Dawn is still two hours away, but already a lone man stands out within the Training Grounds of Al Na'ir. His face is youthful, but his eyes are those of a man who has seen many battles within his lifetime. All of Al Na'ir still sleeps peacefully as he begins to practice sword techniques. The black blade of his trustworthy Katana, Tarngath, darts in and out as he parries imaginary slashes. He has gone back to his original style, wearing his traditional black clothing which, at this hour, makes him look like nothing more than a shadow in the darkness.
Before long, sweat begins to drip down his face. He pauses for a brief moment to wipe a droplet from his eyes, and then resumes his endless training as he works to become one with the blade. This practice continues until the sun begins to rise, and he goes to take a quick dip in the lake to cool off before his daily activities begin.
He returns not more than half an hour later, dressed in his brand new uniform. Upon his feet are shiny black shoes, made from the finest leather that could be found anywhere locally. A light blue undershirt is concealed behind a thin, silver military uniform, decorated with the symbol of Al Na'ir upon the left sleeve. An inch above the pocket on the right side of his uniform is a marking which identifies him as an Al Na'ir representative. As he steps out onto the Training Field, he slips a silver cap over his short brown hair. Now that he is in full uniform, he stands at attention in the center, awaiting for his fellow clanmates to arrive.
Last night he had come to a decision of importance: to personally train any Al Na'ir member who would request it. And so now he waits in the predetermined location. Early, as always, he finds himself lost in thoughts of his Angel as he awaits the trainees. A small grin crosses onto Psiko's battle-experienced face as he sees the first member coming out of their barracks.
Heading out of the barracks PimpN0iD notices his
trainer is already waiting for him with small grin on his face.
As he walked towards Psiko a gentle breeze crossed
its path with PimpN0iD making his long red coat and his
black ear length hair flutter along with it..
as the suns first light hit PimpN0iD it revealed his
black long sleave undershirth but was hidden by his
black armor now rusting from its joints from old age..the
armor covered his chest and a little of his right shoulder..the armor had
slashes from previous battles..which showed
that he was not new to battles
now standing right in front of Psiko, PimpN0iD unsheaths
his red bladed katana and holds it in a defencvie position awaiting his
trainers first
Within moments, Psiko could identify which trainee was to be the first to face him. PimpN0iD seemed to be quite confident, but Psiko knew that this man was nervous deep down inside. A small chuckle escapes from his lips as he sees the trainee unsheath a red-bladed katana and hold it in a defensive position.
If it is a Katana he wants, then a Katana he shall get, Psiko thinks to himself, But first we shall teach this young man a quick lesson.
He motions, with one finger, for PimpN0iD to wait while Psiko turns to grab Tarngath from its resting place on the ground. A gleeful grin appears on Psiko's face when he notices that his opponent respected his wish, and held off from launching a cheap and unexpected attack.
Just what I had hoped for. This shall be a lesson which will hopefully not be soon forgotten.
In one swift and fluid motion, Psiko twirls around, tossing a handful of dust into PimpN0iD's eyes, momentarily blinding the recruit. As his foe furiously rubs at his eyes, Psiko takes the opportunity and knocks PimpN0iD's feet out from under him, bringing Tarngath to rest less than an inch away from his opponent's vulnerable throat.
"It seems, my friend, that you have fallen victim to the first lesson of How Not To Be Defeated. You see, no matter how vulnerable or helpless the opponent may seem, you should never underestimate them. Never think that they are helpless, simply because their back is turned or if they are wounded. Nothing in this world is helpless, and anything can be a threat or danger. Even a feeble old man has the chance of taking your life in an instant. Never forget that. You should have struck while my back was turned. That was a window of opportunity. Never ever expect your foe to fight honorably, because there are many who will not. If you assume they will not, then you are at an advantage. You will not be surprised. Now get up, man, and let us fight."
Psiko rises to his feet and slowly backs away, allowing PimpN0iD to regain his bearings. The charcoal-gray hilt of Tarngath rests lightly in his hands as Psiko anticipates the next move. Another smirk crosses onto Psiko's face when he notices that the trainee is settling into a defensive position yet again, leaving Psiko another chance to strike out. He lets out a quick sigh before bringing Tarngath into it's usual offensive position, the hilt being held on an even level with his right ear and the blade extending diagonally overhead. He lets out a fierce battle cry as Psiko charges onward, hastily closing the distance between himself and his foe.
Within yards from PimpN0iD, Psiko does something unexpected. He leaps into the air, passing over PimpN0iD and tossing Tarngath to the ground, the blade sticking into the dirt. He lands slightly in front of the Katana and reverses his momentum, leaping backwards toward PimpN0iD. He extends his entire body, grabbing Tarngath as he passes by it, and then shifts his weight so that he begins to turn toward PimpN0iD while still in the air. After turning approximately forty five degrees, he begins to slash Tarngath across, bringing the black blade racing toward PimpN0iD's torso as he glides onward
PimpN0iD was caught off guard by all of Psiko's jumps but
still managed to see the slashes racing towards himself...
PimpN0iD stuck his katana into the ground and placed
his left foot on top of the handle and as fast as he could
he jumped off of it while in the air PimpN0iD felt a shock of pain
run down his right leg... after landing he dropped to one knee
as blood soaked through his black pants...
trying to forget about the pain PimpN0iD got to his feet and
rushed towards Psiko and his left hand at Psiko and shot
two balls of energy towards Psiko...to distract him long
enough to pick up his katana...right after PimpN0iD jumped
over Psiko
landing behind Psiko, but falling to one knee yet again
but gained enough strenght to slash at Psiko's back
What is he thinking? Is this some sort of joke? Could this possibly be some sort of subliminal insult of my abilities?
Those thoughts race through Psiko's mind as a duo of energy balls race toward the experienced veteran. It seems to him a waste of time and energy to summon such a basic attack, but PimpN0iD did it nonetheless. Then a million other thoughts begin to enter his mind, most of which dealing with how to dispose of this attack. He observes the surroundings in front of him, taking note that PimpN0iD is darting forward, obviously trying to get to his katana. The two glowing balls of energy have nearly completed their intended course when Psiko blasts his countermeasure. Three thin beams of blue light burst forth, two of them decimating the energy balls, and the other one racing toward PimpN0iD.
It would have been an excellent tactic, but Psiko had not known PimpN0iD was already planning to do a maneuver which would, by chance, avoid the raging beam of power. With his katana now in hand, PimpN0iD leaps over Psiko, landing hard on the ground before spinning around, thrusting his sword at Psiko's back. He was quick, but Psiko had seen moves like this before. Countless times had this stunt been pulled, and only once had Psiko even fallen victim to it. Ever since then, he had learned to anticipate this maneuver, and it has proven to be an invaluable piece of knowledge. Psiko spins around, letting Tarngath lead the way. Had he not swung Tarngath in front of him, PimpN0iD would have connected with his attack. It would have been too late. Halfway through his turn, blade clashes with blade, deflecting the attack.
Psiko is quick to capitalize on the injured leg of PimpN0iD. A swift flurry of thrusts makes his foe begin to give some ground, moving closer and closer to the barracks. It soon becomes obvious that the trainee will not be able to withstand the onslaught of melee attacks for long, and if it had been a normal battle Psiko would have been relentless. But this is a different situation. He is supposed to give this man training, not a beating. With a quick, fluid motion, Psiko weaves in under PmipN0iD's counterstrike and pushes him backwards. The two men gain some distance between them, and Psiko knows it is time to see how well this man can defend himself.
It seems he is sweating quite a bit. How about we cool him off?
Psiko begins to chant a few words, making a wild gesture or two as the morning sky begins to blacken. Thick, gray clouds swiftly move in, obscuring the sun from view. An evil grin crosses onto Psiko's face as he finishes the incantation and rain begins to fall from the sky. Immediately he begins to weave another spell, knowing he has only a matter of seconds before the full effect of this spell kicks in. An thin barrier of water forms around Psiko and the raindrops begin to merge into the barrier, making it grow in size. Psiko knows that in only a matter of seconds the rain will have a drastic change, becoming scalding hot and acidic in nature. He cannot help but to laugh.
Seeing the intense rainstorm Psiko creating and the giant
watery blob covering him confused PimpN0iD...
was is he trying to do
PimpN0iD thought to himself as he prepared for the worst
forgeting about the rain he felt a buring sensation on the
top of his head and shoulders...afraid to look up PimpN0iD
rolls asaid and slashes his katana in the air...but there
was nothing jus the rain...
the buring continued and PimpN0iD took one last glance
at Psiko and noticed a big grin on his face...
it has to be the rain, thats why he made that blob to
protect himself
now aware of the burning rain PimpN0iD stabs his katana
into the ground and sticks both hands in the air, he begins
to chant words in a forgotten language while moving his
hands in a circular motion...after a few moments PimpN0iD's
hands began to glow. with one swift move PimpN0iD lunged
his hands on the ground creatin a gust of wind sending the rain
flying upward.
now standing in the gust of wind PimpN0iD sticks both hands
out facing Psiko and shoots a giant beam of ice freezing
the giant blob of water surrounding Psiko...now the blob full of
ice and Psiko inside PimpN0iD picked up his katana and rushed
towards the blob and stabs his katana into it making the
blob crack down the middle...then shatter into a thousand pieces
Safe within the confines of his watery barrier, Psiko laughs as he watches PIMPN0iD realize the depth of his attack. The hot, acidic rain assails the ground, but all the fun is brought to a conclusion when PIMPN0iD reverses the wind, carrying away the deadly attack. Before Psiko could dispatch his shield, PIMPN0iD siezes opportunity and freezes the watery mass, trapping Psiko inside.
Very nice maneuver. I shall commend him on the swift reaction later, but now the time has come to dispel this inconvenience. Now then, shall I incinerate, implode, expire, or shatter this frozen obstacle?
Before melting away the thick ice, Psiko notices his opponent rushing toward him, katana in hand. An evil thought crosses into his semi-corrupt mind, one that provokes a mischevious grin to apear on his face. If it will work, than he shall catch his foe completely by surprise.
Obviously this trainee is relying on one of two things right now. Perhaps he expects that I will quickly dispatch of this barrier, freeing myelf from its confines. Thus why he rushes onward, hoping to take me down before I can ready my blade. Or else he knows of a weak spot within the ice he created, and intends to strike it and cause it to shatter. If that is the case, then my plan will work to perfection. If I am wrong in this assumption, than this spell will still hold some minor effect, nevertheless. Let us show this recruit what a real offensive attack is.
Psiko quickly begins to set upon weaving the threads of his next spell. Psiko knows he is taking a great risk by attempting to pull this off. There are so many variables that have to play out correctly in order for it to reach its optimum efficiency, to take out PIMPN0iD. So many things could go wrong, causing it to fizzle into a void of nothingness, or, even worse, it could reverse itself and destroy the caster. It is a risk he willingly accepts.
The air within the ice slowly begins to raise itself in temperature, a very pale red glow expanding throughout the confines of his barrier. One might get the idea that this alteration in color is merely for effect to distract the enemy or throw off their concentration, but in reality it is his element of magic working itself against nature in an attempt to reverse a natural law. His idea is simple, to reverse the force of gravity and cause the pressure to extend up and outward against the block of ice so that when it would shatter, the force of it would be doubled, or even tripled.
The scheme works to perfection. PIMPN0iD does as Psiko had previously anticipated by striking into a weak spot within the ice, causing it to shatter. Little does he suspect the true nature of this explosion which he is causing...