• Graded • The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship

[Kasoria]

66th Trial, Z'da, Arc 690
The Hall of Rule and Reprimand
18th break

They got a break to themselves, near the death of every day. Between Principles of Justice at 3rd break, and dinner served promptly at 7th break ("arrive late, stay hungry" was the rule regarding attendance), the cadets were granted a break to do what they wished. Within the confines of the Academy, of course. There would be no wandering or carousing about the Citadel, but they would be permitted to visit various instructors or rooms, study for themselves, socialize, play games or even gamble (for what was a Blackjack without a pack of cards in his pocket?). The grim stones of the Academy echoed with laughter and easy relaxation during that hour, a place transformed from one of immutable law into one of young men of serious intent, given over to a stolen hour of leisure.

That was how the more educated among the cadets would put it. Kasoria just saw it as an hour to relax in his bunk, maybe finish some chores he'd shirked the day before. But that day, he wasn't in his bunk, or at one of the desks in his dorm room. Sergeant Tantos was at a loss for where the boy had vanished to, until he replayed the day through his mind... and came to a single conclusion.

The figure was alone in the training yard, a square box of bare, high walls. It was protected from the teethed, driving wind but it made little difference this far into the season. The air itself was full of ice and soon snow would tumble down and blanket everything in clean, beautiful death. But the figure in the yard was clad only in breeches and a shirt. No boots, so he could move better across the stones. No coat or armor, for the same reason.

Kasoria felt the cold, but did not let it distract him. He breathed it in through his nose and felt the hairs in his nostrils sharpen and freeze... but it was the icy sliver he held close to his hip that mattered. It was all that mattered.

Block.

His arm shot up and the short sword flashed in the waning suns. From vertical to perpendicular, as if warding off the sword of someone striking at Kasoria's head. It wobbled a touch. His grip needed work, but the same could be said for everything. He held the pose for a moment and then-

Block!

-jerked the blade in front of himself, hips jerking at the same time to end him speed, blocking another spectral sword, coming from the other side this time-

Parry.

Again the sword moved, but there was more to it that simple blocking, that time. Already he knew the difference between the two words. A man could block with a sword, or a shield, or anything that would just stop the blow coming his way. Stopping it: that was the point. But a parry? That was a different animal. That was only half of the goal, that started with-

-the sword swung back up, horizontal by the time it stopped, as if the boy were warding off a blow aimed at cutting him in two from head to balls, and yet he pushed up and out instead of just freezing, and-

Counter!

-the sword slashed down, imaginary enemy's torso laid open as his own weapon was pushed away, leaving his trunk open for that razor-edged blade to be hacked open and then-

Thrust!

Kasoria pulled the sword back close to his side, pointed straight forward and it didn't stop moving before he thrust it out again, stabbing straight out and burying in the gut of an enemy that wasn't there. The boy smirked to himself as he twisted before he pulled it out. Nice, big, gushing wound, that'd be. Probably not what the Sergeant would want from one of his cadets, charged with preservation of life and law as they were, but still... sometimes it was a good to know the cunt wouldn't be getting back up.

He straightened up and circled, blade swinging, swishing back and forth in his hand. His other was at the small of his back, out of his way... and he was smiling. Listening to the whistle and sigh of that keen blade, cutting through the frosty air. So well-balanced he could toss it from hand to hand and when the hilt struck his palm it was... as if another two feet had been added to his body. As familiar and trusted as his big toe or his very eyes.

The boy smiled, oblivious to the watched in the shadows, and got into a new stance. Gladius at the ready.

Five breaks ago, he didn't even know what the fucking thing was called.

[Kasoria]

"A glad what?"

"Gladius, and tack a fucking "sir" onto the end of that, boy."

"Sorry, sir."

Sergeant Tantos glowered but did nothing else. He knew better than anyone that recruits from the slums of the Outer Perimeter had problems with authority. Bearing down on them just made it worse, like pressing coal until it was a belligerent diamond. The cocky little snotbag in front of him had potential. He was smart, he was tough, and he knew how to fight. But he needed to be more than those things, if he was to be a Blackjack.

One worth a shit, anyway.

"You need a weapon, Cadet Kasoria, and if these weren't to your liking-" he gestured to the short rank of swords against the wall, from a cutlass to a broadsword "-then this little in-between bastard will have to do."

Kasoria grimaced and looked away but he knew that it had to be done. Fuck did he need with a sword, anyway? He wasn't a soldier, he was... well, he was going to be, a Blackjack. They didn't need swords. Just... truncheons, or something. Besides, half the times he'd seen the Blackjacks get in a scrap, the swords stayed where they were and they brawled it out like any other gutter bastard. They were worse armor and cloaks and helmets.

Yeah, a little corner of his mind reminded him, sounding more like Old Tanty every day, but the other times, the swords came out.

"Take the sodding thing, would you?"

Kasoria wanted to spit out something, but Cadet Kasoria had learned well that while Tantos was his "patron" in the Academy, that didn't mean he got it easy. The opposite, in fact. He was here on Tantos' recommendation, and that meant the sergeant was as on the hook as he was. So mouthing off would get him a gauntlet-enhanced clip around the ear and more snickers from the other cadets later that trial.

They were in spread around the Academy Armory, cooing over their chosen weapons. Most had chosen the straight, simple bastard swords he'd seen on Blackjacks his whole life. A few had chosen cutlasses, scimitars... Big Jem had even been allowed to use a mace, with a knobbly head as big as Kasoria's fist. Some of them were the sons of richer folk that Kasoria's parents, and knew how to wield their choices.

Willis and Bryant were already demonstrating some sleek-looking moves. Kasoria was stuck with this... machete-looking thing that was shorter than everything else on display. But he still had to make a choice, so...

"Hmm. Feels good, doesn't it?"

Kasoria just nodded. Because it did. It wasn't awkward and alien to his hands like the others were. He felt like he'd been swinging a skinny-but-heavy club with them. But this... it felt natural. He had control over every inch of the double-edged weapon. It swung and thrust and stopped and went when and where his body commanded. By the time he remembered he wasn't alone, Sergeant Tantos was smirking at him, arms crossed, radiating victory like curry-rank farts.

"I'll take that as a "yes"."

"Aye... it'll do."

"Aye, for a choice," the Sergeant grunted, taking a matching sword from the rack and gesturing for the boy to stand opposite him. "Now I gotta show you a few things."

[Kasoria]

He kept moving, kept fighting his invisible enemies, for it was both his only warmth, and the only way he would improve. For now, anyway. Sparring started tomorrow, his class paired off and beating each other bloody with heavy wooden versions of the weapons they chose that day. But they were their weapons, and so they would carry them. Care for them. Maintain them.

Kasoria had already sharpened his as much as metal could handle the treatment. All trial he'd been waiting for this stolen, private break, and had gone scurrying for the yard before the bells had even finished tolling.

Parry and Counter.

Again the gladius came up, this time to the side, and pointed down, as if warding off a blow meant to take his leg off at the knee. Kasoria swept the weapon away and followed up with an upward slash of his own, going up from a crouch to standing-

-almost tripping over his feet as he did, but rallying, slashing down again as he went.

He sighed. Still not good. Tantos moved like molten fucking silver over the stones, earlier that trial. Didn't matter what he carried, boot knife or broadsword, he handled them all like he was born holding them. Every movement was precise and planned, economical and efficient. Kasoria decided right then, that's what he wanted to be able to do. Because he saw the same terrible beauty he had when the grizzled old cunt had fucked him up in three bloody moves only a few seasons ago, right before he made him the offer to join the Blackguard.

Block. Parry. Counter. So far, all he'd got was the sword, and three words.

It's a start.

From the shadows of the entrance, Tantos could see the possibilities and the potential take root in the boy, even more so than when he'd first gripped the sword. Not just the hack and thrust of the sword, but the footwork that needed to be solid under it. The tactics to identify your enemy, and how to deal with him. The way one move, no matter what it was, could birth a dozen more... or doom a man, with one false step. He watched as Kasoria squared his feet under him, just as he'd been shown.

Weaker foot forward, dominant back... aye, good lad.

The sergeant smiled as the boy started simple, working his way up. Block, block, parry, parry... making sure his legs were bent, able to move any direction when he had to. Not overreaching, apart from when he attempted-

"Shite!"

-something like a thrust followed by a slash followed by, of course, him tumbling forward into the stones. But he picked himself up, shook himself off, and got back into position. Tantos smiled a little wider as an invisible enemy attacked him again, and he blocked high, then slid back as he blocked again, parrying in a circle in front of his torso, and his counter was-

"Clever lad..."

-a short, sharp clubbing with the rounded bottom of the gladius handle. High enough that it would crack his attacker across the nose and break it without a worry. Twice, and a third time the gladius hammered down, the blunt end driving his enemy back until Kasoria... stopped. Got back into his stance, weapon ready, eyes watchful... but there was no killing blow. No murder done with a weapon sanctified by the Blackjack.

Sanctified? Getting poetical in your old age, fool.

The smile became something more than just an appreciation of form. The boy was learning. Not just to swing steel, not just to kill, which any man could do. But to spare life, even in a fight for his life. To be measured in his use of force, use his blade to subdue his enemy, not just kill him because it was easier. Soldiers were trained to kill, and in the Blackjack it was little different. But for them, it was always the second option. They weren't soldiers, killers in armor that butchered across battlefields. They were enforcers of the law, and protectors of the citizenry.

Some cunt comes at us looking for blood, we put him down. But those wankers are a lot rarer than you'd think. So the rest of the time? We're tough, and we're smart... but we know the law, and we stick to it. Because we're the Blackguard.

Sergeant Tantos turned away from his pupil, satisfied with the progress he saw. The program had two more arcs to go, and he liked his boy's chances. He waited until he was further inside before he picked up his pace, footsteps audible off the carved stones. But he could still hear the grunts from the training yard, a young man growing close to his blade, right until the bells tolled for dinner.

[Pegasus]

Kasoria

Overview

A nice thread, it is very much a training thread and, as such, we get to see a lot of your pc's thought processes regarding fighting and the whole "invisible enemy". In places (five hours ago, he didn't know what it was called!) I laughed aloud and I finished reading the thread feeling like I know Kasoria a bit better, which is always good. You manage his inner dialogue, the descriptions around him etc really well. Lots of atmosphere too. Nice! Enjoy the rewards, and drop me a pm if I miss anything!

Points

XP: 10 (not for magic)

Renown: NA

Loot

None

Knowledge

Knowledge:
Discipline: Taking Time to Practice
Discipline: The Patience to Start with the Basics
Blades (Gladius): Block
Blades (Gladius): Parry and Counter
Blades (Gladius): Importance of Solid Footwork
Blades (Gladius): Using the Hilt as a Club

Non-Skill Knowledge:
NPC Sergeant Tantos: Unforgiving Tutor
Blackguard Academy: Takes Recruits from All Social Strata