Solo It Is Never Too Late To Learn

[Brandon Blackwing]

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Day 6 of Summer 514AV -Night time
The Enclave

A library, in Wind Reach. It was like some sort of bad joke, the only difference being that this was real, and a joke was not. Brandon found himself wondering why in Mizahar this place had a library. The Inarta did not seem to be the studious kind, nor did they seem to be too interested in books. Becoming an endal was what interested them, but those things were not written down, since there was no such thing like “becoming an endal, part one” Every eagle was different, and every eagle had different standards –or so the bat had been told. As a result, Brandon found it pretty strange for the redheads to have their very own library.

It seemed a waste for some reason, but then again, he didn’t really care about books either. Still, it would be a better fit if Wind Reach was a more scholar-y city. Ah well, it did not really matter. In a way, it was fortunate the Inarta had one, perhaps he would find here what he was looking for. Theresa had advised him to go explore the Enclave if he wanted to know more about pressure points in particular. The masseuse had claimed not to be very knowledgeable on the subject. Having given the idea a good amount of thought, Brandon had decided to stop by in hopes of finding anything. It wasn’t like he had anything to lose, except time. But who cared about that? It was nighttime, and Brandon had finished his bendi with Theresa for the day. He had to spend his free time somewhere doing something, didn’t he?

Seeking books was not the fun part though -if there was a fun part of being in a library- but finding the knowledge he was looking for, that was the fun bit. Of course, one had to find them first for that, something Brandon was failing miserably at right now. If he could he would have tracked the books he wanted down by scent, but in the dusty dry air of the Enclave the smell of old paper was everywhere, and there were no clues that could point him to the right books or section. All plaques were written in Nari too… The bat gave a sigh, turned around for help, but the place was almost deserted. Only the librarian was present, though she looked very sleepy. A couple dek were around too, however they seemed intent on hiding whenever the bat approached their current position. They made sure they were out of sight before Brandon even arrived. Cleaning eh? This was more a game of hide and seek. Was cleaning an excuse to spend the night in the library? Out of the way, not very likely to come across a lot of people?

Brandon inhaled deeply through his nose, picking up the smell of the dek; human, sweaty and dirty. Male and female alike, though there was a male close to him…hiding behind a bookshelf it seemed. However, by going around the bat did not spot the man, even though his scent clearly suggested he was there a couple ticks ago. Hiding in a quiet place was not a good idea with a bat Kelvic around though, and Brandon focused, letting his subconscious handle the influx of smells while he concentrated on what he could hear. Breathing. A very faint heartbeat. Multiple, at least three in his immediate surroundings. Well, he knew where they were, more or less, but they would still run if he approached, meaning he’d have to sneak up on one. The Kelvic sighed and pondering whether to blow out the lantern he was holding, to make the light that gave his position away disappear.

In the end he decided against it, going for a diversion tactic instead. He placed the light down, and stealthily moved out of the range of illumination. In the dark Brandon was hard to spot; he could move quiet like a breeze, and he knew how to make himself less likely to be detected. Within ticks he had lowered himself in a shallow crouch, an effort to stay out of the line of sight of his target. The bat moved slowly, placing his feet extra carefully, attempting to be as quiet as he could. In a place with a deadly silence like this that sort of thing was necessary. He followed the scent of his target, noticing it was getting stronger, and soon after he started to hear a steady breathing as well. Heh, he was getting close. A heartbeat reached his ears, faint, but it was there. Brandon was getting really close to the man’s position; yes, it was between these shelves. Brandon snuck closer and closer, able to see his target now, even though there was no way a human could see him easily in this darkness. When he was only a couple arm lengths away, Bran held his breath as not to betray his presence. Usually this wouldn’t be necessary, but the bat had no desire to have to go through this again.

Fingers closed around the dek’s wrist like a vice, and the bat straightened up. The lower caste member let out a surprised yelp and almost jumped five feet in the air. The man stared into Brandon’s eyes with a mix of fright and guilt, and if he’d been able to he’d have probably tried to run. “No more games. I can find you again in a matter of chimes if you run.” He sighed. “I don’t care why you’re here and I don’t want to know. I need assistance with something, and then I’m gone, alright? As far as I’m concerned you can go back to doing whatever the heck you were doing before when I’m done. Understood?” He stared at the dek with cold eyes, and the man nodded. Whether it was because he believed Bran or just because Inarta culture forbade him to disobey any member of a higher caste did not matter to the bat. “Good. Follow me,” the Kelvic said, leading the dek back to his lantern, not letting go of his wrist, just in case.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Brandon Blackwing]

x

Once they had reached Brandon’s lantern, the bat let go of the dek’s wrist, as if the circle of light was some sort of insurance the man would not run off. With the cover of darkness gone the man did stay where he was though, but it probably wasn’t because of the light. Maybe it was just because Brandon didn’t look like anything higher than a chiet –not that he believed that mattered to a dek- or maybe just because he’d figured cooperating might be the quickest way to get Brandon back out of the library. Either way the man stayed, and that was what Brandon found important. After all, he did not want to go through all the trouble of finding someone else.

“Right,” the bat said, noticing the dek’s left hand was permanently fixed in a claw-like state, which probably was the reason of him having been placed in the lowest caste. “I’m looking for books on …ehm… anatomy, I guess.” He looked at the man in expectation, an eyebrow raised. “Should be in the medical section.” came the reply, but it was in no way a satisfactory answer. “Well, show me the way then. I wouldn’t need any assistance if I knew where to find it.” Perhaps it wasn’t just the hand’s fault for this guy being a dek. “Oh, yeah.”

With that the man gestured for the bat to follow him as he started slouching in one particular direction. They zigzagged through many of the pathways created by shelves and stacks of books, passed by cluttered furniture and eventually reached a shelf which was supposed to part of the medical section. “Should be around here somewhere,” the dek spoke, stepping out of the way as Brandon stepped forwards towards one of the rows of literature. One of the books was reached for, and the Kelvic inspected the cover, eyes darting over the title. “’Broken bones and how to treat them’,” the bat muttered to himself, this was the medical section alright. However, this was not the book he was looking for.

“Find me whatever books you can find on massage, or anatomy,” the thief ordered the dek, not really bothering to turn towards him. “you can read, right?”
“Uhm, yeah, I can,” the dek said before walking to another shelf and getting to work. Brandon himself continued checking the shelf he was standing at, pulling out books one at a time, checking the title and putting most of them back. Others were leafed through quickly before they met the same fate. “’Encyclopedia of Burns’, no, ‘Mending an injured wing’… no. ‘Taking care of chickens’, not even close…” The bat’s murmur soon became some sort of arrhythmic humming of sorts, though he was still uttering words. “What’s this? ‘Basic Zith facts’?” With a frown, the bat opened the book at random, finding his eyes drawn to a depiction of one of the creatures, though overly dramatized.

wings. Most Zith don’t bother to enter civilized societies or engage in activities civilized races enjoy. However, hunting is an exception. Like animals, the Zith do hunt for food, though their diet is very versatile. They can seemingly eat just about any kind of meat and will eat whatever is available. That is not to say the Zith are scavengers. Zith seem to take great pride in hunting their own food, which can range from various sorts of prey animals, to predators, and their tastes does include humanoid races as well. Unlike other animals but very similar to humanoids, Zith also seem to hunt just for the sake of hunting.

Zith appear to be extremely curious, and it is not uncommon for a Zith to want to learn about certain things or beings, which can potentially elongate the lifespan of a humanoid being that’s been preyed on. However, that same curiosity might have been the reason the Zith is preying on the humanoid in the first place.

While uncommon, it is not unheard of that some Zith infiltrate cities and other settlements (If it’s a city where they are not killed on sight of course). Instead of wearing clothes, these Zith seem to prefer wrapping their wings around their bodies, giving the impression they know about public

While not quite what he was looking for, Brandon flipped back to the front of the book, starting to read one of the first pages.

General characteristics

Zith generally have:
-2 wings
-2 legs
-2 arms
-1 head
-clawed hands and feet (2 hands and 2 feet respectively)
-2 eyes
-a fine layer of fur covering their body
-longer tufts of fur on their elbows and knees
-fangs



ZIth are:
-nocturnal
-extremely dangerous
-violent
-curious
-around 5 foot (females) or 6 foot (males)in length
-lightweights

It should be noted that one should never take a Zith lightly. Their night vision and excellent hearing make them extremely dangerous (especially so at night or in dark places). When coming in contact with a Zith it is recommended to flash something bright into their eyes. Doing so will likely stun or confuse the Zith for a short time. If you have no means of doing so available, it is best to run and hide, though chances of success are low. A last resort may be trying to negotiate with the Zith to accept you as a slave, though doing so is not recommended and the rate of success may vary. Playing dead may also be a last resort, though again, it is not recommended and chances of success are zero at best, due to the keen hearing of the Zith (they can hear your heartbeat).

“Huh. Well, that’s surprisingly worthless information. Unless you’re a mage you have no way to flash something bright into the Zith’s eyes, right?” Bran asked to no-one in particular. He shook his head and closed the book, placing it back where he’d found it and continued his search.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Brandon Blackwing]

x

Eventually, Bran and his temporary dek helper managed to find three relevant books. One was titled “Marvelous wonders of the human body”, another was named “How to become a sage of massage”, and the last was less fancy, but had a more decent title; “Anatomy of the human race”. While that book really did seem to be what Brandon had been looking for, the piece of literature was not as thick as he’d thought it would be. It wasn’t even half of his expectations. Maybe one tenth. Not really impressive. It’s probably just really basic stuff… or only what the author bothered to write about…

“But really, this place has an awfully small medical section…” Brandon pondered, not really asking anyone anything. He got a reply anyway, the dek probably thinking it was a question. “Well, we have a much larger collection on important things. Like Falconry. Or the Unforgiving. Or Glassblowing. Fletching too. Animals and all. Important stuff.” he nodded, likely to himself. “The wrong kind of stuff, you mean,” the bat uttered inaudibly, wishing he’d set foot in the library in Lhavit instead of this one. “Birdbrains. A wider range would be better, right? That way you can at least find an answer to just about any question.” Brandon did not particularly like libraries and books, though he did see the merit in having them. How did that saying go again? Knowledge was power?

He sighed and shook his head, sliding down into one of the fluffy chairs, placing the books on a table. After a gesture from the bat, the dek did the same. “Right, let’s see here…” the kelvic uttered, picking up “Marvelous wonders of the human body”, studying the cover with interest. The leather was rough, and has ink stains all over it, though they did not seem very fresh. Then he opened it and flipped through the pages, letting the paper chose which page he would read first.

Did you know?.....................................................................................................................56



The femur is the densest bone in the body.

When you sneeze, your body automatically closes your eyes, if not, your eyes would pop out of your sockets.

It is impossible to lick your elbow.

Your tongue can only taste four basic tastes; sweet, sour, bitter and salt. Most of what you taste when eating is actually done with your nose.

Babies have more bones in their body than adults.

Brandon closed the book immediately after reading those couple lines. Useless. These were just random facts! A whole collection of useless facts. Why would people even care about those things? So what if you can’t lick your elbow? Or that the femur –which apparently was a bone- was the densest bone in the body? Who petching cared? Brandon sure did not. He grumbled and handed the book to the dek, grabbing the one on massage instead.

Unfortunately though, that book was just as useless like the previous one. Well, not really. It was useful, but not in this situation. It was filled with massage techniques and the best massages to spoil your significant other with. Back massages were very popular, apparently. As were shoulder massages. Huh. Well, Brandon did know massage was very relaxing and felt extremely good, but if anyone could give a great massage –or become “a sage of massage” like the book said- why would there be a need for professional masseuses? The answer waited for him in the preface of the book. According to the author, anyone could give a massage, and anyone could even give a great massage, though the massages given were only basic and were only used for pleasure and relaxation. For real problems and extreme relaxation for an extended period of time, one had to go see a masseuse. Well, that explained things quite clearly. And it also meant even Brandon could possibly do it right… He would find out soon, he had a test subject close by after all.

Standing up, Brandon walked over to the dek, who seemed to be trying to reach his elbow with his tongue, failing miserably. Maybe he’d have succeeded if he were an anteater or so. The bat placed his hands on the man’s shoulders like he’d read in the book. “I want to try something,” he told the dek, who’d turned around with a startled look on his face. “Ehm… Go ahead?” And that Brandon did, pressing his thumbs into the man’s back and rotating them, rubbing in circles. He moved his fingers too, massaging the front and back simultaneously, and the dek let out a sigh along with a sound that probably meant he was enjoying it. Well, that seemed to work at least, but according to the book, a shoulder massage was as basic as it got. Brandon kept going though, still finding it hard to keep up the right amount of force. There was a thin line between pleasurable and painful after all. Or so the book said.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Brandon Blackwing]

x

Brandon continued his massage test, and the dek man seemed to enjoy it quite a lot, if the noises he was making could be used as an affirmative response. So this was just a basic massage, the kind just about everyone could give with success. More suited for relaxation and treating minor muscle aches than for actual treatment of serious pain. Nevertheless, Theresa had told him to practice a bit whenever he could, and this was the perfect opportunity. The bat kept rotating his thumbs, rubbing the appendages of his hand in circles along the man's shoulders, sometimes hard, other times a little more gentle.

“Oh!” the dek uttered suddenly, staring at the book he seemed to enjoy reading. “Did you know the heart is a muscle?” Brandon raised an eyebrow. A dek that spoke without being instigated to do so? Perhaps it was because of the relaxing effect of the massage, or maybe because his mind was still busy reading that he forgot his caste. Not that Brandon minded. “Eh, no. I thought it was just... well, a heart. You sure it's a muscle?” The dek nodded slightly. “Uhuh, It's written right here, see?” He lifted the book so Bran could have a look too. It was just like the dek had said, it was written right there. But that still did not mean it was true. Then again, why wouldn't it be?

“Apparently, the beating of your heart is actually the heart contracting!” the man spoke excitedly, “It's a pump for blood.”
“Ah? That makes sense, I guess...” It did not really, but Brandon decided not to think much about it. In his experience it was sometimes better to just accept things and not to think too much or too hard about it. If the body could move because of some sort djed rope connecting body and soul, then why couldn't the heart be a muscle? Just accept it and move on. Those books were written by scholars after all; they would know best, right? “Anything else?” Brandon asked, now a little curious himself, while he continued his massage. His fingers were getting a little tired though.

“Uhm...I don't see... ah,” the reading dek began, “It says here that your heart can sometimes just stop, and then you're dead. Well, you die, because it stopped.” Brandon frowned at that. How could your heart just stop? Didn't it need a reason to do so? “Does it say why it stops?” It took the dek a while to answer as he read through the pages. “Only that there is a theory on it. Something about the heart not getting enough blood itself. But it's vague. The only thing they're clear about is that a shock from the outside can stop it too.” Another frown, now this was interesting. “Here it is. Ahem. 'An impact to the left side of the chest -where the heart is located- will, if said impact is strong enough, stop the heart.'” Brandon's frown deepened. “An impact?”
“Yeah, like a punch or something. In the book they say they found out by coincidence.”

“Any punch? Just a punch?” That sounded too good to be true. Too easy too. “Well, no. It has to have enough force behind it, and it needs to be precise. Why do you ask?” Brandon's eyes glittered as he ceased massaging the dek's shoulders, stretching his fingers. “I'd like to try it.” The dek turned around, mouth agape. “On who?”
“You of course,” he beamed. All color drained from the man's face, suddenly remembering his caste, and Brandon's. He had no choice but do obey. However, the dek had no desire to have his own heart stopped juts yet, he shook his head. If he did not want to cooperate it would be hard for Brandon to test it. Brandon sighed, he'd need to convince the man it was worth it. Or safe. Or both.


“Doesn't the book say anything about getting your heart to beat again?” he asked, and the dek gladly buried his face back in the book. His eyes scanned the pages rapidly, searching, seeking and eventually finding. “There is a way. You need to place one hand on the chest, the other hand on top of your first, and then you push rhythmically. Like ten times. And then you place your mouth on the one of the dying person, pinch his nose and blow your air into him. And you repeat that until he starts breathing again.”

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Brandon Blackwing]

x

Brandon raised his hands halfway, as if to say he did not see any problems anymore, but the dek still wasn't really convinced. The bat sighed, pondering how he could get the man to cooperate. It would probably hurt a lot, being punched, which was probably the reason why the dek refused to cooperate; if he didn't do as asked the Inarta usually beat the shyke out of them, but in this case he'd get beaten whatever he chose. A stimulus to work with the bat was what was needed. Coin maybe? No, the higher castes would just take it, coin was useless to a dek. Then what was? Other possessions were just as useless, besides, Bran wasn't willing to give anything of his to the dek.

Hmmmm... Then what was useful to the dek? Apart from food the bat couldn't really think of anything. Wait a tick! Food! Of course! Dek didn't get much food, let alone good food. This was his leverage to draw the man in. “Say, and what if I share some of my meals with you?” The man's eyes lit up for a moment, and his mouth opened, but then he collected himself and shut it again, assuming a ponderous expression. “Six,” he said eventually, “Six meals.” The Kelvic shook his head. He did not mind giving his meals to someone else in return for a favor, but six meals? Six days of eating bread instead of hot meals? No thank you.

“Two,” the bat disagreed with a frown, causing one to form on the dek's forehead as well. “Five,” he spoke. Brandon sighed, well, at least he'd lowered his price already. There had to be an amount the dek was aiming for; he couldn't be seriously expecting five meals from the bat, now could he? Maybe he hoped he could get that amount, but he was aiming for some other number for sure. “I won't go higher than three. There are still a lot of your caste around who are hungry, who are hoping for a chance like this one.” Brandon was pressuring him, instilling the sense of it being a once in a lifetime opportunity; which was quite true. “If you don't like it I'll just find someone else.” He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, his body language clearly reading “well, what will it be?”

“I accept. Three it is,” the dek agreed hastily, a hint of a triumphant smile on his face. Apparently both parties had reached their own goals. Good. “Alright then. Let's begin,” Brandon grinned, rubbing his hands together excitedly. “Ehm, so what about the meals?” the dek man questioned, appearing worried. “Don't fret, I don't break my deals unless there's a very good reason. You can come find me during meal-times whenever you like and I'll give you my food.”
“Do you promise? No, do swear? Swear on what's most dear to you,” came the demand. It took the bat by surprise. It was unexpected, but it changed nothing. “I swear on my complete and fully functional body. And my sanity.” Another sigh. “Good enough for you?” The man nodded. “I had expected you to name a person though... Or your life.” Brandon snorted. “People can be forgotten. You can move on if they pass away. If you die yourself, well, there's no problem either. I'd rather be dead than losing part of my body. Or become someone I'm not.”

“Makes sense, I guess,” the dek said, staring at his immobile arm with sad eyes. “What do you want me to do?”
“For starters, go stand over there,” the bat pointed. “And don't move.” The dek did as asked, and Brandon slowly walked over too, rolling his wrists and shoulders. After evaluating the space between himself and the dek, he stepped a little closer, and then back again, finding the perfect spot to launch his punch. Maybe I should throw a palm strike instead... Punching bone is never a good idea... The bat nodded to himself, closing the small gap between himself and his test subject again, placing a couple fingers on the man's chest. The heartbeat vibrated in his fingers, and after a brief moment he'd located the exact spot he guessed the heart was hidden. Then he stepped back once more, assumed a fighting stance and fixed his gaze upon the dek. “You ready?” he asked rhetorically, not waiting for a response but stepping in and delivering his palm strike instead. It hit right where he'd wanted too, but except for the dek grunting in pain and clutching the his ribs nothing happened. As a matter of fact, Brandon could even hear the man's heart still beating. “Too soft eh?” he muttered, having seen this coming from miles away. Brandon hadn't planned on unleashing his full strength right of the bat; if he did and he succeeded, he wouldn't know just how many force it took; But if he worked with gradations in the strength he put in his attack he would find out no problem.

“Get back in position, we'll try that again. I promised you three meals for stopping your heart, not to just punch your chest, so don't complain. I won't break anything -I'll try not to anyway. Say what, I'll give you an extra meal if I do injure your ribs, okay?” That did seem to get the dek to get back into position, and Brandon sighed mentally. If he'd need to use all of the force he could put behind his strike, he would need to actually share an extra meal. He just hoped for his stomach's sake he wouldn't need to go that far.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Brandon Blackwing]

x

Sadly, hopes could not change reality, and Brandon had to attack many times, increasing the force behind his strike every time, and still nothing happened. The only results he was seeing were the dek asking for some time to recover more and more, and his chest starting to show a red mark where Bran'd been hitting him over and over. The bat sighed, perhaps this was a waste of time, even books did not always hold the truth within their pages. But he did not want to give up, no matter how much he was starting to doubt the trustworthiness of the information he'd gleaned from the book; if he did he would have wasted three of his meals. But on the other hand, if he quit now, he wouldn't lose more.

The latter were thoughts that often bubbled up, though were rarely listened to. Sharing a meal was a small price to pay in order to develop a new attack. Well, new to Bran anyway, there was a chance there was already someone who had uncovered all the secrets of the body and used them to his or her advantage. However, it wasn't certain, which meant that Brandon could be the first. He could develop a unique strike, one only known to himself. And the dek, but that guy would probably keep silent about that. Hopefully. It wasn't like he had anything to gain by telling anyone anyway. People wouldn't be as generous like Brandon, giving him food in return for information.

When the man had recovered a bit, he got back in position, and the bat followed his example, getting ready to strike again. Once again this attack was more powerful than the ones prior, but still nothing happened. No results at all. Five tries later they still hadn't made any progress. It was becoming quite clear that either the information from the book was false, or that it just wasn't possible to achieve with the methods Brandon was using. Or I'm just not using enough strength yet, his thoughts added, I'll just keep trying until I know for sure I can't do it. A great idea; research sometimes took a while, as did trial and error. The bat waited for the dek to get back in position and started his umpth attempt.

T

“Right,” the Kelvic panted, sweating, “After this there won't be a lot of other attempts left. I'm going to use about all of my strength. Brace yourself. Think of your five meals and endure.” During the time the both of them had been “researching”, the dek claimed his ribs had been broken, though they hadn't even been injured in the slightest. Brandon was convinced he'd have felt it if he had really broken the man's ribs, but he had to admit that the man had been hit way too many times in the same spot not to be in some serious pain. Asa result, he had added yet another meal to the deal, with the agreement that if Bran actually broke or mauled the man's ribs, he'd get one extra meal. Figuring that he would have to injure the man's ribs for real this time, the bat had already added it to the other four meals he owed the dek.

Brandon's gaze settled on the man's chest, aiming for the red mark his many strikes had left behind. “Ready?” The dek nodded, his face having assumed a focused expression. The bat exploded into action, stepping in and drawing his arm back faster than before. His whole body worked to put all of the momentum from rotational movements behind the palm strike. Like a vicious viper, the palm sped towards the chest and collided violently. Brandon was sure he felt something crack, but it wasn't his hand. Probably the man's ribs, weakened by the other blows it'd suffered. The bat withdrew just as quickly as he'd attacked, moving back to his starting position. His eyes darted all over the dek's body; certainly that should have done it?

Indeed, there was a result; the dek stood frozen stiff, one hand clawing at his chest, the other clawing at the air -though that was its permanent state, so it wasn't very remarkable. An expression of extreme pain was plastered on the man's face, eyes wide, and mouth agape. His jaw moved, as did his chest; he was grasping for air. Though, he did seem to breathe, fast short breaths, but he was breathing... so why did it seem as if he was choking? The dek's eyes found Bran's and they stared desperately. His lips moved, but only a slight wheezing could be heard. No breath, no voice. Nevertheless, the words they formed were as clear as day; “Help!”

And then, the man's eyes turned upwards, and he collapsed on the floor, not moving at all. Gingerly, Brandon approached, crouching down by the man's side and turning him on his back. His ears did not hear any breaths escaping his lips, nor did he hear another heartbeat but his own. When he placed two fingers behind the man's ear he couldn't feel a pulse either. “Gods,” he muttered, “He's dead already...” Or was he? The dek was still warm... What were those instructions again for restarting the heart? Pushing on the ribcage and blowing air into his lungs? “I'd better get started then,” the bat whispered to himself, though he hesitated. Dead men told no tales. But killing just for a martial arts technique was ridiculous. Even though it'd be best if no lunatic ever got their hands on that move. Not that just about anyone would be able to pull it off; Brandon specialized in technique and precision, but not every other person could match Brandon's skill. “And if I use it with people watching, or if I don't want my opponent to die they will know about it anyway. One dek will not make a difference in that case.” The Kelvic nodded; if he'd kill the man his death would be meaningless too. A wasted life. Though one could disagree and say Brandon was liberating the dek from his miserable, already wasted life.

x

credit goes to Euthisa

[Brandon Blackwing]

x

In the end however, Brandon had no desire to take the man's life. Even though he was a dek, killing him would have negative consequences. The bat wasn't entirely sure if it mattered at all if one dek was killed or not. It seemed likely that there was no punishment tied to killing a dek. Not if it was just one anyway. However, it would give him a bad reputation along the lowest caste, they might start avoid him altogether. Not that bad, really, but the problems would occur if he needed one of them to do something for him. Like right now.

With a sigh, the bat bent over the man's body, placing one hand on the man's left chest, his other hand covering his first. Now what? Push? Yes, if he recalled correctly he had to pump the man's chest up and down, and if he did it right, the ribs would have to move along. Brandon pushed tentatively at first, but soon felt that the book's information seemed to be genuine. He pumped hard for a bit, suddenly stopping when he remembered he had to breathe in the man's lungs as well. The Kelvic moved, tilting the man's head backwards so he didn't need to work his neck in an awkward angle, pinched the dek's nose, and placed his lips on the other man's, blowing all the air inside his own chest into the motionless dek.

Then he got back to pumping, repeating the process. It took long; many chimes of sweating, huffing and puffing, and pumping the heart. But eventually, Brandon felt the heart of the dek start to beat again, weakly at first, but growing stronger fast. The restarting of the heart was accompanied by a breath being sucked in, and after a couple breaths the dek's eyelids fluttered open, and he slowly lifted his shoulders off the ground. His eyes darted around for a tick or two, and then they focused on Brandon. The dek muttered something in Nari, then repeating himself in common when he realized the bat did not understand him. “Where am I?” Brandon frowned. “Still in the Enclave.” The dek frowned too, then stared around him, trying to get back up but his face twisted in pain as he did so. “Yeah, your ribs might hurt a bit. I would suggest you lay low somewhere and give your body time to heal. Working will make things worse.” The Kelvic had had his ribs mauled once too, and moving had been rather painful.

The dek nodded, but got to his feet anyway, enduring the pain, and plopped down in a chair with a sigh of relief. “I think I saw her,” the dek spoke suddenly, looking at Brandon with rather wild eyes, though dazed at the same time. “Who?” the bat asked curiously. “Dira.”
“Oh.” He said nothing after that, not for a chime at least. “Dira eh? Did she say anything?” The dek shook his head. “I don't think so. I can't really remember it well. I just remember a dark tunnel. And a light, a bright light at the end.” Brandon made a silent humming noise out of interest, encouraging the dek to continue. “It felt... peaceful. Quiet. And there was someone at the end, a woman, I think.”
“What did she look like?”
“I can't remember clearly, but I believe she just... stared. Coldly.” Well, that did sound like the goddess, even though just about anyone could stare coldly. However, not everyone could show up when you were on the brink of dying, especially so if only said person could see her. “And then she just shook her head as I got closer, and pointed into the darkness behind me... and then I woke up here.”

Interesting. Was that the path the souls walked when they passed on? Through a dark tunnel towards a light? A peaceful, quiet light? It did not seemed to be as bad or threatening as people made death out to be... But then again, death was only painful to those who lived a life full of regrets, and to those who were left behind. “But you couldn't hear her say anything? Or do you just not recall?”
“I... I don't... know...” the dek answered, hesitantly, frowning deeply. “I feel like she might have said something, but...” The Kelvic nodded. If Dira said something before shaking her head and pointing into the darkness of the tunnel, it could only have been one thing. “She probably said it wasn't your time yet. That you still have to fulfill your purpose in life.”The bat grinned; that had to be it. “Maybe,” the dek pondered, “maybe.”

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credit goes to Euthisa

[Brandon Blackwing]

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There followed a deadly silence, one born from the dek man seemingly deep in thought, pondering on his experience. Brandon was not very mindful of the quiet, in fact it was a good opportunity to do some thinking himself. About the usage of the heartbreaker -as he had decided to call the attack- and how to prevent others from copying the move. The latter was perhaps not as difficult as it seemed; the heartbreaker had a certain layer of defense wrapped around it already. Brandon's strength came from the speed with which he performed his attacks. Well, most of it anyway; of course technique and his own physical strength played a role too, but mostly speed. Most of the time Brandon did not have to go all out, instead he went with enough speed to still be faster than his opponent, but slow enough to play around a bit. In fact, he hadn't really been serious during most battles he'd fought.

Every now and then though, there was one foe who could force Brandon to become serious, be it through toughness, by dragging the Kelvic into their own pace, through strategy, or by just being too strong for Bran to handle if he fooled around. In most cases, Brandon was holding back, and it seemed to be subconscious. Perhaps it was so he could enjoy the thrill of battle longer. Or maybe because he just could not not underestimate his opponents in most cases. However, the heartbreaker required considerable force for the bat to use. As a result, Bran had had to use his full power to make the move work; a strike thrown as fast as he could. Precision was required too, but Brandon already did fight with precise movements, so that hadn't been the problem.

That speed was part of the layer of defense around the heartbreaker; not just everybody could reach that kind of speed. However, a person with a more bulky build might be able to perform the attack without being as fast. But that was where the precision came in; one had to strike the exact area where the heart was located; no problem for Bran, but maybe it was for others. Though it had to be said that Brandon had no idea just how precise the strike had to be. It did not really matter however, as the precision was intertwined with another part of the defense; the target. Indeed, the person the move was used on was part of the layer of defense as well. No one just stood around letting themselves be hit in a fight, no, they would move about, block and attack as well. Even if a novice could in theory perform the heartbreaker, in practice it might just be a whole lot harder to do. Finding an opening and exploiting it were different things, and the latter became harder the more skilled one's opponent was. On the other hand it also became easier when you yourself grew more and more competent.

With those three parts as a defense mechanism to prevent just about anyone from using the heartbreaker, Brandon was a little more confident about actually using it in battle. However, its effects on the body were not to be taken lightly. It would have to be some sort of last resort kind of thing. A strike that could stop someone's heart was not to be used when fooling around. In a serious battle, one where Brandon's life was at stake, or a battle where he had to kill to survive, the bat found it'd be acceptable to use. If he was just beating down some punks who were looking for a fight, or some drunk hotheads, or what have you, he would not. In the first place because he wouldn't need it, and secondly because knocking them out cold usually sufficed to deal with such people. No, the heartbreaker was a serious move, only to be used in equally serious situations.

Brandon nodded to himself, but more about the layers of defense than the rest. The latter were natural. People with common sense would agree with him, and those who didn't were most likely lunatics; the kind of people he did not want to discover the attack. The bat frowned as he focused his gaze -how long had he been staring into nothingness?- and saw the books laying on the small table in front of him. Right, perhaps it was time to go research what he had came for; pressure points. Only one book remained, and Brandon reached out to grab it, leafing through the first few pages, scanning the content briefly, but not thoroughly. After having reached a page that was titled “Part one: the Skin”, the Kelvic frowned and stroked his chin in thought. If this was part one, then what was all that came before it? He couldn't remember, so he flipped back to one of the very first pages, stopping when he found one particularly interesting one. “Oh, this one has an index table,” the bat whispered silently to himself, “that makes things easy for me.”

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credit goes to Euthisa

[Brandon Blackwing]

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I: the skin
Overview…………………………………………………………………..................................5
The layers of skin…………………………………………………………………….....7
Functions of the skin…………………………………………………………………15
Healing of the skin…………………………………………………………………….22
Skin diseases………………………………………………………………………….........26

II: blood
Overview……………………………………………………………………………..............…….31
Veins………………………………………………………………………………………..............…33
Functions of blood……………………………………………………………………....36
The heart………………………………………………………………………………........….41
Blood circulation…………………………………………………………………….........45
Blood related diseases……………………………………………………………..50

III: lungs
Overview………………………………………………………………………………..............…52
Built of the lungs……………………………………………………………….........…54
Function of the lungs………………………………………………………....…….61
Importance of the lungs…………………………………………………….....63
How the lungs work…………………………………………………………………..65
Choking……………………………………………………………………………………..........69
Asthma……………………………………………………………………………………...............71

IV: Skeleton

The whole first part of the index table did not list anything that was of importance to Brandon, nor did it have any relevance to the information he was looking for. As such, the bat started to skip certain parts, reading only the title of the parts the index was composed of. That way things progressed a lot faster, and the bat managed to find one section he believed to be the one he was looking for.

XIII: djed system
Overview…………………………………………………………………………................…..285
Djed flow in the body………………………………………………………………287

There was more listed below, but Brandon did not bother to read it, instead he flipped through the pages, seeking the right one. Chapter Xiii, whatever that meant. Couldn’t they just use numbers instead of strange nonsense? He did find it though, having used the numbering of the pages instead, but checking the name of the chapter to be certain. Yes, this was it. The djed system. Compared to other parts it did not seem to have as much pages detailing it. It didn’t matter though, as long as it had what he was looking for.

Part XIII: The Djed System


Overview

Djed is the substance which composes everything. If it exist, it has djed. Djed is what makes an item what it is. It defines the substance it is supposed to be, and thus it is the basic substance of everything and anything. Djed is the purest form of information, though it is in itself not matter. Djed has the property to be anything, or become anything. Djed is also a form of energy that can be drawn upon. When one partakes in a physically exhausting activity, said activity consumes djed. (For more details, read “Djed’s role in regards to motion”, page 299). To restore djed, and thus shake of exhaustion, one must rest, and take in various substances which replenish the body’s djed; food.

Djed is also what the soul is composed of, and the djed of the soul is of higher purity than that of everything else. The higher the rank of the creature, the purer the djed. Sentient races are known to have the purest djed of all living creatures, with their mean value of intelligence playing a role in the purity of the djed, as well as the amount they body emits as aura. Zith and Kelvic are thought to have the least pure djed of the sentient races, though there has been a lot of controversy surrounding this generally accepted concept. On the other hand, the gods are beings with the purest djed known to humanoid kind. It is said that their djed is so pure that even staring at their aura could cause an overload of information the mind would not be able to process, thus leading to mental impairment. It has been theorized though, that the gods do suppress their aura, so it would not harm everyone. A popular debate among scholars specialized in the field of djed is whether there are different ranks of purity among the gods themselves too, much like it does among the mortal races. The theory goes that the more powerful the god, the purer the djed, though whether or not that truly is the case remains unknown.

Djed is also used in different magics. Especially Personal magic is considered dangerous as it draws from the user’s soul itself. As a result, consequences are harsh. However, magics have proven to be extremely effective, and mages are capable of incredible feats considered impossible for the ordinary person. Reimancy for example uses the property of djed being the basis of everything to transmute it into whatever element the mage would like. There have been experiments to try and create something else than the basic four elements, but apart from the so called para-elements there have been no successes.

Djed flow in the body

Much like blood, djed too flows through the body through so called vessels; djed veins. Like blood transports air to different parts of the body, djed veins transport djed. Djed as a form of energy rather than matter is then stored in different organs and structures. Some of it is used right away, to power digestion for example. There are many processes in the body that need a constant source of djed to remain active, and the reserves stored within the body serve that purpose. However, not all of it is used, there is always a certain amount of djed that remains in storage. In muscles for example, djed is used to power motion. When one exerts oneself, this consumes djed. The longer the activity is continued, the more djed is consumed. When one burns through their reserves, one becomes exhausted. The same is true for magic, but when their reserves have been used up, the mage goes into overgiving.

So djed is used to power every process and activity in and done by the body, though it does not do this by itself. The body is connected to the soul through djed as well. These strings of djed can be seen as the strings of a puppet, with the body being the puppet, and the astral body –the soul- being the hand that controls it. These djed strings, also called djed nerves, transport information from the soul to the body and vice versa. If the soul moves, so does the body. If the body receives a wound, the soul will receive that information, and send pain to the damaged part of the body. The majority of those processes is done unconsciously, and the individual had no control over it. Usually, the individual only has control over the movement of their body, but not fully. It is thought to be to diminish the stress placed on the conscious mind, and to be a defense mechanism as well, should the individual lose consciousness.

The places where the djed nerves connect with the physical body are called pressure points, and the location of most of them are known to humanoid kind. These can be manipulated through disciplines such as massage, which makes use of them to forcibly send information to the soul, thus healing the individual. This requires great skill however, as using the wrong techniques could have the opposite, and thus harmful, effects. There have been some people known to use this to their advantage in combat throughout history, though their numbers were few. Because of a loss of information due to the Valterrian, it is unknown whether there existed a special group of such people at one point or another, but many scholars agree it is very likely.

Djed vessels and djed nerves are different things entirely, and though the manipulation of the djed vessels can also have positive or negative effects, it does not send information to the soul, but instead opens or closes the vessels partially, thus influencing the djed flow through the body. This has a revitalizing, energizing effect and is considered one of the basic techniques of a masseur or masseuse. Of course this is only true for opening the vessels. Closing them supposedly has the opposite effect, but it is thought to be part of a lost discipline, as no masseur or masseuse has ever succeeded in accomplishing this.

NoteWhile I did try to stick really close to the lore, I had to go with a relatively liberal interpretation of certain things, as some things are just not in the lore. I hope that's okay. I did read the lore though (Djed, soul, and personal magics) And I watched Tarot's soapbox episode on Djed. But also keep in mind that Miz has lost a lot of information and knowledge during the Valterrian, and they are trying to regain said knowledge. Which means the scholars are doing their best to interpret just about anything. Physics, biology, magic, etc. So there is stuff in there that possibly isn't true. Or just partially true. I do believe the core facts should be correct though, as I pulled those straight from the lore. With the exception of things I reasoned would be plausible/ correct as well, such as the djed vessels and the manipulation of the djed nerves.

Basically I read lore from all kinds of different skills, magics and concepts before writing this, so yeah. I hope this is acceptable

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credit goes to Euthisa

[Brandon Blackwing]

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Brandon leaned back in the chair, placing the book open on the table. One hand came up to stroke his goatee while he pondered. He did not understand everything he’d just read, some things were just too… strange, but he did get the gist of it. Or so he believed. Well, what mattered was that there were pressure points, and that they could be manipulated. The book even mentioned combat using these points. The djed stuff mostly went over his head, though that did not mean he couldn’t just store it in his mind, just in case. Of course he did not get how it worked at all, but he did not care. All he needed to know was that it had to do with magic. And, according to both the book and Theresa’s explanation, with movement and control of one’s body as well. Did that mean that the combat variant was about forcibly making the target lose control?

There had been something written about forcibly inserting information and passing it to the soul, and that healed people for some reason. So if used in combat, did one pass damaging information to the … what was it?... Astral body? Did one numb the body? Render it unable to move for a period of time? Or was it permanent? Massage wasn’t. It lasted for a couple chimes, some bells even, but not for that long. But that was just the ordinary massage he’d received, he couldn’t talk about pressure points… Damn. Was it a dead end? Maybe he just needed to test it. But how could he test things without knowing the location of the points, nor the technique necessary to manipulate them? A dead end indeed.

Wait! What had the book said about that? “Using the wrong techniques could have the opposite effect”? So maybe the right technique was only required for healing purposes… it would make sense; combat was about inflicting pain, and rendering your foe unable to fight. How one went about it did not matter most of the time; it only had to be effective, and not harmful to oneself. Hmmm. Yes, maybe. He might just have found something. Brandon picked up the book once more, flipping pages looking for something that might help him even further. It was easily found; just a couple pages further, the paper was filled with a drawing of a man –frontal view, and next to it in side view- with a lot of dots and numbers all over his body. The page next to it had a list with the same numbers, and complicated names. If the Kelvic flipped another page, he saw another drawing of the same man, but now from the back, with more numbers, and more dots. It too had a list on the page next to it. It were a lot of dots, a lot of names, and a lot of numbers. The header said all those were pressure points. Brandon sighed; he couldn’t possibly remember all of them, no matter how great his memory might be.

As such, the bat reasoned, he would have to memorize a few. The ones he thought important. For combat purposes those on the arms would be most useful, Brandon thought, though it depended on what effect manipulating those points would have. Would it numb them? Would it make them experience excruciating pain? Just make them unable to move the limb? All of them at once? How long did it last? How many of those points needed to be hit to have effect? There was no telling yet. Experiments and tests would give answers, hopefully.

For now though, Brandon decided he’d just focus on the points on the arms, as those would probably be most useful to him. But, that did mean the target would still be able to kick… or run. Hm. His eyes flitted to the page, scanning the drawing. Of course there were many points on the legs too… but the arms and legs together were too much… If only he could use one… wait. You needed two legs to run, that did not mean you needed to cut off both to stop someone from running. Just one was enough. Now, if there was a place with not that many points, but that was vital for running… Oh, there was. The knee. The side of the knee even. Brandon grinned, starting to commit the points to memory. With his index finger he pressed the location of the pressure point on his own knee, knowing it would stick better that way. Then he repeated it without looking at the picture, getting most wrong, but it wasn’t a problem. The bat just repeated the circle, testing himself over and over, until he could remember the locations. Of course, there was no certainty he really had memorized them; he’d need to test himself again later.

Next came the arms, and the bat noticed upon deeper inspection of the picture that the arms –and thus their pressure points- were mirror images of each other. The same was true for the legs. That made things really easy. Well, no, but it lessened the amount of points he had to memorize. The best way was probably to just memorize those that would affect motion the most… which were the joints. The shoulder and elbow in particular. If he could render the shoulder immobile, the arm would be unable to be lifted, or moved around. However, it could still use the elbow, which was in itself not dangerous, but could maybe pose a threat… you never knew. If he, however, disabled the elbow as well, the whole arm was immobile. Apart from the wrist, but what could a wrist do? Rotate to position the hand so it could grab things. Okay, that could be dangerous. The wrist would be immobilized too then.

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credit goes to Euthisa