Out of the Classroom and Into the Field (Lucus)

[Marcus Braeden]

42 Day of Winter 512 AV

Marcus was sure it would be another day filled with simple drills or perhaps a lesson on the history of the order. He admitted it was early, extremely early, in his training, but still, he could not help but hope for a bit more action. While he and his fellow occupants of the dormitory he was in were dressing themselves that morning, one squire had discovered a note, pinned to the door. Once the others caught wind of the note, they quickly scurried across the room and surrounded the note, eagerly awaiting instructions for the day.

Good Morning Squires
Todays instructions are simple and apply to ALL squires of the order. It will be a sparring day at the Antious Training Grounds. When you arrive expect to be sparring with your fellow squires.

Soon the mass that surrounded the note managed to scatter and return to dressing themselves. Marcus let out a sigh of relief when he read the note, as he was excited to not be locked away in some room. It was to be his first sparring match as a squire, although sparring squires wasn't entirely new to him. Marcus fastened his equipment to him and prepared to set out. His issued sword hung freely at his side and his shield rested on his back. He expected to be using both for the day ahead of him.

Marcus found himself standing among an organized mass of squires, all standing in the morning sun. The suns rays warmed each squire but the air was cold, and Marcus could see his own breath. Soon, the weaponmaster began to shout out names, seemingly pairing squires up with one another. Marcus began to feel slightly anxious, not because he was nervous about fighting, but because he was finally there, standing at the Antious Training Grounds.

[Lucas Arias]

Lucas groaned when he discovered the note on the door. Unlike his fellow squires the redhead wasn‘t eagerly awaiting the instructions, he was frustrated and moody because he’d realized that he wouldn’t be able to visit the Rearing Stallion for a day, and he wouldn’t be able to sleep in either.

Apart from that most of the other squires were idiots. And those that weren’t idiots made fun of him because he looked like an Inarta bastard who’d lost his eagle. He really wasn’t in the mood to put up with them.

He briefly considered faking an illness so that he wouldn’t have to take part in that sparring day, but then he realized that they would probably find out that he was not really ill the moment they touched his forehead, so he let it be.

He put his armor on very slowly. Rather than proudly carrying his sword and shield he dragged the shield behind him. As he reached the training ground, he squinted. The sunlight was very bright, and he hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep the night before since he had been busy playing cards at the Rearing Stallion. While the weaponmaster began to shout out names, the redhead yawned and rubbed his eyes and looked rather bored.

As he finally heard his name, he made a face. He’d hoped that the weaponmaster would forget about him. He looked around until he saw the young man he had been paired with. Marcus was taller, older and more muscular then he was, but at least he didn’t look like an idiot at first glance which was a small relief.

So Lucas walked over to him, drawing his sword as he did so. „It seems as if we are supposed to fight“, he remarked. „Do you want to attack me first?“

[Marcus Braeden]

As the mass of squires quickly scattered, all searching for their intended sparring partner, Marcus stood still, glancing around for the one he had been paired up with. Finally, a young, somewhere in his teen years, approached him. The boy had pale skin and red hair, looking like an Inarta who got lost in the big city of Syliras. But then again, Marcus didn't exactly fit in either. He doubted his slight Ravokian accent was well received, and he was a bit older than a majority of the squires. But Marcus wasn't going to let anything so trivial stop him from achieving his goals, his dreams.

When the boy, Lucus was his name, approached with sword drawn, Marcus quickly went for his sword but did not draw it fully. He only let a few inches of the blade appear from the scabbard. "Well, since you asked I suppose I will take it" Marcus smirked eagerly. He was excited for his first real spar, although he had sparred with a squire before. But that was when he had no real training, and now he was familiar with the Knights tactics...well at least Sighard's tactics.

Marcus stepped back a few paces, his foot digging into the cold earth with each step. He grabbed his shield and fully drew his own sword, feeling the weight of it in his hand. To be honest he hated the sword he was given. It felt as if it was pulled off of some old rack and tossed to him without a second glance. The balance was not where he liked it. It was far too hilt heavy, giving it far too much back swing, making him more likely to cut himself rather than his opposition. But, Marcus was simply have to deal with it for now and try his damn best not to hurt himself.

Marcus quickly began moving forward, well as quick as he could, as his armor dragged his movement speed down. It was something he would need to get used to, because he knew it would save his arse one of these days. Upon arriving in Lucus' vicinity, Marcus flicked his wrist upward, allowing his sword to move from the ground toward his opponent's chest. As the sword moved through the air, Marcus did his best to control any back swing that could possibly take his head off. Well he doubted that, as the sword wasn't exactly that sharp either. Damn he hated this sword.

[Lucas Arias]

Marcus looked so eager and excited that Lucas couldn’t help but roll his eyes. He couldn’t stand it when people acted like that, as if being a squire was the best thing in the world. It wasn’t. It bored Lucas more often than not. The Rearing Stallion was way more fun. Maybe he had been to fast in his assessment of Marcus. But since he seemed to be stuck here for the next little while, and it was unlikely that they would pair him with somebody different, he made a few steps back as well and waited for Marcus to attack him.

Lucas knew all about the correct stances and how to hold his sword and shield – in theory. He had a pretty good sword as well. He had inherited it from his father who was a great and noble knight (or at least very good at pretending to be such) rather than having pulled it from some old rack. In reality he still had a lot to learn though (the consequence of running off to the Rearing Stallion rather than practicing whenever an oppportunity presented itself).

Still, since Marcus had problems with his sword and was slowed down by his armor, he had settled into his stance and readied his sword and shield by the time Marcus had reached him. As Marcus‘ sword moved towards his chest, the redhead instinctively raised his shield. His feet were about shoulder-width apart so that his stance was more stable and he wouldn’t lose his balance because of the impact. He braced himself.

His counter-attack was … well, for a moment it seemed as if he was just going to try and stick his sword into his opponent’s chest as well, but then he quickly pulled the weapon upwards. The real attack was a diagonal slash, from Marcus‘ right shoulder to his left hip. Lucas wasn’t really in the mood for a spar, but he wasn’t in the mood to lose either, so he decided to actually put a bit of effort into it – for now, until he inevitably got bored again.

[Marcus Braeden]

The shield was such an awkward instrument, a large hunk of metal or wood meant to block incoming in attacks. Marcus hated the wretched thing, but the knights demanded he become proficient in its use. Marcus felt that the shield limited his mobility, just as his armor did. He hated the feeling of the piece of metal just sitting on his arm, when his sword was perfectly capable of intercepting incoming attacks as well. But, since Marcus had, Marcus decided to put it to use against Lucas' attack. It was a standard slash, aimed for Marcus's chest but travelling at an angle. Marcus lifted his shield and held it firmly as the blade struck the surface of the shield. His entire being seemed to vibrate for a brief moment in time. His opponents weapon bounced off of the shield and Marcus had a brief window of time to both plan a counter attack and execute said attack.

Marcus decided the best course of action was to attempt a thrust, aimed at Lucas' upper chest. Marcus lunged forward, twisting his wrist slightly, making sure the blade was on target. If the attack had managed to connect it would certainly leave a minor bruise on his opponents chest. But such was the world of sparring. Marcus had received a massive bruise on his shoulder, thanks to a blow from Sighard. Marcus doubted either of them expected to get walk away from this fight in perfect condition. Whilst Marcus' blade cut through the air, Marcus readied his shield, allowing it to cover most of his torso. Hopfully his sword would be sufficient to block an attack aimed somewhere else.

OOC :

Sorry for the wait. Had some internet issues.

[Lucas Arias]

Lucas felt the impact as Marcus blocked the attack with his shield. His sword bounced off it. For a moment pain shot through his arms, and he did what he could not to drop the sword or leave an opening for his opponent. It was only a practice fight, but still, he wasn’t in the mood to make a fool of himself this early in the fight!

As Marcus lunged forward, Lucas just stared at him for the fraction of a second because he hadn’t expected him to be that fast. And then he raised his shield again. He hated the thing – it was big and awkward – but at least using a shield wasn’t particularly complicated. You just had to raise it or lower it and hope that your opponent didn’t hit you too hard.

He somehow managed to block Marcus attack again, but as he was about to make a counter attack he noticed that the other squire’s shield covered most of his torso. How was he supposed to successfully hit him now? Was he supposed to get on his knees and aim for Marcus‘ feet?

He furrowed his brow, and then there was suddenly an expression of fake shock on his face. He pointed at a spot somewhere behind Marcus with his sword and exclaimed, „Look! Loren Dyres! He looks as if he’s really mad at you!“

Hopefully that would distract Marcus long enough that Lucas could try to thrust his sword into his opponent’s torso.

[Marcus Braeden]

For a brief moment there was a pause after Marcus' lunge had been deflected off of his opponents shield. Marcus expected a counter attack, as that was how a spar would usually go. Attack and receive until one made a mistake. Until one eventually submitted and gave in. It was simply a matter of lasting longer than your adversary in a fight like this, involving heavy armor and shields.

Instead of preparing for a sword flying at him, Marcus found himself twisting his head around after Lucas' call. As soon as his attention had turned from his opponent to finding the leader of the order, his guard was lowered, and his opponents sword quickly moved in to land a hit. Marcus' peripheral vision managed to catch a the gist of what was going on, a longsword about to make contact with his unguarded torso. Any maneuver involving the shield or sword would have taken too much time to execute before the blade made contact. Instead, his own basic survival instincts kicked in. He shifted his body to the right, hoping to jump out of the way, but his armor prevented a complete dodge. Lucas' blade managed to make contact with his shoulder, which was protected by the metal located there. But armor did not block out pain as much as it blocked injury. Marcus grit his teeth as he regained his composure.

"I wasn't aware that we were playing that way" Marcus quipped. Marcus spat a little of his saliva into the dirt, before making his next move. Regardless of Lucas' less than honorable display, Marcus had no intention of turning this spar into something more of a brawl found in tavern. But this didn't mean he would hold back.

Marcus rushed forward with his shield in front of him and his sword sticking outward. As he closed the distance bwteen the two squires, he drove his sword downward, aimed at his opponent's ankle. Simultaneously he also used his shield as a weapon, a common tactic he remembered discussing in the classroom. All he could do was hope that one of these attacks managed to land a hit, and hopefully take away some composure from his opponent.

[Lucas Arias]

„And I wasn’t aware that we were not playing that way“, Lucas retorted. „You know, they always teach us to be noble and honorable and fair and make Tyveth proud, but the world outside Stormhold Castle doesn’t work that way. The drunk in the tavern doesn’t follow the rules, and I’m pretty sure that whatever creatures you encounter in the wilderness don’t care about them either.“ He shrugged his shoulders.

He wanted to say more – a whole lot more. He was rather happy that his little distraction had worked and felt very confident as a consequence, but unfortunately Marcus had decided to rush forward – again. Since it was unlikely that Marcus would look for Loren Dyres twice, the redhead decided to actually try and block for a change. He drove his sword downward at the same time as Marcus, hoping to intercept his attack.

Unfortunately he hadn’t considered the possibility that Macus could be using his shield as a weapon. Lucas was not a shield expert. All he knew about shields was that they were big and awkward and could sometimes block attacks. So he tried to move a moment too late. His eyes widened as the shield hit him, and then he somewhat lamely stated, „Ouch.“

„I wasn’t aware that we were supposed to attack each other with our shields“, he said to Marcus, imitating his tone of voice. „How exactly do you use a shield as a weapon anyway?“

[Marcus Braeden]

"True enough, but are we drunks in a tavern? Are we wild animals in the woods. No, we are squires of the Syliran Knights. So I thought we would at least try to act like Squires" Marcus called out.

A shock wave was sent up Marcus' left arm when the shield he wielded made contact with the boy's armor. He had almost lost his grip when he was making the attack, as his shield was surely out of the optimal position to make such an attack. He just remembered the hero in a book he read hitting someone with his shield. Marcus didn't know technique, but he certainly knew what the word hit meant. But seeing as the vibrations almost made him lose control of his shield, perhaps imitating story books was not the best course of action in real combat. He would need to adjust to the clashing of various metals that occurred before attempting anything he had read.

And now the boy was asking him of how to wield his shield as a weapon?To be honest Marcus didn't know, having just reenacted the words he had read in a story. But Marcus didn't let that part slip out. "I feel as though you are one of those sneaky trickster types, judging from your last display. Besides, why would I tell you, my opponent, anything about combat technique?" Marcus stated sarcastically. As the two of them talked, Marcus remained in a guarded position, readying himself for some sort of attack from the boy..

[Lucas Arias]

„Well, not right now“, Lucas replied as Marcus asked if they were drunks in a tavern. „But I’ve been drunk on occasion. Haven’t you? As for acting like squires, I can certainly do that, if that’s what you want.“ And with that he suddenly held his head high and extended his sword at a perfect angle – his teachers would be proud – rambling about how he would slaughter Syliras‘ enemies. He almost pranced around as well.

He was rubbing the spot where Marcus‘ shield had hit him – without a doubt his skin would turn green and blue later – looking a little irritated when the other squire accused him of being one of those sneaky trickster types. Well, actually he was one of those types, and he had a mark from Kelwyn which would likely do all kinds of weird things if he ever bothered to use it, but he still didn’t want Marcus to say it to him.

So he said, in an almost overly serious tone, „Because we are squires of the Syliran Knights, and we need to work together, right? That’s what the knights always say. If we all get really good with a sword and a shield, our enemies will have a much harder time. And that’s what matters in the end, doesn’t it?“

He couldn’t help but be a little proud of himself. He could sound like the perfect squire if he wanted (but he didn’t want to, most of the time).

„So how do I do it?“ he asked, ignoring the look on Marcus‘ face. He wanted to find out how exactly to do it before he attacked him again. „Do I just come at you and try to bash your skull in with my shield?“