IC: Arath was a little nervous, because today he was going to be teaching his first class. He wasn't horribly nervous, because it was only a class about basic movements. If he had to teach a class on basic forms he might be more nervous, but learning how to move was one of the first things that trainees learned, and they would likely still be very green and new. Arath concidered wearing his cloak and armor to make an impression on his students, but decided that he would instead go for the friendly approach. Really, learning how to move was all just technical stuff, there wasn't any need to be a drill sergent about it.

 

Arath dressed in a set of casual, loose clothes, and buckled his sword onto his belt. He soon made his way over to the spot where he had arranged to teach. Getting there before all of the trainees, Arath sat down and waited for his students to arrive. They filed in one by one until there was a good handful of trainees standing in front of him. He motioned for them to sit down and waited until they did. "You are all here to learn how to move properly." Arath looked at the few trainees, making sure that none of them were in the wrong class. "Okay. Imagine how a young child moves- they run along tottering and falling all over themselves. Everyone knows that children are very unstable and uncoordinated; it's not because they're weak, it's because they don't know how to use their bodies.

 

"Right now, when it comes to being a warrior you are all children. You aren't weak, but you don't know how to use your bodies the correct way. A real fighter will take advantage of that- they'll easily push you off guard the same way an adult can push over a child." Arath stood quickly, motioning for the trainees to do so as well. "Alright, before moving you need to learn how to stand. First off your feet should be shoulder width, one foot should be in front of the other- no that's too far forward- they should only be a little less than a pace apart. Bend your knees slightly, and put your weight on the front part of your feet- not just your toes, but the front half of your foot. Now, center your body in between your feet. Don't lean back, or too far forward." Arath went around to the trainees and corrected their stances.

 

"Good. Later we'll put weapons in your hands, but we don't have to worry about that right now. Okay, switch your legs so that the one that was previosly in front is now in the back." Arath found that he had less errors to correct, and so he moved on. "Ok, the first thing you need to learn is the advance. You do this by moving your front foot forward and then your back foot. You need to remember that even though you're moving you will end up in the same stance as before. You shouldn't bring your back foot too close to your body, and your feet should still be shoulder width." Arath motioned for them to try and stopped them after a few tries. "You opponent isn't on the ground! Don't get into the habbit of looking at your feet."

 

OOC: The other trainees are NPC, so that if someone decides to join in they can just take the place of an NPC, also I was thinking of doing some group things.

This was the first morning that Visar would actually learn something about how to fight.  The class didn't sound like much by its informal name.  Movements. Who needs to know how to move? He thought incredulously.  He showed up on time, though he was not the first to arrive there.  The instructor was a new face, apparently a recently promoted guard teaching his first class to trainees.  At least he doesn't look like he's arrogant about this. Visar observed from the man's humble appearance and voice.  Why, he's about as short as I am!  He stood at ease, listening to the man's explanations.

 

From his talk, it seemed to Visar that there was indeed some teaching on how to move in combat. He didn't like being compared to a child, though.  Not at all.  This shouldn't be too hard, he thought confidently.  He assumed his natural ready stance when he expected a fight, low, with his feet wide apart, leaning forward to launch into the offensive quickly.  He was surprised when the man corrected him,

"No, that's too far forward."

Grunting in annoyance, Visar straightened his back a bit and put his feet less than a pace apart. 

 

Making sure that he got that right, Visar kept listening.  He took a step back to put his rear foot forward, and adjusted his stance a little to be like before.  Frowning as he was working on advancing, gathering his rear foot behind the forward foot as it stepped slightly forward, he got another correction, though he glanced about and saw one or two other trainees doing the same thing.

"You opponent isn't on the ground! Don't get into the habbit of looking at your feet."

 

Visar lifted his head, and stared straight ahead, trying not to glance down at his feet or to the side at his shadow, waiting for further instructions.

Arath supressed a smile as he saw a couple trainees trying to subtly glance at their shadows. Shaking his head, Arath let them practice for a little while. He realized that he forgot to introduce himself, and told them his name, before letting them continue on. Eventually, he stopped them and had them line up. "Ok, new excersize! By now, you can move a step forward with relative confidence; however, you need to get your moves sharp. I'm going to clap my hands, and every time I do you need to take a step forward." Seeing that they understood (or thought they understood) Arath commensed the excersize. After about twenty minutes of clapping and stepping, they looked to be doing okay.

 

"Alright, time for something new. This time you're going to step backwards. Take your back foot and step first, and follow with your front. You should end up in the same stance but one step back." Arath let them practice on their own for a little while, and then did the clapping excersize once again. Seeing that they were doing pretty well with the clapping excersize, Arath moved on. "Okay, this time we're going to do something a little different. You'll still be stepping when I clap, but now you have to step in the direction that I call out.

 

"Forward. Forward. Forward. Backwards!" A couple of trainees weren't prepared for the sudden shift and started stepping foward, before stumbling backwards. Arath grinned before calling: "That's alright, just pay attention next time!" He continued doing this for a while until he could no longer trick the trainees, and then told them to stop. "Good, now that you're looking like you can do this pretty well..." Arath's grin turned wicked, and the trainees looked a little nervous. "All of you stand correctly, with your right foot forward. Now pair up." Although each trainee had their right foot forward, when they were facing eachother they fit together like they were dancing. He made sure to push each pair together so that there was hardly any room between them.

 

"Alright, you-" Arath pointed to one trainee, "Will be stepping forward. And you-" Arath pointed to his partner, "Will be stepping backwards. You will take three steps in the direction I told you, and then switch directions." Arath repeated the instructions to the other pair of trainees. "Now, as you can see, there is very little room between you and your partner. You should be able to step at the same time and not have any issues, but if you mess up... well, that leads to stepped on toes and... awkward possitions." Arath grinned before barking: "What are you waiting for? Let's go!"

 

OOC: I'll let you RP the "dance"

First, Visar practiced stepping only when he heard a clap.  He wasn't sure why he was doing this at someone else's call; or whether that had anything to do with learning how to fight, but he didn't complain.  Stepping was easy enough, and while he sometimes anticipated stepping before the clap, and sometimes moved a little bit after the clap, that wasn't too hard either.

 

Then he worked with the others on retreating only.  That wasn't too hard either, though he wanted to move the front foot back first before the back foot, and had to correct himself that that must be some other step, or a variation of the retreat.  It seemed natural though, and moved the same distance as the version he was working on now.  He'd ask about it afterwards.

 

Then things got a little tricky, as not only did he have to step when clapped, he had to step in reaction to "Forward!" or "Back!"  Visar gritted his teeth, and did his best.  It was far from perfect, but he was getting a little faster at responding now as he stepped and scuffled back and forth.

 

Next, Visar was paired up with a partner.  He glanced nervously at the man: he was easily two hands taller than he, and had very long legs.  They were placed much too close for comfort, but Visar's partner showed only slight irritation.

 

They began stepping, Visar stepping forwards.  The other had no problem keeping his distance.  Then he stepped forward.  Visar tried to time his steps right, but his stride was shorter, and his foot got stepped on.  Muttering a curse under his breath, Visar glared at him and stepped forward three times.  But on the return, again, his foot was stepped on.

 

They went back and forth for a few more tries, but almost each time, Visar's foot got stepped on because he couldn't step far enough back in three steps.  Now he was getting angry, for he knew the other could easily make his stride a little shorter.  His foot got stepped on again, and he finally couldn't take it any more.  He glared and growled at his partner.

 

"Shorten your stride next time, you bloody longshanks!"

 

"Lengthen yours, shorty." the other retorted.  Visar said nothing, and on his next advance, took an extra step, shoving forcefully into the taller man, who stumbled, but quickly shoved back.

 

Oh you want a fight! Bring it!

 

They wrestled for a couple seconds, and went to the dusty ground.  After a brief struggle, the taller man got on top and pinned Visar.  Grunting, Visar was helpless for a few long seconds before someone pulled his opponent off of him.

 

 

OOC: Well, I was trying to post just once a day, but you have to go give me something exciting like that :P

 

IC: Arath eyed the trainees exasperatedly. Light, one pair was doing alright, but one trainee was stepping on the other's toes every time. Sure he had the advantage in reach, but that meant nothing. He looked like the kind of man that used a large weapon, and if he stepped to close to his opponent he would be gutted. Large weapons were close to useless at close range and unless the trainee learned control he would be easily defeated. It was clear that the trainee was taunting his partner by the smirk on his face, but Arath's eyes narrowed when he saw the shorter trainee respond to those taunts. The second pair of trainees looked stunned as the first pair began brawling. Arath merely stood by and watched; if they were going to brawl then he would let them rough themselves up.

 

Finally, when the bigger trainee pinned the smaller, and showed no inclination of getting up, Arath went and ripped him off of his former partner. Arath was short, but he had the advantage of knowing how to deal with bigger people. He shoved the trainee back and drew his sword in a blink. He stabbed at the tall trainee, and stopped a hair's breath away from his throat, before pivoting and slashing at the other trainee. The boy was just getting up, but fell back as the blade whooshed by his face. When Arath spoke, it was in a deadly calm aided by the Void. "Control. It is the very essence of a warrior's life. It is the one thing that kept both of you alive just now. Even warriors who lug around giant weapons use control, because without control we are just beasts. And beasts are easily hunted down and killed."

 

Arath studied the two shocked trainees, his blade sheithed. He looked towards the large trainee. "You don't know control. Without it, you are merely just a brute, an animal. I am at least a hand and a half shorter than you yet I can kill you without trying. When stepping forward, if you step too far a fast opponent will kill you before you can rase your weapon. Learn control." Arath turned to the short trainee, who now was standing. "You don't know control. Without it, you're just a pipsqueak who is trying to be tough. Sometimes fighting is necesary, but you need to learn when not to fight. You are useless as a warrior if you don't know this."

 

Arath turned, now addressing all of the trainees. "Perhaps other teachers will tell you to swing as hard or as fast as you can, but as long as you are in the Warders Yards, you will learn control." Turning back to the two fighting trainees, "You're lucky that no one was here to see that little brawl. If you want to spar, then spar, but brawling is not tolerated here. The Mistress of Trainees would have your hides stripped, tanned, and hung up in her office. You're lucky that I'm feeling merciful." Arath directed his next words at the behaved pair of trainees. "You were doing good continue."

 

Turning back to the not so behaved trainees, Arath let the Void fade and scowled. "You two will resume your excersize. You-" Arath looked to the taller trainee, "Will control your steps, and you-" Arath looked towards the shorter trainee, "Will control your temper. If I see so much as a hint of conflict, you will be sent to the Mistress of Trainees before you can say "oops". I garuntee you that she won't be as kind as I am." With that, Arath stalked back to watch the pair of (hopefully well behaved) trainees spar.

(ooc: nevermind the pm, I was just briefly confused whether we were continuing the exercise or sparring but I think I'm good now that I read it again)

 

Visar stood up slowly, still physically shocked at landing so hard, and sore from several bruises. His eyes popped wide open as a gray blur whished by his face.  He instantly dropped back down, horrified that the sword had come within inches of cutting him! Blood and Ashes looks like the fight's over. Was his first bitter thought, just before the sword had gone by. Looking up from his sprawled position, he saw the teacher berating them, furious that they had shown a lack of control.

 

Shame and fear flooded through Visar in equal measure.  After the fact, he felt incredibly foolish at what he had just done.  And if his punishment for being late to a practice was any indication of the severity of punishments around here, he did not even want to think what sort of punishment he might get for this.  Light! I'm in serious trouble!

 

His face blanched of color in fear, Visar simply sat on the ground and listened, waiting for the end as Guardsman Arath lectured them on control, and their lack of it.  He grinned slightly as the man berated the taller trainee first, and stood up.  But his turn was next.

 

"You don't know control. Without it, you're just a pipsqueak who is trying to be tough. Sometimes fighting is necesary, but you need to learn when not to fight. You are useless as a warrior if you don't know this."

 

Visar gritted his teeth, his face flushing with anger.  But not at the guardsman.  The man was completely right, Visar knew, the words cutting to the bone.  No, Visar was furious at himself for being such a bloody fish-brained idiot.

 

Arath briefly addressed the other trainees, before turning back to the two of them.

 

"You're lucky that no one was here to see that little brawl. If you want to spar, then spar, but brawling is not tolerated here. The Mistress of Trainees would have your hides stripped, tanned, and hung up in her office. You're lucky that I'm feeling merciful."

 

A wave of relief went through Visar.  The man wouldn't report this to the Mistress of Trainees unless they did it again.

 

"You-Will control your steps, and you-Will control your temper. If I see so much as a hint of conflict, you will be sent to the Mistress of Trainees before you can say "oops". I garuntee you that she won't be as kind as I am."

 

Visar stood stiffly and saluted.

"Yes, Sir!"  Hearing an echo of his words, he glanced to the side at the other trainee, who had said the same thing almost at the same time.

 

Visar turned to the trainee, and bowed his head apologetically.

 

"Let's get this over with." he muttered as they got into position.  "I don't want any more trouble.  Especially not with the Mistress.  Besides, you won that one. Good wrestling." he added with a slight grin.

 

The other nodded vigorously, and they returned to their footwork exercise.  This time, both adjusted their strides accordingly, and Visar's foot was not stepped on nearly as often.  They still bumped into each other occasionally, but Visar was more afraid of further punishment than he was irritated about that, and they continued without further incident until they were told to stop.

Alan wasn't sure of what to expect when he first showed up at this session, and certainly was kept on his toes whenever they were trying something out.  Having arrived not so long ago, this was one of his first classes.  He still was adjusting to Tar Valon, the White Tower, and everything it held.  Every time he saw an Aes Sedai was something overwhelming to him.  The Borderlands had great respect for the great Aes Sedai, and it was quite a thing to be around so many.  Regardless of that, he was focusing mainly on his training, though.  He had to work as hard as he could.

 

After they had begun this 'dance' with another trainee, Alan was having a little trouble at first.  It seemed a little odd to him, being so close to the other and trying to navigate with them at the same time.  He tried harder, and started to get the hang of it with his partner - or atleast, was going to - until everything was interrupted by a sudden fight.  Two of the other trainees seemed to be mad at each other for some reason, and were on the ground in an instant.  Alan just stared.

 

The teacher, Arath, came in and seperated them with his sword out in the blink of an eye.  He looked like he was about to kill them both for a moment, having the blade of that sword so close to them.  But it never pierced their skin.  Alan made a mental note that he wouldn't want to run into this teacher's bad side.

 

After the interruption was over, he went back to his steps with his partner.  His partner looked just as scared of messing up as he did.  Hopefully I don't get a sword stuck into my side for doing this wrong...  He stepped on his partner's foot by accident, but recovered as quick as he could.  He bit his lip, hoping his teacher was still looking at the other two.

OOC: Hm, I don't really like the description for crossover, but I'll follow the rules ;)

 

IC: Arath nodded when he saw that the two misbehaved trainees were doing well. They were stumbling a bit, but Arath didn't mind that- as long as they were trying he was happy. After a while, Arath noticed that the ohter pair of trainees seemed really tense, as if they were afraid of messing up. He blinked when he realized that they were afraid of messing up. Light! He had meant for them to be afraid of acting out, not messing up. Arath managed to turn his laugh into a chuckle as he called out. He had been pretty hard on them; sure Thera would have chewed them up and spit them out, but they were two trainees who had barely started their lives at the Yards.

 

"Ok, stop. First off, I want to say that while I won't tollerate brawling, I'm not angry. Everybody makes mistakes, just make sure you don't repeat them." Arath turned to the two other trainees. "And as for you, I don't expect you all to be great warrios with perfect control over your bodies. All I want is effort."

 

With that said, Arath let them practice a little more and found that they were more relaxed this time. Satisfied with their progress, Arath stopped them. "Ok, now for the final movement. Everything after this has to do with your blade. What we're doing now is called the crossover. Obviously, the purpose is to cross over." Arath demonstrated; he started in a normal right forward stance, and stepped forward so that his left was in front. "Now, there is a reason why we don't always use this. It's a very weak step- when your feet are crossed you are very easily pushed off balence. You should only step like this if you need to cover a lot of ground or you are circling your opponent." The step was much more natural and so easier to learn, and Arath taught the trainees how to crossover backwards.

 

Once he did that, he had a new excersize for them. "Alright, now you're going to step forward-not in a crossover- twice and then crossover so that your left foot is forward. Then you will step forward twice and crossover so that your right foot is forward. Then step backward twice and crossover so that your left foot is forward, and step backwards twice and finally crossover. You should end with your right foot in front, and then repeat. If you feel confident you can step forward more than twice."

(ooc: yeah I don't much like it either.  It sounds almost like a simple, normal, passing step, but there is nothing weak about a passing step.  I have some decent footwork terminology that I could write up and send for consideration. Who would I pm that to?)

 

Visar was slightly confused at what was called the "cross-over".  It looked like he was simply placing the back foot in front of the lead foot, but supposedly the step was considered weak.  No matter, he did not know any better.  For now he would listen and learn before making any decisions about what to use or not.

 

He made himself concentrate on the drill.  Advance twice gathered, pass once.  Advanced twice gathered, pass once.  Retreat twice, pass.  Visar almost tripped at that.  He was not used to stepping backwards quickly.  But he regained his balance and continued, even if he was going slower than some of the other trainees.

 

He practiced, careful not to look down at his feet or elsewhere but forwards as he'd just been taught.  After a while, he thought he had it down well enough, and tried it with three gathering advance steps and two passing, and alternated as he went.  Each time he stumbled, he deliberately slowed until he got back into a good rhythm.  Speed can come later, he reasoned.  Get it down first.

 

OOC:  No clue if you aren't allowed to post just an OOC here, but I just need to make sure you two get this.  Apologies if this was stupid to do.  ::)

I gotta go for about 2 or 3 weeks (depends) and I won't be able to check or reply to this starting tomorrow morning, so I'll just have to say that my character is an NPC once again...  egh.  Anywho, I'll try to make one more post (in this same post; I'll edit it) and then let the rest go on without me until I get back.  If it's still in progress, that is.

OOC: for future notice you can just post a new topic on the OOC boards. Also, it's not "weak" per-say, but you have far less stability crossing your feet than you do with a regular advance. As for footwork terminology, you can PM that to me. If I think that Eqwina would like it I'll go run it by her. Just remember that even though we don't have any other Movement classes, this is just Basic Movements, so more complicated movements can be learned later ;)

 

IC: Arath nodded as the trainees seemed to understand well enough. They had all been doing well, and other than that one incident, they all had done very well today. All of the trainees had gotten the stepping down decently well, and had been cooperative throughout. "Alright, now time for the fun stuff: bladework!" Arath glanced at the trainees. "Or I suppose the proper term would be weapons. While the specifics varies from weapon to weapon, most weapons have the basic three techniques: slashing, stabbing, and parrying. Although with some weapons it's thrusting and not actually stabbing."

 

Arath drew his blade and got into a basic stance. "Okay, the first basic technique is slashing. In my opinion this is the most versitile attack you can use with your blade. You can slash horizontally, vertically, diagonally, and at all different parts of the body. One important thing to remember is that this isn't a hack, it's a slash. You need to remember my talk about control- it's easy to get carried away when you have a blade in your hand." Arath demonstrated the attack, and then stood back to watch the trainees. He provided a few practice lathes and then set them to work. A couple of times he had to correct them, but for the most part they did well.

 

"Alright, continue working on this. When you feel comfortable, start slashing while stepping. I don't care if it's forwards, backwards, or a crossover. There's no rush, though, take as long as you need." Arath stepped back and gave them space, trying to keep an eye on all of them at once. He hadn't appreciated how hard it was to look after four trainees. And now that they were swinging around weapons (albeit blunted practice weapons) he had to be extra cautious. Giving advice every once in a while, Arath mainly just let them work it out themselves.

(ooc: note that Visar means slash/cut as the same thing)

 

Visar held his wooden practice sword hesitantly.  I finally get to learn how to fight! he thought, both excited and rather wary.  These looked like they would hurt if they hit someone.

 

Awkwardly, he traced a few cuts slowly without stepping.  It was hard not to just swing the thing like a stick, but his teacher had insisted on control, so Visar tried to imitate what slashes the man had done as well as he could.  Finally, he started adding a step to the cut, and noted instantly that it felt better.  Both more controlled and more powerful.  Does this mean that one has to step every time one strikes? he wondered to himself.

 

Stepping as he struck, Visar slashed down and back up vertically, down and back up diagonally, and left and right horizontally, getting into a decent pattern.  He found that there were eight rough directions he could cut from, and stored that useful amount of information away for later.

 

He stepped and slashed a few more times before starting to get tired, the weighted practice blade still an unfamiliar weight in his hands.  He started to glance at the others when *thwack!* a stinging blow hit his right shoulder.

 

Wincing, Visar ignored the other trainee's apology, trying not to get angry for fear of getting in trouble again, and hurriedly stepped so that he was not in the way of the other trainee.

 

He went back to his cutting drill, making it up and switching the directions he cut as he went.

Arath watched the trainees spar, and looked attentively as one of the ones that had been fighting was struck on the shoulder. Arath's eyes narrowed, the blow was not intentional, but he wanted to see what the struck trainee would do. He smiled when the younger man simply bit back his pride and continued on. Good, at least they remembered discipline when they were being watched. Whether or not that would stick is a completely different story, though. Still, all he could do was teach them and hope they learned. Arath noticed that the trainees looked more comfortable stepping and striking, and interjected:

 

"Incase you haven't noticed by now, it's far more comfortable to slash and step at the same time- it flows better. Most forms will have you doing such, but it's important to remember that you may face a situation where you're stuck in one place. Here in the Yards we like to cover all grounds and keep you prepared. You may never have to use it but you still need to know it." Arath figured that they had had enough practice and moved on. "Okay, we're almost done. The next attack you will be learning is the thrust, also called stabbing. It's a pretty simple concept, but there are all sorts of things to do with it. All I'm teaching you today is how to thrust, not when to thrust. You can learn that later."

 

Arath continued on to demonstrate how to thrust, and let the trainees practice. "Once again, you'll probably always be stepping when you use this technique, but just for the sake of knowing, practice it still for a little bit. One important thing to remember is just because you have a sword in your hands does not mean that you can forget about your feet." It was a common mistake that new trainees made- they would focus more on their hands than their feet, and would end up tripping all over themselves. This group seemed to be doing pretty well, though, and Arath only had to correct a few mistakes.

Visar listened to Arath explain about stepping and striking, and also watched carefully as the man demonstrated thrusting.  Then, it was his turn to practice.  Thankfully, thrusting was mainly linear in motion, so he didn't have to worry about anyone hitting him from the sides unless they were doing it intentionally.

 

Out, and back.  Out, and back.  Out, and back.  Visar stabbed the air, extending his arms all the way, and stepping slightly, leaning into it.  Then after the thrust was done, he withdrew the practice blade quickly back to something he thought was a sword stance.  His aim was all over the place, however, since he was thrusting at thin air and had no reference to target.  He figured he would ask about that later.  As long as he basically knew how to do it, and copied Arath's demonstration decently enough, he figured he would be alright.

 

He continued practicing thrusting, accompanied by appropriate footwork, until the time came to stop.

The trainees seemed to be doing alright, not great, but that was to be expected. They could master the techniques on their own later, but for now he had to finish up the class. He called them to a hault and continued with their last lesson. "Alright, now you can attack your target, but you can't defend! The last thing you're going to be learning from me today is the Parry." Arath demonstrated a basic Parry for when a sword was being slashed towards your head. "There are many different places your enemy can strike you, and therefore many different parries. I wan't you to be able to at least deciently do them."

 

Arath let the trainees practice on their own, parrying invisible opponents. He showed them each of the (general) ways to parry, and when they seemed to be doing alright, he paired them off. This time, the two trainees that had originally started fighting were in different pairs. "Alright, now what you're going to do is parry a real strike. One partner will start by striking any way they want, and the other will parry. Then, the defender will switch to striking and the other partner will parry. Remember to start out slow. Don't swing as hard as you can on the first try, wait for your partner to build up speed. Don't think that just because you aren't parrying you shouldn't pay attention, though. The attacker gets as much practice out of this as the defender."

 

After about thirty minutes of practicing, they were doing pretty well and Arath called them to a hault. "Good, you all have done very well today- despite that one occurance." Arath looked pointedly at the two trainees he was talking about. "But nevertheless, still good overall. You aren't masters, but you have the basics down. The last task I'm going to give you is to walk using only what I've taught you, unless you need to change direction. I'm not going to follow you, or watch you. If you want you can slack off and not do it, but you're the one that will be less of a warrior." With that, Arath waved them off, and allowed the group to shatter before leaving in his own direction.

 

OOC: Okay, just post one more time and you're done

Visar listened closely as Arath demonstrated parrying.  To Visar, it seemed there were two options: he could either block the strike with his own weapon, or he could try to knock the other weapon out of the way.  Still, the motions were unfamiliar to him as he practiced against the air, and they only started to make sense when they paired up.

 

Visar noted happily that he was paired with someone a little less intimidating in size, and went to the drill with enthusiasm, if not full power.  Yet, when he tried to block, often the other's blade would crash right through his hastily thrown up guard.  He had to adjust his guard several times.  And sometimes, when he tried to strike aside the blow, he'd miss the other blade altogether, or not deflect the blow enough, earning him an additional stinging welt or bruise.

 

But it wasn't as painful as it could be, he knew, so he kept at it doggedly, until he felt a little more sure he could block and parry strikes coming at his head.  And his strikes, mostly cuts, were doing better as well, as he had a resisting 'target' to practice them on.  He had a long way to go, though, and he knew it.

 

After a time unmeasured by him, he felt that he could not strike with his sword another time.  Thankfully, Arath called them to a halt.  Visar leaned on his practice sword as if on a cane, catching his breath, and wiping the sweat dripping from his brow despite the cold.

 

It appeared their lesson was over.  Visar breathed a sigh of relief, though he blinked when the Guardsman glanced his way, mentioning the fight earlier.  He listened to Arath's request that they walk using only what he taught them.  Frowning at this, Visar thought the footwork they had learned might be too limiting.  But he could see the sense in trying to practice something till it was as natural as regular walking. 

 

Visar glanced at the sky.  Now was as good a time as any to grab some lunch, take a breather, and get to his duties in the forge.  He glanced back at Guardsman Arath.  The man wouldn't watch him, he had said.  Though Visar was sure if he got into another fight for as little a reason, he doubted he'd get off with just a warning.  He decided on a compromise.  Bending his knees slightly, and starting in his stance, back straight, he walked measuredly towards the mess hall.  Although he was not using exactly the advancing footwork he was shown, but rather mere regular steps, he tried to keep himself in balance at all times, as if he could be expected to fight at any time.

 

He felt a little silly walking that way, but it looked similar to the warders who walked around with such grace. Perhaps he would get that down eventually. He scowled in slight pain as his knees protested their labors, and his several bruises started to ache.

 

Must...get food...and sit!