[ The following text is in the "iso-8859-1" character set. ]

    [ Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set.  ]

    [ Some characters may be displayed incorrectly. ]

> >>>> (Day ten, daybreak)
>
> >>>> Her explanation went on, punctuated by the
> occasional puffing of breath and laughter as one or the
> other of them won one of the slow motion practice moves.
> Neither one noticed the eyes watching from a sunlit
> ridge as they worked.
>
> >>> Sarilyn had been totally unable to relax, rest, or
> much else since all of the strange and frightening
> things had began happening at the warren.
>  So, after making certain Lunath was comfortable, she
> decided to just be alone for a bit.  She never thought
> that it might be dangerous, she just needed to think.
>
> >>> Heading for a seldom used slightly rough path she'd
> discovered shortly after arriving at Xylian, she'd
> climbed to sit on a ledge, and just stare off into the
> sky.  Only this morning, she found her attention caught
> by activity on the ground, and leaned forward slightly
> to see what was going on.
>
> >>> A couple of people, neither of whom she recognized,
> were doing something strange.  Fluid motion led to the
>  man being sent to the ground, more than once from the
> looks of it, and she bit back a chuckle.  If it was
> fighting, she found it interesting.  If it was some sort
> of new dance, she didn't want to get close.
>  Whatever it was, she was curious.
>
> >>> She watched until they were done, and had moved off,
> then she made her way down, to the bowl.  She'd seen at
> least one, the woman, head for the infirmary, and
> decided to see if maybe she could at least ask what it
>  was that she and that man had been doing.
>
> >>> Entering the infirmary, she looked around, not
> having a clue as to where the woman had gone.  She
> stopped one of the healers and asked about the woman,
> giving a fair description.  And she was rewarded with
> the directions to the room she occupied.
>
> >>> Softly knocking, she didn't hear anything.  Knocking
> a bit harder, she was rewarded with what she *thought*
> was a 'come in', and slowly opened the door...stopping
> short at seeing two occupents..the woman and a man,
> looking like he'd been through every bad thing
> imaginable and lived through it.
>
> >> Arri smiled politely at the stranger coming in. She
>  didn't hear the welcome the first time. Definitely not
>  medical center staff, the healer mused. She had that
>  horribly uncomfortable look all visitors to the center
>  developed. When she laid eyes on Rod'r'k, the discomfort
>  multiplied tenfold.
>
> >>> Blushing, and backing up towards the door, Sarilyn
>  spoke softly, not wanting to disturb either of
>  them.  "I'm sorry...I..well, I saw you outside, doing
>  some sort of dance or something.  It was so graceful,
>  and I just wanted to know what it was?  I can, umm, I
>  can come back later if you like.. I didn't mean to
>  disturb you or your husband."
>
> >> Arri was speechless for a moment. Thankfully Rod'r'k
>  wasn't quite awake, so she could keep him quiet.
>
> >>> Reaching for the knob, she sighed, forgetting her
>  manners completely. Turning back, she grinned
>  sheepishly.  "I'm Sarilyn, by the way.  I'm Lunath's
>  rider.  Hi."
>
> >> Finally Arri sputtered a laugh. "Husband? HUSBAND? Oh
> my goodness no, lassie. I think you misunderstand."
>
> >> Grinning like a fool, Arri tiptoed past Rod'r'k and
>  joined Sarilyn at the door. "Please, my name is Arillia.
>  And he's about as much my husband as I'm a dragon. He's
>  not well and I'm watching him over for a while."
>
> >> Sarilyn looked even more embarrassed. "I'm sorry, I
> just assumed..." There was a moment of uncomfortable
> trailing off until Arri winked at her.
>
> >> "Why don't we go for a walk and I can explain what you
>  saw this morning? He needs the rest anyway."
>
> >> Nodding with relief, Sarilyn opened the door and led
>  Arri out through the hallways to the bowl. For a moment
>  there, she thought she'd interrupted something very
>  personal. Talk about bad timing.
>
> >> Standing together in the sunshine, Arri savoured the
>  light for a moment or two, until her eyes lit on the
>  decimated coal cave and she shook her head to herself.
>
> >> "I take it you saw K'chain and myself practising this
>  morning on the green," she began slowly, returning her
>  attention to the rider standing beside her.
>
> >> Sarilyn nodded. "It was so beautiful. I couldn't
> figure out if you were dancing or fighting."
>
> >> "Silat is a little of both, depending on how you
>  approach it," explained the healer slowly as she began
>  walking to the circle in the training area with Sarilyn
>  walking behind. "It's an old Indonesian style of
>  fighting, but the training process is handled in slow
>  motion to teach fighters to think about exactly what
>  their muscles are doing."
>
> >> Pausing when she reached the circle, she added, "Do
> you know how to take a fall?"
>
> >> Sarilyn nodded. This was better than she had ever
> hoped. Arri seemed willing to teach her, or at least
> give her a demonstration.
>
> >> "Then come here and let me show you something."
>
> >> Nodding, Sarilyn stepped over the line.
>
> >> "Stand there," said Arri, pointing to a spot. "Get
>  yourself balanced as you feel comfortable. When you're
>  ready, let me know."
>
> >> Adjusting herself quietly, Sarilyn finally looked up
> at A'Rillia, slightly confused... "Uh, okay..."
>
> > > Approaching, Arri placed one hand on Sarilyn's right
>  shoulder, rocking her back and forth. "Good. Now then,
>  silat is based on three principles."
>
> >> "Base..." Arri twisted Sarilyn's shoulder back several
>  inches very slowly.
>
> >> "Angle..." The healer smiled, stepped forward and
>  grabbed Sarilyn's right hip.
>
> >> "And leverage..." With her left foot, Arri tapped
>  Sarilyn's left knee smartly and watched as the young
>  woman collapsed to the ground with a rueful smile.
>
> >> "It doesn't matter if you do it fast or slow. If the
>  other person can't keep their balance and can't get far
>  enough away from you to control the fight, they can't
>  possibly win," the healer explained as she helped the
>  other woman up with a grin. "Silat, unlike almost all
>  other forms of fighting, assumes you are fighting
>  multiple attackers at close range without a weapon."
>
> >> Sarilyn laughed. "Well now that you've taken me
> without even having being too fast to counter as an
> excuse, I really want to learn this. But why were you
> going so slowly?"
>
> >> Bowing slightly, the healer backed out of the cicrle
> and gestured for Sarilyn to follow her. "Well, the
> training moves are not done in combat. The dijuru are
> designed to teach awareness of the muscles and of
> personal balance. Only after that is learned do you
> begin working with another. And only after you have all
> ten dijuru mastered - to a point where you can do them
> yourself or with someone else - impeccably - do you
> begin actually sparring."
>
> >> Sarilyn looked crestfallen. "And how long will that
>  take?"
>
> >> "For some it takes years," said the healer frankly,
>  scratching one ear, "but some people pick it up more
>  quickly. I would say a minimum of six to eight months to
>  learn the basic forms and another year to learn the
>  paired forms - then six months of faster work. That's an
>  estimate."
>
> >> Closing her eyes and sighing, Arri continued, "Silat
> is a discipline like any martial art - but because
> making a mistake can be so much more deadly in close
> quarters, it takes time and dedication."
>
> >> "Are you sure you still wish to learn, Sarilyn,"
>  finished the elder woman with a smile in her eyes.
>
> > Sarilyn nodded with a smile on her face.  "I want to,
> definitely.  I'm still waiting for my dragon to
> completely recover from ...an accident, so I have the
> time.  And when she's recovered, I can still have the
> time, my own  free time.  When do we start?  And what do
> I need to have..besides me, that is?"
>
> "Your dedication. Your respect. Your time. Your body.
> Your heart." The teacher suddenly smiled. "I haven't had
> a student in what seems like forever. This will be a
> pleasure."
>
> "I think I can do that," managed Sarilyn with a
> smile. "Now, when do we start?"
>
> The healer looked around and shrugged slowly. "It isn't
> as if I have much else to do right now. Come and we'll
> teach you the salutation and first dijuru."
>
> The women walked back to the circle and stepped into it
> together. Arri assumed a prayerful position and Sarilyn
> copied it as best she could. With a rueful shake of her
> head, Arri reached over to adjust the younger woman's
> arms.
>
> "Your left foot, a little farther ahead. That's it."
> Arri nodded approvingly. "Now follow my movements and
> speak along with me."
>
> "I present myself before the Creator in the beginning. I
> present my self to the best of my ability in the
> knowledge of the Art. I ask to receive from the Creator
> all those things which I do not see to engrave upon my
> heart until the end."

NRPG: They will be working for a couple of hours while Arri teaches her the
movements of the first djuru and the invocation. They will be working on
this djuru and the ilmu that goes with it for some time. For those who are
interested, I will post some pages on traditional pendrak silat with the
next related "segment".

Namaste'
-Shadow-

shadowsinger@bigfoot.com
http://www.bigfoot.com/~shadowsinger
ICQ UIN: 3673956

Return to Xylian Posts for Jul 2000