When Ophilia asks Olberic to teach her some self-defence techniques, he finds out quite quickly she'd far more capable than she appears.


War Cleric

The skies above them were clear, not a single fluffy cloud in sight, and the air was fresh, crisp even as the gentle winds blew over the Riverland plains. The continent itself seemed almost silent, as though all the beasts and monsters that had walked the world were now hibernating, fast asleep and unwilling to disturb the cleric and knight setting up for a training session.

Olberic had offered to join Ophilia on her Kindling quite readily, knowing it would take her to all corners of the world and hoping he might hear tale of Erhardt's location in at least one cathedral they passed through. Ophilia had happily accepted his help, knowing very well that her journey might be fraught with peril and that the aid of a seasoned, impressively imposing knight would serve her well. They both knew their place in their partnered travels, Ophilia was there to heal, to guide; Olberic was there to fight, to protect.

However, the pair had been travelling together long enough now that Ophilia was starting to get curious about the ways of the warrior. With Olberic by her side, it was most certainly true that she didn't need to know how to fight, how to defend herself, but after this journey was over, once they went their separate ways, who was to say what would happen then? Ophilia wanted to be prepared, to be able to handle herself.

So that morning she'd asked Olberic to teach her the basics, some simple self defence techniques that would work both against monsters and men should it ever come to such a battle.

Looking upon the weapons gathered on the blanket on the river bank that morning, Ophilia wasn't entirely certain what she'd signed herself up for… Surely Olberic didn't expect her to be able to wield a two handed broadsword as he did, did he?

"Are you ready?" Olberic asked, rolling up his sleeves in anticipation, inadvertently showing Ophilia the many, many scars that criss-crossed up and down his arms.

Ophilia nodded, balling her hands into eager fists. "Where should we start?"

"Hand-to-hand combat." Olberic raised his own fists and spread his feet wide, a comfortable fighting stance. "We cannot guarantee that you will have a weapon, as such, learning to fight with your fists is the first port of call when it comes to defending yourself. We'll start with simple stances."

For far longer than an hour, Ophilia found herself mimicking Olberic's powerful, wide-set stances in her cleric garb, mentally making notes of alternations she should to her skirt to make such stances easier. With discussions of how to make oneself as safe as possible in dangerous situations being the order of the hour, Ophilia found herself learning a lot and yet not once punching her fist nor kicking her feet. She couldn't exactly hide her disappointment, she was hardly a violent person, but surely there was only so much one could learn through stances alone?

Finally, while squatting in a rather uncomfortable position, Ophilia asked, "Olberic, how would one attack in this stance?"

Already in a matching stance of his own, Olberic quickly thrust his fist out in front of him in an impossibly fast punch that, were there an assailant in front of them, would have hit rather square in the groin.

Ophilia gasped, raising to her full height as her hand flew to her mouth, recognising how painful such a punch would be. "Surely it's not proper to attack such a place!"

"Ophilia," Olberic also rose from his squat, "If one finds oneself in a position where they are back into a corner with no chance of escape, one must attack at the weakest point by any means necessary. Even if that means attacking a supposedly indecent, 'off-limits' area."

"I… I suppose you are correct." Ophilia shook her head, rubbing her sore thighs as she chuckled. "I guess I always thought self-defence was all about hitting people in the face."

"Punch me in the face."

"What?!" Ophilia gasped in surprise, watching as Olberic employed his preferred attacking stance once more. "Olberic, I cannnot-"

"Come at me, Ophilia," he grinned, beckoning her close with his fingers. "Show me what you have learnt!"

"O-Okay." Ophilia adopted the attacking position that felt most comfortable to her – not that she'd been taught how to punch in such a stance – and came at Olberic with her fists raised.

She managed to take one swing at Olberic's face before he grabbed her arm, spun her so her back was to him and pinned her attacking arm behind him, her other against her stomach as he held her close and immobilised.

"Can you attack me now?" Olberic teased as she struggled.

However, there was one area of self-defence that Olberic had neglected to teach her, techniques that he had not taught because he had never had the ability to use them himself. And he had said that one should be prepared to use any means to escape from a dangerous situation…

With her wrist held tight behind her, Ophilia created a ball of pure light magic within her fist and launched it behind her, hitting Olberic rather squarely in a delicate area. Immediately doubling over and wincing, Olberic's grip loosened on both her wrists enough that she could wriggle them free, turn around and kick out towards his stomach, knocking him back before she launched her fist finally into his face as she'd hoped to learn from this training. Watching as he fell into a curled fetal position on the floor, Ophilia let out a little yelp of celebration.

That was before she realised that she'd just terribly hurt her friend and travelling companion.

"Oh by the Flame!" Ophilia swore as she realised, rushing to Olberic's side as he groaned with her hand raised, this time with healing magic glowing within. "Olberic, I am so sorry! Where does it hurt?!"

"Everywhere." He groaned, his arms tightly wrapped around his stomach. "Particularly the groin."

"Right!" Ophilia wove an intricate healing web to cover his whole body, focusing particularly around his low abdomen. "I'm so sorry!"

A few moments later, Olberic was able to straighten out and breath in regular, non-groans once again. Lying on his back, he looked up at Ophilia in clear confusion. "Where in Orsterra did you learn such techniques?"

"I-I didn't." Ophilia stammered, shaking her head as she released the last of her healing magic and came to sit besides him. "I just, from what you taught me, I just… Instinct took over and I just fought back."

"So you did." Olberic chuckled, clicking his jaw as he rubbed the tender spot that Ophilia had punched. "And here you were thinking I needed to teach you!"

"You, you don't?"

"Nay," Olberic shook his head as he sat up, groaning slightly. "Fight like that and I dare say you have nothing you need to worry about."

Ophilia breathed and audible sigh of relief before chuckling. "I suppose there's a reason I always thought attacking such areas was off-limits."

"Indeed." Olberic winced once again. "Please do not do so to me again."

"Oh, of course not, Olberic! I have no reason to attack you!"

"Good." Olberic shook his head. "It has been many years since I last came across such a capable war cleric."

"War cleric?" Ophilia shook her head. "Olberic, in exchange for me never attacking you again, I ask that you never call me such a thing again. I am merely a cleric."

"One who is rather more than capable at defending herself at that." Olberic ruffled her hair familiarly. "The faithful have nothing to fear with one as capable as you carrying out the Kindling."

While most of the Riverlands were still silent, save only the rushing of water and the occasional chirping of snoring Froggens, a knight and cleric were chuckling quietly together as they shared stories, and vowed never to get on one another's bad side.