Magic Against Magic, Steel Against Steel (Eryss)

[Aello]

Aello simply nodded. "Very good. Now, as you yourself have said, the way you attack with your blade, when holding it in this fashion, differs greatly from how you may fight had you been holding it the other way around." Aello paused for a moment, as she pushed her right arm out to the side, sweeping her blade along with it, after a moment, she brought it around in the opposite direction, in a wide arc. As she moved her arm, the blade swung out towards Eyrss, licking the air around him, but never quite touching his skin. When the blade had traveled as far as Aello could get her arm to stretch, she guided it back to its starting position. "As you can see, when fighting with this style, you have to turn into your enemy a lot, and let the subtle motions of your arm do the rest. As you may have noticed, the blade turned towards you. Should it have been closer, it would have raked across your flesh," Aello commented. "Think about this also, and how it compares to the fighting style of a sword. Or... how you may have been using a dagger if you have any previous experience." Aello paused a moment, allowing the man to think. She stood patiently, wondering if he would share his thoughts aloud, or simply keep them to himself. After awhile, however, she'd continue. "When using a sword, one can both slash at an opponent, or they can stab, for the weapon has great reach. A dagger does not. A dagger was made for slashing, which, if you think about it, can be just as advantageous, if not more so, than the stabbing nature, or attacks, of most larger blades." Aello paused again, considering how best to express herself. "While a stab attack may push your blade deeper, creating a greater incision, one that will loose more blood, a slashing attack will wound more area. Drawing it out of a greater portion of your opponent's body. A stabbing wound will be a strong throb, usually confined to one small portion of the body until it starts to fester and become infected. A slashing wound's pain runs deep, across every section of afflicted area. The blood spilt may be less than that of a stabbing wound, or the same. But usually, at least in my opinion, the pain caused by it is greater, which, is sometimes all you need to distract an enemy, and finish them off." Aello paused, considering Eyrss a moment. Her thumb dancing across the hilt of her dagger as she studied her own weapon in his possession. It seemed so very out of place there, causing her to wonder if he felt it too, or perhaps the dagger itself. But she didn't truly let herself worry about it, she knew it would be back. She knew it could never truly let her go. "People forget sometimes Eyrss, that fighting can be about life and death at times. It is in part, about winning, but it is not about rushing a kill, should you need to do that. It is not about throwing out move after move to destroy someone. It is not about doing whatever you can, trying anything because you can. You must not forget, ever, what sort of thing you wield. What it can do well, and what it simply should not." Aello fell silent for a few moments, simply staring into the man's eyes. "Sometimes, a fight is about weakening the person you're with, until they submit. Not actually delivering a killing blow... it comes in especially handy when you need them for something." Aello chuckled. "But that's enough talk. The best way to learn the craft is to do. So, why don't you try attacking?" Aello asked. "And do not worry about going too quickly, or hurting me. I have been in more than enough fights to know how to handle myself with a blade." Aello's eyes sparkled. She was waiting.

[Eryss Waldu]

[Nodding his head once Eryss would continue to listen to Aello. She wasn’t a bad teacher though teaching anyone about the dagger would have been easier than teaching someone the theories behind magic, at least in his opinion, though the Mage was more than a little bias. When she had swept her arm out to the side and then arced it around so that she could bring the blade back around Eryss had instinctively wanted to raise his arm, or the Dagger he was holding, to block unsure if Aello would have cut him or not. The Dagger Aello held never struck though and he looked at her wearily.] [Afterwards when she asked him to think about how she was teaching him to wield a Dagger compared to how he might have used it before Eryss would consider this. “This style relies more on finesse than brute force I would say.”...though he wasn’t sure if that was correct he would continue on basing his thoughts on his own observations and what Aello seemed to imply...”The Dagger, in your hand, seems very fluent and smooth in motion. It is nothing like a sword or as I had used it previously.” Eryss did have some experience using a Dagger but not much as he had been a Mage much of his life and chose to focus on disciplines that would give him offensive and defensive advantages.] [When Aello went on to talk about how a sword could be used to stab and slash but that a dagger was made for slashing he considered this. Many men whom he had seen killed were done so by plunging a dagger deep into them. That in mind Eryss would nonetheless remain silent and listen until Aello had finished explaining her thoughts to him. As Eryss had already surmised Aello was quite knowledgeable on the topic though the Mage would be heard saying...”The Dagger should be used only to stab when you kill with it then but not when you fight with it?”...that might seem like a silly question but really slashing an opponent with a Dagger might be painful but unless you could hit a vital organ it would necessarily be deadly.] [Now Eryss was looking at the strange dagger in his hand that Aello had handed over to him and the crimson stain that seemed to perpetually coat its blade. The Mage only felt that this blade was different and that there was something off about it but nothing else, that it felt somewhat awkward in his hand was only because he didn’t often practice fighting with this weapon, in his mind. As Aello spoke of how fighting could be about life and death Eryss would shift his attention back to her though and hang on her words, this was something he knew well, but the Mage disagreed to some extent because he often went for the quickest and most efficient kills when using his magic. There was less waste if he could kill his enemies that much more quickly.] [Hearing Aello tell him that the best way to learn the craft was to do some moments later caused Eryss to let his brows creases at the thought though she assured him that e needn’t worry about harming her in any way. Indeed Eryss wasn’t the type to worry about hurting another anyways as the subtle pains he could inflict served to please, and amuse, him to an extent anyways. Nodding his head as Aello waited he would have said...”Very well.”...in a somewhat cautious tone before beginning to move towards the girl with his dagger at the ready.] [Advancing the short distance between Aello and himself Eryss would have turned his left side away from her so that he could lead with his right profile and minimize the target he presented. The Dagger held in the palm of his right hand was reversed, extending away from him, and his arm bent at the elbow at the ready too. Leading with his right foot the Mage would step in quickly to make his attack at Aello.] [Pushing his arm out to his right Eryss would draw it out to that side. Then he would bring it back in and arc the dagger upwards somewhat trying to cut Aello across her arm and let the blade follow it all the way to the end before he could draw it back to him with a recoil of the arm that would see the Dagger back in its ready position. Were this not entirely sufficient Eryss would attack again too. This time pressing his dagger ahead and to his left, trying to drop it beneath Aello’s own, and then recoiling his arm back to himself while dragging the blade back towards her at waist level.]

[Aello]

Aello simply nodded as she watched Eyrss out of the corner of her eye. She thought she could see his muscles bunching around his hands, and in his legs, as he readied himself. As he studied her, determining how best to try and strike. It felt like an eternity before he made his move, coming at her at what seemed to be a snail's pace. Drawing his arm out before swinging it in. Smiling weakly, her eyes sparkling, Aello took a half step back, and raised her blade to block. The familiar clash of metal rang through the air as the two blades met, and Eyrss retracted his weapon. She'd watch him closely, before flicking her wrist a few times, and dragging her hand around to block the rest of Eyrss' attacks with ease. "Good, now try moving a little faster," Aello insisted, as she retracted her blade. "I don't want to have time to see you coming." She paused, watching her latest student a moment. Silently waiting for him to try again. "Should you fail, or should you hesitate in battle, you provide your enemy with the time they need to attack and destroy you. Should you take too long, I shall start doing the same. Although, this will be marginally less bloody than that..." OOCMy apologies, my combat posts are always notoriously short.

[Eryss Waldu]

[Noticing how easily Aello had blocked his attacks was actually a bit of a surprise for Eryss who saw only a young girl in front of him but recalling that she had said she’d been in more than enough fights caused the Mage to take her a tad more seriously now that he knew she was at least as talented as she claimed with a blade. Nodding his head afterwards Eryss would listen to Aello telling him to attack faster and taking the instruction to heart, especially after she hinted that she would begin to cut him if he failed to do so, he would tense his body. Only momentarily though before quite swiftly, and maybe a bit unexpectedly, the Mage would leap off his back foot to close the distance between Aello and himself so that he could attack her with more ferocity than he had been.] [Unlike the last time Eryss came at her more quickly, though likely with quite a bit less discipline too, and she might be surprised to discover that despite his somewhat weak appearance Eryss was that frail. Indeed he’d been kicked enough times while he was done and that gave him intestinal fortitude if nothing else; he was no stranger to receiving a beating and definitely not afraid of a little pain here and there. While Eryss likely wasn’t any stronger than the average man nor was he weaker and the Mage was definitely capable of at least pushing his own weight around.] [As he came at Aello this time with dagger curved backwards, away from himself, he would growl letting a bit of anger overcome him before slashing with the blade. Sweeping it out to his left and then arcing it higher in a counter clockwise circle, from his point of view, before bringing it downwards to cut and carve at Aello’s chest. Once he’d plunged it downwards he’d lift it back up too, reversing his momentum when he could, so that he could try and cut the girl if she blocked or deflected his blade. This time his attacks came faster too; there was no waiting as the Mage lashed out with the dagger trying to score any kind of blow against Aello only what seemed like random swipes this way and that when more conventional tactics failed.] [Pushing forward too he wouldn’t keep his distance from Aello like he had the last time. Eryss brought the fight to her instead of lingering back and playing defensively. Probably a bad move but if the possibility existed that she might cut him he would at least make an effort to return the favour. Twisting his body as he cut at Aello now and then Eryss would turn at the waist to lend more momentum and power to his blows before resetting to lead with his right side and present a smaller target once again if she sought to counterattack. His elbow bent so that he could rake out with his dagger when it withdrew and make it easier for him to parry just as she had shown him.] OOCA little shorter this time too. Sorry if I added a bit much fluff wise.

[Aello]

Aello lifted her blade swiftly, easily blocking Eryss' initial attack, before sliding it down along with his blade as he continued to try and harm her, into a block. She could see him moving faster as he drew the blade back up, causing her to whisk her blade away form its lowly place, into a higher one. There was another clash of metal as Aello pushed his blade away from her own. "Good, now try harder. Move a little faster," Aello instructed. Spurring him to do just that, and attack all the more. Causing Aello to furiously whisk her weapon about, and twirl it with various flicks of her wrist, just to be certain that Eyrss never made it anywhere near her flesh with his blade. When she felt as though there was an opening, Aello twirled away from Eyrss' blade, causing hers to clash against his momentarily as she swirled around him. Her body spinning as she held her arm out, and brought her arm around. Her blade inching out towards his flesh, planning to peg the area where his shoulder blade met his arm or so. Or just behind the line that cut his arm off from the center of his ghastly form. It was time for another one of his lessons: always suspect the unsuspected. As Aello moved, her eyes sparkled, as she bit her bottom lip. She felt as though it were only mere moments before she ended this, and went about her day. After all, she had held up her end of the bargain, and he had held up his. There was no longer any reason for them to remain together, especially when one considered how they were not friends. In fact, they were complete strangers to one another, for the most part. OOCI am thinking it's just about wrap up time.

[Eryss Waldu]

[Instructed to try harder and move faster Eryss would do just that as he swung the dagger held in his right hand in what was becoming a rage. Slashing with it wildly, though always maintaining the reversed grip, no matter how many times he had heard Aello’s steel collide with it in what signified a block of one of his own attacks. Twisting his waist as he made his attacks Eryss would move his hips as well so that he could add a bit of speed in momentum to his movements but it seemed to little avail as nothing got through the defensive circle that Aello made with her own dagger twirling and twisting it so that whatever the Mage it did it seemed futile.] [At last Eryss started to breathe a little harder too from exertion, the Mage wasn’t used to moving and fighting like this so it started to tire him, and that was likely when Aello found her easiest opening though there may have been many more for her to choose at her level of expertise with the dagger. Regardless of which opening she chose the result was much the same. Eryss felt the sting of pain rush through him as Aello’s Dagger bit into the flesh of his right arm causing the Mage to recoil and swipe his blade back to the right as he did so in an attempt to parry her own away from him before she decided to strike again. Hissing then as he pursed his lips together Eryss would feel the warmth of his own blood as it trickled down his arm.] [Not known for his virtues the Mage would look at Aello through narrowed eyes though in fact he had half expected her to strike him with the blade at some point during the lesson. Were they have to trained in reimancy instead of shielding Eryss would have done the same to her, a gentle push that pointed her in the right direction he would call it, but seeing as how it was she who had wounded him he did not think that it was as enlightening. “Something to remember you by.”...Eryss would remark after he had moved away from her, putting distance between the both of them so that she couldn’t strike again, his eyes now raking over her as he slowly flexed his arm and winced feeling the pain shoot through it again.] [It was a valuable lesson though. Always expect to be stabbed or cut in a knife fight. That’s what Eryss would consider it to be anyways. Nodding to her after a moment he would have stated the obvious...”This match is yours. You are talented with the dagger.”...likely it meant nothing to Aello hearing those words but compliments were something that Eryss doled out infrequently, each of them holding some meaning with him. In this case it signified that Aello had his respect at least with regards to wielding a dagger which was something he’d likely never be able to match her with.] [With the Dagger she had offered to him held in the palm of his right hand, the pain from his wound still very evident in it, he’d turn it in his palm until he could offer the hilt to Aello. After all she had held up her side of the bargain which meant that Eryss would do likewise. “This belongs to you.”...she’d hear Eryss saying as he offered the Dagger back to her still having noted the stain of blood on its steel before continuing...”It is a curious blade. One I’m sure many would be interested in knowing more about.”...the comment wasn’t meant to reflect any curiosity on Eryss part, rather he was just speaking the obvious, though he did wonder about the qualities of the weapon. Nonetheless this would not cause him to hesitate when he handed it back to its rightful owner, Aello.] [Taking the sleeve of his robe with his left arm after handing the dagger back to Aello he’d pull it higher so that he could take a look at the wound Aello had given him. It bled well but didn’t look especially deep however he was no healer so his opinion was bias at the best of times. Eryss would need to clean it with some of his drinking water and so to it that it was properly wrapped which wouldn’t be much trouble. If Cade could do it the Mage reasoned that he could as well. Glancing back towards Aello and feeling as though their meeting was almost at a close Eryss would have said...”Aello. I’ll remember the name and the lesson.”...the lesson being something the Mage may well seek to repay when the time came. They weren’t friends but Eryss considered Aello to be more than a stranger now.]

[Aello]

Aello simply nodded. "Thanks for the compliment," she muttered. "If you concentrated a bit harder, you wouldn't be too bad yourself," she added as she glanced at the incision she had made in his flesh, only mildly surprised he was still holding onto her weapon. It didn't seem to be too deep, she didn't remember pushing the blade in too far, but it was bleeding a lot nonetheless, staining the man's clothes. "I'm no medic, but you may want to have that cleaned up," Aello commented as she took her dagger from him, and then sheathed it along with her other blade. "Washing the blood away with some water should help, as should keeping pressure on the wound until you can get to a proper doctor." Aello shrugged, "I'd only make your predicament worse trying to help." Aello smiled weakly as she gathered all of her things. "Nice meeting you Eyrss," she called, as she made her way through the line of trees, and into deeper portions of the forest. Far away from where the mage now stood.

[Chevalier]

Aello

LORE

• Making a Deal
• The Applications of Shielding
• Starting Small
• The Duration of Shields

EXPERIENCE

Skill	XP Earned
Wilderness Survival	1
Hunting	1
Auristics	1
Intimidation	3
Interrogation	1
Meditation	3
Shielding	4
Dagger	4
Teaching	2

Eryss

LORE

• Aello Has No Glibness
• Dealing With a Headache
• Basic Dagger Stance and Grip
• The Sting of a Blade

EXPERIENCE

Skill	XP Earned
Reimancy	2
Intimidation	1
Shielding	3
Observation	4
Interrogation	2
Teaching	3
Dagger	5

Storyteller Notes

Secret :

Alright, there’s a lot of experience that went around here to account for the length and the duration of the thread and posts, so I won’t really go into exactly how they came about but they’re pretty much directly relative to the lessons at hand. Eyrss, the wound isn’t too deep, just keep it clean and wrap it up and you shouldn’t have to worry about it after seven days or you’re your arm might ache if you use it, but it’s nothing life threatening.