times he got a look into a mirror. Or water. Or a puddle he looked into when he dragged himself to his room. At least, he couldn't truly remember the dark dreams anymore he seemed to have more often of late when falling into bed. That was a relief. And likely required for him to keep going in the guards, Tree and the Light be thanked.

 

His helm and spear were secure somewhere in the armories now. He had begged the one quartermaster into whose hands he pressed them to take special care of them. He hoped the man's silence meant approval, there.

 

Carrying the stick he was allowed to choose in some introductory combat lesson some two days ago on his shoulders, he strode to where he was supposed to be now. Casually.

 

Fine life it is, no? He wondered.

 

He just hoped he wouldn't get too comfortable here over time. He doubted he would. Well-fed and supplied as he was, even, since the memories and pictures just wouldn't go away.

 

He seemed to be the last to arrive. Some instructors seemed to not care too much about it one way or another. Yet, he had already met the less tolerant sort of them in his first few days here.

[Talavin]

Arath watched silently as the trainees trickled in one at a time. The first one adopted a rather stiff posture, looking ahead as if he were standing before a drill sergent. Arath mused that with some of the instructors in the Yards that was probably a wise decision. The second trainee to enter was a woman, who shot a smile at the first trainee. Arath almost raised an eyebrow, but managed to quell the reaction. Chances were that it was just one friend greeting another.

 

The last trainee came carrying a training lathe on his shoulder, and Arath mentally nodded in approval. Now that a few trainees were here, Arath decided to start; anyone who came late would have to catch up. He took a moment to study the three- physically they were similar. They were around the same height, although they were all of different build. One characteristic they all shared, though, was that they all looked exhausted.

 

Arath realized that the first trainee was still standing stiffly, so biting back a chuckle he spoke: "At ease." He waited for the three to relax a bit before he continued. "I am Arath Talavin, and I'm going to be your instructor today. Go ahead and introduce yourselves," Arath prompted. He waited for all three to state their names before he continued. "In case any of you don't know what you're here for, you'll be learning some of the Basic forms, and practicing a little with them. The first lesson is that I can show you how they're done, but if you want to succeed you're going to have to practice them regularly by yourself."

 

Arath gestured to the pile of wooden lathes he had stacked off to the side. "Obviously to practice you're going to need one of those. If you don't have one already go find one now. Make sure to get one that is the proper length for you- weight isn't as important concidering that a real blade will probably be heavier anyway."

 

OOC: RP introducing yourself and selecting a lathe. Dhai you obviously don't need one so you can skip that part if you'd like. :)

[JainFarstrider]

Elyan was standing still watching the sun creep it’s way in to the sky. He got there fairly early, him and the Tower Guard waited for the other trainees to arrive. The first to show up was Edana, who had come to the tower in the weeks since he had arrived and now shared a room with him. She was a nice enough girl, had more experience in weapons than he did, but there was something strange about how she acted around a couple of the trainees, Elyan could not tell if it was one person in particular or a couple people. Normally Elyan was skilled at discerning the cause of these things, but his training kept him busy, leaving him exhausted. She took a stance next to him, giving him a sidelong smile, that he returned. A few minutes later another trainee showed up, one Elyan did not know, he carried his own training lathe, which surprised Elyan.

 

"At ease." The Instructor said, he said with a strange amount of mirth.

 

This caused Elyan to notice his muscles had tensed since he had started standing there. He attempted to relax himself, which proved more difficult than it sounded, but made no adjustments to his stance.

 

"I am Arath Talavin, and I'm going to be your instructor today. Go ahead and introduce yourselves,"

 

Elyan waited for the others to introduce themselves, before saying quietly “Elyan Keladirn”

 

"In case any of you don't know what you're here for, you'll be learning some of the Basic forms, and practicing a little with them. The first lesson is that I can show you how they're done, but if you want to succeed you're going to have to practice them regularly by yourself." He said in a tone that suggested he had become used to giving instruction. "Obviously to practice you're going to need one of those. If you don't have one already go find one now. Make sure to get one that is the proper length for you, weight isn't as important considering that a real blade will probably be heavier anyway."

 

He tentatively walked over to the pile of wooden lathes, unsure exactly how to go about selecting one. He sifted through the pile, pretending that he knew what he was looking for, and waited for Edana to select a lathe. After she had selected one from the pile, he grabbed one that looked approximately the same length, since she was close to his height, maybe a bit taller, it should be a good length for him. Then he walked back to where he had been standing, holding the lathe in his left hand, he stood with his arms rigid at his sides.

[U4ea]

Edana smiled at Elyan's formal posture, glad when the Instructor let him relax. When he didn't relax completely, she fought not to smile again. He was apparently not used to being "at ease." That should pass soon enough, but it was entertaining in the meantime.

 

"I am Arath Talavin, and I'm going to be your instructor today. Go ahead and introduce yourselves," the Instructor said, his tone not unlike most of the men who'd trained her in Caemlyn. "Edana Keller," she offered up, hoping the name didn't strike any more bells than it had with Sandre. She needed a little anonymity, at the moment.

 

"In case any of you don't know what you're here for, you'll be learning some of the Basic forms, and practicing a little with them. The first lesson is that I can show you how they're done, but if you want to succeed you're going to have to practice them regularly by yourself." Edana nodded and moved to the pile, shuffling through a few to find a lathe that was the right length for practicing. She nodded to Elyan, ready to help him find one for himself should he need it. He seemed to catch on quick enough, though, so they were back, standing next to Ibram within a few minutes.

 

How much of this would be something I already know? she wondered, waiting on Arath to begin the lesson. She didn't want to look like a know-it-all, after all...

[DhaiMon]

"I am Arath Talavin, and I'm going to be your instructor today. Go ahead and introduce yourselves,"

 

“Elyan Keladirn”

 

"Edana Keller."

 

"Ibram Mizra, it is."

 

Ibram wasn't exactly surprised to see a woman around. He was more surprised that they didn't get to choose a lathe yet.

 

But then again, he got his own lesson two days after he arrived in the Yards. Maybe they arrived even more recently.

Noting the woman's mooning over the other trainee wasn't exactly too hard. Ibram never claimed to be an expert when it came to that, but...he just knew when one of his fellow town-guards looked after a sweet girl and the girl looked back...

He let that slide, it wasn't important anyway, since he knew to what sort of women he was wed now. He set the staff's end firmly on the ground, waiting.

 

"In case any of you don't know what you're here for, you'll be learning some of the Basic forms, and practicing a little with them. The first lesson is that I can show you how they're done, but if you want to succeed you're going to have to practice them regularly by yourself."

 

Old business, yes? Ibram wondered, idly. He could still remember the drill in the town-militia. It was a matter of stab, parry, block, stab, block, parry...Ibram would not be surprised at all if here, in the Warder's Yard, they would have different tricks.

 

"Obviously to practice you're going to need one of those. If you don't have one already go find one now. Make sure to get one that is the proper length for you- weight isn't as important concidering that a real blade will probably be heavier anyway."

 

With that, Ibram remembered that he had sheathed and belted on his knife as well, this morning. While the other two continued to rifle through the pile of lathes, he idly drew it, the sun glinting off its edge.

 

He knew spearwork, somewhat. He hoped he would be able to do something more than just draw his knife as a last resort as well, before everything was said and done.

[Talavin]

OOC: Heh, funny story- so somehow I completely missed Jain's post, and I mean completely. Sorry for the slight wait :P Anyway, this link - http://digitalglitch.org/drpsw/index.php?title=Sword_Forms - will give you all the descriptions for the forms.

 

IC: Arath watched with a keen eye as the two trainees made their way over to the pile. The woman- Edana- seemed to have an idea what she was looking for, while Elyan on the other hand looked rather lost. No matter, there was another class for selecting your weapon, and the trainee could adapt later if he decided to chose a weapon significantly different from the lathe he chose. Seeing that the three trainees appeared ready, Arath deemed it time to begin. He himself was using a training lathe rather than his sword, and he bent into a basic ready stance. He stood one foot in front of the other, knees slightly bent, elbows tucked in, and lathe held about shoulder high.

 

"This is your basic ready stance, called Lion on the Hill. If you already have your sword drawn this will more than likely be the position you'll be in when not attacking or defending." At least as a beginner, that is. "Go ahead and try it out yourself." Arath observed the trainees attempting the form, some doing better than the others. "And remember that elbows make excellent targets if you're foolish enough to stick them out. But be careful not to tuck them in so tightly that you restrict your movement." Satisfied with their progress, Arath waved his hand for them to stop. "Alright, for now this will be your general stance. If I tell you to 'get ready', I expect you to be in Lion on the Hill. Of course, there are other ready stances, but they're primarily for sheathing and unsheathing a sword. We won't worry about those until you start using a real blade."

 

Now it was time for them to move their "blades" a bit. "The first offensive form I'm going to teach you is The Courtier Taps His Fan. This one is fairly simple, just an overhand blow. The obvious purpose for this one is to split open someone's head, but if you have an opening it can strike right here," Arath said, patting the tendons between his neck and his shoulder. "But that's a harder target. For now, just worry about going for the head." Once more, Arath sat back and watched the trainees get a hang of the form, making pointers where they were necessary.

[JainFarstrider]

Arath raised his lathe, taking a stance. Even without a real sword, he had the look of someone that would be a terrifying opponent. 

 

"This is your basic ready stance, called Lion on the Hill. If you already have your sword drawn this will more than likely be the position you'll be in when not attacking or defending." Pausing for a moment. "Go ahead and try it out yourself

 

Elyan tried to imitate the stance that Arath was performing. Placing his feet, right foot in front of the other spread slightly. He bent his knees, trying to mimic the placement of his hands, and held the lathe out in front of him. He felt that he had the position, looking down to check himself then comparing with Edana who stood next to him. He felt stiff, not being able to get the relaxed look that the others seemed to possess naturally.

 

"And remember that elbows make excellent targets if you're foolish enough to stick them out. But be careful not to tuck them in so tightly that you restrict your movement."

 

Elyan checked his elbows, then adjusted them slightly. Arath waved his hand for them to stop, Elyan dropped his arms and stood up straight. "Alright, for now this will be your general stance. If I tell you to 'get ready', I expect you to be in Lion on the Hill. Of course, there are other ready stances, but they're primarily for sheathing and unsheathing a sword. We won't worry about those until you start using a real blade."

 

"The first offensive form I'm going to teach you is The Courtier Taps His Fan. This one is fairly simple, just an overhand blow. The obvious purpose for this one is to split open someone's head, but if you have an opening it can strike right here," Arath said, patting the tendons between his neck and his shoulder. "But that's a harder target. For now, just worry about going for the head."

 

Elyan tried swinging his arms the way Arath had demonstrated, his movements were stiff. He did not move the rest of his body, being focused on the arm movement, until Arath said something. He tried to get his body to flow with the strike, with some success.

 

[U4ea]

Edana smiled, though she tried to contain it. Her father had said there were names to these movements, he just hadn't lived long enough to tell her what they were! Apparently they didn't warrant that much attention to detail with her brothers or anyone else who trained her either. At least with the movements being somewhat familiar, the rest would fall in place pretty nicely.

 

She let the void flow over her, washing away everything bothering her as she focused on the task at hand. She took up Lion on the Hill, her body relaxed and ready to shift into motion. She let the void wash away the tension, as well. The lathe was easy to balance in her hand and the lathe being so high didn't even set her off balance. She nodded to herself, practicing moving into the form from various angles before settling back and waiting for more instructions.

 

"The first offensive form I'm going to teach you is The Courtier Taps His Fan. Edana listened to the explanation, nodding and taking note, imagining how easy it would be to maneuver into using that attack. She tried it a few times, muttering a little under her breath as her lathe wobbled, but getting it under control easily enough. It had been a while since she'd used a lathe, after all. It was much different than the weight of a blade. She focused her energy and repeated the motion until it became fluid, then tried getting through it from Lion on the Hill until it was smooth. Only then did she nod to herself and step back into Lion on the Hill to await instruction.

 

~Edana

ooc: ok, I'm sick and this isn't the best post in the world. lol, hopefully I'll feel better by the next one... *crosses her fingerS*

[DhaiMon]

 

"Alright, for now this will be your general stance. If I tell you to 'get ready', I expect you to be in Lion on the Hill. Of course, there are other ready stances, but they're primarily for sheathing and unsheathing a sword. We won't worry about those until you start using a real blade."

Ibram hoped that he wouldn't get exhausted enough to mistake his staff for something akin to a sword. Least of all awkward it would be, he thought, drily.

He still tried to imitate the stance as good he could with his staff. He watched his instructor's movements, closely, so as to remember it. He doubted that he could every get used to the idea of calling movements by certain names...

 

Now it was time for them to move their "blades" a bit. "The first offensive form I'm going to teach you is The Courtier Taps His Fan. This one is fairly simple, just an overhand blow. The obvious purpose for this one is to split open someone's head, but if you have an opening it can strike right here,"

Master Talavin pointed out his own neck to show them.

 

Courtier indeed...no...? Ibram shrugged that off.

 

"But that's a harder target. For now, just worry about going for the head."

Indeed, worry... Ibram tried to imitate it, using his staff like some oversized club. He did not doubt that he could do just that with it, though:

Crack people's heads open.

And all the easier, it is with a spear's head, yes?

[Talavin]

OOC: Dhai, I'm fairly sure that the majority of the sword forms can be adapted for use with a polearm or spear. Obviously some can't, but feel free to be creative with it. :)

 

IC: Arath watched the trainees train with varying measures of success. Edana obviously had some experience- she was by no means excellent, but she wasn't cutting her foot off either. Ibram looked like he was struggling a little with his large "weapon", but it was nothing that practice couldn't fix. He was getting the concepts just fine. Elyan was new to weapon training- that was obvious, but he wasn't doing poorly. He was more stiff than his companions, but he was progressing nicely. All in all Arath could confidently say that there shouldn't be any problem with these three trainees.

 

"Excellent. Now that you've all learned those we can start on a few more. However, remember that you've by no means mastered them- you still have to practice. We'll learn a couple more offensive forms next." Arath held his lathe out in front of him and struck forward swiftly, as if stabbing an invisible opponent. "This one is called Hummingbird Kisses the Honeyrose. It's just a quick stab forward, generally into someone's face or neck. The key to this one is speed- it's a fast stab intended to surprise the opponent and catch him off guard. Go ahead an practice that; if you feel confident enough you can go ahead and find a nice tree to try it on." Arath waited until it looked like they were all getting the hang of it, before he interrupted with the next one.

 

"Alright, here's Arc of the Moon." Arath demonstrated, arcing his practice blade through the air. "As you can see whoever named it wasn't very creative. Start around mid-body, then arc upwards as if you're trying to chop someone's head off- which you are." This form caused a little bit more trouble, as it was more complicated that the other ones. "For now, just do it slow and worry about getting the technique down. You always have to work on your technique before you can add strength to your blows. This is probably the first time you've done it so don't feel bad if you need to work through it slowly."

 

OOC: Once again, just practice the forms. :) I've got a really busy week ahead of me so I doubt I can post again until this Sunday at least. Sorry if this post is a bit disjointed :P

[JainFarstrider]

Elyan tried to replicate Arath’s Hummingbird Kisses the Honeyrose, this one came easier. The movement reminded him of jabbing with the end of a staff, and was even similar to the basics of throwing a punch. Elyan started from guard position, rotating his body slightly to the left he stepped out with his right foot rotating his hips and following with his shoulders, he swung his arms up, still tucked into his body, and thrust out with the lathe as he finished his rotation. Ending the form with his lathe rotated sideways and held straight out at neck level, holding it for a few moments, then returning towards the guard position. At least there was one form he didn’t completely fumble, he thought while practicing the movement several more times.

 

Arc of the Moon

 

Trying the form slowly, Elyan worked to copy what Arath had demonstrated. He did it several times, starting from guard and rotating the blade around to the side and attempting to arc upwards to neck level. The movement was stiff, lacking the Arath’s fluidity. Elyan tried to relax and guide his muscles through the unfamiliar motion. Feeling that he had improved, Elyan attempted to speed up the form. The swift arcing movement torqued his hands, and he lost control of the lathe. It flew out of his grip, twisting several times before bouncing off the dirt point first. Elyan stood staring at his empty hands, as if he was confused where the lathe had gone. He lowered his arms, shoulders dropping in obvious disappointment with himself, and not looking at either Arath or Edana, he hurried to retrieve the lathe. Returning to his position, he continued to practice albeit much slower, leaving speed to come later.

 

OOC: sorry for the delay

 

[U4ea]

Edana nodded, her thoughts drifting a bit as movements she'd known all her life suddenly had names. She had to admit that it seemed to make the movements more of a dance than a tool of war. She smiled. This must've been what Kynwric meant about dancing with her sword. She tried Hummingbird kisses the honeyrose a few times, moving the jab up from where she normally used it. She wondered idly what they called a jab from the hip, but dutifully moved to a tree to practice on. She smirked at the bark, bowing smartly and winking at the tree. "I do apologize for my abuses this morning," she said softly, with a laugh. "I trust you shall not fall on me for my trouble, as I am just following orders..." Sure, the others would think she was crazy, but at least they'd laugh. She wasn't sure how much longer she could take all this serious faced training.

 

She made her jabs easily, drawing the lathe up short as she hit the tree so she didn't hit it hard enough to break the wood. She wasn't in the mood for splinters and didn't feel like being the one cutting a new lathe, either. She'd done it far too often, already.

 

She turned as Arath began speaking and narrowed her eyes as he talked his way through Arc of the Moon. Ok, that one was new. She tried it, muttering as her lathe wobbled. She let the handle roll with her wrist, shifting the blade and adding more force until the arc was smooth. Only then she turn back to the tree and smirk. "You remember what I said earlier, right? It still applies..." She swung the lathe at what might've been the tree's head, trying it over and over until the arch was smooth and she actually took bark off the tree with her swing. She stopped, watching out of the corner of her eye as Elyan's lathe slipped out of his hand. She felt her lips quirk, but didn't give in to the smile. He was brutal in a fight, she already knew that. Once he'd learned this, trained his body to the finesse of using a sword... she shuddered inwardly. A force to be reckoned with, that one. She turned her attention back to the tree, taking its head off a few more times as she waited on further instructions and apologizing each time she took bark off the tree.

 

~Edana

not crazy, but I made you look ;)

[DhaiMon]

OOC:

OOC: Dhai, I'm fairly sure that the majority of the sword forms can be adapted for use with a polearm or spear. Obviously some can't, but feel free to be creative with it. :)

I try to be for sure.  :P

 

IC: Ibram mechanically repeated the two movements shown so far untill he was somewhat certain that he could come up with them instinctively.

Battles, they are won on instinct. He learned that lesson when he had taken down his two "companions"...

 

"Excellent. Now that you've all learned those we can start on a few more. However, remember that you've by no means mastered them- you still have to practice. We'll learn a couple more offensive forms next."

 

Ibram did not doubt that it would take a good long time for him to reach mastery. Warders do not grow like trees, no?

 

The instructor stabbed in front of him, off-hand with such a force that Ibram was certain that someone beneath that stab would be certain to spill blood.

"This one is called Hummingbird Kisses the Honeyrose. It's just a quick stab forward, generally into someone's face or neck. The key to this one is speed- it's a fast stab intended to surprise the opponent and catch him off guard. Go ahead an practice that; if you feel confident enough you can go ahead and find a nice tree to try it on."

 

Smacking into someone's face. And that, it's called "hummingbird"?

Ibram almost felt like laughing out loud when he tried, to some degree, to smack into the air an arm's length away from his face. As fast as he could.

Whoever it was that come up with that, he is-

 

"Alright, here's Arc of the Moon." Arath's dull weapon flew through the air.

"As you can see whoever named it wasn't very creative. Start around mid-body, then arc upwards as if you're trying to chop someone's head off- which you are."

 

"Moon's Arc" or whatever it was called reminded Ibram awfully much of the one strike he'd taken out the first of the two with, his spear-butt coming down on that one's neck. With a sickening crunch.

 

"For now, just do it slow and worry about getting the technique down. You always have to work on your technique before you can add strength to your blows. This is probably the first time you've done it so don't feel bad if you need to work through it slowly."

Ibram was not Light- and Tree-blinded fool enough to doubt that. Therefore, he kept trying, trying to more or less well recall the movements' and stabs' names.

 

[Talavin]

OOC: Ugh. I wrote it all out and then my browser lost it. Sorry for the delay.

 

IC: Arath hid his smile behind his hand when Elyan lost his lathe, but didn't comment. There was no shame in dropping a lathe during practice. Arath remembered that when he was a trainee he managed to cut himself in the leg while showing off in front of an Aes Sedai. They were all doing well, but Arath was sure that they were getting bored of the mindless drills. Basic Forms only had so much excitement to them before they lost their novelty. He decided that it was time to change things up a little.

 

"Alright, time for something new. Edana and Elyan, you're partners. Ibram, you're with me." Ibram's longer weapon would make it harder for him to train with his peers until they got more experience. "Now we're going to be practicing on a real person- slowly of course. Hopefully this will give you a feel of where on an enemy you are striking. There's no need to do more than tap your partner, if that. Edana and Elyan, alternate between who strikes. Ibram, you'll be attacking the whole time."

 

Arath had to admit that he was a little nervous about being a trainee's test dummy. Polearms were harder to control and any Guard worth his salt knew that a trainee could be dangerous because you never knew what they were going to do with their blade. Nevertheless, Arath got through without any injuries. He glanced over at the other pair regularly and they appeared to be getting it well enough. He reminded the trainees to practice all of the forms before allowing them to continue. Finally, he decided that they were ready for the next one.

 

"Alright, now I'll show you The Grapevine Twines." He proceeded to do so, demonstration how to twist a sword to preform the disarm. He let Edana and Elyan go on and practice, before turning to Ibram. "This one is a little different with a spear, but it's still doable. You just have to be a little further away than one would if they had a shorter weapon."

[U4ea]

Edana smirked and eyed Elyan a moment, swinging her lathe at the grass lightly. "I'll let you go first, then, partner, with the understanding that you stitch up anything you tear. Whether it's my shirt or my skin..." She assumed a guarded stance, settled back on her heels a little as she watched him. He was better than he had been with his swings, but it still made her a little nervous. She tried to control her facial expressions, but flashes of that night in Caemlyn kept intruding. He'd clubbed a few of her guards pretty well with that table leg, after all.

 

She let him attack, working through the few forms Arath had shown them before nodding and doing the same, moving him backwards a little as she pressed forward with her jabs. She still had pretty good control over the lathe, so she managed to miss him with each swipe, though she ruffled his hair once or twice. She paused, looking over her shoulder at Arath as he demonstrated the next form, and she nodded slowly, watching him shift his balance and twist the wrist.

 

She practiced the wrist movement a few times, letting the lathe roll easily in her grip until she had it down. She smiled at Elyan. "Care to give it a go?" She asked, her eyebrow arching.

 

~Edana

[JainFarstrider]

Elyan smiled, "As i remember it, you were never too fond of my handiwork,"

 

Taking up a guard stance, he approached her with his lathe swinging, slowing his movements in order to keep control over the strikes. He varied the forms, getting the feel for the area to strike an opponent on each form, while being careful not to let the lathe touch Edana. After a few minutes, he gestured for her to go. Even though she did not touch him, the force of her attack made him step backward, before standing and let her practice her forms. The strikes coming nervously close to hitting him.

 

He watched Arath demonstrated the next form, he practiced it several times before Edana turned to face him.

 

He nodded, "You go first this time," She managed to twist the lathe out of his hands every time she performed the maneuver. He picked up his lathe again, Edana gestured for him to attack. He obliged, but did not succeed in forcing her to drop her lathe until after failing several times. Practicing several more times before he turned to watch Arath as he continued with the lesson.

 

[DhaiMon]

"Ibram, you'll be attacking the whole time."

 

Ibram wasn't exactly...certain...what the meaning of it was. But then again, eying the two others, he thought he could come up with the why of it.

 

Me, I am no swordsman. He never was, since the day he'd taken up the spear over the sword. The knife only came as an afterthought.

 

Standing in front of Master Talavin, he tried to measure the distance, and very carefully advanced on him, trying to stop his staff in midair before he could hit him.

Somehow, it worked. Although every once in a while he hit him in the leg or arm. Which produced a grunt, but nothing more.

 

"Alright, now I'll show you The Grapevine Twines."

The instructor whirled his lathe, smoothly. Calmly.

 

"This one is a little different with a spear, but it's still doable. You just have to be a little further away than one would if they had a shorter weapon."

Ibram knew of this all too well. Had it not been for the length of his spear, the two brutes would have grabbed him. And killed him.

Two-handed, he tried to imitate the movement, one hand at the butt-end, one somewhere farther up.

[Talavin]

OOC: Dhai, I had you attacking the whole time because Arath doesn't need to practice his basic forms. :)

 

IC: Arath nodded approvingly at Ibram when the trainee disarmed him the first few time. All three of the trainees had done very well, and Arath was pleased with their progress. His day could have been significantly more trying if they were the type to slack off. Arath found himself feeling a little regret that the lesson was close to over. Gesturing for Ibram to stop, Arath waved Elyan and Edana over.

 

"I've taught you forms that you can use to attack, and one to disarm, and now I'll teach you the forms defend. Both of the ones that I'll be teaching you today can double as offensive forms as well. The first is The Kingfisher takes a Silverback." Arath demonstrated, stabbing downwards. "Obviously you can use this to attack, but it can also deflect a strike towards your chest or middle. The other form is Parting the Silk. It is mainly an accurate block, but it can be used offensively as well." Arath demonstrated Parting the Silk as well.

 

"Go ahead and work with your partner again, this time trying to use these forms to block the attacks." Arath turned to his partner. "Ibram, we'll be alternating this time, so that you can practice attacking and defending." Arath nodded to the trainee as a sign to start. This would probably be the last thing that he taught them today, he hoped that they learned it well.

[DhaiMon]

OOC:

OOC: Dhai, I had you attacking the whole time because Arath doesn't need to practice his basic forms. :)

Mh...in netspeek-terms, Ibram would be a n00b, though. :P

 

IC: Ibram had thwacked the instructor's lathe more often than he cared to count. Keeping up both concentration and force started to grow tiresome...Yet it was good as well, as it numbed his thoughts all the more. Besides, he couldn't get rid of the feeling that slowly, ever so slowly, he started to get used to the relative unpredictability of his weapon.

 

Adding up, adding up, it does... He couldn't help smiling a little in turn at Master Talavin's approval.

 

"Obviously you can use this to attack, but it can also deflect a strike towards your chest or middle. The other form is Parting the Silk. It is mainly an accurate block, but it can be used offensively as well."

 

Ibram tried it, and to his eyes, it very much looked like presenting his weapon. Except for the tightness in his arms, legs and everywhere else, of course. He tried it a few times over, hoping to get a grip on it.

 

"Ibram, we'll be alternating this time, so that you can practice attacking and defending."

He began attacking again, trying out the slashes and movements as well he could remember. Talavin knew what he was about and now blocked, parried and evaded his attacks more often than not. Off-hand.

Pressing his attack in turn, he forced Ibram into just that, the defensive. There he couldn't stay his ground too long any longer. As Talavin proceeded, Ibram tried to back off all the more to have his staff between the two of them.

 

This, now, is how I need do it, the thought came to Ibram, somewhere far away from the smell of sweat, gust of cold wind and the stinging sun.

[U4ea]

Edana nodded, lowering her lathe as she saw Arath waving them back. "I've taught you forms that you can use to attack, and one to disarm, and now I'll teach you the forms defend. Both of the ones that I'll be teaching you today can double as offensive forms as well. The first is The Kingfisher takes a Silverback." Edana watched the movement of the lathe as he thrust it towards the ground and nodded, imagining a blade being pushed aside by the gesture. Offensive movements were handy, but most people lived because of the defensive ones. Few understood that part, especially younger ones. She wasn't one of those, though sometimes she wished she was. She turned her thoughts back to the lathe in Arath's hands, mimicking his movements with her own, though on a much smaller scale.

 

"Obviously you can use this to attack, but it can also deflect a strike towards your chest or middle. The other form is Parting the Silk. It is mainly an accurate block, but it can be used offensively as well." She nodded, easily seeing how the track of the lathe could make that form more offensive than defensive. "Go ahead and work with your partner again, this time trying to use these forms to block the attacks."

 

She turned and smiled at Elyan, waving him on. "You attack first. That way I can tell you when you're overextending." She grinned at him, reminding him that she was making jokes, rather than being rude. She easily dodged his lathe with his first attack, The Kingfisher takes a Silverback coming out smoothly. His second attack, she tried Parting the Silk. She gasped when his lathe landed on her shoulder and closed her eyes until the pain receded. It only took a second and she shook it off, stepping back and readying her lathe again. "Let's try that again," She said softly, waving him forward. "And if I leave myself open again, I want you to swing harder."

 

She doubted he would, but at least he'd understand that she wasn't hurt that badly. Her brow furrowed in concentration and she started with The Kingfisher takes a Silverback again, gaining confidence from the easy stroke of the lathe. The second time, Parting the Silk lined up correctly and she nodded and smiled a bit as she deflected his second attack.

 

"Alright, you're turn," she said, a little sing-song entering her voice. She waited until he was set before lunging forward with her attack.

 

~Edana

OOC: feel free to do whatever, Elyan. If she hits him, she'll feel bad and promise to help him ice it down later. :)

[JainFarstrider]

Elyan tried to mimic Arath's movements as he demonstrated the two forms, but they did not come smoothly and he was still trying to work out the kinks of the movements as he went through them slowly when Edana motioned for him to attack her after making some snide remark about his technique. She smiled after the fact and Elyan knew that it was another one of her jokes. He did not take offense, but sometimes he did not understand the woman's sense of humor.

 

Pushing it out of his mind and focusing on the present, he attacked and was impressed with how smoothly she was able to deflect it. His next attack however made it past her block, he had swung harder than he expected and was not able to bring the lathe to a halt before connecting with her shoulder. He started to apologize, but she waved him quiet, saying to swing harder next time. Elyan nodded, he had every intention of doing the exact opposite, but let her believe what she would.

 

After she parried the next of his attacks, it was his turn to recieve the blows. Elyan did much worse than Edana had done, the forms coming out slow and awkwardly unable to prevent Edana's lathe from meeting his skin. The pain flared within his head every time before he was able to quiet it, disappointment in his lacking ability hurt more than the lathe. Edana attempted to apologize, but Elyan only shook his head and motioned for her to attack again. Drawing energy from the surges of pain, he was able to finally deflect the oncoming blows, though it had taken him several tries and it was blatantly obvious that Edana had slowed her attacks after he had failed to keep the first handful from hitting him.

 

Elyan lowered his lathe as Arath motioned for them to stop.

[Talavin]

After watching the trainees practice for a while, Arath decided to stop them. They could all preform the forms passably, and they knew the motions well enough to continue by themselves. Once they all had haulted and gathered around him, Arath spoke. "You've all done very well today. This is the end of the lesson, but that doesn't mean that you're masters yet. However, as far as I can see you all are proficient enough to practice on your own. Make sure that you do so." Arath paused for breath, and to look each trainee in the eyes to convey his seriousness.

 

"You all have potential. I don't know if I'll personally be teaching you another class, so good luck in the days ahead. You're all dismissed." Arath watched the trainees go their own ways, and felt satisfied. He had been afraid that it would be a day wasted drilling trainees who weren't really listening. Luckily he had guessed wrong, and he had ended up having a pleasant day. Arath gathered his drawings and made his way back to the barracks.

 

OOC: And you're done. :)