Only the Beginning (Faust)

[Faust D'Rinishad]

Little by little, the Prince of Har’oloth was forcing Kalenel into situations turned predicament by the loss of his second sword. As experience had shown him, Faust was well aware of the detriments of losing a sword in battle, especially if one was only accustomed to dual wielding and not single-wielding. Subsequently, it was imperative that Kalenel learn to use both of the aforementioned with equivalent efficiency, and that was precisely what the son of House Vaimai’tai was learning now.

Faust’s sword strayed to the side as Kalenel batted it away, and the latter’s decision to dodge the second attack was wise in that it repositioned him for a counterattacking thrust. The retaliation was duly noted by Kalenel’s mentor, of course, and he turned gracefully to the side to allow Kalenel’s jab to pierce where he had been standing seconds ago.

An overhead chop of Faust’s right sword would bat Kalenel’s blade downward, and the Vysstichi Lord immediately followed the parry with a low sweep of his complementing sword targeting the back of Kalenel’s nearest knee.

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

His heart raced as he quickly had to adjust to using only one sword, and so far he thought he had done a bang up job. Eyes widening as his counterattack was turned aside, Kalenel quickly shifted his weight upon his back leg. Bringing his blade to the ready to attack, Kalenel kick out his leg high toward his mentor, hoping to combine an attack with dodging the attack.

ooc: sorry for short post

[Faust D'Rinishad]

As Kalenel’s foot ascended to both dodge and counterattack simultaneously, the Vysstichi Lord’s silver brows narrowed disapprovingly. For the sake of his student’s learning experience (and his leg as well), Faust’s second sword came atop Kalenel’s knee, batting it lightly with the side of the weapon as to not completely sever through the appendage.

“A nice idea, but I would not try it against someone who wants to kill you.” Faust said, smiling slightly to indicate that Kalenel’s error was not something to be ashamed about. “Whenever you deal with an opponent who wields two weapons, you must always be conscious of both weapons at all times. And likewise, you must be conscious where both of your swords are and what they are doing, always.”

Nodding slightly, the Vysstichi Lord twirled his long sword, Blood Winter, downright and into its respective sheath at his side. Only the adamantite blade remained in his left hand now. Raising the sword so that the cross piece was at face level, Faust bowed his head faintly before rushing at Kalenel again. This time, however, the playing field would be more even.

The Prince of Har’oloth led with a straight thrust, the tip of Soulseeker whistling through the air with astounding speed towards Kalenel’s right shoulder.

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

Kalenel firmly nodded his head as his chest heaved in and out. He was not worn as of yet, but was starting to feel the effects of the brutal spar. Oddly enough though, he found himself to love the feeling. He listened intently to his mentor, mentally ingesting every word he spoke.

Readying himself as Faust gave up one of his swords, Kalenel dropped back into his ready stance. With his longsword in his right hand, he stepped forward closer to Faust as the blade lept up to intercept his mentor's. Once inside the range of Faust, and with his sword hopefully parried away, Kalenel would unleash an elbow strike to any opening he saw.

[Faust D'Rinishad]

Unbeknownst to the newest member of House D’Rinishad, his progress was being monitored with each passing second. Faust watched Kalenel carefully, noting the fluidity of his movements and the graceful manner by which he transitioned from one attack to the next. Chain-fighting, as it was called, was not a simple concept; it required both technique and physical toughness, and Kalenel already possessed the latter in abundance. He was learning to use every part of himself as a weapon, and in exchange for his creativity, he was becoming more of a weapon as the minutes wore on.

He was becoming more like a D’Rinishad…

Again their blades met amidst the air, screeching together as both forces behind the swords drove them against one another with titanic strength, but it was Kalenel who improvised first, wisely realizing that just because his other sword was lost did not mean that his other arm was useless –not by a long shot.

His elbow connected against the Prince of Har’oloth’s shoulder, brushing it for just a split second as Faust rolled away to absorb some of the blow. Although it had not been a direct hit, the fact remained that he had scored a minor victory against his formidable teacher who backed away while nodding approvingly. It was Kalenel’s turn to change the tempo of the fight now, to see if he could turn the odds more in his favor…

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

Kalenel finally let a smirk escape as he landed the blow. It was a glancing blow, but it gave the young vyystichi the same satisfaction if it had landed fully. Flourishing his blade as his mentor regained his footing, Kalenel quickly came in with his blade at the ready.

With a quick dash, Kalenel would come upon his trainer with his blade up ready to strike toward the head or torso of Faust. It was but a feint though, only a ruse as Kalenel quickly shifted his weight around on a pivoting foot and unleashing a powerful kick as his momentum caught up with him. Following the kick would be three short and quick thrust, each one aimed at a different location of Faust's torso.

[Faust D'Rinishad]

The momentum of Kalenel’s hasty advance forced the Prince of Har’oloth to turn, his feet trampling speedily beneath him as he evaded his student’s frontal thrust. When he saw the kick, though, he was already in an awkward position, and thus he flung his body forward and under, tucking into a tight roll inches below Kalenel’s foot.

But he knew that Kalenel would be upon him in seconds.

Rising to his feet and continuing with his momentum, Faust dashed towards the other side of the room to separate from his student. He saw the sword, Kalenel’s other sword, and he positioned the tip of Soulseeker beneath its edge, flipping it upwards and spinning at Kalenel. The makeshift missile twirled awkwardly at the younger D’Rinishad, hilt spinning towards its tip and vice versa as it sailed viciously at the Prince’s impressive student.

But what would he do? Block? Dodge? Or perhaps try to retrieve it?

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

Kalenel's eyes widened as his mentor employed his creative tactic. Out of instinct more than anything else, Kalenel dodged swiftly out of the way of the incoming blade, all the while seeing a interesting oppurtunity. Of the hilt of the blade was nearest him as it spun within his arms reach, the young warrior would attempt the risky manuever of snatching the blade out of the air. He would do so with his other blade guarding the exposed side of his inner arm, in case he mistimed the manuever.

If the blade was nearest him as it came within reach, Kalenel would advance as it passed by him.

[Faust D'Rinishad]

The makeshift projectile gyrated violently in the air, twirling speedily and seemingly impossible to catch, but the newest member of House D’Rinishad would not step away from the dangerous challenge of seizing it from mid-air. And fortunately for Kalenel, he possessed the necessitated dexterity to accomplish the intricate grab –but did he have the correct timing as well?

The hilt spun gracefully into his grasp, his ebony fingers curling securely around the handle of the sword. From the opposite side of the room, the Prince of Har’oloth issued a low whistle, one that betrayed his astonishment at Kalenel’s success. Normally he would not have recommended for beginning students to attempt such a maneuver, but apparently Kalenel was also driven by the same ambition for improvement that continued to inspire more experienced warriors like Faust and Serion.

“Impressive, I must admit. I would advise you to dodge the next time such an occasion presents itself, but it seems that you’ve another, more practical solution already. Well done.” Grinning lightly, the dark elf twirled both of his long swords into their respective sheaths by his sides. “You’ve performed remarkably so far. There are still a few more things that I would like to teach you, or rather, for you to learn through our duels together, but that can wait. Would you care for a short break first or to continue?”

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

Nodding to show he understand his mentor's words, Kalenel also sheathed his swords. "A break would be nice, a small one," the young warrior said as he grabbed a flask he had left off to the side. Taking a long drink, he offered the rest to Faust. "Whats mine is yours, for what that is worth," Kalenel said, smirking at his words. He had not much to give to Faust, his loyalty being the most valuable of all his possessions.

Staying upon his feet for the duration of the break, Kalenel saw it as good as time as any to ask Faust about his progression. "Do you see any improvments I can make upon my form, any recommendations." Kalenel reverted back to the language of the vyystichi for the last word.

[Faust D'Rinishad]

Grinning and snatching the flask from the air as it was tossed to him, Faust nodded in appreciation and accepted a few mouthfuls of the water contained within. “I hope you remember that, Kalenel. When I become an old and penniless rogue and you a rich and world famous swordsman, I will hold you to your word.” Chuckling faintly at the jest, Faust corked the flask and returned it to his apprentice.

“My recommendations?” Pondering momentarily, the dark elf’s silver brows knitted pensively. “I encourage you to continue what you are doing. We are here to practice, to learn what works and what does not. Obviously, what does not work here is probably something that you’ll not want to do in live combat…unless of course you are using a variation. But this is the place to expand your horizon…”

“One thing, however, that is vital, is for you to maintain your balance at all times –regardless of shape and form. In choosing to learn how to dual wield, you might not have realized it at the time, but you picked one of the most difficult styles of combat to learn. Master the use of both hands and you will master the ability to wield both swords.”

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

Snatching the flask from the air and returning it to its spot on top of his cloak, Kalenel smiled as he heard Faust's words. "I would stay a rogue for the rest of my life if it meant you would stay my mentor," Kalenel said, continuing the bandy. The young warrior chuckled softly then as he realized his words weren't that far off.

Returning to stand before Faust, Kalenel listened intently to the lecture he was given. He took it all in, committing it to memory as best he could. It would have to become second nature to him, but best to start somewhere.

Retrieving his swords swiftly from their scabbards, Kalenel clearly signaled to Faust that he was ready to start again. Advancing upon his mentor, Kalenel would stay in a balanced stance as he issued forth two quick slashes. Each strike would be done with the other blade ready to parry away a counter-attack.

[Faust D'Rinishad]

Twin long swords snapped upwards to intercept Kalenel’s successive attacks, coming inside the younger dark elf’s arms and slapping both of his weapons outwards to throw him off balance. Kalenel would find both of his blades pushed to the sides, inevitably leaving him open for whatever designs that his mentor had in store for him. Luckily, though, Kalenel was already prepared for such an event, and thus he would have little difficultly regaining control of his swords and readying a counter attack of his own.

Unfortunately, he would have sparse time to react, for the Prince of Har’oloth’s left sword came devilishly fast towards his shoulder, poking upwards at an angle while his other blade cut across from left to right along Kalenel’s abdomen.

OOC: sorry for the short post, gotta head to class soon

[Kalenel D'Rinishad]

Quickly regaining control of his blades, Kalenel swiftly went into the necessary motions to protect his body from the attacks of his mentor. The young warrior's right blade lept upwards as Kalenel attempted to parry away the attack at his shoulder. His other blade, quickly coming back to the ready, shot out to deflect the attack toward his midsection with the flat of it's blade.

Not wanting to give his trainer an easy chance to counterattack, Kalenel quickly unleashed a flurry of attacks from his swords. His right blade would chop violenty downwards after it performed it's parry, while his left blade slashed swiftly upwards after it protected against Faust's second slash. Many more attacks would follow the initial outburst, with both blades slashing and thrusting at any opening Kalenel saw.

Kalenel's eyes showed the ferocity of a beserking orc as he sent forth his attacks, yet he was focused and clearly in control of his blades.

[Faust D'Rinishad]

Metal screeched against metal against as Kalenel performed two successive parries, both of which he executed with astounding accuracy and precision. Faust nodded in approval as always even while his hands moved in a blur of motion, navigating his swords high and low to pick off each of Kalenel’s ripostes. With the tempo of the duel accelerated and Kalenel’s demonstration of advancement proven, the Prince of Har’oloth steadily picked up the pace.

He danced to Kalenel’s left then, dropping low and sweeping his right sword out at Kalenel’s knees. His other sword, currently held at bay, did not follow the initial assault or move as if to complement the previous attack. For whatever reason that Faust opted to use only one of his blades was subject to Kalenel’s interpretation. Whatever the case, it was the younger D’Rinishad’s prerogative to determine whether it mattered or not.

Most importantly, it seemed, was the present danger swiping across at his knees.