Passing the Torch... One Day.. For Now, We Train (Cygnus)

Cygus and Jericho were finally old enough to start learning how to fight like humans, specifically Kryoan-born humans. Actually, they were old enough two years ago, but Svad wasn't sure he wanted to teach them. They were half dragon, after all, with magic to boot. They didn't need to learn how to fight with weapons. But Svadilfare had taught his first born, full human son. And his own father was still around to expectantly inquire whether his hybrid grandsons were going to be raised as full Kryoans. As Cygnus and Jericho got older, in fact, Leonidas started coming around and asking a lot more. Not long after they turned 16, Svad asked if either of them were interested in learning to fight like their mother had. Cygnus was quite interested; Svad suspected that had something to do with his friend's daughter, El. Jericho, however, said he wasn't interested at the moment.

Svadilfare woke up before dawn as usual and quietly retrieved his weapons from a chest at the foot of his and Cele's bed. It had been a few years since he had laid eyes on his throwing knives and swords, his shield and dagger. The last time he used them after he finally and officially retired as an assassin, was in a war almost 10 years ago. "10 years..." Svad whispered quietly to avoid waking his wife. "Has it really been that long already?" The Pride of Kryo was still a warrior; there was no retiring from that short of dying. Well, maybe he could take a little time off from it once he became chief. Or if he and Cele just happened to have another child. Anyway, he was still expected to go off and fight for Kryo in disputes, wars, skirmishes, etc. And still being the Pride of Kyro, the very best warrior the village had to offer, Svad was expected to train the new generation and visiting hopefuls. Rather than using his own weapons, which Celestia associated almost exclusively with his assassin days--thus why she didn't want him using them--Svad took a few things from the small armory. For training with his son, however, Svad wanted to use his own sword.

He took both swords and the throwing knives out of the chest then slipped out of the room. Once they were outside, he went back into the room and got dressed. He gently kissed his wife's cheek before slipping out of the room again and going back outside.

The swords were still sharp, but Svad didn't intend to use them today. The edges of the knives were dull but the tips were just sharp enough to get lodged into some wood. They would do nicely for today. Svad also selected a thick tree branch and refined it into a nice staff. When Cygnus finally woke up, after he had a chance to eat, Svad called him. "Cygnus. We're going to start your training today. When you're ready, meet me outside. And.. maybe bring a few bandages."

Cygnus slowly opened his eyes as he woke up that morning. He stress, messily "fixing" his hair. Over the years, everyone finally stopped asking about the blue hair. Probably helped that Elara finally figured out of to turn human, and it turned out they had something in common. Might have been weird to think about, but it was true. He stretched, getting dressed before heading to the living room of his families home. It was then that he heard his dad.

They were starting training today! A smile quickly came to the hybrids face. His dad was going to start his training as a warrior! Cyg smiled, quickly running to grab the bandages. Honestly, he'd seen them used a lot. Claw scratches, falling out of trees... and off roofs... and onto rock.... How any of them lived this long was honestly a miracle. After his little trip down memory lane, Cyg grabbed the bandages and some outside cloths and ran out. He looked at his father, looking ready and raring to go.

"Hey Pa. So finally going to start training? This'll be great!" It was clear the big teen was excited about this, and he definitely was ready to go. He waited for Svad to start before reaching for anything, but he was ready.

Svad chuckled at his son's enthusiasm. It was quite a different reaction to every other Kryoan; for them, it was their duty. It was the only reason for their existence, becoming a warrior. But Cygnus wasn't really bound by that tradition. Still, since Aurelius had moved away, Svad hadn't had the opportunity to pass on the Kryoan way. "Yes, son, we're finally going to start today."  Svadilfare walked up to Cyg and handed him the staff he had made earlier. "Greatness is achieved through hard work, so I'd hold off on saying this'll be great. Although, your mother managed to do alright... so you should be fine. Today, we're going to start with something simple: staffs. If you can fight with a staff, you can handle just about any weapon without much trouble. Well, bows and arrows, slings, just about any precision tool is a whole other thing, but we'll get into those later."

Svad picked up his own staff. "Now, let's start with a simple stance." Svad stood with his feet shoulder width apart, his right a couple inches behind the left, his knees slightly bent. "This'll make you more sturdy for an attack coming at you head-on. You see my left foot is in front? That's because it's my dominant foot; you use yours for this. Then you can lift your staff up as if you're blocking an attack and brace yourself for an impact." Svad illustrated that, then looked at Cyg. "Now you try."

Cygnus just smiled when his dad said they'd be training. He was handed a staff, and Svad began to explain that greatness was achieved through work. He also said that they'd start with staff training. Cyg carefully held the staff, listening to his father. He watched as he took the stance, and when told, quickly went to follow through.

"Ok. Dominant foot ahead, hold staff up, and brace." He then looked at Svad, clearly already enjoying himself. "Like this?"

The Kryoan couldn't help smile some as he watched Cygnus. He nodded his head approvingly as Cygnus copied what he had shown him. "Good, son. Just like that. Now--" Svad suddenly raised his staff and brought it down forcefully on Cygnus'.

Cygnus was happy when his dad said he had it right, but he was then surprised when his dad came down with his own staff. The teen held his staff tight bringing it up to block. He shook a little, managing to hold it back.

Svad gave another approving nod at Cygnus' reaction. "Good! You're a little shaky, though. If you're shaky, your opponent can knock you down, even if they aren't as strong as you. We can strengthen up your arms later. Now what you do is push up with your staff as hard as you can while you push forward on you dominant foot. Doing that will force your opponent to take a step back to avoid getting caught off balance. If they're stronger than you, though, you can try distracting them by kicking at their legs or... waist area."

He raised his staff and rested it on his shoulder. "We can try that out later. For now, let's move on to attacking with a staff. You can hold it like a great sword and go for the head or hands. Or you can hold it like you are now and try to jab the knees or sides. If you want, you can even sharpen the ends of the staff." Svad went over to a tree to demonstrate some of the moves he had just talked about. First, he held the staff like a sword and did an overhead strike on the tree as if he were attacking someone's head. Next, he used the first stance he had shown Cygnus and held the staff lengthwise again. He turned his hips to the right, swinging the staff as he did so, then to the left, repeating the same motion. "Come try now, son."

Cyg smiled as his father noted how he was doing with the staff, and explained how to follow through the block with a counter. Cyg was pretty strong physically in both forms, but weapons were a different beast. The hybrid was determined not to use his powers with this though. He wanted to learn it right. Svad then began to explain some of the offensive ways to use a staff, and noted it could be sharpened. He then demonstrated the techniques, and told his son the try.

“Ok, Pa.” Cyg then took his staff, and struck the tree a few times with the staff. He used both methods, but made sure to keep a firmer, more steady grip this time around.