Taking the Wrong Tree

The forests in Brisshal, though far from her new 'home' in Astorea, remained Solaria's favorite place to train for battle. After the great war had ended, she was returning to her roots in hopes of bettering herself once more. This time, she'd perfect her sword skills, even if it was no longer her focus for the time being. She had other skills to work on, too.

Still, for her, swordsmanship was special. It centered her, made her feel at ease when stress was high. And recently, stress couldn't get much higher in her life. Kendo was the first and last solution to all her problems.

With a sharp inhale, she screeched a loud 'yah' that echoed through the trees circling her favorite clearing to practice in. Her sword, only fine status for the time being, cut the air like a knife might cut through butter, spreading it in either direction around it. Then, she pulled the sword back into it's starting position, and began the same pattern once more.

Breathe in, shrill shout with a slice, repeat.

Finding that the practice swings were only soothing so much when irritation clouded her mind, the woman smiled to one of the thicker trunks of wood nearby her. She readjusted her aim so that she would just barely catch a tree limb when she struck the air, wanting to see the leaves quiver under the vibration she caused. She took in another deep breath, continuing her cycle of violent therapy.

Inhale, shout, attack, repeat.


@Balmung

 

When the first shrill shout had sliced through the calm air of the afternoon, Balmung had been napping high up in a nearby tree. It was one of his favorite places to come and rest in, often making the journey when he was seeking the sort of comfort that only solitude could provide. Recently, he had found that his ventures to this spot had been more frequent, most likely due to the stress that fighting in the war.

He had spent the morning picking through the marketplace of Finweald, searching for any and everything that could be of use to his recent interest of forging. He had decided on a whim to take the mastery upon character creation, but not until after the war had he seriously decided to explore its capabilities. Being around all the people as they hustled and bustled about had left him weary and in need of some peace and quiet. Nevermind that he had come up short on finding anything that really piqued his interest while in the marketplace.

And so he had made the journey out to his favorite clearing in all the forests of Brisshal. The sun just seemed to shine the right way on this spot, and the songs of the local birds seemed to always carry a brighter tune. He had found a tree just on the edge of the clearing that was perfect for napping. It was a large oak with a bough a short climb up that put him just enough beyond the leafy lower branches to hide him from anyone who would pass below. He had considered it a blessing to find such a perfect locale.

The continual whines and shrieks of someone in the forest roused Balmung out of his afternoon nap. He yawned softly and stretched his arms high above his head. He began to roll over to scratch an itch on his back before remembering that he was still up in the tree. The white-haired man jumped at realizing his near mistake, the quick jerking motion causing a bough to rock a bit. Clearly, he was too groggy to even think about trying to move around.

More high-pitched cries came from down below, helping to quickly wake him up. A bit frustrated when he realized this must have been what woke him from his nap, he began to peer down into the clearing, looking for whomever could be producing such terrible noises. His eyes locked in on a thin, green-haired Yladian girl who swung a sword to and fro in relatively good form.

Not yet ready to test himself and descend the tree, Balmung resigned himself to watching the girl from above. He watched how cut after cut was smooth and fluid. Her movements were obviously very practiced, and her grip was impeccable. Whoever the Yladian was, somehow had taught her the proper way to wield a sword. He continued to watch until he felt himself nearing the edge of sleep once more.

When the sword collided with a branch of the tree, Balmung awoke with such a start that he threw himself from the bough upon which he had once again fallen asleep. He fell to the ground with a WA-AH-AH! as he continually collided with branch after branch before finally coming to rest upon the ground. Luckily, the pain wasn't too great, but the fall still took away a small chunk of hit points, and he did feel at least some discomfort from the force of the impact.

When he opened his eyes, he was staring up at the green-haired girl, himself covered in twigs, leaves, and blades of grass from his unfortunate tumble.

 

And she was soon to regret the tree she chose for her mock battle- and, perhaps, just how close she'd gotten to it with her blade. She managed not to cut the limb, but somehow still heard shouting- and, at first, she had no idea it was from a person. In her mind, she began to believe the tree was a monster about to attack, leaving her to give a more decisive blow to the limb- this time, using her blade to cut through it with a fair amount of force to be safe.

Appearing before her not long after was a man, covered in brush from falling through the branches above. "S-Sorry! I should've checked if anyone was up there. I'm not used to sharing this spot with anyone- not many people come out here, so it's good for training." She felt her sword fall to the ground as her grip loosened, before she scurried to return it to its sheath before she'd hold the hand out to the person she'd caused trouble.

"Do you make it a habit of napping high up in trees where no one can see you?" She mused, a playful smile tugging her lips as her eyes dimmed and narrowed lightly, showing her dismay and internal distress. "It's a quiet area, normally... That's why I find it good for training. I should've guessed it'd be good for naps, too. I'm sorry for startling you awake, mister. Tell me, where are you harmed?"

As she kept her hand held out in hopes he'd take it, her mind was already chanting a bit internally. She was waiting for his touch so that she could give him her energy in the form of warm, healing light. "I may not look it, but I'm a pretty good healer, too."

 

Balmung warily looked the girl over, her green pigtails falling over her shoulders as she bent forward to over her hand. He did his best to hide his embarrassment, but could feel his failure in the burning of his cheeks. It was not all that often that Balmung made a fool of himself, or at least that's what he believed.

He thought of standing up and and brushing himself off, maybe turning round and walking off without saying word. It was rare that anyone offered aid to Balmung, and when someone did it made him feel out of place and awkward. However, he could see the sincerity in the girl's face and thought it would be profoundly rude not to accept her helping hand.

The white-haired man took hold of her hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. He felt a warm sensation sweep over his body, a calm and soothing feeling unlike the one in his face. As she had said, the girl was a healer, and it took little more than a few quick moments of contact to relieve Balmung of the minor but annoying injuries that the fall had left him with.

He realized soon after standing that he had yet to release the elfen girl's hand. He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks once more, and began to flash an uncomfortable smile and rub the back of his head. I think I might be holding on too long. He thought to himself, taking notice of the fact of just how sweaty his palm had become. Another moment passed, and he still had not managed to let go of the girl's hand.

When he finally released his grip and pulled his hand away, he forced a couple coughs to try and break the awkward tension that had built. He was terrible at dealing with people. He was even worse with dealing with people who happened to of the female persuasion and gave off a warm, tingly feeling with the slightest of touches. Balmung found himself being a little afraid of this Yladian.

Balmung

"I... uh... Sorry. And thank you... Nice spot out here. Quiet. Usually..."

He found himself feeling rather stupid after managing to blurt out a string of words. Balmung knew he was not the greatest at making conversation, but this senseless babble was pathetic even by his standards. He coughed into his hand, feeling his words only served to make the situation even more tense.

 

The man's silence made her curious. Had he gotten more hurt than he seemed? Had one of the trees cut his trachea and made it too hard to talk? No, that was a cause of death normally, and he seemed fairly lively with the blood in his face. Gynophobia was her next conclusion, though again, she was likely wrong.

When he grasped her hand to get up as she'd offered, her smile warmed up, relief in her veins. Good, he doesn't seem scared of me. The hand was held in place for an extended time, but she didn't complain. If he needed extra energy, she'd give it to him while they were at it.

A soft giggle left her as he sputtered to break the silence, the cough having eluded her in comparison. "You don't need to apologize for resting. I'm the one who didn't pay enough attention to what I was hitting. To be honest, I was actually hoping my aim was just away from the tree... I didn't think I was so close I'd make it shake when I struck."

Her words were dotted by a more nervous form of laughter. Had she really gotten that rusty? Was she just still a bit out of it from recent battles, or was she just really struggling with this new sword? It wasn't that much different from her others, but it surely felt a bit off that day at least.

"It really is a quiet area... That's why it feels good to train here. You can train and soothe your soul all at once."

While they'd already let go, she held her hand out again. This time, it was in a polite greeting, her sword slowly returned to the hilt to show no malice was held against the stranger. "I'm Solaria. It's nice to meet you, mister. Sorry for disrupting your nap... But is it okay if I continue training here? I want to work on my positioning now that I know I was too close."

 

The girl's smile and giggles made Balmung feel a little more at ease. It was definitely a relief to not detect a single hint of disgust in her expression or voice. He was glad that he seemed to have avoided making the situation too awkward. It was a rare case when he didn't have to turn and walk away due to his lack of social awareness.

When he saw her hand reach forth once more, he could feel the nervousness creep back into his stance. For some reason, his skin began to crawl with anxiety, and he could feel his palms grow clammy once more. What am I getting so worked up about? He asked himself. I just fought a war and now I'm afraid of a girl?!

He wiped his palm on the leg of his pants before reaching forth to shake her hand, this time as part of a formal greeting as opposed to in assistance. The nervousness got to him, causing him to shakily pull his hand back at least once before finally gripping hers again. To his surprise, the warm feeling was no longer in her touch. Much to his dismay, he could feel his eyes grow wide and tried to fight his mindlessness for control of his face.

Without the soothing sensation to her touch, the girl before him, Solaria, didn't seem as frightening to Balmung. Something about the effect that first touch had on him had put him on edge, but without it she was just a normal girl. Albeit a normal girl who was obviously expertly trained in how to wield a sword.

Balmung

"Balmung. And you're Solaria. And this is a nice place. Very nice. Good. Yeah, practice. You do that. Good place, good place. Yeah, I, I don't practice her. I nap. I mean, I'm not... well... maybe I am lazy, but this place. Good. Yeah."

Balmung was appalled with himself. Even though the threat of the overwhelming sensation had fled from her touch, he still found himself unable to talk to her in a normal fashion. Perhaps he really was as out of touch with others as he sometimes believed himself to be. Or perhaps it was the embarrassment of falling from the tree still weighing heavy on his mind. Nevertheless, his inability to control his tongue was doing him no favors in overcoming, what he hoped would be, a temporary lapse in usual cool demeanor.

He touched his hand to the back of his again, trying to strike a more casual pose while he waited for her response. He tried to flash a smile again, this time managing to produce something at least half as less awkward as his last attempt. If I can just get my breathing in order maybe I can get some sort of handle on my head. He told himself, hoping to find some solution to this strange mix of emotions.

 

She hadn't quite picked up on it yet that she intimidated him. The only hint of anxiety Solaria appeared to catch for the beginning of his anxiety was the fact his hand had been sweating- which she assumed meant perhaps he'd had a nightmare, or was just still struggling with the jolt from falling out of a tree. Sweat was a natural reaction to heat and surprise, after all. It wasn't necessarily her fault...

Until it was.

His words were jumbled and sputtered in broken statements. The rhythm reminded her of her brother the first time he'd watched her at kendo practice- in awe and intimidated, as if seeing a mythical creature that could very well harm him if he wasn't careful. She could understand his words overall- his name, his likely still writhing fatigue. What she didn't understand was why he was so nervous.

Luckily, she had a remedy for that.

Keeping a light hold of his hand with the one that had lost it's warmth, she felt a warm glow in her fingers once more. However, to make sure it was more effective, she placed her other hand, glowing just the same, upon the man's stiff chest. "May you see your strength once more."

Heart Cleanse

Her chant was gentle but serious, eyes closed partially and cast down to her feet, the sadness projecting from the need to use a spell like this at all. With a small flash of light, she hoped her buff would heal his internal scars- the scars of his ego and his innate discomfort around her. Removing her hands from him in equal timing, she smiled meekly with her eyes kept shut. "Any better? Your voice was shaking, so I thought maybe you were nervous from falling still." Okay, that was a lie. She was sure it was her the man feared- but it was better to ignore it, was it not?

"Balmung you said, right? I see you have a hilt at your hip... not a great one, but definitely a sword I'd say. Are you a sword fighter as well? A nap is not a bad thing, but if you'd like, I can give you a free hit as apology for interrupting to help you practice. It's no fair for me to keep the grounds to myself to train, after all. Why not do a bit together?"

 

He found himself lost to the soothing feeling again. The touch of the girl sending the sensations of calm through his body as waves washing onto a shore. He felt himself losing his guard, unable to keep the wary thoughts that made him so tense in his mind. It occurred to him once again just how scary someone like this could be, but whatever power this girl was using on him prevented him from going on edge again.

His face softened to an expression of unparalleled tranquility. Even the slightest hints of tension had miraculously evaporated from his body, allowing him to stand in a rather leisurely posture. His eyes became serene pools of black as he easily looked the girl in the eye. At the moment, he forgot all the pain that he had been carrying around in his heart. It was a feeling that he found to be very foreign indeed.

Balmung

"Yes. I am Balmung. A pleasure to find someone as kind and skilled as you in such a humble place. While I do fancy myself as a swordsman, I can say honestly that I do not yet compare to your expertise with a blade. It would be a poor showing on my part if ever we came to cross blade."

He bowed as he once again introduced himself and greeted the girl, having a much easier time of it now. He did not know why, but his choice of words changed drastically from his usual diction. He felt a little silly talking in the manner that he had chosen to in this instance, but it was too late to take it back and he wasn't sure he could find the wits within himself to change it anyways.

As he exited his bow and returned to a standing position, he the calm remained about him, even after looking the girl in the eyes once more. He was sure that he could almost make out some sadness behind those clear gems of blue that she bore for eyes. He thought for a moment that might have said something wrong. An urge to apologize welled up within him, but the soothing effect of her last touch suppressed it. He stood there for a moment, unmoving and unspeaking, staring placidly into the girl's youth-filled face.

 

The change of his speech pattern was both drastic and still far too formal for the elf to bare in her mind. She'd tried so hard to calm him, and while the tension seemed to ease off, his words were fluidly stiff- a conundrum of irony, mildly irritating her senses.

Despite this, she smiled. She smiled through her concern about his demeanor of treating her like something special or an elder when she was clearly the same as he was in some way or another. Social status be damned, she wanted to be treated like a friend, and she'd find a way to make it happen. It would just take time, she had to remind herself. But time waited for no man.

"You're really giving me too much credit there, buddy. While I may be good with a sword, I just have more practice. Doesn't make your abilities bad, just means you have room to improve, right? So do I- everyone does. Perfection isn't a reality easily earned."

Her grin was a bit cocky, she realized. She was stating every thought like a fact, though her intent to encourage him may have very well failed to show in said ideas she spoke. They were words she thought he needed to hear. He was being too hard on himself, wasn't he? It would be strange if he were a top swordsman off the bat, to her. "We all have our journeys to get stronger, to find our place. Our paths converged at this tree. Rather than focus on comparisons, shouldn't we be happy about the similarities that are right there in our faces?"

 

The sharp matter-of-fact tone struck him hard. He had not expected such a strong response from the slender girl. In fact, it caught him so off guard that he nearly found himself falling backwards, unable to believe just how harsh her tone had become. I've definitely done something wrong. He told himself.

The effects of her spell could do little to push down the second coming of the apologetic urge. It swelled so fully inside of him that he could feel the words at the back of his throat before he even knew he was about to speak. As his mouth flew open, his tongue preparing to fire off a formal string of magnanimities, Balmung bit his tongue at the last second. He wished to spare the girl the apology that would likely only make her feel more insulted, if that is what she was feeling. I'm really so out of touch with people that I have no idea what's going through her head. He realized.

Instead, he racked his brain for anything that he could say that might diffuse the situation. He wished for her to return to the calm manner of speech that she had used before. He began to fear that no matter what he did, he could only be seen as insulting in her eyes. It would have given him some amount of sorrow, had her power not been influencing him at the time.

Luckily, he was spared from his woes as a strange movement began to take place behind the green-haired girl. He quickly drew his sword, and stepped to put himself between whatever had approached and Solaria. He spread his feet wide and apart, taking a low stance, his sword held menacingly before him with both hands gripping the tightly on the hilt.

He found himself face to face with some creature that could only be described as some sort of gorilla-like monstrosity. Each of its ears ended in two wickedly thin points, its eyes were small glints of red fury. The areas on its body that did have hair, its forearms and a mane about its neck, were densely packed with coarse, silver strands. A thick girth of jagged ivory protruded upward from each corner of its wide maw, the tusks stained from whatever the beast's latest meal had been.

Balmung thought for a minute of his stupidity, trying to rush to protect a fighter who was clearly more skilled than he. He knew it didn't matter, this was his nature and he knew that would never change. It was impossible to separate this from himself. It was part of who we truly was.

 

She hadn't even realized the change of her tone. It was clear to her that her thoughts involved a bit of moping and irritation, but she hadn't realized just how clearly it came through in her voice. While she sensed the effects of her calming spell fading, she had little time to act as the man seemed to dash behind her, causing her to spin and almost fall from the sudden change.

He was in front of her, trying to hold back a creature she couldn't even begin to name. Her frustration moved from the man that had suddenly decided to keep her out of harm's way, and onto the harm itself. Growling low, she lashed out with words to the game, preparing her sword from the rearguard of their duo

"Why do these giants pop up in the spawn zone anyway?!"

Her stance wasn't as low or wide- she stood collectively, just spread enough to prepare to dash and strike the beast. Her aim as she rushed towards it was to it's chest, but it managed to read her mind, or so she'd claim. Instead of it's heart, she found her sword jabbed into one of its tusks, sticking slightly into a crack before it waved around and managed to throw her and the sword back to where she started.

She landed on her feet, though dug her sword into the dirt in the process. Feeling lucky for it's sturdiness as she pulled it out, she felt the fire of battle brighten her eyes. "I'll be, the beasts around here are getting feistier lately. But there's not a snowball's chance I'm gonna let this one steal a training spot like this." She turned to glance at her comrade, her grin wider than before, the martyr inside her mixing far too much with her impulsively brash mentality.

"Balmung, you said you weren't sure about your skills, right? Well it's time we put that to the test. We're going to take this thing down a peg. I've got your back!"

 

Balmung found himself impressed with the speed of the green-haired girl. He knew that her abilities easily surpassed his, but he did not expect the gap between them to be quite that large. The expert way that she stepped around him and transferred that momentum straight into a charging assault, her sword held perfectly in line so that all the force would be directed straight to the tip.

When the beast managed to block her attack, Balmung was surprised. He was sure that her speed and power would have been sufficient to land a clean blow on the monster, but it had managed to parry the attack using its oversized tusks. Clearly, this wasn't the ordinary enemy that Balmung believed it to be. He adjusted his stance and looked to the air just to the right of the beast's head. There hovered the monster's name: Kurzodd, Prince of Anger.

A brief moment of panic left Balmung frozen. Why would a sub-boss spawn here? Isn't this one of the earliest areas in the game? Can the two of us handle it? Should I run? The thoughts flashed through his mind one after the other. In that moment, the beast threw a punch at Balmung, directly for his head.

He didn't know how he ducked it. One second he was paralyzed with doubt, the next he had managed to lower himself under the beast's meaty fist, the strike narrowly catching a few of his hairs. It was enough to clear his mind though, allowing him to refocus his thoughts and lose himself in the moment of battle.

He shifted his feet and changed the grip on his sword so that the edge was parallel to the ground. With a quick burst of speed, he managed to work behind the hideous monstrosity, using the threat of Solaria's readied blade to keep the monster's full attention off of himself. He believed his strike would be cut true, and so he put all of his muscle behind it.

When the beast swung its mighty arm around, Balmung realized it was too late. He had already committed to the swing, and hadn't noticed the slight movement in the monster's shoulder that gave away its intentions. His sword cut ever so slightly into its forearm, the wiry hairs that sprouted there cushioning the flesh from the full force of the blow. Then he was in the air.

The beast knocked him clean to the side, the weight of its brutish limb slamming into him like a runaway cart. He saw a considerable chunk of his health meter slide away, feeling the pain that accompanied that. He landed hard against the ground, his head nearly slamming against a rock that was buried in the clearing. The collision with the earth knocked all the air from his lungs. He lay there gasping, trying to find the strength to get back to his feet.

 

Standing to his side when she was able, she recognized the frozen stance easily- anyone would be scared in a moment like this. She just happened to be lucky that this wasn't the first time she'd met a mini boss in the early parts of the game. In fact, that memory was likely the only thing that kept her sane in this moment. Well, that and her blatant need to protect the stranger who still probably could use a morning coffee, if one believed in such things.

She was about to attack when the giant struck Balmung into flying like she'd done, only his landing was far more painful to watch. Seeing the way his health had dwindled, she decided to fight brute force with magic- which would help her keep from hurting Balmung when she went to 'rescue' him from near death.

Her words were said with her sword raised high as if begging the sky for aid.
"Let the light surround me!"

Holy Prism

Balls of light surrounded her like a barrier, spinning in a circle like a halo with gaps around her waist. She ran close to Balmung with the magic surrounding her, making sure not to get close enough for it to touch him. She'd just get near enough to use a healing spell from close range, which she prayed would keep his health from going too far for her to help him.

"Don't get close to the light," She told him strictly as she waited for him to stand. For a woman fighting a monstrosity, she was strangely relaxed with the halo around her.

As it tried to charge at her with a swing of it's arm when it was close, it got thrown back by a sizzling noise as the light caused harm to it's form- and disappeared, leaving only four balls left to circle her, and a bigger gap as they continued their orbit. "I can't use it as a buff on others, but it looks like it's not a fan of light... If you want, I can give you some more health and some light magic in your blade. If we work together, we'll get out of here. But if you want to get away, I recommend you run now while I still have some barrier left to keep it more or less away."

 

He stood, the healing magic causing a resurgence of strength to course throughout his body. He tightened the grip on his sword and brought it to rest in a vertical orientation between himself and the beast. He was thankful that Solaria had chosen to follow the path of illumancy. Already it had done great things to aid him.

Instead of speaking, he kept his mind focused on the battle. When the monster was forced back by one of the balls of glowing light, he saw a chance to make a follow-up attack. To affirm his will to continue the battle, he rushed the beast. However, he kept the warning the girl had given him in mind, first sweeping out to the side before curving his path to catch the enemy on its flank.

He found it mesmerized by the protective orbs that swirled about Solaria, and took advantage of that fact. He pulled his weight to one side, bringing his sword up in a broad rising slash, allowing his torso to lean at the hips. The slash cut clean, leaving a deep gash in the beast's unprotected ribs. The positioning of his body allowed him to just avoid another swing of its arm.

He used the momentum of the attack to pull him into a roll. The space he created between himself and the foe gave him a sense of security if it chose to bring its next attack to him. He hoped that the spell that protected Solaria would be enough of a deterrent to do just that, giving the more experienced swordswoman a chance to strike out at it.

He secured his grip on the hilt of his blade, adopting a high guard that placed the sword overhead, but with the tip leveled at the monster. Balmung's gaze narrowed, focusing on the large beast. He waited for its next move, hoping he would be able to catch a glimpse of something that might give away its intentions.

 

He may be more of a beginner, but he's already got talent. She smiled with an amused glaze over her eyes when she watched as Balmung rushed in an arc to get away from her barrier of light and straight to an attack on the beast. Talent and bravery hand in hand was something she'd admit she wasn't sure to expect from him, considering his regular bouts of anxiety she'd seen. Don't judge a book by it's cover. You were like that too, idiot me.

Shaking off her thoughts, she spun in place and watched the timing her prismatic magic flowed in it's circle. There was one spot where there was an easy opening- one that could be dangerous for her, or an advantage. She realized in a moments notice that if she could time it just right, she could get a good clean strike at the foe before letting another prism protect her from it's rebuttal.

This was a puzzle she wasn't up to following, however. She could see the beast about to attack her fellow swordsman again. He'd pulled its aggravation to focus on him, it seemed. That, or it just didn't want to deal with the light much more.

She cast a spell before rushing in- a spell that added the power of holy light on both her and Balmung's swords. She didn't bother explaining her move, however. She just did it, before running straight ahead and playing with a diagonal strike from shoulder to hip. It left a shallow but long wound, while another prism burst as it flung the beast again out of her distance.

Three prisms left, a bigger gap than before- but the thing was already looking pretty dead in its eyes when it glared back at them, gnarling and preparing to get back into the ring. "I added light to our swords. With this, you can deal light damage when you strike, as can I. Since it seems like it works well on this thing, I figured it'd be able to help us finish it faster. Now if we could find its weak point, we could be done. Something tells me that won't be easy to find, though."