Completed Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters

After a long trek through the jungle, Xen stumbles upon the Falyndar coastline.

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This is Falyndar at its finest. Danger lurks everywhere - in the ground, in the trees, in the bush. Only the strongest survive...

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Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters

Postby Xen on June 6th, 2014, 4:16 am




Summer 1, 514 A.V.


Xen treads through the jungle, wearing light clothing. He wore only a pair of pants and was shirtless with his weapon on his back. Xen had his trusty katana with him on this expedition and careful to avoid falling which he thought would ruin his sword or break it. Xen was unaware of the durability and strength of a cold iron katana. He was one to discover things in odd ways and Xen was close to yet another discovery. He climbs over a fallen trees trunk and pauses to observe his surroundings for a bit.

The slightly cool and damp air around him was different than the warm air he was used to. A passing wind graces Xen with its presence and sends a chill down his spine. He knew he should have brought his robe but couldn’t help but realize how moist that breeze was. Xen’s skin had tiny particles of water and would soon have more. He decides to move forward after deeming the area he occupied safe: which the jungle never was at times. Xen, despite the placidity of the jungle, would remain attentive. He was not going to be foolish enough to lower his guard simply because things were calm, no—he would not make that mistake again.

Xen pushes through the jungle brush and uses his hands to shield his face from the various plant branches, twigs and vines aiming for his eyes. He ends up getting tangled in the vegetation and thrashes wildly while stuck in place. Xen then takes a moment to capture his breath and then tries to escape again. He thrashes and fights until he was finally free. However, there was a problem. Once free, Xen loses his balance and stumbles through the jungle vegetation.

While trying to regain his balance a conveniently placed stone trips him, causing him to fall face first in sand. Xen sits up and spits out the sand inside his mouth—amazing. He stood to his feet and stares outwards, far out into the ocean. This beach was beautiful except for the many, many rocks: both massive and small, lining the place. Xen was cautious as he walks with carefully placed steps along the sand. This was his first time at a beach and knew that he would need to bring Aka or Yuki with him here someday.


“Aka and Yuki would love it out here!”


Xen walks down to the sea and allows the water to wash over his toes. The winds below back his hair and he extends his arms outward to the sides: simulating a bird’s wings at flight. Xen felt an incredible sense of freedom out here in this place, on this border—between the land and the sea. He sits down in the sand to immerse all that he was in the beauty he was beholding.



Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters
Last edited by Xen on June 11th, 2014, 12:57 am, edited 1 time in total.
Xen

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Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters

Postby Xen on June 9th, 2014, 10:33 pm




Summer 1, 514 A.V.


The strange fatigue from earlier was still a bother to Xen, he sighs. He could not find the cause of his suffering and figures it was something he had done on his part, not enough food and rest maybe? The cool ocean mist caresses his brown skin and helps alleviate the stress with its chilling touch: which in turn subdues the treacherous and tempting clutches of sleep. A chill runs up Xen’s spine just as a large and flat chunk of wood washes upon the shore just as few meters from him. He stands to his feet and rushes over to claim the object before the sea greedily pulls it away—back out to sea.


“Whoa! Whoa! ” Xen exclaims in excitement as waves rush onto the shore he was running across.


When Xen reaches the chunk of wood, he notices how weirdly shaped it was. He lifts the object to examine it and finds a small and curved fin like protrusion underneath it. Why did this object have a slender and oval shape? Xen assumes this was an old table that someone got tired of. He wished they would’ve left the legs on the thing, he could use some furniture. However, Xen did not know that the object he was holding was actually a surfboard. He did notice, though, how the bottom part was smooth and the upper part was rough.

Xen embeds his katana in the sand and rushes into the water with the board. The large body of water was unnerving at first but as he held onto the board and kicks his feet to swim, he felt his anxiety fade. Xen climbs onto the board and uses it to float on the undulating water. He could feel the current pulling him out to sea and looks back to notice a small wave coming his way. The wave approached quickly, giving Xen little time to prepare. The moving mass of water pushes him forward, towards the shore. Xen lays belly-down on the board so that his body was lined up with the middle of the board.

There wasn’t enough bravery within Xen to compel him to perform any daring stunts. So, he rides the wave until it brings him to shore and recedes back into the sea. Once on land, Xen laughs like a mad man. This was something he was going to try over and over until he was a master of this beach and the waves! He rushes back into the water and lies down on his brown board. Xen paddles with his hands and squirms in the water to turn his board back to the shore. This time he’d try standing up while a wave pushes him forward.

He didn’t have the best balance—that much Xen knew but he needed to improve his sense balance at some point. He turns around and notices an incoming wave…so it began. Xen paddles forward and catches the wave, allowing it to flow beneath him and carry his body and board along with it. He slowly raises his body off the board and slides his knees beneath him. Xen grips onto the sides of the board and attempts to stand but loses his balance on the turbulent water and falls off his board. He hits the water with a loud “SPLASH!” And sinks beneath the moving wave as it carried his board to shore.

Xen tucked his arms near his sides and kicks hard with his feet to paddle. When he reaches the surface of the water, he continues to swim—this time, heading towards the shore before another wave comes. Xen wanted to avoid being caught in the rip current and was glad he chose to swim and practice near the shore. He kicks his feet hard and fast underneath the water to propel his body forward. When Xen reaches the surface he cupped his left hand in the water and pulls backwards. He extends his right hand and does his this same action again, performing another frontstroke.


Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters
Xen

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Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters

Postby Xen on June 9th, 2014, 10:50 pm




Summer 1, 514 A.V.


Xen felt at home in the water and was proud to have chosen it as his first element in reimancy. He swam and swam until he reaches the shore—exhausted and content. Xen walks on the beach and picks up his wooden companion. The day was just starting and he was already tired—nothing a quick rest couldn’t fix. He carries his board and picks up his katana from the sand to take it with him. Xen then finds a perfectly shaded tree to relax underneath and sits beneath it with his back placed on its bark.


“How beautiful—I get to rest on the boundaries separating, land, nature and sea.”


Xen closes his eyes with his katana resting on his lap. The gentle breeze blew his hair to the side, revealing a small portion of hoary hair. Xen was oblivious to the changing color of his hair and rested calmly in the shade. He listens to the waves and the quiet whistling of the wind, as small particles of sand brush against his feet. There wasn’t much to Xen’s life: he was an explorer, nature lover and himself. The things like money, fame, influence meant nothing to him—all he wanted was fortune, peace, quiet and privacy.

A chime passes without Xen knowing, his thoughts too deep within the quiet recesses of his mind. When he awoke, it was during the early evening hour. Xen sat up and stretches his limbs. The day was not quite over and he wanted to swim and try surfing some more. He grabs his board and unknowingly straps on his katana. Xen then rushes to the water with his board in front of him and jumps into the sea. The surfboard was the first to hit the water and Xen lands on top of it. He paddles with his hands, seeing as his feet weren’t reliable enough to paddle him forward while on the board. However, this time he paddled a bit too far.

Xen turns his board towards the shore and prepares for the next wave. When the wave was close enough to him, he begins paddling forward to gain speed. The wave catches up to Xen without fail and carries him to shore. This is time he would surf like a champion, or at least try to. He pushes his chest off the board and balances his body as he kneels on the wobbling board. Xen grips onto the board, it was difficult to balance so much so that he was having second thoughts but it was too late now—he had to go through with it! Xen brought his left foot forward under his body approximately to where his hands were and quickly pushes upwards.

He felt his right foot slide backwards as his body twists to the right. Xen couldn’t believe it! He was standing up on his board but was too stiff from nervousness to celebrate. Xen then realized he was a bit far from the shore and the wave was quickly gathering momentum. He remains calm despite this, knowing that if he panicked—he would lose his balance, fall into the water and be caught by the rip tide. Xen tightens all the muscles he could on his body and keeps his weight at the center of the board. He needed to focus on his center of gravity which was difficult since he didn’t know where it was.

Xen closes his eyes to sharp his focus and loosens his body to relax. In his attempt to meditate, he nearly loses his balance and opens his eyes during the panic. Xen opens his eyes to see a long and shadowy silhouette in the water. He didn’t know how to turn and ends up smashing into the object in the water. The power of the wave propels Xen and his broad through the air and they both smash into the sea. While underwater Xen could see his board being carried to shore which was good, he was getting attached to it. The pain of his watery landing was nothing compared to what he saw swimming towards him… a shark.


This fish, it’s probably the thing I ran into.” Xen thought


Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters
Xen

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Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters

Postby Xen on June 10th, 2014, 11:35 pm




Summer 1, 514 A.V.


The massive Tiger shark swam ten feet away from Xen, its interest in him visible. The beast circles Xen, observing him with bloodless and blackened eyes. Xen couldn’t help but notice how the creature behaved: it was like it was thinking and doing so carefully. He needed to take action now, as his human form was not made for the sea. Xen lifts his head out of the water for a breath of air and realizes that his katana was attached to his back. He unsheathes the weapon and allows the scabbard to float on the surface. Xen figured the waves would take it to the shore, as they did with his board.

He dives back underwater— The Tiger shark was in view and continues to encircle him, thank the gods. Xen takes advantage of this moment and shifts into his dhani form. It was the quickest shift he had ever taken, get it? Shift…ahah, okay back to the story. In several ticks, Xen floated in the water in his dhani form—he was ready. He surfaces to take a breath, one that was long and hard, before he dove back underwater. The Tiger shark swam closer to the surface of the water, allowing its dorsal fin to protrude from the sea.

Xen surfaces and swims backwards towards the beach, due to his poor swimming skills—in addition to this Tiger shark shark. It would take him some time to reach the shore. He needed to kill this shark but the water reduced his speed and flexibility drastically. Xen dove under the water once the shark was to close for comfort. The Tiger shark was now only three feet away from Xen and resumes its circling pattern. There was something odd about this beasts hunting pattern—Xen could sense it, his instincts speaking of hidden a danger. He casts caution to the wind and rushes through the water, only to look back to see if the Tiger shark was following him...and it was.


Stay calm …” Xen thought


Xen stops and turns to face his foe. He dives beneath the water and points his blade at the Tiger shark, as it swims towards him. If he was on land, sweat would have been gushing from his pores and soaking his body—this was tense. Xen had never faced something so large before and assumed this shore was this shark’s territory. Yet Xen was unaware of the fact that this Tiger shark was the master of a nearby reef. The creature was the largest male in the area and had, for years, successfully hunted within its territory without fail.

The Tiger shark opens its massive jaws to bite and Xen lunges forward with his katana! A large eruption of water disturbs the quiet surface of the sea. However, as quickly as the calmness was disturbed, it returns and the water took on an ominous crimson hue. Xen bursts from the water, his eyes filled with agitation and pain. The water around him was in utter turmoil as the Tiger shark he was holding onto thrashes wildly in the water. The katana had embedded itself in the shark’s snout which in turn prevented the beast from biting him in half.


I… have…. to…ge.. to… the shore.” Xen thought


Xen struggles within thought, his grip on the Tiger shark’s dorsal fin slipping. It wasn’t long before he was thrown off and struck on the torso by the thrashing beast’s tail fin. A flurry of bubbles escapes Xen’s gaping mouth as he almost loses consciousness while struggling on the surface for breath. The water had helped cushion the blow but it was still agonizingly painful. He watches the Tiger shark thrash in the water, trying desperately to remove the sword from its snout. Xen knew it was only a matter of time before the Tiger shark would remove the katana from its body—his death would ensue later.


Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters
Last edited by Xen on June 17th, 2014, 1:55 am, edited 3 times in total.
Xen

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Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters

Postby Xen on June 10th, 2014, 11:48 pm




Summer 1, 514 A.V.


Xen could see a lot of blood in the water and assumed that the Tiger shark snout was a vital area or some kind of weak point. He needed to act consistently while he still had the chances like these. Xen dives into the water with his arms tucked to his sides. He uses his tail to paddle and propels his body forward through the water. Xen decides to swim below the cloud of blood obscuring his sight—he needed to retrieve his sword.

There was so much blood in the water that he could no longer see above him and searches frantically for his foe and weapon. Xen had lost sight of the Great White and his weapon, sadness overtakes him. When he lowers his head to face the depths below him: a large Tiger shark emerges from the darkness. Xen felt his heart skip a few beats as he swings his tail as quickly as possible to allow the mass of muscle and teeth to fly pass him. The Tiger shark propels its body from the sea. How magnificent it was to see this massive form glide gracefully through the air.

Xen had zero time to gaze in awe—gravity pulls the creature back down into the water, causing it to fall behind Xen with tremendous force. The wave of bubbles blinds Xen momentarily and clears, giving him enough time to watch as a pectoral fin slams into his waist. He would have screamed, if he was not trying to prevent his precious air from flowing from his mouth.

Xen grabs onto and holds the Tiger shark pectoral fin with his right hand and was desperately grasping for something to hold onto with his left. The Tiger shark jerks his head to the left in an attempt to bite Xen before he could find leverage. Xen was screaming in his head, cursing the God that sought to create this misfortune. Xen, in his struggle, felt a hole just big enough to slide his fingers into—salvation! He puts his fingers in this crevice and grips tightly.

The Tiger shark’s body shudders in pain and swims to the surface of the water. Xen breaches the water’s surface, gasping for breath. He hadn’t noticed how close to shore he was—only the fear of madness occupied his mind. If he was going to lose his mind at sea and drown, he was going to take this behemoth of the deep with him! Xen starts clawing at the only opening he could find—the gill, and starts pulling and tearing away at the soft flesh, causing more blood to spill into the ocean. Xen claws with all his strength just as the Tiger shark shakes and thrashes in the water.

There was so much blood and the two combatants were losing strength. Xen was thrown off and he sinks into the sea, watching as his katana flows down into the depths within him. He grabs his katana and sulks during his descent. Xen closes his eyes and just as he was about to accept his death and his fate, he feels a solid surface beneath him—sand. He opens his eyes and sits up on the sand. There wasn’t much air he had left and he needed to get to the surface. Xen twists his body into a tight coil and tightens ever muscle he could. He tucked his arms to his sides and torpedoes through the water. Xen paddles his tail fiercely and breaches the surface to inhale precious oxygen.

There was still something to live for...

However, his celebration was short lived. A dorsal fin emerges from the water, signaling the Tiger shark approach. He dove underwater to check the condition of his foe. Xen could see a stream of blood escaping the shark’s nasal passage and another stream oozing from its left gill. The Tiger shark’s endurance and speed had deteriorated greatly, its movements being dull and brooding. When the Tiger shark approaches Xen it swims about three meters from him and then turns in his direction, snapping its massive jaws and shaking its head in the water!


Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters
Last edited by Xen on June 17th, 2014, 1:53 am, edited 2 times in total.
Xen

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Xen
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Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters

Postby Xen on June 11th, 2014, 12:05 am




The End


Xen was startled by this and paddles backwards using his tail and free hand. However, it was strange—why was this creature biting at him from afar? The Tiger shark’s sudden inaccuracy was like a light of hope but if one got to close: a fatal burn would occur. Xen knew his poor swimming, maneuverability and weakened body wouldn’t last forever—he needed to make this last strike count or he would die. The Tiger shark knew Xen was near him, somewhere amidst the currents, somewhere other than in his jaws.

Xen watches the Tiger shark as it turns around and swam towards him for another attack. He extends his katana to measure the striking range he had to work with—a meter. That was too close even if he was simply lunging to attack. One risked nemesis by following such a plan—Xen had no option but to, it was either do or die. When the Tiger shark was only four meters away from Xen, it started biting and thrashing at nothing.

Xen decides to go for a flanking attack to strike the shark’s other gill. He swam around the flailing shark and serpentines in the water, finding it to be a more effective way of swimming.The Tiger shark notices Xen swimming towards it and turns to bite. However, Xen was already at an angle where the Great White’s jaws couldn’t reach him and plunges his katana into the Great White’s gill and holds it there.

Another eruption occurs in the sea—water dyed red cascades through the air! The Tiger shark gnashes his teeth at his foe with blood coming from its mouth. Xen strokes downwards while his sword was still in the Tiger shark’s flesh, causing the blood spray from the opening and cloud Xen’s sight: which in turn, causes him to panic. He raises his right hand in the struggle to clear his vision and the Tiger shark bites down onto the tips of his fingernails and jerks, tearing them off!

Xen held in his scream of blood curdling agony and butchers the Tiger shark by viciously shaking his katana inside its gill. The Tiger shark wound grew larger and more severe in the struggle, causing large quantities of its blood to spill. Xen felt his body blister and his hands become sore, his eyes were burning from the salt water and now he was bleeding from the fingers. This struggle had lasted for too long in the sea it seemed, as a large wave approached the Great White and Xen. The wave roars, crashes before them and sends them hurtling towards the shore.

Xen and the Tiger shark were slammed onto and dragged across the sand bed below the surface and then harshly thrown onto shore. Xen coughs up sea water and stares at the dying shark across from him, his gill donning a bloody katana. A flash of lightning signals the end of the battle and thunder in the distance were like trumpets of consolation. Xen lies exhausted on the beach, his fingers on his right hand bled—his consciousness fading. He looks at the sky and then everything went black.

In the late afternoon Xen woke up in human form, screaming in agony and holding the wrist of his right hand, his fingers nails had been broken off and almost entirely. The skin on his arms, legs and torso were red and sore, burning from the constant contact he had with the Tiger shark. The rain and noisome wind forces him to seek cover in the jungle. He starts searching for the great and large tree trunk from earlier during this heavy downpour, hoping it would be near.

Xen praised the gods when he found the tree trunk and crawls in. The inside was completely hollow and was more than spacious enough to contain and shelter Xen inside. He tears a piece of fabric from his pants and bandages his fingers. Xen would wait for the rain to stop and then retrieve his katana. The chimes passed and Xen found himself sleeping again, his bandaged right hand being clutched by his left. He needed the rest and would sleep until the sun rose again.


Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters
Last edited by Xen on June 17th, 2014, 1:51 am, edited 3 times in total.
Xen

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Xen
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Posts: 499
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Gentle Sands and Cruel Waters

Postby Shijara on June 16th, 2014, 11:38 pm

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Xen

The Good Stuff :
Experience:
Skill XP
Observation +2
Swimming +2
Surfing +2
Medicine +1
Acrobatics +1
Weapon: Katana +1

Lore(s):
Identifying A Surf Board
Fauna: Tiger Shark
Surfing: Riding A Wave
Stabbing A Shark
Nearly Drowning
The Joys of The Ocean

Loot:
Bruises - Given from being thrown around by the shark. Should heal in 1 week.
Hand Injury (Ripped Fingernails) - This will take up to three weeks to grow back properly. Will be painful until then.
  • Xen may also occasionally have dreams from now on where he is stranded in the ocean, swimming with sharks. These dreams have the potential to be pleasant or terrifying.

Notes:
Wow. Truly. I think you played the swimming and surfing bit in the beginning very nicely, and realistically. The shark was kinda crazy, but weirder things have happened in Miz. There were a few things that were odd for me. The katana in the shark's nose was one of them. It am fairly certain that would kill the beast, or cause it to swim away and not return (a good punch landed there often deters sharks long enough to get away). Because sharks have much of their nerve endings in their nose, getting stabbed there and to continue fighting seemed unlikely to me, just for any future reference (I watch a lot of shark week) Everything else we should have already discussed when I talked to you about your thread. Thanks for being open to my suggestions.

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and I'll be happy to discuss it with you. Keep writing!
TO MY WONDERFUL PARTNERS: You guys are the best.
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