All About the Uses of Swords

Posted on Wed Mar 18th, 2020 @ 3:43am by Master Chief Petty Officer Doran, Son of K'Taal & Petty Officer 2nd Class Cheleya Dvald
Edited on on Wed Jan 18th, 2023 @ 8:59am

Mission: Mission 98: Building Our New Home
Location: Gym - Starbase Vanguard
Timeline: 1830Hrs - June 17th, 2393

When they entered the gym, the two people involved in this exercise, a large oversized Klingon male and a smaller than average Bolian female quietly knelt before each other before Doran spoke. "How did you first meet Admiral Yamaguchi?." he asked.

Cheleya for her part was a bit puzzled; she knew that Doram knew perfectly well how she and Yamaguchi had met, the story was well known. Nevertheless, she recounted the incident in the lounge on Earth spacedock and the brawl that she had had with three cadets from the academy. Dvald couldn’t help but chuckle as she remembered. "That was a good fight."

Doran raised an eyebrow. "A good fight?."

Dvald suddenly stopped chuckling at once.

Doran asked another question. "When you first decided that you wanted to 'learn how to handle a sword', what were some of the things that you envisioned? Did you picture yourself as a mighty warrior? Sword in hand?"

Dvald hesitated a moment as she decided not to lie about it, so she nodded silently a moment later. "I did actually."

Doran reached out and picked up the Koto Ryu, which he had brought with him today. “There is a saying: ‘The finest swords are kept in their sheaths.” His eyes met Dvald's a moment later “Do you know what that means?”

Dvald thought for a moment as the small Bolian paused, she had not been expecting the question, the look on her face said as much. "That a sword doesn’t need to be used to be effective. That just having it and the skill to use it may preclude the need to do so."

Doran nodded. “That is one meaning, but there are others.” He slowly drew the ancient blade from its sheath. "A sword that remains in its sheath does not dull or nick. Although the sheath may wear with the passage of time, the blade itself remains untarnished." he smiled. "A sword that is constantly used,
no matter how well cared for, inevitably wears. No sword, however fine, can survive constant use." the large Klingon male paused. "To say nothing of the ones against whom they are drawn."

His eyes once again met Dvald's "And that is the third and most important reason why the best swords remain sheathed. A sword is a weapon, and to learn how to use one is to learn how to kill. A sword can slice a man in half, but as long as it remains sheathed it does no harm. An unsheathed sword will inevitably become a bloodstained instrument of death. But as long as it remains sheathed it is nothing more than a smooth piece of metal. Someone who knows the qualities of a sword does not play with it."

Doran then slowly sheathed the blade, placing it back into its scabbard at his waist. "Another reason why it is best is that a sword remains in its sheath is that it is much harder to sheath a sword than it is to draw it. And it can be easier to move a mountain than it is to stop violence once it has been unleashed."

His eyes once again met Dvald's "The finest swords Dvald-san, do not leave their sheaths. The finest swordsmen leave their swords in their sheaths. And the ultimate aim of martial arts is not having to use them." as he nodded to the smaller female before him.