The Battle of the Bristling Wood [Solo]
Jun 24, 2016 23:20:29 GMT -6
Post by Selibas on Jun 24, 2016 23:20:29 GMT -6
In the sole clearing of one of the few woods in Sacae, a Khan and one of his blood riders worked through the motions of a sword stroke. The Khan was wielding his new 'unbreakable' sword Shahlizen, a blade that was nothing like the ones that he usually used. It was a Sacaen saber, thin and slightly curved, only one sided. The blade was a wonderful quality, certainly one for a Khan, but he didn't know how to use it. His style was brutal, violent, harsh, and built on the idea that you were faster than the guy who was stronger than you, and stronger than the guy that was faster than you. When Selibas Khan hit you, plate didn't mean you didn't feel it.
This blade however required a softer touch. It was a light razor compared to his other swords, and each movement would require precision. The style used by many Sacaen men and women was more like dancing than fighting it seemed. And at first when he'd begun to learn the style Selibas believed that he'd been born with two left feet. However, when he'd switched from Delger over to Khasar for a teacher it began to go much smoother. Khasar's easy smile made him a natural teacher, he was incredibly patient. When Selibas couldn't handle a step, Khasar simply laughed it off, if he was frustrated, he didn't show it. So for now they were finishing up a drill of five motions, meant to be done in quick succession. Khasar flashed through them in a matter of seconds, but the combination of turns, pivots, and slashes took Selibas too much time.
"You're thinking too much Selibas Khan, you have to just flow through the motions. How often do you think about what you'll do next in battle?" The shorter man shook his head, and then said, "Not very much, I mostly just move on instinct. But it's easy to go on instinct when your style doesn't have specific movements you're meant to do." Dale looked over at the two of them, then said, "How can you consider something a style if there's no framework to it cousin? It's always seemed to me that outsiders just try to ram their swords against each other until one of them falls over dead."
Delger laughed at that so hard that the tall beanpole snorted, Kaichun let out a small chuckle, and Bekter actually smiled at it. The rest of his blood riders made it clear that they thought the joke was funny, all save Coke. Coke's style was more Ilian than Selibas' as the Khan drew on multiple teachers, and had created a style his own where many of the techniques he used came from the battlefield. Coke had been taken under the wing of his Khan's most important teacher and friend Chlane, an Ilian swordsman who had been a legendary mercenary. Coke had always been far too big to dance like the other men of Sacae, and his loud and problematic nature had been an issue for any who tried to teach him. Now the other Blood Riders mocked the style of his teacher, and therefore everything about the way that he fought. Selibas watched as his brow furrowed, and decided to change the subject.
"That's enough for the day Khasar, after practicing with the bow for so long, I need to conserve at least some of my strength." Khasar nodded, and sheathed his saber. Selibas looked around at his other blood riders, Kaichun and Dale still had their bows strung from their instruction of their Khan. The wolf had decided that a Khan must be able to represent all of his people, and had begun to practice in the more Sacaen pursuits of battle. The sword was the only one he believed he'd attempt to use anytime soon, but the practice for fighting on Lightning with both the sword and the bow as well as the use of the bow on the ground were things that Selibas believed would make him feel closer to his people and the other way around. Bekter had both his short swords on either hip, Dale had his own present, and of course Coke and Khasar were sporting their's on their backs. Delger held his on his knees. His other bloodriders also kept their weapons close. There was Subetei a Lorca swordsman, Ketboge a Julin archer, Tugtom a Fruchili auxilery cavalryman who had Selibas had once fought with long ago, Chambui and Degasi, sisters who usually fought with bows from horseback, but today in the thick wood merely wore their bows on their backs. There were more, all weapons ready, but in total their number was about fourteen.
They had not come to the clearing merely to watch and instruct their Khan. Selibas had received a message from a mercenary in the invading army that claimed he'd been convincing men to betray the inquisition and come over to Sacae, and now he simply wanted to discuss payment. They'd agreed on this for a meeting place, what the local tribes called the Bristling Wood.
Unsurprisingly, Dale was the first one to know that they were coming, he set an arrow to his bowstring and simply said, "Selibas." The short Khan turned, his blade still in his hand. The messenger had relayed that the man would only bring four companions. Roughly sixty men suddenly appeared, in a ring around the Sacaens, from the thick brush. Selibas cleared his throat, and called out, "This is a lot of men. How am I meant to know who I am talkin' to?"
Two men stepped forward, one in long purple robes that nearly covered a chest plate, the other in a suit of leather armor with a rapier at his hip. Selibas recognized the latter The one in the armor spoke. "You really came. A man walks to your camp, and you don't send someone in your stead, you just go. How honorable, how sacaen." The man in the robe then took over, "You're the same foolish boy who walked into the desert four years ago without nearly enough water for you or your horse." Oh, that made this far worse than a double cross by the mercenaries under the Inquisition. Adressing the one in leather armor, Selibas said, "I let you live last time you tried to overwhelm me with three to one odds, so that you could tell whoever sent you that it would take more men to kill me. You did. I won't need to send them a message again." With a laugh, the man said, "My employers were insistent that you were taken care of. A loose end they called you. So don't worry, you won't live to send another message."
Every Sacaen bow was taught and sword was drawn. "See when you make a threat, it's better to let the person you're talking to connect the dots. It makes them think you're wily." The Sacaen touched the brand at the base of the back of his neck. Then he continued, looking to the man in the robes, "So, you've come to collect on the kid who managed to escape?" The man in purple said, "Yes, you were too trusting then and you being here is proof that you are an even bigger fool now. May the rain bring beauty!" His hand flew up from his cloak, and a ball of flame erupted from his palm, flying towards Selibas at incredible speed. Without thinking, Selibas did the third motion in the technique he and Khasar had been doing, at almost the same speed as the slighter swordsman. It was instinct. Somehow, Shahlizen cut through the fire, which quickly dissipated on either side of him.
Before the fire was gone, four arrows pierced the man who'd thrown it at the Khan, and he fell to the ground. Selibas spoke then, grabbing Curtana's hilt with his free right hand. "I've been a prisoner too many times in my life to go headfirst into a meeting with any strangers. This was a well placed ambush." He ripped his lightbrand from its sheathe, and the Khan sent a razor into the sky. "Mine's better."
Within moments, a number of the men with the mercenary Selibas had tangled with before fell to the ground with arrows in their back, as one hundred Sacaens climbed down from the trees behind the sixty men hired by a shadowy part of Selibas' past. "This, is The Chonodarga, my personal unit. I'm considering this their test run." As the hundred collapsed in on the sixty, Selibas sheathed Curtana. This was his first fight as their commander. Let them see him with a Sacaen weapon that could cut the unfamiliar magic of the outside world, not a Bernese sword that produced it. He rushed forward, shoulder out at the Lycian mercenary. Round two.
This blade however required a softer touch. It was a light razor compared to his other swords, and each movement would require precision. The style used by many Sacaen men and women was more like dancing than fighting it seemed. And at first when he'd begun to learn the style Selibas believed that he'd been born with two left feet. However, when he'd switched from Delger over to Khasar for a teacher it began to go much smoother. Khasar's easy smile made him a natural teacher, he was incredibly patient. When Selibas couldn't handle a step, Khasar simply laughed it off, if he was frustrated, he didn't show it. So for now they were finishing up a drill of five motions, meant to be done in quick succession. Khasar flashed through them in a matter of seconds, but the combination of turns, pivots, and slashes took Selibas too much time.
"You're thinking too much Selibas Khan, you have to just flow through the motions. How often do you think about what you'll do next in battle?" The shorter man shook his head, and then said, "Not very much, I mostly just move on instinct. But it's easy to go on instinct when your style doesn't have specific movements you're meant to do." Dale looked over at the two of them, then said, "How can you consider something a style if there's no framework to it cousin? It's always seemed to me that outsiders just try to ram their swords against each other until one of them falls over dead."
Delger laughed at that so hard that the tall beanpole snorted, Kaichun let out a small chuckle, and Bekter actually smiled at it. The rest of his blood riders made it clear that they thought the joke was funny, all save Coke. Coke's style was more Ilian than Selibas' as the Khan drew on multiple teachers, and had created a style his own where many of the techniques he used came from the battlefield. Coke had been taken under the wing of his Khan's most important teacher and friend Chlane, an Ilian swordsman who had been a legendary mercenary. Coke had always been far too big to dance like the other men of Sacae, and his loud and problematic nature had been an issue for any who tried to teach him. Now the other Blood Riders mocked the style of his teacher, and therefore everything about the way that he fought. Selibas watched as his brow furrowed, and decided to change the subject.
"That's enough for the day Khasar, after practicing with the bow for so long, I need to conserve at least some of my strength." Khasar nodded, and sheathed his saber. Selibas looked around at his other blood riders, Kaichun and Dale still had their bows strung from their instruction of their Khan. The wolf had decided that a Khan must be able to represent all of his people, and had begun to practice in the more Sacaen pursuits of battle. The sword was the only one he believed he'd attempt to use anytime soon, but the practice for fighting on Lightning with both the sword and the bow as well as the use of the bow on the ground were things that Selibas believed would make him feel closer to his people and the other way around. Bekter had both his short swords on either hip, Dale had his own present, and of course Coke and Khasar were sporting their's on their backs. Delger held his on his knees. His other bloodriders also kept their weapons close. There was Subetei a Lorca swordsman, Ketboge a Julin archer, Tugtom a Fruchili auxilery cavalryman who had Selibas had once fought with long ago, Chambui and Degasi, sisters who usually fought with bows from horseback, but today in the thick wood merely wore their bows on their backs. There were more, all weapons ready, but in total their number was about fourteen.
They had not come to the clearing merely to watch and instruct their Khan. Selibas had received a message from a mercenary in the invading army that claimed he'd been convincing men to betray the inquisition and come over to Sacae, and now he simply wanted to discuss payment. They'd agreed on this for a meeting place, what the local tribes called the Bristling Wood.
Unsurprisingly, Dale was the first one to know that they were coming, he set an arrow to his bowstring and simply said, "Selibas." The short Khan turned, his blade still in his hand. The messenger had relayed that the man would only bring four companions. Roughly sixty men suddenly appeared, in a ring around the Sacaens, from the thick brush. Selibas cleared his throat, and called out, "This is a lot of men. How am I meant to know who I am talkin' to?"
Two men stepped forward, one in long purple robes that nearly covered a chest plate, the other in a suit of leather armor with a rapier at his hip. Selibas recognized the latter The one in the armor spoke. "You really came. A man walks to your camp, and you don't send someone in your stead, you just go. How honorable, how sacaen." The man in the robe then took over, "You're the same foolish boy who walked into the desert four years ago without nearly enough water for you or your horse." Oh, that made this far worse than a double cross by the mercenaries under the Inquisition. Adressing the one in leather armor, Selibas said, "I let you live last time you tried to overwhelm me with three to one odds, so that you could tell whoever sent you that it would take more men to kill me. You did. I won't need to send them a message again." With a laugh, the man said, "My employers were insistent that you were taken care of. A loose end they called you. So don't worry, you won't live to send another message."
Every Sacaen bow was taught and sword was drawn. "See when you make a threat, it's better to let the person you're talking to connect the dots. It makes them think you're wily." The Sacaen touched the brand at the base of the back of his neck. Then he continued, looking to the man in the robes, "So, you've come to collect on the kid who managed to escape?" The man in purple said, "Yes, you were too trusting then and you being here is proof that you are an even bigger fool now. May the rain bring beauty!" His hand flew up from his cloak, and a ball of flame erupted from his palm, flying towards Selibas at incredible speed. Without thinking, Selibas did the third motion in the technique he and Khasar had been doing, at almost the same speed as the slighter swordsman. It was instinct. Somehow, Shahlizen cut through the fire, which quickly dissipated on either side of him.
Before the fire was gone, four arrows pierced the man who'd thrown it at the Khan, and he fell to the ground. Selibas spoke then, grabbing Curtana's hilt with his free right hand. "I've been a prisoner too many times in my life to go headfirst into a meeting with any strangers. This was a well placed ambush." He ripped his lightbrand from its sheathe, and the Khan sent a razor into the sky. "Mine's better."
Within moments, a number of the men with the mercenary Selibas had tangled with before fell to the ground with arrows in their back, as one hundred Sacaens climbed down from the trees behind the sixty men hired by a shadowy part of Selibas' past. "This, is The Chonodarga, my personal unit. I'm considering this their test run." As the hundred collapsed in on the sixty, Selibas sheathed Curtana. This was his first fight as their commander. Let them see him with a Sacaen weapon that could cut the unfamiliar magic of the outside world, not a Bernese sword that produced it. He rushed forward, shoulder out at the Lycian mercenary. Round two.