Training begins ((ATTN: Mat))

[Kura]

Dhjorn sat cross legged on the floor of the shack he'd been assigned. He was still, hardly seeming to breath. The fade appeared dead, the pasty white skin of his kind doing nothing but enhancing that image. Inside however, he was in turmoil. He had been beaten before, but never embarrassed like last night. First she had taunted him, letting him have his moment, landing a single solid blow against the Shar Mahdi, but she had been holding back. Holding more back than a dozen of himself could match.

 

Then Cari had taunted him, telling him not to underestimate her kind, naming herself treacherous. What did she know? Every single Myrddraal killed their parent one day, every last one of them. Treachery was quite literally a part of being a Half-man. To add injury to insult, she had continued to pummel him, the source of the rainbow of bruises that covered his seemingly rotted flesh. Tender yellows, flaming reds, deep blues, and purples just beginning to rear their ugly heads under his obsidian robes.

 

All of this amounted to an unfamiliar emotion; anger. Seething, boiling beneath his flesh. Despite that, twin lances of glee and admiration filled him. If she was this good, with her frail human body... what could he do with her skills? Who could stand to him when his powers would come to fruition? The thought of bounding through the shadows, paralyzing a squad of veterans with nothing more than his gaze... and then weaving through them, his twin Thakan'dari blades death...

 

He was getting ahead of himself, and he calmed the unfamiliar burdens of emotion, trying to lock them deep within himself, but failing. He had heard of certain states of mind that the humans used, one burning emotion, the other wielding it as a weapon... He wondered if he could learn one of these from the Shar'Mahdi. After all, emotions were powerful, he had seen enough trollocs lost in a berserker rage to know the truth of that, but unfocused they were a burden...

 

((Figured we should get this sort of thing out of the way. Philosophy and weapons forms this time around, if you don't mind.))

[Matalina]

Cari arrived as she had said.  It was barely light and it was time to see where this fadeling needed to begin.  When Cari entered the run down building he didn't look very peaceful, he almost looked angry at having to wait.  Cari smiled and wondered if a fade could enter ko'di.  It was one of those things she had never thought on.  And it was time to begin at least she'd know if a fade could learn it or not.  She wasn't sure why she doubted the method. 

 

Cari sat down on the cold floor of the room.  The dust shifting as she settled in.  "We begin.  Sit."  Cari didn't care if it got angry at her commands, he was asking for her help not the other way around.  "We begin with ko'di, or the oneness.  I am not sure if a fade can reach the oneness but we will try."  Cari closed her eyes before beginning the lesson. 

 

"Close your eyes and clear you thoughts of all but my voice.  Think of a single flame.  Let it burn bright within your mind.  Push each emotion that comes to mind into the fire and let it burn away like a piece of paper."  Cari's voice changed to a cold and emotionless state as she entered the void.  "All that is left is emptyness - the void."  Cari opened her eyes and watched her student.  "When you reach the void hold it and keep it tight around you and open your eyes.  Then the test of your will will begin."

 

Mat

[Kura]

Dhjorn turned his piercing gaze upon his instructor, soothing himself over being ordered around. You are hear to learn, whatever nuances of her personality you will have to put up with for now... The end result will be worth it. These thoughts in mind, he sat cross legged. His cloak was pulled aside by the movement, revealing the dyed black trolloc leather he wore underneath. It was taken from those he and Calaun had slain.

 

He moved his thoughts back to the present; thoughts of Calaun could only distract him from the task at hand. At her first words, a tremor of amusement swept through him. "I doubt I'll be able to perform your first command, Shar Mahdi." It was the closest thing to a joke he had ever uttered in his short life.

 

Then he fell into step, forming the flame in his mind. He fed these new emotions into this flame. It was a slow process. Though what he felt was mild compared to humans, each was a new experience for him, he had no background from which to deal with them. Eventually however, he accomplished the task, and floated within what his teacher had labeled the Void. It was liberating, being without the burden of emotion.

 

"Test my will then, Shar Mahdi." Their was no perceptible change in his voice.

[Matalina]

Cari normally would have taught how to hold the void doing chores or some of the other useful attributes of it, but she didn't feel those things would be of much interest to her fadeling student.  Cari stood up.

 

"Stand and take stance."  Cari indicated what she wanted the fadeling to do.  "Your goal is to maintain the void for 20 miniutes while fighting me.  If you lose it, and I will know, you will start from this stance again and the timer will begin a new."  Cari waited for the fadeling to nod before attacking.

 

OOC:  I expect him to fail at least once if not more.  If the 20miniutes extends beyond "noon" then Cari will leave and be back in the morning to begin again the same exercise until he can manage 20 mins of fighting in the void.

 

I am sorry it's short and sorry it took a while to get to it I had computer and server issues so I had to do some clean up last week.

 

Cari

[Kura]

The woman was a bladestorm. He rested within Ko'Di, fighting with both daggers, doing his best to parry every lightning strike that came his way. He knew that this woman put no value on his life... and he began to fight for it. He believe he made it three minutes before the void shattered under the stress of the assault. Abruptly the assault stopped, and his teacher looked... disappointed.

 

Rage welled up, but he quickly fed it to the void, and took his stance. Again she assaulted him, challenging his snake-quick reflexes, her blows straining his corded muscles. He fought hard, floating in the void. Countering where he could, deep down knowing that she was holding back, treating him as a child... The thought again shattered the void, and yet again the woman's attacks ceased.

 

Dhjorn was breathing hard. He fed his contempt into the flame once again, noticing that it was coming easier as he repeated the exercise, if only by a fraction. He held his daggers at the ready once more, and the assault renewed. Dhjorn moved his hands as he had before, defending, every now and then launching a quick thrust, forcing her to parry to buy himself a bit of time on the defense. He let the void do its work, detaching himself from the fight at the same time living every moment of it, from the points of his daggers to the woman's own spinning wrists.

 

He lost track of the time, until he was savagely struck on the head, sending him sprawling out. By some miracle he maintained both consciousness and the void. Looking up at her, he searched her for an answer, before realizing that he must have made it the full twenty minutes. He stood, his head throbbing, but all the same waiting for her to continue. The fade ignored the emotion skirting the edge of the void, before it was consumed by the Flame. It had no place in his dead heart...

[Matalina]

Cari smiled.  It was not her usual tactic, but she wanted this fade gone from her residence sooner rather than later.  "Practice maintaining the void I will return in the morning and we will start a new."

 

*****

 

Morning came and Cari reluctantly got up before the sun to meet her student.  He had done well for his first day, but she wondered what his second day would bring.  Cari would begin each of the next few lessons with the same drill, 20 miniutes and if the void broke it would start again.  She could continue this until the fadeling could hold it on the first try.

 

They began with no words of welcome.

 

*****

 

Finally the day had come when the fade managed 20 full miniutes on the first try.  The fade had done well and now it was time to learn what was next.  The actual use of the sword.  Cari had already assessed the face and the basic movements it had, there was no need for forward, retreat crap she always hated, no one ever moved like that in battle it was fluid, but she supposed it had it's place but she didn't teach the fade the basic movements, it knew enough already.

 

"On to forms."  Cari took out one of her daggers from under sleeve and started with the basics.  Leopard in the Tree, Unfolding the Fan, Lion on the Hill and Folding the Fan.  Cari didn't teach Dhjorn the names there really was no point.  "These are the basic movements you need to begin and end a fight.  While it may not look like much these are important for they help the flow of your movements.  Everything must flow together.  Practice with me and then I will watch you and help you where needed."

 

Cari

 

OOC:  Part 1 - I don't care how many days it takes you to hit 20, your call just pick a number and rp out that day after those X days of failure.  Part II - Find the descriptions of the forms and link them together in a fluid text.  If you have problems finding the descriptions look in the wiki, search on sword forms.