Vhalar 111, Arc 721
On the 111th of Vhalar, Devin Thorn, High Priest of Delroth and Baron von Smooglenuff was standing in the garden of the manor, wearing a fancy emerald green coat with a fur collar because it was getting colder and holding a bastard sword that was made of fine steel in his gloved hands. He was standing there because Miranda, the head maid would probably disapprove of his practicing his combat skills inside, and because swinging your sword inside was impractical, anyway. There were far too many objects that could get in the way.
Wielding a bastard sword, he discovered, required him to hold his hands differently than when he was using his usual shortswords, with one hand near the guard and the other one behind it, which took a bit of adjustment, to be honest.
As he shifted his hands, trying to find the position that was most comfortable and that made it the easiest to wield his sword, something suddenly occured to him, and he briefly stopped and turned to his roommate Aidan who was a swordman of some skill himself, a questioning look on his face.
"Why is this sword called a bastard sword?" he wanted to know. "It doesn't look like a bastard to me. I mean, it's not made of Adamantite or Grave Gold or something equally fancy, but it's still a pretty nice sword, as far as I can tell."
"And", he continued just as Aidan was about to open his mouth in order to answer. "What's the opposite of dual wielding? When you use two swords at the same time, you call it dual wielding. Is using one sword called 'unal wielding' then?" he wanted to know, looking even more confused than before, before he abruptly settled into his stance, holding the sword at about a fourty-five degree angle.
One of the guards that he used when you practiced with a shortsword looked kind of like that, so it would probably work, right?
Except that it required a bit of adjustment as well.
"I'm not sure why bastard swords are called bastard swords", Aidan admitted and watched Devin closely. "But I don't think that there is a specific name for when you use just one sword. Even if it had a name, it certainly wouldn't be 'unal wielding'. If anything, it would be 'singular wielding'. Languages have a singular and a plural, and some have a dual as well for when there are just two things, so it makes sense for weapons to be similar", he mused.
"Why are you practicing with a bastard sword anyway?" he wanted to know. "It isn't really your style!"
"I want to master every skill there is", Devin replied in a firm tone of voice. "And it is my style. I have a lot of styles!" he insisted.
Those had not just been empty words. He really planned on mastering every skill. He was confident that he'd succeed, too. He was a Mortalborn, so he'd probably live for a very long time.
Speaking of Mortalborns ...
His eyes lit up as another thing occured to him.
He was a bastard, the bastard of an Immortal, to be exact, which was the best kind of bastard, so practicing with a bastard sword was highly appropriate!
With that thought in mind, he made a step forward and extended his sword in a straight line towards an invisible opponent in a somewhat awkward looking thrust of sorts only to lower it again abruptly, a deep frown on his face.
"Hitting air isn't particularly helpful", he muttered and turned to face Aidan who had crossed his arms over his chest now, an appraising look on his face. "Why don't you practice with me? I'll even give you cake afterwards", he added in order to persuade him. Aidan always loved it when he fed him!
To his surprise, the human shook his head though and told him, "No thanks. I don't want you to accidentally stab me. You may be quite good at dual wielding or using one-handed swords, but you obviously need more experience when it comes to using two-handed swords."
"I'll see if I can find a training dummy for you to practice on though", he added when Devin started to grumble slightly because he didn't want him to be mad. He wanted Devin to be happy and content and learn something!
On the 111th of Vhalar, Devin Thorn, High Priest of Delroth and Baron von Smooglenuff was standing in the garden of the manor, wearing a fancy emerald green coat with a fur collar because it was getting colder and holding a bastard sword that was made of fine steel in his gloved hands. He was standing there because Miranda, the head maid would probably disapprove of his practicing his combat skills inside, and because swinging your sword inside was impractical, anyway. There were far too many objects that could get in the way.
Wielding a bastard sword, he discovered, required him to hold his hands differently than when he was using his usual shortswords, with one hand near the guard and the other one behind it, which took a bit of adjustment, to be honest.
As he shifted his hands, trying to find the position that was most comfortable and that made it the easiest to wield his sword, something suddenly occured to him, and he briefly stopped and turned to his roommate Aidan who was a swordman of some skill himself, a questioning look on his face.
"Why is this sword called a bastard sword?" he wanted to know. "It doesn't look like a bastard to me. I mean, it's not made of Adamantite or Grave Gold or something equally fancy, but it's still a pretty nice sword, as far as I can tell."
"And", he continued just as Aidan was about to open his mouth in order to answer. "What's the opposite of dual wielding? When you use two swords at the same time, you call it dual wielding. Is using one sword called 'unal wielding' then?" he wanted to know, looking even more confused than before, before he abruptly settled into his stance, holding the sword at about a fourty-five degree angle.
One of the guards that he used when you practiced with a shortsword looked kind of like that, so it would probably work, right?
Except that it required a bit of adjustment as well.
"I'm not sure why bastard swords are called bastard swords", Aidan admitted and watched Devin closely. "But I don't think that there is a specific name for when you use just one sword. Even if it had a name, it certainly wouldn't be 'unal wielding'. If anything, it would be 'singular wielding'. Languages have a singular and a plural, and some have a dual as well for when there are just two things, so it makes sense for weapons to be similar", he mused.
"Why are you practicing with a bastard sword anyway?" he wanted to know. "It isn't really your style!"
"I want to master every skill there is", Devin replied in a firm tone of voice. "And it is my style. I have a lot of styles!" he insisted.
Those had not just been empty words. He really planned on mastering every skill. He was confident that he'd succeed, too. He was a Mortalborn, so he'd probably live for a very long time.
Speaking of Mortalborns ...
His eyes lit up as another thing occured to him.
He was a bastard, the bastard of an Immortal, to be exact, which was the best kind of bastard, so practicing with a bastard sword was highly appropriate!
With that thought in mind, he made a step forward and extended his sword in a straight line towards an invisible opponent in a somewhat awkward looking thrust of sorts only to lower it again abruptly, a deep frown on his face.
"Hitting air isn't particularly helpful", he muttered and turned to face Aidan who had crossed his arms over his chest now, an appraising look on his face. "Why don't you practice with me? I'll even give you cake afterwards", he added in order to persuade him. Aidan always loved it when he fed him!
To his surprise, the human shook his head though and told him, "No thanks. I don't want you to accidentally stab me. You may be quite good at dual wielding or using one-handed swords, but you obviously need more experience when it comes to using two-handed swords."
"I'll see if I can find a training dummy for you to practice on though", he added when Devin started to grumble slightly because he didn't want him to be mad. He wanted Devin to be happy and content and learn something!
Notes
From the Scalvoris calendar:
Farmers and pet-owners report something very odd this trials. Animals start behaving in a most unusual manner. They're friends. They're affectionate. From the Scaltoth jungle to Sweetwine and everywhere on the island, animals grow very affectionate towards each other. Like, lions and bunnies snuggle. Quite what causes it, no one knows. Will anyone investigate ? It last for the remainder of Vhalar, but then stops.
Farmers and pet-owners report something very odd this trials. Animals start behaving in a most unusual manner. They're friends. They're affectionate. From the Scaltoth jungle to Sweetwine and everywhere on the island, animals grow very affectionate towards each other. Like, lions and bunnies snuggle. Quite what causes it, no one knows. Will anyone investigate ? It last for the remainder of Vhalar, but then stops.
