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Passing On the Trade; Ranger camp outside Canterlot; Blade
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Topic Started: Feb 28 2016, 08:51 PM (179 Views)
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Cynder Ardor
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Feb 28 2016, 08:51 PM
Post #1
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"IT'SHEREIT'SHEREIT'SHERE!" A chipper, fiery earth pony mare shouts as she bursts into the shared room of she and Artoria. Ever since the elder pegasus had agreed to teach her to better use her skills, she had come to idolize the mare and her experience. More so than she already did. In her hooves she hefts a large, long package, wrapped in cloth and paper, with a little tag addressed to the chipper adventurer.
Cynder rushed over to her bed and plopped it down onto the sheets, it's weight profiling as it pushed down on the cushions. "Come look! Come look! Dad sent me this from his forge!" She doesn't even take a moment to look at her friend before she's tearing open the package.
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Artoria Duskcrown
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Feb 28 2016, 08:56 PM
Post #2
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Artoria was sketching in her book as normal when Cynder came bounding in, carrying the overlong package. Artoria watched, passively as Cynder brought it over to the cushions that lined the floor of their tent.
She continued to sketch, even as Cynder spoke to her. She didn't look interested until the gleam of steel met her eyes. She placed her book down and spit out her pencil. "When did you get this commissioned?"
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Cynder Ardor
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Feb 28 2016, 09:05 PM
Post #3
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Cynder uncovered the package fully, revealing a simply designed greatsword under all the cloth and paper, with a scabbard to match. She shakes with glee and looks at Artoria. "I wrote to my dad about you and asked him to make it for me! I wanna learn how to use it like you do!" She says, hefting it up and presenting it to Artoria for inspection. "Take a look, my dad's probably the best smith this side of Canterlot."
There was nothing particularly special about the design. It had a leather wrapped handle and a round disc-like pommel. The guard was wide and squared off, meeting with the blade, carefully crafted and ready for immediate use. The scabbard was a thick wood, wrapped in decorative steel bands and leather. All in all, fairly standard.
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Artoria Duskcrown
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Feb 28 2016, 09:23 PM
Post #4
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Artoria took the blade and looked it over, testing the weight on her leg. Then she walked outside, carrying Cynder's sword with her. Upon getting outside and ignoring the sideways glances some of the other rangers gave her, unsheathed the greatsword and balanced it on her shoulder.
Like her normal fighting style, Artoria flipped and spun the greatsword around her leg and wings. Fighting with such a large sword like that was probably always impressive to see and intimidating to fight against. She stopped in an upperguard and then resheathed the sword, turning to Cynder again.
"Its well balanced, the weight is good and its functional. A good blade." she said offering it back.
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Cynder Ardor
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Feb 28 2016, 09:29 PM
Post #5
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Cynder took the sword back, clearly struggling a small bit with the weight of it. She shook with excitement and anticipation, looking up at Artoria with a wide grin. "So when do we start?!" She asks, sheathing the blade and bouncing in place. She was way too excitable for her age. Where all of that energy came from was anyone's guess.
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Artoria Duskcrown
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Feb 28 2016, 10:29 PM
Post #6
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Artoria looked at Cynder with a smirk. "Can you even lift that sword?" she asked, jokingly. "You can't expect to learn how to use the weapon you can't wield."
Artoria stepped to the side a bit, motioning with her leg. "Over there, just away from camp. It looks like theres enough space to practice."
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Cynder Ardor
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Feb 28 2016, 10:47 PM
Post #7
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Cynder put on a look of hard determination, trying not to show any weakness as she lifts the sword up and rests it over her shoulder. "I can do it!" She says assuredly, lips curled downward and brow tight. She seemed to believe she could do it well enough.
She looks over to the spot Artoria points to and trots over to it, checking out the large space. She wondered what sort of things she would be learning from Artoria. Likely the same learning experience she had with her straightsword. Basics first, then the good stuff.
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Artoria Duskcrown
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Mar 7 2016, 09:46 PM
Post #8
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Artoria followed behind Cynder, along with a few of the other rangers who were most likely curious. Artoria walked infront of Cynder and nodded to her.
"Same concepts apply here as the straight sword I taught you of before. Only difference is the weight and mechanics. A greatsword is better if swung parabolically, not linearly. Because of its heft, if you keep it moving it'll use overall less energy then if you had to stop and reset yourself. Though, you'll have to do that too. Once you get some practice it'll be a little more clear. So."
Artoria took up her sword in a basic stance, sword ready and pointed straight up. "We're going to do a drill, a simple four cuts drill. Overhanded strike to both left and right openings followed by two under strikes to the left and right openings." Artoria demonstrated each cut.
"The goal here is to get used to the weight and learn how to flow your attacks together without having your sword stop."
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Cynder Ardor
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Mar 9 2016, 01:50 PM
Post #9
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Cynder listened intently to all of Artoria's instructions. The basic movements looked easy enough. So she decided to give them a try. She held the sword up, it's weight easily more than triple what her straighsword was. She gave her first swing, the weight of it causing her to swing straight into the ground with a thud. "......"
She gives a nervous chuckle and picks the sword up wiping off a clump of dirt that had latched onto the blade. She swings again heavy weight pulling her to the side as she pulls it up again to follow into the next swing. She tries to hold a straight face, but the drill starts to make her face turn red.
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Artoria Duskcrown
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Mar 9 2016, 11:06 PM
Post #10
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Artoria didn't say anything in response to Cynder first mistake of letting the sword hit the ground. Instead she trotted in front of Cynder a safe distance away and began to mimic the movements at a slow speed so Cynder can follow.
She swung her sword downward on an angel to the left, letting the momentum carry it around and swinging it at an angle to the right, letting it loop around again this time swinging underhoofed to the upper left and then looping around one more time to swing in an upward right angle.
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Cynder Ardor
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Mar 10 2016, 08:44 PM
Post #11
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Cynder watched the motions Artoria was making carefully, making sure to mimic them accurately. Downwards to the left, downwards to the right, upwards to the left, upwards to the right. Soon her clumsy motions becamr fluid as she finally got a hang if it. The sword was still significantly heavier than she eas used to, but rhe fluidity of motion was making it bearable. "I think I'm getting this!" She says happily.
She keeps going with the exercise, her forelegs starting to get tired from the workout. "How long are we going to do this again?"
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Artoria Duskcrown
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Mar 21 2016, 12:28 PM
Post #12
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"Until this becomes muscle memory." she said still just staring at Cynder as she sped up. "My style of swordsmanship only works with these basic movements as a foundation. Its a technical style, and not one that you should learn first. It assumes you know the basics already."
Artoria explained this as she continued to speed up, watching Cynder's movements as she hopefully, tried to match the pegasus' speed. "To put it short. I need to drill into you at least 5 years of experience in a short amount of time."
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Cynder Ardor
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Mar 23 2016, 04:16 PM
Post #13
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Cynder sped up just as Artoria did, following all of the movements carefully as she finally fell into a rythm. "That's a long time..." She says in regards to how much training Artoria mentioned she was going to teach. Not that she planned on doing much else. She liked all this helping ponies and defending the defenseless. And to top it off, her favorite storybook idol was teaching her how to do it! So how much better could it get?
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Artoria Duskcrown
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Mar 23 2016, 05:21 PM
Post #14
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Artoria sped up just a bit more, and grit her teeth, her muscles clenching hard, only to be a tell for Cynder because once Artoria was satisfied with the speed she started to swing at Cynder, using only those four strikes, expecting cynder to block them with her own strikes and even counter attack. Artoria was attacking earnestly, and if Cynder failed to defend herself, injury was possible.
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Cynder Ardor
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Mar 23 2016, 05:49 PM
Post #15
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Cynder was idly following Artoria's movements, noting how she was speeding up and trying to follow suit, and then suddenly yelping in surprise as the pegasus suddenly swung at her! She counters each strike with an opposing one, left to right down with a right to left up, and so on. She was surprised by the sudden assault, but was even more surprised she was actually keeping up!
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