sparring log with Chrodechild (in progress)

[trueltning_fury]

Who: trueltning_fury and nightsveilqueen
When: immediately after this thread
Where: near the dojo
What: sparring!

Comments

[nightsveilqueen]

Chrodechild quietly followed Geddoe to the field, silently approving of the location. It reminded her of some of the grounds where she trained with Meruvis, Roberto, and the others.

She listened to all he said, appreciating that he was clearly a warrior who was serious about his business, and answered simply, "Agreed."

She stepped a few feet away from him, hands at the hilt of her blades, and nodded to him in respect. She prepared to draw her blades on his mark--verbal or otherwise.

[trueltning_fury]

Geddoe shook out his arms and flexed his hands briefly as he stepped past to take up an opposing position, turning to face Chrodechild. He drew Wild Geese and put himself into a very basic stance, the tip of the blade low toward the ground. With his shoulders squared and head held alert, he was ready to either attack or defend.

"First move is yours," he murmured.

[nightsveilqueen]

Chrodechild drew the Twin Blade called Flash and, in her offhand, the Black Blade, falling immediately into her fighting stance.

She circled him slightly, holding the Black Blade ready to parry any incoming attacks. The off hand blade still in place she suddenly and swiftly lunged, Flash aiming for the lower left side of his torso.

[trueltning_fury]

Two blades. Geddoe was immediately interested, and ready. He took a single step back in order to pivot and swing his sword hard to deflect the first blade, and then quickly followed with a reverse swing, aiming more for the off-hand blade in case it was about to circle around on him. He may not have seen it fully in his blind spot, but he was intimately aware of movement and sound, and the way fighter's bodies reacted.

[nightsveilqueen]

"Ugh!" Geddoe's fist met her square in the belly, though fortunately padding softened the blow. Despite catching her off guard, she smiled, apparently pleased with his response.

She stepped back as she recovered her breath, blades held defensively, waiting for his next move.

[trueltning_fury]

Anyone who smiled after a hit like that (low-powered though it was) was someone to be reckoned with. Geddoe drew back with his dominant hand behind him, sword disguised by the bulk of his body for the moment. He hesitated for only a breath's pause before lunging in, left side leading, bringing the sword up last so that Chrodechild could not see its exact trajectory until too late.

[nightsveilqueen]

A detached part of Chrodechild's mind wondered at how Geddoe would handle Yula or Mourgent. Concealing his blade told her to be wary, and she spun around and to the side to avoid his strike as he lunged forward.

Unaware of exactly where the sword would land, it still sliced through her sleeve, but she continued to move forward and past Geddoe, dipped low, and swung the Black Blade toward the back of his knee (using the heavier, dull edge in a trip attempt, rather than slicing at his leg). She held Flash in defense of her open side while she completed her move.

[trueltning_fury]

The pass was successful, as was the strike, at least in connecting. Geddoe stumbled a little as something hit the back of his knee, and followed through. Momentum carried him a few steps away before he could regain his footing, at which point quite a bit of distance had been placed between them. He paused, panting for breath, and then lowered Wild Geese to his side.

"I don't need to see any more," he declared. "You're exceptionally skilled. Highly-trained, I'd venture to guess. We can end it here, unless you want to exercise until we both fall down."

[nightsveilqueen]

She frowned thoughtfully. "I see. Then perhaps I should learn about this recent war. Perhaps there is some significance to it that is why everyone is being brought to this place

[trueltning_fury]

Geddoe stepped over to the fence around the dojo and leaned against it. "I've always speculated that it has something to do with True Runes in general. In that war, the Five Elements were involved." He held up his right fist again. "This is True Lightning. Only True Runes grant longevity, the rest are merely a means for anyone to use magic

[nightsveilqueen]

"Hmm. Even these lesser runes are powerful, if they enable anyone to cast magic. In my world, there are rituals, which take a long time to perform, and there are Marks of the Stars, which are only bestowed on a certain number of people, only up to 108, should they come into contact with a Chronicle.

"I spoke to Bishop-General Sasarai--I did not tell him I possessed a Chronicle--mentioning the term, 'starbearer.' He said the Stars of Destiny gather here too. I wonder how they are noted if there are no Chronicles to grant them Marks. Or if the people of this world can bear a Mark, Star of Destiny or no."

[trueltning_fury]

Geddoe shook his head slowly. "None of that is my concern. I know about this destiny thing, tangentially, but I've never paid it much mind. People can change their destinies, fate is never as carved in stone as we think."

He folded his arms over his chest. He was no idiot, but his schooling on rune lore and history was done by experience, in the field, not by study. "I don't think it matters. Being noted, being marked? I wouldn't care. As long as I'm assisting where I've been asked, and taking care of the Rune, nothing else matters much to me." Geddoe's visible eyebrow crooked upward, then. "I'm sure you would find Bishop Sasarai worth debating philosophy with, if nothing else."