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Silk Moon Lotus	The dojo in Silk's manse is as it has always been. A large round chamber with the symbols of the verious exalts. The color bands for each exalt type holding the markings of each. Some of the lunar symbols have been lost to time. The verious pieces of the practice floor have been moved to the edges to make as much apace as possible. The floor is made of four sections with a white center. The North is blue, the east is green, the south is red, and the west is black. The weapons on the walls have all been secured as they will not be needed this day. Today Silk finds herself standing in the middle of the dojo with a sword two feet longer then herself. She holds the giant golden sword easily. She is wearing a simple fighting gi to allow for full range of motion. Her instructor should be arriving any moment.
Raullaur	Raullaur makes his way down to the basement, wearing his regular linen and leather clothing. And when he catches sight of the diminuitive lady with the giangatic daiklaive--almost a twin to his own--he laughs uproriously and good-naturedly. "Well! This /is/ a surprise! Looks like you had good loot, and I'm guessing a wonderful fight. Wish I could have gone," he says. "Still /good/ to see you again!" He looks well, confident, energetic.
Silk Moon Lotus	"Indeed my friend, the battle against Glorious was indeed a thing to behold. This was his weapon until I claimed it from him. I am now understanding a bit better the value of having a solid weapon in my hands." She gesture to an armor stand at the edge of the fighting area with a suit of golden articulated plate on it. "Another prize from the battle. I need to figure out how to send it Elsewhere so that I can have it with me at all times. I want to surprise my enemies when needed.
Raullaur	"Ah, and I have mastered that--and more--with my own arms and armor, but first..." The lionman tilts his head, "So you want to fight armored? That's...very different from not having any armor. You won't be able to do all the graceful things you do now, but you can stand up to far more. Really, they're two separate skills--moving in armor, and using your sword. Are you sure you want to learn both?"
Silk Moon Lotus	"Two different skills you say? Well, I should like to learn to use this sword first. I can swing it around without any trouble, I feel the challenge will be hitting my target with it as there is no subtlety to it. I'm going to be showing everyone where I'm swinging so I would appreciate the assistance in learning how to fight with it." She glances at the armor "I can save armor training for another day."
Raullaur	Raullaur nods. "You can also send sword with armor, like so..." He extends his left hand and there's a glimmer of golden Essence that glows, then brightens, and with the flash of the Sun, Raullaur is holding his own daiklaive single-handedly. "You will attract less attention," he says with a warm chuckle. "But first, the dance of fighting, blade to blade!"
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk nods her head and assumes what she believes to be a fighting stance with the sword. She is holding it with her hands wide apart, her feet planted in a way that will allow her to get almost no power into her swing. She stands waiting for Raullaur.
Raullaur	Raullaur hmmphs and looks at Silk as he walks around her, taking in the stance, and grip. "All right. First things first. Grip. YOu want your stronger hand as close to the guard," he taps the bottom of the blade just above the hilt, "as possible. Weaker hand as close to the pommel--bottom of the hilt--as possible. Strong hand will strike and guide the sword's movements, and the weak hand will balance and keep the hilt from messing you up or things flying out of control."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk nods her head and switches her hands so that her left hand is by the crossguard and her right hand just above the edge of the pommel. "I thought my stronger hand would provide the power, not guide the blade. This makes more sense."
Raullaur	"Now..you need to have your feet about as far apart as your shoulders--or hips--and with your left foot forward. You'll have knees bent. not just a little bit but more. Not all the way, though."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk shifts her feet to match Raullaur's instructions. She starts bending her knees as instructed and quickly finds the balance point between herself and the sword. "So I'm using my weight and the momentum of the blade to strike fast? Very different from what I have learned in the past."
Raullaur	"Good! And yes. You start this and it is like...a large ship. Difficult to start and stop at an instant, but with planning can still be graceful." He steps back and takes up his own blade again and gets into his own stance. He seems, solid, but with energy latent within, his hands at the top of the hilt and pommel of his blade. And, like her, he is left handed it seems. "Now a strike, the basic strike, is this..." The dawn-caste pushes with his right foot, left sliding forward as he raises the giant blade above his head, and then it comes down sharply, quickly, as he roars and brings left right foot forward to regain his stance. Strike and advance. And the roar sounds like a kiai!
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk nods her head and watches Raullaur's fluid movements. "I see, I'm sure mine will not be as graceful but I will do my best." Silk performs a poor imitation of her instructor's movements. The blade rises and falls but with jerks and shutters along the path. She is clearly trying with the only thing keeping her from dropping the sword or falling down her natural grace.
Raullaur	"HOw long does it take to master anything? Years, truly. ANd you just begin." he grins ferally. "If all you wanted was to be a thug, you could just swing it however you want. But to be a true warrior! That takes practice. Control! so we start as we want to end. Go again." And he prods her to work.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk nods her head and wipes the sweat starting to form on her brow. She rights her stance and begins again. This time there are less jerky motions and a little more grace. It will be some time before she masters this. "This is just like learning a martial art style. You must start with the basics if you wish to become a master."
Raullaur	"Indeed." And he moves with her then, offering critique on stance, grip, motion, anything. Never harshly, and never angry, but urging. If he needs to, actually will hold her arms or push a leg to get things just /right/.
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk's stamina starts to flag a several hours into the training. "I believe we have reached the point where I need a break. Perhaps we could discuss the armor summoning technique while I get a drink and a snack. I think my muscles need a rest." She sets the sword down in a weapon stand next to the armor. "I owe you many thanks, Perhaps I could teach your scouts some tricks in exchange for the instruction you have provided?"
Raullaur	Raullaur is still as fresh as he was before, it seems, but he nods immediately. "For now, pain tells you it is time to stop. Muscles stretch. Need to grow and learn. Once you learn well, pain is sign to go on to build further stamina, but now is not the time." He grins and nods. "I can start teaching you of armor as well, but after refreshment. And it will take some time to learn how. There are things to learn before it. But for now! Food! Drink! Rest! And if you need it, a servant to rub your feet." He grins with amusement.
Silk Moon Lotus	"Yes, I remember well that rest is important. I have managed to master some of the techniques for fortifying myself. I have not gotten the hang of summoning my armor. I haven't had need to do so, perhaps the memories linger elsewhere for now." "My servants would be most upset if I asked them to rub my feet." Silk takes a long drink of water from her glass and takes a bite of the cheese she picked up.
Raullaur	Raullaur avoids any alcohol or meat for the moment, instead having slices of fruit and a shallow if wide bowl of juice. He eats and laps a bit before leaning back and nodding. "All right. First question is...can you summon your armor to come on to you from where it is?"
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk looks at the armor and shakes her head no. "I have not learned that technique as of yet. I have had no reason to learn it to date."
Raullaur	"Then that's what we'll work on next, or at least starting to trace the essence flows so that you can learn to make the armor part of you--not just attuned, but so that you're...inseparable. And the same with the blade."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk nods her head. "So this will be more meditative thing or should I get all the parts and place them around me?"
Raullaur	Raullaur thinks a moment. "Whatever you want. I...didn;t think about it at all, but when I came into my power, simply /reached/ out and the sword and armor flew to me." He shakes his head. "I had to learn fighting. But staying alive, withstanding all harm? That has always been part of me."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk hinks for a moment and sits in the floor in a meditative position. "I think this will do nicely. I'll try the armor first since I already feel some connection to it." Silk focuses on the bond of the essence between herself and the armor. The weave of power the feel of the essence of the armor itself. She gently starts to pull at the power within the armor calling it to herself. The armor sitting on the rack starts to vibrate and shake on the stand. Silk continues to focus on the armor and calling it to herself. After several more moments, the armor pieces start flying off the stand and shoot towards Silk. Instead of attaching to her, the just start hitting her, breaking her concentration. The pieces fall to the floor in a loud clatter.
Raullaur	"Good! That is...delightful! If you want I can summon my armor and give a demonstration, but I don't know if you can catch how I do it. Willing to try if you are though."
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk rubs her head a little. "Yes, maybe seeing someone else do it will allow me to understand how it is supposed to work." Silk's pupils flash gold for a second as she expands her senses.
Raullaur	There is another burst of light, and a much larger set of plate appears, still golden, with patterns of the sun and lions withon it, but an occaisional icon of the moon as well. "Eventually, you'll simply summon it onto you, but for now..." He lets the Essence still, and then flips his daiklaive into the air as the left arm comes apart and starts to fly to him, just in time to encase the arm before he has to grab the sword again. Chest and bac plate, sides, arms, legs, everything. It's steady, not as fast as it could be, but every piece tumbles through the air seemingly haphazardly, only to meet him precisely, until he is thoroughly encased, helm and all. A booming voice from within, "What did you see?"
Silk Moon Lotus	Silk Smiles at Raullaur "I believe I saw the flow of essence between yourself and the armor. It will take some practice but I believe I understand the how of it. Thank you again. Once I have the summoning part down, I believe sending it Elsewhere may be easier. I believe I have a lot to work on at this point. Your instruction has been most helpful. Perhaps we can revisit my swordforms after I practice a bit."
Raullaur	"There is one other thing," Raullaur says. "You'll have noticed that the armor slows you. It is cumbersome. As yo uwork with it, you will eventually have it flow as a second skin. Though it will not allow enough freedom for your other martial arts. Unless they are designed with this sort of armor in mind. As for the rest...' He smiles, "I will help you practice more, and happily, and teaching my scouts? They're good, but you're better...they will be glad to learn.
Silk Moon Lotus	"That makes sense, I've seen you and others wearing heavy armor without any issues. I'm sure there is a trick to that as well. We can work on that another day though. I don't know that your scouts will appreciate my talents while they are learning. Afterwards, they will thank you for the teaching."