Fresh Air(Practice Thread)(Closed)

by **Jaquise Emittere** on January 18th, 2010, 1:23 am

41st day of the winter of 509 AV

Secret :

Day 1

The cobalt mountains, as they were called, were right outside the city of Syliras. While farther out it was as dangerous as any other wild untamed area, the people Jaq had talked to had said that close to the city was as safe as it was going to get outside the walls. Apparently the local kelvic population took a care to keeping what they deemed there territory relatively predator free. Taking a deep breath Jaq slowly and calmly drew his katana. If there was one thing Jaq hated about being a mercenary, it was the constant practice he needed to do to maintain and improve his abilities. Normally it was simple for him to practice his sword skills, all mercenaries enjoyed a good sparring match. He had not come to Syliras with any group though, and was essentially alone. That it was an important trip for him didn't change the fact that Jaq didn't like not having a drinking buddy or two. With no one to spar against though, that meant solo practice sessions. More of an exercise then any real training, Jaq didn't use dummies or trees or even imaginary enemies. In fact when practicing alone Jaq tended to block out the outside world, and focused on nothing at all. Since he was far to impatient to meditate with legs crossed and eyes closed, Jaq had taken to practicing some forms he had read up on for the blade he had chosen so long ago.

Taking the blade in both hands Jaq raised the handle to his waist, with the point going upward as high has his chest, and held it at this angle. Taking another deep breath Jaq picked his rearmost foot up and began taking a step forward, while at the same time raising the kattana over his head. Just as he completed the step Jaq brought the blade down in a motion reminiscent of someone cutting wood with an axe. Then, moving the same foot, Jaq twisted around while swinging his sword in manner parallel with the ground, only to end up facing right behind him. Jaq went on like this for about an hour before he began to repeat himself. It was the same form he had used to empty his mind for voiding. It no longer held any meaning to him. Where once he would have seen a sword to block, or a guard to break, now there was simple motion, movement. So it was that his thoughts were also focused on the emptiness of it. Another swing, another parry, another step. Another swing, another parry, another step. A swing, followed by a second swing, no parry and a step. A parry, a step then a swing.

When he had finished the form for a third time, Jaq sheathed the blade. He was sweating a little now, though the chill winter air kept him from being drenched in it. His breathing was little faster then it was normally, and he was taking deeper breaths. While his body seemed to have gone out of its normal rhythm, his mind seemed to have found its. Jaq's normal turbulence of thought was quiet now, the river of images nothing more then a trickle. He was focused, he was calm, and he was ready.

Now came the time for him to practice the most dangerous of his skills, reimnanacy. Jaq began an incantation that was a combination of gibberish, a recounting of the form he had just finished practicing, and a drunken tune he favored on nights when the sky was clear. The product was both odd and oddly rythmatic.

Stretching his arms out in front of him, Jaq thought about the ethereal bluish white substance that was his res, and slowly a small ball began forming in his palm. Jaq let it continue growing for a few more seconds then stopped. Slowly, Jaq had it moved from his outstretched palm and begin circling around his hand. When it was set in that motion, Jaq created another solid ball of res, the same size as the first one. He waited a moment had it follow the path of the first ball, making it sure it was on the opposite side of his hand. Next, Jaq began to spin both of them, as one would a top, while still keeping them on the same path orbiting the opposite sides of his hand. With them spinning, Jaq put more will into the working and forced them to circle his hand at a faster rate, one that was a great deal more difficult to hold. Then, when was satisfied with the speed in which everything was moving, he willed both of the ethereal spinning forms to begin gathering air from around him. They did so fervently. Then Jaq made another ethereal ball of res, this one he set to spinning in the same direction the other two forms were orbiting his hand. Finally, Jaq began converting the res in the center of his palm into air, as opposed to simply drawing it from his surroundings. To try and do that would leave it lacking since the other two bits of res were circling at a speed that would take any air before in reached his palm.

It was the most difficult working Jaq could think of that allowed him to practice the essentials of reimnancy, res control, element manipulation, and element creation. It was three spells in one, and something Jaq would never have tried to do without a great deal of preparation. Even now he was still chanting.

Now came the hardest part of the spell, holding it until it was ready. In the same way one tried to build up endurance by lifting weights slowly, Jaq willed this working to gather at a slow pace. It was a strain, and it took all of Jaq's concentration to manage. A minute passed, then another. Finally the workings was ready. The two balls of air circling his hands were like mini cyclones. There spinning had sped up the air in the center of his palm, which was a great deal stronger then those circling his hand. Jaq set himself into a ready stance and then willed the small amount of res left in the center of each ball to shoot forward. It did so in a spectacular fashion. When released, the ball in the center gained size and speed, and simply seemed to absorb the two circling it. 5 feet away from Jaq, it was as large as his head. 8 feet away it was twice that. At 10 feet it hit a tree, and a concussion nearly as strong as the kick from launching the spell hit Jaq in the chest and tore away his breath and stopped his chanting. Bark was torn from the tree, and the snow on the ground was swept away in an increasing large path from Jaq to the tree itself. The tree itself seemed to bend for a moment before snapping back to its original

Now it was time for Jaq to sit down and meditate some more. This time though his thoughts would be focused on the workings, as he played each part over in his mind. Later he would think about what he could to improve it. Now he just simply let his mind play it over. For another hour he sat there, calming his mind and meditating over his spell.

by **Jaquise Emittere** on January 18th, 2010, 3:37 am

42nd day of the Winter 509 AV

Day 2

Secret :

Jaq woke up to a bright sunny day in his comfy tent with a painful nerve racking hangover. The night before had been his first night drinking after weeks of travel, and Jaq had made it last. By now the owner of the establishment was probably wondering how he was going to replace his stock before Jaq returned tonight. The ladies had been thoroughly impressed by his scars, and the guys had been laughing at his jokes when the ladies were out of ear shot. All that didn't change the fact that hangovers hurt. A lot. Still, it wasn't the first time he had woken up with a hangover, and it certainly wasn't the worst. So with the air of a professional about him Jaq got dressed and readied before laving his tent without making so much as one loud sound. Unfortunately for Jaq, he had forgotten there was snow on the ground. So as he exited his tent and his booted feet crunched loudly on the snow covered ground, Jaq winced in pain. Getting to the fire pit was going to be difficult. Each step brought reminded Jaq of a time he had spent a few hours in a smithy, watching a weapon smith fix his sword. And the pain. He had to get something to eat though, or else he wouldn't get any better and he wouldn't have enough energy to practice safely. So with that thought in mind Jaq collected the pieces of wood he had laid out near the fire and started building a fire. It almost wasn't worth it to strike the flint against the steel but before he knew it a fire was going and the strips of meat Jaq had carried from his tent were cooking. If you could call it that considering he just stuck a stick through them and hung them over the fire until it was burnt.

By the time they were done Jaq's hangover was nearly gone. It was simple to cool the food off considering he was surrounded by soft ice and after a few moments of letting them lay in the snow Jaq began to dig in. It was halfway through his meal that he noticed to rather odd figures near the edge of the clearing looking at him. One was a panther, whose black fir set a stark contrast to the snowy white background. The other was a wolf, whose white fur seemed to make it blend with said background. If they had been growling at each other instead of simply looking at him, Jaq might have been worried. If they had been growling at him Jaq would have been running. But they simply stood there on all fours watching, apparently waiting. Jaq, in mid bight, thought perhaps he knew what they were waiting for. he took one of the pieces of meat he had, ahem, cooked and held it up for them as an offering. When both saw the condition of the food they quickly shook their heads. Jaq shrugged and continued with his meal. When he was done, Jaq looked over again to see if the two were still there. They had laid down now, but were still watching him carefully. As he had guessed from their manner they were probably Kelvic's. "I won't hunt anything in this area, as long you don't hunt me. Is that alright with you two?" The wolf looked to the panther then back to Jaq and nodded. Then both figures stood up and ran into the nearby brush leaving Jaq alone with his thoughts.

When he had finished his meal, and he could think of no other excuse to continue putting it off, Jaq decided to get down to business. Training. Like every day he didn't have a job or an interview Jaq started it off by training.

Jaq took his sword, which he had laid on the ground next to him, and slowly drew the blade. It was an old sword, and both its handle and its sheath were in less then optimal conditions. The blade itself though was as good as it was going to get. Sharp and clean, Jaq took care of it better then he took care of his own body. At nights he often polished it before going to sleep. That is if he wasn't to drunk to hold the blade without hurting himself. He made sure to always wipe it clean of blood and dirt after using it in combat. It wasn't the sword his father had given him, but it was the sword he had been taught to use.

Dropping the sheath to the ground, normally it hung on a belt that was worn around his waist but it was unnecessary to wear it like that for practice, Jaq put himself into a ready stance. "Now remember Jaq, one of the most important things about using a weapon of any kind is your footing. Swinging the sword is all well and good but without a solid center you'll have nothing behind it to back up the swing. Stopping an enemies weapon from scoring a hit on you is an impressive thing, but if you aren't centered when you do it, it will only take a moment longer for them to cut you down. No small amount of your swings focus as much on hip movement as they do swinging." His Father's lessons rang true in his mind, and Jaq fixed his stance so that he was truly centered. "And remember to grip the swords handle properly. It wouldn't do to have it knocked out of your hand when you go to use it. Here like this." Sergane takes his own sword and hold it up so he can show Jaq how he is supposed to grip the handle. "Put your dominant hand at the top near the guard, and the off hand near the bottom. No not like that. You have to use your pinky to grip the handle." Jaq took the sword in both hands, as opposed to simply carrying it with one and set his grip to match what his father had shown him.

Then, taking a step forward, Jaq raised his arm and brought the sword down in an arc, cutting through the air before him. That was horrible Jaq, honestly. When swinging, the left hand should be executing a pulling motion while the right should be guiding the left. As you swing, tighten your grip by turning your hands into the handle which locks it in place. Like this." Sergane slowly acts out the action he just described, stopping at points so Jaquise could understand. A shadowy figure off to the side watches the practice intently. Jaq took a step back and re-centered himself. Then, following the instructions his father had given him so long ago, Jaq redid the advance. When no inner criticism rose to tell him he had done something wrong, Jaq repeated the move a few more times. When he was satisfied that he had practiced that particular part enough, Jaq moved onto practicing his parries. "More difficult with katana's then with other swords, blocking an attack from another blade normally requires you to use the back of your blade. The reason being is that the front of the katana is meant for slashing. Now there are exceptions, as there are with many rules of combat, but for now we should focus on this aspect." Jaq had never been good at deflecting his father's attacks with back of his blade. It always seemed overly complicated and pointless. That was until the a particularly harsh swing from his father chipped the katana's keen edge. So, faced against an imaginary opponent, Jaq set to practicing his blocking. It was slow going and his inner critic chimed in every few seconds to point out another error and left Jaq impaled on the enemies imaginary sword. Eventually though Jaq was able to 'block' one of these attacks and his inner critic only had mild complaints.

With his basics covered, Jaq sheathed his sword and moved a few paces back. He hadn't noticed when he was practicing, but apparently he had been moving around a lot. A great deal of the snowy blanket that had covered the ground had been disturbed or completely pushed aside. It said something about Jaq's stance that he hadn't even lost his footing once, though considering how light the snow had been it wasn't saying that much. When he was back to where he first been standing, Jaq once again set himself up in the feet spread stance that is so very common with forms a self defense. With his dominant hand, his right hand, Jaq gripped the handle of his sheathed blade. His off hand gripped the top of the sheath itself, close enough to steady it but far enough to keep from cutting his hand if he where to draw his blade. Then in one quick motion Jaq draws the blade and steps forward, while slashing an imaginary target in front of him. It was a slow uneven draw and it resulted in a slow and uneven cut.

"Here Jaq, there's a little trick that would make that particular strike a great deal easier. Watch." Sergane distanced himself from Jaq and stood back took a stance similar to what Jaq had taken but a great deal more solid looking. For a moment nothing happened and the room was quiet. The silence was broken by a click, and with speed that made him almost blur to the observer Sergane drew his sword and slashed it in front of him. The draw had been clean and the cut had been straight. And it had been frickin cool. Jaq new not to applaud though. This was the art of killing, and while one could be good at it one should not enjoy it. Sergane sheathed his blade and turned to Jaq. "The trick is to clear the blade from the sheath the moment before you draw. You do this by pushing on the guard with the thumb of the hand your using to hold the sheath." Jaq sheathed his blade and took the stance again. This time Jaq pushed the sword out of the sheath before drawing it. The draw was faster and cleaner, but not perfect. Jaq re-sheathed the blade and repeated the steps. After several more attempts with only a little improvement Jaq noticed he had an audience. The two Kelvics from earlier were sitting near where they had appeared earlier, staring at Jaq. Most people would find a large wold and large cat staring at them unnerving. Jaq was like most people in this sense. Still, they seemed curious not hungry so he put them out of his mind and went back to practicing.

With his weakest aspects of sword played covered, Jaq was left with only he calming forms he had long ago memorized from countless practice sessions and books.

by **Jaquise Emittere** on January 20th, 2010, 8:58 pm

Secret :

The forms Jaq memorized served to calm Jaq and relax him after hours of practice or sparring as much as they reinforced the basic's of wielding the katana. The stance, the grip, and the motions were all important parts of using a sword. When he was young, his father was about the same amount of time he was home. For weeks at a time he would be gone, and Jaq would be left in the care of the servants. For simpler cases Sergane would have his familiar, Mavrick, stay home and tutor his son. The familiar was reluctant to leave Sergane alone at first, fearing that the wizard would get himself killed while he was away. It wasn't long before he began to feel affection for his partner's child, though he rarely showed it. Being unable or unwilling to wield a katana himself, Mavrick instead taught Jaq these form's in order to keep the boy in practice until his father returned. So it was that Jaq had no memories of his father criticizing his form's, and his inner critic wasn't only able to point out the most obvious of mistakes so for the most part this part of his training was for the most part quiet. The only thing that interrupted his solitude was the crunching of his boots and the cool winter breeze shifting some branches. Jaq stepped forward with an a upward arcing swing, pulling his hand back as he had done earlier, and then took a step back and raised the sword in a defensive manner. Then he spun around with a cut that moved parallel with the ground and was followed by a stab forward. Twisting his hands, as if to twist the blade in an enemies gut, Jaq then cut to the side. Another defensive stance, with a push against the non existent blade and a cut down. The end of the form left Jaq feeling both calm and relaxed, though he had done all of this at a normal pace so his body was all the more warn out for it. His mind was focused now, and it was the perfect time to start the second part of his practice. Reimancy.

Jaq looked over to where the two kelvic's had been laying down and found the spot empty. It wouldn't mean much to them, but if those they belonged with found out about someone practicing magic outside the city walls, some people might not appreciate it. The day before Jaq had performed one of the hardest workings he knew, but it in itself was not very good for practice. Oh he had done it in a manner that most benefited his skill's and allowed him to work out his Djed, but it wasn't the best way to make use of his time. So this time Jaq intended to go over all the basics his father taught him. First was creating res. Next to changing it into an element, Jaq had always found this process the most tiring, and he definitely believed that was an area he could improve him self on. So, with his right arm outstretched, Jaq began to chant gibberish and nonsense and willed into being a solid ball of res. The ball, ethereal blue and white in color, was about the size of a small hand held ball. After a moment of focus the ball lifted from Jaq's hand and began to move forward. At the very edge of his control Jaq stopped the ball. It was now two arms lengths away from him. There, Jaq willed it to started moving in a circle, exactly that distance, around Jaq. "This exercise is all abut control. You learn to control the res you create, and by going to the farthest distance you can manage, you learn where your control is lacking and how to fix it. But that doesn't mean you can rush headlong into this. Mastering a skill takes time and patients, and that goes double for when your practicing magic. Like when we spar with live swords, here we will take precautions. Start off slow, and have the res circle your field of control." Jaq did this for several revolutions, making sure to keep his eye on the ball.

When he had finished the sixth revolution, Jaq once gain willed a ball of res into existence at the palm of his hand. Now unlike the first ball, which Jaq had willed to be a solid, he had made this one a liquid res. Its blue white color shimmered in the morning light, the suns rays reflecting off of its surface like it would any other liquid. When the solid ball of res was about 1/3 the distance around his zone of control, Jaq sent this ball out the about 2/3's the distance and set it on a revolution that went in the opposite direction. "By using different forms of res, you learn the subtleties of res and its control. For instance a liquid is malleable, and will form around things instead of trying to push it out the way like a solid would. And by using both a liquid and a solid at once, you practice your concentration skills.

Finally, when another six revolutions had been completed by the solid res at the farthest distance, Jaq willed into existence a third ball of res. This one was much less visible then the other to, and if one looked at it one could actually see through it. This ball of res was made of gas. It was the hardest to control for most people, but for Jaq would had chosen air as his first element to study, it was neither difficult to control nor hard to understand. It was simply a matter of perspective. Some people thought it would be hard to control because of how much thinner it was. And if one didn't pay attention it did tend to simply start acting like a gas and spreading out. Jaq did sent this ball to 1/3 the distance from his hand to the edge of his field of control, and set this to circle him in the same direction the first ball did, although at a faster speed. Jaq had always hated this when he was a child. It had been infuriating and embarrassing when he failed to control res like his father had instructed. Even with his better then normal control over gaseous res, it was still a challenge. His Father had never gotten angry though, and each time Jaq failed he had the patience to tell him what he did wrong and how he could improve that part of his control. Now a days, after years of practice, Jaq still disliked the technique. He was mature enough to understand its value though, and used it often enough.

When he had finished another six revolutions with the slow moving solid ball of res at the edge of his control, Jaq stopped each one in front of him in a straight line. The next part of practice was elemental control and manipulation, and while it would have been interesting to practice that with the res still circling him, it would have also been unnecessary and dangerous. This time he was going to work his way from closest to farthest. Jaq willed the ball of gas res to begin slowly change into a ball of air, from the inside out so as to not let it slip his grasp. Now he had a time limit for the other two bits of res. If he couldn't finish before the gas res had completely changed into air then he would lose a portion of the working, and would have wasted some power for the end result of nothing. Jaq quickly went to work on the second ball of res, the one that was made of liquid. This one he willed to start gathering in air from the surrounding area. Now because it was an acct of will, and not simply a matter of giving an order, Jaq was no focusing on to bits of res at once. It was a simple enough task, but a person at his low level of skill had to concentrate with all of his mind to perform such tasks, so it was a difficult endeavor. Finally came the last ball of res, and the one farthest from him. This one he will to begin changing into air form the inside out, like the ball of gaseous res nearest him, and at the same time had it begin gathering air from the outer layer in. With all three bits of res being controlled in this manner, Jaq began to sweat. It was difficult, and it pushed Jaq close to the limit of what he could do as a novice. But because he did it so slowly the pain was in the waiting, not in the control. So it was merely Jaq's mind that was being pushed to the limit. "Pushing anything in magic to its limits was suicidal, and should only be done in extreme situations." With a mental grimace to the memory of his father Jaq began wrapping up the spell. There was only a little res left in the first ball and Jaq ended its change, releasing the will that had been going into that task. Enforcing his control of that last bit of res that held the air in, Jaq through the first ball towards the second. At the last second before the first ball hit the second, Jaq threw the second toward the third, though at a slightly slower pace. Finally, right before the second could collide with the third he launched it out of his control zone. Jaq stopped his chanting now that all workings were out of his range of control. He could only watch as one ball of bluish white air collided with a second and then a third. After the last impact the working simply feel apart and all of the air dissipated harmlessly into the surrounding area. Just as intended. It meant there was only the minimal chance of any dangerous side affects and little to no harm done to the practitioner and the environment he was in. It didn't work as well for things like fire or earth, though it might work with water.

by **Jaquise Emittere** on January 21st, 2010, 2:05 am

Secret :

Jaq sat down on the ground and looked up to the sky. The sun hadn't even reached its apex yet. Judging from how high it was he had only been practicing for maybe three hours at the most. It was a long time to do something so taxing. He had worn himself out with all of that practice, and the day hadn't even really started. 'Your not done yet' Jaq silently berated himself. He still had to meditate, or risk some of the more subtle risks of using magic. With his mind, body, and soul in their present state, in such turbulence, he would not have the strength to resist the sweet whispers. So it was that he must calm the storm that was his being by focusing it.

Jaq never really believed it mattered how one sat when they meditated, it was about comfort. Jaq felt comfortable setting his back against a nearby tree, so he did it. With his position settled, Jaq had to choose something to focus his mind on. Some people preferred an image, some people chose a word. Jaq always preferred to meditate to a sound. The clearing he had set himself up at next to the castle was not exactly a busy spot, and though the city was near enough, it seemed the noise was not loud enough to reach him where he sat. So this time Jaq had to settle for an image. He chose an old favorite his father had recommended to him long ago, a summoning circle, a simple one, with three points. A symbol of stability. With the image centered in his mind, Jaq closed his good eye and let go of everything else. It was a slow process for him. Slowly his thoughts died down one by one until all there was was the summoning circle. Things like the cold snow beneath him were still there, but they were no longer prevalent. The sounds of the wind, the chirping of any animals. None of it mattered at the moment.

Jaq stayed like that for quite a while, allowing his body and mind to rest and his soul to recover from the turmoil the use of magic had caused. When Jaq once again opened his eye, the sun was directly overhead now. He had spent at least an hour meditating, and now his legs felt stiff and sore. But the good news was he felt better, less excited.

With his mind relaxed and calm, seeing the kevlic's that had stopped by earlier only ten feet away from him barely got more then a sigh in response. They seemed to have been watching him for a while, and just fell asleep. Perhaps they had though he had. But when he took notice of them the wolf opened it eye and returned his gaze. Jaq nodded thanks to them for not bothering him and got up to stretch his legs. The wolf didn't move, but his eye followed Jaq as he got up and walked around. He seemed, even in his relaxed state, ready to jump at Jaq should he begin to pose a threat. "Hey, you guys were the ones who decide to fall asleep there." Jaq shook his head to and stretched out his back. "In fact I'm about to go into town. I'';ll be back later, though I can't promise I won't be drunk." The wolf reacted to neither his voice or movements, but his eye continued to follow Jaq as he moved form the clearing to his tent, where the small fire he had built for breakfast had died without any added fuel. It was alright though because he planned on buying his next meal. And he didn't need to go looking for more sticks because he had barely touched the pile he had built when he had set up his camp. Jaq turned to see if the kelvic's were still there. Sure enough they were, and the wolf was still looking at him.

"I know this is your territory and all, but don't goo near the tent. I have some stuff in their that's not exactly safe for untrained people to use. Or touch. Or really be anywhere near. Just a warning ok?" The wolf didn't respond this time either, and he didn't take his eye of Jaq. All the while the large black cat, to large to actually be a cat probably some kind of lion or something, hadn't moved a muscle from next to the wolf. Jaq got the impression that the cat was watching him to though. He had to get something to drink before the tree's started looking suspicious. Jaq zipped up his tent and left, thankful for its reclusive spot and what seemed to be nice neighbors.

by **Gossamer** on January 23rd, 2010, 8:00 pm

Jaquise Emittere
Experience: +4 Katana, +3 Reinmancy, +3 Meditation
Additional Notes: Way more like it! I deleted my original XP award and added it in here.