Proof Is In The Footing[NoM/Job Chain]

Job:

Even a city as grand as Remano had to eventually sleep. The coliseum was no exception. As the sun began to set and the last match of the day came to a close, crowds of patrons slowly bustled out of the stands and left the great structure. Some were heading home. Others were out to visit late night establishments that offered further entertainment where wine flowed. One oddball among the throngs of people was walking against the crowd however. Like a fish swimming upstream, Zion Koval traveled towards the coliseum in order to make his appointment with the veteran fighter known as Breaker.

The magician was dressed in his traveler's cloak and kept his silver locks obscured by a tight wrapping of bandages around his head. Flowing blue and white robes hit his tails from view just as the hood hid his fox ears. The ensemble made it obvious he had something to hide, but few gave him more than a second glance. The common assumption being that he suffered a severe burn in the past and simply sought to spare the world the horror of gazing upon his scars. Zion was happy to let such misconceptions stand. The less people there were who knew of his appearance and true identity, the better.

Zion arrived at the barracks where he had agreed to meet his new mentor and found the man leaning up against a pillar with his arms crossed much as he'd been when they first met. The seasoned warrior opened one eye when he heard Zion's foot falls echo throughout the empty barracks. "So you showed up after all. I wasn't sure if you were serious, rookie. But something in your eyes told me you meant business." The gruff voice was laced with an ambiguous tone that made it hard for Zion to judge the man's mood. Was he angry that Zion didn't flake out on him or did the man just always sound grumpy?

"I can't say I've never run from anything before. But if I ran away before I even began at something, I'd never be able to face my father in the afterlife with my head held high."

The youth was firm in his conviction to learn the way of the warrior. To learn first hand what sort of path Caelus had walked as the Revenant. Though he had already determined that this was not the kind of "greatness" Mikael had meant when he thrust this vague goal upon him, Zion still felt as though a hint towards its true meaning could be found here.  Breaker sensed this resolve in the boy's words and gave a toothy grin as he opened his other eye and stood from the pillar. "Well said! But talk is cheap. Let's see if you still feel that way after your first lesson. Follow me." Breaker turned and headed towards the battlegrounds with a casual pace. Zion after the man feeling a slight nervousness mix with an intoxicating excitement that was reflected in his eyes.

The two stepped onto the sandy blood soaked fighting grounds and stopped before they even reached the center of the arena. Breaker faced Zion and drew his weapon, a short sword known as a gladius. Seeing this, the storm kitsune swept his arm to fold his cloak aside and drew the Bloody Branch in his right hand to likewise arm himself. Breaker sneered at the act and shook his head. "Who told you that you were ready to hold a blade?" The question gave Zion pause. He blinked twice and stared at Breaker who was approaching with a non-threatening gait.

"What do you mean? How am I supposed to learn withou-ch!"

Trusting too heavily in the man, Zion had not been on guard at all for the swift slap to his wrist Breaker delivered once he got within striking range. The man had used the flat of the gladius, but it still hurt like hell and caused Zion to drop his crooked forked weapon. The youth pulled his hand back and rubbed the sore spot which was already starting to turn red in contrast to his otherwise unblemished alabaster skin. He shot breaker a glare feeling wronged but the gladiator glared back with scorn. "Blades are for warriors. You're hardly a maggot. You don't deserve to hold even a practice sword unless I say so. Got it!?"

"...Fine. Then what are we doing out here? What am I supposed to do?"

Breaker chuckled and shoot his head as he tapped the gladius against his own shoulder. "Simple. DODGE!" Hardly a breath's worth of time passed from the man shouting when he stepped in to perform a sweep of his blade aiming for Zion's throat. The magician felt the specter of death descend upon him and stumbled backwards, eyes wide with fright. The boy avoided decapitation as he fell back onto his behind, but a thin line of blood emerged where the very tip of Breaker's gladius had kissed his neck. "Get up! That's pathetic footwork. If you were holding a sword in hand, what good would if have done you when you can't even perform a backstep without winding up on your ass?" Breaker spat to the side and then pressed his attack once more.

A Crushing Rush began with a vertical slash on the grounded Zion. The magician scrambled backwards onto his feet and continued to retreat as a wild slash of Breaker's blade pursued him. A series of strikes lashed out from Breaker, but the veteran fighter carefully controlled his distance so that each strike would only deal superficial scratches to his student. "Better, better! At least you can step backwards without falling over now!" The man mocked as he advanced without pause. Zion felt a burn wherever the blade's edge touched him. His arm, his chest, his thigh, then his other arm. Once by one the wounds added up until a lunging thrust from Breaker drove Zion back into the arena wall.

Zion slammed into the stone wall hard and felt his head crack on the edifice. This caused him to squeeze his eyes shut for a brief moment and when he opened them he found himself staring down the length of Breaker's gladius which had stopped just short of Zion's heart. He could even feel the pointed tip digging through the cloth of his robes to poke against his flesh. "And now we come to two important lessons. One, be aware of your surroundings while you move. Two, never retreat or evade in the same direction over and over again. Ignore either rule and your opponent will take advantage of it. They'll use their attacks to control your movements to force you into a bad spot. As soon as you start moving according to your opponent's designs, you've already lost."

Breaker stepped back and lowered his blade only after finishing his words. Zion still felt lingering fear, but when the man spoke he had made a point to lock eyes with Zion. Those eyes were void of any murderous intent. They were calm and wizened from years of experience which held a certain sincerity to them. Zion gulped and nodded before stepping off of the wall. "Again!" The magician declared despite only having a single step between himself and the wall. Breaker saw through what Zion was doing and grinned his toothy grin once more. "Not giving yourself the chance to take the same way out, eh? I like your spirit, rookie." Breaker then lunged and thrust once more.

This time Zion stepped to the side, but not blindly. He chose to step to the right which carried him around Breaker's unarmed side. "Good! But drop your hips and bend your knees a bit when you step. Find your center of gravity so your steps will be more stable!" Breaker shouted as he turned and slashed horizontally as he reset his alignment on Zion. The gladius continued to flash through the night air, the two figures lit only be a few torches which Breaker had prepared ahead of time and the light of the rising moon.

The two men danced for hours. Their shadows mimicking the movements under the flame and moon light. As they did, Breaker occasionally barked advice and instruction. Meanwhile, Zion listened and did his best to learn. The teaching started out general and vague, but as Zion slowly adopted what he was told and began to execute on it with some degree of competency, Breaker would start to get more and more specific right down to which toes he should be placing the force of his steps into and which angles his own sword could come from. How those angles could be used to predict the trajectory of an attack and evade aggressively rather than defensively.

By the end of their session Zion was covered in small wounds, but it had been over an hour since he'd received his last cut. Now he was making shorted steps that wasted less energy and kept him within striking range so he would be able to counter if he'd had a blade of his own. "Good, good, good!" An excitement had built in Breaker over time as well, so much so he ever repeated himself thrice. There was a pride in his face as he watched the magician shift to the side, shuffle back, and then end their latest dance with a forward step that brought him inside Breaker's range placing the two face to face. Zion was huffing and puffing, his body covered in sweat. Meanwhile Breaker's breathing remained calm and even, although he too was covered in salty beads of perspiration.

Breaker smiled and as Zion took a step back, sheathed his short sword. "That's enough. I take back what I said. You're no maggot, rookie. You've got talent. I've known kids who took weeks to get to where you are now." Hearing these words from Breaker filled Zion with his own sense of pride. But the youth was quick to tamper that down and suppressed the joyful smile that had overtaken his face. "I never considered how important footwork was before now. You've really opened up my eyes to a whole new world of movement, sir. It made me realize that there is still a deep sea of knowledge I've yet to learn in even the most mundane of subjects. Please teach me what is next!" Zion was still breathing heavily as he bowed in respect for Breaker's teachings.

"It's good that you know this. But it's also good to know one's limits. Don't be in such a rush, you've already made me decide to push up your training schedule. Come back tomorrow at the same time, we'll continue your training after you've had a good rest and I've finished my matches for tomorrow."

With that, the two departed the Coliseum just a couple hours before the sun began to cast the sky with the oranges and reds of early morning.

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WC:  1833/1000