Closed [Fighters Pit]Observation and Experimentation (Rachel)

[Joris Mevelk]

76th of Spring, 514 AV Spectators were a common sight at the Antinous Fighters Pit almost as much as those that actually came looking for instruction, entertainment value could always be found in those getting their arses handed to them. One such spectator this particular day was leaning against a far wall, dark eyes flitting over combatants and watching the whole show here today. His clothing was rather simple, a simple tunic, trousers and boots, with a dark coat that clung to him nicely. His messy hair looked rather like he had just gotten out of bed, a contrast to his well-trimmed and kept goatee. The tall, but somewhat slim man, looked rather out of place in an area where people trained to fight. What most probably were not aware looking at him, was that he was in fact Ser Joris Mevelk, a Knight of the Syliran Order. His insignia of rank was stuffed within the pocket of his coat, as he preferred not to attract attention towards it here today. For now the Mage Knight wanted to be looked upon as a simple citizen of Syliras, unassuming and unremarkable. It was useful to be incognito every now and then as it avoided probing questions, as well as other things that might come with being a Knight here. One such question he preferred not to answer was why would he be here in a public training ground when in fact the Knights possessed their own. The answer was rather simple but he preferred to avoid explaining himself or his logic to others at this point in time. He wanted to see how other’s fought outside of the Syliran Order, the techniques they used in their training and how effective they were compared to those taught upon the Training Grounds. It was helpful for he himself was no great warrior; rather, he relied heavily upon the arcane arts to do his duty. He gazed over one particular match, watching as two men circled each other with each having adopted a fighting stance against the other. One was holding a dagger in each hand, while the man across from him held a classic longsword with a shield. The man with the daggers seemed to value mobility over defense, or perhaps his mobility was his defense the Mage Knight pondered. The man with the shield was the one to move first, swinging down at the man before him and moving forward with his entire body. The man with the daggers sidestepped it easily enough, moving to the side where the other man had no shield and stepping in with a few quick stabs of his dagger. His opponent stumbled back a bit, his sword awkwardly coming up to block at the last moment, his balance off but his raised shield made continuing the offensive for the dagger wielding man that much more challenging. All the while Joris was watching, making especial note with how the man with the daggers when after his opponent as the Mage Knight himself favored the dagger as a primary weapon. He crossed his arms over his chest after a moment, opting to look through the rest of the fighters here today and pondering his own tactics. Joris himself made use of Projection to deal with his opponents, using his dagger to actually harm his opponents. Most people tended to find little defense against a dagger that floated in the air and moved about with seemingly a mind of its own. With that ability Joris could easily find a way around normal defenses, as he did not actually have to worry about his astral limb being harmed by the opponent before him normally. However there were instances where it paid to be prepared to fight without magic, so thus he was observing for now.

[Rachel Messer]

"Good! Keep it up!" The motivating shouts and instructions from a particular combat teacher, with blond hair and green eyes, named Rachel Messer, could be heard in one spot of the famous Anthonius Fighter's Pit, where commoners trained in the arts of combat as the Antinous Training Grounds were reserved for the Knighthood. The equipments were far worn and used than the ones in the training rounds, but they were still durable and very much usable. Of course, other than Gerard himself, those confident in the arts of combat and teaching were employed here to teach the Syliran citizens how to defend themselves, even with the Knighthood, danger still lurked in every corner, specifically in the Wilderness outside the Fortress, one could never be too careful after all.s

"Wonderful! Block low!" Rachel shouted as she made a sideswipe strike at her opponent, which was also her favorite student, the young man named "Jon Wakefield", Jon and her met in last Winter and they had bonded ever since as mentor and student. Her enthusiastic student wanted to join the Order someday, and Rachel found herself in a similar path with him, the boy was also talented in the use of longsword. Though officially teacher and student, Rachel felt they were more similar to comrade-in-arms.

As Rachel launched strike, Jon blocked it by deflecting her blow then directing the blade to the ground, then he moved in for a counter-attack with an overhead strike, but Rachel knew better, she quickly raised her blunted longsword to parry his strike by holding it diagonally above her head, blunted steel on steel clashed, sweats running down their forehead, but an excited thrilled smile on their features. The instructor continued with blow after blow, giving a chance for her student to go in the offense as well.

Then, they both nodded to each other, it was time to do one final strike that would end their bout, a combat art that they both knew, but still novices in its uses, the art of Flux. Rachel and Jon both inhaled as they concentrated, flowing the flow of djed into their shoulders and arms, building up energy, Rachel could feel the tingle of potential energy just ready to be unleashed, she focused her green eyes then charged at Jon, he charged at her as well, then they clashed their swords together in one loud clang.

.........

All seemed to go silent between them, both teacher and student focusing to brace the feedback after the powerful strike, five ticks of stand-off, then they both separated, both panting and heaving breaths, "Phew... ha... that was amazing, Jon, good work today." Rachel patted Jon's shoulder and offered and assuring smile.

"You two, Madame, you are amazing as always." Her student replied, giving Rachel a determined smile, but one could see the exhaustion in his face.

"We should call it a day, come back when you have rested well." With a nod and a thumbs-up from the spirited young man, Jon procured five gold mizas from his pocket as the fee for one training session, then went to his pack, picked up his waterskin, drank it, then prepared to head home.

Rachel, however, still had jobs to do, her day was not over yet, the instructor groaned as she flexed her muscles then went to her pack, and by coincidence, a man was standing near it, a rather tall man with slim build, messy dark hair, but trimmed beard, and calculating sharp eyes. Rachel's eyes perked up at curiosity, who was this man? Was he an observer? And... was he interested in training here? Sometimes potential students were too afraid to approach one of the instructors because they were intimidated, it was Rachel's job to ease them.

With a confident stride, Rachel wiped her forehead then headed to her pack, idly greeting the stranger, "Greetings, Sir, welcome to the Fighter's Pits," Of course, Rachel didn't know that this man was a Knight in disguise, the instructor picked up her towel and waterskin then drank the waters while wiping her face, she was wearing her usual armored attire, half-plate armor with added besagues protectors, and a chin-guard helmet, which she took off when she picked up her towel.

Rachel looked at the man as she flared her gnosis, the light of Priskil washing over both of them, easing away at negative emotions and filled them with courage, it was Rachel's added 'incentive' to break the ice, "I am Rachel Messer, Combat Instructor, may I have the honor of knowing your name, Sir? I assume you are interested in a training course? I specialize in the arts of longsword combat." Ever the polite woman, Rachel kept her tone welcoming and neutral.

[Joris Mevelk]

Joris had found his eyes fall upon a fight between an armored woman and another man, both of whom seemed to know their weapons rather well from what he could tell. At least far more than he himself was comfortable with his dagger, one of the three gifts his patron had given him throughout his squirehood with her. The first being his Projection, the second being his acceptance as a squire, and the last was the blade at his side. He had come far in the first two but the last was somewhat difficult for him as his arts were decidedly not physical. The two combatant’s works around each other, more or less appearing evenly matched to the Knight’s eyes but he was no great mind regarding combat. His dark eyes watched as their weapons moved through the air, clanging against each other in the odd dance of combat. A dance, or perhaps another form of art entirely, perhaps it was more akin to painting a canvas. Whatever the case was the Mage Knight knew just from the looking that in a stand up fight without his magic, either could likely best him. It was a sad fact, but such was the reason he was here in the first place, to devise tactics through observations. The armored woman, the armor resulted in a slowing of her speed and a restricting of her movements perhaps. So, were he in a fight with her mobility would be the key to success in that instance if he did not possess magic as an option. With magic in the equation he could very well use the tactic he had used upon Lilly, using his Projection to eliminate and hinder her mobility at the same time as attacking her. Perhaps a mix of the two might work in his favor? Holding the dagger in his free hand while attempting to trip her up off her balance with the other as being projected? The tall man gave something akin to a mental shrug as the pair finished their bout, his calculating dark eyes moving elsewhere to see what he could see. Already further plans were evolving and variations on his combat techniques were slowly taking form, which might very well assist him in his next bout with Lilly Grant. Clearly his decision to come here rather than the Training Grounds had been a sound one, being exposed to many more warriors and combat styles. Joris was not fond of hiding who he was, but sometimes a little subterfuge was a good thing to exercise. The Mage Knight’s attention was caught by the armored woman he had been observing previously approaching him, greeting him warmly. The tall man felt a warm glow course through his veins and suddenly felt a little more invigorated for being near her, which prompted him to feel both uneasy and a little suspicious of this individual. She had an almost unnatural calming presence about her, one that spread through his mind and body in full. There had been some flare of light as well with the feeling, making Joris wonder if perhaps she was some form of mage. The Knight gave her an easy grin, though in his mind he was pondering that power and the fact that she had used it upon a citizen of Syliras. Joris was different; he was a full Knight of the Order of Syliras and could use his magic with relative freedom in the service of the city. The Rachel Messer though, she bore no insignia of rank and identified herself as a combat instructor, magic use upon the citizens if Syliras by unsanctioned individuals was normally frowned upon. However Joris had never been much one for the stricter of rules, so he simply shrugged it off mentally and let it slide. “Hullo there, Rachel, names Joris. Pleasure to be making your acquaintance.” The Mage Knight offered, extending his hand for a shake and flashing the other woman a million watt grin. “As for training, sure. Couldn’t hurt to get the rust out. Shall we?” The tall man offered with a shrug as he headed over to where the practice blades were kept and took up a longsword. Joris made no mention to his title or his preferred weapons of choice, opting to lead Rachel on into thinking he was here to train with her weapon of choice. He had zero experience with a longsword as a weapon, however today was about experimentation and observation. This little bout was less about him learning about the weapon and more learning about his opponent, a rather typical line of thinking for the clever mage. Knowing how one’s enemy functioned, how they moved, how they fought and thought were the keys to victory. Knowledge was power.

[Rachel Messer]

The taller man introduced himself as "Joris", what a fitting name, for some inexplicable reason, it just fitted well with his appearance, messy but... neat. The blond instructor was of average height herself, but by Priskil, the man was tall, almost on par with Markus, but he had slimmer build while Markus was bulky, didn't make him less of a presence though. "Ahem, pleased to meet you, Sir Joris." Rachel reached out then shook his hand with her gauntlet-covered one, his grin made her want to giggle though, he looked charming with the odd combination of messy hair, trimmed goatee, and the so called 'million-watt' grin.

When he accepted her proposal, Rachel went excited, though she still kept her calm exterior, "I will be honored to serve you through my teachings, Sir, alright! First things first, the fee would be five gold mizas each session, deal?" Since he seemed to be a laid-back man, Rachel opted to tone down her decorum and make way for some light banters, assuming he would accept the fee, Rachel would walk beside him then led him to the particular teaching spot in which she unofficially claimed on the pits. The particular spot was marked by two training equipments, an advanced training dummy with anchors and chains, made out of sturdy wood and steel, and an elaborate training post which could take a beating like a Balicani, Rachel bought those equipments herself since she felt the simple worn wooden dummies in the Fighter's Pit were inadequate for some advanced techniques.

He picked up a worn blunted longsword, then Rachel did the same, the instructor then nodded, "So, shall we begin then? Please stand there and let me see your stance, this is for me to see your initial experience in wielding the longsword, I don't want to teach basic techniques to a competent student after all, ahaha~" Waving off her jest, Rachel then continued, "After you've done that, try to give it some practice swing or two at the training dummy over here, that way I can assess further, from these, I can determine which style of longsword combat is best suited for you." He was taller than her, so Rachel assumed he could make use of his height for longer reach and wider swing. "Go on, just ask me any questions if you aren't sure about anything. And oh! Don't forget to do warm-up exercises first, it will help a lot in easing your muscles, to prevent cramps and such."

[Joris Mevelk]

Ah, of course there was a fee in this sort of thing though Joris was always one to keep some manner of money on his person. As he passed her by he produced five glittering golden Miza’s, money not exactly something he considered the most important thing in the world. It helped in getting by, but being a Knight provided a stable flow of income along with having meals provided by the Knighthood. Joris could afford to toss a bit of money around for leisurely matters such as this one, so the Mage Knight did so as he offered the required fee to the woman wordlessly. A stance, right. Well his normal stance for Projection involved placing his hands in his pockets and keeping them there as the limbs would grow limp. Somehow he suspected that would not fly as easily this time around, since using magic like that would be more likely to scar Rachel and most everyone in the Fighter’s Pit senseless. That and his Projection was too weak to possibly hope to lift a longsword of this size and his control over even his dagger was shaky at best. The dark haired Mage Knight admired the weight of the weapon in his hands, hefting it and realizing how very unfamiliar it was to him. He spread his feet apart from each other, holding the blunted practice blade in one hand and found that the weight was rather poor for a one handed use. At least for someone like him, who preferred to hold a weapon that was much lighter than this one, so he held it in both hands instead. His stance, if it could be called as such was rather awkward all things considered and denoted zero use with the weapon he was currently holding. Joris preferred his Projection over physical weapons; its power could bring him victory when a mere sword would not suffice. He chuckled at talk of stretches and such, his work out in such regards had come earlier when he had been covered in armor pieces and bearing the sigil of the Windoak upon his breastplate. Still he rolled his shoulders ever so as he walked up to the training post, moving his neck this way and that to loosen up a bit. The post looked sturdy from what could be seen by the tall man, so he was not exactly afraid of breaking it. He was hardly the champion of the sword sadly, though his Patron had never attempted to make him so and had built her instruction around his magic. He drew back the weapon and swung it in a diagonal motion, his arm jarring slightly as the weapon hit the post and drawing a growl from him. He drew the weapon back and gave it a downward swing upon one of the extremities, his blows hardly fluid or graceful all things considered and were rather jerky. A sideways chop was what followed soon after this, the impact full upon the post and jarring through his arms even more. He noted immediately that compared to the diagonal strike, blows that were straight on against the flat of the wood seemed less effective and more jarring on his arm. “Well, as you can see I am fairly out of practice with weaponry like this. I know, hard to believe. I do look quite the imposing warrior after all.” He joked lightly, deflecting his own short comings with humor as was his way. He placed the tip of his practice blade into the ground and stared at her with dark eyes, waiting for whatever instruction she might very well have to offer. He found that while it was fun to talk and fill the air with words and light banter that if one let others do the talking then one would learn more interesting things. People liked to talk, they liked to talk about themselves even more so the Mage Knight had found just like he enjoyed to. People were more often than not more similar to one another than they were different. OOC-5 GM's for the lesson

[Rachel Messer]

If there was one thing she noted about Joris, he was very much a beginner in the arts of longsword, it was clear as an on-coming Balicani acidic sludge, his form, his stance, his grips, all of them were terrible, and he held the sword with one hand with a weapon that was supposed to be held by both hands, a technique that only a few could do such as Ser Wade, Joris though... Rachel assumed he was trying out the kinks and quirks of the sword as it looked to be his very first time holding it. Of course, when he made his strikes, Rachel wasn't surprised to find the post barely moved due to his ineptitude, Rachel smiled though, this was precisely why people like her were needed, to teach.

"Hmmm, I see... I see..." The blond instructor put her left hand to her chin in a thinking gesture, her right holding the blunted longsword upside-down like a walking cane, "I think we will begin with the very basics, Sir, well then, let's not dally shall we? I'm sure you don't want to be bored by these 'beginner' lessons," The instructor then posed as she shifted her feet then held her longsword in the most 'default' stance, the middle guard, "This is called the 'middle' guard, the default stance and most balanced, perfect for a beginner," Rachel made her side face him so he could see how her limbs were posed, "Go on, try it, mimic me, distribute the weight of the sword through your arms and shoulders." The instructor would give him a few moments to get the hang of it before she moved on with the next basic lesson.

"Before we move on with other guards, I will instruct you the three basic moves of the longsword in which all other moves are based, the sideswipe, the stab, and the overhead strike, other instructors may have different ways of teaching of course, but rest assured, I'm pretty confident mine are not less credible," The instructor spoke in a firm, albeit rather slow, pace to let the information sink in.

"I shall provide you with the demonstration." She faced the training dummy then held her sword in the 'middle' stance, "First, the sideswipe," Rachel swung her sword to the right before she swung it back to the left, striking the dummy's side with the blunted edge, feeling the feedback reverberating through her muscles, "second, the stab, effective against armor" She took a step back, planted her right foot firmly behind her, moved the sword so the tip pointed horizontally at the dummy then charged forward, clashing the blunted tip with the sturdy dummy, "And finally, the powerful, but slow, overhead strike." Rachel then raised her sword high above her head then cleaved downwards, earning a loud thud from the strong impact. "Phew... now you try, just tell me if you need me to repeat them." She grinned at him, she didn't know why, but she had the feeling that Joris was a talented person, like a rough jewel, he just needed to be crafted first to shine.

[Joris Mevelk]

Joris listened and observed, watching Rachel’s movements as she worked and coming to an interesting realization. All of her movements, all of her techniques that were brought into existence were the product of the Astral body tugging at her physical like a puppet. He himself knew that when his Astral limb was disconnected from his physical the thing became useless, much like his entire body had during his initiation. So then could it be that if he used his Astral to ‘tear’ at another person’s, to remove their arms Astral pieces they would then lack the ability to properly fight? Could he disable a foe no matter their skill with a blade, he wondered. His mind was brought out of its musings as Rachel began to demonstrate her strikes, the techniques looking rather similar to others he had witness but never used himself. He adopted the so called middle guard stance, correcting his footing meticulously and holding the blade out before him. It seemed rather simplistic to him, but then again he was here to learn what Rachel had to teach so that he could better deal with swordsmen such as her. He measured every movement she made as best he was able; missing a few subtleties no doubt but was feeling out what her measure was as a warrior. Whatever else she was, Rachel Messer was a rather good teacher. She measured her words carefully in ways that Joris failed to do when he was teaching, compensating for a lower skilled individual. The tall man kept to his silence through the instruction, merely content to watch and listen for the moment that he might get his money’s worth. Her movements certainly showcased she knew how to use her blade, but other than removing her close quarter’s advantage Joris was having difficulty devising strategies against swordsmen. Perhaps by robbing the swordsman of their weapon? A well placed hit on the wrist or a grapple? His eyes did light up at the overhead strike, it was slow and ponderous as she had claimed and the fighter left their body open. The Mage Knight pondered perhaps that if he could force an opponent into a situation where they were forced to make such moves, he could then better disrupt them. A Projected fist to the gut perhaps? Tripping them up? Knocking the blade out of their hands when they were at their peak of momentum? Possibilities but he would need to try the movements himself to say for certain yes or no. “Seem simple enough. You aren’t a bad teacher, Rachel. Seems like a girl like you might fit in the Knights rather than the Fighter’s Pit.” The man mentioned casually. He took the hilt in both hands and swung from the side as Rachel had done, though his form was less refined and a bit shakier. The blade struck the side of the dummy, Joris reversing the swing to hit the other side as well and opted for three repetitions to engrain the movements into his memory. Next he brought the blade up for what she had simplistically dubbed as the stab, the man hopping forwards lightly and attempting to his the dummy with the tip. His aim was slightly off and he missed the dummy by a fair margin. The Mage Knight growled and attempted it again, his aim on center this time before he drew back and opted for the same number of repetitions. He noted that the stab seemed vulnerable to misdirection, making a note for Projection tactics. The sideswipe had not offered much in terms of weakness, though the arc did seem like if it was stopped suddenly then the user would need to regain lost momentum. Perhaps he could devise blocking forms with his Projected limbs? Worth attempting at a later date in time. Joris finally finished up with the overhand strike, positioning the sword up high before bringing it downwards on the dummy with a thud. As before her opted for three repetitions, getting a feel for how the weapon performed as well as the weakness’ here. Really this was the most open of the three, Joris felt that slow attacks like this would be both easy to dodge and counter. Though, if they hit the man had no doubt they would be devastating. “Right, so what next, Miss Rachel?” The Mage Knight inquired, his breathing a little heavier for the exercise.

[Rachel Messer]

"Hmmm," Rachel pondered over Joris' comment regarding her teaching expertise, the swordswoman-instructor then lightly chuckled at him, "Well, I've considered it," With Joris, three notable men in total urged her to join the Order, Kreig ,her brother; Markus the Knight; and now, Joris, her newfound student, "I may be an expert at wielding the longsword, but..." The instructor then gave a slightly disappointed look, directer at herself, "I know nothing about wielding a bow or riding a horse or even using a shield properly, as far as I know, a knight must be proficient in all of those..." Priskil's gnosis flaring as it chipped away at her negative emotions, the instructor looked up with a determined look, "But no matter, I shall make myself worthy one day! So, thank you, Joris."

Continuing their lesson, Rachel watched as he performed her given tasks, still novice in execution obviously, but at least he didn't accidentally drop the blade like Kreig did, the blond instructor chuckled a bit as she remember Kreig's hilarious conduct, almost killing a man with it, her amusement died, alright, that was serious. Good thing her brother didn't kill anyone, it would be so unnecessary, it wasn't funny.

"Oh?" Rachel broke out of her daydreaming when Joris inquired her, the instructor then walked to the advanced practice dummy then examined it, not a dent, well that was to be expected with how strong the dummy was and Joris' novice skills, "Next, I want you to perform these three strikes in a combo, make up your own, try to feel which strike performed best after another strike, each person is different, so I can't give you a definite example, personally, I usually begin with the stab as it has the longest reach, then do a sidewipe to stun the opponent, finished with an overhead strike. This is my most basic combo that would take down most unarmored foes, or even armored provided they didn't wear plate," Rachel explained then she walked to the elaborate training post beside the dummy, "Let me give you a a demonstration." The instructor said.

Planting her right foot firmly on the ground, Rachel took a step back, pointed her sword forward as she charged, contacting the tip with the post in a expertly-executed stab, then she quickly alternated by rotating her body to the left as she spun then unleashed a swift side strike, then Rachel raised her sword then cleaved down. She performed the combo beautifully, but it might be too fast for a novice student, "I shall repeat, slower this time." so she repeated it, with noticeably slower movements so Joris could examine better, then she finished by putting the sword upside-down, using it like a walking cane, "Now you do it, and remember, you can make up your own moves."