Chapter #4Brawler by: Unknown The first thing you are taught as you begin learning the most ancient fighting skill known as "Brawling" to outsiders is that the key to everything is balance.
This came as a surprise to you, as you thought all brawling required was strength and bulk. You had seen fights break out at the local tavern before. Invariably, the winners of those brawls were the guys who could deal out the most pain and absorb the most pain. And, in its rawest form, that was what brawling was all about.
But at the Heroes' Academy, the key to brawling was balance.
For example, the Brawler's school only took those trainees who had big frames that could be built on. You were accepted because you were seven foot tall and were already country boy strong. They bulked you up with a lot more muscle, but the way they trained you was to teach you how to make those muscles and your joints work in harmony.
In other words, balance. It did you no good to be that strong if you couldn't focus that strength exactly where you needed it. And your bulk wasn't going to help you if you couldn't move your body so your enemies' blows landed where they did the least damage. Or better yet, didn't land on you at all.
That was why Brawlers wore only the lightest of leather armor. In a fight, they were trained to be very conscious of their bodies. Anything but the lightest of armor threw off their balance.
And balance was the key.
Brawlers at the Heroes' Academy trained with the Welhowdee, an oversized double blade hafted on a stout handle. On graduation, the smiths of the Brawler school would present the brawler with a Welhowdee that was specifically made for them. The Brawler was trained to think of the Welhowdee as an extension of their body. able to strike or block where they want, and seemingly able to change the weapon's direction in midstroke.
It was all about balance.
Brawlers were taught other skills as well. They spent part of their time learning from rogues, learning how to use ropes, hooks and the placement of their feet and hands to scale walls, cliffs and other heights. They spent time with druids, learning what herbs were good for accelerated healing.
And when they were at the tavern, they were told to seek out traveler's from distant and more rural regions, and sample their languages. A brawler probably would be puzzled by someone speaking in High Elven, but probably knew more than a few words of the most obscure barbaric tongue.
In other words, their education was balanced.
And so, with your balanced education completed you, and along with your perfectly balanced Welhowdee, decide to go out into the world to find | Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
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