61st of Ash, 4622
Taking a moment to tighten his bloodied & mangled bandages, The amber-eyed thief takes a moment to pull his face cloth as he faces off his makeshift target doll made of various scrapes he could find & put together. It was important for Jared to practice his fighting skills as it has come to light that his ability to fend off opponents in dire times was very much apparent that the thief would not be able to fight for his life in a head-head situation.
“Alright, if you can keep this up, Jared, You will be able to fight off a guard or two in case of emergencies…. Remember, violence should be the last response if you can get away….”
Jared was still trying to figure out what style of fighting he would adopt; He knew that wielding light weapons such as shivs, dirks & daggers was his preferred method when using a bladed weapon due to his small yet elegant frame. His speed & dexterity was his key features that have been demonstrated from time to time when it came to avoiding critical hits on his vital organs or redirecting hits to less valuable sections of his body.
In terms of unarmed fighting, the nightfallen mage often used dirty fighting tactics to gain the upper hand quickly. From directly kneeing someone’s groin to throwing sand into their eyes, a moment of weakness was enough for Jared to take an opponent down or allow him to buy time to devise a plan & escape.
Another method that Jared liked when it came to forcing was using his trusty leather-woven blackjack, which he fondly calls Syncope. Unusual for a mundane item to gain a name, but Jared wasn’t the kind of person to talk to as he felt uncomfortable with those he was not familiar with, neutral at most & unfriendly at worse. Nevertheless, the apprentice thief often used his blackjack to sneak behind people and quickly deliver a heavy blow against the head. If one were wearing a helmet, the additional momentum in the impact would be sufficient enough to daze and knock someone out for a time. Only suffering a massive headache, but at least their lives in-tact no less.
He was taking a moment to crouch close to the ground & tightening his calf & hamstrings, readying himself to spring forward for an attempted lunge at his stationary opponent. Jared takes a deep breath. His bruises healing from the previous self-taught training sessions & nausea that often appeared throughout the day did not occur for today’s training session. However, a good hour of intense working out will help muscle memory & tone out his body frame to become leaner.
With a dagger pointing out towards his target in his right hand & his trusty Sychope in his left hand, which rest behind his lower back. Jared's main goal was for his enemy to focus on his blade, whittling down his opponent before knocking them out with his blackjack before making his next move.
"Alright, let's get this session started, shall we?"
The amber-eyed thief mutters to himself as he leaps into action. Dashing forward at rushing speed as he stayed low to the ground with the wind keeping his unstable posture in check with the sheer resistance.
As he closes into his target; the Nightfallen Thief's first course of action is to imagine what possible attacks would be thrown out by his target, treating this practice session as an actual combat situation. Jared begins to duck & weave from side to side, using his footwork that he developed through his practice of dancing & acrobatic movements to flow through the field. Still, the thief knew he would need further training. A few steps caused him to destabilise & hinder his movement.
"Damn…. Need to practice more on the footwork…."
The rogue thought to himself for a moment as he continued to advance. Upon reaching striking distance, the Nightfallen quickly manipulated his Umbralplasm through one of his Compasses that he thickened around the surface of his cloak as he used Stratum to act as a shield despite the target dummy not retaliating to his advance.
Pulling the edge of his cloak and dragging it across the makeshift dummy, the thief expends additional ether as he manipulates the compass to wrap around the edges and form a razor-sharp edge as if the border of his cloak acted as a flexible blade & method to conceal additional tricks that the thief could throw out.
When the cloak leaves a gash across the target's body, the Alistian thief immediately goes for a thrust with his blackjack whilst the cloak flutters obscuring the nasty surprise attack as a loud, metallic thud land before quickly conducting a brief spin to maintain his momentum and disorient his for as he raises his blackjack towards the target's head which leaves another heavy strike that once again makes loud, thud before quickly backing off and driving some distance since Jared's style of fighting was about quick strikes & dirty tactics.
Breathing heavily as that brief blitz & flurry of strikes left Jared a bit winded as he continued to push through his weakened state from his Mageblight that has accumulated throughout the past season. Even then, the thief still needs to practise his skills despite the potential cost to his health in the short term.
Despite the brief mental chatter to himself, Jared continues to make his strikes at his target; weaving in thrusts with his iron dagger before dragging it out in a crude manner as it changes to a jagged slash followed quickly by a brief twirl as he extends his left hand out with Sychope that is laced with dense Umbralplasm to make the strike even harder. Once The amber-eyed thief conducted the series of actions, the thief bounced back, stumbling as his muscles began to fatigue from the short but explosive period of movements as Jared did not use his body to fight in the first place.
He was breathing heavily once again for a moment, sweating heavily as his clothing continued to absorb much of the excess moisture being expressed from his skin. Then, taking a moment to rest his butt on the solid cobblestone, The scoundrel decides to take a breather as the build-up of lactic acid causes his muscles to burn lightly, and short rest periods are required.
“Alright…. What could I improve on…. Footwork needs better placement & the flurry of strikes could be refined to use less energy…. Maybe reduce the arc of the swing. There is a lot to think about… It will be hard to train without getting a mentor or trainer in these kinds of things, and it would raise a lot of suspicions if a commoner is looking to train in weapons as well….”
He was taking a moment to look up to the ethereal blue sky that was free to explore the world's vastness. Yet, Jared couldn’t help but lament the globe & his status as a commoner; What it would be like to live easy or somewhere.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if the amount of struggling could be reduced, even if it is for a moment… I wonder…”
The thief had a habit of pondering way too deep into his thoughts that it would often leave him flat-footed, but these moments were only when the thief felt he was genuinely alone & was sure that no one nearby would be listening to him at his more vulnerable moments.
With the minutes passing by and the wispy clouds drifting through the sky-blue lens that coats the world, Jared takes this moment to pick himself up & dusting the dirt off his pants as he lets out a loud sigh.
“Needed that break, but it is time to get back to work; No rest for the wicked after all.”
Like any training day, effort, consistency & vigour were the few ingredients needed to make something from scratch. Everything & everyone had potential, and Jared saw this through consistent effort that eventually you learn new skills, ideas & discovery of one’s self.
After all, within the past couple of months, the Alistian vagabond decided to take the first few steps into the big world. Still, a fledgling that has left the nest & exploring the horizons, the world was his to make & while he was merely a drop in a vast sea; Maybe the thief would discover something more about himself and possibly his purpose, but for now, everything had to be taken in strides.
“A deep breath and my best foot forward for a tiny step from zero can make your world change….”
Jared whispers to himself, taking those little thoughts he carried as he prepares his stance to his opponent, and while it is not accurate, There is a chance that the world will throw something at him, and he needs to be prepared. Looking up at his target, the thief smirks underneath his face cloth as he darts forward with all he can give at this very moment in his history.
