Completed Of Body and Mind

[Alexandra]

35th of Spring, 513 AV

"The noblest form of learning wisdom is contemplation, for only through reflection can our actions receive meaning. Those who act without reflection, without restraint are dangerous and weak of spirit. Impulsive actions must be reigned in and displays of power shown only to avoid conflict. You have strength, my daughter, but strength must be wielded by reason and wisdom and used only to sharpen the spirit or defend those who lack the ability to defend themselves. Whenever you intend to use your strength contemplate upon your reasons for acting thusly, only then can you attain mastery.

The words of her mother resounded through Alexandra's mind, serving as a constant reminder of why she acted as she did. The words were one of the tenants by which her life was governed, those teachings that rang true in her mind and gave her actions purpose. The young woman meditated upon them at least once a day, turning to them when her course seemed unclear, as it did so often now days. Ever since leaving Zeltiva three years ago her path seemed to become muddied by doubt, she didn't mind saying that it scared her.

Alex took a long intake of breath through her nose, taking in the ice cold air without flinching. The woman held the cold air in her chest for a moment before slowly releasing it out of her mouth, her mind focused upon the proper breathing technique. Controlled breathing allowed for a clear mind, as ones focus became fixed upon the pattern of breath. Once the mind became unclouded solutions became apparent, courses of action were easier to understand in a blank empty state.

The woman repeated this action several times, the cold air of the tundra becoming one with her. It had taken some time to get used to the air surrounding Avanthal, indeed early on every breath taken was like a dagger of ice stabbing at her lungs. Within a relatively short amount of time she had managed to adjust and had found that the cold air was actually much better for clearing her mind.

She was no master of the art of meditation and disturbances could pull her out of the state of relaxation relatively easily, and often her bursts of insight were exactly that, bursts, small and short in nature. The path of enlightenment and wisdom was a difficult one to walk, one that was fraught with experience and hardship. However it was her path, one that she had chosen for herself, for only with the bitterness of experience could enlightenment be achieved.

[Alexandra]

Alexandra opened her eyes and looked around, the white desert dominating her vision. The city was a mere silhouette on the horizon, far from sight and from overly prying eyes. This was why she had chosen the tundra, she had no wish to display her abilities to others for such arrogance invited only disaster. While she did enjoy the company of others, a luxury that she had been deprived of in her younger years, Alex found that she learned best when alone to contemplate her actions.

She had not simply come out her to meditate upon her path and the reasons behind it, though that was certainly a reason. If that had been her purpose there were likely many places in Avanthal to find comfort in solitude, no she was here to hone her skills. There were no instruments of training around her, but that was fine, the motions and her form were what were really important.

The tall red haired woman stood from her kneeling position, her thick fur lined robes whipping about in the wind. She brought her right fist against the heel of her left hand and closed her eyes, beginning her breathing exercises again. The motions would come first, then the power behind them would come.

Focus was absolutely necessary for this exercise, if her mind was clouded for a moment it could result in loss of control which would invite disaster of the highest caliber. After a few cycles of breath she envisioned the forms and the styles that would be used today. Her mother's teachings began to fade as her father's took hold, he who had taught her discipline in combat.

"Control must be absolute, for without control you risk the destruction of both body and mind. Know your limits, never push yourself too far, such is the path of a fool. Martial arts and Flux are designed to hone one's body beyond the potential of most mortals, but that potential will be lost if the body is destroyed. Remember, my daughter, weakness of spirit is the greatest sin."

Her father had always been passionate about power and strength, viewing them as the greatest concepts in existence. His entire existence revolved around honing his power to its sharpest edge, so that was what he had taught his daughter. While many of his teachings did not suit her current path Alex kept some close to her mind at all times. Tossing aside wisdom simply due to the source was the path of a fool.

Alex opened her eyes again and adopted her ready stance, her legs spreading apart with her forward most foot pointing in front of her and other pointing the opposite direction. It was a basic stance but it worked well enough, besides there was nothing wrong with sticking to the basics. Her arms moved to different positions, both hands forming into fists as one hovered over head and the other leveled with her chest. This was the basic starting position for the Bloody Gavel, her father's default style.

Normally she would have removed her robe and boots, however she had no wish to lose her extremities any time soon. Her movements wouldn't be hindered over much anyway with the additional clothing. With a few more cycles of controlled breathing she was ready to begin.

[Alexandra]

The tall woman started slowly, falling into the motions naturally as they flowed from her instinctually. She was no master by any stretch of the imagination, but any movement repeated enough times became conditioned. Her left arm moved down from above her head just as she stepped in, a hammer like motion, a move designed more to scare than to harm. Another step forward came next, followed by her other fist moving out from its level position. A low kick was next designed to trip up an opponent, if unsuccessful this was followed by a swift punch and a combination of low and high kicks to disorient and overwhelm an adversary.

However if it was successful the ending was swift and very brutal. Alex moved her leg high up and then down in a stomping motion, the target would be the kneecaps or other relatively vulnerable joints. She bent at the knees and delivered a few punches to her opponents imaginary torso, aiming for weak ribs and exposed organs. The finishing blow was another stomp, this one aimed at the opponents throat. Alex's foot hit the snow hard, then twisted sharply, snapping the opponent's neck after crushing their wind pipe.

The woman stepped back and reassumed her starting position, ready to go through the motions again. This time they came more quickly, as if fighting an opponent, and they also assumed that the initial trip was unsuccessful. To be successful in fighting one had to expect the unexpected at all time, switching moves and styles to suit the situation. If a person did not adapt then they would not succeed, it was as simple as that.

After the assumed failure Alex blocked a few imaginary strikes from her invisible opponent, backing up as she did. From this she assumed a different stance, though her legs were still apart her feet were now parallel with each other. Her fists were both out before her, ready for use in a moment. The red haired woman side stepped her imaginary opponent's advance, and the unleashed a successive flurry of sharp jabs and kicks, both high and low.

This was the style her father dubbed Ruthless Discharge and it was designed to never give an opponent the opportunity to counter attack. It was best used when channeling Djed to one's limbs as it would more easily overwhelm an adversary, but that would come later. For now it was the movements that were important, not the strength behind them.

Alex swept her right foot out to trip up her opponent, pouncing on the imaginary downed adversary quickly. A ruthless furry of jabs struck at areas on the torso not protected by the rib cage, the finishing blow here was a sharp kick to the temple. Her father's style of fighting was very lethal and made with plenty of killing blows in mind. As the young woman was not very experienced these were the styles she stuck to, making only a few alterations when she used her Djed in combat.

The young woman ran through the motions of the Bloody Gavel again, this time much more slowly, fixing any flaws she noticed in her form. It was a learning process, one that required constant self review and critique. So she tried again and again, until the movements became less rough and more flowing and natural. It was long and tedious but certainly well worth the time spent as it granted new insight into techniques, as well as the processes behind them.

Next Alex did the same thing with the Ruthless Discharge, this one was arguably the more important of the two as it was the one she most often used with Flux. Every movement was watched carefully and mistakes were corrected with much diligence. Making really bad mistakes when using Flux was a very, very dangerous prospect. All during this process the snowy wind whipped about her, biting at every inch of exposed flesh she had. The cold was not so bad today honestly, not nearly as bad as it had been yesterday anyway.

After some corrections Alex went through the motions of both styles one last time, this time at full speed. Every movement was designed to compliment the other and to flow in a rhythm. Once that was accomplished she added in some dodging, nothing so ambitious as a roll but slight displays of acrobatics designed to get her out of harms way. Dodging was difficult when the styles she used were so offense based in nature, but she managed to work them in despite the awkward nature of the movements.

Alex's breath was not heavy by the end but it was certainly indicative of her exertions over the past hour. The woman adopted her standing meditative stance again and struggled to order her breathing, readying herself for what would come next. Now that she had readied her forms it was time to bring Flux into the equation. For this she needed to first find her center and prepared herself mentally for the task, for any mistake could potentially be disastrous.

[Alexandra]

When Alex next opened her eyes her mind was clear and her breathing had been brought to heel. Her hand felt numb from exposure to the air, reminding her that it would probably be a good idea to invest in some gloves. It wouldn't be long before she could thaw them out over a nice fire, she just had to move through one complete cycle of each style using Flux, then she could call it a day. The woman first adopted the Bloody Gavel, the easiest and more controlled of the two styles.

Alex moved the Djed along her pathways to her poised arm, bringing it down swiftly as she did so. Her arm gain a warmth about it that dispelled the chill as her Djed flowed into her bicep. The movement was far more quick than seemed humanly possible but even as it was carried out the warm energy was already on the move to her level fist. This time the Djed targeted the whole of her arm and fist, the force of the blow probably would have sent any human opponent sprawling to the ground.

It was a delicate dance to move the Djed along pathways in a fluid manner, it was imperative never to just put all the energy into one blow, it was better to keep some energy in reserve so that other strikes could be done much more easily. One also had to strike a balance between power and safety, if you didn't set limits on your body then it would be all to easy to hurt yourself.

Alex gathered Djed in her moving leg, the resulting low kick probably would have broken a leg of an unarmored opponent. She focused the energy solely onto her opposite foot as she preformed the stomp, a move that definitely would have shattered bone and formed a deep impression on the hard snowy ground. For the punches to the torso she focused the energy in her right fist as her right arm was the stronger of the two. This time she deliberately targeted the rib cage to shatter bone and piece vital organs. The final stomp alone was probably enough to sever the spinal cord but she added the twist for consistencies sake.

The woman breathing was much more heavy than it had been before, the use of Djed was a very tiring thing. She had not yet mastered moving Djed along her pathways in a fluid manner but she noted improvement from her normal sessions. Normally just one cycle could leave her with extreme soreness or something sprained, at the moment the dullness was slight and a quick check indicated no sprains.

Good, then hopefully I should have few issues in executing Ruthless Discharge, Alex thought, cycling her breath for a moment before falling into the correct stance.

This would be the more difficult of the two as would involve constant movement of Djed along her pathways, a dangerous prospect if done incorrectly. The woman's expression was focused, deadly so, she couldn't afford any mistakes here. This would be a good test of her capabilities so far, she knew where her limits were and she didn't think there would be much danger of overgiving here. If she got out of this without a sprained ankle she would consider that an accomplishment.

[Alexandra]

The first punch moved quickly, fuelled by a Djed enhanced limb. The energy quickly alternated between the two for a series of jabs that would probably have an opponent falling back in surprise, or clutching a broken arm. Two successive kicks came next one high, the other low, both devastating and fast. Djed moved along her pathways relatively well, increasing the strength of her attacks to beyond normal human levels. There was no problem as she unleashed another flurry of punches and another low kick.

Alex drew back her fist, putting a great deal of energy behind it and had it smash into her imaginary adversary, no doubt breaking bones. The powerful blow had her stumbling forward from the force and she knew immediately that she had used to much force behind the blow. She managed to finish the cycle but every time she moved her right hand a sharp pain shot out.

The woman clutched the limb, her breathing heavy from exertion and dared to move it. The pain was very sharp and caused her to wince and hiss from the severe pain. She definitely had a sprain on her right hand, fantastic. Not only that but her limbs felt pretty sore, not nearly as bad as they had been at other times but it was certainly not pleasant. Alex shook her head slightly, disappointed that she had been stupid enough to put too much energy behind the punch. If she had put just a little more then her hand might have broken, if anything this was a lesson in caution.

The woman sighed at looked to the silhouette of Avanthal in the distance, she needed to get back anyway. Likely she wouldn't be using her right hand for a couple of days, during which she needed to figure out how best to strike a correct balance between strength and safety. Hopefully next time she could get off without a sprain.

So, slipping her hands into the sleeves of her thick robes Alexandra set off to the city again. She was rather hungry any way, all of this exercise was tiring in both the muscles and the stomach. After eating she would quietly contemplate this little exertion in her room, in order to find a way to achieve equilibrium of body, mind, and spirit. Until she found that balance she would always run the risk of hurting herself and that was something she would need to overcome if she was ever to advance in her training.

[Noblesse]

Alexandra :

Experience:

• Meditation +3
  
• Unarmed Combat +5
  
• Acrobatics +2
  
• Flux +3

Lores:

• Cold Air Is Better for Clearing the Mind
  
• Flux Technique: Bloody Gavel
  
• Flux Technique: Ruthless Discharge
  
• Mother’s Words on Contemplation, Strength, and Wisdom
  
• Father’s Words on Control and Combat
  
• Searching the Balance between Body, Mind, and Spirit

Other:

• Sore muscles for three days
  
• Head ache for one day from slight overgiving
  
• Your right arm will be sprained for 19 days, seeking a healer’s treatment will make the healing process faster by seven days
  

Notes:
To be honest, I tend to shy away from grading purely training threads because I do not like reading posts not having a definite plot. In this case, however, I found myself quite riveted. I read every word you typed and must admit that I rather liked it. Your writing style is beautiful, and I loved the details you put in, hence the five points in unarmed combat. It’s also good that you did not overplay your skills and allowed room for your character’s improvement. Bravo to you!

True nobility lies in being superior to your former self

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out. Heehee.