Completed [Anthonius Fighter's Pit] Siblings (Kreig)

[Rachel Messer]

Anthonius Fighter's Pits, 09th of Bell, 5th of Winter 513 A.V

In the cold winds of the open air Fighter's Pit in winter, a blond woman with bright green eyes could be seen wielding a blunt steel longsword, sparring against a young man a few years her junior. Her shoulder-length hair was tied into a bun and she wore studded leather armor complete with matching studded gauntlets. "Good!" The woman named Rachel Messer complimented her sparring partner, she parried a sideswipe strike from her partner by holding her blade vertically to clash against his. She countered with a quick thrust with the tip, the man quickly tried to dodge by swiveling to his side, but he was not fast enough as Rachel stroke a clean hit, it would kill him if they were using sharp weapons.

"Hmmm, faster!" Rachel motivated him, they backed away and assumed a fresh stance, beginning a new round. "I'll go on the offensive, parry and counter my strikes!" She charged forward bringing her blunted longsword upwards for an overhead strike, her partner positioned his own blunted longsword horizontally above his head, clashing it with Rachel's sword then brought it down to redirect the blow, Rachel saw it coming and brought up her left knee to stagger him by striking his waist. Her partner quickly pushed forward instead, causing Rachel to lose her balance and she fell down on the ground then the young man pointed his sword at Rachel's neck, announcing his victory. "Good job!" The female instructor complimented him as she stood up, helped by her student. "That'll be all for today. You are growing day by day, Jon, I'll not be surprised if you surpass me in the near future, haha!" Beneath her tired breaths and huffs, she still encouraged her student to push himself further.

"Thank you, Madame Rachel. Uh... I'll work hard!"" Job pumped his right fist in excitement, he picked up a small leather pouch, took out five gold mizas and handed it to Rachel. "The fee for today, Madame! Thank you very much!" The young man shook Rachel's hand firmly and proceeded to pack up his things, leaving the fighter's pits in light steps.

"Phew..." Rachel rubbed her sweating forehead, made her way to her backpack and sat down on the ground. She took out her waterskin and drank the contents, sighing in contentment as the liquid refreshed her system. The woman then clasped her hands as she muttered a short prayer to her patron goddess, Priskil. My friend, I thank you for your blessing today, with each lessons I teach, I hope to strengthen the weak and bullied to be able to stand up against evil. The Goddess of Hope marked her as her friend when she was about ten years old, Priskil kept her going through good and bad, happiness and sorrow, she was her eternal friend. Opening her green eyes, Rachel stood up again, smiling as she observed the pits to see if anyone else was interested in training with her.

[Kreig Messer]

It was a cold day, to be expected as it is the winter season now 'Just glad it isn't raining' Thought Kreig as he looked around the Anthonious fights pit, a blunt longsword in his hand. He didn't have timr to waste on a fist fight unfortunately, as he felt himself icredibly lacking in his chosen weapon. Oh sure he had gotten better with it, however the pace it took was unnecessarily long, most people would reach his level in two season, he took three!

The only way for him to get it up fast and proper was to find opponents, which he was in no shortage of here or at the training grounds. But...he always thought the pit was better for variety, as many in the order tended to follow a similar style of fighting. Here there were ma y caravan faurds, mercs and adventures with a varied myriad of weaponry and styles. Admittedly their skills tended to vary, but you take the good with the bad and so it was of no true conseqeunce.

That eas then he saw what looked to be a proper opponent, a lass perhaps 6 or 7 years younger than himself. She was a fit lass to be sure, knew her away around the blade "Hmmm.... maybe I should challenger her to a fight?" He thought to himself as he glanced at the lass with blond her...and just this rediculous cheerful dispositiob that seemed to bleed out of every pore.

"Best get to it then" Kreig said to himself as he raised the longsowrd, resting its blunt blade against his shoulder as he approached the cheerful lass... 'There is something irritating and....heartwarming...about thaf' Saod the brawler as he let a wild grin appear on his face.

"Excuse me miss, but would you care for a spar, that is if you have the time for one?"
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[Rachel Messer]

Priskil blessed her, not long after the boy left, another aspiring fighter was offering a spar with her. He was an older man, probably five to six years her senior with rugged face, most likely a regular here. This man looked far more experienced than her young student earlier. "Well! Aren't you keen?" Rachel put her left hand to her hip while her right hand casually held her blunted longsword. He was taller than her, but not by far, it was common for a male human to be of superior height. He had blond hair, albeit far darker in shade compared to her gold-blond, and his eyes were in the color of honey. He was a handsome man, that was for sure.

"I'll teach you in the way of the longsword, Sir, for a cheap price of five gold mizas! I'm nowhere as skilled as Sir Gerard himself, but I can give you some pointers if you'd let me. You can pay me after our session is done." Teaching and training was her lifeblood, she didn't apply to be a weapon instructor for no reason. If the man accepted, which he most likely would since he approached her in the first place, Rachel would tell him to be ready, correcting his stances if he didn't do it right. No matter what age, Rachel always acted polite towards her students. As always, a mild glow shone from her right palm, easing the older man of nervousness or fear should he had them. Her gnosis proved to be useful in her job as some students completely new to the art of combat were often nervous of being hurt. The light of Priskill shall ease their mind. As mentioned before, this man looked experienced, but there was no harm in blessing someone in Her light. "I'm Rachel by the way, what's your name, Sir?" She had just met the man, as much as she liked him, she didn't feel the need to introduce her full name... yet.

She gestured for the man to follow her to her usual training spot, she then told him to stand about six feet apart from her. "Alright, since this is the first time I'm teaching you, I want to see how competent you are in wielding the longsword," The instructor shifted into a defensive stance, holding her training longsword in front of her with both of her hands. "Come at me with all you've got!" If there was one thing wonderful about Syliras other than the knights was that healers were abundant in the Fortress City, Rachel could always go to them after a long session of tutoring, getting bruises, muscle aches, and cuts treated instantly. Truly, this city was her true home, not the scum-filled hole known as Sunberth. "Ready when you are!"

[Kreig Messer]

'Oh dear...um...money?!' The nrawler was quite nervouse at that, he had none to his name currently and the knighthood didn't pay there squires for reasons that need not be said 'Free room and board'...Well, it was said...when it NEED NOT be said. Regardless, the nervousness he felt as he scratched the back of his head, trying to find the words to explained his predicament and lowering his sword as its tip touched the earth.

Suddenly, he felt his nervousness gradually fade away as he looked at her, he couldn't quite explain this feeling but he did find the words for his predicament as he gave a sad smile "I'm sorry miss Rachel, I am afraid I've no coin to spare for this lesson" Hw lifted his sword once more, resting its balde against his shoulder as he lightly kicked the ground, then a small idea came to his mind as he raised his left fist, enclosed inside the gauntlet "I can offer something else though...I'm rather handy in the art of fist to fist combat, what say in return for this lesson, I owe you a lesson in the fine art of breaking one's bones with but your bare hands?" He rather hoped she would accept... although he didn't quite want a lesson, his intentions more along the lines of a fight rather than what Rachel thought, he'd appreciate it regardless.

He couldn't help but feel something familiar about the lass six feet way from him, she didn't look like him much at a first glance. Her having bright blond hair and green hair, but he couldn't escaped the feeling that he knew her...or was connected to her in some way.

Just what was it?
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[Rachel Messer]

Well, that was unexpected, the man was broke. He had nice clothes and sword, yet he was broke? Rachel tried very hard to not raise her eyebrow at the man. Her goddess deemed her to try and see good in even the most shadiest of figures. She got the suspicion he was trying to weasel his way out by getting a free lesson, but quickly scoffed it, he must have his reasons. "Oh my, if you don't have any money... how can you eat?" First and foremost, if he didn't have a single miza on him, he should be working to get some instead of hiring a combat instructor. An empty stomach wouldn't go well with intense physical activity. She didn't know the man was a squire yet, he also didn't introduce his name to her yet. This man would be a handful, but she shouldn't expect for everything to go smooth. "Well, it's fine... you can uh, teach me in unarmed combat." Refusing his offer or calling off the session would not leave a good impression for both herself and him, also, she could always use more lesson in unarmed combat in situations where she may not have her sword with her.

*Sigh*... Rachel exhaled heavily in her mind, she still couldn't fathom on why a healthy-looking adult male human such as him could be broke, she rubbed her forehead for a tick before shaking her head to face him once more. "Alright, go at me then." The woman readied her position, gripping her longsword firmly, she smiled at the man. "You may already know this, but allow me to tell you the basics to prevent any self-injuries." She didn't care if the man deemed these 'basic' instructions to be unnecessary, combat was not a toy, and she didn't want her students to get hurt lacking in preparations. "First, grip your longsword with two hands, firmly." She showed how she gripped it by slightly turning her body sideways. "Far more experienced users combined with strength, such as Ser Wade Brock, can wield it with one hand and a shield, I'm nowhere skilled or strong enough to do as he do. If you can, good, but since you're a beginner, we should use easier grips first."

"Next, your stances." The instructor planted her feet on the ground, slightly spread apart, distributing the sword's weight evenly. "The longsword is heavy and hard, it can do powerful strikes but requires timing, also, improper stances can hurt your muscles. See this?" She gestured to her own body with her head. "This is the basic 'ready' stance, I evenly spread the sword's weight around my arms, shoulders, and torso. Try it now. Every person has slight differences in wielding their weapon. Tell me once you're comfortable with it." Once the man was done, she would continue with two more basic stances, the 'attack' and 'guard' stance, before that though, she must see how this man wielded his sword without her instructions.

"Since I want to measure your ability, I want you to try attacking me first, go on, don't be shy." She nodded, placing her longsword horizontally in front of her with both of her hands, her 'guard' stance.

[Kreig Messer]

"Ah sorry ma'am.... " He still felt guilty really, sure she accepted his alternate method of payment but the problem came from the fact he was a worthless teacher and quite frankly he himself would have preferred coin or even a meal to a lesson. He supposed he could have told her he was a squire....but then she would be even more suspicious as to why someone who gets free lessons from the knight's themselves would slum it down here '....Not like I wanted a lesson in the first place....I wanted a fight woman!' Of course, the brawler could have chose his words more carefully when approached 'Then again, what could be more clear than would you care for a spar?'

Without any more words, he simply nodded, watched and listened to the lass' explanation. He then raised his eyebrow as she mentioned the name of Ser Wade 'The old man is that renowned, eh?' Having fought against the good knight himself in a...'spar' if we could call it that, Kreig knew how much of a master Ser Wade Brock was. He began to mimic her movements, gripping his blade firmly with both hands. Taking her advice, he shifted his stance about slightly to find an equal distribution of weight to make it more comfortable. But no matter what, the most comfortable stance was the basic one he usually.

"Ah, Miss. I'm ready and I'll try my best now..." Kreig announced as he stepped forward, swinging his blade down in a diagonal motion, he couldn't call it a graceful movement but for a man such as him it was a suitable blow. He then swung his blade horizontally from left to right then followed up with a diagonal swing upwards.

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[Rachel Messer]

There were no more words to be said, both parties agreed for a spar. The instructor made a mental note though, she needed to grant this type of 'compensation' on very special circumstances in the future instead. If she kept on going like this, more and more people would request to trade the training fee with an offer to train her in other skills... just like this man. She didn't notice it at first, but now, she felt a kind of kinship with him. His accent... similar to Sunberthian, Rachel had similar accent as him, but on a much lesser scale since she spent about four years in Syliras. She would ask him about it later, if he truly was from Sunberth, maybe they had met in the past as children. For now, she got a 'free' tutoring to do.

He charged at her, wielding his longsword. He was obviously not good at it, but far better than someone who just picked a sword for the first time. Rachel noted this information in her mind. He struck with with a downwards strike, Rachel stepped back and parried his strike. "Good, again!" One strike wasn't enough, she needed more to roughly calculate his expertise. The man whose name was still unknown to her continued with a sweeping strike. Rachel parried the strike by moving her blade perpendicularly to his, the instructor let him continue the strike as he swung his blade upwards. Rachel countered this with a diagonal downwards strike.

"Enough." She gestured for him to stop. The instructor then put her blade upside-down, resting both of her hands on its cross-guards. "From what I can see, you're still a novice yes, but had talent, with a little more training. I think you can do much better. I assure you." She gave him a gentle smile, Rachel was a mentor who believed motivating her students were far better than the overly harsh drill-sergeant method. "You didn't tell me your name, yet, though. May I know who you are, Sir?" This was the second time she asked for his name. She wouldn't force him, but it would be much appreciated for her students to be more open with their teacher. At least he could tell her his name.

Whether or not he introduced himself, Rachel would continue with the next part of her test. "Now, to see your defensive moves. I'll try attacking now, prepare yourself!" She gripped her sword then charged at him, with the sword held with both of her hands. Rachel opted for more speed, sacrificing power. She would strike at him with a thrust first then swivelled her body for a side strike from the left to the right, after that she would continue with a two-part combo. A diagonal upwards strike finished with a powerful cleave downwards.

[Kreig Messer]

He beamed at the compliment, he rather liked the fact someone told him he was good with the longsword 'I hope its not her just trying to be nice though' But honestly, it felt like she was speaking truthfully and he was relieved for it. He couldn't help but get another stab of familiarity with the young lass, as if he knew her from somewhere 'Was it her accent?' Yes, there was indeed something familiar about it...but during his years in Sunberth Kreig heard many an accent from all sorts of the world's rejects 'would be an irony if she were indeed from there' Kreig thought as he then suddenly berated himself as she reminded him he had yet to tell her his 'Bah, I forgot that...'

"My name is Kreig, Miss. Kreig Messer" He said politely, before quickly raising his blade as the lass went on the offensive...darting towards the brawler like a quick scamp as she thrust her blade towards him with a thrust. She was too quick for him to block with his sword so he removed his right hand from the grip and knocked the sword aside with the back of his guantlet, but no...she didn't stop there as she turned to swing from her left to right. Quickly he moved his left and blocked with the flat of the blade, his right fist pressed against the back of it ' Dangerous one, ain't ye?' He grinned lightly as he stepped back from her upwards swing, and then stepped to the side as she followed up immediately with a cleaving attack. He wondered if he should do something now....she told him she was going to test his defensive capabilities 'But...um...isn't offense the best defense?' He reasoned to himself as he threw a punch aimed for her ribs, only stopping at the last minute to avoid causing any serious harm and settling for a light touch.

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[Rachel Messer]

His unorthodox way of fighting surprised the instructor. He alternated between using his fists, body, and sword whereas Rachel mainly relied on her weapon. It was as if his sword was just a back-up weapon and his true abilities lay on his fists. She didn't think he could knock her strike away with such ease with his metal gauntlets. "Unexpected." The man's surprising expertise at his own style of combat brought a smile to Rachel, he truly resembled a Sunberthian, no proper training and used every crude method there was to achieve victory.

Rachel's eyes quirked when he introduced himself, his first name was Kreig, but he got the same last name as her, 'Messer'. What a coincidence, a man from Sunberth with the same last name as her. Wait... don't tell m-?! She didn't get to finish her thought when he threw a fast and powerful punch aimed at her torso. Her eyes widened, he was going to hit her. The instructor braced herself for impact. It didn't came though, the world went silent as his fist stopped barely an inch from making contact with her, he gently brushed her instead.

"T-that's... enough, I see." Rachel motioned for them to stop, she shook her head in bewilderment. "I think you are much more skilled than I am... in using your fists, Kreig. I now see why you offered to train me in the arts of unarmed combat" However, the man did want to learn in the ways of the sword. "But what you did wasn't proper swordsmanship, you mixed it with your unarmed. I understand though, you must be much more used in utilizing your fists instead of your blade." Rachel huffed, wiping the sweat that gathered on her forehead.

Now that they finished this particular round, the instructor wanted to ask him something. "You said your name is 'Kreig Messer'. Curious, because my last name is also 'Messer'... you are from Sunberth too, correct?" Now she was curious, were they related somehow? It was a probability as she didn't know anything about her parents. "I never knew my father nor my mother though, mother left me in the orphanage as soon as I was born. My caretaker told me that the a note was left in the crib I'm in, the note simply said 'please take care of Rachel Messer' along with a brass locket with a picture of a woman in it. Most likely my mother." The instructor wanted to know more about this, any links to her lost family would help her. "Please, Kreig, tell me about your parents, but I understand if you don't want to, we can continue the training instead." It was not his business to share about himself, he was here to train and if wished to keep their relationship strictly business, she wouldn't complain.

[Kreig Messer]

Kreig had to blush at the small compliment "Ah, well.... just got them from a lot of fighting miss" A lot of fighting was a total understatement, a shyke ton of fighting on the otherhand was more appropriate. Indeed, as if it hadn't been mentioned enough Kreig's fighting abilities came from growing up on the rough streets of Sunberth, pure experience born from the simple need of constant survival in a city that threatened to gobble you up if you made a wrong step.


Then he utterly froze as she explained to him her past out of nowhere....well maybe not completely out of nowhere, it seems the last name sparked it all Her last names Messer?! That was impossible, Kreig didn't have any other relatives in Sunberth! It was just him and his mother....but his father...his father was a different tale. The man was the great mystery of Kreig's life, with the crabby old guantlets he was wearing being the only heirloom he had of the man. Other than a name the fact he used to be some sort of wandering merc, Kreig utterly knew nothing of the man.

Kreig looked at her, confusion about his face... he supposed he had to share his past "I.... I am indeed from Suberth, Miss... Lived there all me life till I arrived here in early Spring of this year" He said as he lowered himself to a crouching position and rubbed the back of his head " When I was a kid it was just me mum and I, dad was nowhere in the pictur....mum just kept telling me he was a chivalrous man and a merc" Kreig had to sigh as he stood back up straight, popping the joints in his neck as he tilt it left and right.

"Mum was a fine lady, rare gem she was and too good for that city.....raised me as best as she could she did, but like all good things she didn't last. Died maybe....ten years ago? Fell to an utterly fierce illness. That left me alone in the city and I got by through a lot of fighting with these here fists " He spoke fondly of his mother and the memories of the city, Sunberth rarely treated him unfairly after...at least, till last year. He pointed his fists at her like they were some fine gems, capable of punching down even the fiercest of creature"My mum was named Lilandra Dad's was Schneider..... I don't suppose you got the name of yours?"

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