Looking awesome, man!
Looking forward to the update!

that metal remix... so good...

Oh, also....Anyone know any good music that would go with a wingblade bout?

Well here's a song used in one of my favorite stories, A Song of Storms: Snow and Shadows

Oh, also....Anyone know any good music that would go with a wingblade bout? >:3

Is it bad that my first thought was to rickroll the audience?

More seriously, I am not entirely sure. There were some good swordfight-type songs in the Pirates of the Caribean soundtrack which should work, although I would be more inclined to go with something more interesting like a Sabaton track, but that requires more information on the details surrounding the fight to make a good pick. Union (Slopes of St. Benedict) in particular is amazing, but you really need the right setup for that to work. Carolus Rex is a strong possibility as well if you are throwing a princess into battle, Wolfpack works well if you have stealth elements interrupting the fight, Into the Fire would be perfect if there is some pyromania involved, Aces in Exile would be perfect if Volare is involved (although you did already use it), Killing Ground is great for some real savage brutality, The Carolean's Prayer would be a good way to emphasize a bit more discipline, Screaming Eagles is a good neutral way to get the blood pumping, In the name of God would set a more disdainful tone, and there are a bunch of others that really only work for larger battles so I am not going to mention them.

2014134 It's not a vicious, life-or-death sort of wingblade bout, more like a "friendly" one. You'll see.
Currently this one leads the pack, but I'm looking for alternatives:

I intended to use this track for Volare's big flight reveal, but it got pushed back for the Zero theme.
I'll strongly consider some Sabaton songs though (lol, I was actually listening to "Union" when I read your comment)

Also, been too long since we talked, man.

2014134
I had some ideas..but now after all the Sabaton I can't remember them
With V's comment about it being friendly, Art of War would seems like a good Sabaton pick. Especially since it's already been shown Volare and Dash have discussed Tzun Tzu.

Edit: Also Aerosmith's "Back in the Saddle" is viable. With added amusement considering the saddle bit

Ok, I can already tell this next chapter is going to make or break this story for me. I'm going to be honest, I don't give two shits about that whole side plot with big scary boss dude/nyctos (I actually think it is a giant pain in the ass). What I want is to see is Volare's patch issue confronted!

Seriously dude...please don't make me wait another year for that conflict to finally be confronted, it's been around since the start of the story and I can't help but feel you've forgotten about it

2014369 I'm going to agree with you on this. Everytime I thought dash would get to the point of bringing it up and then didn't . This is still one of my favorite stories but if I have to wait any longer I feel like I'm going to have to re-read it again. I really REALLY want to see what happens with the patch xD.

Anyway, can't wait for the next update ^^

My answer for Numbah Tree!! Alcohol. Lots and lots of alcohol. Sometimes, whiskey is a man's best friend. Mine is vodka. Then there is my dog. In that order.

Did anyone else danced with joy during that Episode of GoT?
Personally, I'd prefer it if he got the same treatment as Robb Stark (and Ned).

But poison works just as good

2014152 Hm, if it is a friendly match then most of Sabaton's stuff is probably too extreme, although you could still use Killing Ground to troll someone. Given this information, 2014351's point about The Art of War is probably your best pick within Sabaton, although you may also want to consider another group. Hammerfall is probably my next best thought because they are less militant with tracks like Steel Meets Steel, Heeding the Call, At the end of the Rainbow, Legacy of Kings, Templars of Steel, Riders of the Storm, Crimson Thunder, Hero's Return, Blood Bound, and Stone Cold which should all be more or less appropriate (Renegade is also great, but that is very much a "bad guy" track). You could also look into some older groups like AC/DC or take things in more of a rock direction with a group like Breaking Benjamin, although things start getting far too nebulous there for me to try picking out individual songs.

As for your link, it is not really working for me. I just do not feel like it has the energy this scene needs so I would go with something else. The entire soundtrack for Pirates of the Caribbean is in the link below which I know has some good options, although I need to get to bed so I cannot dig through it for tracks. That said, I do seem to recall the track titled "Will and Elizabeth" being good despite the odd name (I think it is the main theme).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=npWSI9iu2i0

We were a couple days late, but my brother and I finally watched the most recent episode earlier tonight. We'd both long since read the books, but even knowing what was coming it was glorious to see.

How's this for a wingblade battle song?

2014603 Something like this?

Oooh, but I like this even better

While "Let It Go Meets Metal" definitely sounds nice, it also feels very bland to me.

It felt like his arrangement had no "emotional dynamic range" and flowed obliviously through parts where I was expecting some kind of pause, flourish, or power chord to match a point of emotional force in the original.

(It's a song centred around Elsa's released powers and released emotions acting as metaphors for each other yet, here, he doesn't even try something as obvious as having the accompaniment stop or lull for a moment before slamming the listener with the "here I stand" when Elsa starts her construction with a stomp.)

It sort of felt as if he just blindly transcribed the sheet music for guitar without also converting the emotions contained in how the singer used her voice and how Elsa's actions accompanied the song. (Sort of like all those fanfic authors who write boring fight scenes because they don't grasp how prose and animation have different requirements.)

Well, Im not into GoT (just not my cup of tea) but it certainly sounds interesting about what happend. I can go full Trollestia now on a friend of mine whos crazy into the show.

In regards to a nice theme for a friendly wingblade fight, I think I found something nice to use. Its a very upbeat and fast track.

20% cooler, guiles theme castle. crahers music sky rim left 4 dead 2 safe house theme etc.

2014830 That should work, although I still feel like there is probably something better out there but I cannot think of it at the moment. I'll let you know if I can come up with anything, although the Art of War would be a good choice for a friendly bout depending on who is involved.

2016732 Heh, this version of Will and Elizabeth seems to work better:

Or this old standby:

Something a bit different (though perhaps a bit too "serious" )

Some more Ace Combat:

And then this old thing I found (since I know some folks have been bugging me to put this song in there somewhere)

(I'm REALLY leaning towards this one)

Patience? Normans are not known for patience...

These aren't like anything above and for good reason, here's a suggestion from a sword fighter.

Just do me a favor? Take a peek at a few well done sword-fights, ones actually scripted by guys who know how to fight... The average sword fight lasts <30 seconds, any fight >60 is almost unheard of. They are typically short and decisive. A sword fight is less about who is better and more about who screws up first...

Less than a minute of actual fighting, unencumbered by anything and these two knights were so exhausted they were shaking like leaves!

If you'd like some help with the scene, I'd be happy to take a look at it!

2017393 That second one is sounding like what I was thinking of from Pirates of the Caribbean.

As for the others, three is workable although I think it is a bit serious, four seems a bit too flat for use outside a game to me, although five is sounding very good so I would go with that over any of the others with the possible exception of The Art of War because Sabaton.

2019302 Ok, I am not sure what your background is, but I have actual training in the German Longsword based on historical documents of Liechtenauer and his successors which is the weapon used in that fight, so I am rather well qualified to say it was awful. Their technique was nonexistent, adding another weapon in the off hand is stupid, and there were several major opportunities that were completely ignored. Also, without armor (i.e. the way we trained) any hit with that weapon is going to more or less instantly kill or incapacitate (and probably kill shortly thereafter) so that fight should have been over in seconds.

Finally, while sword fights are demanding, getting worn out that quickly is just silly. I usually did 5-touch bouts which could go up to 9 full fights one after another, and doing two or more bouts in a row with different opponents was not uncommon (one of our standard variants was king of the hill). This was also done after an hour or two of drills which were usually done with heavier wooden swords and we would usually run out of time in our three hour training sessions before we got tired. The Longsword is really not very heavy at 3~4 pounds, and the center of mass is far enough back that it moves very easily.

2019455 Liechtenauer is good, but also high-period swordsmanship. Also, I'm calling BS on this...

the German Longsword based on historical documents of Liechtenauer and his successors which is the weapon used in that fight,

Nope, sorry. Wrong. This story takes place in the 13th Century, and Liechtenauer lived in the 14th Century. The swords being used here were clearly Oakshott XIIIb's, not the XV, which were the preferred sword of the Liechtenauer-style manual of arms.

Now, that said. I acknowledge that this scene was lacking technique. (Frankly, it looks cool and to the uninitiated it gets the point across well. Finding good, historical fights on youtube to link can be a pain some times...) Dual-swording is stupid the vast majority of the time... And finally, yes, as aforementioned, you are correct that fights should only last a few seconds/ strokes. Perhaps my wording could've been better to express the idea I was trying to get across (regarding the stress of combat) and, yes, Kingdom if Heaven isn't the best example of swordmanship on film - You'd have to get a movie that Bob Anderson worked on for that...

Now, to answer your question. I am self taught, taking what manuals I could acquire and doing my best to practice with whomever I had available. Unfortunately New England has one HEMA/ ARMA group, five hours away from where I live. Most of my technique is based in the Milanese 'Franco-Itallian' style of the mid-13th Century, because when I started my research about ten years ago, that was the only manual I had access to at the time. Since, I have read some of Liechtenauer and various other manuals as they have become available in English. I still prefer my Oakshott XIIIb and own a pair of Tinker Swords at the moment. They are a little on the heavy side for a singlehander at 5lb 1oz each, but are nice production swords, IMO. Well balanced, all things considered.

Now whether said combatants are armored, or unarmored; I defend my stance that wing-blades, being essentially shortswords, or little more than arming-swords would not be used in the manner of a German (two-hand/ hand-and-a-half) Longsword. Rather, if they are used in a sword-like fashion at all (rather than spear-like), they would likely be used most like an arming-sword, or straight-sabre. Would that not make sense, given their length and overall design?

2019508 They probably screwed up the weapon selection then which would not be surprising given how they fought, although even if you are correct the swords are generally very similar with the biggest difference being tip geometry due to the historic variance in blade length. The broader tip might make the weapon a bit more blade heavy and slightly increase the overall weight so it would not snap around as easily as I am used to, but the unarmed techniques should be the same (getting past plate armor will be a problem without the point).

As for videos, I remember seeing a good choreographed fight a few years ago, although I lost the link so my usual solution is to search for videos of bouts and hope I can find a good one.

It is obviously hard for me to judge where you are with your self-study or what your weapons look like, although that weight has me worried unless it is a cavalry sword because they were built to be powered by the horse, not the person using it. I highly doubt you have anything as nice as this beauty that one of the people I train with has, but that sword is amazing enough that it feels like a bargain at more than $2,000 so it is not really a fair comparison.

As for the actual use of wing blades, that seems to be a problem no matter how I look at it. Quadrupeds are not very good at dancing around the way a human can in a fight which is going to lock things into more of a charging/slugging match which puts the wing blades in an awkward position for fighting while on the ground because they are off to the side. This can be compensated for to some extent by making an offset pass so one wing is presented to the enemy, but that means that the vulnerable head and neck enter strike range before the wing blade gets far enough forwards to block it which is also a problem. Using them like spears solves some of this problem, but they loose so much length reaching up past the head that I am not really sold on that, especially when you have lances available (we saw these in the show). The only way I can see them being used at all on the ground is as a close combat weapon to back up something like a lance to use the flexibility and precision of the wings at very short range, and even then most of the use would be stabbing targets engaging your allies rather than defending yourself.

Things work a little bit better in the air because the closing rate will generally be fast enough that them being positioned back a little bit will not be too detrimental and they give more flexibility than a lance so you can more easily land cuts as you blow by a target. An aerial lance would probably also not last more than one hit and the shock of impact could be problematic which gives the wing blades a real reason to exist. Getting the angles right would be very tricky given that the wings are also busy keeping you in the air and maneuvering, but it should be possible if you are willing to sacrifice altitude to make the attack.

That said, in either case the wing blade is going to be far more difficult to use than something like a simple knife or a blade strapped to the hoof which would limit general acceptance, although the extra capability would be appreciated by the military elite.

2019965 I do believe that V-pony said that they would predominantly be used on the ground, so I have to agree that such weapons will be interesting in action. The silly thing is, one of the ways I could see them in use is actually at a very close-range 'broadside' of sorts. That keeps the head out of the way for the most part, while offering the greatest range of motion for the wings themselves to strike at their opponents...

I have two things to say; first thank you for the idea that came from the metal version of Let It Go, and second thanks to you I now have yet another version stuck in my head.

2020123 Rather like how a cavalry saber is used
And they can be very effective in the air in a hit and run style attack (or like knights making passes at each other on horseback)

2020123 That was what I was thinking as well, the problem is getting in that close in the first place which is why I was thinking of using it as a secondary for a lance. The resulting combat pattern is rather similar to how cavalry fought, although it is somewhat problematic in the context of a duel because you have to work out how to get started with a weapon that is normally brought to bear mid-fight.

2021126 My thoughts exactly.

2021126 I would still like to point out that striking an opponent in midair with a sword would send said pegasus out of control. Basic physics - equal and opposite reactions.

Second, a knightly-sword would be used nothing like an (Imperial-age) cavalry on horseback. Sword fighting on horseback (during the 11th - 13th Centuries) was not done in passes, but rather by riding in tight circles around your opponent.

2022330 I would imagine that the opening move would almost always be a feint, to open up for a strike, or to make your opponent move in a particular manner. I.e. taking the initiative.

2022623 While a midair collision like that would obviously have consequences for both parties, it would still be easy enough for a pegasus to recover from so long as they had altitude to work with (and did not get torn open in the pass).

The driving difference here is that the horse and rider are the same entity so cutting the horse's throat would prevent a counterattack. Given that this works both ways and the wing blades are too far back to block when the head and neck come into range, the only realistic possibility for a pure wing blade fight is both parties killing each other with the first move. Attempting to go in sideways would fix that problem, but a horse/pony cannot effectively maneuver laterally which is going to give a huge advantage to the opponent who can maneuver far more effectively and easily plant a lance in the side of the pony trying to use the wingblade.

As for feinting, that requires the opponent to have the ability to respond which is missing. About the only way I can see a duel of any form happening is if you start at a neutral bind, although that is going to be more a game of reacting to the starting signal than actual skill.

2022623
2022759 Kinda reminds me of close-in, mid-air duels between World War 1 aces shooting at each other with pistols before progressing to heavier weapons.
World War 1 Aviation
This would almost certainly look like a close-quarters, circling, swirling, mid-air knife fight, as small arms like that would require them to get VERY close to each other.
At least, that's how I'd imagine a pegasus wingblade fight would go.
...now imagine a FURBALL of pegasus wingblade fighters all brawling at once, feathers flying, fur shredding, blades and voices ringing out as blood splashes and rains all over the field of battle, mixing with the inevitable thunder, lightning, and storm winds lashing out from such a mass of magical ponies murdering each other.
It'd be a fairly gruesome and terrible sight

2023003 I think it would be more about dynamic passes in a real battle because wing blades do not have the reach to hit someone you are circling around the way small arms do. The other big factor is that a furball like that is a great environment for dynamic movement against targets of opportunity because the enemy will have no way to keep an eye on everything so sneak attacks will be easy. After all, there are plenty of targets so there is no need to stick to one and risk letting them respond effectively

Duels would still play out more or less like you are thinking with a combination of circling, attack passes, and grappling fights, although I would expect this to be relatively rare outside judicial-type duels unless they have a more ritualized view of warfare like the Japanese did. This kind of stylized combat is entirely possible given how bad ponies seem to be at all forms of tactics and strategy in combination with their cultural focus on individual skills, although I like to avoid assuming silly things like this as a general rule even if it does make a lot of sense here.

One other important thing to remember about any aerial fight is that basically any significant wound is going to be instantly fatal. The speed of the passes is going to give every hit a ton of power so a good sharp blade will remove limbs easily, and most serious injuries will knock the pegasus out of the sky and add a bad crash on top of the original wound. The result is that any battle will result in a lot of untouched survivors, some minor injuries, and a whole lot of dead bodies.

When you take the next logical step and strap a machine gun to their bellies things get even bloodier, although the fights will start looking more like WWII dogfights with a bit of a cross into helicopter tactics because pegasi can hover.

2023003 2023353 Guys, any strike between two flying opponents (with non-inline weapons) will send both pegasi into a flat spin. Newton's third law.

2043401 Agreed, that is what makes aerial combat so dangerous. That spin is a major hazard which the pegasus can recover from (they know it is coming and I think we have seen Rainbow make those kinds of recoveries), but any injury is going to make that very difficult and will almost certainly result in a bad crash. Combine that with the previous injuries, and the odds of survival are very low.

That is why I see air combat being a swirling, opportunistic brawl with ponies trying their best to hit opponents from blind spots so they can recover but their target is screwed.

When is the next chapter
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Please