Heroica: Glory Amongst The Stars - Training Center

[Duvors]

Start: +10 CP

It had been a long time since Enson had properly attempted to cultivate his inner strength, and he could tell it had suffered from this neglect. He had been spending long hours in the meditation garden, focusing on a single point and allowing himself to be absorbed in the weightless floating sensation of the meditative trance. As much as he wanted to force the process, he knew deliberately pursuing the sensation of being All-in-Nothing would simply drive it further away.
And so, every day, at the appointed hour, he came into the garden and practiced stillness. He had been doing this for some time now, and he was beginning to reclaim some of the strength he'd lost.

Spirit: 2 -- 3 (2 CP)

That wasn't what he was doing now however. At this moment he was quite busy with another aspect of his training.
Enson entered the room. It was a simple area - four walls, some weapon stands, and a mat in the center of the floor - and he was very familiar with it by this point. Roderick was already there. Not surprising to tell the truth, he always was. What was surprising was the odd mechanical object behind him, seemingly a pair of arms on a stand.

"Well Roddy," Enson said, eyeing the object behind the Adamite quizzically, "what do you have planned for today?"

"A bit of a test, something to see how far you've come. And I'm also introducing something new to these sessions."

"That contraption I assume." Enson said, nodding towards the arms.

"Correct! I've been letting you have a little 'natural advantage' up till now, and I thought it's time to take the kid gloves off." he said, raising his arms and backing toward the contraption.
As he approached, the machine whirred into life. The arms folded outwards to let Roderick step into the frame, before folding back in and attaching to his sides with a whirr and a hiss.

"Ah." said Enson. "To be honest, I don't think you really need those, do you?"

Roddy simply smiled as he stepped away from the frame, his new arms flexing. With a deft movement, he unhooked a hilt from his waist and tossed it toward Enson, which the Quo'ri easily caught.
They weren't fighting with real weapons of course, that would be too dangerous. Instead these blades merely had the magnetic field emitters of the real swords, with a hologram emitter replacing the plasma torch. They didn't hiss and burn like the real thing either, the only sound they emitted was an odd, hollow whomp when they struck something. Enson swiftly ignited his and assumed a one-handed stance, his other arms assuming guard positions. For his part Roderick took his own sword up in a two-handed pose, his other arms spread wide.

"Diving right in I see."

"Well, no sense in wasting time."

"Can't say I disagree."

Melee Weapons: 1 -- 2 (2 CP)
End: +6 CP

Edited February 21, 2022 by Duvors

[Duvors]

Start: +6 CP

The training was intense, after every session Enson's muscles ached from the exertion, his body drenched in sweat and limbs trembling. Still, he could feel his skills improving, his speed increasing, his reactions sharpening. In between training bouts his time was spent practicing stances and strikes, meditation sessions, grooming (necessary when your whole body covered in hair), and practicing his first aid.

Medicine: 2 -- 3 (3 CP)

At this precise moment however, he was facing Roddy with a practice blade in hand.

"Remember, keep your eyes on the weapon, don't let the enemy surprise you."

"So far you've asked me to keep my eyes on your expression, your posture, your hands, and your weapon. I only have two eyes you know."

 Truth be told, this wasn't all that different from the combat training he'd received from his teachers on Vin'Quo, but that had been so long ago and he'd let his capabilities slide. Besides, he'd never used a sword back then.
 The rules of this bout were the same as all the others - one hit from the sword, and you win. With a plasma sword, one hit would often be all you needed. So far, Enson had yet to win a single one.
 At this point, the bout they were fighting hadn't gone beyond the 'sharks circling each-other' phase. The two knew each-other quite well at this point, but it was still good practice to size up an opponent before heading in. A thousand little circumstances could put even a well-known opponent at a disadvantage, and Roddy had a tendency to switch styles between sessions in a way that was difficult to keep track of.
 Suddenly, the Adamite pounced toward Enson, sword swinging toward his side in a two-handed slash. The Qoun'Ahn leapt nimbly to the side, parrying the strike. However Enson's own attempt at a follow up strike was parried in its own turn by the Adamite's blade.
 Now the two were circling each-other again, faster this time, looking for an opening. This time it was Enson's turn to break the stalemate, feinting with the sword in one of his left hands before suddenly switching it to his right and bringing it in for an arcing cut from above. Roddy, however, was not born yesterday. Stepping back he caught the blade on his own in a one-handed parry. Enson wasn't going to let up the pressure though, swiftly stepping into his opponent's space and grabbing his sword arm with one of his free hands while their weapons still pressed together. Roddy in turn used one of his hands to catch Enson's own sword wrist, holding the two swords together so Enson couldn't pull away and strike.
 Enson quickly improvised, dropping his sword from his upper right hand and catching it in his lower. But before he could use it another of Roderick's arms grabbed it and twisted it away from his body. Now Enson had nothing in the way of Roddy's weapon, save the strength of one arm, which he knew was inferior to his opponent's. Quickly, he gripped Roddy's sword arm with his remaining free hand and twisted the Adamite's own weapon out of striking position.
 This new stalemate couldn't last though. With his last free hand, Roddy drove his fist into the Quo'ri's gut, sending him reeling. The Adamite quickly disengaged, releasing Enson's arms and pushing away. Enson let him, releasing his own grip on the construct's various appendages and stepping back. His needed space to recover from that punch.
 The two stood apart from each other now - Enson guarding himself while trying to recover his breath, Roderick holding his sword in a two-handed overhead guard. Enson assessed the situation - were he to guard against an overhead strike, the Adamite could simply redirect his blow at the last moment to strike his side. If he tried to take advantage of the seeming lack of protection from below, then Roddy could simply dodge the blow and hit him from above anyway.
 Enson soon made up his mind, switching to the same overhead stance as his teacher. As if that were a signal, the two launched themselves at one-another. As predicted, Roddy went for an overhead strike, before breaking off and making a one-handed swing at the side of the Quo'ri's head. Enson had prepared for this though. Instantly, one of his free hands lashed out at Roddy's sword wrist, managing to grip it just enough to force the blow down and to the side before Roddy broke his hold. At the same time, Enson lashed out with an open palm blow toward the Adamite's chest. The blow was easily caught and deflected, but all this had left Roddy's head unprotected. Enson swiftly capitalized on that. With a flick of his wrists he turned his overhead guard into an arcing blow aimed at the side of Roddy's head.
 Roddy reacted too fast however - in an instant he brought up one of his hands to strike Enson's wrists, forcing the Qoun'ahn to withdraw from the strike or risk being grappled again. At the same time he brought up his sword arm in a one-handed overhead slash that forced Enson to dive away, the blade coming within a centimeter of his face as he did.
 Enson wasn't able to keep his footing though, coming down on his side on the exercise mat. Thankfully, he had been able to direct his fall so that his right side - where the sword was still gripped in one hand - was facing upwards. Without stopping to think he made a wild slash at his opponent's legs. Roddy deftly stepped back, before coming in again with an efficient downward blow. But the wild slash had brought Enson time, which he used to roll to the side, coming to his feet at the end. Enson's posture now was low to the ground, limiting his opponent's opportunities to attack from below.
 Enson was breathing hard now, while Roderick barely seemed out of sorts. Enson knew that, one way or another, their next clash would be the last. He hoped he'd at least be able to surprise his teacher by the end.
 This last pause lasted only a few seconds, the two locking determined gazes from across the room. Without warning, Enson rocketed across the mat, pushing past the fatigue through sheer adrenaline. Roddy was forced onto the defensive, stepping back to keep Enson at  swords-length as the Quo'ri launched into a series of furious attacks. Now matter where he struck though, he couldn't break his teacher's defense. A blow to the right, parry. To the left, parried again. From above, parried, then immediately followed through with an overhead that forced Enson to parry in turn. He wasn't going to let his offense be broken though, throwing himself into lunging thrust at the Adamite. Roddy clearly expected this though, turning it aside with his own blade before stepping aside and curving his sword around to strike in turn.
Enson was falling now, unable to arrest his momentum. Desperately he flung out a hand to block the incoming blow. His angle was bad however, his hand was going to catch the incoming sword on the blade, which would cost him the fight. There was no way he'd be able to save himself now.
 And yet, just before the blade struck his hand, there was a flash of white light, and the sword bounced away without touching him.

New Spell: Warding Bond

 Roddy's eyes widened in shock, and that gave Enson all the opening he needed. Abandoning all attempts to arrest his fall, he caught his sword in two hands and swung it into the Adamite's side. The blade struck with an empty whomp, but Enson hadn't time for even the grimmest satisfaction before his shoulder struck the mat with a jarring thump.

Skill 2 -- 3 (2 CP)

"You okay there?" Roderick said, offering him a hand - or two, three even.

"No, I'm all right." Enson said, taking the Adamite's hands and hoisting himself to his feet. "Thanks."

"No problem. That was a crazy move you pulled off there, not sure that would work in a real fight though." He looked at Enson quizzically. "You used a spell to win?"

"You said to use every advantage I had, so I did." Enson spread his arms and shrugged.

"So I did!" Roddy said with a laugh, stepping into his arm-holding thing and letting it remove his extra pair. "Did they teach you that on Vin'Quo too?"

"Of course. Qoun'ahn wouldn't get very far by fighting fair. Leave honor to the aristocrats."

"Excellent! Tell me, are you going to continue your training now that you've bested me?"

Enson sighed.

"I probably should keep training, but I feel I've sequestered myself in here for too long. All the training in the world is of no use if no use is made of it, and a Qoun'ahn's place is with the people."

"Well, you can always come back here anytime you wish. I do think we should mark your victory with a little celebration before you go. Something to mark the occasion."

"Wellll..." Enson began with a smile, "I have been practicing on the bagpipes recently."

Performance 0 -- 1 (1 CP)

End: 0 CP

Edited February 21, 2022 by Duvors

[Kintobor]

Zaria dried her hair as she lingered in front of her washroom mirror, languishing over the old electrical lights as they flickered. The converted hotel room was not the most luxurious place she had stayed, but she could count on her fingers worse accommodations. A few hours of hard work had transformed it into something: a few potted plants, a punching bag, yoga matts and a small bookshelf of religious text and travel guides accented her room. She would eventually find a small water fountain for aid in meditation and just to add some sort of noise besides the hum of of the building and station, but for now aethernet recordings would have to do. She felt comfortable for the first time in awhile. Looking to her armour and weapon rack, she grimaced as she looked at her cherished armour. The metal and leather had been stained through with the amount of hydra goo and gunk that had splattered across her, but that could be fixed with time. She had not had a solid work out session in awhile, and she could feel a burning pit in her grow as her desire to push her physical capabilities ignite. Leaving her armour behind but taking her blade, she made her way to the training room. She knew it was time for a few days of serious work out.

Zaria quickly found herself back into her old routine as she entered the training room. Stretches. Kettlebells. Battle ropes. Skipping rope. Push ups. She had done these all before and she would continue to do so to push herself to athletic excellence. On the open road she did what she could to keep her body in shape. As much as she was skeptical about staying in the hall, the equipment and facilities ensured she'd at least be in shape during her stay. She stayed at this routine until finally she knew it was time to move on to the next part of her training.

With Roderick's help, Zaria set up a series of dummies for her to practice more advanced sword techniques on. She knew she had a good handle on her skills, but she could always strike faster, slice deeper, fight better. For some time she practiced quickening her stances, her draw, and her strikes. As sharp as her blade could be, she could dull her senses if she allowed herself to grow sloth. After some time limbless dummies surrounded her.

"Everything going good?" Roderick inquired. Zaria, wiping sweat from her brow, turned and nodded with a smile.

"It is." Days spent working out made her feel more hearty and hardened: ready for combat. Roderick smiled back.

"Just watch your swings, alright. The dummies we can attach the limbs back on. Other people, not so much." Nodding again, Zaria took time to wind down her training before ending with some stretches. She felt ready for whatever came next.

Start: +7 CP
Athletics 1 -- 2 (2 CP)
Melee Weapons 2 -- 3 (3 CP)
Vitality 6 -- 7 (2CP)

End CP: 0

[Zepher]

Merei returns to Heroica with a new amount of reserve energy, her understanding of the universe and her own powers amplified by her run-in with the Hydra and a brief sojourn on her home planets.

6 Character points: -2 to bump Religion from 1 to 2, -4 to bump spirit from 3 to 5.