Piercing Waves [Training/Flashback] - Finished.

[Vith]

Day 57 of Spring 509AV

The faint sound of waves crashing against the shore broke the silence with a regular beat, almost like the heartbeat, or breath of the sea.
A few paces from where the sea continued to swallow the land, a small gathering of pines stood, just barely gaining enough nutrients from the sandy land they stood upon.
The pines cast a shadow, protecting a small area from the harsh light of the midday sun, a sun that sought to burn away anyone who dared enter it's sight.

This spring was warm. Not as warm as mid summer, but warmer than what was usual, or at least it was warm, almost hot today. The air was completely still, not wanting to aid those suffering the heat, and instead leaving them in dead silence where even the bugs seemed to be too scared to utter a sound.

But where nature refused to make sounds aside from the breath of the sea, such moods rarely applied to the more sentient of races, such as the young Charoda who were working vigorously beneath the towering pines.
Straws, harvested from the rough, tall grass edging the beach, was scattered all around the beneath the pine cluster, and in the middle of it all, busy fingers sought to bind them together, to make something of them.

Vith had been up earlier then usual today in order to gather the grass. The rough plants were prone to cut those who touched them, and the thin blade he had used to cut them, was not as much made for slashing or cutting as it was made to stab, thus Vith's fingers had gotten quite a few cuts from gathering them.
Never the less he was working in an unusually fast pace, seemingly wanting to finish whatever he was working on as fast as possible.

If possible the young being would like to be done just as the sun had passed zenith and the temperatures were to cool again.
HE gathered the straws between his fingers, made thick gatherings of straws, trying to get as many straws into one gathering as possible. ¨
While not slippery, the straws had a tendency to slip out of his hold when enough had gathered, and Vith took this as a sign that it was time to bind them. Holding the straws with one hand, he quickly pulled out a piece of string and tied the top together, careful as to not drop the straws.
Vith had already done so several times and six bundles of straws were now lying beside him, waiting to be used for whatever purpose he would have with them.

Letting out a sigh Vith let himself fall unto his back, looking at the pines through the opening in the hood.
The heat made it unpleasant to be wearing so much cloth, but e was not about to take it off, the sun would easily pull out the moisture in his skin and he did not want to go back into the water already.
Looking at the pines, unmoving in the windless midday, Vith wondered if the wind wasn't like the current of the land. There were plenty of currents underwater, and the wind seemed to move in a sort of similar patter, did it not?

Vith let himself ponder for a while. He was almost done and could use some rest.
Sleeping was out of the question thought. This region might be relatively safe, but Vith was not about to doze off in the middle of nowhere, he did not want to be eaten.

Eventually the sandy ground became a little to hard to be pleasant and Vith sat up again, looking at his work.
He had seen gatherings of straws like these before, and even though the land dwellers had used hay to make them, Vith was quite pleased with the beach grass.
He was aware that his work was no where near as good as those he had seen in the cities, but the gatherings he had made would have to suffice. Gathering the bundles in groups of three and three, Vith tied them together, decreasing the number of bundles from six to two.
Earlier he had found a rather large branch, and now he managed to put it in between the gatherings of grass. He now had a bundle of grass on a stick.

Leaving the second bundle behind, Vith got up and walked a few paces into the gathering of pines. Here he began digging in the sandy ground with the stick.
The sand made the ground easier to dig into, but it also had a tendency to fall back into the hole he was making.

Digging was a bit harder then Vith would have liked, and even though moving above water was easier than moving below it, with still felt his arms tiring faster then he would had liked, he really needed this training.
Once the hole was big enough Vith put the branch into it, and began putting the sandy ground back into the hole. He needed the branch to be able to stand.
Lastly he stomped the ground in order to hopefully harden it a little.

The branch was able to stand quite alright, and Vith returned to where his gatherings were.
He found his rapier, a fine thin blade, almost no rust at all, and flexible as ever. Vith was pleased that he had taken the blade along, even though it had a few unpleasant memories associated with it.
Picking up the weapon, Vith was delighted that it wasn't too heavy. His arms were already a tad worn and he would quickly become tired, had the blade been heavier.

Vith swung the blade around a little, getting a feeling for it. The web between his fingers was in the way a bit, but soon it adapted to holding the blade.
Once he had adapted he returned to the training dummy he had made, crude as it was.

Positioning himself in a sort of battle pose, Vith looked at the dummy. He made sure his feet was positioned right, allowing for faster movements and most importantly, balance.
Using a rapier, one would have to dodge blows rather then defend against them, the blade was simply not made for guarding, and thus Vith had made sure he could quickly dodge any imaginary blow.

Finally Vith was ready to begin the actual training, he had had to make a dummy, sharpen his blade and get into position, but now he was prepared to begin training his rapier skills.

--

Vith tried to imaging that the dummy was one of the pirates he had been enslaved by, but focussing on the illusion just made it harder to remember the footwork, stances and attacks. Vith had only practised with his sword for around a year, but even though he was self taught he had already found a few stances he thought were useful.

Focussing on his breath, Vith got it under control for a while before returning his focus to his body and the 'enemy' in front of him.
Then, suddenly, like a snake striking a prey, he thrusted the rapier forward.
The slim blade easily pierced through the dummy and hit the branch in the middle of it, making the edge bend as it was supposed to.
Vith liked to imagine that he had just stabbed the blade in between the ribs, through a lung and had hit the spine of his opponent, after all that was the purpose.
Retracting the blade, Vith did not wait a second before he swung the blade, swiftly touching the dummy, a distraction, before once again thrusting it into the wavy grass dummy.
The distraction had left a little 'wound' in the dummy, enough to break the skin, nothing lethal, but enough to make the enemy flinch.

This manoeuvre was one of Vith's favourites. Swinging the sword towards an arm or such, would make the enemy guard there, or try and dodge it, and since it was only a fake attack, Vith could quickly impale them with the actual attack, more often than not piercing a lunge or an organ.
The rapier was cruel in its efficiency, but Vith liked it just because of that. It could easily penetrate the enemy, even if they were to wear armour he could try and reach the joints or small spaces between the 'plates' or pieces of leather.

With that in mind Vith began rapidly repeating the move, striking the dummy swiftly and then stabbing it even faster. the key to mastering the move, in his mind at least, was repetition, and he was willing to repeat it until his arms felt like falling off.
The waves crashed against the shore, and Vith seemed to unknowingly adapt his breathing and attacking to the sound.
He swung the sword as a wave struck land, and before the next one came he would have stabbed.

A wave crashed, the blade was swing, water pulled back for the next wave to come, Vith stabbed the dummy, the rhythm of it all made it easier to keep focus, easier to train and easier to learn. Perhaps he would soon have the move completely learned so that he would perform it without thinking, that was his goal.

Vith gave himself to his training, his mind did not wander, and his focus was on the task. He felt his body moving, the frail bones being covered by muscles, muscles that moved according to what he wanted them to do, flexed, stretched, the muscles were everything, the muscles and the joints. Above and around the muscles were the skin, a moist skin currently covered by moist clothing, clothing that seemed heavier than they should be, only because they were wet.
On top of his body was the head, the head that made decisions. It made decisions together with the heart and the greater will of Laviku surely.

Though Vith was ever focussed on repeating his one move, focussed on his stance and movement, the thought of Laviku being in his mind, helping him make decision, it pleased him.
Vith Knew the god was with him, he knew what he was doing was right and that it was the will of Laviku. He knew that by honing his skills with the thin wavy blade he would be closer to fulfilling the will of the Sea, the will of Laviku.

---

His arms felt like stones that hung upon his shoulders. His wrist was hurting from the repetitive movement and Vith could barely lift the sword.

The sun had almost gone down and Vith knew he would have to stop his practice, he knew he would have to find shelter soon, but he was just too tired to think about it.

Having trained all day with only a few breaks to get some water, Vith's body had had enough.
His clothes had dried out long ago and thus they were not as heavy as they usually were, but his whole body was tired, it ached and demanded rest, and Vith was about to give in.
Giving in to his legs, Vith dumped down unto the sandy ground, unable to stand much longer.
As usual he had overdone it, simply because he had been caught up in great thoughts of pleasing Laviku. He knew that be training he would please the god, he would be able to act upon his will, but as it was now he was barely able to move.

The first dummy had been destroyed along the way, the straws cut or ripped out, and the second dummy didn't look too good either.
Vith looked at it a little before closing his eyes. Somewhere behind them was hurting a little, like it was sore, and Vith knew he was tired, but he could not rest yet.

A few chimes passed, Vith just sat there, resting his eyes, trying to regain his breath. Then he got up. His legs shaking under his weight and his arms hanging almost numb by his side he began to make his way back to his stuff.
The Rapier was at his side again, he couldn't carry it much longer, and soon he would have what little possessions he had aside from the clothes he wore.

A soft rain began falling as Vith picked up his goods. A welcome gift from Makutsi no doubt, perhaps a reward or thank you for his efforts. It could not be anything else, after all he had trained vigorously all day, and Makutsi was the child of Laviku, the god whose will he was doing.

The quiet sound of the waves was soon overshadowed by the pounding of a heavier rain.
Vith let his hood fall back and raised his face to the heavens, thanking the gods for their blessings. The heavy droplets on his face seemed almost like a sort of massage and Vith enjoyed it fully.
Vith stood there for a few chimes before he opened his eyes again. His clothes became heavy in the rain, but the knowledge that the gods acknowledged his hard work was enough for him to keep on moving.

Remembering a small cave he had seen earlier near the beach, Vith slowly made his way towards where he remembered it to be.
By now the tide would most likely have flooded it, at least partially, which was the biggest reason Vith wanted to go there, it felt safer.

--

The cave had been harder to find than Vith had thought. Mostly because it had been flooded, and secondly because there was almost no light left when he finally found it.
Making his way into the cave, with had found that in the back of it, was a little dry spot, no bigger then two or three men, but enough that he could climb up there and place his stuff.
Vith would really have preferred to sleep in the water, but he knew he would have been dragged out to sea with the tide, and he did not wish for that.

Removing most of his clothes, Vith made ready for sleep. Putting some of it on the ground as to sleep on, and then finally laying himself down with his cape on top, Vith's body finally knew rest.
In the moments before exhaustion caught up to him, Vith pondered on his training. Had he done good enough? Would he have to do better?
Realizing he had forgotten to stretch Vith let out a sigh. Seconds later he was fast asleep.

[End~]

[Kelpie]

Vith: +2 Gathering, +3 Rapier Lore: Making Make-shift Dummies, Rapier Styles, How Training Hones the Body Mod Note: A dedicated Charoda to the art of the sword. Nice job here, Vith.