Three's a Crowd

[Praetorum]

Date: 15th of Ymiden, Arc 719

Status: Drilling

Weapons: Scythe

Armor: None

Buffs: N/A

Debuffs: N/A

Praetorum grasped his scythe in both hands, trying to acclimatize himself to using a two handed grip. Technically, the proper way to use the scythe was with two hands, but joining the legion had forced him to learn to use it one handed, more like a spear than perhaps he should have. 



He could have learned to fight with another weapon, he supposed, one that was actually meant to be used in conjunction with a scythe. But Praetorum had been a proud, headstrong young man back then, too arrogant to realize just because he could wield a two handed weapon one handed, didn’t mean he should. After that the habit had just stuck with him, and he’d gotten very good at his less than efficient use of his weapon.


His recent.... mutation thanks to a wayward child and an etherstorm had changed things. A lot of testing and some investigation on Marken’s part had determined that yes, he did have as much strength and precise control over his tail as he did his own arm, and yes, this change was permanent.


Praetorum didn’t much like that, to tell the truth. Every mutation, magical or not, worried some tiny part of him that still thought his soul was worth preserving. But there was nothing to be done now; he'd already been altered so much.... what was another change? 



To distract himself, Prae had come out here into the courtyard to train, away from the bustle of the rest of the estate. Marken was working with Edyn to try and control her thirst, so he was unlikely to be disturbed. 



Shifting his stance, Praetorum went through a few attacks two handed, old muscle memory returning from before he'd enlisted. Using the separate motion of two hands to twist and spin, instead of using one to stab and slash; using a looser grip on the front to give the weapon space to move along the shaft, but not side to side, keeping his wrists tight but his elbows free— it was a few breaks before he thought he had the gist of it again. 



So with that out of the way... time to see how he could add a new limb into the mix.

[Praetorum]

Date: 15th of Ymiden, Arc 719

Status: Trying not to think

Weapons: Scythe

Armor: None

Buffs: N/A

Debuffs: N/A

Prae’s first instinct, when he’d considered the possibility of using his tail as an extra arm, had been to curl it around the right side of his body, since that was where his weapon was. But it became obvious as soon as he tried it that that wasn’t going to work; he needed his scythe to have maximum range immediately in front of him, and putting his tail on the same side of his body as his weapon arm meant his range of motion was limited to his right half, hardly what he needed during a battle.

Curling his tail around the left side of his body instead, settling it just over his hip, worked much better. This way, his tail mimicked having a second left arm, and it’s relative length meant that it didn’t matter that it was set lower down; it could still wrap easily around the shaft of his scythe, with plenty of tail to spare.

Once again, Prae went through his drills, starting slow so these new muscles had time to adjust to his mind. He had to learn to uncurl his tail just a little on a thrust, so the haft could slide through, and how to twist his way into a slice. Envisioning an enemy at his back, Prae spun, sweeping the scythe behind him to hook an enemy’s leg, and drag them off balance.

It was a deeply strange feeling, using one limb accustomed to using the scythe one handed, and another limb accustomed to nothing at all for all its newness. Yet surprisingly, what he found after several rounds of hard drilling, was that it was... not easy, not that at all, but familiar. Learning to fight like this was a matter of shifting his expertise, not gaining it, and he was getting faster, steadier, more precise with every move.

Still, an ithecal had his limits. And as exhaustion began to creep up upon him, Praetorum stilled, wondering if he should rest.

The answer, he knew, was yes; his back had been healed, courtesy of Edyn, who had been gagging for an excuse to use hone again despite... the circumstances. But even uninjured, his foray into the etherstorm had left him deeply drained.

By all rights, he should have been taking it easy, resting instead of training. But the thought of that, of lying in bed recuperating, it nauseated him.

At least when he was training, he didn’t have to think. If he stopped now, lay his head down to try to rest, his mind would inevitably drift to his changed body, his missing sparks.

To how, cut off from them, he could no longer avoid the simple truth that they had changed him, deeply. And what that change meant for him when they returned....

Praetorum shook his head sharply, deeply resentful of his own traitorous mind. Picking up his tower shield, Prae settled into a steady stance, tail wrapped around the haft of his weapon.

One more round of drills.

[Praetorum]

Date: 15th of Ymiden, Arc 719

Status: Lots and lots of practice

Weapons: Scythe, Shield

Armor: None

Buffs: N/A

Debuffs: N/A

Adding a shield into the mix complicated things greatly, as it turned out. It was one thing to perform one action with the right side of his body and another with his left—apparently it didn’t matter much whether the limb being operated was an arm or a tail— but to perform two separate actions with his left half was something else entirely.


It became clear to Prae, after some fumbling experimentation, that on some level, by using his tail as a replacement for his left arm, he had mentally linked them together. When he moved one, the other would drift in the same direction; a shield bash would cause his scythe to jerk erratically, and a slideways slice would have his shield twitching open, as if he were inviting an enemy to stab him in the chest.


Pausing for a moment to take a sip of water, Prae considered this problem. His tail moved just fine when he was using it as a tail, so it wasn’t any sort of physical problem; it was just that Praetorum had no practice in using what was essentially three arms all at the same time.


He flexed the claws of his left hand, frowning. He would need to practice using all three at once, but that was a long term solution. Was there a short term one?


Hmm.


Closing his eyes, Praetorum inhaled deeply, counting heartbeats as air slipped from his lungs. He slipped into a meditative peace like a pair of well worn trousers, comfortable and familiar, and set his shield against the table.


Closing his eyes, he raised both arms together, then lowered them slowly, trying to envision himself using the two in conjunction. Easy enough; he’d been doing that his whole life.


Then he did the same with his right arm and tail, trying to hold that configuration in his mind. Trying to hold both images at once, splitting his focus between them, as he’d learned to do through meditation.


In each, his right arm did the same thing— he only had one of those, after all— but his left arm and tail moved independently, one thread of his mind focusing on each.


Once he’d gotten the hang of it, windmilling his arms and tail around—he missed a servant entering the courtyard to offer him refreshments, before immediately turning around and deciding she didn’t want to know what her master's guest was doing—he picked up his shield and scythe.


Wielding them both this way, Prae found, was still clumsy. But with his mind firmly separating out the motions of his limbs, he was at least able to act without them getting in each other’s ways.


Holding the shield out before him, Praetorum let fly a few slow jabs, before twisting on one foot and slamming the shield out towards an invisible enemy, scythe simultaneously coming in to hook at their feet. At this speed, it would take a deeply inexperienced foe to be caught, but that was alright; as long as Prae had the form down, he could pick up speed as he practiced. 

So that was exactly what he was going to do.

[Nursia]

A short and sweet training thread. Honestly, I could do with seeing more of these. There's nothing to complain about, and you even address the glaring flaws of what Praetorum's doing.

All in all, a good thread: very few errors in either composition or grammar.


Praetorum

Rewards

Knowledges:
Meditation: Splitting focus between limbs
Polearm (Scythe): Practicing a two handed grip
Polearm (Scythe): Wielding with one hand and one tail
Polearm (Scythe): Keeping a looser grip on the front
Polearm (Scythe): Using twists and spins instead of stabs and slashes
Shield (Tower Shield): Using in conjunction with a two handed weapon
Wealth:
Renown:
EXP:
+10

Feedback

Understand that all criticisms are done in good faith. It would be a greater disrespect to not say anything in the face of problems. Please contact me through this account's inbox if you wish to further communicate on the matter of improvement, or if you feel as though anything is unduly harsh.

Player #2

Rewards

Knowledges:
Wealth:
Renown:
EXP:

Feedback

Understand that all criticisms are done in good faith. It would be a greater disrespect to not say anything in the face of problems. Please contact me through this account's inbox if you wish to further communicate on the matter of improvement, or if you feel as though anything is unduly harsh.