[Flashback] The Way Of The Sword II/ii (Solo)

[Eridanus]

The Denvali passed forward on his left foot, though this time his leg went further than the previous few guards similar to that of the Half Iron or the Tail, but he kept his fists and the hilt of the weapon at hip level. The sword was also facing to the floor, but the tip was pointing at his rear foot.

"The Full Iron Door. The best guard to counter all slashes, swings and cuts that start from above. Come at me," Lugheim invited.

Eridanus stepped forward, and he executed a simple straight top-down slash, clenching both fists as he brought the sword down. The senior instructor brought the sword up, solidly parrying his blow. As both blades moved along the same angle, as a result the instructor used the momentum left to swing his blade to the side, and it dawned on Eri a second too late that he had moved into the Woman's guard, swinging the sword with a powerful force towards his neck.

His eyes widened, but the expected blow did not come, for the instructor had controlled his swing such that the blade lay harmlessly beside his neck.

"Full Iron Door to Woman's Guard. A powerful combination when faced with a downward cut, especially a vertical top-down one that you did earlier. And this is where we'll end today's class, for I have a lecture to give next. Take your time to practice the Full Iron Door, and when you're more familiar with it practice the transition."

With that, Arnold Lugheim was off, and the vantha was left to his own devices.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus settled into a neutral stance, his sword loosely held out in front of him. Slowly, he passed forward with his left leg, then shifted it further forward so that the distance between his legs was similar to that of the Half Iron Door. Lowering his blade, he lifted the hilt up to waist and pointed the tip backwards to his rear foot. Now he was ready, and he looked in front, imagining an attacker using the same vertical top-down strike he used earlier.

Timing his parry carefully, he swung his sword upwards and stopped at where he imagined the blades would clash. There was still some residual energy in the blow, and he used it to direct his sword to his right, bringing it easily to the Woman's Guard for the decisive strike. He did not even have to move his feet.

The trick lay in swinging upwards but swerving to the right when his blade succeeded in the parry, for the residual momentum would help to push his blade fast enough to reach the Woman before his opponent could recover from that slash.

He repeated the movements again, taking it slowly so that he would not mess up these foundations.

Neutral stance. Pass forward on the left, lower blade to Full Iron Door. Swing blade up, parry blow and swerve right and upwards, bringing elbow in to direct blade behind right shoulder to Woman. Proceed with a strong diagonal slash utilizing the twist of the torso for added power. Remember to clench fists for added stability of swing.

Left alone, the vantha took out the notes written by Camlach to go through the transitional guards and finishers that he had been taught today, and slowly went through the motions of each one to refresh his memory and to imprint the short term memory into a long term one.

Window. Crown. Flat Long. Edge Long. Two-Horned.

Falcon. Woman. Full Iron Door.

It was slow and boring work like previously, but he was excited at the prospect of being able to utilize them at the drop of the hat. He was beginning to see what Oliver Camlach meant by master level opponents treating these guards as chess pieces, for it was a game of wits and adaptability. Each guard had its own strengths and weaknesses, and it was up to the discerning swordsman to execute the correct chain of attacks to triumph over his opponent.

Eridanus used this motivation to push himself through the exercises, finding that he was able to call up these positions from memory faster the more he practised. His body did not protest as much as the muscles begin to acknowledge that they had to adapt to fit his new training regimen and combat style, and this small progress spurred the vantha on to train more.

Bells passed, and finally he felt that his body could take it no longer, for in between sets of training guards he made sure to train his arms and especially his thighs by executing repetitions of squats while holding his heavy iron-cored practice sword above his head.

It was time to rest, and while he slept his body would work hard to refresh itself and adapt accordingly so that he would be able to face the months ahead with less difficulty. It has only begun.

[Legion]

Thread Award Eridanus Long Sword +3, Observation +5, Bodybuilding +3, Meditation +1 (Suvan/Denvali) Swordsmanship: Transitional Guards, (Suvan/Denvali) Swordsmanship: Finisher Guards, NPC: Arnold Lugheim Consequence & Commentary Excellent execution. PM me if you have any questions, etc. You know the drill.