Training in the Snow {Siegfried}

[Duma]

Duma found himself in Ilia. One quick job after another and the swordsman arrived back into the snowy north of the lands. He sighed softly. His breath turned into mist into the air. The swordsman had finished with his latest charge. Rather then sit at the inn and warm up like he usually did. The swordsman decided to head outside and train. It's been far too long since he had a chance to stretch his sword arm out in the cold weather. He buttoned up his warm cloak and adjusted his boots. They were stuffed with left over bits of wool and cloth to help keep the warm air in.

He drew his sword to the training dummy. He flipped the sword so the blade end was in the opposite side. He did a few practice swings with his arms to help loosen them up. He noticed his swing speed was reduced. Probably dye to the extra layers he had on. I have to adjust for that. How about... He adjusted his grip and swung again. This time adding a bit more power to his swing. It started to feel a bit more natural. He sighed again. He felt his strength slowly get sapped by the cold. He couldn't be out here for long.

People in the inn could look out and see him swinging his sword around. Those who were curious stepped outside. It wasn't often they got to see a Sacean looking man swing a blade the opposite way. He could hear the small jokes and call outs. Once he felt comfortable enough, he jumped back for some distance. Then readjusted his grip. He flipped the blade back to it's normal position and prepared himself. He focused out onto his target. The wooden and straw training dummy. He was going to replicate what he showed Donny when he first began to train him. Focus. He rushed forward at the training dummy and delivered one good diagonal slash. To the untrained eye it looked like hadn't hit the dummy at all. A moment later, the dummy fell apart into two clean pieces.

[Siegfried Aschdenne]

Among the people in the inn was none other than Siegfried Aschdenne. He was between missions for Ulfric's company and had just finished visiting some family back home. The company was to meet at the Ilian/Sacaen border in about three days, so Siegfried had been enjoying the familiar cold climate of his home country. Unfortunately he couldn't help but be a little unnerved at Ilia's growing concerns, primarily Bern and Etruria...he often wondered if he should lend his strength to the cause?

Maybe...but I'm not strong enough, not yet He thought to himself. There was no sense worrying too much about it now. The trouble had yet to truly boil over to the point where he'd want to take up arms. The best thing he could do was stay with the company and keep learning. Keep growing stronger.

Siegfried gazed out the window of the inn and blinked as he saw a sight he wasn't expecting. It was a man, clearly a Sacaen swordsman, honing his craft on a training dummy outside. Siegfried watched with curiosity and a bit of awe, frowning when he heard the japes of the others in the inn.

"Hush up mates," He called out to them, "The man's just warming up,"

The others quieted down with a few grumbles and grunts, eager to return to...whatever it was they were doing. Siegfried continued to watch until he felt urged to step outside and join the man. He didn't bother putting on any armour, as he wasn't going into battle, but brought a wooden sword with him and a cape lined with wolf's fur to keep him a bit warm. He was likely far more used to the snow and cold than the Sacaen was, but even Sieg knew better than to underestimate the effects of the cold.

"Ho there, swordsman," Siegfried greeted with a smile. He didn't want to interrupt the swordsman's training too much, instead wasting little time before facing a second training dummy. He held his sword upright in front of him, taking his stance before dashing forward, doing a quick spin for added momentum before slashing his training sword at the dummy's side.

[Duma]

Duma panted lightly after he sliced the dummy in two. The cold was starting to affect him. The swordsman put his sword away and went to pick up the pieces of the dummy when someone called out to him. A young blonde haired man, who appeared to be close to his age. At first Duma thought he was the grounds keeper and was going to be reprimanded for breaking the equipment beyond repair. But that thought was dashed once he saw the wooden training sword the young man carried. Duma observed for a moment the young man's stance and then his slash. Hmm.. He spun for more momentum. Interesting.

"Afternoon, fellow swordsman." Duma nodded. He couldn't help but be mildly intrigued by the young man. Up until a moment ago he heard jokes and now there was some silence amongst the crowd. Duma noticed two things wrong with the young man's slash, his footing, and the noise of the blade. Granted wooden training swords made more noise through the air then their sharpened metal counterparts, but it still disturbed him. It meant that the angle was slightly off which caused resistance.

"Pardon. Stranger but.. I can't help myself but to pry. I mean no offense when I say this.. but your footing and angle in that swing was a bit off. The rest of the execution was perfect though." Duma sighed softly and soon found himself rummaging through one of the supply crates. He went through the training swords, swinging them one by one until he found one that suited him.

"If I may.. I will try to replicate it." Duma took a stance. He closed his eyes as he played back in his mind the motions that the mercenary made. He let out a sigh and blocked out all distractions. He opened his eyes and mimicked the mercenary's movement almost perfectly. Except Duma's strike cut deeper into the training dummy then his counterpart. Duma let go of the wooden sword and it remained stuck in the grassy folds of the straw dummy.

"If I did that with a proper blade, it would have reached the spine." He let go of the wooden sword and shook the shock out of his hand. Then removed the wooden sword out of it's host.

"Young sir, may I trouble you for a light duel? I wish to better learn the style of the Ilian Mercenaries."

[Siegfried Aschdenne]

Siegfried readied himself for another slash when his fellow swordsman called out to him. He stopped what he was doing and gazed over at the Lycian man. Siegfried watched as this man perfectly replicated his own movements before striking the dummy, and there was no denying that his strike was more effective, even a little quicker perhaps. As usual it seemed Siegfried had more to learn...and that was good.

"I see...thank you, sir," Siegfried stated with a nod of acknowledgement. Though this man wasn't too much older than he was he seemed to be quite well traveled and very skilled. Siegfried noticed he was a bit taller and overall larger, but the man had a solid stature as well. Unlike with some opponents this meant Siegfried wasn't entirely sure what sort of fighter he was just by looking at him. He was confidant the man could pull off power, balanced, technical, and agile wih equal ease. Those were the most fearsome types: the ones you couldn't predict.

He then blinked as the man challenged him to a duel. The mercenary couldn't help but grin a little bit before nodding once again. He was no stranger to Lycian swordsman, after all Ulfric hailed from Laus, but he was almost always game for a fight. "It'd be my pleasure, stranger, but may I first ask your name?"

Siegfried stepped away from the dummies and held his sword out upright in front of him, moving his left foot about 8 inches behind his right foot, taking his stance. "Mine is Siegfried," He said as an introduction.

[Duma]

Duma nodded slightly. Bits of his face and fingers were tarting to turn red from cold. He couldn't stay out for very long. Perhaps the duel would serve to help warm him up. Before they started Duma took his time to make sure everything was buttoned down. He removed his sword from his belt and placed it by the supply crate. He did the same with his bag. The swordsman jumped a little to adjust to the lesser weight.

"Well met, Siegfried. My name is Duma. Pleasure to meet you." He pulled from his pocket some spare cloth which he used to wrap around the wooden sword. The wooden blade he grabbed lacked a proper handle so he had to quickly fashion one in order to spare his fingers. He swung the blade around again in practice. The grip was crude but it would be enough to last him this one duel.

"Ah.. there we go. That's a bit better." He commented before walking over a few feet away from the dummies. He gave a few more practice swings just for good measure then prepared his stance. The soft smile he had on his face slowly faded into a his usual cold expression. He tuned out the noise of the people in the back. They knew a duel when they saw one and they were getting very loud and rowdy. If only they knew this was training duel. Not a true duel. The young man lacked armor, which meant that any hit the swordsman landed was going to hurt. But it also meant that Siegfried was going to be very agile.

"Ready!" He shouted. His sword held at the ready. He was prepared to either strike or defend.

[Siegfried Aschdenne]

Siegfried took a breath. The cold air was starting to nip at the other swordsman, Sieg could tell. He'd seen many a traveler not quite used to Ilia's cold come through is village. They'd bundle up well and be fine at first, but when the cold penetrated all their layers they started to succumb rather quickly. Siegfried hadn't been in the cold as long yet but he was also quite a bit more used to it.

"Ready!" He called back to his opponent before stepping forward into a dash. Snow was always hellish on traction and balance when it came to walking let alone combat, but years of sparring, training, and dueling in the snow left Siegfried with the knowledge of how to move through the snow with the least amount of resistance and difficulty. It only slowed his movement a little bit, and the blonde mercenary decided to open his attack not with a swing or a slash, but with a thrust at his opponent's chest.

The thrust could be side-stepped or parried but Siegfried was careful not to fully commit to the action. He wasn't going for a fatal blow or anything, after all, so it was better to play on the safe side. Besides, his opponent looked to be quite strong. He could see it in his eyes.

[Duma]

Duma braced himself for anything the mercenary wanted to throw at him. From what he could see Siegfried was trying to come at him with a thrust. The swordsman wondered why, would he be so bold at the first strike. After all a thrust could be parried or dodged with ease. Duma side stepped lightly to avoid the thrust and he followed up with a simple horizontal swing. Whatever the wooden blade made contact with sent a bit of a shock wave up the blade to the swordsman’s frigid fingers. Ow. He didn’t let that stop him from swinging a second time, a simple vertical slice. These two strikes were easily block-able. As Duma wanted to see how Siegfried was going to defend these blows, so he would have a better understanding of the young man’s style. The swordsman was wielding his weapon with one hand in order to use the other arm as balance.

Fighting in the snow was difficult for him. Snow wasn’t like sand or gravel that liked to stick to your shoes. Snow was cold and slippery. And his boots weren’t exactly the best for this sort of terrain. Duma made a mental note to pay careful attention to his own footing. His opponent however seemed to be perfectly comfortable with the terrain. The young man walked out, greeted him in nothing more than his clothes and a large fur cape. Duma’s ears and finger tips were starting to go numb. Once this quick match was over he was going to march inside and order something warm.

[Siegfried Aschdenne]

Siegfried figured his thrust would be easily dealt with and brought his sword up to block Duma's first slash, his hand pressed on the back of the training sword so the impact of the swing wasn't so rough on his sword hand. It was a small trick he learned from Ulfric, but it wasn't too applicable with standard longswords. The next swing Siegfried had to take a step back, the tip of the training sword grazing his torso.

Even though Siegfried's thrust had been easily evaded it did give him some insight to Duma's style. Rather than parry the thrust or attempt to disarm Siegfried by knocking it down, like a few others would have done, Duma side-stepped it. It was good to note.

Bringing both hands back to the handle of his training sword, Siegfried stepped off his back foot and brought his sword down at a slight diagonal angle, aiming for either Duma's chest or his shoulder.

[Duma]

It seemed that Siegfried favored to keep offensive pressure on Duma. The young man was well trained. But the swordsman noticed little things in the way he moved. How he positioned his legs and kept his grip on his blade. It was a mix of proper style and what he presumed to be self taught. Siegfried's downwards diagonal swing packed some power being it. But again Duma could see the flaws and he would take advantage of it. Duma quickly gripped the wooden sword with both hands. At the right moment he swung the blade up. A horizontal strike that was a tried and true method to counter vertical ones.

Duma blocked the blow by keeping his blade held up horizontally. The wooden swords clashed against each other. Siegfried's wooden blade bounced off of his. Duma took a step forward to close any remaining distance and delivered a quick counter slash. The wooden blade trailed down in his own diagonal slash. There would be no time to block it or move. The wooden sword hit Siegfried's shoulder. He knew it would cause Siegfried to move his arm away. Then with a swift motion of his arm he followed up with a horizontal slash that would hit the young man's side. This left Duma's shoulder exposed, which he used to tackle into the young mercenary. It would be enough to knock him down onto his back into the snow.

Duma panted softly. The cold was really starting to get to him now. The entirety of his ears were numb and he could feel it creeping up to his cheeks.

"My apologies for the quickness of the duel. I do not want to linger out in the cold any longer. But you have some skill with the blade. But it is quite rough. It's.. a bit similar to another mercenary I recently helped to train." He offered his hand out to help Siegfried up.

[Siegfried Aschdenne]

(OoC: I'd call god-modding, but their skill gap/level gap is so huge that I'm pretty okay with it lol )

Siegfried had been far, far too lax. It was not that he underestimated Duma's potential ability whatsoever, it was simply that he didn't realize what sort of effect the cold would have on the man. He thought he might weaken with time and forfeit, at best. He did not expect for the cold to drive the man to overwhelm him with such ease. The skill gap between the two became more apparent than ever...and though Siegfried felt a touch of bitterness at how swift he met his end this duel, he couldn't help but feel respect for the swordsman.

"That's...quite all right, I suppose," Siegfried grunted out as he took Duma's hand to help him get to his feet, "I did notice that you weren't agreeing with the cold. Only Ilian's and perhaps the Bernese can handle it for long periods of time I find,"

Sheathing his training sword into his belt he gestured back to the inn, giving the other swordsman a warm smile. "In that case we might as well get back in and get something warm to eat. We can discuss swordplay and training in front of a fire,"

Siegfried knew his style was rough. Though he had two basic teachers in the form of his parents they mostly taught him the basics of battle as a whole, and only a little about the sword. Many, MANY Ilians tend to prefer spears over all weapons just as they preferred mounted combat over foot. Not all of them, of course, but enough for it to be common knowledge. As such he didn't have many examples of solid, honed swordplay on foot when he was sparring and training himself in his younger years. It wasn't until he met Ulfric that he started to really learn advanced techniques.

Shaking himself from his thoughts, Siegfried turned and walk back towards the inn, reaching the door and gesturing once again for Duma to come in as he opened it.

[Duma]

OOC- My bad! I got carried away.
--
Duma helped Siegfried up off the snow. The swordsman went to go put the training equipment away. He clapped his hands and dusted them off. Then put them up to his ears hopefully some of the warmth in his hands would revive a bit of feeling to his ears. He put them down when he found it to be ineffective.

"Yes. I am not accustomed to Ilian cold. I do not come up to the northern lands often. And when I do I do not stay very long. It does not give me sufficient time to adjust to the cold." Duma spoke as he walked along side the young man.

"But I have noticed most Ilian's prefer lances. It makes sense as Ilia is home to the Pegasus knights. I've dueled few swordsman. But it seems many Ilian's.. or perhaps the Ilian style.. is very offensive. You did not hesitate to attack me. And continue to attack me. Unlike, the Bernese who favor power in their blows, most Ilian's mercenaries I have ran into favor a mix of power and speed. And a large amount of them seem to be self taught. Or perhaps I have just had that sort of luck." Duma looked around the inn. Some people stared back, others ignored him, he got a few glares, Duma was used to this and ignored it.

"My style is more of a wait and see. I defend or evade until I find the right moment to strike back." Duma gave Siegfried a pat on the shoulder.

"As you could tell." Duma found himself inside the inn. He found a small table by the fire and offered Siegfried to sit down across from him. The warm air of the inn penetrated Duma's cold skin and started to bring them back to normal.

"I am here until the day after tomorrow as I already have another job lined up. If you like.. I can spend tomorrow giving you some pointers.

[Siegfried Aschdenne]

"No, all of that sounds about right," Siegfried replied with a chuckle, seating himself across from Duma. Everything the older swordsman had said was more or less the truth. Most Ilians preferred lances on mounts over swords on foot: especially the female warriors. Siegfried actually enjoyed that bit of cultural identity most Ilians had, and took pride in the might of their pegasus knights.

"I'd say all Ilians, regardless of combat style, prefer strength and speed over defense and pure power as well. A bit of a cross between Sacae and Bern, but not a lot of Lycian," Siegfried said with a chuckle, "The comparisons are especially easy to make with the cavalry. Ours are swifter than Bern but sluggish compared to Sacae's rangers, but we hit harder than Sacae and are more aggressive than Lycia,"

Again: Siegfried actually liked that style. The best defense is a good offense after all.

He quirked a brow when Duma offered to teach him a few things. Even if only for a day it could prove very useful to pick up some new tips and tricks, and help get his form more solid, "I'd be honored, thank you for the offer," Siegfried said with a smile.

[Duma]

"Ah.. I am glad my observations have been astute. As for the training, you can meet me here tomorrow at dawn. That way we get the most amount of daylight for our training." Duma nodded then ordered a mug of tea. He opted for tea over mead in order to keep more of his wits about him. He was a stranger here and he knew that thieves liked to target strangers. The pair of mercenaries spent the rest of the night talking about things. Duma swapped stories about Sacae and their styles of swordsman ship. And Siegfried swapped him stories of Ilia.

The two left each other's company to sleep and re-meet at dawn. Duma was up and training after a light breakfast. The young Mercenary joined him and Duma began training him in swordplay. It was a gradual process but Duma was able to impart some of his sword style to the young Mercenary. Although this training was temporary Duma instructed Siegfried in simple exercises so that he could further train even when Duma wasn't around. By the time the sun began to set Duma felt that he had given Siegfried enough training for the day. The training was a mix of perfecting both offenses and defenses. Seigfried had taught Duma something about Ilian mercenaries and their style. Along with some simple tricks to help beat the cold. The pair of them had a bit of a hearty dinner and Duma dismissed himself from Siegfried's company. Duma's next job would lead him into the Ilian capital.

{end thread}