Enjoy. o.o
Riku was awoken by a rough shake. His eyes fluttered open slowly, and Jian shook him more forcefully.
“Come on, we have a lot to do today,” the man said, “People to meet, places to go, things to learn...”
Riku forced his eyes to open and looked up. Jian had given him a cabin the night before; he guessed that they made this before he came. The cabin was pretty roomy, for just one person. One bed in the far corner, a dresser in the opposite corner with a lamp on it, and in addition to the dresser there was also a desk on the opposite end, also with a lamp and a pen on it. Riku hoped that the pen didn’t mean homework. The cabin arched upwards at the top, and it was but in the middle of the large field, surrounded by the gates that led to the rest of the sages and facing forwad to the Library, home of Jian.
Riku looked over and rolled out of bed, putting one foot just barely on the ground and then swinging the other over so that he was crouched, and then bounced up. Jian started walking already towards the door. Riku, noticing that he had left his clothes on from the night before, simply walked out. He figured that the people here wouldn’t quite care for odors.
Jian began talking, turning around on his heel when they exited the cabin, “Well, congratulations I suppose. You made it here, you met me, and you have the gist of things, right?”
Jian stopped, staring blankly at an unmoving Riku. Suddenly noticing that the question wasn’t rhetorical, Riku nodded.
“Good,” the man said, looking curiously at the younger boy, “Your official training begins today then, follow me.”
Jian began walking, and Riku saw that he was going towards the giant blackish-silver shield-like gate with blades that trimmed it. Riku had anticipated and dreaded coming to this gate as soon as he came here, and was at least slightly surprised that he was going so soon.
The pair came to the large gate, and Jian put his hand in the center of it for a moment. The doors, after a few seconds, creaked open, inward and slowly at first, and then slammed hard into the walls, making a loud sound that echoed throughout the corridor. It was all a dark black, and the only light came from torches that lined the walls as the corridor declined while the two walked down the stairs. Riku could hear a sound as he went down, it sounded like a metal against metal. The sound echoed throughout the place, and as they descended further down the stairs, the sound grew more audible. It took Riku a while to notice that the gate had closed almost as soon as they entered, due to the ringing in his ears.
“The music down here is lovely, is it not,” Jian said, chuckling as Riku closed his ears.
They finally came down, an opening at the bottom of the corridor. It was amazing. It was almost like a giant cave, there was a pathway running along the side of the cave’s wall which started somewhere at the opposite side of the cave and ended in a curve, at another opening that Riku could see higher up. It was like being in a mountain, almost. In front of Riku, the path continued and stopped at a humongous arena. It was simple, though, simply a large circle in the middle of the area, no gates, nothing separating it from the rest of the cave. The place was cluttered though, lined along the walls, there were massive shelves that got higher as the pathway went up, all holding various weapons on them. Some spears, a few swords, some daggers on the smaller stacks, and then Riku noted that there were ranged weapons all together in one corner, only taking up a small corner, though. A few javelins and bows and arrows and such. Scattered randomly around the center were a few smaller arenas, three that branched off from the main one, and at the far back of the cave, a few yards or so away from the beginning of the pathway, there was a giant forge. It was built into the cave’s wall, so that it stuck out, with four open slits that allowed one to see the fire raging inside of it. Scattered around in front of the forge were several anvils. Riku also noted that there were several carts filled with ore in them.
Riku saw a man at one of the anvils, they were fairly far away so Riku could only see his arm moving vigorously, slamming down on something in front of him with a hammer in his hand. Jian and Riku walked up to the man, across the arena and to the forge, where Riku began sweating from the heat of it.
Riku got a better view of the other man now. He was burly, that was for sure. Not fat, actually, his gut practically sucked inwards, but the veins of his arms could be seen through his skin. His hair was spiked, short, but spiked upwards and leaning forward a little at the front. He wore a sleeveless shirt, which probably wasn’t the smartest thing considering that he was banging his hammer on a burning blade that shot up sparks as soon as it was done, and pants that were slightly loose-fitting. Riku was a little taken aback by this appearance, having had some expectation for all of the sages to look exactly like Jian, intelligent and graceful. This one, though, seemed like a rough powerhouse.
Jian tapped the other man on the shoulder, wisely choosing to stand on the side opposite of where this man stood, as otherwise he would have been squarely hit with a hammer. The man turned around quickly, on edge from the sudden arrival, and then relaxed. He pulled up his mask, which had four slits at the mouth and two square openings for his eyes. There were two smaller slits in between these two, apparently for his nostrils. His face didn’t seem to battle-hardened though. There was a sternness about it, a hardness, but there were hardly any scars. Shinru had always taught Riku to be even more wary of fighters like this. It was a custom to believe that a warrior with many scars had much experience, but a warrior, and he was too obviously one, with few scars was one who rarely took a hit in battle. There was only one slash that went down the side of his face, and a smaller one that went over his nose.
The man took the sword off of the anvil, stuck it in the ground and leaned back, sitting down on the anvil, seemingly not minding that it must have been burning hot, and put his hand on the sword, he then curiously looked towards Jian, “This is it?”
Jian nodded, “This is him,” he said, putting an emphasis on the ‘him,’ which the other man simply dismissed with a wave of his hand, “Riku, this is Thane, the sage of Weaponry, Battle, War, and the like. Have fun.”
Jian then walked out, and Riku called after him, “Wait, you’re leaving?”
Jian turned around, “I’ve introduced you two, so Thane can take it from here. No reason for me to stay, right?”
Riku hesitated, and then nodded, and then he looked towards Thane who got up from the anvil and said, “So I guess Mr. know-it-all over there told you pretty much all of the book-smart stuff, right?” He said, but unlike Jian, he decided not to wait for an answer, “So, how about we put a few... battle-smarts into that head, eh?” he said, pushing a finger into the side of Riku’s head.
Riku stumbled to the side, the jab a bit more powerful than he thought. Thane walked over to the arena and stopped in the center of it, the arena having a sand floor and rimmed by a silver steel lining. Thane stopped at one spot, and Riku stood opposite of him, at a distance. Thane reached his arm out sideways, and fire erupted around his arm, travelling up his arm from his shoulder and swirling around to his hand. The fire, when it reached his hand, erupted outwards in a long column of flame, and when the fire receded, a large blade was in his hand, a two handed sword, but Riku was confident that he could probably hold it with one hand. The blade seemed normal enough, despite its largeness. It was a silver color but seemed to have an inscription on the side of it in red writing.
“You have a sword too, right?” Thane said. When Riku took out Soul Eater and held it in his usual stance, Thane looked at the blade curiously, “That’s a rather interesting sword you have their. Got a name for it?”
“Soul Eater,” Riku said, simply.
Thane shrugged, “interesting name for an interesting sword I suppose. Well, Soul Eater, meet Behemoth, Behemoth, Soul Eater. Now that you guys are acquainted, I’m sure that you know what we’re going to do. See these weapons along the walls?”
Riku nodded, and Thane continued, “All of them are at your disposal, should Soul Eater not exactly... suffice. All out battle. Area... all of this cave is your arena. Rules... I’m not quite one for rules. Basically, do whatever the heck you want.”
Thane took a step towards Riku after he nodded one more time, as if about to begin, and then stopped, “Oh, one more thing. I can get a little... carried away. So if I kill you... sorry.”
The Blacksmith
Riku was awoken by a rough shake. His eyes fluttered open slowly, and Jian shook him more forcefully.
“Come on, we have a lot to do today,” the man said, “People to meet, places to go, things to learn...”
Riku forced his eyes to open and looked up. Jian had given him a cabin the night before; he guessed that they made this before he came. The cabin was pretty roomy, for just one person. One bed in the far corner, a dresser in the opposite corner with a lamp on it, and in addition to the dresser there was also a desk on the opposite end, also with a lamp and a pen on it. Riku hoped that the pen didn’t mean homework. The cabin arched upwards at the top, and it was but in the middle of the large field, surrounded by the gates that led to the rest of the sages and facing forwad to the Library, home of Jian.
Riku looked over and rolled out of bed, putting one foot just barely on the ground and then swinging the other over so that he was crouched, and then bounced up. Jian started walking already towards the door. Riku, noticing that he had left his clothes on from the night before, simply walked out. He figured that the people here wouldn’t quite care for odors.
Jian began talking, turning around on his heel when they exited the cabin, “Well, congratulations I suppose. You made it here, you met me, and you have the gist of things, right?”
Jian stopped, staring blankly at an unmoving Riku. Suddenly noticing that the question wasn’t rhetorical, Riku nodded.
“Good,” the man said, looking curiously at the younger boy, “Your official training begins today then, follow me.”
Jian began walking, and Riku saw that he was going towards the giant blackish-silver shield-like gate with blades that trimmed it. Riku had anticipated and dreaded coming to this gate as soon as he came here, and was at least slightly surprised that he was going so soon.
The pair came to the large gate, and Jian put his hand in the center of it for a moment. The doors, after a few seconds, creaked open, inward and slowly at first, and then slammed hard into the walls, making a loud sound that echoed throughout the corridor. It was all a dark black, and the only light came from torches that lined the walls as the corridor declined while the two walked down the stairs. Riku could hear a sound as he went down, it sounded like a metal against metal. The sound echoed throughout the place, and as they descended further down the stairs, the sound grew more audible. It took Riku a while to notice that the gate had closed almost as soon as they entered, due to the ringing in his ears.
“The music down here is lovely, is it not,” Jian said, chuckling as Riku closed his ears.
They finally came down, an opening at the bottom of the corridor. It was amazing. It was almost like a giant cave, there was a pathway running along the side of the cave’s wall which started somewhere at the opposite side of the cave and ended in a curve, at another opening that Riku could see higher up. It was like being in a mountain, almost. In front of Riku, the path continued and stopped at a humongous arena. It was simple, though, simply a large circle in the middle of the area, no gates, nothing separating it from the rest of the cave. The place was cluttered though, lined along the walls, there were massive shelves that got higher as the pathway went up, all holding various weapons on them. Some spears, a few swords, some daggers on the smaller stacks, and then Riku noted that there were ranged weapons all together in one corner, only taking up a small corner, though. A few javelins and bows and arrows and such. Scattered randomly around the center were a few smaller arenas, three that branched off from the main one, and at the far back of the cave, a few yards or so away from the beginning of the pathway, there was a giant forge. It was built into the cave’s wall, so that it stuck out, with four open slits that allowed one to see the fire raging inside of it. Scattered around in front of the forge were several anvils. Riku also noted that there were several carts filled with ore in them.
Riku saw a man at one of the anvils, they were fairly far away so Riku could only see his arm moving vigorously, slamming down on something in front of him with a hammer in his hand. Jian and Riku walked up to the man, across the arena and to the forge, where Riku began sweating from the heat of it.
Riku got a better view of the other man now. He was burly, that was for sure. Not fat, actually, his gut practically sucked inwards, but the veins of his arms could be seen through his skin. His hair was spiked, short, but spiked upwards and leaning forward a little at the front. He wore a sleeveless shirt, which probably wasn’t the smartest thing considering that he was banging his hammer on a burning blade that shot up sparks as soon as it was done, and pants that were slightly loose-fitting. Riku was a little taken aback by this appearance, having had some expectation for all of the sages to look exactly like Jian, intelligent and graceful. This one, though, seemed like a rough powerhouse.
Jian tapped the other man on the shoulder, wisely choosing to stand on the side opposite of where this man stood, as otherwise he would have been squarely hit with a hammer. The man turned around quickly, on edge from the sudden arrival, and then relaxed. He pulled up his mask, which had four slits at the mouth and two square openings for his eyes. There were two smaller slits in between these two, apparently for his nostrils. His face didn’t seem to battle-hardened though. There was a sternness about it, a hardness, but there were hardly any scars. Shinru had always taught Riku to be even more wary of fighters like this. It was a custom to believe that a warrior with many scars had much experience, but a warrior, and he was too obviously one, with few scars was one who rarely took a hit in battle. There was only one slash that went down the side of his face, and a smaller one that went over his nose.
The man took the sword off of the anvil, stuck it in the ground and leaned back, sitting down on the anvil, seemingly not minding that it must have been burning hot, and put his hand on the sword, he then curiously looked towards Jian, “This is it?”
Jian nodded, “This is him,” he said, putting an emphasis on the ‘him,’ which the other man simply dismissed with a wave of his hand, “Riku, this is Thane, the sage of Weaponry, Battle, War, and the like. Have fun.”
Jian then walked out, and Riku called after him, “Wait, you’re leaving?”
Jian turned around, “I’ve introduced you two, so Thane can take it from here. No reason for me to stay, right?”
Riku hesitated, and then nodded, and then he looked towards Thane who got up from the anvil and said, “So I guess Mr. know-it-all over there told you pretty much all of the book-smart stuff, right?” He said, but unlike Jian, he decided not to wait for an answer, “So, how about we put a few... battle-smarts into that head, eh?” he said, pushing a finger into the side of Riku’s head.
Riku stumbled to the side, the jab a bit more powerful than he thought. Thane walked over to the arena and stopped in the center of it, the arena having a sand floor and rimmed by a silver steel lining. Thane stopped at one spot, and Riku stood opposite of him, at a distance. Thane reached his arm out sideways, and fire erupted around his arm, travelling up his arm from his shoulder and swirling around to his hand. The fire, when it reached his hand, erupted outwards in a long column of flame, and when the fire receded, a large blade was in his hand, a two handed sword, but Riku was confident that he could probably hold it with one hand. The blade seemed normal enough, despite its largeness. It was a silver color but seemed to have an inscription on the side of it in red writing.
“You have a sword too, right?” Thane said. When Riku took out Soul Eater and held it in his usual stance, Thane looked at the blade curiously, “That’s a rather interesting sword you have their. Got a name for it?”
“Soul Eater,” Riku said, simply.
Thane shrugged, “interesting name for an interesting sword I suppose. Well, Soul Eater, meet Behemoth, Behemoth, Soul Eater. Now that you guys are acquainted, I’m sure that you know what we’re going to do. See these weapons along the walls?”
Riku nodded, and Thane continued, “All of them are at your disposal, should Soul Eater not exactly... suffice. All out battle. Area... all of this cave is your arena. Rules... I’m not quite one for rules. Basically, do whatever the heck you want.”
Thane took a step towards Riku after he nodded one more time, as if about to begin, and then stopped, “Oh, one more thing. I can get a little... carried away. So if I kill you... sorry.”
