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| Sword Singers | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: 26 Mar 2008, 20:35 (1,221 Views) | |
| Corinth | 15 Apr 2008, 17:09 Post #11 |
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That crazy cat lady . . . man
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Kerall Is she serious? I . . . I mean, are we really expected to be following, or even fully understanding this? Master Lorana danced skillfully about the stage in front of her students, wielding a spare acousitm blade in a flowing melody. Jacob and the other students had been training nearly nonstop for the last week after finishing learning of the history of Harmonics, its applications, and the principles behind it, and had now been told to reproduce this mellifluous performance which was going on before their eyes. If there is one thing you can say about this woman, Jacob remarked, noting similar faces, from confusion to plain distress, on the faces of those nearby, it is that she certainly does not wait up for anyone; if you don't know your stuff, she isn't waiting for you. As she concluded, placed the blade back onto a rack, she turned, said: "Any questions? No? Good. Now!" She clapped, stepping down from the stage, "get into pairs and line up. We're going to have . . . a little duel." A devious smile played her lips as she said this last sentence, taking a seat in one of the unobtrusive suspensor chairs that lined the walls. A duel? Apprehension gripped Jacob as he turned to the student next to him; Sami Marko, was his name? What new tests had this woman come up with in that mysterious mind of hers? Some new elimination? Some sort of grading or assessment? Logic told him that the latter was the more likely, but for all her eccentricities, one quickly realised that this was a quality that she often defied openly. Flashes of her performance churned through his mind as the groups began to line up against the right wall, before the stairs to the apron. Jacob and his partner, Sami--a shorter build to him, blunt features; he was diligent, but the style of the country was ill befitting to him--were jostled to the front. "First pair up!" Lorana's voice pierced his thoughts as she shouted from her seat, nestled against the far wall. She continued as Jacob sluggishly ascended the stairs. "We have covered the theory behind Harmonics as well as the basics of its application. But," she placed strain on this word, "we have yet to talk in detail on its militant applications. You have just watched a simple performance; I hope you learned from it, for you will be battling your partner. Don't worry," noting the alarm that spread through her students, "the acousitim blades are dampened--you can't cause any serious harm with them. Your goal is simply to either disarm or knock down your partner. Whoever can accomplish this first is the victor. You know our Kerallian style--be everywhere and nowhere; flow and do not become fully committed to a single, unalterable path, for to do so is to become trapped by it, the only escape from it in your own defeat. But enough talk, begin!" The two began uncertainly, awkwardly stepping around one another; Sami leapt forward, swinging the blade in a long arc. He caught Jacob by surprise, clipping the side of his blade. The reverberations knocked Jacob back a couple of steps. Righting himself, Jacob retaliated with an upward slash, directed at his partner's blade. As this continued, both slowly grew more familiar with their weapons, each adopting a profoundly different style: Jacob took up a swerving defense, relying on angles to keep out of the path of Sami's blade; his partner opting for a more offensive style. I was certainly right about him, Jacob panted, parrying a blow, he is too aggressive--more of a fit for Derantian Harmonics. The minutes dragged on, neither willing to give up. The sounds increased in volume, intensity, though still maintaining a sort of melodious quality about them. Finally, by chance or of desperation, the two met their blades, midblow. The reverberations sent both reeling, Jacob falling to the ground, Sami's weapon flying from his hand and onto the floor below. They both regained their composure to Master Lorana's sharp voice beckoning them off the stage. She was frugal in giving her praise. . . . Probably for the better to keep everyone's ego in check. Edited by Corinth, 15 Apr 2008, 18:09.
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| The Enchanting Troll | 15 Apr 2008, 19:49 Post #12 |
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Name: Carlotta, “Carry”, Diery Played by: The Enchanting Troll Age: Nineteen Occupation Infantry Description: Carry is a fighter at heart and it shows physically as well: her body is lean and perfectly toned, and the almost muscular shape to her arms and legs displays just how concentrated she is on her fitness. She has smooth wavy jet black hair like oil which she keeps pulled up for most of the time in a ragged braid or ponytail, a few rebellious strands getting in the way of her slate grey vision. The contrast of her caramel skin to her pale eyes and incredibly dark hair make her at first appear a little “off” when one first catches sight of her. Her attire is usually quite plain and tends to make her seem a little less feminine in comparison to some of the extravagant ladies of Marin. By the way of personality, the word that describes Carry best is “passionate”. Every thing she does, every task she carries out, every emotion that she feels- it is all done and experience passionately, making her a very reliable person with undying loyalty but this aspect of herself has also transformed her into somebody who isn’t very approachable, jumps to conclusions and bitter- she isn’t particularly forgiving or understanding. Due to her rigid upbringing, she can be seen as quite narrow-minded, enough not to notice her own faults sometimes. Weapon: None apart from a discreet dagger she keeps on her at all times, that is unless she is training with a particular weapon on a particular day. Biography: Carry lived in the Capital of Marin all her life and has only been outside the walls of the city a couple of times, let alone outside the kingdom of Marin itself! And she had always been told by her family that she didn’t want to go outside Marin anyway - anything beyond its borders was not civilised or “right” in the world and if she went out into it, she would be stained its intoxicating impurity. Her childhood had been an vaguely odd one for a young girl at the time- instead of learning her lessons of the household, she was chasing around her three older brothers- begging them to teach her anything their uncle had. The boys would go away to their uncle, in a small town just beyond the capital westwards, for a week of every month and there they would learn the skills of war, whereas at home, they were told the tales of it. Carry’s father was a Scribe and had a job recording, collecting and documenting the Histories of Marin. Carry found herself inspired by all that surrounded her and as she grew up, she culminated little titbits of skills and information from various relatives. Her mother was constantly attempting to reel her back into the world of stitching and cooking but predictable failed every time. And so, at the tender age of sixteen, Carlotta attempted to enlist for the army, however she was turned down at the tryouts for being a woman. She was sent home immediately, but on the way out, she got herself into fight with two boys laughing at her, who were also there to tryout. It was obvious that her skill impressed the Trainer who, after much hassle with people above him and getting Carry to re-demonstrate her abilities, she was accepted and became the first woman in the infantry and slowly, over the period of three years she has been gaining more and more respect until she became one of the most esteemed soldiers in the Capital. Kingdom: Marin. Instructor: Sergeant Abert. Edited by The Enchanting Troll, 16 Apr 2008, 13:30.
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| The Enchanting Troll | 15 Apr 2008, 21:20 Post #13 |
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Marin Carlotta always woke early in the morning, even when she was a child, her body clock just seemed set to wake up at the first possible light - this coupled with the fact she read late into the night after a day of challenging physical exercises used to exhaust her but she had slowly acquainted herself to the regime until she no longer felt the need the collapse halfway through the day. Plus as her body buffed out, so to speak, the physical routines became less and less challenging with each go, thus making everything on Carry’s shoulder’s much much lighter. This morning was no different to any morning. Lazy rays that filtered through the small window, illuminating the little box room in which she slept, aided Carry’s awakening. Carry suddenly flicked back her eyelids and exposed her lead-coloured eyes to the morning, she immediately snapped them shut again as they stung from the light. After a few moments, she opened her eyes once more and allowed them to adjust before shifting into a sitting position, dry and stale air being pushed up through the straw mattress as she did so. She rested her elbows upright on her knees then smothered her face in her hands, massaging it roughly as through trying to eliminate the dregs of sleep that still lingered. Standing, Carry crossed the tiny room in a couple of steps to the wash basin, her bare feet padding quietly across the cold stone floor. She cupped her hands below the surface of the shallow water and splashed it on her face; the water was freezing but it refreshed her and gave her shivers as the little clear droplets slithered down her neck, like icy fingers tracing across her skin. Using the damp from her hands, she pawed her mad, black bed-hair back of her face in an attempt to tame it and scraped into a high pony tail, tying it with a leather band. Satisfied, Carry began to get dressed. Ten minutes later, Carry was sitting at the step of the entrance to the building where she trained, eating her breakfast she acquired from the kitchen chef who appeared to be the only other sign of human life around this time of day. As she ate, Carry observed the sun rising ever higher over the glorious Capital of Marin, its joyous beams caressing the buildings, as though coaxing it gently out of its slumber. And at a snail’s pace, the city responded - at first only a few people appeared to drag their feet down the cobbled streets and then came more people and after that a few stalls being carefully wheeled down to the Market place that would no doubt be absolutely thronging with the citizens of the Capital later on in the day. But now, it was time for Carlotta to officially begin hers. Brushing dust of her backside and the backs of her legs as she stood, Carry turned to make her way inside the shady building, but paused to eye the building opposite the one she was at: it was the building where they would be training the new Dancers. Carry had been curious about what exactly happened in there since the first students had first arrived and she decided that later on in her lunch break, she would find out. Pushing the thought from her mind, Carry entered the sparring room. Punctual as ever, just entering the room from the other side was a man in his forties, carrying two black sheaths that contained (judging by the length) two short swords. He smiled as he caught sight of Carry and she mirrored his expression kindly, noting with surprise how his years were etched into a face that probably seemed quite handsome to ladies of a similar age. However, now Carry surveyed the man that had been her mentor for the past three years, she noticed the wrinkles in his weathered face and the grey lines sprouting from his sideburns, and then of course there was that twinkle of knowledge and superiority in his deep emerald eyes. “Sergeant Abert.” Carry greeted formally, straightening her back and nodding her head curtly at the man who abruptly launched one of the short swords in her direction. Carry’s hand shot out like a snake striking its prey and caught the sheath with a smirk. Same face, same stuff, different day… she sighed mentally. “Perfect day for a bit of outdoor sparring, wouldn’t you say Diery?” Abert suggested. “Aye sir, that it is, sir.” Carry replied, even if it had been pelting it down with rain, Carry would have responded the same because when a Sergeant ever “suggested” or “questioned” your opinion something, it meant you would be doing it anyway and there was no point in resilience. “Right then. Let’s go, shall we?” Carry followed Abert outside, glad to feel the fresh air and sun on her caramel skin once again. Without the need of prompting, Carry drew her sword and took several large steps back from the Sergeant, into the shade of a large oak tree. “Ready, Diery?” Carry did not reply but grinned and leapt forward to lunge. |
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| AkiNekoSama | 16 Apr 2008, 15:56 Post #14 |
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Friendly Neighbourhood Neko
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Derant Reivan watched students move away as they were called out in pairs. The girl who had become somewhat of a friend to her, had been one of the first to go, giving Reivan's hand an encouraging squeeze before leaving her behind. Reivan had smiled nervously at her in response, making the girl giggle. Reivan found the wait tiresome and soon the list of names became a drone in her ears. She surveyed the room carefully, watching who left and who remained. There were not many of them left, when her name called through the endless drone. Reivan stood quickly as she heard the cool voice. Nervousness moved her quickly to her position among the pairs, where she found her partner waiting. Reivan could not help but smile as she realised it was the dreadlocked northener. As the man read out the last of the names, Reivan took the opportunity for a quick introduction. Extending a hand in greeting, she beamed her hearty southern smile at her new comrade. "Pleased to meet you..." She paused, realising she had not heard more than her own name. Edited by AkiNekoSama, 17 Apr 2008, 16:09.
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| Ghost of God | 16 Apr 2008, 20:56 Post #15 |
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Your friendly neighborhood cynic
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Derant Grinning Nex took her hand and shook it before letting his own arms drop to his sides. “Nex,” he said, taking her hint that she hadn't heard his name. He couldn't blame her, he had stopped listening after his pair was called too. “the pleasure is mine Reivan.” He smiled at her for a moment before looking over to Master Ico who had stopped talking. Ico had turned towards the pairs and was looking them over with an appraising eye, making the final decision on who was with whom. After a moment he nodded to himself in satisfaction and beckoned for them all to follow him. He lead the group into a considerably larger hall, with ten raised platforms set in increments along the floor. Around the platforms the floor was padded, something Nex was glad for as his shoes thumped against the Ironwood floor. Across from the platforms were bookshelves and a half dozen tables, looking more like they were added in as an after-thought to the room's design. Master Ico moved quickly and purposefully to one of the platforms, his stride carrying him quickly across the floor and up a small staircase onto the platform. “Students,” he called out to them, “welcome to your training hall. Here is where the majority of your time will be spent until graduation. This is where you will prove that you are worth spending the time and effort to train.” Pausing Ico looked down at them sternly, his attitude turned towards business. “Now, any volunteers?” |
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| AkiNekoSama | 17 Apr 2008, 16:22 Post #16 |
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Friendly Neighbourhood Neko
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Derant Reivan nodded in reply to Nex's warm introduction. Nex... she thought, comminting the name to memory, so she would not have to suffer the embarassment of forgeting her partners name. She had a tendancy of doing such things. As she repeated the name a couple of times in her mind, the rest of the groups attention was recaptured by their master, Ico. Noticing the silence that had followed, Reivan followed the heads to the figure of Ico. He nodded in satisfaction and gesture them on. Excitement rose as they were lead deeper into the building. Reivan was overcome with awe as they entered the large hall that was their destination. The biggest building in her home village, had been the village hall. The whole of that could fit in this room twice over. It was quite awe-inspiring for such a simple country girl. She felt quit stupid being so impressed. Many of the city buildings were large and as decorative. She had stopped and stared at all she had passed. As Reivan looked around the room in wonder, she did not notice the gaze of Ico fall upon her. "You... Southern girl." Reivan's attention snapped back to the group and to the stern stare of her new master. She stared back at him in horor, pointing at herself in dumbstruck disbelief. Master Ico smile with satisfaction, a gleam of mischeif in his old and otherwise cold eyes."You have just volunteered yourself and your partner to help me in a little demonstration." Shoulders dropped, she gave Nex an apologetic half-smile as she carefully made her way through the group to Master Ico. |
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| CosmicCrystal | 28 Apr 2008, 10:01 Post #17 |
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Awesome
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Kerall Mira was next, paired with a tall slender boy, his eyes large slits, expression always cold and unreadable, he had always reminded her of a snake, and thus she had made every effort to void him throughout the days of intense training. His name was Zane...Zane...she had avoided him so deftly she did not even know his last name, but now she was to face him in her first true test of her knowledge of the blade, which suddenly felt like jelly in her hands. Their lessons, which seemed now far too meager, flew through her mind like desperate lightening bolts, crashing into each other with a growl of thunder and nothing to help her. As her feet landed on the stage, her body assuming an elegant position of waiting, she wondered what possessed her to think she could be a dancer. Zane, calm, confident in his abilities, was the first to strike, utilizing a very simple style with a focus on minimal movements. It was direct and to the point, and it had Mira on the defensive immediately. As soon as he swung at her she found her mind clear, her subconscious knowing exactly what to do, and she gave over to the instincts gratefully. Her dance was light, her feet seeming to barely touch the ground, his direct and to the point, and while they spent many minutes with the upper hand going to neither Zane eventually made a small mistake; as he arced his blade high in the air, bringing it down to the ground, the vibrations ringing across the crowd, their power focused at Mira, he did not notice as she had turned her body into a spin she had begun to spin the blade in her hand as well, delicate rapid vibrations flying in from the side of his large attack to knock the acoustim blade delicately from his hands. His eyes sparked in irritation. She took the full force of his attack, however, and was driven to the edge of the stage where she swung her arms precariously, teetering between fallen embarrassment and miraculous success for several tantalizing seconds before she pitched forward managing to stay on her feet. Master Lorana declared her the winner, adding that she should react less on instinct and using tactics to her advantage, and then dismissed them from the stage. Mira's sapphire eyes were bright with her victory, meager though it was, and not even the cold glare she was receiving from Zane could bring her down. She retreated into the crowd as she next pair moved to the stage finding herself watching next to Jacob, a boy she had not spent much time speaking too, mostly for a lack of time to speak with anyone, and smiled as she watched the new pair awkwardly find their way into their own style, and commented to Jacob, "This is just crazy." |
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| Corinth | 30 Apr 2008, 16:08 Post #18 |
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That crazy cat lady . . . man
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A quick note: I looked through all of the previous posts and it turns out that we haven't yet named the capital cities of each of the three kingdoms. A slight problem in the long run. Right now, I've just got a temporary name for the Derantian capital, so if anyone native to the country wants to create something official, just let me know and I'll edit my post to reflect your decision. Kerall "But so is she, you've got to guess. Besides, there's only so much you can learn in theory--at some point, you've got to take it to the training floor." Mira, her name was; she had done quite well, Jacob thought. It wasn't everyone here with balance good enough to save himself from a fall as she had. She did have talent, that was sure. Certainly she was one of the most agile students here, motions fleeting and light. The training began to wind down, one from the last couple found himself sprawled prostrate, five feet away from his blade. They were ushered off the stage as Lorana got up from her seat, surveyed the tired faces. What was she thinking now? Some new challenge to push them beyond their abilities? Certainly she must know how that had tired them out--there was hardly a face that wasn't wet with perspiration, save those to first perform, having had a chance to sit and recover. "What you have just been put through was simple, nothing," she began. Still, she seemed annoyed, angry with her students. "In war, one must withstand battles many times the length and intensity of what you just underwent, the potential consequences unimaginable in magnitude. I had you do this to give you some idea of what it is you may truly one day face, how important snap decisions and reactions can be." Her tone softened as she continued, gaining momentum with every word. It was an interesting thing about her, much remarked upon by her students. She would get caught up in the swell of her own words, letting them fuel her. "As you know, when the Great War was concluded between these three nations, each was granted a keep in the capitals of the two others where small military installations may be kept as a measure of good faith and to keep their respective nations directly informed on any important matters. We will be traveling as guests of Derant to our keep in their capital of Der'Atesh. There, you will train both with our military infantry forces, but also with the Derantian dancers now in training quite similar to yours." Her statement struck Jacob. Training in Derant? Was this woman truly as crazy as they all joked? Surely she knew their offensive style! "You wonder why we travel abroad," Lorana continued, her words following the thoughts of every acolyte in the room. "You have all likely lived your entire lives in Kerall, it's about time you see some new scenery. I hear that the Derantian cactus bush has particularly delicate blooms this time of year." A small smile, a pause. "We will leave in two days and travel with a regiment of Imperial Guardsmen sent to relieve those currently staffing our keep. I could not say how long we shall be out of the country, so pack what you need. There shall be neither Harmonics training nor theory until we arrive in Der'Atesh. I am certain, however, that our military escorts will be more than happy to instruct you in the more traditional ways of swordsmanship and physical combat." She turned, leaving the room. "Derant!" Jacob mouthed to Mira. "And the capital, nonetheless." He shook his head. This was insanity; they would have to travel at least 1500 kilometres, much of it by foot, no doubt. But still . . . the allure of such foreign powers, and training with Derantian Harmonics students! It was a frightening prospect, but he could not turn it down--the bravura! [edit] Oh crap! I'm already getting my characters mixed up--I just called Jacob Liber throughout this entire thing. XD |
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| CosmicCrystal | 19 May 2008, 10:42 Post #19 |
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Awesome
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Kerall Mira showed less excitement than Jacob at the prospect of heading to Derant. It would take her further from her family and into a culture whose philosophies she did not necessarily agree with. And she was not too keen to learn fighting from the soldiers, either. She had chosen harmonics for a reason. Her conflicting emotions resonated in her sapphire eyes as she replied to Jacob, "I didn't expect her to have us traveling so quickly. And to Derant no less...and learning to fight with weapons of steel? I have to say that is not something I am very interested in...nor do I think I would be very good at." She was not looking forward to embarrassing herself in front of all of the hardened warriors of the Kerall army. ((OOC: I will be more regularly on an dposting now, I promise! After school ended I had a quick trip to take to see my best friend from way back graduate that was planned very last minute. But I am back and online at normal intervals ^_^)) |
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7:55 PM Jul 10