Open Court had given Warren the opportunity to speak with Alinore Thornhill, one of Nevermere's foreign ministers who remained mostly in Arynn Frey. Her knowledge on the kingdom had been incredibly useful. Warren had never been to Arynn Frey and his curiosity in their military strength was ever present. Better to say his doubt, maybe. For all their gadgets, he knew that most in their Kingdom had lived a peaceful life and there was a big difference between training for something that may never happen and experience the horrifying heat of real battle. But that didn't mean he could count them out entirely, he'd been surprised by plenty of opponents before and it was ever within the realm of reality that human beings could prove themselves to be just as violent as frightening as any creature, if not much more so.

So as he walked the court yard and noticed heads turning and people nodding, his own head turned to seek out the source of the distraction. A man dressed in bright red clothes stood watching and Warren knew immediately who he was. Not because he had ever interacted with the man before, but because he could simply be no one else.

"Eyes on your exercises, soldiers," Warren barked as he turned to walk toward the man. "How do you expect to protect royalty if you're distracted by them?" The words came out accompanied with an unspoken threat, one that Warren's soldiers knew very well. If they didn't listen, they'd be punished. So they quickly turned their eyes away for the time being.

As he approached, Warren paused in front of the man and bowed appropriately. "Prince Llewellyn," he began, knowing that despite being in the middle of work it was always polite for nobility or the highest ranked soldier to greet any superiors among them. "It's a pleasure to have you here. I'm Lieutenant Warren Woodwick. Is there anything I can do for you?"

The Prince hadn't meant to cause a distraction nor for the soldiers intrigued by the foreign royal to be interested his presence during training, but nonetheless he respected the man for putting duties first. As the man approached however the Prince gave his own equally gracious and respected bow, "Thank you most kindly Lieutenant Woodwick," his youthful brown eyes hungrily flicked between Woodwick and the hand to hand exercises, "Truly the pleasure is mine lieutenant as one soldier to another I admire the grit and tenacity of the Nevermere military, so it would be tremendous if I could participate in today's activities!"

Woodwick would see the child like wonder in the Prince's eyes, but concern in the guards protecting Akagi yet they didn't argue as the Prince had his final say regardless.

Warren might have interrupted Akagi to thank him for the compliment, but upon opening his mouth it remained that way for a moment, hung open in a bit of surprise. His eyes flashed past Akagi to his guards, who didn't look too pleased with the idea of the Prince joining in the days training exercises, but they didn't say anything to stop him either. It wasn't exactly within Warren's bounds to deny the Prince of another Kingdom - especially one they were allied with - a request, and he had to admit that he was curious to see the fighting styles and strength of Arynn Frey. What better way to do so than through their own Prince?

"I'm honored that you think so highly of our soldiers, your Highness," Warren said, holding his arm out and allowing Akagi to begin walking further into the courtyard ahead of him. "You're more than welcomed to join our exercises. As you can see, our focus today is on hand to hand combat. Do you have a particular interest in that, or do you prefer swordsmanship, or archery perhaps?"

The Prince's guards regardless of their unapproved faces fell at attention as Akagi removed his red over coat handing it off before following the leutinent, "Ah hand to hand combat is a special interest of mine actually, I have studied a great deal of fighting techniques in my forty years of service, written a few books as well," the Prince greeted each soldier present with a short bow, "It is an honor to train with you all today, I'm a soldier myself or Peacekeeper as we are called back home."

As expected there were a few faces that turned curious or confused, as when most hear Peace in the title of anything was a solid line between what a soldier detailed. It didn't offend Akagi as he moved right along, "I have been working on my own technique if anyone would like to volunteer? One or two will suffice Lieutenant Woodwick?"

The Prince stepped to the center of the space casually stretching when one soldier raised a hand to ask, "Your highness, Prince, uh Peacekeeper.. what do Peacekeepers learn if... If.. sorry if it sounds literal... But what do they know of combat if you keep the Peace? Exactly..."

Akagi smiled as he let his arms rest at his sides, "My personal philosophy friend is, move as swift as the wind and closely-formed as the wood. Attack like the Fire and be as still as the Mountain. Flow with the weight of water..."

That was possibly more confusing as the soldier looked to Woodwick for clarification.

"I hope to clear that all up with my demonstration," he chuckled.

Warren was surprised to hear that the Prince was so interested in hand to hand combat. A man of Arynn Frey could easily go his entire life without learning to fight, and especially without learning to fight in close combat. As Alinore Thornhill had told him after Open Court, their long-range weapons and enchantments made up a massive portion of their arsenal. So to hear the Prince say that he'd even written a few books on the subject impressed Warren. He wasn't a man to underestimate an opponent, but he'd been surprised by them plenty of times. Equally as surprising was the idea that Akagi had been training for forty years. He'd nearly forgotten that people from Arynn Frey tended to live much longer than others. Warren was only forty himself, and he would have thought Akagi no older than thirty.

Once out into the yard, the Prince stated that he would need a couple of volunteers. There were plenty of men ready and willing to see what a Peacekeeper of Arynn Frey could do, and Warren himself was curious as well, but he was happy to watch and learn. "You two, come forward," he said, pointing to a pair that he knew took their training seriously and motioning for them to step up. Warren let the curious soldier have his back and forth with the Prince. Asking questions never hurt anything, but everyone still looked somewhat confused by the time the man speaking riddles was done. Surely that was part of what Alinore had told him as well - about everyone in Arynn Frey focusing on intellect. Swift as the wind, close as wood, attack like fire, be as still as a mountain, and flow like water? Well, he guessed plenty of it made technical sense to him, but he'd still want to see it in action.

"Alright, everyone, eyes forward," he said, motioning his hand toward the center of the ring where the two soldiers stood ready to fight Akagi. "If you don't know, this is Prince Llewellyn of Arynn Frey. The soldiers in Arynn Frey are called Peacekeepers and he is one of them. He's granting us a chance to witness his hand to hand combat skills, so pay attention. We can always learn more from those who do things differently than we do."

He took a breath, then nodded to the two soldiers who had volunteered to fight. "When you're ready, your highness." Warren said, taking a few steps back.

Akagi still as jovial as a kitten bowed to his two opponents, "I'll ask you both to not hold back, it would be a great dishonor to your military establishment and my reputation. It works better if you both work together against your opponent," the smile relaxed and then raised his hands palms flat and waved his opponents forward. The two men shared a quick glance and raised their fists circling the Prince who remained still save for his eyes following the one in front of him who dashed forward with quick jabs each missing to land as Akagi bounced around them. Feet still planted only dodging with his upper body, he grabbed the last punch thrown, tightly gripping the wrist and rolling the man's arm under his before landing a solid stiff slap against the man's ribs...

...the second man charged only for Akagi to kick back into the man's gut, he pulled the arm he held down jerking the soldier off balance and awkwardly down, his grip still tight he threw three kicks two of which the soldier dodged or they would of lit up both sides of his cheeks. The third kick was more of a sweep taking the man off his feet.

It was fast but a few eyes saw the Prince use his thumb to jab at two spots on his opponents arm before shoving the man away. As the soldier stumbled back he found his arm temporarily paralyzed hanging at his side, he looked surprised, "wh.. how?"

"Simple pressure points," he replied bowing, "Functionality will return shortly of course, no permanent damage so fear not," he added quickly.

His other opponent was climbing back up to his feet, "You...moved fairly fast your highness, but you could have been faster? Packed more of a kick to say..."

"ah yes, would someone help me?" Akagi began to remove the bracers from his wrists and ankles as two more soldier stepped forward to take them only to their surprise when they took them the weight of the bracers almost made them drop them, "what are these made of Prince Akagi?" one of them asked, to which Akagi chuckled, "oh my yes, their enchanted, here," with his finger he rubbed the stones embedded in them turning the weight down, "Sorry about that!"

He looked to his opponents and the two who had stepped forward, "Again? And would you two like to participate if that's fine with Lieutenant Woodwick?"

Warren kept his eyes focused solely on Akagi as the two Nevermeran soldiers moved for him. They opted to coming at opposing angles, one in front, one from behind. It was generally as good a tactic as any when faced with a two on one fight, but as they rushed the Prince they found themselves severely outclassed. The Prince focused on one soldier at a time but took them both out so quickly that their teamwork did little to aid them. He was a man with likely four times the experience they had, and nobility behind his age to allow him the time and materials to train himself to the highest degree if so desired, so Warren had expected him to show his soldiers up. He hadn't expected him to do so so quickly and easily, though.

After the spar, the two had an exchange with the Prince which Warren, again, watched and listened to carefully. He had no idea the man had been wearing the enchanted weighted bands, so it made sense that his movements would have been even slower than they might usually be. He thought momentarily about how such items could aid him in the training of his soldiers, but Arynn Frey had always been stingy with their enchanted items, and he could understand why. Some things like that falling into the wrong hands could be dangerous, but simple weighted gear that could be adjusted would do them wonders.

With his weights removed, the Prince wanted another spar and Warren nodded. "Mr. Burming," he pointed to one of the more seasoned soldiers in the group. "Replace Mr. Floyd, please." Floyd was the soldier who Akagi had utilized the pressure points against, and while he seemed ready to try again, Warren could tell he hadn't quite regained full use of his arm yet. Neither soldier said anything, they simply switched. "You two, join them," he said with a nod, having the soldiers who had helped him remove the bands join the other two. "Work as a team. Do not attack one at a time, that's not realistic. The Prince asked for a challenge."

He nodded once more, looking at Akagi. "Whenever you're ready, your highness."

With the weights free Akagi could feel the release of that weight against his muscles, he rolled up his sleeves after Woodwick replaced Burming. The Lieutenant's suggested new strategy brought that serious look back to Akagi's face: he liked it. Welcomed it as aggression fed his style like wood to a fire.

Standing in the center surrounded by his opponents Akagi bowed to the replacement and the additions. His defensive stance showed he was ready and his opponents took to Woodwicks advice. The Prince was faster and this time he needed movement to start his defense as kicks and punches were thrown at him: he used their aggression against them twisting and blocking two attacks with a bend of a trained body. He hadn't thrown a single punch yet using his hands to smack away or redirect the course of an opponent with a push, this constant recourse eventually caused them to have to dodge a friendly redirected or dodged punch.

One of his original opponents from the demo prior was the first to hit the ground when Akagi gripped just inside the man's thigh where the muscle and meat is thicker squeezing and jerking the man off balance and clotheslining him to the ground...

...with three left Akagi went on the offensive: his attacks were choppy and fast chops, overwhelming their defenses until he could strike and when he did a flat palm planted precisely into the one man's chest sent him flying to the ground. Akagi was afforded no break as arms wrapped around him and another came charging, the Prince pushed off the ground throwing his legs up wrapping around the head of the opponent charging making him able to twist free of the one holding him and sending the other into a spiral head over feet onto his back.

Akagi had a solo opponent now as he rolled back into a crouch crossing his arms just in time to block a kick. Shoving the leg back Akagi was able to roll backwards back to his feet where the two men were locked into a stalemate of counters. Again experience won out as Akagi parried a jab into another pressure point against the man's neck which forced him to coil up tensely and Akagi brought the last blow to a stop inches away from the man's nose...

As he had done the time before, Warren watched the spar with focused eyes that bounced back and forth between Akagi and his opponents. He held in the urge to shout orders at his soldiers. They needed to think through their actions for themselves, but as they did so, they were disposed of fairly easily.

That was no fault of their own. They weren't taught to fight like this. Akagi was extremely impressed. He took care of four soldiers as easily as he took care of two, and while he appreciated the talent and style that the Prince displayed, he had no plans of teaching his own soldiers such moves.

When the group was done, Warren walked forward and helped the downed soldiers to their feet, ushering the one who had coiled up toward another soldier and allowing them to go take a seat in the courtyard with the other soldier whose pressure points had been temporarily utilized and muscles disturbed. "Alright everyone, back to your exercises." He said toward the soldiers, who all seemed a little upset for one reason or another that the show was over. "That was incredibly impressive, your highness," Warren said, holding his hand out to gesture toward the direction he would have Akagi walk, toward the left side of the yard so they would be out of the soldiers way.

A couple of soldiers came after them, offering up the weighted bands that Akagi had taken off before the fight. They bowed to him once he took them back, thanked him for his display, and were off once more when Warren nodded their dismissal. "You said you've been studying this for some time. I've never seen anything quite like it. It must have taken a long time to master such liquid movement. Did you learn this style from reading books, or are there masters of it's craft in Arynn Frey to learn from?"

Akagi helped the soldiers as well to their feet respectfully giving them a parting bow before his weights were returned and his course was directed toward following Woodwick. He handed his enchantments to his guards as he replied to Woodwick his eyes still watching the constant movement of soldiers, "Ah, thank you Lieutenant as I said it's a style of my own teaching. It goes hand in hand with your latter observation and questions," Akagi laced his hands together behind his back as he further explained, "It did take years of practicing and adapting, we are a peaceful kingdom so even my combat style reflects this: my attack points were speed by ending the combat as quickly as possible. It was heavily defensive by letting my attackers lead aggressively I was able to direct their attacks away from me at the same time by attacking the muscles I was able to cripple my opponents into submission. And I'm asked all the time how will such a study ever transfer into battle? The easy answer is control and redirect, the hard answer is I haven't seen actual warfare to know," he chuckled, "We are a jack of all trades you see, but masters of none."

If nothing else, it was clear that Akagi was passionate and devoted to combat. That could be admired, for even people who had seen real combat and knew of it's horrors could rarely find such devotion. There might have been other reasons for that, but that wasn't really the topic of discussion at hand. That was something else entirely.

"I find that many soldiers lose their focus on such defensive tactics when in the middle of battle, or spars. The technique of redistributing another mans attack is invaluable. It saves a tremendous amount of energy and expends the energy of the opponent, but as you said, it does take much practice. I greatly admire your dedication and your skill, your highness." The closest Warren had come to teaching the soldiers about real battle had been the group exercise in the ballroom. Too often soldiers were sparring one on one or in small groups, but real battle would not be like that. They would clash with hundreds of other soldiers, and there was no organization to it. It would be chaos. In such chaos, there is no use in meeting another mans sword and fighting for power. The best thing to do is to push him away and move on to the man behind him.

"Most soldiers are masters of none," Warren combated, a slight shrug. "There is and will always be more to learn, and a better soldier to teach us. We have only to hope said soldier is with us, and not against us." He figured if anyone could appreciate that, it would be the Prince of Arynn Frey. "As for genuine warfare, nothing ever goes quite as planned and even a master can be struck down as quickly as the rest. I'm sure you'd have better chances than the rest of us."

Sadly Akagi could only relate through what Woodwick was saying by theory, his years of study, and by stories in history books.... because essentially things of war were history for Arynn Frey. Not in his lifetime had he saw battle nor was it likely while his mother was Queen that Akagi would ever see a battle field. Being a Peacekeeper was about as close as he'd achieve even though deep down he wanted to be Minister of Defense almost more than one day being King.

Akagi repeated some of what Woodwick had said clearly appreciating what the man had said, "There is and will always be more to learn, and a better soldier to teach us, so well put Leuitnent Woodwick spoken like a true Arynnite," in fact it was so profound that the Prince was going to save that for his book of quotes later, "this has been a good day good sir, truly I hate to depart but I have things I must attend...and I know you yourself are very busy man, perhaps in the future Leuitnent a trip to Arynn Frey to my workshop is in order?"