Baby Steps (Attn: Conor)

[Shoar]

Shoar's eyes opened with a start and he lunged forward, panting. Cold sweat stuck to his body as he looked wildly around him. "A nightmare... Just a nightmare..." With a groan he fell backwards, putting one hand over his eyes and massaging his temple. He lay there for a second, letting the adrenaline wash through his system. He couldn't recall what had made him awake in such a way, just that his parents were involved. "They have surely gotten my message by now... Da always makes a trip to the city around this time of the year." He sighed and glanced at the single window that adorned his room. "Almost dawn..." he murmured to himself, sitting upright and swinging his legs over the side of the bed and standing. He stretched and began preparing for the day ahead.

He had been in the yard just on a week now. They had given him some basics to train on, but everything was so overwhelming he had requested a Mentor to help ease him into things. An experienced Gaidin, to take a more personal focus on his training. They had assigned him one Conor Palfrey Gaidin, whom Ubriel Bryne Gaidar had told Shoar would help him with his goal of learning to dual wield his weapons as well as properly harness the stamina and strength that was natural to his frame. This morning was the first morning he was due to meet his new Mentor, to begin his training and his journey. He finished tightening the belt around his waist and pulled his leather gloves on tight. He was due to meet Conor Palfrey Gaidin at first bell. "There's a bit of time before then... Time for a run." He locked his room behind him, twirling the keys once around one finger before secreting them in one of the pouches on his belt.

He passed some other people coming in as he left. There was always activity in the Yards, day and night. Some people were yawning and rubbing there eyes, other Drin'far'ji who had been completing night training. Others had finished morning exercises and were coming back to get ready for the day ahead. Shoar stretched, a simple routine his father had taught him to prepare himself for a day of tilling fields and handling livestock. He broke into a slow paced jog, intending to use this only as a warm-up before he met with his Mentor. His mind cast back to the words Ubriel Bryne Gaidar had first spoke to him when he joined. “In these yards you will be tested and trained and beaten and built back up. You will need medical attention and you will cause others to need it. But you will learn.” He hadn't yet felt tested and he certainly had not needed any form of medical attention. Something told him today might change that.

As the dawn's light began to break through and illuminate the yards, Shoar was just finishing his run. He had been told that Conor Palfrey Gaidin would meet him outside of the dormitory at First Bell. Shoar slowed to a walk, winding down from the long jog he had just completed. He finished with some final stretches and then wiped his brow with a cloth rag he had brought with him. He sat down in front of the Dormitory and waited for his new Mentor and for the training he would bring.

Shoar Daeran
Drin'far'ji

[Carra]

Conor Palfrey
"So you're the new kid, huh?" He asked, leaning against the door frame. "I'm Conor Palfrey, or Conor Gaidin. It's my job to show you the ropes around here and help you achieve your fancloak. Light guard you, this won't be easy. Shaur. Shoor. Shore? how do you say your name?"

The towering man wasn't so towering with the boy the height that he was. It wasn't too surprising, Conor had also been rather tall when he had entered the yard. And fat. Conor had cleaned up and filled out in better places, but this boy needed to simply.. fill out. Conor started to lead both of them out to the Yard, feeling oddly settled to taking on a charge. He didn't want to think too deeply yet.

"So, what are you hoping to learn, Shoarsie? A little sword, a little shield?"



Ooc: I am sucking on the posts, but hey! a post!!

[Shoar]

Shoar's head snapped in the direction of the voice. "I hadn't even heard anyone approach..." his eyes widened as he saw the Fancloak and realised this must be his new mentor. Introducing himself as Conor Palfrey Gaidin, Shoar took in the site of his new mentor. Even taller then himself, an impressive feat on it's own, Conor was a truly enormous human being. He understood why he had been assigned as his mentor now - someone of a similar size and shape to help Shoar train in the way best suited to his body. "At least... I think?" As they began walking, Shoar was asked a simple question. A simple question he had been agonising over since he arrived here.

"I am having a little bit of trouble settling on one thing, Conor Palfrey Gaidin. At home, we could only make use of that which we could build. Old scythe blades attached wooden handles for swords and the kind. With what we had, I always felt most comfortable with those. Swords are also what all the stories of Warders mention." Shoar chewed his lip absent-mindedly "But since arriving and being shown the Armory by Ubriel Bryne Gaidar and hearing her words, I've begun thinking of other weaponry as well. Bows, spears, things I don't know the names of. Sword is definitely going to be one of them and I definitely want to use two weapons - that felt the best. But I don't know what the second should be anymore."

His minds eye cast back to that first tour of the Armory, to one of the weapons he had picked up. The heft, the weight, the feel of it... "I think... Maybe a mace? A sword and mace pair?"

Shoar Daeran
Drin'far'ji

[Carra]

Conor Palfrey He nodded as he listened to his new charge, wondering thoughtfully. The mention at wanting to learn a bow made his blood run cold. It was the one weapon that not only eluded his skills but also mocked him for it. More arrows ended in soft flesh unintentionally then in the desired target. If this charge of his wanted to learn the bow then Ubriel had a very strange and broken sense of humor. But when he said Sword and Mace, Conor breathed a sigh of relief.

"Follow me, and I will take you out to the Yard." Conor motioned for Shoar to follow. "I think I can manage teaching you both. We can start with one, and then add in the second. You will need your basic forms and some solid footwork before trying to teach a non-dominant arm into the mix. Although, You will be constantly working both arms more than most others in the yard. You will want to treat your secondary weapon as if it was your primary. We can start with either the sword or mace if you wish. Do have weapons from Mistress Ubriel Gaidar, or do I need to take you to the Armory? If not, lets get started in you showing me what you know."

[Shoar]

"My apologies, Conor Palfrey Gaidin, but I do not have any of the weapons with me. I was told to fetch them when I had decided and was training with you for the first time." The other man nodded and led the way to the Armory, Shoar following a step behind. The morning exercise had worked and he felt full of energy, ready and raring to start his training. They arrived at the building shortly, Conor taking him inside and selecting a simple longsword and mace. Shoar also collected a training lathe of similar length and shape to the real thing.

They went back into the yards, Conor handing the real items to Shoar and watching carefully as Shoar held them. "Wow... They're a lot heavier then I thought they would be." He murmured to himself. The sword he held in his right hand, gently raising it up and down. The heft, the size, all of it was so radically different from the re-purposed farm tools he had been using before. He took an experimental swing with it, startled as he finished and nearly lost his grip. He quickly glanced at Conor and grinned sheepishly. He hefted the mace next, in his left hand. It was obviously much heavier, a tool for smashing as opposed to cutting. This time he worked hard to control it, swinging it and maintaining a sense of control. He grinned again, turning to face his Mentor, eager to begin.

Shoar Daeran
Drin'far'ji

[Carra]

Conor Palfrey He gave a nod to the Shoar, "Just Conor Gaidin, since Mistress Ubriel Gaidar will only beat me if I don't enforce some formality." The slight mutter of the MoT was in good humor, as Conor was not in poor humor even though he had a list of reasons why having someone to train and have responsibility for would ruin it.

After collecting weapons for the Drin, Conor brought them to an area that was specifically for the newer recruits. Lots of room for them to beat one another and the infirmary close enough to avoid the worst of wounds. An infirmary of Yellow's far too good at their work, priding in removing of even war wounds and avoiding scars. Scars were sexy and told stories... Conor could only tell so many about just one scar. More options made for better story telling to the ladies at the Band of Brothers. Watching Shoar go through a few forms, it was clear he was still a novice with combat and most likely survived a fight through luck than skill.

"Mace away. Lets start you with one weapon and get you proficient with that and then add a second. In your spare time, should you find yourself with any, you can practice the same movements with your off hand and build up strength to then be able to use a second weapon. We begin today with the basics of defense," he said unsheathing his blade and waited until he was ready. "Now, the major points of anatomy as relating to swordplay," Conor started, pointing a thick finger at the chart as he reeled off areas, "are the head, an almost instant kill or unconsciousness, the chest, the abdomen, the arms, the legs, and the back. For most effective killing, the head, chest, and back are the major targets. For disarming, try the arms. For maiming, the legs. You have to learn to picture where your strikes will land, or your swordplay is just the same as two babes with sticks pretending to be soldiers."

"To aim a strike is to accept that you are fighting to the death. First blood means nothing. It's the last blood, the heart's blood, that you want." He grinned grimly at Shoar, and moved on.

"In defense, we have three major tactics. To protect the head is of greatest importance, then the chest and then the back. Often you can protect your back and your head by wearing armor, but there are other ways, too. First of all, make yourself the smallest target possible. Always twist to the side if you can to present the least amount of "face" - that's space to launch an attack into - to your opponent. Also, learn to be aware of where you fight, so that you are not easily flanked. To be flanked is to have an enemy to the side or behind you, not good places for them. Keep 'em where you can see 'em if you want to live."

"So," he continued, twisting to the side as he smoothly mimed a thrust, "by doing this, I ensure my opponent's attack misses me."

"That protects the chest well," he noted, pointing out how his now faced away from his imagined opponent's blade. "Now, to prevent blows to the face, you can either wear a helm, which is not always or even usually a face protector, or you can duck blows. Be careful ducking blows, as sometimes, you'll be right in position for a downward swing as some of the more popular sword forms 'come around' back to a guard stance."

"If you want back protection," he added, "you'd best learn to grow eyes out of your helm. Still, in a pinch with multiple opponents, you could keep your back to a wall, preventing both rear attacks and flank attacks, but that limits mobility. Best to utilize a running style of combat to prevent backstabbing."

"So, what did you learn about defense?"