The first several lessons would be mostly drills. These drills would consist of two things, foot work and shield work. How to get your shield into place while keeping yourself mobile enough to move. This would be for both self-defense as well as watching the back of and the flanks of their compatriots.
As days progress, the lessons would turn to drawing and handling weapons. Being aware of your personal space so that when swung , a weapon doesn’t hit companions or anyone but the intended target. More so, Derik then imparts awareness of how and when you are vulnerable to flanking and ambushes.
The third set of lessons would combine these into formations for both smaller and larger combat units. How to capitalize on varying weapons in the team and combine them, spears, swords, crossbows, for maximum efficiency in close quarters one would likely find in the streets and buildings of a large city.
Lastly, the series of lesson plans would conclude with personal mastery of chosen style. Once the recruits have the basics of how to work together, Derik would show them how to individually pursue and master their particular weapon combination both offensively and defensively. This would also include how to maximize combat effectiveness in the immediate personal space around the individual fighting both a single or multiple opponents.
The elegant sun-elf fencer carrying proudly name Lylan’Synor Syr’Asiryn would then follow with lessons after Derik in the evening of the same days.
Her lessons would focus at first on physical and mental fitness, putting the soldiers through their paces and explaining the chaos of combat as well as how to keep your head steady and on your shoulders, so to say.
As the training goes on, the elven fencer would continue her lessons in the example of the Bladestone Headmaster and her training shifts towards proper movement through and around allied and enemy troops to not disrupt your allies and avoid enemies. Her training is much more centered around proper body work and she would even force the recruits to learn basic rhythm and dance steps explaining and proving later, how much, they can keep one of harm’s way, especially without shield. This whole block of lessons would culminate in proper training of parry and counterstrike moves and stances.
As the whole course for selected regiment nears it’s end and Derik Ranloss focuses on specifics of each weapon groups, Lylan’Synor likewise gives more attention to light weapons and fight without shield. Training them in the style of not brute force but finesse and combat centered around precision and misdirection which allows for creating openings and searching for enemy’s weaknesses.
Finally, Kaylee, the newest addition to Bladestone Foundation’s lecturers would appear on every day in between Derik and Lylan’Synor’s lessons and spend hours repeating, training and imprinting the courses taught by her peers.
She would go through the finer and more complicated material over again to make sure it is properly written in the minds and bodies of the City’s recruits.
Her teaching style would be very similar to Lylan’Synor’s and even through her initial slight nervousness, she would soon find her footing as the first set of courses comes by.
In the background there can often be seen the read headed Administrator lurking between the troops and watching the lessons as Niyressa often accompanies the lecturers, making sure everything goes smoothly and helping when it’s needed. After many of the lessons she would meet with the officers who manage the recruits outside of Bladestone’s care and ask them if there is anything the find lacking in their new recruits.
)) the Bladestone Foundation is nearing completion.
