Fanfic:Learning the Sword

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Learning the Sword
Author(s)
  • Joe Tarver
  • Marit
Character(s)
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Unsheathing the Sword

Shyne

It felt good wearing his swords again. He didn't have much reason to wear them most of the time. Even now, he wore a set of lesser swords, unwilling to bear the heron-marked blades he'd yet to earn. Because of the nature of the training, he carried a few wooden practice blades with him as well. He'd been told that the trainee he was to work with was inexperienced with swords, so it seemed a good idea not to set her up with the real thing quite yet. His would be used only for demonstrative purposes.

His arrival in the Yard had little effect, but he found a spot relatively free of interference and set himself to wait for his student. A mountain of muscle, golden eyes and golden hair set in two braids, he gazed around at the sparring and training going on around him, keeping an eye out for the one he was to teach.

A New Path

Amayani do Ciresh a’Sorene

Amayani walked across the Yards, heading for the Training Yard, like almost every other day. But today she was aiming for the fenced area, filled with fellow trainees training with whatever melee weapon they preferred, or simply their bare hands. It was a while since she'd stepped inside those fences, she realized. She'd been spending far too much time at the Archery range lately, improving her skill with the bow, or training others in the art of archery. She enjoyed it. She enjoyed it to the point that she'd been neglecting the variety of weapons she should be learning, instead of trying to gain perfection in one alone.

And that was the reason she was walking in between the fences, searching for her teacher in the art of sword fighting. She did not know Shyne Gaidin, but she knew of him, and had seen him around in the Yards enough to be able to recognize him. And he wasn't exactly hard to spot, huge as the Arafellin was, and with the two long braids she'd learned was characteristic for his homeland.

"Gaidin," she said respectfully, accompanied with a bow, as she reached him. "Ji'dar Amayani reporting for training, sir." As she looked up at him, she tried not to appear unsettled by his size, nor his eyes. Even if they were few, there were enough Wolfkin in the Tower that she shouldn't be unsettled by that, yet she couldn't quite help it.

It Has Begun

Shyne

"Welcome, ji'dar. I do not believe we've met. I am Shyne." He unsheathed one of his swords, setting the practice blades to the side.

"I'm told you've never trained in sword combat before, and so they've sent you to me, so that I might teach you. The easiest place to start, is with getting to know the sword itself."

Cautiously, he offered her the sword, hilt first, and unsheathed the other one. Had this been someone other than a trainee, he might have warned them that the blade was sharp, but if she managed to cut herself just by holding, that might be something her future instructors should know.

He didn't bother saying anything about the awkward way she held the weapon. He'd been awkward too, he was sure, all of those years ago. Instead he began explaining the sword, using the one he held for demonstration.

"There are three parts of the sword that you need to know about to start. First, the hilt. This is where you hold the weapon, obviously. Next, the guard, which is used exactly how it sounds. It's main purpose, at least as far as you're concerned at the moment, is keeping you from getting your fingers sliced off. Last, of course, is the blade. You cut things with it, not unlike a very large kitchen knife."

He didn't bother explaining the in depth intricacies of the sword, the reasons it was shaped the way it was, the use of the pommel, or things like that. All of that would come later. The first lesson was to keep her from killing herself with it.

A New Weapon

Amayani do Ciresh a’Sorene

Amayani eyed the sword with great interest as the Gaidin, Shyne he said his name was, unsheated it and held it out for her. With a gentle hand, she gripped the sword by the hilt, holding it carefully. It wasn't the first time she'd seen or held a sword; like every other trainee she'd had her fair share of maintenance duty in the Weaponry. But it was the first time she held one as a weapon she would use. Well, perhaps not now, but one day.

The first thing that caught her attention was the weight of the sword. It was somewhat heavy, and to be honest, it felt quite awkward holding it in one hand. It was pulling her hand down, putting unfamiliar strain on her wrist to keep it up. She didn't feel she would have any control over it like this. Scanning the blade with her eyes, she lifted the sword slightly, unconsiously putting the other hand on the handle as well. And stopped, eyes trailing back to the handle. This felt much more right in her hands, holding it like that.

As she stood there, Shyne Gaidin started explaining the different parts of the sword, and she broke free from her own thoughts to pay attention. She watched his sword as he explained the basic parts of the sword, her eyes sometimes shifting to the sword she held, still with both hands. It wasn't really anything new, what he explained. Most she already knew, if primarly from guessings, so it was also good to actually get it explained.

When the Gaidin stopped talking, she looked up at him and merely nodded, before looking back at the sword, thoughtful as she considered its uses.

Onward

Shyne

She seemed to be paying attention, which was good. She smelled of wonder, the wide-eyed curiosity of learning a new trade. After some of the pupils he'd had recently, a trainee willing to sit and listen, simply absorb information, was something of nice break so far. A student that could be excited over something the teacher was passionate about was a rarity these days, but an opportunity for learning that was undeniable.

As his explanation ended, he contemplated retrieving the sword from from, but decided against it for the moment. She didn't seem to be hurting herself, and so long as they were only practicing guards, it wasn't likely she would. While wooden practice weapons were useful, in training there was no match for holding the real thing.

"As with any melee weapon, there are a series of stances, or guards, that will be useful and necessary as you progress. This particular sword is meant to be used with one or two hands, depending on situation, but for now, we'll focus on using it two-handed."

Demonstrating with the one he still held, he dropped into a basic guard stance. "The simplest and arguably most useful stance is this one. Your feet should be slightly spread, knees slightly bent, with your strong side toward your opponent. The sword is held with both hands on the grip, lead hand on top and rear hand a few finger-widths below. The blade should be pointed roughly toward your opponent's head."

After a few more moments of holding the stance so that she could get a look at it, he lowered his sword and stepped forward to check her body, explaining the use of the stance as he did. "From this stance, there are plenty of attacks available to you, as well as defenses, parrying, countering, maneuvering. The way the body is held is little different than many hand fighting stances, and footwork is basically the same. Any questions, so far?"

New and Familiar Stances

Amayani do Ciresh a’Sorene

Amayani nodded slightly as her teacher said the sword could be used one- or two-handed, wondering if she would be able to use it with only one hand. It felt too heavy for her to have any control over it one-handed yet, but these were unused muscles; over time she would be able to, maybe. She was glad they were focusing on the two-handed use today.

Shyne Gaidin shifted his feet and lifted his sword as he started talking again. The footwork reminded her a lot of the basic stance in unarmed combat, which didn't surprice her much. Stances were used for balance and quick movements, and that were prime factors in unarmed, possibly all melee. Shifting her left leg back a bit and to the side, knees bent and her weight distributed mostly on the balls of her toe, she lifted her sword similar to Shyne.

That was what she tried to at least. He explained how she should hold the sword, so she could both listed and watch how to do it. The lead hand, he said, on top; his right hand, and hers was closest to the guard as well from earlier. Was that correct? She eyes went from her sword to his, and back to the one in her hands again. It seemed correct, her hands at least, but how should she hold the arms? Too close and they would be too bent. Yet farther out and it would grow heavy quite fast. It didn't feel right however she held it, it felt more like her hands were just there, and not really ready to put any force behind the sword. Yet, she could recall hacing some of the same thoughts the first time she'd learned punces and blocks.

As she stood there, probably looking every bit as uncertain with this weapon as she felt, the Gaidin walked around her to look at her stance. He gave a quick explanation of the use of the stance as he did so, and when he was back in front of her, asked if she had any question.

"No.." she started, but quickly changed, "or maybe.. The lead hand, you said, that is the same as my strong side? And, how should I hold my arms?" She's started to lower the sword as she spoke, but stopped and kept it up as she had.

Something Blue

Shyne

"Strong hand, yes. Lead hand. Dominant hand. Usually the right hand, as it seems to be with you."

He stepped around to her side and looked more closely at her arms. "Your arms should be comfortable." He understood that statement wasn't very helpful, and the half-shrug of his face showed his apology at it, but it was the best thing he could think to say. "It's a little different for each person, and it will change depending on the sword you have in your hands. I wouldn't worry too much about it for now. As you practice, your body will learn where to position your arms in order to keep them most effective."

After a moment, he stepped back to stand across from her again and raised his sword once more, dropping back into stance. "The important thing for now is going to be your wrists. In attack and defense, speed is often crucial, and keeping flexible wrists is necessary for speed."

He turned to the side so she could see his arms and hands on the sword. "Movements made with this type of sword are what some swordsmen refer to as 'draw-cuts,' meaning your power doesn't come from chopping," he demonstrated by raising his sword and bringing it down like he might an axe or club, "but from slicing." He raised the sword above his head again and brought it down, but this time in a much more controlled arc with his left hand pulling back and up in comparison to his right. It would be difficult to see, but the difference would be astounding in a fight.

"For a while, your arms are going to feel like they get in the way, but your body will readjust itself to make it more comfortable as time goes on." He felt awkward himself at times while fighting with one sword, but he'd been trained to fight with two and it was sometimes difficult for him to keep both hands on a single blade.

"I know it's not the most helpful of explanations, but does that make sense?"

Something New

Amayani do Ciresh a’Sorene

Amayani stood still as the Gaidin started answering her question, nodding slightly at his comment of her being right-handed. Her eyes followed his movements as he walked to her side, her head turning slightly. She frowned slightly at his next statement. Comfortable? I doubt I'll be comfortable holding this for quite a while yet. But she kind of understood what he meant by it, especially as he spoke on.

Shyne Gaidin walked back in front of her, and she watched as he dropped into the stance again. She hadn't moved out of it yet, only shifted her weight a bit so she wouldn't stiffen. She would hold the stance until he said or indicated that she could relax. Until then, she tried her best to absorb what he said and demonstrated, and copy what she could.

At first she didn't get the difference between the chopping and slicing motion of the swords; the two seemed pretty much the same in her eyes. But as she thought about it, a slight frown between her brows, she seemed to recall that his second motion has been brought more back. The chop had been a regular chopping motion, like you would when chopping wood (not that she had much experience with that). But the second demonstration had been slightly different. He had brought the sword more back when it came down, lifting the left hand at the end, hadn't he? Lifting her own sword slowly, she carefully brought the sword down the same way he had, as far as she could remember it, her left hand bringing the end of the hilt back and almost up at the end.

Shifting the sword back to the basic stance, she looked up at the Gaidin again, and nodded thoughtfully. "I think it does, sir. Or, not so much yet, but that will help as I learn more." The last was said as a half-question.

Nothing Borrowed

Shyne

It was good that she seemed to be understanding it, or at least seemed to think she was understanding it. With some students, he'd had to explain that point a dozen times in as many different ways before they'd begin to understand it. Usually, the sword was the first weapon they picked up, however. This was a ji'dar before him, trained already in combat, just not this particular style. Sometimes experience made all the difference.

"That understanding may be the single most important thing you learn. You can master all the forms that you wish, but if you hack instead of slice, you will fall to an opponent with less skill but a better understanding of their blade. As with all weapons, knowing the strength and weaknesses of what you have is the key to victory, and acting on those strengths is what gets you there."

He pulled himself back into a ready stance, this time standing beside her on her good side, so that she didn't have to try to look over her shoulder at him. "With that in mind, let's try a few attacks. For now, you only need to worry about four attacks. The first three are simple, though they go by many names amongst those of a more poetic nature than I. The fourth is more difficult, but arguably more useful."

The first was the same vertical slash they'd practiced moments before. "This one you already know, so we move on to the second." He performed a tight horizontal slash, the tip of his blade whipping down to his right, then straight across for perhaps the length of the blade before whipping around again into guard. "The second is tighter, though it can be expanded," he explained, going through the motion again at a quarter the speed he had the first time. "It is useful for disemboweling an unwary opponent or forcing a blade to the side. Notice that, as with all attacks, you should return to a guard. Since I've only taught you the one, we'll start and end every offensive gesture in that stance."

Next he used a diagonal slash, starting high and at his left and ending low right. "The third lacks the power of the first and the precision of the second, but allows for versatility." Again, he repeated the motion, but slower. "It is a longer strike, which allows for flexibility, and a skilled swordsman will use it to flow into another strike, which makes it unpredictable. It can also be useful in forcing distance between you and an opponent because it can not be dodged or parried quite so easily."

He went through the three attacks again, seamlessly this time, and counted each one as he did. Vertical, horizontal, diagonal. One, two, three. "This is the very basics of swordsmanship. Each of these offenses is also a defense. The fourth attack, and the last one I will show you today, has less use as a parry, though it can be done in the right circumstance. It's strength lies in its speed, it's range, and it's ability to force your opponent away."

With that, he thrusted his sword forward, then pulled it back. The whole attack took almost no time at all. "Normally, of course, you would not use a sword like this for thrusting. There is some power in the tip, if applied correctly, but the challenge of this strike is not to aim for the middle, but to aim for the side, slicing the opponent on the way past if he does not move out of the way or defend himself."

He did it again, slowly, then turned to her. "All four of them now, in succession."

Not Getting Old

Amayani do Ciresh a’Sorene

Amayani watched closely as Shyne Gaidin went through the four attacks, and kept her ears and mind open to what he said. She still held the stance and the sword, trying to relax her shoulders and arms without dropping it. She mentally went through each of the attacks Shyne showed her, her hands twitching slightly as they wanted to follow through the motion in her head. Soon enough it was her turn though.

Working out her muscles slightly, she shifted in the stance and focused. The first attack she had already tried out, but it still felt strange. Keeping her weight mainly on the balls of her feet, she lifted the sword and brought it down in an arch in front of her, her left hand bringing the hilt back and slightly up at the end. Her body shifted slightly backwards before returning to the stance as she brought the sword back up to the guard.

The second attack was easier and felt more right when she executed it. Twisting her hands sideways, she brought the tip of the sword down to the right, and twisting her upper body she drew the sword in a horizontal line in front of her, before returning it to guard. It felt much more right, in a way.

For the third attack she brought the sword up, but unlike the first attack, the sword tilted more to the left. In one motion she brought it down the whole arch, starting up and to the left, and ending low right. Straightening up again she returned to the guard stance once more.

The final attack was the thrust, and as she thrust the sword forward, her body leaned forward slightly as well. Bringing the sword, and her body, back in the same motion, she fell back into the stance, seemingly relaxed but trying to keep alert as well.

"Keep your body more still," the Gaidin said, "but not stiff. All four again, together now."

She nodded quickly in response, and sharpened again. She went through the four attacks again, this time not stopping and returning to the guard stance between each, but moving straight into the next attack. She brought the sword up and into a vertical arch down - one - then shifting the sword so the tip pointed right and into a horizontal slash - two - before turning her hands and bringing the sword up to the left and into a diagonal arch ending low right - three - and a forward thrust. Four.

"Again," the Gaidin said as she returned to the guard stance, and she applied. Once again she went through the four attack, vertical, horizontal, diagonal and thrust. And again, and again, each time gaining a little speed and finesse.

Four attacks, each simple, but each allowing for more versatility. She would practise these four, and once they came naturally, she would learn more. She had waited too long to start learning the sword, and she had much to learn. And she would learn.