Without Armor [Kendall]

[Hadrian]

"You really did it," he averred, a smile on his face. It was good to share the joy of magic with someone who appreciated it. Kendall seemed as pleased as a child with a new toy, and Hadrian had to wonder about his skill with fire and Ivak's blessing, for it seemed he should know more, but perhaps he was simply more in touch with his sense of wonder. Hadrian liked that. "I wrote some glyphs on my hand to enhance my output without draining me as quickly. I'm finding more and more that economy of energy is important. It takes time to rebuild your reserves unless you're a Leecher and that's just not for me. You never know when you will need all your power. I suppose if I were a swordsman like you I wouldn't bother, but..." He shrugged. "You can release your shield. New magic can be draining, but now you know the basics about as well as I. Practice will improve it, like all things. Then you will be a bit safer as you journey to Ravok."

[Kendall Saarinen]

Kendall could not help the childish smile play played on his lips. The smile had appeared at first because of his magic but now it existed as a reflection of Hadrian's own smile. He felt accomplished when he could make the stoic man smile. Hadrian looked so handsome when he let a little emotion shine through.  Glyphs, that was what they were called. He nodded silently as Hadrian spoke about them. A small chuckle broke through his silence when Hadrian mentioned that he was a swordsman. "I can barely call myself a swordsman. I am still very new to the world of weapons. Last time I attempted to use my sword I was... not taken too seriously." Kendall did not even want to think back to Nadala, the strange Kelvic he had met in the wildlands. "Thank you though. Hopefully someday I will be better." With a sigh Kendall released the shield. He felt a bit of calm as he watched it disapear along with a bit of drowsiness. "Thank you for teaching me Hadrian. Hopefully I won't have to use the skill too soon." Although Kendall seemed like a calm person he was a bit scared of going to Ravok. The more he had heard about the city the more he feared to go. He was not sure if he even wanted to go anymore but those were thoughts for a different time. Instead he merely nodded. He was excited but he felt a bit drowsy. He longed to take a nap. "I really enjoyed this lesson. I have never had a formal lesson on magic before. It was very interesting. Maybe we can work on magic again sometime?" He hoped Hadrian would say yes. He liked to watch Hadrian teaching him. To Kendall, Hadrian's intellegence was one of his most attractive features.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian smiled into that reciprocated joy for as long as he could before the fluttering in his chest and the twisting in his stomach forced his gaze away that he might control himself. Perhaps it all would have been easier if he had been marked by Ivak as well. From what he understood, a side effect of that gnosis was the ability to read emotions. At least then he would know that what he thought he saw in Kendall was real and not some phantom of his imagination or, worse, some sick game to hurt Hadrian. Of course, it probably wasn't, but the young enchanter lived with a metaphorical dagger in his hand, ready to hurt anyone who wanted to hurt him. A balanced person would tell him that wasn't healthy, but who did he know anyway? "You're welcome. But do practice, even if you don't need it. Better to be good at it before you need it. And... if yo uwant to practice with your broadsword, I could practice with my own shielding... be your target..."

[Kendall Saarinen]

Kendall did not know how he felt about practicing his sword on Hadrian. He was sure the mage could hold his own but what if he faltered and hurt him? He would never be able to forgive himself. He did not have the sword to hurt others or intimidate. He meerly had it to protect him when he was traveling. "We could try it. I just worry I might hurt you. I don't want to mess up and cut you on accident." He did not want Hadrian to think he did not find his magic to be good enough to defend himself. He had taught Kendall to shield, he couldn't have been so inept that he couldn't block a sword, especially by a beginner to the art of swordsmanship. "Not that I think you can't block me of course." He instantly felt embarassed at his words. He hated how he stumbled over them like some child learning how to speak. He was not sure why. There was just something about Hadrian that made him completely toung tied.

[Hadrian]

"I do have a few tricks up my sleeves," he promised, and pushed up his sleeves a bit. There was nothing to be seen just then, but Shield energy began to emerge from the pores of his hands, glowing and gathering before they began to slide up his arms almost to his elbows, gauntlets of glowing energy that would block djed, and might deflect a glancing blow from a sword such as Kendall's. Or, at least, that was the theory. This would be practice, which would prove or disprove that. "Your broadsword won't cut through this," he said, "and I can move quickly when I need to. Just... not for a long time. But I think I can manage and you can not hold back too much. I mean..." He laughed. "Don't try to kill me."

[Kendall Saarinen]

Kendall looked down nervously, unable to meet Hadrian's gaze. It was not because he was uncomfortable with him. He was just embarassed of his skill. He knew he was not very good with his sword and he did not want to to look like a fool in front of Hadrian. He did not want to look like a beginner at everything with Hadrian. Still, he obliged. He could not pass up an oppertunity to train even if he ran the chance of making a fool of himself. Nervously, Kendall unsheathed his sword and took the proper stance. He was unsure of how to swing at someone without trying to hurt them. He smiled at Hadrian nervously. "I wouldn't try to kill you." He prepared where he would strike as he looked over Hadrian. In a shot, Kendall raced forward with his sword poised to swing. When he was in close to Hadrian he swung, directing the blow at his arm where the shield was covering it. His heart was racing in his chest. He did not want to fight against Hadrian. "We are not fighting, we are training." He tried to keep that in mind as he watched the steel split through the air.

[Hadrian]

Hadrian quickly pushed furniture to the walls to make more room for the swinging of a sword. His mother was probably turning over in her grave, first that he was bringing people to their home to work magic, and second that he was bringing them there for swordplay now, too. He felt the tingle of magic on his hands as he pushed, the shield magic wanting to protect him from physical contact per his desires, but failing in that. Smiling, he turned to Kendall, not sure exactly how to stand, so he just held his fists up and kept his eyes on Kendall's, knowing everyone had a give if one could ferret it out. The touch of the furniture through his Shield made him nervous, though he tried not to show it. Would this work? "I know you won't," he said and, oddly enough, it seemed he actually believed what he said. As Kendall prepared to strike, Hadrian second-guessed himself and Fluxed his djed into his muscles. His Shield vambraces flashed as the kinetic energy of his swing was shunted mostly into light and heat, but in reality he had just moved too fast, dodged the blade and pushed at the flat of it to simulate contact and hoped that Kendall wouldn't notice. He grinned even as he felt his stomach bottom out. There would be no more of this, not until he knew what he was doing. "See?"

[Kendall Saarinen]

A small wave of relief washed over Kendall when he saw that Hadrian was unscathed after his sloppy attack. It was a bit interesting to see what the art of shielding could do in combat. He gave Hadrian a small smile as he tried to get his heart to stop racing. He knew that his swordsmanship would be much better if he would stop worrying but he could not help it. He did not want to hurt the handsome hydromancer that seemed to be able to see past his strangeness. "Do you want to go again?" Kendall was not sure if he even wanted to go again. He would have been more than happy to stop right there. His work with his blade embarassed him. He had not been trained by anyone nor was he very good at working the sword. He had often played with the thought of selling the sword for some extra cash. He had his reimancy and he knew a little bit of fighting thanks to his brothers back in Zeltiva. He felt more comfortable with those skills anyways. The sword he had was a little too heavy for him which only added to his sloppyness. He could swing it a few times but after that his muscles would begin to ache. "Or we would try unarmed combat. I'm sure that you could work on that too while working on shielding."

[Hadrian]

Hadrian was aware enough to see that Kendall wasn't really eager to continue with this so he smiled and shook his head. All the same, he was pleased to find that even with his inexpert, newfound Shielding ability, he could block a blade -- just not with the Shielding. Yet. Of course, Kendall was no burly Knight thirsting for his blood, but it was comforting all the same. He would become a better Shielder with time, perhaps someday even mastering the discipline to the point where he could walk through a pitched battle unscathed. "No, that's all right. I can tell you're worried about hurting me and now that I know my Shields will work, it's all right to stop. I could introduce you to a few squires who might spar with you, give you some tips. I know nothing about combat, so you would just beat on me and it would be pathetic." He laughed. "Perhaps next time, I'll teach you to Flux. That way if you're in a battle over your head, you can either outrun an enemy or cleave through their defenses with crazy strength. It's another discipline I'm not great at, but I can teach you the basics and I'm sure you could take it from there. You're smart and talented..."

[Kendall Saarinen]

Kendall felt a little more than relieved to hear that Hadrian was willing to move on. He knew he needed to practice with his sword more. He wouldn't have embarassed himself like this if he had. He made a mental note. He would practice later. Maybe he and Cathan could go and hunt together. Then he could try and swing his sword around a bit. Although he would also need to find a way to strengthen his muscles. It was a lot of work just to be able to stab a few people. Kendall let out a nervous chuckle. "I don't think I would keep on hitting you if you were not fighting back. Besides, I'm not to great at fighting either." He had only started to really use his skills in fighting in the past few seasons. His brothers had taught him a little about the art of unarmed combat but he had never had to put it to use before. "It would be interesting to work with a knight. I don't think I could fare well against one but maybe they could show me a thing or two about my blade. The Gods know I do not have a clue how to correctly weild it." Flux... Kendall had heard of that before. Kay'lan had spoken a bit about it. He had said it was an art for the weak. For those who did not have enough strength to defend themselves without magic. Kendall was one of those people. He obviously was not very strong. It was clear as day. Besides, there was no reason to worry about what Kay'lan thought. He was back in Zeltiva probably with some new girl who was more... willing than Kendall had ever been. "Thank you." Kendall blushed a bit at the words. "I would like that a lot. I don't know much about the magic except that it is used in combat but I am sure it would be very useful." Kendall wished there was some way he could repay Hadrian for his help. He did not have any skills that were very useful to the man. His greats skill lied in Reimancy and writing and Hadrian clearly knew how to do both. "Thank you again for your help. If there is anything I can do for you as a repayment just let me know."