Callous Captain [Training, Solo]

Altair walked up to the Imuchakk barracks, not quite knowing what to expect. He had never actually checked out the military of any state he had lived in. Of course, he never had quite the position there that he had here. Here he was an honored guest, and Asisiak had given him access to opportunities to train with the Imuchakk warriors, in preparation for their match. While everyone who called themselves a man in the village was a warrior, these men were dedicated to protecting the village, and gave a whole new meaning to the term. Altair watched the men in their training, noting the different weapons that each warrior held. While they all were made of Rampaging Unicorn Horn, they all had a unique shape and design to them. They were perfectly crafted to fit the individual warrior.

Altair was so distracted by the men, that he didn't notice the Captain of the Guard come up to greet him. "Altair? Pay attention boy!" Altair jumped a foot. He stood up and extended his arm to grasp the Captain's. But the Captain merely looked at him. "Earn my respect before you look for my friendship. We've got a lot of work to do." He said. "Right, sorry sir." Altair returned his hand to his side, if a little sheepishly. The Captain apparently wasn't one for niceties. And why would he be? He had one of the most important jobs in the village. Everyone's safety depends on how well he trains his soldiers. The Captain motioned for Altair to follow him, and walked around the corner. Altair almost had to jog to keep up with the Captain's stride. The Captain spoke to Altair like he would any other soldier. "We'll start you off with running laps with the others. Then strength training on the ice, followed by endurance training lifting stones. When you're finished with all that, then you can join us for battle training. I don't want anyone who can't keep up, learning from us. Do you understand Altair?" Altair nodded. "Yes, Captain."

The day started off easy enough. Despite the strength that the Imuchakk had naturally, they were actually somewhat slow. But what they lacked in speed they more than made up for in endurance, The warriors ran for four hours straight. On the first day, Altair could only handle the first two hours. But he attributed that to not having been keeping up with his running in lieu of studying. On the second day he was able to run the full time, and by the third, he was running at the head of the pack, urging the others on.

When it came time for the strength training, he was returned to the ice where he had learned better Magoi control with Himejojo. Altair simply strolled onto the ice, laid his fist into it, and walked off. His crack matched the one from his best attempt, just 1 meter away from beating Asisiak's. The men where stunned, and let him simply go on to the endurance training.

The endurance training was threefold. The first part included more running, but this time wearing a 100 pound weight on his back. It was a little harder to keep up for the full four hours, but not by much. When he finished with that, they had him lift a large boulder over his head for as long as he could. Altair managed just as long as the others, about two hours. The third part was grueling. The task? Simply stand at attention until you pass out, or give up. This pushed Altair to his absolute limit. But in return, he learned quite a bit about himself, and how long he could last before he would have to call it quits.

The entire training took only about a week. Altair felt strong. Stronger than he had felt in some time. The Captain was impressed. "I'll be honest with you boy, i didn't think a human could do it. But you did well. Now you can join us in the combat training." Altair smiled. It was finally time.

He entered the camp the next day, sword in hand. He was quickly paired up with one of the new guys, and told to spar. Altair took the novice to the ground in two strikes. The warrior was utterly stunned, but the Captain only laughed. "Ahahaha! Alright. It looks like you'll need a real challenge. How about this. You spar with me today. First one forced to a knee loses." Altair nodded in agreement. "That sounds fine by me." Each man took their positions on the sparring grounds. All the other figts stopped, everyone wanting to watch what would surely be a great match. The Captain held his spear aloft, twirling the Unicorn Horn in the air before bringing it down to a ready position. Altair simply drew his sword and took a stance. The Captain moved first. He charged Altair, feinting a thrust to the right, before spinning to deliver a blow from the left. Altair parried with his First Wasp's Dance, and followed up with a simple overhead strike. That was quickly blocked and the pair disengaged. Altair pushed inward, forcing his opponent to back up, as Altair initiated his Slay the Jackals technique. This struck home, but Altair realized that his opponent let him in, so he could get a hit. The spear came up from the left again, this time finding its mark on Altair's upper thigh. The cut burned, but the worst thing was that he would be unable to hold his own weight much longer. The Captain wasn't looking to fight, he was looking to win. He was specifically targeting Altair's legs, thighs, and feet, in an attempt to "bring him to a knee" as quickly as possible. If Altair wanted to win, he would have to do the same. But, the Captain would be expecting this. Any attempt Altair made to strike at the legs would be anticipated and likely blocked. There was one thing working in his favor however. Altair had targeted the Captain's joints in his upper body, mainly his shoulders and elbows. that would weaken incoming attacks, and leave the Captain less able to defend against Altair's blows. What he needed was a way to force him to the ground without striking at his legs.

He didn't have much time to think about it. The next few blows from the Captain came exactly as expected. More stikes to the lower body. Altair was able to deflect them using his Second Wasp's Dance, but he was running out of time. His thigh was bleeding freely, and he was losing strength. Altair tried to think, what could he do? Was he doomed to fail? Then an idea struck him. Altair raised his blade high, and used his Slay the Dragon technique, bringing the blade straight down. The Captain seemed surprised that Altair would use a technique like that, but was able to block it. However, his left arm buckled under the strain. It would work. Altair used Gale Stepping to distance himself, and then used a technique he had been thinking of but hadn't yet tried in battle. Altair jumped, high, far, and fast, overcharging his blade with magoi in a technique called Phoenix Blade. He came down on the Captain hard, and again, the Captain's arms buckled under the strain. He dropped, on both knees to prevent the attack from striking him. A bell rang, indicating a winner had been declared. Altair dropped himself, clutching at his thigh. It was still bleeding, and Altair noticed his skin starting to pale. He whipped out his staff and stopped the bleeding using his Four Fold Sigil of Healing.

Medics came over and started to bandage them up. The Captain laughed. "Who would think an Imuchakk would get overpowered by a human! You did well boy. As well as any of my warriors. Asisiak has quite the battle coming to her." Altair looked at him surprised. "She told you about that? Well, then again, i guess she would. It is going to be a public spectacle after all. Ouch!" he cried as his wound was disinfected. Whatever they were using to clean the wound was burning like fire! Altair looked, to see Ice being applied in specks to the wound. Altair thought it was curious and asked what they were doing. "We are applying dry ice to the wound to stop the blood flow and stitch the wound back together. It's an ancient technique, but it still works." Altair thanked the woman for her help and got up. Once again he offered his hand to the Captain, and instead of rejecting him, he actually grasped it. "I'm proud to have fought such a talented man." Altair smiled and nodded. "And i'm glad i was able to learn how you trained. It's now clear how your warriors are so strong. It was a pleasure Captain." Altair and the Captian parted then, Altair going home for a well deserved nap. Next week was a month since he challenged Asisiak. He now knew how they fought, and it would play a large part in the fight to come.

~1556/1500~
Trained Phoenix Blade

Tech Trained:

Abilities Used: