Kai

After the... chaos, of the party, Kai had simply tried to find some books to read — something to get away from the uncertainty of the moment, at least for a little bit. Naturally, that had lead him... well, away from the two major "factions", as he saw them — those beings the people aligned to Lac, and the other, those aligned to Vivien.

He didn't much know how true the rumors about Lac were, but he decided to without any judgements until he could learn more for himself — better to investigate than blindly assume based on common hearsay, he figured. As for Vivien, though... he wasn't quite sure. Not yet. He trusted him insofar as he trusted just about anyone else at this school — which was maybe slightly more than some of them probably deserved, admittedly — but that didn't help him to figure out what made Vivien tick.

Of course he could just sit down and talk to either of them, but aside from seeing certain advantages in remaining a little aloof from this whole thing for a while, he also just found that idea... honestly pretty intimidating either way, currently.

---

Kai reviewed his mental notes as he watched the demonstration unfold. Body magic...? He had not experimented with the other magic forms much before college, and as such his grasp on them was a little fuzzier than his grasp on Earth Magic — but je figured it probably wouldn't be too hard. He didnt expect to get it in one go, but then again... there did seem to be something interesting in it if he and some of the others could pull that off.

"I don't... think I have any questions. Well, aside from maybe 'How much do those things hurt', but hopefully we won't have to find out the hard way."

He focused his breathing, as was in keeping with his mental framework for magic, and directed his mind towards the energies of his own form as it currently was — not outwards, to unformed possibilities, but to the reality of his physical self as it existed naturally. That demonstration had made it all look so easy, though... how hard could it truly be?

"The Stick has sentimental value. It's like an enormous, hideous teddy bear we can kill things with." -rikalous

Training Field

"There's no need to worry about any serious injury. These are set up to knock you back, not hurt you. As for the reason why the rest of the training gear from the combat room is here, I'll save that for after the lesson." Mekel gave a short glance to Maya, busy looking over some wooden swords, that scaled tail of hers waving back and forth in idle contemplation.

"Hehehehe~ Make sure you all do well in Mekel's lesson, everyone~! There'll be a little surprise if you do well today~!" Her face appeared from across the top of her shoulder, a grin on her face, before returning to her inspection. Mekel gave a short nod, before turning back to the class.

"Now, if that's all the questions you have, everyone spread yourselves between the orbs, preferably in a circle or a line facing it so that you don't run the risk of falling into each other. Verona, you are exempt from this class, if you wish. There's not much for me to see from you in this test that I'm not already confident about. Instead, you may work with Instructor Maya on a special lesson with regards to your condition. You'll just have to give me a moment to suppress the effects of your elixir." They made a sweeping motion towards Maya, who perked up at her name being mentioned, turning to face Verona, a fanged smile on her face to complement a flick of the tail.

"Yep, I'm much more suited for Body energy control stuff than Mekel is, and that's what they want me to teach you to do. So you don't constantly have to drink that crap to not die~ Then you might probably still die, but it'll be from a sword to the stomach, not a sneeze because someone made a tiny spark out of nowhere~! Believe me, I know from personal experience~"

As soon as everyone had made their choices about where to go and what to do, the Mesmer instructor gave another short nod, raising the staff high, a bright green glow enveloping the ends.

"Ready! Begin!" With a loud, metallic clap that resonated through space and air, the staff hit the ground, a wave of green reverberating through the air, causing the orbs to pulse as it washed over them. Soon, jets of wind shot outwards, homing in on the students gathered around them, clashing against whatever defense they had mustered up from within themselves.

Sieglinde von Brandt

“Okay, Mx. Mekel...!” Sieglinde chirped as she darted away towards her orb, daring to blow Verona a kiss in encouragement before chortling to herself and beginning to focus on her magic. As Mekel waited for everyone to get into position, Sieglinde took that brief delay to meditate for a few moments. Calming her breathing, she allowed the wispy flecks of pink light to emanate from and swirl around her form, though she noted that it was different now that she'd focused more internally than externally.

It feels... warm? Inside my core... heh. That's cute...

As the pulse rippled outwards from Mekel's staff, Sieglinde resolutely stood her ground, toes curling into the dirt and leaning herself towards the orb in an almost daring fashion. She thought about what she wanted to protect, and who. She imagined defending against an attack on her village. A visage of her defeated mother and father behind her, with her as the last line of defence. Could she withstand it for them? Was it harmful to use such severe motivation in what was basically an ordinary magical class?

Yes.

But she didn't care so much, since if it helped get her out of her usual dazed mood and back into the harshness of reality then she'd take it. As the potent gust of wind homed in on her, she raised her arms in front of her face and kept her form as balanced as possible. It impacted, pushing against her, and caused her to slide a few inches backwards from the hit.

Then she stopped.

She was holding it back, for the most part. If anything, her magic seemed to have flared out on instinct, and was trying to form itself into something of a barrier shape. But that wasn't correct, so she let it dispel. Focused entirely on the raw, internal magic she could feel instead. Her arms trembled, as did her whole body, and she was pushed back a little more. Then she gasped all of a sudden, and gave way—allowing the gust to wash over her and tip her over. It was a sudden change; a palpitation in her heart from anxiety. It'd distracted her, and made her fret momentarily. She'd dropped her guard.

So she laid on the ground for a moment, hand over her chest until she was certain it was okay. She wasn't sure why she was anxious if she had her friends around. It felt like she'd been doing well before that point.

Did I screw up...? she wondered, craning her neck up towards Mekel in confusion and slight concern. Did I... actually do okay...?

It hit her all of a sudden. An attack on Früchtenheim wasn't so much a hypothetical as it was a very real possibility. Her parents being overwhelmed by any attackers could also happen, if they were caught off-guard badly enough. Sieglinde not being there was more likely than her bravely standing in front of them, ready to defend their lives to the death.

It was all too real of a scenario to motivate herself with, and as much as it'd helped in the moment, it was only causing her to overthink it in the meantime.

bork

Pick

Pick stood impassively, awaiting the wind magic to strike him. As it did, he flared his Life in the way Verona's had flared when she was struck. It was surprisingly easy, perhaps because it was merely reinforcing his energy's natural response to foreign magic.

The wind still pushed him back a solid foot, his feet sliding lightly across the ground. But that was because of his small size and weight compared to the others. He nonetheless remained standing, nodding confidently at his success.

Then he saw Sigi get knocked over, and quickly walked over to her, slightly leaning over to check her for injuries.

It was unlikely that she was hurt; Pick trusted that Instructor Mekel was wise enough to avoid risk of actual serious injury. Still, Sigi looked shaken by something. "Are you alright, Sigi?"

What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?

Freana

Even with their questions answered, Freana wasn't so sure, especially after their instructor was knocked flat on their ass. But there wasn't any room for doubt. She stood her ground, her gaze focused firmly on the orb. She kept her eyes peeled, taking the proper stance as she put up her guard, barely turning her head as Sigi— wait, did she just—

She gave a grunt as the wind came, barely flashing her aura as it struck her. If she hadn't focused so much on Life magic the last month, she wouldn't have been so lucky. But even with the danger past, she didn't lower her guard. She wasn't sure what else Maya would try, or if there wasn't a round two coming her way.

But seeing Sigi knocked to the ground gave her pause. Part of her wanted to rush over, make sure she wasn't hurt... but she needed to stay focused. Yeah, that was it. She knew Mekel wasn't as crazy or stupid as their girlfriend, and Pick was already looking after her. The best thing was to not bother and stay... stay...

...who was she kidding? She hopped over, even as everything was telling her not to. Besides, she was training to be a priest. sigi or no Sigi, how could she be a priest if she didn't help? "What he said. You okay, Sigi?

Edited by kkhohoho on Jan 22nd 2022 at 10:50:45 AM

Elliot, Magic Training.

For the briefest of moments, the noble's smile turned into something close to a grin and a wince as he actually managed to hold his ground against the wind, oblivious the the fact it wasn't magic. If there was, it would've barely been the tiniest speck of light.

Which meant that it, much like his confidence and Elliot himself, got quickly blown away as if he hadn't managed to muster up any sort of defense at all to prevent this unexpected 'flight'.

At least the rush of adrenaline from being sent flying numbed a little of the pain the impact and managing a slightly more graceful landing than Maya had managed earlier.

"...okay, if that didn't hurt, that...would've been a bit more fun. I-I'm fine, I'm fine...!" Elliot remarked, giving a smile as he staggered to his feet.

Hope you weren't expecting anything witty here. Maybe some day.

Sieglinde von Brandt

For all intents and purposes, Sieglinde didn't seem to be physically harmed. If anything she seemed to perk up when Pick and Freana came over to check on her, and she smiled reassuringly up at them as she moved to sit up.

“...Heh. I'm okay! That was fun~! I just... g-got a little distracted, that's all. I was... I was thinking about home! Trying to imagine myself... protecting it! It made my magic work stronger! It's just... well... I-I'm not home. If something happened back there... I can't protect it. I don't know, it just... i-it just got to me, that's all. Thanks for checking up on me, anyways...~”

I wonder if there's a superspeed spell I could learn...

bork

Torhild Hedinfal

Torhild mentally braces for the wind's impact, flaring her Life energy as it approaches. It works for a moment, the wind merely testing jostling her while she tries to concentrate on her defense, unfortunately trying to copy one 'spell' with a different energy leads to her falling back on the original. The resulting aura of pleasant warmth does nothing to keep the wind at bay and she is knocked off her feet, rather than fight it Torhild uses the momentum to roll into a tumble backward and bounce back to her feet unharmed.

"Well I almost had it..."

Verona Auer

Verona's slightly smug smile at being exempt from the lesson dropped off her face as quickly as it had arisen.

"Suppress...the elixir?" Verona's eyes drifted nervously toward the orbs, which suddenly seemed a lot more threatening when she imagined being near them without her alchemical safety blanket. Verona dithered for a minute, watching the others take their places.

It'll be fine, Verona. Maya and Mekel wouldn't hurt you...not on purpose.

Her mind made up, despite her apprehensions, Verona loped over to stand near Maya and the training swords.

"Okay, let's do it! Whatever it is. Hey, uh, if I do well will you show me more of those cards?"

Lac’ner Kineas

In response to the orb firing off, Lac simply holds his hand up to block, flaring his Life energy to stop it in its tracks.

For someone with an affinity for Life energies and Wind energy in particular, this should have been enough, Lac should have just deflected it and moved on.

And yet…

Is that truly all I want?

Lac’ner chews the inside of his cheek, watching the orb of wind swirl just above his hand.

Do I…really just want to be…normal? Lackluster?

He closes his eyes, and begins to imagine…multiple images flash through his head. A group of adventurers, setting off on a perilous and high paying quest, having finally settled on their party. The strongest warriors, the sturdiest of armored knights, expert healers, and powerful magi.

…and as they leave the imaginary tavern, Lac is left to sit around, left behind…

As Lac opens his eyes with a sigh, he notices the bandages on his arm flapping, loosened by the wind ever so slightly.

And between the folds, the slightest glint of red.

…no…I’m not.

He raises his other hand, clamping it over the fluttering bandages as the hand holding back the orb begins to close.

I don’t want to settle for ordinary. I don’t want to be left behind!

More images flash through, the healthy reward, the smiling face of his mother…

…the smirking face of his father.

I won’t leave anyone behind! And I won’t-

He begins to imagine once more. Visualizing his Life Energy staring to engulf the wind.

I won’t lose to him!

He lurches forward, closing the distance between his hand and the wind orb. He watches his Life energy fully envelop the orb!

He staggers…and looks down.

Down at the swirling orb of wind in his hand.

“I…took it?”

He brings the orb closer to his face, imagining the net of Life again around the Wind Orb.

“I…took the magic?”

He finds a wide grin spreading across his face.

“I…I did-“

The net falters, for only a moment.

*FWOOOOOOM*

And through that momentary crack, all that wind spills out, straight into the young man’s face.

“Pppppppppbbbbbbthhhh”

His hood falls back as he sputters at the wind.

“Almost…”

Shard

"Alright! Here we go!"

Shard cracked his knuckles, then dropped into a magic-casting stance: knees bent, toes pointing outward, hands held up in a don't-shoot-me way. Okay. Shield, shield, shield, shield. He flexed his fingers. Narrowed his eye. Bit his lip.

Shield, shield...this isn't working. Okay, how does one conjure a shield? Shard's brow furrowed in concentration. Maybe...think about it real hard? No, I've been doing that. Or maybe I just have to imagine it? If I imagine, like, some kinda barrier, will it just appear? As he thought, he didn't quite notice the six-pointed shield appearing in front of him...or how brightly it was glowing. Jeez, why does magic have to be so hard? Why can't I just say "shield" and get a—

BOOM!

Shard shrieked as the orb impacted with his shield, causing it to explode in a shower of sparks and knock him back several feet. He landed on the hard dirt, skidding across the ground before finally slowing to a stop.

Groaning at the newfound ache in his back, he slowly stood up, staring at the scorch mark where his shield had been.

Then, he looked at Mekel. "Does it count if it protected me but also exploded?"

"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."

Training Field

"No, that did not count at all, since that was not a passive defence. That was you actively putting up a barrier between you and the spell." Mekel gave Shard a disapproving look, pinching the bridge of their nose. "Which is missing the entire point of this lesson. There's no need to show off. You're supposed to resist and endure it better, not try to shield against it."

The Mesmer gave a look over to Sigi as she was bowled over, followed by a small, curt nod as the rest of her classmates rushed to her aid. As Lac'ner ended up grabbing the orb, Mekel raised an eyebrow.

"...Impressive." And then the orb blew up in his face, and the tiniest of smiles tugged at the instructor's mouth. "And then that happened. But still. Good."

As Elliot was blown back completely, however, Mekel walked over, looking thoroughly displeased.

"Etirina, you have consistently been my poorest performing student. And I feel like that is something to note when one of my students is outright unable to use magic without collapsing from pain and discomfort. Do you have troubles with visualizing magic? Or something else? Because I cannot in good faith allow you to continue as an adventurer as you are, unable to even use Body and Life energy."

Meanwhile, after the effects of the elixir had be suppressed, Maya contended with Verona, cracking her knuckles.

"Right, now listen up. I'm about to teach you how to control that Life and Body magic of yours and suppress it as you need it, so you can eventually just forego that potion entirely. Or just for the most part, so you won't instantly die when going into somewhere like the Riftlands. Trust me, I have something of the same issue as you do."

She put her hands firmly on Verona's shoulders, looking serious for once. "Now, I want you to visualize your Life and Body Energy, and imagine that your 'magic allergy' is those energies overflowing out from you to protect you, or something like that. Then, make it weaker. Imagine it getting weaker and weaker, and as such, it's not overflowing or as overwhelming. Then I'm going to just flare my magical power a bit, and you should feel like the potion makes you feel around magic, even though it's not working at the moment. Alright?"

After a bit to give Verona time to focus, Maya's body took on a hard, almost rocky, glow, radiating out and around to Verona between her hands.

---

A small while later...

As practice wound down, with everyone most likely being a little battered and bruised from being tossed around by the wind but doubtlessly improving for the most part, Mekel and Maya gathered the class together, while the orbs faded away. Maya had the biggest grin on her face.

"Now, I know that this is magic class, buuuuuut...I have a surprise test for you all, like every other class before you has had. So congratulations on being the last ones to the party. Any equipment you want from these racks is yours to take, because...well, you all are going to spar with me, one-on-class. If you're the best class I've fought so far, you get to join me on a field trip through Vandia, starring a short stay in Kreiss! Which is to say, if any of you actually make me have to use a second sword, or land a hit on me, or make me use Body Magic, or so on. Mekel here will keep time, since let me just say: I'm still not going to fight as if I'm trying to lose. But this isn't about winning. It's about seeing just how far you've come from our first little, uhhh, 'lesson', hehe..."

She drew a wooden sword she had chosen from one of the racks, leveling it at the students gathered in front of her.

"Now, I expect nothing less than your very best~ This ends with Mekel calling time or all of you dropping, because let me make it clear: You're not going to beat me."

"Your time starts...NOW!" As the words scarcely escaped her lips, she lunged, arm pulled back for a powerful punch aimed at Shard. Exactly like the first time they had this little song and dance, with no time to actually grab equipment before starting.

Sieglinde von Brandt

Whoo! A nod meant she'd done well, right? Or well enough. Relieved, Sieglinde cracked her neck and joints in preparation once that part of the class had ended. It seemed like there was an extra section to it, which explained the weapon rack. She'd had a feeling, especially given Maya had been present and visibly anticipating something, but upon mention of them visiting Vandia if they succeeded in holding out against her the half-Alvar's eyes visibly lit up.

Without even considering further questions, she readied herself and took a moment to calm her nerves. She thought of her parents; the lessons they'd taught her. Her father's wrathful determination in battle, the fluidity and precision of her mother, and her own keen eye and sensitivity to the environment. She decided not to be anxious, to not worry about getting hurt too much. If they were going to play this game with Maya, they'd have to do so by her rules.

And so, matching their instructor's usual grin, a fire lit up in her eyes as Maya sprung into action, and Sieglinde immediately dashed for the weapon rack. Almost jumping clear over it, she snagged a bow she'd been eyeing along with a quiver of arrows; slinging the latter over her shoulder and drawing back an arrow ready to fire before she'd even hit the ground.

Okay... focus... on the arrow...! she internally chanted, accessing her magical potential and directing it so as to flow into the arrow and bolster its durability and velocity. It would be able to fly a little further, a little quicker, and better pierce its target without breaking. Carefully adjusting her aim so it was leading towards Maya's calf, she released said bolstered arrow with a bright flash of pink energy before snatching a couple of knives and backflipping away to maintain distance. She kept her feet light upon the ground, darting about in hopes of finding an opening. She felt ready for the first time in her life, and concentrated on bolstering the knives in her possession in much the same way. She had to fight her shaking hands to keep her grip firm. She could do this.

She certainly hoped so. She was excited, at any rate. But it was mostly the thoughts of Vandia that were motivating her. Her home.

Edited by Enirboreh on Feb 17th 2022 at 6:45:24 PM

bork

Verona Auer

As Maya's hands settled on her shoulders, Verona laughed nervously. She'd kind of been banking on Maya being her usual flippant self; this weird serious attitude was not helping her settle her nerves. It made it feel this was like a big deal, or something. As Maya went on, the feeling only got worse.

"Um. Weaker?"

Nope, no way. Bad idea.

"I don't know if I..." Verona trailed off in the face of Maya's stoicism. She didn't want Maya to think she was weak, so...so she had to make herself weak.

Shit, this is confusing.

Verona huffed, and screwed her eyes shut, trying to find a way to make this whole exercise feel like less of a terrible idea.

Maybe it's just like—holding my breath. Yeah, let's go with that.

Verona tried to hold herself steady, her hands gripping her biceps. She imagined her Life and Body energies swirling around her, imagined restraining them, keeping them inside her like air in her lungs. And as Maya began to glow, for a moment, it worked. She felt nothing at all, except perhaps a sense of pressure. Her fingers were white where they clutched desperately at her upper arms.

But just like holding her breath, Verona couldn't keep it up forever. She held the energy in as long as she could, long enough for Maya to stop flaring her magic. But then it all rushed out of her at once, lashing out even more aggressively at any foreign magic in the area. Verona gasped and yelped a little as a burning sensation rushed up her arms and the back of her neck. Her back, which she had turned toward the distant orbs around which the others were practicing magic, was raked by tight, uncomfortable heat, like the claws of a great beast.

It was even worse than usual—she could have sworn they'd moved far enough away for the others not to pose a problem—and then it was gone. There was no burning, no pain across her back, no pressure in her chest. She was fine.

So I guess the "holding my breath" technique was wrong? Maybe I just wasn't trying hard enough...

After a deep (non-gasping) breath to steady herself, Verona gritted her teeth and turned back to Maya. "I almost had it, let's go again."

---

The training session with Maya had been frustrating, though not wholly unproductive. She kept getting that backlash, and it was honestly fraying her nerves to shreds. She'd tried to avoid thinking about the exercise as "making herself weaker," but part of her wondered if maybe that was the problem: her visualization strategy was wrong. Only a small part, though—she really didn't want to be any weaker than she already was. Nevertheless, she was relieved when Maya called an end to the practice and gathered the group back together.

When it became clear that this would be another pop quiz, Verona's worries faded temporarily into the background. She'd been good at this last time, and she intended to be good at it this time too.

As the fight began, Verona scanned the scene, trying to remember how their last pop quiz had shaken out. Maya had deflected and withstood most attacks, but Xera had almost gotten a hit in after Maya was briefly distracted. By...Verona throwing her boot. Sadly she probably couldn't do that again; Maya wouldn't find it so unexpected a second time, and in hindsight it was kind of hard to keep fighting with only one boot.

Her gaze landed on Pick, and in that instant she had an idea. He was close by, so it took Verona only a moment to reach him. She left fragments of illusory terrain in her wake, pieces of cracked desert and fissures carved half-transparent into the earth—signs of the Body magic she had begun to channel.

Verona had only a split second to figure out how to convey to Pick what she was doing; she didn't want to clue Maya in too early. She decided to hope Pick would figure out what was about to happen through her body language, since as far as she knew he was pretty smart about these kinds of things. "Pick," she hissed, reaching out to him, "do your Rift thing!"

Then she scooped him up and hurled him at Maya with the help of all the Body magic she could muster.

Pick

He noted others seemed to struggle with the exercise. Shard in particular had formed a shield, rather than allowing his natural Life energy to disperse the magic. It seemed like Shard had difficulty with more subtle magic usage. Pick made a note to offer to help Shard with this; they shared a Rift affinity, so perhaps they could learn from each other.

When it came time to spar with Maya, Pick had already drawn his wooden sword even as she was speaking. He began channeling his magic as she explained the exercise.

He was moving before Maya even ran at Shard, just like she had in their first sparring match - did she dislike Shard in particular, for some reason? - and met Verona halfway. He silently jumped into her arms, before she casually lifted him up and threw him at Maya, full speed.

Pick had been holding his sword aloft, and when Verona threw him it speared ahead of him like a missile, already reinforced with his magic.

The instant he left her arms, he was there, appearing in front of Maya with the tip of his blade aimed at her chest.

At the speed he was moving from Verona's throw, his blade would have speared easily through a normal person, but Pick was confident in Maya's ability to withstand the assault. And she wouldn't want them to hold back, anyway.

What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?

Freana

As soon as the match started, Freana sprung to action. She focused inward, drawing on the store of magical energy she had cultivated over the last month. She called on the power of ice, concentrating all her efforts on Maya's arm as she aimed at Shard. The goal was to freeze it, encasing it in ice before spreading it to the rest of her. A month ago, she would have gone straight for the throat, but she was attempting to take a gentler approach.

Edited by kkhohoho on Feb 21st 2022 at 3:30:06 AM

Training Field, Earlier.

Making sure he'd dusted himself off and making sure nothing hurt or was broken, Mekel's comment seemed to sting a lot more than the failure, sounding rather subdued instead of his usual...energetic self.

"I suppose when you put it like that, it is rather sad, isn't it...? It's not intentional, I assure you. Or from a lack of trying. I'm not honestly sure what it is, feels like it's that and...I'm not sure what else."

The mention of having to potentially stop being an adventurer before he even became one just made the young noble actually sigh.

"Is it really that bad to have no magical ability at all...? ...If that's the case, I'm not giving up until I get it right now or after class, manage to use SOME sort of magic or I'm stuck in the infirmary from too many failed attempts to fly."

---

...The next few attempts before the combat class had gone...marginally better. The first he went flying again and the second...slightly less so. The third was getting tumbling backwards but...at least it was something. He couldn't quite figure it out or was aware but there was a tiny speck of magic.

"...After class it is. Probably best not to hold up whatever else this lesson has in store."

A few bruises but mostly his mood took the most beating that it took him a few moments to notice the weapon racks and Maya starting her explanation about what was next, Elliot swiftly grabbed a buckler...just in case. Whether it was paranoia or remembering how the first combat class went, being prepared turned out to be the smarter option.

Granted, he was somewhat slower given his earlier failures, but with buckler raised and quickly charging into the fray, he tried shield Shard and those who were potentially at risk to getting clobbered by standing in the way between them and Maya just in case Frena's spell didn't slow the teacher down enough.

Best to stay on the defensive. Might be enough of a distraction.

Edited by TheRealWren on Feb 24th 2022 at 12:53:02 AM

Hope you weren't expecting anything witty here. Maybe some day.

Shard

Shard blinked at the admonishment, sputtering a bit as he tried to respond. "But...that...I didn't...I wasn't..." He was silent for a moment, then kicked the ground in defeat. "Fine," he muttered.

The sudden dip in his mood stuck with him the rest of the lesson. Maybe that explained why, to put it quite bluntly, he couldn't do it. When he thought of defense, his magic always manifested in an active shield—never the passive defense Shard wanted. As such, by the end of class, he looked utterly miserable, a frustrated pout on his face and a can't-the-day-just-be-over look in his eyes.

So naturally, Maya decided to do a stupid practical.

He was starting to wonder if his initial enthusiasm for adventure school had been mispla—

"GAAAAAH!" Shard shrieked as she charged towards him, dropping to his knees and covering his face. Ohgodnotagaindon'thurtme—!

WHAM!

This was...not the sound of Maya's fist hitting Shard's face. Rather, it was the sound of her fist hitting the six-pointed shield he'd kept conjuring up, a dark blue light construct with stars gleaming inside.

Shard blinked, staring at his creation in surprise. Huh. I guess I did succeed!

"Kept me waiting, haven’t you? Tch. No matter. Dawdle all you’d like. In the end, your defeat remains inevitable."

Torhild

So magic defense practice continued, along with some unintentional acrobatics practice for the half-fenrir who may taken a few more tumbles than necessary for an excuse to show off. Despite the rough start and a still tenuous concept of what Life Energy was in the first place Torhild got the hang of it by the end of class and no longer accidentally tapped into her heat aura in the face of wind 'attacks'.

---

And then the new exercise began as soon as Maya finished explaining it.

The equipment racks were right there, but with Maya's immediate attack it seemed clear that going for the gear would separate the group and leave several of them easy pickings for her 'ambush'. Except, maybe, if she could be kept busy.

Over the past month it was made clear that Torhild would not always get a chance to arm herself with her preferred melee weapon once her gun was no longer useful, like now. So she charged Maya instead, attempting to tackle and grapple her hips or legs in a reckless attempt to at least slow her down and make an opening for others.

Lac’ner Kineas

Lac spent the remainder of magic practice trying to perfect his magic catching trick. It didn’t take too long before he was able to hang onto the orb for longer periods of time, and even react fast enough to throw it away before his concentration failed.

All the while, he repeated to himself in his mind.

I won’t be the ordinary one…I refuse!

---

Of course, Maya started with a surprise “practical” fight.

I’m almost willing to believe Master Maya likes the chance to beat the tar out of us.

Lac’ner considered bolstering Shard’s defenses with a wind wall, but between his and Elliot’s shields, he through they’d be fine.

Then he considered joining the offensive…but he decided against it, not wanting to accidentally hit one of his classmates.

So instead, he gathers his own swirl of wind energy and begins to infuse it with Life, preparing a healing incantation.

“Oh ye, who standeth against death, fly upon the life bringing wind…”

Training Field

While Elliot's attempt to shield Shard was noble, Maya didn't even opt to deal with him, instead springboarding off his shield and behind him. As Maya's fist whammed into Shard's barrier, thankfully, she still didn't hesitate. Ice was creeping up her punching arm, but she clenched her fist, the crawling frost slowing down to a standstill, while her other hand whirled about, bringing up her sword to help deflect Pick's magic-infused wooden sword. The sheer onslaught and chaos of everybody piling on her worked though, as a loud thud came from her leg as Sigi's arrow crashed into it, causing Maya to stumble a bit...right into Torhild's tackle, caught in a clinch as she wrestled with the half-Fenrir.

"A solid hit. Pass." Mekel gave a nod, and then took a few steps back from the battle. "You know how you want this to go, Maya."

And with that, Maya's struggling against Torhild stopped, as if Torhild were suddenly trying to grapple and bullrush a solid brick wall, one that had hands to lift her up by her sides and start swinging her around in a cyclone of flying legs to bowl aside everyone nearby, namely Pick, Shard and Elliot. One last, grunting spin hurtled her towards Verona like the world's heaviest discus. Maya stood amidst the carnage, and already something seemed subtly different. Her movements didn't seem as casual as before, new power behind her limbs as she stretched, flexed and loosened herself up. Her muscles rippled for a moment, rather unnaturally, a fiendish smirk on her face. Anyone with their magic senses up could outright feel the sudden flood of Body magic surging through their instructor, the ice on her arm shattering.

"Been a while since I got to cut loose a bit, 'cause of this instructor job. Time to kick it up a notch!"

She quickly flipped over the top of one of the training racks, coming down behind it, a second sword in her left hand. The more perceptive of the class might have noticed that more than one sword was missing from the rack, and the even more observant would catch a glimpse that Maya's tail was a bit longer than before...

"Let's see if that was all you got. Land a hit on me, and you'll officially have a good grade. Three hits, and I'm pretty certain that's the best grade you'll get. Let's go!"

She moved forward like living lightning, almost impossible to follow for any average person to follow, twin wooden swords flying out to the side like deadly wings. An almost-blur, darting from side to side unpredictably, before dashing past Verona, a brown blur flying past as she gave a fleeting cut at the Alvar's stomach, before twisting around and pivoting on her feet, roughly pirouetting towards Elliot and Pick. The other sword swung to the noble's head, over his shield, while Maya's tail whipped around to the smaller Mesmer, a brief shimmering coming from her tail as it closed in on him, revealing that part of it was barely transparent, and within this illusory shell was the third missing sword, clenched tightly by the tip of her actual tail. As she landed, she got into a crouching, throwing both arms outwards, the glorified wooden batons in them shooting forth, barely spinning, whistling towards Sieglinde and Lac'ner.

Maya had really been holding back earlier, that much was clear.

Sieglinde von Brandt

Sieglinde had expected that Maya was holding back, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Carefully watching their instructor as she zipped about with greater ferocity, Sieglinde got a rough idea of her speed and movement patterns before she addressed what had been thrown at her; rearing back her arm only slightly before quickly stepping to the side and cutting the wooden sword clean in half using her enchanted knife. Picking up one half with her foot, she tossed it into her hand before halfheartedly shooting it towards Maya with her bow of all things, before sheathing said bow temporarily as she focused on her knives instead.

Imagine... I'm fighting a bear. Think of how dad takes care of things bigger, faster, and stronger than him. He uses...

She glanced quickly towards the overturned weapon rack, before sprinting over and grabbing a spear. Then discarded it, instead diverting her attention towards a forked variant. Perhaps she shouldn't take the whole bear thing literally. With this in mind, she sliced the forked spear's handle down to a shorter length and put away one of her knives; making sure to enchant her new weapon with her magic before continuing on.

Now, for Maya. She was fast, but so was Sieglinde in her own right. The half-Alvar knew she wasn't a full-on sprinter, but she could twist herself into a pretzel relatively quickly without injury. With this in mind, and with two weapons of varying lengths, she waited a moment before suddenly moving to intercept Maya while she was moving.

A sword on her tail, and two free hands. Granted if Maya didn't pick up or steal some fresh weapons. She probably would, so Sieglinde treated it as if she were still armed. Light on her feet, she aimed the shortened military fork towards Maya's shoulder, with her enchantments glowing pink on its blade and thusly positioned so as to obscure her own face behind its incandescence. In her other hand she held her remaining enchanted knife, which was at the ready to defend herself with. It was a stab-and-retreat strategy, though she still had options in mind.

She felt her heart swell with fury. Excitement, even. Her mother had described this to her whenever she'd regaled her with tales from her past. Sieglinde wasn't sure she liked it, but she was taking advantage of it. She could feel her body's defensive magic at its upmost power in accordance with this.

That's right. I'm fighting a bear. With a tail.

bork

Pick

His sword failed to strike true, as Maya batted it aside, and Pick with it, the blade still tightly in his grasp.

He landed in a roll, jumped to his feet, and turned to swing again, only to step back to avoid being struck by the swinging Torhild.

Pick felt the surge of magic from their instructor, and tensed. He ran at her again, feeling the Rift energy within him and preparing to teleport again. But then he had a different idea.

He jumped back, space twisting so he was far away from her sword-swipe. Rather than charge again, he focused his gaze on his allies, awaiting them to jump in the fray.

As the others began to assault Maya, the instructor would find that many of the attacks vanished and reappeared at unexpected and outright impossible angles, space twisting so that stabs and thrusts hit from wildly different directions, even coming in behind her, frustrating her attempts to dodge them.

Pick felt beads of sweat on his forehead, but his face was fixed in a small, determined smile. There was something strangely exhilarating about this.

What is so amusing about this? Why do you take lives? How can you forget?

Elliot.

That...hadn't gone well. With him still being bruised and battered from his 'flights' in magic class and breaking his falls and caught slightly flat-footed at Maya simply using his buckler and the arm attached to it as a springboard, the temporary additional weight and pressure to his arm...it was probably a combination of luck, resilience and tiny speck of magic that didn't cause it to get worse or even break as gritted teeth was just enough to stop himself from crying out in pain.

...And with another attack coming right at him before he had a chance to compose himself, general flight or fight instinct and realization there was no way he'd be able to deflect or block the sword with his buckler made the noble manage to barely duck and stumble into a roll underneath the swinging blade that would've caused a very nasty concussion before taking a few more moments to get back to his feet, rapidly trying to go think of his options.

It wasn't too difficult to quickly grab a sword from the weapon racks before in a spur of the moment, hurled his buckler like a frisbee at Maya, hoping to hit her torso from one direction, moved to try to flank follow up with a few sword swings. Especially since Pick had the right idea of trying to attack from another angle and she couldn't possibly block them all given their combined numbers.

Hope you weren't expecting anything witty here. Maybe some day.

Freana

She knew it couldn't have been that easy. It was never easy at all, but she was impressed they'd gotten that far. But now the kid's gloves were coming off. Freana didn't want to do the same if she could help it and wasn't sure she could. But with the stakes raised, she needed to up the ante.

She continued to channel the power of the artic, letting it trickle through her feet as it flowed through the ground, running towards Maya's like an expanding ice slick. The rough pads on her own feet would keep her steady, but with a little luck, it would throw her instructor off balance.

Channelling the rest into her arm with an equal amount of Body, she lunged towards her, ice covering her claw and extending its reach. She would have stayed put, but she wouldn't get the best possible grade if she did. A shame too. She'd been itching to test out a new stratagem, but it would have to wait. Maybe if they got another chance? Preferably without an arbitrary hit count determining their success.

But beneath the ice, Maya could see it. Maybe she already had. But sticking out through the fur on the back of her hand was the symbol of balance and the calling card of its patron saint. In the heat of battle, it had slipped away from Freana's mind, but it was never far from her thoughts. Or perhaps those of their benefactor. Even now, faint traces of the symbol had appeared on her claw, engraving itself over the matching symbol on her paw's back. And both were plain to see.