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Misa	A swelteringly hot day as far as the area around Great Forks and on the cooling rivers go, depending on one's feelings about heat and humidity travel might be less than pleasant. Not a cloud of shade in the sky and the sun beating down, one could be forgiven for sticking to the shade. Misa is not such a one. The... mostly Lookshyan-looking woman is out in the dirt square next to an old, repurposed shrine to a minor river spirit. There are a few makeshift training dummies around, and ever the unabashed one- at least in physical respects- Misa is out in that yard despite the heat. The one concession she makes to the heat is not wearing her outer robe, simply keeping her loose pants and sandals and her chest bound. For once with her arms and such bare, she's... quite fit, perhaps unsurprisingly for one of the top performers in the recent grand tournament. The unabashed part, though, is more than four swords made of magical materials- two moonsilver, one each of blue and red jade- are quite literally floating around her shoulders as she practices some unarmed forms on one of the dummies.
Deryl Laklan	Although he finally got the doubled monetary reward from the town's mayor, Deryl feels it isn't enough to protect his responsibility from the dangers from or outside Creation such as the deathknights that were the harbingers of the Mask Of Winters. He knows he must strengthen his martial prowess and hence, he arrived in Great Forks while his men wait in the West Quarter for he hopes to find contracts while at the same time find any leads on the current activities of the Mask's forces. As he is outside the Hundred Kingdoms, he is relieved he didn't have to hear about his unnecessary long moniker a deathknight gave to him. However he must be careful especially to those scholars who know about his kind even obscure. Even a single knowledge of his true exaltation may earn him the Wyld Hunts wrath and even from other anathema. Although he is an accomplished swordsman in his own right, he takes notice of a dojo and enters it out of curiosity. He has heard about fancy martial arts from stories about the elemental styles of the five dragons. Once he goes inside, he is baffled to see two floating swords near the sifu in charge. "Woah, there is an art that can do that?"
Misa	Misa straightens up after striking the human-shaped dummy in a joint in the type of strike clearly intended to capitalize on a foe's existing hurt. She looks the newcomer over for a moment, brow raised. "I presume you mean the blades? It is, but it has fairly particular requirements to practice. Might I help you with something?" Despite sweating in the heat and her physical exertions, Misa stands straight and unfatigued, her right hand idly coming to rest on the sheathed mundane sword on her right hip- perhaps practicing to be accustomed to fighting unarmed despite the obstruction of a sword at her side.
Deryl Laklan	"Yes I do mean the blades. I've only seen dragons practicing the Immaculate styles but I do not know if you are a dragon or an exigent. I will be surprised if you are a mortal or some godblood capable of that" The man's eyes glow with the colors of diamonds and appears ophidian. Deryl also has a blade with him, an ornate daiklave that shines brightly yet has this eerie glow to it. It is made of a rare magical material known as Adamant. "I am an exigent myself but my patron god died during the process of exaltation, especially as he was badly wounded while we were together in the Wyld. He reigns over diamonds and gems that shine in the earth's veins" He then introduces himself to the sifu. "I'm Deryl Laklan but despite my exigency, I am not from Great Forks but from Thorns...before it fell to them"
Misa	"Hanase Misa, to most," the woman says by way of introducing herself, nodding to the man as she considers his appearance. "It does require essence-tuned weapons- preferably multiple of them, and the more the better. As well as the ability to use those blades properly. If you have just the one, there may be better choices," she explains, shrugging slightly and tilting her head. "What brings you to my small dojo, Deryl Laklan?"
Deryl Laklan	"I came here to Great Forks since I heard they are in a pact with various Scavenger Land states here mostly against the Realm, but I heard they now focus against the Mask Of Winters. Mostly came here to find some contracts that may hire me and my men as mercenaries, while finding something of use that may aid me in my quest in thwarting any activities the forces under the Mask's Thorns is doing. Whether money for funds, artifacts and stuff useful against undead...or martial arts" Deryl says to the sifu for he sought to strengthen himself if he runs in against one of his deathknights. "Hmm is my blade compatible with the art you specialize? Sadly this is the only daiklave I have but I may hope to acquire another one someday and yes, it does attune to my essence especially since I bond easily with adamant"
Misa	Misa frowns a little at the comments about the Mask- not annoyed by it, just curious. "I suspect you will need more men than you have if I have not seen or heard of a grand, standing army camped around Decadence," she comments, voice mild. "Your blade would be compatible- but even mine are in a few ways too few. Some half dozen weapons or sets thereof would be ideal. Even mine, four though they may be physically, are spiritually two twinned sets. That matters. There -are- other arts I know, for a single straight blade or a pair of them," she notes, fingertip tapping against the kashira of the gently curved mundane blade at her hip. "What forms do you practice now, if you seek new martial approaches?"
Amilar Ereyo	Keen ears can pick up the rhythmic thumping of great paws from the road, accompanied by a large creature's heavy panting. A great grey wolfhound, extraordinarily large even for one of its kind, approaches the dojo in a steady trot, kicking up dust as it goes. The hound's tongue hangs so far out from its jaws, it looks like it's tip might hit he ground at every moment. Strangely, the creature has been fitted with a saddle and bridle. And indeed, a rider sits in the former. Her wide-brimmed cone hat shields her face from the sun's merciless heat. But that might do little to help her stay cool - she's also clad in full lamellar armor, painted blue, like the sky above. A long reaper daiklave is strapped to her back. Just before reaching the entrance to the dojo's grounds, the rider stops with a sharp tug on the reins, producing another cloud of dust... she has spotted the two figures in the training square. Even after dismounting, she hesiates for a while and eyes Misa and her visitor varily from beneath her hat's brim, seemingly uncertain if this is a good time to approach.
Deryl Laklan	"Well actually....I've never learned a martial art before but I am good with my sword even if I wish my speed is better. Sorry if my goal is too absurd for you and I know I must not work alone, since there are others out there opposing the Masks for various reasons like me, but for me it's personal. I do not expect to just gather an army capable of defeating the Thorns garrison much less the gigantic Juggernaut all willy nily after all." He keeps silent on the topic for now to. "hmm so I need at least two blades for the art regarding the floating weapons? May try to get one but sadly adamant is uncommon even among the magical materials. But this mention of a Single Point is interesting" However with his Wyld gifted eyes, he is able to notice someone outside yet lacks the details for they are far enough "And it seems you have another visitor outside, sifu Misa"
Misa	As Deryl speaks, Misa raises a hand- she can tell when a person is on their way here even without the massive paw-beat noises, and she's certainly caught note of Ereyo's arrival. Nothing negative about the gesture, just a quiet invitation. "I don't particularly care what your goal is- I encourage people to take large risks and push themselves. It's simply also the case that I am a proponent of keeping a rational mind as well." She shrugs, and turns to walk towards a nearby weapon rack idly. "I don't recall mentioning Single Point style, though I do practice it. It's not for straight blades like yours, however. You -could- use this floating blades style with one, you just might find it relatively ineffective- it capitalizes quite a bit on quantity."
Amilar Ereyo	Ereyo takes note of Misa's gesture, nondescript as it may seem, and interprets it correctly. While she walks towards the martial artist and her... guest? Student? ...she takes a moment to lift her hat, wiping the sweat from her brow, before reluctantly putting it back on. Her left leg whirs and hums softly along with her steps. A few steps away from the two, she pauses - giving them room to draw and swing their weapons, perhaps? Swirling patterns form in the hot air close to her body, moving in currents of wind seemingly accompanying the woman. Both Deryl and Misa receive a simple, perfunctory nod. "And so we meet again, Hanase Misa." Ereyo doesn't smile, and her tone is stiffly polite, rather than friendly. She eyes Misa warily, then turns towards Deryl, looking him up and down... him and his daiklave. "Greetings to you as well. I am Amilar Ereyo. It was not my intention to intrude on your training. By all means, carry on. I can wait."
Deryl Laklan	"Amilar huh? That's a Lookshyan dragon family. I had a really bad experience with those dynast brats once, hopefully you aren't like them" He says with hint of contempt and hate whenever he mentions the scions of the Scarlet Dynasty. Deryl gives her a brief stare poisoned with distrust as he was scorned by one of the princes of the earth once. "I am Deryl Laklan, the exigent of diamonds and an annoyance to the deathly anathema of Thorns" He says with glee despite him being considered a pest by deathknights of the Mask "Hmm I may consider learning that floating blade style. I may attempt to practice in channeling a weapon made of my own essence to compensate, since I hear some chosen are capable of manifesting such blades." He then turns to Misa regarding the martial art. "Hmm do you have a fee for teaching that art? Hopefully not much since I have an entire village to feed and I'm not exaggerating about that"
Misa	"Good afternoon, Ereyo," says Misa rather more cordially than the stiff greeting Ereyo offered. She shakes her head, waving it off- the swords behind her floating lazily near her back. "Not at all- I had just paused to speak to this fellow here, who seems to be a little more directly curious about this style of mine than I think your interest turned out to be," she explains with some amusement, corner of her mouth twitching upwards a little. Her attention turning back to Deryl, she considers a moment. "This one is... interesting, to teach. I do not charge overmuch, I just keep myself comfortably supplied- though there are supplements to that as well. This is more a personal interest and practice than attempt to become wealthy," she explains. "And you are correct, that -is- something some persons are capable of, if they have the gift. It can work, certainly. But even so, I suspect you will find yourself more and more of a collector of these things, should you pursue this."
Amilar Ereyo	Clearing her throat, Ereyo turns towards Misa. "Very well. I am not in a hurry. May I stand back and watch?" Desperate diplomacy, from the looks of it. Maybe with a hint of genuine curosity. Deryl's choice of words and blatant contempt cause the Dragon-Blooded to double down, blinking at him in bewilderment. She clearly isn't used to being treated like this - but she also doesn't feel enough immediate kinship towards her cousins in the Scarlet Dynasty to take actual offense at the Exigent calling them "brats". Or maybe the Dawn's presence is enough to rein in her temper. Her gaze briefly flutters over the Old Realm hieroglyphs on Deryl's weapon, and she frowns. "Uhm. Pleased to meet you, Deryl Laklan", Ereyo manages with another slight nod. While the Air Aspect's presence here alone isn't sufficient to actually lower the temperature, the frosty gaze directed towards Deryl could still freeze a river.
Deryl Laklan	"Why did you come here, are you a regular learner in this dojo or another acquaintance of the sifu?" He say with curiosity albeit wary about her status as a prince of the earth, but he doesn't hide the distrust he feels at the air aspect. The cold doesn't help at all although he shrugs it off. The air aspect's gaze is met with his own, a baleful eye resembling the adamant in his blade, swirling with eerie colors and serpentine in nature. "Ah I see you don't charge much and that's should be sufficient for me. I'll learn that style but I do not know it's name unless Floating Blade is its real name." Then something crosses his mind regarding the stores in Decadence. "Hmm although I would have went to Nexus for this, but does Great Forks have any decent weapons dealer or weapon smith here? Planning to stock up on basic weapons for my men"
Misa	"Not much to watch- Deryl here only just arrived himself and was asking about becoming a student," explains Misa, head shaking a little. "Only just met him perhaps three minutes before you." "It is called Thousand Blades," she corrects mildly, before looking between the other two with a slight frown. "I'll thank you two for some cordiality with one another while here- I understand this is a mismatch of personages, and Ereyo you hold little trust for me myself, but I have about as much interest in breaking up fights as I have in tossing these swords into the river. Shan't be any fighting here, and I'll remind both of you that neither one of you has done the other any harm as of yet."
Amilar Ereyo	"Fighting...?", Ereyo blurts out, attention now fixed on Misa. She looks genuinely surprised by the dojo owner's assumption of an impending squabble between her and Deryl - as if it didn't even cross her mind before. "No. Oh no, there will be no need..." A measuring glance at the Exigent. "Being a soldier does not make one prone to violent outbursts." She nods at Deryl, meeting his eyes. "Perhaps even less so. You were wronged by another Prince of the Earth, and still harbor resentment. I understand. But we are not all the same. If you are itching so badly to pick a fight with a Dragon, maybe look elsewhere." The smile punctuating these words is cordial, but brief.
Deryl Laklan	"Ah I was a bit carried away." The exigent coughs as he admits to his mistake in treating the dragons as all the same to him. "I was....betrayed and left to watch my comrades die at the hands of the undead of Thorns while the Cathak brat sailed off and abandoned us" The traumatic memory still lingers in his mind for it is like the scent of a festering corpse for him. "And no I have no intentions to fight. My enmity is reserved for the chosen of the Masks Of Winters for they are an enemy to both the living and even the spectral dead" However as he needs to look for a weapons dealer with cheap yet decent products, it seems he may need to go for now. "I'll start attending the classes when I have the time, sifu. I'm mostly away from Great Forks and reside in the Hundred Kingdoms. But I'll have to find new weapons for my sellswords, since some of it have broken down" Deryl leaves while nodding to Misa and even to Ereyo, even in an apologetic manner for his behavior
Misa	"Well, fare well in the meantime," says Misa to Deryl, a wry sort of half-smile accompanying at the situation before her. She shrugs it off. Refocusing on Ereyo, she exhales briefly, head tilting. Once Deryl has headed off, she asks frankly; "So- back for your information, I presume?"
Amilar Ereyo	Ereyo's gaze follows Deryl all the way until he disappears from sight. Even the great wolfhound, patiently waiting for his master despite the heat, sniffs after him for some time after he has passed it. "That was... strange", she mutters. When the Exigent is truly gone, she sighs softly and turns towards Misa, adjusting her hat with a nervous flick of the wrist, so that the shadow falling over her eyes isn't quite as pronounced. "You presume correctly." Her eyes fully come to life, lighting up with mixed feelings... anxiety, dread, hope. "Did you talk to her yet? What did she say...?" She sounds a bit too eager, realizes it only after those words are already out, and quickly looks away, busying herself with adjusting the straps on her armor. None of them appear to be in need of adjusting.
Misa	"Strange, perhaps, but strange people seem to flock to this little abode of mine," says Misa with a shrug, head tilting as she considers her own statement a moment. She looks at Ereyo, assessing, scrutinizing, for a long moment... then breaks into something resembling a half-smile. Wildly inexpressive, this one. "I did, at one of our meetings to practice and spar and whatnot. I believe you might find your target around Nexus, of late. Drumming up some business in the poison trade, as per the idiom of his particular totem- we did not have all the details, but from what I understand there is an intent to have the increased visibility and trade of venoms and the like lead to assassinations and destabilization in the underworld to take advantage of- past that, I've no idea what might be in mind."
Amilar Ereyo	Suddenly rapt attention personified, the Air Aspect looks up again and drinks in every word coming out of Misa's mouth. While visibly appalled by her enemy being involved in such despicable business, she doesn't look particularly surprised. Just thoughtful. The hat manages to obscure her heavy frown, but not hide it entirely. With her right hand still aimlessly worrying at the decidedly secure leather straps, she gives a sharp nod, and a smile so fragile it might have been wrought from a thin sheet of glass appears on her lips. Simultaneously, sweat rolls down her cheek, and she wipes it away, huffing with irritation. "This is... useful information", she admits, albeit pensively. "But it might just as well be a trap." Her expression darkens. "Do you think she cares about him? Did she offer up his name?"
Misa	"She thinks of people like you as a fair test for people that learned from her, I think," says Misa, shrugging a little. She runs her fingers through her gently-waved ponytail absent-mindedly, looking up to the sun- apparently seeing no need for even a full shirt, let alone a hat to protect her from the sun. "I don't think you have anything to fear from the woman herself. She has other tasks and priorities. As for the ex-student... Well, shapeshifter. Changes names often. No guarantee, but last we heard it was Twilight Rain."
Amilar Ereyo	"Twilight Rain", repeats Ereyo, not daring to raise her voice above a whisper. Her hands twitch, and she grabs hold of her belt, as if seeking support, hooking both thumbs into it. A visible shiver runs down her spine, despite the sweltering heat. She squeezes her eyes shut. It takes her a few moments to get a hold of herself, to shake off whatever memory or premonition has taken over. When it's over, her eyelids flutter upen again, and she raises a brow, blinking at Misa. "I highly doubt that she would see me as a fair test for herself... which is probably why I'm still alive. And yet... what if I triumph, and her student ends up dead? Will she come for me?"
Misa	"She's not that... attached, if that makes sense," Misa says, frowning slightly. Shrugging a little, she swirls a hand around wildly, leading those floating blades to whirl in a circle behind her back. "He wasn't a terribly close student of hers, and she does not like to coddle those she has taught. As I said, she has other priorities- campaigns to wage, supposedly some kind of return of someone from ages past, or at least the spark of strength that empowered the person she knew, in a new bearer. I suspect you will be fine. I would be somewhat shocked if she were involved in the battle that caused this pursuit."
Amilar Ereyo	The Dragon scoffs, exhaling a whiff of cold air that instantly evaporates into steam upon colliding with the hostile summer afternoon. "So the rumors about her... peculiar style of teaching are not exaggerated at all." With a disapproving shake of her head, she dismisses that particular topic, then nods at Misa with noticeably more respect than previously. "I concur with your assessment regarding the battle. Had she been an active participant, someone would have certainly noticed." She finally unhooks her thumbs, having regained her composure, and looks Misa straight into the eye. A smile briefly graces her face. Not an unkind one. "Thank you. I appreciate your help, even if you might have your own private reasons for doing so... and yes, I am well aware of the irony - asking a Solar for information to hunt down a Lunar." Her gaze searches for the wolfhound, and returns to Misa upon finding it still waiting patiently for her return. "Don't worry, I won't overstay my welcome here. If there's nothing else, I will leave you to your training."
Misa	"Please, do not hesitate to stop by. All else absent, this has certainly been amusing," says Misa, smiling faintly with it and nodding to Ereyo slightly. "For what it is worth... I am not sure she would even be open to students if it were not common practice for the Lunar elders. Aspirants to her tutelage know this, and that they had best impress her- and in doing so she attracts the like-minded. It would not surprise me either, if this ex-student of hers was more the type to laugh and commend you for a job well done in his dying moments. I may assert that my Exalted nature is no great curse as the Texts claim... but by the same token I will not deny that myself, and Sublime Danger and her people, are rather... strange folks. Always have been. In my case, it was in many ways true before I was even Chosen." With that, she bows her head, followed by a nod to the wolfhound. "But, I will not keep you if you would rather be on your way. Best of luck, Amilar Ereyo, and fine evenings in the meantime."
Amilar Ereyo	For her cordiality, Misa receives a puzzled look. But then Ereyo bows her head - just the head, nothing below it - and returns her smile, albeit tentatively. "I... see. Maybe the criteria for being Chosen favor those with a ... rather unique view on the world?", she muses, then shrugs. "I would rather seek shelter from the heat sooner than later. Farewell, for now... but maybe not forever." The Dragon puts extra effort into making that last sentence sound like a hesitant promise, not a threat. Without waiting for a reply - what else is there to say, really? - she walks back to her mount.