Ulai
Myrmidon
Nothing to be done.
Posts: 37
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Ulai on Jul 7, 2015 13:45:59 GMT -6
Ulai smiled as the man charged him. Siegfried had good footwork, and his technique was solid. Siegfried opened with a horizontal slash, it was a good first move. Most swordsmen may have attempted to block the blow, or push it aside, but not Ulai. Instead the Nabatan split his feet, lowering his body, and ducked his head and chest under the blade. He had waited for the man to begin the swing, trusting he could move quicker than the man could change his swing.
His boots pushed up a fair amount of dirt as he widened his stance. He had moved his right foot instead of his left, so when he was safe to rise, he did so by bringing his left foot closer to his body. Once his body was erect, Ulai lifted his sword over his head again, pointing toward Siegfried once more. He swung his sword to the left, only bending his arm at the elbow so that the word whirled over his head. Then once the blade had passed his hair, he lowered his arm and turned it over, so that the edge of his sword whizzed toward his opponent. However, before his sword could connect, Ulai reversed the path of his sword, turning the blade back around his head, using the change of momentum to put more force behind the blade as well as to possibly confuse the other man.
As Ulai's sword swung over his head once more, this time coming for the man's right shoulder, the Nabatan shifted his weight to his left side, placing his right foot behind the left. If the man was quick enough, he would parry the blow, and Ulai was clearly not as strong as he, meaning he must have full control of where he was forced.
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Post by Tiz on Jul 7, 2015 13:53:22 GMT -6
Tiz stood at the fence, the only one of the onlookers who wasn't jumping and cheering and pumping fists into the air. He stood, confused, trying to understand exactly what was going on. As the first few moves were exchanged, he took note: Siegfried's move was precise and expected-- a perfect first strike, but as he watched the other fellow, whose name he was too far away to hear when he introduced himself, he was terribly confused. He knew the man's initial stance was different, but this confused the Sacaean. Had this guy been formally trained at all? What was this?
The looks on Tiz's face changed from confused to impressed and then back to confused as he watched the man dance around, acting like his sword was a playful baton. He almost looked like a dancer, and it was almost silly-- the movements were fluid enough, sure, but the looked ridiculous. If anything, Tiz thought, this might be a challenge in itself enough for Siegfried-- how could someone used to traditional combat styles come at a man who clearly was using something else? Perhaps he really was foreign, Tiz thought.
One of the guys next to Tiz happened to catch his face when he looked so confused, and jabbed him in the shoulder. Tiz looked at the guy. A short, stocky, happy looking man perhaps about his age addressed him. "Nice job out there, man. But hey, you seen this sh*t before? This is crazy!" He turned away, taking his incredibly expressive nature and excitement with him as he continued to cheer.
"Think that's uh, Nabatan or something maybe, I dunno, maybe it's what pirates or something use. I've seen it once, yeah, in another duel like this." The guy said again, bumping Tiz to get his attention.
"Oh yeah?" Tiz said in a relatively unamused tone. He was too focused on watching what was going on. Huh, he thought. Definitely foreign. His bets in his mind hadn't changed, however; he was excited to see who would emerge the victor.
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Siegfried Aschdenne
Mercenary
"You can never end a cycle of hatred with death. So long as there's life...you can start a new one,"
Posts: 54
Profession: Freelance
Affiliation: Ilia
Guild: Ulfric's Mercenaries
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Siegfried Aschdenne
OoC Alias: Siegfried
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Post by Siegfried Aschdenne on Jul 7, 2015 14:04:44 GMT -6
Perhaps it was because of his earlier defeat at the hands of Tiz, or perhaps it was because he could clearly see his opponent, but Siegfried lived up to the promise he made to himself. He did not, in fact, make the same mistake twice.
Using the momentum from his initial swing, expecting it to be dodged some way or another, Siegfried brought the blade back around to his center with good footing and upper body strength. Though his opponent used flashy techniques Siegfried didn't let his eyes get caught up in his opponents movements and simply waited for the eventual strike. He nearly bought the bait of the first attack, but that's a trick he had fallen for numerous times in the past, though this one was well executed. That strike would have been too weak, even for a duel such as this. It was now that Siegfried had to watch the man's body and read when Ulai would commit to his attack.
When that attack did come his sword was ready.
As his blade met Ulai's he dug his feet into the ground and bent his knees a little. With a grunt he pushed forward as hard as he could, his goal was knock Ulai backwards and follow up with a thrust, or knock Ulai down and pin him for a checkmate. There was a chance that Ulai would try and surprise him again, however, and Siegfried was ready for it.
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Ulai
Myrmidon
Nothing to be done.
Posts: 37
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Ulai on Jul 7, 2015 14:57:33 GMT -6
Braced enough, the nabatan swordsman was not. Ulai's upper body took most of the impact, his body starting to glide backwards while his feet more or less stayed in place. To avoid being put on his back. Ulai's left hand shot out and hooked around the larger man's neck. Ulai started moving his legs so that he only had to pull against the man a little bit. Staying on his feet, Ulai quickly moved to stand behind Siegfried.
Ulai shifted to a stance different from his first. This time, Ulai placed his right foot just behind his left, and bent his knees once more. He extended his left hand toward his opponent, and pointed the sword at him with his right, holding the hilt of the sword close to his chest. This was a far more offensive stance, and Ulai was prepared to make the shift.
He dashed forward, well, dashed in the only way you could when you were shuffling. When he got within range Ulai lifted his left leg, the one in front, and whipped his sword to the left before swinging it again in a horizontal slash. There was no flash to this, just moving the blade so that he could get the most momentum, and keep his body as a small target.
Ulai would have to check his sword after the battle, it wasn't made to make this much contact with another sword or hard armor. In a battle, when Ulai was able to fight without holding back, he was much better at keeping his sword free of contact.
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Post by Tiz on Jul 7, 2015 15:10:11 GMT -6
Tiz lurched forward, almost pulling himself over the fence, his feet slotted between the slats in the fence that kept people back. His mouth gaped open, watching as the strange man danced around, eventually grabbing Siegfried's neck. Instinctively, Tiz looked over to the referee for an answer, wondering if that was legal at all to do in a duel... He hadn't ever experienced it, but he didn't know. "Come on, what is that?!" Tiz shouted at the man over the noise, his hand outstretched towards the ring, offering up the suggestions that it was a little ridiculous.
The referee shook his head, giving Tiz a disappointed look, as if the Sacaean was an idiot for even asking such a question. "Match continues! Legal move!"
Huffing loudly, Tiz stepped down to continue watching the fight. He wasn't sure he would be able to fight this foreign guy, with his strange fighting style.. Something he hadn't seen before, let alone done combat against. He was used to forward, focused, and diligent combat that relied on as little fluff as possible. Perhaps he was short-sighted; now it made sense to him that people from far away very likely studied the blade differently than he had. A slight smile appeared on his face as he considered the possibility, wondering what he might be able to learn from the guy.
His heart dropped as he watched the man come around Siegfried. While he certainly didn't have any animosity towards this foreign guy, Tiz hadn't dueled him; their bond, naturally, wasn't as close as the short one that he and Siegfried had forged in the ring. He leaped up on the fence again, cupping his mouth in his hands to augment the volume of his voice.
"Siegfried, go low and bring your sword up from the left!!" It wasn't a sure strategy, and he didn't have long enough to react for it to matter much, but if he could hear him, it might secure his foothold. It may not dictate the winner, but it could keep him from losing right now. Somehow, Tiz felt himself pulling for Siegfried. Everyone here had a fighter they cheered for, but Tiz felt bad for picking favorites.
Oh well, he thought. He would wait and see what happened.
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Siegfried Aschdenne
Mercenary
"You can never end a cycle of hatred with death. So long as there's life...you can start a new one,"
Posts: 54
Profession: Freelance
Affiliation: Ilia
Guild: Ulfric's Mercenaries
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Siegfried Aschdenne
OoC Alias: Siegfried
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Post by Siegfried Aschdenne on Jul 7, 2015 15:22:01 GMT -6
It wasn't often a man used other means of fighting beyond their weaponry in a duel, but Siegfried didn't have much of a problem with it. He was still a little surprised by the manoeuvre Ulai had used to escape their clash, but thankfully by this point Siegfried had learned to be surprised. It also confirmed what he already believed: that Siegfried had the edge in terms of strength.
Eager not to lose now, Siegfried whirled around and faced his opponent. It seemed the man learned his sword dance wasn't all that effective on a man who reacted accordingly, and Siegfried was fortunate enough to choose the right strategy to face it. He heard some yelling off in the audience, but he couldn't be bothered to focus on that. Instead noticed how low to the ground his opponent kept.
So it seemed obvious to Siegfried that he was best of bringing his sword low down as well. He stuck his left foot slightly ahead of his right and planted both of his feet, intent on holding his ground. With another grunt Sieg brought his sword down as Ulai approached, swinging it up up and across diagonally once the other man was in range. The aim for this strike was to knock Ulai's blade out of his hands or to knock Ulai off balance mid-charge, but it relied on quite a bit of precision. There was a chance that Siegfried could simply miss his mark.
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Ulai
Myrmidon
Nothing to be done.
Posts: 37
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Ulai on Jul 10, 2015 8:27:10 GMT -6
When Ulai had lifted his leg he had done it to afford himself an alternative to backpedaling if the man attempted once more to move him. It proved to be futile, as the man's vicious blow came and locked against his sword. In almost slow motion, Ulai realized that the stronger man had given a blow to his sword at the exact moment that it was held loosest in Ulai's technique, ridding the hilt from the Nabatan's curled fingers. As the sword fell to the ground, Ulai lowered his body and sent his left hand darted to catch it, his fingers barely managing to grasp it, desperately attempting to hold the weight.
The Nabatan attempted to rise too fast however, and the sword once again fell, this time creating a small cloud of dust as it hit the ground. The ref called the match. Ulai looked down at the sword for a moment, then up to his opponent. The Nabatan swordsman laughed, then lifted his sword, and after he retrieved its scabbard, went about clipping the now sheathed sword back to his belt.
Ulai held his hand out to Siegfried and said, "Siegfried, well met. That was quite the combination you had there, if we'd been fighting a bit harder, I'd be dead." Then Ulai laughed again and rocked himself on his heels. Scratching the back of his neck, Ulai's eyes widened as his stomach gurgled audibly. The Nabatan laughed again, and scratched his neck once more, this time out of embarrassment rather than any itch or impulse. "You wouldn't happen to know anywhere to get some lunch would you?" Maybe this could be a whole chapter, the broad man and the fool.
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Post by Tiz on Jul 10, 2015 8:40:36 GMT -6
"ALL RIGHT!"
It wasn't long before Tiz found himself totally engulfed in what was going on, shouting and cheered and pumping his fists into the air like all the people around him had been doing. It was easy for the swordsman to get excited, and he found himself happily engaged with the atmosphere of the situation. It was funny, he thought: These sorts of things proved to be so fun, and yet real combat was scary, earned no cheers. So as long as there was no death involved, people could cheer. Maybe that made swordplay an art, a source of entertainment... Funny, he thought, that it could be so easily twisted into something horrible and wretched, something used to take lives. And he'd taken plenty. But he didn't let the negative thoughts distract him.
Siegfried had won, his final attack bearing enough strength alone to knock the other guy off balance and thereby disarm him. It was a nice move-- even if Tiz had been in the ring, he could have escaped the blow, but definitely not counter-attacked. The kid was well-versed, it seemed, which was good-- that's what he had come to expect having dueled with him once, and watched him for another.
Tiz jumped down from the fence upon which he had perched himself and jogged over to the gate as the ref tried to calm to crowds down. The ref asked for another opponent to face Siegfried, but Tiz tried to shout over him.
"HEY! Come on, let's go eat! I'm hungry; you've made me wait long enough!" He shot the man a smile as he stood on the other side of the gate. Tiz didn't care to pay; it was worth it to watch such a cool spectacle. And that other man's fighting style... If he could, he would ask him about it. It seemed very fluid, elegant... But he wondered where the bite came from. He was fiercely interested in this now-decided art. He wondered, too, where Siegfried had learned the blade.
He beckoned with his hand for Siegfried to join him, though taking another battle was his choice, not that of Tiz.
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Siegfried Aschdenne
Mercenary
"You can never end a cycle of hatred with death. So long as there's life...you can start a new one,"
Posts: 54
Profession: Freelance
Affiliation: Ilia
Guild: Ulfric's Mercenaries
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Siegfried Aschdenne
OoC Alias: Siegfried
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Post by Siegfried Aschdenne on Jul 10, 2015 11:47:31 GMT -6
Siegfried himself couldn't help but grin a little at his victory. He was happy he managed to defeat this talented Nabatan, and he eagerly accepted Ulai's hand for a hand shake, after sheathing his weapon of course. It was a hard fought battle and Sieg even doubted himself at times during the fight, but he was glad his decision to simply stick to what he knew about battle rather than get caught up in the unfamiliar style of the Nabatan was enough to pull through.
"Likewise Ulai. Your style was quite interesting, it was nigh impossible to predict what you would do next," Siegfried said, his grin softening to a friendly smile. This made for two interesting but honorable warriors Sieg had met today. Speaking of which, he looked over as Tiz yelled out to him, then smirked as Ulai's stomach rumbled, "Actually I'm to be meeting with Tiz for lunch. You're more than welcome to come with us, Ulai,"
Siegfried looked to the ref and shook his head, gesturing back at Ulai to follow him before exiting the ring as he headed over towards Tiz. He was happy with his two battles even if it left him with one win and one loss. Besides his appetite had grown quite a bit of the course of the past two duels.
"Well, I hope you know where to get some grub," Siegfried stated to Tiz with a smirk, "And I also hope you don't mind that I invited Ulai to join us,"
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Ulai
Myrmidon
Nothing to be done.
Posts: 37
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Ulai on Jul 14, 2015 0:21:45 GMT -6
Ulai smiled brightly at the thicker man, "It's a lot easier to predict when you're the one who chooses what to do." Ulai adjusted the position of his belt, it was biting into his side a little bit, not entirely uncomfortable, but it could have been in a slightly better position. The young Nabatan followed the other swordsman out of the ring, towards the man whom he had fought earlier. "I think I just might take you up on that offer."
Ulai popped his neck as they walked to the rim of spectators. He smiled at the brunette swordsman and said, "Howdy there, sir. Or, what is the phrase? Well met." Ulai laughed, with a lower sound coming from the base of his throat. He knew the correct saying, but he had heard yells at the volume of whispers using the word foreign, and if these people wanted to have an obsession with Ulai being born a few hundred miles away, he would let them. He had struggled to decide whether or not to take on an outrageous level of an accent, but at the last second decided against it.
Ulai rolled himself on his the balls of his feet, making him just tall enough to see over the ring of spectators. He could not see anything even slightly resembling any type of food vendor or anything in the like. He was in complete awe at the fact that someone would construct towns or cities the size they do in Lycia, but not have any sort of place to eat.
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Post by Tiz on Jul 19, 2015 12:29:37 GMT -6
"Huh, oh yeah?" Tiz asked, a smile beaming across his face. Of course he was happy to have more company-- they were warriors at heart, after all, and the more, the merrier. It was always this way. Plus, this would give him a chance to talk to this Ulai about his origins and the style of his fighting; obviously he had come from somewhere else, but this seemed like something he wasn't innately familiar with. It would be fun. Plus, he was starving, and Tiz always felt less bad about gorging himself when he was in greater company. On dates, he couldn't well eat three plates of lamb rack.
"Lamb rack," Tiz sighed aloud, his eyes glossy with a dreamlike haze. He had been thinking about it all day-- it was his favorite restaurant in all of Lycia, and even though he had just been there with Tamaya, it made no difference. He had decided he could eat there every day, should he want to, and be perfectly okay. His smile drew wider as he looked at the two men, beckoned them, and set off down the street.
"Ulai, huh?" Tiz called back, declining to turn his head all the way around to address the man. "Well met indeed." He joked. He was never so formal, but it was a nicety to exchange with someone foreign, he guessed. It didn't matter much. All he could think about was the food. And soon, before he knew it, Tiz was at the restaurant door.
As the butler greeted them, Tiz smiled goofily and extended three fingers in the air, without speaking a word. The man then lead them to a booth in the back, set them down, and was off to retrieve drinks before serving them their meal. Tiz took a seat and sighed heavily, satisfied with his day's work.
"Don't worry," He said, still grinning. "It's on me. Let's talk about what I just saw in that ring!"
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Siegfried Aschdenne
Mercenary
"You can never end a cycle of hatred with death. So long as there's life...you can start a new one,"
Posts: 54
Profession: Freelance
Affiliation: Ilia
Guild: Ulfric's Mercenaries
Affinity: Fire
Profile: Siegfried Aschdenne
OoC Alias: Siegfried
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Post by Siegfried Aschdenne on Jul 21, 2015 8:47:56 GMT -6
Lamb rack? Now that was hardy food! Good meat was always excellent after any sort of exercise, especially duels or fights. While it likely couldn't compare to the bear steaks Siegfried's father loved to cook up, he was quite confident that this would serve to be an excellent post dueling meal.
Siegfried chuckled as he entered the establishment with the others, smiling as he took a seat at their assigned booth, then he shook his head as Tiz offered to pay for the entire thing. "Are you certain that's all right? I'm more than willing to pay for a share or two," Besides, it was Siegfried who owed Tiz a meal, not the other way around.
"You mean my bout with Ulai?" Siegfried asked with a small chuckle, "It was a fun one, and I'm just glad I managed to pull through for the victory," The blonde turned to look at the the other myrmidon, "Though I'd like to hear more on your style. Do all Nabatan's fight like that?"
Siegfried was certain he'd never forget the deceptive movements the other man had displayed in his style. Had Siegfried's focus been a bit off he was certain he would have fallen to them and lost handily. Still there had to be more to it than just that, and the Ilian mercenary was eager to learn as much as he could about this foreign style of swordplay. He was likely more eager for that than he would be for his lamb rack!
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Ulai
Myrmidon
Nothing to be done.
Posts: 37
Affinity: Wind
OoC Alias: Selibas
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Post by Ulai on Jul 23, 2015 15:51:47 GMT -6
Ugh, why did it have to be lamb?If there was one thing Ulai wouldn't want to eat, it was lamb. His mother's husband had been a shepherd, and most of Ulai's life in the man's house was getting close to a lamb, and then coming in from the forest and finding out that his friend was for dinner. Ulai was by no means a vegetarian, but he did not care for eating lamb. However, when in Bern as the saying goes.
Ulai slid to a table at the restaurant the other man had selected and began to look around. As usual, his skin had turned a few heads. The glances he received were not hateful, merely looks of the curious at something utterly new to their eyes. He was certain that for most people in the city, he was the first Nabatan they would have ever seen, most people anywhere in fact. There weren't many Nabatans to begin with, and they didn't exactly get out much. Ulai had asked for a water, and the man had given him a stare, so instead he asked for an ale. That had always been his favorite thing to drink after a mercenary mission, a good flagon of ale. After a loss, he wasn't sure he deserved it, but he forgot how rare it was for big cities to have fresh water.
Then both men seemed interested in his fighting style. He laughed, Well yes, it's Nabatan, but I didn't learn it in Nabata actually. I learned it while traveling with a group of mercenaries a few years back, my teacher was another Nabatan, I know what are the chances, who wanted to pass the style on to someone before he died. It's called the dance of the sand, and if I were a better fighter, the two of you would have an understanding that the style heavily relies on our swords never touching." Ulai laughed at his own self deprecating joke.
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Post by Tiz on Jul 23, 2015 17:20:37 GMT -6
Before long, their table waiter had returned with glasses of water, replacements, and two pints of ale with steel mugs. This was good-- Tiz could relish a big lunch. It was something he was exceptionally excited for, and then... Lamb always was. He smiled and thanked the man as he took his water, and sipped at it hurriedly before pouring himself a mug of ale to have on the side. He didn't drink often, but when he did, he relished that, as well.
Tiz shot Siegfried a joking look and let out a loud chuckle. "Oh please, Sieg," he said, leaning back in his seat, slowly taking a large gulp of the ale. "It's on me. Seriously, I don't mind. It's my pleasure."
As Siegfried asked his question, Tiz became increasingly curious about this Nabatan man-- he hadn't ever fought one before, much less witnessed one fight at all. It was a good question-- Tiz knew nothing of fighting besides the styles he had combined from Sacae and Lycia, which blended well together. He wondered, though, how a style could rely on blades never actually touching... Where would the victory come in that? It probably wasn't his place to ask, and he knew it would sound rude. He fixed his gaze on the dark-skinned man as he spoke, listening intently at what sounded to be jests at himself.
"Aw, come on," Tiz said with a smile as he leaned into the table. "I think part of what makes that kind of fighting difficult is that it's tough to predict. Ya know, my movements are pretty fluid and all, but they're usually really predictable. Sometimes that hurts in a fight," he laughed it off, realizing that in their current environment, it was okay to divulge these things. Tiz hadn't had a lax day recently, and it was nice to unwind for a bit getting back into the real world.
Before long, the lamb came, and Tiz enjoyed it thoroughly. He enjoyed his time with the men, exchanging stories and styles and laughs-- he was among friends. Fresh ones, but friends. It had been some time since he'd been able to enjoy himself like this, and for the time he'd had that day, he was thankful. It was day that, by Tiz's estimation, would live in his memory for quite some time.
[end]
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