Thorn was happy with the second sword he made but, as he thought of showing it off to dad it was all the flaws he saw when looking at it.  He hadn’t figured out how to make it as sturdy without better tools than what he’d had available.  Fern had helped him make a hole in the stick where he’d requested it, so that helped a bit.  Ironically Thorn wanted a knife or dagger to make a wooden sword to prove he could use a real weapon.  Maybe he should of used more vine or maybe some type of sticky substance to connect his ‘crossguard’ to his ‘blade’.  Oh well.  He could always make a third but today he wanted to show off what he had managed.

Making his way into the dojo he placed his sword down in front of him.  One larger fatter stick, with a thinner shorter one that slid through a hole in the first stick.  Vines were looped around the two sticks to try and keep the crossguard in place.  He had used a stone to shed some of the bark along the edges, aiming to actually make it thinner like a real sword.  It wasn’t perfect of course, stone and wood left jagged or splintered edges at points, but still, it was progress.

Thorn tried for his most formal howl calling his father to the dojo  This was an important talk after all!  Thorn wanted to learn how to use a real sword and maybe dad would give him a real sword, or at least a real wooden sword that was smaller than the ones meant for adult wolves.

"Thorn Carpathius"

Artorias heard the call from his eldest son coming from somewhere off inside their castle home, but surprisingly it was coming from the eastern wing of the castle. The father scoured his memory banks to think of a reason any of his children might be over in that part of the castle, but other than the infirmary he couldn't recall anything over there for them. Fearing that Thorn might have been injured, Artorias hurried across the castle and down the stairs to the eastern wing, rounding the corner of the corridor and pushing his way into the infirmary. He was greeted with silence and emptiness. Not even Gwynevere was in here. Brows furrowing in confusion, Art wandered back out into the hall, wondering where his son's call had come from then. He eventually spotted the little sapphire blue pup down at the other end of the hall outside his dojo. A peculiar place for Thorn to be, especially since the pups were only allowed in the dojo to spar under the supervision of an adult.

Cocking his head in curiosity, the Aegis made his way more calmly down to join his son at the dojo doors. "What's going on, Thorn? Whatcha got there, pal?" he asked when he drew near, curious amber eyes moving from his son to the crude makeshift stick-sword at the boy's paws, awaiting Thorn's explanation for his summons. Artorias was never too busy for any of his children, but it did strike up his intrigue and slight suspicion whenever he found one of them lurking around places like the dojo or armory, especially when it was either Thorn or Dusk.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"

Thorn considered his stick sword as he waited for his dad, imagining what he might do to make it better.  The real wooden practice swords were wooden but not made of sticks.  Even if dad wouldn’t let him have a real sword then maybe he’d let him use a wood one in the shop or even just help him get wood to try and make a stronger one like them?  

“Dad!” The boy answered happily when Art showed up, his gaze then following his dad’s to his current sword.  “I made it, well, Aunt Fern helped me with putting the hole in the stick but, it was my idea.” Thorn used his paw, rolling the sword over to show how it looked on both sides. “It’s not as good as one of the real practice swords but it's better than my first attempt and I thought maybe enough for a lesson on using a sword?  Between the vines and the crossguard going through the first stick it stays relatively stable.”

Thorn picked up the little stick with what was meant to be the handle, swishing it through the air before lowering it back to the ground. “See? Stayed in place so,” glancing from stick to dad, “Can I have sword lessons with this until I can practice with one of the bigger practice swords?”  He knew there was no way to have a real spar with this versus a normal practice blade but he was determined to start learning as soon as possible!  

"Thorn Carpathius"

Artorias raised a curious brow while he listened to Thorn's eager explanation of the stick sword he and Fern had made together. It didn't come as any surprise to the swordsman that his children showed an enthusiasm for weapons and armed combat when they had their father to act as a paragon for the art. "Oh did she now?" Artorias remarked with a chuckle under his breath, allowing Thorn to explain how his aunt had made it for him to practice with until he was old enough to use one of the real practice swords. Watching his eldest son's demonstration with the "sword", Art chuckled again and couldn't resist the affectionate smile tugging at his lips. Seeing Thorn swing the stick wildly around reminded him of himself at the boy's age. How many sticks had he broken over Rudy's head during their spars as pups at the Sunset Falls?

When Thorn ended his demonstration and asked if he could have lessons with this until he was old enough to use a proper training sword, Artorias pursed his lips as he contemplated his son's offer. Looking from the azure pup down to the stick sword, the dire wolf tapped his chin with a paw. "Let me have a look at that." The sire reached down and picked up the "sword" in his jaws, then opened the dojo doors to allow both wolves to enter. He led Thorn inside, carrying his son's practice weapon until they were both in the center of the dojo's padded arena. Artorias tested the light weight of the sticks, then began a graceful display of swinging the "sword" back and forth through the air a couple of times. As he tested the sword, he decided to put in a little bit of flair for his son's amusement, tossing the stick up in the air during an uppercut before swiftly sliding his paws across the floor to about face and catch the stick as it fell towards him and giving a few more swings.

Satisfied with himself, Artorias dropped the stick sword into one of his open paws and tested its weight and balance with his paw. "This is very nicely made, Thorn," he commented, then added with a bit of a laugh, "Far nicer than the sticks I used to carry at your age!" Smiling to his son, Art set the stick down at Thorn's paws and nodded. "Until you're old enough to handle a proper training sword, you can use this to begin practicing moving around with a weapon in your mouth. This will get you used to navigating and moving while having your weapon move as a part of you." While a stick would only go so far to replicate the experience of carrying a real weapon, there was no harm in getting his children started in their training early. If they were as passionate about learning the way of the blade as they appeared to be, Artorias would be all too glad to teach them.

"Artorias Carpathius" | "Carpathian" | "Corbin" | "Eira" | "Argent"