The Way Of The Sword III (Solo)

[Eridanus]

Arnold LugheimPermission to self-moderate NPC granted by Legion

Day 82, Spring of 503 AV
Late Morning
The Courtyard

Eridanus had received a short note from the Academy last night, not in the familiar cursive script that Oliver Camlach favored but the rough angular handwriting of what he briefly recognized as that of the senior instructor who largely took care of martial and magic integration. Because of his friendship with Eri's original instructor, he had stepped in to ensure that there was no disruption to the vantha's curriculum, though the lessons had to be scheduled in a haphazard manner due to his own busy schedule. Eridanus was grateful that the huge man was willing to squeeze his training in between his slots when he could be having his own rest break.

He had spent the last fourteen days constantly revising the guards taught, and had already begun integrating the footwork and grips naturally while doing so. It was a thrilling thought, at seeing the progress he made that he felt all his hard work and constant training was beginning to pay off. It was little, it was gradual, but Eridanus knew that mastery did not come overnight. No, it came incrementally from consistent training, and he planned to use his diligence and passion to achieve the apex of swordsmanship by the end of the eight seasons that he planned to stay here.

Thus he approached the courtyard, his practice sword already signed out from the armory clerk, to find a huge figure already waiting with a practice sword that seemed tiny in comparison to his size. Arnold Lugheim was different from Oliver Camlach, always preferring to reach appointments slightly earlier rather than exactly on-the-dot. The man had a rugged and fair-weathered look, his clothes barely holding in his musclebound arms which ended in palms the size of dinner plates.

"Student Eridanus!" The instructor called when Eridanus entered, and the vantha hastened to bow shortly, replying, "Good morning, Master Lugheim."

"At ease, student. I found a tiny bit of free-time before midday meal time. If we're lucky we should finish just before that time and be off just in time for a hot delicious meal. Let us work towards that," the instructor said in a gruff tone, though his voice betrayed his cheerful tone.

The man seemed to be in a good mood today, for his tone mirrored that of the amiable Oliver Camlach rather than the no-nonsense attitude of Master Jernwick. It was a good start, at the least.

[Eridanus]

"Be at ease, and we shall first talk about the human body." Arnold Lugheim began, one hand loosely holding his practice sword and the other hand gesturing as he lectured, "There are four parts of the human body that you need to consider, two of which will overlap with the other two. What do I mean by this?"

He used his wooden sword to point and draw a horizontal line at Eri's waist, "Above this line will be referred to as High, and below as Low."

Withdrawing the sword, he continued, "Between your arms is your chest, yes? Your head, your chest, stomach, groin, the 'center' of your body, or the 'inner section' of your body. These parts we refer to as 'Inside the Sword'. The rest of your body that outlines and covers these parts, such as your limbs, your flanks, these we refer to as 'Outside the Sword'. Simple, yes?"

"Indeed, Master Lugheim," Eridanus agreed. If this lesson was going to be generally obvious information like this he was going to have a breeze today.

"Now using the center of your chest as reference, we imagine a dot there. Now imagine a large circle with its center being the center of your chest, and divide it equally into eight segments. Like dividing pie, easy to imagine?"

It was, and Eridanus assented.

"Now the lines that divide these segments, we call them 'cut lines' or 'cut directions'. There are technical names for them, but these should be covered during your theory classes and is not the focus for today, so we shall just refer to them using directions, with North being straight up. You can see where I'm going with this, don't you?"

That meant a straight top-down direction would be north-south, while a left-right direction would be west-east.

"Question, sir. What about the diagonal lines? And who's perspective do we use?"

"Ah right. I'll answer your second question first; we use the attacker's perspective. So for me an east to west cut will be right to left for me, but for you it will be left to right. Regarding diagonals, we will just use a combination of the two nearest directions. In between the starting and ending point we will affix a 'to', clear?"

"So for me the cut direction of this," Eridanus demonstrated by using his finger to draw a line from his top right to bottom left, "will be northeast-to-southwest?"

"And for me it will be northwest-to-southeast. Exactly," Arnold affirmed.

"Now that we got this out of the way we shall go on to the actual cuts and how they are supposed to be executed, along with a little theory."

"Yes sir."

[Eridanus]

"The first is pretty straight-forward. The scalp cut, as the name suggests, is a simple north-to-south cut. Before I continue, I want to clarify first that in swordsmanship you only have two types of blade-based attacks - cuts and thrusts. One swings, one stabs, simple enough. Now pass forward on your left."

Eridanus shifted his left leg forward, but keeping his back straight. There were quite a few guards that had this form of leg arrangement, and two notable ones - the Crown and the Long - required one to lean forward slightly. But it was not required and therefore he did not do so, it was important to prevent confusion and to follow instructions carefully.

"Raise your sword up high - even higher than the Crown - like you're going to swing your sword north-to-south. It's pretty much common sense," Arnold said.

It was, and the student raised his blade up high, his fists gripping the hilt just above his head.

"The High. Swing now."

He swung his sword downwards, and the instructor quickly whipped out his own blade to stop the blade in motion at mid-swing, effectively putting Eri in a position similar to the Long.

"The Longpoint. Carry on."

Eri finished the swing, with the point of his sword pointing to the feet of the imaginary person he was cutting, and Arnold commented, "The Fool. The three points of a scalp cut."

The student was not sure why they were going into such technical specifics, and the instructor probably saw his confused expression, adding, "It may not have much practical significance, but it helps to attach names to actions so that it will be more convenient for us later on. It's better to say 'longpoint' than to try to describe to you something like 'a north-to-south straight cut stopping roughly in a long guard position', eh?"

That made sense, and he nodded.

"Good. Let's quickly breeze through the others."

[Eridanus]

"The wrath cut can be made in either directions, for it is a diagonal slashing motion. A right wrath cut would be the northeast-to-southwest, while a left wrath cut would be the northwest-to-southeast. Go into the Woman now, though be warned that though it is most common to execute a wrath cut from a Woman it is not the only guard from which you can do so, so do not pigeonhole and limit yourself, understand?"

Eridanus was quite aware that a master swordsman was one who was able to perfectly adapt to all situations and had full understanding and utility of every technique, thus he made extra note not to get too comfortable executing wrath cuts from the Woman. During self-training later he would perhaps try out all the different cuts that he would learn today with the guards he had learned and find out for himself which cuts would work more effectively with which guards.

"Yes sir."

"You will execute a right wrath cut. Take note to use the twisting motion of your torso to add to the strength of your swing, though control your torso such that you twist just the right amount."

The Woman was a perfect position to do so, and he began to swing his sword diagonally left, the blade barely leaving his right shoulder to point upwards instead of sidewards (as it would in the Woman) Arnold reached forward and grabbed the sword with his huge palms.

"The Wrath Guard. Take note of the difference between the Wrath and the Woman in terms of guards. The latter is excellent for defence and to threaten an offensive, but the former can only be the start of a wrath cut. Never get confused with these two, for if you try to block an attack on your right flank with the wrath instead of the woman, it'll be the last mistake you'll ever make."

"Yes sir," Eridanus replied, taking note of this reminder to not get confused.

"Carry on."

When his sword swung to the point where it was similar to the Long, Ronald used his blade to stop the swing again, commenting, "The Longpoint. Take note of the difference as well, terms of direction of swing. If your opponent is standing still, this should be the point just before your sword enters the collarbone region. Carry on."

And so he continued swinging, and at the end of the arc, Arnold remarked, "The Change. This is usually the point where you can quickly transition into a Full Iron Door if your attack fails to defeat your opponent."

[Eridanus]

"To recap, the Scalp cut is a a fast but long-ranged attack that goes for the head, and if successfully generally guarantees a fatality. This is the best cut to use against someone who happens to be in the Fool. It applies to you too, so be very careful whenever you are in the Fool as well. The Wrath cut is your general all-round cut, and the simplest and most powerful that allows you to defend against most cuts. When in doubt use the Wrath."

Arnold Lugheim thought for a while, and he said, "We will not go through the Middle and Low cuts, for those are common sense. The Middle cut is a straight horizontal slash - starting in a lower variation of the Window - while the Low cut can start from the Half Iron Door, the Boar's Tooth or pretty much any guard that has your sword low."

Gesturing at the vantha, he said, "Assume the Window."

Complying, Eridanus passed forward, raising both hands in a cross-armed manner that gave untrained eyes the illusion of being entangled.

"This is usually taught together with the Window, for it is a natural transition between the Right and Left Windows."

He understood, for he had done it before. However he was under the impression that it was merely a way to move such that his hands would not get entangled.

"The Thwart Cut, which is the most logical step from the Window. Of course, you can probably thrust as well, so do not get limited by this idea. It protects your head while threatening your opponent's, and is an excellent response if the opponent has a high position in their guards. Of course, you could duck and stab at their legs, but they would probably still decapitate you anyway."

The instructor then proceeded to the Right Window, but this time instead of keeping the sword in the same position as he transitioned to the Left Window like how Eridanus learned it previously, he swung the blade in a circle around his head region as if they were blades of a windmill but facing vertically instead of horizontallyto be precise, like helicopter blades, but I can't really say that since helicopters don't exist in Miz.

Eridanus followed suit, though it took him quite a few tries even at slow motion to get the range of motions right. It was by far the most complicated and unnatural set of guards and cuts. Now that he could get it at slow motion, it was time to turn the speed up a little.

Settling into the Right Window, he passed forward while stabbing the air in front of him. Without stopping, he swung the blade like a rotary blade around the region of his head as he twisted his torso left into the Left Window. Next, he re-winded his entire motion, first passing forward on the opposite foot and stabbing with the blade. Swinging the sword in a reverse direction, he twisted his torso to the right while crossing his arms again once more to form the Right Window.

"Excellent, work on that when you can," Arnold commented.

[Eridanus]

"Enter the Right Window again," Arnold requested, the Eridanus complied curiously. "The next technique is slightly similar to the Thwart Cut, however if the Thwart Cut is considered a horizontal attack, the Squinting Cut is the vertical version."

"Go into the High of a Scalp Cut," He commanded, and Eridanus lowered his left hand slightly in order to raise his blade. Bringing his left hand in front of him but keeping his right hand high, he shifted into the first position of a north-south vertical swing, or a simple top-down scalp cut.

"However, just as the blade reaches a vertical state, keep the blade generally there while you transit into the Left Window. This allows you to threaten an opponent while defending one side of your body. Take note that this is especially effective with an opponent using a low guard or if his sword is at the end of its swinging arc. Take note also to present the profile that you're protecting with your Window transitions to avoid opening yourself up while attempting the Squinting Cut."

The vantha proceeded to swing the blade down as if he were executing a normal Scalp Cut, but as he did so he stumbled as he shifted his legs into position, proceeding with a compass step to invert his footing in order to balance better with the Left Window.

"Yes a compass pace is fine if you want to hold your ground, but do remember that if you want to seize the offensive just pass forward on your right."

Eridanus recovered from his position and went back to the Right Window. He spent the next ten chimes or so differentiating between the Thwart and Squinting cuts, with the veteran instructor correcting his steps and moves.

When Arnold Lugheim was satisfied as to the foundations of the two techniques that the vantha had internalized, he clapped his hands to gather the student's attention in order to move on to the last cut of the series.

[Eridanus]

"Before I go on to the last Master Cut - yes these five cuts are considered highly advanced techniques," Arnold said in response to Eri's questioning gaze, "You will learn a Guard which was not covered in the standard list, as this guard is only used with this cut. Assume the Boar's Tooth, but with your body leaning forward."

Eridanus recovered into the neutral stance, leaning his leg forward alongside his left leg as he passed forward on the left.

"Remember the way you crossed your arms for the Window? Cross it the same way, but instead of facing your blade towards your opponent you face it downwards. The leaning will then become natural as your body will need to adjust to the new position. I know it can be a little awkward at first, do take your time to adjust."

The student crossed his hand, the right over the left, while maintaining his fist grip on the sword. Lowering his arms, he brought his right hand below his left such that his hands were crossed while the blade faced the ground.

In order to not skewer his own feet he had to lean forward more, and he could feel the strain on his rarely used back muscles as he fought to maintain his position.

"The Crossed Guard. Take note that you should not use the Fist Grip with it, switch over to the Thumb Grip."

The vantha moved his right thumb upwards, placing it on the edge of the blade securely above the cross-guard.

"Now, the Crooked Cut starts with this Right Crossed, and when you are finished you should end in a Left Crossed. That sounds awfully similar to the Thwart, doesn't it?" Arnold asked, not offering further instructions.

It was evident that he expected the vantha to extrapolate and infer the next few steps based on what he learned earlier, and his words were a hint.

Eridanus thought about the Squint and its motion as if it were a windmill blade. The blade had been parallel to the ground in the Window guards, and therefore the resulting Squint Cut caused the propeller motion to be parallel to the ground. It was therefore not unreasonable to deduce that with the blade perpendicular to the ground in the Crossed, the similar windmill like motion should be perpendicular to the ground as well.

Putting his deductions to the test, he uncrossed his hands, causing the blade to swing from the left, upwards, and to the right back to facing the ground in one clean propeller motion. Now his hands were no longer crossed, and it was similar to the way his hands were in the Left Window.

"Excellent, just like that," Arnold Lugheim boomed, "This is a highly defensive cut, and I mean it when it's highly defensive. You basically invest your 'turn' into pure defence, but it does clear space between the two of you. You can use it as both a space-clearer and an offensive technique if you manage to entangle your opponent's hands in that propeller-like motion, if he were using a low guard like say, a Boar's Tooth or a Short. Take note that the Short is also a space-clearing move as well."

[Eridanus]

Arnold Lugheim wiped a sweat off his brow and he glanced at the sky.

"We probably still have a little time left. Tell you what, want to have a short spar? Maybe try out the Master Cuts that I've thought you? Okay wait, before we begin, name me the five master cuts, just so I know that you haven't forgotten them."

"Wrath, Scalp, Thwart, Squint, Crooked?" Eridanus ventured.

"Great. Come, let us go into our positions and try it out, shall we?" Arnold said in a hearty voice, settling easy into his stance as he waited for his student to do the same.

As soon as Eridanus settled into a neutral stance, he proceeded into the Half Iron Door, glancing apprehensively at his instructor.

"The Half Iron Door, eh? Not bad for an invitation. I'll take it then," Arnold commented goodnaturedly as he gathered towards Eridanus quickly, his footwork executed gracefulyl as he padded quickly across the courtyard. Just before he reached within the strike zone around Eri, he threw his blade forward in a thrust, allowing his torso to be aligned parallel to his blade to extend his reach.

Eridanus gasped and he quickly brought his blade up, parrying the thrust. It was like he was taught, despite not covering his upper torso the Half Iron Door proved to be effective in protecting his upper half due to its placement. Bringing his left hand up to his right, he transited - though with a little lag due to adjustment issues - into the Right Window.

[Eridanus]

Arnold Lugheim did not take advantage of that hesitation and instead he waited for his student to go into position. He was there to facilitate learning after all, not to win a petty thing like an informal spar between teacher and student.

When he saw that Eridanus was ready, he dashed forward again, this time going into the Woman seamlessly as he approached the vantha, releasing a sideways swing aimed at Eri's collarbone.

Thoughts of the day's lessons flashed by, and the student actively swung his blade around him as he passed forward on his right. The propeller motion of his Thwart Cut allowed him to deflect the powerful swing, though he had not quite foreseen the powerful strength at which the instructor utilized his blade with, and his fingers vibrated along with his blade as he parried.

Fighting to continue, he sought to bring the movement to an end, and Arnold ducked as he brought his blade into Left Window where the instructor's head used to be.

Arnold Lugheim was now in the Inside of the Sword relative to Eri's body, with Eri's blade cleanly over his head in end-swing, and he brought his blade lazily up to poke Eri's chest.

The vantha realized that he had been out-positioned, and that there was no way he could bring his sword back to defend himself. In a sudden act of desperation, he brought his leg up to kick the blade, and the unorthodox move caused the surprised instructor's sword to be flung to the side.

As he did so, he used the kicking leg to pass backwards to give him a little space, and using the space created he aimed his sword slightly lower and passed forward on his front foot, bringing the blade's point to Arnold's face.

[Eridanus]

The instructor blinked once, then twice. Then he burst into loud laughter.

"I don't remember teaching you to kick swords, student Eridanus," Arnold Lugheim chuckled, causing an embarrassed blush to appear on the vantha's face. The student began to apologize, but the instructor waved it apart, remarking, "It is a valid move if it allows you to defeat your opponent. However, do remember that while my wooden sword is blunt a real sword is sharp. Only attempt that trick if you happen to be wearing boots made of plate-mail. Try not to do it in our spars, for I seek to teach you. However in competitions or real battles feel free to use it."

Eridanus nodded, his blush barely beginning to fade, and the instructor looked at the sky again, clapping his hands on the student's shoulders.

"Time for lunch, don't you think? Come, let us feast, and you can tell me more about what you know of Oliver," The veteran teacher exclaimed, steering the vantha out of the courtyard for their midday feast.

The training may be over for the day, but the entire course was far from completion.