Closed A Fighter Inside (AFI)

[Byron Allestor]

A Fighter Inside (AFI)
Spring 45th 515 AV
Location: The Fighter's Pit

Shadows were cast over Syliras today as the clouds seemed to build up and blot out the rays Syna shone down today, that didn't discourage the older brother from his need to get out of course, since there was nothing like enjoying that crisp Syliran air nowadays. And to think, it'll never be as clear as it smelled back home. He reckoned as the buildup of moisture slightly bothered his nose, the mugginess within the air already started to grow as it bore down on Syliras' denizens. The Fighter's Pit looked to be a lively place though as he could see there were several people that could be located here, a knight here and a squire or two there, he even found himself looking upon a couple of warriors who he could only assume as mercenaries. Of course he wouldn't label them as such so quickly, since he was rather new to the place and still had much to learn. Still though it seemed arguably reasonable that they could be those trades, either way he didn't come here to put his nose into other people's business to begin with. He came here out of speculation of the local word, "The Fighter's Pit" or so they called it anyways. When he asked for its history he hardly got anything useful, other than it had been an old courtyard put to use as a training grounds of a sorts. He had to look at it himself in order to believe it, and now that he'd come here it seemed the word had lived up to its meaning.

Dirt. Hardly any grass because it'd been so barren, though the movement and footwork of those who sparred probably didn't help. Tracks were prominent as imprints of both boots and feet were present, and there appeared to be weapon racks with actual weapons used for practice. Likely dull with no edge, considering they'd be used for training and sparring only. "So... why did you want to come here exactly?" Tailen asked as he fanned air to himself, already it looked like the moisture broke the younger sibling into a sweat. Byron failed to notice it but he too had started to feel a little sweat, mainly from the concentration of mugginess of course, he hadn't necessarily been shaking in his own boots nor shown himself active around here much.

"I wanted to see it for myself really. Since we're here though..." The older brother looked at the weapon racks and noticed a mat rolled up next to one, his head filled with the idea of personal training. "It wouldn't hurt to hone our physical bodies some, wouldn't you agree Tai?"

"Um... okay." The younger sibling sheepishly agreed with him, and then followed along with Byron momentarily, while the older boy moved along to reach the mat. With it in their possession the boys then took to set up their little space, so they would avoid any chances of intrusions in the spaces of others nearby.

[Aren]

"I see you finally got those sparring scythes I recommended," Aren said, with a jovial burst of sound. "Recommended, huh? Not exactly the word I'd use. More like you annoyed me until I relented. Who the shit uses scythes, anyways? Its a damn farming implement," Gerard Anthonius muttered, as he walked away from the towering giant who had come to frequent his Pits. "Yeah. That's me. Just your regular, old, run of the mill farmer," The Akalak whispered, aware of the irony that a man who had never farmed a day in his life would wield a weapon that, whilst far removed from its humble origins, might look more at home cutting down stalks of weed than full grown men. Aren stretched his limbs out in preparation for the ensuing conflict, assuming he could find someone with which to clash in the Pit. Otherwise, he would have to settle for a vigorous solitary routine. Looking around during his warm-up, the warrior felt more and more certain that it would have to be the latter as his gaze failed to identify any appropriate candidates. All the people here were either too scrawny, too clumsy, or simply too green. Some even had the unfortunate distinction of being all three. As the Akalak loosened his body, he noticed a pair of boys, barely more than children, talking amongst themselves. Instantly, his mind flashed back to his own childhood, and to the training he was subjected to in the hopes that he might survive it. It was a cruel thing, the fighter couldn't help but think, for mewling pups barely separated from their mother's breast to need to know how to fight, and kill. Aren wasn't able to pinpoint their age, but they looked very young; much too young, some might say. Unlike Akalak, humans didn't seem to have some ridiculous tradition of going on suicidal hunts for glassbeaks, so what where they doing here? "The world is a dangerous place. If they're smart, they're here to learn how to keep it from killing them." Seros, unlike his brother, did not hold the same negative views of an early initiation into combat. Life was hard. Sometimes, you needed to know how to cut a man and where, because the alternative might be death. Practice and training where the edge of the sword by which a person could impose his will on reality. Without it, a man was little more than an animal, waiting to get shafted by a hunter's arrow. Unable to look way, Aren tried to convince himself not to make assumptions about strangers. These boys weren't his childhood friends, no matter how much they might remind him of them. They weren't hopelessly outmatched children who had been told to bring down a monster.

[Byron Allestor]

Innocently enough both boys had managed to roll out a mat for the two of them to use, since it served large enough to give them a bit of practice room with one another. Really Byron hadn't considered how long it had been since both of them last sparred against one another, since the last time he ever really trained was back home under the apprenticeship of a Shinya. That of course was far behind him now and would remain there for good, he would rather look forward to what's ahead than remind himself of what he left behind.

Thus he knelt down to untie the laces of his boots and slipped each off, one after the other until at last he finally felt the ground against his skin. Tailen had done the same as well but he noticed something that Byron didn't, once the older brother followed the direction of the gaze though he quickly caught on. There stood a familiar blue giant that he already knew to well, at least by simple appearance he knew what the guy was anyways. An Akalak had taken to stare at them for a little bit, and Byron couldn't help but feel a little bit of paranoia for a moment.

Seriously? Another blue giant brute here in the city? He didn't come from Riverfall did he?... He looked a little annoyed with the idea seeing as how that place seemed troublesome, granted they arrived there at an unusual time of circumstance. Whatever caused the unknown personality change there it left enough of an impression on him, plus he wasn't ready to conform to th e lifestyle the people had there just yet. Then again he wasn't so much ready to conform here either, yet there existed little for him to do other than deal with the terms. No libraries nor places to do research, just spots to train and... do whatever the locals did around here.

A sudden "Hiyah!" caught his attention as he caught sight of Tailen's movement, the younger brother already initiated their practice session with a fist raised behind him. Whoa, jeez! Byron ducked his head to avoid the swing, while he brought his left arm up to hook it around Tailen's. Before the older brother had time to react however Tailen already countered his move, a foot firmly planted over Byron's as he twisted his body around.

Byron lost his balance for a moment but struggled against the pull he felt from his younger brother, for a sibling a that stood a little smaller than him Tailen proved he had quite a small amount of strength. Shyke!! The tug of war with their physical strength proved faulty enough, Byron gave in and felt his balance lurch as Tailen pulled him just about over the shoulder, and caused the older sibling to crash against the mat with a grunt. After a short moment spent to regain the air knocked out of him, Byron pointed up to the boy with a frown. "Hey! That wasn't fair, you caught me off guard!" He exclaimed while Tailen stood with arms crossed over his fallen opponent.

"Remember what you were taught? Always be ready for anything! Besides, you could've easily pulled me down if you had the chance."

"Shut up!" Byron leaned up and crossed his arms with but a grimace at first, his embarrassment only slight but still present at best granted Tailen had a point in reasoning. When he noticed that the younger brother held out a hand to help him up, he then saw opportunity for revenge there. And so quickly did Byron initiate a short term war between him and his brother, with a quick tug at Tailen's forearm to pull him down and initiate the playful fight.

[Aren]

Aren tried to shake off the feeling that in these boys he was looking at his own childhood friends, but when they began to roughhouse it was almost like he could picture their faces clearly in his mind. Noticing the look the pair were getting from the other guests of the Pit, however, the Akalak thought it might be a good idea to break their fight up. This wasn't the place to be playing, after all, and the other fighters probably wouldn't appreciate such childish behavior in the place where they trained. Of course, while they didn't have much say in who came and went, Gerard did, and he didn't strike Aren as the type of man that would be too permissive of that sort of thing. Pulling one of the two boys up off the other by the scruff of his shirt with a single hand, the giant took a quick glance around to make sure that the eyes that had fallen upon them redirected themselves elsewhere. The other semi-regular visitors of the Pit, having recognized Aren as one as well, realized what he was doing and knew better than to object. If he wanted to deal with these brats, they figured, he was welcome to. "This is not the place for that," The azure warrior said, as the stares began to dissipate and those that had been distracted by the display went back to minding their own business. "When you're here, you train, and you take it seriously." The Akalak offered the boys a friendly smile to show that he wasn't trying to be mean. Those men and women that found themselves here were not necessarily the most skilled, but they all had one thing in common: they wanted to be better than they were. Some were poor as dirt and sought a life other than farming or trade-craft for themselves, others were merely weaker than they wanted to be. Yet, they all shared the same unifying goal, whatever their reasons. "To do otherwise is to mock everything they're trying to do. You understand?" Aren jerked his head towards one of the men trying his luck with a dulled blade against a dummy, somewhere behind them. His strikes were clumsy and unpracticed, but the sweat gleaming off every exposed patch of flesh on his body told its own story. He had been at this for hours, and though he didn't seem to be getting any better, the man did not seem dismayed. That's what this place was for, and while Aren had first thought of it as a "dump", he had come to grow quite fond of it; or rather, he had grown quite fond of the people who came here. Most of them were hopeless in terms of skill -they would almost certainly never be anything more than mediocre fighters- but there was a certain irascible stubbornness to them that he couldn't help but respect.

[Byron Allestor]

Byron had been over his brother for a moment but Tailen had managed to gain the upper hand again, a turnover used from the brute strength his younger brother possessed pitted Byron onto the floor. There were a few grunts as he tried his best to struggle free, but before he could work his way out alone somebody else came along to interfere. Tailen's own weight proved no match against the jolly blue giant that made their way over, yet even when they were both surprised by this interjection the giant wasn't not in fact so jolly. He practically lectured the boys on their way of getting a little bit of practice in, and when Byron rose onto his feet he'd already felt ready to object. However even when he stood his ground and nearly protested, something else managed to catch his eye before hand. The people here had stared for a little bit and it had appeared the boys caught their attention, a rather unwanted fix they'd made until the Akalak decided to step in.

The words he spared however didn't seem as harsh as they impacted when the boys noticed the smile he gave, a sign that he obviously meant good will out of his intention when he stopped them. Tailen acted a little sheepishly then as he averted his eyes, a bashful "sorry," to follow as he glanced over to his brother. Byron didn't seem all too phased, but nonetheless he could understand what the Akalak meant. There were people here that worked too hard, and even when the boys didn't think of it like that, their horse play of a fight would only serve as a distraction for all of them.

"Yeah I understand." He agreed with a sigh while he crossed his arms, his eyes seemed to narrow on the Akalak as he mentally measured the man's form. He's pretty big... and blue.... very big actually. The resounding thought could only be reinforced by both the size in height and frame difference, Byron felt like he were practically a pipsqueak towards this guy now that he faced him... and poor Tailen. He probably felt like a flea as of this moment, that is if he were at all concerned like Byron was. It appeared he wasn't though. If he's that huge though then he's got to be a good fighter, I mean even the scar on his face practically screams bad ass! Some part of him suddenly admired the giant before them but there was also the hint of rebellion found as well, and therefore the sudden need to challenge the Akalak to see how he would react.

"Well since Tailen's not very good at helping me, why don't you give me some pointers with combat?" Somehow a smirk crossed his lips as he said those words, as though he were actually quite proud to challenge the mountain before him.

[Aren]

The boys seemed to understand what the Akalak was saying, and one of them even deigned himself to offer an apology. Aren smiled and placed a hand on each of their shoulders to show that there were no hard feelings, and then turned around to head back towards his own little spot of the arena. Before the giant could get too far, however, the voice of one of the young men rang out behind his back. The chuckles of some of the other nearby visitors of the pit was audible as Aren twisted his neck to look at the source of the amusing request out of the corner of his eye, "Pointers?" He had been asked this very question before, by some of the other regulars here, but he had always turned them down. The reason he had given was because he was a mercenary, which meant he sold his services, not gave them away to perfect strangers. The real reason, however, had simply been because those that asked him were hopeless in terms of fighting, no matter how much instruction they were given. They would have gotten better, certainly, but better didn't mean good, or even adequate. Turning around, the warrior eyed the boy in front of him with a critical gaze, trying to ascertain any potential he might have had. It was normally hard to read the abilities of a standing figure which was doing nothing, but something could always be gleamed by stance and size and the overall condition of the body. The young man in front of him was almost like a blank page, however; he had somewhat of a lithe figure, but that was pretty much all the information that Aren could discern. He was very young, so perhaps life had simply not had much of an impact on him, the Akalak figured. "I could, but I doubt you can afford it," The azure giant said, grinning. The mercenary was generally not so, well, mercenary, but the attentive ears of the crowd demanded caution. If he wasn't careful, some of these farmers who thought themselves knights-in-the-making wouldn't cease to annoy him until he pounded them into the ground a couple of times. Fortunately, the people who came to the Pit were generally broke, and he had found that money was generally the one thing that would act as a barrier for their ill-conceived requests. "Feel free to spar with Derkan over there, though." The Akalak pointed at a defeated looking man sitting on a barrel in a shaded section of the arena. Upon hearing his name, the man looked over and smiled, exposing the massive gap between his teeth. "Don't underestimate him just cause of that twitch in his eye. It's actually the other one he can't see out of." Aren patted the eager young man on the shoulder as if to say "Good Luck" and then turned around, once again, and resumed his march towards his own secluded section of the Pit.

[Byron Allestor]

It seemed as though Byron managed to at least get a snag of the Akalak's own attention, the suggestion for pointers something Byron hoped would stir a reaction within the man. Yet it appeared as though the man weren't going to just so easily crack about it, instead he practically offered the services in a way that mainly benefited him more. The comment of not being able to afford it however slightly irked the boy, his eyebrows furrowed a little while the teeth in the back reaches of his mouth ground together. That had to be his own way of challenging Byron, whether it really was or not though that didn't really matter, it'd already created the effect that stirred as a reaction in Byron's own mind. "Oh really?!" The smirk remained but in a more twisted form as he stood tall, even if he still remained towered by the Akalak.

With the suggestion to spar with another guy in the pit, one that actually looked inclined to the challenge, the brothers stood quiet for a moment as Tailen walked close enough to murmur. "Byron! I don't think this is a good idea, maybe we should just decline and leave!" For whatever reason Tailen thought what he said it held little sway over the older sibling, Byron's own internal pride had pretty much been damaged by the big blue brute now, and it stood as a priority that he do everything he could to get it restored.

"No worries, I'll handle this." It astonished Tailen to hear those words, but once Byron stepped forward the younger brother looked nervous more than ever. Byron on the other hand stood with eyes sharply zoned on his target, the Akalak now the center of all his focus as he raised his voice just a little. "Nah, I think I'd rather tackle you instead. You like the kinda guy I'd enjoy proving wrong, and to make it better I'll throw in my own little deal." Tailen's eyes bulged just a little as he switched between watching Byron and the giant before him. "Since you're so worried about cost, I'll just have to appeal to that kind of gesture somehow. My own funds could probably suffice but I'd rather spice things up a little, you take me on and I'll do whatever work you want me to do. For a season if need be, how does that sound?" The older brother stood tall as Tailen's jaw dropped lower and lower, the entire stupidity of the statement nearly overwhelming to handle. Nevertheless everyone else heard the pitch so they all knew, now it just stood to see where this man would go in terms of making a deal.

[Aren]

Usually, those that failed to secure Aren's assistance with their training reacted with nothing more than disappointment, but sometimes he got an indignant armorer's apprentice (or the like) who thought that because he knew how to hammer a piece of steel into something resembling a weapon he was above the common rabble that tended to visit the Pit. The Akalak simply tended to ignore these outbursts, and this boy's incensed reply didn't bother him any more than all the ones prior to it. When Byron, as he'd heard his friend yell, decided to press the matter, however, Aren stopped in his tracks and glanced back with a roguish grin. "You all heard the offer," The giant said, raising his voice to make sure his statement was not confused for a question. The reply from the other visitors of the Pit was a mixed cacophony of laughter, murmurs, and the occasional grumble of disapproval. When Byron had started his defiant speech, Aren could make out whispers and comments about the boy's misguided, but nonetheless admirable bravery. Now those same voices wondered if what they had earlier perceived as courage had been nothing more than the brazen foolishness of youth. "And I accept." The Akalak smiled, and the sentiment that Byron had basically condemned himself by his own tongue was echoed by a few sympathetic groans amongst the crowd. Immediately afterwards, however, the arena lit up with the buzz of conversation as bets began to be placed and odds were calculated. This was an interesting enough mismatch to serve as a respite for those that toiled without sign of progress, and the opportunity to bolster one's own meager fortunes was always hard to pass up, especially for this lot. Moving towards the rack that held a couple of dulled practice scythes, Aren's weapon of choice, the giant did not even bother attempting to hide the malevolent smirk that decorated his face, "And since this is a challenge, not a simple spar, and you were the one who challenged me, I get to pick the weapons we fight with, right?" Picking the pair of scythes up, the Akalak turned to face the boy, hoping to egg him on even further. "Don't worry, though. If you choose to fight with whatever you're best with, I doubt you'll be though too much of a coward," Realizing that Byron seemed to be the rash, headstrong type, Aren figured that showing him how distinctly unwise these particular traits were in a fighter might be the best lesson he could give the boy. Throwing him one of the dulled scythes, the giant's free hand continued its motion and headed towards the straps in the middle of his chest. Undoing them with a practiced gesture, that same hand quickly darted to catch the blade that soon began to fall from the Akalak's back. Placing the more lethal variant of the weapon in his hand on the rack from which the training equivalents had originated, Aren then swiftly directed his full attention to his unfortunate opponent. He had, technically, already won, but he honestly hoped that the experience would make Byron more prudent with his words, if nothing else.

[Byron Allestor]

At first it seemed like his outburst nearly went ignored by the giant before him, yet after the deal had been pitched that seemed enough to stop him in his tracks. Everybody knew good and well what the deal was and while the reactions were all mixed, Byron needed to only watch and observe how the Akalak handled such a scene. If anything it proved rather interesting for the young lad, granted he'd never really went out of his way to draw such attention, then again his selfish impulses were what put him in this position to begin with. Now of course it was too late to turn back, and Byron intended to go the whole nine yards with this thing. Finally after the muttering that occurred from the crowds after the challenge had been confirmed, it seemed that all coins were on the table now that the stakes were ready.

For Byron this more or less served as a gamble really and he didn't care what the result was, he knew for sure he had a high chance of failure against this guy even from the moment their eyes met. Still that didn't stop him from running his mouth, even when it probably would've been best to do so. "Sure! Use any weapon you want! Either way I still get a shot at kickin' your ass!" He enthused as he decided to stretch out his legs first, a bend of the knee here and then there followed, while Tailen stood next to Byron all horrified about the idea.

"Are you serious?! You're gonna take on this guy when he can practically throw you around?! What are you thinking By?!!" Finished with the leg stretches Byron straightened out and started with his upper body next, first came the crossover of the arm, then the other arm came next while he turned his upper body sideways a couple of times.

"Stand back Tai, I can handle this." He encouraged with a grin and couple of grunts, finally with a hand placed on the younger siblings shoulder he gave a wink, and then stood ready to face his opponent while the younger brother walked backwards shyly. The Akalak appeared to choose a weapon that Byron had no clue how to handle, what appeared to be more or less a tool for farming soon quickly became his next project to learn. Okay, I've got what's suppose to be a long pole with a blade attached. From what I gather he's definitely well proficient otherwise he wouldn't have chosen this particular weapon, still where he's got more bite and power in his arm, I should have more speed therefore an advantage. He measured with a sharp gaze after he caught his weapon, he more or less held it quite awkwardly with the edge towards the floor. Both hands were at the middle of the pole as he started to feel them sweat already, the nervousness in his eyes hidden behind a look of loose confidence.

I may not have a clue how to use this weapon either, but who says I need it to land a hit! There's got a be a way to gauge his defenses, if I can manage that then I'll be able to surprise him. He raised the scythe's edge up while he bent his knees, the first move made as he charged in to attempt a feint of an attack."Here I come!" He hollered in his dash towards the blue mountain, he more or less diverted towards a path towards Asen's side rather than a straight forward assault.

[Aren]

"Yeah, Tai. You'd better stand back," The Akalak also urged, although the mischievous look on his face seemed to suggest an entirely different reason for the counsel. The pair's debate had been easy to make out in the almost absolute silence that followed the rush of conversation when the spectators exchanged wagers and tabulated the chances of various occurrences coming to pass. As Aren assumed a practiced stance with his dulled scythe, he couldn't help but notice that Byron was holding the weapon all wrong. Both hands should not be at the center of the haft, although that was the correct position for one of them. The other should generally be placed much lower on the pole so as to provide the necessary leverage for a decent blow. The obviously much more experienced scythe-wielder was about to mention this fact to Byron when the boy charged at him like a crazed goat, his battle-cry drawing some laughter from the viewing public. At least he was smart enough not to attempt a frontal assault, the giant noticed, allowing a bit of a sigh to escape his lips as he saw his opponent angle his approach. The Akalak did not seem inclined to move from where he was, though. and instead his knees bent and the blade of his scythe took up a position parallel with the ground, on the opposite side from which Byron approached. The advantage of this stance was the ability to deliver any number of different attacks in a wide arc in front of him, and therefore was perfectly suited to the situation. Strong, devastating downward and horizontal blows could be initiated from this position, as well as defensive sweeps and pommel strikes. It was for this versatility that Aren considered it the most readily useful stance to assume when fighting an unknown adversary. In all honesty, the warrior simply couldn't bring himself to consider Byron a true opponent, though he was keenly aware of the dangers of overconfidence. In this world, he knew, one could hardly be sure of the thoughts within one's own mind, let alone anything beyond that. Luckily, his training and experience forced him to react as he should, despite any perception that such caution was unwarranted, and ultimately unnecessary. As Byron approached, holding the practice scythe that Aren had given him with such little regard for its proper use, the Akalak kept his eyes on the boy's feet. Unless the young fighter was an incredibly skilled actor, he had absolutely no idea how to fight with the relatively exotic weapon in his hands, and as such any threat he may be capable of posing would likely stem from somewhere else. Being smaller than the giant -as most fighters were- Byron probably thought he had some kind of advantage in speed. Aren had long ago found this to be a common thread amongst his opponents (and likely the opponents of any Akalak, in general) and had quickly devised an appropriate response to those that erroneously believed that velocity absent skill somehow equaled speed. As the eager young combatant approached, likely looking for a good angle from which to deliver his first strike, the end of the Akalak's scythe quickly jutted out onto his path. It was a short, exceptionally fast attack normally devoid of much force, which is why Aren liked to employ it in situations when his foe's own momentum would add to the impact of the blow. It was not an unavoidable attack, by any means, but Aren knew, having used it many times before, the likely avenues someone could take in order defend themselves. In this case, the mercenary aimed for the ribs on Byron's outside flank, hoping the boy would fall in and towards him should he manage to avoid the strike. This would allow the Akalak to continue pressing his attack through any number of ways. Hopefully, Byron wasn't stupid enough to attempt some type of parry using the haft of his own scythe, as trying something like that without any practice and while on the run was idiotic, at best. One mistake and not only might he be struck anyway, but he also might not be able to use it to defend against any subsequent strikes that might follow.