Wood against steel. ( Dan )

[Ximal]

26th Spring 513AV the day was young but that was it, the clouds did not dot the sky and syna was shining down upon nyka. The ground bathed in a warm glow, even as she'd only just broken the cresting horizon and started to banish leth from sight. Xi smiled and headed out into the nykan war fields. Xi 's work was not far from where he was and prior too it he thought he might get a bit of practice in with something he was not familiar with. He'd brought his staff like weapon with him. Twirling it around his arm he flet the weight of it shift about in his hands...It still felt odd to him to have to rely on something other than his own body to protect him. His own skill, he was sure would translate through the weapon but it still felt vaguely foreign. Xi shifted the weight rolling the weapon around in his hands the quarterstaff, essentially the same as anything else he'd ever used...Just minus the blade of an axe and with a bit longer reach than his fists would allow. Xi rolled the weapon around in his fingers just adjusting his grip along it's length. Sliding his hand sup and down the length of the staff he changed his positioning of his hands whilst taking a few slow swings. The weight felt odd. Xi shifted his hands along the staff and felt his feet shift and some how he felt himself fall into his usual stance. Something about himself...natural, yet as if it didn't belong. It was a strange feeling as he continually ran his hands up and down the staff, changing his grip per swing. Short sharp swings whit his hands in the middle of the staff, and long wide ones in front of him with his hands at the bottom like a sword. It was strange...It moved with him but without him. He put influence into it but got more than he put in out depending upon where his grip rested. Shifting his feet Xi brought the staff grip up holding one hand about midway up. His left hand was at the base and there for added power, his right hand raised high for control over the movement of the staff. Xi smirked lightly as he felt the momentum of the stick shift in his hands as he moved his left and using his right to aim the tip and then brought the whilst staff back and forth using his body weight to shift it. Changing his grip on it next came easy as he rolled from side to side with it. Half glad that no-one could see him acting like a fool with his new unfamiliar weapon.

[Daniel Alecson]

Early morning training used to be the norm for Daniel, in his current state however training had fallen by the wayside. Daniel was determined to change this though and so Daniel had risen with the sun determined to get some training in. However it had taken him some time to find somewhere to train in this city, eventually with the help of a few kind strangers, Daniel found his way to the Nykan War Fields. With the hood up on his cloak, shadowing his face Daniel looked across the field to find it almost entirely empty, which was how he usually preferred it as he wasn't the biggest people person. It took Daniel a moment to reckognize the man in the center of the field, it wasn't someone Daniel knew very well however it was more of where Daniel had known him from that was important. The Spires, Daniel's last mission with the Crimison Edge, he had abandoned them in the middle of it for a fool's chase. A pang of guilt shot through Daniel's heart and darkness clouded his mind. For a moment Daniel was lost once again, consumed by his failures. Then he shook his head violently Daniel could not lose himself again, he needed to retain control. Daniel looked up again, staring at the man, trying to obliterate his thoughts with observations of the man. Daniel was having trouble rembembering the man's name, he wasn't even sure if they'd ever been properly introduced. The man's name was of little importance though. Daniel observed as the man's muscles rippled, there was much strength contained in this man. His strikes with the quarterstaff were clumsy, however there was a certain grace and fluidity to his movements. Daniel suspected that this man was likely very well trained, just not with the staff. The man wasn't likely to get better very quickly just striking at the air. Daniel drew his wooden wakizashi in his hands leaving the steel ones in their sheaths. Taking one wakizashi in each hand Daniel held them in a reverse grip. The weight of the weapons felt good in his hands, each had a heavy iron core making them the same weight as his normal blades. Now was the time to put the man through his paces. Daniel rushed towards the man, doing his best to take silent steps as he closed the distance. However Daniel had never been one for stealth and it was unlikely that his steps went unheard, unless the man was extremely focused. As he reached what would have been the man's striking distance witht he quarterstaff Daniel lept into the air letting out a vicious roar as he struck downward at the man's neck with the blade in his left hand. Normally Daniel wasn't one for letting out a roar in combat, however his honor didn't allow him to attack someone without at least some kind of warning. Daniel was already moving for his next blow before the first had landed, swinging diagonally upward with his right hand blade as his feet touched the ground.

[Ximal]

Xi brought the staff across slowly taking care to now try to at least sharpen his motions or at least make them vaguely less clunky. After all he was still unsure of this weapon. Grounding his feet into the floor he braced himself for some sort of impact. Thinking about possibly blocks with the weapon. He'd used a fancy one with the same weapon against zandelia to block both of her tonfa. Xi brought the weapon up and pulled back to use the middle as a blocking point before bringing the tip over and down for a blow to the head. Xi then behind him caught the sound of foot steps. Slow and quiet...trying to sneak up on him. Xi pretended to not notice them. Though as they got closer Xi slowed his breathing. Someone was sneaking up on him. Xi took a slow deep breath before turning around at the sound of the roar bringing around his whole body and leaning his weight into the top of the staff to block the wooden blade coming at his throat. Bringing the base of his staff down be blocked the second blow coming from below. Xi had spotted it from watching his opponent's shoulders. Xi then let his eyes rise whilst speaking slowly. "Godsdamned monks cant let me train by myself for five godsdamned chimes can you?" Only then did Xi see the man's face. It was familiar, someone he'd seen in the spires. Just howmany people from the spires had found their way to nyka? "Wait...I know you...You were in the spires with the CE. What the heck are you doing here ?" Xi pushed his body weight in and pressed his arms hard into his staff shunting back all of dan's weight before bringing the staff around from beneath causing the top to slice across like a cutting weapon. Though the follow up dan might not have expected as even if the staff was blocked Xi would knee the base of the staff and give himself some thrusting power aimed at dan's sternum.

[Daniel Alecson]

Daniel was familiar with fighting staff users and when the giant of a man pushed him back Daniel knew exactly what was coming next. Daniel ducked under the swinging head of the staff lashing out with his right blade aimed at the ribcage of the man. As he was striking Daniel noticed the knee coming right at his face, too late to avoid it though. The knee was clever, Daniel was used to fighting those who relyed on their weapons, this man was using a weapon but relying on his body, a worthy opponent. The knee connected solidly with his face, Daniel rolled to the side trying to reduce the damage. The strike had served it's purpose though, there was a coppery taste in Daniel's mouth and the throbbing was a sure sign that bruising would be showing up before long, if it hadn't already. It wasn't until Daniel rolled back up to his feet that what the man had said even registered in Daniel's mind. For a moment something flashed across Daniel's face. Barely a flicker of movement, however it spoke volumes if one was apt to reading it. Sadness, anger, regret and loss all rolled into one look that lasted for less then half a second. Daniel spit a glob of blood out of his mouth onto the ground and wiped his mouth on his shoulder. "We can speak when one of us lies defeated. Untill then all that can be is the glory of single combat", Daniel spoke in a very reserved and controlled manner, revealing nothing of what was reeling around in his mind and heart. With a simple fourish Daniel switched both of his weapons from a reverse to a standard grip, the flourish served little other purpose than to change grip but it served that purpose rather well. Rushing forward again Daniel took a large horizontal swing at the man's throat with his left blade. Hidden under the large heavy strike though was the true strike, it didn't have the power behind the first strike but it had precision and subetlty. It was a stab with the right blade, aimed into the direct center of the soft tissue of the man's abdomen. If it was a real blade, and it managed to connect, the blow would have likely plunged through the soft tissue and severed the spine.

[Ximal]

Xi felt his knee connect and smirked even as Dan skidded back across the ground and Xi lowered his staff a little. He saw Dan roll to minimize the damage but a follow up would have completely demolished him. You idiot, you should have followed up. As Xi spoke after eh caught the flicker across damn's face, a half second was long enough for him to catch something, even if only a brief glimpse after all spending time with two pathological liars didn't help his situation much. Still Xi had caught that single flicker across Dan's face and that said almost everything. Still his next words were something that came at him without much of a fault. Speak after one lied defeated. Until them all was glory for single combat? Xi shook his head. Combat held no glory...Combat was merely a way to prove who was better, there was no glory, no spoils just simply two men fighting to see which held the best skill. Xi watched the motion of an's swords as he switched his grip Xi himself though as usual was watching around to try and find the weak points. Xi watched the swing come across horizontally at Xi so Xi brought down this staff to block it but felt almost non contact force. Decoy. Xi watched Dan bring his sword in, wood but it came in a thrusting motion Xi slid to the side the wood brushing against hi side, raking his abdomen. Xi pulled back on his staff to try and use his momentum and force to knock both swords out of Dan's hands. Xi then followed up with a sideways boot to Dan's arm, whether or not it hit was anyone's guess, but before Xi was through he yanked his leg back and brought his other hand to grip his staff, bringing his weight back wards and away with the reeling in of his kick and the turning of his upper body and bought his staff through with enough force to hit like a truck. if this one hit it would be across Dan's stomach whilst the kick was aimed at Dan's shoulder. "Well, if your that intent on seeing whether or not you can best me. Try I've little reason to stop you. But just see if you can defeat me.

[Daniel Alecson]

The man's motions were becoming more exaggerated, more obvious. When the kick started to swing Daniel jumped backwards, trying to move out of the effective striking range of the staff. When the staff came sweeping in front of him Daniel lept forward again striking at the man's shoulder with his left blade, then at the man's knuckles with the right, trying to make him lose his grip on the sword. Both strikes were meant as little more than light raps as he lept away from the man again. This giant was dangerous in close quarters where he could use his body. Daniel figured his best bet was to keep range, force the man to use his staff and then dart in and strike when the oppurtunity presented itself. Daniel tried to stay light on his feet, slowly circling around the giant but making sure to keep his distance. With another little flourish Daniel flipped his left hand blade back to a reverse grip and placed it in front of him defensivly. When the man spoke again Daniel smirked slightly. "You don't understand. Victory or defeat is of little importance. It is in the struggle where glory lives", Daniel said a slightly humourus tone in his voice. It wasn't mocking just as if he were amused by this man's reactions.

[Ximal]

Xi smirked as he saw dan leap back away from the initial strike. He was trying to leave Xi's attacking range. That would have been possible if Xi hadn't had the staff, with that that would make Xi's attacking range much larger than it normally would be however it was also some thing he wasn't used too. Xi curled his hands into a tighter grip around the staff. He saw Dan's motions and calculated how to stop them. Luckily Xi always wore his gauntlets which made this substantially easier. Xi split his grip on the staff letting it in his right arm with the staff to block the sword coming to his shoulder whilst his left hand raced out to meet the sword and he hammered the blade with his won punching force, if dan could hold onto that it would be impressive. Sill Xi followed up his strike on dan's right lade with his left arm turning his body into a punch he dragged the staff across using it 's tail end as a whipping effect and he brought his right arm across and into Dan's chest area, then suddenly whipped the tail out and towards dan's ribs. jumping back from that he flipped his hand up so both hands were back on the main body of the staff and his eye's were focused on his target before him. All the little flourishes there to try and confuse Xi as towards what dan would try to do. As dan spoke Xi rolled the words around in his head. Xi instead rebutted dan again. "No the only thing that lives in the struggle is pain and anguish. What glory lives in is skill." Xi held his staff in-front of him ready for the next assault.