[Flashback] The Way Of The Sword (Solo)

[Eridanus]

Oliver CamlachPermission to self-moderate NPC granted by Legion

Day 23, Spring of 503 AV
Mid Morning
The Courtyard

It had taken Oliver Camlach a day to review the observations made during the assessment spar, and another day and a half to formulate an appropriate curriculum for the vantha. A letter delivered early in the morning to the room Eri was staying in called for his attendance, and so he strolled around the courtyard, waiting for his instructor to arrive.

A bell was struck from the center of the city, and several seconds later the amiable figure of one of Denval's highly popular instructors strode into the courtyard. Either he had an impeccably accurate body clock or he had been waiting for the time. Carrying a heavy sack, he dropped the sack in the corner of the courtyard, the huge cloth rattling with the variety of wooden, iron-cored practice swords held within.

Eri shrugged off these pointless thoughts and bowed to the man, greeting his respectfully as was required of all students, whether local or foreign, "Good morning, Master Camlach. I have appeared in response to your summons."

Camlach nodded briefly in acknowledgement, taking out a small notepad, flipping several pages before scanning through a page. "At ease, student. Glad that you could make it," He said, his eyes quickly going through whatever he had written to refresh his memory.

"Alright, this is what I have to say about you. Do not be joyous or offended with whatever I am about to say, for I do not intend to compliment nor insult. This is a factual observation and analysis performed to the best extent of my abilities, knowledge and experience. Are you ready?"

Eridanus nodded, eager to know about his strengths and weaknesses, "I am, Master Camlach. Do tell."

"You are inherently skilled with both your blades, though I can see that you picked up the use of the other sword much later. You are still lacking proficiency in terms of wielding two weapons effectively, but your skill in a single blade is wonderful compared to the rest of the students. However, your combat style is largely instinctive, and though it speaks of vast practical combat experience, you lack properly structured knowledge and when faced with a trained opponent with similar or even slightly lower practical experience you will most definitely lose."

Camlach paused, looking at Eridanus for any reaction. There was none. Clearing his throat, he continued, "You are in a unique position, for you are too good for my basic classes, but lack the required knowledge to be in my senior classes. Instead, you will follow this custom program that I set up with you. The administrative details have been settled with the staff of the Academy. You only need to follow what I will tell you. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Wonderful. You will attend classes with the senior batch of students, but only the theoretical lectures. Do not frown on the seeming irrelevance of such lectures, for they are important in solidifying combat concepts and tactical considerations. I fully expect you to not miss a class unless you had valid reason. Are you with me?"

"No skipping classes. Understood."

[Eridanus]

"In terms of practical lessons, you will train one on one with me. I will instruct you in a manner customized to your unique position to cover your deficiencies. We will have lessons three to six times a season, depending on how much information I unload on you, and trust me, I will pack so much knowledge into your brain that you will most certainly require the days to review what you have learned. I also require you to practice and be fully familiarized with whatever I taught you in our practical lessons, for if you were to show up unprepared you will not be able to handle the new materials. Do you get me? This is very important. I am preparing an accelerated course for you in light of your already present combat-honed reflexes and experience, but you must be fully familiarized with everything I taught you by the next class. If you find that you need more time to internalize everything, let me or the staff know and I will postpone the next class appropriately. We take commitment very, very seriously. Can you do so?"

Eridanus paused to weigh the gravity of the manner. Tightening his resolve, he nodded, preparing himself mentally for the trials that he would face. He would most definitely treat these matters with the utmost priority and importance.

"I do, Master Camlach."

The instructor's solemn face broke into a mild grin, and he nodded.

"Excellent. Talent mean nothing to me unless paired with iron-clad determination and commitment. Before I start with our lesson proper, I want you to forget everything you know about swordsmanship. Until I tell you to, put everything aside, and only focus on what I have told you. Keep your innate talents and the intangibles of combat you already have, but forget all else. Techniques, movements, footwork. Everything. Also, for now we will start with the foundations, meaning a single long sword. As we go on we will explore other areas. Understand? If you have no questions, take your preferred practice sword from the sack."

Eridanus strode over to the sack, fumbling inside as he took out several blades and began weighing them to find the one that weighed most similar to his preferred cold-iron long sword.

"While you're at it get me my sword too. If you haven't forgotten it's the one with my initials engraved on it," Camlach called out.

[Eridanus]

Eridanus found the sword he was looking for, and spotting his instructor's weapon, he returned to Camlach, passing him his weapon and then standing at a slight distance away. He looked at the man expectantly, ready to begin his transformative journey.

"First of all, let us go through the weapon itself, the long sword. What do you know about it?" Camlach asked, gesturing at the practice sword. The practice swords in Denval's Academy were made with the finest craftmanship, every detail present in the original steel weapons painstakingly replicated to ensure that every Denvali warrior could practice and learn most effectively.

"The blade and the hilt. The... crossguard? But that's a minor detail," Eridanus remarked, pointing to the relevant parts of his practice sword.

"Pragmatic knowledge, but now there are other parts of the sword you must know. Take heed," Camlach replied, and he began to point to the relevant parts of the sword as he explained.

"The blade, it's the overall metal bit of your weapon. The sharp end here? It's called the point. Important for thrusting." Sliding his hand down the thinner bit of the blade, he continued, "This is the edge, for delivering cuts to your opponent. Notice how a blade have two edges? For now, remember that the edge generally facing your opponent, and that is in line with your knuckles, is called the true edge. The other edge, which generally faces yourself and is in line with your fingers, is called the false edge."

Eridanus looked down automatically, trying to see if he could identify the difference in the two edges, but he realized that neither his knuckles nor his fingers were in line with any of the edges but instead with the flat end of the blade.

"No worries, just remember that for now. When you have learned the various postures and stances from me, called guards, you will naturally understand what I meant." Gesturing to the top part of the blade starting from the point, he said, "This portion of the blade here is what we call the weak part of the blade, while the lower part ending with the hilt is the strong of the blade. What do I mean by this? We use the weak part for cutting, thrusting, and generally doing damage, while the strong part is better suited for defensive moves such as parrying. Here, let me show you."

[Eridanus]

Gesturing for Eridanus to raise his blade, Camlach said, "Hold it firmly with all your strength."

Using his own weapon he quickly tapped at the strong section of Eri's blade. His strong grip ensured the weapon did not move far from its original position, but he could still feel the force behind the instructor's blow, despite the deceptively light way he had moved his blade.

Next, Camlach aimed another blow at the bit of the sword nearer to the tip, but even with as much as strength as he could muster Eri failed to prevent his weapon from being flung quite dramatically out of its original position.

Withdrawing his sword, Camlach explained, "The strength of your positions and guards are of utmost importance. The positions of your weapon and your body should be determined solely by you, not your opponent. By using the end nearer to your body to block attacks you have more leverage to prevent yourself from being pushed. Taking that into view, besides using your weak for offence and your strong for defence, you should always attempt to use your weak on your opponent's weak and to position your strong at your opponent's strong. This will put you at an advantage over your opponent."

"The flat of the blade here, is between the two edges. It seems obvious to you, but there is one special point I want to highlight before going on. We use the flat for blocking and parrying, while we use the edge to attack. Edge on edge collisions are extremely stressful on your weapon and is highly discouraged. Are you still with me?"

Eridanus had been listening quite intently, his own hands moving over to the parts of his sword that Camlach mentioned while lecturing to remind himself which part is called what as well as their characteristics and whatnot, and he nodded his assent.

"Yes sir."

[Eridanus]

"Good. Now, the non-metal part of the sword have generally three main parts that we will focus on with regards to combat. There are other parts, but you will learn about them in the theory classes that you will attend with the senior students."

"The cross-guard, as you pointed out earlier, is not a minor detail. Its position with regards to your grip is of utmost importance, which you will learn later, and it is a highly strategic point of your weapon that you can use to tangle or disarm your opponent in extreme close quarters."

This was surprising to Eridanus, for he had never thought that way before, always resorting to his limbs when forced into closer quarters. The instructor did not elaborate, and so he kept that in mind for now.

"The hilt, which you also pointed out, is the rest of the weapon below the cross-guard. It starts with a haft, or grip. Its primary purpose, as its name suggests, is for gripping, which will be elaborated on further in this same lesson. This bit at the bottom of the haft, and the last part of the hilt, is called the pommel. Its primary purpose is to act as a counterweight to the blade in order to balance the weapon, and due to its density, it is a wonderful tool for bashing should the situation arise."

Eridanus realized that with this much theory, even in a practical lesson, he would not be able to properly remember everything. Oliver Camlach was not joking when he said that each and every lesson would be a severe information overload.

Camlach noticed his student's worried face, and he chuckled, for every single one of his previous students - except one who had a particularly powerful memory - had the same expression and thoughts whenever he reached this point.

"No worries, student Eridanus. You can pick up a copy of a manual I have authored at the counter after this class. By right each chapter of the book should be equal to a class in a normal curriculum, but for you one of our classes should be equal to a couple of chapters in that book. It will help you revise the concepts we have gone through."

"Now that we are done with the introductory part, we shall go on to the proper grip. Like almost every foundation in swordsmanship, the strength and appropriateness of your grip can be the deciding factor between victory or defeat, and so I entreat you to pay your utmost attention."

[Eridanus]

"For the purpose of our syllabus we will focus on two primary grips."

Raising his blade, Camlach adjusted his grip over his sword, beckoning for Eridanus to come closer to study how his hand held the sword.

"The fist grip. Notice how my primary hand is mostly flushed against the cross-guard of my weapon. My other hand will rest at a small distance away from my primary hand, and is either partially on the pommel or just above it. It depends on the length of your hilt and the size of your fists. Take note, you should never clench both fists tightly on the sword but instead grip tightly only with your first two fingers and your thumb. Only clench the rest when you swing your weapon. Remember what Master Jernwick told you about tenseness and speed? It applies here too. Got it? Now try."

Eridanus followed suit, placing his master arm - which was his right hand - on the hilt of the blade, gripping it naturally. Pushing his hand upwards until he could go no further, the cross-guard blocking his movement, he placed his second hand just below his right hand, slowly sliding it below until he felt the pommel. His fists were not particularly large, and thus he was able to form a comfortable distance between both fists but while still remaining on the grip of the sword. He raised his sword, waving it about and generally trying to get familiar with the grip.

Camlach had been watching intently, and he interrupted, "That is correct. The fist grip is excellent for power, especially if you're making large swings. This grip will provide the necessary strength for you to stabilize your attacks."

"The second grip is called the thumb grip. It is mostly similar to the fist grip, but your thumb is on the flat of your blade just above the cross-guard."

Eridanus simply slid a thumb up onto the flat of the blade, and Camlach nodded. "That is correct. The thumb grip is used when speed and maneuverability is favored over power. It is also excellent in increasing the accuracy of your thrusts. Now switch between the two of them. While it may seem that the difference is only one thumb, you must be comfortable in being able to automatically switch between these two grips depending on situation. Remember, he who is most adaptable is king in combat."

The vantha felt slightly foolish at doing so, but he doggedly went on and switched between the two grips, placing his thumb up and down as he swung and thrust the sword in the air. It was true, for he could feel his aim better when thrusting when his thumb was on the flat of the blade, and that having both fists clenched while swinging provided him the power required for following through with the entire swing while remaining on target.

Camlach watched as his student diligently practised, but he did not comment on the methods of attack his student used. They were of poor form, but it did not matter for he would fix them all later on.

[Eridanus]

Clearing his throat, Camlach waited for Eridanus to look at him, and he began. "Now the basic longsword stance. If you remembered what I told you that day, go into that position now."

Eridanus recalled the stance he had been instructed on that day, and he awkwardly moved into position. Camlach came over and used his wooden sword to tap on various parts of his body, moving them into their proper positions. "Move over... slightly higher... nope too low..." the Denvali muttered as he corrected every angle and position of his student's form.

"There, take a moment to remember how it is like. This should be your basic stance that should always apply when executing the guards, or combat stances that you will learn later."

Eridanus looked down at his body and he took note of how his feet were parallel, except that one foot was slightly in front of the other. They were generally a shoulder length part, and his knees were slightly bent. His back was uncomfortably straight, and his sword was roughly center to his body.

[Eridanus]

Camlach clapped his hands, signalling that it was time to move on.

"Now that we have the basics figured out, we will go on to the main segment of today's class: footwork. I know that you are capable of fancy acrobatic techniques, but forget all of that for the duration of our classes and direct your focus on mastering the techniques that I will impart. Mastery of foot work is highly crucial and unless you fully familiarize yourself with them we cannot continue. That is also the reason why today's class will end with footwork. It is to give you the required time to practice until it becomes second nature to you."

The Denvali easily settled into the basic stance that Eridanus was struggling with, and he held his sword with both hands using the fist grip, both arms suitably relaxed.

"Now, the upper torso is not important for now. Just hold your blade comfortably out, but look closely at my feet and how they move."

The instructor placed his forward feet front slightly, then moved his rear foot to follow suit.

"This is called the gathering step. Notice how the final and original distance between both feet are equal. Notice how their position is similar. This is the most simple step of footwork, and when executing all forms of footwork always ensure your beginning and ending stance is similar. Not guard, but stance, in meaning the shoulder-length wide, et cetera et cetera."

Eridanus placed his right leg forward, then his left leg, adjusting it so that the distance would be roughly similar to his original posture. The embarrassing imagery of a walking crab came back to him, and inwardly he blushed before stashing that imagery far away in his head. He had to focus or his instructor would not be happy.

It was awkward, but slowly and surely he advanced using the gathering step until he reached the end of the courtyard. Turning around simply, he positioned himself again, settling into the rough posture that he was in earlier and he made his way back to Camlach, this time his footwork slightly cleaner as he got more familiar with it.

[Eridanus]

"What you are doing is called gathering forward. You can also gather backward, but in the interest of time I leave it to yourself to practice that, for it is the same motion except in reverse. We can also gather sidewards, which is called traversing."

Settling into the basic stance again, Camlach shifted his left foot slightly to the left, and his right foot followed suit. "Same principles as before. Carry on."

Eridanus spent the next few moments doing so. Though it was technically the same gathering step but in a different direction, he found his body unaccustomed to such ordered movements and he had to shove the imagery of a sideways walking crab away again when he realized that he was indeed walking sideways.

After he traversed left to the end of the courtyard, he began to turn around when Camlach called out, "Return to your original position. Same principle, you will traverse right to me."

Shifting his right foot more to the right tentatively, the vantha awkwardly made his way towards his instructor, though with every step his confidence grew a little, and he could not help but think of how he was going to drill these steps after the class ended.

"To round off the gathering step, there is something we call 'a gather on your right foot', or 'a gather on your left foot'. In short form I shall refer to them as 'a gather on right' or 'a gather on left'."

Camlach proceeded to demonstrate and he entered the basic stance where his right foot was slightly in front of his left. However, his right foot was facing forward in the direction his torso was squared to, but his left foot at the rear pointed more to his left. He shifted his left foot so that the middle of his left foot was closer to the heel of his right foot, and then pushed his right foot forward.

"What I did is a gather on right. Notice the different angling of the feet. Also notice how the advancing portion of the rear foot is the side, while the advancing portion of your front foot composed of your toes."

Eridanus settled into the tiring stance, having relaxed his body while listening and watching Camlach's instructions. His body was slowly getting used to it, but he knew that he would need to practice every day until the next lesson if he wanted to have any hope of meeting the instructor's strict standards.

He complied, trying to follow his instructor's demonstration as closely as he could while maintaining his stance, several times having to pause in mid-step to consciously straighten his back and to slightly bend his knees. Camlach nodded in satisfaction whenever he did that, acknowledging his student's diligence and awareness of his own body.

"The opposite, the gather on left, I will leave you to your own devices. That is all I have about the gathering step. Any questions? No? We will move on, then."

[Eridanus]

"Gathering is great for normal movement, and it should replace your usual way of walking when in combat. What walking is to civilians, the gathering step should be to you in the midst of combat. Bear this knowledge well. However, when closely maneuvering around your opponent the gathering step shows its failures, and this is why you need the passing step. It is a fast and solid way of gaining or losing ground with an opponent, and even to flank your opponent. Watch."

Camlach angled his body slightly to the right as if he were going to gather on a foot. Instead, he simply shifted his rear foot forward, angling his feet and body again such that it is opposite from the initial position.

"You should have realized by now that the main superficial difference between gathering and passing is the number of steps and the difference in starting and ending positions. Explain to me these two points," Camlach addressed his student. He had been talking too much and he figured a little interaction would make the vantha feel more involved.

Eridanus took a moment to review the previous footwork in his mind, and he began tentatively, "Gathering is done in two steps while passing is done in one. The starting and ending positions for gathering should ideally be identical, but is the opposite for passing. If one started at a rightwards inclination, a single passing step should cause one to be in a leftwards inclination."

Camlach nodded in satisfaction. "Very good. Now, the passing step is considered as slightly more advanced than the gathering step mainly due to this idea of opposite inclinations. While you simply replicate your stance while gathering, you must perfectly reflect your stance while passing. Some of my students likened it to suddenly having to learn to write with their non-master hand."

The vantha decided to try it out, and he began by settling into the basic stance, his muscle memory now aiding a little. His left foot was at the front and his body a little angled to the right, with his rear foot pointing slightly rightwards as if he were going to 'gather on a foot'. Recalling what Camlach did, the student angled his left foot slightly leftwards and placed his right foot forward. Now his right foot was facing the front while his left foot was facing an angle to the left. Shifting his torso such that it is now partially angled to the left, he now stood in an opposite reflection of his previous stance.

It took him several chimes to do all of this, for he had to slowly move his body due to his unfamiliarity with these movements. He was finally done, and he looked up triumphantly at his instructor, who twirled his fingers, signalling for him to do it again.

Over the course of more chimes, the student repeated the movement, passing forward as he switched from left to right, right to left, and left to right again. It began more awkwardly than the previous footwork, but his improvement was slow and gradual as well. When Camlach was finally satisfied, he clapped his hands again and beckoned to his student - who had advanced all the way to the other end of the courtyard in his zealous attempt to master the passing step - to return to him.