[Flashback] Winning Wein (Louie Wein)

[Eridanus]

Day 50, Spring 503 AV Midday (Lunch Hour) The Academy It was lunch hour, and with the strike of the twelfth bell the students and instructors all filed out of their respective classrooms and lessons in an orderly manner, the students finally getting the break they were waiting for while the instructors usually convened in their offices if there were anything to discuss or announcements to be made, or simply just mingling among themselves while having their lunch. In the courtyard was a single Vantha student, a young adult male who looked around twenty-one years of age, his usual demeanour exuding a devil may care attitude that was no doubt aided by his messy, windswept hair that shone with the colours of Morwen's Lights. This time though, there was a look of utmost concentration on his face, the usual nonchalant expression temporarily suspended while he focused on his practice. Everyone else may take a break, but he was no Denvali here and he knew that there was a limited time that he could stay before something happened to that whisk him away to another place. He treasured every single bell that he could learn something from the experienced and pragmatic Denvali instructors, and so he was single minded in his goal not to let them down. Master Camlach especially, for the man had expressed his optimism regarding the Vantha's martial potential and he wanted to live up to the instructor's expectations. More so, he did not want to disappoint himself and so he was especially eager to get this right before he allowed himself to adjourn for a meal. Thus Eri found himself still in the courtyard in the open air, bearing the full glare of Syna's attention. He had his two weighted wooden practice swords, loaned from Oliver Camlach for as long as he remained enrolled in the Academy, and he looked ahead with a determined glance, taking a deep breath before dashing forward in a burst of speed, quickly collapsing into a tumble as if there was an invisible blade threatening to decapitate him should he continue forward at that height, and quickly recovering, spinning around into a defensive stance. The world swirled around him slightly and he felt his eyes unfocus for a moment before he could clearly grasp the view in front of him. He felt slightly discouraged, for this was one of the reasons why Master Camlach had easily defeated him. The instructor had told him that he should only attempt acrobatic manoeuvres if he could effortlessly recover from them, and so it was his duty to condition his body against he nausea as well as to reinforce his muscle memory in recovering and progressing with combat in an efficient manner. Efficiency, that was the key word of the Denvali, and this applied to everything in they do, be it in martial arts or in industry. There was no excess to be wasted here, for resources and time was precious for a tiny city struggling for its survival. It was this concept of strict pragmatism that allowed them to go against the odds and flourish despite the unlikely odds. With this single word, this concept in mind, he tried again, running before dropping into a tumble. This time, he cut down on any unnecessary movements, making any movements that he thought would safeguard him against losing his balance. His body whipped into the desired stance, but after a while he lost his balance and fell, dropping his practice swords as he used his hands to lessen the impact. It did not look particularly good, but this time Eri found that he could go into position more easily, and the world no longer swirled in front of him. The only thing he needed to do now was to condition his muscles so that he could go into perfect form after a tumble. It was the only way to do it, really, if he wanted to cut down on any unnecessary flailing of arms. He must proceed with an open mind, and not be hung on previous habits or concepts. If he wanted to improve the fastest under Camlach and rest of the instructors here at the Academy, he had to learn it the Denvali way.

[Louie Wein]

Louie may have finished his required education and training in the academy but he has returned because lately he was losing touch with the Denvali way. His own interests and activities has brought him too far away from improving on his fighting abilities. Louie was pretty good when he was learning how to use the rapier as he grew up but after a long time of only practicing once in a while when he was free, he has regressed to the point that even a child in the academy can beat him without breaking much of a sweat. It actually just happened earlier. Louie was walking through the academy to see if he could find anyone willing to give him a little refresher course and was instead called out as a volunteer. The instructor just wanted to show the students the difference between them and those who had already left the academy so he really made a bad choice humiliating him and Louie in one bad decision.

He should have tried to get out of it but then Louie thought that starting from a student would make it easier for him. He took one of the training rapiers and smiled to his opponent saying "this will be a good time for the both of us yes?" and pointed it straight at his opponent. Louie did not want to go all out on a child yet so he took the defensive holding his rapier up waiting and ready to stop anything the boy sent his way. The boy had the first attack sending a slash at Louie which he blocked and pushed out of the way before resuming his defense. Then the boy came again with a harder slash at Louie's body. Louie cut and pushed the sword aside yet again forcing the boy to run past him while he circled around behind him.

Now it was Louie's turn. He held his rapier up and pointed it right at the boy. It will only hurt for a while when it hit which was even better than Louie's wounded pride in the end. Louie stepped forward and lunged at the boy, the thrust true and about to hit until the boy used the exact same defense Louie has been doing. Only faster and cleaner. Before Louie could follow what was going on the boy used his sword to push Louie's rapier out of the way and in one swift motion made a counterattack straight at Louie's chest knocking him down. That was when the instructor said it was enough and ended the spar right there and then to save the embarrassment that Denval man was beaten by a child so easily.

"No...one more..." Louie pleaded as he got back up. He was not going to be known to all this children as a weaker man than they were and the boy happily obliged sending another thrust to make the truth that he was the victor even more apparent. Louie caught the sword with his rapier in a parry sending it off to the side and went for a quick riposte at the boy when he was done. "It is..." my victory? Not quite. He saw the rapier moving straight for the boy one moment and in the next he disappeared when he crouched down to avoid it and one more time Louie was on the ground when the sword smashed right on his chest with the physical and emotional trauma forcing him to black out.

Soon, Louie woke up on the veranda hearing some noises from the yard. Was he carried here? Even more humiliation and it was only one day. Still a little bit tired Louie tried to get himself up but he could not. "Is anyone out there?" he asked and turned at the direction of the noise though he was unable to see anything. It must have been his imagination but he needed to make sure. Louie sent some djed into his eyes to look for the aura of people and through all the other mess of auras he found one vaguely in a humanoid shape. Finding that was enough for him and he stopped the flow before repeating his call again "is anyone out there?" If that person came he would stumble upon a rather weakened Louie struggling to get back up again from the floor.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus swung his blades in a practised motion, left right, right left. It was important to take note how much force one exerted in a swing especially when dual-wielding, for one had to balance the swinging motions to avoid over-extension. It was easy to bring back an empty hand to intercept an assailant's hand, but it was harder to bring back a hand holding a blade to do so, for it would require much more strength just to cover the same distance, and there was no guarantee that it would be on time.

He heard a soft voice, but he disregarded it, continuing to practice. Time was ticking, and now was not the time to satisfy his curiosity. Furthermore, his stomach was already beginning to remind him for his need for sustenance and he was determined to finish this set of exercises before going for lunch.

"Is anyone out there?" A faint voice cried out, and Eri cocked his ears, stopping for a moment. Was it his imagination?

"is anyone out there?" The voice repeated, and that made it clear to the Vantha that he was not hallucinating. Perhaps it was a visitor, but the voice felt weak and might be in need of assistance. Most of the staff would be having lunch and so there might not be anyone else in the building who would take notice.

Eri sighed, leaning his practice blades against the courtyard wall and he walked in the direction of the sound. He exited the courtyard and proceeded into a veranda, and here it was that he found a tall spectacled man slumped on the floor. He had an intelligent and educated look, but the look was slightly marred by the expression of weakness as the figure tried to struggle to get up.

"Let me give you a hand, Denvali," Eri broke the silence, helping the man to get up. He knew that he was a Denvali because of the certain kind of look that all Denvali had. Perhaps it was the common gaze of pragmatism they had in their eyes, or the universally toned muscles due to their compulsory martial education.

"What happened? Do you need me to fetch an instructor to help you with anything?" He enquired, eager to settle this issue and quickly get back to the courtyard to finish up his training so that he could grab a bite. "Where are my manners, I am Eridanus, a student here in The Academy, my primary mentor is Master Oliver Camlach," He continued, for it was standard protocol in the Academy to reveal one's main instructor when introducing oneself.

[Tabarnac]

Eridanus

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Dual Wield	3 XP
Acrobatics	2 XP
Body Building	2 XP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Suvan-Denvali Swordsmanship: Avalanche Evasion
•	Suvan-Denvali Swordsmanship: Dual Wield Rhythm Exercise

Louie

Experience

Skill	XP Earned
Rapier	2 XP
Auristics	1 XP

Lores

•	Lore Earned
•	Suvan-Denvali Swordsmanship: Basic Rapier Drills

Tabarnac says...

I’m sorry this didn’t develop more, but some threads just fall by the wayside. :|

Eri, you’re maxed out for longsword, so you just earned dual wield and I hope the Lore was to your liking. You should both feel free to PM me if you want to negotiate. Just be sure to have your credit card information handy when you do.

Dream deep!