Evaluating the Blind Trainee (ATTN: Kynwric)

[Vanion]

Sweat dripped from Vanion's face and stung his eyes beneath the long black scarf tied around his eyes. He had worn this blindfold for little over a year now since coming to the White Tower and beginning his training to become a Warder. Even though his mentor, Orion, was no longer around, he decided to continue the practice of training while blind, allowing his other senses to soar. Besides... it wasn't as though an opponent would always strike while you could see.

 

It had not been easy, adjusting to a world where everything was in darkness and having to rely solely on his other senses. While not truly blind, he had worn this scarf tied around his eyes so long now that he truly forgot what it meant to see. Learning his way around the Tower and the Yard had been very difficult at first, but his mental map of the area was now flawless and he had learned to quickly adapt to unfamiliar areas and manage on his own.

 

Some of the other Trainees had made it difficult at times, thinking it rather entertaining to place obstacles in his path, trying to trip him up should the opportunity present itself. As such, he had taken to using his sheathed katana much as any other blind person would a stick, feeling his way along.

 

The half-smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth as he imagined how he must look to others couldn't be stopped and he found himself chuckling to himself quietly as he prepared to continue his training for the day, his sword held sheathed in his left hand.

 

Suddenly dropping into a defensive stance, knees slightly bent and right hand hovering over over the hilt of his sword, he waited patiently for that telltale sound... the breeze picking up.. and... there! The sound of rope thudding against the side of the cloth bundled wooden training spar.

 

Swiftly turning in the direction of the spar, he began to move through the forms...

 

Unfolding the Fan swiftly becoming Parting the Silk, slashing open the padding on the training spar where an enemy's abdomen would be, cutting up diagonally to leave his sword in a high-guard position, then quickly launching into the next form, Hummingbird Kisses the Honeyrose, his sword thrusting out swiftly to where the opponent's face would be, turning it into a feint which became The Kingfisher Takes a Silverback, swiftly changing the angle of the thrust to stab down where leg would be, also serving to block any slash which may be aimed at him. Stepping back smoothly into a guard stance, Folding the Fan, the swift circular motion performed gracefully as he sheathed his sword.

 

Shaking his head with a rueful smile, he couldn't help but think of the redundancy of these exercises. After all.. a training spar doesn't swing back...

 

"It would be nice to be able to practice these forms against an actual opponent...", he said more to himself than anything.

[_Kynwric_]

Kynwric had watched as Orion trained his charges and it wasn't that the methods were ineffective at the skills they tried to impart. It was more that it was so specialized that Kyn felt it lacked the basis for fighting when not at a disadvantage. When the latest lamented at not being able to practice against a live opponent Kyn spoke up. "That could be arranged, of course first you'd need to actually be able to track a moving opponent."

[Vanion]

"That could be arranged, of course first you'd need to actually be able to track a moving opponent."

 

Vanion jumped slightly as the man behind him spoke, and tried to quickly conceal it. An older voice. Likely a Warder or Tower Guard. I didn't even hear him walking over, he thought. The man must be a Warder.

 

Turning towards the voice, he gave a deep bow, wiping the sweat from his face with the back of his right hand as he straightened.

 

"Forgive me, Sir. I didn't see you there", he said with a nervous laugh. "I am getting better at tracking moving targets. I used to spar with Orion regularly before he left the Tower. I wouldn't want him to return and think that I have been neglecting my lessons, which is why I keep the blindfold on."

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn raised an eyebrow at the young man being startled when he spoke and shook his head slightly. Not much good denying your eyesight if you can't hear what is going on around you. "What happens when you take the blindfold off? Can you fight without it?" Kyn expected he knew what the answer would be, though he let Vanion answer.

[Vanion]

"What happens when you take the blindfold off? Can you fight without it?"

 

It had been some time since he fought without the blindfold, but he couldn't think of a reason why he'd not be able to fight without it.

 

"Sir, I would expect that I could still fight without it on. It should be easier to do, should it not?"

 

Vanion continued to mull it over in his mind, wondering if there was some kind of trick that the Warder was thinking of playing on him. Warders don't do that kind of thing, do they..? The other trainees seemed to delight in playing pranks on him because he couldn't see, but surely Warders were above such pettiness... weren't they?

 

"If you've the time Sir, I wouldn't mind the opportunity to prove what skills I have. It has been some time since I have been accorded the opportunity to spar with one of the Warder's here in the Tower."

 

Balancing his sheathed Katana across his left shoulder, he reach back and tugged the blindfold a little tighter around his eyes, awaiting the Warder's response.

[_Kynwric_]

Kynwric shook his head again, "I'll spar you, but think this. If all you are blind and all you have ever practiced is fighting blind, then how much of a shock of information will it be when you all of a sudden have sight and must process that information, how will you function?" Kyn already had a lathe in his hands, he'd had it some since before he approached Vanion. "I am ready to spar trainee, begin when you are ready."

 

OOC: Vanion, Kyn will duck and dodge anything Vanion throws, he has no intention of blocking anything until it is absolutely necessary.

[Vanion]

Blindfold still on and sword still balanced on his shoulder, Vanion turned and walked over to the stand holding the practice lathes. Picking one up and setting his sword down carefully, he walked back to where the Warder waited.

 

Pulling down the blindfold slowly, he waited for a few minutes for his eyes to adjust to the harsh light of the sun. It had been a while since he had seen the sun. He would stare into a candle flame each night to keep his eyes from becoming damaged when this type of situation arose.

 

Tying the black scarf tightly around the pommel of the lathe, he suddenly sprang into motion, Unfolding the Fan becoming Arc of the Moon, the slash starting low, aimed at the Warder's left thigh, then arcing up towards his throat to leave himself in a high guard position.

 

Continuing to press his attack, his guard stance suddenly turns into Boar Rushes Down the Mountain. While still somewhat new to the form, he had spent enough time practicing it to feel comfortable with it. The lathe slashing down quickly, aimed for the Warder's chest. From there Vanion quickly stepped in towards the Warder, lashing out with Low Wind Rising, aiming the slash for the Warder's left knee and angling it towards the waist.

[_Kynwric_]

Kynwric slid back from Vanion's attack, ducking his head back to miss the last part of Arc of the Moon, Down slash next, he thought and the hard hack of Boar Rushes Down the Mountain came next. Kyn sidestepped to the left, letting the lathe pass harmlessly by again. Kyn still held his lathe by his side, letting it move with him as he ducked and weaved. When Vanion stepped in towards Kyn he knew the fight was no longer one where he could simply avoid the trainee, instead he twisted and turned, catching Vanion's wrists in his own to stop Low Wind Rising as it came in towards his leg. With a hard shove Kyn sent the trainee backwards and then reset, this time with his lathe out front in a simple guard position.

[Vanion]

Stumbling back from the Warder's shove, Vanion quickly regained his balance. The man was a great deal stronger and faster than he was, so he would have to start getting a little creative.

 

Taking advantage of the distance between them, he suddenly rushed in, right at the Warder's outstretched lathe, dropping down into a slide kick for the man's right ankle at the last moment, his momentum carrying him under the Warder's lathe as he slashed up for the forearm at the same time.

 

Not wanting to give the man much time to recover, he quickly came to his knees while he still had some momentum left. The River Undercuts the Bank slashing out for the man's gut, followed by The Swallow Takes Flight, reversing the slash, lower this time from right to left, trying to take the man's knees out, while leaving him in The Swallow Rides the Air to keep himself guarded against an attack that had to be coming eventually.

[_Kynwric_]

Kyn stepped over the kick, bringing his foot back down as he parried the slash at his forearm. He simply stepped back out Vanion's attempts of River Undercuts the Bank and Swallow Takes Flight and remained solid and defensive as the trainee hovered in his defensive form. "Well, come on, you haven't worked hard enough yet to finish this." Beckoning him in for another pass. "And do try not to fall down this time."

[Vanion]

Trying to control his breathing, he lets his lathe drop a little lower, then suddenly darts in again getting in close to the Warder, pivoting on his right heel for The Wind Blows Over the Wall to strike down at the Warder's sword-wrist.

 

Trying to concentrate less on sword work now and mix things up a little bit, spins on his left heel now and throws an elbow at the side of the Warder's head, reversing the lathe in his right hand at the same time and thrust back at the abdomen of his opponent.

 

Suddenly realizing that he's over exposed himself, he drops down into a tight spin, bringing the sword back around swiftly in a tight, horizontal slash that is aimed for the thighs before launching back up again in Thistledown Floats on the Whirlwind, the spinning slash aimed at the Warder's neck.

[_Kynwric_]

OOC: Vanion, you likely should stick to the Basic and Intermediate forms, as trainee would not have been taugth things like Wind Blows over the Wall.

 

IC:

 

Kynwric was a little surprised to see the the wrist strike coming and thrust out and up with his lathe driving Vanion's sword up and away. He let his lathe ride Vanion's as the stab came in and blocked the elbow strike with an open palm, again pushing as Vanion began to spin away. the next two strikes, one low and one high were parried efficiently, leaving Kynwric in the middle of his defense as Vanion began to recover> Kynwric decided to push his offense then, Vanion's sword was high and to the outside of his and so Kyn began with Boar Rushes Down the Mountain, again riding the trainee's blade as he traced back to his chest. He let the lathe land heavily against Vanion's defense, and quickly followed it with Tower of Morning and then The Courtier Taps his Fan all the while setting his feet for the next series of blows. The Kingfisher takes a Silverback began, followed by Hummingbird Kisses the Honeyrose and finally The Heron Spreads Its Wings to strike Vanion hard across the chest. Kyn had not payed attention to where his blows landed or if they did until the last, it was another test to see if he would keep fighting or not when struck.

[Vanion]

OOC: lol I had to think of something! Only so much I can throw at you otherwise  ;D

 

IC:

 

 

After having his attacks so easily defended, Vanion tried to keep in mind that this man was in fact a Warder, and that it was to be expected. Still... not being able to even land a grazing blow had been a hit to his confidence.

 

Eyes going wide as the Warder suddenly launched his offensive, he struggled to defend as best he could. Leaf Floating on the Breeze to take Boar Rushes Down the Mountain, the force of it driving him back a step, and the onslaught still coming.

 

Parting the Silk to take Tower of Morning and barely deflect it from him, but not being able to bring his sword back up fast enough to stop The Courtier Taps his Fan, instead trying to side step it, but still being caught a blow to is left should which after the pain of the hit, made the arm start to go completely numb. Not good, he though quickly, could be dislocated.

 

And still, the strikes kept coming! The man moved like a viper, his footwork always keeping him in line for the next attack. Lightning of Three Prongs to parry The Kingfisher Takes a Silverback, a quick sidestep to the left in order to avoid a thrust to the face from Hummingbird Kisses the Honeyrose while bringing up his lathe in horizontally in Leaf Floating on the Breeze, the force from Heron Spreads its Wings driving him back another step.

 

Trying to ignore his useless left arm which was now affecting his balance, he tried to move back on the offensive. The Grapevine Twines snaking out to try and disarm the Warder while stamping down hard with his right foot, trying to trap the man's left foot and keep him from disengaging and making his disarm attempt useless and following quickly with The Falcon Stoops in an overhand stab at the Warder's right leg.

[_Kynwric_]

OOC: At this point in RP Vanion's Career, Kyn way, way outmatches him.

 

IC:

Kyn had had enough of this pecking and decided to end it, they had closed and Kyn let the lathe loose from his grasp into the Vanion's Grapevine Twines, knee blocking the foot stomp Kyn seized Vanion's sword arm at the wrist with one hand and his throat with the other. Kyn  pushed the The Falcon Stoops stab wide of his leg and then squeezed the pressure point there until the trainee had dropped his sword. Kyn then backed Vanion up until he was pressed against a training pell in the yard, maintaining his grasp on both arm and throat the entire time. Finally with a slight smile he asked, "yield?"

[Vanion]

His back now pressed against a training pell with the Warder's iron grip on his neck, the man smiled and asked, "yield?". To which, not being able to breath now, Vanion simply nodded emphatically.

 

The pain in his left shoulder was excruciating, being pressed against the pell. The shoulder was definitely dislocated and the pain, and lack of oxygen, was causing his vision to quickly go dark. Funny, that, he thought to himself as he began to slip into unconsciousness. I don't remember putting my blindfold back on..., and his body went limp as he blacked out in the Warder's grip.

[_Kynwric_]

Kynwric sighed deeply as the boy passed out and he let him slump to the ground before finding a pair of trainees to cart him off to the infirmary. Once they were underway he turned and left the field, thinking it would be a really good time for lunch.