Barracks & training fields in the City of Milath.


This message was last edited by the GM at 05:10, Thu 27 Sept 2007.

"Come on now!" shouted a voice from the sidelines. "You're fighting a war, not going out for a walk!
The sound of the instructor's voice, loud even over the din of the mock battle, was enough to spur the two sides to greater efforts. Armed with wooden swords and shields twice the normal weight, plus their standard gear, all of the men were sweating and tired. The thought of the instructor's staff across their back, though, was enough to keep them going.

Not too far off, another man watched them fight. Garbed in light blue tunic and dark leggings, he wore a fur lined cape against the chill. The men were fighting in standard formation, with neither side able to effectivley move the other. If this had been a true battle, cavalry would have been at the flanks, and archers would have pounded the ranks before the sides closed.
Still, this was but a mock battle. The cavalry, as well as the archers, had their own training which they were doing now.

Raynald gave a small grin of pride. Under his command, the army of Arn had become a strong, cohesive force. Standardized training and armour, any man could join the army if he could put up with the training. The heavy infantry were superb, practically unmatched in the open field, their formatrion tactics making them flexible and powerful. Their heavy cavalry could devestate any in their path, and the archers were all trained marksmen.

"Five minute break!" the instructor ordered, just as Raynald walked forward. "Get a drink and get back here on the double!
"Well done, sergant," Raynald commended him, watching the men disengage and, comrads again, walk to the watering hole.

"Thank you Sir. I'll have them whipped into shape in no time. I hope I have time before they are needed in battle. Next thing is to lead a few chosen groups out on survival training, teach then how to live off the land without stressing the population, and how to move silently and stealthily."

He took off his helmet and whiped off his brow, the sweat had made the short hair curl and stick to his skin.

She sat on the wall between the Palace and the barracks watching the men and women exercise and practice, kicking her heels on the wall, wishing she could practice there too. It wasn't fair she wasn't allowed to play with swords too. She pouted.

"I bet you couldn't teach me how to use a sword! You can teach them dumb old people, but I bet you can't teach me!"

Raynald, quite honestly, was surprised to find the young Empress here at the training fields.
"It would be difficult to teach you, Empress," he said, turning about to face the young woman. "You have ever been trained to the life of the court. You are keen in the ways of politics and etiquett. Your sword is a sharp tongue and quick wit. Here, our sword is of sharpened steel, and we manuver not by intrigue but by the orders of the sergants and the call of the horn."
That, and it took months to become proficient with a sword, and years to become a master.

"Perhaps, one day, Empress, I might teach you to use the mace or crossbow? The sword is a difficult weapon to learn to use. The mace, however, requires less time to become proficient in, and is much better against armoured opponents."
Of course the sword which the armies of Arn used, the gladius, was made to punch through chainmail. It was a stabbing weapon, meant to be used in formation.

She frowned then stomped her foot in frustration!

"Nobody takes me seriously! You all think I'm just a baby, or a sissy girl! But I want to be able to defend myself! I don't want to be murdered in my bed like the King or my mother was. What good is a crossbow when you are in bed? At least teach me how to use a dagger! I don't want to be a sissy girl! I want to be a warrior as well as Empress. You know we have enemies who would love to invade and rule this country. And they can only do that if I'm dead. Isn't it your job to defend this country with every weapon you've got? So, teach me, so if they send assassins, they will be surprised when my tooth finds their heart!"

For a spoiled and pampered child, she was quite independent and fiery in spirit. It was all her instructors and attendants could do to steer her in the proper direction to best occupy all that energy and independent spirit. Those people would probably be most disturbed to discover that she'd somehow slipped away to the salleys to watch the lessor beings practice.

Raynald, though he did not show it, was quite surprised at the young woman's persistance.
"Keep drilling, sergant," Raynald said to Birlin. "And clear my schedule for the hour. I believe the princess is right."
He gave her a grin. The idea of what the nobles would think if they found him teaching the Empress to use a weapon was more than enough to spur him into doing it.

Looking out at the assortment of practice weapons, Raynald soon plucked up several practice weapons. Nearly double weight to build endurance, they would do just as good here. He wouldn't curve his teachings, even if it was the Empress...and she did say she'd wanted to learn. He chose a mace for the Empress to practice with. The infantry used a sword, and had spears as well. Only officers used the mace, and that was because they chose to. Officers used anything from the sword to the axe to the mace.

"Follow me, please, Empress," he said, easily hefting the wooden haft of the practice weapon. The mace was an ideal weapon for a novice, and he would maintain that. It's downfall was it was not meant for formation fighting, which the army used. On an individual level, however, it was second to none.

She grinned and followed him to the weapons storage racks, watching him pick up several weapons. She frowned then, because they looked kind of heavy. She waited until he handed her one of them before she spoke.

"Wow, that looks kinda heavy! Ooof! Yes, it's heavy. How do you use them? I just saw people using swords and daggers and such. Boy, I'd hate to drop this on my toe! That would have to hurt huh?"

She grinned up at the "old" man (old to her) and tried to swing it without hitting herself or him or the racks.

"The army use swords and daggers, Highness," he told her, sidestepping the wild swing. "They use a large, round shield in formation. Because of that, they do not have the room to swing a mace. Instead, they use the gladius, which is a stabbing blade. The mace, however, is the weapon of a true noble warrior. A sword can be clumbsy and ineffective against armour. With a mace, you can crush a skull or break a bone even beneath armour."

Raynald steered her toward the door. Better to be safe out there than risk the armoury crashing down on them.
"The weapon is double weight, to build up endurance. During a fight, it hardly does well to become fatigued within the first minutes."

Outside, Raynald took several steps back. "Get the feel of the weapon, Highness. I believe that you will like it quite a bit. The mace is my personal favorite, and I think you would like it as well."

She nodded thoughtfully as he spoke to her, and went outside where he was steering her. When they stopped and he told her to swing it, she grinned and tried a few swings, dropping it once as she wasn't expecting it's weight so much.

"Wow, it's awfully heavy! My arm will fall off!"

"That is how it will feel for a little while, Empress," Raynald explained to her. "After practicing with the weighted weapon for some weeks, your body will build up endurance, and you will not even notice the weight."

Raynald hefted a shield he'd taken from the armoury. "Now, a mace has three main attacks: The overhand swing, which brings the weapon down onto the skull. The horizontal left, swinging the weapon from right to left. Last is the horizontal right, which brings the weapon from left to right, into your opponent's sword-arm."

Testing the weight of the shield, Raynald assumed a defensive position. "A mace is generally used with a shield. We are presuming, however, that you, as Empress, will not be carrying a shield. A skilled warrior can parry the odd blow with a mace, but it is, for the most part, a purley offensive weapon. You should always be on the attack with it. The barbarians from foreign kingdomes will be the ones most likley to attack you. They use longswords and broadswords. If you get in too close, they have to room to use it. A mace, however, has room in close quarters to be used."

He would teach her to use the dagger later. For now, he would go with his own forte.
"Now attack!"

She watched as he demonstrated the swings, then picked up a shield to have her prectice with. She nodded again, grasped the shaft and hefted it in an awkward overhand swing, nearly clubbing herself in the knee with it. She had to use both hands because it was very heavy for her, for she'd not even done anything so strenuous before.

She swung again, aiming for his shield, and barely managed to brush it with the head of the mace. She frowned and tried again, her arms already complaining. Then she switched suddenly and swung from right to left, aiming for his knee area of the shield.

"ooooofffff! Phew, I almost got my own knee! hehe!"

Raynald watched as Sidi struggled with the weight of the practice weapon.
"You will grow more accostomed to it with more practice," he told the young Empress. "The weighted weapons feel awkward now, but once you hold the true weapon, you will be able to swing faster, hit harder, and move more easily. You will appreciate it when the time comes."

Raynald readied himself again. "Aim higher this time, Empress. The ribs and above are where everything important it. Hit a man with a mace in the ribs, and it could break them, puncture a lung or even his heart. Hit him in the arm, and you could break it. There's nothing worse for a soldier than to have his sword arm broken. Hit him in the head, and he'll be dazed, knocked out, or even killed from a crushed skull."

She nodded grimly and set her feet again, rolled her shoulders a bit then gave the mace another mighty swing, trying to aim higher this time. She manages to give the shield a decent hit although the swing is weak due to not having developed muscles for this yet. She tries again a few more times before she's sweating, short of breath, and her shoulders are on fire. Her hands are slippery on the handle of the mace now because she's developed some blisters, some of which have burst. The next swing she makes, the mace flies out of her hands, and nearly hits the Warrior on the shoulder as it flies past. She blushed shamefully and hid her hands as she went to retrieve the dropped weapon.

"Oh! I'm sorry General! It slipped!"

Raynald held the shield up, protecting himself from Sidi's meagre blows. It was the first day. Things would get better with progress.
"Everything takes time," he was saying. "Before you know it, you-"
His words were cut off as the mace went flying past his head. He stepped aside, watched the weapon thud into the ground some ten feet behind him.
"I believe that is enough for now," he said, looking back to her. "Help me return these to the armoury, and then wash up. I would hate to have the nobles' eyes pop out when they see blisters on the royal hands."