[Flashback]Not the Patron(Markus)

[Wystern]

Time Stamp: 7th of Fall, 507 AV About midday.

Wys was making his way to the barracks with a light package. It would have been his day off, had a certain Knight ask him to babysit his squire, maybe teach him a thing or two. The guy was only maybe three years younger than him, and would soon be another man on the force, or so it was supposed to be. Maybe one certain Markus Andres was still in the barracks? If he was run as hard as Wys was by Jacob, he may very well be.

Wystern exchanged a couple of joked with some guards along the way, which somehow cheered him up a bit. It really was something, sometimes, to be told hello by a stranger that is bound to your cause. Sort of.

The Knight made his way to the location where he would find the squire, a little note in hand telling him the wing, until he found a teenager sleeping in the bed. Wystern sat up on the nightstand, looking over a training log.

"Wakey, wakey. Are you one Markus Andres, the squire?" he said, slightly mocking the way it was written on the paper. It somehow put him in a better mood.

[Markus Andres]

Markus had learned to appreciate the moments he got to sleep. Once he had considered it a basic need. Now he was almost beginning to consider it a luxury. So, he was sleeping happily when someone approached his bed. Markus shifted uncomfortably in his sleep and his eyes opened when the voice spoke to him. It sent a chill down his spine, but otherwise he remained calm. Expecting to get reprimanded for letting someone sneak up on him. But then Markus realized. This was not his master. This was just some other random bloke who decided to disturb him in his sleep. Plus, sit on his furniture. Markus didn't like it when people were disrespectful. "Yes, I am." Markus said sourly. "Who are you?"

[Wystern]

"I'm Ser Wystern, nice too meet you," Wys said with a slight smirk, while extending his arm for a handshake, "I'm here because Mason asked me. He's busy today, so he sent me to run you. Get ready and grab the gear, we're leaving for the grounds in fifteen."

At least the barracks were lit up with some natural light. Parts of them were, it was all over the place. Essentially, Wys always felt like a rat in a maze. A really armored rat in a really big maze, controlling what other rats did. It was really funny to think about this situation, the same way it's pretty hilarious to get ready for it his whole life. Well, a little less for Wys, maybe a lot less, but he was a quick learner. And there was nothing else, so he was trying really hard to not look down on squires because of his own experiences prior to the Order.

He looked at the note again, specifically telling him what to do, what to teach, and to not run him too hard or injure or kill him. Funny how it was actually on paper, did Wys really have that kind of reputation? Now that he would do it anyway, it's just kind of unnecessary, at least right now. Five minutes passed.

[Markus Andres]

Markus would reluctantly reach up and grab his hand and shake it back. Still feeling a bit annoyed at his presence and at his master for ruining a day that he could otherwise have spent not training. Or doing light training. The look on this guy, with the heavy armor. Told Markus that training would be a darned bother that day. But that was the lot in his life apparently. Train until his muscles remembered every possible attack and defense. "Yes ser." Markus rolled out of bed and began to work on getting his gear on. Looking fondly at his blade that his father had dropped off for him back when he had become a squire. It was a fine blade. Worthy of a Syliran knight, more so, a mere squire. He strapped the belt on with the sword and scabbard attached to it, then picked up a miserable shield that had seen better days. But it could still block those darned attacks and thus, it was given to a lowly squire for practice purposes. Some 10 chimes later, Markus found Wystern. He was ready for whatever hazardous practice this knight had in store for him. Couldn't possibly be worse than what Mason usually forced him through.

[Wystern]

"Call me Wys, you don't have to address me as Ser, we are all one and the same. I feel the title is too formal to use within the order. The Knights just usually call each other by nicknames while on duty anyway; now the rest of the crowd actually get to call us by that to separate us," Wys said with a sly smile. Mason’s kid seemed a little uptight, a little like Mason himself, and a little like Wys was too. Funny things happen, one trains, then trains, then completes a quest, then kills, and all of a sudden there’s a better outlook on life. Or maybe it was just Wys with his weird ways; on second thought, it really was just him. "That was quick," he mimbled when the squire emerged before even ten minutes passed. Wys noticed the beaten condition of the Markus’s equipment and wanted to laugh a little bit in nostalgia; Mason was running the guy quite a lot. And even then, the squire’s armor was whiter and shinier than Wystern’s, figuratively speaking.

“Off to the grounds we go then,” Wys smiled and moved out with a relative ease. The armor was still a bit annoying, but it felt like a part of him when the training was finished; the compound weight was around forty or forty-five pounds, not counting the sword and shield. Wys saved some weight by wearing leather gloves. Mason seemed to run Markus in the plate for a while. Now, what weapon was he being taught? Wys eyed the blade handle and couldn’t get an idea. Longsword, broadsword, two-handed, no-sword, they all seemed to possess a similar look. After about ten more minutes walking, curiosity finally overcame him, "so, what’s that on your waist?"

[Markus Andres]

"Yes. Wys." Markus said. Straining his rebellious nature by denying it the satisfaction of mispronouncing the knight's name. Markus wondered if the knight had asked him to call him Wys because he wanted to test his discipline? For it was surely working. His discipline working furiously to not snicker at his own immature joke. But it was only good that he kept his mind occupied during the walk. To Markus, silence was one of the things he disliked. He knew the need for silence on missions or quests. But hardly needed when safely behind the walls of Syliras. But he also knew not to casually talk to the trainer. Or was it only Ser Stern he shouldn't talk to like that? Markus didn't know, he would rather play it safe than sorry. Markus looked to his waist when it was brought up. First thinking something non-shiny had snuck up on his waist and looked unprofessional. But he saw nothing and then realized the knight was referring to his blade. Markus looked around to see if people were too close, feeling confident with the area he had around him, he drew the blade. "A bastard sword, an heirloom from my grandfather." Markus said, with the hints of a Zeltivian accent still lingering in his speech. He looked at the magnificent blade. Finely crafted blade for war. Markus sheathed the blade again and looked to Wys. Hoping the knight satisfied with his answer.

[Wystern]

It seems that Mason’s kid was a little up tight. Stern even. Was Wys such a buzz-kill when he was younger? Maybe it was the way Mason ran him, still the guy needed to loosen up a bit. Was Wys really like that? It was a little like looking at his younger self, though not entirely. It’s highly unlikely that Markus is from Sunberth, not with that accent. Then he drew the blade in the open and Wystern damn near freaked out. Granted there was enough space, still, it was a sword in the open without any other reason than to show it off. A slightly worried look appeared on his face and he tried to force a reassuring smile when some people passed by, but it didn’t matter much when Markus had already sheathed the sword. And that’s when it hit Wystern that he wasn’t clear enough about the question.

“Yes, that’s a nice blade, but pretty pretty please, do not brandish it around without a reason,” Wystern said while rubbing his eyes. “Open steel is the sign of conflict, it destroys the sense of security, and we keep those incidents to a minimal. There’s a reason why Syliras is called the safest place in Mizahar, conflicts happen, but they rarely show, and we work quickly enough to keep it hidden,” he added with a blank look, ”If everybody decided to just draw, the crowd would probably freak right out anyway.”

“By the way, cheer up, it’s not like you’re being taken to the Tank,” Wys said with a smile that erased the worries off his face. Perhaps there was something to teach the squire after all, since he actually had to look to his waste to locate the sword’s handle. For Wystern that move was a reflex, that idea was starting to sink in as they arrived to the grounds.

“I have no idea where Mason left off with you, but I feel like it’s a good idea to teach you how to draw faster,” Wys said while taking some of his gear off his back and laying it down onto a bench. He then strapped the shield onto his left hand and took a stance with his main hand empty. “Just blindly put your hand on your sword and try to cut my head off upon draw. Do it as quickly as you can.”

[Markus Andres]

'Who cares about the crowd?' Markus thought sourly when Wystern reprimanded him for drawing his blade. But Wystern was quite different than his master. More open spoken and less physical in his reprimands. Was he perhaps a weakling who was afraid of getting his hands soiled? Mason would have given Markus a smack across the face to make the lecture stick. Markus flashed his daily master a smile to show him he was alright. It was strange to have a master who tried to cheer him up like that. Markus silently followed his daily master and observed him. Trying to figure this trainer out. Standing silently listening to his master explain what he wanted Markus to learn. Explaining he wanted him to learn how to quick draw. Wystern had chosen wisely, since Markus realized then, that him and his master had always sparred with their weapons ready. Markus raised an eyebrow when he told the last part. Cut his head off upon draw? ... What was his problem? But Markus, having been rigorously disciplined to almost a fault, wasn't about to disobey an order from a master. Markus take a quick glance down to his side and then looked back at Wystern. Having visually marked down the blade in his mind, it would be ten times easier to draw it then. Markus' right hand shot down and drew the blade out to his right. The blade was too large for Markus to both draw and slice in the same single motion. So he had to draw it fully and then quickly reverse the swing and chop at his masters neck. Markus' shield automatically following the swing, making sure Markus wouldn't slam his elbow into the edge of the shield.... He knew from experience that such things hurt like hell. All the time wondering why his master wanted to die.

[Wystern]

Perhaps asking people to kill Wystern may be a bad idea, and perhaps he would get hurt one day, when his confidence failed him, he may die, but such day was not today; and most of all, Wys would certainly not die by a squire's hand. It will damn sure be a cold day in Taloba before that happens. Besides, Wystern's master taught the Knight to never take a still opponent for granted, there are reasons why.

Wys paid a special attention to the squire's body when he drew, comparing the length of the blade versus the width of his shoulders. Could he take it out in one swing or would he have to move it around first? Straight edges are just that, they are more difficult to get out than Wystern's signature. And it seemed that Wystern's intuition was correct, the kid drew it and reversed it; perhaps he was simply unable to drop the swing and at the same time, yet. Wys did from when Markus looked to his side, he forgot to mention the no-looking rule. That's going to have to be taken care of the next swing.

Now the blade was flying, straight for Wystern's head no less. Stern did a good job so far, but now it was time to exploit the points where he didn't cover. Wys raised his shield to cover his chin from the right and tried to a push the bastard sword away with the owner's force over the head. He wasn't that great with the shield, but that swing wasn't exactly one that could belong to a master. Adrenaline began to rush through his body and the metal finally slammed into the blade with the incoming swing becoming less fatal in seconds.

"Quicker!" Wystern yelled as the sword swooshed overhead. Not skipping a beat, the Knight threw his entire body onto Markus's right forearm first and and tried to push it onto the ground along with its wielder.

[Markus Andres]

SorrySorry sorry sorry sorry sorry sorry! Markus wasn't really surprised when his incoming attack got intercepted and then deflected by the knight. It wasn't as if he hadn't expected that to happen. Since he figured the fewest people would invite a squire up to train with you, and then just have him slice your head off. That idea seemed quite odd. At the very least. So he was prepared to defend himself from the inevitable counter attack. Markus blade was deflected over the knight's shield and that left Markus in an awkward and vulnerable position. The knight didn't wait around for Markus either, he threw himself at him and Markus responded by using the same trick he often used against his master. Using his shield as a weapon. He would rotate his body so the edge of his shield would hammer into the knight's right side. Hopefully using his shield bash technique along with his powerful body, would knock the incoming knight aside and not force Markus to the ground like an inexperienced squire.