TSW 17: Kasra's Dream (Part 1)

[17:57]	IcePickLobotomy	The resounding clang of steel on steel echoes through the dimly lit room, the other's armor making nary a sound as he moves.
[18:16]	Kasra	"Do I have to fight you?" Kasra prepares himself as though he were never gone from this dream as he asks the question.
[18:17]	IcePickLobotomy	It wheels back, disengaging a brief moment.
[18:24]	IcePickLobotomy	You catch a glimmer of it's blade in the light. Something worn and pitted, cracks running the length of the metal, then it's gone, flashing before your eyes, reengaged once more.
[18:57]	Kasra	assumes a defensive tactic attempting to evade attacks while checking the room for an exit.
[18:58]	IcePickLobotomy	There's the way you came in, and the door it was guarding. Yet. . . It sneaks within your guard, only to pull it's blade back at the last moment. It's testing you.
[19:26]	Kasra	"Okay...okay. En garde." Kasra prepares to begin the duel in earnest.
[19:26]	Kasra	By compulsion of the rhythm of combat, Kasra reflexively attempts to spread his field.
[19:33]	IcePickLobotomy	You can feel it, a sort of thrumming pool in your chest, it's painful, acidic, burning and tearing at the edges of it's confine. And there's another, cool and smooth, like water, held within the blade. It quivers, resonating or perhaps humming to some unheard noise.
[20:13]	Kasra	Kasra channels the pain.
[20:16]	IcePickLobotomy	It burns.
[20:18]	IcePickLobotomy	It burns, like molten lead running through your veins. The other takes a step back, sword raised in a guard, almost. . eager feeling. You breath, ragged and painfuly as the very air tears at your throat. Your muscles scream in protest, your heart tries to tear itself out of your chest. And despite all of that. . .
[20:18]	IcePickLobotomy	You feel good.
[20:19]	IcePickLobotomy	A sense of euphoria, a tingle in your limbs and legs, a sense of something. . . Like the pleased ache after a hard run.
[20:22]	Kasra	"Well?" Kasra makes an experimental attack.
[20:25]	IcePickLobotomy	The blade screams across the air, it raises it's own blade in defense with a resigned air. The impact is deafening, shards of metal are sent flying as the others sword shatters, your weapon carrying through and carving a deep rent into the chest piece. It staggers back, but you don't see any blood from the wound.
[20:26]	Kasra	Stepping back, more than a little startled, Kasra gives a quick bow, but remains at the ready.
[20:26]	IcePickLobotomy	The other bows as well, and in the light you can see that the helmet is hollow. It gestures to the large wooden doors it was defending.
[20:48]	Kasra	heads for the door.
[20:56]	IcePickLobotomy	You smell it first, a thick heady scent of incense. The door swings open and it grows stronger, less a smell and more a physical presence. A handful of guttering candles light the interior, showing a large number of pillows on the floors, and walls covered with dark blue sheets, dizzying geometric patterns in silver thread. In the center of the room is a small round table, several bowls of...
[20:56]	IcePickLobotomy	...incense leaving wispy trails of smoke curling into the air. On the other side is a figure hunched over, their head hooded in a dark blue robe. "Come, sit boy." She sounds old, her voice creaking like the desert wind.
[20:59]	Kasra	comes near, but does not sit.