Swordplay (Solo/Flashback)

[Leiwinn]

Timestamp: Fall 20, 506 AV CLANG!! The sound of steel striking steel hurt Leiwinn's ears as she tried her best to hold onto the sword in her hand. The Father's method of training was far from a conservative one. As soon as Leiwinn finished her breakfast he tossed her the sword, barely giving her time to react as he struck at her with his own. Leiwinn had instinctively blocked the attack, but it was far from the precision skill the Father would expect from her when her training was finally done. "Let the blade be an extension of your arm," the Father lectured as he swung at Leiwinn. His arm came at her in an arc from the right, slicing horizontally through the air. Leiwinn stepped back, holding onto the pommel of her short sword with both hands and bringing it up to block. Again she could barely hold on, but she did, and Leiwinn spotted an opening. She knew he had done it intentionally, and she knew he expected her to take it. Letting go of the sword with her left hand, Leiwinn stabbed at her mentor's gut using her right arm. Her unskilled attack was easily deflected, something Leiwinn had expected, but it did seem to please him. "Not bad, at least you tried. But as you know, simply trying is never good enough. I have taught you how to fight with your body, but the skin is easily damaged. It is important for you to learn to use as many weapons as possible. Today, obviously, I am going to teach you to fight with the sword. Specifically, you are using a short sword. They are smaller and easier to use in the confined spaces you'll often be fighting in. A longsword or something bigger would only hinder you. The short sword also leaves your other hand open to attack or block as needed." The Father thrust forward again with his sword. Leiwinn deftly jumped back, and the father lowered his blade again. "You have already learned to dodge, but I want you to block!" His words were followed by a horizontal attack, and Leiwinn raised her weapon just in time to block. Her teacher had not been holding back, the sword was knocked from her hand and the next thing she knew the tip of his sword was pressing into her chest. "Always remember to hold onto your weapon. If the force of the blow is too strong then move with it rather than try to stop it altogether." Leiwinn picked up her weapon and the father struck again. Again she blocked and was met with similar results. "Pick it up. Again!" The Father attacked, Lewinn blocked. Over and over it went and each time Leiwinn got a little better. The attacks were varied in force and direction, but the goal was always the same: block. They continued until Leiwinn could go on no more, completely exhausted, and then she was sent to bed. Training would continue the next day.

[Leiwinn]

For two more days Leiwinn and the father practiced strictly on blocking different attacks. Once she had become proficient at blocking using only the blade he allowed her to incorporate dodges and deflections using her offhand. She was forced to train with her left and right hand equally, though she was best with her right. The Father wanted her to be able to hold her own should her dominant arm be injured, so she was forced to train with both hands in all things. "Being able to wield your weapon in either hand provides you with more options in a fight, you should always train with both." On the fourth day of her training she was instructed to switch from defensive to offensive. "You've learned the basics of defending yourself with the sword. There is still much more to learn, including defending against other weapons, but for now we will switch gears. Today you will be attacking me." Leiwinn nodded, drawing her sword from it's sheath. "I have shown you several basic attacks which you have already learned to block. Do you think you can mimic those attacks? Good, then strike me." Leiwinn lifted the weapon, gripping it firmly in her right hand. Her breathing was even and slow, her eyes locked with the Father's. Leiwinn thrust the blade forward, aiming for his heart. The Father blocked simply, knocking Leiwinn's sword up and out, leaving her exposed to attack if he had desired to do so. Leiwinn knew it too and quickly retracted her arm, bringing her sword in front of her defensively. The attack never came, and instead the Father merely asked, "How did I block that?" Leiwinn looked confused and the Father explained, "Think about all your training. Replay your attack over in your mind, and tell me what was wrong with it." Leiwinn sighed, lowering the sword, and thought it over. The blade had been before her, she was gripping it tightly in her left hand. Her muscles tensed and.. there it was! "I gave away my attack by tensing just before the strike!" The Father simply nodded and shouted, "Again!" As before Leiwinn struck, trying better to be relaxed in her attack. It still wasn't perfect, but she did better than before. The training continued throughout the day and each tine Leiwinn got closer and closer, but never did she come near to actually striking the skilled master assassin. As with the blocking, they trained until Leiwinn could train no more each day for three days before the father changed the lesson once more.

[Leiwinn]

"I have taught you to block and I have taught you to strike. Now we're going to combine the two." The Father neither hesitated nor went easy on Leiwinn, opening with a slashing attack a chest level. Leiwinn brought up her sword, deflecting the attack to the right then slashing back across to the left. The Father skipped back, easily dodging before launching a series of strikes which Leiwinn was only just barely able to avoid, the last of which she dodged a split second to late and ended up with a shallow cut on her left arm. The Father had drawn first blood, but the training session was far from over. The Father slashed across at Leiwinn's neck and she ducked, falling into a crouch-like position and spinning to the right. Her leg kicked out and swung around as she attempted to sweep the Father off his feet, but he jumped backwards away from the leg to avoid the attack. Leiwinn was back on her feet and attacked with her sword, only to be turned away again and again. The fight went back and forth for some time until Leiwinn kicked out with her right foot after blocking a horizontal attack, striking the Father square in the chest. Not one to let opportunity pass by Leiwinn pressed the attack, putting the Father on the defensive. She rained blow after blow down on him, most of which he managed to block or avoid, until finally she found another opening and scored a slash across his chest. The line of blood that appeared on his chest was one of the most satisfying things Leiwinn had ever seen. "Very good, Leiwinn, you're getting better. But you are still sloppy. You have wasted a lot of energy, only to inflict a minor flesh wound. Next time try to be more precise, and conserve your energy until it can be used most effectively."

[Leiwinn]

The Father attacked again, this time faster and harder than before. Leiwinn was barely able to avoid the attack, and trying to block with the sword was out of the question. "Stop dodging and use the skills we have been practicing with!" Another attack and Leiwinn tried to block but was to slow, ending up with a stinging cut on her cheek. Leiwinn wiped the blood from her face and readied herself for the next onslaught. She didn't have to wait long, the Father barely hesitated after scoring his hit before continuing. Another slash toward Leiwinn's face but this time she was quick enough to deflect the blow and counter with one of her own. Or at least that's what she hoped to accomplish. The Father had other plans, however, and dodged around the blow, grabbing Leiwinn's hand as he did so and twisting it. Leiwinn's hand reflexively opened, causing her sword to clatter to the ground, and she jumped back in retreat. The Father pursued and slashed at her again. Leiwinn dodged and kicked, but her teacher turned to the side just in time to avoid the attack. Leiwinn tried to go for her fallen sword but the Father reached it first, kicking it across the room and slashing at Leiwinn at the same time forcing her to retreat again. A rare smile played across the Father's lips as they continued their fight. Leiwinn was much more skilled in unarmed combat than she was with a weapon, and she managed to hold her own for a while, but she knew she had to do something different if she wanted to win the fight. A thrust toward her chest, Leiwinn dodged and spotted an opening but was not in the position to take advantage of it. It had, however, given her a plan. She just had to hold her ground until he repeated the attack. It took a while, and several more cuts appeared on Leiwinn before she had an opportunity to try out her plan. She was growing tired, but she wasn't about to surrender when she knew she actually had a chance of winning. Then she saw it coming. The signs were subtle, and if she hadn't gained such an intimate familiarity with the Father's fighting style over the past few days she might never have spotted it, but there it was. An almost imperceptible shift in weight, a change in angle of how he held the sword, and Leiwinn was in the perfect position for him to use the attack. It was coming and this time she would be ready.

[Leiwinn]

She was ready, she knew it was coming. The signs which she had become so intimately familiar with over the past six days were all there. Perhaps he had let her see them, as part of her training, but it didn't really matter. She was going to win this training session, for once she was going to beat the Father. The sword came for her, just as she had anticipated. The father thrust his blade straight for Leiwinn's heart, and Leiwinn moved forward as if to meet it. At the last instant she twisted, the sword whisked past her. Leiwinn's hand shot out while her elbow cracked down on the Father's arm. The slightest noise escaped his lips, one of pain and surprise, and the sword fell from his hand into Leiwinn's palm. Instantly she spun to the right, her sword arm bending and raising. Her elbow smashed into the Father's face, sending in staggering back in a rare moment of true weakness. Leiwinn didn't hesitate to take advantage of his momentarily dropped guard and kicked him right in the jaw, flipping him backward and onto his back. When the Father's vision cleared he saw Leiwinn standing above him, the tip of her sword hovering a hairs breadth from his throat. "Very good, Leiwinn, very good," he whispered. The fight was over, but still Leiwinn held the blade to the Father's throat. The memory of her family's death played across her eyes, the desire for vengeance rose once more in her heart. It was something she had suppressed for so long, but she had him. She could end it all, be done with the man. She would be free... but where could she go? What would she do without the father? Slowly the memory faded from her mind, sinking back to wherever it was bad memories were stored, and her desire for vengeance subsided. It wasn't her own doing, however, that spared the Father's life that day, but it had been his. His magic suppressed Leiwinn's desire for vengeance. His magic locked her memories away in the back of her mind. And his magic kept him alive that day as he realized what was going through his apprentice's mind and quickly acted toward his own self preservation. "Very good, Leiwinn. Now help me up." Leiwinn hesitated only a moment longer, then sheathed her sword and offered the Father her hand.

[Archelon]

Thread Award “I met this guy out in the water and he said he was going to come visit you!!! I said he should be prepared- You been’ training.” And the Results!!!!: Leiwin : SkillName 1-5 How/why Weapon:Shortsword: 5 It’s pretty much all you did Observation 1 rationalizing that an opponent’s body can give away their attack before they begin Acrobatics 1 Evading sword swings helps with this necessity Lores: Combat Lore- Common Blocks with a shortsword (Basic) Would you like some extra turtle sauce ? : When blocking with a sword you might want to have her learn to use just the flat of the blade, and not edge on edge- the sword chips that way Other than that- good flashback.