OOC: Self-modded.
The Season of
Winter
Era
I of the
Pax Imperialis
Era
III of the
Celestine Mandate
Era
XII Post Fractum in the
Age of the Darkening
Paradigm Shift:
Alleria Prime Opens and the new Empire is revealed as Audrey adresses the peoples
Month of
Immanis
Third Cycle
Continued from
here.
Olvann had readily consumed all the knowledge he’d learnt of Zinn’ka in the tomes of his father. While his father’s knowledge of the hand-to-hand fighting skills had been limited, Ioannes knew that Olvann had a thirst for the knowledge of battle. He’d taken a shine to the fighting style of Shaasskah, supposedly having originated from the saurids, the fighting style seemed to focus on using the agility of the body to constructively and deceptively score hit after hit on the upper torso and face of an opponent using primarily hand and foot strikes.
Olvann didn't have a rather busy schedule since beginning his business and spending most of his hours in a desk within the vaults of the vortex bank. He had become bored, and required more than simple mind numbing tasks within the bank. He was excited about absorbing something new, though he wasn't too keen on being put to the test by Markener, he knew before he stepped into the room that he would be treated harshly.. He didn't particularly enjoy being beaten bloodily, though he expected nothing less.
He slowly plodded into the room behind Zackner only to find the infamous dark elven fighter known as Markener Gaveth. Waiting patiently, he was leaning against the wall, arms crossed over his chest and watching closely at his next impending victim, not unlike his son had been when Olvann had initially delved into the arts of dual-wielding. Markener was wearing rather loose fitting black pants that would not constrict his movements in any way, a sleeveless silk tunic and fingerless black gloves. His long white hair was tied back with a simple ribbon. Zackner took a position against the wall, slightly amused at the hungry reaction of his father.
“Stretch...”Markener stated bluntly, the command filled with an almost permeable threat. The light that streamed through the windows near the ceiling of the training room was just enough for a human to make out his surroundings. Olvann set immediately to the stretches he’d become intimately acquainted with during his training with Zackner. The room measured about ten meters on each side. The wooden floor was covered by a red carpet that was soft enough to prevent his student from getting seriously injured if thrown to the ground, but not too soft. Several blotches of old and somewhat new blood decorated the carpet in areas that had apparently been too logged with the vital fluid to withstand a bar of soap and water. Two cupboards stood at the side of the door. They were filled with gloves, boots, pieces of clothing, small weapons and other things that were necessary during a training session. A rack with bigger weapons was found on the opposite side of the room. Three training dummies stood in the middle of the room.
“Stand here, in front of me ...” Markener commanded and positioned himself in the middle of the room.
“I want to see how you stand. Which stance do you think is best for defence?” He questioned, a smirk decorating his face. Olvann immediately took up a defensive swordplay stance that he had learnt from Markener’s son. He carefully positioned his feet beneath his shoulders, bending slightly through the knees and holding his hands in front of him, right hand before his chest, his left slightly further ahead, both cocked into loose fists. Markener crossed his arms over his chest, he was anticipating being able to
harshly correct his student. His stance however wasn’t bad. It showed that his student was a remarkably talented individual, and his son had taught him well. With that thought he gazed over at his son who was still leaning against the wall, a cocky smile decorating his face.
“Go watch the front.” He ordered, slightly irritated. Zackner shrugged with amusement and left the training hall. Markener seemingly would not have to teach the most raw basics of fighting to this one, he took small comfort from that. He supposed he would only have to go over the skills quickly. This Olvann seemed to be a bright and talented man, even though there was something about him that would not shake his immediate dislike of him. Either way, he would be a good student.
“Do you know what your dominant leg is?” Markener asked and nodded towards Olvann’s feet.
“The left or the right?” He waited impatiently for an answer before continuing. Olvann carefully thought about his answer, and deciding, that most of his weight rested on his back left leg answered,
“Left.” As Markener circled like a snow leopard ready to pounce.
“Wrong.” Said the dark elf master while fluidly moving in to kick out the back leg of the man. Olvann fell forward, only to find that most of his balance relied on his front right leg. Landing harshly on his side, Olvann winced in pain only to hear the voice of his instructor bark harshly,
”Up!”. Olvann jumped up, suppressing the throbbing in his left shin.
“I want you to put your dominant leg forward slightly, like this ...” With that the vysstichi made a step backwards, placed his feet firmly on the ground, with his knees slightly bent. He kept his right leg forward while his left dropped back a bit.
“Your right is your dominant leg, all your movement stems from this leg, while your left leg is used for planting. Keep your hands just the way they are.” While he said this the vysstichi raised his arms so that they formed a triangle just under his chin.
“If you lean forward, you will be able to make a strong attack ...” Markener leaned forward and sent a powerful punch in at Olvann’s face. Veering at the last moment, Markener nicked Olvann’s jaw line and sent a forceful jar through his senses.
“If you lean backwards, you will find defending yourself easier. It’s common sense…” He shrugged his shoulders and flashed Olvann a smile, acting as though punching a student in the face was the norm.
“Move around in your stance a bit, shift your weight from your left leg to your right leg as you move about and then demonstrate some simple punches, first with your right, then with your left. Practice on a training dummy.” He commanded.
Olvann’s head had been shaken up, though he quickly snapped back to reality to listen to his instructor, suppressing yet another injury in the first five minutes of his lesson. His jaw throbbed; his instructor had delivered a staggering blow with little to no effort. Olvann nodded, moving his right leg forward. His right leg lead while he moved around, heading for a dummy, he carefully acquired an attacking stance and began shifting his weight forward as he threw a right punch. It was a strong forward punch with no hook, a quick jab at the dummies head.
“Leaning forward to increases my reach and power, and leaning backwards helps me avoid blows." Olvann muttered to himself as his instructor watched carefully. He was going to get as much out of this training as he could, regardless of the brutality of his instructor. The left punch was much the same, except that it was with his left hand. He leaned forwards with his left shoulder and threw his fist at the air, straight from his chest. He made quick jabs, focusing on his quickness and agility, Olvann used his most evident trait, he wasn’t a large man, quite the contrary and relied far more on finesse than brute strength.
"Good.” Markener said almost grudgingly.
"You lean forward to increase your reach and backwards to avoid blows.” he continued, having obviously not heard the apparent deductions of his student. The dark elf's voice was suddenly cool and calm, betraying none of his apparent dislike for his student. Markener was usually not one to display his emotions. He watched Olvann complete his punches for a while before he nodded his head ever so slightly.
“Good, now get down on your stomach and watch.” Markener ordered. He executed a fast, brutal punch of his own.
“Your form is good, now what you must do, is accustom your hands to the repeated punches, I want you to do fifty push-ups on your fists… Go.” Olvann began immediately, his exquisite bodily form completing the task flawlessly and with near to no effort. Olvann thought that as he completed he saw a quick glimpse of a smile, but if he had, it was gone in a flash and Markener simply stated,
“Fifty more… Go.” This time, Olvann was slightly winded upon completion and several of his knuckles looked as if they would break open and bleed. Markener examined his knuckles briefly and nodded.
"Your punch was good..." he remarked.
“I will now teach you another kind of punch - the reversal punch ..." He stopped briefly to allow Olvann to catch his breath and absorb what he’d just said.
"Anyone can make a punch, but you need training to use those attacks effectively ..." He clenched his fists, kept his right arm close to the body while he extended his left arm. The fingers on his right hand were facing upwards, and the fingers on his left were facing the floor.
“Do this…” He ordered.
"This is how the punch is performed ..." He explained, bringing his left arm back to his body while he straightened his right arm. The move was performed blindingly quick, with a lot of force.
"Did you see it?" he asked and repeated the attack several times while reverting his fists to their original position.
"It is quite an effective attack ..."
Olvann watched carefully as Markener performed the punch. He did it several times, often slowing to accentuate the attack. Olvann moved his hands into position, assuring himself that his fists were correct. The back of his left extended fist was facing the ceiling while his right fist's back was facing the wall.
"It is a diversionary punch, your opponent will expects you to punch with your left, but instead you hit him where he doesn't suspect it.” Markener said as Olvann practiced the reversal punch. Olvann highly enjoyed the deceptive attribute related to Shaasskah. He was becoming more and more attuned to using the art of deception. He punched forcefully with his right fist, pulling back his left. It was a direct punch, using his natural agility to make it as straight and fast as possible.
"It's an attack based on deception, an attack that comes naturally to some of us ..." The Vysstichi smiled and Olvann had no doubts as to whom he was talking about. Markener carefully examined the form of the human. He was a natural at this but was assured he’d find some flaw in some part of the rest of his training and exploit it as best as he could. He smirked at that thought.
The Vysstichi stood there unflinchingly for a few moments and pondered what he should teach him next.
"We'll do kicks now ..." He finally stated, changing from a relaxed posture into another stance. Markener was quite akin to his son, and rarely wasted time with talking. Without explanation he brought his right leg up so that it folded on itself, perpendicular to his body. Momentarily he stood motionless, his legs forming some kind of inverted "L", and then he broke into an explosion of movement. Shifting his hips back a little, he launched forward with his foot, extending his leg at about chest level before he let his leg drop to the ground again. His hands were raised the entire time.
"Front kick ..." he commented languidly. Olvann nodded. He did it like Markener had shown; standing still, bringing his right leg up, folding it in with his sole facing outwards and snapping out, pushing away, before retracting his leg again.
“You can use this kick to knock someone over or simply to knock the wind out of them.” Markener commented,
“An opponent with no breath is an easily disposed opponent.” Markener remarked coolly and smiled lightly. The human was a fast learner, better than most of his previous students in fact. Zackner then waded into the hall again, pressing himself up against the wall in the same position he had before. Markener stared over at him and shook his head, apparently assured that his son had left someone at the front. Without delay, the Vysstichi turned to perform the next kick.
“The side kick …” he explained, slightly irritated. He leaned from the hip, brought his left leg up and extended it in a swift, deadly sideways kick. It stopped mere inches in front of Olvann’s chest.
Well… I suppose he didn’t kick me. He thought, silently thankful. No instructions accompanied the attack this time. The dark elf only nodded, a sign that Olvann should display his teachings. The healer casually thought that, with the arrival of his son, Markener’s demeanor improved slightly. He direly wished he wouldn’t have to do more than tend to his shin and jaw this very darknening. Olvann nodded and took the position he had previously, standing on his hind leg, right this time, and hefting the left up, folding it in so he could release it. He kicked with his lower leg mostly, but he had to swivel his body to make it enter an invisible opponent correctly. Markener watched Olvann closely and nodded.
“Good…” he commented.
”I want you to assume a defensive stance. I will show you a few blocks…” He waited for Olvann to assume his position before walking over to one of the weapon racks. He armed himself with a wooden rod. Great… Olvann thought with an already beaten body. The stick was about two centimeter thick and reinforced on the ends with some type of tarnished metal. “The first block you are going to learn is the Side Block. It is used to stop an attack that is coming towards your upper body. I will be swinging the stick at your body and want you to clench your fist and bring your forearm up to block the attack. You have to put all your strength into the move to stop the attack. You have to do it fast. First I will come from your left side, and then from your right side …“ He stated apathetically. Almost immediately he launched into his attack, the first time his attack came from the left side. An attack coming from the right side followed immediately afterwards. Both attacks were aimed at Olvann’s chest. Olvann braced himself and put his right leg forward, leaning backward to accept the punishing blows and resting most of his weight on his hind leg. This was the backward and defensive stance. As the attack came he threw up his arm to meet the stick, clenching his fist and tightening all the muscles in his arm. He didn't want to merely block the blow, as he knew that could break his arm. He accepted the blow and pushed away with his block, deflecting the force away from himself. He readily did the same for the attack to his right. Olvann was a hardened man, sinewy muscle and marble honed muscles accepted the blows with stoic silence, but did little to lessen the harsh bite of the wood. The vysstichi nodded, a sign that he approved of the human’s block. He lowered the stick and stepped back.
“Good…“ He remarked. You have learned the basic side block. The second kind of block I want to show you can be applied to deflect an attack in the vertical. The procedure is very similar apart from the fact that the forearm is kept rigid and the arm is moved from the shoulder joint in an up and down motion to intercept the attack …“ He removed his right hand from the stick for a moment and brought his arm down in a fast, sharp movement, demonstrating the impending block. Zackner smiled and noted that the explanations his father was giving were shorter and shorter, apparently he was coming to at least respect the attentive and respectful behavior of his student. Raising his stick above his head and coming closer, he brought the wooden cane down towards Olvann’s head in a fast, forceful slash. Immediatly Olvann tightened his muscles, bringing his arm up in one fluid motion. Keeping his elbow slightly bend, and angling his arm downwards to deflect most of the force of the blow down and away from the point of impact on his arm. He also clenched his left hand into a tight fist instinctively, he had learnt from his previous tutelage to follow through with a counter-attack after a vertical slash, it often left an opponent wide open. Again the stick made contact with Olvann’s arm. The wooden cane fell away and Markener stepped back.
“Well done …” Stated his instructor and Olvann caught the glimpse of a smile on Zackner.
“The lower block.” Stated Markener and took a deep breath. This time the vysstichi did not explain anything, if Olvann could piece together the last two blocks, then undoubtedly he could figure this one out. The attack flashed towards Olvann and his eyes widened as the attack veered between his thighs. Olvann knew that the attack would head for his lower extremities and so he had braced himself accordingly. He quickly moved his arm downwards the same way he had brought his arm up in a upper defensive block but inverted. He tightened his arm muscles and gritted his teeth. Again, he accepted the blow stoically.
“It hurts less after a while …“ Markener stated. Quite aware that his blows were impacting his student quite harshly, he was however impressed with the actions of his student after no apparent information on how to block the attack
“Enough… Tend to your wounds healer and be back early tomorrow.” Markener stated, turning on his heel and leaving only Olvann and Zackner in the training room. Zackner smiled at Olvann, chuckled and proceeded to leave as well. The healer breathed deeply and rubbed his forearms tenderly while seating himself on the ground. He proceeded with a few stretches and wrapped his shin and forearms in bandages, suppressing the swelling in his extremities. A large bruise was forming on his jaw line and he thought placidly that his customers at the bank would be very interested in what had happened to him. He shrugged the day’s lessons off, and headed to work.
* * * * *
The next day dawned, and Olvann was glad to have tended to his wounds properly, the soreness would have made the day’s lessons worse that a ride on the Umblat. He muttered a prayer to Ioannes and headed for the Fitness and Bones to meet another day of grueling training.
He entered the trainining facility only to meet Zackner at the front desk, the Vysstichi flashed him a smile and gestured back to the training room he’d been in the brightening prior. He glided to the back of the room to find Markener seated on the rug, he gestured for Olvann to do the same. Apparently this brightening’s lesson was to start with some theory, not completely over yet.
“Which are the most vulnerable parts of the body?“ He asked.
“Where would you attack your opponent if you wanted to kill him.” He asked bluntly. Olvann was slightly taken aback but the questioned, but highly accustomed to working with sickly and injured bodies he didn’t heasitate on listing off the most vital parts of the body.
"The throat." Olvann replied. A quick blow to the throat could quickly dispel an opponent, crushing a man’s windpipe or ripping his throat out cleanly was a sure way to kill him.
“Good.” Stated Markener.
“The throat is very vulnerable …“ The Vysstichi explained while moving his right hand towards the lower part of Olvann’s throat, just above the first rib.
“Especially this part. A hit to the throat can leave a man unable to breath and so to continue a fight either…“. He paused before continuing,
“The groin is another weak part of the body …“ he said.
“Besides that we have the eyes and the solar plexus …“ He moved his hand towards his upper body, just below the point where his two lowest ribs met.
”A well aimed kick towards the solar plexus can break through the sternum and disable a man faster than a sword thrust through the heart.” He continued as if he was talking about eating soup at mid-brightening,
The eyes are rather vulnerable as well. Even lightly touching them is unpleasant, and if you hit harder you can blind a man temporarily. Spearing the fingers into his eyes will blind him forever, and if you do it the right way you can move right into his brain. The backs of the eyes are especially weak. There are no bones. You mainly find nerves, muscles and fat there. He shrugged his shoulders and continued.
“If you do not want to kill your opponent or can’t reach his head for some reason, there are the knees…“ He continued apathetically,
“A well aimed kick to the knee will make somebody fall and render him useless. Any joints are weak for that matter…“ He stopped to tap Olvann’s knees, elbow and shoulder.
”Any questions?” He questioned and Olvann nodded in understanding.
“Good, now go home, I will see you tomorrow and you will practice what you have learnt these last two brightenings. He said quickly and exited the room. Olvann lifted himself up and left the training facility.
The training progressed much the same for nearly two cycles, Markener grilling him on the movements he’d been taught and the theory he’d learnt, until one morning he entered the room only to meet Markener’s conventional first words of,
“Stretch.” Once he’d completed his stretches he looked to the Vysstichi for instruction.
“Good, we will see if you’ve learnt anything.” Ebony lips curved into a smile, apparently he’d been waiting for this sometime. Olvann bounced on his feet side to side momentarily. The dark elf nodded at Olvann and then he clenched his right hand into a fist. Olvann cocked his fists up and stepped into a defensive position, almost all his weight on his back foot. The fist of the Vysstichi shot forward towards his stomach, while he pulled his left hand back, readying himself for a second attack that would follow immediately after the first one. With a punch downward, (a left hand for him since that was the side Markener was attacking from), he deflected the punch as he had been taught. His right arm was there to protect himself against the blow Markener was to unleash next. He had no time to thank Ioannes for the quick healing the previous darkening before.
Once he deflected the blows he quickly side stepped and launched into a fluid attack of his own. With an intense display of agility he delivered a snap kick to Markeners side; temporarily shifting his weight to his left side before he dropped back into a defensive stance. The elf jumped back just before Olvann’s leg made contact with his side.
“Well done ...” The Vysstichi remarked, and, without delay, launched a kick towards Olvann’s left side. Olvann immediately threw his left arm into a downwards block and tightened his muscles to absorb the kick. He counter-attacked swiftly after absorbing the attack and kicked out again towards his instructors leg. The kick took the elf by surprise. The dark elf sought to step back, to dodge the attack, but moved away too late. Olvann’s foot made contact and sent him staggering backwards a bit. Olvann quickly followed his kick with another attack, a punch at Markener’s throat, and the dark elf abruptly raised his hands again to parry the attack that followed the kick. Markener brought his right hand forward just as Olvann punched towards his throat. The Vysstichi’s stance was unstable, he had just recovered from the human’s previous attack. He raised his hands just as the human began his attack, but Olvann didn’t follow through with his punch, instead reversing it and lunging with his other first. Not knowing that it had been a feint, Markener’s eyes widenend fractionally as Olvann retracted his hand at the last second. The Vysstichi dodged, barely blocking the second attack and shouted,
“Stop! I’ve seen enough …” he stated, but he kept his hands raised, remained in his stance just in case.
”You’ve done well, this is the end of your basic training.” He stated flatly and left the room.
"Thank you." Olvann answered the back of instructor. Before leaving himself he left the rest of his payment, a hundred crown bank note on the front desk where a smiling Zackner sat waiting. With a nod exchanged on both parts he left feeling rather sore.
Linear Mode
