Complete Trust

by **Draven McNiel** on February 22nd, 2016, 1:10 pm

21st Day of Summer 508

”Draven calm down.” A tired yet somewhat young voice echoed through the hallway, it was very early in the morning and it was one of the rarer times that stormhold castle was quiet. The younger boy hopping around was named Draven, standing at 5’3’’ he was a little taller than your average 11 year old. ”C’mon old man, you're gonna start gathering dust at this rate.” Loud laughter echoed through the hallway, the young teen laughed at his own joke while his tired looking father sighed, he looked disheveled, his clothes looked fresh however his hair was a mess and while his beard had been recently shaved the stubble seemed messy. He walked with a slouch and eyes that seemed uncaring of the world. However there was only warmth in those eyes directed at the boy.

”I see, looks like this old man needs to go sleep then…” He said with a smirk as he turned around. Draven ran up to him and tugged at his sleeve. ”I was just messing around! C’mon, spar with me...Pleeeeease!” The knights who watched the scene from afar chuckled at the kid. It was basically night-time as the sun had yet to rise, yet this boy had so much energy just 30 chimes after waking up. He got up to quickly eat, cleanse himself in the public bath dragging his father with him and then grab their wooden swords.

They soon existed out the gates and after a bit of talking his father convinced the knights to open the gates for them to catch some early morning training, although this one was looking more and more like a day trip. Which is why Kerry made sure to carry a bag with supplies such as a few water skins, food and even a tent should they be out here later at night. ”Hey old-man, is there some kinda secret move I can use to beat my opponent every time?” Draven asked his father a question that seemed to come out of nowhere.

The older male looked at his son, and then began to chuckle as they exited the pair of iron-oak doors, the sun was starting to creep up from under the horizon. ”What you’re asking for is something that doesn’t exist. Just keep on training with that sword of yours, you’ll get better eventually. If you manage to master that weapon of yours you might be able to reach a level in which you can come up with your own secret move.” Kerry said, his voice was tired and low. However Draven stood there just nodding trying to take in the wisdom of the man before him. The pair walked in silence after the small lecture, following the path of the north Karbin road until they reached a forested area.

by **Draven McNiel** on February 22nd, 2016, 1:36 pm

”Hey old man, I’ve been wondering for a while now, but what are those swords strapped to your back, they look really thin, like they’d break straight away.” Draven said as he poked the sheath of the longer of the swords. ”Well these aren’t meant for hard swings anyway, they’re more about parrying and speed. They’re also stronger than you’d think. Anyway, the long one is called a Katana, and the shorter one a wakizashi, they’re a pair sort of like a sword and a dagger.” Kerry droned on. ”Can you teach me how to use them...Pleaase!” Draven said with sparkles in his eyes, learning how to use the same swords as his father would be like heaven.

”No. There’s no point in teaching you how to use a katana anyway, you’ve already barely gotten used to the longsword, it’d mess up your progress.” Kerry’s tone remained firm, however the sight of this downtrodden child seemed to cause him to let up a bit. ”But I might teach you to use the Wakizashi, but only if you can land a hit on me, if you can land two, then I might be inclined to show you how to use the katana too .” Kerry said as an incentive to get the boy to improve, he wasn’t thick; but he had poor focus and an inability to stick to one thing caused his growth to almost halt to a stop at times. The man had a hand on the wakizashi’s sheath.

Draven nodded a huge grin on his face. ”I’m pumped up now! Watch me, I’ll hit you a 100 no! 1000 times! You’ll have to teach me all your skills today!” Draven said with a huge grin on his face as he unsheathed his sword and charged forward. Just as he swung down with his steel-cored wooden sword, his father stepped to the side and swept Draven’s legs out from under him causing the boy to drop onto the floor barely getting an arm under him to avoid falling face first. ”Lesson one, track your opponent with your eyes and make sure to observe them..” The tone was harsh, which caused Draven to flinch. His father was almost like a different person when they trained together. It was scary, but it was this man’s teachings that allowed him to learn what he wished to know, and also he learned faster from his father.

by **Draven McNiel** on February 22nd, 2016, 2:21 pm

He got up and dusted himself off with a pout on his face, it was as if he was being made fun of. ”I’ll get you.” Draven said as he stood up. Before he took a step forward his father raised his hand up to signal him to stop. ”Don’t be stupid, watch me. Watch for any quirks, I could have a habit of how I dodge, how I choose to attack. Just look out for that, don’t just charge in recklessly, observe Draven...It’ll be a great skill for a mercenary to learn.” Kerry said with a fierce tone, deriding his son on his reckless behaviour. There was no way he could trust his son to tackle any job alone for the foreseeable future, he’d easily get himself killed if he ran into just a lone bandit...Plus any escortee would cancel the job minutes in due to his fickle nature.

Draven breathed out slowly and did what his father had asked him to, he looked at the man in front of him. The woods behind Draven barely distracted him, the sound of wind brushing against leaves and the creaking of ancient trees did little to deter this boy’s passion. He’d become like his father, he’d surpass him...It was the biggest wish he had, and he would need to catch up first. Draven walked around his father as his hold on his practice sword tightened. The older man was watching his son with mirth, he could learn somewhat, however... ”Boo!” Kerry shouted out loud causing Draven to shout and stumble back.

”Stop daydreaming, there’s no way I wouldn’t notice what you were just doing.” There was no laughter in the man’s voice, however Draven still smiled sheepishly. Before slowly advancing forward, when his father appeared within range the teen slashed downward, only to have his attack side stepped, he followed up with a thrust quick thrust, he pulled the sword into his body and like a spring jetted it out toward his father’s chest however this was dodged in the same manner as the last attacked. Draven smirked and then spun around to deliver a horizontal strike, however a push to his shoulder caused him to lose balance and fall to his side, his sword clattered onto the ground having fallen out of his grasp.

”Pay attention to your legs, footwork is vital in training on using a sword, Draven you’re better than this. Let your experience take charge; after all your muscles remember everything that your mind doesn’t.” Kerry droned as he watched his son get up and grab his sword. The young male gripped the handle tightly once more, while looking down at his feet for a second. He had to stay aware of his whole body while also watching his opponent. He could grasp that much quite easily, however putting that into practice was harder than it looked.

”When slashing make sure to step forward with your left leg, put force into your right hand turn your body left for a slash from right to left, the opposite for the opposite.” Kerry said calmly, his tone still fierce and the cold look he gave to his son made Draven almost freeze up if it wasn’t for the fact that he was aiming to land a hit on the man. The young teen took in a deep breath and walked toward his father, right into his range.

He stepped forward with his left leg and slashed from right to left, pivoting on toes on the forward foot to put in more speed into his slash. Kerry stepped back, easily predicting his son’s move, the man stepped back into his son’s range, this caused Draven to step forward with his right leg and quickly change the main hand to his left as he thrust the sword forward into his father’s stomach, however the sword was parried before it could reach its target. Kerry had stepped to the side and unsheathed his own sword. He quickly grabbed his son’s sleeve with his free hand and yanked the hand which held the sword and stuck out his foot to trip up the boy.

Draven managed to rebalance himself after stumbling forward for a couple of steps, he turned around with a snarl at being played at. He walked around his father, watching him; each breath was slow as if to calm himself. His pride was at stake here, what if his old man didn’t want to train with him anymore after making such a pitiful show of himself. The teen looked at his father and slowly approached. He calmed his breathing, he had to somehow land a hit. He continued to walk toward his old man, until he was just a couple of steps away, well within his range. If his father kept on counter attacking, then Draven just had to make sure he kept his attacks low…

He took another last step forward, before suddenly jumping forward hoping to catch his father by surprise, the man’s eyes didn’t betray any surprise however his reaction was delayed by a second as the second Draven’s foot touched the floor the teen attempted to spin on the spot. He changed directions and attempted to thrust his sword into his father’s side however the man stepped back and watched his son pass by him as he attempted to regain his balance and shook his head in mirth.

by **Draven McNiel** on February 22nd, 2016, 3:04 pm

”Not bad, except you throw yourself too much in your attacks. Hoping to hit your opponent in a single attack is one thing, but expecting it is just arrogance. Attack a little more lightly, although I like the fact you’re linking your attacks.” He dropped in a small compliment knowing it would fire the boy up which it did as Draven stood there with a big smile. Before focusing once more on the older male, Draven instead of moving closer stepped back a number of steps. His father raised his eyebrows, however Draven gestured for Kerry to attack him this time. ”Getting big headed huh? I guess I’ll have to fix that.” Kerry said as he approached his son with light footed steps, it almost looked as if he was skipping toward his son with his hands up.

He thrust forward his Wakizashi’s blade, sailing past his son’s face, causing Draven to stumble to the side in shock. His father then sheathed his wakizashi, instead of stepping back however he took to the sword harness and sheath off his back before wrapping the harness around where the blade guard and sheath met making sure that it didn’t fly off. He then held it as you would a normal blade. Draven watched as his father stepped forward thrusting forward past his son’s face again.

Draven tried to use that opportunity to move forward however a sheath planted itself into his stomach knocking the air out of his chest and causing him to fall onto his knees. It was too fast, a feint aimed at making the younger male attack only to hit him during that small opening. While Kerry wasn’t known for his strength, Draven was still a child so even a love-tap from a man was enough to put him out. ”Heh, you don’t have anywhere near the experience to try and counter me brat. However it wasn’t a bad idea, it’s just that you had no idea how to go about it. Make sure to watch the body, and not the offensive limb or weapon. Hips and shoulders should tell you if they’re about to make a move, the rest depends on your own experience and ability to track things with your eyes. Anyway, let’s take a break, we’re not going to get anywhere fast this way.” Kerry said as he pulled his son up who had regained the ability to breath normally after having been winded.

”I’m not done yet, keep coming at me, I’ll get better…” Draven said, not wanting to be beaten by his old man this easily. The man sighed and ran a hand through his messy hair. ”Alright, don’t blame me for what happens next.” His tone was sharp as he got straight back into a stance. A swing was thrown at Draven, the teen received it straight to his face rocking his head back and almost causing him to tumble backward...He wasn’t even ready, was his father trying to fight him seriously? Draven’s body tensed up as he looked back at his father who looked at his son with cold eyes. Draven had seen that look a few times, but never had it been directed at him. The young teen’s hands jittered, unable to properly hold up his sword as he began to shiver.

It felt as if he was being strangled by an unseen force, his breaths became shallow and his pupil’s dilated. The approaching thrust felt as if it was coming to him in slow motion, Draven lost his balance at that moment managing to dodge the attack miraculously. However there was no happy expression on his face as he landed on his butt, sword clattering behind him. He tried to crawl backwards away from his father, fear in his eye. Kerry having realized what he had done sighed and mentally berated himself; he could roll with this however. ”Draven...Draven!” There was concern in his voice however that was eclipsed by the urgency of his shout. This man rarely ever shouted which was enough to snap Draven out of his stupor.

”See what I mean? You’re too arrogant, that’s the feel of a real battle and you couldn’t do anything. Do you really expect to be a mercenary like that, battle is our bread and danger is our butter. This world is dangerous, many things crawl through the wilds. Why do you think cities aren’t too common. This city wouldn’t have grown as fast as it did if it wasn’t for the danger outside of those walls. Now you’ve experienced that I hope you can grow from this, make sure you don’t forget that feeling. But don’t let it control you, I’m teaching you for a reason right?” The man said to his son who looked up with amazement. It was this innocence that warmed Kerry’s heart. It wasn’t just Kerry who saved Draven, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the man needed Draven more than Draven needed him at that time.

by **Draven McNiel** on February 22nd, 2016, 3:51 pm

The younger male looked down disappointedly at his feet, unable to feel anything but self deprecation at his display just moments ago. Kerry seeing this smiled softly. ”You didn’t do too bad today, how bout I give you a step by step lesson today on using a wakizashi, I’ll get a friend of mine to help with your long-sword usage.” Kerry said to his son who looked up with a huge smile on his face.

”Hell yeah!” Draven said as he jumped up cheering with a huge grin on his face. However the gears in Kerry’s head turned, it had been years since Draven started training yet his skill level didn’t match anywhere near where he should have been...What has the boy been doing until now? ”Draven, first answer me...What’s your sword training regime like?” Kerry asked his son with a serious tone, his eyes glued onto the boy waiting for a reaction, he had wondered for some time and just put it down to his boys lack of attentiveness yet it was clearly something completely different.

”I just swing my sword until I get tired…” Draven said in a matter of factly kind of voice before his voice faded off under the scrutiny of his father’s gaze. The man’s eyelid twitched a couple of times before he sighed and facepalmed. ”Alriight… After this you need to go and find yourself some kinda sparring partner...I doubt one of those pages or squires would be against sparring with you.” Draven just nodded at his father’s words unable to grasp what he was doing wrong.

”Anyway sheath your sword and catch this” Kerry threw his son the wakizashi after the boy sheathed his sword. Unable to help his curiosity Draven unsheathed the shorter blade. It was perhaps only 30 centimeters long, yet the shape mesmerized the boy, the lightness of the blade and even just the feel of the hilt was comfortable, it was different to that of his own sword as it was clearly made out of some sort of fabric. Draven got a feel for the small blade just turning it in his hands. His father nodded approvingly, letting the 11 year old know that he was doing something right.

”Alright Draven, now stand up.” The man held out his hand for his son to grab, which he did, and pulled him up. The boy was still mesmerised by the sword in his hand, it was small yet it seemed to carry a personality almost as big as any other sword. ”You got used to feeling of it yet?” He asked his son at which the boy merely nodded. ”Alright use a backhand grip for the wakizashi, since it’s usually strapped horizontally to the lower back it lets you come out with a quick surprise attack, but only after the opponent has been distracted by something else, not like you can’t use it for a prolonged battle...But it’s always better to try and end a fight as fast as possible and surprises increase your chances of doing so.” The older male stated as he looked down at his son, it was one of those times he was all ears as he listened to his old man. The amazed stare he received from his son while flattering was also unnerving yet he couldn’t quite put his finger as to why it was so.

Draven put the wakizashi sheath and harness just above his waist and turned it around so that it was strapped across his back. He sheathed the sword using his left hand which his father once more nodded approvingly with. ”After drawing it and making the initial attack, you need to make sure that you use a regular grip. But first pull it out slowly a couple of times and resheath it, make sure that you note when the right time for an attack is..” The man said circling around the boy, as he held his hand ready to draw the sword. Draven slowly unsheathed the sword and then unsheathed it. He repeated this process a number of times, eventually reaching a point where he could slowly increase his speed going faster and then faster until he could draw it at a satisfactory speed, although he messed up a few times missing the sheath entirely.

”Now don’t be thinking that this is the usual way to unsheath a Wakizashi, usually it’ll be unsheathed at the the belt like most swords, but this is my preference. Anyway, try slashing with it now; make sure to have one of your legs forward as you do so this time, it should be on the same side as you’re cutting with.” Kerry looked at his son as he did as he was told cutting with the sword trying to put as much power into it as he could. However the boy just frowned, for some reason it just didn’t feel right. The weight he was used to, or the fact the sword wasn’t moving the way that he wanted to. He slid his foot forward and attempted to cut downward throwing his arm down a little too hard and causing the sword to hit off the ground making it vibrate which Draven could feel easily causing himself to blanch and look up sheepishly.

His father almost looked shocked before face-palming. ”Y’know what, imma get you a practice sword first...You’ll probably break that one…” The man said putting his hand on his son’s head. ”Anyway, let's head back for now, and practice with that sword carefully, I don’t want you running through the halls swinging it about alright?” The man said to his son sternly. ”It only happened that one time! And I didn’t mean to hit that old lady…” At least she was jovial about it. ”Can’t we train longer? It’s still early.” Draven said with a pout; which caused the older man to chuckle.

”We’re gonna go shopping today...Get you a bit of armor, and a real weapon. We’ll bring your training up to the next level, no more mister nice guy from here on out. We’ll put your magic training on hold for a while. Let's take things slowly from here on out alright?” The tired sounding man said as he ruffled his son’s hair. The pair walked back toward the Citadel of peace with the sun firmly up in the sky. ”Actually lets wait for me to finish my next job, I’ll be able to get you something real good then.” Kerry said to his son who after having looked so excited seemed to be somewhat downtrodden.

”You said that last time…” Draven said quietly yet it was loud enough for Kerry to pick it up causing him to flinch a little at his son’s tone. ”Well something came up.” The man said not even attempting to explain himself, causing Draven to take in a deep breath before smiling again. ”No worries old man! I’ll always believe what you say!” Draven said with a huge grin. Kerry himself was somewhat shocked for a second before realizing there wasn’t a hint of sarcasm in that voice, his son was completely serious and at that moment his stomach had dropped...Is this what being a parent was like? It was definitely terrifying just how easily that boy followed what he said.

by **Devi** on April 18th, 2016, 12:47 pm

Your Grades on Hold!

Notes :

_

by **Madeira Dusk** on June 19th, 2019, 6:58 pm

Grades Awarded!

Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request!

Draven McNeil

Skills

Observation: 4xp
Socialization: 2xp
Persuasion: 1xp
Tactics: 3xp
Weapon- Longsword: 2xp
Meditation: 1xp
Endurance: 1xp
Weapon- Wakizashi: 1xp

Lores

Persuasion: childish wheedling
Swordsmanship: no one move can defeat an opponent
Katana: used for parrying and speed
Wakizashi: used for parrying and speed
Tactics: track your opponent with your eyes
Life's Mission: surpass the father
Meditation: centering focus
Swordsmanship: footwork is vital
Arrogance: death to a swordsman
Endurance: fighting on
Wakizashi: backhanded grip
Wakizashi: strike fast

Awards & Retribution

Notes
You're trying to make me go blind with your horrendous choice of font colours, aren't you?

Regardless this was a good read. Happy childhoods are so incredibly rare here, so its unbelievably refreshing seeing a child PC actually smiling. Plus Draven's earnestness is adorable. <3

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