Julius Descartes rolled on to his back after finishing a series of 50 push ups that he had alternated with sprints up and down the field. Chest heaving with the effort of breathing, he stared up at the sky for several minutes as he tried to bring the proper amount of oxygen back into his lungs. Dragging himself up into a sitting position, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and proceeded to massage a kink that had developed at the base of his neck. Julius got to his feet and made his way to the water barrel, dunking his head into the cool liquid and then shaking like a dog to rid himself of the excess. Grabbing the tunic he had discarded earlier, he pulled it down over his head.
Leon Alexander had finished all his duties in the stables, cleaning and feeding the crown prince's horse and after some extra work he was sweating but wanted to do something more. He came out onto the sparring ground slowly and looked to the sky, a sigh past his lips as he stepped up to the fence and picked up a wooden short sword leaning against it. But then the lad found out he was not alone, looking over to see a man and unlike before he did not jump he studied him a moment before clearing his throat. "Good evening sire." He said with a smile. "I am not intruding am I?" Leon wanted to be sure first, he had seen this man spar just the other day too.
Julius Descartes was still rubbing at the kink in his neck when he heard Leon speak up. Turning around, with his head tilted curiously, his brow furrowed as he studied the adolescent. "Not at all. In fact, I was just taking a break before I began some more exercises," he said with nonchalance. Moving to the fence, he leaned forward on the wood and rolled his head and caused his neck to crack. He unwrapped a leather throng from his wrist and tied his wet hair up into a ponytail. Soaked with water, it was much heavier and more of a nuisance then he had expected. "You're Prince Uhtred's squire, are you not? I'm sorry to say that I do not know your name. I am Julius Descartes." He made no move to smile, but this wasn't out of the ordinary for him.
Leon Alexander watched him move to the fence, the lad stayed where he stood and his smile faded a bit but it was not a scowl at all. "That is correct sire, my name is Leon Alexander, son of Sir Alexander. A knight who once served in this kingdom." He'd say and then after a moment's pause he looked down to the wooden sword and back to him. "You said you wish to begin more exercises correct? May I have the honor of challenging you to a spar with wooden swords? Lord knight, the head prince that is, is of course very busy so I find myself needing to train in anyway. I've watched you spar once and feel I can learn something from you, be it either victory or failure I'll learn and then I'll be a better knight then my father when the day comes." Of course the lad knew that day was far off, very far but he was not going to give up.
Julius Descartes rubbed the stubble that had appeared around his jaw, which unfortunately was never quite smooth. "My history of the kingdom is sparse, though I was raised here when I was young. Still, Prince Uhtred is a man worthy of his title. You'll do well underneath his tutorage." Julius grabbed a training sword at random and leaned it against his shoulder as he stared off into the forest. "I'd be more then willing to help you along with your training. I may add in a few facts I've picked up in my lifetime." He made his way into the sparring area, standing at one side and motioning for the squire to take up a position opposite of him. Wiping the moisture leftover from his impromptu face wash, he cursed himself for forgetting to remove his eyepatch while he had done his circuits.
Leon Alexander followed him and took the spot he had pointed out and turned then to face him. "Aye I know I will, I have vowed already to serve him and the kingdom with my life." But the squire was having enough talk of himself, he had brought with him the wooden short sword and a wooden shield, similar to the one he used when first sparring with the prince. "I thank you kindly sire." The lad said then he took a rather simple stance, he of course was still learning little by little so this should have been known. He brought the shield up to guard his torso, eyes focused not on any single part of Julius but his whole body as much as he could. Raising his sword slowly he stayed steady, he was far more experienced and of course stronger then he was.
Julius Descartes rolled his shoulders backwards and forwards as he tried to loosen up his muscles. The lactic acid his body had produced earlier while he had been sprinting was burning in his legs, which would be a good sign if he had given himself time to rest. He jumped lightly in place a few times and then placed his feet in a loose L-shape with his left foot pointed forward. Gripping the hilt with both hands, he pointed the sword at the ground in a 45 degree angle. Forearms facing outwards, the stance seemed to be a foolish move. "Alright, come at me then," he said in a clear voice. Due to having vision in only one eye, he had issues with his perception that he compensated by striking with as much force as possible. He decided that there was no point in bruising the boy, though the blows at even half power were sure to leave marks.
Leon Alexander started to move at him slowly, a head on attack was foolish so he was quick to step to the left and sprinted at him. Swinging his sword in a downward swoop while blocking his torso with his shield, the lad half expected for him to block with his sword. For one second he looked up to Julius then at his torso, trying to find a sign of movement or action from him. It had been long for the lad to have a proper spar, so he was a tad bit rusty with the advance.
Julius Descartes brought his sword up above his head as he twisted his wrists to the left. This resulted in the waster pointing downwards at the same angle, but at a much higher position. It was a simple block that would force his opponents sword to slide down the blade of his own. He counterattacked by swinging his weapon counter-clockwise behind himself and directly at Leon's head. Not thinking to stop, he continued by arcing his sword above his head and striking downwards from his opponent's right shoulder to left hip. Of course, this might not necessarily work so Julius decided to finish by using a technique most warriors used in any battle. He kicked at Leon's shield, attempting to drive his heel into the buckler and pushing his weight behind his leg in order to shove his opponent backwards. Ah, it was a dirty trick, but the only victory on the battlefield has always been living.
Leon Alexander grit his teeth as he saw Julius's counter and he followed through with it on purpose. True in real battle he could die doing this, but in a spar with wooden swords he could just be a little beaten up. Also, how would he learn if not seeing it all? Attempting to push away his opponents blade he he failed to notice the dirty trick, when he suddenly found himself falling backwards and onto the ground. Sitting up he looked up with a grin, that was a fast spar and now that he was down he knew he had to yield. If he got back up it'd leave a opening for a swift strike and in battle it'd be fatal.
Julius Descartes chuckled at the boy's good nature and stepped forward with his hand extended. Intending to help him up, he let one of his rare smiles grace his face. "In duels, you'll be bound to fight with honor to keep any kind of reputation. However, in war there is nothing to fight for but your own survival. It's a vindictive world, but it works," he said with a shrug. There was plenty of potential within the squire, but he would have to be broken of his naive view of opponents fighting as honorably as himself.
Mon Feb 23, 2009 10:24 pm