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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Feb 12, 2024 0:39:27 GMT -5
Gerhart wasn't exactly sure how long it would take for things to get back in full working order at the Guild. He wasn't one to particularly care about the minutia and bureaucracy of running an organization, but he had friends that did. It seemed to matter to Shaa and it certainly mattered to Athena. He didn't know much, but maybe he could help for the time being.
On the outskirts of the guild he stood in the yard with Halcyon giving the roc a few good scritches with a smile, "I know you wanna be out on the skies again Hal. I promise it won't be long." He nods at the little chirps from Halcyon. "Hey, you get to fly around all ya want, just not to fight monsters. I'm stuck here on the ground unless I go with you."
He chuckles as he pats the bird's beak. For the moment, he's happy to stay outside and brush the bird down. It had been awhile since he had taken the time to properly groom his mount.....it had also been awhile since he had taken time to groom himself he thinks as he runs a hand through his hair. It's a bit scruffy....now if only he could grow a beard. Would Cirice even like a beard? He shakes his head to chase out the thought, he really had been sitting idle too long.
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Post by Ezra Windward on Feb 15, 2024 12:52:59 GMT -5
Walking into the courtyard was a young man, Ezra. His dark brown eyes looked back and forth, taking in the scenery as he had never been in this location before. He walked awkwardly, as if not comfortable in the plated armor that now was strapped to his legs and waist. The armor fit him well enough, he simply hadn’t had the time to adapt to its weight and its rigid form as he moved in it. His brown hair was parted messily to the right and stands of it blew in the breeze as he walked toward the middle of the courtyard outside the Training Academy.
He had come to the academy after a visit with his parents back in Starlight City. They had gifted him the armor he wore and the longsword that now hung at his side. Although shiney and new, Ezra was still out of practice with these items and he knew the academy would be a good place to practice. Besides, there was nowhere better to train and work toward his goal of Knighthood than in Capital Landing, near Sol City.
Ezra wandered until he found a clear patch of dirt with nothing around him. He drew the longsword from its sheath and took a readied stance. His body was square with his imaginary target and he held the longsword out in front of him with both hands. His legs were about shoulder width apart with a slight bend in the knee. The stance looked rigid and uncomfortable. It looked practiced, but not overly practical in its application. From an experienced onlooker, it would appear as if the young man had been shown how to stand, but never actually used the stance in real combat.
From his stiff stance, he raised his sword up into the air, and slashed downward toward the ground. The slash was fast, but much of Ezra’s movements telegraphed the attack. Again, it would appear from an outsider’s perspective that he had been shown the correct movements of a slash, but had never had to apply them in a real scenario. If he had; surely he would have learned the hard lesson that telegraphing at attack leads to pain.
Ezra continued with returning to his stance, and then somewhat awkwardly practicing the different slashes. Between slashes he would pause and relax from his readied stance. He would put a hand to his chin in thought and make smaller slashing motions with his empty hand, as if he was trying to remember lessons taught to him not long ago. He would then return to his practicing.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Feb 15, 2024 20:16:51 GMT -5
"Hm? Sounds like someone's here. Might as well go check, see ya Hal."
Squawk.
"Go fishing or something!"
Chirping coos.
"Hal, we are on an island there are fish."
Squawk.
"No don't dive bomb ships, they might shoot you when I'm not riding."
Halcyon gives a few more noises, but Gerhart waves his hand and trots into the building shaking the smirk from his face. He heads down to the training area to see what's going on, didn't sound like someone sneaking around. If they were, this would be the worst thief in Charon.
Seeing another person in there training, the ranger pulls up for a second. He leans against a support beam to watch Ezra a moment. Gerhart figured they couldn't be too far off in age...Though this guy looks better taught than he was at first.
"Need a hand?" He grins wide and friendly. Gerhart's armor looked nice enough, but it wasn't fancy, just a few pieces to cover the vitals. The two swords at his side and short blade on the back certainly look a lot nicer than the rest of his kit. The scars across his cheek look old, but it looks like he has at least seen a fight or two given the many repair marks on his cuirass.
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Post by Ezra Windward on Feb 15, 2024 22:55:18 GMT -5
Lost in thought, Ezra continued his sword practice until his focus was broken by the sound of a voice, “Need a hand?”
The break in focus was enough to cause Ezra to fumble his sword and it flipped, blade down and stuck into the soft ground beneath him. In his effort to stop the sword from falling, Ezra lunged forward but missed in his attempted catch. He did not fall, but the loss of balance caused him to quickly move forward a few steps before eventually regaining his composure.
He turned to face Gerhart, a look of frightened surprise on his face. As he saw that it was simply another warrior at the academy, the look softened into an embarrassed smile. The man standing before him did not look much older than him, but he certainly looked more well traveled.
“Uh..” Ezra began in response to Gerhart’s question. “I…” Ezra’s voice trailed off as he paused to consider how willing he was to volunteer his inexperience to this stranger. He was at the Martial Academy, and this man did look to be more experienced. There was no doubt that Ezra could use the help.
“I could use a hand, yes.” Ezra said quietly as he avoided eye contact. He walked back over to where his sword was stuck in the ground and pulled it out, holding it in his right hand. “I know the movements, I just can’t seem to get them to… flow.” Ezra explained as he looked at himself in the reflection of his polished longsword. He then looked over to Gerhart with an embarrassed grin.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Feb 18, 2024 11:44:56 GMT -5
"Get the flow, huh?" He smiled as he took out both of his longswords. The ranger flourishes them a bit, little movements to loosen up his wrists and arms. "Can't promise I'll be a good teacher, but I will see what I can do."
Gerhart lines up across from a practice dummy, bouncing gently on his feet a moment to get his blood going. It is immediate from the moment Gerhart sets his feet that he has none of the training or instruction that Ezra does. Even so, when he strikes out with an upward strike it is fluid and quick. The follow up strike from his second sword is just as quick.
There is a pace to the strikes and the movements, but it is not the standard strikes you would learn and practice. He chains together a few combos of whatever feels good before remembering he was supposed to be helping someone.
"I don't know if any of that made sense...since I didn't say anything." He grins wide with a little laugh. "I'm pretty sure using one or two swords is basically the same thing. Like I imagine there's a few differences, but that's probably way more advanced. Anyways, finding the flow is kinda hard, but it's kinda not. If you think too much, you're never gonna find it."
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Post by Ezra Windward on Feb 20, 2024 0:04:46 GMT -5
Ezra watched and studied as Gerhart stepped up to the practice dummy and began to strike it. The movements were fast and as Ezra watched the movements, he tried to predict the next strike, but they came at unorthodox intervals. This caught Ezra off guard and he thought for a moment, that must be the point. If these strikes were off tempo from his predictable movements, then they would be equally difficult to pace by an opponent. Was this the key?
Ezra listened to the advice from Gerhart and repeated to himself, “If you think too much, you’re never gonna find it.”
Studying the movements and listening to the advice was all fine and good, but Ezra still didn’t feel as though he had a good enough grasp. The concept made sense, but how could he put it into practice? How could the unpredictability of Gerhart’s strikes become routine enough that he didn’t think about them in the chaos of conflict? How could Ezra use the techniques and skills he had been shown, but in a way that was still effective in combat?
While pondering these things, Ezra observed Gerhart. What did this man have that he didn’t? They were nearly the same age and both men wore some form of armor. Sure, Gerhart had two swords, but that couldn’t truly be the answer, could it?
Experience
It was as simple as that. Ezra thought to himself that Gerhart was the product of practical experience, while he was only mimicking the techniques he had been taught. The best way to learn from this man’s experience would be to gain some of his own. To do that…
“Er…” Ezra started, somewhat embarrassed. He scratched the back of his head and intentionally avoided eye contact as he continued, “Would you be interested in.. a duel?” Ezra’s eyes snapped up to meet Gerhart’s and a frown appeared on his face, “Uh, not a duel-duel. More like… a spar! I think spar was the word I was looking for.” Ezra let out a nervous laugh. He felt silly asking someone clearly more experienced and skilled than him to fight. Would he even find Ezra worthwhile as a training partner? Would he even want to waste the time on him? His laugh subsided, but Ezra continued his nervous grin toward Gerhart in anticipation of his answer.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Feb 20, 2024 21:45:56 GMT -5
"Oh that would be way easier!" He grinned and laughed. The real swords were set aside to lean up against a training dummy as Gerhart grabbed out a few practice swords. One is tossed to Ezra while he keeps two for himself.
"Here! I know it probably seems silly to use the kid swords, but helps make sure we can actually practice without worrying about injuries, right?" The bright smile stays, "Just don't hit me in the face. Looks bad enough as it is and I don't wanna explain a black eye to Cirice, I'm bad at excuses."
Gerhart chuckled more as he stepped out into the small arena the academy had to let people train. Once again, there's no inkling of a trained or taught form to Gerhart's style. His hands hang low at his hips, they don't seem ready to defend or attack, but the subtle shifting back and forth of his feet shows he's already anticipating movement.
It's hard to exactly pin down how the ranger fights. He doesn't have an incredibly technical grasp of sword fighting nor his he physically strong enough to just compensate by overpowering enemies. It certainly makes him much harder to accurately size up and much easier to understimate.
"Remember, don't think, you got this!" Perhaps the oddest thing about the man was his active and enthusiastic encouragement for someone trying to hit him.
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Post by Ezra Windward on Feb 23, 2024 17:42:13 GMT -5
Mixed emotions hit Ezra as he caught the practice sword by the handle that Gerhart had tossed him. He turned his real longsword so that the blade faced the ground and jabbed it in, sticking it deep enough so that it would not fall over. He was happy and relieved that Gerhart hadn’t simply laughed at his request outright, but he was now nervous at the prospect of fighting the clearly more experienced fighter.
Ezra stepped into the arena with Gerhart and stood square to him. He entered his usual readied stance with his feet shoulder width apart and his sword held out in front of him. He studied Gerhart’s movements for a moment. It was hard to pick up on his style of fighting from just a glance at his stance. Not that Ezra was an expert by any means, however his training had given him the basic skill of identifying a defensive stance versus an offensive one at its base. The stance Gerhart was in did not hint to either one. Rather, it wasn’t a stance that Ezra was familiar with at all. He continued to watch, noting that the young warrior appeared to be light on his feet as he shifted back and forth.
Ezra’s face was serious and calculating as he observed Gerhart. Eventually, he decided that his only option was to attack and see how Gerhart reacted. This would be a great learning opportunity for him. Ezra knew how to move a sword, but from the looks of it, this man knew how to fight!
Ezra shifted his weight back onto his right leg and moved his left more out in front of him. He moved his sword, rotating it so the point was straight and facing Gerhard and the handle was held with both hands up near the right side of Ezra’s head. Ezra began running toward Gerhart, letting out a growl as he ran. When he got to within stabbing distance, Ezra lunged forward with his blade aimed at Gerhart’s chest. Whether he made contact or not, his intent was to quickly retract the stab and be ready for a follow up or defense.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Feb 24, 2024 10:21:52 GMT -5
Gerhart waited for Ezra patiently, letting him get set and comfortable. It's not like he knew anything about proper form or things like that, so he couldn't correct any of that. What he wanted to see was Ezra's instincts and reactions, that's how Gerhart fought so he figured that's what he could best help with.
The ranger didn't make a move until Ezra committed to his attack. As the stab comes in, he shifts his off-hand weapon to hit down on Ezra's sword and force his momentum down. Gerhart would follow up moving to the side to try and bring his main hand to strike against the young man's side.
Neither of the strikes would be hard enough to hurt or send Ezra wildly off course. The sound of wood clanging against metal certainly isn't pleasant though, especially if you're wearing the metal.
"You got good form I think! You want to try and make it less obvious what you wanna do if that makes sense." Gerhart was more than happy to let Ezra reset and take another stab, pun intended, at it.
He didn't want to overwhelm his new friend and pressure him constantly. Gerhart didn't have much in age on him, but it seemed like he had real world experience over him. He could see a good amount of skill in the would-be knight though. This was going to be fun!
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Post by Ezra Windward on Mar 3, 2024 18:10:46 GMT -5
As Ezra lunged forward with his thrust, he suddenly felt his momentum being pushed downward as Gerhart’s wooden blade made a thud against his own. Before he could even react, another thud could be heard as the strike to Ezra’s side connected.
Ezra let out a grunt as he stepped backward. The strike stung, but he had felt worse pain. He winced, but reset into his athletic stance as he listened to Gerhart’s advice. “Make it less obvious…” Ezra repeated aloud. He exchanged his look of pain into one of determination.
How do I make my strikes less obvious? Ezra thought to himself. Maybe… A feint? Ezra stepped to within striking distance of Gerhart. Although this was where he preferred to be for combat, he still lacked the confidence to really open up when toe to toe with his enemy. Especially one that appeared to be as experienced and able as this young man. Still, he steeled himself and his face remained determined as he gathered his courage.
Ezra opened his stance so his legs were now just wider than shoulder width. His left toe pointed slightly outward. His upper body rotated toward his right and his arms came back up to the right side of his head. Both his hands gripped the handle of his sword and the blade pointed straight upward. The stance clearly telegraphed a sideways slash from Ezra’s right to his left. He brought the sword quickly down from beside his head and began the slash, but just before it would have made contact with anything, Ezra stopped the momentum. He reversed the direction of the slash and spun completely around, clockwise. As he spun, he instead brought his sword in a diagonal slash from Ezra’s upper left to his lower right. This slash was aimed at Gerhart’s right shoulder and as he brought the blade downward, Ezra called out, “How’s this!?”
Ezra aimed to put a lot of power into this slash. If it connected, it would surely sting. If it missed, Ezra would likely be left off balance with his follow through.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Mar 4, 2024 1:16:47 GMT -5
Gerhart almost lets how impressed he is with Ezra's ability to quickly adapt get the better of him. He has to pull back on his instincts to lean into some of the spells and tricks he's learned along the way, not much of a sparring lesson if you just beat a kid down.
The ranger has his off-hand ready to block the first strike, but just in time he brings his main hand blade up to catch Ezra's just centimeters from where it would've hit him. The ranger then steps in to close the distance and use a bit of leverage from the crossbar to hitch the young knight's blade and keep him close.[1]
"That was good! Good instincts to pull the guard away!" He gives a little push back so they can untangle their swords and takes a half step back.
"It's a little harder to find openings since I have two blades, but that's a good way! Anyone else would've been a goner. Ready for a little bit of defense?"
As expected, he does give Ezra a chance to settle back and get ready. Maybe he should keep the pace of a real fight? Gerhart never imagined himself a teacher, so this is all new to him. He can at least give the man a challenge. Ezra clearly had skill so he could show him the respect of not treating him with kid gloves.
He holds his swords angled at his hips[2] and waits for a ready nod from Ezra. He moves in quick readying both of his swords, aiming to swing both of them at once. The off-hand blade comes in low while the main hand comes in high, the different angle off attacks means it will be hard to block both of them.[3] If he blocked high, then he was taking a hit to the ribs and if he blocked low then the sword was going to crash along his chest.
1. Lock Up 2. Falcon Glide 3. Talon Strike
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Post by Ezra Windward on Mar 6, 2024 0:04:06 GMT -5
A rush of excitement shot through Ezra as his wooden blade drew closer to Gerhart’s right shoulder. The excitement was quickly quashed by disappointment as the sound of wood knocking against wood sounded, indicating that Gerhart had blocked his attack.
As Ezra was locked up and then pushed away, he couldn’t help but feel weak. Even though Gerhart’s words were encouraging and instructional, Ezra couldn’t shake the feeling. Taking advantage of the pause in the fight, Ezra reset and readied himself in his usual stance.
Gerhart approached with his attack. As he grew closer, Ezra could see the attack coming. One blade came from low and struck upward while the other came from above and struck downward. The two strikes were happening simultaneously and Ezra had only a fraction of a second to react. The technique being used against him was not something Ezra had seen before, nor was it something he was prepared for.
In what was wholly instinct and reaction and no thought, Ezra raised his blade horizontally to meet the upper blade striking downward. He used his off hand to support the tip end of the blade and provide additional support to block the downward strike. As Ezra braced for the collision of blades, his knees and elbows slightly flexed as the downward slashing blade met with his own. He grunted as he felt the weight of the strike, then all at once his knees collapsed beneath him as he felt a sharp pain to his ribs. Gerhart’s upward slash had struck him squarely in the ribs, knocking the wind out of him. As Ezra fell to his knees, he was able to redirect the downward slash off to his left, so it missed it’s mark.
Attempting to react quickly, Ezra raised himself to a single knee and brought his blade down to his left side near his hip. He then quickly slashed diagonally upward from left to right, aiming to strike Gerhart in his right leg. The strike was yet again easily identifiable and telegraphed. What other kind of strike would someone expect from an opponent who was on the ground than a strike upward? Since Ezra was down on one knee, he was not able to fully incorporate his hips into the strike, making it weaker than his previous ones in the encounter.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Mar 6, 2024 11:08:50 GMT -5
In this moment, Gerhart was not able to pull back on his instincts. He might not be a trained swordsman, but he'd developed a fighting sense through everything he's done. One sword swept low to intercept Ezra's sword while the other came back around to knock into his opposite shoulder.[1]
"Really good instincts! I would've done the same! Blocking high meant you still take the hit to the side but you have armor there, but up high there's not as much. A lot easier for a sword to go through the gaps or hit your neck. Then the follow up? Awesome! Never stop looking for opportunities."
He grins at the young fighter, clearly impressed with what he has been able to do so far. Maybe he was a good teacher? Gerhart had no idea how much he was actually teaching him, but it felt like it was going well.
"Do you wanna keep going? No harm if you wanna take a break and go over some things, you're the first person I've ever tried to teach.....well I guess I taught my girlfriend and some others this special technique I came up with...but like that was just one thing not like this spar....Am I talking to much?"
1. Harrying Guard
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Post by Ezra Windward on Mar 18, 2024 22:29:23 GMT -5
As Ezra’s strike continued, aimed at Gerhart’s leg, he winced as the sound of wood knocking against wood sounded again; indicating that his strike had been deflected once again. Then again, he felt the sting of a blunted strike against his left shoulder. Ezra took the hit on his shoulder and remained in his kneeling position.
Even though Gerhart’s words were positive and encouraging, Ezra couldn’t help the feeling of frustration and a touch of competitiveness creep up into him. He knew that Gerhart was the more experienced fighter and he anticipated that he would not be the victor of this fight, but he thought he would have the ability to land a blow at least. As he knelt down in front of Gerhart, wooden sword having been batted away to his side, Ezra thought to himself, “Look at this… Kneeling down in front of this guy….” Ezra looked up to Gerhart with a determined look on his face. “He’s not much older than me… He’s not in any better physical shape… How will I ever be able to call myself a Knight if I can’t at least hold my own?”
As Ezra spoke the words to himself in his mind he became more and more frustrated. Angry even. He felt the heated rush of anger flare up his back. Visions of himself in tarnished and torn knightly attire, with a heroic-looking Gerhard standing over him flashed into his mind. The thought of defeat fed his emotions even more. His eyebrows lowered over his eyes, revealing his feelings at his situation and he gritted his teeth. Ezra was so filled with emotion that he barely heard a word of what Gerhart had said next, other than, “Do you want to keep going? No harm if you want to take a break…”
Ezra let out a violent huff before swiftly raising his wooden blade upward, throwing it out of his hands and into the air. As he did so he yelled out, “Break this!”
The statement made little sense, but he was too wrapped up in his own emotions to care. It was the first thing that popped into his mind. The wooden sword flung a few feet into the air, flipping blade over handle and Ezra had hoped that Gerhard was watching it. Before the sword could fall back to the ground, Ezra lunged forward, aiming his right shoulder at Gerhart’s knees in what would be a tackle if it connected.
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Post by Ser Gerhart Stanislav on Mar 19, 2024 16:16:34 GMT -5
Gerhart is caught off guard by the tossing up the sword. Well, that certainly was not a recommended move. He then feels Ezra crash into his waist which does knock a bit of the wind out of him. The two are locked for a moment as Gerhart is practiced enough to know how to shift his weight and keep upright.[1]
"Bold move but-" The sword falls and knocks the back of Gerhart's head. He laughs and rubs the back of his head. "OK Actually, if that was your plan, then that's really smart."
Gerhart could feel himself moving back bit by bit. This kid had a lot of grit that's for sure, Gerhart could really respect that. He was raw, but really talented if he could get out of his own way.
"I'll warn you though, I've been wrestling my siblings for food since I was four." He takes a hop back to force Ezra to overextend and lose his balance. Gerhart just takes a hand to push Ezra to the ground quickly.[2]
He holds a sword pointed towards Ezra, "Why do you want to be a better fighter?" It might have made more sense to *start* with this question, but Gerhart was never someone to do things properly.
The ranger does look at the young man with a serious gaze for once. Ezra definitely earned his respect which meant Gerhart wanted to show him that respect by not being as childish as he would usually be. He wanted to know how he could help him.
1. Immovable Bastion 2. Grounding Strike
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