5th of Cylus 722
It was the second day of combat training. Given the success that Lorogh and his small squad of trainees had in the previous trial of training, this encouraged Sergeant to try them at another round of drills, and also some sparring to loosen them up. Lorogh wore his padded armor over his 'fatigues' an outfit of imperial blacks and charcoals, along with a shield and a wooden practice sword. He was ready for some clobbering, and getting well-clobbered himself, preferably about the shield and not on his armor!
Lorogh stood at attention, but as he did so part of his mind also drifted to the mechanics of what prospects lay ahead of him. He anticipated that the day's events would also inform even more insights and illumination to his mechanical journal. There was so much of how the body moved that was machine-like, he just knew he could translate those principles to mechanics and engineering. He just had to keep his mind turned on.
He considered the shield hanging from his back. Round, circular, and protruding slightly. It reminded him of the shell of mother Saoire's turtles. He liked to think that a little piece of her was with him there in that shield, protecting him still.
Yet he had little time left for reverie as the Sergeant shouted them into attention, and began lecturing them on the principles of warfare, of discipline, and holding the line. All lessons are well taken, and at length as the Sergeant was, in Lorogh's opinion, wholly inefficient in his delivery of the lecture. Still, it was worth considering, digesting, and breaking into smaller ideas that were easier to onboard than a dogmatic Imperial code of behavior. Protect your comrades, don't desert them, and strike your enemies. These were the takeaways of Lorogh. And for now, anyone who stood opposite the other side of his shield was his enemy. Anyone who stood behind his shield was a comrade.
They began with group drills, as a large part of the running of a battle-line of Imperial infantry was staying in formation. This began with yourself, and the person to your left and right and to the rear. Indeed, Lorogh could envision how the farther ranks behind the vanguard might be utilized while they were otherwise unoccupied. But for now, he focused on his own combat performance.
They began with the act of holding their shields in a high stance as if warding off missiles from afar. Here, the emphasis was on holding their shields in as cohesive a wall as was doable, given the differences in height and stature among them. A lot of focus was on the balance of the stance, and how one held the weapon just beneath the shield, sometimes concealing it with the shield to make for potential feints.
They counted in Atvian in tune with every step, and every shift of the shield. "Aon, dha, trì, ceithir, còig!" Thus as he proceeded with his learning of the steps and movements of shield combat, he also learned a touch of the language, besides what he already knew.
In addition to learning forward progress while holding a shield in a guarded position, they learned to give way, moving backward as they guarded a position. They counted each step and movement of the shield, again in Atvian, "Aon, dha, trì, ceithir, còig!"
These drills were repeated until the muscle memory was more or less automatic, and everyone seemed to be performing the motions satisfactorily for the Sergeant. At that point, it was time to square away with squad mates for a light spar and demonstration of the techniques under pressure. As they went through these light sparring sessions, which were really more like drills, except that they were hitting each others' shields, Lorogh reflected that the hand shock as he blocked each blow was considerable for his small arms.
After going back and forth, going through the counts in Atvian as they struck each others' shields, Lorogh had a moment of inspiration. If there was a way to reduce the shock of absorbing blows through the arm from the shield, he could make it so that soldiers could defend more tirelessly! Perhaps springs were the answer, or some form of dampening of the force conveyed through the shield and into the arm!
Lorogh thought, not for the first time he must be a very engenious cadouri. He would hope to keep that idea in his head, until he had a chance to visit his notebook. He was almost overcautious as he went through the rest of the drills, taking special care to guard his head, lest his drill partner knock the ideas out of his noggin.
But while he was defending, he was very mindful of how the blows landed, how the shock traveled up his arm. As he did so, he learned more not just about how the physics of the impact worked, but also how best to let your arm give way to reduce the shock. So his arm in effect became the absorber of the shock, like any spring! The Cadouri not for the first time reflected that these exercises were an excellent way to inform one's understanding of physics, and physics in turn could inform the way one engaged in combat.
When the time came for them to free-style spar, Lorogh picked his mate, Alex, and took him aside. "Alex, I want you to hit me from every angle, have no mercy! I must learn the best way to hold and use the shield, so that the impact of blows can be suffused!"
Alex quirked a brow at Lorogh, but shrugged, hefting his wooden sword at the ready. Thus, their exercise began. Much as he was instructed, he tried attacking from all the cardinal angles. Lorogh reflected that being small gave one a good advantage when using a shield. It naturally covered more area than it did for a big erson, but it also meant that he had less strength to hold it up and maintain a decent grip. So he had to compensate for the lack of strength by maintaining flexibility. As Alex struck from every side, he bent his arm at the elbow. He kept his wrist slack, so that it didn't get to stiff as the blows fell. Interestingly enough, the shield absorbed much of the impact on its own without much added effort after asserting the shield's defensive position.
He only needed to hold it strong just before the blow landed in order to deflect the attack.
This was another interesting note that he tucked away for later recording. It would all factor into his ideas for improving shield designs and technology.
After a few minutes of observing first-hand the effects of the blows, and the way that he had to hold the shield in order to best absorb those strikes, their free-style spar was over, and Lorogh had a chance to watch the rest of the soldiers in the courtyard practice their shield work.
He noted that there were a few flails being weilded in the mix. This he watched with interest, as the articulation of those weapons by design suffused the shock of their own strikes, so that the user wouldn't feel it as they hit their target. It was an interesting note to make, and Lorogh took his book out of his belt, with a piece of graphite he began jotting down his observations. In his best shorthand, he began brainstorming ways to introduce such articulation to the shield tech, so that inertia could be dampened as it traveled through the shield. Springs came to mind, as they had iniitially. So too did the use of simple fabrics, which were an effective defense against blunt instruments, based on Lorogh's experience wearing padded armor during these sparring sessions.
He also jotted down his experiences with the shield itself, and how his own arm could move in order to suffuse the impact. To slacken the elbow joint or the wrists, to remain limber and flexible just as the strike landed could lessen that shock. It was an important distinction, and also gave Lorogh some ideas for how to enhance the way the body itself moved. Perhaps a special armor or external frame could be devised that enhanced both the strength of the arm as well as its flexibility.
Practical physics was becoming a subject of great interest throughout these exercises, and one that Lorogh would bear in mind throughout the rest of the season's training!
Soon enough the training of the day was over, and Lorogh and his squad mates retired to the mess hall. Lorogh for his part enjoyed some food, all while continuing to jot down all kinds of ideas to improve the physical paradigm of shield technology, as well as his new idea of creating a body frame, or exoskeleton to improve physical capabilities. The ideas never stopped coming, it seemed, and he had his enrollment in the army to thank for it!
