thenearshore | Those who train

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Those who train

Who: Those who wish to train under the Valkyrie and her Einherjar
When: Ongoing
Where: The Temple of Osiris
What: The Battle-Maiden trains those who seek it. This is an open mingle log, so feel free to make your own top-levels!

The Temple of Osiris was a pyramid, as befitted its heritage, but there the similarities to the tombs of the pharoahs ended. The great doors fitted into its side stood perpetually open, admitting visitors into a great hall within. More like Valhalla than Gizeh, the hall served as an arena in which combatants could spar, or sit to one side and drink while they awaited their turns. Other passages led off to the side into other rooms of the temple, but the Valkyrie herself paid them no mind as she stalked through the hall, minding the battles of her Einherjar and those others who wished to properly fulfill their duties as inhabitants of the Far Shore.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[July 1st, closed to Lenneth]

[Well, the valkyrie had said he was free to come for training today, and Shun has a tendency to interpret "today" as "as soon as possible", so it's not long after their network conversation concludes that he shows up. The pyramid is difficult to miss, and the open doors make it rather hard to think it's any but the one the resident god said would be open to all comers, so as soon as Shun finds it, he strides in with the air of someone who has every right to be here.

After a brief scan of the hall, he calls out to whoever might be in it. Though the words are, technically speaking, a compliment, his tone is a little coarse for it.] At least someone here is as prepared as they said they would be for once.

--

[Open, various]

[Given Shun isn't exactly an expert with swords yet, he's been battling the Einherjar when he gets the chance. He does, at least, have more general combat experience than they seem to, and it serves him in being able to end some of the fights quickly. Others take longer, often because he's still working on or figuring out a certain quirk of the sword and needs to take less efficient measures than he'd like to in order to avoid attacks or counter something.

One thing he still isn't doing much of, though, is losing. No matter how long the fights go, all it seems to do is drive Shun further and energise him more, until his opponent's sword is snatched from their hands by a calculated strike and Shun has his own at their chest. He gives it a beat long enough to indicate he could be running them through if he really wanted to before bringing the sword to rest and turning away slightly, still keeping his eye on everything in the surrounding hall.]

Who else? [He's not done here yet.]

I can take no credit for it. It appeared this way. [Lenneth strides out of a side room with a slight frown on her face, looking for all the world as if she had existed in her armor since the last time their paths crossed. Which she had.] In fact it is slightly inconvenient, being unprepared to host a shinki. For the most part, however, I cannot complain.

[Shun had his suspicions the one who'd made the call was the same woman he'd fought with in that pyramid, but it was nice to have the confirmation. Then again, he wouldn't have come to her temple off-hand if he hadn't been at least reasonably sure, and he has his eye on her as she comes in nonetheless.]

I've seen stranger temples, but it definitely doesn't seem like they think all of them through. If it's useful, then that's more than others can say. But I hardly came here to discuss the temple.

You came to train.

[Literally there is no other reason. No one has visited the Valkyrie for a social call, and honestly, why would they?]

Obviously. [Shun considers the matter as one-note as her - he's not the type to visit people without a good reason.] Like I discussed with you earlier, I've been familiarising myself with the basics of swordfighting, but having no real opponent to spar with is making what training I can do nearly pointless.

Then we must first make sure you have proper equipment.

[Literally no one has proper equipment she has not made herself, so she takes it as granted that he does not.]

Then my first question is how familiar you are with styles of sword that aren't Norse.

[Though Shun had almost no contact with or memory of mythology before coming here, he's been reading quite a lot in between everything else he does, and at least knows enough to know where the concept of a "valkyrie" comes from. Since she'd dubbed herself as such in the training offer, it's obvious she's still focused on that role.]

While that is the name of the pantheon here that shares many names and similarities with the gods of Asgard I know, the term 'Norse' has no other meaning to me besides that. Your question is difficult to answer.

But I am a goddess of battle and one who trains. Few things are beyond my reach.

[Interesting. Shun raises a brow slightly, but he can figure even without asking that she probably means her world is radically different from this one, and it's not really relevant right now, so he moves on.]

I've been training with a basic wooden katana, but I was planning to move to something shorter, because I want something I can carry without it being obvious. I've been keeping to Japanese sword styles in my research, though, so I'd be asking for something in those terms. If you're not familiar with them, it's going to be hard for me to describe to you in detail.

A katana? That is one of the traditional weapons of Wakoku.

[The parallel exists, as do so many others. Lenneth is constantly surprised by how this world appears to be like her Midgard in some ways...]

That style also uses a shorter blade as well.

[Well, the name of the place it originated is different, but her being familiar with katanas is something. From what Shun knows of short katanas, though, that wouldn't quite be right, and he shakes his head.]

A short katana is still too long, unless you mean a shorter blade like a companion blade, which would be more the length I'm interested in. The kind of sword I was looking at switching to is called a wakizashi, and length on them varies. I probably wouldn't want a blade longer than fifteen inches.

[So basically on that bridge between really long dagger and really short sword.]

Yes, that is what I referred to. I did not know if the term would also be identical to both the cultures we know.

[The Valkyrie holds out a hand, and with only the briefest moment of concentration, condenses a portion of the energy within her into a materialized form. The resulting wakazashi is fifteen inches of blade, the upper limit of his request, and it shines with the same ether coating that all the Valkyrie's weapons bear.]

This should meet your requirements.

It sounds like your world has at least some terms in common with this one, even if the places are different.

[That makes things easier on him here, though, so Shun's certainly not complaining. Especially given the near-immediate results his description provide, and he looks over the weapon with a flicker of interest before reaching out a hand to take it.]

That's a far more useful power than a lot of what I've seen here.

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July 1st [Lenneth]

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