Sword Drills [Sigma/Orcleous C Support]

[Sigma]

It was early in the morning, Sigma had finally been able to catch a real full night of sleep and it felt GOOD. Getting up from his bed, he looked around his new room. He was lucky enough to have found a small room at the end of one of the many corridors this underground base held. It still needed a bit of spring cleaning, but it was bearable for now. Anyways, right now was not the time for cleaning! Orcleous was waiting for him to start his first sword lessons!

Grabbing a quick breakfast at the temporary mess hall, Sigma didn't take long to put on his fighting gear. SOme egular leather traveling clothes with a few pieces of hardened leather to protect his upper torso and shoulder. It wasn't much but it kept him mobile which was his true strength. Maybe today that wouldn't be his only asset by the end of his session...

Going outside, he was able to quickly find where his marshall was waiting for him. Sigma couldn't wait to start learning from what seemed to be a living legend in terms of combat. Not only did he have mastery over all weapons, he could also muster some incredible feats that befit mythical heroes! He still remembers how the man was able to deflect incoming arrows with the broad side of a greatsword, something you would only do in a fantasy or a dream...

Waving to him with small gand gesture, Sigma went up to him while saying:

- Alright, let's get this show on the road why don't we? Show me everything you have, Teach.

[Orcleous]

As the Marshal there were a lot of things on Orcleous plate. He had to met with Argus to decide missions, coordinate who was going where, check in on operatives, and run the logistics. It was a full time job and Orcleous had very little free time. However there was always one thing the Champion made time for Training. This training time extended not only for himself, but also his soldiers. Orcleous made it his personal mission to insure that each and every one of them were ready for live combat. In there line of work you never knew where the enemy would strike from.

Taking a moment Orcleous placed on his crimson armor and grabbed his wooden sword. Orcleous was up early that morning drilling both the griffin rider and the Pegasus knight. They were skilled but lacked practice on the ground. After he finished those two he had to show young Sparks the basic of swordsmanship. Orcleous said that he was not going to teach him but that did not last to long. Starting off the boy needed to build his strength. So Orcleous had him swinging his sword a hundred times.

"Ah Sigma", spoke the champion as the thief entered his little drill area. In the background one could see the young boy swinging his sword and counting out loud. "Right on time, catch", spoke Orcleous as he tossed him a wooden sword. The champion then drew a wooden pole from the rack and twirled it like a spear. "Alright we are going to start off with sparing. There is no point in me going to the basics. You already have your own style. What you need to work on is fighting against different weapons and styles.

With that Orcleous suddenly lunged forward and stabbed toward the thief abdomen with his padded spear.

[Sigma]

Catching the sword flying in his direction, Sigma couldn't help but grin a little... He definitly liked the man's style, recognising that he did have some talent with a sword and not gone with mind numbing lessons. Getting a feel for the sword while wielding it in a reverse style, Sigma was happy to see how light it was compared to real one... Hmm, he wondered if he could ever get his hands on some kind of sword made of very light materials... Looking back at Orcleous, he saw him wielding that pole already in a ready position... Not only that, but he was attacking. Him. Right now.

-Gaah!

He was only able to get his sword to slightly deviate the improvised spear with a unskillful parry. His messed up timing made it so a real spear could've still been able to cut a line horizontaly across his chest. Ugh, even if he was hurting a bit from the impact, Sigma didn't take long to riposte,anyway he wanted to forget that technically he had already lost that exchange of hits. Swatting the spear away with a strong blow using his left forearm and the sword laying over it thanks to his reverse grip. After that block, Sigma quickly jumped back to prepare his next attack. Looking at Orcleous he said:

-Tch, That was a lack of reflexes on my part... Alright, my turn now!

Dashing towards the marshall, Sigma had his sword at the ready. As he got closer to him, Sigma decided to stay in a lower stance as went for a stab with his backwards sword from the right with his left hand, somewhere around the stomach. But anyways, that didn't really matter because that wasn't his target, wether he would be able to actually land it or not, it was simply a feint for him to follow up with a legsweep. Nobody said that you can't use dirty tricks during training right?

[Orcleous]

"The lack of reflexes is the end of reflexes", spoke Sparks as he contained his drills in the background. Orcleous gave off a coy smile. That was the same line he used on the rider when they spared, it seemed the boy was listening. Still he was slouching a bit.

"Control your posture", shouted Orcleous as he blocked the incoming attack with the shaft of the practice spear. The champion accomplished this by swinging his own weapon horizontally as Sigma attacked. The shaft of the spear slammed into the top portion of the blade. Thanks to all the force of Sigma's attack going forward Orcleous was able to deflect the blow by attacking the point from the side. It was a simple law of combat. If one is strong going forward then they are weak on the sides. Sigma however showed gile by attacking with a leg sweep. Similar to the parry Orcleous had just used. If there defense is strong up top then they are weak below, well in most cases.

As Sigma's leg sweep came in Orcleous did not resist the blow, instead he followed it. As the leg moved in to strike Orcleous hopped in the direction it would have tripped him. The champion rolled in the dirt and quickly recovered. His crimson breast plate barely slowed him down. Using the practice spear Orcleous stabbed toward Sigma's feet as he recovered. If he dodged oh well Orc would be back on his feet. If he did not then Orc would gain a advantage.

[Sigma]

Orcleous was able to deflect the blade, just like Sigma predicted he would. No way a simple stab attack was gonna even graze a literal one-man-army. However, he was more concentrated on the kick anyways, but sadly that plan also seemed to have fallen straight on its ass.

Gah! How did he jump over that so easily with so much armor? Ugh, Sigma realised that he wasn't a slow target at all, even if appearances were deceiving. Looking at his skillful roll, he wondered how could he do that in a pretty much what seemed to be a sort of plate mail... Wow, he definitly still had many surprises to show the thief, that was for sure.

-Impressive, no wonder you're our marshall.

However, as the man in crimson equipment, got up, the shaft of his spear was already going at it again, this time aiming for his feet. Hmm, nice idea if he was fighting the average burglar... However, Sigma still had a pretty sizeable amount of tricks before he would run out.

That won't work on me sadly.

While still crouched, Sigma was able to roll backwards to avoid the tip of the pole. Getting up on his feet after his roll in a single movement, Sigma got back into a defensive stance. No chance I'm letting him hit me again! thought the thief clad in blue garb.

So, how was he supposed to even get in the range to attack him? His improvised spear had range leaps and bounds over his sword's... Should he be focusing on counter attacks or quick strikes to take advantage of his weapon's light weight compared to the spear's? Ugh, he decided to not overthink for now.

Rapidly, he started dashing diagonally right. Holding his sword reverse in a way to defend his torso, he continued to move until he could try to go for a cut to his ribcage or something. But first he needed to see if he could actually get close...

[Orcleous]

Good he is learning thought Orcleous. He responded to his attack with ease. However Orcleous had to wonder if he was teaching him right. The spear was not Orcleous weapon of choice. He knew how to use it from his time fighting it on the battle field, but it was not a weapon he truly knew. Orcleous only had power, he did not have the skill that most warriors of the lance had. That lack might come back to hurt Sigma in the future, though at the very least Sigma would have fought against the length advantage. That alone should help some.

Sigma began to rush in on a effort to cover the length disadvantage. Immediately Orcleous first instinct was to stab forward with the spear and stop the direct charge, however another idea came into his mind. He was going to need to show Sigma the meaning of power anyway. Instead of stabbing with the practice spear Orcleous pulled back on the pole arm swinging it horizontally. The powerful attack was done with the idea of cutting off the side step. Orcleous was going to force his opponent to move. The simple dash to the side and avoid the tip was not going to work with this attack. He was going to have to come up with something. Still Orcleous did not like relying on such attacks. There were far to many counters for it. It was a good move if your trying to stop someone fast, but it left the shat to exposed to him.

[Sigma]

Huh? Sigma was definitly expecting some kind of stabbing attack, it would only make sense when he was running straight at him. Being wary of what was to come, Sigma easily noticed his next attack. Watching the spear come near him at such high speeds was definitly a frightening expeience, even if this was a training pole... The real thing must be quite worse, he thought. Seeing that Orcleous wanted to keep him at bay from reaching his positions, finally Sigma saw how much of an advantage spears had thanks to their long range. He guessed that he would have to learn a way to penetrate those defenses if he ever wanted to land clean hit on him...

-How about this!?!

As the spear got closer, Sigma was only able to use his last moments to quickly dodge out of the way by diving headfirst towards the ground and finishing with a roll. Feling a bit of snow cover his dry clothes up until this point, he decided to forget that for now... He needed to get stronger to fight for the resistance, that's all that mattered for now. As he got back his bearings after that improvised roll, Sigma noticed that he was able to roll to the right of Orcleous and to his back (though he'll turn around in only an instant...) Quick! He had to try something at least! Gripping his sword harder than before, he held it to his side in the hopes of maybe lowering the force of his possible next sweep attack. The reason behind this was simply that he decided to simply not use his sword for this next attack... Instead, he opted for something a bit more familiar.

Slightly turning his body to charge his next attack, Sigma decided to try and aim a reverse roundhouse kick directly at the man's face. It's in times like these that he is grateful to having been gifted great legs for hand-to hand combat. Time to see if those lightning reflexes of his were gonna hold out...

[Orcleous]

He got under it, thought Orcleous as Sigma rolled under his attack. It was a nice move and the path less chosen. Orcleous would have blocked the shaft and rushed in for a attack, but this move seemed a bit better as Sigma's momentum had carried him to a point where he could try to take Orcleous flank. At this point Orcleous was sure that the lance portion of this spar was over there was no point in continuing it, Sigma could get around a lance. as Sigma prepared his charge Orcleous tossed the lance away. As Sigma charged in for his attack Orcleous called upon the natural energy in his body and sent out a pressure wave of daunting force. The goal was to stop the thief in his tracks. Orcleous then dashed to his side and picked up another wooden sword from the weapon rack.
[Daunt Activated]

"Sigma", spoke Orcleous as he turned around to face the thief. Orcleous held a wooden sword in each hand, the one in his left however was shorter than the one in the right however. "I know you probably think it is cheating to use a skill in a spar, but you need to remember that your enemy just might have one as well. You will never know what you will face on the battlefield. That is what this spar is all about", chuckled Orcleous as he unstrapped the last hinge to his crimson breast. As the breastplate hit the snow Orcleous charged with a uncharacteristic furry.

The first thing Orcleous did was slice the long wooden sword into the snow and send some of the white fluf toward his eyes. The second sword, the short one, stabbed inward attempting to pierce through his defenses. Following the attack was a swip from the longsword coming from the right hand side.

[Sigma]

He was getting close! Only a few more inches until his foot would connect with his face! But sadly, it seemed like Orcleous had a different plan in mind. Suddenly feeling a great deal of fear, Sigma's entire began to shake as he lost all balance and fell into the snow. Did he use his skill on him? Woah, it certainly didn't feel pleasant... Were their ennemies also capable of such feats? Was Sigma going to actully learn of these one day? He had time to pick himself back up as Orcleous went to get himself two swords. Crap, now thaught about it, he should've tried that himself... He didn't really fight with both hands on his sword anyways, dual wielding could help make him more quick with his attacks. As he heard Orcleous talk to him about fairness in battle, he couldn't help but grin slightly:

- Of course, what's the point if you're not going all out right? As long as you don't actually use real weapons, i'm perfectly fine with it. Though it means that i'm also not gona hold back on backhanded techniques...

Watching the breastplate fall softly into the snow was able to distract Sigma momentarily for the snow to come blind him quite a bit. It's only thanks to his instincs that he took a step back to avoid the stab from the smaller blade. However as he triedto wipe the melting snow, he was too slow to see his next attack coming. As he raised his blade to block it, his body wasn't in a position where actual strenght could be put behing his sword, so it was flung back like a mere insect by the wooden longsword. Feeling the sword crash into his ribs was nothing short of unbearable. Being pushed by the strike, the thief suddenly fell to one knee as he clutched his side as if it was going to help. Gods, was it that easy to break his defense? A simple combo and some snow was enough to cut him down in real life? Biting his lip in anger towards his own abilities, he got up on shaky legs, however his eyes were filled to the brim with determination.

-*Pant* Bring me... *Pant* A second sword! I'm not done yet!

[Orcleous]

Orcleous did not expect that to work so well. Most of the time when he tried that move his opponents would dodge and then counter, then again he was a novice then. He did not telegraph his moves so much and his blade was not as fast. Time had really sharpen him up. Still this was not the time for Orcleous to be thinking about himself. Sigma was here to learn, and if that had been a real blade then Sigma would have been dead, Orcleous did not like that. Among all the recruits he liked Sigma the best.

"Sigma I am going to have to warn you that dual wielding is more flash than fury. It can be a boon if done right, but it can also be a bane", spoke the champion as he tossed the budding swordsmen his short sword. Orcleous knew better than to try and stop him. After that hit he was going to need a rest, but Sigma's spirit was high. There was no point because he would not listen to him in the first place.

After giving Sigma a moment to adjust Orcleous walked over to the rack and grabbed a shield. Banging the lonsword onto the shield Orcleous showed that he was ready for Sigma to give him his best shot. If Sigma truly wanted to follow this path of swordsmenship then he was going to need to know how to fight the basics. The sword and shield combination would be the great challenge for him. It would also be the one he would see most often on the battlefield. The shield was a battlefield staple and soon to be Sigma's greatest bane. He did not know it yet, but he was already dead. Well training wise, not yet in real life.

[Sigma]

As Orcleous tossed him his shorter blade while warning him about the dangers and expertise required to use two weapons at once, Sigma was already thinking about how he should position himself and how to wield the swords in a way that would feel natural for him. For now, he'd try to simply use them in a very basic manner: both of the swords helf in a regular grip unlike when he simply used one, the longer blade is his dominant hand, his left. The marshall was right about one thing, this was definitly flashy. However Sigma was too determined to go back, he was gonna try to learn this fighting style whatever way he could! The smaller sword should probably be kept for parries and quick stabs while his main weapon should be doing the main damage, or at least that was how he saw it for now. Seeing Orcleous fight like that meant thathe could at least ask for advice later anyways. Ready, he started to charge towards the man.

-Well let's see where it takes us and correct it if we see it doesn't work then!

He was barely finished with his setence as he was already trying his best at breaking through Orcleous's defense. His first instinct was to go for a horizontal cross slash aimed directly at Orcleous's ribcage since he knew that he'd probably hurt himself if he tried to get too fancy at first with complicated combos. After that hit, he'd try to go once again for a legsweep. Disregarding what could happen, Sigma was already thinking ahead about how he'd pretty much use the momentum from his previous hit to crouch and spin until he could finish with a kick to his ankles.

[Orcleous]

So he chose that path, thought Orcleous as the thief prepared to attack. Dual swordsmanship was not a easy style to learn, nor was it easy to use. However if one does gain skill in using it they can be quite a powerful opponent. Orcleous remembered the head master, Dragon, from the time he worked as a assassin. The man was extraordinary. He moved his swords with so much grace and skill. He could disarm a man and then kill him in one single motion. It was both expiring and terrifying. Maybe one day sigma could be that good, though Orcleous doubted it. Dragon came from a family that had been using and refining the style for ages. All Sigma had to rely on was Orcleous. Orc considered himself to be a skilled swordsmen, but he lacked the dedication to the art Dragon had. Orc was more of a great sword user than a dual wielding master. Sigma was going to have to find another teacher or find out on his own if he wanted to reach the higher levels.

No rest for the whicket, Orc's mother would always say. Sigma rushed back in with both blades at the ready. Orcleous had only the longsword, which he was using with both hands. In a flurry of two strikes. The first blow came in with the dominant hand. Orc parried it with the longsword, but the shorter blade dashed in. Orc attempted to side step the attack, by pulling back. However the snow was thicker than his mind remembered. This slowed him down and the small practice sword slid across his shirt. It would not have been a fatal wound, but it would have hurt. Seeing the blow a frown crossed Orc face. He should have dodged that. Now Sigma was going to get a big head. As the thief finished the attack he moved into another leg sweep. He truly loved that move. Orc, still upset with himself about letting himself take a hit responded with force.

As Sigma swung his leg Orc stabbed his blade into the ground. The champion linned the edge of the sword up with the incoming leg. After that he ripped the sword out the ground and attacked Sigma with a two handed strike aiming for his right shoulder. The champion made sure to hold back his strike enough not to break any bones of course if he hit.

[Sigma]

Seeing the wooden sword into the snow, Sigma was quickly able to see that this was going to hurt...badly. The shockwave he felt coming from his ankle was enough to tell him he would've been crippled by a real blow like that. Damn! He shouldn't have used the same move so soon! Ugh, Sigma was getting tired of making rookie mistakes like this. Gritting his teeth, he glanced up at Orcleous almost as if he was trying to show him this wasn't over. Seeing him take out the sword out of the groun and preparing his next strike, Sigma wasn't able to do much as he was still dazed by the pain of his failed attempt at a legsweep.

Feeling dread wash over him, he wondered why he simply he didn't stay in Edessa... He would've been able to live his life by being a simple information gatherer with no need for deadly battles against literal armies. So why did he do it? The desire to make history was one thing yes but it didn't explain it all. Just wanting to make history does not justify becoming a member of a resitance to protect a countryfrom an invading neighbor. So again, why did he do it? Sigma himself wasn't sure anymore... As Orcleous lifted his sword and prepared his next strike, Sigma saw a glimpse of sometihng for an instance. Well actually, "felt" would be a more appropriate term.

It was excitement! He liked to feel this sense of fear and impending doom at every corner! It was exactly what he yearned for after all those years living the boring life of an urchin: to feel alive! Feeling adrenaline rush his system as he understood finally why he did this, his body shot up to an upright stance.

Following the trajectory of his blade, Sigma decided to go with a counter attack. Both sword held in an X shape, he drove the two foward to try to catch his wrists and disarm him.

- I'M NOT DONE YET!