Flying Blades

[Ashfalcon]

"Still at it, Dedicated?" asked Lissa Sedai as Darthalien lined up his shot.

He'd been practicing with a variety of throwing knives, getting a better feel for how differently-weighted blades flew. He'd even experimented briefly with hurlbats, but knives were much easier to keep hidden. He might come back to hurlbats, though; they'd likely be better on a battlefield. Though I should probably be channeling if I find myself on a battlefield... he reminded himself.

He loosed the first knife, pulled and threw the second, then threw the third one left-handed.

All three sank point-first into their targets, and he turned. "Yes, Aes Sedai," he said, and bowed. Lissa Sedai was a Brown, but she'd come along with the Greens on the expedition to the Aiel Waste because her primary interest was cartography. When everything had turned to horror, she and Darthalien had saved each other's lives (and dignities), and while she didn't hold with student Channelers using anything so crude as weapons, she'd decided that he could be an exception, possibly because he'd accidentally discovered a way to create temporary weapons out of the Power itself.

She also stopped by to check on him occasionally, treating him with a sort genial, motherly encouragement. "You're getting better, I see," she said.

"Thank you, Aes Sedai. I've been working hard on this, though not as hard as I work on Channeling. Honestly, it makes a nice break from wrestling with Saidin."

"Hmph," said Lissa Sedai, though the sound was thoughtful rather than disapproving. "Yes, I suppose I can see that. When I was a little girl, many years ago, I used to enjoy throwing darts down at the local pub. Well, I'll leave you to it. Do try not to stab yourself in the foot."

Darthalien grinned. "Yes, Aes Sedai. And I shall remember to roll my maps instead of folding them."

"As well you should," she replied, returning her face that expressionless Aes Sedai inscrutability. Even so, Dar thought he saw a small quirk at the corner of her mouth as she glided away.

OOC: Feel free to jump in if you want to do a bit of RP in the knife-throwing area of the Warder Yards. Otherwise, I'm basically going to make this a fic done in serial format.

[Ashfalcon]

Well, I can reliably land a point in a static target, Dar reflected. Time to try for harder tricks. The next range over had hanging targets, straw wrapped in cloth and suspended from ropes. A brief touch of Air set them to swinging back and forth, and Dar took a long moment to judge the timing before loosing his first knife and missing completely. It buried itself in the canvas backdrop instead, and Darthalien shook his head in frustration.

By the time the bell rang for dinner, he could at least sometimes connect, but it was obvious he was going to need a lot more work before he could reliably strike a moving target -- and these were simple, predictable movements, at that. It was fortunate that he was doing this as a backup, and not as his primary mode of fighting; the Daggers who'd been truly deadly with thrown knives had essentially devoted their lives to the practice. They were almost a separate order from the others, who fought with words and knife and spear.

Food, first, he decided. More practice afterwards.

[Ashfalcon]

Practicing in gathering dusk was even more of a challenge, since the targets tended to disappear into passing shadows. but even when he hit he was having trouble landing his blades point-first. Too many times they struck the target but failed to stick. Dar supposed that could still be a worthwhile distraction, but he'd seen what the more practiced of the Daggers could manage. Doubtless there were some among the Gaidin who were equally adept; he wouldn't mind getting some pointers if he could locate one of them.

You know their advice is going to be 'keep practicing,' right? He asked himself, as he collected his blades. One hung from a target, loosely, but the others were lying loose in the dirt. No surprises there; if this was easy, he wouldn't need to practice. He could use the One Power to guide them, but that was pointless; if he was fighting with Power, he didn't need blades, and if he was fighting with blades it was because he either didn't want to use the Power, or he couldn't. There were weaves to prevent it, after all. No, the entire reason that Daggers were trained as they were was that knives were inconspicuous, inoffensive, easily concealed, and hard to anticipate.

He reached out with threads of air to set the targets swinging again, and prepared to try again.

[Ashfalcon]

By the time it was full dark, Darthalien's arms were sore, and his eyes were tired as well. He wasn't even sure if he was improving, but it certainly didn't hurt to keep practicing. He could have kept going; he had a weave that let him see in the dark, though he kept that in reserve; it was his one, small secret from the Asha'man of the Tower. Still... he was meant to be working with Forzen Asha'man soon, looking at illusions, disguises, and misdirections. He could return to this when he had his free time in the afternoon. Sleep, and day's studies, would do him good in the meantime.

[Ashfalcon]

"Still working with those toys?" asked Revic, as he followed Darthalien into the Warder Yards.

Darthalien nodded. "I need the practice."

"Why not use a sword? You're good with a spear, you could certainly learn." Rev was studying the sword, as so many trainee Asha'man did. "You really think you could defend yourself with knives?"

Dar nodded. "Come on," he said. "I'll show you."

They moved to the shorter range for thrown weapons, and Dar grabbed Saidin long enough to set the targets swinging. The throwing knives were in a single shared sheath on his belt, and he pulled, aimed, and threw in a quick series of motions.

All three struck their targets; one of them even stuck point first.

"Blessed Light, Dar," Cav said, laughing. "If I had a blade out, I could have crossed that distance and cut you down without half breaking a sweat."

Dar nodded. "And likely I wouldn't have even wounded you. But let's say you don't have your sword out, because this isn't a battlefield."

Cav's eyes widened just before Dar moved. He was reaching for his sword, but Dar had a hand on his pommel, keeping the blade in its sheath. The dagger from his forearm sheath was pressed against Cav's throat, and Dar was fairly sure that his friend hadn't even seen where it came from.

"Ashes, Dar," said Cav, swallowing. "That's..."

Dar nodded and put the blade away. "Sword's a good choice, especially if you're going to focus on a single weapon. It's versatile, portable, and effective. A dagger, on the other hand, is a lot easier to conceal; so are throwing knives. And if I find myself on a battlefield, well... that's where the spear comes in."

Cav shook his head. "I'll stay with the sword," he said easily. "I'd rather wear my weapons openly. You think you'll be able to do things like that with throwing knives, too?"

Dar went to collect his knives, calling back, "Yes, given time." He paused beside Cav, grinned. "You should have seen some of the people who trained me."

Cav huffed a laugh. "All right, my friend. I'll take your word for it. We should spar again, so you don't forget your spear-work."

"Later for that," said Darth, and went back to practicing.

[Ashfalcon]

It took nearly a full month before Dar could reliably sink a knife-point into the swinging targets reliably, and even then it was only from a certain set distance. His next set of exercises would be more of the same, except this time walking towards the targets as they swung and forcing himself to judge distance and spin by eye alone. Still, this was progress, and he was proud of it.