Completed The Shorter Edge

[Ricky Maze]

The Shorter Edge
Spring 2nd 514 AV, 13th Bell
Location: The Wave Guard Head Quarters, Training Grounds

He had to be out of his mind in order to try this, but then again if he never tried to broaden his horizons, then sure enough he’d never find himself a better fighter. Today the cool chill left behind from winter blanketed the city, although much of that chill was actually part of the new season that had arrived. With spring here Ricky had much to do and much to follow through with his plans, mostly a great amount of time dedicated to training to further improve his ability. With his right hand grasped around the hilt of the wooden shortsword he’d never even thought to touch, several other recruits out and about getting a feel for their weapons. Though not as organized as a military unit the Wave Guard had a good fundamental system going on here, recruits were under the watchful eyes of sergeants like Ricky and there were a few others with the same rank who sought to keep in practice with their weapons. Ricky didn’t need anything to target for now, his primary focus was to get a feel for the new weapon he was to try out, and learn how to efficiently use it in combat should he come to purchase an actual shortsword of his own.

The blade was definitely lighter compared to the longsword he’d been using though the fact it was wooden had to be taken into account, even with that though there was still a huge difference in the feel of fluidity as he slowly practiced the basic functions of sword play. Even slowed his movements felt quicker, faster and smoother like the waves that washed over the ocean’s surface onto the shore. Tis more easier t’ pinpoint strikes wit’ dis, yet it sacrifices range f’r speed. He noted as he mimicked the act of two oppressive strikes, each time he felt the weapon swing his arm picked up quicker speed compared to the heavy weight he was used to, the memory of the hard pull with a longsword hewn into his mind as well as his arm muscles. It felt weird and awkward to him each time he’d throw another swing, each swish through the air was quicker and a bit quieter compared to the blade of a longsword. How was he supposed to grow accustomed to such a change? The question was more so reflected on personal doubt on whether or not he could learn, yet he knew well by not to get so easily discouraged when it came to learning new things.

He was a father, a guardian too, which meant he had to keep to the positive outlook and try to learn new things, how else would he become the teacher others needed in order to carry on the next generation. It wasn’t the matter of how he was supposed to learn it either, he would just do so with the means of practice. There was a time where he went through the same thing with the longsword after all, so there was actually no point in dwelling on whether he could learn to use another weapon. Because he knew he could. All it took was practice and discipline when he started to gain a better feel for the weapon, as of right now though his primary task was to get past that awkward feel in the difference between weapons and better grasp the concept of how the shortsword was properly used. Take it step by step an’ Oi can manage just fine wit’ it. He assured himself as he thrust the sword forward, he had to admit even if it felt awkward there was still something pleasing about the speed of the blade.

[Ricky Maze]

A cross cut to his left, a turn over from his right, each direction the sword went if felt like he was a child swinging a stick. He practically would be if he were twenty years younger. Yet all the awkward feeling in his swings had to fade eventually, each time he heard the air whip from the swing of the shortsword he felt himself only a tad bit more comfortable with it. It was in fact like a children’s game. He was a hero, a warrior destined for good. How ironic that such the iconic role he imagined was similar to the wonderful role he played now. He wondered how his child would be at that age, eager to explore and go on adventures through the city. Venture the world of imagination with naught but his trusty heroic blade, which of course in reality would only be a mere stick. Yet as he practiced further and further to gain the feel of the weapon, Ricky somehow began to realize that it was in fact much like a game. All he had to do was learn how to conquer the baddies of the world, which certainly had to come next once he finished the practice of this game.

Oi’ve been chosen t’ serve a purpose, t’ save de city fr’m a terrible man. He’s a powerful wizard who must be put down, now learn ‘ow t’ master yer weapon and git t’ fightin’ ‘is minions. How ironic. The story of the game somehow seemed reflective to his life, in some odd yet childish way. One could easily speculate who the evil wizard was when they thought about it, but for Ricky this was merely a means to settle into the training he’d started. If this would help him break into using another weapon sooner, then sure enough this was the way to go. Now, show ‘em yer cross overs. He held the shortsword low in front of him in a sharp obtuse angle with his left hand underneath the pommel, hands clasped around the whole of the hilt gently but with a firm grip. It was to better gain control of his swings and the directions they would go in, as he would first swing over from his right to his left, and then reverse the motion with a repetition of swings to follow. He swung about five or six times until he’d started to lose his breath, then paused for several moments as he panted from the exercise performed.

Kayo, He looked to the blade once more, Now practice yer jabs. Ricky allowed just his right hand to grip the weapon this time, easier to perform these jabs when he did so earlier. Each time he would thrust the sword forward he’d move only a step forward with it, and he pictured the tip stabbing some sort of large black thing he imagined a minion. Not t’ shabby. Still needs a lot o’ work. He encouraged himself after a few more pants, somehow he still felt weird with a shorter ranged weapon than the one he already used. He looked down at his right hand and tried a few different grips to see if any of them felt better, some were more loose while some more tight, but after he felt moderately comfortable with a less firm grasp he found that his next swing started to flow over a little decently. Heh, t’ink Oi can get de ‘ang o’ dis. He reassured himself with a bit of a grin on his face, he fiddled with the weapon for a little while before further practice. Some twists of the wrist followed to twirl the shortsword around while he walked in circles, trying to feel more comfortable with the difference of a shorter edge.

[Ricky Maze]

De blade’s lighter sure, but dat allows f’r more pinpointed strikes. Meanin’ Oi can get more speed in me attacks… Once he’d regained steady control over his breath the pants came in wide intervals, his eyes moved down from the weapon in hand to the ground where his feet resided. Which means if Oi practice wit’ it, me footwork will likely improve t’ make up f’r lost range. Of course his footwork was already sort of shoddy in combat when it came to the longsword anyhow, since he relied so much on the length of his blade to do the work for him. Now of course he had the chance to develop not one but two skills with practice, which involved both agility and footwork in order to chain successful attacks correctly. Roi den. Time t’ develop some proper footwork. He spread his legs apart with his feet pointed outward, a few different positions tried before he found one he felt comfortable with. It was a bit more of an aggressive stance where he leaned a bit forward like he would normally do with his longsword, yet the shortsword remained in his right hand while the free hand remained in a defensive position.

If was as if he bore an invisible lightweight shield on that arm when he mainly just propped it up for partial balance, he was after all learning to work on his footing better. Once Ricky made the first crossover slash in his stance he’d taken only a step forward with his right, and then alternated with his left as he went in for another slash. Each time he did this he paid close attention to how his feet felt on the ground, where his balance went and how it affected his aim and swings were also taken into account. He was a right hander. Though capable of performing well with his left it was his right side that felt more comfortable with performing difficult tasks, thus the need to improve was mainly focused on bettering himself with his left. Namely leftward movements. Sure enough he could move over to his right with ease, but the steps he would make leftward were the ones that definitely were awkward as well. He took to making a few more swings in vertical directions this time, the left side just barely any good in regards to performance. With his right leg he could easily push himself forward to oppress any opponent before him, whereas the left leg barely took him anywhere but several feet from position.

This wouldn’t get him anywhere so easily of course. Identifying what he had to work on was good and all though, yet he had to literally figure out a way to improve on these problems as point to the whole training. He took a little bit of time to consider what he should do exactly in order to improve his coordination towards the left. A skilled fighter was able to balance between left and right if he were to be quick on his feet, which meant he had to build his balance somehow. Explore the boundaries where he fell uncomfortable and try to discover just what exactly works to solve the issue, that was how one overcame personal issues wasn’t it? Strive to better their selves by identifying what was wrong, and then proceed to correct it to better improve the circumstances. The tricky part was figuring out how once could exactly build up on their footwork, and the only way Ricky knew how to do that was to get involved in a spar. A spar, or a training session, something that got the body moving as it tested both brawn and brain.

Ricky thought about it long enough and considered that maybe it would be a good idea to try his luck one day, and spar with the shortsword just to see how he would do. For now though he kept his focus on learning the weapon alone, as he’d already come to understand the basics of it today. Afterwards however would come the really fun part, which would be to actually practice the weapon. Practice and work hard until he would hopefully better himself with the blade, thus hone his edge further in the meantime.

[Eldritch]

Ricky :

Skills
Weapon: Shortsword +3

Lores
-Shortsword: Faster than a longsword
-Fighting for a purpose: save the city
-Shortsword: More pinpoint strikes

Notes :

Nice solo Ricky, a little focused on just this skill though.

If you have any comments/questions/concerns about your grade please PM me and we will work something out.

Keep on writing!