Crossing Blades ATTN: Adrian and Ravak

[Craig]

Ravak Darrow

Later, he would consider the growling too obvious a distraction, but enveloped by the emptiness, he merely saw Prewtez's counterstrike. The scarred man spun as his blade danced, striking and slicing at both of his opponents.

The Ji'alantin moved for Adrian, but Ravak didn't see the result. He saw the parry, his bundles of wood ricocheting wildly away from that strong strike. Then he realised that this wasn't a simple parry, but Black Pebbles on Snow. The air was knocked out of him as Prewtez's practice sword struck true. His feet failed from the unexpected blow. Pain blossomed and tried to seep out of the emptiness, back into his conscious awareness. He forced down any feeling, of bruised body or bruised pride, and rose swiftly to his feet.

If he was losing this fight, as he suspected may happen when the Ji offered a two-on-one spar, he wanted to get at least one blow in return. This won't end like it did with the Seanchan. That thought had seeped in, and he had to work to maintain the Oneness.

He was in a defensive pose before thinking, and had his sword by his waist. The Dove Takes Flight was foremost in his mind, and his body braced for the counterstroke. Pain would be the cost of pride. Ravak moved towards Prewtez, raising with his legs and his sword at the same time to strike squarely into Prew's chest.

OOC: I can't read New Spring yet. I'm still working through The Shadow Rising.

[Jenny]

He had very little time to react to the punch to his face. Placed off balance by his attack, Adrian could only duck awkwardly. Prewtez brought the sword down and across, dealing a glancing blow across his face. It hurt. A lot. He stumbled backwards. The Void trembled. Thank the Light it was just a practice sword. He would have a nasty bruise instead of a gaping wound across his face.

Blood and bloody ashes, he thought, wincing. A few more choice swears skid across the surface of the Void, but he forced them into the Flame. His pain faded into a dull throb.

He heard the thud as Ravak fell, as well, and saw his frustration mirrored by the Drin'far'ji. Their eyes met, briefly. Yes, they would have to work together if they wanted to land a blow on their instructor. As Ravak moved, Adrian clambered to his feet and rushed toward Prewtez, shifting his blade into the short, horizontal chop of Cutting the Clouds. He timed his attack to match with Ravak's - they would strike at the same time.

[Prew]

Prewtez

He had struck true against both opponents in his dance of the forms. Whether either would have been a killing blow had his blade been steel mattered not. The purpose of this exercise was twofold. To test himself against multiple opponents, yes, but more importantly to give these men the opportunity to incorporate what they had learned.

As the two launched a coordinated attack against him, the Void focused his mind on countering. He knew he would take a hit, but which was more threatening? Automatically he moved into Kingfisher Watches the Sky, his blade rising to block the Borderlander’s upward thrust while stepping into the man. Prewtez winced as the Andoran struck his exposed rear. Pushing against Ravak to clear himself, his sword rose upwards towards Adrian’s neck in the Arc of the Moon. Spinning again back to the Shienaran, the Sapling Trembles aimed a strike at the man’s wrist in an attempt to disarm.

Stepping back away from the two, Prewtez took up The Swallow Glides to the Branch, creating space while watching to see what effects were had by his last attacks.

[Craig]

Ravak Darrow

A perverse glee rose up in the Shienaran, threatening to shatter his focus. All three combatants would walk away with bruises, even if he hadn't been the one to strike the Ji'alantin. As Ravak reeled back from Prewtez's body blow, he saw the Andoran's training sword approach in a downwards stroke. He knew the form, if not by name then by intent. Rav twisted to present his left flank, the blade striking not at his wrist by across his knuckles. Whether that was a lesser or greater injury would be a consideration for a later time. Turning as he did had allowed him to switch his sword arm without the blade falling to the floor. Completing a full spiral, he readopted The Creeper Embraces the Oak. He wasn't as quick or as strong with his right arm, but it was better than trying to do anything with a hand injury.

Having gone on the offensive without much success, Rav wondered if a change of tact was required. He continued the slow encirclement of Prew, keeping his blade moving in preparation for any attack. Maybe inviting the Ji to go on the offence was as wise as inviting wolves to the kitchen table, but it was worth exploring. Even in the Oneness, Rav could feel the throbbing pain in his left hand. He would already need to attend the Infirmary after this, what harm could more bruises do?

Edit: Fixing a typo.

[Jenny]

His swathe of sticks struck the Ji'alantin's exposed back. But before he could celebrate, Adrian saw his opponent shifting balance to push off of Ravak. He ducked instinctively, buckling his knees and narrowly dodging the Arc of the Moon. With his knees tucked in, he rolled backwards. Then, as he recovered his footing, he brought his blade up back into the guard position.

His eyes darted between Prewtez and Ravak. He hadn't seen what happened, but Ravak was holding his sword in his right hand instead of his left. The two men circled their instructor. Adrian didn't want to attack first - but neither did his training partner. Quickly, he ran through scenarios in his mind. If Prewtez rushed either of them, the other would react - too slowly.

Besides attacking at the same time, Adrian couldn't think of another way to land another hit on their instructor. He wondered what would happen next.

[Prew]

Prewtez

Deep in the void, Prewtez observed his two opponents as he continued to move, keeping space between them. The Soldier had adroitly avoided his last strike, and the Drin had, as anticipated, shifted his weapon to his off hand. He still considered Ravak the more dangerous of the pair but Adrian had surprised him with his agility. He was about to shift into Two Hares Leaping with the intent of finishing the Drin once and for all when he noticed the two Gaidin.

“You’re time is up, Ji. We have the sparring arena reserved for this hour.”

Blood and bloody ashes! He’d been so caught up in the spar he had lost track of the time. Lowering his sword, he bowed to the men waiting for him to clear the area and motioned to his two charges to follow him. Once clear of the arena, he stopped and faced them with a smile broadening across his face..

“I am impressed with both of you. I was waiting for you to coordinate an attack and when you did, I took punishment. You need to understand that in such a fight you must expect to be hit. Rare is the swordsman who can fight multiple opponents without being struck. The trick is to take as little damage as possible. Your strike, Adrian, would make it very uncomfortable for me to sit a horse but it would not have disabled me. I deemed your attack would be less damaging than the one Ravak launched.’" He paused to let them think on that for a moment.

“You both would have been either dead or disabled before you got to the point of working together. If you find yourself in a similar situation in the future, I would hope you would coordinate your attack from the beginning. Had you done so today, I might not have fared as well as I did.”

Offering his hand first to Ravak and then Adrian, Prewtez assured them he would inform the Mistress of Training and the Master of Soldiers of their performance.

“And if you ever desire to spar again, either individually or together, I would find it an honor.” He turned to collect his sword belt and but turned back to face them again.

“One more thing, Ravak. Keep working with your right hand. A Dual wielder can be quite a threat.” With that said, he turned and strode across the Yard, back towards the Hall.

OOC: I'll PM the Mistress and Master and recommend they award you each two points in sword skill. Craig, you might want to apply for the dual wielding benefit.
Thanks for a great spar!