Solo [Anthonius Fighter's Pit] Grace and Dexterity

[Zera]

Fall 2nd, 513

It was a fairly forgettable, average day at the Fighter's Pit for most, though Zera had made the most of every minute of it. He was standing upon a mat on the right side of the arena. These few hours were for public gathering, and small sessions of training. He had been watching a woman from afar, though he knew not what race she was. He could see that she had flowing brown hair, and she was slim and dextrous. Zera could not see her eyes, as she was not facing him. The reason he was watching her happened to be that she was practicing the art of balance.

Clumsily, Zera had begun trying to mimic her art several minutes prior. She was capable of great acts of balance while standing upon a single foot. He wanted to learn how to properly copy her technique and apply it to his form in battle, but first he had to learn it. Yahal would surely admire him for his efforts.

She changed her stance, planting both feet on the ground as Zera copied her movement, planting both of his own feet still upon the mat. He wore no shoes, for he enjoyed the feeling of the mat beneath his feet, and improved his sense of balance. The woman raised her arms straight into the air, her arms molded together in unison, hands together in the pose of a diver. Unsteadily, he performed the same maneuver. As he did so he began to clear his mind and begin to meld his consciousness into the experience. However, he only did so partially as the next step of the exercise approached.

The lady then began to bow down, arching her back as her hands turned outwards, to outstretched palms which she planted upon the mat beneath her feet. She then kicked with her legs, propelling her lower body into the air as she began to stand upon the ground with her hands. Zera had done the same, bending down and planting his hands upon the ground. He bounced off the ground with his back feet, and began to stand on his hands. He could feel himself wavering as he careened back and forth, trying to keep his balance. The blood began to rush to his head, and he soon found himself breathing raggedly from the sensation.

Meanwhile, the lady had performed perfectly. He took note about how she straightened her body, and seemed to have a great deal of control with her hands. When she was comfortable, she began to walk on her hands. One hand after the other, she began to inch away. Zera lost his balance, his feet falling back to the earth as he let his blood flow for a moment. He saw what the girl was doing now, and decided that he would do the same. Inhaling a sharp breath he stood upon his hands once more. After standing there on his hands for a moment, trying to find his balance, he pushed himself up with one arm, allowing the other to be free to move. He moved it ahead of him, and found his balance quickly faltering. His body was quite heavy, and supporting it with his hands was quite the work out.

Knowing he had to move the other, he groaned as he pulled himself forward with the extended arm. He felt like he needed something a little more. Closing his eyes, he concentrated towards his arms, sending his essence into them. He could feel the energy crackle within his arms as he straightened his legs, giving him the added balance he needed, if only for a moment. The Flux was a useful tool, but he knew he couldn't use it for long. He was careful to get rid of the power as he let it dissipate from his arms and absorb back into his body.

[Zera]

He took another step with his hands, before falling back to the ground. Exhausted, he sat there for a few moments, breathing in and out, trying to regulate his heart beat to a normal level. After a full minute of cooling off, Zera could see the woman was done with her exercise, and had rolled up her mat. She was beginning to walk away, it appeared Zera's training was finished.

He sat there for a few minutes, looking around the training grounds with his eyes for a new training candidate. He heard someone walking up to him from behind, so he turned and his gaze met a man illuminated by the sun. "Hey." The guy said. "Want some training? Weapons, boxing-"

"Boxing." Zera interrupted. Yup, boxing, something Zera wanted to learn. "Is there a price?" He asked, with a curious stare. With a chance to examine Cecil, Zera could see the man carried a bored expression, and that he was of the human variety. His hair was clean shaven, and his eyes were light blue, or gray.

"Fifteen Mizas, gold ones. Got the coin?" The man asked. "By the way, the name is Cecil." He said, setting down his backpack onto the mat. He retrieved a pair of boxing gloves. He started to put them on as Zera fumbled for the coins he had brought with him this day.

"Yeah," Zera said as he found the money. He pulled out a couple handfuls of Gold Mizas, counting off fifteen and rising to meet the man. Zera was taller, though the man he was about to train with had an aura of experience about him. When he heard the man's name, he smiled and said "Zera." Hopefully Cecil was a good teacher, Zera thought, as even the pit master charged less than he did. He handed the Mizas to Cecil, who put them into his pocket.

He had brought his gloves with him, they were in his own backpack at the right of the arena. He went and retrieved them. Putting them on, he went back to the center of the mat, facing Cecil. "Alright," Cecil said. "Show me what you already know." Zera nodded, assuming a fighting stance.

Expression unchanging as Zera began to move forwards, Cecil watched his every move. When Zera got in close enough for a hit, he performed a single jab. His fist soared through the air at Cecil, who simply turned his shoulder to avoid the blow, using that momentum to bring in a sharp uppercut which connected with Zera's ribcage.

[Zera]

"Agh." Zera said as the blow to his chest began to sting. He stepped back with a wince. "Guess I should have expected that." He muttered. He looked to Cecil for the summary of their little skirmish.

"You have no skill." Cecil said. "Your form is incredibly bad, and your jab was slow and poorly aimed. Your fist was not properly closed. I could see each of your movements coming a mile away. We will have to work on these things." He walked up to Zera, and grabbed his hand. He began to fold Zera's fingers as the Half-Dhani watched curiously. Soon, he had formed a full, proper fist. "Strike with your knuckles, and that should help your blows have a greater impact." He said.

Zera nodded, opening and closing his hands into the form of fist Cecil had taught him. It was silly to think that he hadn't thought of this before. "Alright." Zera said, ready for the next bit of information.

"Now, for a boxer, it's all about form. Your stance, and how your guard is set up. I will show you a proper guard." Cecil's hands grabbed Zera's wrists and brought them up towards his chin. Zera curled his hands into fists instinctually. Zera brought the arms well past Zera's chin, in front of his face. "A boxer's body can defend itself, a boxer's face cannot. A good jab to the face would knock you out." Cecil said.

"Yeah, I can see that happening." Said Zera. He noted to always protect his face in and outside the ring. His arms had muscle, and he had to use it. He was beginning to familiarize himself with the blocking technique Cecil had taught him.

"Now, I will teach you about footing. In the ring, you want one foot forward, the other back. This can help you to step forward and strike, or step back to lessen or avoid a blow. I will show you." Cecil stepped back with his left foot, leaving his right ahead of him. He then sprung forward and punched the air next to Zera, causing him to flinch.

"Alright. I can do that." Zera said, agreeing once more. Cecil was a pretty decent teacher, didn't beat his ass too much like the knights did before they got on to the lessons. Zera stood back with his left leg, leaving his right planted ahead of him. He could see the use in this stance, and admired just how much he had learned. He was beginning to feel like a real boxer.

"Good, good. You learn quick." Cecil said, complimenting him. Zera smirked, it was a trait he had to foster for some time as a squire. If not, he would get mercilessly beaten by the knights- he still did. The people in the training ground were just as rough though. No way around it, sometimes. Regardless, he admired being able to feel pain, for he knew it would toughen him up for what was to come.

"Now, the important thing about punching in boxing is that the speed you can punch also determines how strong your punch is. You have a lot of muscle, but that muscle isn't any good if you aren't quick enough to hit the guy before he jumps out of the way. This is why punches in boxing are often called jabs; because they are quick, focused, and strong." He began to show Zera the proper form for punching. Cecil brought his arms up in front of his face for a guard, and stepped forward a few inches with a really fast jab. Zera's eyes almost couldn't track it, though his ears could hear the air get pushed away by Cecil's fist. "Now, you try. This is something that only gets better with practice."

Zera assumed the proper boxing stance Cecil had shown him. One foot forward, one foot back. He held up his arms and hands for a guard, and stepped forward with a quick jab. It wasn't neary as fast as Cecil's, but it had some good speed to it as he had invested a great deal of energy into the punch. "Good." Cecil said.

[Zera]

"What now?" Zera asked, practicing his jabs as he waited for a response. He now knew the proper form for boxing, so practice was something he knew how to do now as well. He relaxed, and stopped punching the air so he could hear is next lesson.

"Tactics." Cecil said. Ah, tactics, a skill many knights favored. "You need a good plan to take down your enemy. To make this plan, you need to both know how to carry it out, and how to find what things you can use in your hand. A man who is a good boxer will watch you, figure out how fast you move, then deliver a strike, or not at all if you grow weary too fast." He said. "Also, to find what you need for this plan, you have to know how to study your opponent. You have to watch him for any weak spots, be more observant, test your opponent with experimental jabs as you find a weakness for you to exploit. In his form, or his body."

It was a lot to take in for Zera, but he thought that he might have the basic gist of it down. Don't just try to overpower your enemy, figure him out. Find his flaws and weaknesses and exploit them. Underhanded fighting was still fighting. He looked to Cecil for further instruction on how to carry this out.

"Look me over real close. Find what I am doing wrong, i'll make it obvious for you." He assumed a boxing stance while guarding. Zera looked over him for a few moments, before noticing his guard was uneven, and his stance was crooked.

"I see." Zera said. "So that would be something to look for in a novice boxer, but mistakes and weaknesses are harder to find in experienced boxers as they are more subtle." He began to imagine the possibilities, and noted to always keep an open mind during combat. It wasn't just about him, he had to pay close attention to his opponent as well. He silently praised Yahal for what he had accomplished here today.

"Correct, and with that this lesson is over." Just like that, Cecil began to turn and leave. It was a short lesson, but Zera did not dare ask for more as he had already learned so much. Zera waved goodbye, though Cecil probably did not notice. That one was an odd one, Zera determined.

The day was beginning to turn to night as Zera decided to head back to the castle and check in at his barracks. He grabbed his things and left the pit. Zera decided he would run, and he did. He began to run through the dirt streets, careful not to bump into anyone. He weaved through the crowds of people, jogging or running at breakneck speeds. It was not uncommon for a squire to be in a hurry.

As he ran, a man on a horse trotted in front of him. He risked spooking the horse, but he kept going, taking a sharp turn and narrowly avoiding contact with the beast's head. However, as he recovered from the turn a small child was right in his path. Zera was forced to jump as high as he could, since he knew he risked trampling the kid.

Gracefully, Zera soared through the air over the child, a hair's breadth away from impacting the kids's head. However, the jump left him unable to recover and he skidded along the dirt with gusto, chest first. When he stood back up, he was covered in dirt. At least he looked like a squire in training, he silently thought to himself, smirking at the thought.

When he arrived back at the barracks, his patron was waiting for him. The day was not yet over, for he still had his duties as a squire to fulfill.

[Taylani]

XP Award!

Zera:

XP Award:

• +1 acrobatics
• +1 flux
• +3 boxing
• +1 tactics

Lore:

• Boxing: The body can defend itself, the face can not.
• Boxing: One foot forward., one foot back.

Notes:

Comments :

If you have any questions about your grade feel free to PM me. Don’t forget to edit/delete your grade request..

TAYLANI