[Kendoka Sasaran]Working up a sweat[Aren]

[Rykanis Dakshata]

12 Spring 461 It was always a good day to work out. Or at least, that was how Rykanis felt. Well, his other side. But he had convinced himself that working today and letting them train, would come back to benefit them later in a real fight. Usually when he was training, his recessive side would be in charge. But when fighting in such a place as this, it was rarely boring or repetitive, so his main side would be. Walking into the training facility, he pushed open the swinging doors, and as usual heard the sound of people fighting with wooden weapons. They did not usually use real ones, as that was to dangerous, and this was just to get better. Though it always seemed no matter how early he got up, there were always people there. As he walked in further, he heard the clang of metal on metal, as at least one pair were fighting using real blades. But it seemed everyone else was simply using wooden ones. So he went to a rack, and grabbed up a sole wooden lakan that had been put there, and entered into the fight. Soon enough, he was met by another akalak, one only a few years younger than himself, also using a lakan. They faced off, and leaped into combat. Neither one of them was all that skilled, usually they just met there "blades", and tried to maneuver so as to get the upper-hand... They smashed there weapons together, blocking and swinging, trying to touch the weapon to skin, and both of them landed several hits. After fighting for a while though, his partner had to go, he had an apprenticeship that started early. This left Rykanis looking around for another partner... Most of the men here sported wooden Lakans like himself... Though he had his fathers lakan sheathed at his waist... But he rarely used it, usually just keeping it as a reminder. But he would happily fight whomever wanted to face him, regardless of weapon.

[Aren]

As Aren stepped back attempting to avoid the strike of his sparring partner, he accidentally bumped into a young akalak who himself did not seem to have a partner. Well, now he had found one, whether he wanted to or not. The older akalak immediately turned around, a long wooden stick in his hand at the ready. The practice weapon possessed an elongated "blade" which protruded from the end of the staff, and was crafted of dense oak to better simulate the weight of the actual weapon it was meant to represent. Aren knew, as likely did his intended opponent, that they were required to have a duel. It was something about having enemies all around you and some such. He didn't really care for the specifics, but he had to admit that these spars, because of their nature, were never boring. The blue akalak smiled, noticing that his training partner was much younger than himself, but also bigger. In a few years, the kid would be a mountain, Aren calculated. "Good luck," the grinning fool offered, eager to test his mettle against a less experienced, but physically superior opponent. These fights were always interesting, because one mistake could be the end, while the opponent usually has a greater margin for error. As he come to notice the weapon in his adversary's hand, Aren's grin seemed to evaporate into thin air. He was so big, so wasn't he wasting his strength wielding a lakan? Or maybe... he was fast too, and able to combine powerful strikes with precision knife-work. As quickly as it had faded, Aren's smile resurfaced with double the intensity, as the akalak's imagination ran rampant trying to gauge the ability of his opponent.

[Rykanis Dakshata]

He had been waiting to fight someone else, when he bumped into someone. And as the rules of the place stated, that was the start of a battle. Rykanis smiled, looking over at his fellow akalak, he took a moment to check out his weapon. It looked kind of odd, with a long stick, and another bit sticking off of it... He was not sure what it would look like as an actual weapon... He held his wooden lakan before him, and wondered why his foe had suddenly grown so serious. Perhaps that was just his way. Himself, he reveled in the action, in fighting, and pitting his skills against another. Just to start things off, Rykanis moved forward, trying to keep from getting to close, but making a swipe at the akalak, which he expected to be deflected. In this case, he was at a disadvantage, as his foes weapon had much greater reach than his own twisted dagger. however his was much lighter, and able to move much faster. But he did his best to be unrelenting, making several slashes with it, testing his foe to see how he would react to a series of blows from his lakan. He might block one, none, or all of them, it was all just a test to see how good he was. After all, it was just a friendly spar.

[Aren]

"It's never wise to sacrifice your head to deliver such a futile blow..." Aren mused, as he made no attempt to avoid or otherwise negate the first blow launched by his impromptu sparring partner. Instead, he merely took the opportunity to bring his wooden scythe-like training weapon to the side of his opponent's head with a swiveling motion of his torso. He left his entire right side exposed, knowing that if he tried to both avoid and attack, he would be able to do neither, as the weapon his opponent wielded allowed much more speed when it came to the delivery of an attack. Still, to the older akalak, getting stabbed in what was most likely a non-vital spot was fair exchange for the opportunity to take your enemy's head in one fell swoop. Of course, since these were not real weapons, there would be no actual severing of any heads, but the symbolism stood. As for any other blows the younger akalak might attempt to deliver, Aren did not consider them important unless the young man somehow managed to avoid his first strike, which would end the fight in any fight but this one. This was not your typical spar after all, but a duel meant to be as much like real combat as possible, while precluding the possibility of actually dying.

[Rykanis Dakshata]

Things of course did not go quite as planned. His imagined flurry of blows were canceled, and swiftly by the other akalak. It was clear he was much more skilled than Rykanis, though that was not going to stop him. He was rather aggravated though, that he had utterly failed with what he had attempted... As he was struck in the head, Rykanis got angry, more at himself for allowing such an obvious attack, and for doing so horribly, than the fact that the other person had hit him. His anger clearly showed on Rykanis' face and in his eyes, though the reason for the anger was not, and would likely leave the other akalak thinking Rykanis was angry at him. But as he took a few steps back, getting well clear of the enemy weapon, there was a short argument in his mind, and then the dominant side gave control over to his recessive side. As he did, the emotion seemed to vanish from Rykanis face, he even seemed to be holding himself differently. This side was much more cautious, and was sure to keep clear of his foe. If Aren were to come at him suddenly, Rykanis would jump back, trying to keep clear, though might if the opportunity arose try and strike out and smack aside the "blade" of the weapon. But this side was unlikely to repeat the folly of the head on attack of his other side. He would try and look for an opening, and instead focused more on the person wielding the weapon, than the fight and what attack to make. Maybe he would see something that would help him....

[Aren]

Aren could see his sparring partner seething from the blow, but he was young, so strong emotions were to be expected. The older akalak did not take the sentiment personally, knowing that taking a hit from a stranger was something that was not always easy to shake off. Even in a sparring match, it wasn't like getting hit by a friend, or by someone you considered to be your superior. The young man seemed to bounce back well, however, the anger in his eyes suddenly fading. The blue akalak, noticing the drastic and sudden change in his opponent's demeanor, was forced to wonder if he was facing someone else now. "Two against one hardly seems fair..." Aren joked, sensing the difference between the reckless individual who had charged at him so gallantly, and the much more composed fighter he currently faced. Truthfully, the older akalak envied the ability of some of his fellows to be able to cede control to their Other. The unwavering discipline, the constant wariness he had to maintain... sometimes that got tiring. With a smile, Aren took a long step forward, quickly shifting his body weight to his front foot. As the momentum carried him forward, he jutted the butt of his wooden scythe out towards his opponent's abdomen. One hand was placed near the center of the snaith (the staff of the scythe) while the other was gripped just underneath the "blade". This served a dual purpose: one was to add to the force of the push, but the other was to shorten the speed at which he could swing the cumbersome weapon around. About the scarIt's my fault really, but the scar you've noticed doesn't actually exist at the point in time the thread occurs. Totally my fault for not specifying exactly when the scars were sustained, but I've fixed it now.

[Rykanis Dakshata]

Rykanis listened as his opponent joked about his fighting unfairly. Of course he did not see this, as both of them technically had two sides with which to fight with, even if the opponent was not using it. His main side of course was mentally slapping its hand on its forehead, at the fact that the other side had not gotten it was a joke. He was a lot better at noticing things like joking... Sarcasm... And other such things which meant something not literally. Neither of them had anyway of knowing the true nature of this akalaks other side. While Rykanis' sides worked together quite well, and had been together from a very young age... Many other Akalaks were not so good at compromise, and often fought. And while Rykanis often found himself arguing with himself, that did not interfere with what they did to much. They were more like old friends bickering, who still worked together when there was an outside threat. As was obvious by know, this Rykanis was much more careful than the other. At seeing his foe stepping at him, Rykanis quickly moved back, to try and stay out of range, wanting to make the fight on his own terms, and not his foes. Though he was pretty sure he had figured out what weapon he was using... A scythe? Very odd... So he could not help asking in interest how he came about using it... "That... Is an odd weapon to use... What made you decide on using it? Most akalaks tend to use either lakans, or some big weapon, or a sword of some type... So what led to the scythe?" Rykanis would say this, trying to stay light on his feet, jumping back if his foe came at him, trying to keep a running monologue going as through the fight.

[Aren]

"What... it's not big enough for you?" Aren smirked, the tone of his voice conveying mock insult, "Maybe you just need a closer look!" the older akalak took another step forward, repeating the action he had performed earlier, but modified to be a series of quicker, shorter jabs. In any battlefield, one had to be mindful of his surroundings, and Aren's opponent was eventually going to run out of room to backpedal. If he continued on this course, the young man would eventually find himself with his back to a wall, and nowhere left to run. The older, more experienced akalak knew that if his adversary had any sense, he wouldn't let it get to that point, and that's exactly what Aren was waiting for. There would be a moment where he shifted from defense to offense, and that was the moment the older akalak would strike. In truth, the real fight was already over, in Aren's mind. The spar no longer served to simulate real battlefield conditions, as the instant his scythe had hit his opponent's head, an actual battle would have been over. Now, it was more like an actual spar, where people hit each other until one admitted defeat. Those were fun too, though, especially since some people could be rather stubborn and akalaks in particular, who sometimes interchanged their dominant personalities, usually had to be beaten quite resoundingly.

[Rykanis Dakshata]

As Rykanis evaded, it was soon clear that he would have to act soon. As he could see, any action repeated over and over, gave the opponent the opportunity to devise a strategy to combat it. So the longer he did this, the more likely his foe would find its flaw. Which as he thought about it, was likely space. It ate up space as he did it, and eventually he would either lose his footing, run out of space, or end up on space he did not want. His main side was simply angrily growling at him to do something, and not just stall. As stall it was. Avoidance was a common stall tactic, giving you time to decide on something else to do. Obviously it would not win a battle, but it could give you the precious seconds needed to plan. So as he did so, he tried to keep up the speaking. "I was not saying that your weapon is inferior. I was simply stating a fact that a scythe is a odd weapon, that few use. Most use swords, hammers, axes, big long blades, but you are one of the few fighters I have seen to use one. I thought the reason might be interesting to know." Rykanis kept moving for a bit, listening to see if he would talk, and tell him the story he had asked. He was only asking a simple question, so did not see why he would be so defensive as to refuse to tell why he used his weapon of choice. Then he would do his best to wait for the opportune moment. He would attempt a forward shoulder roll, to the right of Aren, trying to get under his weapon. Then he would push up from the crouch, and do a tackle sort of manuever, right into Arens chest. This however did not work so well, ending up with him on his back, and getting smashed by the other combatant. And through this, his main side had gotten impatient, decided they were done, set down his weapon, and started heading for the door. Maybe he would do better at the unarmed school school just up the street.

[Indigo]

Character: Rykanis Dakshata Skills: +1 Observation, +1 Strategy, +1 Interrogation, +2 Weapon(Lakan,) +1 Acrobatics Lore: Using your head in combat, Two brothers in one Akalak, Why so serious? It's only sparring Notes: I like how you showed his strategic planning in thought and it gives a good insight to Ryk's mentality and attitude toward sparring. Well done in illustrating the importance of imperfections in sparring. Not enough people realize that it's normal to make mistakes, miss or get hurt when dealing with combat. Well done! If you have any questions or comments about your grade, please PM me. Financial notes: N/A