The music of ringing steel (Basic Fencing class)

[Garit Sevenstars]

18th brightening of Melora, Winter, XV (pf)

peer/self-modding with permission from GM Whisper


Garit was a patient man, but he had to admit that he was looking forward to the staff suites at the Crystal Garden being finished so that he could move out of his room at the Leap of Faith in. It wasn't that there was anything particularly wrong with his room, but it was impossible to really settle in at an inn.

Still, living at an inn had it's advantages. Garit enjoyed spending time in the common room, watching people and occasionally engaging in conversation with strangers. It was while doing this that Garit met Gerrard Batiste, a Jaedaxian gentleman who was in town visiting family.

Gerrard was a man who had seen his share of Eras, but was still hale and hearty, with fine wiry physique and a distinguished peppering of gray in his dark hair. It was his custom to wear a rapier on his belt, and Garit noted in one of their conversations that it seemed to be a fine weapon, although he admitted he was not an expert on the matter.

"You have a keen eye," Gerrard replied. Though he was Jaedaxian, he was widely traveled, and his accent was a mere lilt that affected certain vowels. "She is not flashy, but she is well made, and has never let me down."

"You sound as if the two of you have had long aquaintance. Are you an expert in fencing?" Garit asked.

"I have a certain amount of skill," Gerrard replied. "One does not like to brag. Why do you ask."

"Well," said Garit, "I was interested in learning to fence myself. Could I perhaps persuade you to give me lessons. In fact, I believe I could provide you with one or maybe more additional pupils, and you could multiply your fee for very little extra effort."

After a bit of gentle haggling, the two agreed to a price of 200 crowns per student, with lessons to be held out front of the Crystal Gardens.

[M'caiyha Vosmaeri]

When Garit mentioned them, M'caiyha had been more than willing to hear about fencing classes. She had a vested interest in it - her father had been an expert in swordplay, and as an elfling, she liked to watch him practice, staying well out of his way. It was a skill M'caiyha felt was quite worthy of learning. She hadn't flinched at the lesson fees, either, but the elven woman was nigh unflappable as it was.

At the agreed-upon time and day, there she was, her heavy tunic draped over one long, exposed arm. She still wore the snug turtleneck, along with her pants and boots. The leather gauntlets were clipped to the belt - she wasn't sure if she'd need them now or not, but had elected as usual to bring them anyway. There was also another small leather pouch on the other side. Her long green hair tightly braided into one thick plait, with its decorative feathers and leather thongs tied into it.

As usual, the Esh'lahier had her parrot companions with her. She knew, obviously, that they couldn't stay there - while she knew neither Aira nor Ethgri would be entirely appreciative of being banished to a tree nearby, they would do it. That was why she had brought some contraption made out of wood. It held a broad length of wood lengthwise, and was firmly affixed to a short pole, which was set into a base in the shape of a cross. This she set under the shade and put the birds on it, and she was waiting here for the men, talking quietly to them until she sensed the oncomer at a distance.

"Serale and a pleasant brightening to you," the tall woman bowed at the new arrivals. "I do hope that this is where we are holding the fencing lessons?"

[Garit Sevenstars]

"You are exactly right, this is the place and time. I hope we have not kept you waiting. This is Gerrard Batiste, who will be our instructor. Mr. Batiste, this charming woman is M'caiyha Vosemaeri."

Gerrard performed a small but elegant bow that incorporated a flourish of his hand. "I am very pleased to meet you madam. Well, shall we begin?"

Garit had been carrying a large wooden case for their teacher, and he had set it on the ground when they arrived. Gerrard went over to it and opened the clasp.

"We shall begin by disccusing the different types of weapons that are used with the fencing skill, so that you may more easily decide which suits your personal style."

He drew his personal weapon from his belt. "This sword, we call a rapier. As you can see, the blade is thin and light. This allows the weilder a great deal of speed. When fighting an unarmored opponent, she is a deadly choice. She is a weapon primarily used for stabbing, although the edges are sharpened. Against an armored foe, she is less useful. In such circumstances you will be forced to aim for chinks in armor, or eye slots in helmets."

He bent over the case and opened it, and brought out another sword. It was much like the rapier, but smaller and lighter still. "This one, she is a smallsword. She exaggerates the virtues and the limitations of the rapier. She is lighter than the rapier, but where a rapier will force open a link of chain mail, this one, she may bend. Still, you can carry it anywhere. It weighs...pfft...nothing."

Again Gerard returned to the trunk, and brought out a curved sword with a blade slightly thicker than that of the rapier. "Now this one, she is a saber. Whereas a rapier is made to thrust, this one, she is made to cut. In honesty, she is not my favorite weapon. She is too light to cut through much armor, and where a weak man can use his weight to run a foe through with a rapier, with this one, you chop and you chop like a butcher with a small knife. Still, some people, they like her."

Again he bent over the case, and removed one last sword. "This one, she is an estoc." He displayed the weapon for Garit and M'caiyha to examine. The blade was triangular, with no sharp edges at all, and was somewhat thicker and a lot sturdier than the rapier.

"This one only barely counts as a weapon for fencing. Most estoc are bigger. You use them with two hands, like a spear. Some are made smaller for one hand. You cannot cut with her at all, but the blade is very strong."

"I leave it to you to decide which weapon you like to use. We practice with fake weapons so that nobody loses an eye, but think about which one you like."

[M'caiyha Vosmaeri]

M'caiyha smiled and bowed to both of them again. "Not at all. We've been here only a few minutes," she glanced at the birds. Ethgri bobbed his head furiously, letting out one of his favorite, ear-splitting yells in greeting, and Aira tucked herself under the big macaw's wing. They made quite a sight, those two. She smiled fondly at them for a moment, and set the heavy silver-white tunic on the ground by the stand, and came over to the case to give Mr. Batiste and Garit the respect they were due.

She watched and listened with interest, eying each weapon. Rapier. Thin, light, made for speed. Sharp edges, primarily for stabbing. Armor presents a problem. She absorbed this and nodded thoughtfully, her thumbs hooked into her pockets. The smallsword is just that, small and light. Essentially weightless. More give in it than a rapier. She nodded to his words. So far so good. This all made sense.

Sabers are bigger, made more for cutting and chopping than stabbing. They sounded like they produced messy results. Too light to do much good against an armored foe. Estocs you can't quite cut with, sound more like for running people through. But which would she like? She considered. Ideally she might have liked a heavier rapier, if only because it would help train the muscles, especially if she was to get a lighter one afterwards. The smallsword, as he said, weighed nothing, but it was a bit small. Just a little small, and M'caiyha didn't like the idea of giving someone a lesser range around her. The saber and estoc were more for hacking and running people through, respectively.

After some careful deliberation, she settled on one. "Do we have a practice rapier?" M'caiyha enquired. It seemed like a good weapon to start with, certainly.

[Garit Sevenstars]

Garit examined each weapon, holding them in his had to get a feel for them. Like M'caiyha, he decided on the rapier as well. "Make that two practice rapiers," Garit said. "They seem like a good all around choice."

"Good," Gerard said. He produced two fairly worn looking practice swords from his case. Their handguards were simple metal strips crossing the grip, surmounted by steel cups. The blades were dull, ending in a button rather than a point.


Along with the rapiers, he produced two practice daggers, simple cross-shaped bars of metal.

"Many who fight with the rapier hold something for defense in their other hand. It may be a small shield called a buckler, a dagger, or even just a cloak wrapped around their arm. It is not necessary, you may fight with rapier alone, but it is good to learn the skill."

"To my thinking the dagger, he is the best choice. The virtue of the rapier is that she is light, you always have her with you. Who wants to carry a shield about the town with them? The ladies, or in your case the menfolk..." he said to M'caiyha "...will think you belligerent, always ready for war. A cloak is a makeshift arrangement, and a dagger is easily carried."

"Now! Most important, I will show you how to hold your weapon." He brought the weapons over to his pupils, starting with M'caiyha. "We want the point extending out straight like an extension of your arm, so you must grip it like so. Pinch the grip between thumb and forefinger here, inside the cup of the guard. See how your thumb reaches over the crossguard? Rest the knuckle of your middle finger against the crossguard like so. This will allow you to use it as a lever and twist and parry with authority. Your remaing two fingers curl about the hilt as you would expect. Hold firmly, but do not clench."

He repeated his instructions with Garit. "This seems sensible enough," Garit said.

"Now the daggers," his teacher continued, passing out the practice daggers. "Hold them to thrust, but do not let your fingers go over the crossguard as you do with the rapier. Otherwise you shall get them cut."

"Now, stance. We stand sideways to our opponent, our feet at something over shoulder width. Your front foot should point to your foe, the back foot should be perpendicular to the front foot. Bend your knees somewhat, this gives you quickeness."

"Now, hold your sword like so, pointed at your opponent's chest. You have seen fencers in plays, no? They hold their arms bent quite strongly at the elbow, no? This is for theater, do not make this mistake. Your power in fencing comes from your legs, not your elbow, your arms should be nearly straight. Above all you should hide the inside of your elbow behind your sword, or your foe will put the tip of his blade there when you attack and you will impale your arm on his weapon. Your dagger should be held close to your chest here, and also pointed at your opponent."

He paused here, to give his students a time to get a feel for the stance and the weapons.

[M'caiyha Vosmaeri]

M'caiyha nodded as Garit also asked for a rapier. They had seemed like the best option to her.

She smiled a bit when the dagger was produced. Her father had always worked with two blades, and it seemed like she would too. A dagger made a great deal of sense, the way Gerard explained it. She didn't have any real desire to carry a shield around - she drew enough attention as it was without a weapon. A cloak could be useful but cumbersome, and once it got ripped to shreds, that wouldn't help much, either. A dagger, if used right, could be used for both offense and defense if one got in close enough range of the other. Clearly, there were going to be times cloak-and-dagger subtlety was necessary. Eventually, though, the temptation for wordplay and puns was getting overbearing. M'caiyha had good control, certainly, but a "Good point." slipped out.

She shaped her fingers as their instructor told them. Pinch with the thumb and forefinger on the grip, knuckle of middle finger against the crossguard, and the other two fingers around the handle, but not too tightly. Gripping too tightly, M'caiyha reasoned, would lead to a loss of flexibility, and that could not be to her advantage.

"Thank you," she accepted the dagger, wrapping her fingers around it as directed. Her long fingers were usually excellent with scritching the birds and getting at those hard-to-reach places, but Ethgri would not approve of her getting her fingers cut off. He wouldn't be able to beak them then, would he? No, he most certainly would not.

They were going to work on their stance next? Sounded just fine to her. "Standing sideways makes sense. Provides less of a target. Hopefully," the willowy elf grinned, then. She was taking this seriously, she was. She adjusted her feet into the proper positioning, and bent her knees some. Her height, she imagined, was going to be a bit of a disadvantage here. Arm straight, but not locked, elbow on the inside. The dagger was to be held for thrusting, and close to the chest, pointed at their opponent. She shifted again, testing the momentum that could be gained from shifting her weight, and getting a feel for it.

[Garit Sevenstars]

Garit likewise took his sword, and practiced the grip and the stance. When M'caiyha said "good point," he returned with "I agree. As a teacher, you are clearly a cut above."

"Now," said Gerard, ignoring the word play but obviously not bothered by it, "We shall learn how to lunge, which is the basic attack. The process is simple. Observe."

Taking his own sword, he assumed the stance which he had just described to his students, then rapidly widened his stance, pushing his front foot quickly forward, driving with his back leg. As he did this, his arm straightened and he pulled his dagger hand back somewhat.

"As you can see, your power comes from here." He patted the thigh of his back leg. "Your weight remains centered between your legs, do not lean forwards. Or rather I should say that if you do lean forward you will be slow in recovering. There are times when you may do so, but it is only advisable when you know you will not have to recoil quickly. Keeping your weight centered allows you to recover either forwards or backwards."

Gerard demonstrated this, lunging and then moving his front foot backward into the basic stance, then lunging and moving his rear foot forward. "Now let me see you two do it. You first." He indicated Garit. Garit replicated the move as best as he could.

"That is basically sound, but do not rise up, that wastes speed and power. Drive forward only, your head should not rise. Now you try it madam."

[M'caiyha Vosmaeri]

M'caiyha was pleased he didn't seem bothered with the wordplay. Still, though, she wouldn't push it, and just keep her rather pointed puns to herself until another slipped out. She grinned a little at Garit, though. Glorious. Another one to have some p... fun... with.

She watched carefully, retaining her stance and getting used to the feel of the sword in her hand and the muscular control needed to keep it straight. The rapier was lighter than her staff, which was a plus, and she was used to holding her position for a while. It was a useful skill, being still and patient, and she’d had a long time to practice it. She wasn’t, however, used to generally holding her staff out in front of her like this.

Okay. Stay centered, balanced. Going off balance, in fencing and a fight, could be a fatal mistake and the last one you would ever make, apparently. Always protect yourself. She noted the dagger’s changing position, as well. It comes back on a lunge. M’caiyha observed Garit, and listened to Gerard’s feedback. Stay down. Well, she’d certainly try… and then it was her turn.

She gave the lunge her best shot, keeping his advice in mind, and knowing she probably missed a few pointers. Ah, well. Practice made perfect!

[Garit Sevenstars]

Gerard watched her lunge with an attitude of concentration, fingers pinching chin. "That is good, your footwork is correct. But remember to keep your dagger close to your body. Bringing it back for balance- this is OK. The sword, she can parry in any direction because she is in front of you, but the dagger is to your side so he must always parry outward- away from you. Keep it always near your body so you can push out."

Speaking to both of his students, Gerard said "We will learn fencing in this manner- First the lunge, as I have shown you already. Then we learn defense, then more about attacks. But you must practice the lunge every day, so I show it to you first. The power for your blows comes from your legs; you must build your strength and flexibility. As a bonus, your lunging will add shape and firmness to your derriere, and you will be invited to many parties."

"Now, stand facing each other, as if you would fight. There are nine parries, and we shall learn them all. Our first parry is to the low and inside quadrant of the body. You simply move the sword across with its tip pointing down, keeping your thumb to the bottom of the grip, like so. Push your opponent's weapon with the portion of the blade just above your guard, where you will achieve the most leverage."

"Now, Mademoiselle, lunge at Garit so he may practice, then Garit will return the favor. Attack slowly so that we may practice form."


Garit stood in front of M'caiyha and practiced the parry as she lunged. It seemed a fairly simple move, and Gerard made only a few corrections. "Parry only with the smallest necessary movement. Do not bring your sword further out of line than you must."

[M'caiyha Vosmaeri]

M'caiyha listened to Gerard's feedback, nodding slowly. "Dagger in close. Okay," she smiled at their instructor. "Thank you." She did want to get good at this, after all, and disregarding an expert's advice wouldn't do her any favors, after all.

"Mademoiselllllllle!" Ethgri catcalled from the stand in a gross exaggeration of Gerard's voice. Aira was tucked up under one of his wings, peeking out. They clashed marvelously, those two birds, in color, size, and attitude. M'caiyha, though, wouldn't have it any other way. "Mademoiiiiseee~ll~e!" The little hen began to whistle in tune to Ethgri's mimicry. M'caiyha grinned, though, at the talk of derrieres, and straightened to look at her own over her shoulder. She didn't think it was so bad already, but hey. Most Esh'lahier were pretty slim as it was. They just weren't made to have rounder butts. Ethgri, apparently, had decided to enjoy himself, because he started wolf-whistling when he saw M'cai checking herself out.

Okay, first form of nine parries. She turned to face Garit, shifting her feet, and practiced her lunge, remembering to keep her dagger where it was supposed to be, and giving him plenty of time to see the lunge coming, button-tipped rapier or not. Her sword was pushed down neatly, and she drew it back, preparing for his own lunge to parry, and moving to intercept the lunge whence it came.

[Garit Sevenstars]

Garit rather agreed with the Ethgri's assesment of M'caiyha's backside, but kept silent on the matter. It was best not to whistle at a woman who were facing you with a sword, you never knew how they would react.

"There are only so many parties a person can be invited to before it becomes an inconvenience rather than a boon," Garit said.

Gerard grunted, "I spoke for your benefit, not the lady's."

Turning his attention back to fencing, he continued "Yes, good, now you." Gerard directed Garit to Lunge at M'caiyha with gestures. Garit lunged with a good smooth motion, slow enough that M'caiyha was able to parry without much trouble. Gerard motioned for the pair to trade attacks several more times, watching carefully.

"Good. And remember when you do this at a more vigorous speed that the best motion is a push, not a frantic smacking of metals. If you swing wildly at your opponents blade you will bring your own out of line, and you will be easy to feint out of position."

"Now, we learn the next parry. For this one, we simply go to the outside of your body, using the same hand position. Let us see your technique."

[M'caiyha Vosmaeri]

M'caiyha chuckled at the exchange between bartender and instructor. She was going to remember this one... for posterity.

They switched positions, and this time, it was M'caiyha's turn to parry Garit's lunge. Steady, steady. No need to waste energy by frantically waving the weapon. Keep it inside the body and push. There you go.

They traded lunges and parries, and the tall Esh was beginning to get a feel for holding the blade, and the feeling that came from steel on steel. Each time their blades connected, the practice rapiers rang, and it took M'caiyha back to when she was an elfling. But she pushed those thoughts away for now. She could dwell on her childhood another day. No daydreaming, not right now.

Fencing struck M'caiyha as a carefully structured dance. One exerted careful control over themselves, and losing that control made openings, and openings with something sharp poking your way wasn't particularly appealing to anyone with some self-preservation. Gerard affirmed this. Her grace-under-fire demeanor might help her yet.

When he told them about the second parry, she paid close attention, and then they were off again. M'caiyha lunged slowly for Garit, button-tipped weapon coming for him in an easy, fluid movement. En guarde!

[Garit Sevenstars]

Gerard watched the two spar with adequate satisfaction. "It is simple, no? At least it is when your parries do not mean life of death. You will find that the secret of fencing is to purge yourself of fear. If you panic when a sharp blade stabs at you, you will be slow to react and over-parry when you do. Treat your opponents blade with contempt. 'Cha!' you say, and push it out of the way."

"Now, the next too parries. The are similar to the ones you have already learned, but raise your blade so that it angles upwards, and parry in the upper quadrants. When you parry to the inside, roll your thumb from on top to the left. When you parry to the outside, roll your thumb to the right."

He gestured for Garit and M'caihya to continue their lunging. Garit could tell that he would be feeling his lunges the next day, in his rear and in his thigh. Still, it would not do to complain.

"I believe you are a natural at this," Garit said to M'caiyha. "...which in many ways isn't sporting, since you already have such a long reach."

[M'caiyha Vosmaeri]

She was certainly feeling the pull in the muscles in her legs, less so in her arms. She may have been in fine shape, but these were muscles that hadn't been used like this, and they were just going to have to suck it up and get used to it. M'caiyha had no intention of not learning because some muscles didn't want to do as they were told. They were used to holding positions for a long time, and sometimes in rather contortionistic ways, but they'd be alright. Just had to get used to it and keep going.

She nodded at Gerard's words, though - just because it seemed simple and easy enough now, and she was perfectly mild and calm, didn't mean that it would be like that in the future when she was facing someone who didn't plan on just practicing with button-topped swords. Like that time when... No, save the memories for later. She had just gotten obscenely lucky right then.

She was beginning to sense a pattern in these parries, though. Each was built on something you had already learned. This made a great deal of sense to her - the man was a good teacher. Parry to the inside, thumb from the top to the left. Parry to the outside, thumb from the top to the right. Check! She could do this, certainly. She tried an experimental 'cha' when she met one of Garit's lunges, and that set Ethgri off. The big bird bounced a little on the stand, still covering Aira protectively with a wing, chanting the word and bobbing his head with each pronunciation.

M'caiyha couldn't help but grin, then. "You're doing very well yourself. One doesn't see tall elves very often," she agreed. She didn't confide much about her past at all, unless it was to swap travel stories, and she rarely, if ever, mentioned her family or her childhood. "But I thank you. My father uses swords. I used to watch him practice when I was very young, and wanted him to teach me. But I never did get started in it. My mother had other plans for me. But Monsieur Gerard is a marvelous instructor." These bits were divulged between parries and lunges, a sentence here, a sentence there.

[Garit Sevenstars]

Garit nodded slightly. "I have had quite a bit of experience with mothers and their plans, I know exactly how such things can be. All in all, I side with your father's views. If you are lucky you will never have to use a sword, but why leave things to luck. Incidently, are you sure it is wise to let Ethgri watch a lesson in weapons work? He has quite enough wicked ideas on his own, it seems dangerous to inspire him."

Gerard spoke up. "Now we shall have a break." He motioned for the pair to stop. "You have learned 4 parries, two low parries with the sword angled down, two high parries with the sword angled up. The next 4 parries are quite similar, and in a sense, you have already practiced them. They are high parries with the sword angled down, both to the inside and the out, and two low parries with the sword angled up, both to the inside and the out." He demonstrated the parries.

"You will notice that the area these parries cover overlap. Which you choose will depend on your current sword position, which will vary greatly in the back and forth of a fight. It will also depend on where you prefer to counter attack. If you wish to attack your opponent's legs, you will keep your sword angled down and increase your speed of attack."

After a few minute's rest, he had his students practice the new parries, then called an end to the day's lesson. "Take your swords home with you and fidget with them if you like. Get to know them. Tomorrow, we learn about offense."