Solo [The Sanctuary] Another Kind Of Love

[Kavala]

Timestamp: 33rd of Winter, 513 AV

Kavala met Anir two days from their previous meeting, deciding that this was going to be one of those seasons of pain. Last season was a season of illness, the pregnancy she suffered bringing her body to the brink of giving out. This season was about correcting that condition, learning a new weapon, and finding out what mattered most in terms of her life: her body or her sanity. Anir was definitely not good for her sanity, but after spending all day yesterday limping about but feeling… that good feeling of soreness that came from having trained hard, Kavala was satisfied. She’d stepped up the runs along the beach, not being able to go far, but working on getting back to where she was before the baby\ies. She also stood in front of the full length mirror in her suit and studied herself unclothed, dissatisfied with what Ralac and Ia’del had done to her form.

Before Tasi, she had sported narrow boyish hips that made people think she was still in her early teens. Tasi had widened them slightly, giving her body more curves than it ever had before. Ralac and Ia’del had finished the job. No one would mistake her for a boy now, not with the fuller breasts and the soft roundness in her middle that looked like she might just be coming into the second stage of another pregnancy. It wasn’t, however, the huge bulge of flesh that made her still look pregnant she’d had after the delivery. Slowly, the skin was firming up, tightening, and she longed for the days she had ribs and abdominal muscles again. It wasn’t that she was vain. No, that wasn’t it, though she wanted to still be attractive for Riaris and Recoomas. What she really wanted was to be back in a position where she had the muscles to really move again. Bending and twisting, even picking up a hefty akontak newborn was definitely not the same with a body like this as it was for her with her pre-pregnancy body. And she wanted to fit back into her leathers.

So she spent a lot of free time, while it was still winter, working out. Anir had recommended body building, working with weights and running which expended a great deal of energy but got a body back into shape fast. She didn’t want to be a fast runner. But she did want to be a strong endurance runner. And between the visits with him where they worked on the double bladed sword, Kavala followed his advice.

But today, there was a meeting and a planning session to attend. Kavala met Anir when the sun was at its highest point in the weak winter sky. He was early, there waiting when she arrived. And without further ado, he blindfolded her again. She stood in the resting position while he did it and waited for his words. Kavala had no idea where today’s lesson was supposed to begin or end, she only knew that it would be a tough one for her.

“There are various ways to utilize the double bladed staff for defense. We talked about some of them the day before yesterday when we met. But today I want to get into the six and a half point forms that are so critical to double bladed pole work.” He said, his voice more soothing than Kavala had found it before. She listened, nodding, not sure what the six and a half point forms were, but knowing he’d explain as he always did – in time. She wondered, having a slightly hard time at the beginning of the lesson on focusing, if this was how she’d trained him once upon a time, when they both lived vastly different lives. He was speaking though, giving her instructions, and she almost flinched because she had to concentrate hard to figure out what he was actually saying.


“Kavala, bring the staff forward raise it up to shoulder level then up above your head. Drop it back down to shoulder level, then thrust your arms out in front of you as if you are doing some pushups actually standing up. Feel the forward thrust? Make sure your thumbs are positioned along your lacing on your grip so your edges of your blade are positioned forward. Feel the power there? This is the beginning, the first move, of the straight form. Now, bring the double bladed sword back to your shoulders and let it drop down to below your waist. When you raise your double bladed longsword and pushed it away from you, you could have knocked an attack off target or struck an opponent down. When you dropped down, you could have taken an opponent unaware down below their reach.” He added, then stepped back. Kavala could hear the scuff of his feet against the firm sand and knew he was moving away to give her room.

Kavala took the rear stance, shifted her grips on the weapon she was already holding out before her crosswise, and then brought it shoulder height, above her head and then down at an opponent’s knee level. Since he had her blinded, she felt the weight of the weapon, how it moved and shifted as she raised it and lowered it. She also made sure she used her rear stance to push her weight forward, utilizing the force in her body, and slide her feet into a cat stance for the actual strike itself. Anir had already demonstrated the additional power that gave her so she made sure the lesson didn’t go to waste. Rapidly, without being told, she reset the move and repeated it again, this time a bit smoother with her timing of her legs giving her the optimal power. She reset again, lunged forward, striking upwards then down in a straight block, and then reset. On the forth time she changed it up, striking downward first, then going higher, repeating the newly learned move backwards, to see if her brain could figure it out. She called a halt upon the reversal of the move and Anir barked a disagreement. “Keep going. You aren’t teaching your body anything unless you memorize it here and now.” He said, ultra serious about her body learning the lesson and memorizing it.

But before he let her start again, he added weights in the form of iron rings that bound to the blade by silken sashes to either end of the blades, heavy ones, so that as she practiced the movement, it was a strain to lift the blade up because it was about twice as heavy as it normally was.

Kavala kept working on that same form, over and over again, until her body protested and her arms were shaking. Anir stood stoic the whole time, and when she truly faltered he kept her going. It was a long time later, hundreds of practice motions behind her, that the Konti was allowed to stop. When she did, her arms were shaking and the double bladed sword in her grip was quivering.

[Kavala]

Kavala was tired after the grueling repetitive straight moves, hungry, and still blindfolded. She was grateful Anir allowed her to rest. Resting, of course, involved walking it out, shaking her arms to rid herself of the tiredness, and practicing her motions blind. “Go on. You know the drill. Jog, not walk, two miles down the beach. And when you think you’ve gone far enough, turn and come back. Shake your arms out as you do so, making sure you get those muscles relaxed but keep them warm.” He instructed. Kavala nodded, turned, and going by the sound of the wind and the waves on one side, started down the beach. She paused at her fallen log, retrieved her sheaths, and blindfolded, gently wiped down the blades and sheathed them. Then set the blade carefully to rest where she could find it when she returned.

Running blind wasn’t as easy as it looked. At first, because the waves coming in came in at different frequencies and in a jagged line not a straight line, Kavala found herself running into the water often. Then, moving higher she found herself not following the curve of the beach and drifting into deep sand. She had to feel everything with her feet, pay attention to the noises around her – what she could hear above the rasping of her own breath – and try to follow the shore. Into deep sand she went, into the water she went, and tripping often over flotsam was common. She didn’t actually fall until she jogged straight into an enormous pile of seaweed that had drifted up on the beach in the night. That tangled her up and she went down in a painful heap. As she fell, she felt the sharpness of rocks which had probably caught the seaweed heap. She knocked her nose sharply against one hidden in the tangled mess. It didn’t feel broken, but for a moment she did all but see stars.

The stuff was slimy, stank, and had the noted rot of detritus on its surface. She struggled to get out of it, pushing through the thick stuff, and finally rolled free onto the bare hard sand. She got up, trying to find her bearings again, and only managed to get any hint of direction when a particularly big wave crashed down to her left. She turned around, and kept running up the beach the way she’d started out. The Konti’s lungs burned, and her hip was sore where she’d fallen into the seaweed. But she was determined. Every burn now, every minute she spent training got her that much closer to back to normal, and maybe even better. Kavala wanted to be better. She didn’t want to be a ‘mother’ with a ‘mother’s body’. She wanted to be a warrior with a warrior’s body despite the three children she had to say otherwise.

When she ran far enough, she turned, stumbled over her own footprints higher up in the dry sand, and then eased down to the waterline to begin her run back. She tripped twice, both times over large rocks, but by and large made it back to where Anir was without incident. She’d been smart earlier, before the lesson had started... and made a rock line in the sand going all the way down to the water… one wide enough that she couldn’t cross without stumbling over them. They were her marker for the big dead tree that was her unofficial meeting spot for Anir. And once she stumbled over that line, she paused, turned, and bent at the waist… putting her hands on her knees and breathing deeply. Then she headed up the beach until she hit the wood of the log, and skirted around it until she stood in the spot of disturbed sand where she’d been training before. Toeing around, she found her double bladed sword and picked it up. She unsheathed it blind and tossed the sheaths back behind her. Then she waited in rest position.

Anir made her wait a long time before he spoke. Kavala was not certain if it was because he wanted her breath calm enough so that she could hear him or if he just liked making her wait. When he didn’t speak for the longest time, she continued to wait, still out of breath until he stepped forward. She heard his boots crunch the sand. And gently, a cloth warmed from a pocket dabbed the corner of her nose and then the corner of her mouth. “You are bleeding.” He said softly. Kavala wanted to reach up and check for herself, but she restrained her body, holding still. Anir’s gentleness startled her and also lulled her into a sense of security.

“I fell. Tripped over seaweed. I will have to learn to walk across it blind to avoid that in the future. It was caught on rocks beneath it that were hidden in the stinky mass.” She said, knowing that was where the nosebleed had come from.

Suddenly, he slapped her hard across the face barehanded.

Kavala started to reel then wrenched herself upright. His voice was dangerous, low, and full of anger. “Never, Kavala…. Never let another man or woman take your blood. Ever. You know how that can be used against you! Don’t leave your blood lying around and certainly don’t accept assistance from outsiders. If you bleed, clean your blood up and never leave bloody clothes or even drips on the floor.” He said, stepping back. She knew then that he’s slapped her hard so she wouldn’t forget the lesson. So without bringing her hands up, she slipped her tongue out of her mouth and swiped at her Konti blood dripping down her nose. The metallic taste was a tangy in her mouth and she smarted over it, but didn’t want to wipe her hands on her face and perhaps release part of her resting hold on her blade.

Anir continued, without even an apology.

“Next you will learn the pivot moves. Raise your blade to about chest level. I want you to practice moving the rear hand to move the blade tips around, using the forward hand as a pivot. If you draw an “X” in the air and then a "+" you can add a great deal more force or range of movement to your attacks. Move your forward had, twist at the waist, and switch between stances where appropriate. Start out with the rear stance.” Anir said, speaking briskly.

Kavala felt her back foot slide back almost automatically as she took the stance. Her hands gripped forward and she mentally assigned her left one as the forward hand. By default the right hand became her rear hand. She moved her rear hand then, as Anir had described, and practiced the X’s and +’s in the air. He barked corrections to her, getting her to even out her shoulders, fix her stance, work on her balance, and pivot more at the waste. Anir seemed to find Kavala inflexible around the middle and had her bending and twisting while she was whirling the blades in their patterns. She started to sweat again as he stepped back, called out stances and then had her break up the X and + motions with other blocks and jabs. Kavala felt like she was running a race as she stepped back, forwards, and then twisted. It was harder still when he had her reverse herself, spinning in place to block or confront blindly an opponent that appeared imaginarily behind her. The scarf blinding her kept her hair under control though today she’d worn it long. It was soon soaked, as was the colorful strip around her face restraining her vision.

The Konti concentrated on her sweeps, pivoting right then left at Anir’s encouragement to perform the motions in a half circle before and behind her. She twisted, sending sand scattering as she whirled the blade, growing more and more confident with it. Anir assured her that as she progressed, she’d be able to do an X or + motion directly behind her with just a slight waist pivot before his training was done. Kavala hoped so, because in a way whirling the blade and the constant strain on her arms was beginning to wear on her. He called a halt twenty minutes later and asked her to sheath the blade, sit down, and meditate over it. She awkwardly moved to retrieve the sheaths, taking more than a few minutes to find them. Once the blade was blindly wiped down, sheathed and sitting across her knees where she’d folded down on the sand, all she could do was bow her head over the blade and clear her mind.

Anir said nothing, knowing this was going to be just a short break to give the girl some time to rest.

[Kavala]

Break time was over before she knew it. Anir called the training back in session even though Kavala’s arms still burned and her back was starting to feel really strained. Legs ached from the run and her lungs, while strong, were tired from trying to feed oxygen to the rest of her broken down body to keep it going. She knew though, deep down, things would only get better if she kept trying. So when Anir told her it was time to continue, she rose – still blindfolded – from her break on the giant log, and blindly found her double bladed sword where she’d left it propped in the sand. Unsheathing it was becoming less and less awkward for the blinded Konti. Within a sliver of a chime she had it out of its sheaths and was standing in her little trampled circle of sand, assuming the ‘at rest’ position. Anir, of course, was silent for a time. Kavala decided he used those moments to gather thoughts and evaluate pupils.

“Circular moves are important, Kavala. They are in many ways the combination of the X and + moves, as well as blocks, strikes, and straight moves. The mastery of the circular moves entails the mastery of one’s body and one’s double bladed sword. So in that light, we will drill you until your body understands.” He added, shifting a bit restlessly in the sand. Kavala thought it odd, in that moment, that her instructor was restless, but nonetheless paid attention to the words he spoke. Next, she knew, would come his instructions. And if she missed those, the whole point of the lesson would be lost.

“Shift your rear hand, Kavala, to the back of your grip.” The Konti shifted her stance, picked a forward and rear hand based on how she was standing with her left leg forward, thus making her right hand the rear grip, and slide her grasp of the blades back until she was butted up against the guard with her hand. “Move your tip in a circle, using your rear hand, and draw an interlocking pattern made of four circles. We call this the clover leaf. Start each circle with an up down motion… vertical… then move it out to the left or right and back to where you started. You learn this in fencing and swordwork. It does equally well in staff, and thus is perfect for double bladed sword. Your weapon is a hybrid, so you’ll want to adapt moves from each of its parent disciplines to perfect your art. Remember, for every move your front blade makes, your rear blade is duplicating it in the end. Make your clover so your blade faces out, its cutting surface also the striking surface. Now, be aware that full circle moves – meaning parries and blocks – are going to be too slow for actual combat at first. But you’ll get better and they will work just the same… and you’ll need… no demand perfection from your body for partial circles because they will save your life. And in performing them as Kata, you will be able to teach your muscles to memorize these moves in order to someday save your life. And not only that, Kavala, but you’ll need them to take a life if that is ever necessary. And as you know it frequently is.” Anir said, looking pointedly at the blinded woman, even though he knew she couldn’t see him.

“Let’s begin.”

Kavala nodded, her hand grip already in position and her stance that of a forward one. She thought about what he said – always start vertically – and drew the weapon up, using her rear hand as the driving force and her forward hand as the guiding force. She brought the weapon up, circled right, then left then left then right until the pattern as he’d outlined it was formed. Then she stepped back, rested, then stepped forward to do it again. Anir grunted, adding on occasional comment about how sloppy she was, about how she needed to keep the blade steady and how much the tip of her blade was wobbling. She could actually feel that through the blade as vibrations transferring down the length of the shaft beneath her grips.

The Konti forced her breath to come evenly, taking in big drinks of air and letting them out with equal gusto as she lunged forward, drew her circular patterns, and stepped back, bringing the blade back. Anir refrained from commenting, while she regrouped and then switched hands, bringing the blades to the other side of her body, flipping the weapon over, and shifting positions until her left hand was rear and her right hand was forward. She knew better than to stop, instead jumping into a pattern of ten thrusts forward, circle patterns drawn, and then returning to rest switching sides and repeating the process. She could feel sweat trickling down between her breasts and her back began to ache before long. Forward… circle the blades, back, rest, forward circle, back rest… she repeated the movements over and over trying to teach her body the motions of her muscles by heart.

Kavala’s body was having none of it. In fact, about on set fifty she tripped moving forward after changing hands with the blade. Falling forward, she drove the blade into the sand, fell just to the right of it on her knees… and dug her hands into the loose sand. Anir snorted in disgust. “Pathetic, Kavala. Seriously? Your toddler is more coordinated. Get up. Now.” He said, his voice dripping with disapproval. She felt the toe of his heavy boot bump her ribs, first stiffly, then again more swiftly causing the Konti to jerk, and scramble blindly to her feet. She forgot her sword, still impaled in the sand, and felt around for it, one hand clutching her bruised ribs.

[Kavala]

She got up. What else could she do? As soon as she was on her feet again, Anir removed her blindfold and had her double-bladed sword in his hands. “Clear your head. Walk out. I want to see you sprint to the waterline and back twice. Then we will begin again.” The trainer said, knowing he had to get Kavala out of her set patterns. She had the technique, but her stamina needed work. Some of it would come with plain old groceries added to her body. But the rest had to come with the natural grace and poise her race carried. She had it in her; Anir was just trying to get it out.

Kavala was glad to be free of the blindfold. She’d never trained blind before. And sprinting with full eyesight was a glorious break from trying to fight blinded. So Kavala shook her head and ran, leaving the double bladed long sword behind. She gloried in it, racing up the sand and into the sea where she paused a moment, did a bit of a dance, and sprinted back to Anir. She was winded when she returned, but that wasn’t unexpected. She bowed in front of Anir, picked up her long sword again, and simply watched him as she waited for his next instructions.

He wrapped the blindfold around her head again.

Kavala felt like crying out at the obstruction but said nothing, her breathing increasing with the anxiety. She was starting to dislike the dark, especially in broad daylight, because it meant she was going to get hit, a lot. “Now….” Anir started off, sounding thoughtful and pensive. Kavala followed the sound of his voice as he paced in front of her, certain he was not going to tolerate much in the way of complaints even though she was tired.
“The only other double bladed sword movements that are really important for you to learn are the thrust and jab. If you don’t have these moves in your repertoire, then you are going to fall short in a fight. We’ve gone through a dozen of moves already… and all of them can be combined neatly. For example, if you combine the circular and pivotal moves, it will create a figure out motion. The best teachers in Riverfall will tell you that the double bladed sword only makes one noise. What does that mean?” Anir asked, looking sternly at Kavala even though she couldn’t see him.

Kavala paused… tilted her head to one side and thought about it a moment. “It means, I assume, that the same motions used to deliver strikes can deflect attacks and vice versa. If you are truly skilled, it’s always one in the same.”

Anir grunted, surprised she knew the answer. “Yes, it means a defensive move and a counter attack can be combined into one motion. A slam that knocks an attack away can be allowed to slide down the shaft and hit the hands. A parry can be made with a thrusting motion to strike. It is all a dance, Kavala. You need to know your double bladed sword intimately and each time you take it out you dance with it.” He added, pacing back and forth in front of her again.

Kavala had a question. “Does that mean footwork for both can be combined in the same moves? I know it works like that for unarmed, but is it any different for double bladed sword?” She pondered, not sure if it would be or not.

Anir answered in the affirmative. “Yes. Of course. The moves and the footwork are never separate. They are one in the same... thus what are good for one is good for both. Practice all these moves diligently Kavala and you will soon be able to handle the double bladed sword like it was an extension of yourself.” He added, nodding encouragement to her though she could not see it. Kavala, on her part, stood stoic, listening blindly and following his conversation even though her world was dark.

Her instructor wasn’t finished though. “Kavala, speaking of footwork, I want you make most of your moves from the rear stance, with the majority of your weight on the rear foot, but move into front stance for a thrust or jab. They are simple moves, carried out exactly as you do in dagger. I have shown you horse stance as well. When you are thrusting and jabbing, I want you to drop down into horse stance because you will double sometimes triple your downward strike which will enable you to swing into defensive moves easily at the conclusion of your attack. You visualize someone is attacking your forward leg, and avoid it by moving into a crane stance. At the same time make a low parry with your rear hand high to sweep the attack away. Try it… “ He said, which of course meant that Anir was attacking.

Kavala listened to the sounds of his boots on the sands and brought her double bladed sword up into defensive position. She could picture him moving easily, swinging his blade at her forward leg, which was her right. She brought her weight back, moving from a forward stance to a rear one and then into crane position. She could almost picture where his body was by the sound of his boots shifting on the sand so she brought her sword out, blocked by diverting his swing, then moved into a horse stance for power and slapped her leading blade downward. She was almost shocked as she heard him grunt and felt her blade catch on his. Kavala hadn’t hit him, but she’d surprised him enough that he had to actually move faster than a snails pace to catch her and block. His block she felt clearly and swung into it, using the clover leaf pattern he’d just taught her. She pressed forward, dropping into horse so that as she hit downward she gained more power before moving back into a defensive position again. Her sword bounced on his, blocked, but she was moving again, attacking, before she knew he could reset.

Exhausted she pressed forward, not caring now that she was tired, but wanting above anything to simply touch him with her blade. She ran through all the moves he’d taught her and ran through + moves and X moves and kept the pressure on him, all the while each time her swords were blocked, moving into a new attack stance. She was breathing hard but continued to press forward, wanting more than anything to simply stay upright and keep moving without being hit.

She felt him shift, either from a gust of wind where none had been before or from the sound of his clothing moving... and suddenly blocked, throwing her double bladed sword up like a hand rail in front of her. IT neatly caught his blade and she thrust sideways, moving into the clover leaf again and this time halting it only halfway through and trusting.

Kavala heard a grunt and felt her sword taste something briefly, ever so briefly, before it was tossed away in a block. She was ready for that though because he’d just gotten done drilling into her head that she had to move, move, and move to stay alive. So the Konti blindly swung, bringing up her blades in a figure eight designed to catch an attack and got one, dragging it off to the side and opening her opponent up for an attack. Kavala didn’t do what he might have thought she was going too, because as she pushed his sword out of the way, she moved into the crane stance which freed up her leg and kicked out, extending her hip in a move designed to mix the double bladed long sword and her unarmed combat. Her powerful kick struck Anir’s foreword leg, higher than she’d have liked since she was blinded by the cloth around her eyes. But had she been able to see, she could have and most likely would have certainly kicked his knee out.

Anir laughed, reached out and took hold of her still defensive double bladed sword, and gently disarmed her. “Stop playing dirty. I like it... you are going to need to fight like this to win. But in the here and now I want to retain the use of my knee.” He said, laughing and obviously calling a halt to the training. She felt him gently take her blade, sheath it, and then set it aside. Then he reached out, grabbed her shoulders, and spun her around in a tremendous circle that caused her to be disoriented. “Run again, little deer. Run up the beach until your side no longer hurts. Do not remove the blindfold. When you can go no further due to the stitch in your side, return here and collect your things.” He said, his voice fading when he walked away. “I’ll be back in the evening for our final session today. I believe, for now, you have chores to do so you’d better hurry up your run.” He chuckled, turned, and headed away.


Count: 1,527

[Kavala]

Kavala did as Anir requested, sprinting down the beach. She tripped over seaweed, flotsam and even small stones but managed to keep to her feet. The Konti was slowly getting better at running in the darkness and wondered if Anir had some sort of precognition where he saw her blind in the future and wanted her to be able to fight. She didn’t think so but at the same time she hoped the training paid off if she ever got into a situation where she needed to be able to feel her way out of some place dark or even fight her way out. She knew she didn’t look graceful stumbling along, and even less so when she fell over the first huge mound of seaweed she ran into.

Then, she wondered if she wasn’t doing the blind fighting and blind running wrong. He wanted effort and her to still be able to see. So Kavala started running in place and feeling with her feet as she did so, carefully placing them inches forward as she did. That caused her to stop running in the dark, to stop tripping over things, and start moving by feel with a gracefulness that was artificially infused in her.

Kavala finished her run with a stitch in her side and returned to find the beach empty. She did her chores, broke her fast, and saw patients. Then, in the evening at the appointed time, she was back on the beach shaking her head and wondering if all this training was worth it. She neatly ran in place, stretched, and got her muscles going and warmed up. She’d been active all day and was slightly tired, but there was no accounting for Anir when he wanted to train and teach her something new.

He was right on time and wasted no words in greeting. “The double bladed sword remains one of the most versatile hand delivered weapons of all time. They are among the most lethal non-projectile weapons you can wield if you learn to wield them correctly, Kavala. In one-on-one encounters, the double bladed sword has been proven itself to be superior over the sword, even though it has been eclipsed in favor by the ease of portability and status of the sword. If you could choose one weapon, Kavala, always take your double bladed long sword.” Anir said firmly, smoothing the sand absently with one of the toes of his boot. He looked at her as if judging something about her stance then nodded to him.

“I want to teach you about defenses for someone trying to grab your weapon. It is always best, Kavala, not to position yourself where your opponent can grab your weapon. Now, granted your double blade is harder to grab than say a quarterstaff or a spear, but it can be done. Should an adversary seize your weapon, you can do a couple of things to recover it so long as you do two things. First, you must remain calm, and secondly you must never loose your stance. If you loose your stance then you’ll loose your balance and the battle is done. Instead, seek to make your opponent lose their stance and thus balance instead. If your double bladed sword is grabbed only by a hand you may be able to do one of four things.” He said, gathering his thoughts and his breath.

Kavala listened carefully.

Anir continued. “Move backwards instantly and yank your weapon backwards, pulling it to the rear. You can also wind the double bladed sword in a large circle against the opponent’s thumb and attempt to sever it. Odds are you will succeed if he or she is not wearing any sort of gauntlets. You can also sharply thrust forward and back in a sea saw motion until you shake them loose. And finally you can throw the double bladed sword across their body and close the distance until you can get a dagger or some of your magic off to dispose of them.” He said, looking to see if she understood. Kavala did, and nodded, taking a deep breath and all but bracing herself for the training to come.

Then he handed her one of the bundles he had laying in the sand waiting. It was a wooden practice blade, an almost direct duplicate of her weapon. She placed her actual double bladed long sword aside and took from him the smaller one. Then he lunged forward and grabbed at her. At first she was taken a bit aback, until she realized he wasn’t going to blindfold her for this, only give her the much needed practice at defense. So she moved backwards and yanked her weapon back, almost tripping in the process. Anir managed to grab hold of the wooden blade anyhow so she wound it up in a small circle against his thumb like he’d said and tried to cut it off.

Anir released the blade even though it wasn’t sharp. There was a distinct possibility of a broken bone in it for him if he hadn’t. Then before she could blink and realize she’d succeeded against him, he had her double bladed practice sword again. He seemed to have braced against her yanking back once more so she thrust sharply forward and then stepped back, almost dancing with the length of the weapon. Anir released it and Kavala smiled. “I think I understand.” He nodded and grabbed at it one more time. This time Kavala brought the blade up and around in twist, blocked Anir’s body with it even though he had a grip on the weapon, and threw her weight into it knocking him back before yanking it back towards her. Anir was startled by the momentum she’d gotten, not realizing before her illness she’d been a decent fighter at unarmed.

He stumbled, dropped the blade, and went down rather than pulling her down with him he’d let go.


Still on his ass, he gave her more advice. “If your weapon is trapped under the arm of your foe, you may have to abandon it rather than let them take you down with them. Loosing your feet in a battle can equate to the loss of life. Don’t get focused on your weapon so intently that you allow him to steal your initiative if he manages to get your weapon. Kill him while he is reveling in the victory with a stone spike through his heart or a lightening bolt to seize it. But kill him quickly once you release your blade. You never want to be the person killed by your own weapon because you did not know what to do. Never give your opponent a free shot or the ability to take control of the battle from you.” Anir said, looking thoughtful and rising to his feet in one swift move.

He tossed the practice blade aside, pulled off his sash, and blindfolded Kavala again. Even though she was getting used to the treatment, the Konti still sighed.

Anir continued. “Any of the eight strikes that can be performed with the sword or dagger can be completed with the double bladed sword. This much I have drilled into your head I hope, Kavala. Now… in terms of targets. Don’t just focus on the standard strike zone in the middle of your opponent’s body. A hit to the head or the knees is just as valid as one to the torso. If you sever one of their limbs, that will end the battle because the shock will kill them. Never hesitate to do so. The weapon you wield will behead a man in a heartbeat given enough force. That is why it’s a beautiful weapon for you Kavala. You do not have to be large nor bulky to get momentum up. You just have to know how to utilize it to the best of your ability. Neither should you forget the groin. So long as it is not a sporting contest or a friendly spar, this should be a target as well. But if you wound a man in his pleasure zone, kill him, because he will hunt those you love and yourself to the ends of the earth to enact revenge. Understand?” Anir said, firm in his conviction.

Kavala nodded, ready to continue.

Count: 1,388

[Caelum]

Thread Award

Kavala

Skills
Blind Fighting +5
Bodybuilding +3
Endurance +5
Running +4
Tactics +2
Strategy +1
Unarmed Combat +2
Weapon: Double Bladed Sword +5

Lores
Double Bladed Sword: 6 ½ Point Forms
Blind Fighting: Determining Direction
Blind Fighting: With Double Bladed Sword
Running Blind
Double Bladed Sword: Circular Moves
Double Bladed Sword: Combining Moves
Double Bladed Sword: Single Motion Attack & Defense
Double Bladed Sword: Versatility

Notes

Nice training thread. Kavala’s kicking some serious butt. Please edit your post in the grade request thread to reflect completion and don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns.