"It has had a number of names by now, some more elaborate than others." Reinald explained as he led Audrey to the courtyard. Passing through a vine-choked wicker arch, a nearby song-bird announced its marital status to all those with working ears. "It is far from a unique idea, for the weak are always more numerous than the strong. Thus, over millennia of warfare and clashing ambitions, a common style of dealing with throngs of lesser men."
Having arrived in a sufficiently clear space, Reinald settles into a loose stance. His hand rests upon his sword's pommel, the blade kept hidden from the noon sun. "An art that allows lone Knights to weather the foe-tide, to spare his guard the wave-breaking tax. Observe."
Like a string dangling in the wind, iron slid from its scabbard. Slowly, of course, so that Audrey could see each individual muscle fibre twitch in its proper use. Clearing leather, the sword glimmers in the noon-day sun.
"A single man-at-arms is no threat to a Knight in their Plate, why would they be? But even footmen can have a trace of Grace, and if overseen by a Priest, every one of them is a potential threat, a vector for them to channel the strength of the community through. Yet you don't dare spend Fervour faster than you can replenish. The key then is flexibility, large, sweeping blows." He demonstrates appropriately, and Audrey's keen eyes witness the arc of his pitted-metal blade as it sweeps through the void.
"But that isn't enough, you must have force behind your attacks as well, or else a single empowered armsman can halt the flow of your advance–before the Emperor codified the techniques, we did not have Knightly Armour, and so each school had a different means of solving this. Some thought to strike with such force, and recycle the energy of their blows through pivots and forward motion. Powerful, but of limited use when outnumbered by only a small number of foes who could stay out of your reach until you exhausted your strength. Others thought to sharpen their gaze, to hone their Focus to a razor's edge, to adjust their strength dynamically, but that led to growing over-focused, and losing track of the battle beyond what stands before their eyes."
He paused for a moment, allowing Audrey's red-slashed gaze dissect his posture. "The secret that the Emperor struck upon came along with the development of Knightly Armour in the first place. While it cannot completely turn aside a blow backed by Fervour or some other form of magic, relatively few adversaries can apply such arts reactively to incoming strikes. Thus, this style relies heavily upon movement, specifically…"
His pace stepped up a few notches, as Reinald finally began integrating the Footwork, and the truth behind this Style became clear to her quickly. His actions seemed reckless at first, shoulder-checks, swift pivots, and rapid lunges, and yet… With the explanation he had given her, the secret was obvious.
"Because you can't be hurt in your Plate by anything but an attack with genuine Weight behind it." Audrey's eyes widened as the pieces fit together. "That isn't just a defence, is it?"
"And there is the trick to it!" Reinald grinned wolfishly. "You're correct! This Martial Style is designed to ensure that one can efficiently cut down the foes that surround them, and avoid being bogged down by using the self, clad on holy iron, as a battering ram, scattering formations and ensuring that clever foes can't strike you at once to divide your focus. No ordinary foe can stop a Knight who seeks to advance through them, as long as you trust your Plate and remain light on your feet, even a battle against a hundred men can be resolved as a hundred battles against a single man each."
With a final blow to split the sky, Reinald relaxes, returning his sword to its scabbard.
"It had many names, but the one most commonly accepted today is Hordebreaker, I will spend the next few months passing the core teachings to you. There will be no further adventures for the remainder of the year, you have little more to learn at present from further battles, and what you require most right now is tempering the experience you've gained with practical skills and understanding. Once the year is over, I will not have the same amount of time to instruct you personally as I have so far, but you will be expected to continue furthering your skills in whatever means you see fit, and keep yourself ready should I call upon you for a task."
"Hmph, of course!" Audrey perked up at that, breaking out of her fugue. "All you need to do is call, and I'll be right at your side!" Not getting a chance to further prove herself wasn't great, but it wasn't like she'd be standing still either, the previous battles had shown her where she has plenty of room to be greater still.
"Good answer, though it'll be some time before we're back on the field of war. I'll see about securing you a bird in the next year at least." Reinald adds. "A horse… That will depend on you."
Audrey tilted her head. "How so? You told me the price, and it's… Truly daunting, I will admit, even if we fought a dozen bandit camps like that last one, I'm not certain the unclaimed spoils would cover that."
"Of course not, and you're still a ways off from being part of a great battle that would earn you those rewards in itself, but you have an opportunity coming in the next few years, the Wessex Adolescent Championship will be overseen by the King himself, to identify the most promising youths for further investment." He grinned, presumably seeing the shine in Audrey's eyes. "I rather expect you'll make quite the splash there if you train diligently enough."
"I'll make sure to win!" Audrey grins. "How difficult could it be? How many among them have been tempered like myself?"
"More than you'd think." Reinald warned. "This is a contest by invitation only, with only a bare handful of openings for Errants and other wandering adventurers, I have enough sway that I can secure you a position if I feel you'll place well, but this will very much be the best of the best of your generation competing here, from across the Kingdom. Train hard."
Then he went for her hair! The ruffian! The louse! He ruffled it! She worked hard on keeping it neat even if she couldn't curl it like she liked to when she was a little younger! The warmth filling her was clearly the quantity of Zeal he fed into the gesture, and not her cheeks! She was the very image of stoicism in the face of a hefty reward.
"Train hard…?" Did she hear him correctly? Did he really just imply that she wouldn't have trained hard? "Of course I will! What kind of layabout do you take me for?!"
Reinald's laugh pulls the rug from underneath Audrey's nascent anger, leaving her stewing in her training efforts.
0~0~0
Audrey receives 72 Zeal from Reinald and now has a fairly intense 2 months of training with him, learning Hordebreaker, the basics of how to use a francisca, and a few other things. Make a plan for what else she does during her time (options already featuring an X are pre-chosen):
[ ] Example Plan
-[X] [Bonus Focus Action] Acquire a bird companion.
-[ ] [Focus Action] Insert Action Choice Here
-[ ] [Secondary Action] Insert Action Choice Here
-[ ] [Chancellery] Pick either Red-Black Lightning or Slowing Down for the Commons
-[ ] Training and Zeal (21 Training, 92 Zeal)
–[X] Spend 9 Training on mandated curriculum from Reinald (Hordebreaker 2 and two Rough Rotes)
–[ ] Spend 12 Training on whatever else you desire (6 at most may be spent on Feats and Shapes)
–[ ] Spend X Zeal on ???
