Penny Rose [ Serah Farron ] (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rememberher) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
pawnstorm2016-09-17 11:15 am
rememberher) wrote in pawnstorm2016-09-17 11:15 am
Swords 101
Who: Lux Crownguard, and you!
Where: The Hall of Glory
When: Back-dated to early-to-mid September
What: A new weapon means learning a new way to fight.
Rating: PG probably? idk
[ Knees bent, feet at shoulders width, posture relaxed yet at the ready.
Repeating that mantra in her head, she moved swiftly, the gems on her bracelet the only light shining through the early morning darkness. Her breaths coming in gentle puffs, made visible by the cool autumn air, she moved through each training dummy with ease, practically dancing as she moved, and leaving yet more light in her wake.
Knees bent, feet at shoulders width, posture relaxed yet at the ready.
And with each one she passed, they began to glow, telling where she had been, where she had struck, bathing them in faint, golden light. Marking them. But with what? Perhaps the gently glowing form of what looked to be the hilt of a sword might have something to do with it.
Then all at once, she would dart away, quick on her feet (quicker than she might appear, as if someone had been training her, teaching her how she should move), casting out her left hand and— ]
Fosopye!
[ Prismatic light blossoming from the palm of her hand, it shattered into shards of iridescent glass, flying at each marked training dummy and imbedding themselves before detonating her golden mark.
Knees bent, feet at shoulders width, posture relaxed yet at the ready.
They were going to need more dummies at this rate. ]
[[Brackets or prose, doesn't matter to me. I'll match styles regardless.]]
Where: The Hall of Glory
When: Back-dated to early-to-mid September
What: A new weapon means learning a new way to fight.
Rating: PG probably? idk
[ Knees bent, feet at shoulders width, posture relaxed yet at the ready.
Repeating that mantra in her head, she moved swiftly, the gems on her bracelet the only light shining through the early morning darkness. Her breaths coming in gentle puffs, made visible by the cool autumn air, she moved through each training dummy with ease, practically dancing as she moved, and leaving yet more light in her wake.
Knees bent, feet at shoulders width, posture relaxed yet at the ready.
And with each one she passed, they began to glow, telling where she had been, where she had struck, bathing them in faint, golden light. Marking them. But with what? Perhaps the gently glowing form of what looked to be the hilt of a sword might have something to do with it.
Then all at once, she would dart away, quick on her feet (quicker than she might appear, as if someone had been training her, teaching her how she should move), casting out her left hand and— ]
Fosopye!
[ Prismatic light blossoming from the palm of her hand, it shattered into shards of iridescent glass, flying at each marked training dummy and imbedding themselves before detonating her golden mark.
Knees bent, feet at shoulders width, posture relaxed yet at the ready.
They were going to need more dummies at this rate. ]
[[Brackets or prose, doesn't matter to me. I'll match styles regardless.]]
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You're glowing.
[ Lux, that isn't a question. ]
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Was she a little jealous? Maybe a little.]I see. Hmm.
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It should cease around the middle of dawn.
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But then, was it really such a surprise? She knew of some plants back home that would glow as well. ]
Then I'll do my best to not be distracted until then.
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A replacement for my staff. I'm still getting used to fighting with it.
[ But if that was what he wanted to see, then she would be more than happy to oblige. Focusing, the crystalline hilt of her blade glowing faintly, Lux sprang forward, trailing light in her wake. She was still somewhat rigid, and there were times when it seemed like she might vary her movements, try something different from what he had taught her—almost dancelike, but always holding herself back, hesitating at the last possible moment and defaulting to something very basic.
Like she could see what she wanted to do, how she should be moving, but was doubting herself. Relying too heavily upon what was very much a textbook response, yet strangely fighting herself stepping outside her comfort zone. ]
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But--] What would you do if that target was a person coming at you?
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But hearing him speak, Lux stopped, turning toward her teacher. If they were coming at her? She smiled a bit sheepishly. ]
I'm not sure, I haven't really had much experience with that. At least not with a sword.
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Is the blade still not comfortable in your hand? Is it an issue of strength, or mind?
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It's not that...
[ She paused, trying to think of a way to explain. ]
Normally, the way that I fight, I mimic other people's movements with constructs, clones made from light. The only limitation then is what I can imagine, or how the other person fights.
[ Which, considering the people who she has utilized this power with, the sky was the limit. ]
But just because I can see something, doesn't mean that I'm able to do it myself. I've never fought like this before, and while I have been training, I'm not sure what I'm capable of. If I can translate what I see in my head to action.
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[He waves his hand.] Put everyone else out of your mind. How they fight--that does not matter right now. We need to develop how you fight.
This is my first time teaching someone else, so perhaps I am not guiding you so well--forgive me. [He nods to the targets.] I think you understand the technique, but applying it is not intuitive to you yet. You are used to indirect combat, but battle with a blade is very personal.
Ah! [He claps his hands together.] My form will be a little different, but why don't I show you?
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And to rob her of any and all inspiration... she looked at the Sylvari skeptically. A magician was only as good as what she knew, and learning from and emulating others had seemed to work in the past. But she would follow his instruction. Lux was ever the star pupil, after all. ]
All right, I'll do my best.
[ Nodding, she readied herself. ]
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It's all the same, basic forms he's had her do. Upways, sideways, thrusting. But they blend together much more seamlessly and he moves light on his feet as he just barely strikes the target--with a larger blade, he lets the weight of his weapon carry his whole body through each step to give it the power it needs. The rainbow trail following each strike gives a clear view of the shape of his arcs as he swings the blade not unlike if he was just swinging his arm, and the sword wasn't there at all.
And then brings it down heavy, tearing into the target diagonally with enough force to rip straight through the fabric to leave a deep tear.
He drops the tip of his sword into the dirt and leans against the hilt as he turns to Lux with a smile.] What did you see?
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It was almost beautiful to watch, the cascade of light from his sword following him almost like an afterimage. Almost like a partner. ]
Effortless. Like you didn't have to think at all.
[ And for someone who was always thinking at least three steps ahead, she was in awe. ]
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[He pulls his sword out of the ground and steps beside her.] You cannot be caught thinking about how and where you need to strike. You must trust that you are doing exactly what you need to do with your blade.
That part... takes some time. But it is why you need to be absolutely comfortable with using your blade, or else you will become stuck. [He tilts his head to her sword.] Do you trust yourself with that?
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With her staff, she hardly had to think, letting her spells channel through it, and trusting that they would connect. But coming to this world, her power didn't quite translate, and she grew to distrust her weapon, and herself. In some ways, she was thankful that it had shattered, unable to fully contain her power.
But with Radiance... It felt different, but natural and unnatural. And she may not be as proficient with it, but she did trust her movements, her ability to be able to let her spells, her attacks connect. In some ways, it was much easier to wield, yet in others...
To trust her blade to protect her, and to trust herself and her own intuition... ]
I think...
[ She paused. ]
I might be trying to overcomplicate things. Magic is about feeling, about listening to that power within and acting as a conduit, so that it can flow out into the physical world. So perhaps if I think of my sword like that, not as a tool, but as an extension of myself, then maybe...
[ Lux smiled sheepishly. ]
But then, maybe I'm overcomplicating that as well.
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[He taps his chin, looking thoughtful.] Aha! I know what we shall do.
[He gives her a few steps of space and gestures to the target.] Let's see your forms again, but this time I want you to close your eyes and not think about anything else. Don't look, don't listen, just... focus on yourself. Only what you are doing and how it feels.
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And at first, it was clear that she was still going through the motions, painfully obvious that she was telling herself to not get into her own head. It would seem that Syrlya's exercise was for naught.
(Don't look, don't listen, just focus on how it feels. Her and Radiance, fighting as one. An extension of herself.
A partner.)
Then something changed. Her movements became more fluid, less restrained, and her grip on the hilt of her blade, while still firm, eased. The motions came quicker, moving between forms without hesitation. Almost as if...
As if she were dancing, a trail of light from Radiance's hit swirling around her like starlight. ]
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Syrlya leans against his blade with a soft smile as he watches her. And he doesn't interrupt, not for a good five minutes once she finds control of her movements. He's making sure she takes plenty of time to actually understand it, the feeling of the blade with herself.]
It looks like you're catching on. Don't open your eyes yet--can you hit the target? Trust yourself that you can.
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Like it was hers.
Visualize it. The training grounds, and the practice dummies before her, three in all. The way that they were placed, and her proximity to them.
Feel it. The mana coursing through her body, from her stomach, to Radiance's blade and outward, like an extension of her own arm. The tingle of energy in her right palm, still wrapped around the hilt of her sword, grounding her.
And... ]
...
[ Lunging forward, she moved past them with relative ease, striking each with her blade. The bracelet on her left hand resonating, humming with power, a spell catching on her tongue. But she held it there, even as her fingers began to draw gossamer strands of mana in—to finish what Radiance had started. ]
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[1/2]
Ah. You were a bit demanding, weren't you Radiance? She would have to remember that.
Pushing that tingling feeling out of her mind, Lux opened her eyes as the luminescence around the training dummies began to fade. Turning to look at her handiwork, she was quickly interrupted by the sound of his sword clattering to the ground. ]
[2/2]
Syrlya, really. You didn't have to get that excited.
But really? Her heart was racing, and she could still feel it, that exhilarating high. Something she hadn't felt since arriving here in Enprise. ]
Syrlya, your sword...
[ But she would focus on that in a moment, for now she had to keep her shoulders from shaking with held-back laughter. ]
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