Solo Becoming A Kuvan

[Kavala]

Timestamp: Early Fall, 512 AV

Kavala would have been lying if she said she wasn’t nervous. She was. The walk in from town was agony really, thought she used the time to warm up her muscles and limber up for the battle to come. She wasn’t sure what the Kuvan test really entailed, but since her chosen skill was dagger with a smidgeon of unarmed, that’s what she suspected she’d be tested in. Her body was encased in leathers and she was more than ready to get the test underway. Kavala reported to the Aid office and climbed the steps to the gymnasium upstairs when Malix noted her presence and nodded to her as she started up. It was definitely a last chime warm up, bounding up the steps carefully controlling her muscles as she did so. Breathe in, breathe out, and show no weakness. Kavala alighted to the top of the stairs and studied the room stretched out before them. It was set up with a large open space filled with hard woven mats on the floor, targets hung on the walls, and combat dummies lined up along another far wall. For all intense purposes, the place looked just like a sarassan. There were even sandbags hung from the ceiling on ropes that coiled at different ratios, indicating different lengths. Kavala looked puzzled. She thought she’d have to face someone else across the room in an observed match. But evidently there were other things this test included.

An Akalak man of dark blue skin stood by a podium that looked like it was more a desk than an actual podium. He tapped at some paperwork and looked her over. Kavala felt appraised as she approached the upraised piece of furniture just off to the left of the door. “Kavala Denusk?” The man asked. The Healer nodded.

“Yes. I am here for my test.” Kavala said.

“Very good. I’m glad to see that you are on time as well.” He said, not introducing himself. “Today you will be tested by Mos’rila, the proprietress of Godiva’s Refuge. She likes to test all the new female Kuvan in the city if possible. Her specialty is Unarmed Combat but she will be able to judge your dagger skills as well.” The man said just as a woman walked through the door also dressed in leathers. Kavala recognized her from seeing her both at Council Meetings and around the city at events. The two women approached each other, reached out and shook hands, and the Mos’rila pulled Kavala in for a close hug. “We are sisters of the city together, Miss Denusk. I test you to make sure you are worthy of Riverfall. And you have challenged yourself to this because you really feel you want to be worthy. Our women are the backbone of this city. We must be as strong as our men. We must. Good luck in your challenge today. I will not go easy on you because nothing will ever go easy on Riverfall.” Mos’rila said as her smile lighted up the room and softened her shorn hair and making her appear less intimidating than she first looked striding through the doorway.

“This test should last the better part of the day. There will be combat and most of it will take place here, but there will also be challenges in and around the city. You look strong, fit even, and willing to push yourself. I want you to be able to look at your wrist, and at the brand tattooed on it after this is finished and feel pride in this day.

“Thank you. That is what I want, should the city find me worthy to extend me citizenship.” Kavala said, shaking out her arms and feeling a bit nervous. She followed Mos’rila when the woman led her towards the center of the room. There was a large set of matts there, tightly stuffed, with a large white circle painted on them. It was a master’s circle, though the kind that was padded for students. Not perhaps as elegant as some Kavala had seen, but she knew the setup would keep her bumps and bruises to a minimum and yet be able to test her for all sorts of things. The two women moved into the circle, which was twenty feet in diameter, and faced each other. In turn they bowed, and then slightly crouched as the match began. The man read off the rules, his voice carrying around the room like an announcer at the arena.

“You have a bell to push Mos’rila out of the ring or otherwise disable her. If you do not, this will not count against you. We are looking for forum and technique. But ultimately, the goal is to keep her moving and force her out of the ring.” The man said. Kavala nodded, her eyes moving from the speaker who was obviously some sort of judge, to her opponent. Kavala inhaled, exhaled, and shook her arms again, loosening up. Half her stiffness was nerves. She wanted this test over with, and yet at the same time she wanted to make a good showing of herself as well. Kavala knew she wasn’t the best, barely able to hold her own competently at unarmed combat and dagger… but she didn’t want to actually embarrass herself against a citizen who was volunteering their time to test Kavala. That would really be bad if indeed she was found unworthy.

The two women took a step back, the judge or observer – whatever his position was – retreated to a safe distance with a clear view, and gently rang a hand bell. Mos’rila began to circle and Kavala moved in time with her. After just one or two steps though, the Konti knew she didn’t want to be a follower in this battle. The whole point was to be tested, not to be lead. The Konti moved forward, cross-punched firmly but without force, to test Mos’rila’s reflexes. The woman moved like liquid water, easily flowing out of Kavala’s way as the Konti gently tested her. It was then that Kavala realized by watching the human woman move, that she wasn’t going to get her out of the circle with any sort of ease. Kavala let go with a cross kick, twisted and then double punched, trying to make sure the woman was chambering and on balance. She was. The woman then came back with a roundhouse kick and when Kavala was ducking, caught the Konti I the shoulder with a punch. The healer grunted, twisted her body to minimize the impact and spun to get out of the way. A deep breath later, a re-centering, and Kavala advanced on the woman, driving into her with a series of cross punches that Mos’rila blocked. The impact of the two ladies arms felt really natural to Kavala, causing her to start to relax and loosen up.

Mos’rila reached forward, suddenly grabbed Kavala, twisted, and tried to throw the Konti over her shoulder. Kavala did not resist, but instead jumped into the flip, and when Mos’rila released her in preparation of striking her when she landed on the mat, Kavala tucked into a dive roll and came up on her feet. She twisted and tried to kick at Mos’rila’s thwarted attempt to disable her. The woman twisted though, recovered, and managed to land a punch to Kavala’s ribs. The Konti momentarily had the wind knocked out of her and she retreated back as her challenger once again took to the center of the circle.

[Kavala]

Rubbing her ribs for a moment, the Konti caught her breath, recovered, and jumped right back into the fight. Fists flying, Kavala advanced in a collective line across Mos’rila’s flank, trying to force her back a few steps. The tactic worked and the human was hard pressed to keep up with Kavala’s rapid fire advance. Kavala didn’t throw the predictable punches, which was why the strategy worked. Instead she cross cut with a move called a knife hand, striking up then down, then across the woman’s torso in an unpredictable non-sparring fashion. Five chimes into the battle and Kavala had decided this was no spar. This test was a test and she was going to treat it like something real.

The two women sweated and moved, one gaining on the other and one losing ground alternatively. It was clear to Kavala that Mos’rila was more skilled than she was, holding back. But the woman gave her as hard of hits as Kavala landed on the woman. As they circled Kavala noticed the woman had a slight favor to her left leg and tended to lead with her right elbow just before she was about to move. That gave Kavala something of a warning to duck if she saw something coming she knew she couldn’t block… or block if it was just an easy move. The more Kavala leaned on her formal unarmed combat training, the more Mos’rila was in her element able to predict and defend against the Konti’s attack. At least, Kavala thought, the human was as sweaty as she was, as the two moved around the circle.

Kavala changed strategy though, as soon as she realized this fact about Mos’rila. She started mixing her unarmed moves, pushing forward to leg sweep and instead of following through with it; she’d pull the sweep and turn the move into a flying kick before Mos’rila could react. Using those sorts of change-ups, the Konti was able to start landing some moves and driving the tester back. It was a slow painful process, where Kavala lost more ground than she gained, but each step was a victory to the Healer. She was not meant to be a warrior… she only had to become one to survive in Mizahar’s world. And as she fought, she started seeing a bit of admiration in Mos’rila’s eyes. Not the sort of admiration one would gain facing someone who was a better opponent. No. Indeed it was only the sort of admiration that came with facing someone who was bound and determined to be better than they had been and to be stronger than they actually needed to be. Kavala would not hide behind the Akalak warriors in her city. She would instead stand with them, shoulder to shoulder, and defend Riverfall if it was asked of her. In fact, she already had. The snarlwings had attacked. The bonedogs been summoned within the city to plague its people as well. The Konti hadn’t failed to react to either event, but had instead showed up in full armor and with her healing equipment in tow. Mos’rila saw that in her and as the instructor slowly allowed the Konti to drive her around the ring with her blows, she could already tell the woman hadn’t peaked with her skill. Instead, the Konti woman was just in her infancy, learning what there was to learn about her body and how to use it as weapon.

Kavala did indeed understand that. As she twisted and came forward, her weight on her toes and her balance at her center, she let loose another flurry of blows that Mos’rila countered easily enough but still had to take a step back or two in order to remain in control. Not giving up, the Konti kicked out, slamming her heel into Mos’rila’s calf and causing the woman to bite her tongue to keep from howling. So distracted, the Konti was able to grab the woman, twist, and use her momentum to throw the human over her shoulder and flat on her back. The proprietor of the Godiva’s Refuge went down easily enough, but rather than sit still and let the wind be knocked out of her, she was rolling away even before the Konti could slam down her heel and try to break a rib or two on her fierce human opponent. Mos’rila made a mistake though, and though it wasn’t Kavala’s actual doing, the human woman won the contest for the Konti because in her rolling, the two of them had gotten fairly near the edge of the circle when Kavala had flipped the woman. In rolling away, Mos’rila had inadvertently rolled towards the painted line on the mats. She didn’t stop fast enough, perhaps because she was intent on the Konti not hitting her or perhaps because the Konti was following her diligently, stomping as she went… her hand flew over the line, fingers just grazing the outside of the circle.

It was then the man rang his little bell, and the contest was over. A full bell hadn’t passed so Kavala was well within the time limit, though she was surprised she’d managed it at all. She paused, mainly to pant, then reached down and offered a hand out to Mos’rila who looked amused and disgusted all at once. “That was a gift, unintentional, but hardly a measure of your worth.” The woman said her smile and the laugh that followed slightly padding the words. “But don’t worry; there are more tests to come. I even have a very special one planned for you.” She said, laughing and glancing at the man who was there to moderate the test.

[Kavala]

“You have ten chimes to rest, relax, perhaps take in some water, and we’ll reset the room to test you on your daggers.” Mos’rila said, gesturing to a small table behind where the podium sat by the door. It was stocked with a picture that was beading with perspiration indicating the water within was cool. There were cups set out and a clean towel or two. Kavala made use of the towel, mopping her brow and the back of her neck, and then wiping her face down thoroughly. Then she poured herself a glass of water and drank sparingly of it, rehydrating without causing her body to bloat. She didn’t sit down though. And she certainly couldn’t relax. She had to keep her body moving, pacing up and down the length of the room by the door, shaking her arms again to ease the nerves and stomping her feet to keep the blood moving. What she really wanted to do was bolt. It was hard enough being a healer here in this situation… trying to fit in when all there were around were Akalaks, whom most of the world considered the ultimate warriors.

Kavala tried not to pay much attention to what they were doing. But her eyes kept glancing into the room, with nothing else to think about except perhaps how much she lacked and that she couldn’t believe she had the audacity to be here. Azure eyes scanned the room and saw that four people were now here in addition to the moderator and Mos’rila. They were moving the mats, stacking them up in various locations randomly, and placing pillars and large wooden blocks throughout the room. The blocks were all different shapes and appeared to be sturdy enough to stand on, even for a heavy man. Then she saw them draw the curtains over the room, darkening it to this half-light that left her blinking. No Akalak would have problems in this light, but a Konti found it difficult. It was as if Mos’rila knew this because she seemed only satisfied when it was indeed pretty much dark in the room.

When all seemed ready, the moderator rejoined Kavala with Mos’rila on his heels. “For this next challenge, we want you to be able to navigate obstacles and still utilize your daggers effectively. Everything here in the room you can climb on and it will not move. We have secured it down. From the ceiling there are sand bags suspended. Mos’rila will run the rigging that holds them in place, and set them to raising and lowering at her own direction. The ropes lead to a control board over here… “The moderator gestured to a congregation of the ropes that all lead to a central control panel on the wall. The panel had twenty or thirty switches that seemed to release pulleys that lead up and across other pulleys on the ceiling that in turn caused the sandbags to drop abruptly. There was no order to how Mos’rila would or could pull them so it seemed to Kavala that this challenge would be harder than the one on one combat would be.

But, like usual, the moderator wasn’t done. “To pass this test, you must impale each sandbag with a dagger fatally enough to release the sand within. The sand will make your footing slick against the wood floor, so be careful. This event is timed, though there is no actual time limit. Besides the noise you make and the sounds of the bags dropping, we will try to protect you from any outside noise distraction so you can battle on just sound and not so much sight alone. This is why the room is darkened.” He added, gesturing to the room in general. Normally, Kavala would have laughed because she could barely see his hand make the wide sweeping gesture, but again that was sort of the point.

The Konti took a deep breath and let it out. The sound invaded the room like a hiss. She placed her hands on her tamo daggers, drew them from where they were sheathed in one another, and checked to see that her spare pair was safely affixed to her weapon harness as well. “Will I be allowed to use my throwing daggers as well?” Kavala asked, curious to the extent she could utilize the other weapons on her harness. The moderator started to nod, gave Mos’rila an odd half smiled, and answered instead out loud. “Yes, of course, so long as the weapon you use is considered a dagger.’ He answered the Konti firmly.

She nodded, and then replied… “I’m ready then. I can begin when you wish.”

The words hung in the air as the moderator retreated to the doorway, closed it firmly, and stood behind the podium. Kavala could see a shield shimmer up and encase him as he stood there. A similar one materialized around Mos’rila and firmly encased her in a magical energy as well. Kavala decided they were only protecting themselves from an ill flung dagger as a preventative measure.

Kavala again took a deep breath, gripped her daggers, and before she was actually mentally ready, she could hear the clicks of Mos’rila reaching out and yanking a handle. Somewhere to her right a sandbag dropped. Kavala jogged forward, almost tripped over a huge crate, and then climbed it hearing the dangling bag and the rope in front of her. She stabbed out, reversing her grip on the dagger the moment she felt it impact with burlap and sand, twisting it and causing the fabric to rip. Sand showered her, and she coughed, twisting as she heard yet another bag drop. She jumped off the large crate, her eyes slightly adjusting to the gloom now and saw the sandbag swinging. She made an uppercut from right to left at it, using the dagger in her left hand but missed it by a mile. She had her right dagger up and stabbed it head on cleanly, but not enough to rip the bag enough to release the sand. She tried once more hitting it with a left lower cut but missed. At the same time she heard another bag drop, and then followed rapidly by another bag. The Konti let the sound frazzle her and she struggled, finally all but jumping on the sand bag and cutting it from the rope.

Where had the other ones been? As she turned, another bag dropped, this one smacking her upside the head and almost knocking her out. She slammed sideways at the force of it, blinked rapidly, and cried out, bringing her daggers up to defend her head. The sandbag wasn’t swinging but was rather bouncing up and down on the end of its rope due to the force of it hitting her head. She was able to cut straight up with both daggers and in a simultaneous move she X-cut the bottom and dumped sand all over her.

She sputtered, staggered away shaking sand out of her eyes, and then brought the daggers up as another bag threatened to slap her upside the head again. The Konti was a fast learner though. And her daggers were even faster, this time sliding through the burlap were the rope tied to it, freeing it neatly from the hanger without spilling too much sand on her. With its body ‘beheaded’ the bag hit the ground with a thud, spilling and everywhere, but not actually kicking it up in the air.

[Kavala]

Kavala twisted, swung around, and caught a sandbag just as it dropped behind her. She got it without looking, instead just using her ears instead of her eyes, head slightly tipped down. Kavala went to take a big step forward, her boot sinking into the soft puddle of sand she just created, and her feet slid out from under her dumping her ungracefully on the hard floor. The moderator had been right; the sand was slick on the polished wooden floor. She rolled, just in time to not get nailed with a sandbag that dropped down and was almost touching the ground. She killed it with one stroke, beheading it like the last one she’d taken down, and scrambled to her feet, listening for the sound of more sandbags to drop or ones that had already dropped to start swinging.

The sound of swaying was echoing all over the room. The Konti jogged through, heard one above her and had to jump up onto a series of crates to get high enough to slice the sandbag and free it from the rope. She used a duo combo, first a slice with the right and then left, her grips reversed as well as her daggers reversed, laying along the contours in the palms of her hands and not openly extended. As she fought the Konti gained more technique and lost the edge of desperation to keep up. Many of the sandbags had already fallen, some cut down, others just hanging freely. She moved around the room, seeking the ones she’d missed, sometimes tangling in free-hanging ropes, mistaking them for sandbags and slicing the ropes off unintentionally as she mistook it for a sand bag. Her tamo daggers were sharp, and for that she was glad. Without the critical keen edge, the dangling ropes would have no tension that would allow a dull dagger to cut them. So she was thankful for the attention she always paid them. It was the healer in her… always keep her knives sharp. One never knew when surgery was needed… and one always had to be ready.

Kavala blinked, bringing her mind back to the here and now. She needed to focus. This battle wasn’t life threatening. It was, however, important to her future. The Konti swung around, daggers raised, waiting for more sandbags to make themselves known. Nothing.. No swaying, no creaking of ropes... it was almost two silent. A sandbag slammed into her suddenly, unexpectedly, and almost soundlessly. The impact knocked her off her feet and sent her scrambling on her hands and knees. She lost one of her daggers, the tamo skittering across the floor. The Konti would have cursed, but she was afraid of making a sound and giving her position away. That bag was forcefully swung. She heard footsteps, and crouched. Another bag swung just over her head, narrowly missing her again. Kavala pulled one of her throwing daggers and launched it, her brain doing complex math for her. She knew how fast the bag was swinging and its arch because it had passed so closely. She judged what was the leading edge of it, and threw, hurling the dagger dangerously out into the dark. The sound of burlap ripping rewarded her as sand whooshed to the floor in the distance. She breathed deeply, pushed to her feet, and scrambled up onto the nearest crate, climbing so high that she was out of any range of someone standing on the ground. The Konti Healer could almost touch the ceiling up here, and that was a good thing. Another sandbag came at her out of the dark, this time hurled to knock her free of her perch. Kavala had no choice. She simply jumped, leaping into the dark, hands outstretched, knowing there was a sea of ropes hanging from the ceiling and that odds were she could contact one before she hit the ground.

Luck was with her. As she reached out, a rope slapped her in the chest and she was able to curl around it as she fell, letting it catch her weight and swing her out of the way. She would have drawn another dagger to throw, but one hand was occupied holding onto the rope while the other still clutched her remaining Tamo. The rope swung her body in a huge arch, circling back until Kavala could see the still wildly swinging sandbag in the distance. It was thankfully a pale burlap that stood out in the dark. She let the rope slide through her hands a bit, felt her feet touch down, and then hit the ground running, dropping the rope. She slid on sand again, but managed to stabilize and then kept going, twisting her body to the side so she could do a vicious uppercut with a bull fisted grip on her remaining dagger. Then, she sheathed it in the spot that was vacated by her throwing dagger, and pulled her second set out.

Dual wielding was always better than just having a single dagger. Kavala wondered how well the double bladed sword would work in this case and thought it would be fantastic. Riaris was right. It would give her superior reach, whereas the daggers just kept her getting into the line of fire – or in this case – the line of impact with the sandbags. Kavala stopped, turned, and honestly couldn’t find any more sandbags swinging. Her vision as used to the darkness now and she could half see around the room. There weren’t any more as far as she could tell. So she paused, twisting around, and caught a dim view of Mos’rila moving towards one of the curtains. She flung it back, flooding the room with light once more; causing Kavala to blink with an almost painful watering of her eyes… no that wasn’t due to the light. That was due to the sand in them, the Konti just suddenly realized.

[Kavala]

“Good. You got them all.” Mos’rila said, gesturing towards the table with the water and towels. The human moved to open one more drape, and Kavala saw what a mess she’d made of the room. Sand was everywhere, including all over her. She moved then, not towards the water table and its refreshing promise, but towards the center of the room. She re-sheathed her spare tamo’s and retrieved her lost one. She mated it up with its pair and returned them to her weapons harness. Then she went looking for her throwing daggers. Once those too were retrieved, wiped and re-sheathed on her weapons harness, Kavala turned back to get refreshments. She drank deeply this time, the water closer to room temperature and not cold enough to give her cramps. Then she shook off the sand, wet a towel, and began scrubbing her face. She waited, not sure if this was the end of her test or not. Truth be told, Kavala was tired. She was loathing to admit it though. She was sure complaining about the length and variety of her test would not get her Kuvan Mark any faster.

Mos’rila did not disappoint. As soon as she had the four strange men dressed in black cleaning up the facility, she wandered over and met Kavala. The woman shook her hand and smiled. “We’re almost done. So far you’ve passed your unarmed and your dagger wonderfully. But we want to try out a new sort of test, one that’s closer to the reality of combat in Riverfall and designed to see how street smart a person is as a citizen. You do not have to take this portion of the test, but we’d really like you to try it out since we might make it a regular part of the program.” Mos’rila said.

Kavala looked thoughtful. She didn’t want to appear weak, like she didn’t want to be some sort of guinea pig, but then again, she didn’t want it to hurt her potential standings. “If I take it, can it negatively impact my standings as a potential Kuvan candidate?” Mos’rila glanced at the moderator then back at Kavala and remained quiet.

“If you participate, I want your mind on the task, not on your status. We’ll take a break, have a brief respite with food, and then get started. If you do not agree, your test can be over now.” Mos’rila said. Kavala noted immediately how the woman didn’t actually answer her question. She’d dodged it neatly, almost as well as she dodged blows in the master’s circle. The Konti thought it over. She was a fool for agreeing, but one thing Kavala didn’t lack was curiosity. If she didn’t take this portion of the test, she likely wouldn’t know what it was all about. The Konti stood silent for about five chimes, thinking, until she finally felt herself nodding her head.

“I’ll do it.” Kavala affirmed.

Mos’rila grinned. “Good. It’s all settled.” Let’s go have a quick bite at the Blue Bull and then come back here again ready to work. Kavala agreed. And together the two women walked down the stairs, out into the street, and crossed town to the well-known eatery and pub, welcoming a light lunch that gave them a chance to refresh and get ready for the next phase. While Kavala ate, she and Mos’rila chatted about a whole lot of different topics, from Mos’rila starting Godiva’s, to Kavala’s own capture and entrance into the city. Mos’rila asked her about her time as a Nakivak and Kavala was as honest as possible about it, trying to be unemotional as she listed its flaws and strengths. For one thing she’d have never stayed in Riverfall without the Nakivak status. And by not staying here, she’d not have had her son which was in many ways the love of her life. It was not an unpleasant visit and the more Kavala talked to Mos’rila, the more she felt a slight kinship with her. Kavala thought she could definitely look up to the woman and hoped in the future she’d have an opportunity to train with her. That is, if she passed this next phase.

Continued: Taking The Test Further

[Taylani]

Kavala

Skills :

+3 Unarmed Combat
+1 strategizing
+3 Weapon:Dagger
+3 Dual Wielding
+3 Blind Fighting

Lores :

Unarmed Combat: Testing Reflexes
Mos’Rila : Favored her left leg
Mos’Rila: Tends to lead with right elbow
Strategy: Stop being predictable
Combat: Need to remain Unfrazzled
Blind Fighting: Ears and Touch are reliable senses.
Kuvan Test: Important to Kavala’s Future

Notes :

I enjoyed reading this. It was a fun experience when half way through the dagger sequence I had a huge illumination moment when I was all “oh Blind fighting!” PM me if you have concerns with the grade, also don’t forget to delete/you’re your Grade request