[ The Bronze Woods ] The Lost Cause Part 2

[Holland Rolandus]

“Get up.” Rolandor spoke in a voice filled with melancholy as he approached his young boy Holland. A grin laid upon his face which was viler then the stench of decaying flesh. Holland didn’t quite know what to do, and became more anxious by the passing moment. Rolandor spoke again, repeating the aforementioned statement. The expression upon Rolandors’ face became incredibly harrowing. Holland noticed the way his father flashed his teeth. As if he wished to sink them into his own sons flesh and bone, Rolandor stepped forth. Rolandor brandished the incredibly well-crafted work of art he called a “Rapier”. Holland could do nothing but watch as his father effortlessly swung around the rapier. The stone cold tip of the weapon could be felt against the flesh of Hollands nape. Holland began to panic, and knew that he had no option left other then to fight his father. Often times Holland thought his fathers methods of training were more twisted then the grooves of a screw. Holland only further began to question rather or not Rolandor cared about him at all what-so-ever. With the flesh upon his right hand mangled, Holland grasped hold of his own weapon. Panicked as he was he refused to be defeated this easily; determination and faith fueled thoughts drove Holland. Holland observed the harrowing silence, and made note of the sheer chill of the wind. As per usual Holland wore no more then a simple garment. Holland was lightly armored silver and black clad in his fathers’ back-and-breast plate. Darker clothes hugged the remainder of his body rather tightly. Hollands’ mind only further began to cloud, and he could no longer think straight. Holland heard his father speak again, and obviously he wasn’t pleased with the way Holland preformed.

“Holland, do you dare show me weakness, boy?! “

Rolandor spoke and scalded Holland in the harshest of ways. Rolandor thought highly of Holland, and hated when he showed weakness. His father tended to want Holland to be the best he could ever possibly be. Holland knew that he hadn’t reached his full potential, and wasn’t going to any time soon. Rolandor harshly trained Holland today, and attempted teaching him the basics of doing two things at once. Rolandor spoke again immediately, and demanded that Holland get up. Holland gathered his courage and stood once more. Despite the fact that Holland struggled to stand Rolandor charged again and immediately threw out a strike. A palm came in contact with Hollands’ chest, and robbed his lungs of air. Rolandor struck him directly in the center of his pectorals above his heart. Holland felt as if he’d literally just lost his life for a moment, and froze instantly. How could Rolandor dare make Holland fight back at this rate? Holland wasn’t very well adept at enduring heavy strikes. Rolandor spoke again immediately, and didn’t bother being formal.

“Lesson one, petching idiot. You listen to me, and you’ll listen to me closely, Holland. Do you understand me, boy? When using a rapier combining the attacks of a rapier simultaneously with unarmed attacks is highly important. Rather you grapple and wrestle your opponent with your opposite hand, or you choose to punch, kick strike with your elbows or knees. You must focus on defeating an opponent by any and all means necessary. If you are tired, do not show me that you are tired, because I will attack you harder if I know that you are exhausted. An exhausted man on the field of battle is a dead one.”

[Holland Rolandus]

Rolandor spoke and immediately he began to move on to the next verbal lesson. Holland listened carefully because he wanted to become stronger. Rolandor continued to speak so that Holland may learn his lessons today.

“When I hit you with my palm I struck you in the heart. The heart is the organ that keeps you alive to some degree. When it is stricken hard enough it may kill you, or stun you senseless. That strike is called by the name of exactly what it is. That strike is called the heart strike. “

Holland nodded in reply and grasped hold of his rapier once more, immediately he attempted to lash out and strike back at his father. Holland planted his right foot sixteen inches before his left. Whilst he turned his left foot to the opposite side of his body, and aligned his torso with his left foot. Holland left his right shoulder faced outward toward his father. Raising the rapier upward clasped within his digits which were coiled about the haft of the rapier tightly.

Rolandor scoffed in response as he watched the young boy take up a stance.

“That stance you are using, it is proper and yet I’ve never seen it before. With that stance you aren’t leaving openings for me. You’re learning quickly Holland, very quickly and I like that. The question is, what do you call that stance? Why are you even standing that way what advantages does it provide? “

A smirk crept across Hollands visage as his father asked the short series of questions. Holland couldn’t stop himself as he chuckled while being asked the questions. Holland responded not with words, but with actions. Holland bent his knees and only further attempted to put his weight down upon his feet more. Holland learned swiftly during the short course of his training that balance was important. Rolandor observed and looked on as he’d taken up the stance. The look on Hollands face intensified as he slowly raised his opposing hand. Holland straightened out his right arm which held the rapier; all forty-two inches of blade-length extended outward. Holland brought his opposing hand upward near his face, and placed his palm against his own cheek. Before he turned it outward so that his palm faced the outside, and moved his hand slightly as well. Holland extended his fingers and widened them so that he could move quickly in the event of a counter-attack. Holland finally spoke in response to his father and smirked simultaneously.

“Father, I saw a painting of a strange animal the other day, and I became obsessed with it. The way it sat and had four legs it looked more balanced then we are. I started trying to walk like it does, and this was the only way it worked. I got inspiration for my stance from seeing that creature. Rather it is a thing of myth or not I don’t truly care. I think this stance is helpful.”

Rolandor looked at Holland a bit funny. Rolandor knew that paintings weren’t too much of a common occurrence. He wanted to know more but didn’t bother to ask being that he could be attacked at any given time now. Rolandor did make a few more notes about the strange stance Holland came up with.

[Holland Rolandus]

“Holland, you’ve finally learned something. The way that you are bending your knees constitutes balance. When you are taking up stances regardless of how you take it up, weight constitutes balance. Weight is what keeps you from moving about very easily. Right now you are evenly distributing your body weight on your feet. The way that you are standing now makes it hard for me to attack you. Not only because you have closed majority of my openings, but because you are balanced and I cannot run you over. “

Rolandor spoke as he begun to charge strategically placing three strikes that were almost simultaneous. The first strike was a thrust that aimed directly for Hollands right eye, and Holland instinctively reacted. Holland brought upward his own rapier, and slammed it into that of his fathers own. Holland flicked his wrist simultaneously and parried the first strike. The second strike came without warning, and it was yet another thrust aimed for Hollands’ stomach. Once more blade on blade collision occurred and glimmering light reflected off of the surface of the two blades. The sun shone brightly upon this fine day, and the wind speed begun to increase. As the wind speed increased the hair and clothing of both men fluttered ferociously. Holland redirected the second strike and threw upward his own arm. Holland learned yet another lesson while simply relying upon instinct. Holland learned how to create an opening as he deflected his fathers’ weapon and caused Rolandors arm to fly upward. Holland exposed the entirety of his fathers’ rib cage, but as per usual Rolandor had yet another trick up his sleeve. Rolandor immediately did something Holland didn’t expect at all. Rolandor used the lack of traction to the ground with his boots to his advantage. Holland threw out his right hand in order to counter thrust toward Rolandors’ exposed ribcage. Rolandor slid to the left side of the strike and charged forward. Hollands eyes widened in shock as he realized what was soon to come. Rolandor coiled his bicep tightly around Hollands forearm and rotated throwing out a snap of his elbow toward Hollands nose.

Holland reacted in the only way he knew to react, which was to use his left forearm to block the strike. Rolandor slammed his elbow off into Hollands forearm, and Holland managed to reduce the force of the blow with a stroke of luck. Holland attacked viciously and used his fathers’ stance against him. Holland slid his arm over-top his fathers own arm and ferociously punched his father in the jaw. Having heard the satisfying snap of his fist as it collided with his fathers face Holland thought he’d claimed victory, but the battle was far from over.

Rolandor staggered backward and spoke.

“Heh you did a good job kid! Now I must tell you that I still see a few problems with your stance. “ Rolandor spoke after just being cracked in the jaw rubbing his jaw a bit. He shrugged off the strike to the jaw as if it were no more then Childs play. Bored and yet baffled Rolandor spoke again.

“Counter-striking my boy you have to learn how to counter strike and if you do not then you will lose each and every single battle. Let me tell you how to counter strike properly”

[Holland Rolandus]

Holland simply breathed heavily and he panted away whilst he nodded in response to his father.

“Counter-striking is by far one of the most powerful forms of attack that can be used with a sword. Weapons come in three different classes, and those classes are as I say they are. There are your light-weight weapons, and then you have your medium-weight weapons, and your heavy-weight weapons. We, you and I use light weight weapons because as you can see we attack quickly and effectively. Yet, in terms of weapons with other weight they’re not truly meant for fast killing. Heavy weight weapons are typically very large, or made of heavier materials. Medium-weight weapons aren’t usually very large, but they consist of thicker and slightly-heavier blades and what not. The sheer weight of majority of other weapons makes them inefficient. This is why I believe that light weighted weaponry is the best choice for you.”

Holland nodded as he obtained the new knowledge of various weapon weights, but he still hadn’t learned about why counter-striking is so powerful.

Rolandor continued to speak immediately about counter-striking.

“Why did I mention the three classes of weight before even saying anything about the counter strike? Weapon weight is one of the several key factors in countering other weapons and attacks. Our weapons can counter just about any weapon there is due to its design. Rapiers can be various weights sizes and shapes, but they cannot be heavy weight due to the general concept of the rapier. The weapon is used to thrust and being that it is used to thrust it cannot be heavy. If the weapon was heavy and was nothing but a thrusting weapon it would be useless. Counter-striking has three main principals, and these are what those principals are.”

Rolandor spoke and Holland actively listened to the speech as he thought up a tactic for his next move.

“One, Timing and you will learn about how to time an attack later on during the fighting session. Two is weight which I just explained to you and I will not explain again, three is how the opponent is throwing the strike. “

Rolandor spoke again before he charged once more unexpectedly and forced Holland to leap backward. Holland immediately kicked soil upward from the ground and made use of his surrounding environment to battle. Rolandor was blinded and forced to rely not upon sight, but upon his ability to hear. Holland immediately lunged forward and threw outward several strikes of his own. The wind continued to cause the clothing of the two duelists to flutter about. The sound of steel as it clattered became more potent by the moment. How in the world was his father able to fight being that he had been blinded temporarily by the soil? Holland had no clue, but continued to attack only to be thwarted time and time again. Holland threw an over-head strike and made use of his rapier two-handedly. Holland leapt and with his right hand clasping the haft of the blade, and his left grasped the pommel. An incredibly fierce strike was brought down atop his fathers’ cranium.

[Holland Rolandus]

Holland was surprised as his father threw upward a right hand. The hand sped toward Hollands left wrist, and Rolandor grappled him before he twisted and pulled downward. Holland was shocked as Rolandor extended his right leg and tripped Holland with ease which made Holland tumble upon the soil. A thud was heard and Holland found himself to have been left to lie upon the ground. Breathless and stunned, Holland attempted to get up again in order to swing back at his father. Holland staggered to his feet and charged his father. Rolandor smirked as he threw yet another punch, but this punch had a much more interesting intended target. Holland narrowly avoided the punch his father threw toward his throat, and immediately threw a punch of his own. Holland combined the punch with a slash of his rapier diagonally. Holland attempted to slash his father from his right shoulder down to his ribcage. Yet, the strike didn’t successfully land as his father effortlessly parried the blade strike away once more.

Holland attempted to trip his father by extending his own foot outward as they began to fight at super-close-range. The battle became much more intense by the moment and the luminous glimmer of the suns rays continued to reflect off of the dancing weapons. Holland proceeded to slam the pommel of his rapier into the ball of his fathers’ wrist as he began to wrestle against Rolandor. Holland slammed his fist into his fathers’ visage, as he used an incredibly basic take-down on Rolandor. Holland didn’t bother to hesitate, and struggled to clothes line his father. Rolandor made use of his cranium and slammed the crown of his head directly into Hollands right cheek. Holland thought up another tactic instinctively and attempted to attack again. Holland made use of his knees and brought upward his right knee. The knee slammed into his fathers’ gut, and Holland charged once more. Holland observed his father as Rolandor attempted to counter-attack with a thrust toward Holland. Yet, Holland just barely managed to reflect the strike delivered by Rolandor.

Holland closed his eyes and deflected the strike simultaneously. Holland dragged the flat of his weapon-length against that of Rolandors’ own. Before he realized swiftly what indeed did truly occur here. Dust began to be picked up further by the winds as they swept and lashed away at the land like massive whips. Holland observed as leaves stirred about and descended toward the ground beneath the feet of the duelists. A tie, the day was won with a simplistic tie. Holland snapped his eyes open as he realized Rolandor stopped the onslaught of attacks. Holland noticed that his rapier came in contact with the flesh of his fathers’ wind pipe. Rolandor too, noticed that his rapier met the flesh of Hollands’ wind pipe simultaneously.

Rolandor spoke as he lowered his weapon along with Holland. A nod of approval and a smile filled with pride was upon Rolandors’ visage. His facial expression changed completely and totally from the way it was at the start of the battle, and Holland felt honored. Holland was proud to have finally managed to tie with his father despite the fact that it was a stroke of luck.

[Holland Rolandus]

Rolandor sheathed his weapon and simply turned about, walking away toward his home. Holland followed his father and immediately relaxed, a sigh of relief exited his lips. Holland parted his lips in order to ask his father a question or two. “Hey, Father.. How did I do did I perform well? Did I fight hard enough for you to be pleased? Did I do the correct thing? “

Rolandor replied with a few simplistic words of advice.

“Hmm, you did do very well but the reason that you won wasn’t because of the fact that you got lucky. It wasn’t because of the fact that you are very skilled either, no… The reason that you won was simply because of how determined you were to win, and if it weren’t for that then you wouldn’t have won. The reason why I am so hard on you is because of the fact that I want you to do better then I ever did. Holland Rolandus I want you to succeed where it is that I failed. I want you to prosper and become strong. I want you to know that life’s biggest virtue is to plant seeds of your own and make those seeds become Trees which tower above the entire world. Trees that never fall never age and never ever die. “

Rolandor spoke in a rather philosophical tone.

Holland tilted his head to the right side and was confused by the last sentence his father spoke. Of course Holland questioned exactly what he meant by that and wanted him to further elaborate on what he meant.

“Trees that never fall, never age, and never die.. Plant seeds of your own.. what do you mean by that father? I want you to tell me the deeper meaning behind what that is.. I do not quite understand what you meant by that. Sometimes I feel like the expectations you set for me are a bit too high, but I will promise you that I’ll try my hardest to meet them regardless of how difficult it becomes.”

Rolandor spoke in response in a few short words.

“The seeds represent things that you do which affect other people in positive ways. The Trees however sprout from the seeds that you plant within other people and how you affect them. When those Trees grow they’ll produce more seeds and with that being said you may some day change the world young man...”

Rolandor spoke before quickly speaking again and entering their home.

“By the way.. You’ll be starting more training on your hand-work by tomorrow. I suggest you rest up, boy.” Spoke Rolandor as Holland nodded and swung his rapier once more. Holland extended the full length of his arm all over again and listened to the satisfying song of the wind as he’d done so. Holland slammed the tip of the rapier into the soil, and allowed it to sit in place for the remainder of the night as he and his father rested.

[Sayana]

Holland Skills: Skill EXP Endurance +4 Observation +3 Acrobatics +2 Storytelling +1 Rhetoric +2 Weapon: Rapier +3 Tactics +3 Unarmed Combat +2 Body building +1 Brawling +1 Interrogation +1 Philosophy +1 Lores: Rolandor: Strict Father Tactics: Combine unarmed combat with rapier attacks An exhausted man in battle is a dead man Unarmed combat: Heart strike Rapier: Fighting stance The importance of counter-striking Tactics: Creating an opening while deflecting an attack The differences between light, medium, and heavy weight weapons Counter-striking is about timing, weapon weight, and how the strike was thrown Tactics: Tripping an opponent A fight with his father: A tie Philosophy: Winning through determination Philosophy: Planting seeds that become trees Comments : Great thread. Your tenses are so much better now and it had a nice logical flow to it in terms of the teaching and the fighting. Remember, if you want Rolandor to be a big part of Holland’s story you should really make him a personal NPC at the Help Desk. Also, keep in mind that as Holland gets better at combat, his father might not be able to teach him as much anymore. Don't forget to edit/delete your grade request in the grade request thread. However, make sure to keep the link so that the DS can review graded threads with ease. If you have any questions or concerns about your grade please feel free to send me a message (like really, I’m all ears if you feel like I missed something). Enjoy.