Graceling Academy discussion

This is a circle that people can fight, swordplay, use daggers etc. a test of your grace!

Arella had been searching for a place where she could practice her fighting skills in solitude when she had found the dueling circle. She had been on her own for many years, and now that she had come to the academy, all the people and activity was slightly overwhelming to her. She was quite a skilled fighter considering she had tought herself. Arella went and got some knives. She picked a place in the circle to throw the knives. She always hit them very close to where she had aimed. She then went and got a sword. There was no one to duel with but she started fighting anyway, blocking and jabbing at an invisible enemy.

Giddon walked in and picked up a sword. "Let's see if you know your stuff" he smiled at the girl holding another sword. She had been practicing with herself do he thought he'd step in.

Pheonia walked around the school nibbling on her turnover. Hearing the sounds of dueling she went for it. Her quick eyes caught a man and a girl starting a duel and she sat down to watch.

She gave him a little smile back. "Alright then." She gripped the hilt of her sword and thrust her sword at him. He easily blocked it, so she ducked and swiped at his legs.

Giddon struck hard at her sword down at his feet. She faltered and he swung higher. She blocked it and he swung the other way. She also blocks this one. He changes tactics and starts to swing more rapidly, confusing.

He's an extremely skills fighter, she's having difficulty keeping up with his attacks. They continue the fight for quite a while longer and although she's not all tired or worn out, she having a hard time winning the fight. She's losing her balance and she knows that if she takes another blow, the fight will be over. She takes one last swipe with her sword in attempt to disarm him.

Giddon smiles as he sees her lose some of the drive she had when they started. He takes one last swing and she drops her sword. He gently catches it before it crashes to the ground. "You lost your determination. You cauldron changed tactics or taken longer swings to preserve energy. You could've beat me" he said plainly.

Pheonia had to agree with the man. He was stronger, but pheonia got the impression that the girl was the better fighter. However Pheonia kept her mouth closed, it was better to not anger people who had swords.

((^I love that last part! Lol!^))

Arella looked at the man intently and with curiosity before answering. "Hmm... Alright. Well, thank you for the advice." she said. She knew this man was right.

"No problem but I do get the feeling your mad at me. What is your name?" he looked at this girl. She had vast potential.

"Arella Mae Briony," she answered him, "And yours?"

"Lord Giddon of the Middluns. Katsa is a dear friend of mine. What is your grace? Its not fighting but it has something to do with it because no commoner can do that"

"Well Lord Giddon, my grace is endurance. I have a very high resistance to one or more forms of damage before being injured as well as the ability to exert myself in an activity indefinitely without becoming tired and survive for long periods of time without consumption or water. As for the fighting, I've tough myself over the years."

"So then will it be ok if I give you further instruction?" Giddon said. This girl was special. She needed to get training and she would be incredible"

Ahh, endurence Pheonia locked that little piece of information away for further use should she need it. Never get in a hand to hand combat with her.

"Yes it will." she answered with the slightest hint of a smile.

(( two lines minimum please(;))

"Good. Meet me in the archery range tomorrow at dawn. We start then. Be prepared" he smiled, set his sword down and left. He was looking forward to tomorrow. He wanted to see what she could do.

((oops! Sorry!))

Arella too set her sword on the ground and left the dueling circle. She decided that she would get some rest, she saw the look Giddon had given her. He was going to work her hard, push her limits, she knew it. She would be prepared.

Pheonia decided to follow the girl, time to get to know some people around here. Running to catch up she said. "Hey, that was a good fight," Pheonia was glad the girl no longer had a sowrd but knives could be hidden to Pheonia kept her eyes peels for any conceled weapons. "I can't believe youtaught yourself.!"

Arella stopped and turned around to the voice that was calling her. She came face to face with the girl she had seen watching her and Giddon. "Why thank you," she said with a little smile. She seemed like a nice girl, but Arella had learned over the years never to trust to quickly. "I'm sorry, I don't know your name."

"Pheonia" she said holding out a hand but also doing a small quick curtsey. "Or Phina for short." she added in a cheerful tone. "How long have you been practicing?" she went on in a friendly way.

Arella shook her hand. "I like Phina," she smiled then answered her question, "Well I've been practicing since I was 12." She didn't really want to say why she had started when she was 12, she didn't know her well enough yet.

"How long until you felt you were good enough?" she asked. "Sorry, I know it must sound weird, but I have seen a good number of fights but never one like that without both parties being a knight." She smiled sweetly, making her look a little younger than she was.

"Thank you, but I'm not sure I understand your question. How long untill I felt good enough for what?" Arella was confused by Pheonia's question.

((Christa?))

((Oh I'm so sorry. I entereed a long comment and then the it would publish and I lost it. I got mad and when I came back I forgot the comment didn't post. So sorry))

"Good enough to fight someone for real, and win." She clarified. Swords are really hard to learn to fight with and I heard it could take as long as six years to come even close to mastering it." Sha dded.

((it's ok;) ))

"It took me quite a while to feel comfortable in my strengths and fighting skills. But I tought myself how to fight because it was a means of survival. If there was a threat, an I didn't feel ready to face it, didn't mean it would go away. I had to fight weather or not I felt good enough." Arella answered.

Pheonia nodded, she had a good point, things did not go away simply becuase you are not ready for them. "I guess you were good enough for whatever faced, otherwise you would not be here, no?"

"That's true." Arella gave her a smile. "I'm a little hungry. You wanna go get something to eat in the kitchen?"

"Absolutly!" Pheonia said with a hop. First lesson of the streets was never turn down food and Pheonia took it to heart. "Their kitchen is amazing, so big with so many things to watch...and eat."

((k I commented in the kitchen.))

(("Your going to hit me" he said plainly. "To master your grace you need to be twice as strong as everybody else. You need to be twice the man everybody else is. So hit me"))

Thom eyed Po "Hit you with what?" Thom had never relaly learned to fight, his grace being the main reason. Sure he could take down someone on awares or you also didn't know how to fight, but he knew he was not going to get the best of Po with the few crude skills he had picked up on the seas.

"Your hands. Go ahead, you can do this Thom" he said. Po stood at the center of the circle and got into a fighting stance.

((south park bridge???))

((yeah sorry, be right there))

Thom bit his lip. He didn't want to hurt Po, even more than he didn't want to hurt himself, but it also felt wierd. To be hitting someone with no provocation. Reminding himself of why he was here he crouched also. He moved forward stepping to the right as he did so. He jabbed his right hand forward faster than the eye could follow.

Po took the hit in his jaw. He recovered and smiled. "Nice punch Thomas! Again!" he said. Reading himself again.

THom jerked his head back as his jaw turned red. He turned his back on Po and bent over rubbing his jaw taking deep breaths. He turned back. "How did it affect me more than you? Are you just tougher than me?" He asked dreading the answer.

Po laughed. "I'm just tougher!" he said. "Block out the pain. You have to be stronger than your hits. Don't hit a person in a place that's a weak spot on your body. Don't think about it"

"My whole body is a weak spot." He said loudly. He tried to not feel the pain, to make it go away, it wasn't his pain. Shaking himself Thom tried again. This time he aimed fro the should but not quite so hard.

Po hits him in the stomach, he claps him in both ears and then kicks him lightly in the knee. "Those are you weak spots. If you hit your opponent in those places you will also be disoriented and weakened. That will hurt more than if you hit me anywhere else. Those are weak spots"

Thom droped to the ground when he got hit and rolled away from Po. He jumped up panting, it really had hurt. "Why would I hit someone in my weak spot. If I hit them in the shoulder it will hardly phase them, but if I knock them out I knock myself out at the same time." He circled not attacking but watching Po carfully.

"You don't hit someone in your weak spots. You hit them in theirs." he said. "Look" Po pointed to a boy walking by. "There see he walks with a slight limp. To his left foot or knee would hurt him more. And there" he pointed to another person. "She has dislocated her her shoulder before, see how it's not quite in place? If you re dislocate it it will her her way more that it will you because it will do long term damage" Po raised his eyebrows to see if Thom understood.

Thom stop circling to see what Po was pointing out. THe boy was fairly easy but it was really hard to see how the girls should was not quite in place. You had to be really looking for it. So pay more attention He chidded himself. He turn to look at Po and see if he could find any weak spots. "So if you don't have an obvious weak spot I shouldn't fight you?" He asked not finding one.

"I am a rare exception because it's my grace. But Thom, look harder" Po said. He didn't have an obvious weak spot and usually only Katsa could find it but if you looked hard enough you could see where his ribs were slightly collapsed on the right side. It was in battle a couple years ago he had taken an arrow to his lowest rib, it shattered but the best healer fixed it. The operation resulted in him missing one rib on the the right side. Almost nobody could find it.

Thom looked at hard as he could. He walked all the way around Po, but it was usless. He couldn't find the weak spot. "Not everyone will have a weak spot will they?"

"You can find one in about 90 percent of people" Po took of his shirt. "Now try" he said. The scar could be seen more clearly now but it was still difficult. "You can do it, concentrate"

"Okay." Thomus looked, scanning every part and trying not to be weird about it. Then he caught it. Po's right side of his rib cage was little compressed compared to the other side. "So should I tell you if I find it or just try and attack you there?" He asked masking his voice carfully.

"You can tell me" he smiled. Po knew that he had found it and was smiling because Thom and Katsa were the only the ones who had ever found it