By the shore. [PAIN!]

by **Markus Andres** on October 13th, 2010, 8:43 pm

Fall 43rd. 510 AV.

Markus had gotten up unusually early, even for him. He had felt restless when he had gone to sleep and he still felt it when he had woken up. He felt he needed a change of the scenery. He was tired of the thick castle walls. Never seeing anything but the walls. Even more, he was anxious to soon start his quest to become a knight. He had been 18 for good while now and it was normal for squires to start their quest soon after their 18'th birthday. He got dressed in his usual black clothes, grabbed his scabbard and blade, before he jogged through the city. Not sure where he wanted to go.

He decided to jog down to the shore and stared at the water for some time, before he unsheathed his grandfather's bastard sword. Felt the familiar hilt against his fingers. He had swung this blade countless times. But never had it been in a serious fight. Mock battles. Spars. Training. He longed for the day he would get to test his skill in a battle. He began to practice with the blade. He soon fell into the familiar rhythm's. Practicing both defense and offense. Picturing attacks and counter attack. Imagining himself in a battle with some unknown evil. This carried on for some time, Markus undefeated in combat with the evil, every time.

Markus felt his shoulder hit the ground hard. The last swing had been too powerful and Markus had not been entirely prepared for the consequences. His precious blade left his hand and slid across the ground, making an awful lot of noise as it did. Markus rolled over so he was lying on his back. Looking up at the morning sky. Waiting for the pain would leave his right shoulder.

by **Elhaym** on October 13th, 2010, 9:04 pm

Pain felt the tension in her knees and lower legs as she powered through the frothy water. Her form had to be adjusted a bit when running through knee high water, and perhaps looked a little odd. Pain didn't care about looks in this case, seeing as the resistance from the water added a bit of challenge to an otherwise monotonous run. She did this quite often, waking up early to run and exercise before she went to work. Lately, she had been slipping into a less aggressive routine, working her body to increase her athleticism rather than focusing purely on a fighting technique. Her mind had wandered as it tended to do when she exerted herself, but the sound of metal clamoring about snapped her out of her running daydream.

Pain came to a halt in the water, standing knee deep as small waves crashed into her thighs. Her clothes were typical for her; black knee lnegth shorts made of cotton, and a sleevless cloth shirt dyed black as well. A clump of thin cords were tied around her waist, forming a belt of sorts. She ran barefoot, and the gooey sand beneath her toes was pleasant. Her head searched the shore for the source of the noise, somewhat perplexed as there wasn't typically much going on at this hour. Ah, there. A young man laid on his back, a large sword on the ground a few yards away. Pain's first thought was he was hurt, or dead, and she urgently rushed forward through the water. As her feet stepped onto dry land, she was able to take in the state of the young man more clearly. He seemed to be alright, no visible wounds.

"... Hey." Pain yelled, her voice elevated but her tone flat. Her chest was rising and falling rapidly, still catching her breath from her run. Water trickled from the drenched material of her shorts and the bottom of her shirt, a visual clue as to her activity before she approached the young man. If he was observant, he would notice her lower shins and hands were bruised and gnarled. Fighter's hands. She hadn't bothered to brace them this morning.

He had that look. That same sort of look about him that Pain had become quite familiar with. Syliran Knights had a certain swagger to them that had become unmistakeable to Pain, whether they were in uniform or not. That's what she thought, anyhow. No telling how many of them truly wandered the streets, silently watching and protecting.

"You there, you alright? This ain't the best spot for a nap, y'know." Pain said, striding forward. She walked towards the blade however, not the man. She had seen enough of the bad side of men to know that no one, despite appearances, could be trusted fully upon first inspection. She stopped short of the blade, hovering near it. She had a sudden thought that perhaps this young man would be thinking the same thing. Someone wanders up, approaches his blade. Rough speech, muscled build... she thought she could be mistaken for someone of unsavory character as well, in someone else's eyes.

"What're you doin' out here, anyhow?" Pain said, trying to insert more vocal flair into her voice in order to sound a little less gruff. Though those were the words that were spoken, Pain was more or less wondering why she seemed to find people only when she went somewhere remote to be alone. In the hustle of the city, everyone left her alone... but when she took to the countryside where no one should be, they found her.

by **Markus Andres** on October 13th, 2010, 11:24 pm

Markus was lying comfortably there on the hard ground. After a little, he could feel some edges press into his muscular back. Then he noticed that other parts of his body were also beginning to ache. Then, it became downright uncomfortable to lie on the ground. He could hear someone splash in the water, and the sound came closer and closer. As if someone was running in the water. He didn't bother to look at the creature that was splashing with the water. Then the creature called out to him and he sat up closely. Watching a girl - no, not a girl. A woman. She might be smaller, physically, then he, but she looked older. Not much older.

But that totally zoomed past Markus' mind in the first couple of seconds as he looked at the girl. Woman. The water dripping from her legs. Markus thought she had just risen from the water. Like some creature of the water. But then rationality kicked in and he noticed many flaws with his idea of her being sent from the divine world. He felt some joy leave his body with that realization. It was replaced with a sense of suspicion. Why had she come to him? And why... Were she trying to get between him and his blade.

"Huh? Yea, I am alright...." Weird question - Markus thought. Not realizing that they way he had been lying might cause some alarm to someone walking by. But her being closer to his blade than he was, caused a lot of alarm in him. He would have to find a way to get her away from the blade and get it back into his hands.

"I was just training with my sword. I got tired of being surrounded by stone walls every time I practiced. It gets, dull after a while to only see stone... You know." Markus said as he pushed himself back up on his feet again. Standing his full 6 feet and that single inch tall. He looked at her body, soon looking past her female parts. He noticed the bruises on her shins. Her muscular build. That woman wasn't an ordinary girl. Her muscular body resembled one of a trained knight. But those bruises. Markus hadn't seen those on any of the girls during practice. Another thing he noticed, was the tone of her voice. He didn't like that tone.

"So, what about you? What brings you out here?"

by **Elhaym** on October 14th, 2010, 5:31 am

Pain was quite sure her intuition had been correct. This young guy, speaking about the walls of Syliras and training with a sword. Surely he was a Knight, or a squire, or whatever he would be at his age. Pain wasn't too knowledgable in regards to the Knights in all honesty, but she did know they were there. Also, they were not to be trifled with.

"Same thing as you, I spose', a little exercise." Pain said neutrally, stepping backward over the blade and turning to the side. She raised both arms above her head and interlocked her fingers, apparently stretching. She moved her arms from side to side, still suspended above her head as she spoke. "You can come get your sword Ser, didn't mean to stop you unless... you know, you were of unsavory character. You never know once you leave the city gate. I'm called Pain, by the way." Pain had addressed him as Ser, indicative of a Knight's position. She didn't know he was but a squire, but to Pain it made no real difference. The blade was now unobstructed from Markus' path.

Pain took a few light steps backwards, bouncing from one foot to the other. She kept the weight distributed primarily through the balls of her feet. It was easier to move quickly that way, though more tiring than standing flat footed. Pain wondered what a Knight would know about fighting with his hands, and she surmised that it was probably quite a bit. Aside from all that martial training, they had to be pretty strong to wear all that metal and not tire. Her thoughts floated from the recesses of her mind into her windpipe, and escaped into the morning air.

"Ser, forgive me if this is out of line, but a Knight... well, you are a Knight, aren't you? Yeah, you gotta be. Anyhow, you lot always carry these blades around, but I have to ask. What would you have done if I really had tried to hurt you with your sword sittin' off in the distance? I've always wondered if the Knights had special training, or if they just relied on all the metal around their hand knocking you out cold." Pain said in a thoughtful tone, deeply contrasted by the sudden movements of her arms. She had begun shadow boxing as she bounced to and fro, moving her arms at about a quarter speed and throwing slow jabs and rear arm straights into the air. Her idle activity had been mostly involuntary, as she had a habit of doing this when she rested during runs. Not much of a rest to some, but Pain was quite serious about keeping her body in prime physical condition.

Realizing that her actions may seem a bit odd, Pain abruptly stopped her feet, sagging her weight onto her right leg and popping her hip out to support it. She placed her hand on her hip, looking toward the young man whom she was speaking. He was younger than her, but not by much. She supposed she should think him attractive, but Pain hadn't had much good experience with men and preferred to keep it that way for the time being.

by **Markus Andres** on October 14th, 2010, 7:14 pm

Markus rolled with his right shoulder, expecting it to protest in pain, but surprisingly it didn't. That meant that his shoulder wasn't injured, or at least, it meant that his shoulder wasn't injured in a way that he would notice it right away. Maybe he should consult a healer at the castle once he got back, just to make sure. The young woman answered his question, the same reason. Morning exercise. Which meant she could be a knight he simply had never seen around, or a woman interested in keeping a fit body. He looked at her as she stretched her body, noticing even more muscle than before. She certainly kept her body fit, of course, it wasn't as bulky as Markus' own body, but he figured that was because of their different genders.

"Pain? Interesting name. I am Markus Andres, just call me Markus. And it never hurts to be cautious." He said with a smile as he walked over to his blade and picked it up. It felt good to have the blade in his hands again. Especially with strangers around who hadn't made their intent known. He sheathed his blade in the scabbard by his side. Pain asked him a good question. What would Markus do without all of his weapons. Well, he would probably die in a fight with someone who was armed.

"I am not yet a knight, only a squire." He held a brief pause." Our training differs from knight to knight. It depends on who you have been trained be. But I suppose much of our training relies heavily on us having our weapons and armor." Markus found it distracting that she were shadow boxing while he answered her question. But she soon stopped it again, but by then Markus had already answered her question. Her little display of boxing gave Markus an idea that she had experience with using her fists, rather than weapons.

"And what I would have done if you had attacked me... I would probably have tried to whack you across the face with my scabbard." He said patting the decorated scabbard.

"You seem to be well trained in the arts of unarmed combat... Am I correct?"

by **Elhaym** on October 14th, 2010, 9:33 pm

So he was a squire then. Pain recalled that she had been taught in her youth that Knight's wore some sort of symbol on the armor, or was it their cloak? She couldn't recall. She'd never been a good student in her youthful days. Her ability to retain information was always a bit low. Indeed, she could see now that he must be a squire. She tilted her head to the side she sifted through her mind for an answer to his question. Was she well trained in unarmed combat? Well, for her own unique style, she supposed she knew a bit.

"Uh, well... I guess so. I mean, I know a lot about the way I fight, and how to handle a good deal of situations but, uh... if you're looking for some sort of official school of thought, I guess not." Pain said, trying best to sum up her skills. Her methodology for fighting was her own, taken from experience and the results of natural talent. "I guess the actual fighting I do is sort of like... boxing? But, I make use of my elbows and knees, and kicking... I also sort of have me own way of moving, thats different from actual boxing you see say down at the Spinning Coin.

Pain touched her lower lip with her index finger, thoughtfully glancing up at the sky. A Squire of the Syliran Knights, huh? She had never raised a finger to teach someone how to fight. It wasn't that the idea was outlandish to her, more along the lines of not wanting to be responsible for what someone else did with the knowledge she could give them. A Knight however, seemed like someone whom could be trusted not to hurt anyone or do anything rash.

"So, hey... if you want a tip for free, let me tell you something." Pain said, her eyes darting to the scabbard at his side. She couldn't see it in detail, as he was slightly turned away from her and the intricacies of how it was mounted to his belt were hidden. "A lot of times, you may think you'll be able to whip out a sword if someone's closing in on you... well, you may be surprised how little time you really have." Pain said. Her body had been relatively still as she had started her spiel, but as she continued speaking she had begun bouncing from foot to foot as before. The moment her statement ended, Pain pushed off with her lead foot, firing her body forward. Her movement was half shuffle and half hop, pushing her body forward while maintaining full control for her movements. She closed the distance between the two of them quickly, stopping short of Markus and raising an open palm towards his chest. A sort of sign of goodwill, trying to let him know she was trying to show him something.

Pain had learned a few things about close quarters both from experience and from observing her father teach her brother how to handle such situations. Typically, a rule of thumb would be that inside 12 or 15 feet if you haven't drawn your sword and someone rushes you, you aren't going to get it out in time. Many beginning swordsman scoff at this notion, and at the same time wonder why their more experienced brethren carry a small dagger or other handy weapon in an easy to draw from location when they have a full sized sword at their hip. Simply put, pulling a handy dagger or simply raising your fists to guard in a close quarters charge is more effective than wrestling with a sword and sheath for most. Pain wanted to make sure that this squire never caught a dagger in the ribs or throat because he was fussing with a scabbard that was snared to his belt.

"I don't know how fast you think you can pull that scabbard free, but I guarantee you in the heat of the moment it won't be fast enough if someone would have disarmed you and started closing distance... I think that, if you wanted... I could show you a thing or two about handling that situation. But ah, I do need one thing in return." Pain said, trying to gauge the emotion in the Squire's eyes. She had a tendency to come off a bit rough, but she wasn't intending to be threatening or disrespectful. In truth, she assumed if an actual Knight was giving them the lesson, he would probably have ended up on his back with a knot on his head.

"I'd like to know a bit about the Syliran Knights, you know? Just basic stuff. If I help you out, could you tell me about them, uh... Markus, right?"

by **Markus Andres** on October 15th, 2010, 1:42 am

Markus listened while Pain told about how she fought. Utilizing every part of her body, much like how Markus had in his brief bar fight many a tendays ago. That fight reminded him of how bewildered he had been in the fight, doing things on instinct and he certainly remembered the pain he had felt in his abdomen after the fight, when the adrenalin had stopped dulling the pain. Thinking back on that event, he really needed some experience fighting without weapons, for such occasions.

Pain suddenly moved up closer and Markus' instinct was to raise his left arm to keep her at a distance, like if he had had a shield. Then reach down for his blade. But he only managed to lift his left arm in a futile attempt at keeping her at bay. Her small and agile body made it painfully obvious that she had gotten within reach before he had even managed to grip his blade. Luckily, her attack hadn't been real. He really needed to learn some unarmed combat, so he could smack an attacker like that in the face with a fist and then have the time to draw his blade.

When she looked him in the eyes, she would see first surprise and then joy over the opportunity to learn hand to hand. Her offer sounded tempting even if he would have to pay mizas for it, he had a lot of those and not much to spend it on. Only if he broke some equipment could he find a use for his money he had accumulated over the years. But he was surprised and a bit suspicious about why she would want information about the knights instead of mizas. But he figured it was a fair trade. Rather, a trade to his own advantage. He nodded to confirm that his name was Markus.

"It is a deal, Pain." Markus said with a jovial smile and held out a hand for her to grab so they could settle the deal with a handshake. "So, do you have time to start now? And is this place alright with you?" He said, motioning for the surrounding place. The ground was a bit hard, as Markus had found out, but the ground was roughly even and he figured he wouldn't be thrown to the ground by the woman. And besides, he had a semi high pain tolerance. His knight-master had made sure of that.

by **Elhaym** on October 15th, 2010, 5:36 am

Pain looked at the sky, as if trying to surmise the time of day. Her arms thoughtfully crossed her chest, and she sagged her weight onto her right hip again in a thinking posture. She had plenty of time before she had to go in and check with Lirelle about her days work at The Tooth and Claw, and the current surroundings would be fine in her opinion.

"Yeah, I can show you a couple of things now. We don't need anything fancy for a start, I guess. But, uh... well, we'll start out with some theory first, I think." Pain said, taking a few steps away from Markus and stretching her arms again. She didn't really have a set plan on what to do, or even what to say in regards to teaching someone to fight. She did know that her father had taken several days to lecture her brother before they began any real physical training. Luckily for Markus, Pain didn't have that much patience, so most likely a few minutes of lecture would be all that was required.

"I know this sounds kind of rude, but bare with me... I lose my place in my thoughts if I get interrupted sometimes, so just... uh, i'll say some stuff, and when i'm done if you have any questions, i'll answer them for you." Pain said, sitting down on the ground and crossing her legs. Who the hell would lounge around on ground this hard anyway? "I guess the first thing you need to know... essentially, the most important thing I think I can teach you is that if someone is really trying to hurt you, they have no respect for you. They have zero respect for your... uh, warrior spirit? Yeah, that works... anyway, you're a knight, so this is doubly true for you. Why is that important? Because, if someone is dead set on hurting you, then you shouldn't hesitate to hurt them back. Tenfold." Pain accentuated her last word by clenching her fist and squinting her eyes at Markus.

"I've seen a lot of fighters who rely on being defensive to win. My methodology is a bit different. I tend to press the attack, and give those defensive minded fighters exactly what they want... and you know what? It works. Two reasons. First, you've just proven that you aren't scared. They doubted your spirit, and you've shown them that whether or not you think you can take them, you're coming at them head on. That causes a lot of people to become nervous, hesitate, make mistakes. Second, if you engage the fight and dictate it's tempo, then you have control. Defensive fighters want control, but if you take it from them and force them to react to an endless barrage, they will grow anxious and make mistakes. That has been my experience." Pain let a bit of silence fall before adding a brief memo to the end of her lecture. "Also, if you're both aggressive, well, all the better right? Fighting isn't cordial, it's ruthless. Best to get over with fast and efficiently."

"So, what that means to you is... if someone really is trying to hurt you, for god's sakes don't sit there and let them. Make them pay for their insolence. Now, about the actual fighting... I can't imagine you will be doing too much tumbling and kicking and such in all that armor. I mean, really it seems like your mobility is a bit shot. So what i'll do is focus on what matters; guarding, stance, close quarters movement... and of course, pummeling things with those steel mits you all wear. Think about this for a moment, and tell me if i'm wrong... but you all wear all that armor, right? It's there for a reason. So if someone were to charge you, and your sword is off on the ground and your shield is shattered, you're pretty well covered if they try to stab or bludgeon you in the chest, eh? So, what... they'll go for your head right? Most likely, I think..." Pain brought her arms up, though she was still sitting, and balled her fists. Both hands were about chin level, with her left hand slightly further out and her right kept closer to her face.

"This is where your hands should be. You get your hands right here, you can block anything. A punch or stab to your face or neck? You push it away and control it. Attacking your torso? You twist your body toward the attack, your right arm comes down... deflects it. It's ideal, really. It's important that you keep at least one of your hands up there at all times... whether you're punching, throwing an elbow, or lashing out with a knee, you gotta guard your face. It's hard to do in the beginning, trust me... but if you work at keeping a guard, you will find yourself faring pretty well even against someone who's a lot better than you. You gotta protect your chin."

"Whew..." Pain said, unfolding her legs and sprawling out a bit on the ground. It had been hard to gather her thoughts and coherently speak them. Several times she had lapsed into a brief silence, but she felt that she had gotten her main point across pretty well.

"So before I really show you how to do anything, you have any questions about that? Like I said, I get kinda lost up here..." she pointed at her head, "... when i'm talkin' like that, so I can elaborate on any of that if you want. If not, then we'll start swingin'."

by **Markus Andres** on October 15th, 2010, 10:20 pm

Markus sat down, copying Pain's style of sitting. Markus had learned to copy his trainer when they were teaching, it eased the method of learning if they were doing something physical. It showed respect and most of all, it showed discipline or eagerness to learn. Unless you were mocking them with your pose. Of course, Markus had only done that twice. Both times he was knocked out cold for roughly a quarter of a bell before he woke up again. He assumed that Pain wouldn't knock him out if he mocked her ... But still, Markus preferred to be on the safe side and copied her position out of respect.

He listened to her rather long speech about fighting and the mentality when one fought. The mentality part, Markus didn't need. He might favor the use of a shield over using his blade as a two-hander, but that didn't mean he was defensive at all. He had often shield bashed someone in the face, because they didn't consider his shield a weapon. But she was correct and her points valid. Of course, the part about hurting them back, reminded him of the fight once again. Markus had tried to avoid the fight until the last moment, where it was almost too late for him to react. He hadn't gotten into the mentality back then, he had simply reacted to the attack that had been coming. But he hadn't hesitated once the fight had started.

The idea of always keeping a hand up in a tight defense around the head was a good idea, the head was the single most important part of the human body. He mirrored her defense. Getting the feeling of the correct defensive position of his arms. She had been correct in assuming that more often than not, anyone in a close fight with a knight, would aim for the openings in the armor, mainly at the neck area, between the helmet (if wearing one) and the breast plate.

"Protect the head at all times. Be aggressive, force the enemy into your pace or at least out of their own. Hurt them tenfold of what they planned to hurt you." Markus repeated. Something he had learned from his master, to repeat the important points in a longer explanation. So that the teacher could correct you if you had misunderstood something.

"I think I got it all and if I didn't, well, I think you will show me soon enough if I didn't catch it all. And let's get swining then, but first what is your word or motion for 'I surrender', so we don't accidentally or needlessly snap a bone or a joint?" Markus asked.

by **Elhaym** on October 16th, 2010, 3:45 am

Pain nodded in affirmation as Markus repeated her words in brief summary, making it sound almost like a mantra. Her lips contorted into a crooked smile as he asked her about a mercy signal. Perhaps this young Squire was the real thing after all. Pain didn't know whether or not the Knights were really that well trained in the end, but at least now she had a hint that they were determined to learn. In her opinion, this was a grand mentality.

Pain motioned that they would begin, signalling Markus to stand. Rather than simply standing, Pain rolled onto her back. She brought her knees to her chest, and in one fluid movement pushed hard with her abdominal and leg muscles. She lept to her feet from her back, and assumed her fighting stance. She was right handed, so her left foot was the lead foot. It was positioned slightly in front of her other, and her arms were positioned as she had shown Markus. As he had seen before, Pain distributed her weight onto the balls of her feet, a mobility trick that allowed her to quickly maneuver in close quarters. She waited until Markus had assumed his own stance.

"Hand signals are no good in a spar to signal a stop, so uh..." Pain said, hopping lightly from foot to foot as she spoke, "... oh, just say opit. It's uh... a dog command. Er... yeah, anyways, say that."

She gave him only a slight amount of time to digest the halt command before she lurched forward. Her movements were smooth and fast, but she suspected this would not surprise Markus. If anything, she assumed he would have learned from her initial demonstration that she could close quickly, and would be expecting it. What he would not be expecting was the actual method of her attacks. She was now at a close distance, and stopped her momentum short of crashing into him. Instead of throwing herself off balance, she allowed the momentum to continue forward in the form of a jab with her leading left fist. Her arm whipped forward, as if a beast let loose of it's chain after a week of starvation. The blow, if left unchecked, would pummel his jaw. Her hips swiveled slightly in a practiced manner, adding power and momentum to the blow. Obviously due to muscle memory, as there was no indication hat she was focusing on anything but Markus himself.

Pain was not a seer, and she couldn't predict the future. What she could do was a devise a strategy. She would lead off with a simple combination of multiple left arm jabs and right hand rear straight punches, letting Markus adjust to being struck. She would improvise three tests into the first barrage. The first was the initial blow she had just thrown. Could he react in time? Had he truly understood her guard and how it worked? Second, once Markus had managed to overcome her initial flurry of attack, she would insert an elbow strike right from her right arm. Pain tended to fold her hand into her chest as she extended her elbow, ensuring her opponent would be on the receiving end of the bony bludgeon rather than a softer forearm blow. If Markus faired well and was keeping up, she would unleash one more surprise. A brutal attack that would carry far more weight than her previous, she would twist her body and send her left knee into his torso below his ribcage. Pain hadn't explained any defense for this type of attack to Markus, and would leave it up to him to defend against it in the heat of the fight. She had a good feeling about Markus, that he would pull through all three variations. When he did, she would hop back a body length, and hold up her guard. Then, it would be his turn to attack.

Her blows had a tendency to come quickly and retract quickly, making it both hard to predict her patterns and also difficult to grapple her. Though, the obvious detriment to her style was the loss of power her blows had due to this technique. This was not a drunken bar patron's haymaker knockout blow, rather one of many blows in a sequence. Pain would leave her opponent dizzied and frantic, forcing them to make mistakes until she found an opening for such a blow. That is if everything went as planned. On that note, Pain also knew one more thing about strategy; only a fool thinks his strategy will always work as planned without having to be adjusted.