Completed Twin Blades

[Ricky Maze]

Twin Blades
Spring 18th 513 AV, 14th Bell
Location: The Wave Guard HQ

Today was going to be a different sort of day in which Ricky would resume his training practices that he’d started this season, albeit those practices taken a bit of a hold back due to recent events that’d started to occur here within the city of Zeltiva. Ever since the day of the breakout from the asylum he’s not only feared that wizards and psychopaths but more or less the chances that they would discover his family, which would then lead to a terrible fate that he wouldn’t dare imagine seeing as how he was meant to protect them. After that night had passed and he found some way to be comfortable at home once more, although the comfort itself never fully returned, he took it upon himself to try and see how an idea might work. Seeing as how he owned not just one but two longswords, why not try and get a feel for practice with two blades instead of just one? It’d certainly give him another edge in combat should he improve his skills further, so he decided that today would be the day he would practice the ability to dual wield.

Tension was high within the head quarters of the building that housed the Wave Guard, so much tension that the pressure could even be felt out in the training grounds. He didn’t like it. Everyone was no doubt on edge with the rampant transition of chaos from what looked to be a rather peaceful start in the year, and the strain of pressure no doubt proved to be a burden for Ricky and his brethren to bear as they endeavored to preserve the peace and safety of their home. As he was dressed in his azure uniform with both longsword blades gripped in each hand he looked sharply at the practice dummy before him, the heat of Syna’s rays fresh as they beat down on the city within the bay. He took a few deep breaths as he acquainted his left hand with the weight of the old iron longsword he purchased so long ago. The blade would no doubt serve well for ornamental purposes by now, but considering the amount of trials it endured with use Ricky could only think, that even if better as a mere decoration item he could still use it for practices. Like now.

Before him the dummy stood, or rather leaned in its flimsy form, with the thick wooden pole it was attached to, a bucket on his head and poorly crafted armor made out of yet another wooden bucket to help provide the impression that the dummy was armored. Many scratches decorated both “helmet” and “chestplate” of the dummy from previous practices, yet for Ricky this would be his first time actually using one of these things since he started showing up here on the training grounds. Still unfamiliar with the weight of a longsword in his left arm he gave a few pumps to warm up and stretch the muscles within the arm. He would have to practice swinging with just the left arm first seeing as how it wasn’t the same as using his right arm, which was certainly by far second nature upon engagement into combat.

Ricky took to hold both blades outward and away to avoid crossing one into the path of another, rather perplexed with the length of both blades as he more or less familiarized himself with balance between both of his arms. It wasn’t all entirely a challenge but nevertheless he actually found a sort of mental stimulation in the act as well as physical, which would mean that this act of practice would not only enhance his combat prowess but his reflexes in turn as well. He couldn’t help but smile as he took to take a passive aggressive posture next; he was already enjoying what promising challenges this would bring as he would delve into the trials and errors of dual wielding with longswords.

[Ricky Maze]

First to come were the practice swings he did, these were the easy normal left to right swings with the blade, as they would be the ones he grew accustomed to first. His right hand needn’t much practice as it was almost fluid in its own form, almost natural after so much practice with use on that trained arm. His left however wasn’t quite as good, in fact it was slower and felt just as awkward as the time he’d practiced the shortsword just a little. How odd it felt at the time, yet even so he liked the idea of the shorter blade. Just liked now, he found himself fond of the possibilities this would provide for him. The improvements to be made in his paradigm he followed when engaged in combat would be sharper, no doubt composed of skill and reflex alone rather than other factors like the shield.

Ricky continued making left to right swings and vice versa as he became more acquainted with the feel of the weapon on his left arm, not entirely too foreign compared to how he first started out with a weapon in general. Still he would need to sharpen his reflexes mostly, as well as his technique with the left arm seeing as how that was just as important. Ricky alternated his movement with the blade to test his reaction timing, the test proved poor in results as not only the delayed reaction occurred but did so poorly to show what little practice he had. What an embarrassment. Yet he wouldn’t have to worry about such a thing soon, as practice is what refined one’s ability when they were learning something new. Therefore it wasn’t the matter of starting somewhere in this effort to learn, it was the path of learning that mattered as the course alone would influence his skill later on.

He picked back up in the practice of swinging the blade in his left hand around left and right to familiarize the movements in his wrist, a slight ache already in development as the weight of the longsword tugged off and on with each pull around to the left and right. Another alternation. Still the same sloppy execution but like all things practice makes perfect, and generally things take time to reach a state one considered perfection in their own right. Maybe if he tried to do it in a reverse method to where he pulled in the opposite direction he started, he would find a more comfortable alternation in the position of his blade. He attempted it to start the process and already felt even more awkward with the motion, seeing as how it was reversed from the regular movements made with his left, but when the time came to alternate the results were better.

Not as great but as he’d liked but definitely better fit to serve as a proper alternation from the irregular course he was unaccustomed to, then again of course it all felt irregular as he wasn’t used to using his left hand for a combat weapon… just namely a shield and even that proved tedious at times. Ricky paced around more and further contemplated on the feel of the weapon as he still twirled the blade around left and right, already on the verge of getting a grasp of the weapon in his hand as he experimented with it in different positions and angles with each twirl. Between the alternating with the left and right he soon found that the irregularity in his motions wasn’t so bad, more or less a bit awkward still but something he was getting used to in regards to usage. Pretty soon he would prepare to literally try and attempt a proper use of the blade itself, which meant he’d have to keep a steady balance between the two, while at the same time build the idea that his left arm was extended just like his right arm. Although the right had more practice behind it, the left certainly would be able to catch up in terms of experience.

[Ricky Maze]

Roi! Now den! He prepped himself into a passive-aggressive stance that allowed the swords to be held in a balanced form, the left blade pointed downward while the right clutched to hold a slanted angle downward, while his left foot was pointed forward to get a better feel of the position in the change of style he had developed. First was an upward strike from the left to the right, the left blade a slow flimsy strike that barely had a “whip” to it. It was the same thing though, rinse and repeat in terms of striking, just like he did with twirling the blade around to get a better feel for it. Left, then right, left, then right once more, the weight of the longsword wasn’t as heavy as it once was but the sword arm in general felt like a blob of excess body fat at this point, though not with as much jiggle as one would find in actual body fat. Now of course he was getting the feel of attacks in general, in turn he would have to chain attacks together one after another before he could pride himself a dual wielding swordsman.

Not that he would. He was far too modest in terms of pride, only the small things like serving in the Wave Guard and being a father truly made him proud. Ricky took to move with the way the sword went, each strike combined with either a step forward or a step backward as he slowly started to connect his swings into chains. Repetitive attacks that occurred from different sides and angles. It started him off to be sure but the purpose of dual wielding was to use two weapons, not just one, when it came to the principle. He looked to the dummy once more, tempted to tryout what he put together. Of course he needed a break, a short break to allow his arm to rest at least. The weight was something he was getting used to, but the silver lining was that the sword was actually lighter than his shield in some regards.

He’d taken to eat in the mess hall and drink a mug of Kelp Beer, it’d been at least about thirty chimes worth if not a little more. Once he’d came back to the practice ground he resumed the same spot with the same training dummy, and held both swords at the ready as he would try and attempt chaining attacks with both blades. At first Ricky sort of toyed around with the idea, swords crossed at the neck of the dummy as he could imagine his foe before him. The decapitation method was the quickest way of killing a man, almost painlessly too if it were executed perfectly enough. He’d hope to never have to resort to such a thing, but in terms of combat it helped to be ready for anything. Better t’ dwell on it later, f’r now… He took a deep breath and stepped backwards, the left arm raised to where the tip of the sword pointed at the chest of the dummy.

From there he then went into a crossover where he brought the left blade around and slashed in a downward arc, only in a slow motion though to get a better feel for a natural strike later on. Next was the leftward strike with his left arm, followed with the right arm to flow right along with the left. It wasn’t perfectly synergized but the potential was there alright, all he needed to do was keep up his trial and error in figuring out how to work with two longswords. He pressed for a few more swings that were chained, left and right arms slightly less awkward as they worked together to simply tap against the dummy as he adapted to the concept. He changed it up a little and started to cycle through jabs, slashes, flourishes, and arcs in simplest of forms, to better expand his grasp of the concept he started to adapt to and in turn gain better control of his footing in the practices that occurred.

[Ricky Maze]

His practices finally took to the core point of the training as he finally started to grow accustomed to the weapons in his hands, mainly the new extension in his left since his right was already so comfortable with the blade. It was a long period of trial and error but the breaking into a new form of combat had only started to pay off now, and Ricky would in turn see that it continued to do so the rest of the way. Determined to chain a few attacks together he started with patterns of similar strikes, each one a lead onto a combo as he would in turn get a better feel of his foot work with each step and turn made in each strike.

The first were the clockwise and counterclockwise turns with each horizontal slash, as they were the simple and basic maneuvers he already familiarized himself with when he practiced the use of just one sword. To have two blades during the exercise though? That was a new challenge in itself considering he had to try and make each new strike flow in with the next, which still felt awkward to achieve as they were far from perfect in performance. Nothing he paid mind to though, as he was dedicated to grasp the concept he worked on fully. He wasn't far off after all, and in turn this would help him adopt several new styles of combat. That was for a later time in dwelling, right now his chaining of attacks was in need of focus.

As he alternated the weapons with one another he couldn't quite make them flow evenly, off and on coming at a cross blow that only wound up with the blades tapping one another and nearly wrapping his arms in a knot. Still he'd covered a lot of ground today, and in turn when he felt he had learned enough decided to call it quits for now. He knew what he needed to get him started in future practices, now all he needed was those practices so he could, in turn, refine his ability and reflexes. Covered with sweat all across his brow Ricky wiped his forehead with the forearm of his sleeve, deep breaths taken to circulate the blood flow needed to cool down his perspiration levels. He felt hot now, hot and grungy from the work out in the practice. He hadn't realized the amount of time that had passed in the process, as the sun looked to have dropped a little, likely enough to be a couple bells worth of time.

Rather proud of the small amount of ground he covered today he took to the barracks once more to try and cool off some, and then eventually head home when the time came.

[Neologism]

Skills & Lores

Skill	XP
Dual Weild	+4 xp
Long Sword	+5 xp
Tactics	+3 xp
Endurance	+1 xp

➢ Dual Wield: A Whole Other Playing Field
➢ Tactics: 'X' Two Swords Across Your Opponent's Neck To Decapitate Them
➢ Dual Weild: Start By Alternating Hands
➢ Dual Weild: Practice With Your Recessive Hand First
➢ Dual Weild: You Must Work On Your Left Arm's Reflexes More

Comments

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