The Manny (Solo - Job)

[Lyner]

Day 31, Winter 511 AV Morning Lyner shouldn't be here, this was not where he was meant to be. He was meant for better things, more productive tasks like hunting. But the girl that was his charge wouldn't have it. She would not give him peace, this budding beauty who was well on her way into becoming an attractive woman was anything but mature. She was infuriatingly annoying, she always had something to complain about and if boredom took her... Lyner didn't want to be around when it did. She could get herself into worlds of trouble. The only saving grace he had here was that she didn't dabble in magic. He understood the reason why magic wasn't freely shared among people, but it was most likely the people like Liliana that had cemented the societal rules that prevented mages from freely dispensing their tricks at the start. "You can teach me how to fight can't you?" Liliana chirped, her sharp rapier hovering between the few feet separating Lyner from this annoying little tomboy. "Show me how." she demanded tensely. "Your father tasked me to guard you, not teach you how to get into more trouble." Lyner grunted, big hands folded together in front of his chest while he sat on a cold bench this winter's morning. "Ah! But you wouldn't always be there." she countered quickly, her blue eyes catching pale sunlight fighting to reach the earth against thick clouds brought about by Morwen. Lyner sighed and scratched his hair awkwardly. "How many times do I have to tell you no?" Liliana stuck out her tongue and drew the skin under one eye down to perform a childish taunt unbecoming of her. "As many times until it takes for your to say yes." Lyner sighed, deeper than he did earlier. This was a lost battle. If he continued to defy her things might get messy. The only thing he could do now was cut his losses while he still could. "Okay, listen. I could try teaching you but I wouldn't be able to teach you as much as a proper fencing instructor. Observe the differences between my weapon and yours." he unsheathed his blade and the cold steel rang as it slithered free of its constraints. "The long sword is a conventional weapon, it can cut, thrust and use it's mass to fold armor." "Your rapier in comparison has shorter range but its faster and light so you have delicate control over it. Let me borrow that." she reluctantly lent him the sword and he tried to use it the way he would have if he were in the girl's shoes. "Don't think that the longsword is the superior weapon though, everyone's built differently and there's an ideal weapon for everyone. Your weapon is actually very good for you. You're small, that makes you hard to hit and the lightness of this weapon lets you move much faster than I can with my own. You shouldn't forget that rapiers are thrusting blades so don't swing with this, stab with it. A thrust isn't as dynamic as a slash but a small thrust can be just as lethal as decapitation."

[Lyner]

Liliana's attitude seemed to have taken a sharp spike of improvement when Lyner finally shed the the who stoic and serious act and finally became helpful. She envied his sword, its menacing look and its range but his words were of sound logic and he seemed to be honest in his desire to help her now. Not wanting to risk him changing his mind she silently listened to his lecture until she was sure that he had nothing more to add. "So how do you think I could make myself faster?" the girl asked quizzically. "You can practice your footwork and improve your physique." he answered bluntly. "I wouldn't recommend the latter for you, that's just too much work and your weapon is light enough that you don't need it like I do. Practicing against someone is the best... if not fastest way to improve." he'd improved by leaps and bounds during those first string of pit fights he'd survived in Sunberth. "Can we practice?" They could, but Lyner knew this wouldn't help her at all unless they practiced every other day. There was no way to learn all he had to teach her in one session, he realized that perhaps he was going to have to create a lesson plan before nightfall. "Sure." he folded his arms above his chest as he watched the girl preen in delight. "But we're going to have to get something for training. If you want to turn this into a daily thing." Liliana clapped her hands happily and took Lyner by the hand to drag him wherever her brief burst of inspiration was taking her. "I'll go ask for dad's permission then!" she told him while she marched through snow-riddled streets towards the market place (until they would stumble upon it) so she could present her plan to her father.

[Lyner]

They were back from their market excursion and while the girl's wares had come out from her papa's money, his own had been bought from his dwindling savings. Lyner had never handled a sparring sword before, he had no use for one, it was a waste of good money and he'd always expected to use his weapons with the will to kill people with. A weapon designed to prevent harming the other person too much seemed a silly idea. Until now. As a teacher, he would need something that wouldn't harm the girl he was meant to protect. A bladeless longsword which couldn't cut, but could still be used to protect her against a real threat if it emerged. The thing was still steel wrought, its mass and weight still enough to break bones and cause severe trauma... but he didn't want to use something that felt off. He'd also acquired something he'd never used before at the market. A shield. This one was the real deal, a large steel shield that he could use to protect himself better - and his charge. He'd never really had a reason to get one since he traveled light, but he wasn't travelling anymore and it was much easier to protect someone with a shield than a lone blade. For Liliana, she'd taken a fancy sparring sword. It was every bit as ornate as her other but Lyner had inspected it to make sure it was of decent quality for practical use. Armed for the training Lyner stepped under the barren tree in the middle of the girl's household which was going to be the stage for their fighting. He experimented with the shield awkwardly, he had little experience with it but at least now he could take her hits freely. "I'm ready when you are." Lyner firmly told her, sword drawn on the ground and kite shield raised almost up to his eyes. "Keep in mind that a single well placed thrust can end a fight. You don't have to go overboard, that's just barbarism." Liliana nodded, her feet lightly dancing back and forth across the cold soil. "I'll teach you to use footwork my pressuring you when I can, bear with the armor you're wearing. You'll be much faster when you don't have it." and he didn't want to risk hurting her either. The padded armor she wore was insurance for him. "I'm not good with the shield, but I'll do my best to protect myself with it. If you can get through to me with through this shield then I won't be surprised if you can hold your own in a real fight." "Ready?" he asked her, his breath mist in he air. The girl lifted her rapier in response to his inquiry and smiled. "Lets go!"

[Lyner]

What Liliana lacked in strength she made up for with sheer speed. She moved quickly, her hyperactive streak gave her an unexpected advantage to use in this mock battle. Lyner found himself actually seriously defending against her initial charge. The quick flurry of thrusts that she delivered were well practiced, the Syliran had to raise his shield against to protect his shoulder from her blunted sword but fast was all they were. She needed to develop accuracy next to her speed... and footwork. He stepped in, much to her surprise with his shield in the way of her sword arm preventing her from using it and he swung lightly with his sparring long sword, allowing the bladeless edge to tap the padded section of her waist lightly. "You have to keep moving, after attacking you have to step back or push through and get away from retaliation. If you had a shield you could've weathered it but you don't." Lyner stepped back, sword raised and resting atop the shield in a position where he could thrust with it like a spear. "Again." Liliana answered his invitation and attacked, but she used her legs consciously now, sliding in to thrust then recoiling just as quickly as her rapier reached its apex. Lyner did not interrupt her, learning the method of attack was an important part of her education and he could bear the blunt of her assault with his shield which he was starting to rely on more and more as he turtled against the girl. Then he noticed her breathing heavily and when her thrusts started become slower that was when he advanced. He used his sword aggressively, slicing towards her legs that Liliana was being forced to focus less and less on her hands and more on her feet. Lyner liked that change in her strategy and he rewarded her effort by showing him a change in his own techniques. He started using his long sword as a deterrant to attack. He swung it in wide arcs, always where he saw her moving to with her legs and soon he'd sealed her attacks completely. When he noticed her breathing too quickly he dropped his blade and asked her to stop. "Great work on learning how to use your legs. They're just as important as your sword in a fight. Don't get caught. Don't let the other guy get too close, that's not what your rapier was made for." he was lecturing her with a finger held up. "Notice how I used my sword to cut off your movements, you can use the same trick against me, or retreat and let me waste energy." "One advantage of a light weapon is that, its light, its not tiring to use. Just because you have a sword doesn't mean you should use it at every chance. What I want you to understand is you don't have to be showy to be effective, I've seen someone use a rapier to end a fight with one lethal thrust. When I move forward you just move away, I'm bound to get tired first if I use wide swings and have heavier equipment than you."

[Lyner]

Lyner wasn't a harsh instructor, but sometimes that was the order of the day. He had to teach the girl seriously or not teach her at all. He realized that it might have been cruel of him to be swinging his weapon in wide horizontal sweeps to lock down her movements but he had to teach her to flank him instead of fighting head on. Honorable combat was not going to be the kind of battles Liliana would see in her lifetime and rapiers were not meant to clash against heavier weapons. They were meant to slip past them. He was assaulting her with wide barrages, but was mindful of leaving his shield in the wake of his attacks. It was a mechanical, boring but highly efficient maneuver but even the best of tricks could only work so many times. Liliana caught him, her unconventional strategy and high speed allowed her to roll under his slowly executed wide-ranged attack and spring far beyond the shield's protectiong. The thrust that followed was light but true, it struck Lyner's flesh but there was barely pain there as she didn't have time to plunge it deeper. Her feet shuffled back, retreating to avoid the sword that was coming back to punish her. "Impressive!" he looked around glad that there was nobody to watch them and struck his blade deep into the ground so it could support itself. "Dangerous but impressive. Don't count on using that move all the time though, if you missed I could have ended the fight by cutting your head off." Lyner nonetheless clapped his hands in praise of her improvement. "You're learning. In a few years I'm sure you'll be my match." The girl shrugged her shoulders and let the tip of her rapier to dip towards the compacted ground. "If you don't improve within that time." she was smirking, her humility was veiled, but Lyner was glad to see that the girl was willing to accept that she would always have superiors. Lyner picked up his weapon and pried if from the ground. He cleaned the dirt cling to the tip with his boot and raised it up again. "Another five rounds then?" Liliana nodded and sprung forward, rapier shining in the pale light of the gray sky. Secret : Deducted money amounting to 35gm from CS for off-screen purchase of a kite shield at 20gm and a sparring steel Longsword at 15gm.

[Bedlam]

Thread Completed!

Lyner

Experience:
4 Teaching
1 Longsword
1 Shield

Lores:
Teaching a Girl to Kill
My First Pupil

Notes:

I enjoyed this thread. It was short but really vivid. I didn’t give you a lot of points in shield because even though you just got it, you didn’t actually write about using it except for once, when you failed to protect against one of her attacks. So if you were expecting more there, that’s why you only got one.