[Flashback] The Way Of The Sword II/i (Solo)

[Eridanus]

Oliver CamlachPermission to self-moderate NPC granted by Legion

Day 54, Sprint of 503 AV
Mid Morning
The Courtyard

Thirty days. He had spent almost a third of a season constantly revising and getting his body familiar with the load of information passed down in his first lesson with the swordsmanship instructor of Denval's premier educational institute. More specifically, he spent almost all of the free time he had that was left over from daily mundane necessities and the other classes he had at the Academy on training.

With the help of the manual written by the very same instructor that he had picked up on the Denvali's advice at the end of that class, as well as several helpful instructors and senior students who walked by while he was self-training, he had managed to more or less get the footwork into his muscle memory. He was not exactly a hundred percent 'in-sync' with the system, but he was hopeful that his familiarity with it would be sufficient to not hinder the next class.

While waiting for the middle-aged teacher to enter the courtyard, the vantha patrolled back and forth in an unconscious half-pace, his right hand gripping loosely the practice long sword he drew from the armory clerk just before the class, and his left hand rubbing his chin thoughtfully as he mentally reviewed the parts that he needed to remember about the characteristics of each segment of the sword as well as the merits of the different grips.

[Eridanus]

Without warning, the Denvali instructor strode into courtyard in a no-nonsense manner, his own practice sword hung loosely by his side, affixed to his sash. Eridanus began to bow to him as a form of greeting, but he impatiently waved it away, addressing the vantha while walking.

"Morning to you too, student Eridanus. A sudden, urgent matter of importance might most likely be imposed on me, but as I am not needed yet I am free to instruct you until they dispatch a messenger boy to summon me. On behalf of the Academy I apologize, but do understand that this is a matter of importance for me."

As he approached Eridanus his walking began to slow down compared to the hurried pace he was in while entering the courtyard, and he continued, "I will teach you as much as I can for now, and the staff will send you a message regarding when the next lesson is scheduled. I don't have time to test you if you have done what I said regarding self-practice, but I trust that you were diligent enough. I will be using technical terms here, so listen closely and make sure you fully understand each point before we go on to the next. Understood?"

Eridanus was curious as to the matter for which his instructor would be summoned, but after having been explained to he could see understand the man's position.

"Crystal clear, sir," The student replied. He had been preparing himself mentally for the huge download of information that would inevitably occur, though it seemed that this time he might have been granted a reprieve by the 'relevant authorities' Oliver Camlach was referring to.

"Excellent. For this lesson I intend to teach you the entire series of guards. What are guards, you may ask? They are various stances that each have their own advantages and disadvantages. The masterful swordsman is one who fully masters every one of these styles, and is able to smoothly transition from one to the other. In a duel between two masters, their form will often be perfect and it will be difficult for either to hope for a victory from physical virtues. Instead, it is more like an intellectual between the two, testing to see who can trick the other and triumph. Their duel is chess, and their game pieces are these guards. Of course, there are many other factors to take into consideration, like grips - as I have taught you - and others that I will cover later on such as the types of attack. However, the guards form the bedrock for all the later techniques I will go through in future lessons, and as I have mentioned in the previous class, I require a high level of proficiency and familiarity with what I go through today before we can continue. Any questions?"

"Please continue, sir."

"Excellent."

[Eridanus]

"We have three categories of guards. The stable ones, the transitional ones, and the finishers. There is actually a series of drills that we can go through, but I'd like to do it in a systematic manner so that you can remember the pros and cons of each category of guards, and each individual guard."

"Stable guards, as the name suggests, are guards, or stances, which you are least vulnerable in. They are perfect to begin every engagement with due to their inherent stability, and it is what we shall begin with. Basic position!"

Eridanus snapped into attention, loosely raising his practice sword in front of him as he went into the heavily practised basic posture, his knees slightly bent and a shoulder-width apart, his back straight but now comfortably used to its position unlike a third of a season ago.

The instructor easily slid into the same stance. From there, he slid his left feet back until his thigh and shin had to almost form a bit more than a ninety degree angle. He looked like he was ready to sprint, but instead of having his upper torso crouched like an athlete he had it upright. Eri focused his attention on the haft of the sword and he noticed that he was holding it in a fist grip. His sword was also lowered to the ground almost in a lazy manner, but he could tell that it was far from that.

"The Half Iron Door. It is a very invitational guard especially to untrained combatants, where it seems like your upper body is exposed to attack. A very common misconception that might just prove fatal to your opponents should you master this guard. Try, and I will guide you."

Eridanus could see how the sword did not even cover any part of the body, for it was drooping down towards the ground. It would be deceptive to think that the upper torso remained unguarded, for when approached the sword can be brought up, spearing the opponent like a piece of kebab should the opponent rush unprepared.

[Eridanus]

It was fortunate that both student and teacher was right-handed, for it made replicating the movements so much easier. Adjusting his grip on the haft of the blade into a more proper fist grip, he lowered it to the ground, but keeping the hilt close to his waist such that the blade formed a roughly forty-five degree angle with the ground.

He then began to slide his left foot backwards, pushing it even further back until the height of his frame decreased. Soon, his thigh lowered until it formed a small angle with the ground, and he tightened the grip in his first two fingers and thumb of his master arm.

The Denvali recovered from his stance, walking over to his student and critically looked over the vantha's form, tutting while tapping his shin with his wooden sword. "Not so far back. From your viewpoint your kneecap must not over-extend and block your view of your feet. That is not only unstable but also bad for your knees."

Eridanus complied, and Oliver used the sword to press upwards on the underside of his thigh. "Higher, you don't want to form a perfect ninety degree angle or you won't get the leverage you need to launch your attacks properly. Slightly higher... yes that's it. Keep it there."

Moving behind him, the instructor prodded Eri's back, and the vantha straightened it immediately, for he had not realized that he had not been paying attention to his basic posture now that there were other things to focus on. Oliver continued go circle around his student, poking and prodding at various parts of his body to correct the vantha's angles and positions, and he leaned over to look closely at how Eri was holding the sword. After a while, he clicked his tongue and stepped back, allowing Eri back his personal space.

"Do not move from your stance. Only move your head, and look around your body. Get used to the feeling you have now, this is the stance optimal for your physical attributes."

Eridanus turned his head as he looked down at his body, taking in as much detail as he could. He had been in this position for quite a while, and his thigh was beginning to feel the weight from his body, for this position was quite alien to him and so his body had not adapted to it yet.

He noticed that his fists had started out close to his waist while standing, but in this position it was closer to his upper thigh. Also the blade was slanted in a parallel manner to his right thigh. This would be a good 'landmark' of sorts to start with while practising on his own later on.

"Make sure you keep your sword facing straight in front of you. Slanting down, but straight. This is your only defence and the guard's trump card. If your sword is not straight while you are in this guard, you will most certainly be leaving yourself open to hits," Oliver warned.

"Recover from your position when you are ready and we will move on."

[Eridanus]

Eridanus recovered from his position, but he repeated the motions slowly in order to resume the Half Iron Door guard several more times so that he could get used to it. His instructor waited by patiently for he knew that only the most naturally talented swordsman can grasp such stances on the first try. Eridanus was talented, but not that talented. Finally, he was satisfied that he would be able to remember how each part of his body should feel like when he was in the stance, and he began to recover.

"Wait, actually just stay there. Listen to what I say and I will adjust you accordingly. Pay close attention. The next guard also belongs to the 'stable' category and is called the Tail. First pass forward with your left leg."

Eridanus recalled the terminology from the footwork class previously, and he shifted the toes of his right foot to the right, keeping his heel in the same place. Next, he brought his left foot all the way forward until it was in line with his torso, then took a normal step forward, angling it slightly to the right so that the toes would be facing more towards the front than the left.

"I see that you have been practising," Camlach noted with approval. "Pass forward a little more, the angles required is similar to the Half Iron Door, except that it is a mirrored reflection of it as far as the legs are concerned."

The student pushed his left foot a bit more forward, and shifted his body weight accordingly such that he formed the same 'sprinting position' as the Half Iron Door, but with his left leg forward instead of the right. His height lowered accordingly, and the sword that he had kept in that drooping position lowered until he resembled a Half Iron Door but with his left leg forward while still maintaining a right-handed grip on his sword. It was vaguely uncomfortable.

"Now bring your sword to the back, obviously from the right-way. Yes... all the way... that's it. Stop there. Now don't move until I tell you to."

[Eridanus]

Eri's sword remained in his right-handed fist grip, but was now trailing behind him as if he was winding up to deliver a powerful slash. Both his hands were on the blade and so his torso was slightly twisted rightwards for the sword to remain at that position. Honestly he felt pretty weird for it exposed his entire body, and should an enemy attack with a thrust he would not have the time to bring the sword from the back up front to defend himself.

The next few moments were spent in silence, only interrupted by one-liners of "higher... lower... shift... too much... a bit more..." as every flaw, minor or major, was corrected. The instructor tapped Eri's sword downwards and he complied.

"Take note that the sword trailing behind should be parallel to your bent calves. It is almost like an opposite version of the Half Iron Door, though don't quote me on that. This, as I am sure that you should be aware by now, invites attack on anywhere on your body for it seemingly leaves you defenceless. However, it would if you had been wielding a dagger. Instead, if you were at a distance, the real length of your long sword would be partially hidden from view and your opponent will not be able to accurately estimate the length of your blade. Distorting their judgement like this will be of benefit to you."

"Take a moment to familiarize yourself with this guard. These first two stable guards are the first two steps in the Guard Progression Drill that I will teach you after I have gone through all the guards. The other two stable guards are further down the list, so for now just get comfortable with changing from the Half Iron Door to the Tail."

The instructor stepped back again, allowing his student the space to try these steps out. "If you haven't realized by now, the swinging of your sword back while passing forward on your left should be done simultaneously. We only did it one at a time earlier so that you can better understand the motions of your body. Carry on."

[Eridanus]

Eridanus recovered from his position, taking a moment to massage his burning thighs. The lack of muscle familiarity meant that the relevant muscles required to hold these stances for an extended amount of time were relatively undeveloped, and he could feel his body begin to protest. It was still manageable, but the lesson was only beginning.

He shoved these depressing thoughts away and reminded himself that he signed up for this on his own free will. There will be no chickening out now.

Settling into the basic neutral posture with his sword slightly raised, he used his right leg as an anchor, pushing his left leg back until his height lowered. He relied on feeling as he did so, remembering the right amount of pressure his right leg should feel as well as the rough height he should lower himself to, and when he thought he was low enough he lowered his blade downwards, slanting it to be parallel to his forward thigh. He kept a constant fist grip on his blade as he did so, the grip lowering to below his pelvic region due to his lowered position. The Half Iron Door.

Looking at Oliver for opinions, the instructor merely flicked his fingers for Eri to carry on.

The vantha then slowly passed his left leg forward, passing by his right foot and going further on until his legs were in a mirrored position to the previous guard. As he did so, he twisted his torso to the right as he firmly swung his blade back until it trailed behind his rear leg.

The Denvali harrumphed and used a two finger gesture to tell Eri to lower his sword more.

Looking behind, he realized that his sword was far too parallel to the ground, and he lowered it again so that it would slant downwards. Bringing his torso back to the front, he repeated the swinging motion, taking care that the final position of his sword was correctly slanted.

When he was satisfied, he repeated the set of Half Iron Door to Tail several more times, each time increasing the speed of doing so. Hurrying when he felt that he could be faster, then slowing down appropriate when he realized that he was going too fast for his body to adapt.

After even more repetitions, the instructor was satisfied and he clapped his hands, calling out, "Okay, practice more later on. Recover."

[Eridanus]

"The next stable guard is probably one of the most stable, and is further down the list of guard progressions so you will be entering from your basic posture for now."

Easing into the basic posture, Oliver slid forward with his left foot into a similar leg arrangement as the Tail, but the height was roughly higher and not as bent. Also, the biggest difference was the sword that he held at his waist level and straight in front of him, angling roughly thirty degrees skywards.

"The Short. I am aware of its small difference from the Tail, but I do not want you to progress into this just by flicking your sword upwards. In practice you will almost never transition in such a way, a stable guard should never go to another stable guard. Instead they are meant to be bedrocks, or checkpoints, between each series of guards when you engage an opponent. Begin."

Eridanus settled into the basic posture, resuming a neutral position with his sword loosely raised in front of him, his body squared to the front.

"Pass forward on your left," Oliver called out.

The student complied, doing so, and just as he thought that he was going to pass further to fall into the leg arrangement similar to the Tail, the instructor called out again, "Stop! Yes, not as forward as the Tail. That height is enough."

The vantha brought back his leg, and passed forward on his left again, first to the distance for the Short, then to the slightly further distance for the Tail, in order to compare and differentiate the two. He did it several times until he was satisfied with himself, then he resumed the neutral stance and passed forward as required.

Recalling the position of his instructor's sword, he firmly gripped the haft of his blade in a fist grip, though remembering to only keep his thumb and first two fingers clenched. His other hand gripped the bottom of the haft and a bit of the pommel with moderate tension. Keeping his fists at waist level, he raised the sword further away from his body such that it was parallel to the ground, then adjusted the angle until it pointed slightly skywards.

"As a good measure, if your opponent is roughly the same height as you, you can use his head as a landmark as to how high your sword should be slanted up," Oliver added helpfully.

As Eridanus repeated the movement, starting from neutral again before settling into the Short, the instructor continued, "The Short is an excellent guard in that it protects almost everywhere, and it most certainly makes it difficult for your opponent to figure out where to attack. This is not necessary a good thing if you're trying to defeat your opponent quickly, but good if you wish to discourage a potential opponent from attacking you. It is one of the most versatile ones in that you can transit to almost any guard with little hassle."

[Eridanus]

"All that repetitions should be enough for now. Keep that up in your free time and your diligence will bring you to far places," Master Camlach remarked with approval. "The last stable guard is the Boar's Tooth. It is slightly harder than the first three in that it is generally used in the midst of an engagement set. We do not generally use it as an initial guard due to the greater effectiveness of the first three in terms of starting an engagement."

The Denvali brought his sword up suddenly, passing forward swiftly with his right leg while slashing the air diagonally from right to left, the sword moving so fast it was a blur motion of brown until it stopped at its final destination, on the left side of his body and generally in between both legs.

"I figured that you will be able to visualize this guard better when you see its applications, rather than me telling which position to go. This is a common progression, a diagonal cut while passing forward will naturally put you in this position."

Eridanus raised his sword and as he passed forward he slowly brought it diagonally downwards too, stopping it when it reached the end of its arc. He compared the differences in their stances and observed that he was mostly similar. It was true that he found it more natural to settle into this position this way rather than from a neutral position.

As he continued to repeat going into the Boar's Tooth, Oliver looked at the sky and tutted, then lectured the vantha as he practised the motions of the stance. His words were slightly more hurried now, though with Eri mostly focusing on the practical aspect he would only absorb the contents of the lecture but not the tone.

"It is common to use a bottom thrust to deliver a quick successive blow should your previous cut fail to defeat your opponent. It is often overlooked and with proper management of your wrist and grips you can deliver a powerful strike that your opponent will not expect. As a trained swordsman, take this into account should your opponent try the same thing on you. Do not be deceived as to how harmless this guard looks."

[Eridanus]

The instructor watched his student as he continued to practice the Boar's Tooth, quickly settling into this guard more comfortably than the first three, probably due to his prior combat experience.

A boy ran in from inside the building, and he glanced at Eridanus diligently training before bowing hurriedly to Oliver and whispering something in his ear. The Denvali nodded and whispered back a short phrase and he dismissed the boy.

"Alas, I have been summoned. The courtyard is yours to use until the next bell when another instructor will require its use, feel free to stay behind and practice," Oliver told Eridanus as he placed his own practice sword back beside his waist, fastening it securely with the side of his sash.

"Godspeed, Master Camlach," Eridanus bowed slightly, and the instructor nodded curtly in acknowledgement, striding briskly out of the courtyard.

Before he completely left the area, he turned back and shouted to his student, "In case you forget, you'll get a letter or message regarding the next date. Until then train hard!"

Eridanus inclined his head in response, and the Denvali left the area, off to whatever business he was involved in.