Energy Dev 2

After a while of rest, Sieghart once again headed back to the caves with the creatures who had given him quite the challenge not long before. As he entered the cave, he once again brought a torch with him and released his aura. Now, it seemed small mana particles could naturally flow through his aura, given he'd advanced his expertise even further in the heat of battle. Looking around as he'd enter, of course he would hear the weird noise they made as one rushed him.

This time, he assumed the ifrit stance and immediately gave the creature no mercy. He barraged it with slices and swings from his blade, taking a couple blows himself but managing to kill the creature with more ease now. It seemed he had even pushed his strength a bit further in his fight with Bertha, and perhaps now he could train to control the mana he had awakened.
(Sieghart Vaulkyr)
~~~~~~~~~~
Sieghart now looked around the cave, seeing if he could get the first sight of one of these creatures so he could catch it off guard. Now, he concentrated as his aura grew more intense, the mana particles flowing throughout growing larger. Putting a hand off to the side, he concentrated on his palm to gather mana at its surface.

With a thrust of his hand and palm, he sent a ripple of mana sailing towards one of the fish-like creatures in the cavern. As it hit, it seemed to make an impact, but it barely made the creature stumble. It seemed there was more work to be done on the potency of his mana, or at least his control over it.

Oh well, now he had to battle and slice up another of the creatures before he could repeat this process. With a swing of his blade, he emitted a force of wind from sheer strength to send the creature flying back and stunning it. Now, he delivered a killing blow by putting his sword through the creature's mouth, all the way through its body.

For now, Sieghart took a rest for a few minutes as he regathered his concentration and mana.
(Sieghart Vaulkyr)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sieghart led the way just outside of the graveyard, where it seemed there was just big enough of a clearing to have a quick spar. A strange pressure began to flow off his body as blue particles seemed to swirl within the aura as well. Drawing his blade, he seemed to prepare to use only the broad side of it as he assumed the ifrit stance.

"I'm ready whenever you are, Gravekeeper." Sieg nodded as he prepared to charge, given his opponent was ready.
(Sieghart Vaulkyr)
~~~~~~~~~~
Bare feet strode across the grassy clearing. They padded their way to a stop several steps away, the shovel they held flipped up to bring the head into position- Like a soldier holding a spear. Only, the young drakanite was rather obviously not a soldier.

There was no refined style. No stance that they set themself into, aside shifting to set their feet shoulder-width apart and lower their center of mass toward the ground.

And as he claimed himself ready, the gravedigger started to stamp a foot upon the ground. A timed rhythm, each beat slowly bringing tremors to form. Like the ripples made by a pebble they spread outward, only growing with each impact until the whole field reverberated with a volatile rumbling.

As each beat progressed, the undertaker started to speak. A quiet set of words intoned but not quite sung as they poured their mana into the earth.

"Laugh, and the world laughth with you;
Weep, and you weep alone;
For the thad old earth mutht borrow it'th mirth,"

Plantlife started to sink beneath the surface. Soil and stone rose up, the former coiling up to form hardened 'scales' where their own hide was lacking, and the latter forming vicious spikes.

"But hath trouble enough of it'th own."
(Remei)
~~~~~~~~~~
It was, perhaps, a shock to see just how effective the gravedigger was. With only a shovel in hand they struck the earth between their feet and sent a chasm rapidly cracking open beneath the swordsman's feet. There was only just enough time for him to leap away before jagged spikes shot from beneath.

But the drakanite never let up. Solid in their stance they moved with purpose through the field. Where they paced the earth itself churned beneath them, and at their whim, waves of mud were sent tumbling across the open clearing.

The ground never ceased its rumblings. And each time he drew close he could feel a shift. The tremors were strongest near the little drakanite, and on more than one occasion they sent jagged stalagmites up into his form to get him to back away.

When they could not manage that, it was a wall of stone. It was earth encasing their body, hardly even cracked under the pressure of that blade slicing toward their form.

Despite his strikes they never once faltered in reciting their poetry. The storyteller spoke in full voice, calm and steady as they brought one clawed hand up to direct a pillar of stone forward..

"Thing, and the hillth will anthwer;
Thigh, it ith lotht on the air;
The echoeth bound to joyful thound,"

CRUNCH. Earth impacted with his midsection, sending him back and away from the young gravedigger. They settled back into that lowered stance while he was flung back, allowing him some respite to gather himself before continuing the fight.

"But shrink from voithing care."
(Remei)
~~~~~~~~~~
Sieghart charged into quite a surprise. He had found yet another powerful earth magic-wielding Drakan. This one might have even been stronger than Bertha.

Sieghart pursued his opponent, but it seemed he was well-versed in his reflexes, even battling with a shovel. Sieghart also realized, this boy was in his half-shift state as well. This was what he would have to compete with if Bertha really started training seriously too.

His strange aura flowed furiously as he attempted to attack his opponent, but few of his hits landed. By the end of the bout, Sieghart was sent sliding on his back by a pillar of stone. Clenching his fist and gripping his blade, he returned to his feet again.

"Pretty good for a Gravekeeper. Looks like I'm gonna have to give it my all, and I might still not even win." He stated as his aura intensified, the blue particles within it growing larger and larger. Sieghart was glad he was getting into battles that were pushing his limits, even in a spar.

Once again assuming the Ifrit stance, mana particles seemed to gather in his hand as he prepared to charge.
(Sieghart Vaulkyr)
~~~~~~~~~~

There was a flicker of motion. As he stood again the young drakanite lashed their tail at the air, gunmetal hues squinting not toward him, but the air surrounding. Those sparks of brilliant blue, which seemed to gather and coalesce into something brighter.

Not quite fully-formed, but they saw the workings of mana nonetheless. Something they'd seen, if rarely, before this moment. They offered no acknowledgement of his words just yet, offering instead a verse of their poem to respond.

"Rejoithe, and men will theek you;
Grieve, and they turn and go;
They want full measure of all your pleasure,"

A sharp flash of draconic wings- Halted, partway, by a wince as one seemed not quite in the best of shape. They'd avoided leaping around. Avoided letting him get in close to their left wing in particular, to avoid aggravating what was, apparently, some form of injury.

"But they do not need your woe."

Through grit teeth they finished the passage, and brought the head of their shovel into the earth again. They waited on the approach- And brought their own leg swinging upward in a solid kick when he got close enough.

One hefty blow to the chest, reinforced by a tidal wave of muck and dirt. The lot more than enough to steal the breath from his lungs.

It was much the same throughout the fight. The earth roiled underfoot, and a swordsman who could not leave the forest floor was caught without respite from the grasp of the soil. Mud and stone weighed down his movements- And yet those moments where he broke through seemed to be wearing the young drakanite down.

More than once as that blade scraped over scales, a few of them broke loose. Their hide was torn beneath and flecks of blood could be seen littering the earth.

In spite of their injuries, the poem continued. Their mind focused as they caught wind of opportunity within his next approach.

"Be glad, and your friendth are many;
Be thad, and you lothe them all,
There are none to decline your nectared wine,"

They shifted, taking a backward step as he charged in once more. With one hand near the mid-point of their shovel, and one at the bottom end, they lay in wait with the head touching against the ground.

He was within two feet of the kid when the hand upon the lower end of the shovel flung upwards, followed by a 'stream' of loose soil and pebbles and gravel alike. First the metal struck into his chest, followed by the greater impact of earth against his form.

Enough to send him to the ground, splayed out beneath a pile of mud. The plantlife of their immediate vicinity remained buried. And until he shook off his own condition, he'd stay half-buried as well.

"But alone you mutht drink life'th gall."

The gravedigger took a step back from their work, drawing deep, steady breaths. After the fact their gaze turned on the newcomers, gunmetal hues focused upon their faces first.

There was no expression to be seen upon their visage but the stoic, ghastly sight of an owl's face formed from raven's feathers and black-charred bone. A mask, hiding away everything but those slit-pupiled eyes.
(Remei)
~~~~~~~~~~
Right from the beginning, Sieghart launched a surge of mana and it was easily dodged. It didn't seem he could apply it too well in strategic combat yet. Either way, he charged in right behind it and clashed with the Gravekeeper.

Still, the Gravekeeper seemed to have more power than him, and perhaps a bit more skill. He lost quite a few clashes and even was hit by melee attacks of his opponent. In exchange though, he was able to deal some heavy blows, just not heavy enough.

Sieg was barraged by earth spells for almost every hit that he could even land. Eventually, he was sent to the ground by an impact of earth and metal. Sliding into the mud, his aura began to fade as he struggled to get up for a moment.

With a burst of energy though, Sieghart got to his feet and let his aura fade, considering he was almost out of mana. "Looks like you've beat me pretty good this time, but I'll have to get better and perhaps come back another day. I wish to give you a better challenge, and even possibly beat you." Sieg's eyes narrowed for a moment, but then he eased up.

"I should probably get going, thanks for the spar, Gravekeeper."
(Sieghart Vaulkyr)
~~~~~~~~~~
The acolyte remained silent as he observed the situation in front of him before finally sighing in relief. It seemed that this wasn't a gangland style execution and instead just a friendly spar. Honestly, he wouldn't of been surprised if the Syndicate was out here executing people.

"That's a relief! I was worried that I was seeing an execution happen in front of me. Anyways, my name is Roran and I am an acolyte of the church. Before departing would you kindly tell me your what magic you are proficient in swordsman?" yanking his hood down as he focused his attention upon Sieghart.

Roran felt that he could reveal his face now that he was certain this wasn't a criminal murdering. In fact, it seemed like this drakanite was the keeper for these grounds! He felt a bad for having thought it was a gangland execution previously.
(Roran)
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Just as Sieghart was about to turn and leave, another boy asked about his magic. Giving a bit of a shrug, he seemed to hesitate a moment before he explained. "I'm mostly good at using a blade, but I'm attempting to learn to utilize my own raw mana. I wouldn't way I'm exactly proficient at it yet, though." He once again prepared to leave unless stopped again.

"Anymore questions?"
(Sieghart Vaulkyr)
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Cirice kept to herself for the most part. She was in the same mind as Roran about what they had walked up to, and despite the visible relief when it turned out not to be the case she still obviously wasn't doing the greatest in the situation.

"They look pretty busy, we don't really need to bother 'em." She paused and looked over at Sieghart. "See, not really what we're looking for."
(Cirice Watts)
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"It's not exactly what we are seeking but you shouldn't be quick to rush off, Cirice."

Roran's gaze briefly falling upon Cirice before he glanced back over towards the others. He had witnessed how proficient the drakanite was in earth magic but he hadn't seen Sieghart fight. While swordsmanship wasn't what they sought it could still provide some insight.

"Do you mind telling my lovely friend here about how you wield your sword? She is attempting to learn how to use sand magic and we believe other styles of magic may provide some insight."
(Roran)
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Sieghart remained while the two friends seemed to bicker a bit if they needed him or not. While this was going on, he thought of his Energy magic, and how he needed to further his potency and control of it. Soon enough though, he was asked a question about how he wielded his blade.

"In my experience, a blade and your attacks are sharpest when you are focused and concentrated. You must not let your emotions cloud your battle judgement. Other than that, I would say you must develop whatever combat style you learn and gain skill for battle over time for almost just about any magic or combat style. There might be some barriers, but you've just gotta find a way over those."

Sieghart gave a rather serious nod as he again thought of how he needed to pass those barriers with the development of his own magic. "I could perhaps demonstrate in a spar, if either of you want to do it."
(Sieghart Vaulkyr)
~~~~~~~~~~
There was a momentary glare shot in the direction of Roran before he finished what he was saying. Perhaps she was being too quick to dismiss someone, not like she really had any idea where to start. After all if she did than they wouldn't have any need to run around asking people for pointers.

As Seighart began to speak she quickly pulled her notebook up from her waist and jotted down his words in the margins of her logs and gave him a short nod. "Right."

The proposition for a spar was something she wasn't expecting too much. In most circumstances she would have probably passed on the offer but having already accepted a future spar the day prior it would probably be a good idea for her to know where she stood really.

"I guess it would be good to get first hand experience. I can't promise I'll be a good fight though, I'm still training really." She said nervously as she put her notebook down on the tree stump behind her.
(Cirice Watts)
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Sieghart shrugged a bit as Circe didn't seem to be confident she would provide a challenge. "I mean, I haven't even fully unlocked any type of actual magic yet, so you might be a good match for me." He remarked as he took some steps back, as she still accepted a sparring match.

Once again, Sieghart emitted a strange aura of pressure, blue mana particles swirling within. The Ifrit stance was once again assumed as he readied his blade for battle. It seemed he only intended to use the broad of the blade for now, in order not to slice his opponent open.

"I'll let you make the first move, come at me whenever you're ready." He nodded to her as he awaited the first charge.
(Sieghart Vaulkyr)
~~~~~~~~~~
There was a deep sight let out from the side of Cirice. Maybe it would be a good match-up, she was always so used to being challenged by people that were so obviously stronger then her that she had a pretty pessimistic outlook on most spars. She took a deep breath and pulled her staff from off her back for the first time in what seemed like an eternity spinning it haphazardly in her hand before giving a nod to Sieghart.

As she did so the earth around her would climb up and cling to her form as if the drakanite needed another layer of protection now with stone above and scales below.

"Alright then.." She said as she lept forward into battle.
(Cirice Watts)
~~~~~~~~~~
As the battle would begin, Sieghart gathered mana into his palm, unleashing a surge of mana towards his opponent. It didn't seem to do any significant damage, but it did interrupt her charge at him. They clashed a few times, Sieg seeming to have a sizable upper-hand in strength.

Taking a jump back, Sieg managed to use his mana to vibrate through his blade and send a force wave that sent his opponent back as she charged at him. She managed to hit him with earth spells as well, but it seemed hje had developed a bit of a toughness for that with all the earth magi he'd battled.

Sieghart mostly battled with physical clashes and waves of force, whether it was mana surges or waves of force from his blade. With a wave of earth spikes coming from the ground as he drew close to his opponent he was forced to back off and release a surge of mana from his palm once again, managing to knock her down.

Barely landing to his own feet, Sieghart gave a smile as he awaited his opponent to stand to her feet. "You're not too bad, it's just too bad for you one of my best friends is an earth magus, so I know some of the moves quite well." He gave a nod of respect and readied to continue, blue particles swirling slightly more intensely through his aura by the second.
(Sieghart Vaulkyr)
~~~~~~~~~~
There was obvious rust in the fighting capabilities of the young red head girl. As they clashed several times there was slight frustration beginning to make its way through her features. Everyone had to start somewhere, and when getting combat experience this seemed to be going fairly well.

He was stronger than she had expected, though having her chosen element around her at almost all times was a definite advantage in her mind. This advantage though helping her in some situations didn't prove to be enough of an upper hand to make up for her lack of experience, giving her enough to create some distance between them for a moment but ending up on her back the next.

She staggered to her feet a moment and met his words with a smirk. "Better then I thought I was really. You're pretty good yourself." She spat at the ground and began to advance toward slightly slower this time taking a slightly different approach in her mind.
(Cirice Watts)
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As the battle went on, Sieghart seemed to get sharper with aiming the surges of mana he could manage to materialize with what little ability he had at the moment. Slowly turning up his intensity, it seemed Cirice seemed to follow in being able to read his moves and exchange blows with him.

Although the battle was quite fun, and Sieg was getting a good bit of training for his energy magic, it had to come to an end. He was getting a bit exhausted after launching so many surges of mana through palm and sword. With the final clashes, the swirl of the mana particles around him seemed to go inward, closer and more compact to his body.

With one last surge of mana at rather close range, he'd actually managed to knock Cirice completely off her feet! Letting his aura die down and sheathing his blade, Sieghart gave a nod to Cirice. "Thank you, you've helped me train some of my own abilities so I'm just that much closer to my goal." He nodded and thanked her, offering a hand up.
(Sieghart Vaulkyr)
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Cirice was getting into it for once. She could understand why her brother decided to hang around the dojo so often, but just because she was getting the hang of the movement again doesn't mean she was really the best at it. She was taking a more ranged approach trying to do her best to use the ground to her advantage but he was far too fast for her to keep up with.

She was throwing in all kinds of jumps and leaps into her movement, but eventually her inability to time things properly and Seighart's ability to do so ended with her tumbling to the ground once more. She had some scapes and cuts on her face, but other then some more superficial wounds she was fine just shaken.

She began to lift herself up before the hand was offered. She would take a moment to accept and as she was pulled up she would dust herself off with her free hand.

"Thank you as well. I dont think I got your name? I'm uhh, Cirice, Cirice Watts."
(Cirice Watts)
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Sieg helped Cirice to her feet with a slight smirk as she dusted herself off. She had introduced herself, so Sieg shook her hand before he let go. "I am Sieghart Valkyr, but Sieg is fine for an acquaintance." He introduced himself as he let go of her hand, offering a slight bow as well.

"If you ever want to train more and you can find me, don't be afraid to ask." He gave a slight nod as he prepared to leave for real this time. He needed to do a bit of refining of his techniques, or at least that's how he felt. "I bid you farewell for now."
(Sieghart Vaulkyr)
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