How do strategy? (Archailist)

[Alexander Faircroft]

Affirmation of a theory was one thing but putting a theory into practice was an entirely different matter. If you strike a larger force with a smaller one but aim for those with rank then the odds were favour was on your side…Hopefully. The next wave of information came with a slight pall of hesitation. The difference in skill between the assailant and the targets would have to be substantial for one man to remove ten threats. Not feasible unless a lot of planning and preparation was placed into the circumstance before. And the outlook of taking on ten men alone was one of a dubious nature. In an ambush. Ever shifting thoughts permeated Alex’s mind thinking of different applications of knowledge and the intelligence leaking to shape a battle towards a favourable outcome. “So the one man taking out ten isn’t really feasible if taking on all at once. But what about picking off soldiers one at a time?” Alex spoke with the softness he usually carried but a trickle of the hunters on in him split through. Listening closely to the pycons stance on Leadership was something that made him think. Soldiers were weapons in their own right. Tools. If the simplest action and task was being carried out by men who had no knowledge of what it was you were asking it could spell disaster for your plan, however if a simple plan called for by an inept leader was carried out by veteran soldiers the chance of success was much greater. The pycon carried on with the answers to Alex's questions. No one ever knew the exact course of a battle as everything couldn’t be accounted for. True. But what happens if you can account for most variables. Isn’t the application of a tactical mind to eliminate as many variables as possible? Alex flicked through his mind and studied the pages of the tome before him. He flicked his eyes up from the book before the pycon spoke again. Introducing himself as Archailist. And calling Alex by his full name. “Please just Alex will suffice Archailist. I’m not used to hearing my full name unless I’ve messed up…Which happens a lot more often than I’d like to admit.“ he sighed and lowered his eyes back to the table as Arch spoke about making himself interesting to the other knights. Easy for a pycon with this much knowledge to do… The difference in experience between them almost a full year. According to arch’s own introduction. “Well I suppose that makes you my senior then as a squire. I’ll try and seek you out if I have a question…If that’s alright with you?” Alex’s soft tone trailed off as he spoke and his mind turned back to something else. "Forgive me for being presumptuous, but how does one of your stature fight? I’m not too well versed in the fighting styles of other races. I spent a lot of my life isolated or in a primarily human culture so it’s strange to see.” To be honest he was primarily curious as any information gathered had it’s use no matter on what subject. The small conversation they’d had if it could be called either small or a conversation, had illuminated something to Alex. And that was the simple fact that any and all information had a value and even wrong information could seem like good or right information given enough supporting evidence. “So Archailist do you mind me asking who your patron is or would you rather keep that to yourself?” He finished with a small genuine smile trying his best to not shrink back.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Once again, it took a little thought before he could come up with a suitable answer. After all, in most if not all situations, a lone soldier would turn back and warn others rather than attempt to take on all ten opponents by himself. "Picking off one at a time is... likely not going to be a viable option in most situations. Especially with a force of ten. By the third or fourth person, the others are going to know what you're doing and prepare themselves. You've lost the element of surprise. Then you're still dealing with a one-against-five situation which might as well be a straight-forward battle, meaning unless you can defeat five warriors single-handedly, you're not going to make it out alive." He shook his head solemnly. Why was Alexander seemingly so interested, as well, in the possibility of killing ten men while by himself? It seemed a slightly bizarre fixation to have.. but the Pycon, once again, refused to probe. His motives would reveal themselves soon enough, he could be sure.. whether he intended them to, or not.

"Mm? Alex it is. You can call me Arch by the way, if you want. Not everyone does.. and I don't particularly mind either way." When he was in trouble, people just shouted a whole lot, didn't matter whether they used his full name, shortened name or just something along the lines of 'that clay squirrel'. Which was far too often to be referred to as a 'senior'.. oh jeez, he wasn't going to end up being called 'sir' again, was he? Just the idea of being referred to as a senior made the Pycon inwardly cringe. Perhaps it was just all the time he'd spent calling everyone around him Ser... or perhaps it was the fact that this human - this human - was referring to him as a superior in some way. The comedic value was off the charts. "Yeah, if you want to call me out for questions, I suppose that's alright." A hand reached up behind his own head and rubbed it, making both pointed ears twitch. "If you ever need to get ahold of me, my patron's name is Ser Iros. Big red Akalak, obsessed with physical strength, can't miss him. Really you can't."

And suddenly there were the personal questions. He didn't really consider questions about name or knighthood personal, in all honesty.. work was work, life was life, the two didn't exactly coincide as long as he was just a squire, following his squirely duties and nothing more - by order, not by personal choice either. Now it was pushing a little too far, however. Alex was overstepping his boundary. "You want to see, hmm?" That was the only answer he gave and the hard stare he suddenly launched dared Alex to take the challenge. Well, if he was going to get interested in warfare, he was going to get what he asked for. Arch might not have any of his weapons handy but he still had a pair of fists.

[Alexander Faircroft]

The odds were against any situation like that. Challenging ten was too much the pycon held the right of it. Alex sighed slightly and nodded along slowly. He was right even under optimal conditions it wasn’t the wisest of moves so that made him shrink again. A small piece of his hope faded a little as he lifted his hand back to the watchtower sigil at his chest. “Thanks for clearing that up for me. It’s not good to have any delusions about your skill.” He smiled weakly semi forced this time as he let out a heavy shouldered sigh. And was given permission to call him by a shortened version of his name like Alex himself had given out the permission. An akalak…Big, red, name of Ser Iros seek him out if arch is needed. He’d at least gotten the ok to serch out arch if he had questions that needed an answer pronto. He nodded slowly a simplistic moment rolling around in his mind. Sending him into a distant almost vacant looking thought. Which was abruptly snapped out of him by the question of him wanting to see. Alex looked around at the pycon and caught a glare of challenge in the pycon’s eyes. And immediately knew he’d over stepped a boundary line. “Sorry, I didn’t know if it was ok to ask this I’m not really all that good with a weapon at least up close I’m better at range.” He slipped back a little nudging his head towards the bow he had slung over his shoulder. “In a close quarters fight I’m not really all that useful. If at all. It’s taken a long time for my patron to get me to the shambles of a level I’m currently at…” He semi shrunk back into a smaller form. Alex preferred to assess a threat from a distance first and then remove it with the bow. It’s why he kept himself so quiet. To try and minimalize the amount of noise he gave off at all times. Still he needed the training and it would be good for him to at least get some form of experience of facing a much smaller opponent. What exactly could he do against someone this small, up close? At range he’d just take his time, steady his shot and pick the target off. A not quite expert but complex enough shot that Alex would have to take a second or two to account for wind and shot dip. Alex snapped himself back to the situation before him and against his better judgement. “Ok…I’ll see. I’m more than likely going to end up sore and broken but I’m already well past that point.” He smiled weakly and prepped himself mentally to get destroyed.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Watching Alex squirm like that in his chair, like a deer caught in headlights, was just too funny. A smile cracked his expression.. and faded away just as quickly. "Oh, you actually want to do it, huh?" Well then. That was unexpected. He uncrossed his legs and stood up again, stretching his back to work out a little soreness in his clay from sitting still for that long. Felt unnatural for some reason. He was so used to being on his feet. "Don't know why you'd ever be interested in taking up any combat against me when all you've got to defend yourself is a bow.. I mean, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that you're going to have a really small target." One of the advantages of his stature. Something that had thankfully saved his life more times than he dare try to count. "If you're really interested in it then, I suppose it's time to head for the Training Grounds." Seeing as Alex had only been around for half a season, he decided to lead the way by hopping off the edge of the table.

"Grab your things and follow me. I guess there's not much point in talking anymore, is there. Like I've kept saying, the advantage comes with information.. and so far, you've told me what you're using and that you're not very good at it. Not a good start, you know." He knew this was supposed to be a friendly little thing.. but these fights never were, even when he intended them to be otherwise. These were preparation for the future, when they'd all be out there on the battlefield. For when they'd be up against fully-grown men battle-trained and definitely not using blunted weapons under the careful eye of the Weaponmasters. What was the point in these lessons if they weren't going to be applied to the world at large?

He led Alex back out of the Archives, through the antechamber, straight back into the main corridors of the Dyres District. Here was where it became difficult. "Turn left, take the corridor on the left. Follow the staircase up to the first tier and go to the left of the entrance." Considering all the plate that Alex was waiting, he wasn't going to even try and jump up onto the other squire's shoulder for a lift. It'd be much better to just make his own way there.. and that likely meant separating in the crowd. He'd be fine, though. Sliding between feet and around ankles was something he was all too used to, sadly. For the most part, he kept to the walls and scurried across with his side pressed against the cold stone like a true rodent. But, about fifteen chimes later, he was waiting just outside the entrance to the Grounds, thinking of which arena they should choose. Decisions, decisions..

When Alex finally arrived, he turned on his heel and marched through the archway. "We'll be fighting on the sand. Open space, no defences for you or me to hide behind. Stand on the opposite end and give yourself as much room as you need and I'll give us a countdown." He stopped mid-stride and turned around again. "Remember that you asked for this." The little Pycon took a deep breath. Well, time to do this again.

[Alexander Faircroft]

All the information deception in the world wasn’t going to help him. He knew that so better to be honest. Sometimes getting your backside kicked, was worth what you could learn. Something his father and patron has told him at different times. Arch was right though knowledge control was one of the many points of control. However what he could learn from facing off against a pycon and a much smaller foe. Sometime that was going to come in more helpful than the pycon being used to fighting a much larger target. Alex smiled internally but knew this was going to be painful for him. As arch started to leave Alex simply rose from his seat the bow over his shoulder resetting position and the quiver and dagger at the back of his belt. Despite being fairly inept with most things he was a quick study and as much as he mentioned his proficiency with a bow and lack of suck with most close combat he’d kept his dagger knowledge a little closer to his chest. The short walk was familiar to him, he’d been here before but he made it seem like he hadn’t following arch’s directions with seeming trepidation. Almost like he was scared to get lost. The plate he wore and the chain weighed him down. And despite the weight of it he was slowly, very slowly starting to adjust to it. Even able to occasionally control the weight hitting the ground to lighten his steps a little. Alex tried his best to slip through the crowd as best he could trying not to draw as much attention to himself as possible. Despite being a squire clad head to toe almost in full plate. The weight of it still drew heavily on him. This was not going to end well and he knew it. His first step into the training grounds and the loud clank of steel on stone was grating to his ears as it had been the first time. Still sand. A loose surface he’d watched people fighting on it days before seeing how it slid and shifted under foot. He knew that a firm footing was needed to deal with that. Alex stripped the bow from his shoulder and unlatched the belt fastening his quiver and dagger to his waist. He placed them at the edge of the space. He wasn’t using a weapon against an unarmed opponent. As much as it might swing things in his favour a little he just didn’t feel right. “I know I asked for this and I know it’s gonna hurt. Still I’m interested.” He smiled a little knowing even though he was going to hurt the knowledge and experience was worth it. Right calm down arms in tight. Strong stance, time to learn how to marry precision and speed or your ass is on the ground. Faster than usual. Alex slid his foot back slightly grounding himself even on sand he hoped to get the best footing. He wanted to make a at least half decent impression. Good luck with that. He thought to himself.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Looking up and down Alex, it was definitely looking bad. The thick plate covering most of his body would likely slow him down to a snail's pace. With no weapons hanging from his sides, either the only thing he had with him was the bow.. or maybe a small concealed weapon. He'd mentioned being an archer.. so he must have something else for close-combat use. Just as he was running through all the possibilities he knew about in his head.. Alex revealed it anyway by unstrapping it and leaving it at the side of their arena. "I'd suggest you use a weapon. Even if you are better with your fists." The blade might be far too short to be of any use without bending over but at least it was a little bit of an advantage! "I guess it's your decision and I won't hold it against you.. but I'd still recommend it." He paused to give another few ticks to let Alex make his mind up, but not long enough for him to make any damn excuses or validations.

"Three. Two. One. Alright, let's get down to it." He rushed straight for the shin. There are openings at the joints. Chainmail blocks most of them.. but denting the metal with a decent kick should open up a gap just wide enough to squeeze inside. He'd only done this once or twice before but it'd worked well. As he got closer, a much better opening appeared.. the waistline. Though the Pycon couldn't possibly guess how loose the armour was on Alex.. if it was too tight, he'd just have to deform himself to slide through the narrower portions, wouldn't he?

As soon as his mind was made up, he went for it. As soon as he got close enough, the first move was to leap straight for the shin of one leg. If he made it, find good purchase around the edges of the plate, crawl up the knee and over the thigh and bolt straight up around the hip. I can aim for the side of the breast. There! A seam. He'd never had to wear armour himself so he wasn't exactly up-to-date with the finer aspects of it, but if there was any better time to start learning about it than when desperately mapping out the quickest way to slide himself inside a fellow squire's armour, he hadn't heard of it. And finally.. just start attacking. Whatever he had on underneath, cloth or chainmail or whatever, he could handle. They wouldn't slow blunt attacks. He could just keep on smacking Alex in the gut until he submitted. Oh, and the best thing of all? Sandwiched inside the armour as he would be, if things ran smoothly, he could use the other squire's own armour to protect himself. Golden.

[Alexander Faircroft]

Alex didn’t really care about an advantage as arch kept pressing him to keep one. Given the other squires certainty that he would win Alex speculated that no matter what5 he did he was going down without much of a challenge. Alex paused for a second. No matter what I do I’m at a disadvantage. Theres a certainty to him. Like he knows he’s going to win so no matter what I do I’m kind of left in the dark. Still the faster I learn how he fights the faster I can guard against it. With that Alex shifted his feet a little the armour creaking and clanking. It wasn’t really made for him and so it was a little odd fitting. Something on loan like this only had to loosely fit him so it felt too wide in some spots and tight in others pinching and rolling as standard. Alex shifted again. You know this is going to hurt but take a moment and learn. Think. In this instance you’re the larger force. Where are your weak points. Joints. Points where the plates overlap. By the tassets. I only ask that he don’t hit me there…Please. Alex tightened his stance up a little more. A normal fighter would have closed his hands as would an inexperienced one. Alex rolled his fingers lightly leaving his hands open slightly. He could feel a shake creeping into him from both the chill and nerves. The countdown began. The small pycon at the peak of the countdown took off in a bolt of speed. Alex barely had time to react. Thankfully he had a hunters eyes. He saw the target his shin. He slipped his foot back. Or was that just a diversion? Luckily by some force of magic Alex had managed to just pull his shin back but it wasn’t good enough. The pycon managed to catch it in time before he’d shifted it fully out of the way. Trying to brush off the small pycon. Alex brought the back of his hand down at the small creature only to find that the small being had already leapt up and kicked his chest piece the loose fit around the waist shifted and a small gap had formed around the side. Hearing the unmistakable shriek of metal bending he slipped back twisting his torso away from the pycon and bringing his right arm around like an open palmed hammer, he went to slam the small being from the air into the ground. Hopefully the pycon couldn’t shift mid-air. At least not too well. If he missed then that wouldn’t spell disaster, all he wanted was some room between them. As he took the strike he would have shifted back and away from the small clay figure. The weight of the armour slowed him down to a point where he was finding it difficult to not only move but to aim correctly. So a weapon wouldn’t have helped him in this situation. Was arch trying to feed him false information to gain an advantage? It was possible after all the small pycon had pretty much reinforced what Alex had pondered. Why hit the armour? Why hit the hardest thing there? New plan. Keep him away from your left hand side. If he hits that side anymore it’ll be serious trouble for this armour. And you’ve been yelled at enough. Alex circled around to the side of where he might have hit the pycon into the sand. Switching which was the outstretched arm, his form compact and tighter than before now. Words resonating with the bruises on his sides. Keep your form tight, arms in feet planted. Alex shifted around slowly circling the pycon waiting for him to take the next move as it could be the last one…And chances were he’d feeling and end up on the floor in pain.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

It really did seem that Alex wasn't entirely trying. When he pulled his shin back, Arch just took another few steps forward to cover the minor extra distance, accounting for his own inertia to avoid slamming too harshly against Alex's shin.. and then went straight for the climb up to the breast-plate. Seams and joints in the plate made excellent hand-holds, and the best that Alex could come up with for dealing with the heavy little creature worming its way up his body was to try and slap at it with the back of his hand. He could move aside.. but instead he shifted the bulk of clay inside his body down into his tail and retaliated with a slap of his own to brush the hand aside. Then he shook himself and stepped backwards, trying to pull himself back. Arch had a good handhold on Alex. He could try and crush the squirrel-like creature with his palm all he wished, the tail just swept back around again and whacked it on the thumb to push it aside.

Alex's attacks were obviously getting nowhere. They were either slow enough for the squirrel to easily be able to slip aside from, or with too little power. "This is how I fight, Alex. I dig in deep, get up close and personal." When a hand brushed at his side he jumped back down and rolled in the sand, watching the boy regain a little distance and try to change his stance. "You seriously need to work on your form and figure." It seemed obvious that Alex wasn't going to make a move after a few ticks of standing still and watching him wobble in dented plate. "I'm going for your right leg next."

True to his word, the next time he made a move, he went straight for the right leg. As for what part of it, though.. that he left up to chance. He rushed forwards and feigned an attack, leaving behind any strength to wait for the squire to move it, just as he had before.. then he went in for the real attack, quickly following up with a jump up to grab onto a handhold at seam in the back of Alex's knee. His hand reached deeper inside and took a firm grip before he tore backwards, throwing most of his twenty-three pounds of weight by spinning himself around and planting both feet on the back of Alex's thigh, then pushing down. If that didn't snap the metal hinges holding the inner portions then he didn't know what would. It'd likely, if Alex didn't move weight onto the other foot in time, end up pushing down on the back of the poor squire's knee.. sending him tumbling down to the ground on his rear.

[Alexander Faircroft]

A simple stream of put downs Alex was used too. He knew everything his did needed work. Nothing new, nothing elsewise to hit him with new revelations. He watched the squirrel simply speak and mention how he liked to get in close. Being that small it made sense that getting up close was something that he specialized in. The brief encounter with the small squirrel like entity was something that became blatantly apparent. Though a tell as to where he was going to strike next…Alex couldn't be too sure if he was trying to help him and teach him or send him into a false sense of caution for the wrong point of impact. Alex felt the sharp sting of where the squirrel had knocked his hand away now beginning to burn where he thought he’d just missed. Flexing that hand a little his focus now broken he didn't notice the squirrel dart up and close the distance. The first thing that drew his attention back to the land of reality was the sharp pain in his right leg from the metal digging in, and before he knew what hit him, all he could see was sky. For one brief second all he could think was. What in the…I’m flyin- Brought back to reality with the hard and loud clatter of steel against the sands. He coughed loudly at the impact eyes closed firmly he noticed the small squirrel at his leg. He’d not only knocked him off balance but he’d done it with such speed and small movements that Alex hadn’t even had time to react once it started. Coughing and semi gasping back down the air that had been knocked from him with the fall he groaned gripping the back of his head which had been the second point of impact. After his shoulders. Remember falling down in this much weight is going to hurt…A lot. Punctuating the thought with a hard cough he struggled to get back up only managing to prop himself up on one arm. He was far out classed and he knew it. Anything he did in this situation was futile. “Looks like I’ve learnt something.” He spoke wheezing to drink back down the air. This was the difference between someone who’d been a squire for a year and him. He didn’t feel down trodden that was his usual state of being. Used to being beaten and battered. “Well I’m on the ground…Looks like I need more practice against smaller. No I just need more practice in total.” He sighed out those words accepting his defeat. As fragile a state of mind he had he bottled up the pain again, containing the rage. Humility, honesty, and respect. Show only this. He rolled eventually to his knees the back of his right one throbbing with pain from the point of impact. “Thanks for that. I now know that even sand is hard when you hit it.” He forced a weak smile through trying to be a least a little cheery about being beaten in under thirty ticks.

[Archailist]

My Words | Your Words | My Thoughts

Once Alex was down, the Pycon rolled to the side in the sand and back up onto his feet. "You're right on both counts." His shoulders rolled. "If you're going to fight without a weapon you need to make better use of your fists. Your attack was lackluster and your defense was terrible." He turned back around and stepped up onto the squire's breastplate again, looking down at his head. "Doubtful you'll ever actually have to face off against a Pycon in battle.. I don't think there are many of us that choose this path. Nobody really prepares themselves for it. Even your dagger would have been too small.. attacking me on the ground would only be feasible if you used your bow, but you left that on the sidelines." He hopped back off. If not for the massive height difference he would have offered a hand to help Alex back up to his feet. "But apart from all those things, something you should have learned.. don't abandon your weapons. Ever."

This was a lesson he'd have to drill into this squire himself, if his patron knight hadn't already come around to teaching the fact. "You might be training to become a knight, you might be taught and expected to be honourable and valiant in battle.. but at the end of the day, you don't know what you're facing out there. If you drop your weapons because the opponent seems defenseless, you've already lost the battle. And that could also mean your life." Then he heard what he was saying and shook his head. "I'm not asking you to take the dirty way out. I'm not asking you to turn into a brawler and throw sand in the guy's face, stick a dagger in his back while he's turned around. But for Sylir's sake, don't throw your life away just because you're afraid to level the playing field." He could think of quite a few other squires who likely needed to learn this lesson as well. Many of them were too green from a lack of true battles to be able to even consider it - their heads filled with lofty expectations of noble battles of valour.

"In any case, I think we're done for the day. Sorry about your armour." The breastplate would likely be quite warped; his right leg even more so, with pieces practically hanging off their leather straps. It was a good thing he'd ditched the original plan to go straight for the leg and punch a decent hole through it.. he was wary about causing grevious bodily harm against Alex. He seemed like a nice lad, after all, even if he could do with a little more combat experience, not to mention a couple more bells of sleep at night. "Your hand alright, too?"