Leo_G

Curious. Is there a thread that has a compilation of the images of the new parts the devs are showing off. I've seen 2 so far, the Avian head + new feet and then the Leopard head in the Vanguard pack preview.

Were there any others?

That gives me an idea for another set:

Thunder Hammer
Or Shatter Hammer or Momentum Hammer would be a two handed pole-hammer type set. The strength and power of this set comes with wielding its weight. Although one can wield this weapon straight, the option to use its momentum works with the set's disadvantage. Along with its bevy of control features, the TH/SH/MH naturally hits harder than normal weapons but against dodgy foes, it might be hard to land a blow as with its inherent power comes inherently lower accuracy.

1. Swing (melee ST; foe minor smashing dmg, chance of disorient; *Special* energy dmg)

2. Velocity Strike (melee cone; foe moderate smashing dmg, chance of knockdown; *Special* energy dmg)

3. Crush (melee ST; foe minor smashing DoT, immobilize, chance of disorient; *Special* energy dmg)

4/6. Taunt/Thunder Blow (short range TAoE; foe moderate smashing, knockdown; *Special* energy dmg)

5. Momentum (passive, self -11% ToHit, *Special* momentum buff)

Impervium Hammer (click, self minor dmg buff, large ToHit buff, resistance vs ToHit debuffs, momentum buff for next hit)
Note: Picking up the Impervium Hammer click will automatically grant you the momentum passive. The momentum passive will allow you stackable +recharge buff and a Fiery Embrace-esque additional energy damage onto all your hammer attacks if you ever happen to miss. The added damage is static and not based on base damage of the attack. Each momentum buff will have a limited duration but persist even after landing a blow until the duration expires (i.e. loss of momentum over time). Some powers grant you a momentum buff. These can only be accepted if you have this passive and the grantable momentum doesn't boost recharge, just adds damage.

2nd Note: Impervium Hammer isn't like Build up. It lasts about as long but only grants a small amount of +dmg but grants a very large +ToHit buff as well as a sizable resistance to ToHit debuffs for its duration. This power, upon clicking, grants the user a one-shot burst of momentum higher than the standard momentum buff but only to damage and not recharge.

7. Booming Blow (melee ST; foe Superior smashing dmg, disorient, knockback; *Special* energy dmg)

8. Rock Shatter (PBAoE; foe knockdown, chance of disorient)
Note: this power does no damage.

9. Strike of Devastation (melee ST; foe Extreme smashing dmg, hold; *Special* energy dmg; self momentum buff)
Note: Even without a miss, this power will grant you a buff to momentum, adding energy dmg to all your attacks but without the recharge buff.


The idea is, if you don't like the idea of relying on the set's special secondary effect needing to miss, you can simply skip Momentum/Impervium Hammer. Neither will add (much) straight-up damage and if you slot well with accuracy, you still reap the benefit of the set's naturally higher base damage. You can also slot to overcome its accuracy, take momentum and just see any situation (high def foes, ToHit debuffs) where you might miss a few times as an advantage.

I don't like the secondary effect. You want to simulate the set being slow with the subject of building momentum so eliminate the downfall of the set?

It just doesn't sit well in my mind. It'd be like giving claws a means to bypass it's moderate/light damage in lieu of it's higher efficient attacks. Would this set have abnormally high damage and endurance costs too? I could see *that* as being a secondary effect, but to add something to bypass its downfall seems unfair.


Besides, momentum is about velocity AND mass but your suggestion only amounts to speed. If I were thinking of a 'momentum concept' (not specifically for Scythe), I'd probably give the set higher stats in exchange for lower than average accuracy and a miss would maintain momentum for the next attacks, adding more damage and recharge for every miss.

That said, the set is all right (although the buff power kind of honks) with a nice balance between ST and AoE. I'd play it, but then that's not saying a whole hugely alot since I'd play any Scythe set

[Holiday - Also Day 1]

For the longest, Spirit had read and been captivated by the action octavos of his home world. Chronicling the day to day missions and adventures of the heroes and guardians of the realm of Paragon or the ever present rogues struggling to survive the dog-eat-dog world of Lord Recluse’s country…the stories and illustrations inspired his imagination even now that he was actually *IN* the imagined world he read about!

Even better now, he was living his own adventures just like the ones he read about! He wondered if there was anyone reading his adventure, inspiring others with his hardships…

“Excuse me? You’re the one, right?” uttered a timid voice behind the satyr. He had been reclining for a while in the quite central area of Crimson Acres Park of the Lakeview sector. Even though it wasn’t really cold that afternoon, the park was still barren of people. Fine for him, he’d just try to mentally prepare for his mission…if you can call daydreaming preparation.

Spirit jolted out of his daydream and turned. He sat up on the park bench he was seated on then quickly changed his mind and stood up his full height. Spirit seemed to tower over the short little wrinkled balding man. Yup, he looked like a contact. Gray and black suit whose pant legs seemed too short, scuffed unshined loafers, a wrinkled blue-striped tie under his plaid wool scarf, pale skin and an unkempt mustache under his thick round glasses…Completely unremarkable and ordinary. Perfect contact material, the satyr would say.

“Mr. Kerrigan?” Spirit tried on his booming heroic voice but accidentally started with a higher pitched crack which didn't help his hero image. I mean, how could it? His rounded snout, his curved horns, gray fur of varying shades covering his body, and he didn’t wear tights or a cape, just a baggy pair of red-tinted jeans and a yellow button shirt that he left unbuttoned…Uncle Bartholomew never got around to fitting him for a costume. Truth be told, Bart hoped Spirit would understand how dangerous being a hero in Paragon was, give up and just relax into citizen status…No Spirit had to prove himself he was proper hero material.

“Yes, so you’re…Spirit-Home?” the old man asked, finally approaching the horned stranger.

“No,” Spirit answered with a shake of his head. “My name is Spirit and Dire Horn.”

“D-dire horn spirit?”

“No it-”

“Dire Storm?”

“Huh!? No-”

“Horny Spirit?”

“…uh.”

“Spirit Dire?”

“Almost, but-”

“Spirit Horn?”

“Fine, just go with that,” the satyr huffed. “Anyway, you reported a theft or something?” Spirit dismissed the whole name issue to get on with the interesting part.

“Ah, yes right. Recently one of our trucks that had been shipping special cargo turned up missing….I think,” the old man revealed and opened up a brief case he had been holding. “According to our reports, the driver who was listed didn’t show up that day but the truck got delivered anyway and on time.”

“Well that’s good, right?” Spirit commented as the old man recounted his story.

“It would be if we knew who the driver actually was…or in other’s cases, who the driver wasn’t.” The contact stared up at the satyr with a solemn scowl after his cryptically confusing answer while Spirit eyed the man bewilderedly.

“Uh, what are you talking about?” the ram shrugged.

“Past sources tell us this was most likely a hijacking and while none of the shipped belongings showed up missing in our databases, we’re heavily looking into the possibility of forgeries being planted…specifically, fakes of a set of three swords we were moving into Paragon.” As the man spoke, Spirit crossed his arms and tried hard to concentrate. He nodded every now and then and scratched under his chin in an effort to aid his focus but for the life of him, still couldn’t put it all together.

“Uh, okay. Well, did you call the police?” the satyr asked quizzically.

“We’re a private security contractor, we’re always in contact with the police,” Kerrigan replied and handed Spirit a paper from his brief case. “The PPD has red tape and paperwork to go through before they can fully investigate and can’t act on hunches. That’s where you come in.” The paper had a picture of a muscle-bound bald guy with tanned skin. From his seemingly encyclopedic knowledge of the action octavos, Spirit quickly deduced the picture was of a member of the Warriors. “When our legacy crafted weaponry comes up missing, Golden Jason of the Warriors is always the one behind it. He’s usually not so crafty to use forgeries so our sources might not be on mark.”

“Alright, you can count on me! I’ll bring this Jason guy to justice without fail!” Spirit proclaimed and started leaping off to who knows where.

“Wait, I just need you to spy on him…” Kerrigan tried to finish but Spirit was long gone by then.

[Holiday - 1st Day of the Break]

After the night before, Ian’s thoughts must have been too distracted to set any type of alarm. He simply pulled off his shirt and pants and threw them in the general direction of the laundry hamper (which, even without looking, always seemed to neatly hit the mark) before collapsing on his bed. After reverting back to his ‘ocean of thought’ mindset from what he dubbed the ‘river of thought’, Ian realized he *needed* to be training.

Jumping out of bed the next morning with a start, Ian grabbed his towel and rushed off to the showers. After his morning grooming, he was in his training attire, his grey gi and matching pants with frayed edges. Tying his blue headband and tucking his bokken under his belt, Ian rushed off to a quiet place in the courtyard.

That early, the courtyard was abandoned. Great! Perfect for meditation. Taking a seat between a pair of bare trees on the far edge of the courtyard, Ian first brought his mind and body to a peaceful state so that his spirit could commune with the nature around him. In his lotus seated position, he continued to meditate with his eyes closed, blocking out the random student or security walking along the snow-plowed paved path. Although blocking outside distraction, Ian took in every aspect of nature around him. The cool air, the winter-splitting beams of sunlight peeking over the campus perimeter wall, the evergreen bushes whose leaves let fall some of the collected snow…it was a sensation he felt familiar with, to commune with nature, but there was a spark of uncertainty for some reason.

“Ian? Hey! How’s it goin’ man?” came a greeting from behind him however Ian remained focused. “What’s up? You’re up early.” It said again after a pause. For whatever reason, Ian wanted to ignore the voice but caved in and opened one eye. It was Darren.

“So what are you doing? That whole enlightenment nirvana stuff?” The teen continued to ask with a curious glance.

Again, Ian thought about simply staying silent but his curiosity got the better of him. Looking him over with a critical eye, Ian wondered what Darren was even doing up so early. He was just wearing a dark blue beanie over his sandy brown curls and a thick black coat over his boots and jeans…he wasn’t dressed for anything special.

Gah! He distracted me… Ian groaned before ending his silence with a sigh. “No…I mean yes…kind of.” As if to pretend not to be distracted, Ian closed his eyes again to continue his meditative state. “You always want to mind your chakra centers so the mind and spirit become more perceptive and the body may heal but my training requires more. Nature and the elements take commune for the relationship to be fully realized. We’re all children of nature and we may return to it through our relationship with its elements or when our remains finally turn to dust and we’re thrust back into nature’s cycle…”

As he spoke, Darren simply stared at the meditating swordsman, his eyes and face blank but obviously he wasn’t sure what the speech meant. Opening one eye again, Ian sighed when he felt his friend’s confusion.

“Right…” Darren pretended to relate but quickly changed the subject. “Anyway, I saw you with Keity last night…well?”

So that’s what you wanted, Ian thought as he rolled his eyes and closed them once more in an effort to focus.

“Aww, come on! You can tell your buddy,” Darren laughed and leaned down to give Ian’s shoulders a shake.

“We…nothing, okay?” Ian forced an answer, his face showing small signs of red.

“Aaaaahh! I knew it!” the junior laughed and jabbed Ian in the shoulder. “Hey look, man,” he said and started pulling a card from his jacket pocket. “Keity’s giving out her presents already so I’m guessing she’ll probably be leaving tomorrow or whatever. If you’re gonna get on her good side, better get her something before she goes.”

Ian leapt to his feet suddenly. “Right! She’s leaving *today*! But I thought I had more time!” The next instant, Ian was kicking up snow as he rushed to the girl’s dorms, shouting a “Thanks!” over his shoulder.

[Later the same day, early during the Holiday Break]

It was dark again, like the last time this happened. But this time, the beast seemed placated in the darkness, its breathing heavy and consistent. So he just watched. Watched out of fear and a hint of curiosity. What had happened? Why was it sleeping and what does it take to wake it?...

Echoes of his name touched his ears, faint at first and after he heard it a few more time, he recognized it instantly. “…Mom?”

He opened his eyes slowly and as the light soaked into them, he understood the situation. “…uuhg, Mom?...what…happened?” the question weakly passed through the young swordsman’s lips. As his consciousness grew, he was finally aware of the bed he lay in, the florescent lighting of the infirmary and his sandy-brown haired mother smiling down on him.

“Ian, thank goodness you’re awake!” Sandra Kelly exclaimed and hugged her son tightly.

“Ow ow ow OW!”

“Sorry,” she blushed as she remembered the physicians had stitched and bandaged Ian up until he regained consciousness. “I was worried your teacher had really hurt you. How are you doing?”

“…alright…where is he? Where’s sensei?” Ian asked as he sat up in the bed. The pain he felt burned across his chest and midsection which caused him to look down to see a blood-stained bandage wrapped around nearly his whole torso.

“Right here,” said a familiar voice from the door. “Glad to see you’re up already. That was a pretty mean cut you got.” Ian’s eyes lit up at the sight of his master but quickly dimmed when he remembered all the things he had done and said. “Cheer up, idiot student of mine, it’s the holidays. No need to be all gloomy.”

Ian didn’t respond. “Honey, what’s wrong?” Sandra asked, sweeping her lab coat aside to sit on the hospital bed next to Ian. It was a mixture of various things, really. Not just with his master, but his friends being gone and just bad memories that continued to plague him. His mind was just a muddy mess at that time. “If you really want to, we can fly out somewhere for the holidays. Anywhere you want. Colorado, Hawaii, France, New Zealand…there’s a great new resort in Costa Rica I wanted to see..How about that? Would that make you feel better?”

His heart jumped in his throat at the mention of France, but when he thought about it all, that wasn’t for him. “You don’t have to do anything like that for me,” Ian answered, “If you didn’t want to vacation this year, mom, I wouldn’t want to force you into it.” Sandra was ready to pout at this answer when Ian continued. “Besides, I said I was going to train some over the break. Can’t do that while tanning in Tahiti.” Ian grinned slyly but was quickly swatted in the back of the head by his mother.

“Don’t try to put on a tough mask for me. You know you’re supposed to tell me anything on your mind, right?” She asked with a concerned brow to which Ian stared back intently. While he stared back at her, it reminded him just how beautiful she was and that he’d eventually like to marry someone as loving and lovely as her in the future.

“Anything that’s on my mind?” Ian asked again with a smile. “Can I get an advance on my allowance, then? I’ll make sure to test your newest prototype for you.” Thinking back to his shopping with his friends several days ago, he remembered he wouldn’t have enough to get his mother that gift he had his eye on.

“Done,” Sandra nodded. The woman stood and walked over to the phone and dialed a special extension which connected her to one of the on-site doctors. “Yes, I’d like to schedule a Radiant Healing Bath for the patient of this room…Ian Kelly, yes he’s awake…what time? I’ll ask.” She turned to ask if he wanted to get a quick heal at 3:45 or squeeze him in right now but the moment Sandra turned her head, Ian was gone, along with his clothes and his teacher.

“That’s it…I’m putting a collar and leash on that boy,” she grumbled before pulling out her cell phone in preparation of blowing up Ian’s with messages.

~~~

“You really outta be more considerate of your mother,” Ryjuta prodded Ian, poking the young swordsman in the chest to aggravate his wound. “You don’t want to give a pretty lady like that worry wrinkles, would you?”

“Ow…no, but she should know the routine by nOW!...Anyway…ow…I’m pretty sure I’ll get healed by someone…ow…soon or eventually…ow.” After Ian put on his torn and stained clothes, the master and his student were outside the K-Tech building of Steel Canyon soon enough, walking to the tram station to get back to Lakeview. At the first call, he sent a return text saying he’d be fine, he'd take it easy and not to worry about him. Then he put his phone on vibrate and proceeded to ignore any more calls. “Don’t worry about her. I’m coming back later anyway.”

“You don’t know anything about how women think, do you?” Ryjuta sighed, now giving up poking Ian’s wound as it seemed to have no effect anymore.

“Forget about that. What about my training?” Ian asked excitedly.

“Oh yeah…I can’t.”

Ian gave ample pause for his master to continue, his heart racing faster and faster with each second. “…Why not?”

“Don’t you remember what happened at the end of our duel?”

“I apologize for my words, sensei. Please forgive me, they leapt from my tongue without thought. I didn’t-” Ian quickly apologized and plead with his mentor, bowing as profusely as the depths of his regret.

“No, no. It wasn’t what you said,” Ryjuta interrupted and pulled his student along. The aged swordmaster hated formalities, especially in public. The only reason he even taught Ian Bushido, the etiquette and all, was so he’d revere all the warriors before him that crafted the fighting styles he was learning. Ian latched onto every lesson like that…it showed how naive he could be. “No, it was what you *did* that concerns me.” He stared at his student who, of course, looked back at him blankly. “The changes you went through. Your voice, your eyes…you were like a different person. Was that the ‘other self’ you spoke of?”

Ian’s eyes grew wide. Had he transformed a bit? He knew he got mad, but how much. “Yes…I’ve been having some trouble with my emotions and its sort of put me off balance.”

“And that’s the reason your connection with the elements is completely diminished?” They were outside the tram station when Ryjuta asked. Ian stopped and stared at his feet. “You had to have felt it, right?”

In truth, Ian just thought the techniques his master had taught him just got really rusty from not practicing them. That the changes might be the cause was only a passing suspicion. “I just need practice, master. Please train me some more, I’m sure I’ll-”

“I have something else in mind for you.” Ian’s pleading eyes brightened a bit at this. “I want you to explore this other side of yourself. Meet him…understand him…only then will you be able to bring balance to yourself. Then we’ll talk about further training. Okay?”

Ian nodded profusely. “Yes, Ryjuta-sensei. I will begin immediately!”

“Alright,” the master smiled as he proceeded up the ramp. Ian started to follow when Ryjuta put out a hand to halt him. “Oh, and go back to your mom. You can start *after* she lets you. Okay?” Ian smiled. His master was so wise!

[END]

I'm still behind the idea of turning Conserve Power into an energy version of Fiery Embrace, giving you a moderate endurance discount to powers and adding an energy component to all your attacks. Make the set an offensive set that uses defense.

D_R's thread won't be dead by i20 due to a hole in the head.

Hmmm....

No, give me something else >_>

*actually reads the thread*

*look at his hands in awe*

Oh my god...I really do think I have powers....

Quick! Give me something unreasonable to say we won't get it in i20!

As the duel continued, it escalated from a concerned conversation of swords, to a test of skill and finally an all out war. It was difficult to even call it a match between swordsmen as a regular fighter would have been left in the dust of an avalanche of collapsing rock and washed away by a cold tsunami of water gushing over the shore.

No longer was this confined to the upper west coast of the sector. Ryjuta had forced Ian off land with, what could only be summarized as a localized hurricane. As the land mass near the warwall was enveloped in a cyclone of razor sharp air-currents, Ian let the resulting bursts of air carry him up and out of danger and landing on a boat whose crew were at awe by the resulting storm.

Ryjuta gave chase, right over the water’s shifting surface. “You won’t get away! Not like that,” the master called with a smile, his broad nodachi scraping the sea and his feet tapping the water as if it were solid. As warning, he swept along the sea which unsettled the frigid waters and rocked the boat Ian rode on.

Ian looked rather desperately toward the shore of the mainland then back at the passengers as they gasped and shouted at the suddenly rocky sea. He had to think quickly as his master would reach the boat any moment now…

“Why would you put these bystanders between us? This is suppose to be an honorable battle,” Ryjuta groaned angrily as he leapt aboard the boat himself. The passengers looked nervously at the sword-wielding intruder like he was ready to murder them all at any second. “Eh?...sorry,” Ryjuta tried to plea with them when he saw their faces and eyes looking to him. “I’m leaving…no worries…” He rested his sword on his shoulder as his glare scoured to find his pupil. “Ian?” A shift in the wind, from southeast to east, caught the master’s leather coat. It spoke to him, whispering in his ear. “He didn’t…” Ryjuta growled as he quickly moved to the rail of the boat to find Ian snuck off on a life raft with the wind helping to carry him closer to shore.

“That little…!” Again, running along the sea’s surface, he chased the young swordsman who seemed to be in full retreat. “What’s the meaning of this!?” A vertical slice tore Ian’s raft in half and split the sea, resulting in a rush of misty air bursting upward. Ian took his chance and leapt to shore.

“Why are you doing this! Face me!! Show me what you’ve learned!!” He ripped the air with his blade with Ian only narrowly escaping the razor wind with an acrobatic backflip followed by a full double somersault and finally landing crouched on the shore.

“I am!” Ian growled, finally turning to face his opponent. But he couldn’t say he had no plan of attack. Long-range, Ryjuta had complete control and mid-range was a death trap. Even close-range, he could only manage a mild foothold with the only hope of survival is disarming his opponent.

A screech of wind answered Ian’s anger followed by another hurricane of searing wind that forced Ian into retreat again. “That doesn’t look like facing…that looks like your bony rear end running.”

Now heading east, Ian leapt and weaved over and around the rock formations around the main island, using them to shield him which didn’t work out very well. Like a comb through hair, Ryjuta’s blade called upon the wind to extend his skilled and surgical slices to cut through those boulders like a razor through grass.

Running out of shore, Ian started to round the island and head south but was quickly met with a long nodachi. The young swordsman narrowly deflected it using his divine avalanche which forced the duelist apart and Ian right back to the edge of shore. The follow up storm of sharp wind forced Ian back into the water, as to be expected.

The reason he ran here was because if forced off shore, there were platforms of rocks scattered throughout the water and if forced further out, the archipelago of Circe and Scylla were there to continue their fight.

Ian landed on a rock, his guard acute as he waited for his master to follow. Ryjuta looked upon his student, a look of distress finally crossed his face. His master slowly approached which caused Ian’s heart to race anxiously. “Ian…is there something you haven’t told me?”

Ian grit his teeth defensively.

“…I see…” As if the silence told it all, Ryjuta unstrapped his sheath and returned his Tadayoshi to its resting place. “This duel is over.”

“Wait!!...Why!?!” Ian angrily demanded.

“You aren’t ready. If you will not use everything you have, you will forever be limited by your own ideals and prejudice.”

“NO!” Ian roared. “I’m not done!! We’re not done!!!”

Apparently, the master hadn’t needed his all to force Ian into submission but decided to show how far he could go by ending it now. Resting his Tadayoshi on his hip, Ryjuta performed an impossibly fast iaijutsu as he drew his blade and sliced the air once more. Ian couldn’t even see the shockwave slice laterally across the water’s surface, slicing all the rocks Ian retreated to and crumbling them into the sea. Ian tried to escape but the familiar sound of an angry sea filled his ears.

“Kaze-kame.”

The master swept across the sea shore which forced up a tower of water several stories tall. Ian looked on at his inevitable defeat, not in fear but in anger. The name he heard his master call was obviously a pun and not an attack. That the fight turned to a mere joke for his master filled him with anger and it didn’t help that he was forced into submission using the same teachings he had so desperately practiced.

“STOP FOOLING WITH MEEE!!” Ian roared as the tsunami crushed him and washed him out to sea.

……

After a minute or two, Ryjuta calmly walked the water's face out to the crash site of the wave, a whirlpool being the result of the chaotic forces. Standing over his student, a look of sadness and regret overtook Ryjuta at the sight of Ian helplessly caught in the swirling current. What happened to becoming closer to nature and its elements? Look at him now, struggling for his life rather than accepting the sea’s embrace. It all made sense now...and nearly brought the swordmaster to tears.

Ian coughed and splashed and struggled. He couldn’t even find his bokken as it was washed away in the wave. From his defeated position, his eyes glared daggers of anger at the look his sensei gave him. He didn’t see sadness in Ryjuta’s eyes, he saw disappointment and pity. Just like all the other students at school that looked down on him before. It was infuriating. Ryjuta was suppose to be his mentor but now he genuinely mocked him!? Where was the honor? Was it all a farce?

“What is the matter with you?” the master pleaded but on Ian’s ears it sounded condescending. “Can you not hear the sea crying? The earth wracks in pain…can you not feel it?”

“SHUT UP!!” Ian cried, barely able to keep his head above the drowning current. “I looked up to –cough- -cough-!...looked up to you…and you brush my challenge aside…-cough-…why?”

“I didn’t, Ian…but something-”

“Then face me!” He was like a bottle rocket. Ian launched out of the water and reached for Ryjuta’s throat. It came to a surprise to the master, not because of the speed but because Ian still had the strength to fight. To deflect Ian’s grope, Ryjuta used his sword sheath, only to have it crushed in half by Ian’s angry grip. The swordmaster tried to leap away but a strong bellowing roar rocked the air around him which caused him to freeze before he got too far.

“I AM strong!” Ian kicked off the air which sent him flying like a bullet, his claws bared and his yellow and green eyes full of fury. Ryjuta tried to stave him off with another razor wind strike but to the master’s surprise once more, it passed through the raging charging boy harmlessly. “I AM!” he roared again as his claws came upon his master.

A spray of blood silenced the wind and the now calm lapping sea washed away the red stain of this honorable duel that was sullied by wrath.

Croc looks like he would have been a cool guy to hang out with but being around the testosterone-junkie, Bane, got him into bullying. Little Penguin looks cute ^_^

...I'm done.

[Early Holiday Break, Mid-day]

Their battle raged through the upper west section of the Talos sector on the boarder of the war walls. Teacher and student locked blades and exchanged blows for nearly an hour with neither showing sign of slowing. However, for the apprentice, he was giving his all, dipping into the maxim of his strength and stamina, relying on his heightened reflexes and focusing his inner spirit to maintain lightning reactions so each and every melee strike was aimed at greatest opportunity yet this wasn’t particularly the case for the master.

Although he too was using greatly all of his skill with the sword to defend and attack, this is not all the legendary Sage of the Sword could do nor was it all he taught his pupil. After any suppressed thoughts or emotions were made known, they could fight properly with the confidence of their skills. But now, as the battle pressed past an hour, Ryjuta felt it time to hold nothing back. And if his student was smart, he wouldn’t either.

Deflecting two strikes from Ian using the body of his mighty nodachi with one hand holding the handle and the other palming the flat side edge, Ryjuta took a leap back from his opponent onto a pile of boulders.

“Trying to get the high ground?” Ian chortled as he replaced his bokken in his belt.

Ryjuta, on the other hand, remained silent and shut his eyes. Resting his great sword on his shoulder, the swordmaster brought his free hand up in prayer/focus. “Don’t get cocky, kid. I haven’t even started yet,” the teacher taunted his student who was happy to oblige.

Ian charged the rock formation, his hand still at his sheathed weapon. When in range, the young swordsman drew the sword and swung with one motion. “Sting of the wasp!” The blow cracked the hard rock and crumbled the formation. Ryjuta quickly leapt several yards away just before the impact on the rocks he was standing on which soon came thudding to the soft grass and earth.

Still persisting the attack, Ian continued his charge with his bokken strongly gripped in his hands. “Don’t you know what technique this is?” Ryjuta smirked as his pupil came speeding toward him.

Of course Ian knew. It was the entire reason the master could manage such a ridiculously sized and massed sword. The Reppuuto-ryu or Violent Wind Sword Style, clearly made his heavy sword as light as air, or at least it seemed that way. It was a technique he never got a chance to use nor perfect. Besides, Ian’s bokken was already quite light…it was, in fact, that lack of mass that seemed to be the weapon’s detriment.

“I know of it,” Ian smiled back with a blindingly fast strike that Ryjuta parried with ease, one handedly in fact. “Do you know of this one?” Ian called back just as his master swiftly countered with a speedy one-handed lateral slash. With intimate knowledge of attack and defense, Ian swung at the encroaching sword with a two handed grip.

To Ryjuta’s surprise, his blade came bouncing back with such force, he had no choice but to be pulled back with it or lose his sword. Ian was under a similar effect as the deflection forced himself off the ground and flying in reverse to his attack.

“What manner of sword technique was that?” the master quirked as he reoriented himself.

“I call it Divine Avalanche.”

Ryjuta answered with a raised brow. “There was no voice of the earth in that attack,” he replied critically.

Rolling to a crouch, Ian held his sword tightly. “I developed it from Hyun-ki’s Finger Sword Guard.” The master couldn’t help but smile which Ian returned with one of his own.

“Well, enough of the formalities. Tadayoshi wants to breath.” The swordmaster rose the longsword’s tip to the sky before bringing it sweeping diagonally in Ian’s direction.

“Hayabusa Teikaitsuken!”

The screech of the air and the searing edge of the wind caused Ian to wince as he hit the dirt. Although the master’s sword was long and reaching, the actual blade only reached a bit past 2 yards, but the razor edged blade seemed to slice deep into trees, boulders and straight through the landmass they dueled on. But it didn’t end with dissecting the environment clean-through but summoned up a squall that swirled up the pieces that it seemed a miracle Ian didn’t get knocked and pulled in as well.

The several seconds the wind roared, Ian clenched his eyes shut, finally opening them when everything became still again. “I thought you didn’t like calling your attacks like that,” Ian laughed and pushed himself up into a defensive posture.

“Yeah…but I guess your style rubbed off and won me over,” he smirked to his pupil before effortlessly and elegantly slashing at the air once more.