A consequence from Throwing Knives, Part 1.
Ashan 50, Arc 722
On the 50th of Ashan, Devin Thorn, High Priest of Delroth, Baron von Smooglenuff and Master Swordsman in progress (He'd decided to mentally capitalize those words because they were much more impressive that way!) decided to head to the beach that was closest to Smooglenuff Manor. Winter was over, and the temperatures had finally increased enough that training outside was not only possible, but actually fun again.
That was what Devin decided to do that trial. Train. The season before, he had started to practice throwing knives because he was determined to master every kind of bladed weapon there was, and a few others on top of it. At first, he had practiced in the ballroom because it was the biggest room in the manor, but he had come to the decision that it would be good to train on different surfaces, and under different conditions.
Besides, he liked being at the beach!
Since he wasn't sure if he'd manage to throw his knives at a tree and make them stick, and didn't want to damage the pretty trees either, he'd brought a target. Or rather, his friend Aidan had. While Devin carried his knives as well as a few other things, the veterinarian and swordsman was pulling a small wooden cart with a circular target on it.
"You know, you should really consider getting a bodyguard or two, no matter how good a swordsman you are", the human remarked as he pulled the cart across the grass and through the sand. "It's safer that way, and besides, Darius already has a couple of bodyguards", he added and grinned slyly. Devin was a very vain and greedy man, so, if appealing to his common sense didn't work, maybe telling him that someone else had something that he didn't have would!
"I've actually thought about it", Devin admitted in a cheerful tone of voice and grinned at the slightly older man because he had just had a most excellent idea. "You could be one of my bodyguards when you aren’t busy healing animals and such! You are pretty good with a sword, I like you and trust you, and you aren't too bad looking either", he added because that was important and smiled at Aidan. He didn't want to have any ugly bodyguards. He was a High Priest of Delroth, and he had a reputation to uphold. Delroth wouldn’t like it if he surrounded himself with ugliness either!
“Anyway, let’s set up the target before we discuss the matter of bodyguards in more detail”, he decided a moment later. Together, they grabbed the target, removed it from the cart and set it down on the warm, orange sand, making sure that it was stable (A target that toppled over the moment that you threw a knife at it just wouldn’t do!).
“Do you want to give it a try as well?” Devin asked Aidan once they were done and offered him one of his throwing knives. It was a very nice throwing knife that was made of fine steel and had a golden handle.
When Aidan refused – he preferred blades of the non-throwing variety – he shrugged his shoulders, warmed up a bit and finally settled into his stance. As an experienced swordsman (apart from where throwing things was concerned), he knew that the correct stance was important, and could sometimes make a difference in a fight.
He started by practicing what he already knew – by throwing a knife into his target with half of a spin, from a distance of approximately six feet which he measured by making six small steps.
Throwing your knife from a distance of approximately six feet was one of the beginner’s exercises that Mistress Alina’s guide to sword fighting that was quickly becoming one of his favourite books recommended.
Even though he had a little more experience now, it still took him several attempts to hit the target in a satisfactory manner and make the knife stick. Since he hadn’t managed to hit the center regardless though, he tried again, and again, until it did at least not land somewhere on the very edge of the target anymore – which was absolutely great.
And what more, he’d discovered that throwing knives while standing on sand wasn’t that different from throwing knives while standing on an expensive parquet floor in a ballroom, although sand was softer, of course. It might make a difference if you threw knives while running, but he wasn’t ready for that yet.
So, he finally moved on to a new and exciting exercise: Throwing a knife into a target with … well, Mistress Alina called it a full rotation knife throw.
She also recommended wearing hard toe shoes, for safety reasons, so that’s what he’d put on in addition to his very pretty and very white training ensemble. He’d come to the realization that you didn’t become a master swordsman just because you wanted to be one, but by practicing on a regular basis which kind of sucked, to be honest. If he had to fail on his way to mastery, then he would at least make sure that he did so in style though!
Ashan 50, Arc 722
On the 50th of Ashan, Devin Thorn, High Priest of Delroth, Baron von Smooglenuff and Master Swordsman in progress (He'd decided to mentally capitalize those words because they were much more impressive that way!) decided to head to the beach that was closest to Smooglenuff Manor. Winter was over, and the temperatures had finally increased enough that training outside was not only possible, but actually fun again.
That was what Devin decided to do that trial. Train. The season before, he had started to practice throwing knives because he was determined to master every kind of bladed weapon there was, and a few others on top of it. At first, he had practiced in the ballroom because it was the biggest room in the manor, but he had come to the decision that it would be good to train on different surfaces, and under different conditions.
Besides, he liked being at the beach!
Since he wasn't sure if he'd manage to throw his knives at a tree and make them stick, and didn't want to damage the pretty trees either, he'd brought a target. Or rather, his friend Aidan had. While Devin carried his knives as well as a few other things, the veterinarian and swordsman was pulling a small wooden cart with a circular target on it.
"You know, you should really consider getting a bodyguard or two, no matter how good a swordsman you are", the human remarked as he pulled the cart across the grass and through the sand. "It's safer that way, and besides, Darius already has a couple of bodyguards", he added and grinned slyly. Devin was a very vain and greedy man, so, if appealing to his common sense didn't work, maybe telling him that someone else had something that he didn't have would!
"I've actually thought about it", Devin admitted in a cheerful tone of voice and grinned at the slightly older man because he had just had a most excellent idea. "You could be one of my bodyguards when you aren’t busy healing animals and such! You are pretty good with a sword, I like you and trust you, and you aren't too bad looking either", he added because that was important and smiled at Aidan. He didn't want to have any ugly bodyguards. He was a High Priest of Delroth, and he had a reputation to uphold. Delroth wouldn’t like it if he surrounded himself with ugliness either!
“Anyway, let’s set up the target before we discuss the matter of bodyguards in more detail”, he decided a moment later. Together, they grabbed the target, removed it from the cart and set it down on the warm, orange sand, making sure that it was stable (A target that toppled over the moment that you threw a knife at it just wouldn’t do!).
“Do you want to give it a try as well?” Devin asked Aidan once they were done and offered him one of his throwing knives. It was a very nice throwing knife that was made of fine steel and had a golden handle.
When Aidan refused – he preferred blades of the non-throwing variety – he shrugged his shoulders, warmed up a bit and finally settled into his stance. As an experienced swordsman (apart from where throwing things was concerned), he knew that the correct stance was important, and could sometimes make a difference in a fight.
He started by practicing what he already knew – by throwing a knife into his target with half of a spin, from a distance of approximately six feet which he measured by making six small steps.
Throwing your knife from a distance of approximately six feet was one of the beginner’s exercises that Mistress Alina’s guide to sword fighting that was quickly becoming one of his favourite books recommended.
Even though he had a little more experience now, it still took him several attempts to hit the target in a satisfactory manner and make the knife stick. Since he hadn’t managed to hit the center regardless though, he tried again, and again, until it did at least not land somewhere on the very edge of the target anymore – which was absolutely great.
And what more, he’d discovered that throwing knives while standing on sand wasn’t that different from throwing knives while standing on an expensive parquet floor in a ballroom, although sand was softer, of course. It might make a difference if you threw knives while running, but he wasn’t ready for that yet.
So, he finally moved on to a new and exciting exercise: Throwing a knife into a target with … well, Mistress Alina called it a full rotation knife throw.
She also recommended wearing hard toe shoes, for safety reasons, so that’s what he’d put on in addition to his very pretty and very white training ensemble. He’d come to the realization that you didn’t become a master swordsman just because you wanted to be one, but by practicing on a regular basis which kind of sucked, to be honest. If he had to fail on his way to mastery, then he would at least make sure that he did so in style though!
