[Haven] The Sword of The Evening

[Balthazar Black]

18 Ashan 721

A short few bits after he'd called the unarmed training session to a close, Balthazar and Elisabeth met again on the beach to practice their work with various weapons. Well Balthazar wanted to practice with various weapons, Elisabeth was just working with her sword again. Balthazar brought his faldrunium spear, two of his four daggers (one being Elisabeth's and the other being a grave gold one he'd won from the Scholar's Nook), his hammer, and his katana. The katana and dagger had been set aside and now Balthazar held both his spear and his hammer in hand, trying to figure out which one he wanted to work with. His hammer was the less dangerous of the two but if he left the sheath over the blade of the spear it would effectively be a staff and the chances of accidentally injuring Elisabeth with it were lower.

So he decided to use his spear for the beginning of their spar, tossing the hammer down so the spiked end buried itself in the ground. Elisabeth returned to the beach with her sword, and he looked towards her and then twirled his spear a little. It had been far too long since he fought with the spear in his hand, the last notable time he took it up being when he went to hunt Gaston and when he'd arrived then he decided quickly that his hands were the more useful weapon against the other mage. Holding a polearm in his hands reminded him of times long past when he'd train with Xanax and Isabella. Xanax had never been a fighter because of his condition, but Balthazar was. He'd used a quarterstaff when he was younger to reach things his arms and a sword never could but ever since he'd been given Woe's gift he- wait no!

The last time he used the spear for something significant was in Viden when he used it to help burn down the haunted building. A memory that had been soured by his trial. How could they dare call him guilty of endangering the people of Viden? Not one life was lost and it was because of him. He'd taken the time to figure out how to get it done quickly and effectively. So what if he spent ten trials working on an accelerant that he never got far enough with the use? He'd got to the garrison and gotten their permission. They gave him soldier to do it and he did. They could have turned him away if they'd meant to just report him later. It was over now though and all that remained was the future.

Remembrance, not fixation, he had to remind himself constantly. "Lets see how good you've become." Balthazar said to Elisabeth, shifting into a ready stance with his staff. He moved on the attack first- striking with only the blunt end of the staff to avoid any potential danger. He thrust it forward, expecting her to parry the strike to one side or the other and preparing to move his weapon with the momentum of her parry to bring the staff around at her from whichever side she hit it off to.

[Elisabeth Black]

Arc 721, 18 Ashan

After grabbing her sword, she met Balthazar back at the training area, curiously watching him with his collection of weapons. She smiled a small smile as she saw the adamantite dagger she had gifted him – he called it ‘Elisabeth’s dagger’. The young woman remembered the night she had gifted it to him fondly. Waiting to see what he had planned, she ran a hand through her long dark curls - currently a loose mass across her shoulders and back - gazing at him, cerulean eyes having returned to those he knew.

Balthazar wanted to train, and she wasn’t one to ever turn it down. She knew what he was trying to do, which was banish whatever mood have overtaken her. Elisabeth had started to suspect that her spark was responsible for some of the shifts in mood. She wasn’t entirely sure but the last few times she had used magic, for a few bits after, she felt….flat. Very unlike herself. When magic coursed through her body, she felt stronger, even euphoric. Well, not as much this time since she absolutely hated using magic against Balthazar, but before, yes. Euphoric. It made her want to keep using the magic. The longer she used the magic, the more ecstatic she felt…and the harder the letdown was after.

He picked his weapon – a spear. Elisabeth was aware of all his weapons but hadn’t expected him to choose that particular one. It didn’t make much difference to her, only noting that she had to make slight changes to her approach. She was still loose from the unarmed training so there were no worried there. A bit sore but nothing she couldn’t handle.

Choosing not to bind her hair, she moved into a ready stance, sapphire eyes locking on him. He would attack first – he usually did. He predicted correctly, her sword coming in from the right to parry his attack with the blunt end of the spear. However, what he couldn’t have predicted is that she would follow it up in the manner she did. Over-confidence wasn’t something she’d be tricked into. Not with Balthazar across from her. He had way too many tools at his disposal for her liking. They were much more evenly matched in the arena of swordplay and he knew that. He could easily overpower her with unarmed combat. Not so much when she had a sword in her hands.

Longsword was a different beast than most. One was responsible for offense and defense. That meant always making sure her elbow was up, protecting what it could while she looked for openings to exploit.

Her follow up consisted of a quick turn, letting momentum take her around, hair flying, body shifting and lowering slightly with a swipe at his knees first, then a backhanded strike towards his torso, letting the blade fly through the air with a grace that wasn't yet present with unarmed combat. Sometrial...

She didn’t want to follow the playbook with Balthazar – he didn’t. He never did...and he pushed her harder than any other.

[Balthazar Black]

18 Ashan 721

Maybe this was a bad idea. It hadn't seemed like one before the first contact with Elisabeth's sword, but the moment the blade came around and he needed to shift his spear into the path of it, he realized what would happen if he did not block it. That very, very sharp sword would have sliced through his knee. When he had magic to heal the damage, being injured did not seem like an incredibly inconvenient thing but now... Fortunately he was quick enough to get the shaft of the spear in place, blocking and pushing aside Elisabeth's sword. She quickly shifted and followed with a backhand swing but it was not hard for Balthazar to block it using the long grave gold shaft of the spear. The benefit of a spear, he was discovering, was that you could block along practically any part of it. The second advantage he recalled as he began an unusual attack.

He had a range that she did not have with his spear and he meant to use it, prodding at Elisabeth with the butt of his spear as he moved on the retreat to keep her defending and slow her down. He knew Elisabeth would advance inwards at him, she had the skill with a sword to be threatening, but he was counting on it. That was why he kept jabbing towards her, each jab was an invitation to try and get him. However when she finally did move in and got close enough, Balthazar would begin twirling the spear from one side to the other, swinging it at Elisabeth as he did so. The constant motion made the incoming strike difficult to predict but it also made Balthazar's grip on the spear loose. It wouldn't be hard to disarm him and advance... but did she really want him disarmed?

[Elisabeth Black]

Arc 721, 18 Ashan

Balthazar’s spear was smaller, but his strength made up for the deficit, shoving her sword to the side. Elisabeth had considered her very, very sharp sword but he hadn’t seemed worried about it so she shoved the worry to the side and simply trained. Due to his mastery of unarmed combat, he was simply faster than she was but that didn’t mean she wasn’t good. The young woman was much more skilled with a sword than unarmed and as such, had more confidence with which to face him. Blade play was not simply about swinging a sword around. It was about knowing when to strike and when to hold back, waiting for a better moment. Wasted strikes only damaged one's position.

He did manage to block her backhand but then decided that poking at her was a good idea. Arching her eyebrow gently at the tactic, she wondered how he had come up with the idea that simply trying to jab at her would provoke her into an attack? She pressed forward, of course, but stayed out of his increased range for the time being. Making him move backwards was enough.

When he started swinging the spear, however, she noted he was using it as a staff. Those were common at Storm’s Edge and she had a good idea how to possibly get it out of his hands. Firing straight in with an overhand attack that was meant to come down on the center of the spear, Elisabeth would allow the sword to strike the spear. However, if it did, she would wind the sword back, flipping her wrist just a touch, and letting the sword twirl underneath, coming up under the spear and pushing up with a thrusting motion, attempting to disarm him. Elisabeth was quick with a sword but Balthazar has just as many abilities, and more corresponding abilities that made him unpredictable. He enjoyed being unpredictable but had the playbook and experience to back it up. The raven-haired young woman? Not so much.

[Balthazar Black]

18 Ashan 721

Spinning was a neat trick but it was mostly a move to intimidate and distract. Elisabeth seemed to see through the spinning though because she moved in quickly to counter it. If something seemed too easy, that was probably because it was a trap. Elisabeth's sword moved in and Balthazar loosened his grip just a little bit more as he brought the spear up to block her overhead strike. Elisabeth shifted quickly, her sword getting beneath the pole and flicking upwards to knock the spear out of his hands- and she did. The spear took to the air and in the trills where it twisted and fell to the ground, Balthazar's hands shot forward, seizing Elisabeth's arms by her wrist and shoving her aside to buy him a few trills to create distance between them again. With the small moment to breath between bouts, Balthazar raised a hand to tell Elisabeth to wait.

"Be careful with the blade, I can't grow my fingers back anymore." Or maybe he could... he'd never tried it with his new fire but he was curious to see what would happen- just not curious enough to test it on himself. Balthazar picked his spear up off the sand and twirled it again before adopting a different, strange grip that held the staff in the middle as if both ends were bladed. He charged in, leaping and swinging downwards with the top half of his staff and expecting it to be blocked before his feet landed and he shifted his weight swiping upwards with the bottom of his spear.

[Elisabeth Black]

Arc 721, 18 Ashan

Part of sparring with Balthazar was knowing that he was always using her as a controlled experiment – her skills expanded on a constant trajectory with her blade. It was a stable known. The man, however, used a variety of weapons and was always trying to figure out how best to use them against others. Enter Elisabeth. It made her that much more familiar fighting against a rage of weapons, certainly, and forced her to be creative. Creativity was a weak spot for her but then again, her playbook was still expanding.

Halting her attack once he was disarmed, even before he indicated such, she retreated and nodded at her spoke. “I always am, love. I confess to being surprised that we didn't have training swords. We will need to get some of those soon...” Elisabeth trusted her own skill...but she wasn't the only one training in Haven. Training weapons would ensure that others could do so safely as well.

Noting his new grip, she arched her eyebrow gently. It was a weak hold at best – not one she could have done. However, Balthazar was much, much stronger than she was and could pull off. When he jumped into the air, all Elisabeth could think about were all the times he had chided her for leaving the stability of the ground. The defense was simple, raising her blade to block the incoming attack from above. His superior strength pushed her down to a slightly crouched position, pushing up and away with her blade, trying to force the spear to the side. The beauty of the move was that in doing so, he had potentially managed to block his own counter-move since her position shifted as he came to the ground. “I remember someone once telling me that once your feet leave the ground, your options become limited and rather fixed, said with a small smile as she used her new, lower position to regroup, turning a bit and rising to his side, bringing the blade back around to meet the lower end of the spear.

[Balthazar Black]

18 Ashan 721

"Oh you are? If that why you try to punch me in the throat every time we spar?" Balthazar asked in a mocking tone, "I told you I killed a man by doing that once right? Regardless, training swords didn't seem like a necessity when I was getting supplies for the settlement, but yes, they might be useful to get now." And before they could really go into a long conversation about it the battle was upon them again. He leapt, a small bunny-like hop into the air to add to the force of his strike, and Elisabeth blocked it before shifting away from his second, lower swing. The benefit of Elisabeth's habit of talking was that it telegraphed her attacks. She moved slightly and brought the blade around to strike the lower end of the spear and Balthazar planted the butt of the spear into the ground, locking it in place when Elisabeth's sword crashed into it before kicking her lower body center mass to knock her onto her backside.

"Whoever said that must not have been fighting you with a spear." Balthazar pointed out, the longer reach of his weapon giving him some advantage to throwing all his weight behind an attack. "I'd never jump with a sword but with a spear it feels like it adds to the thrust and swipes... most of the time." Balthazar seemed to get a little lost in thought at that moment. "It only takes someone sweeping your legs out from under you before you land once for that to change though. Wait here, I think I can get us something safe to work with than adamantite and faldrunium." Balthazar picked up his sword and daggers but left his hammer on the beach and jogged off towards their tent, his shadow following close behind him.

A few bits later Balthazar emerged from the tent carrying a black leather bag. He undid the ghost metal clasp and opened the satchel, reaching inside and producing a dull, steel longsword. He tossed it to Elisabeth and then reached inside again, pulling out a wooden quarterstaff. He set the bag down on the beach, careful not to close it so that they could get more things out if they needed to. "Alright, now try again."

[Elisabeth Black]

Arc 721, 18 Ashan

The mention of killing a man with a throat punch caused her to arch her eyebrow a bit. “Actually, no, you didn’t.” He did that sometimes, thinking that he had told her something when he really hadn’t. Elisabeth tended to think that was due to the fact that he raced through thoughts and actually had conversations with her in his mind, thinking that he would tell her something at a later point but just never remembering to follow up.

Planting the spear into the ground was not something she had expected, and as such, she found herself at the mercy of his unarmed training as his kick came in and sent her backward to the ground. Again.

No, he hadn’t been using a spear, but point taken, she supposed. He elaborated on the differences and confessed that he wasn’t entirely sure about it. That was why they trained – so he could figure things out and she could attempt to find the flaws in what he was working on.

As she rose from the ground, he seemed to decide that working with their own weapons was folly and dashed off to retrieve something, causing her to smile a bit. He was often like that – mind working quickly and mouth unable to keep up, letting others in on the plan. It was a quirk of his that she actually found charming.

Coming back, bag and shadow in tow, she caught the sword he tossed at her, noting that it was much more suitable for training than hers. Setting her own sword down to the side of the training area, Elisabeth took a few swings of the new sword, trying to get a feel for it, the balance, and everything. Curiously looking at the bag, she smiled at him. “New acquisition?” It was, quite obviously, magical.

He invited her to start, so she did, taking the sword and sidestepping the man, while slashing downwards from the side with her weapon, before turning her lithe body and attempting to swipe across his torso. It was a solid opening move, designed to see what tactics he would use with the spear and allow her to formulate a plan.

[Balthazar Black]

18 Ashan 721

"A gift from an old friend who heard about my recent problems." Balthazar said to Elisabeth in regard to the bag he'd produced the weapons from. He didn't want to give away much more information than that because he did not want to cue the Elements into his relationship with Isabella, a smuggler. Well that and he still felt a little strange talking about Isabella with Elisabeth around. "I have no idea where they got it but it is remarkable." Balthazar didn't know the full extent of what he could produce because typically when he reached in to grab something, he had an idea of what he wanted and that thing was what came out. He had only had it for a short while so he still was testing the bounds of the bag but it hadn't disappointed him yet. "They thought I should handle my current situation differently."

Alas it was time for the sparring to continue and Elisabeth went on the attack. Her new, duller sword inspired a little more confidence from Balthazar who moved to answer Elisabeth's attack with the same basic principles of his unarmed training. Overwhelming force. Elisabeth stepped to the side and swiped at Balthazar who blocked it with the bottom of his quarterstaff before shifting to widen his grip so he could block the second strike with the midsection. He pushed her blade away as it connected with the wood and then drove the butt of the staff towards her stomach. It was harder than he'd admit to keep up with Elisabeth while he was using the staff and she was using her sword. He had training with blades, his hands, and a little with the staff but she was still pushing his mind and physical skills to keep up with her blade work.

[Elisabeth Black]

Arc 721, 18 Ashan

As soon as Balthazar said the words, Elisabeth was fairly certain she knew from whom he had gotten the bag, her face mirroring a bit of the annoyance she felt inside. The young mage held a fair number of grievances towards the woman he was referring to but mostly had chosen to keep them to herself. Isabella had caused the Yari much pain in the time they had been together and while he seemed to have forgiven her transgressions, Elisabeth had not and it wasn’t a subject she wanted to linger upon.

Balthazar had the advantage of being able to use multiple disciplines to counter her attacks. Elisabeth herself had two – blades and unarmed. Well, Defiance if she chose to use it but in sparring with him, that was not something she wanted to call upon. Having her first strike blocked, she noted that he was being more aggressive than before – a sign that he was more comfortable facing the weapon in her hand than previous. It made sense and she couldn’t blame him for that, but it made her job a bit trickier as he wasn’t so worried about getting hurt.

The aggressive nature didn’t bother her though. Her training involved a great deal of aggression, thanks to the Yari with her – his influence on how she fought. Elisabeth’s style, however, was laced with something more subtle than Balthazar’s. It wasn’t caution as much as…thoughtfulness. She tried to see the bigger picture and work her way from there.

It was with that reflection that she narrowly avoided being smacked in the stomach by the quarterstaff, twisting out of the way at the last minute, bringing the sword around from underneath, trying to cut up at the weapon and knock it out of his hands again. It was a bit trickier this time as he seemed to have a better grip on the weapon, whereas before it was a bit precarious.

Overwhelming force was good – she wholeheartedly agreed with his concept of striking first and hard – and keeping that in mind, she followed up her disarming strike, just in case, with a few swipes at his torso, staying off-center as much as she could. The swipes were intended to back him up a bit more than they were for damage but she was curious as to what he would do.