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[12:29:52] His young bald student would be ushered away from the city, quickly and quietly. All the while, the monk master would hum lightly, hand occasionally tapping at the hilt of the sword on his hip. The wind would catch his cloak, blowing the hood down, but he didn't mind. The soft air of the plains blew over his head, and he quite liked it.

"Your second lesson, young Ennis."

They stood before a boulder.

It was a massive slab of rock, standing straight up into the air. Very little of it was still buried in the dirt, but it was still an imposing figure. Ten feet tall at most, weighing at least a ton. The monk would stand a few feet away from it, eyebrow risen as if he was being questioned by its presence, as he looked downward at Ennis.

"Simple. Show me your form. Hit the rock."
(Bast)

[12:38:24] "M-My form?"

What did he mean by that? Ennis looked up at Bast, an expression of confusion and concern plaguing his visage. Exhaling, the child looked forwards at the rock. All he had to do was hit it? It didn’t seem too challenging. Stepping forwards, Ennis closed his eyes and focused on the subtle sounds around him.

The soft winds, the animals in the distance. All of it was apart of the life stream.

Upon opening his eyes, sapphire began to ooze from his person. A glowing miasma of energy surrounded his entire body. He felt empowered, strong. He still had no clue what he was doing, it was more so just something that happened naturally. The first time he had ever used magic was when he made a promise, the second? Keeping that promise.

Strangely enough, he got on all fours. He had seen how fast and powerful his direwolf was, and assumed that by adopting a similar stance could increase his power effectively. Steadying his breathing, he closed his eyes once more. One.. two.. three!

Fwoosh!

The wolfling shot forwards, kicking off the ground as dirt and grass flew upwards. He was headed straight towards the rock. He shifted his body while in the air, cocking an arm back and throwing an energy empowered fist directly into the boulder.

A large fissure could be seen in the middle of it, as it cracked into pieces. Uh-oh.. If he didn’t move, he was going to be toppled by all the debris! The child swiftly ran backwards, stumbling onto the ground. By then, the energy was gone and the child was sweating profusely. He looked at his hand, unaware of the strength of raw mana.
(Ennis Kien)

[12:47:47] "Energy magics."

The raw, oozing mana from the boy made it obvious.

"Energy. It comes in many forms. This one in particular, is simply called 'energy' magic. An improper wording, but, well. The name has stuck throughout the ages. Mana, raw and pure, giving the body supernatural strength. It has its uses." Bast would step forward, raising the sheathed sword just in time to deflect a small fragment of rock that had been blown off of the stone. It would rebound, landing somewhere far in the distance.

"One thing you have taken from your father, is that you are strong, in tandem with the energy. And fast, though not as fast as you think. Another thing we will need to work on. But first." The sheathed sword would come forward, smacking Ennis loudly on the top of his skull. It would hurt, and bruise, and from his stance, it would be the first of many.

"I said hit the rock, not obliterate it. If I wanted it ruined, I would have done so myself. You are no wolf. What was that, running on all fours like some dog? Stand up, run on your legs. I could have moved and booted you away, and your hands would have been too preoccupied to do anything about it." As he spoke, another strong smack against the boys wrist, as he walked around him, adjusting his form with the sheathed weapon like a cane.

"You rotate your body when you throw a punch, so you at least have that. But...we have work to do."
(Bast)

[12:57:10] Energy magic? That sounded so cool! It explained the strength behind his blows, that was for sure. No child would be strong enough to destroy a boulder with his physical prowess alone, right? Smiling, Ennis was overjoyed to find out about a new kind of ma-

"Ouch!" It felt like his skull had been cracked open! Then again, he didn’t know what that felt like. Standing up, the bald child rubbed his head. He didn’t have any hair to cushion the blow, so being bald just made it hurt more. He’d have to get used to the beatings, so it would seem.

Ennis turned around, listening to the monk scold him. He was right. He didn’t tell him to destroy it, just to punch it. Yet, the child assumed he meant something along the lines of ‘show me what you’ve got’. A-A dog? His stance was based on how Kurma ran, and Kurma was a direwolf not a freakin’ dog! 

He parted his lips in objection, only to be smacked again. He wanted to pull his hand back in protest, but he was smart enough to know that if he tried anything like that Bast would probably just hit the same spot again, and that would hurt more.

"What now?" He asked, curious.
(Ennis Kien)

[13:06:33] "You are small, but strong. You will grow into your own strength and height, thought I doubt you will be much taller than me. You will have to train on closing gaps quickly, and that requires two things: A foolish opponent, or quick feet on your own part. But that is something extensive we can work on another day. For now..."

From underneath his cloak, Bast would pull a necklace from around his neck. It jangled loudly as he presented it, many small silver tokens, symbols of the Gods of Valmasia, hanging from around his neck. Kraus, Azrael. Asena and Saekanis, Yama, Palthus, Ryujin. Even Belial held a place on it, a small eye high on the chain. His fingers would run acrossed them as he presented it to the boy.

"This is a matter of spirit, as well as self. Who do you pray to? The Wolves, because your father does? Azrael, because of the Oscuri in the East? Kraus? Ryujin? The ever shifting Palthus?"

As he spoke, he would move his finger from each symbol, brushing them lightly with his thumb. The same had been asked of him before, but things were different now. He wasn't the one being trained. Bast was the teacher. "It is important to answer this. I will not judge you on your answer, but it is something I must know."
(Bast)

[13:14:14]How was he supposed to answer a question like that?

He had no clue. Ennis knew about some of the gods, others he was completely ignorant towards. In all of his studies thus far he had only learned of the wolf spirits Asena and Saekanis, Kraus and Azrael. The big three, at least as far as he was aware of.

Ryujin, Palthus? Who, or what were those? The child took a few moments to think hard about the answer. He simply didn’t know. Out of the wolves, he favored the philosophy of Asena. A spirit who served the world and embraced protection. Out of the angels, he prefered Kraus and all of the virtuous knights of old that served in his name. He couldn’t decide..

"I um.. " He paused, looking around. At the cliffs, the grass, the clouds in the sky. If there was one thing that was for certain, one thing that was concrete to the child, it was the world around them. His beliefs were subject to change, as he was just a child. For now?

"I worship the lifestream."
(Ennis Kien)