|
Post by demikara on Oct 4, 2020 17:59:35 GMT -6
He pulled but couldn't get loose. "Why the hell? Xiaolian, do you know what happens when you have this much magic and you don't use it? You get sick! Tell me these aren't permanent!" He was trying to calm down but his heart was beating a mile a minute. The more magic you had, the more you had to use or you'd get sick. It had happened to him before, as a child and he knew he was susceptible to it. With even more magic at his fingertips, he had no doubt it would happen even faster. Limiters. She had put limiters on him and he couldn't get them off on his own. Some sort of spell? It had to be. A working to keep him from using the majority of his magic and a working to keep him from removing them.
There were probably more workings on them. They were made of silver, which wasn't soft enough to easily break. Which meant he had to find some way around them. But what? What would get around them, what would free him again?
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Oct 4, 2020 18:08:47 GMT -6
"They are not permanent." She confirmed watching him continue to pry at the bracelets in an attempt to get them off. If this is what having a student was like, then she wanted nothing more of it after Tyrus.
The bracelets wouldn't make him sick, and all they did was slow the flow of magic from a raging tide to something much calmer. "Even if you get sick, which you won't, you're not going to die." Xiaolian added bluntly. Ratatoskr children didn't get sick from using such things, and at the first sign of illness she would have removed them. But she suspected that he was more durable and resilient than he thought.
"Stop panicking, little mage." She warned, her voice tinged with that same strange inflection from earlier in the solstice.
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Oct 4, 2020 18:21:17 GMT -6
They weren't permanent. They weren't permanent, and she seemed convinced that he wasn't going to get magic sickness from this. He forced himself to calm down, running through a breathing exercise, until his heart wasn't beating quit so quickly. "These will help?" He recognized her tone of voice though and would listen. He wasn't going to cross her. He knew all too well how terrifying she could be. He was going to calm down and handle this. He was an adult and he could handle this.
They were meant to help him recover from the solstice. How the hell was suppressing his magic going to help him recover? He needed more answers, but he wasn't going to get them panicking. He needed to calm down. "How will these help?"
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Oct 4, 2020 20:04:18 GMT -6
"Good." Xiaolian nodded seeing that Tyrus was able to calm himself down. "That's the first step. You have to learn how to calm yourself, things are different now and you are not the same person as before." She explained. The ritual had skewed the balance, and it was now her duty to restore it in whatever way possible. But she hadn't planned for this much resistance, even though she had been warned. Surely now that he had calmed down things would be easier.
"How will this help? Your magic isn't bound away from you, the flow has been reduced by those shiny new bracelets. Placed on your wrists, they act on your heart chakra... which is your control center. I would think you would know that, given you do have the title of 'Mage'." She added crossing her arms over her chest. "You can still use it, it's still just as strong, there's just less to fight with." Xiaolian added with a shrug.
"First things first, go get changed and we'll start on some drills. No magic."
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Oct 5, 2020 16:33:31 GMT -6
It was going to be okay. His flow was the only thing that had changed. He'd probably experiment with that later, but for now, he'd be doing something familiar. Drills. Obediently, though he was still running through exercises mentally to remain calm, he headed back inside and got changed into some workout clothes. The basketball shorts and a tank top would do for now. Drills were something he could do, though he was curious as to what the drills were going to be. Something without magic which would be interesting. Non-magical skills could often serve as a base for magical ones though, and it wasn't uncommon. The mage joined her outside again, curious as to what they were going to be doing this time.
"Alright, I'm ready. What's first?" The bracelets reduced his flow, but he could still work with what he had. At the very least, he could still cast a basic light spell and that was all he had time to chck on while changing.
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Oct 5, 2020 17:52:21 GMT -6
"Four basic movements. Forget any intent or anything behind them, for now they should be.. hm... empty." Xiaolian instructed in her same blunt and direct manner as usual. Translating what she had learned to something that would be useful for Tyrus would be difficult, he was clever, but that often was what got him in trouble. "A scattered mind produces scattered qi or energy. Doesn't matter what you call it. Relax, align yourself, and focus." She explained before motioning for Tyrus to follow her.
"You will learn and master the first four movements before anything." Xiaolian continued as she changed her stance to become more grounded and centered. "The first one is Peng, it is a subtle energy that gives things shape and resistance. Think of it like a young and tender plant. Through this you learn to listen and sense." With this she widened her stance slightly placing her right leg in front of her, and raised her right arm in one smooth and fluid motion.
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Oct 5, 2020 17:58:29 GMT -6
Tyrus watched closely and copied her stance and then copied the movement, trying to relax and focus on what he was doing. There was no need to call forth magic right now. He was still learning the movements. Peng. Like a young and tender plant. Was he meant to be the plant, or the movement? That he wasn't sure about. Something to ask at some point. Right now though, he needed to focus on the movement. "Like this?" He suspected he wasn't perfect. People rarely were their first time taking a stance, no matter how many martial arts they had practiced before hand.
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Oct 20, 2020 18:19:30 GMT -6
"Relax." Xiaolian instructed as she then led him through remainder of the movements. Many of them were defensive instead of the normal offensive maneuvers one might have expected. But building a solid foundation and forcing Tyrus to unlearn the habit of panicking when something went wrong came first.
"Now string those four movements together." She added demonstrating how the stance with it's four deceptively simple movements fit together. Like many who were well versed or practiced in this particular art form of defense, Xiaolian's movements were smooth, deliberate, and well grounded in practice. Tyrus however would likely struggle, even up and past the point of adding magic to the mix. It would be a dose of his own medicine that he so insistently forced on Catherine, something that Xiaolian had heard all about from Molly, who had happened to be at least partially privy to what happened.
"Head up, shoulder dropped, elbow down, hips forward, and knees bent."
The lesson continued much along these lines, with Xiaolian intent on wearing Tyrus out to the point he wouldn't be able to function much past eating or sleeping.
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Oct 21, 2020 18:05:19 GMT -6
The slow pace wouldn't tire Tyrus out much at all, even after several hours. He was physically fit after all, and more than capable of going at this pace all day. One thing he had always made time for was his conditioning after all, and the conditioning helped now as he accepted any tweaks to his form she offered. That wasn't to say the new forms were easy. The were unfamiliar to him at least and he was careful to move slowly through each movement so he could learn the appropriate way. It was avoiding adding magic that was killing him. He could almost see how the magic would flow through each of the movements, how it would smoothly improve every block.
It was keeping his magic from flowing through him that was, as always, the hardest part of the affair. He wasn't accustomed to not reaching for his magic like this. It was second nature to improve and strengthen with every movement.
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Oct 21, 2020 18:26:10 GMT -6
"It seems you've got the hang of this, so we'll move up to fighting speed." Xiaolian decided suddenly. The slow pace seemed to be doing little to grind him down, which was her original intent. It seemed that she would have to work him much harder that she had originally thought. It was her turn to be reminded who was or wasn't human.
"No magic either. You use it as a crutch." She stated factually.
Hopefully he would be able to remember the forms from earlier in the day, most novices and even those taking a crash course often struggled.
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Oct 21, 2020 18:33:51 GMT -6
"No magic. The limiters are helping with that. It's never been this easy to not use magic." He was rather astounded by it. He still wasn't a fan of the flow limiters, but they apparently did their job. Of course, now he was using them as a crutch, but hopefully it was one he wouldn't always need. He didn't think he could manage some of his more destructive spells with them on. Though he may be able to. He focused on the movements, dragging his thoughts away from spell craft and onto the kata he was having her do.
Fighting speed though, was a strong difference than the slow speed they were at, and would tire him out sooner for sure. Maintaining that speed for long periods, after all, would tire out anyone.
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Oct 21, 2020 18:47:08 GMT -6
While Tyrus's thoughts were lost to spell craft, Xiaolian took full advantage of his moment of inattention and launched an offense that was designed to put him off balance. Once he was off balance, she would use this to her advantage to land him squarely on the ground where he was at a disadvantage without magic.
There was no way she should be able to accomplish such a feat with someone like Tyrus as her opponent, someone who by all rights should have been stronger and faster than her. But, many Guardians were trained to take down a variety of opponents, which explained how she had gotten by with so little magic previously.
"Pay attention and get your head out of your ass."
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Oct 21, 2020 18:51:11 GMT -6
He had tried defend against the sudden onslaught, but it had been fast, faster than he had expected from her. On the ground, he looked up at the much shorter woman and grinned. This was going to be interesting after all. "Yes ma'am." He stood up again and began moving through the forms at fighting speed again. Xiaolian continued to prove she was terrifying. That was probably a good thing all told, but it did mean he needed to step up his game. He had a feeling she wouldn't let him ever get away with anything but strict attention to what he was doing.
As she had just proven.
This was not going to be play time though, she had just thoroughly proven that. He'd need to remain aware and ready, for the next time she decided he wasn't focusing enough.
|
|
|
Post by Circe on Oct 21, 2020 19:03:37 GMT -6
Xiaolian continued along matching Tyrus's speed with a practiced and confident ease. Any attempts to knock her down or off balance were met with resistance. She focused more on technique and her own internal training, saving energy and strength for other things.
Another moment of in attention and Tyrus was on the ground again. "Don't force the movements. Move through them."
|
|
|
Post by demikara on Oct 22, 2020 15:22:31 GMT -6
The problem with focusing was you were only built to do so for so long. At least she was being relatively nice with knocking him down. It could hurt a lot more. He got back up again, feeling the drag already. How long had they been at this? However long it was, he was beginning to slow and he knew it. Which was not ideal. He took the initial stance and began to rapidly move through the movements again, trying to move through them more gracefully this time. At least he was getting used to the movements. He focused on moving smoothly, rapidly through the movements, acting counter to any attack she may decide to launch on him.
He was a battle mage and he was having his ass handed to him. He doubted even with magic he'd be able to keep up with the other. She had significantly more experience with combat than he had thought she had.
|
|