Switching Roles... (Open to all)

[Jehaine]

Melenis looked at her weapon, inspecting it for damage. There was none, as she kept it in pristine condition, but she checked it nonetheless as weapon care had been an important part of her training as well. She sighed as her fingers ran past every groove in the old wood of the haft, sliding a rag along the blade to clean the dirt off of it. She had come to rely on her ashandarei, the weapon that had been an inseparable part of her even before she had joined the Warders, yet over time she couldn't help but wonder just how much she had come to rely on the weapon. Oh, she had gotten herself trained in unarmed combat, no problem there, but with the variety of weapons available in the Yards she couldn't help but wonder how she'd fare with a weapon she had no previous experience in.

 

Nodding to herself, she stood up, walking to the weapon training area of the Yards with an armload of weapons, placing them on tables in a neat and orderly fashion. It took her a couple of trips, but in the end she had one or two of every weapon available in the Yards. Wiping some sweat from her face, she folded her hands behind her back and waited for the first people to show up. Though it might look like a Defender giving a regular weapons training class, she had something in mind that could possibly end up teaching her a thing or two as well.

 

 

Melenis

Stands ready

[Thorfinn]

~Byron~

 

Elyan and Byron had found a place for Dara, his mare, nearer to his barrack rooms.      Elyan had been amazed that it had belonged to him and that he could ride it, he had been slightly nervous as he had asked him if he wanted to ride of next to him.  It had taking up most of the day getting her stabled and taking care of her needs.  By the time he had finished it was dark and he was tired, he skipped his dinner and had just went straight to bed.

  He woke to the room being empty no sign of anyone, had he slept in?  He washed himself and dressed and headed out to the yards.  It was a nice clear day and the rain from the day before had dried up completely, he wondered through the yards looking for any sign of anyone.  After some searching he spotted someone laying weapons out.

  Ah maybe they know what I have to do?

  Byron could see that there was nearly every style of weapon he could think of and some he never knew of either. 

  “ehm, excuse me, but I am new here and well I don’t quite know where I’m supposed to be?”

 

[Visar Falmaien]

(ooc: are these weapons wooden, blunt steel, or sharps?  just curious)

 

Visar drilled at a pell with unusual energy for the morning, hitting the wooden post furiously with a blunt long sword.  He was frustrated with himself.  He had been here for days, maybe weeks, and yet he didn't seem to be improving at all. 

 

The few times he had tried sparring he had regretted it.  Even sparring trainees at his own level, Visar thought he was coming out with more painful welts and bruises than anyone else.  And often he'd get worse for trying to spar Tower Guard or Warders.  Sometimes he did not get a single hit on them during the whole time!  And those constant bruises and cramps were enough to hinder him from performing his duties as well as he would like to.

 

His thoughts distracted, Visar tried a thrust, and his thumb jammed against the cross as the point thudded into the wood at an awkward angle.  Cursing, Visar dropped his sword and flapped his hand about for a bit.  He sighed, and glanced around, hoping no one had seen his show of pain. 

 

I don't want to do this for two bloody hours a day!  he protested to himself.

 

He saw a woman laying out a multitude of weapons on tables nearby. Curious, he picked up his blunt, wiped the dirt off on his shirt, and walked closer.

Another trainee had arrived as well, looking somewhat confused.

 

“ehm, excuse me, but I am new here and well I don’t quite know where I’m supposed to be?”

 

Visar glanced from the trainee to the woman, wondering if she knew the answer to that.  He let her answer.  She looked like she would be in charge of this, at least.

 

Visar threw an abrupt salute.

"Visar, trainee, reporting si...ma'am.  Is this a class?" he asked, hopeful for something new and interesting to break the usual monotony of daily training.  His gaze strayed to a particularly nasty looking wooden mace on the table.  Visar shuddered.

 

I would not want to be on the receiving end of that!

[Jehaine]

OOC: Wooden training weapons and latches, training with live weapons is generally Tower Guard and up.

 

IC:

 

Melenis looked at the two trainees that had come to her class, trying to get an indication of how well they could handle a weapon by the way they carried themselves. Though she didn't recognise either of them, she had to admit that she hadn't spent a lot of time getting to know the new faces in the Yards during the short breaks her own training schedule allowed her. Perhaps she should, this day or the next...

 

“ehm, excuse me, but I am new here and well I don’t quite know where I’m supposed to be?”

 

- "That depends. Assuming you already had your name written in the books by the Mistress of Trainees, you would need to join a couple of classes. Though there are only a few assigned tutors, most times just finding a Warder or Tower Guard willing to get you started will be enough. Like myself, in this case."

 

"Visar, trainee, reporting si...ma'am.  Is this a class?"

 

Though she had already answered the question, she gave Visar a nod in confirmation. After that, she stood there, taking a deep breath and wondering if she could continue what she had stated when she first met Zeveria.

 

It still felt somewhat... odd to her, actually teaching a class as opposed to having one. Still, she knew she would need to get used to it sooner or later, aware of the fact that she hadn't been Bonded yet. And with the Yards buzzing with the news of Kynwric having attained the rank of Grand Master recently, she felt a responsability to step up to the plate as well, feeling the time was right for her to move on from student to teacher. Though she still had much to learn herself, she felt confident she would be able to pass on some of her skills to the 'new generation' of Warders.

 

- "Right... First off, i'd need to know how good you are with a weapon. Please pick one from the ones displayed here that feels right to you, and start a small sparring match between the two of you. As for myself, i like to incorporate my own training into my classes, so i'll be picking a weapon i have no experience with whatsoever. It will help me to visualise how someone wielding this kind of weapon will move."

 

She picked up a heavy axe, letting the blade arc through the air before wincing, and trying again. It would take a while for her to get more used to the movements, but with the knowledge of the Forms already etched into her mind it would only be a case of figuring out the adjustments she'd need to make. During this time, she positioned herself in such a way she could split her attention between her two students and her own training, without making compromises on either.

 

 

Melenis

Figuring out how this works...

[Visar Falmaien]

"That depends. Assuming you already had your name written in the books by the Mistress of Trainees, you would need to join a couple of classes. Though there are only a few assigned tutors, most times just finding a Warder or Tower Guard willing to get you started will be enough. Like myself, in this case."

 

Visar listened, half paying attention.  He was almost surprised at the difference between her long answer to the trainee and the simple nod for his, but it made sense.  He had been around here for a short while; he knew enough not to expect being treated too nicely. 

 

"Right... First off, I need to know how good you are with a weapon. Please pick one from the ones displayed here that feels right to you, and start a small sparring match between the two of you. As for myself, i like to incorporate my own training into my classes, so I'll be picking a weapon i have no experience with whatsoever. It will help me to visualise how someone wielding this kind of weapon will move."

 

Sparring?!  Visar inwardly groaned.  Yet the other trainee was new, it seemed; maybe if Visar could hit him more, he could come out of this spar not regretting it.

 

He scanned the table, trying not to look at the big wooden axe the teacher was using.  That made him even more nervous than the mace.  He found a simple lathed long sword, picked it up, and stepped out a bit from the table to give himself plenty of room to move around.

 

He waited for the other trainee to select his weapon, and prepared himself.  He sunk his knees down into a low, but powerful stance.  Visar held the sword blade up high, titled slightly back, the hilt gripped in both hands positioned just above his shoulder.

 

If I can only press the offensive, be as aggressive as I can, I might be able to beat him down.  I lose when I let my fear get the best of me.

 

"Ready?" he half-shouted to the other trainee before they began.

 

 

 

[Nephitess]

IC:

 

Veria jogged in the yards for her daily exercise. As she was jogging she saw her teacher with a couple of students. She had not seen Melenis for a few days so she slowed and watched for a minute. She grinned as a couple of trainees spared and flung their weapons around. She almost shook her head in sympathy for her teacher. Veria decided she would ask if she could join in. She almost grinned at the groan she would surly get from making Melenis' life harder.

 

Waveing to Melenis she said "Can i join you? I know i'm not half as good i want to be with my blade."

[Opera]

Llewelyn had woken up early this morning to have some time to drop by the kitchen before going on the yards for his first lesson. It wasn't hard to wake up before dawn for it was already a daily routine for any peasants who wished to have abundant crops in his fields, and his father was one of those, which resulted in Llewelyn accompanying him when the sun was yet to rise.

 

He then left the barracks to wander on the yards in search of a lesson that would fit with his newly arrived trainee situation. He soon spotted Visar and Byron preparing to spare with wooden lathes under the watch of a woman, herself handling her way with a giant battleaxe. Another woman was present but she was yet to grab a weapon.

 

Llewelyn approached them, presented himself to the axe equipped woman, and asked her if he could train along even though it was his very first day.

[Jehaine]

Melenis was watching Bryon and Visar spar, all the while trying to get a feel for the new weapon she was holding, when she noticed Zeveria aproach. The Aes Sedai seemed eager to learn again, something she only wanted to encourage as the training she had been giving her before this one slowly built up to what she considered a decent level of skill.

 

She was about to give her an assignment when another relatively new Trainee appeared. She told Bryon and Visar to stop sparring for a minute as she thought on a new method of training that took advantage of the number of students in front of her now. A memory of her own trip to Fal Moran resurfaced, at the inexperience she had at working with a group, and decided to make use of the fact that there were more Trainees than usual in her class.

 

- "Very well. I want you to partner up in pairs, and start sparring two versus two. None of you are skilled enough to defend against multiple opponents yet, so working as a team is vital. Begin."

 

The axe momentarily forgotten, she leaned back to see what would come out of this. This was the first time she had seen group sparring matches in the Yards, and she didn't quite know what to expect from it, but with the knowledge of how she had led the Tower Guards during the ambush as they left Fal Moran she figured she wouldn't be disappointing herself. After this, she would proceed to teach them a couple of forms, once they tired themselves out a little.

[Visar Falmaien]

(ooc: I guess I'll have to skip any details of our short spar, Bryon, let's move on)

 

As Visar had a few bouts with Bryon, he dimly realized there were other eyes on them.  Melenis told them to stop.  Frowning, Visar glanced around, noting the two newcomers.  Reluctantly, he stopped and listened to what Melenis had in mind.

 

"Very well. I want you to partner up in pairs, and start sparring two versus two. None of you are skilled enough to defend against multiple opponents yet, so working as a team is vital. Begin."

 

Partly because he liked the mischievous look of the female trainee, and partly because he did not want to beat on her (or suffer humiliation if she was better than he), Visar walked over to the young woman.

 

"Hi, I'm Visar." he said with a friendly smile.  "I'll fight by you.  What's your name?"

 

When she had chosen a weapon, and when the other two had formed up, Visar planted his feet and made ready again, in the same aggressive stance as he had started before.

[Opera]

Llewelyn glanced at Byron after Visar had chosen the other woman as his sparring partner, who - after a closer look - had a little of the agelessness of the Aes Sedai and seemed much too confident to simply be another trainee.

"Well, that leaves the two of us, roommate !" He said cheerfully.

 

Llewelyn went to the table displaying the training weapons and chose another wooden lath, which he was used to, before standing besides Byron in what seemed to him like a ready stance, waiting for any member of the other party to strike first.

 

He was hoping it wouldn't make any difference if his opponent was someone he knew instead of a stranger. Somehow, he was sure it would, that he wouldn't be as relentless, or try to aim the weakspots as much as if he didn't know his opponent. It was part of his nature.

 

 

 

(OOC : Sorry, didn't understand Visar and Veria were joining against Llewelyn and Byron, thus the edit to be more logical)

[Visar Falmaien]

(ooc:I guess we should move things along.  I'll have Visar fight against you, Llewelyn, since we're in a 2v2 team fight)

 

They began the spar, Visar and Veria versus Byron and Llewelyn.  Visar found himself facing Llewelyn.  Not exactly sure how the trainee fought, Visar decided he would try to press for the first strike, even though there was some risk in doing that.  And there was even additional risk from the other trainee, who might try to strike Visar while he was occupied with fighting only one person.  But he didn't know how to fight more than one person.  Maybe if I just take them one at a time...

 

Lurching forward with deep footwork, Visar gave a half shout and struck a committed, downwards diagonal cut from his right side, aimed at Llewelyn's left shoulder.  If he missed, he was mentally prepared to come around and strike again, another diagonal strike aimed at Llewelyn's right side.  But that was only if Llewelyn failed to stop him.

[Nephitess]

IC: Veria heard the instructions and choose a weapon. She took a sword that she could handle and swung a few times. I should be a good weight. Moving over to the pair she spoke with Visar and they introduced themselves to each other. She seems like a serious one...one to be about the business at hand. She could respect that and readied herself. Visar had his eyes on one other other trainees already so she focused on the other. SHe was not sure what his name was...but she was ready for him. She flexed her handle on the handle of her sword and smiled at the trainee waiting...

[Opera]

Fighting in pair meant that at some point either the partnership would hinder the fight as the two of them would want to have more space to dodge or swing their sword, either the partnership could strengthen their individual abilities allowing them to switch between their opponents or to watch the other's back. Llewelyn hoped Byron would understand that and that their teamwork would ensure the later of the two options. Anyway, Llewelyn would try to always have an eye on what was happening with the other pair of fighters as to know when he would be able to land a circumstancial blow.

 

Visar suddenly launched his attack against Llewelyn with a shout as Veria was facing Byron. Llewelyn saw Visar's lath slashing downward and tried to dodge it by quickly stepping on the left, thus avoiding the full length of the swing, but Visar was already coming with another blow, leaving Llewelyn no other choice but to use his own wooden sword to parry. Llewelyn winced as the full impact reverberated in his flesh, which gave him a hint about Visar's strength greatly outpassing his own. In that case, frontal assault wasn't an option.

 

Llewelyn tried to disengage by swirling around, which made him move slightly to Visar's right. He then striked at Visar's flank with an upward swing, hoping to land a hit.

[Jehaine]

Melenis stopped her own practising, both to keep a better eye on her students as well as to give her wrists a rest after swinging an unfamiliar weapon around. From the looks of it, the initial probing stage was over, which meant the spar would begin in earnest next. Part of her wondered whether this exercise was a bit too advanced for the Trainees at this point, but if her first mission were an indication they'd need to start getting used to working in groups.

 

Later, when they'd be full Tower Guards, maybe even Defenders like herself, they would have the skill to do a mission on their own and be expected to be successful, but until that time came working in groups was the rule rather than the exception given their general lack of actual combat experience. Still, a two versus two spar was a first as far as she could recall, even though she didn't know what the result would be. Whatever it would be, she would be looking forward to finding out.

 

 

Melenis

Watching. Carry on. ;)

[Visar Falmaien]

(ooc: I'll give you that one hehe)

 

Visar was shocked as his first strike missed, but he quickly came around to strike again.  Yet Llewelyn was fast enough to block this one, and suddenly Visar felt that he had lost the initiative.  He hesitated, unsure of what to do, and that's when Llewelyn struck.

 

Visar saw the upwards strike coming for only a split second, and he brought his sword around to try to block it, but it came lower than he expected, and

Thwack!

landed solidly against his right thigh.  A shiver of stinging pain went down Visar's leg, and he stumbled, wincing visibly.

 

Visar was so caught up in trying to hit Llewelyn that he started swinging his sword to try to hit him, but he stopped mid swing, realizing that if these had been sharp weapons, his leg would most likely have been half dismembered if not cut off, and he wouldn't have had time for another strike.

 

I guess I'm out of the fight, he thought sadly. Then he realized that Veria was fighting alone against two, and Llewelyn was suddenly free to go around and both men could try to hit her from behind.

 

Maybe I'd live long enough to shout a warning?  Visar thought.

 

"Lookout Veria!  He's trying to get behind you!"

[_Kynwric_]

Kynwric was watching from across the yard as the new trainees were sparring under Melenis' watchful eye. When she paired them up to do a 2 on 2 spar he moved closer, leaning on the railing of the ring they were sparring in. He spared a moment to glance at the lathes Melenis had gathered and noticed that the one she used for her ashandari was absent. He quirked an eyebrow at it, but returned his eyes to the spar continuing in front of him, the battle had been joined now with a pair of the trainees crossing blades and another being cricled while letting her attention wander to the noise of the engaged pair. He nodded to Melenis as she watched from a few steps away, letting the spar work its way to conclusion.

[Opera]

Llewleyn was surprised about two things :

 

First, he was bewildered that he had managed to land a hit against Visar who had been around in the Yards and in the training much longer than he and who ought to outmatch him at combat. Maybe he had managed to find a blind spot or something. It was the only plausible explanation.

 

Second, he found it awkward that as soon as he had struck Visar, the man immediately stopped in mid-fight, suddenly lowering his blade, and yelled out a warning toward Veria. Wasn't he supposed to fight back ? Llewelyn didn't know he had managed to deal Visar what could be a lethal blow had they been fighting with real weapons, and just looked at the other trainee in disbelief.

 

It couldn't be over with so quickly, the spar had to keep on. Llewelyn didn't move toward Veria as Visar had expected him to for she and Byron were still staring each other down, so he didn't see any reason to go help his partner yet. Instead Llewelyn was expecting Visar's next strike, wondering if this stepping down act wasn't just a trick. He glanced at their teacher, Melenis, to see if she could dissipate his doubts.

[Visar Falmaien]

(ooc: with only a few weeks of training involved on either side, even someone slightly more experienced will still fall to a well placed blow, and it's not like Visar is wonderful at this)

 

Visar noticed Llewelyn's confusion, and they both glanced at Melanis.

 

"You got me," Visar said, patting his leg.  "Good hit.  I try to act like these were real blades.  That would have gotten to the bone at least if the edge was placed well, or at least it felt like that."

 

Since Llewelyn made no move against Veria to try to team up two against one, Visar raised his lathe and got into a ready position again.

 

"You want to reset and go again?" he asked Llewelyn, eager to try to get a hit of his own in.  He resolved not to rush in quite as carelessly if he got another chance.

 

Visar risked a glance behind him to make sure Byron wasn't rushing at his back.

[Nephitess]

IC: Veria stood watching and ready. But so did her sparring partner. She did not let anything show in her face but she decided to attack and get this fight moving.

 

She raised her lathe a little and took two quick steps forward...then swung at the others arm...They tried to block but she clipped him on the forearm. She jumped back as her opponent seemed ready to rush forward...

 

She heard a warning from Visar and was ready but she saw the trainee he was sparring with in front of him so she put her concentration back on her fight...

[Visar Falmaien]

OOC: anybody? Melanis? Llewelyn? Bryon?)

[Jehaine]

OOC: Yeah, still here. Waiting for you to finish the spar actually, since i don't really have anything meaningful to post at this point.

 

Don't worry, i'm still watching this thread ;)

[Opera]

Visar's explanation about acting as if they were training with real blades made sense.

Yet Llewelyn was glad that Visar was willing to start from scratch again. It would only make more practical experience. The boy glanced toward his partner again but nothing had changed in the last spent minute.

He raised his lath to face Visar's, his opponent was waiting patiently, observing him with an intent gaze. It would be Llewelyn's turn to launch an attack. He now knew that frontal attacks or brute strength would leave him disadvantaged. This left him with swift and well aimed attacks.

 

He took a deep breath in, calming his nerves. He made a quick side step on his left, positionning his right foot ahead and slightly bending his knees before giving his lath a left to right wide horizontal swing, aiming at Visar's right flank.

 

 

(OOC : don't be too lenient on him, it's his first training, remember ! And even though, he's not totally unaware of sparring, his experience is much less than yours, Visar. Make him suffer !)

[Visar Falmaien]

(ooc: lol ok, I'll still let you choose if/where you get hit)

 

They reset, and Visar was more cautious this time, letting Llewelyn attack.  The man made a quick sidestep to Visar's right side, launching a horizontal attack at his leg.  Visar had only to turn slightly, but the attack came in a little too low for him to block effectively.

 

The same side he struck at me last time! Visar briefly thought after the engagement, but he merely reacted to the strike in the instant, withdrawing the targeted leg with a quick step back. Visar brought his lathed blade crashing down, aimed at Llewelyn's wrists/hands as they passed by, the closest target available.

 

Even if he missed his target somehow, Visar knew he wouldn't get hit right away, and he would be able to regain the initiative, step in and deal a counter or follow up strike, a thrust aimed straight at Llewelyn's chest.

 

(ooc note; he'll come in for the thrust whether he's hit your hands/wrists or not, that's up to you though)

[Nephitess]

OOC: Ok i'm going to end this fight. lol

 

IC: Veria thrust her lathe as she advanced on her partner. He was defending and backing away. Was he afraid to fight a woman? if so that would cost him in the future. She sped up her advance and swung. She hit his shoulder and he grunted. A look came over his face and he moved like a flash a lightning. He had jumped to her side and swinging his lathe he hit her in the back. Veria fell forward and rolled out of arms reach.

 

She raised her hand. "Start over? I think we would have hacked each other to pieces." She said with a smile. He nodded his agreement and they started over.

 

This time he was not shy. He ran at her and swung his lathe. Falling to the ground to dodge his attack Veria jumped back up. She was not bad at hand to hand and new how to dodge and westle...if she could only get a hand on him. Thoughts of Kopair came to the front of her mind and shoved them away ruthlessly...she could get distracted. He came at her again and this time she blocked with her lathe...the thwap thwap of their lathes hitting went on for a few minutes. She got her chance. He rushed her again and she was able to trip his lead leg and he fell. She then swung her lathe at his belly and a hard thunk took his air. She leaned on her lathe breathing hard. She held out her hand to help him up...he got up him self. She grinned and said...

 

"good fight! thanks for the practice. Your very quick."

 

With that she watched the other two spar and waited to see what would happen next, 

[Opera]

When Llewelyn had launched his attack, he already knew this would leave him open to his opponent's retaliation if he wasn't quick enough. He managed to withdraw his hand as to notreceive the full strength of the blow. Instead only the tip of Visar's lath grazed the side of his wrist. It hurt a lot but having avoided most of the swing, Llewelyn managed to keep a grip on his weapon's handle, which was the purpose of this poor evade.

As Visar advised earlier, Llewelyn imagined his wrist blooded, slit to the bone if they had been wielding real weapons, and the thought filled him with a nasty fealing, and sent a chill down his spine.

 

He had no time to imagine any further for Visar was taking the lead and thrust at the boy's chest. In a panic, he desperatly tried to deflect the lath by a wide swing up but he couldn't complete the move before the thrust had propelled him flying a good ten feet away on the grass. The air had gone from his lung and he laid on the ground, his whole body hurting all over as his vision blurred.

 

It took him a little while, what seemed an eternity to his pained senses, before he could see well again and sit properly. He scratched the back of his head. "You had me here Visar."

He mentally swore to train as hard as he could so as not to fall so easily on the battlefield. The whole spar had not lasted much more than a few seconds and he was already dead. He hoped he could get better at fighting quickly.

Byron had be downed as well. Their team had been utterly defeated.

Llewelyn got on his feet, his chest flaring with pain, retrieved his lath and glanced at Melenis to see if they should just keep on.

 

 

(OOC : it seems the whole purpose of teaming up is quite useless if we miss one of the members... What should we do ?)