Log View

Source	Contents
Nine Roads Alani	After gallivanting all over the place and spending so much time in the Arena gathering information, sometimes it's nice indeed to just...-go home- every once in a while. And while every Sidereal has a home, and usually a manse in Yu-Shan, there's something cozy and nice about having even a humble place to live in Creation. So it is with Alani's place, a storefront for her courier service in western Great Forks. The three-story building is entirely built of sturdy blonde wood, practical and functional. The whole ground floor is essentially dedicated to a large stable, though usually only her two horses, Skere and Adrath, are in residence. Above that is the office area, and private quarters reside on top. Today is a little less usual here, as Alani has flipped the sign to 'Closed' and locked the door, after inviting one of the Arena combatants inside. Perhaps if people were watching, they might make untoward comments about what might be happening inside, but no one was really paying attention. And if they were, they'd surely forget soon after. "So," Alani starts, after locking the door and tucking the key in her robe. "Thanks for coming by. I hope you don't mind--I know you're already getting a workout in the Arena. But frankly, I'm at a point in my training where I will learn nothing if I can't let loose a bit. And I have a feeling you've got the same problem."
Serene Herald	Serene Herald comes in the door and smiles a bit. "I'm surprised I have lasted this long, to be honest, and I suspect that I will be out soon. Misa has siad I have learned all I can from here in a form, and not the unleashing behind it. So...we will see! At the moment, I have learned all I can, and I am glad to spar. Just..." He chuckles, "...try not to take me out right at the beginning, if you do not mind? Beyond that...any rules? Training weapons? Live steel? Armor?"
Nine Roads Alani	"I don't use armor myself," Alani replies, "and as for weapons, well, I have a pretty big one. That doesn't mean we have to use them if you want to practice empty hand. We could do both throughout the day if you like. I don't know enough about your training to guess which suits you better, but I can certainly use my weapon now if you like. I'll be using Falcon Style only to start, though I'd like to move to empty hand later. I have a few...new techniques...that I have not yet mastered. But would require I forego the weapon."
Serene Herald	"Ah. My techniques are built around the sword. One of them has no unarmed techniques, but the other--the one I know more--does. I can certainly use a weapon to start with. And my armor, well, I am fortunate to have a good set. So...we can certainly start. Though I must say...my style does not show really any benefits until an opponent bears wounds. For that I'm sorry."
Nine Roads Alani	With a little theatrical flourish, Alani walks over to where her chariot is resting. Her two horses look up as she does so, one visibly disinterested while the other looks positively eager. Alani grins and brushes her hood back, exposing her blonde hair and a lot of even, white teeth in an anticipatory grin. As she touches the chariot, it and the two horses all shimmer like a wave of heat from the ground, despite their not actually being in the traces. The shimmer collapses all at once into a single, well-constructed wagon wheel of dark, gleaming wood. Without any effort at all, she lifts it up and holds it behind her back, gripping it over one shoulder like a school bag while her other hand is high and forward, towards Serene Herald. She takes a wide, stable stance, ready to spring forward or fall back in an instant. "Well. Hopefully if I do this right, you'll never get the chance. It's rarely that simple, though, is it?" She chuckles. "I'm ready when you are."
Serene Herald	Serene Hearld smiles and draws his sword from its sheath, and settles into a guarding stance as well, his left foot forward, right behind, and body angled to have a slightly smaller profile as well. The blade glitters, with faint violet gleams that hint of the stars nad constellations along the blades. "I am ready. Let's try!"
Nine Roads Alani	The stable is a wide room--the entire width of the storefront--and quite high, a good two stories. A staircase on the left side runs all the way up to the third story high above, no doubt Alani's personal quarters, or the business office, or both...but right now what's important is Alani has some vertical room to maneuver. Without apparent effort she leaps skywards straight up, arms spread in a graceful imitation of the Falcon which her style emulates. Plummeting downwards, she twists in midair, angling the wheel for a bonecrushing strike.
Serene Herald	The inevitability of the attack is writ in fate, and so he stays his ground, moving just slightly, and using his sword to touch and guide the wheel away from him, and back towards the sky. He smiles and then leaps into the air himself, as though he were a spirit with no ties to the ground. And as he does so, he aims a lunge at the chosen of Journeys. A simple strike. An unadorned one.
Serene Herald	Herald lands gracefully, only to launch himself up again, another strike, this time, the blade arcing through the *center* of the wheel, to pierce again at his co-worker, and now dropping back again. The violet glow on his forehead increases, and seems to wreath around him. The smell of entombed dust is in the air, and the faint sound of funereal dirges even as the light seems to take on the shape of a jackal around him. "Ready," he murmurs, eyes shimmering an iridescent purple.
Nine Roads Alani	As Herald's second strike sings through the air, it very nearly finds its home in Alani's chest. She only barely skitters the glittering violet blade off Oadenol's Wheel, sending a scraping sound through the air and swirling both of their auras--yellow and violet--swirling around each other in the heat of battle. She's very much off her game and on the back foot...but she's not done yet. As Herald lands, Alani leverages her greater hang time to great effect. She tucks and rolls backwards, arching her back and diving downwards with the Wheel firmly in both hands. Diving downwards like the Falcon itself, she slams into Herald with immense force, slamming the ground and splintering the wooden floor. Only Herald's quick parry saves him from getting his skull caved in, and the impact now puts him on the back foot, even as Alani instantly leaps back into the air, upwards once more.
Nine Roads Alani	With an exultant shout, Alani lunges down yet again for another powerful strike. Even when she was losing, she was grinning ear to ear, the thrill of battle plain on her face. The Wheel arcs downwards in a half-moon strike, trying to catch Herald in the back of the head.
Serene Herald	It has been a decent fight to start with, but after getting two good blows in, Herald has been battered and spun around, deflecting barely to keep from injury, until he simply stands, almost stunned. "I...I can't go on," he says. "Or I could but, you came back from peril to get more control than I ever had," he says. "I...need to get better to spar. And at least everyone I know is better than I am so I can learn from them," he says with a wry smile.
Nine Roads Alani	Alani looks to be positioning herself in the apogee of her latest jump for another devastating strike, but as Herald relaxes, so does Alani, simply gracefully falling and landing a few feet away. She lands with Oadenol's Wheel in front of her, edge on, with both hands resting on the rim. She leans forward a bit, still smiling and exultant, but nods in clear understanding. "It's quite all right. I feel like that sword saint sifu of yours did to me--twice!--exactly what I did to you just now--come back from a disadvantage and turn it around. The truth is, Falcon Style is long on offense--you haven't even seen the leglocks and throws!--and short on defense, and believe me, I'm trying to shore up the latter. My fights tend to be feast or famine in that way. "Now, I do not study Violet Bier, but it seems to me the biggest thing you need to do with it is get that initial wound in, correct? You may want to think about ways to guarantee a first, decisive strike to take that edge. For me, it's most important I stay airborne, and I have to work on my defense as well."
Serene Herald	"I am also learning the Single Point style, which can certainly work with getting fast, precise wounds. I thought I should work on physical quickness and agility first, though, before delving deeper into there. And staying away! You almost had me there, but I can be somewhat mobile. And have a few more ticks up my sleeve as I work more with Fatesever," he says, finally sheathing the blade.
Nine Roads Alani	Alani grins and nods. "Like I said, I fought Misa before, and she used Single Point. It was a humbling experience. Those two styles might work well together, actually. In any event, though, come on upstairs and I'll get you a cup of tea. We're not going anywhere until we're a little less...showy." She chuckles and sets Oadenol's Wheel down, instantly transforming it back to a chariot and two Lumenir horses. They whicker appreciatively, as she starts heading up the stairs.