D' Aire, was it? Artanthos nodded, recognizing her as an equal, and prepared to commence.
As the woman approached and readied herself, so too did Artanthos. Plates clanked as his frame shifted; his own left mirrored his opponents, becoming the lead as his right moved off to the side, its foot angled out comfortably around 70 degrees. He bent his knees around 6 inches, his weight resting upon his toes, and made a quick, shifting adjustment to his right, offsetting his relative position to his foe by a few inches. No need to be in a straight line with them when they could come at you from any angle, after all.
Being no stranger to staffs, polearms and spears, the Hellknight adopted what he felt would be a suitable opening - a *Vom Tag* guard. He raised his two-handed sword up at an angle above his right side and shoulder, true edge facing outward, with his right hand clutching the hilt before the crossguard, and his left hand bringing up the rear at the pommel. Poised as it was, the weapon’s length made it appear as though he were carrying it in a parade formation.
Just as Artanthos finished, his foe had managed to settle into her own state of readiness. The phalanges of his gauntlets visibly tightened against the hilt of the montante, and for a moment, it would feel as though the intensity of his helmed gaze had become a palpable, tangible thing, almost overwhelming in its weight.
Unchecked Twitch Wrote:
> Ten feet, and nothing to do but close that gap. After giving him the courtesy of readying himself, she took the liberty of the first attack with a short hop and a couple of jabbing pokes to the chest
And thus, they began.
As D' Aire began to put her first staff thrust into motion, Artanthos began his near-immediate, explosive response. His right foot shot out and to his right, the beginning of an offline step - as this occurred, he swept Revanchist down in a counter-clockwise motion, right wrist crossing over left in a vicious snap. While the montante shrieked through the air, the woman’s staff glanced off the Hellknight’s cuirass, angled as he was now in relation to his foe. Before the staff could effectively retract - whether to strike once more or to withdraw in full - the massive blade struck down upon its length.
SHH-CRAK!
The sheer momentum and mass behind Revanchist’s strike was immense. Artanthos had delivered what was called a Meisterhau - one of the Mastercuts. The Krumphau, or Crooked Cut, was excellent at displacing enemy weapons, forcing openings in their owner’s defenses. The blow could easily force a disarm; at the least, it’d cause a lesser weapon to smack into the earth with reverberating force.
It did not stop there, though.
Continuing with the motion, Artanthos rotated his sword around, the blade whistling through the air to descend towards D' Aire's left shoulder and upper arm; at the same time, his left leg now shifted to the right to settle in at his rear. The motion was completely fluid, utilizing the momentum of the initial parry and the displacement of the opposing weapon - parrying and striking within a single tempo. Such was the nature of the Meisterhau.
If Artanthos’ opponent desired to glean more about the darkly-clad individual before her, then she would be hard pressed to get a better understanding than she would have at that very moment.
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Revanchist Wrote:
> Revanchist: Forged as a vessel to contain the raging spirit of Epimoveus the Mad, Revanchist eventually found its way into Artanthos' hands. He was forced into a mental duel with the revenant, and only just barely managed to overcome its willpower and avoid possession. With that, he became the master of the weapon. As a two-handed sword, Revanchist is an exceptionally deadly and versatile weapon. Despite the sword coming up to Artanthos’ ear when poised next to him, he is able to wield it with utter precision and ferocity, only slightly slower than a longsword. With the montante’s length and weight, combined with a proper swordsmanship style, it is more than capable of battering aside or even smashing through the guards of lesser weapons while at full tilt. Heavy strikes with the weapon can dent plate armour and warp maille (especially with repeated strikes to the same area), and the blunt force trauma delivered by such blows can damage a foe as significantly as a pollaxe strike. When the hilt and crossbar are employed in a mordhau strike, Revanchist’s blows are as effective as any warhammer, capable of denting and crumpling armour, and pulping the meat below. Finally, when half-swording the weapon, Artanthos can wield it like a spear, making it easier for Revanchist to be used up close, as well as target weaker joints and sections in an opponent’s defenses.
Einderen School of Swordsmanship Wrote:
> Einderen School of Swordsmanship: Throughout the third century, the city-state of Einde had made itself notable for producing a class of professional soldier that set itself apart from other men-at-arms. During the Annexation of Menargion in 323, the two-handed sword-wielding Einderen mercenaries served as the elite shock troops, their prowess proving to be legendary through the course of the conflict. Their weapons - dubbed montante - were capable of lopping the heads off of pikes, or the legs of a charging cavalry horse; for their efforts, they were paid twice the going rate of other experienced mercenaries, and were highly sought after by all factions of the war. > > > > When the war finally came to an end, the Einderen mercenaries were quick to adapt to a more privatized existence. The mercenaries began to serve as the formal bodyguards of the nobility, adapting their two-handed sword fighting style for their new line of work. The weapon proved just as adept at winning duels of honor, or fighting back multiple assassins, as it had been on the field of battle. In 341, Sebastian Monsalve - a noted master of the montante - opened a formal school of swordsmanship in Einde; by combining his experiences on the battlefield and as a champion duelist, he forged a style of swordsmanship that has been renowned for its lethality and power over the generations since its advent. > > > > Early on in his training as a squire, Artanthos’ teachers noted his proficiency with the two-handed sword. He was introduced to the Einderen style, and he caught onto it right away. Twenty years later, Artanthos is now a master of the style, capable of delivering a hellish flurry of molinelli capable of overwhelming almost any foe, and is equally skilled at utilizing the montante’s superior leverage to execute vicious counters in the blink of an eye. Moreover, by getting in a bind with an opponent, Artanthos can effectively read them almost as if they were an open book, giving him insight on how might best to defeat his foe. (Note: This style is a hybridization of the real Iberian, Bolognese, and Liechtenauer/Meyer Schools of Swordsmanship.)
Illtherian Knight Armour Training Wrote:
> Illtherian Knight Armour Training: To the uninitiated, a knight clad in full plate often appears unwieldy, even cumbersome - some suggesting that if they were to fall from their horse, they’d require their squire to ever hope of righting themselves again before the battle ended. Of course, this is a significant misconception. Properly fitted, and trained in it daily, knights are capable of acting almost unhindered by their armour. Even past his days as a knight-commander, Artanthos is more at home in his plate than without it, his movements fluid and natural, despite the imposing, midnight blue armour he wears constantly. In addition, Artanthos' training while helmed, coupled with an overall sense of awareness that borders on the perternatural, allows him to wear his helmet as though it weren't there. He can still be sneaked attacked, but only as readily as he could be without the helmet.
Peak Human Wrote:
> Peak Human: The crucibles that have defined Artanthos’ existence may have left their mark upon him visibly, but more profound are how his limits were changed. At 31, the hellknight has become a paragon amongst men.
