The Ebony Renegades (Skyrim)

chapter thirty one (p3)

(Ebon-shi pov)

After seeing Gila and Sabrina, Tully and Serana, and Gentu and Yamma off to theyre separate locations that left myself, Asadelf, Shadow-step, Suvvan, Lianya, Severin, and Salazar here to guard this massive fort. We started spreading out doing our own things Severin went up to the watchtower to keep an eye out for anything suspicious while I sparred against Suvvan meanwhile Asadelf, Salazar, and Lianya decided to make their way to Asadelf's secluded mage tower of Myrwatch to prepare and restock her supplies and more than likely to drop off some important items that she didn't want to lose I knew that many of the members of the group had their own homestead or places to call home that they could always go back to. However, because of our profession, we couldn't stay in one place very long so it would make sense that much like a thane of a hold they would have a sort of housecarl to look after they're homesteads while they were away. As me and Suvvan walked out into the courtyard to train against each other me wielding my ebony blade and him wielding his large silver claymore which I never understood his reason for using due to his armor being of the madness variety. I noticed a while ago when we were in combat he seemed to favor using his warhammer over his greatsword and he only ever really uses his greatsword on rare occasions so I decided to ask him after we were done sparring as I had a feeling that whatever his reason was it was a sensitive subject. I was no fool to assume that he had no trouble as every member of the group had their own struggle as well as their own demons but we weren't like a standard military unit, we cared for one another and we had each other's shoulders to cry on when we needed it. As we took our stances on opposite sides of the courtyard I pulled my ebony blade off my back in sync with him pulling his silver greatsword off of his in order to make sure that he didn't reach for his warhammer he placed it off to the side of the door frame that led inside to make sure he couldn't reach for it out of reflex. We both stood in standard formation facing each other the flat side of our blades resting against our forearms as we slowly circled each other since this was a friendly sparring match I had my ebony blade flipped around so the curved blunt end was facing towards my opponent after all I didn't want to hurt him he, however, didn't really have that option because his claymore was double edge I was actually surprised when he asked if I would be willing to spar with him earlier so I obliged. With a silent nod from both of us, we both rushed towards each other our blades colliding with each other and locking up in a battle of strength I, however, was carefully resting the edge of my ebony blade against the claws of my brawler ebony gauntlets I could tell by the way his sword hit the ebony blade that he was trying too hard to slam the claymore into me much like he would with his warhammer the reason the claymore was his secondary is because he's so used to using the momentum from the weight of his hammer to gather momentum. I memorized this to give him constructive criticism later not taking my eyes off of him I brought my ebony helmet forward and collided with his madness helmet before kicking him in the torso with my ebony boot to put some distance between us as in a fluid motion using the momentum from my kick I spun around placing the edge of my ebony blade against his neck by an inch while he was down on one knee from the impact. " You're trying to use your claymore like it's a warhammer, you're trying to rely on the weight of it to give you an edge but that's the problem a great sword isn't like a hammer it's not blunt and you don't require a lot of force to cut through your adversary you simply need the right technique and if you would like I will be happy to teach you a little if you'll accept." I spoke in an honest yet respectful tone as I offered my nord comrade a hand up he gently nodded before reaching up and taking my hand as I helped him to his feet and I began instructing him the way I was taught long ago. " Alrighty, the first thing you need to know is that two-handed swords are not like battle axes or warhammers because they are longer and slightly heavier you require more momentum when you're striking, but while yes, you can use the momentum of the weight of your weapon to add power to your downward swing, but when you're trying to do it from a sideways strike all that momentum and the weight of your sword is going to be making your blade go down as you're swinging because of the weight towards the tip." As I spoke I used the weight of my ebony blade because I was used to it with little effort and with expert precision I twirled the blade effortlessly in my hand before masterfully sheathing it on my back like it weighed nothing. " I can't use my sword to teach you because mine is a different style mine is a single-edged while claymore's like yours are designed for cutting and impaling primarily it's not a chopper like mine is, so I will use that iron great sword as an example because they have similar blade profile and I can better teach you if I'm using the same or similar object as you." I spoke as I walked over picked up the iron greatsword off the ground before walking back towards him as I brought the iron great sword up I could instantly feel the difference between its construction and my ebony blade as I took a few practice swings to get a feel for it after a few minutes of practicing with it I immediately had a good idea of what Suvvan's style was like. " You see what I mean? claymore's like mine are different from katana-based swords like your's boss, mine's got more meat on it hahaha." He said in a joking manner which I couldn't help but smile at as I agreed the difference between his silver claymore and my ebony blade were indeed contradicting factors which was why I decided to use an iron greatsword that had a similar body to his weapon. After trying out different stances I discovered one that would both stabilize the weight of the sword while also keeping it ready to be used for both blocking and attacking. " Ok Suvvan, we're going to try this again but this time copy my stance that I'm using right now and see if it makes a difference in your swords weight distribution." I spoke as I brought my back right leg back positioning it at an angle with my front leg bent slightly my right hand on the upper part of the sword handle while my left hand was on the lower part down by the pommel the flat side of the blade resting on my upper arm giving me a very firm stance ideal for both offensive and defensive. Suvvan followed my instructions and got in the same stance as I was as we both took a few practice swings from that stance. I was able to feel that given that swords blade style and weight starting out in that stance seemed to help with the weight problem as well as the style he used with his claymore. I decided to leave him to himself for a little while to practice on his own while I went inside to check on Asadelf, Salazar, and Lianya who said that they were going to be heading to Myrwatch I didn't like the thought of those three going alone as we were already spread thin as it was with five of our members already out on they're own personal missions I had no doubt in my mind that those three could handle themselves however I understood just how thick this area was and how easy something could go wrong. But when Asadelf reassured me I begrudgingly nodded and let them go but told them to be here within two hours or we were going out looking for them. Asadelf grins before reaching up and pecking her lips on my cheek as the two of them headed off.