Flashback [Training] A Shabby Soldier

[Elias Caldera]

30th Day of Winter,
508 AV

After what felt like an eternity trapped within the confines of the Vitrax, it was refreshing to be outside in the training grounds. It had been a particularly lengthy sermon on behalf of a particularly dull and long winded Marshal that none in attendance had the bravery to interrupt once she had started. It was all wonderfully informative and patriotic of course, but to spend that long listening to her babble, and ramble, and babble some more in her unbearable drawl, it was enough to drive any man insane. In fact, he was pretty sure he had seen a few of his fellow apprentices quietly doing so throughout the speech. He’d never been so excited to shoot the stupid bow as he was at that moment.

Once he arrived, the young found himself dragged to a part of the training grounds he had yet to utilize. There vaguely human shaped targets set up throughout the area, with ropes and pulleys extending throughout the grounds. The targets were sacks stuffed with straw, with a loop around their necks to allow for them to be attached to the pulleys and ropes. It didn’t take Elias long to figure out just what his instructor had planned. “Elias, it’s about time.” Velen emerged from behind one of the wooden structures, sharp blue eyes falling on to that of her apprentice for the day. Her blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail and it was a rare occasion where he didn’t see her in full black armored regalia. She was dressed down today, a simple black pair of slacks and a striped blue shirt was her choice for the afternoon. It was actually quite refreshing to see her like that, and not just because she looked good. Velen was one of the few women within those dark walls who was actually not all that unpleasant to be in the company of, and it didn’t hurt her popularity any that she did more than just tolerate the flirtations of the many young, strapping apprentices she trained on a daily basis. Unlike the other slave drivers and armor-clad beasts that roamed the halls and training grounds, Velen was just more… human?

“I wish I had known you’d be taking me up on that date, Velen.” Elias replied as he sauntered up to her, his light armor creaking slightly with each step. “I would have brought those roses you like so much.”

"It’s Madam Velen, apprentice.” she corrected as the faintest hint of a smirk tugged at the corner of her rosy lips, something he was sure she’d had to remind every man there a hundred or so times since she came to the floating city. “And your dreams will have to wait until another day I’m afraid. Today I won’t be doing anything that requires my armor. Today, I’m meant to turn a gaggle of you into the finest marksmen Ravok has ever known, and you have the privilege of being first, recruit.” Elias grinned as he hefted the bow within his leathery grasp. Ever since his brief but enlightening bout with Deklin, a previous archery instructor, Elias was ashamed to admit he very rarely took time out of his scheduled trainings to ever visit the range anymore. Why that was wasn’t really something he could outright explain so much as simply accept as just shyke happening. The bow and he rarely ever got acquainted, so it was a truly uncommon thing for him to actually be excited about practice. “Privilege she says… well alright, Velen, what do you have for me today?”

“Loosen yourself up. There’s a target over there. Practice a bit before we begin.” She motioned over to the round, colored target, the type Elias was used to practicing on. “I assure you, you’re going to want to be as warmed up as possible for what I have in store.” Elias suppressed a sigh and made his way over to the miniature firing range. It must have been good to be a high ranking member of the Ebonstryfe such as her. The influence a woman in her position could carry was nothing short of staggering. He’d rarely been a part of her non training duties, but when he had, he had caught glances of her with the others in the command staff. She always carried herself much differently than she did when she was teaching the apprentices and petitioners. She had a confidence that went side by side with her effortless sultry charm, it was an elegance that like a flame, served only to draw in the moths. Distracting as she was, there was no time to philosophize about it. He was here to train.

A calloused hand found its way across his shaven chin as he regarded the target with some scrutiny. It’s further away than the others normally set it… great.

Slowly, as his eyes narrowed into slits, Elias grasped an arrow from his quiver and brought the wooden shaft to meet the sinewy bowstring, sliding the string into the small notch on the back of the feathered arrow. The apprentice glanced down quickly to check that his feet were set properly as Deklin had taught him, and with them shoulder width apart, about even, he was satisfied with his base. He then drew the string back slightly as he brought it up to point the arrow down range. Taking a deep breath while pulling the missile back even further, the sweet creak of the wooden bow ringing in his ear as he gently grazed the side of his face with his thumb. After taking a moment to aim, he released his grasp on the arrow. The string snapped forward with a delectable thrum, launching the shot forward and sending it whizzing through the air quickly before sinking almost as fast. It skittered harmlessly across the ground, bounding up and off the target itself before coming to a spinning stop with the arrowhead pointing back towards the apprentice.

“Deklin warned me about you…” Velen said, chuckling softly as she observed her apprentice at work.

“Yah…” he replied with sullen sigh, “Yah, I bet he did.”

[Elias Caldera]

Elias grabbed another arrow, turning his attention from a condescending Velen back to the target at hand. He needed to show that he could actually do something with this bow for once. She was clearly going to put him through something more advanced in a short while, but the most simple of tasks still eluded his proficiency. If he was forced into anything beyond beating up his fellow apprentices and in turn, getting beaten up himself, Elias was kind of useless. Despite the time he’d spent training so far, he still had a long way to go before he was good enough to be called a soldier of the Ebonstryfe. That all said, it didn’t change the fact that the target felt like it was miles away, as though she was expecting him to actually be some archer of legend, taking out enemies from afar before they even realized they were being shot at. In truth, he knew the target needed to be further away than it already was. Any soldier who called the bow their weapon should have been able to consistently hit a human sized target from the current distance without much thought or concern. The sword and the shield could wait for another day, today his focus was this.

With an arrow in his grasp, Elias once more set about his routine; placing his feet shoulder width apart and all that. He’d gone through the same humdrum again and again, but he wasn’t even close to consistent with his shot. The obvious answer to his current conundrum was to aim higher it seemed. He already found himself pretty good at being on the correct line for hitting the target, he just struggled mightily to gauge the proper distance. The bowstring gave once as he drew it back and raised it to firing position. The apprentice took a few moments to initially aim his shot before completing his drawback, once again sliding his thumb along his cheek. He looked down the shaft of the arrow towards the round target, brown eyes studying the path he recalled the previous shot taking. To try and compensate for the dive in trajectory, Elias raised the bow several inches and then let loose his second shot. The missile sailed through the air, then sailed and sailed some more, clearing the target by a good foot or two before smacking into the wall behind it. Another failure. This was turning into a terrible case of déjà vu. He needed to figure out what he was doing wrong and quickly before Velen became completely disengaged with his roguish charm, but it would have to come another time.

“Hold Elias, that’s enough missing for now. This next exercise is less about your accuracy, and more about reaction and quick thinking. While it would be nice if you could actually make contact, we’ll just get you used to movement while using your bow.” She waved the young man over to her place next to the wooden structure. "Come over here and I’ll show you what I mean.” Elias complied with his instructor, but not without a cold, hated glance backwards at the target he'd missed. She couldn't wait around on him forever, he knew that, and she'd given him all the tools he needed to fire a bow. He just had to keep practicing until he put those pieces together.

[Elias Caldera]

“The big boys upstairs are calling for a bigger push on archery focus, saying ‘there’s been a noticeable lack in efficiency among the trainees and instructors alike. blah blah blah.'” Her voice had taken a unsurprisingly sarcastic humdrum tone as she apparently quoted her superiors. It wasn’t necessarily something Elias had the balls to do in public, or even in private per say, but he was happy to have her carry on regardless. “So we set up this to better help us. These dummies will be moving all about, I want you to work your way through this area as quickly as you can, eliminating targets as you go. I’m going to let you give it a try, and I’ll make corrections afterwards. I want to see what you’ve got for now… I mean aside from no skill that is.” With those words, Velen began to walk away from her trainee so she could move over to the rope pulleys and move the targets back and forth manually. “Keep moving. Shoot, kill, move on. The lesson is speed, apprentice.”

Well this was certainly a step up from what he was accustomed to. Exceptionally more practical than firing at a stationary target that was for sure, but what good was it going to do him to fire at moving targets if he couldn’t even hit the immobile ones? There was no sense in fretting about it in the end. It wasn’t as though he was anywhere but rock bottom as it were. Elias placed his back square against the wooden wall, pulling an arrow free as he waited for Velen’s command to begin. He wondered how fast the targets would be moving, how many there would be, and how long they would be doing this training. It was always a bit unnerving to start a new regiment such as this. Perhaps that Marshall had returned to continue her sermon by now…

“Set?” There was a less than heartfelt grunt as his reply. “Begin!”

The sound of a small metal wheel grinding began as Elias peek around the edge of his hiding place. The rope was slowly moving, bringing the straw dummy across his vision towards another one of the same wooden structures. The target disappeared from sight momentarily before the rope reversed direction and brought the dummy the opposite way. Simple enough he surmised. Elias stepped out from behind the wooden barrier and notched his arrow, set his feet, raised his bow, pulled back the string, and took several ticks to aim at his new victim. He inhaled, and then exhaled while firing. Once released, the arrow whizzed through the air until gravity brought it down to the earth, missing behind its intended mark by a foot or two. Elias grimaced and fumbled for another arrow, shakily procuring another one from his quiver, all the while standing out in the open like a target himself. The dummy disappeared behind the wooden frame once more. While it was out of sight, the apprentice brought his weapon to the ready once more, taking aim at just past the edge of the frame. He would put an arrow in it right as it came into view! With the tips of his fingers curled around the bowstring, he waited until he saw the first sign of his foe and released without hesitation. His reaction was slow and his aim was off, because the arrow sunk into the structure, rather than the straw man, and didn’t make impact until there was a fair distance between it and the wall.

Rhysol give me strength…

[Elias Caldera]

The dummy came to a stop, and Velen came towards Elias, moving from her spot where she controlled its movement. “Hold. Remember what I said about movement in this drill, Elias? How much of that have you been doing?” Elias remained silent as the realization set upon him. He’d just been standing there, out in the open, firing idiotically at a slowly moving dummy. “The answer is none. You’ve got to make use of cover. It’s the difference between getting the jump on an enemy and letting them be the ones to pepper you with arrows. Come here.” Velen walked over to the barrier which Elias had been using and placed her left shoulder against the side, just away from the edge. “You can set yourself up like this so you can easily rotate your body to peek around the corner, get a look at what’s going on, and then retreat back behind to safety. This allows you a chance to keep an eye on your target while minimizing the opening they have to spot you. What you don’t want to do,” she said, stepping out into the opening “Is exactly what you were doing. Pop out, take your shot, and get to cover. Get it? Got it? Good. Let’s give it another try.” The blond haired archer set off on her way back to the ropes, ready to observe her young student at work once more. He had quite a bit yet to learn about tactical movement, and she was going to keep showing him how. It wasn’t enough to be able to swing a sword, and it wasn’t enough to be able to shoot a bow. He had to get himself into the correct position to use them most effectively. It came more instinctively to some than it did to others, he had recognized that early ever since coming to this place. It just seemed Elias would need some extra attention here.

The apprentice placed his shoulder against the structure as Velen had instructed, waiting for her cue for him to begin. He needed to make snap decisions and take out his foes with brutal precision. There was no reason to waste any precious moments standing out in the open. “Begin!” Once more the rope began its creaky movement, the straw stuffed dummy tracking across the way. Elias took a deep breath grabbed an arrow, readying it against the string. He then rotated his body around the corner and brought the bow up to firing position. Hardened, resolute eyes locked onto the target right away, so he pulled back, softly brushing his thumb against check, and released his arrow. It soared through the air, missing the target wide. Instead of sitting there and lamenting his poor luck, he retreated back behind the wall.

Breathing heavily, Elias retrieved another arrow, preparing himself to have another go at the dummy, but he knew he just couldn’t hit it from so far away. He glanced around the corner again, taking note of another one of the wooden walls that was just a bit closer. “Gotta keep moving.” he whispered to himself as he turned to go and get to the other frame. He waited until the dummy disappeared out of sight and then put one foot in front of the other to try and scurry quickly over to the other side. Slamming into the fort’s wall with what was perhaps a bit too much enthusiasm, the young man wasted no time in retrieving another arrow. If his heart was beating heavily before, he couldn’t begin to describe it now. The apprentice’s face flushed from embarrassment. The entire drill was going horribly, and it had just begun. If this had been a real assault, every straw filled guard in the city would be aware of the presence of the fool who thought he could sneak in with just a bow and his wits.

[Elias Caldera]

While Elias struggled to get his thoughts and plans in order, the dummy continued its trek back and forth along the rope, waiting for the apprentice to sink an arrow in it and end its misery. The only issue was his inability to actually hit it. That had been his struggle throughout his training, and didn’t appear to be something which would go away anytime soon. When the apprentice went to set himself up to be able to fire at the target again, he quickly found he had yet another problem to contend with. It was much more natural to have his bow arm pressed against the wall than his firing one, and unfortunately, that was just the situation he was in. He wouldn’t be able to so smoothly slide around the corner when he was ready to shoot. He had to expose himself to this ‘dangerous foe’ and take aim. He had to clear the wall, quickly figure out his target’s position, set his stance, draw properly, take aim, and fire at it, all in a matter of ticks lest he wanted to taste the business end of an imaginary arrow himself. It took him long enough just to get it when he wasn’t rushing about like a buffoon. Now he had to tie it all together like it was second nature.

With an arrow in his hand, Elias jumped out from behind his cover, bringing the projectile against the string, or that’s what his intent was, at least. He initially missed the string, sending it sliding to the ground. Another shot wasted. He let out a string of curses, reaching frantically for another arrow. “Keep moving, apprentice!” Velen’s voice carried throughout the training area as she watched her apprentice with discerning interest. He was doing better this second time around, but he still wasn’t battle minded, and she must have known nothing but battle itself was actually going to get him there. If nothing else, she would teach him not to freeze in the middle of combat, even if she had to run these drills again and again and again. He was the guinea pig for this new arena after all, she would need at least one success story if she was going to sing its merits to her superiors.

The reality of him sitting there sunk in, and he started moving over towards the next barrier, pulling another arrow free from the quiver. This time he was able to knock the arrow successfully, but trying to take good aim while moving wasn’t going to work well. He brought the weapon up to eye level and tried to take aim, but his movements weren’t smooth enough for him to get a good bead on the target. The arrow wavered in its place as his feet tripped over one another in their attempts to move laterally to his foe. Still, he had to try, and he released the arrow when it seemed the head of the missile and the straw dummy were lined up. The string snapped forward and launched the deadly projectile forward. It sliced through the air, flying along its predetermined path. Naturally, that path was nowhere near the target. Missing high and to the right, Elias sighed as he disappeared behind the next structure, resting his left shoulder against it while he tried to steady his mind. Before he could continue or try his next move, Velen’s voice once more rang out. “Your quiver is empty apprentice. I think you were a little wild with your movements back there.”

Shocked eyes trailed down to reality. He’d lost them all, like the fool he was. His vision went careening across the arena in search of them and he found the small, scattered pile by the first barrier he had run too with such huff and unrestrained puff. He cursed and bit his lip in frustration as he heard the turning of the rope come to a stop. Soft footsteps soon approached the apprentice as he sat there lamenting his failure. How could he have been so sloppy? If it had been in a real battle, he would be quite thoroughly dead.

“I don't suppose Deklin ever mentioned how good I was with a sword, did he?”

“I’m sure apprentice, I'm sure. Now go get your arrows, we have some things to work on.”

[Elias Caldera]

32nd Day of Winter,
508 AV

Standing before an all too familiar training dummy, sword and shield in hand, the apprentice was ready to be consumed by his exercises for today. It had been many a night now where he had found himself shooting out of sweat drenched sheets, eyes wide and heart pounding with memories of nightmares already fast fading into nothing but the cold, icy feeling they gripped his troubled mind with. He wasn’t sure anymore what plagued him so, or if it was just a culminating of countless things that sent his dreams into a flurry of horrors, all he knew was that the more he slept, the more he had to face whatever was waiting for him when he closed his eyes. The answer was obvious then. Stay awake. Being awake however, meant he had to be active lest he or a instructor found his slacking unsatisfactory. For now he would train with shield and steel, getting used to them both with a brief warm up while he planned what else he intended to do that early morning. Perhaps he could add in more techniques or improve on the old as he saw fit, whatever to keep him awake.

Elias spread his feet shoulder width apart to give himself a steady base, gripping his sword tightly in his right hand. The blade was angled slightly in towards the center of his body, the tip of the weapon dangling back and forth slightly as Elias remained on the balls of his feet. That was something he’d learned from his uncle early on; staying mobile meant staying alive. He slashed down and to the right first, the weapon sliding across the front of the dummy harmlessly as the recoil slithered through his arm in retaliation. The weight and heft were comforting, familiar, and he sometimes felt better with the hilt of a longsword in his grip than he did with anything else. Never the less, sleep deprived as he was, it was taking no short amount of time to get used to the balance of the weapon for the day. Elias followed through with his attack, spinning around in place, his feet kicking up dust as he did so. He smacked the head of the dummy with the pommel of his weapon, extending his arm fully and followed in furiously with an angled bash from his shield. The dummy rocked backwards violently from the impact and then fell forward with what must have been twice as much force.

It was… surprising to say the least, being knocked over by a training dummy of all things, and the defeated groan it elicited from a downed Elias who was content simple to lie where he had fallen on his butt for the remainder of the day, only made things all the more embarrassing.

Come on…

[Elias Caldera]

With more than a few sour grumbles and equally distasteful curses, the apprentice finally managed to pick himself off the cobble stone floor, but not, as luck would have it, before a group of apprentices had walked by, had their fun pointing and laughing, then walked off. He sometimes wondered if every master swordsmen throughout history had had to go through days like these. He was just stressed, that was all, and all this humiliation was good in a way, it helped him work out his problems. That said, if he was going to start training he would have to start doing it right or not at all.

Once back at the training dummy, Elias took up his stance, his dominate foot forward of his other to keep his center of balance a bit more aggressive. Once he was a bit more comfortable with things, he’d have to move onto a real foe again, but after his showing with Velen and her ridiculous archery course, he was less inclined to show off his blade skills anymore, especially when the woman was looking on from whatever perch she had found herself for that. He felt judged, and harshly so, for falling back unto what he was comfortable with these days instead of tackling this new foe that was the bow. That was for another day though, for the last thing he needed was the frustrations of trying to knock an arrow and kill a dummy from a hundred or so paces while running and jumping all over the Vitrax.

Visualizing his foe, Elias pictured a shield and sword wielding knight for himself to valiantly slay. The most difficult part would be getting past the shield naturally, so he’d have to work to disarm or slap it aside as promptly as possible. He preferred being the aggressor in most bouts, strongly favoring driving the attack and dictating the match as soon as the bell was rung or the order to fight was cried out. Sometimes it didn’t matter how much faster or stronger the opponent was when all of a sudden they were completely thrown off guard by the screaming mad man charging at them, sword flailing and all.

Elias brought the weapon up and quickly lashed out at a downward angle. Imagining the foe intercepted with its shield, Elias stepped in and tried to deliver a shield inspired maneuver of his into to the midsection of his enemy. To call it awkward would be an understatement. He scored a glancing blow and found himself off balanced by the invisible knight he was attacking in an instant. Not the most illustrious start...

“Ah, Elias.” came her voice, sweet and playful. Madam Velen was back, prettier now even with her leather armor than out of it.

It was worrying that she was coming his way.

“Velen.” replied the apprentice in short, suspicious greeting, bowing his head ever so slightly in respect. She carried no bow or quiver today, but something else entirely new to him. “Madam Velen.” She corrected so offhandedly it was comical. “So, a great swordsman, hmm?” Pushing her startling brilliant blonde hair from her face, Velen walked even closer to where the dummy had bested him twice now. “Ah, you were watching that. Well it’s just been one of those mornings you see.” He replied nervously, subtly deflecting the blame as far away from himself as possible. The spear in her hands made the rather mischievous look in her expression all the more troubling. “Mhm, of course. Well I've been hearing all the instructors singing your praises in the halls, I figured if you were going to avoid my archery training, I might as well come and see what all the fuss was about.”

This was… unexpected. Moving back cautiously, his eyes eyes settled on her weapon. The spear was more staff in truth, unadorned, and clearly blunted for training purposes much like his own weapons. “I can’t blame you, my exceptional skills have been known to lure in-”

“Shut up and arm up, apprentice.” The young woman stepped forward and delivered a thrust at Elias, yet despite its simplicity, it was a thing of sheer, astonishing beauty. The way she held the weapon compact against her body, allowing herself to use the full force she could manage was so plain, but so flawlessly executed. With such a petite body, it was shocking to suddenly learn she was more than able to generate huge amounts of power with her attacks. Elias jerked his shield into position just in time, but it still felt as though she’d contacted with his flesh. The head of the spear collided with the boss of the shield, hitting it square on. Elias was on the retreat in an instant, his feet sliding backwards across the stone floor.

“I didn’t come here to talk.”

[Elias Caldera]

Elias ducked under a sweeping swing of the spear, the whiz of the wooden shaft rushing over the top of his head by mere inches. He could feel the breeze of it on his cheek, and even before he had time to react to that, her next attack was already incoming. Velen's grip loosened slightly on the weapon, allowing the momentum of the swing to let it slide up further in her hands. Grasping the weapon down near its base, she reared back and brought down a powerful crushing swing. If it wasn’t so damn terrifying to be facing, Elias figured he could actually consider it amazing to behold. The apprentice once again jerked his shield up to try and intercept her attack. The wooden weapon collided with the front of the shield, propelling Elias's arm and shield across his body and opening up himself for another attack.

It was in that moment he understood just how skilled the weapons instructors at the Vitrax were at their craft. Every attack was with purpose, seamlessly transitioning into the next. It didn't matter what counterattack a foe came up with, they were already four, five, ten moves ahead. Like a game of strategy, they'd already won. Velen hadn't stopped her attack once the side of the spear moved Elias's shield out of the way. Instead she followed with the force of her swing, using it to help spin her around in a tight spiral, bringing the weapon flying around towards the side of the apprentice's knee. If she'd followed through, she would have destroyed that leg in that one hit, something would have shattered or been rent asunder and left him completely and utterly defeated, he was sure of it. The fight hadn’t even lasted a few ticks and already… If she'd followed through, they would be picking a screaming Elias off the floor and dumping him in the canal along with the other failures and dropouts.

Elias couldn't be more thankful she didn't.

The weapon came to a stop resting against the outside of his left knee. His gaze met hers and he received a smile in reply. "Shyke.” Elias breathed through tightened lips, standing there somewhat dumbfounded by the skill she displayed. "That was the start of your lesson. Have you ever fought someone using a spear before?" Elias shook his head, the red rushing to his cheeks now that he had time to actually consider everything that had occurred in full. "The others don’t think it’s worth the time, because let’s face it, how many sylrian knights have you heard of charging into battle with a spear? But I say, you have to know every way someone else is going to try and kill you, else you’re in for nasty surprise one of these days." She turned away from the apprentice giving him a little space, but not before tossing a sideways glance at him. "Bit of advice though, now would be a good time to start using that sword like they say you can."

[Elias Caldera]

Elias smirked uncomfortably at her comment, guarding his tongue from the annoyed commented he wanted to throw back at her. He’d gain nothing by pissing her off, and he had an apparent master actually taking time to train him. It should have been a great experience really, but instead he found it to be just another line in the humiliations he’d been made to endure recently. At least Velen was actually attempting him to improve his combat rather than testing the limits of his emotional control like some of the other trainers often enjoyed doing.

“Your problem is pretty clear, apprentice. You’re trying to fight me like this was any other sword and shield wielding petitioner coming at you.” Velen stood across from Elias, leaning on her polearm like it was a walking stick. She reached up and brushed her bangs from her eyes, regarding the young man with a cool gaze that left him even more unnerved. “This spear isn’t going to come at you like you’ve grown accustomed to with other weapons. I’ll always be out of your range, even with a longsword. Your weapon is shorter, plain and simple, so you’re going to have get right close and personal with me.”

A cheeky smile broadened his face and he raised a finger to interject. “Get serious, apprentice.” She snapped lightly before he had time to hit her with another one of his questionably inappropriate remarks about how close and personal he’d really like to get. Instead he simply frowned and nodded in understanding. He had indeed listened to her instructions, but the worst thing about what she’d said was that he knew it all already. Velen, he hoped for his reputation’s sake, was already aware of this much. It was, after all, an instructor’s duty to know what was going on in her training grounds. “So let’s take this in baby steps for right now. I’m going to thrust at you, just a straight jab with the spear. Show me what you think you should do.” Another nod of comprehension and agreement. Velen lowered her blunted spear, waited for an acknowledgement from Elias, and when she received it, attacked. Lean, powerful muscles tensed as she brought the weapon back and then stepped forward into a powerful strike. Immediately he noticed she had purposefully put her aim off to the side, aiming at the edges of his shield to see how he would react. Elias shifted his feet and adjusted his shield, dipping it slightly towards the edge she had aimed for and sliding his form over to make sure the weapon connected with his shield, not his body. The force of the blow careened off the shield as the young apprentice knocked it aside thanks to the angling. The spear shot past him, and Elias, satisfied with his defense, flew forwards with his sword in the follow up offense.

His blade stopped well short of course, and Velen withdrew her weapon, bringing it upright. “Good, good.” She shook her head in approval. “You know enough not to take the brunt of an attack when you can deflect it, and you didn’t hesitate to chain your moves together to grant yourself an opening and went for it. Being passive in a fight where you’re at a clear disadvantage can be worthwhile, but it can also cost you more than just a few scrapes and bruises in end. Now come, let’s do this for real.”

One move into another into another, I remember.

[Elias Caldera]

Not needing another invitation, Elias lunged forward, exploding out from where he had been standing, shield bared to protect himself while simultaneously bringing up the sword to deliver and overhead kill. He was never one to let the pace be dictated by another after all.

Reacting with unsurprisingly surprising speed, Velen retreated a few steps, stabbing out with her spear to keep the proper distance between them. Once, twice, three times she struck, the clang of wood on steel ringing out as each blow struck true against his bulwark. Elias tried to shift with each blow to minimize the impact, but each hit was still quite intense. Another sore today tomorrow then, he hopelessly mused. His assault had been stymied before it could even begin, but remembering the message hidden in her earlier words, he didn’t stop. His boots continued moving, this time side to side as he began to circle the talented warrior. She shot an occasional probing shot at the apprentice, forcing him to adjust his eye level with each one and reminding him he was where he was and she was still all the way over there, just out of reach. High and low, high and low. Elias kept his shield interposed between each attack, as he tried to figure out how to get past the dangerous weapon without a new scar to add to his collection.

As he continued to circle her, the attacks became repetitive, predictable, and Elias finally caught on. He suspected she was doing that on purpose, but he wasn’t going to waste his opportunity now that he had. When one of the high strikes came in, Elias used his shield to parry her blow, smacking the spear aside. He came storming in with a horizontal slash of his weapon right after, bringing it in from on high with as much force as he could. Velen sauntered backwards, the sword narrowly missing her gut as she did so. The woman then retracted her weapon, making sure both hands were tight on it and feigned a low stab, causing Elias to flinch and react to try and block it. Before he’d even gotten into place, the spear was back and now coming high at his head again. The apprentice brought his shaven dome low to his left shoulder, jerking his body to the side trying to avoid her attack. The wooden pole arm ran along his neck, the tip of the weapon narrowly missing his throat, and as this registered, his eyes widened in the shock of it. Be mobile, always moving! To do anything less would spell certain death against one as skilled as Velen.

She brought the spear back once more while Elias took a swing at the side of the weapon with his shield, lunging forward with a thrust of his sword at the same time. The archer turned spear master twisted her body to the side, evading the counter attack and quickly regaining control of her weapon. She brought it up to the side, raising the tip of the weapon high above her head before slashing slow at the apprentice’s feet, trying to sweep his legs out from underneath him. Everything was moving extremely fast, even with Velen holding back like he knew she had to be. He was trying to keep eyes on her but make sure that he knew what her weapon was doing and where it was at all times. Masterful movements, precise attacks, perfect timing. What else did this woman have up her sleeves?

Elias kicked his legs backwards trying to get out of the way of her attack and was mostly successful. Mostly. The tip of the weapon caught his left shin, nearly knocking him off his feet. Unbalanced, Elias’s arms flailed wildly as he struggled not to meet the ground. Velen, of course, was all too gracious in helping him become reacquainted with a floor for a second time that day. Recovering from her swing, she brought the weapon back on him, the side of the spear crashing into the side of Elias’s legs, upending him and putting the poor boy on his back. The wind was nearly knocked from his lungs when he made hard contact, but he didn’t have time to think about it as he caught the movement of a spear being raised once more. The Caldera barely got his shield up to prevent what would have been a killing blow from crashing into him. A thin layer of steel was all that protected his stomach from a rather unfortunate skewering at the hands of the blonde, blue eyed woman.

Gods she was pretty. Another stab was coming at his head. A little intense, but still.

Again he was forced to raise his shield, groaning as the spear connected squarely. His shoulder was on fiery agony now. Futilely and from his back Elias swung the sword, trying to knock her weapon aside. For a moment it worked. For a moment he thought he could get up. So he tried to do just that, rolling onto his side and scrambling to his feet. The sudden poke in his side let him know he’d made a mistake.

Dismayed eyes slowly trailed up the spear and to the face of the victor as a sheepish grin spread across her lips. “Not bad, Elias. We’ll do this again sometime.” The way she had said that let him know this wasn’t an if, and or maybe kind of situation. He smirked uncontrollably. “Is humbling me just a passing fancy you’re going through at the moment, or should I consider this your new, favored pastime from now on?” She flashed him a grin before pulling the spear back and walking away.

“Why dear apprentice, It’s my job to humble you. Now I can either do it while you’re holding a sword or a bow, it’s your choice. But perhaps I’d be inclined to take it easier on you should find yourself picking up the latter again returning to the course. No promises of course."

"Of course."

"Goodbye, Elias”

“Goodbye, madam Velen.”[/spoiler]