Summer 16, 116
The two attacked repeatedly, and gradually over the course of a few hours, Caelum started to pick up on the flow of things. Caelum felt as though his muscles and mind were burning in tandem, one machine that was functioning as though its life depended on the movements, as if they were burning into his mind to never take a break.
"You already know what I'm going to do, Caelum! We can proceed after getting this out of the way because I can tell you're almost proficient with the technique." Caelum nodded and slowly took his place. They circled each other slowly. Then Alfred moved suddenly and delivered a sharp jab to the chest! Caelum blocked, driving the blade clear. He retaliated by snaking around like, well, a snake and aimed his weapon at Alfreds right arm. Alfred countered by pushing out Caelum's arm and bringing the weapon to his neck. He then twisted his weapon and awkwardly blocked the strike.
He tried to discern his teacher's movements, including Alfreds's arm's twisted muscles as he clenched his teeth in preparation for the blow. "No!" As Caelum dipped backward and raised his weapons staff end to block the blow. There was a loud smack of wood on wood as the weapons connected, but he wasn't fast enough. His teacher's weapon whacked him and Caelum stumbled out of the way. Another strike came. Caelum pushed off Alfreds weapon and brought his own down to bear, causing the world to speed back up to normal.
Caelum delivered a decent blow, twisting the weapon sharply until he slammed it into Alfred's chest, causing him to stumble backward and lose his balance. Teacher or no, he was on the older side and Caelum had youthful energy. The teacher had let himself get hit to build Caelum's confidence. Alfred smiled and quickly straightened up and launched another attack, but Caelum was there to block it as he brought the weapon in from the side. The sound of wood hitting wood reverberated throughout the room once more, and Caelum moved fluidly to knock the weapon aside and bring his own to Alfred's side. It was blocked, and then the teacher grabbed it.
"Outstanding effort!" He grinned and turned to face Caelum. "Maybe it's time for a break, huh? I'm going hungry. Caelum smiled, retracted his weapon from Alfred, and nodded in agreement with the suggestion.
Caelum and Alfred went back to the training area after having a quick lunch. Once they were back in the same room as before, Alfred turned to face Caelum and said, "I don't know about you, but I'd like to take some time to meditate. Today's got me rather riled up. Would you like to go with me?"
Caelum nodded and moved to kneel and rest in a similar manner next to the spot Alfred had taken on the ground. Caelum closed his eyes and took a close look at his own accomplishments over the past few days. He was ecstatic to be learning from a competent person in another weapon type, and he was sure that the lessons he would acquire here would be sufficient to build him up to be a better fighter. Every skill he acquired, every action he took, every significant discussion he had improved him, bettered him, almost sharpened him like a weapon, a weapon that he would one day use to achieve greatness.
Just as Caelum was starting to feel at ease and at peace with himself, he heard something that made him giggle uncontrollably. Alfred was snoring - quite loudly, at that. He opened his eyes and turned to face his teacher. Alfred had his head thrown back, his mouth hanging open, and he was hunched over a bit. Caelum grinned and gently jabbed Alfred in the chest, whispering, "hey," as Alfred stirred.
With his eyes fluttering, Alfred woke up and exclaimed, "What? No, I wasn't sleeping. I was simply meditating." He abruptly opened his eyes wide, realized where he was, turned to face Caelum, and remarked, "haha, that's a terrible habit of mine; I always get so relaxed that I just get sleepy. Anyway, I guess it's best if we don't waste time taking naps." He got to his feet quickly and stretched. "I guess you could use your training spear for this one, but you'll be practicing on a practice dummy. Mind you, I don't want to be misled while I'm half asleep."
As he fully stood up, Caelum grabbed a training spear from a rack and pulled it in front of him. He was still in awe of the training spear's ability to do so much. It was just a stick with a sharp edge but it had such great reach and a nice grip. Alfred described the attack he wanted replicated as he walked.
"It's really quite simple, all you have to do is step low with your dominant foot and strike at the neck. Although it can be used as a utility strike to force an opponent to block, this attack really works best against opponents who are low to the ground."
Caelum took a step and pulled back his spear before launching it into the dummy. "Not too bad, but you really don't get the point. To generate some actual force and momentum, release the dominant hand and thrust with just the bottom end of the staff rather than using both hands to hold on.
Caelum took a step back and launched himself into another lunge. He used the momentum of his body and feet to help deliver the blow as he pushed forward with his left hand. With increased force, the weapon plunged forward and stuck the dummy, forcing the spear tip through the dummy's neck and out the other side. Glancing at Alfred, Caelum said, "Like that?"
"That was even better, but there was one mistake on your part! You risk losing your weapon if you don't maintain your hold on it during a miss or block. The idea is to give up some precision in exchange for power, but losing too much could result in the loss of your weapon - something that no one can afford to happen by accident in a combat situation.
Caelum nodded and took up his position once more. Caelum stabbed forward with his lower hand, forcing the weapon through the dummy's neck with greater speed this time. However, as soon as he felt the spear tip coming to a stop, he suddenly pulled back and removed the weapon with his lower hand. This motion caused the dummy's head to suddenly fall off, having been repeatedly struck and sheared.
"Excellent work, I think you've got it," Alfred remarked, picking up his wooden training spear.
Caelum felt that the day was almost over, having recently picked up a few new skills. He was leaning against the wall with Alfred, and Caelum was mentally going over every tactic he had learned.
"Well, I'd like to call it a day, but I have one more technique for you to learn," Alfred said, turning to face Caelum. It's pretty similar to one you already know, so it should be easy. The difference is that you have to learn how to fully avoid the stick before swerving to the side. This kind of movement allows for a swift slashing strike, which is the ideal retaliation against stumbling, insane people or even those with the cunning to close the distance and kill silently.
Alfred stood up and gave Caelum a different wooden training spear before pulling out a wooden sword. This one didn't have a metal tip, and the tip it did have was very blunt with some cloth on it so they could practice on each other. "Okay, this is how we are going to accomplish this. I'll actually hit you with a strike, so you have to avoid the blow. I want to see you slash at my flanks and weave away from the strike like a side step afterwards?" Caelum nodded and took the ready position.
Alfred hurriedly threw his weapon forward. Caelum was so taken aback by the mistake that he actually blocked the strike, looking foolishly at his teacher. "At least we know you have the reflexes for this move - just keep in mind that sometimes it's preferable to dodge rather than block. The strikes I employ are better avoided because, in most circumstances, the damage you can do with a counter slash is far more potent than a counter strike from trailing the blow.
Caelum took up his stance once more and prepared to strike. It struck abruptly, coming from the right side. Caelum ducked slightly, sidestepping the attack and poking at Alfreds's ribs with the wooden spear in the process.
"Fantastic work, but now for the enjoyable part. Avoiding situations isn't always easy. Attacks can occur not only from the sides but also from above or below. Get ready." Caelum took a low ready stance and started observing his opponent. This was actually getting fun!
The two circled slowly before Alfred suddenly struck out, slicing straight towards Caelum's face. He quickly sidestepped the blow and slashed Alfred's back right side with more speed.
"All right, get ready, this one is going to be from below." Caelum nodded and took his position, grinning.
Alfred lunged at Caelum, slamming his weapon out. Knowing the attack, Caelum leaped into the air, barely avoiding the move as he tried to get into a striking position. To his astonishment, Alfred just swung sideways while stabbing, managing to grab Caelum's pants just in time for him to perform a mid-air backflip and land forcefully on his face.
"Never jump tat high. Even though you can jump, strafing is much more effective because you lose mobility in the air and will be overtaken by a skilled opponent."
Caelum reformed his stance, bracing himself for the impending onslaught. Alfred lunged at Caelum's side with a speed that Caelum had rarely seen. Caelum easily dodged and hit Alfred in the ribs as he countered. Alfred abruptly swung to the side and struck Caelum's legs once more. As instructed, Caelum strafed to the side, opening a small gap between Alfred's ribs as he slashed at them.
Alfred was no longer in the same place as before, suddenly and simply, with far more agility than anyone Caelum had ever seen. Alfred, stuck out once more, this time glaring at Caelum's side of the face. Caelum, barely able to avoid the blow, sidestepped and watched as the blade whizzed by, inches away from his nose. Caelum swiftly spun around, whipping his practice weapon at Alfreds exposed side and hitting nearly every rib starting at the base.
As Alfred said, "Well, I think I'm done for the day... my ribs feel like I've been kicked by a horse," the two exchanged a slightly breathless look. "Excellent work," he said, grinning at Caelum.
After learning the fundamentals of polearm combat, Caelum woke up early the next day and discovered that he was alone in the quarters. Caelum changed into his clothes and left the room, walking down the hall. Caelum entered the building through the main entrance and saw Alfred standing nearby talking to a man who was wearing all black and had a mask covered in strange patterns. The man abruptly turned and ran out into the darkness before he could come to greet him. Alfred turned around, saw Caelum, and came over.
"Although I'm happy to see you up early, I fear our time together will be cut short. We still have a few new techniques to learn today, and I promise to be back soon so we can continue your training then. It looks like I have some important business to attend to."
Caelum nodded, a little disappointed, and followed Alfred into the training area. "I'm going to teach you my area of expertise today. You must first understand that this new stance calls for some level of strength, which I know you possess, but be prepared to learn how to fight in a completely different way. Start by raising your polearm." Caelum grabbed one off the rack.
"All right, turn to face me, keep your back straight, your feet apart, and hold your pole in your right hand around the middle portion. Precisely like that." Caelum had taken the proper stance and was now standing in front of Alfred, holding a weapon.
"Now, release the stance and reenter it." Caelum obeyed, taking a more relaxed stance and supporting his polearm with both hands.
He straightened up and placed both of his feet shoulder-width apart. His right hand was now gripping his weapon in the center. He slowly retracted the weapon a little until it was angled over his head and resting with the blade pointing downward. He sat up straight and turned to face Alfred, asking if there were any more steps but he nodded his head.
"I've been wondering if you're vicious enough for the other stance I've, but I thought I might as well give it some thought."
As it turned out, the stance was actually a very vicious combination of moves targeted at the lower body. Caelum turned to face Alfred on his left side to start, as Alfred explained. The right foot would be pointed away from the body and the leg would be forced straight. Similar to the ready stance but in reverse, the left leg is bent. When the left foot is facing the opponent, the left leg's knee should align with the toes of the foot.
Alfred finally determined he had the fundamental footwork down after giving it some thought. He turned back to Caelum, picked up a wooden training spear, and held it in his hands.
"With your right hand on the end of the pole and your left hand in the center, take hold of the weapon. That appears fine, but since most slashes originate from above, you should turn the weapon over so the blade faces upward. Yes, that's excellent."
He gave Caelum the same order as before - break the stance and take it again. Following instructions, Caelum moved to face Alfred with his left side in position. He twisted his right foot away from his body and bowed his left knee slowly to meet his toes. He slowly finished the stance, gripping the polearm and lowering the blade end so that it was facing upwards towards Alfred.
"That appears to be a good option. Now, which do you like better? Would it hit from above or below? I'll teach you a technique in each, but first, think about this during our time apart. There are several more techniques to learn. These are the kinds of techniques that call for speed and accuracy. and these strategies can be harsh, necessitating that the adversary show no mercy at all."
Caelum nodded, drawing his weapon and folding into the stance he had just learned. "Teacher, show me what I have to do."
Alfred gave Caelum a smile and shook his head, saying, "This technique requires a lot of focus, skill, and accuracy. Get out of your stance. Before you can become an expert at this technique, I have to teach you about the pressure points in your legs."
At that moment, Alfred demonstrated to Caelum the inner leg points that needed to be attacked in order to render the opponent immobile. He began by demonstrating to him the right pelvic point, which is the little fold inside the pelvis where the thigh joins it. "Here, a tiny cluster of nerves travels down the leg, enabling the right hip's motion to reach the thigh." He then showed him the opposite location, which was identical to the first except for the fact that it was on the left and mirrored the right side.
The victim was able to bend and dodge by folding movements because each knee had nerves running underneath it, according to Alfred. These all needed to be punctured and sliced through to expose the space beneath the kneecap, which hurt a little and made it difficult to bend the knees at all. Alfred finally demonstrated to Caelum the final point of attack, which is the transition from the ankle to the foot. It was a pathway that ran directly over the foot allow for movement in that area.
"You need to be quick and ruthless when hitting these points to stun the opposition. Draw your weapon and get ready to practice; I still have a lot to teach you! With this you can immobilize an enemy with ease," Alfred said, smiling, one last time.
To start the training, Alfred had Caelum strike a dummy slowly in each of the six spots. Alfred chanted as he ran through the various spots he wanted him to strike in succession.
Caelum was moving fast now, starting to pick up speed. With a loud thunk, the dummy moved along with him, rocking steadily as he struck. "I need to strike faster!" Caelum moved his arms in sync with the motion, thinking to himself.
As he moved, his left leg pointed to the dummy and his foot pointed outward, demonstrating perfect posture. His right foot faced the other direction while his right leg remained straight. The technique and the stance worked perfectly together - every strike was easy to commit to and within reach. He moved very little while stabbing and slicing, relying mostly on his left leg to propel himself forward.
He was moving faster than before, almost tossing the weapon forward as he went, feeling the blows landing in quick succession. He could already envision what he must look like, a ghostly blur of blows coming at the listener so fast that the impact noises were now hardly audible before the next one reached them.
He seemed to have gone into a frenzy, as evidenced by the fact that each attack was delivered faster than the last. Caelum grinned and worked, feeling perspiration appear on his brow. He could already feel his neck beginning to perspire. This was the technique he had always wanted, something challenging, meaningful, and purposeful. This wasn't a thoughtless shove or stab intended to cause internal harm. No, this was an attack that hit the opponent right in the belly, putting sand in his metaphorical gears. He thought of all the combinations that this could be used with.
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