• PM To Join • Saber Swordplay

[Kayleigh]

Cylus 20 718, Mid

Location: Rynmere's University

She'd wanted to find an earlier time to give this whole thing a try, but with being so caught up in Andaris and all; Kayleigh had found herself completely surrounded by the new cultural antics. She'd traveled far to unusual places like Uthaldria before and learned much of the Lotharro there, but somehow being closer to home still felt so different. Rynmere was a new enigma to her entirely and with the way Cylus had unfolded so far, she definitely felt eager to explore the rest of the region once it grew warmer.

Dressed probably a little too much for the occasion she had on her blue laced tunic with the black breeches on, both over her underdress so she could maximize the efficiency of layers. Over that of course she also wore her jade colored coat, with her saber rested in her lap while she waited for the group to arrive. She had to thank Immortals that she still had her stockings lest she wouldn't feel her toes within the boots, because it really felt that cold just sitting out here.

The 'Sports Club' or so it had been named was said to be meeting totrial, even though Cylus proved to be a constant night even here. She had to admit the moonlight was pretty to admire, and it gave her saver a gleam that she never quite noticed before. She'd paid for a class with the club a while ago, and had been told their next meeting would be on this trial. So she'd made an effort to prepare and 'look' the part, arrived a little too early for the occasion perhaps. Still she waited and watched as some of the members started to arrive, their weapons and outfits a combination of wintry gear as well as combat from the looks of it.

"That reminds me... I should visit the smith later. See how their prices fair on armor..." She made a mental note to herself as she remained seated in the courtyard, her eyes fallen from the arrivals to the saber within her hands once more. Her fingers felt a tad bit cold but thankfully the gloves kept them from freezing, since the metal of her blade stung of cold upon prolonged contact. "Well. They're here now, guess that means I better make an impression." She figured as she held the blade at the handle and pushed herself from the ground, her breath seen exhaled in a white cloud of smoke as she rose onto her feet.

She'd felt like she had to work hard only to make some sort of impression here, since Rynmere was full of nobility that liked to judge their commoners. Honestly Kayleigh wasn't sure why she felt that way, she was after all a foreigner from overseas. "Kayleigh Wintoic." She muttered as she started to walk towards the group. "My name's... No... My name is Kayleigh Wintoic." It was so hard trying to sound so proper here, but she gave it enough effort to matter at least. "Greetings!" She chimed as she approached a couple of the guys that walked in. "My name's Kayleigh Wintoic, it's a pleasure to meet you." She held out her free hand and pretended she didn't screw up that introduction, hopeful that they wouldn't nitpick at her Rharnian accent.

[Caius Gawyne]

The walk from Midtown almost bordered a leisurely one, the young Gawyne in his Ashcloak uniform and his padded, leather brigandine instead of his simpler cloth gambeson, the long, thicker coat-like armor providing a decent level of protection even against actual weapons, let alone practice ones. While his real saber hung at his hip— for Caius felt its need more than ever these trials—he looked forward to the heavier weight of the Sports' Club's practice weapons for the strength work. While swordplay had once been for fun, he'd come to realize that now he had a reason and a use to be able to defend himself. Well, more than one reason. The lanterns flickered with flame despite the early morning break, civil servants kept particularly busy in the frigid darkness of Cylus, the skies to-trial thankfully clear. If the wind was biting, however, the Ezere felt it not, his Immortal ancestor's own blessing granting him additional comfort against the cold that his northern heritage already somewhat had granted him,

"Keys! How is it that I'm the one who's late?" Halit's voice broke the Lord Arbiter from his wandering thoughts, festering frustrations at the assault of VII's forces across Rynmere and the painful reminder that his delicate pianist was still in far too much danger.

Offering a brief smile, Caius fell into step with his Biqaj friend and bodyguard, the shorter, broad-shouldered man never missing a practice session with the Sports Club, "Just this once, and you sarding well know it. Sorry, I was already up. I just figured I'd meet you on the way."

"That's not what you pay me for, ot djal." The other man grumbled with a sly smile none the less, tossing his dark dreads with a huff of breath in the frigid darkness, "At least the weather's fair, but damn if I'm not ready for Ashan, seq'at."

The young Gawyne smirked, shrugging his narrow shoulders as the pair passed through the gates of Rynmere University, nodding to the Moseke Knights who stood guard now, who now knew his face and his title where they'd once just seen another student. They made their way to the Lawn, Caius earlier instead of horribly late for once. A few other students and citizens had begun to gather, waiting for their instructors to arrive so that they could divide into their Clubs and get to practicing and sparring. Now, more than ever, the ranks of those coming to learn some form of combat appeared to have swollen. After the taking of the guard and VII making their presence once again known across the kingdom, plenty of people found themselves suddenly motivated to become better at protecting themselves.

Caius noted that Ser Volhad had already arrived, and so he and Halit parted ways, the Biqaj waving at his instructor and most likely full of questions about better dagger techniques. The Lord Arbiter didn't see his instructor, Ser Lowe, but he did note the young woman who also carried with her a curved blade like his own. Having practiced with the Sports Club for more than a few seasons now, the young Gawyne didn't recognize her face, and so he made his way over the snow of the lawn to offer a greeting.

His cloak was unmistakably the uniform of the Order, though he thought nothing of it now, his acceptance of the position that had so forcibly been thrust upon him at the end of Vhalar necessary but still uncomfortable in the guarded vaults of his mind, "Hello. New to-trial? Welcome; it's always nice to see a fresh face."

His smile was both genuine and lopsided and he offered an ungloved hand that was still warm to the touch should she take it, the hint of Aukari in his mixed noble blood and the blessing of his Immortal great grandfather giving him a comfortable immunity to Cylus' horrible chill, "I'm Caius—" The young Gawyne chose not to introduce himself with his title or his House, finding such formalities usually distasteful, let alone prohibitive in such a casual atmosphere, "—Nice to meet you. I'm sure Ser Lowe will be here shortly as well as a few other sparring partners."

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[Kayleigh]

For whatever reason when she approached the two individuals of the group Kayleigh felt one of them familiar, yet brushed the notion aside as she tried to focus on making her impression. She greeted them and even when she mucked that up well enough, her slip up must've went by unnoticed as one of the boys greeted her plain as day.

Oddly enough he seemed quite lightly dressed for the occasion really, everyone else but him had on layers of clothing to say the least. It definitely made Kayleigh feel outlandishly overdressed and somehow... curious as to whether or not he were even cold underneath those light layers. "Caius? A pleasure meeting you then, you may call me Kayleigh if it pleases you. My friends usually just call me Kay though." She assured him with a soft smile, rather happy to reciprocate the friendly greeting he managed to provide her.

"I am new in fact. New to Rynmere as well as the grounds." She told him shortly after Caius asked the question. "I had a thought to consider a few extra lessons would help me learn the sword, it'd be nice to have proper education in the ways of sword fighting." Kayleigh admitted with a smile pushed into her lips, quite astonishingly she felt a little more comfortable now that the greeting was over with.

While she didn't know for sure what to expect from the man, she somehow started to feel that maybe etiquette wasn't always a priority to those in Andaris. Sure Caius seemed to vibe nobility like the majority of these posh weapon practitioners, but Kayleigh could see he carried a more lax approach compared to the rest; like status and nobility didn't need to be carried everywhere he went.

"Ser Lowe?" She inquired with elevated eyebrows. "The mentor I take it. I'm eager to meet him come to think of it, will he be addressing us individually or a group entirely?" Kayleigh brought the saber and scabbard up over her shoulder, the strap pulled over her chest so the scabbard rested closer to her right shoulder. The singer couldn't help but notice that Caius also appeared to carry a saber, much more better conditioned than her's from the looks of it.

"Will you be providing any lessons yourself then? Or are you just here to learn like me as well?" When she asked she did so with a tilt of her head, her eyes curiously rested on Caius as she tried to gauge how experienced he was with the weapon.

[Caius Gawyne]

The young Gawyne thought little of his lack of concern for the Cylus chill, never one to really feel much of the cold given his homeland, but now more or less immune. He was aware of the eyes from the other practitioners gathered as they lingered on his ash-colored cloak and on his face—plenty of those gathered new who he was, and they all had their opinions. That Kayleigh admitted she was new to Rynmere, a traveler he assumed, was almost a relief. Perhaps she was someone who wouldn't have some thought to voice about the Order of the Mantis or the mage executions for just one precious moment in his time in public—time he often limited in his previous life and limited even more now in the present.

"I've studied at Rynmere University for well over an arc now, and in Viden before that. The weather here is far more favorable than Viden Academy, I can assure you." Caius chuckled, offering a lopsided hint of a smile as he attempted small talk, all be it awkwardly, "The Sports Club here is excellent, but perhaps I'm a little biased as a Rynmere native—"

"'Cause you need the practice for murderin' folks." Came a grumble from one of the other people gathered.

"Fire's not enough for some to stay warm, you know." Snorted another.

"Oh, now, at least he's doin' something other than runnin' his sardin' mouth, and all of it's for the Crown." Snickered someone else in Caius' supposed defense.

The northern noble smirked, summoning all of his limited reserves of inner patience in order to ignore the comments, grip tightening on the saber at his hip that he thankfully wouldn't be using in practice lest he actually be tempted to stain the snow with someone else's blood. His sharp blue eyes churned with emotion, colors shifting in his irises to darker hues of grey,

"Ser Lowe will lead the group in some warm ups, give us a short lesson, and then break us up into partners for sparring. He likes to meander the group and watch the pairs, sometimes pulling someone aside to teach individually. How long have you been using a blade—oh, me? No, I don't give any lessons, not this season. I've considered it, but circumstances have me too busy now." Caius answered her question quietly, almost furtively, not entirely wanting to bring the conversation back to the apparent distraction of his position as Lord Arbiter for the other practitioners gathered.

He rolled his narrow shoulders in a shrug, confident enough in the use of his saber but aware of his own limitations. The fading scar that traced his chest from shoulder to sternum, gauged there by one Pythera Venora, was enough of a reminder of his shortcomings as a swordsman, though the curious way in which it had begun to heal when it wasn't supposed to was more a sign of the Immortal of Transformation who'd left her mark behind in the wake of Vhalar.

While there were a few other whispers in the northern noble's direction, it would be obvious to Kayleigh that the young man did his best to ignore him. Whether she did or not was her choice, but Caius wasn't there to discuss his occupation or the morality behind his service to the Crown. He was there to improve a skill, painfully aware of where he was lacking in it. In the momentary silence, Ser Lowe finally did appear, the somewhat dashing young man full of bravado and oozing an infectious confidence,

"Good trial, friends. Ashan is on its way—can you feel it? I sarding can't." He offered without formality, sliding the bag of practice equipment from off his broad shoulders and letting his gaze wash over his students gathered in the darkness of Cylus, "Well, more of you turned up in the cold than I expected. Welcome."

His last word was spoken with a smile at Kayleigh, though his attention didn't linger. Instead, he handed the practice sabers to Caius without warning, shoving the bag into his narrow chest without vehemence so much as playful familiarity, perhaps enjoying his authority over the other man in this informal setting as his teacher instead of as someone otherwise lower in social class,

"Please see to it everyone gets a practice weapon, would you, my Lord?" Davin chuckled, returning to speaking to the group as a whole while the young Gawyne did as he was asked, "So, let's all get ready for practice with some warming up this crisp Cylus trial, eh? Once everyone has their saber, let's make a couple of nice rows here and here—" Ser Lowe was pointing, directing the class of about fifteen individuals into rows of five, "—a bit apart like that, yes. And then we'll do some stretching and such."

He'd wait until everyone was ready, and then guide the class in some much-needed warming up.

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