El Viatre: a lightning fast style of sword fighting that emphasizes speed and precision as a means of attack and defense. It is a combat style of cunning above all else, and those who practice it tend to have a self-assurance of their skill that can border on arrogance. For the most part, the technique is designed to fight one on one with an opponent.
Further Reading:
Primer to Combat
Description
El Viatre is a combat style concerned primarily with light swords, but also integrates the use of an off-hand weapon, feats of agility and occasional outbursts of flamboyance. Generally, it is fighting smarter rather than fighting stronger, utilizing misdirection and guile to circumvent an opponent’s defenses and then deliver a precise and deliberate final strike. It relies almost exclusively on stabbing and piercing weapons; while several weapons covered by the skill are edged, light swords are not capable of hacking off limbs or slicing through thick hide or leather armor as a long sword would.
History
El Viatre first emerged from the Eunesian Federation around era 10159, seventy five eras or so before the Aetherfracture, growing out of a number of nautical and ‘ocean going’ fighting styles. Given the heavy dependence on ocean travel to the region, it is not surprising that a fighting technique that emphasized skill and agility as a means of defense rather than heavy armor would arise. Anecdotal evidence of encounters between these marines and land based forces sporting heavier armors such as linked mail and full plate armors quickly saw a preference for narrow, piercing weapons to maximize the marine’s ability to overcome an armored opponent while still keeping the weapon lightweight, thus maintaining a consistent speed advantage over heavier armed and armored opponents.
El Viatre has been gradually spreading south since then, finding favor with nobles for whom the finesse and grace of the skill is an appeal, as well as the fact that they need not wear unsightly suits of armor plating and can in fact, wear the most flamboyant of garments with practical purpose.
Style
Those skilled in El Viatre often sport a flamboyant wardrobe and a repertoire of witty jibes; many mistake this for bluff and bluster, however, it is seldom the case, as the more skilled the El Viatre practitioner, then the more effort they tend to put into looking like they are nothing but a clownish fop.
Practitioners will make heavy use of taunts and witticism to draw and bait an opponent; in this manner, they will seek to lead the battle where they want it to go, getting an opponent to chase them to locations they know to be able to use to their advantage.
For a practitioner of El Viatre, displaying their skill is just as important as a victory, and defeat of an opponent is considered much more noteworthy if it is accomplished without death or bloodshed. Above all, El Viatre practitioners see sword fighting as a performance of sorts, and always seek to further their reputation.
A final point of note is the fancy head-wear of the El Viatre practitioner. This item, for reasons unknown, is practically a sacred object to one versed in El Viatre. The surest way to insult an El Viatre master is knock their headpiece from their head, or worse, take it and wear it yourself without permission.
Other popular fashion items for El Viatre duelists are main gloves to catch opponents' weapons and a cloak, which serves both to distract the opponent and to entangle his weapon.
Weapons
Swords common to El Viatre practitioners include lightswords, smallswords, epées, rapiers, espada roperas and estocs.
They will often wield a second smaller side arm, such as the stiletto, parrying dagger, swordbreaker or even throwing knives.
Stance Examples
El Viatre is a relatively free-form fighting style, with a number of core stances and moves that individual practitioners customize to their own preferences and physical abilities.
There is one primary division within the art, that is main-gauche closed and main-gauche open.
To fight with a closed main-gauche is to utilize a weapon in that hand, usable offensively, defensively or both. Main-gauche open on the other hand, is to fight without a weapon in the main-gauche, leaving it free to grasp a cloak, throw objects for the purpose of distraction, swing from things and make rude gestures at the opponent as needed.
There is of course, nothing to stop a practitioner switching between the core estilo as they see fit.
Lado Favorecido Forward: The most basic posture. The weapon is held extended directly towards the opponent with the wrist rotated so the thumb is on the downward side of the hand. From this position the practitioner can quickly twist, lift and dip the blade to intercept a thrusting or slashing strike coming from the fore. The Lado Favorecido leg is kept bent with the ball of the heel off the ground. The foot of the back leg is turned at right angles to the foot of the Lado Favorecido. Body weight is held on center, allowing for both a quick forward Estocada, or a speedy parry and back step by straightening the favored leg. With this Método, the Main-gauche is generally held low and close to the body.
Weapon High: An unusual looking posture, similar to the forward pose. The Lado Favorecido is held high above the head, with the blade angled downward towards the opponent. The main-gauche is held low and inverted to protect against sweeping attacks from a low angle. This posture is generally used as it is easier to drop the Lado Favorecido to deal with an attack coming up than it is to raise it to defend against an attack coming down.
Main-Gauche Forward: The body is positioned into a forward leaning crouch, with the main-gauche arm held crooked ahead of the Lado Favorecido. Typically, this método is used when holding a cape or cloak over the Main-gauche arm to obscure the position of the Lado Favorecido weapon. This combination makes a parry with the Lado Favorecido more difficult, but in turn, leaves an opponent guessing as to the direction of the next attack until the last moment, making a parry on their part harder as well. Defense from this posture is best accomplished with footwork to avoid the opponent’s attacks.
Weapon Across the Body: In this stance, the Lado Favorecido blade is held horizontally across the body with the thumb facing back towards the wielder; from this position it can only be used defensively, so the Main-gauche is held blade forward, ready to thrust at the opponent. This posture is often used as a prelude to a feint, as the Main-gauche weapon can be quickly repositioned to parry an opponent’s attack down and under the Lado Favorecido arm and the Lado Favorecido weapon quickly rotated tip forward and thrust into the opponent with a forward leaning strike that positions the opponent’s blade under the armpit. Due to the sudden and close proximity this attack places one with the opponent, it is not recommended for use against an opponent with a closed main-gauche.
Credit
Credit goes to Jade Ashald for the original El Viatre write-up.
